The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword?

[Masterofnone169]

I have just gotten interested into TLoZ and I am thinking about playing some of his games.  But 1 thing.  I only have a Wii when it comes to Nintendo based products...  Ok, I lied, I have a DS as well but I think the main series would be a good place to start.

 

I have a very little understanding of story when it comes to TLoZ, but I heard that Skyward Sword is a origin story and possibly the best place to start.

 

I haven't got a motion play "thing".  so if I was to get skyward sword I would have to pay extra.

 

Which game would you recommend I get.  Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword?

[Endy]

Get Wind Waker instead.

[Old dead account]

Honestly, I think you should start with Ocarina of time. It's the most basic of the 3D Zeldas and pretty much perfect for beginners. I think that if you start of with something like Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess, the rest will feel bland by comparison. You can buy OoT in the virtual console or an emulator.

[Speederino]

Honestly, I think you should start with Ocarina of time. It's the most basic of the 3D Zeldas and pretty much perfect for beginners. I think that if you start of with something like Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess, the rest will feel bland by comparison. You can buy OoT in the virtual console or an emulator.

 

I second this. Almost any Zelda game is accessible for beginners, but being the first 3D game OoT does the best job of easing you into it. Not to mention it's a much cheaper alternative than Skyward Sword or (especially) Wind Waker.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Speederino

[Nepenthe]

I started with Skyward Sword myself and decided to work my way backwards through the series, and I vastly prefer it to Twilight Princess.

 

While SS is the origin story, there's no reason a newcomer couldn't understand TP; as far as I've come to learn, the canon doesn't build upon itself continuously like a comic but rather recycles elements and similar plot lines for the sake of consistency like Mario or Sonic, so you don't need a background with the franchise to get into the story.

 

Beyond motion controls however, SS is the more robust feeling of the two in terms of the way Link can move. He can run for one thing- an apparent novelty in the franchise- and the run action can be applied to other maneuvers like climbing or lifting to speed things up and get around the large overworlds and dungeons faster. This generally goes for your animal companion as well. Flying in the sky is much more satisfying than riding your horse.
 

SS also has the advantage of feeling like it gets going faster. After a few missions of development and tutorial, you're thrust into the world and generally are taking part in the main campaign immediately. TP slogs more in the beginning. You'll be charged with collecting a set of bugs before you can get to the real meat of gameplay, and the quests get longer as you go. However, it makes up for this with a much better round of dungeons than SS in its latter half.

 

Combat in each game's a completely different can of worms. Most people apparently prefer TP's mapped swordplay. However, I prefer SS's MotionPlus combat because there's a higher element of strategy involved in breaking an enemy's defense as well as defending. With TP, so long as you can mash a button/swing your sword around, you're guaranteed to win. This ultimately makes the Wolf parts a lot more fun in comparison because, hey, fighting as a dog is novel. xP

TP isn't a bad game by any means. I came out enjoying it in the end, but SS feels like a game that successfully went through a generational jump in every conceivable area of gameplay that it just comes out as the stronger title. Both are good, but I'd highly suggest SS if you're only going with those two options.

[Lady Soniko]

Buy Wind Waker, certain copies come with Ocarina of Time/Master Quest with them just look for it on Ebay or some shit, Skyward Sword is a Prequel to Legend of Zelda though, so the time line is all sorts of messed up, but OoT would be the best place to start.

[Speederino]

Buy Wind Waker, certain copies come with Ocarina of Time/Master Quest with them just look for it on Ebay or some shit, Skyward Sword is a Prequel to Legend of Zelda though, so the time line is all sorts of messed up, but OoT would be the best place to start.

 

I really don't see the point of buying an overpriced GC Wind Waker disk with a remake so close on the horizon. While you can get one for $20-$30 on eBay if you're good at bidding, it's not uncommon for WW to get ridiculously expensive. Are you planning on getting a Wii U anytime soon, Masterofnone?

[LATER BUDDY]

Honestly, I'd say pick any Zelda game that interests you the most and start there.

 

Why? Because for the most part all of them are pretty awesome in their own right. Everyone in the world can argue all day which is the best, but at the end of the day it comes down to preference. I like Wind Waker the best myself, but OoT and Twilight Princess follow close behind. I happen to dislike Skyward Sword and I couldn't really get engaged into Majora's Mask. Now I know plenty of people that think WW is meh, hate OoT and TP, and love the shits out of SS and Majora's Mask.

