#my guess is that oot and mm are going to be the worst of the bunch

[waywardsalt]

the oracle of seasons manga is also a step up from the oot manga, but not as good as four swords. it’s... average? granted i never played oracle of seasons (or ages) and it’s not bad but it’s not great, either. it doesn’t really do anything wrong but as far as i can tell nothing they do or add to the story is all that great. the only exception is the stuff with link joining the performers; that was actually an interesting section of the manga.

[linkedspirit-fanartfunart]

A poll. In honor of getting details on Hero's Backstory. :D

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

A tentative Zelda games ranking, by me

1 + 2. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

Honestly, they share the first position, but for the list's sake, let's put them on both slots. I think these games are best played together, after all, unlike other games that are follow-ups on previous games. I think these games are wonderful and showstopping and amazing. I like the stories of both games (although I do prefer BOTW's story), I like the relation between this Link and Zelda, I love the exploration and the setting, I love the characters. Mostly, I love the freedom it gives. Both games share the world and its physics system and it gives you an immense amount of ways to play this game (although I do prefer TOTK's gameplay and mechanics). It is just a blast to play.

3. Majora's Mask 3D

And that's probably why this one is right underneath it. Here's the thing: I don't like the linearity and dungeons of classic Zelda (yes, you can boo!) and that's probably why I would never see this franchise as one of the best. From all the classic Zeldas I've played, MM feels the most free, because the time loop allows you to do things differently every time. And that's also part of the tragedy: if you do one thing, you cannot do the other. Realising that some of these events exclude another, is one of the best and worst moments. Termina is also a wonderful setting, I like the story and characters, and the moon is terrifying.

4. A Link to the Past

To be honest, this one and Link's Awakening can swap places. I enjoyed them for the same reasons. Yet, the reason ALttP is so high up is because it surprised me. I didn't think I'd enjoy it this much, and that it was this big. It's simple, otherwise, but I genuinely didn't expect much of it, because people don't talk as often about this game compared to others. So that is why it is so high up. I was so blown away by it, since I had moderate expectations, and they were blown out of the park. That led to a lot of fun.

5. Link's Awakening DX

Here we go back to the exploration part. I loved exploring Koholint island so damn much. I already knew of the plot twist before playing, but it still hit like a brick. So yeah, the setting, story and characters really make this game great.

6. Orcarina of Time 3D

Yes, you can boo. So, as I mentioned, ALttP surprised me. OoT didn't. This game was great, but I also knew it was going to be great, does that make sense? As a result, I wasn't super blown away by it. I love the setting, the story and the characters, but I also knew I was going to. This is ultimately why it's ranked lower than others.

7. Skyward Sword HD

This one and TP also tend to switch, but more on that in the TP section. SS is my first linear Zelda. I didn't buy it on release because I loved BOTW and I knew that everything I loved about Zelda was introduced in BOTW. But FOMO is strong, I guess. And here's the good: I love the setting, I love the story, I love the characters, especially the relationship between Link and Zelda. These are probably my favourite Link and Zelda of the franchise. From all the linear Zeldas, this is the only one whose cutscenes i rewatch online. But the actual game was, uh... Well, as I said, I realised I am not fond of dungeons and linearity. It also doesn't help that this game had a LOT of backtracking, so after a while, you'd seen it. Skyloft was cool, but apart from that, there's barely any reason to go to the sky. What's in the sky? The sky. I did like the motion controls! Yes, I am a motion control defender (you can boo again). Keep this in mind. I loved swinging around with my sword.

8. Twilight Princess

Okay, so, uh, Twilight Princess is better than SS in almost every way when it comes to the setting and the dungeons and what not. This is because the Hyrule in TP is so much bigger and there's more to explore, and as I said, that's my favourite part of any Zelda game. Like, I think this is my second favourite iteration of Hyrule. The dungeons were also way cooler and there were cooler items. The character were on par with SS (except for Link and Zelda, although I still liked TP!Link and Zelda). The only thing that SS definitely did better than TP is the story. I don't care too much for TP's story. It was just fine. So, why oh why is TP lower than SS? The controls of TP fucking sucked. I know I am a fan of motion controls, but my GOD, this game sucked because of its controls and as a result I didn't really like playing it that much. Apart from the sword and shield controls, everything else either sucked entirely or was just annoying. Okay, so maybe TP is a better game than SS in many ways, but does that matter? Cause if I don't like playing it, then the other stuff kinda gets thrown out, because what's the point of a cool setting if I don't like playing through it? (I should've just played the GameCube version)

9. Cadence of Hyrule

I mean... it was fun. I really liked it, and it had some great points like a playable Zelda, a randomly generated world which made exploring wonderful, Ganon randomly being here to play an organ, and a great usage of the franchise. More people should play it. BUT it was also very short and I only liked it because I turned off the rhythm based gameplay. Aka, can I really recommend a rhythm game if I didn't like the rhythm?

