My 2013 in Games / Music Wrap-Up

I highly doubt I'll be finishing Final Fantasy Dimensions by the end of the year, so I'm just going to rank the list of games I've played this year as well as touch on albums. I listen to a lot more music during a year than I do games, so I'm going to restrict that list to just albums released in 2013.  Merry X-Mas everyone.

GAMES

27. Knights in the Nightmare (PSP) - Maybe one of the worst games I've ever played. Holy cow, when the tutorial is better than the game you know there are problems. I still have no idea how I was supposed to play this, it's that confusing. I am hesitant to play another Sting game after this experience.

26. Soma Bringer (DS) - Might be OK with multiplayer, but alone it's really one-dimensional and the story's nothing special. Just play Xenoblade instead--it's clear Monolith was just getting their feet wet with this title and the fact that we didn't get it in the US is no big loss.

25. Great Greed (GB) - It's worth playing for a few minutes to see just how bad an RPG can be if it has no interesting ideas, but there's just nothing to this game. The translation is bad to the point of not even being funny.

24. [2013] Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (3DS) - Let's just rehash the same game again, somehow make dream worlds uninteresting, and have TWO annoying Navi characters to pester the player for the whole adventure. If you haven't played M&L at all you might get a kick out of this, but otherwise I would have to recommend M&L 1 and 3 first, and even those aren't that fantastic.  

23. Shantae (GBC) - Yeah, I'm not feeling this as a lost classic. It LOOKS good, but it suffers from the same problems most Game Boy platformers have. Bad hitboxes on attacks, enemy placement that adds more difficulty than the game should actually have, etc, etc. As someone who grew up with this kind of game, I wasn't impressed by anything here.

22. Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (Vita) - I'm not going to say this is a bad game, but it's not my cup of tea. Art style is disturbingly overcute and distracting, gameplay seemed to be mostly composed of finding loot, battles are brain dead simple RPG mechanics. Some people like this kind of thing, so more power to you.  

21. Crimson Shroud (3DS) - The board game aesthetic of the game is nice, but it's so short that it doesn't have time to get interesting. In the end, I don't think it's worth the low price even. Kind of a let-down. Solid base, though, I must stress.

20. [2013] Plants vs Zombies 2: It's About Time (Android) - Thanks for ruining one of my favorite games with your greed and ridiculous changes, EA. The day after I reviewed the game, they updated it and completely threw off the mechanics of the game in ridiculous ways.  It's clear the current developers just don't have the heart of the game in them, and it's sad.

19. [2013] Gone Home (PC) - For a two hour game, it's pretty great.  I didn't get invested in the story, but if you don't mind something being more shallow than it initially appears you may enjoy it.  The graphics are wonderful and if it had more to do and more to learn I might rate it higher.

18. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (3DS) - No matter how much I love Nobuo, I can only tap my screen for so long before it gets old, and this did. I couldn't finish ANY of the battle themes on the hardest difficulty and don't plan on it.  It was fun hearing all of the songs, but I have them all on my phone anyway.

17. Etrian Odyssey 4 (3DS) - I got to the fourth map before getting bored, so it lasted longer than any of the other EO games for me. Like with those, I enjoy the mechanics and the idea of the game, but it's very tedious and doesn't feel worth the investment since the plot is an afterthought. Still, if you like hard dungeon RPGs, it's worth a shot.

16. Donkey Kong Country Returns (3DS) - Decent platformer, lacking compared to other similar games (e.g. Rayman Origins). The controls are terrible in both versions of the game, especially if you are used to the SNES games. I think it's a worthy enough sequel to the original games, but not as fun to play as those.

15. Ni No Kuni (PS3) - Maybe the prettiest game I have ever played, but the gameplay is so easy and at times broken that I have no idea how anyone can think this is a 'great' RPG. The ally AI is so terrible it hurts. Seems like no matter what you give them, they won't use it the way you'd like. I did finish the game and enjoyed a lot of aspects of it, but it needed more QA.

14. Suikoden (PS1) - Great classic RPG, can't believe I never got in to this series. It's showing a lot of age, but wasn't a chore to get through and had some interesting dark story moments. Pulls off the 'tons of characters' thing way better than Chrono Cross.

