The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - now in stop-motion!

OoT was pretty linear too. So were TP, WW, and MC. Zeldas being linear is not a problem I have. Not that Jas has said it's a problem, of course!

This, and everything else, has incidentally been put on hold while I play another game starring a hero in green. And then another game where you can catch fairies in small containers.

Jimbob wrote:

The_Jaster wrote:

I've done the first two dungeons on this and tbh was a little shocked with how linear it all is, also did the owl tell you where to go all the time in the original? As I honestly don't remember him doing that.

I think he did - the text might be a bit clearer, but I'd have to say that the original was quite straight-forward.

Aye that's probably it & me remembering it all wrong even though I only played it for the first time 5+ years ago.

Balladeer wrote:

OoT was pretty linear too.  So were TP, WW, and MC.  Zeldas being linear is not a problem I have.  Not that Jas has said it's a problem, of course!

This, and everything else, has incidentally been put on hold while I play another game starring a hero in green.  And then another game where you can catch fairies in small containers.

True and yeah it isn't a problem plus maybe there's a bit of space for some exploration later on and I'm just too early in the game right now. Also dropped this for LM3 at the minute as well.

I finished the seventh dungeon. It was a bit of a slog, but I think it was just me to be honest. Lots of lateral thinking and I just wasn't awake enough this morning.

Anyway, on to the ending. I'm surprised how much forewarning I'm getting for the ending. I already knew it, of course, but I kind of figured it was going to be a big shock surprise. As is, i kind of feel like the monsters are the good guys here. . .

I prefer it being a gradual, signposted reveal to a "twist", I think it works better as it isn't relying on that shock factor.

The thing with the monsters is that they don't just want to preserve things as is, the longer they are left the more they will infest the island and the worse things will become.

Buskalilly wrote:

I finished the seventh dungeon. It was a bit of a slog, but I think it was just me to be honest. Lots of lateral thinking and I just wasn't awake enough this morning.

Bit late, but: I used a guide for dungeon seven. And for bits of dungeon five, after the mini-boss and layout irked me no end. It's odd: five and seven have been slogs, six and eight have been perfectly fine.

The game really really really needs a way of showing which staircases link up on the map. Still, home stretch now.

I'm in the middle of dungeon four. 

I've given 2D Zelda lots of chances over the last twenty years, like with the original Game Boy Link's Awakening, Link To The Past on GBA/Wii/Wii U and Minish Cap on 3DS. This Switch version Link's Awakening is reminding me why I never stuck those out: very honestly, this is boring the arse off of me. As good as it looks and sounds, nothing about the gameplay, map or dungeons is exciting me in the slightest. I was trying to get further into it the other night, but suddenly I just thought 'bollocks to this' and I loaded up The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship instead. 

I've not traded in too many Switch games, but I think this is destined for the Didn't Finish thread and to go back to the shop. 

On the one hand, I kind of agree. On the other, I wouldn't tar all of those games with the same brush. Maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but I remember Minish Cap's map unfolding in a nice way, and the dungeons being interesting and well-designed, especially some of the bosses. ALBW, my favourite 2D Zelda, had very interesting dungeons due to the implementation of the hieroglyphing mechanic. Meanwhile LttP's dungeons were dull unflagged slogs that I'm sure I only made it through with the help of NGC's Double Game Guide + or whatever they were calling them at the time. In my opinion, LA's dungeons sit in the middle, but sadly closer to the LttP end of things.

Then again, LA's joining Xenoblade 2 in the 'Cappa trade-ins' club, so it's in very lofty company.

I should probably trade in my copy in as well, just browsing GAME to see what would be a good exchange first though.

You are all monsters. Monsters

You know what - that's fair (about the dungeon's being a slog-like, not about monsters - sorry Mr Rakoon!) The LA dungeons do suffer a bit from their GameBoy limitation roots, and actually, although I love A Link to the Past, the overworld is what's so great about that game.

