It's odd that you left out the two official Zelda games where Zelda is playable, Spirit Tracks and Echoes of Wisdom.
In Spirit Tracks the princess's spirit is forced out of her body so it can be used to house the villain. This sets up a twist on the formula, where Zelda as a ghost is out to rescue her own physical form. For the most part she plays the Navi role of sidekick, but in the central Tower of Spirits that you return to frequently she can possess monsters called "Phantoms", giving her a physical form that Link can team up with. This creates various puzzles where Link and Zelda are both playable independently to get them to coordinate toward a solution. It's fantastic.
And then of course Echoes of Wisdom is the Zelda game where Zelda is not just the main character of the story (as she is in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom) but also the player's avatar in the entire game. Link becomes the one to be rescued, but interestingly, Zelda is still not entirely elevated to the role of hero. It is treated as inevitable that Link himself is the hero who will defeat the ultimate evil, and the story is somewhat painted (at least in my reading) as what happens with the supporting character in the main character's absence. Still, it is a very significant step forward in seeing her as an equal to Link in the canon.
This is a great challenge, and I can only respond to it by admitting that I am a snob when it comes to the main sequence of a franchise. I do not consider Oracle of Seasons or Oracle of Ages to be main sequence Zelda games, but rather side-titles, much like I do not consider Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games to be part of the main sequence of Pokémon games. In this, I confess my own snobbery... but also, I align with how Nintendo sees these titles internally, so I have at least some contextual cover for my own elitism in this regard! 😂
I have not played Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks, despite being a big fan of Wind Waker (which I replayed again this year with my wife, completing the figurine collection for the first ever time). Like Capcom's Oracle games, these were Zelda-branded but lie outside of the main sequence of releases, albeit continuity-wise they are very tightly connected to the Zelda mythos. I appreciate your account of the gameplay I missed here!
Echoes of Wisdom I have played, also this year I think (although it might have been late last year, I forget!). This is certainly a game in which Zelda is the player character. But again, sorry, I don't see this as a main sequence game for The Legend of Zelda, largely because it obviously isn't in commercial terms. This is another spinoff, in this case created by the commercial success of Grezzo's remake of Link's Awakening, itself also a side title for me (although another one I have played).
However, this title also lies downstream of Breath of the Wild, and didn't exist when I first wrote this piece. I felt obligated to update some elements of these essays in the light of Tears of the Kingdom (which I am currently playing, although not much liking), but I didn't feel any need to mention Echoes of Wisdom in these edits I'm afraid. I still see it as a side title.
I appreciate that the internet fandom has moved towards a more monolithic interpretation of franchises, one that emphasises fanonical continuity over commercial reality, but the wonderful thing about being fans of various different kinds of artworks is that it is up to us, as the participant in their imaginary games, to decide how we will do so. For me, there are main sequence Legend of Zelda and Pokémon games, and these are the franchise anchors. (There are other examples of course, but these two suffice to make my point.) Other branded games are part of the franchise but not part of the main sequence. That's just how I play this particular game. As ever, your Triforce mileage may vary!
I should also say that if you're interested in the development of the series between entries, you're missing key pieces if you skip Spirit Tracks's evolution of the character of Zelda or A Link Between Worlds's experiments in open-world progression.
I can understand this reading for the Oracle games and Echoes of Wisdom given that they were made by third-party studios. But Link's Awakening and the Wind Waker sequels are made by Nintendo proper, and it seems odd to me to dismiss them just because they weren't playable on a TV screen.
I would not recommend Phantom Hourglass, which I found tedious, but I would strongly recommend catching up on Spirit Tracks, which in my opinion is up there with the best of the series.
No so much dismissed as just 'haven't played' to be honest! I feel obligated to play the main sequence releases to some degree, as it's the spine of the franchise (although I skipped a great many Pokémon games between Silver and Shield), whereas the side titles are a more circumstantial matter.
Spirit Tracks inclusion of a train certainly did not appeal to me, though, and having skipped Phantom Hourglass already, I was less likely to play Spirit Tracks as a matter of it feeling like a follow on to a game I'd not played.
Also, I'd already played several portable console Zeldas by the time the DS games came out, and while they were all okay, they didn't really encourage me to keep going with the portable games. The DS for me wasn't a device I played long games on - a Zelda is a much better fit to a home console for me, then as now. Pokémon, on the other hand, were games I used to soak up the long transatlantic flights when I had to commute between the UK and the US.
All that said, if a DS emulator came out on Nintendo Online I would certainly play both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks (despite your warnings about the former!). The emulator would bridge the gap very nicely for me, although I think the lack of a second screen may sink even this possibility.
