Board 8 > Anagram Ranks Anything Legend of Zelda-related with Full Write-Ups (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

BOTW Champion's tunic

1/2 Magic Meter

Ocarinas

MacArrowny posted...

1/2 Magic Meter

What does this mean?

smh not knowing about the most infamous LttP power up

http://wiki.zeldalegends.net/index.php?title=1/2_Magic

Toon Link

Magic Hammer

Series fighter choices in Smash Bros. Ultimate

Din in Age of Seasons

I Coveted That Wind
Link (Soul Calibur II)
Fierce Deity Link
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: It's this or OoT for best game in the series, at least until I get to TotK. It's the first game since MM that just did everything right, or at least almost everything. The dungeons are a little lame, and there are no moments in the game that feel super significant, like your quest has taken a new and important turn, but... who cares? The game nails everything else. Everyone talks about this, but how you just wake up, leave a cave, and your objective is to travel to a place, and you're given no instructions about how to get there, is genius. It's just such a bold direction for a series that gets so easily mired in its own traditions, even moreso than Mario or Pokemon. The idea that they just made an open world Zelda game, and that's it, no other tricks or gimmicks or addendums, just do whatever you want whenever you want, is such a good idea. And the physics of the gameplay! Being able to solve puzzles by just farting around with objects is so cool, it feels utterly unlike all Zelda games before, where you always had to figure out what the developers intended for you to do and then follow the plan. Everything about this game just feels so ****ing fresh, and it probably wouldn't have if I played more open world games, but I don't, so it all felt fresh to me. There are even a few moments in the game that feel magical, like when you climb up a big mountain and see a dragon for the first time. Sure, it's annoying every subsequent time, when you're just there to farm scales, but still. The idea that the developers were like "we'll let you solve any problem your own way," and then actually did, is so impressive to me. You know that island where you lose your equipment? I didn't know you were supposed to use a raft to reach it. I stood on top of crag, jumped off, and then just spammed stamina potions to keep gliding until I reached it. There is no other Zelda game, and few other games period, that would have let me do that. I'm so impressed by this game, and my understanding is that TotK is even better. The reason I have OoT over it, though, is that I can more easily imagine myself replaying OoT than BotW. Arbitrary, but there you go.
Paraglider
Zelda/Sheik in Smash
Ocarina (Instrument): You're the writer for a fantasy game, and your main character needs an instrument. It needs to be small and mobile. Do you choose the harp? The flute? The cello? Wait, there was a game where you collect a ****ing organ? Anyway, the ocarina is such a good choice. It's a real instrument, but it looks like a fake fantasy one, and it has that slight air of elegance to it. Even the color of deep purple feels significant (even though it's blue in all of the artwork). You can actually believe that someone would invest vast magical powers into it. It actually seems as powerful and important as the Master Sword, even if it has literally no backstory at all. At least with a sword, you can just assume that someone made it to fight evil people. Why does an ocarina have magic time and teleportation powers? Why does the Royal Family have one? I dunno! And it's funny, too. This is the macguffin the game is named for, this is the key to Link's quest, it's in half of the promotional art, this is the seemingly most important tool he possesses, he pops it out constantly throughout his adventure... and there is no explanation for its powers, Zelda just chucks it at you partway through the game, and the game never really makes a big deal out of it. The Ocarina of Time is there at almost every significant moment in the game after you get it, but no attention is ever drawn to it, not like the other important macguffins in the series. I think the idea of a magical instrument that uses magic songs to achieve magical effects is genius, and the specific choice of ocarina is also great. As a kid, when I got this item, I was like "but wait, what about the Fairy Ocarina?!" They wouldn't just have it disappear today. If this game was made today, the Fairy Ocarina would either break just before you get the Ocarina of Time, or you'd need to use it later for something the Ocarina of Time can't do, like to connect to Saria in the spirit world or something. It's so funny, the game made a big deal out of the Fairy Ocarina early on, and then it's just completely forgotten about as soon as you get the fancier, more powerful one. I also appreciate how the Ocarina of Time is with you in MM. Like, it's nice to have continuity between the games, even though it doesn't REALLY make a lot of sense? I would assume Zelda would want this thing back after you beat Ganondorf, it should have really been the Fairy Ocarina you use in that game, but it's fine. So, question. When you use a transformation mask, is it turning the Ocarina of Time into the other instruments, or do they just have their other instruments with them, and you use them instead of the Ocarina of Time? Because my impression is that the Ocarina of Time is special and magical and unique, and normal instruments can't turn back time or whatever, especially not a random Goron adventurer's drums. Anyway, ocarinas, yes. Definitely the best instrument in the series, but it was wise not to bring it back after MM. I think it's smarter to have each Link have a different instrument, and--wait, there are more ocarinas? MC has the "Ocarina of Wind," and it looks exactly like the Ocarina of Time? ... well okay then.
Midna
Legend of Zelda (Theme)
Link (GameFAQs)
Gerudo Valley (Theme)

