Yet again, you adamantly push the mirror into fans faces. I can say that I don't enjoy looking at myself in the light you shine, but accept my resentment for what it is. Luckily for those that call themselves Zelda Theorists, their is a bridge (socially) between the generations. That relation will never change so long as the quest for truth and the timeline remains.

This is so true, the new generation does not appreciate how muc better Majora's Mask or Ocarina of Time or Pokemon Gold and Silver are

It doesn't seem right to boil down a wide range of gamers into such narrow schools of thought. For instance, my first Zelda was ALttP. Roughly a year later, Ocarina of Time came out. As much as I liked the first game, OOT was the one that made me a lifelong gamer.

Years later I played Wind Waker. It was short and easy, but for many years it was my favorite game in the series. Even today, I'd still place it above OOT. Why is this? Well, for one it has nothing to do with difficulty. I was inspired by the originality, the freedom, and atmosphere the game had to offer. What it did for me is take a proven formula and add a little twist that kept it fresh.

This was another day and age though, but it's important to keep in mind that neither old or new fans of the series are homogenous. Now days we have the latest entries such as TP and PH. The interesting thing about Phantom Hourglass, at least from my perspective, is that playing it feels like you're taking place in an experiment. In fact, I think that's exactly what the game was meant to be. Say what you will about PH's difficulty, it was by no means unoriginal. From the perspective of a seasoned veteran, I found it to be quite entertaining. Then again, we all have varying tastes. Overall, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some of the more acclaimed elements of PH refined for Zelda Wii.

There seems to be near unilateral agreement among veterans that Twilight Princess came up short. Though I enjoyed that game, I wholeheartedly agree. The problem with TP is its lack of any real distinguishing feature. Most other games in the series are loaded with recycled material and painful redundancy, (This is Zelda we're talking about, people!) but they all have at least one thing that clearly distinguishes them from their brethren. TP, on the other hand, was pretty much 100% recycled from previous installments. That kinda shit leaves a stain. I have the general feeling that was what some veterans meant when they said, "This game stinks."

Here's some food for thought. I have this friend from High School who was (is) a total PS3 fanboy. His whole life, he'd never played on anything but Sony consoles. We had this class together (Video Productions) in which everyone had an assigned computer to work on. It was a tradition in that class for gamers to put characters from games they liked on their desktop backgrounds. As you can imagine, there was a shitload of Master Chief in that room. My friend usually had a Final Fantasy or MGS character on his background. I stuck to Yoshi, because, well he's awesome!

Some time during the year, I went over to his house and noticed there was a Wii in the living room. Astonished, I inquired, to which he responded, "It's something my parents bought as a get the family together kind of thing." I knew he was being honest and thought nothing of it. Sure enough, a few weeks later, I walked into class and saw a Twilight Princess illustration on his computer. I asked him what the hell was going on. He told me he had heard a lot about Zelda over the years and decided he was curious enough to try his hands at TP. He went on to say it was one of the greatest games he'd ever played. There's an important lesson to be learned here.

Chris had never touched a Zelda game in his life. However, he was by no means new to gaming. His reasons for liking TP are quite obvious; the game has much of what made past Zelda's so enthralling. It was easy for the game to leave such an impression on him, because he'd never experienced the magic of Zelda before.

The point to be found in all of this is that originality has so much more to do with veteran gripes than difficulty. I can tell you Chris LIKES hard games, but then again TP is now one of his favorite games and he's more than aware of the game being relatively easy. A lot of people have tricked themselves into thinking difficulty is the main problem here.

I will concede that making a Zelda game exceedingly difficult would make it MUCH more enthralling for us veterans, but it's a short tern solution to the larger problem of our beloved series just not being that original anymore. I would bet that if TP had given gamers less hearts to come by and stronger enemies to deal with, few veterans would be complaining.

