CDI Episode 34 - Link & Zelda Platformers on the CD-i

[GuldurKhand]

Actually, when I was a kid... I loved this game(that is, 10 years ago on the cdi). Seriously, it was a shock to me when I read the interviews and stars it got, I thought wtf... it's a normal game, not a bad one. I really liked the graphics and the music of the game and the gameplay wasn't that bad, just bad controls, but I didn't really mind(I was not used to any game). I was happy that I could play computer games. The only thing that really dissapointed me was ganon, way too easy..

[smartlamppost]

@GuldurKhand Yeah, people just bash them because they're zelda fans, and nobody is more insane than zelda fans. They're angry because this game made link, the character who wears green tights, look silly and had mechanics that didn't hold up as well as other zelda games.

[GelatinGhost]

While you're right that there are certainly many worse games than these ones, I don't really think that your moral of "don't pass judgement until you've tried it" really holds up. There are so many more GOOD games in existence that it is really a waste of most people's precious and limited free time to play ones universally accepted as bad. Just because they're not the absolute worst of the worst doesn't mean they're worth playing.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@GelatinGhost That is certainly true, but in such a case you are merely ignoring the games, and choose to direct your attention to games that are likely to be more enjoyable. That is indeed a good way to go about it, and will likely prevent your from wasting time and/or money on games that you probably won't like anyway.

What I meant with passing judgment however, was more directed towards individuals who blindly follow the general opinion and actively ridicule 'supposedly' bad games.

[GelatinGhost]

@HalfBlindGamer Fair enough. I am willing to go out on a limb and say that these games rank pretty low on the scale based on footage I've seen. For instance, ignoring something as simple as "mercy invincibility" is a hallmark of terrible game design. Calling that "good" is an insult to well-programmed games. I will say that the music and art is pretty good, but imo presentation can only serve to make a good game better; it can't make an already bad game good. Of course it comes down to opinion.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@GelatinGhost I've got to agree with you on that one as well. A truly good game is fun down to its essentials, where you could just replace the graphics with just blocks and sticks. If a game is fun in that state, you've got some winner gameplay. These games are clearly not build to stand up to such a test.

Thanks for the comments by the way :)

[deepstothepeeps]

Link: TFoE was one of the first games I had for my CD-I, apart from Escape from Cyber City and Wacky World of Miniature Golf. I was actually surprised when I saw it on G4 as being rated the worst game of all time. I agree with your sentiment regarding the background and music for this game. It's quite good. Years later, I find it humorous that in order to defeat Ganon you literally "throw the book" (of Koridai) at him.

[EpicWINNER1000]

@deepstothepeeps Yes, I agree. Haven't played these, but neither have 95% of the haters/AVGN fanboys. Also I find the cutscenes to be "so bad its good" as you said. They're a weird anecdote that will keep you playing.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@EpicWINNER1000 Thanks a lot, glad you liked the review and it's good to see there are some people who care to form their own opinions, instead of just riding along popular ones.

It's sad that arguments can end like that, there's just no reasoning with some people haha.

[EpicWINNER1000]

@HalfBlindGamer What annoys me most surrounding these games are AVGN fanboys who hate on these games without playing them. Almost every review except this one has someone reviewing the game and whining about how terrible the cutscenes are (which they are), without covering the GAMEPLAY, and whenever they do, they're either playing it on an emulator or a spoon controller made by Magnavox. It's really annoying.

[Protoman85]

I think you're giving the game's gameplay flaws too much of a pass. Remember how a good game is? These are bad games. On the CD-i, they're better than a lot of them though.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Protoman85 Well, it is a relative thing. Sure, compared to a Mario or Sonic these games severely lack in playability. On the CD-i though, they aren't that bad and they do work. I also intended for a more positive view towards these games. I also prefer these two a lot more over the third CD-i Zelda game, which is generally regarded as being better for some odd reason.

Which flaws annoy you the most?