10. The Minish Cap

The reason this is last place is because I have nothing to say about it. It was fine. I had fun playing it, but I also don't really remember any of it. I had fun while it lasted, but it didn't leave a big impression, or so it seems.

[izunias-meme-hole]

My first time watching a man go from a young man, to a cruel hearted monster, to a remorseful figure that changes himself in one final act. A lesson that people can be complicated, yet simplistic.

Not my first time seeing a “regular guy” doing what’s right, but certainly one that lingers in my mind in some capacity as the years go by.

They’re a good part of my childhood. These takes on the characters specifically not only reinvented their original dynamic, but showcased what it was in the clearest way possible. Two drastically different folks who want some change in their society, who have different ideas on how that can be done. Granted Optimus is the equivalent of an actually talented college dropout in this show, and Megatron was more of a mob boss mixed with a revolutionary, but I feel like the idea was still conveyed very well.

Ever since my introduction to him in Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros Wii when I was 5, he's kinda been a consistency in my childhood alongside a couple of other purely fun villains, but the main reason why I'm listing him is because I feel like whenever I see good ol' Bowser here, it's like seeing an old friend who pops up now and again. Guess that goes to show that some characters just happen to stick with you, even after a good amount of time.

A continuation of what I learned from Vader, complete with a redemption. Vegeta never started out as a “good guy,” in fact he was a total bastard who was only semi-sympathetic because he wanted to end a greater evil (For his own purposes but still). Yet as Z went on, I saw the changes in his character happen before my eyes, where it all eventually paid off at the end of the Cell Saga and Buu Saga. His arc felt slightly rushed due to it not being planned, but I never felt like it was unnatural.

I already knew that pride was a poison if left unrestrained, but curiosity being a spark to fuel it was something I never truly witnessed in detail so I never outright got it, until diving into Kingdom Hearts and learning about the OG KH Trilogy’s lore for Ansem back in late 2018. Hell looking back at the Ansem reports back in KH1, make me understand exactly how much of a believably dangerous combo it is because I can fully get the mindset of it now. I can relate to feeling the need to know more about certain things, so seeing that be brought to an extreme, in the form of flashiness and good writing (From 2002) had an effect on me.

I’ve seen the whole “power of friendship” shit before my dive into KH, but I feel like the approach to the concept in the first three games in the series was still handled the strongest through this kid, and I slowly appreciate him more everyday.

My love for Final Fantasy truly emerged because of this man showing up in KH and I will never not love him for that.

After playing through OoT and MM for the first time during the pandemic, I feel like there’s never been a character that’s embodied the idea of growing up too quick like this kid, and the fact that I was around 15 around that time, made his story stick to me some more. So consider me nostalgic.

The final evolution of what I learned from watching a fair share of antagonists over the years, but conveyed through a more irredeemable figure that is a best example of a simple yet complicated man. He's the same monster in all of his showings in some capacity, yet he always remains engaging as a character for a plethora of reasons that end up all accumulating to the most compelling showcase of self-destructiveness I have ever seen. A terrifying monster of a man who consistently, without fail, is often his own worst enemy.

I used to watch this show when I was a toddler through a set of old DvD's from the 90's, and its just remained a consistent part of my earliest memories of my childhood, and while it was full of adventure, I mainly remember just watching it due to how mundane it all seemed. There's honestly not much to it, I just wanted to see a bunch of trains do their jobs and go about their lives too.

There are other character's and series's that have shaped my tastes, and just who I am as a whole, but I just wanted to list a few for this small post because we'd be here for hours if I went over everything.

Merry Christmas! Consider this an Ask Meme! Reblog with your responses.

[scopophobia-polaris]

I finally made a little ref sheet for my Au boy? maybe a Linksona at this point? But I finally made it so ooooooh booooy

I was really shy about making this, I just wanted to get some thoughts down about him and well I didnt say everything about him because I kinda wanna make a comic about him, a real long one and so there is some misc info in that text block and some thats not..? sorry I hope someone enjoys this giant mess of an info dump （*´▽｀*）

Because of his insomnia he can usually be found sleeping outside a little ways away from his house, just walk around in the tall grass until the random encounter pops up.

