Should Zelda games be more directly intertwined or still be self contained?

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I did, but my only real exposure with LA has been through the Switch port, which removes the context and also any hint that it's the same Link.

does Dethl not still transform as Agahnim in the remake? also not seeing that context doesn't mean it was never there, he was the same Link from LTTP when LA first came out and supplimentary material that's come out since then still affirms it's the same Link

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

does Dethl not still transform as Agahnim in the remake? also not seeing that context doesn't mean it was never there, he was the same Link from LTTP when LA first came out and supplimentary material that's come out since then still affirms it's the same Link

He does, but Zelda loves to reuse thing like that in unrelated entries.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

He does, but Zelda loves to reuse thing like that in unrelated entries.

except this wasn't the case back then when LTTP was Agahnim's only appearance, and to a lesser extent, Dethl's transformation into Ganon also being based on ALTTP

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

except this wasn't the case back then when LTTP was Agahnim's only appearance, and to a lesser extent, Dethl's transformation into Ganon also being based on ALTTP

True, it was definitely a more direct reference back then. Unfortunately, I still wouldn't regard LA as being solidly connected to ALTTP outside of it.

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

I do get that the intention is for LA to be a sequel to ALTTP, but I just don't think it conveys it directly enough. It has as many references to ALTTP as Duke Nukem Forever has to Halo.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

True, it was definitely a more direct reference back then. Unfortunately, I still wouldn't regard LA as being solidly connected to ALTTP outside of it.

not sure what else to say, this isn't like the Oracle games where I swear I can't find any source that states where it was originally meant to be placed (literally the only games that changed placements in the timeline), LA always had a defining place, even if it's easier to miss than most

 

[AncientPoe]

I've always believed that one of the strengths of the series is the relative disconnect between the entries. I don't mind individual games being direct sequels, but I think the series would suffer as a whole if you tried to link them together to strongly. Also, that development model really hamstrings the teams who work on it, tending to punish them should they need to change team members, or if someone unexpectedly passes away.

As an example, take the most recent Star Wars trilogy. No matter what you think of each individual movie, whether you liked some or all of them, or hated some or all of them, it's pretty clear that not having all three handled by one person or group of persons who had a clear vision for the total arc of the story really hurt those films. But that's just three movies over the course of a few years. Imagine trying to keep an ongoing series of games on a connected story or timeline. You would just be shooting yourself in the foot.

Also, I've always liked that having them be so far removed from each other lends this feel of them being a collection of apocryphal tales being told or researched by someone. Like, each one of us playing them and having them turn out slightly different is like having different people tell the same story differently.