[Protoman85]

@HalfBlindGamer I agree that if compared to only the CD-i game library these stack up well, at top 15 at least. My problems are mostly with the control, only 2 buttons is not good and up to jump is not good. Rooms going dark all the time is annoying, using ropes all the time is annoying, having to stand still to use the shield is annoying, it was OK in Zelda 1 but not in a sidescroller. No recovery time is not good, you take several hits if one enemy is near you. It's hard to tell where you can

[Protoman85]

@HalfBlindGamer (continued) It's hard to tell where you can stand with those backgrounds. Collecting rubies and stuff with sword is annoying but minor gripe. Zelda's Adventure I think is better because apart from the horrendous loading time, it's almost like a real Zelda game.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Protoman85 Some fair points of annoyances for sure. The controls really take a while to get used to, it's a real flaw in the CD-i design, two buttons is just not enough for games.

Zelda's Adventure to me lacks in a lot of areas. I just don't enjoy playing it at all. So barren and tedious too thanks to those loading times. It does emulate the classic Zelda formula more, but I could never stand it for very long. Now granted, it's been many years since I last played it.

[tjsh589]

Hi HalfBlindGamer!

I used to play theses games when I was about 9 years old and I was also impressed by the music and the background pictures,even the gameplay (OK, I hated it, when I accidantally went through doors;).I also think that the only reason almost everybody hates it, is that is has nothing to do with the original Zelda games.When you forget it, these are actually pretty good games for that time.I was allways scared to say this but now I have the courage:I LIKE THIS GAMES

[HalfBlindGamer]

@tjsh589 Awesome :)

Always great to hear from someone who actually appreciated these games, instead of blindly jumping on the hate train!

[segaatari25]

nice review i traded DINKYDANA theese game, But i dont know if your interested in this but my mom works at philips and her boss actually helped liscened theese game's with nintendo, and also helped propose the snes cd add-on. i'm not making this up I sware to god. he said that the cd-i wasn't even supose to be a video game system to begin with, it was supose to be a cd player that you could interact with, because philips creatred the cd , and had no idea about video games or how to make them.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@segaatari25 Cool stuff man, I have no reason to doubt you, so don't worry :) Did she ever get some prototypes to take home? I know a lot of (ex) Philips employees have some of the best CD-i stuff locked up in their private stash lol.

[segaatari25]

@HalfBlindGamer thans , yeah i got those 2 zelda games i traded dinkydana, um some other games do think you could tell me if there an good or not i got 3rd degree, space ace, TR-i no world order, Alien Gate, and lords of the rising sun, but it's in this long black box i dont know if that rare or not though.

[OldSkoolStudio]

omg, i love you! finally a honest review! thanks! the music and the level art are incredible and the levels are fun, exept for the bosses but yea, the controlls are a pain in the ass and the cutscenes are jus terrible T_T i never had any problems with the controlls tho, i just did it, and got used to it, and I kinda liked the cutscenes becouse I was about 8 years old and didnt understand english anyway =p

[HalfBlindGamer]

@OldSkoolStudio Thanks man, glad you liked it and great to hear from someone who agrees on these games.

[smartlamppost]

Frankly, I'll be on the lookout for these games simply for the fact that they're beautiful, they have cool music, they're not entirely linear, and they're PLATFORMERS!!!! Platformers on CD-I is totally welcome in my book, and these games look pretty solid.

[extremeeXrement1]

zeldas adventure was a great game

[SniperStorm7]

This would have been a good game if it had good controls, no animation, and it was not so difficult, and maybe if it was on the SNES. Great review, I really agree with you.

[AnthropoPhagus]

I agree with almost everything you've said in the video, I actually somewhat enjoyed playing the 2 games myself, sure the voice-acting and animation is horrid, but they're at least decent platformers.

I never did get my hands on Zelda's adventure though, at least i haven't been able to find it for less than 100 euros...

I'd be looking forward to a let's play of Zelda's adventure if you'd ever get your hands on it. If not, I might even try one myself if I ever find it

[HalfBlindGamer]

@AnthropoPhagus Thanks a lot! It's good to hear that someone really agrees haha. I hope to get my hands on Zelda's Adventure sometime, but back in the day I did play through it. Honestly, I think it's the worst of the three. It has some serious problems and design flaws in my opinion that just make it very tedious to play. When I do get it though, I'll be sure to LP it!

