Help me pick my first Zelda game!

[No-Kill Cleric]

Yes, I'm a silly fool who has yet to play a Legend of Zelda game, and I want to play one before the new one is released.

I'm currently deciding between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, but I have access to a bunch of them. Any recommendations?

[Yuki Akuma]

Wind Waker is a good first game, in my opinion. Twilight Princess is... okay, but it's more designed for people who are already Zelda fans, in my opinion.

Majora's Mask is, by the way, the best Zelda of all time, but as it's a direct sequel you should play Ocarina of Time first. Play the 3DS versions, they're superior in every way. :smalltongue:

[Vitruviansquid]

Ocarina of Time is one of the best games ever made. Period.

[Yuki Akuma]

Ocarina of Time is one of the best games ever made. Period.

It's actually incredibly overhyped, similarly to Final Fantasy 7.

I mean, it's not awful, but it's... definitely not the best. Not even close.

[Olinser]

Yes, I'm a silly fool who has yet to play a Legend of Zelda game, and I want to play one before the new one is released.

I'm currently deciding between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, but I have access to a bunch of them. Any recommendations?

I personally have always considered A Link To The Past to be the best Zelda game by a good margin, with Ocarina of Time and Link's Awakening tied for 2nd. (3rd would be a tie between Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess).

Although if you're starting the series for the first time I would suggest that you play the original NES one first. It was the one that started the franchise, after all, and has more simple gameplay than most of the rest.

[Knaight]

It's actually incredibly overhyped, similarly to Final Fantasy 7.

I mean, it's not awful, but it's... definitely not the best. Not even close.

It hasn't aged well. When it came out it was impressive, but it has since been repeatedly surpassed.

As for the original question - Twilight Princess is generally solid, and I'd pick it over Wind Waker (if only because the sailing gets a bit tedious eventually); get the Gamecube version if at all possible. Skyward Sword is more polarizing, but I personally thought it was pretty good and would recommend it as well.

[Geno9999]

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is also a good one to start with. It's basically where the Zelda formula got a bit more solidified to what you can see in later titles. I've heard very good things about A Link between Worlds too, though I haven't had the chance to play that one due to not owning a 3DS.

[Antonok]

It depends, if you want to semi follow the rather screwed up timeline, best bet would be Ocarina of Time (even tho like people have said, it hasn't aged well).

If you want just a good solid gameplay that sets up the general idea of other zelda games, Link to the Past or Link's Awakening are decent places to start.

If you just want a fun game, Wind Waker or Majora's Mask.

[Zevox]

Ocarina of Time would be an excellent starting point. It set the stylistic template from which all subsequent 3D Zelda games have drawn, and honestly I still believe it's one of the best of them. Several of the others include callbacks to it as well.

Barring that, well, between your stated two, I'd call Twilight Princess the better game, but both have their flaws. TP gets very easy as the game goes on, and the items that you find in later dungeons end up having little use outside of those specific dungeons, which is disappointing. On the flip side, Wind Waker's sailing is tedious and the art style isn't for everyone, and personally I find it feels a tad on the short side for a Zelda title.

[cobaltstarfire]

Is the "Z-targetting" of the 3Ds ocarina of time better than the original? My first 3D zelda was Wind Waker, and going backwards to N64Ocarina of Time after Wind Waker was frustrating because of the clunkier control scheme. That said OoT was pretty fun what of it I got to play before having to return it to its owner.

If you don't mind learning completely new control methods Skyward Sword I think can be a good first game, it has an interesting story, and starts out pretty simple. The "waggle" works extremely well once you've learned it, but if you are resistant to learning motion controls, or just find it hard avoid SS.


I can't speak much for TP, I got bored of it really quickly, and the GC version at least felt like I was fighting with the controls the entire time, I dunno how well the wii version played.


I've only played two 2D Zeldas, Links Awakening, and Oracle of Ages....the former was fun, the latter somehow managed to bore/irritate me and I never finished it...

[Olinser]

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is also a good one to start with. It's basically where the Zelda formula got a bit more solidified to what you can see in later titles. I've heard very good things about A Link between Worlds too, though I haven't had the chance to play that one due to not owning a 3DS.

It's similar to A Link To The Past, but the formula just doesn't mesh as well. The wall walking stuff was done pretty poorly, IMO, and it's freaking EVERYWHERE after you can do it for the first time. The last boss was just weak and easy due to over-reliance on the wall-walking.

It also seriously suffers from a complete lack of information or prompting to get the boots. I literally beat the game without even realizing they were an item.

[Tvtyrant]

I would play the original and A Link to the Past for top down, they are both fairly quick and easy. For 3d I would play Wind Waker, it is the best in the series IMO.

