Last gen's Zelda games and similar action/adventures

:chick: The last gen systems had some big action/adventures in the Zelda series and other similar 3d games. I figured they could use a discussion. There have been plenty of comparisons between two games but not many among several.

http://www.ebgames.com/common/images/lbox/916251b.jpg

http://www.gamestop.com/common/images/lbox/210427b.jpg

http://www.ebgames.com/common/images/lbox/281345b.jpg

http://www.ebgames.com/common/images/lbox/281438b.jpg

http://www.ebgames.com/common/images/lbox/220461b.jpg
(I'm counting this as last gen since there's a GC version)


My thoughts:

Of these five, Wind Waker ranks last place for me. The art is fantastic but waterworld becomes boring to travel after a while, and the later quests are tedious.

I loved Okami but it has some big flaws that hold it back from being the best. It's way too long, and way too easy. A 30-40 hour game should not be beatable without dying on your first time through it. The handholding in this game borders on insulting. Still, it's an amazing game artistically, and the drawing aspect is quite cool.

Now it gets difficult to decide. Twilight Princess, Shadow of the Colossus and Beyond Good & Evil all really impressed me but I find it hard to compare them given their backgrounds.


Twilight isn't going to have the same newness factor since it's part of a 20 year old series. Nintendo did add a number of things like the wolf tranformation and new weapons; the dungeons are more creative, too. It was fresh enough for me to enjoy it all the way through but it didn't revolutionize the series. Ocarina was my favourite in the series but I think this may have surpassed it.

Shadow of the Colossus doesn't fit as nicely in the comparison due to its lack of towns and NPCs but I think it's close enough in design. It's mostly boss battles but they just might be the best boss battles ever. Fighting what seem like "living puzzles" in an epic and desolate environment made for one of my top gaming experiences ever despite the technical issues.

Beyond Good & Evil stands out in this bunch by being the only Western-developed one. It reminds a lot of classic French action/adventures like Twinsen mixed with structure similar to the 3d Zeldas. I loved everything about this game from its odd designs to its excellent level design. It's probably the shortest game of the bunch but it doesn't need to be any longer.

So, I'm leaning towards Beyond Good & Evil for my top pick with Shadow of the Colossus right behind it but I don't think they're necessarily better games than Twilight Princess. If I had never played a Zelda game before, I might consider it the best but since I have played them all, it reduces the wowness factor of that game somewhat.

Your thoughts on these games? Would you include other last gen games not listed here in the comparison?

Shadow of the Colossus is in a class all its own. I understand why you included it, but it is so different. One of the few games this gen that I actually kept in my collection.

My pick is Beyond Good and Evil. I thought the pacing was perfect, the story and the telling of it were extremely good. The length was just write, and the controls spot on. And most importantly, I never was bored. It did everything right. At the end ,I just wanted more of the game. It just makes me sad that it went unnoticed and unappreciated. No sequel for us.

You forgot Sphinx and the Cursed mummy which personally I would put before Okami, and SoTC

ive played and finished all of these. Wind Waker i had to force myself through the 2nd half. Shadow of the Colossus could be a real gem if the camera were tweaked and on more poweful hardware. Okami always felt like the same stuff over and over and the end seemed REALLY tacked on. Twilight Princess so far is good, but just like Wind Waker, i'm forcing myself to see it through. BG&E i finished when it first shipped. All i can remember is that i wanted more of it and really had no glaring negatives about it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

You forgot Sphinx and the Cursed mummy which personally I would put before Okami, and SoTC

---

i could possibly agree with this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

You forgot Sphinx and the Cursed mummy

---

Good call. I stopped playing it after a few hours but I can see why people praise it. I might go back to it some time.

I have to go with Beyond Good and Evil as well. It was everything I wanted Wind Waker to be. The world was fun to explore, there was tons to do, but none of it came at the expense of the pacing.

BG&E was really terrific, but short. Clearly meant to have been the first in a series, the last hour or two of the game escapes the mood of the rest of the game so radically.

Zelda:TP edges it out for me, because the sheer content never ceases to impress me. Even the new items, some of which I thought were lame at first, grew on me, and Midna balances our mute friend Link nicely by never shutting up. It's the same with with Issun in Okami.

Yeah, Shadow of the Colossus doesn't belong in that grouping at all.

Sphinx was good times. Another title this gen that was very much cast in the Zelda mold was Dual Hearts for the PS2.