It is, I think, my favourite Zelda game --- it looks superb, the characters work, the story's interesting (even Ganon actually comes across as a bit sympathetic!), fascinating dungeons, the world is endless fun to explore... I just kinda wish they'd finished it: they way the last part of the game devolves into a series of treasure hunts was disappointing. I gather they ran out of money and there was supposed to be another round of dungeons.

There are also some epic design failures: the biggest one, to me, is that the games give you the boat before it's ready to let you explore. Instead it walls off big chunks of the world to railroad you into going to Dragon Roost Mountain. As soon as I got the boat, of course, I headed straight for the nearest island to see what was there, hit a wall and was turned back. I found that showing me the open world and then not preventing me from going there, and in such a clumsy manner, was very disappointing. I think they'd have done better to have simply moved you to the island outside your control, and only let you take command of the boat once you pick up the baton.

A lot of what gives the game its character was the seamless loading between islands. Twighlight Princess, which was a perfectly decent game, seemed much smaller to me because of the endless constrained environments and loading screens.

Meanwhile, I still haven't finished Skyward Sword.

I remember the backlash, and it was bizarre, especially given this was the first Zelda game that gave us _some_ semblance of continuity. But I also do remember a Dolphin demo reel showing a more realistic Zelda that probably made people think that's where the next game was going, so people were naturally disappointed when their expectations were undermined.

> the first Zelda game that gave us _some_ semblance of continuity

What continuity is there in WW? Nothing jumps to mind, especially when the previous game (Majora's Mask) was essentially a direct sequel to OOT in comparison.

At one point you visit Hyrule Castle and there are allusions to Ocarina of Time. I don't really remember the details but it is made clear in-game that player Link is one in a series of Links.

Some of this is from memory, but it takes place on a timeline where Ganondorf was sealed. Then Hyrule was flooded to prevent him from ever being unsealed.

The main character is dressed as Link because children dress as the great hero once a year.

That's true! I'd completely forgotten about MM. It always felt like a "mod" of sorts to OOT.

Nintendo also stoked the flames by releasing a "demo" video to preview the GameCube that featured a more realistic Link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBtAvX4Pkyk

People thought that this would be the next Zelda game.

You couldn't be more right. I seem to recall people being really grumpy about Majora's Mask for being "weird" and not very Zelda-y, and now it frequently appears in "best game ever" lists.

I have to agree, though-- I replay Ocarina all the time, but every time I try to replay Majora's Mask, I get frustrated and quit a few hours in.

Try the 3DS port. I ground through the N64 version when it was first released, due to a sense of "I paid for this, so I'm gonna darn well finish it," but the 3DS version adds hints/accessibility that make it a lot more enjoyable.

Yep, that's what happened to me the few times I tried to pick it up. I'm a huge Zelda fan but MM just feels like a chore. I really don't like the whole calendar-based thing, having to do the same things multiple times, having to revisit the same location over and over again. It kills the sense of progress that makes other Zelda games great. By far my least favorite...

I was strongly in the camp which loved the cell-shaded graphics. It's a shame that the complainers "won" because it clearly limited Nintendo's creativity for later games.

Nintendo are at their best when they're unconstrained.

Hah, yes, I remember everyone complaining about "Celda".

I still think Wind Waker is one of the most visually appealing games Nintendo has ever released.

I say 'one of' but I can't actually think of anything better at the moment.

Yoshi's Island?

Yoshi's Island, for me, is my favorite Nintendo game graphically, followed by, in no particular order, Metroid Prime, Paper Mario, and Wind Waker.

But it's also my favorite when it comes to gameplay and audio. I don't think I've played a platformer all the way through as often as I've played through Yoshi's Island, and its music still randomly pops into my head quite regularly.

Still haven't played it for that reason. Then again, I never bought a game cube.

Dolphin Emulator + Wind Waker ROM = HD experience you never had

If you have a Wii U there's a remastered version available for that.