As you've heard me say, difficulty is an issue, but it's not what will ultimately keep people coming back to the series. If people can be wowed by something new, or just much much better in each installment, the base will live on. You've all heard me explain in the past why I think Zelda Wii will be both difficult and revolutionary, so I see no sense in repeating myself.

i, personally, love every zelda game, for me there's no better zelda, every zelda game give me something unique and special, that's why i don't complain about any zelda game, but this is just me, my own opinion, i know there are people that will say "no, old games are much better" or "naa, the new ones beat the old ones", but all of you must remember, the future is nothing without a past and a present, and things cannot be trapped in the past forever, everything changes, some for the better, others not and to be honest, and i know there will be people that will disagree with me, the zelda is changing for the better, but in a slow way (sorry for bad english)

ocarina and majora's mask were epic but so were wind waker and twilight princess. They all told interesting tales and incorporated unique puzzles. I agree with you saying there is a divide and the difficulty starts to decrease but just because it's easier doesn't mean it isn't great. I think the said divide occurs after the wind waker.

I Agree with you on everything other than I consider the oracales as part of the first generation and the new generation picks up with four swords.

While I have to agree with this to some degree, I'm afraid that you're making it a bit too black and white. Sure there's a generation divide but you can't forget grey areas.

When I was a kid, my parents played quite a bit of Legend of Zelda. My first Zelda game was the original one for the NES. When I got my SNES from my uncle and aunt, one of the games I got with it was A Link to the Past. Haha, even my mom got Ocarina of Time for Christmas in 1999.
I liked playing Zelda games such as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask but they just weren't important to me. Instead, I'd rather play Mario and Pokemon games.
Infact, it wasn't until we got a Gamecube that came with the Collector's Edition that I really got into the Zelda series! I was twelve when we got the GCN and I'd say it took me until I was thirteen or fourteen before I began to appreciate the series for what it truely is.

I love to play the "old generation" Zelda games. Yet, it seems that Wind Waker is one of top favorites right behind Majora's Mask.
I'll admit that after Twilight Princess, my interest towards upcoming installments faded. But even still, I'll look forward to every new story that Zelda has to offer. Each experience is a breath of fresh air to me. Sure, they'll borrow traits from the older games, but that's one of the beauties of this series.

So what would I be? Old generation because I grew up with it? New generation since I didn't "get into it" until after 2000? See, it's difficult to pinpoint these sorts of things, I'm afraid.

I like a challenging Zelda game as much as the next person, but you know, maybe we're all too used to the puzzles and obstacles these games have to offer. The magic of Zelda isn't its difficulty, its the story and thematic elements that keep coming back that make it so wonderful.

Obviously it's impossible to make everyone happy, but I'm crossing my fingers that Zelda Wii will be a success amongst fans of all ages.

I have to agree. I'm putting a lot of hope into Zelda Wii to be something everyone can enjoy, both generations.

As Rianne said, TP was all reused, and to veterans that felt like crap. However, it allows nintendo to build a great modern zelda game which will attract new players. Perhaps Zelda Wii will be what the players want, now that Nintendo has increased the audience. Maybe they will run the generations concurrently.

I can dream can't I?

Also, I agree that OOS and OOA should be in the first generation. I found Zelda with OOT, then bought LA (I spent days of my life playing and never finished), then got OOA and OOS (same story), but thought these three were absolute classics. My sister on the other hand, started with WW, and liked OOT, but loathes all 2D games but PH.

I still enjoy PH, TP etc. but they aren't as good. They're still great but not as awesome as the classics.

Also, 10 days.

I'd rather say that Zelda can be split into at least four different generations. I can remember a long time back, many gamers first experienced Zelda through OoT. Many old Zelda fans claimed OoT was nowhere near the greatness of ALttP, and those new gamers were just deluding themselves because 3D =/= greatness. I even get the feeling that divide still exists today.

So, I'd classify it as
1st: LoZ,AoL,ALttP,LA
2nd: OoT,MM,OoS,OoA
3rd: TWW,FS,FSA
4th: TMC,TP,PH

The Oracles had many things in common with OoT/MM, and had a decent difficulty, so I grouped those two together. TMC is actually from the 3rd generation, because the 4th technically started with the many newcomers to TP. Yet, TP borrows heavily from the play mechanics of TMC, so it makes more sense for it to be 4th.

I would have been called one of the "newer generation" of Zelda fans.

In fact, the first video game that really got me into console/handheld gaming was Oracle of Seasons. Then I played OoA, and both games are truly dear to me for their nostalgic value.