[bigoranget]

@HalfBlindGamer It's interesting that you find Zelda's adventure worst among the three Zelda CDi games. The popular opinion seems to be that the first two games are terrible and Zelda's Adventure is the best of the three.

Unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to play these three Zelda CDi games but I hope to give them a try some day and form an honest opinion.

Of all the reviews I have seen on these games, yours is by far the most open minded I have seen. Thank you for posting this.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@bigoranget Thanks for checking it out and glad you liked it :)

I understand that it's a rather odd opinion to say that Zelda's Adventure is the worste one. However, most opinions are based on initial reactions from people who have never played the games. Zelda's Adventure does look more like a traditional, top down, Zelda title. Being closer to the source (popular) gameplay gives it lots of plus points I guess. But it's tedious, confusing, boring and very dull and ugly in presentation I find.

[kairiXxchan]

the funny thing is I got nostaligia out of this cause these were the first zelda games I ever played cause my mom was stupid enough to buy a cdi when I was little..Thank god I was educated before it was too late.

[kloggeddrain]

"whatever i see i shal Devour!"

so i guess your a soccer mom....

[knaveofhearts1]

Thank you for telling the truth about these games! They aren't as bad as people make them out to be. If you don't compare them to other zelda games, they are quite ok. I actually enjoyed them when I was younger, once I got used to the controls. I also liked the music and backgrounds.

The games are on everyone's list of worst games ever... but I bet almost no one really played them. I can think of 100 games that are far worse than these.

[Aiolome]

You show that game with the Gekko in the intro, but did you review it yet? It looks good!

[HalfBlindGamer]

I did not review it (Gex on the 3DO) yet, but yeah I was thinking about it. It's a fun game, not really considered crap much though. But it'll be fun to review for sometime for sure!

[Aiolome]

@HalfBlindGamer Well, that would be a golden turd I take it? :)

[AlexDeLargo]

That was a really good review. Its pretty refreshing to find someone actually say something positive about the game (and who has actually played the game).

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thanks a lot man, glad you enjoyed it :)

[ikey1555]

I just found your channel, this was a great review.I really enjoy your thoughts on going into a game with a open mind and enjoying a game for what it is.Some of my favorite games are the most hated by most. I'm a big fan of alot of sega cd games.

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thanks a lot! It's always great to find likeminded people :)

The SEGA (or MEGA here) CD had some awesome stuff for sure! To bad the system is so overlooked, oh well their loss ;)

[frejden]

just heard about you,and i watchd some of your videos, they are so damn good that i just hade to suscribe!!amazing man!

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thank you very much! It's good to hear tha you enjoy them :) That just makes my day!

[sefaen]

I agree that this game isn't nearly as bad as people say it is. The background art and music are great (though I don't think they fit a Zelda title). Like you said, the real problem is that this is a Zelda game. The bar was set too high.

The cringe worthy animation and voice overs really should have been removed though.

Imagine if you would though, A Zelda game for the CDi done right. I am not sure if there is some way to design games for the CDi, but wouldn't that be awesome.

[HalfBlindGamer]

I think it would be really hard to make a game on CD-i that would satisfy the Zelda fans. The format isn't to great for games in general. It can't handle to big screens and because of the CD format it will always be a bit on the slow side when transfering through screens and loading whatever is on them.

[infantryhawk]

yes, you truly need to play these games before judging.

but I'm kinda disappointed in you- you insulted zeldas adventure without playing it :( its a great game if your patient.

[HalfBlindGamer]

Ah, I wasn't very clear there I guess. I have played and also completed Zelda's Adventure when it came out. My cousing bought it and should still have it, he just doesn't know where he put it exactly!

I just didn't like it, at first I really wanted to like it but the game seemed very poor to me.

[infantryhawk]

when it came out? that was 15 years ago.

maybe it deserves another try?

but many people hate it, yeah.

[cole91v]

I think a lot of people didn't like this game because of the controller issue. And most people probably forget that was the real issue.

Back then, convincing your parents to shell out even more money after the very expensive CDi/games was not an option.

My friend and I gave up on Zelda because of the controls, and stuck with Laser Lords. (which is dieing for a review by HBG).

