a href=“http://www.thegamer.com/tag/the-legend-of-zelda/">The Legend of Zelda is one of the most consistently popular and successful series throughout the history of gaming. Unlike a lot of other successful series in gaming, however, it does not release new entries as frequently as others.
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Instead, each entry into the long-running series brings something new to add a new angle to Link’s adventures. While this can be done through a unique graphical style, a different control scheme, or a more unconventional story, a consistent method for shaking up the Zelda formula is by adding gameplay gimmicks.
11The Loftwing - Skyward Sword
BeginningSkyward Sword, the Loftwing is set up to be much more important than it unfortunately ends up being. Some of the earlier missions that use the Loftwing can be fun, but after a few hours into Skyward Sword, it just feels like wasted time travelling between locations with relatively uninteresting gameplay.
This is especially frustrating later in the game when some of Link’s flights end up being longer, making the flying feel even more repetitive. It isn’t helped either that the sky area gets a few new interesting-looking areas early in the game, only for this to end very prematurely with little interesting being added later in the game.
10The Train - Spirit Tracks
The train in Spirit Tracks acts similarly to the Loftwing does in Skyward Sword, being that it is a form of transportation between areas within the world. While this is an interesting way to make the world of Spirit Tracks a more streamlined experience suited to the DS, it also felt a little clunky.
There are things to do when riding the train in Spirit Tracks that can make it engaging during certain journeys, but a lot of the experience is just waiting. It doesn’t help that a lot of the enemy encounters when riding the train end up feeling awkward and time-consuming rather than entertaining.
9Wolf Link - Twilight Princess
The best thing about Wolf Link inTwilight Princessis the strong sense of atmosphere the transformation creates. Theatmosphere is so palpable in Twilight Princessand is part of what makes the game so memorable, and Wolf Link aids with this.
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Unfortunately, the way you interact with the world while playing as Wolf Link ends up feeling quite tedious, and more restricted than the rest of the game. While some of the Wolf Link sections are more memorable than others, the standard gameplay is so fun that most of the time spent as Wolf Link is waiting for it to be over.
8Changing Seasons - Oracle of Seasons
A one-off Zelda gimmick from one of the 2D Zelda titles is changing the seasons in Oracle of Seasons, and this is a mostly well-achieved gimmick. Link has the power to change the seasons in certain areas of Oracle of Seasons, and this can change the world around him, which helps with solving puzzles and traversing new areas.
Unfortunately, Oracle of Seasons will always be compared to its partner game, Oracle of Ages, which features a mechanic that is just a bit more engaging and leads to more interesting puzzles that have more creative solutions. So while changing seasons can be fun, it always feels a little inferior to its twin gimmick.
7Dark World - A Link to the Past & A Link Between Worlds
The first Zelda game that has a recognizable gimmick is the third game in the series, A Link to the Past, which features a parallel dark world that Link can hop in and out of to reach new areas and interact with unique puzzles. This mechanic was also revived as Lorule in A Link Between Worlds as well, being a re-imagining of A Link to the Past.
This is a classic gimmick for a reason and is a great way to expand the world for the player and create unique parallel tones. However, the gimmick of a parallel world has been reworked in other Zelda games to be more interesting, and it also doesn’t help that the dark world in A Link Between Worlds plays second fiddle to a much more interesting mechanic.
6Sailing - The Wind Waker & Phantom Hourglass
Compared to trains and Loftwings, sailing just feels like a much more fun and interesting way for Link to get around. The mechanic was introduced in Wind Waker and served as a great way to make the world feel big as well as interconnected.
While some parts of the map were more interesting than others, sailing remained a fun method of transportation, and it is made a lot smoother in Wind Waker HD. The gimmick was continued and simplified in Phantom Hourglass, and while the world was much smaller, getting around was still fun.
5Shrinking - The Minish Cap
The Minish Cap puts a twist on the parallel world mechanic by making the secondary world a much smaller one that Link can enter by shrinking in certain locations. This is used for unique traversal options to solve puzzles and reach new areas, but also to visit Minish settlements as well.
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While this is not the most complex mechanic and tends to be pretty straightforward when it comes to puzzle-solving,its strength is in the presentation. The Minish settlements especially look stunning with the distinct pixel art and colour palette of the Game Boy Advance, making these areas a highlight.
4Time Travel - Ocarina of Time & Oracle of Ages
While time travel is a classic theme that is present in many Zelda games, with it playing an important role in the stories of Skyward Sword and The Wind Waker in particular, it is only featured heavily as a gameplay mechanic inOcarina of Timeand Oracle of Ages.
This is another parallel world mechanic, but the time travel element makes it a lot more interactive. Being able to impact the future from the past is used a lot more creatively in Oracle of Ages than it is in Ocarina of Time. However, being able to see the world of a game at two different times is always a rewarding feature.
3Masks - Majora’s Mask
The strength and weakness of masks as a mechanic in Majora’s Mask is in their variety. Some of the masks you can unlock throughout the story are fun to use and change the way that Link plays, with the transformation masks being a key example of this.
However, other masks are glorified keys that just help with finishing a side quest and don’t do anything. Being able to sacrifice all your masks at the game’s finale for the Fierce Deity Mask is always a satisfying reward to make the quest of collecting them all worth it.
2Runes - Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom
While classifying runes as a gimmick feels a little reductive, when comparingBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomto other games in the series, they feel like the obvious stand-out. These abilities fundamentally change how Link explores the world in each game, making the possibilities in each game feel limitless.
The only potential drawback is how these are all unlocked in the early hours, replacing dungeon items that were sprawled over the narrative of previous games, but this was a worthwhile sacrifice to make these games what they are.