Good!
Cadence of Hyrule
Master Sword
Princess Zelda (Spirit Tracks)
Koji Kondo
Triforce
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Gerudo Outfit (BotW)
Swordless Link Trick (OoT)
Cia
The Missing Link
Goron
Hookshot
Champion's Tunic (BotW): I'm going to list the video game characters I think are more famous than Link: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Pikachu, Sonic. That's probably it, though I might be missing something obvious. None of those characters ever really change their iconic looks. Sure, sometimes they'll put on a sports outfit for a minigame or something, but when you think of Mario, you think of red. Link has almost that level of fame, and he has equally iconic clothing, and they just dumped it. I have a lot of respect for them for doing that. It's a signal right away to the audience that this is not like the previous Zelda games, that this game is going to do its own thing. Link's old tunic and floppy hat? Get that **** out of here. Link's favorite color is green? Not anymore. Now Link wears whatever he wants for the stats, like this is WoW or something. I would actually have even more respect for them if you couldn't get the iconic green outfit at all in BotW. It's a minor signal, but every other Zelda game ever either starts you with the green tunic, or you get it early on, and there's a big to-do about it where everyone makes a big deal of it for one reason or another, always emphasizing how this is an important moment in your life. Not only does that not happen, but there's no equivalent moment at all. The closest thing is when Impa gives you this tunic and is like "this is what you wore one-hundred years ago," but it's not played up the same way as like Link becoming a knight in SS or Link gaining Ezlo the magical hat in MC. It was such a daring thing to do that I just really have to compliment them for it. Oh yeah, and the tunic itself is cool, too.
Hearts
Song of Storms
CD-I Cutscenes
Legend of Zelda (Name)
Great Fairies
The Vision in Lanayru Spring
Skull Kid
Going Straight to Castle Hyrule in BotW
Japanese Link to the Past commercial

Hey, Listen!
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Z3R
Bongo Bongo
Anju/Kafei Quest
Magnet Gloves
BotW Cooking Jingle
Hestu's Gift
Stealing from the LA Shop
Stone Tower Temple
Linkle
Bombos Medallion
His Name is Zelda
Second Quest
Great Bay Temple
Heroic Fantasy
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Link, the Silent Protagonist
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages
Groose
Fighter Choices (Smash): Obviously, we need Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. Those are mandatory. But everything else kind of isn't. Zelda is Nintendo's third biggest series, but the nature of how the games' story works precludes having lots of important recurring cast members to throw into a fighting game. You think I'm going to complain about how Zelda only gets six characters, but I'm actually okay with that. Who else is going to be added? Toon Zelda? Tingle? Vaati? Please. But the six characters we get, well, we have three variations of Link, which, sure, so be it. There are three variations of Mario in Smash if you count Luigi as a partial clone, and four variations of Marth, so I don't fault them for that... even though, like everyone, I'm aware that Young Link could be differentiated quite a bit, if he's representing MM. Instead of transformations, he gets... fire arrows. But so be it, I'll accept that. And Zelda herself? Perfectly fine rendition, no problems with that. I also don't mind keeping Sheik around, even though it's pointless? Like, in the entire Smash cast, I want to say that no other character has been made as irrelevant in their home series as Sheik? Even old FE characters still show up in Engage or Heroes or whatever; Sheik got into Smash just because Melee was made after OoT, and has stuck around through sheer inertia. I guess she was also in HW, for whatever THAT'S worth. But it's not like her presence offends me or anything. The real issue here is Ganondorf. I know they made him a Captain Falcon clone to get him into Melee as quickly as possible (we all know the quote about Sakurai choosing between five clones or one unique character), but like... Ganondorf should have his own moveset. He should clearly be some kind of swordsman/magic hybrid. Like, of every character in all of Nintendo to get gypped in Smash, how did it end being Ganondorf? So, in the end, that leaves us with three Links, two Zeldas, and a Captain Falcon clone. Am I wrong for thinking that Ganon should be a separate character from Ganondorf, also playable on his own? Like, he should just be a big monster man with a trident who shoots lightning at you or whatever. I know we already have multiple big monster men (Bowser, King. K. Rool, Ridley, King Dedede, and sort of Incineroar), but that's the way it goes. So yeah, the Zelda roster would be perfect if they just gave Ganondorf his own moveset and added Ganon as a character. I do, however, appreciate that Link got an update in Ultimate to make him more like BotW Link.
Ghirahim
Medli
Saria
Well ExcuuuuUUUUuuuuuuUUUUuuUuuuUUUUse Me, Princess!
Jeremy
Water Temple (OoT)
Hyrule Warriors
Green (Color)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
I'm so Hungry, I could eat an Octorok!
Molgera's Boss Theme
Kirby (Link's Awakening)
King Zora
Ganon's Tower (LttP)
The Mask Salesman
Tetra
Royal Crest
The Moon
Dark Link
Door Charge Old Man
Gleeokenspiel
Sidon
Twilight Princess
Rolling in Ocarina of Time
Temple (Smash Stage)
Toon Link: I don't know whether you want me to rank Toon Link, the character in WW, PH, and ST, or Toon Link, the Smash character, or both. Either way, I'm fairly ambivalent. This is probably the most characterization Link ever got, right? He's super energetic, his facial expressions have lots of detail, and he even speaks brief phrases ("Come on!"). My sister once saw pictures of Link and Toon Link. The first one she said "Link" to, and the second she said "Baby Link" to. I don't know, what do you want me to say? All I can really say is that because the game is going for anti-realism, this design for Link aged way better than OoT's or TP's.
Stamina
Companions
Colgera's Boss Theme
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Using Ocarina of Time to speedrun Paper Mario
Ezlo
Dragon Roost Island (Music)
Din (Oracle): I'm assuming you meant the Oracle games' version of Din, a quick googling of "Age of Seasons" gave me nothing. This is as opposed to the goddess Din. I'm gonna level with you: I don't remember a single thing about this character. The only thing I remember about the oracles in the Oracle games is that Din is the Oracle of Seasons and Nayru is the Oracle of Time, and Farore, the Oracle of Secrets, doesn't get her own game. She's just the person who links your games together. What a gyp, I'd feel a little annoyed if I was her. As for Din, she... I don't know what to say, she's an energetic, nice dancer lady. Actually, I've played Fire Emblem 8 way more than this game, and I jut realized that she looks almost identical to Tethys from that game. Coincidence? ... yes.
Ricky, Moosh, and Dimitri
Hand in the Toilet
Malo Mart
Drgn roost island
Screen Wraparound Glitch (LA)
Weapon Durability
Bug-Catching Net
Marin
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Gameboy Zelda Aesthetic
The Legend of Zelda (Rabbit Joint)
1/2 Magic Meter: "1/2 Magic simply halves the amount of magic needed to perform a magic attack." Great, thanks. I actually do remember the purple bat who curses you to have "half magic," though, and that's why it gets some points to crawl up to this tier.
Sploosh and Kaboom (Quotes)
Link Gets Bullied

