Which Zelda towns had the best sense of community?

Which Zelda towns did you like the most, not based on their size or appearance, but based on the sense of community created by the people who live there?

The place doesn't need to be overflowing with side quests, dialogue, and NPCs with names. I'm interested in the vibe you get from the people living there and their society. And it doesn't have to be a warm, fuzzy, close-knit community, could be a bunch of people who are mostly strangers. Also, which characteristics would you like to see carried into towns in future Zelda games?

One of the the towns that left the strongest impact on me was Mabe Village from Link's Awakening. There was something about this town that just felt like a perfect home. Other towns have tried to emulate it, like many of the Oracle towns, but they haven't been nearly as effective for me. These towns use a similar blend of tranquility, nice music, and quirky characters with their odd habits and mannerisms, but without creating the same sense of it all working together.

I think what really helped sell Mabe Village was Marin. She was a really fascinating, well developed character, and I was always eager to return to Mabe to hear her sing. Add Tarin to the mix and the game created a nice sense of having a family back home - not just supportive characters who are nice to Link, but people with their own lives and interests who care about each other and enjoy spending time together. Plus, they don't remain static throughout the game. There are times you want to visit them, but they aren't around. They travel about the island on their own at times in the game, and you don't always know where they are.

So Marin and Tarin really make up the heart of Mabe, and they're surrounded by a nice town of people with their own interests and quirky behaviors. The kids playing catch ask about you and Marin, and you can visit the store with Marin to play the game there. The town has this strange Alice in Wonderland vibe going on to a degree, but it's not simply a weird place, it's a weird place with people I cared about.

The other town I love the most is Clock Town. I won't go on explaining this one, but one of the things I really liked was the mix of strangers and people who know others in town by name. There's a nice mix of familiarity and mystery.

Here are some of the qualities that I think made the difference for Mabe and Clock Town, that could be applied to future towns:

1. The towns stay relevant throughout the game. They are not out of the way, so you never feel like you're taking a huge detour when you go to them. When you want to take a break from adventuring, you spend some time in these places and feel comfortable.

2. They aren't just sappy feel-good places. There's a strong sense of mystery that holds your interest. In Clock Town, the mystery lessens after you spend a great amount of time in town unravelling its secrets, while in Mabe the sense of mystery deepens as the game goes on and you realize something isn't right about Koholint.

3. There are characters you legitimately care about living in these towns, and these characters don't remain static throughout the game.

Why, Kasuto of course!

Seriously, if any town has their act together, it's Kasuto. When their location was overrun by moas and the like, they didn't stick around, or dissolve. Rather, they rebuilt their town to something bigger, better, and of awesome significance and kept themselves hidden.

You really can't beat Adventure of Link without visiting New Kasuto. It's the town with the most complex and in-depth story in the game (and in the series, in my opinion).

Most memorable in my opinion, most definitely. Community? Well, it *has* to have been there after they all up and left.

You know, come to think of it, Kasuto was pretty tight-knit. Its kinda hard to tell with such limited dialogue but the feeling was there.

but all in all its Kakariko from ALttP! Something about that town was warm, fuzzy, inviting, and awesome! There is mystery in Kakariko of ALttP. The village square held a secret, the whereabouts of Sahasrahala (at first), the dwarven swordsmith who lost his partner, and just HOW did that guys yard get so overgrown? and whats up with this?


So yeah. Thats the town with the best feel in my opinion. Clock Town does get honorable mention but for me, it didnt have the same feel.

Personally, I liked TP's Kakariko. In the time of crisis when the Twilight spread was when the town really started to build itself again. With the help of Renado and Luda, they brought the children to safety and weilded kindness, warmth and hope to Link. In turn, Link did his duties on Death Mountain, which made the Gorons realize that the humans were alright; they went back down to Kakariko and helped re-establish the community. Then there was Malo...who I guess helped re-stimulate the economy (as much as I hate that baby, he did good...) Barnes opened up the shop again. Kakariko really showed the hope, courage and dedication of the people there.