Then, I picked up the GBA remake of ALttP. Words could not describe how I felt about this game. I could never play Four Swords because none of my friends owned the game, but I played ALttP a lot, and loved it.

The Wii was my first Nintendo console, and with it, I got a copy of Twilight Princess. I didn't really like it at the time, it just didn't feel like any Zelda game I had ever played before. It mostly sat unused at the bottom of my games box.

Then, one day, I figured I'd get a VC game, and decided to get this "Ocarina of Time" thing everybody always talked about.

I was skeptical at first, but within minutes I was stepping into the Great Deku Tree eagerly awaiting a new adventure. Playing OoT, and afterwards, MM (which I am still currently in the process of trying to complete), was what really sold the Zelda experience to me. I've tried playing Wind Waker and picking TP back up, but they just didn't feel right compared to the games I loved. Playing the original LoZ via emulation still felt right though.

The jury's still out on Zelda II though.

So yeah, although I would be considered part of the "newer generation" based on age, in my personal opinion, OoT, MM, and ALttP are still the three greatest games in the franchise.

Deal is this: I hate seeing people say TP has no "unique" features that make it awesome. It did, people just generally didn't like it as much as it would of seemed when they implemented it - you can turn into a wolf.

Maybe we have MM to blame for it. We've transformed on call before, and like wise had time where we couldn't control it. However, we turned into aspects of the already existing Zelda realm, meanwhile the wolf was a unique take. That's not even getting into Midna, who may be one of the most indepth characters added to the series in a long, long time. Isn't it sad I know more about Midna's life, her kingdom, then I do about Zelda's despite saving her for 20 years? She was truly one of the best aspects of the game, a major driving force of the story, and the best Side Kick EVER in the Zelda series.

So, TP had it's things to make it stand out. It also had the horrible item use... but thats a bad thing.

In the end, I really like this article. Mel, you did a good job to get us all talking. While I understand tiring of Dathen's personal use of the mirror technique, it really doesn't make it any less true.

I don't split them into so called generations. Sure, the games are a bit different now (I'd argue starting with Ocarina...and no, I'm not insulting Ocarina) but I still honestly love them. This is from a person who played Zelda 1 as a kid and seriously has 99% of the secrets of the game memorized to this very day.

Like many, I hope for them to get harder (which is why this optional built in help feature is something I'm looking forward to), but I still love the games just as much now as I have in the past. That includes Twilight Princess (though I will give it that some of the items were way underused, perhaps because there were so many of them). You mention the old games having more of a story, but if anything the games have gotten far more story driven in recent years so I don't really understand what you're getting at there.

@bluelink12
As the new fail to appreciate the old, so do the old fail to embrace the new. However you perceive it, we've all got our heads stuck up somewhere.

Reading the comments above^ I'm not surprised by what I see. Plenty of us came to Zelda in our own unique way. That's why I feel so uncomfortable when people try to segregate us into very general groups. I know for practical reasons it's tempting to do so, but it just doesn't seem right.

In regards to TP and Midna, if there was something definitively unique about that game, it must have gone right over my head, because it certainly couldn't have been Midna. Yes, she was likely the most developed character to grace the "Zelda" series, but is she really so critical. Did she make the dungeons any less uninspired and sluggish? Not really. (The only dungeon that felt fresh and exciting in that game was the first). Did she make the overworld any less linear and barren. No, if anything, she made things more linear by being so central to the plot. Now, linearity and familiarity can in fact be great when used correctly, but in TP's case, it was like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.

Leading into the whole wolf thing, it may have been an attempt to do what the Ocarina did for OoT, or what the three-day cycle did for MM, or what controlling the wind did for WW, but it failed on most of these fronts. Partly due to under utilization and a lack of compelling gameplay when it was useful, Link's wolf form, instead of standing out, blended into the background with everything else. This left it practically mute.

I'm aware that this isn't the experience everyone had with that game, but it's an attempt to explain why so many Zelda fans felt unsatisfied with TP. Even so, it's good to see that both new and old fans are still dreaming about Zelda Wii. Personally, if the next Zelda game doesn't live up to the hype, I'll still play and enjoy it. What worries me is how everyone else would react. Remember, it only takes one poorly received game to bring down a series.

I'd argue that, to an extent, the Oracles belong in the old generation.

