Live Blogs You're only reading this because I rated the game 3/10! Let's read horrible GameFAQs reviews!

Ephraim2252011-04-19 00:10:18

"THE WORST PART...THE MUSIC!"

You know what? I was almost agreeing with him. I felt that most Zelda games have improved on the previous ones. I thought LTTP was better than Zelda 1 and 2. And I thought Link's Awakening was better than LTTP (BTW: Link's Awakening cemented a good portion of the modern Zelda game's structure). And Ocarina of Time was better than Link's Awakening.

But this is where the reviewer lost me. This is 100% horseshit. Complaining that there isn't enough music diversity? Really?

Now to be honest, the dungeon music in LTTP sucks. I can't even remember any of it (then again, I can't remember the dungeon music from any of the games except the first and second). Probably because I'm too busy remembering the good music from LTTP.

Yes, it's a legitimate complaint that, due to the hardware limits of the time, they couldn't give each dungeon its own music. But it's such a minor complaint; it's not the kind of thing a reasonable, legitimate review leads off with. It's like reviewing Twilight Princess, and starting it off by bitching about how Link magically got his classic green outfit out of nowhere.

Plus, there's the fact that most modern Zelda games's individual dungeon music is far from memorable.

"So you didn't know if your magic meter being better was a GOOD thing or not?"

To be fair, Ltt P did not explain it well. The text was very unclear, I remember being confused by it myself.

You know, when I was like 10.

I stumbled upon the Ice Rod by accident.

"3D IS BETTER THAN 2D"

NO.

That is the worst thing to include in a review ever. He even blatantly said he only said it to piss people off. Not to mention that he's judging a GBA port of a SNES game with modern standards. To me, that is the absolute worst crime you could possibly have as a retro reviewer, saying that it doesn't live up to modern technology! It's made even worse when you consider how any game can be good or bad, even if it's in 3D, depending on how the team works on it!

Also, I might as well say this here, but I have no idea why people say the port is bad. I'll admit, I didn't play the original, but still, it's a good game. If it's ruined because the sound quality is lower, that doesn't change the gameplay, which is what matters. Also, it's inevitable that the screen is smaller, it's a handheld.

No offense, but I don't appreciate how you support the assertion that LTTP is a good game... by insulting every other game in the series. I don't even know what you're talking about with rupee grinding in Wind Waker; that's got to be the one Zelda game I never had trouble with money in.

"I don't even know what you're talking about with rupee grinding in Wind Waker; that's got to be the one Zelda game I never had trouble with money in."

He's talking about how, in order to beat WW, you must collect at least 3184 Rupees to pay to that thrice-damned Tingle to decode your maps to get the Triforce of Courage. At some point, you're just going to have to go treasure hunting for 200-Rupee chests. Hence the grinding.

Now, whether you consider this "grinding" or "exploration" primarily depends on whether you're playing the game the first time or the second. The first time, it felt OK to me, but it did seem very artificial. The second time, it was work. And it remains the primary reason why I cannot play the game again: I know I'll have to grind out those fucking rupees.

@Eponymous Kid: Insults? Mah boi, these are criticisms! Also, I never mentioned Majoras Mask.

Korval: Oh, that. I literally never had any trouble with that. I've played that game a bunch of times and I never really felt I was "grinding". Hell, I thought it was an excuse to fill out the map and check out all kinds of cool stuff.

Huh? By the time you get to that part, your rupees should easily be near the cap. I guess it might be a problem if you've been ignoring all the sidequests and islands. The real problem is fishing up the shards.

"I guess it might be a problem if you've been ignoring all the sidequests and islands."

Caulk it up to travel time. In Oo T, for example, getting to any particular location was fairly quick with Epona and the various teleporting songs. In WW, it was not. You could travel across Hyrule field in the time it takes you to sail across a single square. Exploration, hunting down sidequests and the like, is a lot harder to justify when you have to spend a long time just sailing around a nearly-featureless blue field. Even after you get the teleportation power, it's still pretty time consuming.

Also, the game seemed to punish exploration early-on. Many of the first islands you can get to (that aren't plot-related) require items you don't have. Or they rely on phases of the moon or other information you don't know yet. After spending 5-7 minutes going to an island, only to find that there is nothing there that you can do yet, you eventually stop exploring altogether.

Lastly, there's the fact that the rewards aren't particularly interesting. You find either charts, pieces of heart, or rupees. Until you've learned of the Tingle side-quest, rupees aren't much of a reward. And while pieces of heart are fine, it's still a lot of time spent for relatively little gain.

Sure your rupees could very easily be near the cap, but it costs more than the cap to pay for Tingle's ridiculous prices.

"Sure your rupees could very easily be near the cap, but it costs more than the cap to pay for Tingle's ridiculous prices. "

Point of order: the largest wallet size in WW is 5000 rupees. Now, when you get that wallet is a good question; it's been long enough that I don't remember when you can actually get that wallet.

Caulk it up to travel time. In Oo T, for example, getting to any particular location was fairly quick with Epona and the various teleporting songs. In WW, it was not. You could travel across Hyrule field in the time it takes you to sail across a single square.

That's because Hyrule Field is a featureless tiny empty grassland. The ocean is similar, admittedly, but at least you can make out stuff and sail directly to it, so you know what's important and that it isn't empty.

Exploration, hunting down sidequests and the like, is a lot harder to justify when you have to spend a long time just sailing around a nearly-featureless blue field. Even after you get the teleportation power, it's still pretty time consuming.

Exploration doesn't open up until you get the warping power, and the placement of warp points allows you to access every tile in less then maybe five minutes at the most extreme.

Also, the game seemed to punish exploration early-on. Many of the first islands you can get to (that aren't plot-related) require items you don't have. Or they rely on phases of the moon or other information you don't know yet. After spending 5-7 minutes going to an island, only to find that there is nothing there that you can do yet, you eventually stop exploring altogether.

First of all, the moon phases only effect the placement of the ghost ship. Second, the boat keeps you from exploring until after greatfish island, and the majority of islands you encounter will either be accessible or sealed off because of plot relevance. Third, since you can make out the shape of an island from a distance, you should be able to identify the great fairy islands and avoid the generic reefs. Fourth, why would you continue to cease exploration even after you've gotten the required equipment?

Point of order: the largest wallet size in WW is 5000 rupees. Now, when you get that wallet is a good question; it's been long enough that I don't remember when you can actually get that wallet.

Tingle gives you a chart showing you where the great fairies that expand your wallet are early in the game. You can get the 1000 bag when you return to outset to find Jabu-Jabu, and you can get the 5000 bag after the warp song. This is before the earth/wind temple.

Anyways, this is all off-topic to the liveblog. We have a thread in the forums where we can continue the discussion, if you like.

That a bell I hear? Cuz someone just got schooled.