What Zelda-likes are worth playing?

Dark-VIII said:
Alundra
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See i like you.

Alundra for me is only second to Link to the Past. 3 Dot Game Heroes is also a rly good game, highly underated.

4-SLES_011.35_05102010_203919_0170.png


Bonaire best npc.

Also i think you could class Illusion of Gaia/Terranigma as Zelda like game and they are fantastic!
 
Sgt. Kabukiman said:
I can't wait for Breath of the Wild but with still a month to go until I get to play it on my Wii U (I'll wait for Mario to buy the Switch), I need another game like it to satiate my appetite. I've played every Zelda game multiple times at this point so I don't feel like going back to them right now.

In terms of Zelda-likes, I've played Landstalker (great but frustrating at times), Darksiders (didn't grab me) and the Ys series, which I love. What other games would you recommend?
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Pity OP because Darksiders is the best non-zelda dungeon RPG of last years Imho
 
Ittle Dew 2 is totally worth playing.

So is Stories of Bethem if you don't mind somewhat slower paced gameplay and lo-res graphics.
 
Also came to recommend Okami (modern 3D Zelda), Alundra, and 3D Dot Game Heroes (isometric Zelda).

Okami came out the same year as LoZ: Twilight Princess, and is in my opinion, superior to it. It's a long game, but I loved every second of it.

SprachBrooks said:
Someone explain this reference to me.
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I think it has to do with Okami seeming like it's about to end several times before you actually complete the game.
 
BlackBuzzard said:
See i like you.

Alundra for me is only second to Link to the Past. 3 Dot Game Heroes is also a rly good game, highly underated.

4-SLES_011.35_05102010_203919_0170.png


Bonaire best npc.

Also i think you could class Illusion of Gaia/Terranigma as Zelda like game and they are fantastic!
Click to expand...

Is Alundra outdated or is it still solid? I see it get very little recognition outside a small number on GAF.
 
SprachBrooks said:
Someone explain this reference to me.
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The game is super long.
You fight the main villain three times with a bunch of quests in between. And it feels like the very end every time.
oni-link said:
I'm in the
Ark in the sky
, with just the
boss rush and end boss
to go

I've beaten the game before on Wii
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Oh wow, you're fast. Don't know if I could stand a second playthrough with the constant unskippable blabbing in between. Or did they fix it in the HD version?
 
Tailzo said:
E.G.G. For Dreamcast has beautiful 2d and ugly 3d and an interesting world.
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Another game that I had absolutely never heard of before but that looks super interesting based on the youtube video I just watched. Well, I probably won't get to Breath of the Wild until 2018 at this rate.
 
DPB said:
How is it compared to the original? I thought that was okay, but I didn't like they reduced the Zelda formula into nothing but block puzzles.
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Its better for sure, and way bigger too

FonkyByNature said:
Alundra !

It is one of my favorite games ever and i think it even surpasses most of the Zelda's. The music, mood, gameplay, dungeons are perfect. Don't play Alundra 2 as it's not made by the same people and is actually really bad, get the first one and the first one only !
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yeah, Alundra is pretty amazing

Another forgotten Sony franchise that should come back...
 
Okami is a better 3D Zelda game than Zelda, but you've got to be in it for the long haul.

3D Dot Heroes is super fun, maybe not quite as good as LTTP or LAwakening but it was memorable in its own right.
 
Bamboo said:
Oh wow, you're fast. Don't know if I could stand a second playthrough with the constant unskippable blabbing in between. Or did they fix it in the HD version?
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You can't skip the big cut scenes but you can speed up a lot of the text in the smaller cut scenes

I beat the game on the Wii and think that took me about 36 hours

It's a long game, but I've not played it for about 8 years or so, so I don't mind the unskippable cut scenes or slow pacing

It's a long game but I don't think it's really that much longer than any of the 3D Zelda games
 
i remember i played this game a lot to fill my hole for zelda 64 (i had only the ps1 in the ps1 x n64 era) but its more an action rpg than a zelda type of game

Threads_of_Fate_Coverart.png
 
-Setsuna- said:
Magic Knight Rayearth and Linkle Liver Story. Both on Saturn. Both fairly short and easy.
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Holy shit, another person knows about Linkle Liver Story! Fun little game, with great music.

Anyways, to the OP, I definitely recommend Terranigma. One of my favorite action RPGs ever. It's the story about the creation of life and the rise of human culture. Extremely high-concept for a game of that era (or any era, really).

terranigma-wlp1-1920x1200.jpg
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Crystalis (NES) hasn't been mentioned yet.

