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anabbeynormality
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
OoT and Super Mario 64 are both games that I recognize as groundbreaking, but I could never get into (it wasn't for lack of trying). I just find the controls to be clunky and the visuals to be frustrating. I often get the sense that these games are held in such high regard as much for their nostalgia as anything else.

I loved, LOVED Wind Waker and Oracle of Seasons. The Minish Cap was also a great game.

I think Twilight was disappointing. To me it seemed like they relied on polish and atmosphere to hide the fact that the game lacked the depth of other Zelda titles. A perfect example is how the town was packed, but you couldn't even talk to most of the NPCs!. The dungeons all boiled down to the same exact formula (similar to the Tower of the Gods Dungeon in WW), and the side quests were almost all lengthy collecting missions. The Phantom Hourglass was just bad (in terms of a Zelda game).

I think making a Zelda better than all those that came before it is a huge challenge, but I don't think OoT sets the bar.
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ThisCharmingMan
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
Luke, you're crazy. All that SAILING took FOREVER. My first glimpse at the vast ocean was nothing compared to my first step into Hyrule field as a young boy. Wind Waker's art WAS gorgeous though.
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Patient
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
Its funny, a ton of Zelda games have come out in the years, some good, some bad, some just milking the IP. Most of the time I felt that they were making TOO many Zelda games. (The steady stream of Zelda GB/GBA titles comes to mind)

Then.... the Wii comes along and there are no Zelda games other than the awkward release of Twilight Princess.

WHY hasn't Wind Waker 2 or an Orcania sequel been released on this system yet? What the hell are they doing over there? I feel like I have the ability to predict winning lotto numbers just thinking about it.
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new_pornographer
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
I have to say I didn't like Win Waker as much because of the damn sailing was poorly planned. Especially the treasure hunt/triforce hunt near the end. And it was too easy, but drawn out by all that superfluous sailing. I thought Phantom Hourglass WAS SO much better than Wind Waker.
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Bernard McGraw
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
Hell, I thought Majora's Mask was better. It's my favourite game ever.
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Ted
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
But he already bettered OoT. Has he not heard of Majora's Mask?
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Thorax
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
I found Majoras Mask to be better just for the art style and world. It was such a distraught and bizarre universe, I couldn't help but fall in love when I first played it.

Of course, Ocarina will always be the one that made the most impact on me, but I still think I enjoyed Majora more.
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rich8606
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
Maaaan... Japanese people love their macs. Not that I complain, I use macs as well.
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N●Gage Croal
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask was my favorite of the 3D games. The items, abilities, characters, setting, and story was the best of the four.

The Wind Waker also had a great story and characters. Loved the visuals and the soundtrack, too. However, sailing was a chore sometimes, and there just wasn't enough to do in the game.

Twilight Princess was fun... but it felt very recycled compared to the others.

I think you're doing good so far, Aonuma. I think Ocarina of Time is only held to such high standard due to nostalgia. That it was the first of the 3D Zelda games, so it's what most people are familiar with. Not to say it's a bad game, but the others have improved upon it in one way or another.

However, if you can get your team to create a game that tops A Link to the Past in scope and such... then THAT will be an achievement!
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Altima NEO
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
I didnt like Wind Waker so much. The cell shading, didnt do it for me. A lot of it might have had to do with that teaser video they showed off at E3.

A tip to Eji, STEAMPUNK!!
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Talleh
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
I've beaten OoT four times, gotten every item, max...well everything, and I thought Twilight Princess was better. It was the first time a Zelda game showed their characters with expressions that is worthy of...well the gamecube, really.

Don't get me wrong, OoT and Wind Waker were both expressive, but I can't help but feel that if TP were released on a true next-gen system, it would have soared above and beyond. But, it was hampered by limited ability to display finer details and what I guess was done by choice, but possibly by technological issues, little to no voice in the game.

There was little I would change about this game, from it's occasionally slightly too formulaic boss fights that haven't strayed far from OoT, but then we were given new dungeons, that most of the time aren't really dungeons anymore. This at first for me was an alienating change, no longer was I romping through the dank smelly underground areas. I got used to it, and embraced it though, and it was better then any OoT dungeon.
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Nobuyuki
11/26/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
I thought Aonuma didn't take the lead in the series until Majora's Mask. Either way, THAT game was indeed better than OoT. Don't try to outdo OoT, Majora's Mask was so great because it wasn't afraid to be different. Embrace that spirit! Stop making the game game and try something new!
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Kenofthedead
11/25/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
Ocarina of Time got so much praise and love because there were no other games like it at the time, it was something amazing and spectacular. However other games came along and were just as good if not better, such as Wind Waker and Okami.

Personally I love the huge world, the style, and combat of Wind Waker far more then Ocarina of Time. However, it really wasn't an amazing step-up or change from what had come before it.

So if they want to make a Legend of Zelda title that is greater then Ocarina, something that will put it to rest and no longer be "the best" just as Ocarina did to Link To The Past (even though if you put both in 2D and they aren't that far removed), do something new and impressive.

Show us what Nintendo did with the first Legend of Zelda game and Ocarina, go out and be something new and amazing, something different and unique. Nintendo, be Nintendo again instead of "don't be too diffrent Gamecube makers".
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Swift_
11/25/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
Three pearls of wisdom for Eiji:

1) Go bizzare and innovative like Majora's Mask.

2) Make music a more integral component again. Twilight Princess really missed the mark there with its off-key wolf howling of rehashes.

3) Don't let Miyamoto casual it up. Change the locks on the studio!
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
11/26/08

@Swift_:Miyamoto trained Eiji.
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Swift_
11/26/08

@Foxstar Sixtail: Miyamoto has changed, or haven't you noticed?
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
11/26/08

@Swift_:No, he's just being allowed more freedom. He's still the same man he was back in the early 80's.
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rich8606
11/25/08

In reply to Zelda Producer Won't Quit Til He Betters Ocarina of Time
"I thought Wind Waker was better than Ocarina. Yes. Really."

Oh, no you didn't...!!!
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