Well ExcuuuuUUUUuuuuuuUUUUuuUuuuUUUUse Me, Princess!
Ben Drowned
Epona
Zelda's Lullaby: I used Edge instead of Chrome to google it, and goddamn, does Bing have the worst youtube-searching setup ever. Anyway, this is fine. It actually does sound sort of like a lullaby, which is a nice touch, and it makes complete sense for Zelda to have her own theme song. But like... this is not what I think of when I think of LoZ music. This is just another random song among a billion random songs, not notable at all except for its story importance.
Vaati
Squid-Hunt (Minigame)
Nintendo Power LttP Comics
David Jr.
Zant
Video Game Concerts
Makar
Kass
5000 Rupee Heart Piece in MM
Gohma
xenosaga's Impulse Link/Epona Figure
Mechanical Harp: Windmills (Pikmin 4)
Legend of Zelda (NES)
Frostare
Nintendo Cereal System
Ancient Cistern
Triforce Heroes
Primitive 3D Aesthetic
Rod of Seasons
Zelda Kirby
Fishing Minigame (OoT)
Magic Hammer: I'm just going to include all of the hammer items here, regardless of whether or not they technically bear the name "Magic Hammer." To me, this is the ultimate "who cares" Zelda item. Getting it means you can press a rusty switch or destroy a boulder. While it's always nice to open up a new path, I've never once been like "yeah, awesome, at last I have the hammer, this really changes how I play the game." It's just another one of those items that you bring out to deal with a puzzle or kill an enemy that has a hammer weakness, and that's it. It's unique only in the sense that unlike most of Link's items, it actually does look like a real weapon, which lends something to the idea of Link as a weapons master or something, but like... that's so minor. That's like the most minor thing ever.
Forced Stealth Sections
King Harkinan
Heart Pieces Locked Behind Bad Minigames
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Kinstones
Power vs. Wisdom vs. Courage (Splatoon)

You've Met with a Terrible Fate
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Temple of the Ocean King
The Imprisoned (Boss): This isn't the worst boss in Zelda, but it's pretty low on the list, and the fact that you have to fight him three times, and all of the fights are basically the same thing, is pretty bad. He's just a big black blob monsters with toes, and you have to stab the toes while he runs down a spiral, and sometimes he slithers down it like a snake, and it's just so, so lame. No one wants to fight the same boss multiple times unless the later battles have cool new gimmicks added, and boy oh boy, does Groose's cannon not count. This is like the most universally derided part of SS, isn't it? This boss? And the fact that he's also later revealed to be Ganondorf is just icing on the cake.
Equipment Rental
Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
Frog's Song of Soul (LA:DX)
Tadtones
Demise
Zelda Timeline

Anagram posted...

It's not even a unique arena, but just edited around to have a Triforce shape?

I know this likely means nothing to you since you already said that you don't play Splatoon, but I just want to point out, this was the only Splatfest in the entire series that had a unique, Splatfest-specific stage layout. Normally Splatfests play on regular versions of stages (or in tricolor's case, a slight modification to accomodate a third team). But the Triforce stage was a complete original layout.

Pre Hyrule Historia timeline debates

Well I was interested in seeing your interpretation of just 'Toon Link' and well that's more or less what I got.

Wolf Link

The Imprisoned is the worst part of Hyrule Warriors so this checks out.

Bagu from the Nintendo Comics Series

Hyrule Warriors Legends DLC maps not being backported to HW Wii U even though the characters were

-hotdogturtle-- posted...

I know this likely means nothing to you since you already said that you don't play Splatoon, but I just want to point out, this was the only Splatfest in the entire series that had a unique, Splatfest-specific stage layout. Normally Splatfests play on regular versions of stages (or in tricolor's case, a slight modification to accomodate a third team). But the Triforce stage was a complete original layout.

That does make it a little cooler, but if I'm imagining a big crossover thing, I'm imagining the Inklings running around in like the Temple of Time or Death Mountain or something.

