What Your Favorite Zelda Game Says About You
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00:00 My friends, with all of your strength, stand with me.
00:05 Welcome to Mojo Plays and today we are here to tell you what your favorite Zelda game says about you.
00:10 Cowards! Wait here, princess.
00:13 There have been plenty of titles in the Legend of Zelda franchise, each putting its own unique spin on the tale.
00:19 In fact, a lot can be told about a person based on which iteration they prefer.
00:23 Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe
00:27 and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:30 The original Legend of Zelda, released in 1986, started it all.
00:36 Without it establishing the formula, no one would even have a favorite Zelda.
00:40 Many of the tropes established in the game persist today, however much has also changed in the intervening years.
00:46 It's nothing if not traditional, and so are the people who love it.
00:50 If you think the original was the best, you certainly respect your elders and honor those that came before you.
00:55 Oh, and since you almost surely played this game back in the 80s, it's safe to say you're Gen X.
01:01 If Zelda was traditional, Zelda II was anything but, changing from a top-down adventure to a side-scrolling RPG.
01:08 Even its name is unusual, the only entry to drop the Legend of.
01:13 It's also punishingly difficult by Zelda standards.
01:16 Because of these reasons, it's the black sheep of the Zelda family, and so are its fans.
01:21 Zelda II players want to be different, to go against the grain.
01:25 To them, conventions are illusions and meant to be challenged, and the easy way is never the right way.
01:31 The third Zelda, A Link to the Past, returned to the format of the original,
01:42 and at least in the minds of its fans, perfected it.
01:45 Even more so than the first, much of the formula of what makes Zelda, Zelda was refined here,
01:50 giving it a classic feeling.
01:52 So naturally, if this holds a special place in your life, you love the classics.
01:57 While classic rock wasn't the start of rock music, it's where the genre really congealed,
02:02 just like this version of Zelda.
02:04 What we're saying is, you probably like the Beatles quite a lot.
02:07 Rolling out worldwide in 1993 on the original Game Boy system, Link's Awakening broke new ground
02:17 by becoming the first in the franchise to be on a handheld system.
02:20 This wasn't the only way the game broke from tradition, however.
02:24 Rather than featuring another story about saving Zelda from Ganon and obtaining the Triforce,
02:29 Link's Awakening saw Link stranded on a strange and mystical island,
02:33 drawing inspiration from the TV show Twin Peaks.
02:36 If this Zelda tops your list, you're probably a creative person, and likely a bit offbeat.
02:44 Much more formulaic in Zelda storytelling,
02:47 but taking an even larger leap in terms of gameplay, was Ocarina of Time.
02:52 Released on the N64, thus being the first Zelda with 3D graphics,
03:00 this time Zelda and Hyrule were back.
03:02 Refining what had made Zelda 1 and A Link to the Past so popular,
03:10 the game has been named as the best video game of all time by numerous publications over the years.
03:16 So fans of this one are in good company, taking the populist approach.
03:20 That's not a bad thing of course, as the most popular things get that way for good reason.
03:25 Just like the Gen Xers who first played the original Zelda,
03:28 for many Millennials this was their first time with Link,
03:31 so odds are that you fall into that generation.
03:37 When the time came to create the sequel to one of the most popular video games ever made,
03:41 Nintendo once again took the unexpected route.
03:44 Like Link's Awakening, Majora's Mask departed from Hyrule,
03:47 introduced a time-based system that divided players,
03:50 but more importantly brought a much darker tone.
03:53 An ever-looming shroud of death hung over Link and Majora's Mask,
03:59 and we all knew the edgy kid in high school that loved this one.
04:03 If you're them, we'd bet you also are a fan of My Chemical Romance,
04:06 and got your shirts at Hot Topic.
04:08 Can confirm.
04:09 But don't listen to the haters,
04:11 your appreciation of the franchise's more dark and mature turn
04:15 has only made this one more and more beloved over the years.
04:18 Of course, not every entry into the Zelda canon needs to be dark and ominous,
04:27 and the first release for the GameCube, The Wind Waker, took the opposite approach.
