Okay, so I've never been a Nintendo gamer. Even back to the Sega Genesis vs. NES days, I owned the Genesis. I am now, however, rather intrigued by The Legend of Zelda, due to the massive hype this series gets. What pushed my interest in this series over the edge is how beautiful the upcoming game looks. 

So, I have a couple questions. 

1. Bc there appears to be so many offshoot Zelda games, what are the staple games in the series--the games I absolutely must play in order to enjoy and understand playing thru the upcoming/new Zelda game for Wii U? The less games the better, here. I already have such a big games backlog:/

2. If I were to buy a Wii U, am I able to play all the staple games in the Zelda series on the Wii U? If not, what are my options? (Also, is Wii U BC with the Wii?)

3. Is there any other controller I can use to play on the Wii U? That effing thing seems so awful.

4. Are the Zelda games really so long???? I looked up some of the games on howlongtobeat.com, and they typically range from 15-30hrs! Is this accurate?? If so, it would be quite overwhelming to hop into this series at this point:(

1) I don't think you need to play any other, every Zelda game is accesible to new players, however if you want another title to introduce you to the series Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past are the places to start.

2) Pretty much yes, both NES titles are on VC, so are the N64 titles and the SNES title, Wind Waker was remade for the system and is backwards compatible so you can play Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword too.

3) We don't know but I doubt it.

4) Yes, they're supposed to be huge adventure games, they're usually very long.

A link to the past and Ocarina of time show all you need to know about 2d and 3d zelda's mechanics. You should be able to play most zelda titles on the wii u, although I'm not sure if the gameboy titles are there (they are on 3ds).

Imo the best place to start is with ocarina of time which can be played on both the Wii u and original Wii through the Wii shop channel but if you have a 3ds pick up the remake instead. As for the other games every home console game can be played on the Wii u due to backwards compatibility. I also recommend majora's mask (Wii virtual console) twilight princess (Wii) wind walker (hd remake for Wii u) and a link to the past (Wii u virtual console). As for other stuff you'll need Wii controllers for the original Wii and Wii virtual console games also all these games are about 15-35 hours

Yeah, as stated above, you don't really NEED to play any previous Zelda game in order to enjoy the series. However, since you asked what the staple games of the franchise are, I would say basically all of the home console releases (excluding maybe the original LoZ and Zelda II). So that would be A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, & Skyward Sword. But like I said, you shouldn't feel like you need to play ALL those games in order to enjoy Zelda Wii U. And yes, you can play all of those games on the Wii U with Virtual Console and backwards compatibility.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX will teach you everything you need.

You must play A link to the Past and Ocarina of time. Two of the finest Games to be made. A Link ti the past is on Wiiu virtual Console. Ocarina will hopefully be available at some point.

This.

And for 4)...

Twilight Princess took me ~50 hours to beat. But why worry about the lenght of the game? You could be playing it through the entire year if you want to. To me that is a plus.

Also, i really like the title of the Thread... "Zelda"

1. Well first, there really aren't that many offshoot Zelda games that are still easily available, now that is clear, to enjoy the new Zelda U, there really isn't a game you need to play, since even if the Zelda games are connected by a timeline, all of them have their own story, with no important connections to the other games, even direct sequels. Though to get setteld in with the mechanics of the series, I suggest you try A Link To The Past(Wii U VC) or if you have a 3DS, Link's Awakening DX, both great games, though ALttP is tougher.

2. The majority are available via Wii U thanks to the backward compability with the Wii. In the Wii U, you can play:

- The Legend of Zelda
- Adventure of Link
- A Link to the Past
- Ocarina of Time (via Wii VC)
- Majora's Mask (via Wii VC)
- The Wind Waker (Remade for Wii U)
- Twilight Princess ( via backwards compability)
- Skyward Sword ( via backwards compability)

Half of the series is currently available on the Wii U, the only that are not available are the handheld ones that may change when the DS virtual console hits the Wii U, and the possiblity of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks appearing there.

3. We don't know, but the most possible is that we will be able to use the Wii U Pro controller, since the only function the Gamepad seems to be use for is the map, so I doubt they will not let you change the controller option. The Wii U Pro Controller can also be used in all Zelda games available in the Wii U VC, for the Wii ones you will have to use the Wiimote and Nunchuck, or that other Wii controller, I think it was called the classic controller or something.

4. It all really depends on how you explore, if you are going for a 100% it may take even up to 50 hours, but if not, you could beat the game, in under the 20 hours, like I finished Skyward Swords in 19 hours. But it really depends on how you much you take exploring and in the dungeons, but do not expect for a Zelda game to be less than 10 hours.

1. I would recommend you to start with Ocarina of Time because that seems to be a highly praised one. I need to get that this year. Another I would recommend the 2.5D A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS. It was my first ever Zelda and there were things I found challenging due to my lack of experience, BUT I managed to 100% it within 3 weeks. I also went ahead and beat Link's Awakening from 3DS VC, and bought The Minish Cap which I am about to start soon.

2. On Wii U, you would be able to play roughly half of them I believe. It has VC and Wii compatibility and Wii VC. However most handheld ones and GCN Four Swords won't be there.

3. I imagine Pro Controller would work for Wii U games, but Wiimote would be needed for Wii games/VC.

4. It depends on the Zelda game. ALBW is pretty short but amazing and lot's of non-story things to do. Link's Awakening was about 10hrs longer than ALBW for me, because I found it harder and there simply was far more to do between the dungeons.

Hope this helps. I'm new to the series and I basically simply went for it. I knew about the series since 2011 but always dismissed it until late 2013, and so I 100% guarantee you that whichever one you start with you will enjoy it a lot.