Fantasy Talk: My Legend of Zelda Rankings

 Hi everyone!
I've always been a fan of fantasy and adventure in all forms of media- whether in books, movies, music, and yes, video games. Disclaimer: I'm not a hard core gamer, but there is one franchise that I hold near and dear to my heart: The Legend of Zelda. Why this topic and why now? Well, the Legend of Zelda is my muse. It has become the cornerstone of all my inspirations, including my future novel, "The Aeonians" [set to be published late 2017].
My love for it all started with Ocarina of Time, when my cousin would play it, and I would watch on in wonder. Then, when I got my own N64, I immediately ventured to the nearest GameStop to buy it.
From then on, I followed the franchise- mostly the 3D console games. Now that I have waded deep into the weeds of Breath of the Wild, I wanted to take a step back and look at all the 3D console Zelda games I had played. So, due to my infinite love for The Legend of Zelda, here are my personal rankings of the 6 console 3D Zelda games: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild. The listing will be based off of numerous factors from playability, themes, boss fights, dungeons, storyline etc.
**PLEASE NOTE. THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION. EVERYONE'S LIST WILL BE DIFFERENT, SO BE KIND** Also, potential spoilers**

(6) MAJORA'S MASK
I know I'll catch a lot of heat on this one. But let me defend myself: I love ALL these games, but I just enjoyed the other ones slightly better. Pros? The plethora of side quests and music. That eerie melody on the third day still haunts me. In fact, when I work, I listen to Legend of Zelda soundtracks, and Majora's Mask is one I play often. However, this game had only four dungeons and the four bosses weren't that impressive to me...especially ...Gyorg? I had to Google that to remind me of the spelling. It's a big fish. That's it. Though I can't deny fighting Goht in the Snowhead Temple was epic. Also, while some find it fun, I was NOT a fan of the three day countdown. There was always an invisible pressure bearing down on me like a Goron on my back. Again, not a bad game, I had a lot of frustrating moments and it falls just short of the next one...

(5) SKYWARD SWORD
Ah, the "origin story". The storyline is both a hit and miss for me. I loved the concept of knowing what started the Ganon cycle, but other than that- the Link chasing after Zelda didn't wow me. It has a little bit of a love theme woven into it, which I would normally love, but it wasn't something...novel. The game controls weren't the best and the game-play was extremely linear (Though you may hear me contradict myself with this comment later). The theme of flying in the sky with a Loftwing was cool--- but there wasn't  much in Skyloft. I think there was so much opportunity to expand the exploration factor. Oh, and Fi? Not my favorite side-kick, although the end of the game had me in tears. Her music theme was my favorite. The dungeons were "ok" in my book, although what won my heart in this game was: Ghirahim (I love that freak), the concept of the Timeshift stone, and the badass boss: Koloktos. This boss was challenging, and the ability to rip his metallic limbs off, grabbing his giant sword and going ballistic on it was SO satisfying. Overall, great game, although along with MM, I don't find the replay value as great. I would've considered placing it higher on my list if the game didn't make me fight the Imprisoned 3 times....

(4) TWILIGHT PRINCESS
Okay, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way: the large and very empty overworld. There really wasn't much to do in this version of Hyrule. Also, most would agree the amount of backtracking was a real pain. But with that out of the way, there were some extremely redeeming factors (again, only in my opinion). The dungeons were winners for me, especially the Temple of Time, SnowPeak Ruins, Arbiter's Grounds, and the Lakebed Temple--YES, I said it, a water-based dungeon, blasphemy! Which leads to my next favorite thing: the bosses. Well, most of them. Who could forget Stalord, Blizzeta, and Argorok? The bosses were made to impress. Even Fyrus, whose theme and presence was intense, even though the battle was pretty easy. Midna was one of my favorite guides. And while many fans are divided on Zant and Ganondorf's role; I personally liked it. Wasn't expecting Zant to be nutty at the end, but the story made sense. Finally, the overall dark theme and realism was a home run for me. And this adult Link happens to be one of my favorite versions of Link <3

(3) WIND WAKER
I'll admit it- of all the games listed here, the Wind Waker was one of the last ones I played. I avoided it at first because of the cell-shade graphics and seemingly childish game-play- but boy was I wrong! As I played it, I actually grew to like the graphic style and appreciated the animated faces Link could make. The soundtrack is fun, and the open concept of sailing through the ocean was wicked cool. The storyline is refreshing, I loved this version of Ganondorf, and the bosses/mini-bosses were fun (Helmaroc King, anyone?). There were some aspects that were a little grating, most notably finding the Triforce shards, but I really had a hard time coming up with criticisms for this game.