[HalfBlindGamer]

Yeah, I remember first playing the Faces of Evil with the spoon controller and Wand of Gamelon with the Roller Controller, both just don't work. The joypads were pretty pricy and I doubt many people got one. I can totally see people get put off by the controls, especially with one of those horrible controllers that just don't work for games.

I'd love to do a review on Laser Lords, problem is that I only have a Dutch version at the moment (two even I think, stupid sellers with false info lol)

[smartlamppost]

Thanks for replying, HBG! I actually just got a CDI, and tried playing "Escape from Cyber City" and "Mutant Rampage"... yeah, Cyber City was impossible. Mutant Rampage was INCREDIBLY hard, with those flying enemies. :/ how do you kill them? It was fun for a while, though, I could never find a way to pause and quit during a mission. Oh well, thanks for the reviews! They're very imformative. Hotel Mario, here I come! Say, what number of Subcribers do you need to review Hotel Mario?

[infantryhawk]

i have lazer lords, and i honestly hate it.

not sure if id trade it yet though.

[soldier989]

Some good words about these games. Great review, put those people in their place saying its a terrible game.

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thanks man! Great to hear you liked it. I can't really stand close minded people I guess heh.

[ScrewAttackEurope]

I can get you a pirate copy of Zelda's Adventure if you want to play it Seb!

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thanks Larry, much appreciated. However, when I started doing video's I set a rule for myself to only cover games I owned the original copy off. It's sort of a way for me to encourage me to keep my collection growing. You know how such things go once you stray from such rules the first time ;)

BTW, there's something comming your way soon!

[ScrewAttackEurope]

Ooh, I await with anticipation :D

[HalfBlindGamer]

Haha, nice, let me know if it arives there savely. So, how'd you like this video and its errrr subject matter ;)?

[ScrewAttackEurope]

Will do :D

I though it was the most fair and well thought out review of the Link CD-i games I've ever seen. It's all to easy to scream "it sucks" without giving any valid reason as the AVGN has made it the world's whipping boy, like he did the 32X. So it's nice to see someone who stood their ground!

Then again the Dutch are always good at plugging leaks, aren't they? ^_-

[smartlamppost]

I agree; it annoys me that idiots on Game Spot give them 1 stars even though they never played them, and it's the same thing with hotel mario. I think the worst has to be Stuttering Craig and Handsome Tom: "Oh, I got an idea! Let's just remake that AVGN episode with none of the jokes"! Your review was simply great; I've got a cdi straight from ebay, and I'll look for these games; are there any real "redeeming qualities" I should know about? 5 stars! :D

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thank you very much man, good to hear you enjoyed it. Also, fun to see you getting into CD-i :) The best redeeming qualities are in the presentations (except the cut scenes). In Europe these games tend to be cheaper, and make sure you get an English copy. There are also Dutch, French and German versions of these games.

[HalfBlindGamer]

HA! Plugging leaks, nice one, but I guess it's true too haha. Thanks a lot man, glad you liked it :)

[JerryTerrifying]

It's nice to hear someone saying something nice about these games. If I had a CDi I'd give them a shot...but I don't...and probably won't any time soon.

[HalfBlindGamer]

Excuses! Maybe I should set you up, so you get something to play after Desert Bus ;)

[JerryTerrifying]

I definitely wouldn't say no to a free CDi player. But it'll be a long time before I'm done playing that Session of Desert Bus.

Now that I've got the final number I just need to schedule a day for my friends to come over for the driving. I'll bribe them with pizza and beer. :D

The final count is 344 miles but I'm going to go at least 360 since that's how many miles it takes to get one point and I want to have that accomplishment in my gaming career. XD

[Lorfarius]

Brilliant review. Its a sgame both games demand such a high price on ebay because it really stops people from giving them a second chance.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Lorfarius: Thanks man, and you're right, it is a shame. Over here you can get lucky and find these two games and Hotel Mario in stacks of CD-i stuff fairly often, the third Zelda game is harder to get however.

[lukemorse1]

Seb, That was absolutely awesome. Funny thing is I had the CD-i you gave me out yesterday and even though I still can't play it properly due to the lack of a digital video converter, I put in tetris and for 2 hours or so I just listened to the music, so wonderful and soothing, it was great. I'm going to have to send you some money if you have the time and willingness if you can find me a copy of the zelda games and hotel mario so that once I get this thing running right I can try them out.

