Hardest Handheld Zelda?

[Alder Dragon]

Which handheld Zelda game do you find the most challenging? I would have to say Link's Awakening, nearly tied with Oracle of Ages. In the case of Link's Awakening though, some of the dungeons can be really confusing your first time around. I think Link's Awakening has a nearly perfect combination of puzzles and combat.

 

[Metroid133]

Well I have not played Minish Cap () yet so going with that information...Link's Awakening. I found it to be the hardest overall. Oracle of Ages/Seasons had some hard parts, but looking at the overall picture they were not terribly hard. Now Link's Awakening on the other hand...^_^' I'm just going to say I hate Eagle's Tower! :O It was a fun game though. ^_^

 

[Vincent]

I'm gonna go with Link's Awakening, no doubt. I will never be able to beat that game, and that's that.

 

[Josh]

Link's Awakening forever and ever and ever. Took me a long time to beat that.

 

[Myyrä]

I have to say oracle of seasons because that is only hanheld zelda that i found challenging. I have not played La so i can't say about it.

 

[Claire]

Link's Awakening, no further questions asked.

There wasn't a helper involved, which automatically increases the difficulty (in my opinion, at least) and it overall is just more rewarding when defeating a boss because of the difficulty. Also, if it has anything to do with the challenge, I think Link's Awakening is one of the best handheld games - scratch that, it is (assuming you do not count remakes) for me.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I'm going to break the trend here and say OoA.

I just got it yesterday, and it's been very hard so far. Much harder than I remember LA being.

 

[blackice_cc]

I'm going to have to agree with Ver-go here. I haven't played LA in ages, but I beat it when I was around 6-7, so it couldn't have been THAT hard. OoA I had a bit of a pain with in some spots though, and it had some tough puzzles. I'd say it wins this title by far.

 

[Amelie]

Out of the ones I have played I will have to say Links Awakening. I dont remember finishing MC but it was easy compared to LA for me. The enemmys and puzzles were challangeing in LA for me ^^

 

[Midna666]

I think that OOA is the hardest handheld Zelda game.
In fact it might be the hardest 2-D Zelda game.

 

[zeldafreak]

Minish Cap.
Never beat it, although I never died...

 

[Alder Dragon]

Link's Awakening, no further questions asked.

There wasn't a helper involved, which automatically increases the difficulty (in my opinion, at least) and it overall is just more rewarding when defeating a boss because of the difficulty. Also, if it has anything to do with the challenge, I think Link's Awakening is one of the best handheld games - scratch that, it is (assuming you do not count remakes) for me.

Well, actually, you could sorta count the Owl as a helper. But, if you mean a helper that follows you around that you can talk to such as midna, Navi, or Ezlo.. then that makes sense. I don't really remember there being any "helpers" in OoX either, though.

I really think the order of difficulty in handheld Zeldas would go something like this:

LA > OoA > OoS > TMC > PH > FS

Link's Awakening and OoA are really close. Both are very challenging games. I would say that the puzzles are harder in OoA, but you are also given more hints and clues in OoA than you are in LA. For example, in the dungeons in Link's Awakening, the only tips you got were from the owl statues/stone tablets. Though, I can't honestly say I remember much about OoA.

 

[El Bagu]

I guess I´ll go with the flow here, LA and OoA are the most difficult and time consuming games, but OnoX is the hardest boss you´ll ever encounter in a handheld Zelda!

 

[Claire]

Well, actually, you could sorta count the Owl as a helper. But, if you mean a helper that follows you around that you can talk to such as midna, Navi, or Ezlo.. then that makes sense. I don't really remember there being any "helpers" in OoX either, though.

I really think the order of difficulty in handheld Zeldas would go something like this:

LA > OoA > OoS > TMC > PH > FS

Link's Awakening and OoA are really close. Both are very challenging games. I would say that the puzzles are harder in OoA, but you are also given more hints and clues in OoA than you are in LA. For example, in the dungeons in Link's Awakening, the only tips you got were from the owl statues/stone tablets. Though, I can't honestly say I remember much about OoA.

While the owl does come along every now and then, he is practically equal to the stone slabs or sign posts. He simply gives you a small recommendation as to where to venture and that is all, besides continuing some of the storytelling. I would not consider him as a sidekick in this game.

Supplying hints is a great way to lessen the effort to practically any situation in-game. Even if one would consider OoX to have been developed with puzzles at a greater challenge - it is merely the idea that the more you give away, the difficulty will drop as well (in some cases, this is not always true).

 

[MrMosley]

Oracle of Seasons for me. I don't know if its just that I haven't played it as much as LA and OoA, or if it really is just more difficult, but I just can't seem to get OoS burned into my head like the other Zelda's are. I know LA like the back of my hand, and I know OoA well enough to beat it with no problem. I've beaten LA without dying on a couple of occasions so to me, OoS definitely.