He’s actually very shy about how tall he is, it makes snuggling a problem because he always wants to be the little spoon and he is a very big boy

His cloak is all purpose, keeps him warm, keeps him cool, uses it as a blanket and an umbrella, its got a little hood to it too and it makes him (supposedly) look cool when paired with his Keaton mask

he uh....he really likes animals, he thinks cuccos are pretty cute and sometimes naps in the coop with them, he wakes up surounded by eggs and covered in feathers  

Actually his favorite is Horses, while living in the forest Mido and the rest of the Kokiri would scavenge for stuff outsiders dropped and once they found a book on horse care, even though he couldent read it Timie got really excited about the idea of horses, you don’t understand how hard he screamed when he came across Lon Lon Ranch

He also has a softspot for Dragons

When I said in denial carnivore I ment OMNIVORE, he gets spooked by meat and gets sick when he has anything beef related, its probably because he’s just not used to it, cucco is usually a no because he claims he “can’t eat cute things” which is a flat out lie, he thinks pigs are cute but would eat a ham samwitch anytime

.....also he eats monster parts so....octorock tentacle soup is a thing, turns out he can eat them because of the triforce of courage (for anyone that has followed my main and seen Naga, he ccan do the same thing, the triforce of courage needs more ablities other than makes the posessor brave, even if its just dumb stuff scdvfbg) 

He sits around on his roof and plays that Ocarina whenever he feels, if he was better at reading sheet music he would of become a musician instead of a jack of all trades master of absolutly nothing he does

So not being good at things lemme just say real fast he can’t use magic outside his crystals, if he tries to use magic naturally he will get a bad headache and worse, the only thing he has been able to do so far is light a candle and collapse

Did I mention he’s a fast learner? from what happened in oot and mm he usually never makes the same mistake twice

The boy is a solar panel! Timie falls asleep outside so much not because he just randomly falls asleep, but because he likes the feel of the sun’s warmth, also possibly it’s just that he believed he was a plant once and just wanted to be a normal Kokiri who did the photosynthesis so it’s just become a force of habit to sleep in a sunny area

His first pet was Volvagia, not the REAL Ancient Dragon Volvagia but it’s baby, turns out dragon eggs can delay hatching and stay viable for long periods of time until put in fire, like brine shrimp eggs until put into water. (And yes I’m still salty they never did much with Volvagia in the offical manga excapt for the saddest mOMENT but they didn’t do ANYTHING about expanding the backstory and never even showed it in the first few chapters??? https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RememberTheNewGuy G O S H)

Timie still calls Saria mom and goes to her for advise on almost everything

So he has two kids wow what a dad two kids wow, he absolutly adores his babies and would die for them, Aya is his daughter she’s 6 and his son Leif is 3, when Aya was born he couldent be seperated from her seriously he just wanted to hold her all day he was crying actually wait more like sobbing he couldent believe it.

He did the same thing with Leif, but there was more spooked sobbing.

Also Leif’s name was Weif at first, it was because of the stupid sneezes he was making and since the waifu for laifu wasn’t awake. . .

You see that Sheikah I like to draw? the one with the high cheekbones and the dumb hair named Arn? That who Timie’s boyfriend was, i’m not gonna say much else because I wanna write something and I will spoil a LOT of shit of I say anything super specific

BUT, I can say that Timie did get his Keaton mask and the uge to braid his hair from Arn so do what you want with that information?

For some reason Timie never uses shields anymore? He never seems to take it out anymore and it might have to do with that he realized he was using it less and less during the events of Majora’s Mask

Speaking of Majora’s Mask, Tatl started to give him a bunch of nicknames like greenie, time guy, sourpuss, stone face, music dude, man of the hours, lord of all wibbily wobbily time shenanigans, or just straight up calling him a bitch....Timie was one of the more nicer ones and he took a liking to it, it’s unknown WHY he started to call himself that

Did I mention his figure is a pun kinda???? maybe not a pun but a really bad joke can you guess what it is????

One last thing: Timie clings to others for guidance and emotional support because he lacks stability while he’s alone. Navi leaving was one of the worst moments in his life, right behind losing the Deku Tree. Timie's last boyfriend leaving took a serious emotional toll on him, as Timie genuinely saw as an anchor. He has some difficulty functioning normally when he can't be around the person he loves. It's not like he'll get weird and uncomfortable when he’s going to get groceries, but when there's no way he can be around them for months.

 When traveling alone he wears his keaton mask; not because of symbolism or something, but because it makes him look cool. Realize though, when I say he doesn't function normally, his personality ends up changing. He has a fake confidence to him and becomes like...? A trickster type, or something. He might also snatch up your rupees because he needs food. Don’t say you’ll kick his ass, because he’ll threaten to eat your fingers. It’s real easy to get him to stop doing this kind of BS, though. Call his bluff and he’ll shrivel up back into the big baby he is and will probably go home (even if he’ll be lonely there).

thanks to @fairy-spring  for helping me word some of this stuff, I feel like she’s going to see the bulletpoints and lecture me about how unprofessional some of it sounds wedcfvrgb4th

[heartofthemaid]

But anyway! Considering you're well into the Zelda-verse, what 3DS Zelda games do you recommend~? I have at least some of the games in my 3DS (except for Hyrule Warriors) but considering how I consider myself THE worst LoZ player as a kid, I want to get back into the series and I need a good first impression (I did manage to play/beat Phantom Hourglass from my DSi and I want to continue onto that~ ). Where do you think I should start for that...? OoT, Majora's Mask...? :o

ooooh maaaaaan, okay

I personally favor Majora’s Mask over Ocarina of Time. Both are great to me, but MM had that story with layers, and not only just the main story, but each of the characters you interact with have their own story with layers and I love that kind of stuff. As the days go on you see how these characters in this world deal with this coming doom. Seeing how one action can change how a character acts.

