General Zelda Question

thesmelliestsock.

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 6, 2003
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Hello all,

I'm a Zelda series amateur. I have never really gotten in to the games but figured I'd give them a try. I have the Wind Waker HD that I've put a few hours in to on the Wii U, as well as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask on the 3DS.

My question is, am I required to generally complete side quests and go treasure hunting to get through the game? If I stick to primarily just the main quest and don't bother as much with the rest (I'm more interested in the story lines and boss battles) will I be okay, or find that I have to circle back and do it all regardless?

Any other tips to help my playthrough from Zelda experienced players would be great.

Thanks!
 
Generally speaking you only need the items you get from the dungeons. Side quests can make life easier by getting you more hearts or more bottles to store medicine/fairies, but if you aren't having trouble then I wouldn't worry about it.
 
What Mozex said more or less. More hearts and stuff help make things easier but not really needed.

They aren’t really side quests in say Skyrim, Fallout or Witcher fashion. Mostly mini-games or puzzles you’ll only need to do once. Even then most of the items are found in dungeons or exploring the land.

I don’t recall any Zelda having a point of no return. Final boss kicking your rear, reload and spend time exploring the lands with all those toys you’ve been hoarding onto for more hearts or whatnot.

Yet anyone who can go past a clearly bombable wall and not stop to go in clearly has more willpower than the average Zelda fan.
 
Yet anyone who can go past a clearly bombable wall and not stop to go in clearly has more willpower than the average Zelda fan.

Haha I understand that completely. I don't avoid something if I see it, but reading through a couple of walkthroughs there's a ton of "extra" stuff to do along the journey.
 
What Mozex said more or less. More hearts and stuff help make things easier but not really needed.

They aren’t really side quests in say Skyrim, Fallout or Witcher fashion. Mostly mini-games or puzzles you’ll only need to do once. Even then most of the items are found in dungeons or exploring the land.

I don’t recall any Zelda having a point of no return. Final boss kicking your rear, reload and spend time exploring the lands with all those toys you’ve been hoarding onto for more hearts or whatnot.

Yet anyone who can go past a clearly bombable wall and not stop to go in clearly has more willpower than the average Zelda fan.
Have to agree with the second point. To add to that, the side questing is really diverse in the Zelda series and I think that they add a lot of value to the game through exploiting the gameplay mechanics and giving exposure to the wonderfully charismatic cast of characters.
 
Generally speaking, the number of sidequests in Zelda games isn't that high. Additionally, the rewards are pretty good (gotta love the extra hearts or even a bottle!) It just kind of happens... Play how you want to play, and I'll bet before it's all done with - you'll willingly submit to bombing that wall, or collecting chickens ;)

I might add, the newer 3ds game was quite enjoyable. Little easy compared to other Zelda games, but it had a TON of Zelda charm ala old school style with a modern graphical update. Highly recommended.
 
I want to say side quest add about 6-10 hours to an already long game. So, if you do the quest between dungeons when you can, it'll pad out the puzzle elements. Thus, you shouldn't get burnt out. Most of the side quest are merely using items to get to a new area. Sometimes, it's doing a task...but not always.

I think the side quest in Skyward Sword and Majora's Mask are the most painful in terms of conditions and length. All the others are pretty simple and to the point.
 
The long sidequests are usually completely optional, like collecting gold skultullas in OOT and tears in TP.
The only game that I can think of that has a long REQUIRED quest is Wind Waker, when you must collect the triforce pieces. I guess that doesn't make it a sidequest, but it sure plays out like one.
 
The only game that I can think of that has a long REQUIRED quest is Wind Waker, when you must collect the triforce pieces. I guess that doesn't make it a sidequest, but it sure plays out like one.

Much less of a chore in Wind Waker HD. Since five Triforce charts have been replaced by the actual pieces it's much easier now.

Also the Swift Sail doubles the speed of your boat and you always have wind at your back.
 
it took me some getting used to with the ds/3ds, trying several different positions... I think I use my pinky along the bottom edge to hold it up, allowing the rest of my hand to relax... they also make some hand grip things that may help:

http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-3DS-Hand-Grip/dp/B004MKN3YE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

Thanks for the link - I have the XL although I did see there are others available. I'll stick it out, I think what irritates me the most is the little joystick itself.
 
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Hello all,

I'm a Zelda series amateur. I have never really gotten in to the games but figured I'd give them a try. I have the Wind Waker HD that I've put a few hours in to on the Wii U, as well as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask on the 3DS.

My question is, am I required to generally complete side quests and go treasure hunting to get through the game? If I stick to primarily just the main quest and don't bother as much with the rest (I'm more interested in the story lines and boss battles) will I be okay, or find that I have to circle back and do it all regardless?

Any other tips to help my playthrough from Zelda experienced players would be great.

Thanks!

Step 1, a link to the past

Step 2, the 3ds sequel.

Then worry about the wiiu business.
 
Step 1, a link to the past

Step 2, the 3ds sequel.

Then worry about the wiiu business.

Have to agree with that entirely. After those two, I'd say go through OoT, then windwaker, then Majora's Mask (it can be a bitch but you'll be fine after beating the previous games).
 
I think Windwaker is a great place to start really. Then OoT/TP/MM, then back further from there, and maybe onto the more obscure mobile ones last.

You can technically get through the game without doing too much side-questing, but it's actually quite a bit of fun to figure some of those out. Also, a lot of heart piece fragments, money, etc. can be found off the beaten path. So, if you're a really good player, you may not need all this. If you want extra life on your meter, I'd recommend doing as much as possible.

For example, in Windwaker, you can get a magic shield. I've honestly never used it, but some people like it. You get that by doing a trading sequence. You can also get treasure charts from the auction among other things. These would make it easier to find some of the bigger items out in the ocean.

Anyway, short answer, is yes, many side quests are optional. You can technically skip them.

Some of them though will give you the most useful reward part-way through, and then you can stop there. There are some quests that will give you a heart piece for doing XXXX. Once you get that, you could go further, but it's usually just money after that.

Also, just keep a mental note of things that look like you should be able to do them, but can't at whatever stage of the game you're in. There will always be an item later on that will let you go back and do them. Things that help you lift more weight for example.

I don't want to spout too much, but this kind of gives you an idea. Half the fun in these games is discovering things, solving puzzles, etc.
 
No. Sidequests are optional. Majora's Mask is a miserable slog. Windwaker is also a slog. Good, but not a true Zelda experience. Skyward is not my bag either. Those are the ugly duckling games that mess with the recipe. Ignore them until you have fully experienced the quintessential games which are all brilliant.

The best Zelda experience is
Ocarina of Time 3D for 3DS and A Link Between Worlds for 3DS. Link Between Worlds has replaced the classic A Link to the Past (1993 - SNES) because of its superior gameplay mechanics, but the core experience is there. A Link to the Past of course is quintessential Zelda at its best, but it might be hard to revisit as the newcomer as it is an old game.Twilight Princess is also epic for Wii but it is standard definition and deserves a remaster. That was the game they should have redone in HD. Those games are the best place to start. All the rest are tedious but these are classics. Even my wife played though Ocarina and Worlds on 3DS they are great.
 
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