Twinrova

The games' subtitles

Katsuya Terada

The Divine Beasts

Shigeru Miyamoto

Christianity imagery in early Zelda games

Spirit Flute

The Wind Fish

I Coveted That Wind
Link (Soul Calibur II)
Fierce Deity Link
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Paraglider
Zelda/Sheik in Smash
Ocarina (Instrument)
Midna
Legend of Zelda (Theme)
Link (GameFAQs)
Gerudo Valley (Theme)

Good!
Cadence of Hyrule
Master Sword
Princess Zelda (Spirit Tracks)
Koji Kondo
Triforce
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Gerudo Outfit (BotW)
Swordless Link Trick (OoT)
Cia
The Missing Link
Goron
Hookshot
Champion's Tunic (BotW)
Hearts
Song of Storms
CD-I Cutscenes
Legend of Zelda (Name)
Great Fairies
The Vision in Lanayru Spring
Skull Kid
Going Straight to Castle Hyrule in BotW
Japanese Link to the Past commercial

Hey, Listen!
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Z3R
Bongo Bongo
Anju/Kafei Quest
Magnet Gloves
BotW Cooking Jingle
Hestu's Gift
Twinrova: It's a good joke, that when you kill them, they complain that they're dying at different ages, and one gets annoyed that the other is lying about her age. It's kind of interesting, too. The idea of them being Ganondorf's adoptive mothers is good, it gives them some more significance than being random monster bosses like Bongo Bongo. They're also one of the few human bosses in a dungeon, right? Offhand, all I can think of are Twinrova and Ghirahim, it's almost always an ancient monster or robot or something. The idea of them turning into one superpowerful witch at the end because they have twin powers is also good, and I like how rather than it being a sexy witch, it's still like this ugly, misshapen crone. Like, you google "Twinrova," and it's all sexy fanart that looks nothing like her ta all. Of course, the fact that they ascend to Heaven, then later show up in the Oracle games, presumably reincarnated, raises some ontological questions about the Zelda afterlife that I won't get into. Why are they working to resurrect Ganon again, when their new reincarnations aren't his adoptive mother anymore? I dunno. I can't even say that they're just evil, because their Termina versions are just normal people. Even that's kind of neat. Anyway, I read the Trivia section of Twinrova's Wiki page, and most of it is stupid ("Koume is certain that the potion given to her is Kotake's, even if it was purchased from the Trading Post in Clock Town or other means. Therefore, Kotake may be supplying the Trading Post with its potions"), but to my shock, there actually is something interesting in it: "In The Wind Waker, Koume and Kotake's names are engraved on Ganondorf's swords in Hylian." I'm shocked that this bit of canon was carried on between games, that's actually super interesting and makes WW Ganondorf slightly cooler.
Stealing from the LA Shop
Stone Tower Temple
Linkle
Bombos Medallion
His Name is Zelda
Second Quest
Great Bay Temple
Heroic Fantasy
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Link, the Silent Protagonist
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages
Groose
Fighter Choices (Smash)
Ghirahim
Medli
Saria
Subtitles: Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, The Wind Waker, Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Skyward Sword, A Link Between Worlds, Triforce Heroes, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom. Looking back, it's almost surprising they never went back and gave the original game a subtitle, like how Star Trek became Star Trek: The Original Series. Anyway, I'm fine with this. For a series like Zelda, where the connections between the games are tenuous anyway, it's a good idea to give them unique subtitles, even if they don't always make sense. What is the link to the past? Isn't every game an adventure of Link's, and isn't he the hero of the Triforce in almost every game? Why is the Ocarina of Time the titular macguffin, when it has minimal actual story significance? Is it supposed to be Link's Awakening, as in the Awakening of Link, or Link's Awakening, like Link is awakening? How can it be Majora's Mask, when Majora is the mask? It can't own itself. Do you ever really point your sword toward the sky? Which princess is the Twilight one? Those traintracks have nothing to do with spirits until Zelda loses her body, and even then, that's a tangential relation at best. The world may never know the answers to these questions. In all seriousness, Zelda subtitles mostly follow the fantasy novel naming convention of "the X of Y," and usually name themselves after the most important macguffin or person besides Link, which is a good idea for a fantasy series. What else were they going to do, name them Legend of Zelda 5? Legend of Zelda 6? Imagine trying to keep track of the games that way, I can already barely keep track of which Pokemon generation is which after 5.
Well ExcuuuuUUUUuuuuuuUUUUuuUuuuUUUUse Me, Princess!
Jeremy
Water Temple (OoT)
Hyrule Warriors
Green (Color)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
I'm so Hungry, I could eat an Octorok!
Molgera's Boss Theme
Kirby (Link's Awakening)
King Zora
Ganon's Tower (LttP)
The Mask Salesman
Shigeru Miyamoto: My opinion of Miyamoto is the same as most people's: he's sort of the George Lucas of video games. He has some amazing ideas that redefined the genre, and then he got old, and kept getting the way of new ideas. Every story you hear about him post-2010 is just him ruining a video game by playing things too conservatively. God, what has he done since 2010? Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon? Star Fox Zero? Yeesh. And yet, he basically made a third of all the classic games everyone loves, so it's impossible to hate him. At least he never sold Nintendo to Disney. What's the Disney equivalent of computer stuff? Microsoft?
Tetra
Royal Crest
The Moon
Dark Link
Door Charge Old Man
Wind Fish: The most whatever concept in the series, possibly. You'd be hard-pressed to find two concepts less related than wind and fish, though. He should just be the Dream Fish or something. Speaking of which, he's not even a fish, he's a whale. I like his design, though, it's fancy and slightly ugly. Really good for some kind of quasi-demigod or whatever he's supposed to be.
Gleeokenspiel
Sidon
Twilight Princess
Pre-Hyrule Historia Timeline Debates: If we're being really, really honest... these were kind of fun. Sometimes, it's fun to argue about complete nonsense, and no two words better describe the Zelda canon than "complete nonsense." Like, no stakes fan arguments are sometimes fun! They just are! "Is Gilgamesh the same guy in every Final Fantasy?" "Is the Arkenstone a Silmaril, or just a random shiny stone?" "Why can the P3 characters summon personas outside of the magic world, unlike all of the others?" And then these questions get actual answers, and they're not as fun as the fan answers. Like, honestly, why even make the Zelda timeline official if you're not going to do anything with it? They didn't even like arrange it by artstyle, so that all the old games are one timeline, all the cel-shaded games are another, and so on. It's just random and bad. I don't think anyone is very satisfied by the Zelda timeline, including Nintendo, since BotW is apparently set in the distant future after the timelines recombined? How the hell does that even work? I guess I'm not in a position to question how omnipotent goddess magic works, but honestly. These arguments weren't the best thing ever or anything, but they were mildly fun, especially the people who tried to insist it was the same Link in every game pre-WW, and the official timeline took that away.
Rolling in Ocarina of Time
Temple (Smash Stage)
Toon Link