OoT is more of a ‘basic’(what the franchise has grown to be) Zelda game, go to dungeons, get items, beat boss, do stuff in overworld. Solid game! I personally feel it’s the best in that Zelda like formula.

MM does follow that formula in a way, but might be a little more tedious with the time being a big thing to consider, but the 3DS version of the game really made it more user friendly!

So I guess if you want something a little easier to work with in getting used to 3D based Zelda titles, I’d go with OoT, but if you want to try a Zelda game that is different and has a different way about playing, then go MM?

Of course, this is just me and my dumb opinions, I am sure other people can chime in on this better than me.

[dany36]

SIGH so i’m done playing breath of the wild. i beat it about two weeks ago but i just now completed all shrines and sidequests. i thought about hating myself even more by trying to collect all 900 korok seeds but it’s not worth it just to have that 100% in the map screen (plus korok seeds stopped being useful a long time ago). i have 100%d all zelda games i own (except OoX) but i just can’t be bothered for this one.

having replayed all zelda games at least twice, i can’t say i will be doing the same for botw. here are my [long] thoughts about it (spoiler-free):

i can’t say i loved it. i think i was just playing just for the sake of playing it because....duh, it’s a zelda game (plus i sort of spent a crapload of money on the game+console). as a long-time zelda fan, it just...didn’t feel like a zelda game to me. i’m not opposed to change, in fact i was extremely excited to finally play this game, but the overall product just didn’t satisfy me at all. it just felt like a very dull and unfulfilling experience.  

- the overworld. i kept saying it over and over in my head while playing this game: it’s just too damn fucking huge for its own good. and it’s boring as hell to traverse. there aren’t really that many interesting things to do other than look for shrines. oh cool you can climb that mountain way over there? for what? oh haha a korok seed. most of the time, nothing. good job. it just felt tiring and bothersome to explore huge empty spaces of nothing. horses aren’t very useful since most of the time i was warping to try to not bore myself from wandering around empty spaces. i replayed the original loz at least like 5 or 6 times and i absolutely adored exploring every corner of the overworld. botw’s? yawn snore zzzz.

- weapon durability. i mentioned it in an earlier post but i hope this is something that never comes back to a zelda game. it’s especially shitty when you beat a shrine and your reward is a weapon. oh, a weapon that will break after 20 hits or less. so your reward disappears instead of it being something useful that you can actually keep for the rest of the game. this might just be a personal preference but i just hated the weapon system, especially when you find out that the master sword and the hylian shield can actually also break instead of being able to use them infinite number of times (and don’t tell me “oh it’s because otherwise you would never have used any other weapon!” bc idgaf, frost weapons and spears are cool and i would have used them either way)

- the story. oh my god. i know this is supposed to be a throwback to the original zelda, where you can go straight and kill ganon, but my goodness....it’s 2017. how is it that we got such a barebones story?? when i finally got to zora’s domain i was excited. i was finally getting to the story. boy i was wrong. the game gave me zero reason to care about saving the world and its inhabitants (except the gorons, which i think were the greatest in this game). i fucking hate that the story is mostly told through memories. the worst part is, the story told through the memories is more exciting than the one you play through the game. i hate that we are told from the start “you have to save hyrule and the princess because um....you’re a hero, you just don’t remember haha! so GO!!!!” instead of showing me actual, emotional reasons to want to save these people. through the memories we just become spectators, instead of the story actually making us bond and feel something for the people we are saving (except, again, yunobo, who i will save 1000 times if i have to). not even princess zelda’s incredible character growth (which, once again, HAPPENS IN THE MEMORIES and NOT in the present) can save the story from being lackluster. i would talk more about this but then it’d take up the whole post.

- the music. i’ve also complained about it before, but it’s a fucking joke, especially since it’s a zelda game, which are mostly known from having really good soundtracks. for me, there are zero memorable soundtracks. i think i only liked two, the one where you are near a Tower and when you are near a shrine. even minecraft, a freaking indie game, had better ambient music than botw. exploring the overworld becomes 3600% more BORING because as you’re walking, all you hear is link’s footsteps and clanky armor. so the overworld becomes twice as empty because 90% of the time, there is no music. except the five random ass piano keys you hear from time to time. it’s just bad and it makes me sad. people seemed to have hated SS’s OST, but at least it gave us Fi’s Theme and the magnificence that is the Lanayru Sand Sea theme. now THAT’S music that truly takes you into the game and gives it the proper ambiance that the overworld tries to portray. botw? a sad, sad attempt. i’m honestly wondering what they will play during botw’s section at the symphony of the goddess’s tour.