 

Just whatever you choose, you might develop a bias love for the most because it was your first Zelda game, so that's why I say pick one and choose based off which one you find the coolest and most interesting. If you enjoyed it a lot, then venture to the others, since at it's skeleton it's more or less the same games (in a good way).

[Kuzu]

Wind Wa*Looks above* Oh fuck you guys.

 

 

Uh, I'd recommend Ocarina of Time because it's the most basic of the 3D zelda's and the pace moves along rather nicely, but go with whatever you prefer honestly. Each game has their own merits, but personally I think Skyward Sword is the better game overall; everything about it just outdoes Twilight Princess in every way possible. But like I said, it's up to you.

[Diogenes]

I'm not even sure which one would be a better introduction to the series. Skyward Sword I would say is the better game, but Twilight Princess is a bit more traditional (though to a fault, I'd say). But aren't they supposed to be shaking things up with the series with the next few games? So what does "traditional" even matter? And neither is my favorite 3D Zelda, traditional or otherwise, anyway...

 

Outside of those two, OoT kind of set the standard but I never liked it that much, Majora is obviously the best but it's also pretty damn far from the usual Zelda experience, and Wind Waker...is probably the best to start with as long as you aren't put off by sailing or cel shading, but apparently it's kind of hard to get your hands on it for a reasonable price, plus they're doing that HD port so it might be worth waiting for that...

 

Eh, I guess I'd throw my vote in for Skyward Sword, though I wouldn't put a whole lot of weight on it.

[Jix Hedgehog]

X

Edited August 14, 2015 by Jix Hedgehog

[Nintendoga]

I have just gotten interested into TLoZ and I am thinking about playing some of his games.

Ocarina of Time on N64 has aged a bit, but it's still a good way to get into the series. If you had a 3DS, Oot3D would be a better place to start with. Don't play Majora's Mask (2nd best 3D Zelda imo) until you've played/beaten Oot as it's pretty much a direct sequel.

Wind Waker is the best 3D game, and while it's challenging enough for veterans, it's very easy for newcomers to get into it.

Twilight Princess is one of the weaker 3D Zeldas, mainly because of how long the beginning part takes, and how the plot starts to really drag on and on in the middle.

I hate Skyward Sword.

But hey why not try out some 2D Zeldas? You can buy A Link to The Past (SNES) which is regarded as one of the best games in the series. You can also try out Zelda 1 & 2, all of which are found on the Wii VC.

If you ever get a 3DS, you can download Link's Awakening, which is basically a handheld Link to the Past (some say this is better), but with it's own plot.

For DS, I wouldn't suggest Phantom Hourglass (It's a sequel to Wind Waker, and honestly it's not all that good) but I've heard some good things about Spirit Tracks.

But really though, try out all the Zelda games if you can. They're relatively easy to find nowadays.

Oh and hey if you can find a CDi emulator, lemme tell you about the three greatest Zelda games ever.  Wand of Gamelon, Faces of Evil, and Zelda's Adventure.

Trust me, they are amazing

[Conando]

They were both fun. TP had a darker theme and was more of a challenge (you could kind of tell SS was more catered towards Zelda newbies), but for some reason I preferred SS.

 

My fav 3D Zelda is still Wind Waker thou... I had no idea how hooked I was going to become when I first bought the game... I spent hours literally days mapping out the ocean on paper..

 

What? Seriously? Twilight Princess was a cakewalk, while Skyward Sword had harder fights at least.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Wreck-It Ralph

[Nepenthe]

Yeah, the boss fights in TP are comparatively pants next to the ones in SS. Touching them doesn't even hurt you. :/

[Diogenes]

My fav 3D Zelda is still Wind Waker thou... I had no idea how hooked I was going to become when I first bought the game... I spent hours literally days mapping out the ocean on paper..

...there's a map, y'know.

[Speederino]

What? Seriously? Twilight Princess was a cakewalk, while Skyward Sword had harder fights at least.

 

 

Majora's Mask aside, all the 3D Zelda's are cakewalks. I found SS to be the biggest cakewalk of them all, save for that last fight with The Imprisoned.

[Conando]

I really am not seeing it. The enemies and bosses in Twilight Princess barely did ANYTHING. Maybe I was older when I played it so I know? I never died in Twilight Princess, I at least died once if only once in Skyward Sword.

[Brad]

As a late fan to the Zelda franchise, I'd get started with Ocarina of Time (recommended 3D remake, but it's on the Wii Shop Channel) because that really got me enthralled in both the gameplay mechanics and the overall plot. I'm glad OoT was my starting point, because that was where the grounds of 3D Zelda were really laid down for me. 