Twilight Princess is good, but it is set in Ocarina of Time's Hyrule and is a direct sequel (along with Majora's Mask).

There is also this (http://bszelda.zeldalegends.net/storypics/atl.jpg)to go by, if you want the series to make the most sense plotwise (but least gameplay wise).

[Temotei]

My top three 3Ds in order: Wind Waker, Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time.

My top three top-downs in order: A Link to the Past, original, Minish Cap.

But if you're going to play more than one, start with any of the top-downs or Ocarina of Time first. The controls get more fluid as the 3D games go on, so you'll get spoiled if you play the newer ones first. :smalltongue:

[No-Kill Cleric]

Ok, so the current rulings are (including "half recommendations"):

Ocarina of Time: 2.5
Original:1.5
Link to the Past: 2
Wind Waker: 2
Twilight Princess: 1.5
Skyward Sword: 1.5

[BeerMug Paladin]

If you want 2d, go with Link to the Past. If you want 3d, go with Windwaker.

[Krazzman]

I can also recommend a link to the past and the Minish Cap.
If you are set between Windwalker and Twilight Princess... I would go with Windwaker instead of TP even though I don't liked Windwaker so much.

The ones I had the most fun with (of those that I played through and in descending order):
Minish Cap
Link to the Past
Oracle of Ages
Skyward Sword
Oracle of Seasons
Links Awakening
Windwaker
Ocarina of Time
Twilight Princess

This is my rating (anything under Skyward sword was not finished or just played the start and didn't bother to pick up again...)

Ocarina of time is only that far down because I wanted to play but couldn't. The HD remastered edition coming with Windwaker crashed every time after the first dungeon which drained quite a bit of fun out of it....

[Corlindale]

I also recommend Ocarina.

I played it way later than its release date (around the time Twilight Princess was the most recent one), but I still think it held up fantastically.

Link's Awakening is also really good. I also liked Twilight and Skyward a lot, but for some reason they didn't quite grab me as much as Ocarina did (and I didn't complete either of them).

I tried to get into Majora's Mask, but found the timer incredibly stressful for some reason.

[Blackhawk748]

Wind Waker is great, and its even better now as they fixed my only complaint with it on the 3DS. Ocarina is also better on the 3DS

[Brother Oni]

Skyward Sword is more polarizing, but I personally thought it was pretty good and would recommend it as well.

I think Skyward Sword is a great game, but I can't stand the Wii controls and trying to do precise sword slashes (or rather, unlearn what I know from real life fencing to get the damn control system to do what I want) drives me up the wall.

If it wasn't for the wrist strap, I'd probably be on my third or fourth Wiimote controller and I haven't even completed the game yet.

[Triaxx]

I've played a large majority of the games in the series. Link to the Past is excellent even now. It's held up better than a lot of games.

Ocarina of Time is very good even now, though as noted, some of the bits are showing their age. Majora's Mask is also a bit, but it's a refinement to the Ocarina engine, and that means they were able to smooth out some of the bits that didn't age as well.

Wind Waker can be a lot harder than the graphics make it seem like it should be. The huge size of the ocean can require some patience, but at the same time, I found it very nice to run around in the ocean. But I'm strange like that. If you play the HD version, there's a speed boost of some kind, though I know nothing about that.

Twilight Princess I really like. It's very dark, unlike most of them, but it shares the same vibe with Majora's Mask. They're dark, but not depressing. You're that ray of hope. More than in Majora's, because of the time limit, Twilight Princess really gives you a feeling like you're making a difference in the world. You can see the effects your actions are having on the world as you play through.

Skyward Sword... it's not bad. I don't mind it once I get started playing, but it's much harder to get into the rhythm for it, and once you start, you don't want to stop because you'll lose that rhythm, and then you've got to work it back.

[Temotei]

Wind Waker can be a lot harder than the graphics make it seem like it should be. The huge size of the ocean can require some patience, but at the same time, I found it very nice to run around in the ocean. But I'm strange like that. If you play the HD version, there's a speed boost of some kind, though I know nothing about that.

Yeah, according to my brother, you go way faster and the wind changes direction automatically with a special sail.

[Triaxx]

Ah, that explains it. Takes a bit of the fun out though. Unless it's separate from the normal sail.

[Temotei]

Ah, that explains it. Takes a bit of the fun out though. Unless it's separate from the normal sail.

I believe it is.

[Yuki Akuma]

All of the sailing mechanics are the same, except when you get a special item.

Said special item is a prize at the auction house. It's not compulsory and you can't get it right away in any case.

[Knaight]

I think Skyward Sword is a great game, but I can't stand the Wii controls and trying to do precise sword slashes (or rather, unlearn what I know from real life fencing to get the damn control system to do what I want) drives me up the wall.

