Vs.
Progression. That is how I find myself now going through with the second round of my challenge. It is also how one gauges their time spent playing a video game. I will use progression as one of two major topics debated between The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, two of the best SNES games ever created.
-----
Immediately thrust into the beginning of a beautiful journey to save the princess and to save Hyrule, Link wakes up and disregards his uncle's warning not to follow him to the castle. Sure enough, once inside, you find your uncle hurt and receive your first sword and shield. Boom. From their on out, gameplay progresses fluidly, unless of course you are a seasoned veteran of Zelda games and go out of your way to better your weapons and items and search for many heart pieces.
I love that Link is a silent character, and to me that adds to his courage, power and wisdom. He does not need to question or comment on the task at hand; Link is fully aware that he is the only one that can save Zelda and stop Ganon from ruling of Hyrule. As a silent character, the player can identify easier with Link and insert their own feelings into how the main character goes through the world; as opposed to following a story, I get to become part of it.
Quite simply, I favor this game for its timelessness and that it can be finished in a day or two. The progression and pacing in A Link to the Past is the best for any Zelda (sailing in Wind Waker, large worlds in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, the frustration of dying in the original).
-----
Immediately thrust into the beginning of a beautiful journey to save the princess and to save the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario wakes up and quite literally jumps into action. Running to Bowser's castle, Mario kicks some ass and defeats his arch rival in the game's beginning sequence only to find that there is a greater threat to the world: a giant sword sticking out of Bowser's castle and the rest of Smithy's gang. For a platforming RPG, this game progresses through leveling up, gaining new teammates (including Bowser!), and finding stronger weapons and items better than a lot of RPG's do.
I love how Mario is a silent character, which adds to the silliness of the game. His story telling is through miming out the actions and displays more emotion than reading text ever could. It is also hilarious and light-hearted, where typical RPG's have a more serious tone in describing how their world is ending. Mario is also imperfect, and that reflects through gameplay. Jumping barrels? Mario will trip over them. Jumping more barrels? Mario will stumble over them. Jumping yet even more barrels? Yup, you guessed it (there is a lot of barrel jumping in this game now that I think about it).
I favor this game because it is a fresh take on a classic formula. Even after a decade from its release, it is refreshing that this RPG lacks the depth that today's standards have required. The game may take only a week to play through, but it is not about how much the game can be played, it is mostly about the joy in playing it.
-----
So, I am sure you noticed a lot of similarities between these two games. I am actually quite surprised that how at their core, they share so many things that make them great, yet differ in many more ways to separate them and being brand new games. But who wins: the adventure or the RPG? I choose Zelda in this case. As a game, it will last longer than Super Mario RPG will in the future of playability. (By the way, both princesses are saved before the end, and each world is saved immediately following the final battle, so cool).
Winner: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
No comments:
Post a Comment