The Official "Best Game of the Series" Thread.

[GMK12]

Ok. I have set this thread up as a comparison of each game of their respective series to be compared, not only by hardware of course, but by cultural impact, staying power, revolution at the time etc. First order of buisness, since I cant decide whether which game to get in the virtual console, and only have money for ONE Zelda game, which is the best of the series? Here are the choices...

The Legend of Zelda NES
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past SNES
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64

To expand the choices from just my plight I'll add these two,

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker GCN
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Wii

If you can, you can also rank them, so that might help me get and order in which to buy the three games above from the Virtual Console.

[rodanguirus]

I have not played Wind Waker.

4) Legend of Zelda
3) Twilight Princess
2) Ocarina of Time
1) Link to the Past

Please note, that as I have recently discussed with some friends of mine, Zelda is one of the hardest series for me to "rank". If I thought it over, that list would probably shuffle around a bit. They are all some of my favorite games that I have ever played. I currently own all four, and I recommend you do the same. If you cannot, LttP and OoT seem most representative of the 2-D and 3-D titles, respectively. If you want challenge and don't want your "hand held" to any extent however (and I mean, there's not even a visible clue that walls can be bombed), the original is your game.

[GMK12]

So you think LttP is better than OoT? If so please give reasons why. Cause I am ordering them now...

[Cole Deschain]

Of the games I've played... Ocarina of Time wins, hands-down. Awesome, awesome game.

[GMK12]

Which games of the series DID you play might I ask Mr. Deschain?

[rodanguirus]

Reasons for LttP over Oot?

Difficulty: LttP has tougher enemies, and you can't simply hold Z to block virtually all assaults.

Bosses: OoT's bosses follow a specific formula: use the item found in the dungeon to cripple it and make it helpless, then slash the heck out of it with your sword when it can't fight back. LttP's will sometimes use items found much earlier in the game. For instance, take LttP's first "Dark World Dungeon" boss: you can use that dungeon's main item to weaken it, but you can alternatively use bombs. Once you've exposed its weakpoint, you can use either sword or arrows, and the boss never stops trying to kill you.

It made the formula: The layout of the games are virtually the same.

Again, like I said, ranking these games was extremely difficult, and OoT is a superb game that I would not advise anyone to pass up. It really comes down to whether you prefer 3-D or 2-D.

[Seer235]

I gotta agree with Rodanguirus. OoT was a great game, but LttP pretty much defined the Legend of Zelda series. In fact, OoT followed almost perfectly the formula LttP set up (three pendants/stones, get master sword, gain access to world ruled by Ganondorf, the set of real dungeons). Also, like Rodanguirus said, the bosses weren't as predictable. For example, the boss of Turtle Rock required the ice and fire rods to defeat instead of the dungeon item, the mirror shield. Plus, you got armor in that game. And the fairies only restory 7 hearts. Full heart fairies are for pansies.

[GMK12]

Okay, thank you for your help. Now rank the following of the... MARIO series!

Super Mario Bros. NES
Super Mario World SNES
Super Mario 64 N64
Super Mario SunShine GCN
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island SNES
Super Mario Bros. 3 NES

[rodanguirus]

Now, this is much easier.

6) SMB
5) SMS
4) SM64
3) SMW
2) SMB3
1) Yoshi's Island

My reasoning for that entire list could take a while, so I'll hold off on that until/unless you have a specific quibble about my choices.

[Cole Deschain]

WHoa there.... Yoshi's Island better than Mario 3?

I've GOTTA hear the excuse for this.

Because MArio 3 remains m favorite of all time.

ALthough Mario 64 was quite good too.....

[PyrasTerran]

I agree with Yoshi's Island being better.

Mario 3 had a very simple formula: Get to the end. And while, like every mario game, you could deviate every so often for secret rooms and paths to new worlds, the levels weren't as immersive as they were in Yoshi's Island.

I remember spending hours on the game just fooling around in the various worlds and levels, playing with the monkeys(as well as feeding them to the fish), sparring with the karate shy guys, $%&#ing around with Poochie, forcing them batting shy guys to strike out, going back to boss battles, and fooling around with things that had absolutely nothing to do with getting to the end of the level.

Yoshi's Island's levels made me WANT to play them again and again and again. No other game before it made me want to go back to a level unless I wanted to get a power-up or a Yoshi. A formula which was taken to the next level in Mario 64.

[GMK12]

I agree with Pyras. I also think that Yoshi's island was the best, not just for Pyras's reason, but the art direction. I think the crayon and felt tip pen art is the best art direction in the series so far.

[rodanguirus]

Well, Pyras covered a lot of my reasons. The "personality" that so many of the enemies carry is a major part of it (I love the Shy Guys that hang out on the ceiling, passing around a stick of dynamite to try to drop on Yoshi. If you ground pound, it causes them to drop it. The one who drops it looks down, depressed, while the others shake their head in shame. And who could forget Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy?). Pyras gave passing mention to the bosses, which are a key point of the game to me. I love the Koopalings as much as the next nostalgic Mario fan, but in SMB3 especially, the battles with them were kinda repetitive. The Yoshi's Island bosses are not particularly difficult, but they're fun, they give some classic Mario enemies some limelight, and they often have interesting methods for victory (battling a frog from within its stomach?)

Also, in comparison to every other Mario sidescroller, Yoshi's Island's stages are big, and as Pyras said, very immersive. I've collected everything in every level years ago, yet I still occasionally boot up the SNES to plow through some levels (I'll do the same for SMB3 on occasion, though). Don't get me wrong, I was playing and loving SMB3 before I knew who Yoshi was, but Yoshi's Island is a masterpiece.

[Cole Deschain]

Don't get me wrong, I was playing and loving SMB3 before I knew who Yoshi was


That's not hard, since it predates Yoshi's debut. ;)

And where you guys see impressive art and personality, I see muddying the waters.

SMB3 isn't like some Final Fantasy or GTA game.

It's just an incredibly amusing way to kill some time while you're waiting to do something else.
I don;t play Mario games for all-consuming gaming. I play them to while away an hour or two.

If you want "immersion," there are better franchises to go for.

Legend of Zelda, for one.

[GMK12]

Speaking about boss battles, I LOVE the GIGANTIC bowser fight in the end, and who could forget Raphael the Raven? A battle on a rotating moon? Come on! Thats just GREAT!

[Kaiju_Sensai]

1. Mario 3
2. Mario 64
3. Mario World
4. Super Mario