If it wasn't for the wrist strap, I'd probably be on my third or fourth Wiimote controller and I haven't even completed the game yet.

This is by far the biggest flaw. It annoys the heck out of me too, and while I eventually got it pretty decently under control, anything involving precise sword slashes is still the worst. There's a reason I switch to an archery heavy style as soon as I get the chance.

[Zigwat]

I'm a classic gamer. I have both Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link on the original NES. I also have Ocarina of Time, Link to the Past, Link between Worlds, Skyward Sword, and I use to have Twilight Princess but I sold it two years ago.

Out of all of them, Skyward Sword was definitely fun, but I would start with either Link to the Past or the original Legend of Zelda. It's always good to get the feel of the older games down before you hop onto the 3D realms.

I could go into so much detail, but I'll simply leave you with that.

[Bucky]

I think you should start with the original, then Ocarina of Time, then Majora's Mask.

Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker both have slow overworld travel segments that you can speed up a lot with some 'secret' techniques:

Ocarina of Time:
Link moves much faster while holding Z and walking straight backwards. You can either navigate by minimap or align your camera with the target, push down on the control stick, then Z, then hold down until you get there.

Use this whenever you cross Hyrule Field after the first time; you don't need to worry about most enemies because you can outrun them.

Wind Waker:
You get a speed boost as you're pulling out your sail that goes away after a second or so. But when you're already moving, you can get the speed boost by double tapping the sail button.

These tricks fix the games' pacing problems a bit.

[RayGallade]

I would highly recommend Majora's Mask if you are considering a 3D Zelda. It has consistently remained one of my favorite games ever since I first played it. Can't say anything about the 3DS remake of it seeing as I haven't played it, but honestly, the N64 version still is fairly impressive 16 years later.

If you're more interested in a top-down Zelda, A Link to the Past is generally considered the best of the bunch.

[Zevox]

I didn't mention any of the 2D games in my post, so perhaps I should add my thoughts on those. Personally, I think they're the weaker half of the series as a whole. My favorite from among them was Oracle of Ages, and I'd still rate that below any of the console 3D ones. I've half a mind to say I'd put A Link Between Worlds as my second-favorite, but that might just be because it was the one I played most recently - most of them I played once years ago and haven't ever felt the desire to re-play, unlike pretty much any of the 3D games, which I've played several times each. So I'd personally recommend just going for the 3D titles like Ocarina, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, etc for your introduction to the series.

I haven't played the original game or Adventure of Link, so those two I don't include in my evaluation, for what that's worth.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I'd strongly suggest Link To The Past. It is, personally, my favorite of all Zelda games (with Twilight Princes being the second-place contender for the title). It's got it all... zappy sword, evil wizard, princess to be rescued, realm to be saved, cute sprite graphics, and... FLUFFY BUNNY LINK! Try it out!

[GrayDeath]

I always suggest Links Awakeing.

Both because it was the first one I played and because of the wonderful weirdness and Epic Ending. ;)

[Triaxx]

Not everyone seems to realize that Link's Awakening is actually supposed to be a direct sequel to Link to the Past. I saw someone mentioning Majora's Mask as being the first direct sequel in the series.

Though the first direct sequel is actually Zelda II, which is awesome when looked at in Nostalgia Glasses, and kind of okay when you actually go back and play the thing.

[KillingAScarab]

Ok, so the current rulings are (including "half recommendations"):

Ocarina of Time: 2.5
Original:1.5
Link to the Past: 2
Wind Waker: 2
Twilight Princess: 1.5
Skyward Sword: 1.5Here's a question which should help narrow down the choice: which Nintendo console(s) do you have access to?


If you want 2d, go with Link to the Past. If you want 3d, go with Windwaker.This is mostly my recommendation, pending which version you would be able to play. If you have a WiiU, I hear there are significant improvements to Wind Waker in the HD remake, but the sea travel/loading times on the GameCube version didn't bother me. While I did like Twilight Princess more, I don't know if I want to recommend it as a first, and the HD remake I hear did not make any change to the rather lengthy opening to the game.

A Link to the Past has the benefit that you could also potentially emulate it, either through Virtual Console or by finding a ROM.

[Maryring]

All of them. :smallbiggrin:

But seriously. OoT set the standard that many subsequent games follow. I don't get those who say it hasn't aged well. I still find it as fun today as I did when I was a little kid who thought that the kokiri forest was the whole game.

[Triaxx]

I'm lucky enough to have a standard def TV to play it on. Trying it on the HD ones is liable to have your eye put out on the jagged edges.

[Yuki Akuma]

OoT Link's nose is almost as spikey as FF7 Cloud's hair.