Stamina
Companions
Colgera's Boss Theme
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Using Ocarina of Time to speedrun Paper Mario
Katsuya Terada: Oh, this is the guy who made all the classic art? ... He's no Tetsuya Nomura. His art is easier to make out what it's supposed to be, though.
Ezlo
Dragon Roost Island (Music)
Din (Oracle)
Ricky, Moosh, and Dimitri
Hand in the Toilet
Malo Mart
Drgn roost island
Screen Wraparound Glitch (LA)
Weapon Durability
Bug-Catching Net
Christianity Imagery: It's funny how much this wouldn't happen today. Not because it's banned or anything, but because everyone would just immediately understand the idea of a fictional fantasy world disconnected from reality, and how Christian symbols can't be a part of that. I think the only series with this sort of symbology still active is Castlevania, right? Speaking of which, I watched the Castlevania anime on Netflix, and there's like a thirty second aside where Trevor says "vampires are weak to crosses because they hate perpendicular angles, not because of God," and it's like... there are a thousand reasons why that doesn't make any sense. I'd say that you just wanted to remove any religious connotations from the show, but the main villain of the first season is a priest, so I don't know.
Marin
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Gameboy Zelda Aesthetic
The Legend of Zelda (Rabbit Joint)
1/2 Magic Meter
Sploosh and Kaboom (Quotes)
Link Gets Bullied
Spirit Flute: If you were hoping for an ocarina-length write-up about this, you're in for a bad time. It's just a pan flute. That's an acceptably rare instrument for a fantasy world, I suppose, but pan flutes are more common in reality than ocarinas. Like, if I showed a picture of a pan flute to my sister, I think she'd probably recongize it as an Ancient Greek thing, but she'd definitely at least recognize it as a bunch of flutes strung together. If I showed her a picture of an ocarina, I'm not confident she'd know it's an instrument, or a real instrument, at that. It's just that little more notable than the ocarina that makes it slightly less fantastical... though, the Ocarina of Time got to be in two tentpole console releases, the first of which is probably the definitive Zelda game, while the Spirit Flute only gets to be used in Spirit Tracks, so that also damages its credibility as an important Zelda instrument. I do approve of the idea of each Link having a different instrument, though, but the Ocarina of Time feels like a significant magical artifact? The Spirit Flute is just a random flute that's also magical, I guess?

