Which Zelda Game Was The Dividing Point?

[A Link In Time]

This was a conversation topic which tore the SB apart Saturday night. It's only natural a proper thread discussion unfolds as it appears members are keen to embrace the topic.

It's no secret the Zelda fanbase is one of the most bipolar in the videogame industry. Given the franchise's long, twisting history it's not a shocker either. But where did this divide occur? What was the critical point in the severing of the fan base? This thread will endeavor to explore those questions by analyzing some likely suspects.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link: The Adventure of Link was a game about ditching conventions, bucking the trend. Nintendo didn't know how its adventure series should progress and dabbled with RPG elements. While certain elements first incorporated in said game such as towns are here to stay, the game was not popularly received for its steep difficulty curve and experience system.

Ocarina of Time: What? How did Ocarina of Time nab a spot on this list? But-but-but, that game is so acclaimed? Impossible! Blasphemy! ALIT, I'm burning you at the stake at once. Woah, bud, calm down. Ocarina of Time was a step in a different direction. This was the first 3D installment and naturally represents a drastic alteration. Since that point no console Zelda has been 2D, likely leaving some fans disgruntled.

Majora's Mask: Majora's Mask is oftentimes dubbed the "black sheep" of the Zelda universe. Critics coin the biggest risk Nintendo has taken in years and veritably so. The game featured a unique save system and a darker, dismal narrative. But it's precisely the aforementioned 72 hour cycle which drove some gamers crazy. Dungeons needed to be completed in a shorter pressured time span and side quests would only unravel on certain days.

The Wind Waker: In a nutshell, The Wind Waker released at the wrong time. Fans were expecting realistic brawls and instead they received Toon Link. Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and the Spaceworld 2000 demo appeared to pave the path the series would take. This could not be farther from the truth as a brighter, more whimsical, and in some respects deeper adventure unfolded. Sailing the Great Sea on the King of Red Lions was a great spin on transportation although some have hammered it as tedious and boring with few tasks to complete during travel.

Twilight Princess: Twilight Princess received the shorter end of the stick following the release of The Wind Waker. After players saw a streak of something new with Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker, many were sorely disappointed in Twilight Princess. They called it an "Ocarina of Time 2.0" decrying Ganondorf's incorporation and lamenting the lack of the magic meter.

Skyward Sword: Two words nail the principle point of controversy here: Motion controls. Some believe the Wii Motion+ augments immersion whereas others cannot work the technology or complain of the increased physical labor. A secondary problem resonates from the overworld. Many are not pleased with its disconnected nature and the lack of activity in the sky.

That's it from me. Now I'd like to hear your thoughts. What was the turning point for the Zelda fanbase? Why do you think said game was the dividing point? Discuss.

 

[GirlWithAFairy]

I think that OoT was a pretty big dividing point just because many later games have been compared to it. Every little detail is scrutinized and at some point, someone will say "Well in OoT..." Especially since many consider OoT THE greatest game in the Zelda series. Thats just how I see it tho.

 

[SavageWizzrobe]

While it's hard to pinpoint exactly which game divided the fanbase the most, after some thought I'd have to say Wind Waker. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask crafted the 3D Zelda ideal; how one should play, what one should look like, and so on. The sudden change in the direction of the series with the cel-shaded graphics really turned off some fans, whereas others looked past the graphical style change and saw a great Zelda game. I was about to actually say Majora's Mask, but I tend to hear more people talking about WW's controversial art direction more. It's because graphics are what make a first impression.

 

[DarkestLink]

This is...pretty biased....Wind Waker was definitely much more unpopular than Twilight Princess.

Also, there isn't one division. There's many divisions. But I'd say the biggest division is when Wind Waker came out. Majora's Mask was pretty much ignored. But Wind Waker had around half of the fanbase against it...many refused to even buy it just because of graphics.

 

[Spirit]

I think the majority of the fanbase found the split at Wind Waker. had TP and WW been released the other way around with TP coming first then TP would probably have a lot more love, instead TP looks like an apology for WW instead of TP being what it was, which was a proper evolution of the Zelda structure in almost every aspect. But that is just observation from a fan of both games...

Personally the Zelda divide has happened very recently for me with the release of every game after TP. The DS titles felt rushed and were shameful clones of one another thus making me feel short changed. The games also destroyed an entire branch of the timeline and the good graces that WW had left me with, a strong Start of a new branch was made a mockery of by a filler adventure and then a clone. SS further disappointed me because it didn't deliver the fun or excitement of WW, or the deep immersive elements of TP, everything about SS to me felt as if it were half done, as if nintendo could have put more in it but didn't.

So my divide is recent, i've been able to survive stylistic changes but my divide has stemmed form the overall lack of effort Nintendo seem to be putting into more recent titles.