Generalization: something that shouldn't be done.

Wind Waker can, hands down, be one of the best games of the series, and you don't have to be a "casual" player to say that. Basically, this whole article goes back to the "hardcore vs casual" type of thing. Wind Waker was indeed easier, or "shorter" (even though I don't agree), but it is an incredible achievement. Now Twilight Princess turned things around. But yes, Nintendo did not succeed in a few details, still, we can see what they tried to pull out. It was, technically, the first time ever Nintendo threw Zelda in this generation of gaming, with the proficient graphics etc, and they surely learned from their mistakes.

But one thing is proven: Nintendo did care for Zelda fans (a single group) at that moment. Purposeless flaws aside, you can't disagree Nintendo slapped all the so called "casual players" in the face with a T rating, and threw a lot of money off the window. So you can't just say "Zelda 1" is transforming into "Zelda 2".

What you can say, however, is that the Zelda series was divided (with BOTH STILL existing). Actually, this is quite obvious and I am VERY surprised ZeldaInformer hasn't posted an article about it. Basically, as a marketing strategy, Nintendo divided the series into the casual, accessible part, and the you so-call veteran, "hardcore" part. Which means Nintendo, nowadays, is giving love to the first crowd with (arguably) Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, mostly on the DS (non coincidentally, since it's more accessible) while still satisfying the second with Twilight Princess and the upcoming Zelda Wii (on the most important platform, the Wii). Is it all for the money? Well, yes. But does anyone get forgotten or leaned by this? Definitely no. I approve what Nintendo is doing, it's a smart and good move from Nintendo that keeps everybody well. Now that can be said.

Don't generalize things to that point.

i agree with most of this article. it explains why all this old gaurd are bitching about TP, which was my Ocarina. although Victor Bogo makes a good point. i hope this will all be resolved with Zelda Wii, i think and hope it will be different enough to FINALLY stop the old zelda fans to stop BITCHING about every post N64 zelda game.
i feel for them though, i think they just want the new generation to experience the best Zelda possible, and THATs why they complain over our generations classics. i hope Zelda Wii will take those concerns and make a generation spanning classic!

Legend of Zelda:Twilight Princess is a great game and deserves respect.Though it was a gamecube game at heart,it still showed us Nintendo wii owners that "motion control works".

Zelda brought a new way too play the game(assuming you bought the Wii version),transformation into a wolf, and news gadgets not seen in the pass Zelda games(The wepond where your swinging a spiked metal ball around was cool because you could hear it on the wiimote speaker).

Zelda is recycled,but what franchise isn't? Halo is recycled but with better visuals and newer weponds(See a pattern?).You could call me a "Zelda veteran" because I've been there since day 1(I'm 25 years old),but I embrace technology and innovation so why can't you all do the same?

Frankly I think you're overcomplicating, what is a various obvious case of a series going down hill. Nothing to do with generations, it's just a case of the series getting worse. Same as what happened to the Final Fantasies and the Metal Gear Solids. Whilst I view Twilight Princess one of the worst in the series (relatively speaking), I would be a fool if I said I couldn't see the effort put into making it appeal to fans.

the thing is though, although i agree with the main outline of what your saying, i do think you have failed to take certain things into account. i am an 'old generation' zelda fan as you might call it, as i started out with a link to the past, ocarina of time and majora's mask as my first three zelda games, all of which are bloody brilliant. however although wind waker looks like a casual game, i think it is actually a better zelda game than majora's mask, i mean MM was full of annoying little things that held it back, like having to redo certain things after turning back time. however WW was just pure fun, and although it wasn't very difficult, i enjoyed myself more playing on WW than i did playing on MM, and that's what video games are all about, having fun. i mean there is no doubt that twilight princess was a disappointment, even if it was a very good game. i do think though that they took a step in the right direction with twilight princess in terms of difficulty, although i breezed through it, i found it more difficult than the past few zeldas that had came before it.
however the biggest thing you overlook here is the minish cap. this was pure old school zelda, i mean i think it was just as difficult as a link to the past, just as long as it, and was just like playing an 'old generation zelda'.
i hope that now that there is the new mode nintendo have come up with (can't remember the name) where the game can essentially complete parts of the game for you of your stuck, this should remove the horror of an easy zelda game, as they could make the game v. difficult and anyone who has problems with that can just get the game to give them a hand, leaving the casual audience still open, whilst satisfying the so called 'old generation' zelda gamers.

