Zelda CDi article (On HG101)

[NinjaRygar]

You guys really need to head over to HG101 and read their latest article on two of the Zelda CD-i games.

hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/zeldacdi/zeldacdi.htm

HG101 happens to be one of my favorite gaming sites, but due to the nature of the site, they rarely show anything about Nintendo. They do cover alot of my other favorites though (SNK fighters).
But this article is much different from anything else you may read about those games.

[Fryguy64]

Yeah, I got pointed there yesterday and read it. Their opening statement is true - you rarely, if ever, get to read about the actual gameplay, just how awful the cutscenes and voice acting are.

However...

It doesn't read like a typical HG101 article. The writer positively GUSHES about how great these games are, comparing them to Metroidvania style games, and even says they're better than Zelda II.

Now, I may not have played them, but it isn't hard to find gameplay videos. And I have had bad reports from people who HAVE played them - that the gameplay is slow, repetitive, awkward, and unnecessarily difficult (this last point being something the reviewer shuns as a "learning curve")

Something tells me this reviewer has been tasked with reviewing CDi games for so long, he's happy to state this is one of the best CDi games, but loses all sense of perspective when it comes to comparing it with earlier Zelda games.

I love that site, but I've never seen such a luvvy review from them.

[kirbychu]

I may not have played them... but I've seen enough gameplay videos to know that these games are not very good at all. Enemies appear out of nowhere constantly, and often from angles which make them impossible to either kill or avoid without taking damage. The backgrounds are pretty, but often make it hard to see what you can and can't walk on, and the final boss of both games... just kind of shuffles backwards and forwards while throwing things, and takes one hit to beat.

And that's not even getting into the absolutely horrible plot, script, animation and direction. Why, during cutscenes, does the camera often zoom in and out of characters, for example? I've only once seen any animation that abysmal, and it was a 4am religious cartoon.

[Deleted]

oh, and don't forget that you can kill Ganon with one hit in both games. That alone should be a huge red flag.

I CAN'T WAIT TO BOMB DODONGOS

[Fryguy64]

He didn't forget it... in fact he says it right there in his post

It's a shame to see a reviewer take a dive like that, especially on a website I like and respect (anyone who mixes Doom and Phoenix Wright as their title graphic gets extra kudos).

I'm not going to lie... I doubt I will ever play these games in my life. If I came across them by chance then yes, I'd give them a go. And I am a master at looking games within their cultural and historical contexts... but something tells me I will not enjoy them, I will not feel like my time or money has been well spent...

And no, from what I can see... not just the cutscenes give me that impression. The game was released in the SNES era, and graphics aside, this game seems to offer nothing that the NES didn't do sooo much better!

[Ike-Mike]

sgtmajorkururu said:

oh, and don't forget that you can kill Ganon with one hit in both games. That alone should be a huge red flag.

The thing is that you can kill Ganon within one hit with only that and I mean only that one item.

Now that's unique.

[Spud]

Yeah. Weak Final Bosses kinda irritate me, (General Scales Anyone?). Ganondorf in WW was at least a fun battle even though it was extremely easy.

In the screenshots I can't really tell what Link can or cannot walk on.

And for the sake of it didn't FoE have that horrible plot pusher like "The Prophecy Reads Only Link can Defeat Gannon."

[kirbychu]

"It is written, only Link can defeat dinner Gannon."

[NinjaRygar]

That's what I thought too... whenever I've seen videos of the gameplay, it doesn't look good.

It looks horrible. Zelda II looks faster and better animated, and it's on the NES.

The backgrounds do look nice though.... I never gave them credit for that. Like most... I laugh at the animations.

[Deleted]

kirbychu said:

"It is written, only Link can defeat dinner Gannon."

I can't wait to bomb Zelda!

Goddamnit now I need to go watch YouTubePoops. XD

[kirbychu]

I'm not generally a fan of YouTube Poop, but the Zelda CDi ones are brilliant. XD

[Ike-Mike]

Don't forget though, YTP started with Super Mario Bros. 3, not Zelda CD-i.

[Game Guru]

Well, it's not like HG101 DOESN'T talk about bad games. I mean they even have a Bubsy Article for crying out loud. The Zelda CDi games (And notice that it's just the first two... Only one line mentions Zelda's Adventure) are known really for the crappy cutscenes. So this tries to put a positive spin on them.

[Fryguy64]

samaine said:

Well, it's not like HG101 DOESN'T talk about bad games. I mean they even have a Bubsy Article for crying out loud. The Zelda CDi games (And notice that it's just the first two... Only one line mentions Zelda's Adventure) are known really for the crappy cutscenes. So this tries to put a positive spin on them.

Oh, we know that... but I'd come to hope HG101 wouldn't need to put spin on it. The reviewer is DROOLING all over the damn games, as if they're up there with some of the best Zelda games ever!

I mean, it's one thing to actually educate people about how the games play rather than focusing on the cutscenes and dialogue - but it's quite another to over-exaggerate your enthusiasm for those games to make them seem so much better than they really are!

[kirbychu]

samaine said:

I mean they even have a Bubsy Article for crying out loud.

Bubsy is awesome. Unless you're talking about Bubsy 3D. That sucks.