 

I followed with Skyward Sword, which is obviously a prequel to the above mentioned title. The motion controls totally re-invented the control scheme OoT gave me, but being a new fan I quickly sunk into them. Skyward Sword is a beautiful looking, sounding and playing game and the narrative is exceptionally played out. I'd still choose this second to OoT, but either one can come first.

 

With Twilight Princess, though, I'd keep it till last. I'm currently playing the game myself and experiencing it for the first time and it takes a lot of groundwork set out in OoT and expands it extensively. Hyrule Field becomes huge, and the world itself is immensely vast and you'll be going at the adventure for a good few days if you play continuously. Skyward Sword is first chronologically, and Twilight Princess is last, so I'd go for TP after you're used to the aforementioned. Plus its control scheme is just a simplified version of Skyward Sword mostly, so you'll easily settle into the game feel.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Symbotic

[Soniman]

I really am not seeing it. The enemies and bosses in Twilight Princess barely did ANYTHING. Maybe I was older when I played it so I know? I never died in Twilight Princess, I at least died once if only once in Skyward Sword.

 

Do I have to mention what a crushing disappointment the Temple of TIme boss is?

 

The only boss that gave me a hard time somewhat was the ice boss, other than that they were all easy as shit (though some like Stalord and the Lakebed boss were still fun).

[T-Min]

Do I have to mention what a crushing disappointment the Temple of TIme boss is?

 

The only boss that gave me a hard time somewhat was the ice boss, other than that they were all easy as shit (though some like Stalord and the Lakebed boss were still fun).

Ugh. I thought the Lakebed boss was fricking awful. Probably one of the worst bosses in Zelda history. The first phase barely works because you have to use the mobility-killing iron boots the whole time and the second phase is over in thirty seconds if you don't suck.

 

Anyway, my advice? Get Skyward Sword and if you enjoy it, get Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess has a lot going for it, but the shaky pacing and other lame elements could create a negative first impression. In my honest opinion, Skyward Sword trumps it on almost every front, but it is a bit YMMV there. Skyward Sword's overworld isn't as tediously gargantuan as Twilight Princess's, but in turn doesn't offer as much exploration and there's only one town. However, the overworld areas are also more interesting in design, with all of them having puzzles and such of their own and there are still lots of side quests and such, so that makes up for it. Both games have a number of fetch quests, which a lot of people hate. TP has less, but they're just mindless collect-a-thons that add literally nothing to the game. Skyward Sword has a lot of them, but the game at least takes time to make sure they also involve clever puzzles and challenges, so I personally think they're fine. And the Trials of the Goddesses were awesome and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

Other than that, the motion-controlled combat of SS is fantastic and the dungeon designs are some of the absolute best in the series. And the story...and the art style...and the, well, everything. But hey, almost no one agrees with me on that, so whatever. Still, between TP and SS, I think SS is clearly the better place to start. TP is still very good, though.

 

/nerdramble

[Conando]

I like Skyward Sword more because, it places emphasis on dungeons and problem solving. I didn't really care for the exploration in any of the recent games as the world was mostly barren. I will say I think Wind Waker did it ok, though.

[Nix]

Out of those two Zelda games, I'd go with Skyward Sword.

 

SS has Groose.

 

So it's automatically better in every way shape and form right from the get go.  

 

I loved just about every bit of Skyward Sword honestly (though, not as much as Wind Waker).  TP has a bunch of cool concepts and the like (I thought the Wolf form was pretty cool), but I don't think anything was executed particularly well (I wish the Wolf form could get more abilities and upgrades for instance).  

Edited February 23, 2013 by Nix

[Soniman]

Ugh. I thought the Lakebed boss was fricking awful. Probably one of the worst bosses in Zelda history. The first phase barely works because you have to use the mobility-killing iron boots the whole time and the second phase is over in thirty seconds if you don't suck.

 

Ehh, maybe because the Lakebed temple was so fucking terrible that my memory of the only good part of that experience was the relatively painless boss battle that I can at least look back on fondly.

[Kuzu]

It's been years admittedly, but I hardly remember the Lakebed temple at all. Maybe it's because TP is so...unremarkable that it didn't leave any impact so that might be it.

[Diogenes]

I remember Lakebed sucking. Hard. Crappy single-clawshot stuff and worrying about water bombs.