- the sidequests. 90% of the sidequests are boring fetch quests and “kill this type of enemy plz”. it’s just boring and tedious and the rewards are a joke (mostly, rupees, materials which you can easily find ANYWHERE, or food). it’s time for zelda to step up in the sidequests department and give me good, engaging, emotional-investing sidequests that tell me more about a certain character, or which tell me more about the world, or overall just make me CARE about its inhabitans that i’m trying to save. MM is the king of sidequests and botw once again pales in comparison.

- the dungeons. the first one (Vah Ruta) was cool. then it got boring and repetitive, really fast. all the dungeons look identical. the dungeons are for the most part short. there are no enemies inside the dungeons except these flying skeletons that die with one hit. oh yeah and maybe a robot here and there. so there’s some enemies but nothing tough. the premise revolves around manipulating the dungeon by rotating it to discover new areas. so it’s like playing four Stone Towers from MM. Except i guess the Gerudo dungeon, which added an element of electricity (that was cool). but other than that, all of the dungeons are pretty much the same and after you’ve played one, you’ve pretty much played them all, which is sad because it takes away the element of surprise and “oh man i wonder what the theme of the next dungeon will be?”

- the enemies. the lack of variety is a joke. there’s like 4 or 5 types of bokoblins, which just differ in their color and strength. oh and that’s the same for octoroks, moblins, lizalfos, chuchus, lynels, and wizzrobes (which are a fucking joke in this game. remember when wizzrobes were actually tough in the original game?). oh crap, i’ve actually mentioned 90% of the enemies you will face in the game... i think in total there might be 10 or 11, which is PATHETIC when you consider how fucking huge the overworld is. sad sad sad.

- stamina is stupid and so is climbing. stamina was tolerable in SS because of those silent realms you had to beat: you had to be careful of running and climbing and wearing out your stamina because of those crazy-ass guardians. so it made sense because it adds a challenge to the silent realms. in botw, for a game that focuses so much on exploring and climbing, stamina becomes a hindrance that actually makes it annoying to explore the world. you better not run out of stamina while trying to climb that mountain over there lest you run out and have to start all over!!! joy.

- the graphics. can nintendo please try something else with zelda graphics now. don’t get me wrong, i loved TWW and SS, but....these cel-shading graphics (or whatever they’re called) are getting tiresome. i didn’t like how most of the time the game looks bloom-y and blurry af (it’s especially bad when it’s raining or snowing). people complained about TP’s bloom effects but i feel like botw’s light effect (or whatever the hell that causes it to look like someone just put 200% of brightness on an image using photoshop) really takes away from trying to enjoy the scenery and view that the game tries to offer. for the next game can we try something like hyrule warriors or tp or hell even mm 3d? thx.

- the rain. it. rains. so. fucking. much.

haha oh man i never realized how many things i didn’t like about this game. i think i’ll stop here and talk about the things i did like:

- the shrines. although i didn’t like how all of them had the exact same design, the puzzles in them were cool and very zelda-ish.

- the warping system. thank god there are so many warp points to traverse the overworld because otherwise i would have never finished this game.

- the clothes system. i really liked all of the costume options the game gives you, and the fact that you can change the color of the clothes. it takes me back to the OoT days except with more variety. very nice.

- the runes. i loved not having to worry about running out of bombs and the ice rune was very cool and useful: it’s like having infinite ice arrows from MM to make platforms on the water! also the puzzles that involved stopping time with the statis rune were awesome. oh and grabbing treasure from underwater with magnesis never gets old.

- yunobo. yunobo is pure and great and needs to be protected at all costs.

- lynels. for once, a deadly enemy you actually have to be careful with and prepare yourself with good strategy to beat. i remember when i saw my first lynel i was so scared to approach it. they gave lynels such a great treatment and it’s the same one that wizzrobes should have gotten.

- the variety of the weapons.

- revali’s gale. saved me from having to climb so many mountains with its gust that elevates you so high. also after 3 it re-generates in 5 minutes. a blessing.

- the towns. i loved how lively they look. it’s like clock town from mm and it’s great.

- princess zelda. great character development and she has become my second favorite zelda (behind ST Zelda which will always be the best [while oot zelda continues to be the worst])

summary: while i enjoyed some aspects of the game, overall it just was very tiresome and unfulfilling. for a game that boasted about being open world, the world itself was just so barren of interesting things to do and explore. exploring the world of Xenoblade Chronicles, a fucking Wii game, was way more exciting because the environment, story, and music had more to offer. if there’s one thing i can thank botw for, is that it re-awoke my love for zelda games such as TWW, TP, and SS, which i will probably re-play next. i’m all for evolving the zelda series, and i thank botw for trying, but i honestly hope this game will not be the new zelda formula to follow. PEACE OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ericvilas]

I guess part of it is I'm not really as deeply into stuff as I used to be?

