I've tried twice to beat this game and this most recent time made me tap out in a "death by a thousand tiny cuts" type of way.
It's an adequate game. Nostslgic tunes, wonderful sprite work in the graphics, and it's really neat to see the origins of Zelda tropes that I fell in love with when I played my first Zelda game ever: Ocarina of Time.
And I think that last distinction is what kills this for me. So many quality of life improvements from Ocarina onward make LTTP just unplayable for me.
Yes, it's impressive how LTTP plays with the illusion of 3D space despite being 2D. However, simple things like being unable to strike an enemy because "They're in front of you, but also half a foot below you by the game's standards" made me lose my mind (Literally, you can watch it: https://www.twitch.tv/badelephantgaming/v/1412099864?sr=a&t=145s).
Combat also quite frankly sucks. You get one chop at a lousy 45 degree angle, and a spin attack if you're lucky. Enemy group encounters are basically a death sentence, and the inability to manually control your shield means a fireball hitting your "fireball proof shield" at JUST THE WRONG DEGREE means a precious heart lost.
Look these sound like nitpicks, but as I said: "Death by a thousand tiny cuts." Bad combat means exploration can be tedious because of how often enemies swarm you. It makes you play so defensively that often I'm not exploring at all, I'm strategically running through areas and missing things because I don't want to die and get sent back to the entrances of the long ass dungeons, or on the wrong side of Hyrule.
I've played and enjoyed other 2D Zelda games, but the fact that this is often proclaimed as the best Zelda title baffles me. I just don't feel the power.
It's an adequate game. Nostslgic tunes, wonderful sprite work in the graphics, and it's really neat to see the origins of Zelda tropes that I fell in love with when I played my first Zelda game ever: Ocarina of Time.
And I think that last distinction is what kills this for me. So many quality of life improvements from Ocarina onward make LTTP just unplayable for me.
Yes, it's impressive how LTTP plays with the illusion of 3D space despite being 2D. However, simple things like being unable to strike an enemy because "They're in front of you, but also half a foot below you by the game's standards" made me lose my mind (Literally, you can watch it: https://www.twitch.tv/badelephantgaming/v/1412099864?sr=a&t=145s).
Combat also quite frankly sucks. You get one chop at a lousy 45 degree angle, and a spin attack if you're lucky. Enemy group encounters are basically a death sentence, and the inability to manually control your shield means a fireball hitting your "fireball proof shield" at JUST THE WRONG DEGREE means a precious heart lost.
Look these sound like nitpicks, but as I said: "Death by a thousand tiny cuts." Bad combat means exploration can be tedious because of how often enemies swarm you. It makes you play so defensively that often I'm not exploring at all, I'm strategically running through areas and missing things because I don't want to die and get sent back to the entrances of the long ass dungeons, or on the wrong side of Hyrule.
I've played and enjoyed other 2D Zelda games, but the fact that this is often proclaimed as the best Zelda title baffles me. I just don't feel the power.