Well ExcuuuuUUUUuuuuuuUUUUuuUuuuUUUUse Me, Princess!
Ben Drowned
Epona
Zelda's Lullaby
Vaati
Squid-Hunt (Minigame)
Nintendo Power LttP Comics
David Jr.
Zant
Wolf Link: I wonder how much of this was motivated by MM's transformation masks. It's surely at least somewhat, right? Link had nothing to do with transformations before MM (yes okay I know about the Fairy spell in AoL), and then for two games released six years apart, suddenly he's all about transforming into other creatures, and then that entire element is never brought up again. Anyway, Wolf Link is fine. Mechanically, he's more fun than Deku Link, but less fun than Goron and Zora Link. But there's never a point where he's more fun than regular-ass human Link, and that's a problem. In a series all about using tools, the idea of turning into a creature that can't use tools, and instead must rely on its natural instincts and skills, is good, but I don't know if this is the best possible interpretation of such an idea. It's just... what can you really do with a wolf? You can run around, bite things, dig, and smell. A ****ing fish or bird is more interesting because they let you move in ways that humans can't. A normal adult man can already move in the same way as a wolf, just slower. I guess you can also use Midna to grab things or whatever, but who cares. I think this is just sort of a failed experiment, which is weird to say about a game as conservative and safe as TP.
Video Game Concerts
Makar
Kass
5000 Rupee Heart Piece in MM
Gohma
xenosaga's Impulse Link/Epona Figure
Mechanical Harp: Windmills (Pikmin 4)
Legend of Zelda (NES)
Bagu (Nintendo Comics Series): Here's the Zelda Wiki's description of events: "Bagu also appears in the fourth issue of The Legend of Zelda comics by Valiant Comics published by Valiant Comics. In this issue, he comes from the Moruge Forest and stays at the North Castle for few days, pretending to befriend Link and Zelda, but in a sudden moment, he betrays them and steals the Triforce of Wisdom. Link manags to catch up with Bagu and confronts him. Bagu soon realizes that Link has brought his Power Glove with him, and that he would be no match against such a weapon. He surrenders as he tells his tale to Link: Ganon had kidnapped his two pet frogs, and was holding them ransom, and demanded the Triforce in return. Link reluctantly offers to give Bagu his Power Glove so he can stop Ganon. It is unknown what events occurred during his attack on Ganon, but Bagu eventually returns safely to the palace with both of his frogs." Honestly? This just makes everyone look bad, including the person who wrote this entry, because of the typo with "manags." But in all seriousness... what a random character to get a comic to himself?
Frostare
Nintendo Cereal System
Ancient Cistern
Triforce Heroes
Primitive 3D Aesthetic
Rod of Seasons
Zelda Kirby
Fishing Minigame (OoT)
Magic Hammer
Forced Stealth Sections
King Harkinan
Heart Pieces Locked Behind Bad Minigames
Divine Beasts: Lame. Sorry. They're probably the biggest disappointment of the game? They look cool, yes, and they all feel significant, but I'm never like "oh man, I'm really awed right now," like I was by the first dragon encounter. The fact that the dungeons themselves are all super easy as well is also a strike against them. And I mean, look, in terms of silly things, I love the elephant one, but if you're trying to take this seriously, it's so stupid-looking. It's like the stupidest giant animal robot you could possibly build. And it's kind of a problem, because these are basically the plot of the game? The plot of the game is 70% about finding these things.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Kinstones
Power vs. Wisdom vs. Courage (Splatoon)

You've Met with a Terrible Fate
Hyrule Warriors Legends DLC Maps not being Backported to HW Wii U: Lazy stuff. That's the way it goes, though.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Temple of the Ocean King
The Imprisoned (Boss)
Equipment Rental
Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
Frog's Song of Soul (LA:DX)
Tadtones
Demise
Zelda Timeline

Brawl in the Family

Princess Ruto

The first Legend of Zelda DOES have a subtitle in Japanese. The full name of the game is either "The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu" or "Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy" depending on how you choose to interpret it (does the bigger name get first billing, or the one placed the farthest up?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM4CvZ8BFnA

Speaking of which...

Hyrule

Cuccos

gannon-banned.com

https://web.archive.org/web/20170202223038/http://www.gannon-banned.com/

WazzupGenius00 posted...

The first Legend of Zelda DOES have a subtitle in Japanese. The full name of the game is either "The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu" or "Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy" depending on how you choose to interpret it (does the bigger name get first billing, or the one placed the farthest up?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM4CvZ8BFnA

also worth noting that when the Japanese version was ported to cartridge (having been a Disk System release originally) they added a big "1" to the end of the title
https://legendsoflocalization.com/media/the-legend-of-zelda/graphics/jpnzelda1.png

This is actually huge news to me!

The gold NES cartridges

Bombable walls

Ballad of the Wind Fish

The writeup on pan flutes made me realize that as someone whose wife runs a shop at our local RenFest, my impression of what instruments are widely known is wildly different and incorrect.

JonThePenguin posted...

Ballad of the Wind Fish

The writeup on pan flutes made me realize that as someone whose wife runs a shop at our local RenFest, my impression of what instruments are widely known is wildly different and incorrect.

Hey man listen, I once quizzed my class on which famous monsters they knew, and I was completely wrong about what was famous. Everyone knew Minotaurs, but only a handful knew chimera, and it got worse from there.

The boss battle theme from the Japanese version of Zelda 2 (15:36 in this video)

https://youtu.be/AFV694m5HZQ?t=936

Rupees

City in the Sky

Dark World

The Shield spell (Zelda 2)

I Coveted That Wind
Link (Soul Calibur II)
Fierce Deity Link
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Paraglider
Zelda/Sheik in Smash
Ocarina (Instrument)
Midna
Legend of Zelda (Theme)
Link (GameFAQs)
Gerudo Valley (Theme)