Like, when I was a kid, Zelda (OoT and MM specifically) were my whole world. It was my first fandom. I would talk about it constantly, to my family and to everyone. I would listen to the soundtrack to go to sleep. I got posters. I just loved it so much that I just, couldn't imagine the world without it.

Then I found a couple of special interests that were lighter. I obsessively played Runescape when I was 12-14, and I wasn't a fan but it was the one thing that was most important to me. I had one friend who was into it who I always talked to about even when he got tired of it and when he stopped playing I was devastated, heartbroken, betrayed, it was The Worst Thing Ever In My Life.

After going back to Zelda for a while, finding forums, speedruns, and such, I ended up in nerdy places on the internet, including TVTropes, and at some point when I was 16 I ended up finding out about Let's Plays. Josh Jepson, Chuggaaconroy, TheRunawayGuys, Superjeenius, Lucahjin, MasaeAnela... I would quote JoshJepson's random catchphrases constantly (I still do sometimes even though they're over a decade old now), and I just started obsessively watching all of them and needing to watch every episode. It was fun! I learned so much about so many games I'd never experienced and some of them I learned to have nostalgia for almost like they had been part of my childhood, even though I've never played them (looking at you Banjo-Kazooie). I had amazing times watching and experiencing these people talking and playing different games... I never got into it as deeply as Zelda, of course (Zelda was Literally My Life), but it was still a cool obsession I had.

And then came Homestuck, which I got into in late 2012. And it changed my life. It was the only thing that had ever affected me as deeply as Zelda had. It became my life. My world. And I discovered online communities that were so, SO much deeper than I ever thought possible, and they were ALL about Homestuck. Homestuck was my obsession, my world, my religion, my life, my cult. The Homestuck fandom was the greatest thing in the world and everyone had a moral duty to get into Homestuck because it was just so good and if they didn't see it now they would see it in 20 years when Homestuck got recognized as the literary masterpiece it was, Hussie was comparable only to someone like Shakespeare in history.

And the Homestuck community branched out, of course. Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Over the Garden Wall, and then the rabbit hole of Disney and CN animated shows, from Star Vs to Infinity Train all the way to present times and The Owl House.

Homestuck ended in 2016 and even though I've gone through a hard deconversion process back in the day, it hasn't fully healed. I have found many small things that, put together, helped fill the hole that was left, though there are still scars to this day.

In 2020 I got into Ocarina of Time speedrunning. Not running myself, but just hanging out in the Discord, talking to people, actually surprising people with my knowledge of the game for a non-runner, studying it, learning a ton about its inner workings, and that was cool to have again. It helped to find people with as deep connections to this game as myself. But, if we're being honest, it wasn't the same as how it was when I was 14 and following up on Zelda forums and so on. There was something missing, there. And, I think part of it might've been somewhere between burnout and jading. Or, at least, the lack of my teenage naïveté. But also part of it was the fact that I wasn't, you know. Actually speedrunning. So there was a lot of stuff I just didn't feel qualified to talk about, a lot of things that I just didn't feel like I was the right person to have an opinion on because it required practical experience.

And I never really found some place where I hit that right combination of "highly knowledgeable", "caring about this more than anything else", and "able to nerd out with people who are even more highly knowledgeable and care about it as much as me" again, either because I'm not as interested, or they're not as interested, or because we're interested in things that are too different to be able to nerd out about in sync with each other.

Well, no, that's wrong. I have found it in parts, but it's always been fleeting. A conversation about gold skulltula placement with a speedrunner. A chat about Donkey Kong 64 with a friend. A chat about DK64 with another friend. People asking me physics questions. Friends listening to me when I rant about the Zelda timeline. Playing Mario Kart with friends. These are all great times, but for some reason I still feel unfulfilled, like every event is just too fleeting and there's too much empty space in between. I wish I knew why exactly. I think I just need someone I truly click with on every single level, but that's rare. I don't really know what I'm searching for, but I still feel lonely, despite how much my friends love me and I love them.

I wish I could feel like I'm with people who don't just care about me, but care about the things I do for their own sake, more often.

And I also wish I cared more about things.

How the fuck does one. Actually fandom.

Like. Seriously. It's just. I remember fandoming when my fandom was everywhere and all around. Not friendship fandoming, proper fandoming. Talking to random strangers I met online about this one thing and gushing about it, considering everyone who was into it a friend and family, loving this thing to death and believing it was the best thing ever, Special Interesting and talking about it nonstop to literally everyone who would listen. And there were enough of us around that that didn't feel obnoxious. It felt like I could just live here and make this my world.