It's odd that you left out the two official Zelda games where Zelda is playable, Spirit Tracks and Echoes of Wisdom.
In Spirit Tracks the princess's spirit is forced out of her body so it can be used to house the villain. This sets up a twist on the formula, where Zelda as a ghost is out to rescue her own physical form. For the most part she plays the Navi role of sidekick, but in the central Tower of Spirits that you return to frequently she can possess monsters called "Phantoms", giving her a physical form that Link can team up with. This creates various puzzles where Link and Zelda are both playable independently to get them to coordinate toward a solution. It's fantastic.
And then of course Echoes of Wisdom is the Zelda game where Zelda is not just the main character of the story (as she is in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom) but also the player's avatar in the entire game. Link becomes the one to be rescued, but interestingly, Zelda is still not entirely elevated to the role of hero. It is treated as inevitable that Link himself is the hero who will defeat the ultimate evil, and the story is somewhat painted (at least in my reading) as what happens with the supporting character in the main character's absence. Still, it is a very significant step forward in seeing her as an equal to Link in the canon.
Dear Mordechai,
This is a great challenge, and I can only respond to it by admitting that I am a snob when it comes to the main sequence of a franchise. I do not consider Oracle of Seasons or Oracle of Ages to be main sequence Zelda games, but rather side-titles, much like I do not consider Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games to be part of the main sequence of Pokémon games. In this, I confess my own snobbery... but also, I align with how Nintendo sees these titles internally, so I have at least some contextual cover for my own elitism in this regard! 😂
I have not played Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks, despite being a big fan of Wind Waker (which I replayed again this year with my wife, completing the figurine collection for the first ever time). Like Capcom's Oracle games, these were Zelda-branded but lie outside of the main sequence of releases, albeit continuity-wise they are very tightly connected to the Zelda mythos. I appreciate your account of the gameplay I missed here!
Echoes of Wisdom I have played, also this year I think (although it might have been late last year, I forget!). This is certainly a game in which Zelda is the player character. But again, sorry, I don't see this as a main sequence game for The Legend of Zelda, largely because it obviously isn't in commercial terms. This is another spinoff, in this case created by the commercial success of Grezzo's remake of Link's Awakening, itself also a side title for me (although another one I have played).
However, this title also lies downstream of Breath of the Wild, and didn't exist when I first wrote this piece. I felt obligated to update some elements of these essays in the light of Tears of the Kingdom (which I am currently playing, although not much liking), but I didn't feel any need to mention Echoes of Wisdom in these edits I'm afraid. I still see it as a side title.
I appreciate that the internet fandom has moved towards a more monolithic interpretation of franchises, one that emphasises fanonical continuity over commercial reality, but the wonderful thing about being fans of various different kinds of artworks is that it is up to us, as the participant in their imaginary games, to decide how we will do so. For me, there are main sequence Legend of Zelda and Pokémon games, and these are the franchise anchors. (There are other examples of course, but these two suffice to make my point.) Other branded games are part of the franchise but not part of the main sequence. That's just how I play this particular game. As ever, your Triforce mileage may vary!
Wonderful to hear from you,
Chris.
I should also say that if you're interested in the development of the series between entries, you're missing key pieces if you skip Spirit Tracks's evolution of the character of Zelda or A Link Between Worlds's experiments in open-world progression.
I can understand this reading for the Oracle games and Echoes of Wisdom given that they were made by third-party studios. But Link's Awakening and the Wind Waker sequels are made by Nintendo proper, and it seems odd to me to dismiss them just because they weren't playable on a TV screen.
I would not recommend Phantom Hourglass, which I found tedious, but I would strongly recommend catching up on Spirit Tracks, which in my opinion is up there with the best of the series.
No so much dismissed as just 'haven't played' to be honest! I feel obligated to play the main sequence releases to some degree, as it's the spine of the franchise (although I skipped a great many Pokémon games between Silver and Shield), whereas the side titles are a more circumstantial matter.
Spirit Tracks inclusion of a train certainly did not appeal to me, though, and having skipped Phantom Hourglass already, I was less likely to play Spirit Tracks as a matter of it feeling like a follow on to a game I'd not played.
Also, I'd already played several portable console Zeldas by the time the DS games came out, and while they were all okay, they didn't really encourage me to keep going with the portable games. The DS for me wasn't a device I played long games on - a Zelda is a much better fit to a home console for me, then as now. Pokémon, on the other hand, were games I used to soak up the long transatlantic flights when I had to commute between the UK and the US.
All that said, if a DS emulator came out on Nintendo Online I would certainly play both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks (despite your warnings about the former!). The emulator would bridge the gap very nicely for me, although I think the lack of a second screen may sink even this possibility.
Thanks for continuing our conversation,
Chris.