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What 3DS Zelda do I play?

Kiraly

Kiraly

Member
Dear GAF,

I want to play a Zelda game on 3DS. Saw that Nintendo Selects offers either Ocarina of Time or A Link Between Worlds for 20 bucks. Which one should I pick?

The only past experience I have had with Zelda was Oracle of Seasons and an unmemorable playthrough of the Minish Cap. Have seen bits of A Link to the Past as well at a very young age.

I read both offer a quality experience, but I was wondering whether A Link Between Worlds would be the better pick as OoT would rely more on the nostalgia factor. I don't care about replayability or playtime, I just want to sit back and relax for a bit on stormy days.

Thank you in advance for helping me pick!
 
Well if you haven't played Ocarina of Time again I would say go with it first it still remains one of the best games ever made.
 
There is no 'bad' choice here imo.

Ocarina of Time is a classic and one of the best games ever made. ALBW is a very solid game with some great dungeons and boss fights. It plays better in short bursts.

But personally? Go with Ocarina. It's the best Zelda.
 
Both of them bank on the nostalgia factor, but ALBW banks on it by recycling lots of content from LttP; OoT 3D banks on it by being an actual enhanced version of OoT.

So the question is whether you'd prefer a NSMB-like LttP rehash or a remaster of OoT.
 
Nere said:
Well if you haven't played Ocarina of Time again I would say go with it first it still remains one of the best games ever made.
Click to expand...

I can understand it arguably being one of the best games ever made, but wouldn't a more modern experience of A Link Between Worlds suit me more?
 
1. A Link Between Worlds
2. Ocarina of Time
3. Majora's Mask

In between playthtoughs, try to make friends with Triforce Heroes and then pick that too.
 
A Link between Worlds is actually more or less a 2D Zelda.

They're both great. I played OoT 3D just recently and it was really good (played it for the first time). Got ALBW like 1 week ago, and I really love it so far. But that's because I think I just like the 2D Zeldas more than the 3D ones.

I don't think you can do any wrong with any of those two. My advice would be to get one of them now and the other one later :D
 
Kiraly said:
I can understand it arguably being one of the best games ever made, but wouldn't a more modern experience of A Link Between Worlds suit me more?
Click to expand...

ALWB is a pretty classic experience, not really 'modern', unless we count the fact you can get any weapon in the game at any time.
 
Kiraly said:
I can understand it arguably being one of the best games ever made, but wouldn't a more modern experience of A Link Between Worlds suit me more?
Click to expand...

Link Between Worlds isn't that good when compared to other Zelda games. Get Ocarina of Time.
 
Kiraly said:
I can understand it arguably being one of the best games ever made, but wouldn't a more modern experience of A Link Between Worlds suit me more?
Click to expand...

ALBW is not a more modern experience. It's heavily based on A Link to the Past, which is an even older game. ALBW is fine, but OOT aged well and didn't really get worse. It still holds up extremely well. No nostalgia required.

I thought ALBW was a very safe game that didn't do anything that other games didn't do before it. OoT is a much deeper, much more interesting and satisfying experience.
 
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In all seriousness though, Ocarina of Time is king of the Zelda games and I would definitely start there.
 
Ocarina of Time is one of the best games of all time and still the best Zelda game.

And that opinion has nothing to do with nostalgia, I first played it on the Wii VC.
 
If you just want to sit back and relax, go with Link Between Worlds. It's an easier game to get into. It's brilliant as well. Like, maybe one of the best games in the series brilliant.

Loved that game.
 
Α Link Between Worlds is easier and not so grandiose, on the other hand OOT is so atmospheric and probably one of the best titles on the system. My suggestion is go for OOT.
 
They are both great games, I wouldn't say one is much better than the other at this point, it depends on personal taste and the difference between 'very good' and 'very very good'.

OOT has much longer dungeons, and much more space to roam around in compared to the packed landscape of LBW. Which makes LBW a bit better for short bursts, but to be honest sleep mode makes it a bit pointless as a concern- even LBWs dungeons aren't that short. LBW is easier too, if that matters. Not that OOT is particularly hard.

Ultimately they are both worth playing, OOT is widely recognised as one of the best games going (with the 3DS version the best one) though, so it's probably worth checking out first just to see what all the fuss is about. You can't really go wrong with either.
 
You can't make a bad choice between the two. It just depends if you want 2D or 3D Zelda. I would rank OoT as the best 3D and LBW as the best 2D.


You really do need to buy them both!
 
