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Shigeru Miyamoto is a known genius the world over and that is common fact.
He produces epics defining new era's in gaming, new ideas and basically everyone tries to follow suit.
Without him, where on this gaming Earth would we be? Probably no where to be totally honest, his gaming knowledge forever has produced games that have never failed to impress.
Without him, we would have to do without the Blue Dungaree clad Mario. We would have to do without a so-called Alien Killer that is Samus Aran that is part of the epic Metroid series. Without him we would be without many of gaming classics such as Mario Kart and even the infamous Donkey Kong.
And without him, we would not have the greatest series of all time, voted the world over that is: The Legend of Zelda.
Without a doubt this is where Miyamoto's talent shines to the full. A series of games dominated with pure unadulterated quality, every title oozes in playability, when we eventually finish the games we are left for a craving of more of the same, but good things come to those who wait- with the series (Like Mario) spanning anything between 4-5 years for the next instalment.
What I liked most about the Legend of Zelda series was it's similarities to the Lord of the Rings.
The Characters are similar, the locations and even the whole overworld setting. With these games you wanted to travel the map, you where left to explore, you wanted to go that bit further. It demonstrates and fulfils the need for adventure that we find when we delve into a fantasy novel such as the Lord of the Rings, that helps it to remain successful.
Miyamoto himself admitted once that the Zelda games where created with Adventure in mind-to basically bring that excitement to life. He reminded us once back on the development of the Ocarina of Time, that he tried to bring the experience that he had as a child when he explored the Caves around his Japanese home.
The first title that implemented that idea was the Legend of Zelda, back on the trusty old NES. Where it introduced our elfin friend Link to the world.
Naturally the game was a success. I can fondly remember first having that game, with word going about that a few of the Cartridges would be Gold in colour, in the end a few it was indeed! with limited quantities of the title distributed around Europe in the Special edition colour, I however was left with the standard issue –Plain grey!. Nevertheless, like many, I didn't let it get me too down, I remember being sucked into a world not knowing that it would develop into the greatest and most anticipated series of games ever created.
I can remember too, for the first time ever, having a game that saved your progress on Cart! Now back then that was something, it really was the start of an era, never again had we to frustratingly type in passwords!
Again, that's where Miyamoto's genius set in, as the Battery idea was thought up and implemented back at NCL.
Then the series developed further, the first game was a huge money earner for Nintendo. As the release of The 'Adventures of Link: The Legend of Zelda II' was imminent, I made sure I got my Gold copy this time, successfully getting my name down for the thing! This game for some was a mixed affair, side scrolling didn't suit for many people. But for me it was purely the second coming! Absolutely fantastic to say the least, it was much harder to get to grips with and took me at-least 4 Months to master and complete. Thats what was great about it, as for its overall success-I feel it wasn't as successful as the first simply because it was too hard for some, the Side scrolling element was give the thumbs down from a majority of gamers, they wanted something on-line with the first game-(back to the Top-Down birds Eye view), in the end that's what happened, for the next Groundbreaker instalment that was to come, Nintendo listened to it's fans.
Magazines the world over had first pics of the next in the series for the Next Gen Super Nintendo. When I first saw the very first screenshots I was gob-smacked, this game I knew, just by looking at it, was going to cause a storm. Eventually it did, its plot, storyline and dozens of characters- from the Wizard Aaghnim to the Oracle Saharasla- it truly wiped the floor clean to the rival efforts on the Mega Drive. Its graphics where to die for, the Sound was haunting and gripping-and who could ever forget the first five minutes of gameplay when we saw Link lying in bed, only to get up after being wakened by Zelda, going outside to a thunderstorm-seeing the rain lashing down upon the roof tops...and that music! Never before had I seen anything like it, the game basically had me entertained from the word go, it left you in a situation where you had to make your way into the innards of the Castle- all using your own intellect.
Guards barred and blocked you from the entrance, told you to go home to get some sleep, determined- you move away creeping along the side of the castle looking for any hint to getting in, but in the end-with most cases it is something simple.
What was required was to slash at a bush, revealing a gaping tunnel; and in the background we hear the famous Zelda jingle to remind us of the achievement.