13. Back to the Future {Telltale} (PC) - Not as good as The Walking Dead, but it feels like a legitimate BTTF4, and is so faithful to the movies that I couldn't help loving it the whole way as I'm a big fan. Controls are an issue, but workable if you love BTTF.

12. Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS) - The most accessible Fire Emblem game for new players, and in general it's a good one. Pair Up feels extremely broken. I still like Fire Emblem 7 more, but Tharja is my waifu so this is #2.

11. [2013] Ace Attorney 5: Dual Destinies (3DS) - Another great Ace Attorney game. If you've played up to now you know what to expect here. Excellent graphics and music. Case 5 had some real shocking moments, and even the DLC case was good. This was the first AA game since AA3 that I thought had no bad apples as far as cases go. Loved Athena, hope she sticks around.

10. [2013] Pokemon X/Y (3DS) - Solid Pokemon games. I enjoyed Black/White more since the game felt more focused, but the huge variety of available creatures helped to make this game feel open ended. Graphics are amazing, music is the worst in the series, Team Flare plot is terrible, but hey, it's Pokemon.

9. Dragon Quest III (SNES) - The last DQ game I finished, and it was a good one. Love the map design, loved the level of challenge, looking forwarding to replaying it some day.

8. SpaceChem (PC) - Awesome puzzle game, but extremely difficult without any kind of guide. I'm not done with it but take cracks at it now and then. The concept is frankly amazing and keeps me coming back.

7. [2013] Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS) - Strong RPG for the 3DS. I would rank it about evenly with Nocturne. The world map in the game is among the worst I've ever seen, but doesn't detract enough to make me dislike the game. Good demon pool, being a magical beatstick was fun. The second half of the story was about as poorly conceived as in the other mainline SMT games, but the atmosphere was good and made up for it.

6. Thief 3: Deadly Shadows (PC) - The least good of the Thief games, but that isn't saying a whole lot because I enjoyed it almost as much. The hub area paid off sometimes and didn't other times.

5. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (Vita) - Great sequel to 999. Interesting characters, an innovative method of storytelling, and excellent voice acting. 

4. Dishonored (PC) - Felt like a spiritual successor to Thief, which is good for me because I love Thief. Challenging and engaging if you take the nonviolent route, probably fun and more diverse if you go for kills. The world is extremely well thought-out and detailed. It's cheap on Steam sales, so give it a try if you haven't.

3. [2013] The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) - Total shocker to me. I have hated every Zelda game released post-Minish Cap until now. This game isn't just a good sequel to LTTP, it's a great game in its own right. I love nonlinear Zelda, loved the new stamina bar, loved just feeling like a kid enjoying Zelda again. A must-own for the 3DS. GOTY 2013.

2. Demon's Souls (PS3) - Note: This game has shot up a lot in my estimation since I beat it and reflected on it more.  Tough, rewarding, and with a lot of variety in approaches to enemies. The atmosphere builds and grows on you as the game goes on, and by the end I was floored by how real the world felt. Not many games trust you to get better at them, but Demon's Souls does.

1. The Walking Dead (PC) - GOTY 2012, easily. Maybe the greatest adventure game ever made, with fantastic characterization, a good art style, visceral scenes, and real emotional payoff. It puts the show and the comic book to shame.


MUSIC

11. Julia Holter - Loud City Song: Yawn

10. The Flaming Lips - The Terror: This band has completely lost it over the years.  It's less of a chore than Embryonic, but that's not saying a whole lot.

9. Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest - It cracks me up that people are actually excited about this record.  Middle of the road ambient slosh, nothing special about it whatsoever. People who don't listen to video game music or post-rock seem to have wildly different opinions of instrumental works, I guess.

8. OCRemix - Final Fantasy 6: Balance and Ruin - Incredibly spotty, but it has some songs that are of much higher quality than normally seen on these remix albums. The overabundance of dubstep is really embarrassing. I wish the people organizing these things understood how to make an album flow a little better.

7. Deltron 3030 - Event 2: Man, disappointment of the year.  I don't have much else to say.  Del's flow is tired, the songs aren't as interesting, and it just seems dated.  Maybe if they had released this ten years ago it would have been fresh, but nothing about it excited me.

