Topic: A proper intro from one of NL's new writers 😎

I don't really like the grim art style of Twilight Princess either, but I got used to it and it's probably my third favourite Zelda game. I'm ashamed to say I haven't played Majora's Mask or Skyward Sword yet though.

@KateGray One thing you could create for this site, or publish elsewhere, like for The Guardian or otherwise, is a writing piece comparing the old and new Zelda styles, using a game with the old style (Twilight Princess), the new style (Breath of the Wild), and a hybrid of the two (Skyward Sword) and explain how each one has contributed to the series as a whole.

Of course it requires playing the game, so it could be a really fascinating long term project.

@Tobiaku Hello!

1. Apollo Justice is my favourite! It does weird things (like the concert and the time travelling) that I'm really into. After that, it's probably the one with all the Dahlia Hawthorne stuff, because that's a DAMN good story.

2. Haven't really played many! I've written about them here and there, but they tend to be aimed at a specific type of attraction that doesn't do it for me personally

@Dogorilla Majora's Mask 3D was a really good port - if you're ever in need of new stuff to play, and you enjoyed Ocarina, I do highly recommend it... even though it's probably one of the most highly recommended games ever 😅 I will say that you should play it with a guide because some of its time-related puzzles are just silly.

@TheJGG I would LOVE that. If you're excited to see some Zelda stuff, though, you might be in luck. Maybe. Who knows?

@Dogorilla The funny thing is everyone was loving the art style at the time, with Lord Of The Rings being huge and after people were intially upset with Wind Waker's style people were seeing it as great choice for te franchise. Of course it's not aged well, personally I'm fine with the art style but it feels like there's too many dunegons in it.

@KateGray I definitely want to play Majora's Mask at some point! The 3DS port sounds like the best version but oddly it doesn't seem to have gone down in price at all since it came out. If I find it for a good price I'll buy it.

@jump Yeah I can kind of see why people would like the style, it does look nice at certain points and even now it feels like a bit of a novelty for a Nintendo game to look like that. I prefer more stylised and colourful graphics myself though.

@TheJGG Yes, for the most part the puzzles have been fairly easy; I admit I was stumped with a Shrine earlier on, but that was due to the fact that I wasn't entirely used to the Magnesis and Stasis runes yet. Most of the Shrines have also felt very short. While I do like the Divine Beasts' concept overall, I do agree about them being too nonlinear and wish there was more to them than just activating terminals and beating up _____blight Ganon. For the carriage puzzle, are you referring to Vah Medoh? I think I did just end up gliding to one of the wings, though IIRC it was the one without the carriage.

I may be slightly biased towards Twilight Princess as it was my first ever Zelda title (Wii version), but it's home to some of my favorite concepts, items, bosses, and aesthetics in the series. Funnily enough, it took me a couple of tries to get into it; I grew frustrated and lost interest in the first dungeon and left it alone for several months until Okami, due to being somewhat similar, encouraged me to give it another chance. I haven't regretted it!

Fully agreed on all your Skyward Sword impressions. My only letdowns from that game were some of the bosses (I didn't mind The Imprisoned the first or even the second time, but it just became tiresome....Wasn't a fan of Tentalus either) and the fact that Fi, while I didn't dislike her, is probably my second-least-favorite companion in the entire series. She's only trumped by Ciela from Phantom Hourglass in my book as she felt completely unnecessary.

@KateGray Apollo Justice is your favorite AA title? I nearly caved for the 3DS eShop discount in the last Capcom sale but decided to wait. Who knows? Maybe Capcom will release a second AA trilogy on Switch?

On Twilight Princess: Yep, the aesthetic is a mix of dark browns and greens at first, but things do indeed get better. The HD version on Wii U also cleaned up the visuals a bit. I do highly recommend jumping back into the game if you get the chance, though; it's one of my favorite Zelda entries!

Greetings, KateGray! I appreciate this free-flowing conversation you're having with all of us. Also, I'm sorry that someone sold your copy of Paper Mario out from under you. I've felt that sort of betrayal...

I see that you have chosen to boast rather of your scribe's éliteness, and not your deeds of electrogame. I suppose that would set you apart from we unwashed commentators, and this does also imply the ever-quiet modesty of the truly élite. Still I find it difficult to suppress my curiosity about the competitive fires that we users and you writers harbour in our hearts, however well-hidden.

Your writings in the last while have me wondering about something else. When it comes to gamers, especially true hobbyists, we have different "lineages" and motivations that keep us going, and I've been getting curious about what that means for other people.

I was inducted into gaming by older kids, rather than my peers. That meant I was always "reaching up", trying to grasp what they were tackling, even long before I was ready. As gaming progressed and advanced, that meant I was always "looking up" to something more sophisticated and awe-inspiring on the horizon.

And while I was looking up, the games I had access to evolved, so that I, like so many, was following the growth of technology and expertise. In a sense, my particular set of experiences in their particular order forms a "lineage" which has informed my view of all gaming. Mine went something like this:

• SMB (platformer)
• Zelda (exploration adventure)
• Mega Man 2/Contra/Ninja Gaiden/others (action platformer)
• Metroid/Blaster Master/Goonies 2 ("Metroidvanias")
• Shadowgate/King's Quest V (puzzle-like)
• Might and Magic 1/Dungeon Master (dungeon crawler)
• Final Fantasy IV (narrative-based RPG)
• SimCity (sandbox/simulation)

The sense of growth and "looking up" has never left me, and I'm realizing there's a structure to all this. There is mastery first of reflexes, then of memory, problem-solving, organization (no auto-mapping in dungeon crawlers means hand-drawn maps!)... and I realize that my most formative stage occurred around the time I was playing the organization and role-playing games. And now I work in a field that demands cartography skills and extensive planning...

These realizations are partially your fault, KateGray.

Hi Kate. Just wondering how far did you get on Fantasy life? Going to assume you completed the story but how fair did you get completing all the different jobs? I loved the game but never did it all

I'm so jealous of where you live. I'm so tired of living in lousy Southern USA.

@dannym2091 Good question! I finished the story twice, but never quite finished the DLC - it's really tough.

I didn't complete all the jobs, but I did complete the ones I liked the most: Tailor, Blacksmith, Carpenter, Fishing, Mining, and Woodcutting. The rest I can barely remember 😅 Honestly, that game has so much content that I can't imagine ever seeing it all. Some of the jobs aren't that fun for me, especially the combat ones

@Slowdive I always find that I have a better time when everything is a surprise! If I was a fan of Smash Bros, I can imagine every Direct would be great, but sadly, I am a fan of the more niche-big titles like Ace Attorney and Paper Mario.

I would love to see Life is Strange, though! I actually own all the games and spinoffs, but never played LIS2 or Tell Me Why... I should get around to that.

More ports in general would be nice, even though that's just "I want to play this game again, on a different platform" but I'm sort of gently hoping for something new like Famicom Detective Club (which I know isn't NEW new, but definitely new to me, and unexpected!)

More on True Colours would be great, as well as a bit more about the Remaster, @KateGray .... Have to see what else SE has, too

@KateGray I've been meaning to ask you a question, O Staff Writer, but I've been hesitant because you might consider it kinda personal. (It's a warm and muggy Saturday in June, and you know how important those are around here. So, if there is a time to ask, it would be now...) I mean, you've settled in very nicely here among the ravening masses on NL. Well, here goes:

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If you could be a furball, what colour fur would you choose?

I completely agree with this statement, it also works if you changed the L in "titles" to an I instead!

@COVIDberry I normally default to a sort of low-saturation dusty rose colour. Soft, warm colours are my vibe!