The series developed a cult status, In the mean time Non-Nintendo spin-offs emerged, after Nintendo loaned the franchise to Philips for their new fangled CD-i.
Basically the CD-I titles where absolute nonsense, totally moving away from the core of the series and inventing its own style and playability that really- took a turn for the worse.
Then we saw Nintendo release the absolutely fabulous BS-Zelda titles which saw the release only on the Bandai Satellaview add-on for the Japanese Super Famicom. What was required was a special cartridge, whereby you link to a satellite controlled server downloading the game and paying for it in the process. The Zelda titles where the Original Zelda's spruced up (Like Super Mario All-Stars)with the sheen and shine of the Super Nes graphical palette. Sadly the games remained in Japan only- For the rest of the world, we where still enjoying the delights of the SNES title a Link to the Past. Then after that game was done and dusted, with every rupee and reward cleared, there was a tremendous craving for another.
Links awakening on the Gameboy was the next instalment, reminiscent to the SNES effort, but yet that wasn't enough, what many wanted and needed was another TV Console Zelda. 6 Years was the wait... for the Prequel of the series, the greatest game ever made.
Which was of course-The Ocarina of Time.
Never again, even up until now have I played a game that has bettered it. I own many of each consoles greats, but never has any toppled this game from its glory as the Greatest ever created. Goldeneye was hailed a Glorious achievement, but never had it came close to this for pure gripping gameplay. The total 3-D of the title was groundbreaking, auto jumping helped to retain it's RPG elements. The 'Go anywhere' feature wasn't a lie either, if you saw a feature in the distance, a mountain or a tree you could go there. If you where running along at the time, taking ages to get to a place- a tune on the Ocarina was all that was needed to call your Horse Epona, when on her you could gallop, jump over fences and take part in races!
If you grew tired from the quest too, you could have the freedom to even venture back outside of a Dungeon and go fishing, with Mythical Legends of a Mysterious Fish Called the Hyrule Loach to look out for. This game was truly unbelievable, the mix of gameplay, the day-to night feature, the mammoth quest was never seen before in the History of gaming. And even yet has the game in many peoples opinion(Including press the world over) been beaten.
It is only with the next instalment will we probably will see it being toppled with the tremendous advantage of the Gamecubes Power.
In the mean time for the wait, we are left with two GameBoy Colour titles, co-developed by Capcom and Nintendo's Miyamoto.
This Winter we are promised the GC Zelda, Rumours are doing their hot rounds at the moment regarding a reverting to a realistic style, after bombardment from fans across the world who disliked the Cell-Shaded look.
Because of the pressure from Fans, Nintendo know that they need to release the title at the right time along with the appropriate style. That is possibly the reason why we have not seen or heard anything official since the E3 Look, regarding the Next-Gen Zelda. Possibly they had to start from scratch, or maybe the have ignored the pressure and retained the look, which either way- will be guaranteed to be an absolute success whatever the way it turns out. But the very people who criticised are entirely in the wrong, It's the very same people who didn't give Miyamoto that chance to prove his design is for the best, sure the series needed a realistic boost, but at least some(Especially the more vocal) should at least wait and play the game before they shout from the roof tops of how disappointed they are.
Through my experience with the series and with Miyamoto's efforts in general, the Zelda GC won't be a disappointment, you can be sure of that. Even if it retains a Cell Shaded Link.
Want my advice about the idea?
Mark Christmas 2002 in your diaries.
He produces epics defining new era's in gaming, new ideas and basically everyone tries to follow suit.
Without him, where on this gaming Earth would we be? Probably no where to be totally honest, his gaming knowledge forever has produced games that have never failed to impress.
Without him, we would have to do without the Blue Dungaree clad Mario. We would have to do without a so-called Alien Killer that is Samus Aran that is part of the epic Metroid series. Without him we would be without many of gaming classics such as Mario Kart and even the infamous Donkey Kong.
And without him, we would not have the greatest series of all time, voted the world over that is: The Legend of Zelda.