6. My Bloody Valentine - m b v: While it's nice that MBV finally got it together and released something else, it's also clear their ideas are worn out and they were kind of a one trick pony.  I'd never recommend this over Loveless and it felt gimmicky to me.  Won't be making my collection.

5. Arcade Fire - Reflektor - Hey, it's better than their last two efforts.  Still, I'm thinking Funeral is the only Arcade Fire album I'm going to be hanging on to long-term. I actually liked the new disco sound, but they didn't do enough with it to hold my interest.

4. They Might Be Giants - Nanobots: Has a bunch of dumb filler songs, but the strong material is generally better than on their last album.  I'm a long time fan of this band and their music has had its ups and downs over the years, but it's good enough if you're still in to them.  They need to stop trying to recreate the magic of old stuff that worked and keep pushing forward.

3. The National - Trouble Will Find Me: I think this is their most mediocre album so far (no idea how it's scoring so well on other lists) but again, as a fan of The National, I still enjoyed this.  It's very samey, which works against it. Still, if you wanna feel sad and miserable in 2013, here's your jam.

2. Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady: It's a lot more shamelessly pop than The ArchAndroid, but it's still Janelle Monae, and it's still an awesome record that's grown on me since I first spun it. I am glad she hasn't really blown up on the radio; it's helped to keep her from compromising her wacky personality, I think. The best R&B I've heard since her last album, I guess.

1. Sigur Ros - Kveikur: Easily my favorite album of the year, and the best Sigur Ros has done since 2005. Deliciously dark, moody, and has an energy that's been lacking in them for a while.  I liked last year's Valtari more than the general consensus, but this album is destined to be remembered as one of their best.  Never listened to this band?  Kveikur is a good start.

Gone Home

Gone Home is an indie adventure title that has been gathering a lot of buzz as one of the best games released in 2013. As a fan of the genre, I was curious to give it a try, and in short, my conclusion is that people are easily pleased in this industry. This game doesn't even hold a candle to Ace Attorney 5 (which also came out this year) and doesn't have a whole lot going on to set itself apart. I feel like it would be unfair to trash this game, really, as it's clear tons of work went in to designing the house and making it look good, and for the most part it's well-written (though, who really had this many letters lying around their houses in the mid-90s?). However, the sad thing is a house of this size would normally be a single area in a bigger game and will often have as much detail packed in to the environment. When taken as a short, two hour experience, Gone Home is great. When compared to other games, it feels like a tech demo despite its strengths.

The setup of Gone Home is that a girl (Katie) has returned home after a trip from Europe and nobody's there. To its credit, the game does an excellent job making the house seem mysterious and spooky, which is the high point of the game. Your job is to explore the labyrinthine home and search for clues about what happened. I won't reveal what's been going on, but I will tell you it's unsatisfying because you'll figure out everything that's actually important within an hour. The rest is just following bread crumbs (which are lazily strewn about in letters all over the place) to the end of the game. Again, there's nothing wrong with this being the main gameplay element, but this kind of thing has been done in adventure games since the early 90s, and since Gone Home is so short it feels like a small part of a story that should have been a lot bigger. You can explore the house and find extra details unrelated to the mystery that the game thinks is so important, but none of that matters and the majority does not even tie in to the central conflict. As I said in my Dishonored review, I honestly hate how so many western games are full to the brim with pointless details that exist solely to 'flesh out' a world. It's a tradition that probably harkens back to Tolkien and does nothing for people who prefer a focused narrative.

Furthermore, I take issue with the main 'twist' that is at the core of Gone Home's plot. If you don't want to be spoiled on this one, I suggest you stop reading, but if you weren't interested in Gone Home in the first place, I'll save you an hour. Basically, Katie discovers after a bit of exploration that her sister is a lesbian and has been sneaking around with her girlfriend. It really annoys me when this is used as a 'plot twist' in stories, not because it's implying homosexuals are weird or something, but because it's an incredibly weak thing to hinge interesting narrative on. Imagine if a story was centered on the fact that a dude liked cats more than dogs--it's a nice detail to know, okay, but it's only a supplemental thing. You could make the female lover in this game male and absolutely nothing would change.

One thing I did like about Gone Home was how much it misdirected expectations. In other words, the game makes it look like something is about to occur or creates an assumption in your head, but subverts it later on. That's great, but it's just over way too soon. Being over way too soon is this game's trouble in general, and nobody will remember it at all within two years. Even though I'm preferring games to be shorter these days, sometimes you need a little more to chew on to get any pleasure out of a sandwich.

