I also owned that Nintendo Power issue long ago. To this day I keep wishing I subscribed earlier on and kept the old issues, because the old issues were when Nintendo was at its best and actually seemed to care about its audience. My favorite part of the AVGN review was when he was trying to get the posters out, because I had the same problems he did. Never could get a poster out without ripping it. As for that one ad that he stapled shut to avoid seeing it again, I looked at that particular issue and found it was the "jar of filthy toenails" ad he showed a moment earlier. But I know what he means. Maybe they were trying to be edgy or different. But I sure like that Rayman ad "Ray: The Game", showing a fat slob named Ray in a karate pose. And a mimic of the Rayman box art where Ray's running away from an exploding couch.
Tried NES Zelda but couldn't get into it because it was too hard for me and the world was too open, didn't know where to go. Decided to give Ocarina of Time a try because everybody was giving it 11/10 ratings and I was getting tired of Turok 2. I thought maybe they did something different with this one that would make me enjoy it. Oh did they ever. But now it's one of those "yeah, it's great, but I don't feel like ever going back to it" kinds of games.
I remember young Ruto. Zora's Domain was my favorite place as Young Link due to how peaceful it was. Forest Temple was my favorite area in the game, although it was also an area I was stuck forever in with creepy music... but now I see it as creepy awesome music. Hated the Fire and Water Temples for being too confusing. I thought Bongo Bongo was a cheap boss because I couldn't fire off an arrow quickly enough before he bounced the drum. The Bunny Slippers rock. Minuet of Forest rocks. As for the Great Fairies... shudder... they need to wear more clothing and they need a serious face makeover.
And it took me ages to get Epona. I know, seems like one of the first things you'd do given the chance, since I imagine everyone says riding Epona is awesome. Well, you don't need Epona to finish the game. You can get to Lake Hylia without her by just walking near the gate, going around one of the walls, and climbing the ladder there. I wondered how I kept missing that ladder since it's in plain sight. You'd think I'd get Epona since Link's riding her in the intro. Well, no. Thankfully in Majora's Mask I can ride a mini-Epona (I hope I didn't imagine that) and then ride the real deal in Twilight Princess.
Majora's Mask was decent but way too hard for me, never got past the Great Bay Temple. What I remember most from that game is the beaver race and making small movements to get better times. Termina Field tune was pretty good. But other than that, meh. Didn't even care much for Deku Link. At least Tatl wasn't as annoying as Navi... but Tatl tried its hardest by throwing sarcastic insults at you whenever you faced an enemy from an earlier game, berating you for not knowing how to deal with the enemy by now.
Wind Waker was okay but not great. I'll never get used to the cel-shaded Young Link, his face looks ugly. If there's one thing I hated more than sailing across an endless ocean to find treasure, it was sailing across an endless ocean to find pieces of the Triforce. None of the characters were memorable, except... oh man, except for that goofy guy selling stuff in the boat. Buy enough stuff and you'll get a customer appreciation gift! What a joke.
Let's just say the VG Cats comic is completely true. I suppose the game did a good job with the cel-shaded effect, but I've seen better cel-shade use from Viewtiful Joe. I'll never forget when one friend of mine said "it looks like NES graphics". The NES could never pull off the colors or visual style of this.
I just flat out couldn't get into Twilight Princess. Everything was upgraded to the point that it felt unfamiliar. I thought a realistic-looking Zelda would be awesome, but then they had to upgrade the looks of the Hylians and make them more animated. Now they're ugly and creepy. The twilight areas were worse. I don't like the weird orange-black aesthetic, running around as Wolf Link wasn't as great as I had hoped (and after playing Okami, there's just no contest), and Midna was annoying. She's a little cute with that fang sticking out, but otherwise I just wish they got rid of her.
Never played any other of the many Zelda games.