[Bigtizzle420]

@lukemorse1 Yeah Seb is a bad mamma jamma. Your pretty bad ass yourself mr luke. Both of you guys keep up the good work. Hows the weather in japan these days luke?

[Bigtizzle420]

@lukemorse1 Oh and Btw wonder 3 looks awesome. Those 3 games look like a bunch of fun. Keep on rocking dudes

[HalfBlindGamer]

@lukemorse1: Thanks man, and that's awesome! That Tetris on CD-i has some great music indeed :) I hope you can find a solution for that problem soon. I'll keep an eye out for you for those games man, no problem. I think I still have a spare copy of Hotel Mario laying around, you're totally welcome to it.

[Crainzz]

Nice review man, and i would love to see you do a "let's play" of Zelda's Adventure if you can find it...or handle it.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Crainzz: Thanks! I'll do my best to find it for a reasonable price. I've completed it before together with my cousin (he owned it but kinda lost it...). It's not to hard, just really... barren, drape and slow!

[DlNKYDANA]

Very nice review!

[HalfBlindGamer]

@DlNKYDANA: Thanks a lot Dinky!

[SPac316]

Another good video Seb! Maybe I would give them a chance one of these days...

[HalfBlindGamer]

@SPac316: Would be cool if you could/would man! Although you do have to get trhough an initial barrier of control frustration, once you get the hang of it, they're alright. By no means top quality, but decent.

[SPac316]

Yeah. But I still feel that they are not REAL Zelda games. Anyway, I don't know when I would ever get a CD-i but it's not a top priority to me at the moment.

[JerryTerrifying]

Feeling that it's not real doesn't make it so. I FEEL that Ocarina of Time isn't really a Zelda game.

What about Oracle of Ages, seasons and The Minish Cap? Those were all developed by Capcom.

But the Cdi games are still definitely the worst in the series.

[HalfBlindGamer]

I'm not going to argue with you there, I feel the same way, they don't belong on the same line as all of the other Zelda games. You really need to think of them seperatly, expecting a Zelda game ruins them as soon as you start them up!

[theshak06]

That was a great open minded review, i saw AVGN destroy the Zelda games but you made them sound alittle more appealing. Oh did you finish you competition yet?

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thanks a lot man, and nope, the competition is still open ;)

[MissingNoFilms]

ah, the oh so infamous games that Nintendo will never admit to. I'd love to get my hands on all 3, as well as Hotel Mario, even if they aren't good.

I found Zelda's Adventure only once on eBay, and it was going for $200.

[HalfBlindGamer]

It's insane what they ask for that! Really crazy, not worth it at all. The game itself isn't even that rare (although it is a fair bit harder to come by then these two or Hotel Mario).

[Amisbro]

That my friend is the first review where I actually heard someone give the games a chance!

Full Disclosure: I did play the Zelda Gamelon game for the CD-i and I honestly thought it was a bit on the furstrating side because honestly I didn't know what to do. Thanks to this review I think if I had my dad's CD-i Machine I might actually try to give it a better chance

5/5 for sure dude!

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Amisbro: Thank's a lot! Glad you liked it, and it would be great if you could give it another chance for sure.

I will admit that when I first played the games I wasn't very thrilled with them either at first. But after investing some more time into them they grew on me a bit. The controls take them down for sure, but it is something I learned to get around over time.

[Amisbro]

If I could talk my dad into letting me have the CD-i Machine then definitely mate!

btw put me in the camp of one of the few people that probably really stood up and LIKED Zelda II for what it was. I do have a beef with the game but that will go into a retro review on my channel probably in a couple of days.

This was the first video I think I watched all the way through but I'll definitely start watching more soon

keep on keepin' on!

Later!

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Amisbro: Thanks again man, and will do for sure!

I liked Zelda II too, although not as much as the first one in general. It was still a great game though. Even though I never actually managed to beat it lol.

