1st December 2011, 6:52 PM
It's a narrative thing. There's really only 6 or so stories anyway. The trick is how they are told. The first game's story had you saving Zelda from the very start after she put herself in danger to save everyone else by splitting up the triforce to defy Ganon. The second game was more of a sleeping beauty thing, no more need be said than that.
What I liked about LTTP was that while the story did eventually involve saving Zelda, that wasn't the main drive for large sections of it. For example, in the very beginning Zelda tells you Hyrule is in danger and you do have to go rescue her, and you DO, but from then until you get the Master Sword she's "safe" and your goal is to gain the weapon to defeat the mysterious evil priest. Along the way you find out about the imprisoning war and discover 3 ancient temples. The aesthetic went a long way towards drawing me in, with everything "feeling" exactly as it should. Going into the desert felt like wandering a wasteland. The town really felt like a peaceful place, excepting the fact that Link was a wanted man framed for kidnapping the princess. When you finally got the Master Sword you find yet another of your allies was killed and the princess you thought you saved has been found and abducted again. You try to save her, and fail! I thought yet another character had died until I found out the truth, that she and the rest of the maidens were really sent to the dark world where Ganon, the true power behind the priest, lay trying to escape. From there, I'm freeing each of the trapped maidens so they can give me the power to reach Aghanim again and defeat him as well as Ganon. In the end, Ganon lays beaten and I claim the triforce. The ending shows all the wishes Link now makes with it, restoring all those who died back to life and helping out so many of the various characters I met along the way.
Link's Awakening we both know full well.
Ocarina of Time had a pretty interesting story. This WAS the imprisoning war mentioned in LTTP. Link isn't "saving" the princess in this story so much as completing an urgent mission on her behalf. Unfortunately you were both being manipulated and Ganon simply used the two of you to get to the triforce. At this point Zelda is forced into hiding and Link sleeps for 7 years, awakening to a hyrule completely ruined by Ganondorf's rule (huh, actually the story kinda reminds me of the Lion King in a few ways). Zelda turns out to be rebelling in her own way, having become a ninja secretly working to overthrow Ganon. Link and "Sheik" now work side by side to get the power of 7 sages to defeat Ganon. Again, Ganondorf manipulates you two, this time simply waiting for Zelda to reveal herself so he can get that piece of the triforce. Link fortunately has the Master Sword, the only thing preventing Ganon from simply abducting Link the same way. Yes, you must save Zelda, but compared to the NES games or even LTTP it's for such a short time it's hardly a main focus of the story. Once you do free her, which happens almost immediately after she's kidnapped, you fight together to defeat him (well, she gives you magical power which you use).
Zelda plays a much more active roll this time. She already played a more active roll than a completely pointless "damsel" in the original games considering she's flat out needed to save the world, but this time she does more than just hide the ultimate McGuffin. In fact, this is why I was disappointed in the 3DS remake. How awesome would it be to have a whole added game mode where you play as Zelda, starting from the moment Link is trapped in time, getting trained by Impa, going on adventures, having to aid Link through his adventures when he wakes up, saving Kakariko before Link can get there, right up until the end where this time Zelda's "escorting" Link with gameplay mechanics during the final fight. That would be awesome and round out the story.
Anyway, Majora's Mask was another very different story from the ground up.
Wind Waker we both know. Yes he saves the princess, but once again she takes a much more active roll, and we get some insight into Ganon's motivation. I need not explain all the stories of the side cast and how the world is revealed. You say you liked that story already.
Twilight Princess is an alternate time line. I found Zant to be a very well done character. He seemed genuinely malicious, not just power hungry but really desiring to humiliate his former leader. When his plans start to fall apart, his real personality is revealed, he's just a petty little man who can't handle the slightest upset. The complete change in personality was odd to me at first, but I appreciate it a lot more now. Midna's character was also pretty interesting. She seems to be going down the same path as Zant at first, desiring nothing more than revenge. Eventually she changes though. Zelda actually plays a much smaller roll this time, with the focus more on Midna who's constantly with you. However, she does appear to be a strong character doing the only thing she can think to do to save her people. Yes, it would have been nice to see her fight, but in her mind it would have been a worthless effort that would cost everyone in Hyrule. In the end, just like in Wind Waker, we do see her fighting alongside Link.
So there it is. That's my interpretation of the stories. When explained that way, perhaps you can see how I don't consider them all "the same story". Each differs very greatly in the details.
As for the CD-i games, there's practically no "details" to those stories at all. Aside from two having a gender reversal, they are the exact same stories as the very first game, focusing entirely on saving Link and nothing else. In fact, Link isn't even given the courtesy of having done something, anything, to make him WORTH saving in those games. He never broke up the triforce or anything. This is why I don't consider the roll reversal worthy of making those stories "original". As much as I'd like to play as Zelda in one of these games, the story has to actually be unique, as in my idea for an added quest in OOT.