OrangeRakoon wrote:

You are all monsters. Monsters

Yep now they'll be saying BotW is good, madness I say

Hey, I loved the original and depending on the day you ask me it's either that or Minish Cap as my favourite 2D Zelda game but I just found returning to that old Zelda formula boring after getting my hands on something like BotW. Plus when you don't have the urge to return to a game after 3 or 4+ months something is up.

I find the ALTTP overworld way worse than LA. I could write a lot about it, but to summarise:

- LA has a progressive, metroidvania design to exploring the map, with new items opening up new areas. The majority of ALTTP's map is explorable from almost the beginning of the game.
- LA starts you in a corner, so the the furthest reaches of the island feel distant. ALTTP starts you in the middle so everything is close by, and without the justification of a central hub like in (for example) Majora's Mask.
- LA has interesting and fun characters to find living across the island. ALTTP has... mostly old men selling things in caves.
- LA has a second settlement in Animal Village! ALTTP... doesn't.
- LA (remake) has better fast travel options.

LA has better dungeons too - especially when it comes to quality of life. Mid dungeon warps and the compass are just objectively good QOL improvements.

If you're after something with "progressive, metroidvania design", "interesting and fun characters" and "better fast travel options", then The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship is the game for you 

OrangeRakoon wrote:

I find the ALTTP overworld way worse than LA. I could write a lot about it, but to summarise:

I agree with all of this (although you are damning the dungeons with faint praise there). Jimbob, what do you like about LttP's Hyrule that I'm not seeing? Is it the interplay with the Dark World?

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

If you're after something with "progressive, metroidvania design", "interesting and fun characters" and "better fast travel options", then The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship is the game for you 

Thanks, I'll check it out!

OrangeRakoon wrote:

- LA has a progressive, metroidvania design to exploring the map, with new items opening up new areas. The majority of ALTTP's map is explorable from almost the beginning of the game.

Honestly, I find the latter style works better for Zelda. It's a large part of why BotW was such a magical experience for me because it allowed the player total freedom to do whatever they wanted. I'm not saying there's not a place for the former style of Zelda, but I get a lot more out of being able to roam the entire map to my heart's content from the start of the journey with only dungeons and special areas hidden until I'm ready for them.

BOTW's freedom is amazing, but the game is designed for it. ALBW does ALTTP's map a lot better because it has the item shop as a central point you return to and you can tackle the dungeons in any order. I like both approaches but I would say ALTTP is stuck between them (unintentionally) and suffers for it.

I'm with OR, for the most part. I think that for me to enjoy the more exploration-focussed type of Zelda, it needs to have an overworld that's fun to explore. BotW did: LttP didn't, unless Jimbob tells me something that turns my view on my head. None of the 2D Zeldas have really, because I haven't been sucked into the atmosphere in the same way. LA certainly didn't have that.

I do think there's room for the second type of Zelda. BotW may be my favourite game ever, but I really would like to see not every 3D game now go down the BotW 'go anywhere from almost the start' route.

Hope so, as it isn't as much about my dislike of BotW it's more because how well it's been received both critically and commercially that will we get more of that type of Zelda game then what we got with a Link's Awakening.

Aye, much though I love BotW I do get that. It's exactly how I felt about the SMG games: they're great, but they weren't really what I wanted, and everybody else adored them so I assumed that was the future of the franchise.

I think it was the sense of mystery, that you could see a lot of places you could almost get to, and that e.g. new items opened up several avenues. Links' Awakening's progression is very linear.

Ah, I see. I just found that annoying. 'I can go here! Wait, no I can't because there's a rock but unlike the other rocks it's black and green so it'll have to wait until some undisclosed future time.' That's why I prefer the Metroidvania style, and if there is an open world they either need to specify the required items (the ALBW approach) or not gate progress based on items at all (the BotW approach).

Feels good to agree with balla on something

What I like about progress gates in Link's Awakening is that you know once you get the item, there is a whole new area to discover. In ALTTP you[ve already done the exploring, you're just going back to pick up specific rocks to find secrets. I find that much less rewarding.