Without a doubt this is where Miyamoto's talent shines to the full. A series of games dominated with pure unadulterated quality, every title oozes in playability, when we eventually finish the games we are left for a craving of more of the same, but good things come to those who wait- with the series (Like Mario) spanning anything between 4-5 years for the next instalment.
What I liked most about the Legend of Zelda series was it's similarities to the Lord of the Rings.
The Characters are similar, the locations and even the whole overworld setting. With these games you wanted to travel the map, you where left to explore, you wanted to go that bit further. It demonstrates and fulfils the need for adventure that we find when we delve into a fantasy novel such as the Lord of the Rings, that helps it to remain successful.
Miyamoto himself admitted once that the Zelda games where created with Adventure in mind-to basically bring that excitement to life. He reminded us once back on the development of the Ocarina of Time, that he tried to bring the experience that he had as a child when he explored the Caves around his Japanese home.
The first title that implemented that idea was the Legend of Zelda, back on the trusty old NES. Where it introduced our elfin friend Link to the world.
Naturally the game was a success. I can fondly remember first having that game, with word going about that a few of the Cartridges would be Gold in colour, in the end a few it was indeed! with limited quantities of the title distributed around Europe in the Special edition colour, I however was left with the standard issue –Plain grey!. Nevertheless, like many, I didn't let it get me too down, I remember being sucked into a world not knowing that it would develop into the greatest and most anticipated series of games ever created.
I can remember too, for the first time ever, having a game that saved your progress on Cart! Now back then that was something, it really was the start of an era, never again had we to frustratingly type in passwords!
Again, that's where Miyamoto's genius set in, as the Battery idea was thought up and implemented back at NCL.
Then the series developed further, the first game was a huge money earner for Nintendo. As the release of The 'Adventures of Link: The Legend of Zelda II' was imminent, I made sure I got my Gold copy this time, successfully getting my name down for the thing! This game for some was a mixed affair, side scrolling didn't suit for many people. But for me it was purely the second coming! Absolutely fantastic to say the least, it was much harder to get to grips with and took me at-least 4 Months to master and complete. Thats what was great about it, as for its overall success-I feel it wasn't as successful as the first simply because it was too hard for some, the Side scrolling element was give the thumbs down from a majority of gamers, they wanted something on-line with the first game-(back to the Top-Down birds Eye view), in the end that's what happened, for the next Groundbreaker instalment that was to come, Nintendo listened to it's fans.
Magazines the world over had first pics of the next in the series for the Next Gen Super Nintendo. When I first saw the very first screenshots I was gob-smacked, this game I knew, just by looking at it, was going to cause a storm. Eventually it did, its plot, storyline and dozens of characters- from the Wizard Aaghnim to the Oracle Saharasla- it truly wiped the floor clean to the rival efforts on the Mega Drive. Its graphics where to die for, the Sound was haunting and gripping-and who could ever forget the first five minutes of gameplay when we saw Link lying in bed, only to get up after being wakened by Zelda, going outside to a thunderstorm-seeing the rain lashing down upon the roof tops...and that music! Never before had I seen anything like it, the game basically had me entertained from the word go, it left you in a situation where you had to make your way into the innards of the Castle- all using your own intellect.
Guards barred and blocked you from the entrance, told you to go home to get some sleep, determined- you move away creeping along the side of the castle looking for any hint to getting in, but in the end-with most cases it is something simple.
What was required was to slash at a bush, revealing a gaping tunnel; and in the background we hear the famous Zelda jingle to remind us of the achievement.
The series developed a cult status, In the mean time Non-Nintendo spin-offs emerged, after Nintendo loaned the franchise to Philips for their new fangled CD-i.
Basically the CD-I titles where absolute nonsense, totally moving away from the core of the series and inventing its own style and playability that really- took a turn for the worse.
Then we saw Nintendo release the absolutely fabulous BS-Zelda titles which saw the release only on the Bandai Satellaview add-on for the Japanese Super Famicom. What was required was a special cartridge, whereby you link to a satellite controlled server downloading the game and paying for it in the process. The Zelda titles where the Original Zelda's spruced up (Like Super Mario All-Stars)with the sheen and shine of the Super Nes graphical palette. Sadly the games remained in Japan only- For the rest of the world, we where still enjoying the delights of the SNES title a Link to the Past. Then after that game was done and dusted, with every rupee and reward cleared, there was a tremendous craving for another.