Who the crap says Twilight Princess doesn't have an enthralling story? ARE YOU HIGH?

I gotta add something about Wind Waker. Although the game as a whole was relatively easy, (albeit a blast) most of the puzzle elements were still on par with its predecessors. There's also a few battles that come to mind, like Puppet Ganon. On the first play-through, I must have died 4, 5 times during that battle. I've replayed WW multiple times since then, and I always struggle in that fight. Not sure if it's just me, but it's mentionable nonetheless.

I'm just going to repeat what kisama said....

"Who the crap says Twilight Princess doesn't have an enthralling story? ARE YOU HIGH?"

I think Nintendo has missed the point that even with the new generation, Zelda is still played by generally a hardcore gaming audience. Yes.... hard to believe, but there are still those hardcore gamers among the new generation players. Nintendo needs to realize that these new gamers can play the games with a degree of difficulty. I honestly believe casual gamers don't play the games anyway. They may tinker with them, but they are generally ignored by your typical Wii Sports wii mote wielding tennis player. Which leaves no excuses for how easy the later games have been. I recently finished playing the original Legend of Zelda, and for two glorious days I was transported back into my childhood. Understandably no new games will have that same effect, but why not build on our childhood memories? One example, I could have viewed twilight princess in an entirely new light had a blown a hole in the side of that mountain only to enter an old ghost town of the original Kakariko Village from Ocarina of Time. That kind of intricate storytelling or just subtle adjustments along with a greater degree of difficulty I believe could merge this generation gap and bring Zelda back to where it belongs as quite possibly the greatest franchise in video game history

It's not the games that's creating this "generation divide" it is your own perception.

The only true divide I see is between the 2D Zelda games and the 3D Zelda games.

Legend of Zelda and A Link to The Past were the best games in the series.

OoT was cool, but I personally really liked WindWaker. Twilight Princess is pretty cool. I actually never finished it in 2007 but I picked it up a few days ago again and I'm pretty close to finishing.

I would like to see another 2D version of Zelda done on a really epic scale.

I personally think that games are not like movies, in the sense that games usually get much and much better as time goes by and as more games are put into their franchises or whatever it may be.

That's one of the big differences is that things can be done that could not be before, and things look better than before.

So to be honest, I really didnt like Zelda until Link to the Past, and you have to admit that story wise nothing has really drastically changed in the big release titles on the major consoles. Small variations.

I still think the best one is Wind Waker because it takes a look at the future, technically, and I was one of the people who was REALLY won over by the simplistic cell-shaded art look. I love it for actually thinking about doing something different withe their art design. A drastic change that others have not really come out with lately. That and the music was gorgeous. (it always is, but the more naval-heavy stuff was amazing)

My personal favorite is Majoras Mask though- probably with Links Awakening after. Theyre just... different. Its almost like they all take place in some acid trip Link has.
That and I loved the dark aesthetic for Majora and masks in general.
The whole thing felt like it went from fantasy to dark fairy tale.. and I loved it

While I understand the general gist of your argument, I have to disagree with the line you draw. While the portable games certainly have been getting simpler and easier compared to older games, and Wind Waker greatly dropped the difficulty from Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess was in no way aimed at the casual market. I've seen casual gamers attempt it, gamecube or wii version (yes I own both, I didn't have a Wii when it came out and couldn't wait), and they fail, miserably. The game was designed for people who've been playing Zelda a very long time.

Honestly, everything's been getting easier since The Adventures of Link. Heck, that's the only game in the series I cannot beat. Even the original Zelda is quite hard compared to Link the the Past or even Link's Awakening, and neither of those games were known for being particularly difficult. Also, let's not forget the handholding of Navi, which (I'm assuming) drove all of us insane. You can't argue that it was a feature designed for the "hardcore." Majora's Mask certainly did ramp the difficulty up by imposing a limit found in no other Zelda game (save maybe parts of Phantom Hourglass), but I do not think that Wind Waker somehow dropped the difficulty down to increase appeal. I found in no easier or more difficult than Ocarina. Honestly, I find Twilight Princess to have a greater difficulty than Ocarina, albeit not too great of one.

