"Adventure"

Oh, never really completed Majora's Mask. It required the expansion pak, didn't it?

The blame is totally on Nintendo for that.

(though in all honesty, the 72 hour system, no adult link, and Deku / Goron / Zora forms are what repelled me and most others from the game)

c0rd, Rol, this topic has been very nice so far and I swear if you two turn this into a discussion about which Zelda games is totes better than whatever then I will do everything in my power to bring down the wrath of an angry and jealous god on both of you.

There's nothing dishonorable about using a megaton hammer: if he wants to block your one-ton of death with his piddly sheet of metal, who are you to stop him?

Any man who does not try to get more people to play Majora's Mask is clearly in dereliction of duty.

You're not encouraging today's youth to engage in dereliction of duty, are you Mr. Khuutra?

Oh, and Long Live the Virtual Console!

The Zelda experience for me is what OoT & Majora's Mask put me through. (Stopped after d 1st dungeon in windwaker). It's the 'WOAH! You can put THAT in a game?!? It's the 'How did they think of that?' It's the 'Damn, the music is gooooood!' and it's the hard ass puzzles. The combat wasn't the main thing for me but the boss & miniboss battles were. That's where TP failed. The fights. It's also the fantastic sidequests that totally beat fetch quests. Anyone who got all the masks in Majora's mask knows what I'm talking about. Finally, it's the engaging.....gimmick for lack of a better term. OoT:The 7 years time travel. Majora's Mask:The 3 day time limit and mask transformations. Twilight Princess:The Wolf.

It's also the constant change of pace. Stealth to Horse Combat to under-water mission to brawl to platforming to whew! Much nore variety than most games.
Highlights like these:
1. Shooting the sun in OoT to get ur fire arrows
2. Jumping on invisible platforms (over a chasm) to get ur lens of truth
3. Finding hidden items in waterfalls or rooftops thanks 2 ur hookshot or other platforming tools

4. Catching a spider in a bottle and releasing it in an empty room (filled with the sound of Golden Skultullas) to reveal the location of the bigger spiders. I figured 'in real life, animals of the same specie like the same environment' and it really worked. THAT blew my mind!

  In any case, Zelda was the 1st time I experienced sooo many gameplay mechanics (even if they may be very present in other games) games that i'm going to have to experience sooooo many new things (new to me) from the same game before it can beat Zelda as my favorite game series. I said this for SoundofRain. He may be wondering why some of us hold it in such high regard.

Damned if i didn't forget Fierce Deity. I stand corrected, and then some. That thing kicked 41 separate kinds of ass.

Haha, I didn't mean that as a dig at Majora's Mask, I've said I'll get to playing it eventually! It's the only console Zelda I never owned, so I know I didn't give it a fair shake. I was just pointing out why me (and plenty others) were turned off by it - it's not just for "not being Ocarina of Time." The game takes the biggest departure the (home console) series has ever had. I think.

Oh, right. On topic, topic...

I've got it! Zelda!

Zelda is integral to the experience Zelda experience. She's gotta be there at the end, once you beat the game! Otherwise, it just doesn't feel like a Zelda game, y'know?

Ah, the Biggoron Sword. I did love that thing, and the sidequest to get it.

But thing that hit me about the use of that sword is one of its uses; the completion of the story of the Skull Kid.

Skull Kids are childlike spirits of the forest - the remains of lost children - that befriend Link after he shows his affinity to Saria. As a child, Link can play with these characters and, at one point, he can give one Skull Kid a Skull Mask. This is remarkable because whereas  masks usually grant a character a new identity or role, the Skull Kid earns a "face", or his one "true" identity - the one thing acknowledging of the fact that he was once a living individual.

A sad and thoughtful tale in and of itself, the Biggoron Sword ties into this because with it, the player can commit a gruesome act not otherwise possible; he can destroy the Skull Kid.

 What does it say about Link, and the player, that he is fully capable of killing not just an innocent forest spirit, but a being he once called "friend"?

Truly one of the most striking tales of the series, and it's only an optional course of events brought to light by the completion of several side quest and acquisition of the most powerful weapon in the game.

Explorative overworld trawl married with puzzle laden dungeoning.  I enjoy the illusion of non-linearity too, and either the NPCs done right (MM, LA) or not at all (LOZ).  Also, cool items and subweapons. <3