Links awakening on the Gameboy was the next instalment, reminiscent to the SNES effort, but yet that wasn't enough, what many wanted and needed was another TV Console Zelda. 6 Years was the wait... for the Prequel of the series, the greatest game ever made.
Which was of course-The Ocarina of Time.
Never again, even up until now have I played a game that has bettered it. I own many of each consoles greats, but never has any toppled this game from its glory as the Greatest ever created. Goldeneye was hailed a Glorious achievement, but never had it came close to this for pure gripping gameplay. The total 3-D of the title was groundbreaking, auto jumping helped to retain it's RPG elements. The 'Go anywhere' feature wasn't a lie either, if you saw a feature in the distance, a mountain or a tree you could go there. If you where running along at the time, taking ages to get to a place- a tune on the Ocarina was all that was needed to call your Horse Epona, when on her you could gallop, jump over fences and take part in races!
If you grew tired from the quest too, you could have the freedom to even venture back outside of a Dungeon and go fishing, with Mythical Legends of a Mysterious Fish Called the Hyrule Loach to look out for. This game was truly unbelievable, the mix of gameplay, the day-to night feature, the mammoth quest was never seen before in the History of gaming. And even yet has the game in many peoples opinion(Including press the world over) been beaten.
It is only with the next instalment will we probably will see it being toppled with the tremendous advantage of the Gamecubes Power.
In the mean time for the wait, we are left with two GameBoy Colour titles, co-developed by Capcom and Nintendo's Miyamoto.
This Winter we are promised the GC Zelda, Rumours are doing their hot rounds at the moment regarding a reverting to a realistic style, after bombardment from fans across the world who disliked the Cell-Shaded look.
Because of the pressure from Fans, Nintendo know that they need to release the title at the right time along with the appropriate style. That is possibly the reason why we have not seen or heard anything official since the E3 Look, regarding the Next-Gen Zelda. Possibly they had to start from scratch, or maybe the have ignored the pressure and retained the look, which either way- will be guaranteed to be an absolute success whatever the way it turns out. But the very people who criticised are entirely in the wrong, It's the very same people who didn't give Miyamoto that chance to prove his design is for the best, sure the series needed a realistic boost, but at least some(Especially the more vocal) should at least wait and play the game before they shout from the roof tops of how disappointed they are.
Through my experience with the series and with Miyamoto's efforts in general, the Zelda GC won't be a disappointment, you can be sure of that. Even if it retains a Cell Shaded Link.
Want my advice about the idea?
Mark Christmas 2002 in your diaries.
Res€vilfan wrote:
> *yawn*
You need to like the series to understand. ; )
And as for your Reply-ElBurro- I can only agree with you in certain points, some though I can't.
> *yawn*
You need to like the series to understand. ; )
And as for your Reply-ElBurro- I can only agree with you in certain points, some though I can't.
*yawn*
wow, ok i lot to work through.
1. nes = 1st version, ur wrong blair,
2. lovely thread smeagol, i plessure to read, you basically agree with me bar one point, the vocal audience is not made up for the majority by the people who "never gave shigsi a chance", i gave him all the chance he wanted and more, i have to admit ive enever been dissapointed - through Mario or especially Zelda, oh the SNES one was a beauty, still in my opinion possibly better that Ocarina which was too short, not in hours, but FAR too easy, i never once got stuch or didn't know where to go/what to do, still a pleasure to play - shame about the ending which should have been better to match such a game.
3. ive too noticed the similarites between in and the LOR series, absolutely love the books - read them a few times now - and have experienced the same 'freedom', adventure and enjoyment as i do when playing Zelda.
4. Cel-shaded is only such a let down because of what they showed before it, the original look was the revelation showed between NES and SNES, and SNES and N64, we want the same step, its hard to match but that looked on set to do it, Cel-shaded seems like a step down, a let down, but hey, its Zelda, it will rock and i will buy it - got n64 for it, ill get GC for it now...
