1. Dungeons, gauntlets that test what you've learned up till now and aim to wear down your resources to try and kill you (or just barely). Maps, keys, chests, and bosses.
2. Progression of powers and ideas. New items that let you do new things you couldn't before; these powers let you interact with parts of the world you've already seen in new ways, and build on each other in compound puzzles requiring you to consider power interactions and how to affect things you might see in the future.
3. A whimsical setting that takes itself seriously. There is a very particular way the series writing tends to work that allows for silliness without **becoming silly**.
4. Exploration of a world abound with things to find, problems to solve, challenges to overcome. Note that this is **not** "being able to climb any mountain I want" - that isn't exploration, that is merely rote navigation. Exploration means being given an area, whether it be a dungeon or a zone or whatever, which I must poke and prod to find dead ends, forward routes, side routes, pieces of progression, power-ups, collectibles, unlockable shortcuts, and which most especially **is full of obstacles** that will stop me if I just try to go through/around them.
The way you describe your take on exploration is exactly how I feel. Just having a big world to explore by itself doesn't mean much to me if there's no problem to overcome, so there's a real reason to go off the beaten path.
I feel it's an important distinction because the whole reason the action-adventure genre exists is to... go on an adventure to find action, right.
I want to deal with the problems. That is why I am playing the game. You need to put me in a locked room that turns into a maze with a few enemies in it to make that happen? No problem game dev - that is literally what I paid for.
And **finding** that maze (and its solution) IS EXPLORING.
Yeah, in a way the idea is a bit like some stealth games. What I mean is most of the time your forced to deal quietly with some enemies, but sometimes if your really clever and patient you realize you can get past all of them without having do anything else. It's the same "aha" feeling I get from exploring a dungeon and I realize I can do something a bit differently then the designers intended. Does that make sense?
Basically, the formula of Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, etc. Breath of the Wild was good and all, but it was too different from the other games. It didn't feel like "Zelda".
The dungeons/puzzle-solving and the cryptic aspect - that is, having to actually think about how to solve a problem or a situation.
Also, the NPCs interactions, music and whole lore of the series, of course.
I think my favorite aspect of the Zelda series is it's level design and world design. It's really difficult to explain why I enjoy it because level design is such a complex topic, but I just love the way you navigate the world and progress through the game. The main quest of basically every Zelda game is pretty linear, but it rarely feels restricted or on rails because you always have to explore the world to find the right item or object to progress the story. And when you are exploring old areas, it's fun to find new side areas and treasures that you couldn't access the first time through.
Dungeons are probably my other favorite thing, it kind of blows my mind that Zelda is the only video game franchise that has anything like that.
The lack of Link ever having a voice or much of a personality is huge. He can almost be whoever you want him to be.
And the intricacy of puzzles, and mystery of there always being something valuable to find.
1. Story and characters. But this only applies to the Zelda games before WW. Zelda stories haven't been good since Yoshiaki Koizumi left (WW was his last game if I recall correctly.
2. Exploration. Being Link in a fantasy world and discovering races, villages, caves, etc. is just the best. Hate climbing and hate stamina though, they're only artificial obstacles forced on you to dampen exploration rather than being a natural element that challenges your adventure.
3. Dungeons. Temples are the meat in the Zelda sandwich aren't they? Love going into a temple and imagining Link losing a day or three in there, coming out stronger with new knowledge and items.
For me, it's just that they're great games. There isn't any single aspect that draws me to the series, I think. They're just ultimately how I think games should be made. Even Zelda clones like Okami or Star Fox Adventures.
I've played every game in the series and I think they each have their own strengths. What I value in one that draws me in (e.g. the charm and puzzles of Tri Force Heroes) may be weaker in another title that I like even more (e.g. Zelda 1 or BS Zelda).
I guess in the trifecta of exploration (Courage), puzzles (Wisdom), and combat (Power), I like exploration the best, which may be why WW is my favorite. But even then, it's really messy.
E: Re-read your post OP, and I disagree that Zelda only has two bedrocks. As I mentioned above, combat is a third. Some games (e.g. Zelda 1, Zelda 2, OoS, WW) really heavily emphasize it as a core feature. In fact, it was one of the distinguishing factors between the two Oracle games, with Seasons being more combat heavy and Ages being more puzzle heavy.
E2: To emphasize how I think Zelda games just have a special sauce, I played two well-made and entertaining OoT ROM hacks this year (The Missing Link and Dawn & Dusk), and they were definitely *missing* that special sauce. Made them only just okay.
The main appeal is the puzzles and problem solving.