5.5

Back to the Future: The Game

This year, I finally caught up and finished watching the Back to the Future films.  The trilogy quickly became one of my favorites because of its tight continuity and lovable characters, and I wished I had seen them when I was younger.  However, after playing Telltale's Back to the Future game, I'm actually glad I waited. Having the films fresh in mind made the games a blast to play, and if you're a fan of BTTF who hasn't tried them yet, I suggest doing so when you have time. Without spoiling anything, it's safe to say the game feels like a legitimate continuation of the films' story and the creators put a lot of love and care in to making Hill Valley come alive again. While I do think Telltale knocked The Walking Dead out of the park a bit more, this game was a great warm-up for them, and they didn't repeat the mistakes made in it.

Back to the Future: The Game's greatest flaw is its typical adventure game clunkiness.  Controlling Marty is slow, sometimes unresponsive, and kind of frustrating at times. Many puzzles require traversing maps over and over again, which gets tedious and made me long for the simpler interface of games like King's Quest 6. I'm not sure that 3D graphics are worth sacrificing ease of use, but they do help to make the game feel more like the films, so it's a bit of a trade-off. It's a shame, as the game has a number of interesting puzzles, but they are hampered by odd design decisions. There are also points where I'd get ahead of the characters' logic and try to solve puzzles they weren't ready for yet. It's always annoying when this happens in games, but it's more pronounced in this genre. Sadly, you have to get past nagging issues like this to enjoy the game, but if you can, you're in for a nice ride.

Wisely, the creators focus much of the story on Doc Brown. He was always the most interesting character in the franchise, and it's great to learn about his backstory and see alternate versions of him. Christopher Lloyd graciously reprises the role here and it's as if no time has passed; he's a truly great actor, bringing the same level of goofiness and passion the character is known for. It's remarkable how consistent the other cast members are with their film personalities too, from Biff and his kin to the McFly family and so on. The other major character in the game is the newly introduced Edna, a grouchy woman who is so maniacally against alcoholism that even I (a strict anti-drug dude) was getting sick of her. While she annoyed me, I have to say I loved where the writers took her character later on in the game, and she proved herself a satisfying antagonist by the end. Like in the films, almost all of the introduced characters have some importance to Marty, Doc, or somebody else central to the story.  Too often, games like this will meander with side plots and one-note characters, but Telltale sidesteps that trapping well and shows that (like in The Walking Dead) they have actual writing talent on staff.

If you are a fan of Back to the Future and familiar with all three movies, this is about as close to Back to the Future 4 as you're likely to see, and honestly, I'm okay with considering it that. Enough members of the original staff (including a head writer) are there to make it feel legitimate, and a live action version would have been impossible due to Michael J Fox's health and age. However, if you aren't a fan of Back to the Future, there's really not much to see here. It's a decent adventure game that thrives on being part of a great series.

7.5

Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time (partial)

It feels strange writing about this game because it's strange that Electronic Arts went ahead and released it before it was finished. There are quite obviously several missing levels, and I would have gladly waited and paid for the whole game instead of just playing half of it, but it is what it is. I'm a big fan of the first Plants vs. Zombies.  Popcap produced a casual game that you can enjoy no matter how much you actually play games. I honestly feel like the original was something anyone would like given enough time: it's the most basic defense game from a mechanical stand point, but with its silly premise, charming graphics and light difficulty curve, something about the game was magical.  PvZ was proof that a product aimed at the mass market could be something more: a deep, interesting game that introduced a genre to many without treating them like toddlers.

Needless to say, I was upset that EA ended up creating PvZ2.  When it was released as an IOS exclusive, I was even mad; I refuse to spend any money on Apple products and it felt like a punch in the gut that the sequel to one of my favorite games might not be available to me. Eventually, we got the game on Android, and now I'm kind of wishing it had stayed on IOS, at least until the full game was finished. EA decided to make the game free to play, pushing micro-transactions to either skip ahead to later content (what?) or purchase plants from the first game (huh?). Personally, I would have been fine with spending $20 on a PvZ game, which is beyond what mobile games normally cost in the first place. Instead, whenever I play this game I'm taunted with ads to unlock content for stupid amounts of money. Why buy a chili pepper for $4 when it was free in the original?