I'd go for OoT. ALBW was still very enjoyable, but it was the easiest game in the series. I'm by no means good at these games, and I was still disappointed by the lack of challenge.
 
I don't see a reason to pass on the opportunity to play a remastered Ocarina of Time if you have a 3DS and have never played it before.

There's something wondrous, really, about slowly adding to your arsenal of items and abilities. Link Between Worlds has it too, of course, but by revealing all the items near the start, some of that mystery and anticipation is lost.

If you have a New 3DS I'd recommend A Link to the Past first, though.
 
You should maybe play Link Between Worlds after Link to the Past.
It's also shorter and much easier (in terms of puzzle design) than OoT, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on what you're looking for.
 
I wouldn't say that OoT is mired in nostalgia, other than perhaps some designs chosen to avoid technical limitations of the time. Otherwise, the game is still ridiculously solid.

Personally, the item buying in ALBW undermined the generally really nice overworld. In truth, the latter has a stronger aspect of nostalgia than OoT tbh.
 
Ocarina of Time is easy pick here. It's the GOAT Zelda game...and pretty much the GOAT game.

Majora's Mask is a the follow-up to OOT. I thought they did a great job remastering it, but you might be put off by the game design.

A Link Between Worlds, I feel, was better than A Link to the Past with how they did their dungeon design and how exploration and if I'd had to order it:

1. Ocarina of Time.
2. A Link Between Worlds.
3. Majora's Mask
 
A Link Between Worlds is the secret best Zelda game ever.
 
Ocarina of time works better with nostalgia goggles, though still a good game. A link between worlds is a great game with a solid reinventing of the classic Zelda formula. I would go ALBW all day everyday.
 
Kiraly said:
I can understand it arguably being one of the best games ever made, but wouldn't a more modern experience of A Link Between Worlds suit me more?
Click to expand...

They're still making games that ape the OoT formula 1:1, like Darksiders. Nothing has changed drastically since then. Beyond that, the 3DS remakes are remarkably good and modernize some features of the games.

I can't count the number of people who played OoT for the first time with the 3DS remake and said "yeah, that was great. I get it."
 
Ocarine of Time first, then A link between worlds... It will be a awesome change of style, you won't really be burned of too much zelda playing those 2 one after the other.
 
Can't really choose wrong. OoT is still amazing all these years later and holds up surprisingly well. That's not to say it doesn't show it's age in some spots, you could tell this was early in the life of 3D games. But the remaster is really well done, and it's one of those games everyone should play. ALBW is excellent too though, it's a tighter experience and more suited to the handheld experience. It also has some modern conventions even though it's LTTP2, so it might be easier to play. OoT is my favorite game ever and got me into games so I'll suggest that, but really you should just get one now and when you can afford the other buy that.
 
I would say to start with A Link Between Worlds in this scenario. If you've only played top-down Zelda games in the past, this game offers the best version of the style of game. OoT is a classic, but the 3D Zelda games are a different beast. Save that for next time.
 
Kinda Off topic but can someone explain how Majora's Mask works with time? I'm considering picking up a 3DS again. Have never played Majora's Mask but what I have seen of it it used some kind of timer. Usually I'm not into games that force you to do stuff in a given time so not sure if I should pick it up or not.
 
Here's my opinion:

Link's Awakening VC > Ocarina of Time >>> Majora's Mask > Link Between Worlds > Oracle of Ages/Seasons > Phantom Hourglass > Spirit Tracks

Link's Awakening still has the best plot in a Zelda game to date. I really want them to revisit Koholint Island and the Wind Fish.
 
blly155 said:
Kinda Off topic but can someone explain how Majora's Mask works with time? I'm considering picking up a 3DS again. Have never played Majora's Mask but what I have seen of it it used some kind of timer. Usually I'm not into games that force you to do stuff in a given time so not sure if I should pick it up or not.
Click to expand...

Of course! So basically the game works in three in-game day cycles. NPC schedules change over time, so does the environment which is pretty neat. You can speed up or slow down time as well as go back to the "Dawn of the First Day" whenever you like by playing the "Song of Time". The only things you lose when you go back in time are any rupee's you didn't deposit in the bank as well as items like bombs, arrows, deku nuts, etc but those are easily recoverable. Once you beat a dungeon you don't need to do it again but iirc if you start one and then go back in time, you might lose some progress there (feel free to correct me if this is inaccurate).

I really detest timers in games as well but MM does a particularly good job and I never felt rushed or anything like that.
 
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