But Alundra is the best.

Seconding Neutopia I&II and Beyond Oasis.

Also really liked Al Qadim: The Genie's Curse for MS-DOS.
 
Melkezadek said:
Blood_Omen_Legacy_of_Kain_Coverart.png


Believe it or not. Very reminiscent of Link to the Past. Challegening dungeons. Fun boss fights. Incredible music. TONS of secrets. Lots of exploration.

Looks dated on bigger televisions, but perfect if you can get it on a handheld like the PSP or Vita. Highly recommend it.
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mmm, not sure wether this would qualify for zelda-like (never played a Zelda game), but it deserves a mention. Stellar game.
 
ULc9LOL.jpg


Beyond Good & Evil has a nice, futuristic setting that nails the atmosphere of living under an oppressive regime. It has the good ol' Zelda mix of action combat and adventure puzzle solving and dungeon trekking. What makes it different from Zelda is how much it relies on stealth mechanics.

2U7qbg1.jpg


Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is another Zelda clone with strong Egyptian mythos as its foundation. The game splits the typical Zelda action and typical Zelda dungeon traversal among the two characters. Combat and some light puzzle solving are handled by Sphinx, and high tier puzzles are left with the Mummy. The game is worth playing for its setting alone. It's one of the most charming games I've played.

uU6HRew.jpg


Like Sphinx, Okami is a Zelda clone that takes deep inspirations from an ancient culture, only this time it's Japan. The puzzles are a bit more interspersed with the world rather than being a clear-cut goal of rigidly defined dungeons. Combat is a lot more involved, as you get locked into a closed arena where you're left to take on enemies with nothing but your teeth and your magical ink powers. Story's pretty good. It's quite a meaty game, coming in to almost 40 hours in a typical playthrough.
 
Okami is far and away my favorite. Indeed, I prefer it to any of the Zeldas.

Partly this is just due to aesthetic (I'm a sucker for sumi-e).

But, primarily, it's because it weds the exploration/gated progression game structure with an engaging and heartfelt story w/ characters I actually care about. I've always found most of the Zelda characters ciphers.

Lots of folks think Okami is too long, but I loved when the game seemed over, and then you realize it's just beginning. It's like it contains its own sequels, and just when you're getting sad that you might have to leave the world/characters you realize you don't need to, and not for a long time yet.
 
TimeEffect said:
Is Alundra outdated or is it still solid? I see it get very little recognition outside a small number on GAF.
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It is very much still rock solid. It has aged well, IMO. I think it got dogged on alot for only having the one town, but the characters that inhabit it have character development like no Zelda has ever done with NPC's.

And dat overworld theme....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbVLmRfeIQg

Just avoid Alundra 2 at all costs.
 
Svejk said:
It is very much still rock solid. It has aged well, IMO. I think it got dogged on alot for only having the one town, but the characters that inhabit it have character development like no Zelda has ever done with NPC's.

And dat overworld theme....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbVLmRfeIQg

Just avoid Alundra 2 at all costs.
Click to expand...

I tried to play Alundra last year and it's one of only a few games I've quit in the last 5 years

It just felt like everything had 2x the number of hit points it should have. Easy to beat enemies would take 6-8 hits to kill, and it's a lot harder than most Zelda games. I kept finding myself lost or stuck and I hate having to look things up, after 6 or 7 hours I decided it was time to quit, as I wasn't having fun
 
To echo what a lot of posters have already said, Okami. It's an absolute joy to play and has some of the best feeling movement in a 3d adventure game. As well, the combat can be really enjoyable on higher difficulties once you master it. Plus the sheer amount of content outside of the girthy story will keep you busy until BotW comes out.
 
oni-link said:
I tried to play Alundra last year and it's one of only a few games I've quit in the last 5 years

It just felt like everything had 2x the number of hit points it should have. Easy to beat enemies would take 6-8 hits to kill, and it's a lot harder than most Zelda games. I kept finding myself lost or stuck and I hate having to look things up, after 6 or 7 hours I decided it was time to quit, as I wasn't having fun
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You can thank the localization team for that. They buffed the enemies stats in an effort to make it more difficult than the original JP release. Working Designs was known for making these tweaks. Heck, Exile 2 on the TurboDuo was pretty much unbeatable because of what they did.