How do I find that again. I'm starving for true community like that again.

[gascon-en-exil]

The Not Really Definitive Ranking of the Zelda Series: #13

#19 - Four Swords

#18 - The Adventure of Link

#17 - Phantom Hourglass

#16 - Four Swords Adventures

#15 - Spirit Tracks

#14 - The Legend of Zelda

#13 - The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

Even if they aren’t talked about very often, the two Oracle games made for two very curious entries in the franchise. They were the first (canon) Zelda games developed by a company other than Nintendo - Capcom, who would also go on to develop The Minish Cap - they are the only games joined together in both plot and gameplay (via a password system, one that will make you thankful they scrapped the idea for a third game early on), they were the first 2D games produced after the series made the leap to 3D in grand style, and partially as a result of that they’re arguably the first games to make obvious callbacks to previous games in the series. Numerous minor NPCs in the Oracles like Malon and Talon, the windmill organ grinder, the postman, and the hand in the toilet come directly from the N64 games, the eponymous oracles are women named after the now-established creator goddesses of Hyrule, and the overarching antagonists of both stories are Twinrova, Ganondorf’s surrogate mothers from Ocarina of Time. This never really detracts from either game, but it’s interesting to bear in mind considering how self-referential the Zelda series would eventually become.

As with Four Swords Adventures the Oracles deliver an overall serviceable experience, but in this case the expansion upon the game engine of Link’s Awakening and their own dual nature makes for grander and more involved games. They improve upon some of the technical limitations and minor annoyances (*cough*I can’t lift pots without an item, thanks for telling me for the 50th time*cough*) of LA while also focusing the gameplay on either tougher combat (Oracle of Seasons) or harder puzzles (Oracle of Ages). There are also the animal companions, who only get used about two times in each game but are nevertheless entertaining additions: Dimitri, the Dodongo who can swim up waterfalls but can’t breathe fire (what); Moosh, the not remotely aerodynamic flying blue bear (what); and Ricky, the boxing kangaroo with gender confusion issues comparable to Yoshi’s (I reiterate, what). Hey, I said they were entertaining, not logical.

The question now though is why I placed OoA lower than its counterpart, and from here on I’ll have to talk about the differences between the two games. Despite what their packaging might suggest, the Oracles are not comparable to a generation of Pokémon with two or three games identical but for a few unique species and maybe some slightly altered plot elements. These games are set in two separate countries with eight unique dungeons apiece (nine if you count the bonus dungeon in linked games), present two separate but interrelated plots, and make use of two entirely different gameplay mechanics. As mentioned OoS purports to be combat-intensive whereas OoA focuses more on puzzles, but I distinguish them more by the games they are most directly attempting to emulate. OoA draws more influence from the N64 games, with a slightly deeper plot and more prominent side characters (Ralph, Queen Ambi). Additionally, like both OoT and Majora’s Mask OoA revolves around a time travel mechanic, which for the third game in a row begins to wear a bit. Sure, the scope of time travel here is much larger than OoT’s seven years or MM’s repeated three days, but that just means the difference in time periods is more notable in Labrynna’s changing geography and political landscape (for the Hylians/humans at least...the resident Gorons and Zoras seem remarkably unchanged after four hundred years, and the latter even hint at their very long-lived nature before Breath of the Wild made it fact).

Also I’m somewhat certain that some of the Zoras don’t actually move between the past and present. Talk about static NPCs!

Joking aside, the span of time traveled in OoA leaves no room for the sort of emotionally-driven character studies seen in MM’s frantic three final days of existence or even in the long-delayed reunions of OoT’s timeskip. I suppose it’s an interesting tidbit when Ralph learns he’s a descendant of Ambi, but the force of that reveal comes not from his meeting his great-great-...great-grandmother but from the possibility that Ambi may have to be killed because she’s been possessed by the sorceress Veran - which would cause Ralph to cease to exist. That’s something, I guess?

Even if you find that moving, though, OoA calls back to the N64 in other areas as well, and almost always to its detriment. This game’s version of Jabu Jabu’s Belly represents pretty much all the worst of both of OoT’s water dungeons with none of their highlights, hunting for stray fairies has been turned into an awkward, pace-breaking side story on the way to one of the midgame dungeons, and the construction and transformation of the Black Tower over the course of the game just doesn’t land as strongly as OoT’s depiction of the (partially) ruined Hyrule of the future.

But those are all my reasons for placing OoA below OoS. This is still a fantastic handheld Zelda, with a villain who’s both well-designed and fun to fight, an engaging overworld that alters itself drastically but logically over the centuries, a large ocean area and two water dungeons (even if one does kind of suck) to satisfy my water level-loving self, and a ton of puzzles that can be very satisfying to work through.