[AxiomofDiscord]

I have a hard time not judging a series by a standard across the whole series. I find my troubles with Resident Evil the most troubling... After playing RE4 Wii Edition the rest of the series no longer interests me even 5.

keep up the good work and go in peace my friend :)

Aberran

[HalfBlindGamer]

@AxiomofDiscord: Thanks a lot! Glad you liked it :)

[AxiomofDiscord]

I prefer Zelda's Adventure over these two ... Funny not sure why... its overhead how did that get allowed by Phillips. The Jumping itself is what makes the game seem impossible to me. If we are to talk Euros the equivalent in the states I have seen these go at would generally be about 50 and sometimes upwards to 80 its that silly over hear.

i would have loved to have a chance to redo these games most say why bother I say underneath they are solid and can be saved by a remake.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@AxiomofDiscord: I really don't like Zelda's Adventure much. It does have an overhead view, but the loading for every screen, the bland visual and lack of music really put me off. At least there's the voice acting to keep it interesting, a good laught is always only a few screens away at the most haha.

[AxiomofDiscord]

I don't like any of them all that well ... i guess Zelda's Adventure to me seems like a better game but yet even more broken than the other 2. So maybe in a way its better but I agree its even more riddled with problems.

You really gave me something to think about and I am unsure now of where I stand.

[HalfBlindGamer]

Haha, sorry about that ;)

Ah and why that game got allowed, I'm not really sure. But I guess it could be because these two didn't do to well and that there were a lot of yells that Zelda should have been an overhead game. The succes of A Link to the Past might have also helped.

[MaximumRD]

5***** and favourited! OK now I will watch it lol! Seriously I have seen and heard so much about these games I already know this video rocks!

[HalfBlindGamer]

LOL thanks Rob, you better give me your thoughts afterwards too though ;)

[MaximumRD]

Let's see, funny, entertaining and your review was fair. I truly believe there are a percentage of people who hear how bad these games are, how bad E.T. is on 2600 etc and then go into other forums, websites and start going on and on about how bad they are when they never actually even played them, or played them for 5 minutes just to SAY they played them, I agree one has to consider the platform they were created on, how to play the game properly and then give a fair opinion.

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thanks a lot man, it's great to hear you enjoyed it so much and that we are on the same level there :)

[Edgefox88]

have you seen the AVGN's review of these games. he goes into how thay only use 2 buttons, one to attack & one for everything else & he gets really angry & says it would really be nice if all that didn't have to be the same button.

[HalfBlindGamer]

I have seen the AVGN's video on them, I watch all his stuff ;) I do understand why he chose these games, but I also find it a shame that he had these. There's so much crap he could have been more angry at. I found him relativly mild on these games actually. Still good stuff though, but I don't see James as a real reviewer, but as a great film maker. He puts a comedic spin on reviewing games as his angry alterego. More parody then informative. He also got really ripped off on that CD-i!

[JayDee284]

are u an idiot these games suck and scar a great game series or so the music sucks AVGN forever

[smartlamppost]

Okay, wow, that may have been a little far, but seriously, you need to at least speel your words correctly... and use them in the context so that they form Sentences. Please, if you haven't anything nice (or smart) to say, then shut the hell up.

[JayDee284]

shut the hell up smart ass

[dave4shmups]

I love that redundancy poster, and the excuses one!! I definitely agree with you on the hand-drawn backgrounds, they do look beautiful. Great video!

[HalfBlindGamer]

@dave4shmups: Thanks a lot! Glad you liked it and yeah those backgrounds are really great. I wish I could get some of those originals and print them out, I really like their looks.

[kreeboy411]

Great open eyed review sir.

loved it.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@kreeboy411: Thank you very much good sir! Great to hear that you liked it!

[vinnieblacklodge]

you made this game actualy look as good as it is. ty i cant wait to actualy find a cd-i and get these ones in my collection !

[HalfBlindGamer]

@vinnieblacklodge: Awesome! Make sure you get a CD-i that comes with one of the actual gamepads and a DV cart. Sepertatly they can cost quite a bit. If possible, also check if the save function works, or rather if the unit can keep saved data after being shut down. Most units will stop supporting that nowadays, and it's a bit tricky to fix it.

[markvergeer]

Ouch - the cut scenes are so bad that they are actually quite nice in a surreal kind of way.

