GTNA: The Legend of Zelda

Posted for posterity: this is what I had written years ago concerning Zelda. The fine folks at RetroAchievements have already made sets for pretty much everything. Still, it's interesting to see what 2012 me was thinking.

Let me start this article by first saying that I really love Zelda as a franchise. I like the exploration, the discovery...everything about it. Nintendo has actually stated that they aren't interested in achievements, specifically giving Zelda as an example, saying that it takes away from the overall experience; that people would be more focused on the achievements than playing the game, and that they would rather people play Zelda the way they want to play it. That's a good argument. However, I believe that most players, especially those new to the franchise, miss out on the majority of the content in the game because they're focused solely on beating the game. They miss out on most of the fun side-missions, mini-games, and stories. Achievements would let them know that there's content they missed, where they could go back and have more fun with a game they love.

Nintendo also stated that they think achievements ruin the overall storytelling of a game. Although that is sometimes true in games, that's simply because the developers were too lazy to make the achievements 'secret.' Most of the major achievements services, like Xbox Live and Playstation Network as examples, have a system in place that allows developers to make specific achievements secret. Although a player can see that, indeed, there are achievements that they haven't obtained, the player has no idea what the achievement is actually for. It simply says that its secret, and that the player will have to discover it on their own. Therefore, there's nothing to worry about as far as ruining the story is concerned. It can be argued that a player could simply look it up online, but gamers have been doing that way before the advent of achievements. Ever since the internet became affordable in the home, gamers have posted cheats, faqs, and secrets on websites dedicated specifically to that cause, gamefaqs.com being around since 1995. Clearly, that argument doesn't really hold up. Additionally, one might say that having secret achievements related to the story takes out some of the suspense...that is to say, by looking at how many secret achievements one has, one can determine how much 'story' is left before the end of the game, ruining the climax. Although that can be true in some cases, it isn't universally the case. Many games have secret achievements that aren't related to story progression. Some games have their easter eggs hidden away as secret achievements, while others have random secret achievements that are secret just for the heck of it, I assume.

This is a special Games That Need Achievements article; it's for the Zelda franchise as a whole, rather than one particular game. I feel like Zelda holds a special place in most gamers' hearts. With the combination of exploration, great pacing, fantastic art direction, and amazing music, it's hard not to fall in love with the series. Some of the more jaded gamers out there like to criticize Zelda, saying that it's the same basic formula repeated ad nasium...yeah, and so is every book ever written, every movie ever filmed, and every other form of storytelling out there. All us jaded folks can either accept that, and instead focus on the individual elements that make each experience slightly unique, or ignore it and be unhappy with the entire entertainment industry for the rest of our lives.

All that said, there's a few achievements that work on a universal level...so let me get those out of the way first:

I <3 <3s: Collect all heart containers.
Rupee Lover: Max out your Rupees.
Cartographer: Collect every map.
Compass Collector: Collect every compass.
Treasure Hunter: Open every treasure chest.

So there's all the completionist achievements out of the way. I feel like most Zelda fans would enjoy having achievements based on 100% completion objectives. It shows how much they enjoy spending time with the series they love and rewards their perseverance.

As for game specific achievements, well...let's get started.

The Legend of Zelda:

It's Dangerous to go Alone: Obtain the sword
Burn it Down to the Gwound: Burn down at least 100 trees
Pig Face: Destroy Ganon
Another Quest: Complete the 2nd quest

Zelda 2: Adventure of Link:

I am Error: He is Error

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening:

Bucket Mouse: Collect every photograph
For the Frog the Bell Tolls: Help Prince Richard with his problem
Colorful: Complete the Color Dungeon
THIEF: Steal something from the shop
Honest Day's Work: Complete the game without stealing anything
Free as a Bird: Complete the game without dying
Master Sword: Obtain the Master Sword

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past:

Gold Sword: Obtain the Gold Sword

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:

Do you want to hear what I said again?: Yes
Break the Curse: Collect every Gold Skulltula Token and receive your prize
Quiver with Joy: Upgrade your quiver all the way
Seedy: Upgrade your seed pouch all the way
Bomba: Upgrade your bomb bag all the way
Biggoron Sword: Complete your trading quest and obtain the Biggoron's Sword
Truth: Speak to every Stone of Truth
The beginning of the end: Make friends with a certain someone (skull kid)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask:

Mask Hunter: Collect every Mask

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Zelda CDi games:

lolno

OK. My point in making this particular list is mainly just something that I'd personally like to be rewarded for in these games (outside of pure self satisfaction). I really think it's inevitable that eventually Nintendo will concede and have an achievement system. When that day comes, they'd be stupid not to rerelease every major franchise game they've ever done (which we know they're not against doing, obviously).


-AfroRyan