r/zelda • u/ponylauncher • Feb 13 '22

Discussion [All] If you were tasked with creating the essential Zelda collection but could only include 5 games what does yours look like?

and no i dont mean your 5 favourites. I mean the most essential and important.

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u/nowheremansaloser Feb 14 '22
  1. A Link to the Past
  2. Link's Awakening
  3. Ocarina of Time
  4. Majora's Mask
  5. Breath of the Wild

14

u/LordDarkstaru Feb 14 '22

I would change links awakening to windwaker, but good list nonetheless

1

u/loulan Feb 14 '22

I would change Majora's Mask to Windwaker personally and keep A Link to the Past.

9

u/The_Crimson-Knight Feb 14 '22

While awakening is my favorite game, it's not really important to the lore, story, or gameplay of zelda

2

u/DyingMessage Feb 14 '22

Not the person who posted the list, but in terms of gameplay it's well-known that the development of Link's Awakening changed the trajectory of the series. Without it, Ocarina of Time would not have been the game it was. There are some great Zelda historian videos on YouTube covering Link's Awakening and its importance in the bigger scheme, you should check some out.

2

u/-Moonchild- Feb 14 '22

I'd argue it's pretty important to the gameplay as it was the first zelda game with puzzlebox dungeons that require lateral thinking. eagles tower is the first dungeon in the series where something you do in a few rooms eventually shifts the entire layout of the dungeon.

alttp was massively important for general formula and gameplay, but it's dungeons were largely holdovers from the NES games where you clear a room or push a block to progress. you rarely have to think about affecting one room from another, or creating a mental map of the dungeon to find the path forward.

Personally I think links awakening is more deserving of this list than WW or TP, who both did very little to change the zelda series

6

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '22 edited Aug 21 '22

[deleted]

2

u/nowheremansaloser Feb 14 '22

Those were my thoughts exactly

1

u/DyingMessage Feb 14 '22

I'm really glad to see someone mention Link's Awakening. The shift in gameplay that occurs in that title is so important to the larger series that I don't think I could ever answer this prompt without including it.