Nice review - what else is there to do when all your stuff is in moving boxes.

I recommend George Carlin's rant of 'Stuff' - excellent when preparing to move or in the actual process of moving.

5/5

[HalfBlindGamer]

@markvergeer: The cut scenes are really funny in an unintentional way (at least I think it was suposed to be taken seriously...). Most of it makes no sense at all and is sooooo badly drawn, animated and scripted...

I'll probably lay low for a while on YouTube now. Actually just got the keys, so there will be plenty to do outside of the internet for a while :(

Thanks a lot for watching/commenting!

[HalfBlindGamer]

@weirdproq: Great! Always cool to hear :)

[GarlyleWilds]

7:00 - LYNCH HIM.

Except not.

Also if you ever get your hands on Zelda's Adventure, I'd love to see an LP of it. Well, if you can stand it.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@GarlyleWilds: I'll be sure to if I get it, might have to edit all of the horrendous loading times out of it though and comment on it afterwards. Otherwise most of the LP will be me complaining about that lol.

[interghost]

Nice review mate. Ive played these on the CDi and I agree mostly with you. They are crappy games but compared to other CDi titles they are not too bad! I used to collect CDi games but sold the lot after not finding many games that were worth playing. I too never got Zeldas Quest as it was goinbg for arond £100 at the time I was collecting them ha ha and Im not paying that for any game! Cheers mate well done ;o)

[HalfBlindGamer]

@interghost: Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it. I only owned the Link game back in the day. My cousin had Zelda's Adventure, and I hope he can still find it sometime so I can show that off. But it's pretty awefull! Not worth anything near as much as people are asking for it.

[amurphy245]

4.00 is the weirdest shit i ever seen O_O

Great review,and its good to hear an open minded opinion about them,i think your right they shot themselves in the foot trying to tackle a zelda game.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@amurphy245: Haha, yeah there is some weird shit in those games. Those scenes are pretty hilarious.

[GamerBoyGU82]

I like the non-biased look at these games! good job

[HalfBlindGamer]

@GamerBoyGU82: Thanks! Glad you liked it!

[Chipsturs]

Never tried these games and i would love to one day, also thanks for the great review and for sharing your opinions.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Chipsturs: If I ever find some spares, I'll be sure to let you have a go. I'm sure you'd apreciate them too for what they are.

[SWAGshow]

Judging games on their own merits is something not a lot of people do anymore but I think you make a strong case for it. Thanks for the video.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@SWAGshow: Thanks SWAG! I like to stay objective where I can. Of course it's impossible to always do that, but I find it's important to just show a game on what it is, no matter other games in the series or past achievements of a developers. Especially in reviews that is important I think, unfortunatly 'rewards' make views rather subjective in the industry ;)

[kaniverjayz]

you make the game look good rofl.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@kaniverjayz: Haha, I just show it how it is for me ;)

[fallenangel130687]

really nice review and u told it exactly how i thought it shuld be told. for the time i think these games were great and i still love them now. i dont think the controls were that bad ive definatly played worse and on newer games! i loved the lets plays and i love this review. nice one seb

[HalfBlindGamer]

@fallenangel130687: Thank you very much! It's good to find someone with the same view on them. Frankly, I thought I would get hammered down as soon as I put this up lol.

[Jacesfaces]

It's good to see a different view point on these games.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Jacesfaces: Thanks! Glad you liked it :)

[chupapicosconchetuma]

I like you reviews, i see you think by yourself and not repeating the same shit that everybody says.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@mathowlett: Haha, yeah where's the challenge in going with the masses?

Thanks a lot man!

[TameFan]

wow i have never heard such a kind review of this game : )

[HalfBlindGamer]

I know haha, it makes it uniqeu ;)

[clays121]

The Stories of these games, have made for some of the best YouTube Poop ever. LOL!! Also Link: The Wand Of Gamalon was one of the first CDI game demos i ever saw in my area at my local Sears store, I thought the colors where great when i tried it, but the controls where super stiff, and cheap.

[HalfBlindGamer]

Haha, I remember when I played Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon for the first time. It was at an IMAX cinema and I played it a bit before the movie started. The demostand had that huge roller controller hooked up to it, seriously, you can't play with that thing! It was impossible.