Id be interested in your opinion of what ive just said...
1. nes = 1st version, ur wrong blair,
2. lovely thread smeagol, i plessure to read, you basically agree with me bar one point, the vocal audience is not made up for the majority by the people who "never gave shigsi a chance", i gave him all the chance he wanted and more, i have to admit ive enever been dissapointed - through Mario or especially Zelda, oh the SNES one was a beauty, still in my opinion possibly better that Ocarina which was too short, not in hours, but FAR too easy, i never once got stuch or didn't know where to go/what to do, still a pleasure to play - shame about the ending which should have been better to match such a game.
3. ive too noticed the similarites between in and the LOR series, absolutely love the books - read them a few times now - and have experienced the same 'freedom', adventure and enjoyment as i do when playing Zelda.
4. Cel-shaded is only such a let down because of what they showed before it, the original look was the revelation showed between NES and SNES, and SNES and N64, we want the same step, its hard to match but that looked on set to do it, Cel-shaded seems like a step down, a let down, but hey, its Zelda, it will rock and i will buy it - got n64 for it, ill get GC for it now...
Id be interested in your opinion of what ive just said...
Nonsense!
actually zelda on the cdi was the first
Shigeru Miyamoto is a known genius the world over and that is common fact.
He produces epics defining new era's in gaming, new ideas and basically everyone tries to follow suit.
Without him, where on this gaming Earth would we be? Probably no where to be totally honest, his gaming knowledge forever has produced games that have never failed to impress.
Without him, we would have to do without the Blue Dungaree clad Mario. We would have to do without a so-called Alien Killer that is Samus Aran that is part of the epic Metroid series. Without him we would be without many of gaming classics such as Mario Kart and even the infamous Donkey Kong.
And without him, we would not have the greatest series of all time, voted the world over that is: The Legend of Zelda.
Without a doubt this is where Miyamoto's talent shines to the full. A series of games dominated with pure unadulterated quality, every title oozes in playability, when we eventually finish the games we are left for a craving of more of the same, but good things come to those who wait- with the series (Like Mario) spanning anything between 4-5 years for the next instalment.
What I liked most about the Legend of Zelda series was it's similarities to the Lord of the Rings.
The Characters are similar, the locations and even the whole overworld setting. With these games you wanted to travel the map, you where left to explore, you wanted to go that bit further. It demonstrates and fulfils the need for adventure that we find when we delve into a fantasy novel such as the Lord of the Rings, that helps it to remain successful.
Miyamoto himself admitted once that the Zelda games where created with Adventure in mind-to basically bring that excitement to life. He reminded us once back on the development of the Ocarina of Time, that he tried to bring the experience that he had as a child when he explored the Caves around his Japanese home.
The first title that implemented that idea was the Legend of Zelda, back on the trusty old NES. Where it introduced our elfin friend Link to the world.
Naturally the game was a success. I can fondly remember first having that game, with word going about that a few of the Cartridges would be Gold in colour, in the end a few it was indeed! with limited quantities of the title distributed around Europe in the Special edition colour, I however was left with the standard issue –Plain grey!. Nevertheless, like many, I didn't let it get me too down, I remember being sucked into a world not knowing that it would develop into the greatest and most anticipated series of games ever created.
I can remember too, for the first time ever, having a game that saved your progress on Cart! Now back then that was something, it really was the start of an era, never again had we to frustratingly type in passwords!
Again, that's where Miyamoto's genius set in, as the Battery idea was thought up and implemented back at NCL.
Then the series developed further, the first game was a huge money earner for Nintendo. As the release of The 'Adventures of Link: The Legend of Zelda II' was imminent, I made sure I got my Gold copy this time, successfully getting my name down for the thing! This game for some was a mixed affair, side scrolling didn't suit for many people. But for me it was purely the second coming! Absolutely fantastic to say the least, it was much harder to get to grips with and took me at-least 4 Months to master and complete. Thats what was great about it, as for its overall success-I feel it wasn't as successful as the first simply because it was too hard for some, the Side scrolling element was give the thumbs down from a majority of gamers, they wanted something on-line with the first game-(back to the Top-Down birds Eye view), in the end that's what happened, for the next Groundbreaker instalment that was to come, Nintendo listened to it's fans.