Though it could maybe have done with fewer of those “walk on each tile exactly once” rooms.

Next time: Oracle of Seasons, duh.

[kokoruu]

tagged by @missmellifluous​ !! procrastinating getting ready for the day zzz

1. Coke or Pepsi: I hate both and if i really had to have a soda i’d prefer sprite or root beer....coke and pepsi taste the same to me

2. Disney or Dreamworks: i guess dreamworks since i just realized i only like about 3 disney movies??

3. Coffee or Tea: Tea is amazing and the best, I’ve loved every tea I’ve tried but im partial to sweet tea in a mason jar

4. Books or Movies: movies are hard for me to pay attention to lol so books

5. Windows or Mac: windows

6. DC or Marvel: i...dont know the difference

7. X-box or Playstation: ive been a sony fanboy forever, i own an xbox but i hate those gd controllers so much

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: i like both a lot but i like the characters in the dragon age games more, also im more into fantasy than sci-fi

9. Night Owl or Early Riser: my sleep schedule has gone to shit but i generally like staying up until 4am then sleeping until the afternoon

10. Cards or Chess: i have no idea how to play chess but i can play blackjack, so.

11. Chocolate or Vanilla: i wanna say chocolate but im very picky about it because the wrong kind dries my mouth out, so i usually stick to vanilla

12. Vans or Converse: i have both!! but i have more pairs of chucks so lets go with that one

13. Lavallan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar:

lavellan im always a slut for elves

14. Fluff or Angst: fluff pls

15. Beach or Forest: if were talking about actually enjoying being there, then beach, but i like forests like...aesthetically more

16. Dogs or Cats: i generally like cats more but every animal is good

17. Clear Skies or Rain: rain unless its raining here because rain in vegas smells like wet dog and its the worst

18. Cooking or Eating Out: i like cooking and hate spending money

19. Spicy Food or Mild: im drinking a glass of tabasco as im typing this

20. Halloween/Samhin or Solistice/Yule/Christmas: halloween is the only holiday i celebrate/care about lol

21. Little too cold or little too hot: i would rather be cold cuz i feel like its easier to heat up than cool down

22. Superpower: u know i havent thought about this much but i guess flying would be neat

23. Animation or Live Action: animation generally

24. Paragon or Renegade: paragon i cant be mean

25. Bath or Showers: showers unless its really hot or really cold and i have time to lounge in a bath

26. Team Cap or Team Ironman: uhhhhhhhhhhhhh sure

27. Fantasy or Sci-Fi: fantasy!!!

28. Fav Quotes: i dont really have any off the top of my head

29. Youtube or Netflix: usually use netflix

30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: i like both a lot but i think i like pj a bit more

31. When I Feel Accomplished: being productive in any way lmao

32. Star Wars or Star Trek: i dont have an opinion on either, never watched em, star wars memes are funny tho

33. Paperback Books or Hardback: hard cover but they expensiiiive

34. A world without literature or music: oh man...i guess id rather have books than music but id be super bummed

35. Who was the last person to make me laugh: i dont actually remember?

36. Sour or Sweet Candy: hate candy hate both these flavors 

37. Believe in aliens?: i just dont think its possible with our universe being as big as it is, and thats just the parts we know about, that we’re the only living beings, sentient or not

38. Dawn or Dusk: dawn

39. Piercings or Tattoos: im a baby i have neither lmao

40. Girls? Hot?: i love the way this question is worded lol the rumor come out: does girls is hot? yes.

41. Snow or Fog: me binch let the silent hill fog come kill me

42. Sleep facing the wall or room: i like to sleep with my face smashed into my pillow when possible

43. TRC of AFTG: those sure are some letters

44. Horror or Drama: horror

45. Orcarina of Time or Majora’s Mask: oh no....my childhood favs....i guess id pick mm because i feel like it has more of a sense of..identity than oot? if that makes sense lmao

46. Living in nature or city: fuck trees

47. Any addictions: im addicted to this jar of raw honey i got for 10 dollars im gonna be featured in the upcoming ep of my strange addiction where i just stare at the camera and eat spoonfuls of honey

48. Languages: english, very basic and bad japanese, currently learning spanish

49. What music do I listen too: ill listen to anything thats not some white dude singing about boobs beer and his truck and thats a fact

50. Fav mythical creature: dragonsssss

51. Safe zone:  frozen custard shop down the street, if you clip inside you’re invulnerable to all enemies

52. First fandom: uhh the first thing i ever consumed fancontent for was inuyasha 

53. Cartoons or Adult Shows: i like both but ill watch cartoons more 

54. Current music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RhOnTC5yxQ

55. Favorite starter?: bulbasaur, also my fav pokemon #001 baby

56.  What would your witch’s familiar be? im gonna be boring and say a black cat lol

im half asleep anyone who wants to do this can aha