What I liked about LTTP was that while the story did eventually involve saving Zelda, that wasn't the main drive for large sections of it. For example, in the very beginning Zelda tells you Hyrule is in danger and you do have to go rescue her, and you DO, but from then until you get the Master Sword she's "safe" and your goal is to gain the weapon to defeat the mysterious evil priest. Along the way you find out about the imprisoning war and discover 3 ancient temples. The aesthetic went a long way towards drawing me in, with everything "feeling" exactly as it should. Going into the desert felt like wandering a wasteland. The town really felt like a peaceful place, excepting the fact that Link was a wanted man framed for kidnapping the princess. When you finally got the Master Sword you find yet another of your allies was killed and the princess you thought you saved has been found and abducted again. You try to save her, and fail! I thought yet another character had died until I found out the truth, that she and the rest of the maidens were really sent to the dark world where Ganon, the true power behind the priest, lay trying to escape. From there, I'm freeing each of the trapped maidens so they can give me the power to reach Aghanim again and defeat him as well as Ganon. In the end, Ganon lays beaten and I claim the triforce. The ending shows all the wishes Link now makes with it, restoring all those who died back to life and helping out so many of the various characters I met along the way.
Link's Awakening we both know full well.
Ocarina of Time had a pretty interesting story. This WAS the imprisoning war mentioned in LTTP. Link isn't "saving" the princess in this story so much as completing an urgent mission on her behalf. Unfortunately you were both being manipulated and Ganon simply used the two of you to get to the triforce. At this point Zelda is forced into hiding and Link sleeps for 7 years, awakening to a hyrule completely ruined by Ganondorf's rule (huh, actually the story kinda reminds me of the Lion King in a few ways). Zelda turns out to be rebelling in her own way, having become a ninja secretly working to overthrow Ganon. Link and "Sheik" now work side by side to get the power of 7 sages to defeat Ganon. Again, Ganondorf manipulates you two, this time simply waiting for Zelda to reveal herself so he can get that piece of the triforce. Link fortunately has the Master Sword, the only thing preventing Ganon from simply abducting Link the same way. Yes, you must save Zelda, but compared to the NES games or even LTTP it's for such a short time it's hardly a main focus of the story. Once you do free her, which happens almost immediately after she's kidnapped, you fight together to defeat him (well, she gives you magical power which you use).
Zelda plays a much more active roll this time. She already played a more active roll than a completely pointless "damsel" in the original games considering she's flat out needed to save the world, but this time she does more than just hide the ultimate McGuffin. In fact, this is why I was disappointed in the 3DS remake. How awesome would it be to have a whole added game mode where you play as Zelda, starting from the moment Link is trapped in time, getting trained by Impa, going on adventures, having to aid Link through his adventures when he wakes up, saving Kakariko before Link can get there, right up until the end where this time Zelda's "escorting" Link with gameplay mechanics during the final fight. That would be awesome and round out the story.
Anyway, Majora's Mask was another very different story from the ground up.
Wind Waker we both know. Yes he saves the princess, but once again she takes a much more active roll, and we get some insight into Ganon's motivation. I need not explain all the stories of the side cast and how the world is revealed. You say you liked that story already.
Twilight Princess is an alternate time line. I found Zant to be a very well done character. He seemed genuinely malicious, not just power hungry but really desiring to humiliate his former leader. When his plans start to fall apart, his real personality is revealed, he's just a petty little man who can't handle the slightest upset. The complete change in personality was odd to me at first, but I appreciate it a lot more now. Midna's character was also pretty interesting. She seems to be going down the same path as Zant at first, desiring nothing more than revenge. Eventually she changes though. Zelda actually plays a much smaller roll this time, with the focus more on Midna who's constantly with you. However, she does appear to be a strong character doing the only thing she can think to do to save her people. Yes, it would have been nice to see her fight, but in her mind it would have been a worthless effort that would cost everyone in Hyrule. In the end, just like in Wind Waker, we do see her fighting alongside Link.
So there it is. That's my interpretation of the stories. When explained that way, perhaps you can see how I don't consider them all "the same story". Each differs very greatly in the details.
As for the CD-i games, there's practically no "details" to those stories at all. Aside from two having a gender reversal, they are the exact same stories as the very first game, focusing entirely on saving Link and nothing else. In fact, Link isn't even given the courtesy of having done something, anything, to make him WORTH saving in those games. He never broke up the triforce or anything. This is why I don't consider the roll reversal worthy of making those stories "original". As much as I'd like to play as Zelda in one of these games, the story has to actually be unique, as in my idea for an added quest in OOT.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)