Not sure who will read this, but… I collect far more games than I’d ever want to play, and I don’t force myself to finish games I don’t enjoy. I’m probably not the best backlog assassin because I usually just remove a game from my backlog when I’m not enjoying it rather than finish it.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Rating: ★★★★★
I recently played through The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the first time, so that’s crossing one off my backlog. It was a lot better than I expected, and playing it through echoed for me how true RagnarRox’s video was comparing Dark Souls to a grown-up version of Zelda. This is not meant as an insult, but rather an expression that Dark Souls is a more adult-oriented game while Zelda has wider appeal. I played the 3DS version emulated on the PC using Citra.
The other game I played through recently was realMyst: Masterpiece Edition. After playing it, I see why it is so well liked, but I’m surprised it sold as well as it did given how confusing, difficult, and strange it is. I would not have expected it to be the top selling PC game for its time.
Thanks to that ninja edit you got my comment :P
By the way, is that screenshot gameplay from ocarina of time? I’m looking more into classic franchises and looking forward to start zelda too, any opinion on the overall series?
I’ve played most of the classic Zelda titles, so while you did not ask me, I can give you my thoughts on the:
The Legend of Zelda (NES): A groundbreaking game for its time… that has not aged well. Nostalgia aside, the simplistic combat, poor hit detection and some obtuse level design adds up to a less than stellar game (getting into the last dungeon in particular is a pain. You need to use bombs, a limited resource, and while you get enough hints to figure out at which screen the dungeon is, due to the need for a very precise placement of the bomb, you might end up thinking you’re at the wrong spot, or just simply waste all your bombs).
Zelda II: The adventures of Link (NES) Often seen as the black sheep of the Zelda series, due to it being so different (as if Ocarina of Time was not very different from what came before…), Zelda 2 is a bit more straight forward in its design, and only really has one spot that feels unfair as far as level design goes. Overall, I think this is a better game than Zelda 1.
A Link to the Past: The SNES Zelda game is basically what Zelda 1 should have been. There are some tricky puzzles, but nothing that feels unfair or just requires guesswork for you to be able to progress. The game is very easy though.
Link’s Awakening (GB/GBC) A bit more linear than A Link to the Past, but otherwise quite similar. This game has some excellent dungeons and is overall one of the series strongest games.
Ocarina of Time (N64): Even when it was new, I found the camera to be clunky and annoying, and it suffers from a lot of issues that early 3D games had. The world is impressively big, and it has some clever puzzles, but personally, I’m not a huge fan, in particularly not of the puzzles that simply require you to spot the right item or switch, with things obscuring your vision making it so that you have to point the camera the right way while standing at the right spot to find the item (the water temple, which supposedly was overhauled in the DS version, is a major offender here).
Majoras Mask (N64): This one uses the same engine as Ocarina of Time, and has many of the same issues. On top of that, it also suffers from some terrible slowdown at points. On the plus side, the world is quite interesting, and it has some well designed puzzles. At the time of release, this was my least favourite Zelda title (I’ve not played the CD-I titles), but I’ve warmed up a bit to it with time. I still don’t find it great though.
The Oracle of Ages/Seasons (GBC) These are two interesting games. They have a lot in common, although one is more puzzle focused and the other is more combat focused. Overall, they’re among the weaker Zelda titles, but have some interesting mechanics.
Wind Waker (GC): This is my personal favourite Zelda game, but some people hate it. Sailing can get tedious, and the game is very easy, but I thought it had a nice feel to it, and it’s also the first Zelda game to make a serious stab at telling a story, something I think works well.
Twilight Princess (GC/Wii) This game feels more linear than the previous ones, and most of the dungeons are very easy, but the slightly darker tone of this game works quite well as a contrast to Wind Waker, and the world feels large. This is what Ocarina of Time should have been.
Skyward Sword (Wii) One of the most hated games in the series, although I still find it better than the N64 ones, Skyward Sword has the least interesting overworld, and the most annoying “help character”, but on the plus side, it does have some nice dungeon design and combat is fun, when the motion controls works.
Thank you for the detailed description!
So I think I’ll give a try (some day) to the first one but I won’t feel bad if I don’t manage to feel immersed in it :P
The screenshot is from a fan made demo of Kakariko Village from OoT, not the official game. I’ve only played the first NES game and OoT. From my experience and reading what other’s have said, I’d say start with OoT. I played the 3DS version on the Citra emulator.
Myst was one of the earlier games released on CD, and one of those games that showed what incredible things this newfangled medium could offer for the gaming world.
I for one loved MYST when I first played it roughly 8-9 years ago. I played through it in a single sitting, only getting out of my chair to get more tea. That was an evening well spent (although spending 5h straight in front of the computer might not have been great for me… ;) )
I can’t imagine beating it in one sitting. It took me forever to beat Myst when it first came out! Granted I was maybe 12, but I do remember reading the strategy guide at B Dalton in the mall to figure out some of the tricks.
I think age might be the big difference here :P I was an adult (if just barely) when I played the game for the first time.
I played Myst in 1994 on a defunct console system called a 3DO. I loved it and had never played a game quite like it. I don’t remember it being difficult (they didn’t really have walkthroughs back then) but it was very enjoyable. I have RealMyst as well…I’d probably find it impossible these days, lol.
Some parts were difficult or confusing in the beginning. Once I got the hang of it, it started to click with me. This was my first time playing a point-and-click adventure game.
I also played it on that system, lol. Still have my 3DO with like 20 games. I kick it on about once a year just for memories. RealMyst is great! It plays almost like a modern game but still feels like Myst. I was blown away.
:D That’s great that you still have yours. I did eventually get rid of mine a few years ago. My main games were Myst, Road Rash, The Need for Speed, GEX, Twisted!, and…I’m sure some others I’m forgetting.
Yup. All those are great. Need for Speed 3DO was my favorite racing game for many, many years. You might also remember Total Eclipse, Star Control, Return Fire, and my favorite Space Hulk game.
Sadly I didn’t have any of those games. My college roommate did have Star Control on his Amiga 500 though. Launch fighters!
Myst changed the way I looked at video games back in the day. It was the first game I can remember playing that had a story and entire universe that felt real and huge. I would imagine what it would be like to live in that world. I even wrote a journal of my play through as if I was a character in the world. You couldn’t really do that with anything that came before.
Oddly enough, the next time a game would affect me in such a way would be when Ocarina of Time came out. These two games changed the way I thought of video games as an art form.
They were both really incredible games. I previously tried playing them both and failed. I think it took getting a bit older to enjoy them.
I don’t think anyone cares if you won’t play all of your games, the main thing is for you to go through your backlog, whether that’s a selection of games is irrelevant.
Zelda is amazing, definitely one of the best games there is, definitely in my top 25, about realMyst, can’t really say, just acquired it but haven’t gotten around to it yet, I did play the original Myst some time ago, but couldn’t finish it, way to complicated for me.