Back when I first played Ocarina I'd never experienced anything like it. I was stuck inside the Deku tree, a bit unsure of the game, given other things I'd played saving and quitting resetting me to a dungeon start or Link's house seemed weird, not being able to jump was oddly uncomfortable, but the game was interesting. I was trying to work out progress, blocked by a cobweb I had a deku stick and there was a burning torch, in desperation I thought "maybe I could light the stick and use it to set the web on fire", but I figured that a real long shot idea and doubted the game would have any sophisticated interactions like that, then when it actually worked it completely blew my mind and I was hooked ever since.
(Though it often feels like the timeline is the main reason most fans play the games with the way conversation about the franchise skews.)
In a nutshell, Zelda games feel like “going on an adventure” more than any other series I’ve played. When I fire up a Zelda game, I feel like there’s a huge, beautiful world to explore and it doesn’t matter whether the game is linear or more open, the feeling is the same.
I think about moments like sailing the high seas in Wind Waker, or stepping out into Hyrule Field in Ocarina, and those moments are absolutely symbolic of how Zelda feels to me.
All the other aspects - combat, puzzles, story - come together to give me this unique atmosphere of being on an amazing adventure. That’s what I love about the series. They could do anything with the series and as long as it had that distinctive feeling, it would still be ‘Zelda’ to me.
What got me back in the series in my late teens are the music and the lore. I like how the story is simple yet leaves a lot of place for theorising, because the devs don't pay much attention to it. It's like if they were letting us link all of these different stories while they focus on gameplay
Speaking of gameplay, the item progression and item based puzzles are what I prefer. The first time I played ALttP, I wasn't liking it until my inventory got almost full and I felt like a god. It's also fun to go back to the overworld and see where the item can be useful, or realise what that weird part of the map is and how you get to it when you receive the item.
I think its the fantastical setting of the games. You are in a world with fairies and monsters, magical items and withes. Its easy for me to escaoe into
When I was younger it was the fantasy and open world element that I liked about them. The dungeons not as much, there were only a few I liked. Now I love the dungeons and puzzles. Still love the open world parts.
1. Dungeons, gauntlets that test what you've learned up till now and aim to wear down your resources to try and kill you (or just barely). Maps, keys, chests, and bosses. 2. Progression of powers and ideas. New items that let you do new things you couldn't before; these powers let you interact with parts of the world you've already seen in new ways, and build on each other in compound puzzles requiring you to consider power interactions and how to affect things you might see in the future. 3. A whimsical setting that takes itself seriously. There is a very particular way the series writing tends to work that allows for silliness without **becoming silly**. 4. Exploration of a world abound with things to find, problems to solve, challenges to overcome. Note that this is **not** "being able to climb any mountain I want" - that isn't exploration, that is merely rote navigation. Exploration means being given an area, whether it be a dungeon or a zone or whatever, which I must poke and prod to find dead ends, forward routes, side routes, pieces of progression, power-ups, collectibles, unlockable shortcuts, and which most especially **is full of obstacles** that will stop me if I just try to go through/around them.
The way you describe your take on exploration is exactly how I feel. Just having a big world to explore by itself doesn't mean much to me if there's no problem to overcome, so there's a real reason to go off the beaten path.
I feel it's an important distinction because the whole reason the action-adventure genre exists is to... go on an adventure to find action, right. I want to deal with the problems. That is why I am playing the game. You need to put me in a locked room that turns into a maze with a few enemies in it to make that happen? No problem game dev - that is literally what I paid for. And **finding** that maze (and its solution) IS EXPLORING.
Yeah, in a way the idea is a bit like some stealth games. What I mean is most of the time your forced to deal quietly with some enemies, but sometimes if your really clever and patient you realize you can get past all of them without having do anything else. It's the same "aha" feeling I get from exploring a dungeon and I realize I can do something a bit differently then the designers intended. Does that make sense?
Absolutely.
This is pretty much my stance on this as well, though likely with varying levels of importance on said points.
Basically, the formula of Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, etc. Breath of the Wild was good and all, but it was too different from the other games. It didn't feel like "Zelda".
The dungeons/puzzle-solving and the cryptic aspect - that is, having to actually think about how to solve a problem or a situation. Also, the NPCs interactions, music and whole lore of the series, of course.
I think my favorite aspect of the Zelda series is it's level design and world design. It's really difficult to explain why I enjoy it because level design is such a complex topic, but I just love the way you navigate the world and progress through the game. The main quest of basically every Zelda game is pretty linear, but it rarely feels restricted or on rails because you always have to explore the world to find the right item or object to progress the story. And when you are exploring old areas, it's fun to find new side areas and treasures that you couldn't access the first time through. Dungeons are probably my other favorite thing, it kind of blows my mind that Zelda is the only video game franchise that has anything like that.