Magazines the world over had first pics of the next in the series for the Next Gen Super Nintendo. When I first saw the very first screenshots I was gob-smacked, this game I knew, just by looking at it, was going to cause a storm. Eventually it did, its plot, storyline and dozens of characters- from the Wizard Aaghnim to the Oracle Saharasla- it truly wiped the floor clean to the rival efforts on the Mega Drive. Its graphics where to die for, the Sound was haunting and gripping-and who could ever forget the first five minutes of gameplay when we saw Link lying in bed, only to get up after being wakened by Zelda, going outside to a thunderstorm-seeing the rain lashing down upon the roof tops...and that music! Never before had I seen anything like it, the game basically had me entertained from the word go, it left you in a situation where you had to make your way into the innards of the Castle- all using your own intellect.
Guards barred and blocked you from the entrance, told you to go home to get some sleep, determined- you move away creeping along the side of the castle looking for any hint to getting in, but in the end-with most cases it is something simple.
What was required was to slash at a bush, revealing a gaping tunnel; and in the background we hear the famous Zelda jingle to remind us of the achievement.
The series developed a cult status, In the mean time Non-Nintendo spin-offs emerged, after Nintendo loaned the franchise to Philips for their new fangled CD-i.
Basically the CD-I titles where absolute nonsense, totally moving away from the core of the series and inventing its own style and playability that really- took a turn for the worse.
Then we saw Nintendo release the absolutely fabulous BS-Zelda titles which saw the release only on the Bandai Satellaview add-on for the Japanese Super Famicom. What was required was a special cartridge, whereby you link to a satellite controlled server downloading the game and paying for it in the process. The Zelda titles where the Original Zelda's spruced up (Like Super Mario All-Stars)with the sheen and shine of the Super Nes graphical palette. Sadly the games remained in Japan only- For the rest of the world, we where still enjoying the delights of the SNES title a Link to the Past. Then after that game was done and dusted, with every rupee and reward cleared, there was a tremendous craving for another.
Links awakening on the Gameboy was the next instalment, reminiscent to the SNES effort, but yet that wasn't enough, what many wanted and needed was another TV Console Zelda. 6 Years was the wait... for the Prequel of the series, the greatest game ever made.
Which was of course-The Ocarina of Time.
Never again, even up until now have I played a game that has bettered it. I own many of each consoles greats, but never has any toppled this game from its glory as the Greatest ever created. Goldeneye was hailed a Glorious achievement, but never had it came close to this for pure gripping gameplay. The total 3-D of the title was groundbreaking, auto jumping helped to retain it's RPG elements. The 'Go anywhere' feature wasn't a lie either, if you saw a feature in the distance, a mountain or a tree you could go there. If you where running along at the time, taking ages to get to a place- a tune on the Ocarina was all that was needed to call your Horse Epona, when on her you could gallop, jump over fences and take part in races!
If you grew tired from the quest too, you could have the freedom to even venture back outside of a Dungeon and go fishing, with Mythical Legends of a Mysterious Fish Called the Hyrule Loach to look out for. This game was truly unbelievable, the mix of gameplay, the day-to night feature, the mammoth quest was never seen before in the History of gaming. And even yet has the game in many peoples opinion(Including press the world over) been beaten.
It is only with the next instalment will we probably will see it being toppled with the tremendous advantage of the Gamecubes Power.
In the mean time for the wait, we are left with two GameBoy Colour titles, co-developed by Capcom and Nintendo's Miyamoto.
This Winter we are promised the GC Zelda, Rumours are doing their hot rounds at the moment regarding a reverting to a realistic style, after bombardment from fans across the world who disliked the Cell-Shaded look.