I didn't want this obvious money-making scheme to interfere with how I felt about the game, but unfortunately there is not much else to say about it. Since the game isn't complete, new additions barely have any time to shine. Sure, the mine cart idea for moving plants around is neat, but they barely scratched the surface of using it. Some of the new plants are neat (I love the peas that stack if you keep replanting them), some of them are dull (Did we need a punching cabbage when we had one-hit kill plants in the original?), and some are just repeats (The chili bean is just a reworked Hypno shroom). All in all, this game doesn't feel like a proper sequel to Plants vs. Zombies: it feels like a decent set of downloadable content that lacks the same polish.  Plant food is an interesting gimmick, giving your plants a temporary huge boost, but it's nothing revolutionary. The super-powered screen wipes feel like a con to make you buy more coins for them and usually aren't necessary anyway. I can live without everything new added in this game, and I guess in the future I will.

If you're interested at all in Plants vs. Zombies, I'd have to suggest just buying the original game. It's cheap, it will last you a long time, and it's on every platform ever with no bugs and a guaranteed track record.

5.5 (Partial completion.  Because it ISN'T FINISHED)

Demon's Souls

Demon's Souls is a challenging action RPG released by From Software in 2009.  It is popular and notorious for its difficulty, so I probably don't need to actually introduce it. Boletaria, a bleak, barren kingdom that has been razed by demons, immediately sets the mood of the story.  Demon's Souls is reminiscent of other Japanese games like Shin Megami Tensei in that it's set in a world beyond human help where you must pick up the pieces and do what you can.  I have always found it curious that this plot is so popular in Japan, which I suppose makes sense given that the nation has faced massive destruction from atom bombs, tsunamis, and earthquakes, but regardless it's done well here.  The gloomy aesthetics of the game are tough to criticize after finishing it, and aside from a few lazy-looking bosses in the Valley of Defilement, I think Demon's Souls might have one of the most successful looks and feels I've seen in a video game.

Of course, Demon's Souls's greatest strength is its gameplay.  There are so many different way to approach it that I'm not sure how to begin, but I'll just say my personal choice was an archer with a katana, so I got to use most of the combat elements of the game besides attack magic.  Demon's Souls makes many different styles of combat useful, which is quite a feat considering how useless certain classes are in other games. Archers can completely avoid certain dangerous situations by sniping enemies. Melee classes have a much easier time dealing with basic hordes of enemies. Magicians are probably overpowered, but fun to play as. As long as you understand the equipment system, what weapons you need, and all that jazz, you can approach the game how you like and it will still probably be challenging but possible.

This playthrough was my second attempt to get into Demon's Souls.  The first time, I performed the ultimate rage-quit of returning the game and later purchasing it again. While that might make me seem like a wimp, my main criticism of this game now has a lot to do with the reasons I returned it in the first place.  Much has been written about Demon's Soul's difficulty and cruelty to the player, but I think the cruelty isn't so much the fault of the difficulty; rather, it's the fault of the designers for not making the game's mechanics clear. Many important stats are signified with symbols instead of names. The game never tells you how the different weapon upgrade paths differ. Some players may never realize they need to unburden themselves to roll, which is a crucial skill for avoiding certain attacks. The game never tells you that the starting class doesn't affect your stat build except for in very specific cases. World tendency adjusts itself through hidden methods and affects the difficulty of the game. The list goes on and on.  I was only able to enjoy this game after watching informative videos and browsing the wiki.  Now, I realize there are plenty of people who played the game with no outside help, but when you're as bad at action games as I am you need at least some step in the right direction. I think if Demon's Souls had been more up front about certain mechanics I would not have had so much trouble.  Thus, if I had to point out the underlying issue with Demon's Souls it would probably be "polish."  The game actually has a very good tutorial, and I liked that it avoided interrupting the player later on to explain mechanics, but unfortunately some mechanics needed a glossary or some form of in-game explanation to avoid the need for guide-surfing.