 

[Ventus]

I honestly don't see how AoL could be a dividing point given that it was only the second game in a series that wasn't meant to last all too long. But, eh, that's my opinion. ;p

The dividing point the way I see the fans is definitely The Wind Waker. Why? Well, when you figure that a huge deal of people were instantly turned off from the game due to its graphics, that is a huge deal. Another point of contention, and this is merely my own perception, is that TWW was the start of the casual appeal of Zelda. Ever since then, it seems Nintendo has been making the games easier and easier without much appeal to the core playerbase. Seemed Nintendo was rejecting us, really, ever since TWW.

 

[Terminus]

Theres no hard and fast rule for which game is the dividing point (some people hate something about every game), butTWW is my choice because it is the split from "Classic Zelda" to "Modern Zelda". Naturally speedbumps will be had. Such as that graphics debacle.

 

[Johnny Sooshi]

I'd say it's around Wind Waker. While I've enjoyed every single Zelda game (even Zelda 2 which still irks me to this day) I'd agree that many people didn't like it due to the "childishness" of both characters and graphics.

This is...pretty biased....Wind Waker was definitely much more unpopular than Twilight Princess.

Tell that to JJ

 

[HyruleHistory10]

This is...pretty biased....Wind Waker was definitely much more unpopular than Twilight Princess.

Also, there isn't one division. There's many divisions. But I'd say the biggest division is when Wind Waker came out. Majora's Mask was pretty much ignored. But Wind Waker had around half of the fanbase against it...many refused to even buy it just because of graphics.

I would have to agree with you on this one. I know twelve people (most co workers but a few friends) who would not even buy it because of the graphics. I pity them.

 

[DarkestLink]

@Darknut_Hunter

I'm not saying Twilight Princess is automatically the best game even though it is one of my favorites. It's just easily more popular than Wind Waker. Sales alone show this before the argument even begins. Likewise, even though I prefer Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time is the most popular game in the series. It always has been since its release and it probably always will be. It doesn't mean it's automatically the best, it just means more people favor it. And that in itself is a fact.

 

[MW7]

I agree with the majority that Wind Waker was the most divisive game in the history of the series in terms of the number of people who lashed out against it and/or totally refused to give it a chance. For me though the first game to leave me with a bitter taste in my mouth was Twilight Princess.

 

[New Link]

While I wish it wasn't true ;( but Wind Waker is the MOST argued over! ITS SO GOOD HOW CAN YOU HATE IT?! LISTEN TO THAT MUSAAAC!

While Tp is some times argued over and A little more SS

 

[Sir Quaffler]

For me, it's a tie between Wind Waker and Skyward Sword, judging from the fans' reactions to both games.

These two seem to be extremely divisive among the fanbase. It's a love-it-or-hate-it sort of thing with both games.

I'm still having trouble convincing my own siblings, who are also hardcore Zelda fans, to give WW the proper chance due to the way the game looks and feels. While I have grown to like the cel-shading and consider those who cannot look past it as being shallow, the core gameplay does not garner the same amount of respect from me. So fans who really don't like the sailing or the pitifully easy combat are more justified in their dislike of the game. So there seems to be three distinct camps; those who hate it just because of the graphics and the 'kiddie' look, those who have played it and while still finding things to like about it are dissuaded by several of the gameplay mechanics, and those who seem to have unconditional love for the game.

A similar sort of situation is in effect for Skyward Sword, though it almost seems as if it's even more so than WW. While WW has had time to sink into the fanbase and the views are a bit more collected and evened out, SS has had barely a year to settle, and the dust is still flying from all the bickering among the fanbase. Only time will tell how SS is viewed in the annals of Zelda history, but it seems to be quite controversial, for better or for worse. Some, like myself, have fallen deeply in love with the game and all it has to offer, whereas others view it as the worst Zelda game to have ever been made and a turn for the worst with the series. Also take into account the visual styles used. At least with WW, the style has been used for the subsequent handheld games and seems a much better fit for them. SS's impressionism, on the other hand, is still up in the air as to its future. (I've heard rumors that the new Zelda game will in fact be using the same visual style but making it HD, which will be friggin' sweet if it turns out to be true!)

So, taken that into account, I'd say SS is the dividing point, at least for the current age.

 

[caleb11roy]

I don't believe OoT was the Dividing Point when it released, but I do believe it is the reason why many fans are disappointed in every Zelda Title since. I love every single Console Zelda game out there, some more than others, however OoT was the first 3d Zelda game and it was the greatest game of it's time no question, so it's only natural that everything else must be compared to it. If a Zelda game releases that is better than OoT many gamers will not admit to it.