Because of the pressure from Fans, Nintendo know that they need to release the title at the right time along with the appropriate style. That is possibly the reason why we have not seen or heard anything official since the E3 Look, regarding the Next-Gen Zelda. Possibly they had to start from scratch, or maybe the have ignored the pressure and retained the look, which either way- will be guaranteed to be an absolute success whatever the way it turns out. But the very people who criticised are entirely in the wrong, It's the very same people who didn't give Miyamoto that chance to prove his design is for the best, sure the series needed a realistic boost, but at least some(Especially the more vocal) should at least wait and play the game before they shout from the roof tops of how disappointed they are.
Through my experience with the series and with Miyamoto's efforts in general, the Zelda GC won't be a disappointment, you can be sure of that. Even if it retains a Cell Shaded Link.
Want my advice about the idea?
Mark Christmas 2002 in your diaries.
He produces epics defining new era's in gaming, new ideas and basically everyone tries to follow suit.
Without him, where on this gaming Earth would we be? Probably no where to be totally honest, his gaming knowledge forever has produced games that have never failed to impress.
Without him, we would have to do without the Blue Dungaree clad Mario. We would have to do without a so-called Alien Killer that is Samus Aran that is part of the epic Metroid series. Without him we would be without many of gaming classics such as Mario Kart and even the infamous Donkey Kong.
And without him, we would not have the greatest series of all time, voted the world over that is: The Legend of Zelda.
Without a doubt this is where Miyamoto's talent shines to the full. A series of games dominated with pure unadulterated quality, every title oozes in playability, when we eventually finish the games we are left for a craving of more of the same, but good things come to those who wait- with the series (Like Mario) spanning anything between 4-5 years for the next instalment.
What I liked most about the Legend of Zelda series was it's similarities to the Lord of the Rings.
The Characters are similar, the locations and even the whole overworld setting. With these games you wanted to travel the map, you where left to explore, you wanted to go that bit further. It demonstrates and fulfils the need for adventure that we find when we delve into a fantasy novel such as the Lord of the Rings, that helps it to remain successful.
Miyamoto himself admitted once that the Zelda games where created with Adventure in mind-to basically bring that excitement to life. He reminded us once back on the development of the Ocarina of Time, that he tried to bring the experience that he had as a child when he explored the Caves around his Japanese home.
The first title that implemented that idea was the Legend of Zelda, back on the trusty old NES. Where it introduced our elfin friend Link to the world.
Naturally the game was a success. I can fondly remember first having that game, with word going about that a few of the Cartridges would be Gold in colour, in the end a few it was indeed! with limited quantities of the title distributed around Europe in the Special edition colour, I however was left with the standard issue –Plain grey!. Nevertheless, like many, I didn't let it get me too down, I remember being sucked into a world not knowing that it would develop into the greatest and most anticipated series of games ever created.
I can remember too, for the first time ever, having a game that saved your progress on Cart! Now back then that was something, it really was the start of an era, never again had we to frustratingly type in passwords!
Again, that's where Miyamoto's genius set in, as the Battery idea was thought up and implemented back at NCL.
Then the series developed further, the first game was a huge money earner for Nintendo. As the release of The 'Adventures of Link: The Legend of Zelda II' was imminent, I made sure I got my Gold copy this time, successfully getting my name down for the thing! This game for some was a mixed affair, side scrolling didn't suit for many people. But for me it was purely the second coming! Absolutely fantastic to say the least, it was much harder to get to grips with and took me at-least 4 Months to master and complete. Thats what was great about it, as for its overall success-I feel it wasn't as successful as the first simply because it was too hard for some, the Side scrolling element was give the thumbs down from a majority of gamers, they wanted something on-line with the first game-(back to the Top-Down birds Eye view), in the end that's what happened, for the next Groundbreaker instalment that was to come, Nintendo listened to it's fans.
Magazines the world over had first pics of the next in the series for the Next Gen Super Nintendo. When I first saw the very first screenshots I was gob-smacked, this game I knew, just by looking at it, was going to cause a storm. Eventually it did, its plot, storyline and dozens of characters- from the Wizard Aaghnim to the Oracle Saharasla- it truly wiped the floor clean to the rival efforts on the Mega Drive. Its graphics where to die for, the Sound was haunting and gripping-and who could ever forget the first five minutes of gameplay when we saw Link lying in bed, only to get up after being wakened by Zelda, going outside to a thunderstorm-seeing the rain lashing down upon the roof tops...and that music! Never before had I seen anything like it, the game basically had me entertained from the word go, it left you in a situation where you had to make your way into the innards of the Castle- all using your own intellect.