Personally I find the muddy and washed out color scheme to be one of the main things that turned me off of it. Lovely soundtrack though.
 
Only problem with Alundra is that the Working Designs rebalancing really made many fights extra tedious and super irritating. Also, the cutscenes can DRAG, expect 40 minutes of narrative setup before you actually start playing...
 
Fuck the haters, Star Fox Adventures was a decent zelda clone, people dissed it for being a zelda clone, but it was and absolutely great zelda clone only slightly damaged by the SF IP.
 
2D:

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (PSN)
Alundra (PSN)
Beyond Oasis (aka Story of Thor) (Sega Genesis, Steam)
Legend of Oasis (aka Story of Thor 2) (Sega Saturn)


3D:

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PSN)

sixteen-bit said:
Beyond Oasis and Alundra are phenomenal
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Indeed. I prefer them to Zelda.

In fact, being honest, I prefer all of the above over Zelda...

Melkezadek said:
Blood_Omen_Legacy_of_Kain_Coverart.png


Believe it or not. Very reminiscent of Link to the Past. Challegening dungeons. Fun boss fights. Incredible music. TONS of secrets. Lots of exploration.

Looks dated on bigger televisions, but perfect if you can get it on a handheld like the PSP or Vita. Highly recommend it.
Click to expand...
Fuck yes.
 
TimeEffect said:
Is Alundra outdated or is it still solid? I see it get very little recognition outside a small number on GAF.
Click to expand...

It's still solid, but maybe a little too tough.

It doesn't really get much recognition because it came out during a time when Zelda was a sacred cow to Nintendo fans, and they were waiting for their N64 sequel. Any Alundra hype got shouted down for being a blatant Zelda rip off.

It's a good thing that doesn't happen these days, right?
 
djtiesto said:
Anyways, to the OP, I definitely recommend Terranigma. One of my favorite action RPGs ever. It's the story about the creation of life and the rise of human culture. Extremely high-concept for a game of that era (or any era, really).
Click to expand...

Terranigma has some similarities to Zelda, but it is a damn fine game on its own and does things no other games has done before or since. Definitely one of the top 10 games on the SNES, probably in my top 3.
 
maxcriden said:
NP at all! Just thought it would be a thread you'd be interested to see.

In the meantime, as long as I'm here, I'll post about my favorite Zelda-like:

(I'm going to post something I've previously posted in a thread about favorite game maps.)

I really, really like the map in Elliot Quest.

953545F2C06B9AE797F70C9D5A86C7AFF496E499


Screen-Shot-2014-06-10-at-10.52.00-PM.png


When you encounter an exclamation point, that means there's an area there.

tumblr_neosux7TSb1s8ouhxo4_500.gif


http://49.media.tumblr.com/68aba993ededc4ad1b7b6d0c9a46e5ca/tumblr_nlksa4b9eK1tliyz4o5_r2_1280.gif

[IMG]http://66.media.tumblr.com/74d55c80675b024d58aae49e7f11283c/tumblr_neosux7TSb1s8ouhxo3_500.gif

[Img]https://a.disquscdn.com/get?url=http%3A%2F%2F33.media.tumblr.com%2F75a9d74ed504e63a229f3f6d33007bf7%2Ftumblr_nlesz7UQD11u9vod1o1_r1_500.gif&key=aCKZqT6fzgTIORC1e5l_oQ

You don't get the sense of it too well in this pic, but traversing across it is reminiscent of Golden Sun for me, but really it's more like a modern Zelda II. Gah. It's so good. Traversing it just feels great with so many hidden secrets and areas. Here's part of my GOTY write-up for it:[/QUOTE]

Oh man, I want to try out elliot quest. It kind of reminds me of Treasure Adventure Story and I loved that game.
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after thinking about it, i think i'd put panzer dragoon saga in this category. one of the best videogames ever created, no doubt. a little different and RPGish but the more i think about it it's really not that much of a stretch, and most definitely is a top 20 all time game.
 
Tailzo said:
E.G.G. For Dreamcast has beautiful 2d and ugly 3d and an interesting world.
Click to expand...

Elemental Gimmick Gear looks pretty as heck and has a whimsical sci-fi vibe, but I keep getting my ass lost in that game. There's like this one main dungeon with multiple entry-points, and I couldn't keep it together in my head.

Those hand-drawn backgrounds though. Up there with Saga Frontier 2 and Legend of Mana.
elegige.gif
 
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