I would like to see this place reoccur. It was very different from OoT, but still upheld a sense of nostalgia to it. I would like to see Kakariko continue to change, but at the same time, remind players of the good, old OoT days.

I liked TMC's Hyrule Town. It was lively, and had all sorts of people to talk to.

Originally Posted by PyroShadow

I liked TMC's Hyrule Town. It was lively, and had all sorts of people to talk to.

^ This.

Also ALTTP was lively a bit in my opinion.

What I didn't like was TP's town. Yeah there was the population, but everyone was practically a robot or a clone of the other. There wasn't much to it.

I reckon that WW's windfall island was the perfect home. It even had a school, for god's sake. If only it really existed, then I would spend my entire life there... Playing hide and go seek... hanging with the killer bees... stalking people and taking photos for the picto graph pervert...
That's the life for me!

I just love how the different parts of Clock Town all interact with each other.

Clock Town. It has everything a capital city needs. A postal system, sword school, tons of shops, an inn, a bar and lots of other stuff.

Originally Posted by Kasuto

Why, Kasuto of course!

Seriously, if any town has their act together, it's Kasuto. When their location was overrun by moas and the like, they didn't stick around, or dissolve. Rather, they rebuilt their town to something bigger, better, and of awesome significance and kept themselves hidden..

Exactly what I was thinking........

Originally Posted by fratey

I just love how the different parts of Clock Town all interact with each other.

Oh yes... How could I have forgotten Clock Town?

The town itself with the people was just brilliant. Everyone had their own past and personality.

I'd say that it's perhaps the best town that Zelda has made yet. I'd love it if they brought it back in the future games.

A settlement I felt really gave me that home-feeling and be all cheerful was Kokiri Village in OoT. It's small, but cozy and warming to the heart.

Kakariko Village in TP felt a little like a "safe haven" to me, which is usually strange in Zelda games. Throughout the story I kept ending back up there, I think that's why. All the settlers were also characterized very well, so I got a feeling of unionship and warmth whenever I would drop by and talk to the villagers.

Hyrule Castle in TP actually felt more like a big community than any place I went to in any other game, though. There's only one actual shop around there but it's the people who make me think like that, when I talk to them it's often gossip or just chit-chat. The shop pre-Malo really put some heavy weight down on the "snobby" city feel

Originally Posted by PyroShadow

I liked TMC's Hyrule Town. It was lively, and had all sorts of people to talk to.

^ This.

In my opinion, TMC has the best communication system. You have to solve people's problems, so you have to talk with them; and with the animals as well. When you do something important (get an Element, for example), then everything changes, occurrences happen, and so on.
Second one is Clock Town. Every day is different, people are different, and they don't say the same thing if you talk with them as a Deku Scrub/Goron/Zora. They have shedule (that's amazing) and as the time flows they change. These are definitely the best cities in Zelda.

Windfall is feels living. Hyrule town TP is also a good contender (it could have had a bit more content).

Windfall has the best community spirit and liveliness, Clock Town is the best for interactivity and depth.

Clock Town has my vote. The way the characters go about their everyday lives over the three days and how it changes depending on how you intereact with them, it really made that town feel alive. You felt like you were really a part of a living, breathing town, not one where they just stand around all day or loop in a circle.

And I guess TP's Castle Town comes in second for me, just because it was cool to see a continuous flow of people in and out of parts. I just think they could have done so much more with the Castle Town, yannow? If there was more life or variety to it in Clock Town, that would be amazing. They could've done it, they have the technology!

Definitely Clock Town. Most of the other towns had fun people to talk to and just generally chat, but in none of them have you been so connected with the people of the town as in this one. The way almost every person has their own story that you slowly uncover is just amazing, really one of the strongest points in the whole game.

Not sure about what second is, none of them really stood out for me : \

Clocktown for sure. Everyone had something they had to do and all of the people had a story and a problem that needed to be solved...it was the best by far.

personally ive always liked Kakariko village
and the castle town in TP is awesome
and probably clock town i guess

I liked Castle Town in TP, it really had a nice variety of characters. It reminded me a lot of OoT's castle town.