Guards barred and blocked you from the entrance, told you to go home to get some sleep, determined- you move away creeping along the side of the castle looking for any hint to getting in, but in the end-with most cases it is something simple.
What was required was to slash at a bush, revealing a gaping tunnel; and in the background we hear the famous Zelda jingle to remind us of the achievement.
The series developed a cult status, In the mean time Non-Nintendo spin-offs emerged, after Nintendo loaned the franchise to Philips for their new fangled CD-i.
Basically the CD-I titles where absolute nonsense, totally moving away from the core of the series and inventing its own style and playability that really- took a turn for the worse.
Then we saw Nintendo release the absolutely fabulous BS-Zelda titles which saw the release only on the Bandai Satellaview add-on for the Japanese Super Famicom. What was required was a special cartridge, whereby you link to a satellite controlled server downloading the game and paying for it in the process. The Zelda titles where the Original Zelda's spruced up (Like Super Mario All-Stars)with the sheen and shine of the Super Nes graphical palette. Sadly the games remained in Japan only- For the rest of the world, we where still enjoying the delights of the SNES title a Link to the Past. Then after that game was done and dusted, with every rupee and reward cleared, there was a tremendous craving for another.
Links awakening on the Gameboy was the next instalment, reminiscent to the SNES effort, but yet that wasn't enough, what many wanted and needed was another TV Console Zelda. 6 Years was the wait... for the Prequel of the series, the greatest game ever made.
Which was of course-The Ocarina of Time.
Never again, even up until now have I played a game that has bettered it. I own many of each consoles greats, but never has any toppled this game from its glory as the Greatest ever created. Goldeneye was hailed a Glorious achievement, but never had it came close to this for pure gripping gameplay. The total 3-D of the title was groundbreaking, auto jumping helped to retain it's RPG elements. The 'Go anywhere' feature wasn't a lie either, if you saw a feature in the distance, a mountain or a tree you could go there. If you where running along at the time, taking ages to get to a place- a tune on the Ocarina was all that was needed to call your Horse Epona, when on her you could gallop, jump over fences and take part in races!
If you grew tired from the quest too, you could have the freedom to even venture back outside of a Dungeon and go fishing, with Mythical Legends of a Mysterious Fish Called the Hyrule Loach to look out for. This game was truly unbelievable, the mix of gameplay, the day-to night feature, the mammoth quest was never seen before in the History of gaming. And even yet has the game in many peoples opinion(Including press the world over) been beaten.
It is only with the next instalment will we probably will see it being toppled with the tremendous advantage of the Gamecubes Power.
In the mean time for the wait, we are left with two GameBoy Colour titles, co-developed by Capcom and Nintendo's Miyamoto.
This Winter we are promised the GC Zelda, Rumours are doing their hot rounds at the moment regarding a reverting to a realistic style, after bombardment from fans across the world who disliked the Cell-Shaded look.
Because of the pressure from Fans, Nintendo know that they need to release the title at the right time along with the appropriate style. That is possibly the reason why we have not seen or heard anything official since the E3 Look, regarding the Next-Gen Zelda. Possibly they had to start from scratch, or maybe the have ignored the pressure and retained the look, which either way- will be guaranteed to be an absolute success whatever the way it turns out. But the very people who criticised are entirely in the wrong, It's the very same people who didn't give Miyamoto that chance to prove his design is for the best, sure the series needed a realistic boost, but at least some(Especially the more vocal) should at least wait and play the game before they shout from the roof tops of how disappointed they are.
Through my experience with the series and with Miyamoto's efforts in general, the Zelda GC won't be a disappointment, you can be sure of that. Even if it retains a Cell Shaded Link.
Want my advice about the idea?
Mark Christmas 2002 in your diaries.