Honestly, if we're going to draw a line, it's handheld vs. console. NES, SNES, N64, GC, and Wii all have one or more Zelda games. Those games, while different, are all extremely similar, and they largely serve the same audience. Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, and DS also have their own Zeldas. I find these to be far shorter and easier than their console counterparts. Further, the recent trend towards DS touchscreen controls definitely is an attempt to open the series up to more people. Yes, one could try to make that argument with Twilight Princess, however, we all know that Twilight Princess was originally designed as a Gamecube game. The controls, and a minor graphical upgrade were tacked on later to sell Wiis.

If you're going to draw a line handhold/console is the line to draw. I'm not even sure a hardcore/casual divide applies to these games. I can't think of many Zelda games that are incredibly accessible to newcomers. Puzzles that seem obvious to me baffle friends of mine who've never played a lot of other Zelda games. Perhaps the perception of ease is finding that we've been trained by these games to realize solutions, a sort of Zelda logic. Further, let's be honest, difficulty isn't really what sets apart hardcore/casual; it's marketing and easy of UI (user interface). I can make a difficult browser game, and so long as the controls are relatively simple and the gameplay straightfoward it'll catch on - and this happens fairly constantly. It's complexity of console controls that throws off so many so-call casual gamers. Even Twilight Princess Wii, with motion controls, does little if anything to solve that. Nor was it marketed as anything but a gift to Zelda fans.

Honestly, Twilight Princess vs. Ocarina is a matter of taste. I preordered Ocarina, gold cartridge and all. I still play through it every so often. It's fun, amazing, and ground-breaking. It is what caused me to really start love gaming. Twilight Princess did not have the same impact that Ocarina had on gaming, and it did not have the same impact on me. The problem is that I'm 25. Nothing can have that impact on me again, and seeking it is pointless. I don't need to fall in love with gaming - as that clearly already happened or I wouldn't even post here; I need to enjoy the games I play. I loved Twilight Princess. Honestly, I don't feel that it's any more linear than Ocarina, especially when compared to the original Zelda. They've pretty much all become more linear since then. I'm not sure these minor constraints are bad, and I'll take Midna over Navi yelling at me every 3 minutes any day.

I've been playing Zelda since the NES days. I've beaten every game except Adventures of Link (and those CDi ones, but did anyone actually own a CDi?). I do not think that the series is anywhere close to dead. If Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass expand the brand to gamers who otherwise wouldn't try it, so be it. I see no downside; the games are still incredibly fun, and the lovers of the portables can stay there if they so desire; I can't see the controls being simplified much further on the console-side.

If you don't think that Twilight Princess was better than Ocarina, that's fine. It's a perfectly legitimate view. Ocarina stands right up there with Super Metroid as one of the greatest games ever created. Just because everyone can't agree that a game tops its predecessor does not make a game bad. Just because a game is not quite as difficult as you remember an older game being does not mean a series is dead.

Just consider that giving up on new Zelda games really the only way you can ever guarantee not playing a Zelda game that stacks up to Ocarina.

I think you are mistakenly dividing the line. I wouldnt call it "casual vs. hardcore" but "open-minded and close-minded".

I can deny that TP didnt make me feel like the other Zelda games i´ve played, but that doesnt mean i didnt like it. I love ALttP and LA, thought, my favorite game in the serie is TWW. Then, am I casual or hardcore?

The "close-minded fans" are just that. Veteran gamers that cant accpet the fact that Nintendo is exploring new frontiers, and public and economic reception *videogames are a business, after all..." or new gamers that cant accept the greatness of the old games just because they are old.

I cant deny that TP wasnt as good as other Zelda games, but that doesnt mean the franchise has lost its essense. In fact, I think that the "hardcore" gamers are partially guilty of the lack of "soul" (because saying quality just would be a sin, man, if TP has something is quality) in this game. They just idealized the game and expected it to be the new OoT, and just found what they wanted, a new game reviving OoT and fan service to their fans who wanted a more adult-like Link after ranting about TWW.