(2)...... OCARINA OF TIME
YES. Ever since I purchased Breath of the Wild, I've held an internal struggle between the nostalgia of Ocarina of Time and the completely redesigned Breath of the Wild. While I prefer to make it a tie, it wouldn't make much of a countdown, wouldn't it? First of all, let me state there is little to NONE of anything I disliked about this game. Hm. Wait. Yup, none. HOLD ON-- just one. The Water Temple. Come on, you can agree with me on this one. THAT ONE DAMN KEY....
Now that I shook off the terrible memories of that, let me tell you all that what makes OOT one of the best games of all time. The storyline: from your friendship with Saria to discovering Sheik's real identity. The vast sense of adventure when you first step onto Hyrule field. The concept of the Ocarina and the different melodies you learn. (Koji Kondo, you are a musical mastermind). The dungeons (again, except the Water Temple). My personal favorite being the Spirit Temple. Most of the bosses, namely Bongo Bongo and Twinrova. Finally, the concept of "growing up". There is just something amazing about pulling the Master Sword from its pedestal and waking up grown and ready to tackle some serious business. I also have a slight bias because it holds a lot of nostalgia. It captures the true essence of my childhood and the inspiration for a lot of writing that I do (hence putting this in my writer's blog).

(1) BREATH OF THE WILD
Once again, it's essentially a tie because both OOT and BOTW are mammoth home runs- just in different decades. Breath of the Wild stole my ...well, breath, when the trailer came out. I can't tell you how many times I watched the damn thing. So, what makes Breath of the Wild so special to me? The WORLD. It's massive. I've been playing it since its release and I'm still discovering new places. There is so much detail put into it, ranging from the wildlife to the weather. I can tame wild horses! And it's realistic too. While I grind my teeth when I try to climb and it starts to rain, I love this version of Hyrule. It almost combines traditional Zelda to exploratory games such as Oregon Trail (Bad example, and now I'm SERIOUSLY dating myself). THE CHANGE-UP. Meaning, there are only 4 "temples" but 120 "mini temples", also known as shrines. The puzzles are fun--consisting of more than block puzzles (YAY!) and increasing your hearts and stamina from completing them is extremely rewarding. THE COOKING. Yes, I LOVE to throw random stuff in a pot, listening to the kooky yet catchy music, and making my own culinary master piece. THE MEMORIES. I loved watching the cinematics, and while some have differing opinions, the use of voice actors didn't bother me at all. THE SOUNDTRACK. Not sure if they will come out with an official one, but it's my most played LoZ soundtrack (via Youtube) next to OOT. THE STRATEGY. This game makes you use your brain. A lot. You start off incredibly vulnerable- like, one hit by a measly bokoblin would kill you. I died so many times at the beginning. Once I got stronger, and with the help of Mipha's grace, I was able to tackle the fun overworld bosses like Stone Talus and the feared Lynel. The frustrations? Well, I actually miss having a side kick, but that's minor. While the idea of weapons and shields breaking makes sense, it has caused me plenty of frustration. I also miss the variety of dungeons and bosses. Everything was a "XYZ-blight Gannon". That was one of the few major let downs for me. And while the "hugeness" of the game is what really catapulted it into the spotlight, finding 900 korok seeds was intimidating, and after I completed all shrines, 4 divine beasts, beat Gannon, accomplished a good handful of side quests...I am currently at 34% completion!!!! It's still up in the air for me on whether that's a good or bad thing, but I'm wondering about the replay value as compared to OOT.

And there it is. My list. Again, please respect that this is just my humble opinion. The whole Zelda franchise has been quite successful, and I never found myself sorely disappointed by anything. I would love to hear what your list looks like, especially since the release of Breath of the Wild!

This had been a lot of fun geeking out- so stay tuned for more :)

Also, side note, I went to an orchestra dedicated to Legend of Zelda! I never heard of such a thing until I saw it randomly on a Youtube comment. I THINK this year will feature BOTW as well.
Here is the link for more info. You're welcome.
----->   https://zelda-symphony.com/ <-----

Peace!
J.E.