Good!
Cadence of Hyrule
Master Sword
Princess Zelda (Spirit Tracks)
Koji Kondo
Triforce
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Gerudo Outfit (BotW)
Swordless Link Trick (OoT)
Cia
The Missing Link
Goron
Hookshot
Champion's Tunic (BotW)
Hearts
Rupees: I don't know whose idea it was to make the currency hexagonal jewels, but hats off to him. It's very easy to imagine LoZ where the currency is just gold coins or something. I can't think of a single other video game series with a dedicated currency that isn't either dollars, yen, gold coins, or "credits," you know? I can think of other games where there's a functional currency that's not one of those, like "collect skulls for upgrades" or whatever, but in terms of being an actual in-world currency that's supposedly used by normal people, this is the only one I can think of that's not a coin, piece of paper, or sci-fi credit (does Sonic spend rings as currency? I count those as a coin variant anyway). This really helps set Zelda apart, even if they're named after the currency of real life India for... no real reason? According to the Zelda Wiki, they're based on rubies, and not Indian Rupee,s but that doesn't explain why they're called that!
Song of Storms
CD-I Cutscenes
Legend of Zelda (Name)
Great Fairies
The Vision in Lanayru Spring
Skull Kid
Going Straight to Castle Hyrule in BotW
Japanese Link to the Past commercial
Brawl in the Family: I am convinced that fully half of Waluigi's popularity stems from this comic. No one cared about Waluigi until BitF started popularizing Waaaaaaa, which he doesn't even really say in actual Mario games. Wa-Elegy is actually one of my favorite stupid youtube songs. I don't even understand the pro-Waluigi in Smash argument at all. Is it just based on him being the highest profile non-Nintendo character not yet in Smash? Because he's the most nothing character ever, and that's what makes him fun. He's a character based on Wario and Luigi, who are based on Mario. Waluigi is the only character in all of fiction who's both two and three times removed from his source, caught in a perpetual nonexistence that is fully justified, since he's also the world's most pointless and useless character. I love Waluigi for this, but he's someone you can only appreciate once you have a highly-developed sense of irony, and BitF really brought him to a much larger audience.

Hey, Listen!
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Z3R
Bongo Bongo
Anju/Kafei Quest
Magnet Gloves
Gold NES Cartridges: I had to look this up, I actually didn't know about it. Obviously, I knew about the MM one, I had one myself. This is a fun little way to set the Zelda games apart from other games, though it sort of like implies that Nintendo knows Zelda is just a step above your average piece of shovelware. God, remember when gray plastic NES and SNES stuff looked futuristic and cutting-edge? Can you imagine anything like that playing today? It just looks so antiquated.
BotW Cooking Jingle
Hestu's Gift
Twinrova
Stealing from the LA Shop
Stone Tower Temple
Linkle
Bombos Medallion
His Name is Zelda
Second Quest
Great Bay Temple
Heroic Fantasy
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Link, the Silent Protagonist
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages
Groose
Fighter Choices (Smash)
Ghirahim
Medli
Saria
Subtitles
Well ExcuuuuUUUUuuuuuuUUUUuuUuuuUUUUse Me, Princess!
Jeremy
Water Temple (OoT)
Hyrule Warriors
Green (Color)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
I'm so Hungry, I could eat an Octorok!
Molgera's Boss Theme
Kirby (Link's Awakening)
King Zora
Ganon's Tower (LttP)
The Mask Salesman
Dark World: I'm going to try to list all of the reverse worlds in LoZ, tell me if I miss one (this doesn't count places that are just other countries). Dark World, Dark Realm, Twilight Realm, Illusion Realm, Silent Realm, Lorule, Termina. I mean, look, in 1992 or whatever, the idea of an entire second part of the game that takes place in another dimension that's similar to the main one, and altering stuff in one changes it in the other, was mind-blowing. But today? Man, I don't know. I just want to tell you what the Zelda Wiki says about Lorule: "it is a dark mirror of Hyrule almost entirely congruous with the Dark World as featured in A Link to the Past." No it isn't! Congruous means "in agreement with!" It's just similar because they reused the idea!
Shigeru Miyamoto
Tetra
Royal Crest
The Moon
Dark Link
Door Charge Old Man
Bombable Walls: Ahhhhhhhhhhh, such a classic puzzle. Does this even qualify as a puzzle? Such a classic SOMETHING. It's been used in games since the 1980s, and not just Zelda games. I wonder, was LoZ the very first game where there's a crack in a wall and you have to damage it to go through? Tell me if there's another earlier game. Oh, you wanted me to actually talk about bombable walls as a concept? They're fine. They're basically just a test of your ability to manage your resources (have enough bombs) versus your ability to notice things.
Wind Fish
Gleeokenspiel
Sidon

Master, I Detect You Are Low on Life
Twilight Princess
Pre-Hyrule Historia Timeline Debates
Rolling in Ocarina of Time
Temple (Smash Stage)
Toon Link
Stamina
Companions
Hyrule: I like the Legend of Zelda as much as the next guy, but Hyrule is the most nothing fantasy world ever. That's to its advantage, since, as I've said, I prefer Zelda to not even try to have deep lore, but like... Hyrule is basically one step above a Pokemon region in terms of how much I care about it. It's just a generic medieval European land to have adventures in, with some wacky Japanese stuff and ancient super technology mixed in. Like, it's slightly above the world of Final Fantasy IV in terms of being fleshed out, which is fine. Of course, this is before you consider that there are actually multiple Hyrules across the timelines, but whatever. We'll just ignore the ST one, since it had the audacity to advance to 1800s technology.
Colgera's Boss Theme
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Using Ocarina of Time to speedrun Paper Mario
Katsuya Terada
Ezlo
Dragon Roost Island (Music)
Cuccos: Obviously, they're just chickens. I do like the recurring gag that if you attack them, an endless wave of chickens will fly from everywhere and avenge their friend. How many games actually have you grab one and use it to float down places? I only remember doing that in OoT and MM, but it must be more, right? It's nice that they managed to do something fun with a common farm animal appropriate to a medieval fantasy world, as opposed to... nothing, like with what happens with cows.
Din (Oracle)
Ricky, Moosh, and Dimitri
Hand in the Toilet
Malo Mart
Drgn roost island
Shield (Magic): This spell reduces the damage you take by half, and turns you red for the duration, disappearing when you leave the screen. I... can't think of an ability with a greater inverse relationship between usefulness and interestingness.
Screen Wraparound Glitch (LA)
Weapon Durability
Bug-Catching Net
Gannon-Banned: Goddamn, I totally forgot about Gannon-banned until this. Remember when websites all looked like this? I do feel a certain bit of weird nostalgia for it. Man, he's even complaining about people calling MM "Zelda 2." Imagine anyone even being capable of making that mistake today.
Christianity Imagery
Marin
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Gameboy Zelda Aesthetic
The Legend of Zelda (Rabbit Joint)
1/2 Magic Meter
Sploosh and Kaboom (Quotes)
Link Gets Bullied
Spirit Flute