04:31 With its cell-shaded graphics, even the look of the game was more bright and cartoonish.
04:36 Being the opposite of Majora, fans of this one were the sunny, happy kids in high school.
04:41 And just like the game, you're probably an absolute delight to be around.
04:45 Around this time, Nintendo began to increase the output of games released on handheld systems,
04:54 like the Game Boy Advance and the DS.
04:56 With the portability of these systems and their often unique features,
05:00 like a second screen, a lot of these games featured a unique twist.
05:04 This included shifting between centuries or seasons,
05:07 shrinking, becoming a moving painting, and, well, trains.
05:12 If the Oracle games, Minish Cap, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks,
05:15 or A Link Between Worlds is your favorite, you probably have a thing for gimmicks.
05:20 And to be honest, we're sort of surprised you exist.
05:23 There's a couple more handheld titles we haven't mentioned, however.
05:31 While Zelda is almost exclusively a solo adventure,
05:34 they did manage to break the formula in a sort of sub-franchise.
05:38 These co-op games include Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures, and Triforce Heroes.
05:44 Starting as an add-on for a remake of A Link to the Past,
05:47 the trilogy required multiple players, each with their own accessories, to fully enjoy.
05:52 If these were your favorites, chances are you had two or three
05:55 friends with their own link cables, GBAs, and a GameCube.
05:59 [GameCube noises]
06:04 None of this is to say that Zelda on home consoles stopped being a thing, of course.
06:08 Originally developed as a GameCube title,
06:10 Twilight Princess was released both for that system and the Wii simultaneously,
06:15 appropriate considering the game's themes of duality.
06:17 Perhaps more than any Zeldas preceding it,
06:20 Twilight Princess had a strong focus on story and character.
06:23 Most likely, you love your friends and have an appreciation for a rich and intricate story.
06:28 And yeah, the game is a little dark, so you might have been friends with the Majora's Mask kid.
06:33 [Majora's Mask kid voice]
06:37 A much lighter approach was taken with the first entry to be fully developed with the Wii console in mind.
06:43 Much like Wind Waker had used a look inspired from cartoons,
06:46 Skyward Sword's aesthetics were reminiscent of a watercolor painting.
06:50 While some of the gameplay and controls were controversial,
06:52 the look and lore, diving earlier into the history of Zelda than any game before, were praised.
06:58 If this was the Zelda that caught your fancy,
07:00 you probably like to know how things started and are a bit of an artist.
07:04 If this was the Zelda you started with, you're likely in Gen Z.
07:07 In seeking to address player complaints,
07:14 developers took their time crafting Breath of the Wild,
07:17 bucking the linear storytelling that had dominated Zelda since the days of Super Nintendo.
07:21 In its place was a large and expansive open world that encouraged non-linear play.
07:27 This was the transfusion of discovery and adventure for the series
07:31 and helped make Breath of the Wild one of the most praised games of all time,
07:34 by everyone from journalists to casual fans.
07:37 If you pick this as your favorite Zelda game,
07:40 we know you love to seek adventure and yearn for amazing discoveries.
07:44 The world is not a linear thing for you to walk through,
07:46 but a complicated quest for you to embark on in any order you see fit.
07:53 How do you follow up one of the most praised and beloved games of all time?
07:57 Well, you take what worked and expand on it even further.
08:00 Tears of the Kingdom tripled the open world with underground and sky areas to explore,
08:04 in addition to the main map.
08:06 It not only drew from Breath of the Wild, but all Zelda games that had come before it.
08:10 It even built upon what other unrelated games had done,
08:13 using elements like its build mechanic.
08:16 Many considered it an improvement on its prestigious predecessor,
08:19 and if you are among them, you probably have a deep respect for not just Zelda,
08:23 but all video games.
08:24 You recognize that the medium has a long, interesting history of innovation
08:28 and breaking the rules that you deeply respect.
08:30 Did we figure out what kind of person you are?
08:35 Tell us which Zelda is your favorite and what it says about you below.
08:41 We'll see you in the next video.
08:45 Check out these other great clips from Mojo Plays,
08:47 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
08:52 [Music]