Originally Posted by t3stm4ster

Without a doubt, Zelda 1-4 are classics: set-in-stone wonders that can never be defaced or undervalued. Zelda 5 was obviously the peak of Zelda. Phenomenal storyline coupled with amazing graphics: alas, that will never happen again.

Majora's Mask was a disappointment. Another attempt by Nintendo to expand Zelda's storyline by creating another land with a messed up villain. This was obviously a hastily-released game whose only goal was to absorb and bask in the glory of Ocarina of Time, which it failed to do. The ONLY good thing this game had going for it was the spectacular dungeon design: the only quality to surpass Ocarina of Time. But the end of the game comes up much too fast, after only four dungeons, the climax happens. Disappointing.

The two GBA Zeldas (Seasons and Ages) were a complete flop. Rushed and ill-marketed, these two games were without a doubt an attempt to establish a well-known and popular game franchise on a newly-introduced system, thereby having Zelda being a large factor in the success (or lack of) of Gameboy Advance. But it's nothing but a money drain, and these two games bombed.

So comes along gamecube, and with a series of Zelda failures behind it, you can hardly expect the ground-breaking success that Ocarina of Time enjoyed. To further my point, Nintendo made the worst mistake by showing everyone a sneak peak of upcoming gamecube games at Spaceworld long ago. Included in this was the famous 10-second-long duel between Link and Ganondorf. So we are obviously shown the capabilities of gamecube, and therefore this short clip has increased the hype of the next Zelda game immensely.

Nintendo disappoints yet again, with Zelda's shocking new look. I can't imagine why they decided to make Link look like this: a cartoony little 8-year old. Ok, so they say they're "using cel-shading to create this look, etc." I have no problem with this, except that they're doing this with a Zelda game. This is not the kind of advance in technology that a Zelda game should show for itself.
I personally am so ashamed of this Zelda game that I refuse to acknowledge it as one of the series, along with Seasons, Ages, and to an extent Majora's Mask.

Why does Nintendo feel it better to constantly make Link a little child? A full-length game with a 17-year-old Link with the Spaceworld's demo graphics would be so unbelievable it would certainly break Ocarina of Time's precedence.

Miyamoto's and Nintendo's ideas for Zelda since Majora's Mask have caused me to stop liking the series altogether, and only the classics can bring me back.

I consider storyline to be more important than graphics and/or gameplay, but I believe the game should at least appeal visually to fans, and if it doesn't do that, then good gameplay is all for naught if they decide not to buy it on account of its unattractive-ness.

People always say that graphics don't matter, it's the story and gameplay, but deep down, people are affected by their visual first impressions and will base at least part of their opinion on that first impression, consciously or otherwise.

I welcome replies and I really would like to know seriously why Nintendo decided to take this terrible new direction for Zelda. I appreciate your time.