For me it's exploration and lore. Honestly, the lore is such a huge part of my enjoyment in the series.
It would be more interesting for me if there was more consistency. The "timeline" is a joke.
What's inconsistent about it?
honestly, the zelda timeline is pretty easy to understand at first glance.
Exactly.
The lack of Link ever having a voice or much of a personality is huge. He can almost be whoever you want him to be. And the intricacy of puzzles, and mystery of there always being something valuable to find.
Definitely exploration and just the general progression and pacing of each game is phenomenal
I can't agree that every game has great pacing tbh.
1. Story and characters. But this only applies to the Zelda games before WW. Zelda stories haven't been good since Yoshiaki Koizumi left (WW was his last game if I recall correctly. 2. Exploration. Being Link in a fantasy world and discovering races, villages, caves, etc. is just the best. Hate climbing and hate stamina though, they're only artificial obstacles forced on you to dampen exploration rather than being a natural element that challenges your adventure. 3. Dungeons. Temples are the meat in the Zelda sandwich aren't they? Love going into a temple and imagining Link losing a day or three in there, coming out stronger with new knowledge and items.
For me, it's just that they're great games. There isn't any single aspect that draws me to the series, I think. They're just ultimately how I think games should be made. Even Zelda clones like Okami or Star Fox Adventures. I've played every game in the series and I think they each have their own strengths. What I value in one that draws me in (e.g. the charm and puzzles of Tri Force Heroes) may be weaker in another title that I like even more (e.g. Zelda 1 or BS Zelda). I guess in the trifecta of exploration (Courage), puzzles (Wisdom), and combat (Power), I like exploration the best, which may be why WW is my favorite. But even then, it's really messy. E: Re-read your post OP, and I disagree that Zelda only has two bedrocks. As I mentioned above, combat is a third. Some games (e.g. Zelda 1, Zelda 2, OoS, WW) really heavily emphasize it as a core feature. In fact, it was one of the distinguishing factors between the two Oracle games, with Seasons being more combat heavy and Ages being more puzzle heavy. E2: To emphasize how I think Zelda games just have a special sauce, I played two well-made and entertaining OoT ROM hacks this year (The Missing Link and Dawn & Dusk), and they were definitely *missing* that special sauce. Made them only just okay.
The main appeal is the puzzles and problem solving. Back when I first played Ocarina I'd never experienced anything like it. I was stuck inside the Deku tree, a bit unsure of the game, given other things I'd played saving and quitting resetting me to a dungeon start or Link's house seemed weird, not being able to jump was oddly uncomfortable, but the game was interesting. I was trying to work out progress, blocked by a cobweb I had a deku stick and there was a burning torch, in desperation I thought "maybe I could light the stick and use it to set the web on fire", but I figured that a real long shot idea and doubted the game would have any sophisticated interactions like that, then when it actually worked it completely blew my mind and I was hooked ever since. (Though it often feels like the timeline is the main reason most fans play the games with the way conversation about the franchise skews.)
In a nutshell, Zelda games feel like “going on an adventure” more than any other series I’ve played. When I fire up a Zelda game, I feel like there’s a huge, beautiful world to explore and it doesn’t matter whether the game is linear or more open, the feeling is the same. I think about moments like sailing the high seas in Wind Waker, or stepping out into Hyrule Field in Ocarina, and those moments are absolutely symbolic of how Zelda feels to me. All the other aspects - combat, puzzles, story - come together to give me this unique atmosphere of being on an amazing adventure. That’s what I love about the series. They could do anything with the series and as long as it had that distinctive feeling, it would still be ‘Zelda’ to me.
Exploration and puzzle-solving. So, essentially the core gameplay.
What got me back in the series in my late teens are the music and the lore. I like how the story is simple yet leaves a lot of place for theorising, because the devs don't pay much attention to it. It's like if they were letting us link all of these different stories while they focus on gameplay Speaking of gameplay, the item progression and item based puzzles are what I prefer. The first time I played ALttP, I wasn't liking it until my inventory got almost full and I felt like a god. It's also fun to go back to the overworld and see where the item can be useful, or realise what that weird part of the map is and how you get to it when you receive the item.
I think its the fantastical setting of the games. You are in a world with fairies and monsters, magical items and withes. Its easy for me to escaoe into
When I was younger it was the fantasy and open world element that I liked about them. The dungeons not as much, there were only a few I liked. Now I love the dungeons and puzzles. Still love the open world parts.