The only thing I hope is that Nintendo learns from their (and ours, though "I" cant be included in there XD) errors and make Zelda Wii a refreshing epic Zelda game and not only a response to the fan base or the sequel to TP.

I have to agree with HyLorian. It really is broken up more than just 2 generations. And I do agree with you that the newer generations are dazzled with graphics. In fact, with the exception of the number of generations, I agree with almost all of your article. My one contrary point being that some games in the newer generations are more like the old games than others.

For instance, though I am of the oldest Zelda generation I find that I really enjoyed Wind Waker and Minish Cap. I actually loved them. I would put them right behind A Link to the Past and the original Legend of Zelda. Also, contrary to your generation grouping, I didn't like Ocarina of Time. As a game it was good, but as far as Zelda universe I think it ruined the franchise. Prior to OoT the games had a very fantasy feel to them with magic, wizards, elves(hylians), dwarves(the smithies from aLttP), dragons and an epic hero! OoT made everything childish in my opinion. Twilight Princess did a decent job rectifying this issue to a degree, but I really wish the series stayed more to its roots.

I loved the FEEL of Wind Waker. And although the graphics were bright and colorful, it sported perhaps the darkest story of ANY of the zelda games. Minish Cap clearly takes place in a different universe or at least a vastly different time so much of its differences can be understood but at the same time I found it to be one of the most engaging Zelda games in years. I also loved its explanation of why random items are hidden in bushes which I thought was neat because that was always odd to me. Then again, if its in a different universe it begs the question of why they are there in all the other games.

To boil it all down. I want a seriously badass game from Nintendo when they put out the Wii Zelda. But I'm not holding my breath.

It is a growing criticism that I've noticed in alot of gaming areas.

The stagnation of current gaming franchises (with minor exceptions) and the repetition based upon the latest and greatest in whatever technology, rather than an advancement of the storyline.

As most commenters have already noted, the gap is far wider than spoken of in the Article, but I think this wasn't the point the Author was alluding to. There could very well be a different generation each with its own core game to the franchise, and I'd put it to everyone that there is. This, however is beside the point. Each will always identify with something at a key age or time in their life.

The main point I thought about all this was the focus on gaming difficulty and retention rates. The newer games are designed to be very easy. They are so careful not to alienate the player that it becomes nothing more than an extended series of Mini-games and parlour tricks cobbled together with a horse, a warthog, a teleporter, a car...

The older games weren't like this, or seemingly weren't like this. Everyone can remember getting stuck in a game, an adventure game. Truly stuck. You thought you had done everything, been in every room, bombed every wall, killed every enemy and then, months down the track, (usually after a couple of not playing due to sheer frustration) you pick it up, and walk through a hidden wall.

This kind of difficultly and sense of frustration is lost and I really can only put it down to two reasons.
The first being in game tutorials, and guides. These can be a real killer for me. I loved the days when technological limitations meant you hit start and you were in the Game. No hour and a half on how to shoot, reload, backstab, stealth attack, dodge, duck, parry and bake a cake. Work it out on the fly and if you don't... you'll die. The solution here is easy, scale back the helpful hints sections and give the player room to explore, not just the world, but the character and the game itself. Its part of the fun realising you can make your character wall-run and flip to present a neatly wrapped saxophone to the CIA monster agent.

The second, however I feel you'll never topple. That is the wealth of information available. If you get stuck in a game these days, everyone just grabs the computer, searches for a walkthrough and does exactly what it tells them. There's no waiting for the monthly issue of Nintendo Power hoping (sometimes in vain) for a hint or guide that is exceptionally vague, but vague for a reason and because of this, there is no sense of Achievement. Instead we stick achievements as actual programmed things in games now. Kill all the grubs in the game. I even used a guide for that, killing the sense of achievement in gaining the achievement. People will always publish guides and walkthroughs, more of a trophy to themselves to say "I did it and Did it well" which is, fair enough.

To get that kind of difficulty and frustration that came from the older games back, its part of ourselves that we have to be Disciplined enough to NOT look to Google everytime we hit a wall. To give it the red hot go, ask friends and family to give it a red hot go and really put the fun back into gaming, rather than the grindy achievement-program collecting that it is today.

