Today I finished what may be one of the finest Zelda adventures yet in Skyward Sword, and to celebrate this edition of Nintentunes is all Zelda, all the time! This time we will travel through the handheld versions of the Zelda franchise which contain fantastic music in their own right. For all those playing Skyward Sword, how do you think the music in the Wii adventure holds up?
Game Boy – The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h848dMB0LgU&feature=related[/youtube]
Link’s Awakening was the very first game I purchased for my Game Boy way back in the day, and I must say that it is still one of my favorite games for the old black and white. Funny dialog? Check. Great dungeon design? Yup. Strange but welcome Mario universe cameos? Well sure, why not. There is no excuse to not have played this game, what with the eShop download and the Game Boy Color remake available for your gaming pleasure.
Game Boy Color – The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg-rX_LJVTs&feature=related[/youtube]
Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons have been criminally overlooked among many Zelda fans. Perhaps the reason for this is that the games came in at the tail end of the GBC lifecyle, with the games coming only a month before the Game Boy Advance was scheduled to launch. Give these titles a shot if you have yet to play them, they can be found on the cheap if you look hard enough online. If at all possible, you should play them as a pair, because having both will unlock new events after beating one game and sharing a password with the other.
Game Boy Advance – The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU-_qBshJXc&feature=related[/youtube]
If you have already beaten Skyward Sword, then you know that the director behind the game was Hidemaro Fujibayashi. Fujibayashi’s first involvement in the Zelda franchise was on the handheld front starting with the Oracle games, and continuing with The Minish Cap. There are quite a few connections to The Minish Cap in Skyward Sword, but seeing as how I don’t want to spoil anything, I will just leave it at that. Can you spot any of them?
Nintendo DS – The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5SgdJd0hAY&feature=related[/youtube]
I have a confession to make. I actually don’t like Phantom Hourglass quite as much as the rest of the gaming world. Maybe it was having to return to the Temple of the Ocean King time and time again. Perhaps it was the fact that I don’t much care for the stylus controls the game implements. Whatever the reason, I still played the game to completion, and even enjoyed my time with the title. I just didn’t feel it was on the same level of other games in the Zelda franchise. Don’t hate me.
Nintendo 3DS – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCygSCniriQ[/youtube]
Ocarina of Time. What can I say about the game that hasn’t already been said countless times by just about everyone? Although many hold the title up as the greatest game of all time, I actually liked the other N64 Zelda title more because of the character development and the always present sense of doom. Ocarina of Time is undoubtedly a great game, but give me Majora’s Mask any day of the week.