Well ExcuuuuUUUUuuuuuuUUUUuuUuuuUUUUse Me, Princess!
Ben Drowned
City in the Sky: I'm gonna level with you: I don't like sky cities or sky islands. I liked them once as a kid with Chrono Trigger, and that's the only time. It's just such a lazy way to have the advanced magical civilization show off its stuff. I understand that you want to have the advanced magic people live in a magical place that's beyond normal people, and a sky city is an easy way to do that... but honestly? It's just so overdone, even by 2006. Give me advanced magic people who live underwater, who live in a volcano, who live in another dimension, who live anywhere except a floating city. Now, that said, the actual dungeon is pretty good, and it gives us one of the greatest Zelda items ever, the Doubvle Clawshot, and I kind of like the Oocca for being so ****ing hideous. Like, if you saw one of these things in real life, you'd just barf. Why did a people the size of chickens build a human-sized city? How did they build machines that need fingers to work, when they only have stubby little wings? I love it. They're just so gross.
Epona
Zelda's Lullaby
Vaati
Squid-Hunt (Minigame)
Nintendo Power LttP Comics
David Jr.
Zant
Wolf Link
Princess Ruto: I am convinced that Princess Ruto is proof that you can have any female character do literally anything in the proximity of the main character that involves showing attraction, and fans will jump on it forever. Notice that I didn't say "male main character," by the way. Ruto shows up for five seconds as an eight-year-old, says "teehee Link I'm a spunky girl, I'll only give this important jewel to the man I'll mary one day~~~," and then doesn't show up for seven more years, whereupon she's an adult and is mostly just business. They repeated the same basic formula for Mipha, too. Like, this is the most nothing character ever, even moreso than Saria. At least Saria grew up with Link, but is trapped as a child forever, so there's like a connection and a tragedy there that ensures they can never be together or whatever. Ruto is just a sexy fish girl. She's like the sixth sexiest girl in OoT alone, I'll take Zelda, Marin, Impa, Nabooru, and the Bombchu Bowling Girl over her, and those are just the ones I can name offhand. The only thing I really remember her for is saying "Link, you have to carry me around like an object in the worst dungeon in the game," and then you just DO, which is one way to handle an escort quest, I suppose. Second best escort quest of all time, after Ashley? I remember she shows back in up Hyrule Warriors, but I don't remember a ****ing thing about that game's plot, just that Ganondorf has a cool design.
Video Game Concerts
Makar
Kass
5000 Rupee Heart Piece in MM
Gohma
xenosaga's Impulse Link/Epona Figure
Mechanical Harp: Windmills (Pikmin 4)
Legend of Zelda (NES)
Bagu (Nintendo Comics Series)
Frostare
Nintendo Cereal System
Ballad of the Wind Fish: It was harder than you expct to find the original Gameboy version of this one youtube. I don't know if I prefer it over the remake's version, actually. I don't like the lyrics for the new one, but the ear-splitting Gameboy sounds are... yeesh. I assume the lyrics sound better in Japanese, and it's another translation thing, like with Fire Emblem songs always sounding kind of bad in English.
Ancient Cistern
Triforce Heroes
Primitive 3D Aesthetic
Rod of Seasons
Zelda Kirby
Fishing Minigame (OoT)
Magic Hammer
Japanese Boss Battle Theme (AoL): Man, I also like loops, but not so much in my music, not if they're only three seconds long. It's a quality three seconds, but it's just three seconds. Honestly, it's more like two-and-three-quarters seconds.
Forced Stealth Sections
King Harkinan
Heart Pieces Locked Behind Bad Minigames
Divine Beasts
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Kinstones
Power vs. Wisdom vs. Courage (Splatoon)

You've Met with a Terrible Fate
Hyrule Warriors Legends DLC Maps not being Backported to HW Wii U
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Temple of the Ocean King
The Imprisoned (Boss)
Equipment Rental
Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
Frog's Song of Soul (LA:DX)
Tadtones
Demise
Zelda Timeline

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Great_Paul posted...

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

I have to veto this one, since I haven't played the game.

Important nonsense I just discovered on the Zelda Wiki:

During an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto prior to the release of Ocarina of Time, he stated that the Kokiri disappear when they reach a certain age. Then, the next generation of Kokiri are born as abruptly. He also stated that Link would also disappear at some point in the game.

I'm sure that's not canon anymore, not that Zelda has a canon, but it shocks me that they ever thought through how the Kokiri were born.