Moreover you also have to value the games that come out with new ideas and new stories to keep driving that market. Mirrors Edge was not a game for everyone, but it should be a game that everyone got behind, because of it being a new idea. Support the developers and let them know that this new idea worked, others could too!. Support the story driven game more than the online multiplayer component. I do NOT want to see Half-Life Episode Three or Half-Life 3 with a Co-Op Multiplayer component. I want a single player story driven experience that makes me want to strangle the developer mercilessly when they opt for Left 4 Dead 2 instead of the next Episode.

All of these things take time, patience and commitment. Something which I think is fairly sparse to come by in the gaming community. Because we cannot show that we have these, developers continually push out the same material, Glitzy, Sparkly, shiny and new but, with about a thimble full of actual gaming essence. Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead, Halo, Guitar Hero, Any of the Wii-x series of games all suffer from this, but make no mistake about it, this is not the Developers or publishers abandoning the core dedicated gamers, this is essentially what the core-dedicated gamers, their high consumption and short attention spans, lack of commitment to good ideas and unwillingness to experiment with new gaming concepts have been unconsciously asking for, for years.

I loved Twilight Princess and only played 1,2, ocarina, majora i'm 29yo.

Its only easier because you are older(hopefully wiser) and you have played the games previous. Therefore you know the style of Zelda games and what to look for from the puzzles. If you started out on Twilight Princess or any other recent Zelda they would be just as hard(probably harder) as Ocarina of Time was or any of the old school games.

The one thing I also believe what makes or burns the cake is how old you were when you first played the games. I started with WW when I was about 7-8-ish, and everything seemed harder then, like how huge those monkey bars used to be, and now we're dwarfing them. Age really comes into play for me. I had picked up OoT around 10-ish, and got so frustrated with it that I just didn't want to do it anymore. I picked it up again a while ago, and those puzzles that irked me seem like the most easiest thing in the world now. We learn as we get older, and hopefully, we gain more paitence too. If we chuck our controller through the screen of our TVs everytime we can't figure out something, then why are you playing Zelda?

New generation zelda could be serious. They should port the old snes version to iphone!

I have to agree with the OP; Legend of Zelda games are different now than they were back when I was still a kid (err, more so anyway).

I'm seventeen, and I still enjoy playing the classics: ALttP, LA, OoT, MM, but at the same time I really enjoyed WW and TP. I'll admit, the games do seem easier, but I don't necessarily think it all comes from the developers. I have to remember; I'm older now. My brain functions differently, and I can follow along with the story and characters on a level that would have been impossible for my 8-year-old brain. Zelda has changed, and so have I.

However, I don't think there has been one Zelda game that I didn't enjoy playing. The Legend of Zelda continues to be my all-time favorite game series, and I'm hoping that Zelda Wii and Spirit Tracks continue to enthrall. ;D

im 15 and im currently playing orcarana of time because ive never beat anyzelda game becuase something always stops it from happening and ive decided to beat orcara first because well its one of the best video games ever and i want to beat them like zelda orcarana , majoras mask . wind waker ,twighlight princess ive played the others but so far there hasnt been enough magic like ther has been on orcarana sorry for grammar failures

i am an old generation lover, ocarina my favorite game ever. but, days i wonder if new teams could take my favorite game and modernize. i'm saying, change nothing about the game play, but make todays graphics still in it. i say even leave all of the old glitches as well. i see that if this were capable it could “link" lol, the generations together. this would give new gen. gamers a chance to try our fav. games. and old gen. would play it because of there love for it. this also would give them a taste of new graphics. but this could only be pulled off if down right.

I think you're over complicating, what is a various obvious case of a series going down hill. Nothing to do with generations, it's just a case of the series getting worse. Same as what happened to the Final Fantasies and the Metal Gear Solids.

I really like this article. Mel, you did a good job to get us all talking. While I understand tiring of Dathen's personal use of the mirror technique, it really doesn't make it any less true.

I've been playing Zelda since 2004 (when i got Collector's Edition and fell in love with OoT, and later MM) and I enjoy both classic and newer Zelda. I'm open to the whole series, and I've played most of the games. My All-Time Favorite is MM. I enjoy the classics a bit more than the new ones, although I loved ST (unfortunately it was too easy to 100%).
Anyways, great article. It got me thinking.