The level design may be the most impressive thing about this game.  Each area is completely distinct, not just from a visual standpoint but from its gameplay too.  Boletaria has hordes of human enemies that require some combat finesse; Stonefang is full of precious minerals and slow, powerful enemies; Latria is more terrifying than it is challenging, but has the toughest bosses in the game; The Shrine of Storms has incredibly difficult foes but simple bosses; The Valley of Defilement is slow and grueling, attempting to wear down the player. I wish more games could make each section of them feel this unique and memorable. In most games, I can't remember what certain areas were like years down the line, but I don't think I'll ever forget a single place in Demon's Souls.  It goes to show how good direction in art, programming, and storytelling can come together to make something timeless.

I can't recommend Demon's Souls to most gamers, but if you are up for a challenge give it a try. There were many bosses I found way too frustrating to ever want to face again but I was glad to overcome them.  (If you suck at action games like me, have fun trying to take on Flamelurker or Maneater without cheesing them)  It is worth playing to see the incredible levels and experience a fully realized world, but just know that you will die and die a lot, but that's part of the game.  Demon's Souls trusts the player to improve over time, use resources to improve his chances of victory, and ultimately decide how he wants to see it end.

8

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

It's been ten years since the last Zelda game that I thoroughly enjoyed (Minish Cap) was released. While I respect Nintendo for trying to shake up the formula with weird controls in the last few games, the ones I played left a sour taste in my mouth. I wasn't able to finish Skyward Sword, and Phantom Hourglass had me so bored partway through it that I returned the game without much hesitation. When they announced a sequel to Link to the Past was coming, I didn't think it could do much better. Clearly Nintendo didn't care about their longtime fans and wanted to have the series innovate for the sake of innovation while ignoring glaring issues with the series.  Fortunately, they have proven me wrong this time, and the result is not just a great Zelda game, but one of my new personal favorites.

A Link Between Worlds could be your first 2D Zelda game and I think it would be satisfactory, but it's really a love letter to fans of Link to the Past.  The game takes place in the same version of Hyrule, Dark World and all, but mixes things up.  Some new paths exist between areas, some places have new set pieces, but it's all the same world.  I don't have a problem with this form of recycling, and it's a great way to continue the story of a series and stay true the original.  There are a lot of cute references to the past game: returning characters like Blind the Thief and Sarshalakadingdong, improved ideas from the first game's dungeons, moments put in to trick people who played the first game, and my favorite, a similar fast travel system.  The remixed music, while not totally an improvement, did hit the right buttons and blended well with newer songs added for dungeons and such.  It's impressive that the same enemies from a game made in 1991 still hold up and are interesting with just a few fresh moves added to them. Link Between Worlds feels easier than its father, partially because Link swings the sword faster, but it still plays just as nicely.

This game was promoted as and is indeed nonlinear: Link can beat all of the Lorule dungeons in any order and rents the items needed to progress.  On a bit of a downer note, this makes the dungeons get easier as you go since nothing gained in one is required for another (with one exception), but the upside is worth the trade-off.  You can play the game how I did: explore all of Lorule entirely before entering a single dungeon. You can play the dungeons in the classic order if you want to.  You can roll a die and do them at random as long as you do the Thieves' Hideout before the Sand Temple.  Each dungeon does give you a different reward (better armor, ore for upgrading the sword, and a few other things) so one player's experience may be slightly different from another's.  I loved this approach, which is of course reminiscent of Zelda 1 and 3, and am glad that Nintendo didn't make yet another strictly linear Zelda game.  It's a series that benefits greatly from the player being free to explore and make his own journey.  They even cut down on the text for once, which is a major improvement.

So, do I just want Nintendo to remake old games and avoid trying new things?  At this point, I'm not sure what to say.  I feel like their games have a history of being disappointing when drastic changes happen. Super Mario Sunshine, Skyward Sword, Pokemon Gen 3, and several other games are evidence enough. It's easy to just make changes or add new elements to a series, but it's much more difficult to get them right, especially on the first try.  On the other hand, it's possible to make a game that feels a lot like its predecessor, make a few tweaks and add just a couple of interesting ideas, and have it come out all the better.  A Link Between Worlds is a good example of a game that is strong because it is refining older ideas, and it's certainly a game I'll be replaying before I even consider several of the earlier entries.  If you are a fan or even a former fan of the Zelda franchise, you should play this game.  It's short, fun, and recaptures something the series had lost along the way: that sense of reward in exploration.

8