TheLastStarFighter said:
The first two Zeldas have a heavy action elements and low puzzles.
Zelda 1 you were running around, dodging attacks, shooting boomerangs, arrows and so forth. Very fast past. Some puzzles are present, but they are generally simple and involve pushing blocks or bombing walls or burning bushes.
Zelda 2 is almost an action platformer. A side-to-side action platformer where you run, jump and hack and slash. It has the fewest puzzles of any Zelda, mostly fetch keys and open doors.
Both Zelda 1&2 are dark games by NES standards. Monsters, bats, skeletons, dungeons. Black backgrounds. These are contrasted with brighter times in the overworlds, but the games are not cartoony by any stretch.
Zelda III: ALttP is slightly brighter than the first two and slightly more "cartoony", but not especially so. It's also not overly cartoony relative to other games of the day.
Modern Zeldas are too plodding. When you compare the combat in the orignal 3 games to newer 3D titles, the action is very different. In old Zelda you were quickly stabbing multiple enemies, running in various directions, quickly launching ranged attacks, blocking projectiles and stabbing more foes. In new Zelda you generally lock on to one or two enemies, and wait and time your moves. Very different.
All Zeldas from the original through to MM were done in a way that was as realistic as possible for the technology available at the time. They may look bright or cartoony today, but they weren't back then, not any more than FF or Castlevania or anything else. Games like Wind Waker or SS with its watercolors detract from what should be a realistic, serious adventure. It's not so much the brightness, but the realism. A Zelda game should push the boundaries of a system and present a deep, serious adventure. Of the recent 3 Zeldas, only TP took that approach, and thats why it sold the best.
The idea that Zeldas were more action-focused in the past is not a myth. The idea that Zelda was not cartoony in the past is not a myth. Us older Zelda fans like us some action and we like a serious focus. All Zeldas are good in their own way, but seeing ALttP 2 is very exciting, and so are the comments that Zelda U will look for inspiration from the earliest Zelda games.
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I think you are making the games out for far more than they actually are though. Ninja gaiden , Contra, Battletoads, Shadow of the ninja these are examples of action heavy games on the nes, you make link sound like an agile ninja in the game when he controlled closer to a tank.
Also I think the limitation of the tech and the inexperience of the developers is what gives those darker tones rather it being purposely so, for example compare the first Super mario Bros with Mario bros 3 no doubt the first one has a "darker" tone and color scheme. Yes LTTP is more cartoony than your average snes game.
Oh yeah that first pic is a boss of game that any self respecting rpg fan should play
