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Is Nintendo EAD still the best developer in the world?
- Thread starter Shikamaru Ninja
- Start date
Majora's Mask is when I started not liking EAD's games, anymore. I absolutely hated Majora's Mask, which just blew me away because I had always loved Zelda games.
So, I guess it was around 2000 or so that EAD's games just dropped dramatically in quality. Before that, they seemed invincible.
So, I guess it was around 2000 or so that EAD's games just dropped dramatically in quality. Before that, they seemed invincible.
SolidSnakex
Member
jarrod said:
It's also the only Zelda i've ever liked.
Had alot of fun playing through the import version with others on this board.
SantaC
Member
Majoras Mask was good. Very good. Same parts are better than OoT.
graphics
The graphics are slightly better in mm than oot thanks to the expansion pack.
audio
The music is better in OoT even though the overworld music is back in mm.
NPC
They are smarter in mm than oot. You can do alot of sidequests in the main town of mm.
Story
The moon is falling to the world or Ganon has kidnapped zelda, and trying to get his hands on the triforce. You decide which is better.
Last Boss
Last boss in MM was a major disappointment. OoT with the edge.
Overworld/dungeons
More variation in the MM overworld(snow etc), but the dungeons were twice as many in OoT.
Well both games are excellent, and itäs hard to say which is better. OoT was the first zelda in 3D afterall.
graphics
The graphics are slightly better in mm than oot thanks to the expansion pack.
audio
The music is better in OoT even though the overworld music is back in mm.
NPC
They are smarter in mm than oot. You can do alot of sidequests in the main town of mm.
Story
The moon is falling to the world or Ganon has kidnapped zelda, and trying to get his hands on the triforce. You decide which is better.
Last Boss
Last boss in MM was a major disappointment. OoT with the edge.
Overworld/dungeons
More variation in the MM overworld(snow etc), but the dungeons were twice as many in OoT.
Well both games are excellent, and itäs hard to say which is better. OoT was the first zelda in 3D afterall.
Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are like complete opposites. Ocarina of Time is almost the epitome of good games, while Majora's Mask was everything that's wrong with Nintendo today. It's strange because, even having such similar interfaces, controls, audio, and cutscenes, they're still very, very different games.
Too superficial an anyalysis. Majora's Mask was daring and fresh while Ocarina of Time was essentially a remake. Taste only goes so far also, MM really did one up OoT in every aspect of characterization, plot, setting and presentation (most of which was tied to the subquests, demanding further gameplay even). It's a masterpiece.SantaCruZer said:
Maybe, but the Moon's Surface was a better build up than Gannon's Tower. And MM gets points for Oni-Link.SantaCruZer said:
True, but Majora's Mask had the better designed dungeons also (even if they had half as many). Inverted Stone Tower > *SantaCruZer said:
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Dark Dragon said:
See, this is what I'm talking about. Quite aside from the fact that Retro have help from EAD every week with their games, they only make one at a time. That means all their resources, all their talent, is focused on what project. You just can't compare them to EAD.
I preferred OoT to MM, but both are good games. I really didn't like these parts of MM though: having to fight bosses every time I turned back time (that got old the first time I did it), the mask transformations (maybe one would have been ok), the way the world was set up (it didn't feel like a world, it felt like a game, as soon as you were out of Clocktown anyway), not enough dungeons (side quests are great, but I'm basically in Zelda for the dungeons).
It's good that they gave us a change, I just prefer the way OoT played. However, mix the two and you have an awesome game. Bring in MM's slightly darker style (but not it's twisted style, keep it in Hyrule) and have a town in Hyrule called Clocktown again, only this time you don't have to turn back time at the end of 3 days, it automatically loops. And it doesn't affect the world outside of the town. You can work that into a story easily enough: Ganon has enchanted this town to repeat the same 3 days forever, they cannot break it until they have all fulfilled certain tasks (that's where you come in with the sidequests).
I would LOVE that game. Luckily we've already got the first part it seems for the new Zelda, I just don't think the second one is that likely.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Except the world design. And the repetitive gameplay would be up for debate. On the one hand you have different character transofrmations (though is that really just a glossy item?), but on the other you have a repeating world where you often have to do the same things again and again.
