User:Jedimasterlink/Reviews

This is where I store all my reviews for my World History class for the convenience of other users. What, did you expect to see my personal reviews for the Zelda games I've played? Those are personal, after all. Quit being so nosy, people!

Just kidding. This page is for reviews of the Zelda games I have played. So I can process the information more easily, I'll type them up in the order I played them. The games will be reviewed with the following criteria: Plot, Gameplay/Dungeons, Music, Graphic Style, Cast, and Sidequests. Some of this stuff was ahead of the time for the older games, so I won't judge them as harshly as I would, say, Twilight Princess.

Finally, I will give an overall score and compare it to the mathematical average of the other scores. A comparison above one means I feel the game is more than the sum of its parts, and one below one means I feel there was something missing that I can't identify for whatever reason.

Here I go...

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time


Plot: 10/10 Gameplay/Dungeons: 8.5/10 Music: 9/10 Graphic Style: 9/10 Cast: 8/10 Sidequests: 7.5/10

This is the game that got me hooked on the Zelda series. I loved how this game blended puzzles that made me think with good action, and set it all in an environment that looked amazing at the time. The epic story is one of the best in the series and has several well-executed twists and effectively evokes numerous emotions. Tying it all together for me was the music, which was beyond anything I had heard previously in a video game and would only be surpassed by Fire Emblem and a few future Zelda games. There are also a few good optional sidequests that yield useful rewards. The only major drawbacks to the game are the frustrating Iron Boots (you have to pause the game and select the boots from a subscreen to put them on/take them off instead of simply pushing a button) and how the last two dungeons (Spirit Temple and Ganon's Tower) feel too easy for being at the end of the game.

Overall: 9.1/10 (relation to mathematical average: x1.05)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask


Plot: 10/10 Gameplay/Dungeons: 9.5/10 Music: 10/10 Graphic Style: 9/10 Cast: 10/10 Sidequests: 10/10

In case you haven't figured it out from the astronomically high scores I gave this game, this one is my absolute favorite in the series, and my favorite video game overall. It tells a cinematic story that feels more personal than any other Zelda game, even if it isn't as epic in scale as some of the other games' stories. This is largely due to the amazing cast of characters in this game, many of whom are completely unnecessary to interact with to beat the game but still add another level to the backstory of the game and the true impact of Majora's sadistic actions in Termina. All of the flaws in gameplay from Ocarina of Time are fixed in this game, and a few new functions, most notably the 24 masks and the 3 day cycle. The music is my favorite in the entire series as well--even the dungeon music, which rarely ever stands out, is very well done. Sidequests, which are always a good thing to have, are abundant, so much so that about half of the game could be devoted to completing sidequests. There are few things about this game that could be any better.

Overall: 10/10 (relation to mathematical average: x1.03)

The Legend of Zelda


Plot: 7/10 Gameplay/Dungeons: 8.5/10 Music: 7.5/10 Graphic Style: 7/10 Cast: N/A Sidequests: N/A

First of all, since this game is pretty old, I cut it a lot of slack. The standards games are held to today can't be applied to the games of that era. It wouldn't be fair, considering that this game is still a lot of fun after all these years. The plot may seem too high, but remember video games didn't have plots until Nintendo started doing them. The gameplay was completely unique at the time, as well, and the graphics, while not outstanding, were pretty good twenty years ago. I didn't see it fit to take into account the cast and sidequests because no game was that deep at the time, so there is no reason to expect this game to have either of those things. Outmoded as this game may seem in this day and age, I think it is still worthy of recognition; I had a lot of fun playing it.

Overall: 8/10 (relation to mathematical average: x1.07)

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link


Plot: 3/10 Gameplay/Dungeons: 2/10 Music: 6/10 Graphic Style: 5/10 Cast: N/A Sidequests:N/A

I get that games were harder back in the day. However, there is a fine line between a good challenge and frustratingly, excruciatingly hard. The only reason I played to the end and suffered through the final dungeons was so I could say I did it. Total game overs? Well over 200--that's over 600 deaths, since you are given 3 lives a game. The story is really nothing special. What little there is to it in regards to the nature of the Triforce is utterly retconed in future games. The graphics for this game aren't that good, even for the era they were made in. The text processing is also ridiculously slow--it takes five seconds (that's not an exaggeration) for it to process that the person you just talked to said something completely pointless, along the lines of "Hello, young fellow." Hurry up and declare this one non-cannon, Nintendo. For all of our sakes. Them wipe our memories so we forget this game ever existed.

Overall: 4/10 (relation to mathematical average: x1)

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures


Plot: 8/10 Gameplay/Dungeons: 6/10 Music: 8/10 Graphic Style: 6/10 Cast: 4/10 Sidequests: 3/10

This game is mediocre for a Zelda game, but overall, it's not that bad. The plot is actually pretty good, if brief. The dungeons are all very short and easy, but they have to be to fit the style of the game (which I don't like very much, frankly). The game is divided into levels and subdivided into stages, like a platformer, except there isn't any platforming. The levels are very linear, however, with almost no exploration. And that means no real sidequests. the most you are able to do is hunt for additional Heart Containers (which you lose at the end of the stage and must find again). The graphics and music are basically updated versions of what we saw in A Link to the Past, though that means those two things aren't what they could have been. Also dur e to the design of the game, the cast is quite limited.

Overall: 6/10 (relation to mathematical average: x1.03)

To be continued...