Hyrule Field is the epitome of boring world design. Termina is much better overall, even with it's NSEW cross. They're both better than TWW's waterworld though.Mama Smurf said:
I'll give you that one though, MM definitely has the potential to become more repetitive thanks to it's 3 day cycle. But the actual game mechanics are more varied than OoT I'd say too.Mama Smurf said:
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
When I played OoT, I felt like it could be a real world. Things seemed to make sense more. Termina seemed like it was packed full of different areas in a very small space, areas which didn't seem to flow together like Hyrule did for me. And I can't throw away the NSEW thing you've mentioned just like that, it really annoyed me that they didn't at least try to make that more interesting.
I agree that Hyrule field itself wasn't very interesting though (fine once you got Epona). Take OoT, move the ranch slightly and put Clocktown right in the middle of Hyrule field though and I'd be very happy.
I agree that Hyrule field itself wasn't very interesting though (fine once you got Epona). Take OoT, move the ranch slightly and put Clocktown right in the middle of Hyrule field though and I'd be very happy.
Well, now you're confusing the argument with believability. Termina's anything but boring, and I thought it fit the fnatasy setting of MM quite well. Alice down the wishing well and all that.Mama Smurf said:
I still liked the different sections of MM more... snow covered peaks, beach lined ocean, deep swamp and barren wasteland would be welcome additions to Hyrule also. The next Zelda better have an actual desert area to explore too.Mama Smurf said:
disabledHeliocentric
Member
I'd like to see Nintendo branch out and introduce some new characters and storylines which could serve as new franchises.
At the same time, I found Wind Waker and Sunshine very satisfying.
I really like the gameplay systems, controls, design of both games.
Each went in a different direction than previous titles. Personally I could use more "themed" levels especially in a Mario game as the Delfino Isle theme wore thin. Wind Waker was cool, though. They do something different and people bitch and moan. yeah, some forestry would have been nice but there's another Zelda coming next year and WW was cool as is.
EAD is one of the best, at the least.
I'd say a lot of games from Capcom and Konami have at best extremely clever and novel game systems and at worse a lot of things seem to have made sense on PSX but with current hardware don't, like the camera systems from RE and MGS2.
At the same time, I found Wind Waker and Sunshine very satisfying.
I really like the gameplay systems, controls, design of both games.
Each went in a different direction than previous titles. Personally I could use more "themed" levels especially in a Mario game as the Delfino Isle theme wore thin. Wind Waker was cool, though. They do something different and people bitch and moan. yeah, some forestry would have been nice but there's another Zelda coming next year and WW was cool as is.
EAD is one of the best, at the least.
I'd say a lot of games from Capcom and Konami have at best extremely clever and novel game systems and at worse a lot of things seem to have made sense on PSX but with current hardware don't, like the camera systems from RE and MGS2.
Majora's Mask's actual story is pretty crap when you read it on paper, but it's the delivery of it which makes it (IMO) the best in any game. I remember being completely immersed to the point where I forgot I was even holding a controller, stupid as it sounds. Parts like Anju's quest and the deaths. I'll take that over reading through pages and pages of politics and battles any day.
snaildog said:
Majora's Mask was pretty good. I was a bit surprised by how dark it was. I think it's the first case (to make it to America- Fire Emblem and Detective Club may have better told storeis) of Nintendo delivering a mature world with characters acting uniquely to the given situation (the end of the world).
Sure, in Ocarina of Time (which I still enjoyed a smidge more than Majora's Mask overall), the characters repeat themselves and talk about how the sky has darkened, or that they've seen a man on a horse, but Majora's Mask shows them react day to day, and how they deal with their own mortality. Kafei and Anju spend their last hour together. Kafei's mother sits in a bar, relieved that her son is okay (and feels that she either wont make it out or that she feels she can rest in peace). The postman, until the very end, still feels he needs to fulfill his duty, and hopes he can escape the falling moon if he runs far enough. Even the guards go from not letting you leave the town at all, to not caring as it's the end of the world.
It's been a while since I've played the game (four years), but I'm pretty sure the above was pretty accurate.
I'm done rambling now.
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