[clays121]

Same don't have an IMAX near me :-( , and i remember having to use the TV style remote, hard to play with that thing as well lol!!

[clays121]

Opps, meant Shame not same lol!

[mathowlett]

I don't know why, but I find these games particularly charming. They're far from perfect, but for some reason, that adds to the character of them. The cartoon cutscenes are utter shit, but I agree, the music is very very nice indeed ! I just ignore the Zelda link (ho ho !!) and play them for what they are :-) Great video Seb !

[HalfBlindGamer]

@mathowlett: Thanks man! The music in this one is great. I want to rip it out sometime, but it's a bit of a hassle. I even tried contacting Tony Trippi to ask if he could sell the soundtracks of his music for the CD-i games (some real good stuff in there). But he said Philips had the rights and they didn't care for it.

[Sarato]

Nice to see a new point of view from someone who doesn't exactly compare them to the other Zelda games in the series. I look forward to hearing your opinion on Zelda's Adventure (if you ever get the hand on it, that is).

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Sarato: Thanks a lot man, glad you liked it. I hope I can show that one of sometime, but it's crazy expensive and really not worth it lol. My cousin had it, but he kind of lost it. I hope he can still find his copy so I can show it off.

[TanukiKGA]

The shield is nice, when it works! It seems to be a bit fidgety with what counts as blocked or not, but still, it was decent of them to give us a shield at least!

I think I can sum up my thoughts regarding the games in one sentence: if they hadn't been Zelda-games, they would've NEVER gotten as much hate has they have! They're not good by any means ( I am fond of the music though ), but they are not unplayable!

[HalfBlindGamer]

@TanukiKGA: You're right, being part of the Zelda games (sort of) made them worse in a way haha.

The shield works, but it takes some getting used to. After you stop moving it takes about a second for Link/Zelda to ready their shield, so it can block it. There's a little trick though, if you use your sword it will automaticly set the shield in the ready once the sword is retracted, which is a lot faster. So if you want to block, stop, attack and wait... I think I played these to much lol.

[TanukiKGA]

Maybe just a bit ;)

That was actually my main problem with the game, as far as I can remember that vid, the blocking. Oh, and the "not knowing what you can jump on". It had its problem, but Im positive that If I had given it enough time to get used to the controls, it really wouldn't have been THAT bad!

[fisken15]

Nice review. I have been watching on a CDI and I wonder if I sskould buy it.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@fisken15: Thanks man, and it really depends on the price. As I wrote in the video somewhere, do make sure you get on with a joypad. They're really overpriced if you need to buy them seperately.

Also make sure it has the Digital Video Cartridge and if possible test out the save function. Many systems will not have this anymore and it's a pain to replace the battery to fix this.

[fisken15]

The console I have been watching on has the video cartridge installed already. It comes with the controle that looks like a spoon.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@fisken15: That controller is pretty awefull for games. The touchpad is hard to steer precisely with and the buttons are all around it, which makes it hard to hold confortably. There are 2 gamepads which work decently well, one looks kind of a thick Genisis controller and the other like sort of a SNES controller.

[Dennoman2007]

Manmanman, dat werd tijd hoor Seb :p

'Bout time Sebby, this vid will be a delight. Just fixed up lunch, let's kick back and enjoy now :)

[Dennoman2007]

Finished it, great stuff :)

Nice jab towards GT too, lol. I remember them (or GameSpot, don't remember which one) doing a Fuzion Frenzy 2 review and they just used Google Images to get the logo at the start of it :') How I know this? Because it had OUR website watermark logo on it :')

Very awesome to see someone go against the crowd, they never really seemed like super bad games to me as well. Controls have to be a pain though.

[HalfBlindGamer]

@Dennoman2007: Bedankt/Thanks!

You're right, it was about time I took on one of the big ones ;)

It's really surprising to see how lazy some of the big names are sometimes when it comes to presentation and/or research. It's fun to make fun of the 'pro's' now and then for their shortcommings ;)

The control do stop these games for being really great unfortunatly. Such a shame!

[Logdotzip]

I remember watching both these playthroughs as you made them, was a good time!

Another great episode, as per usual.

[HalfBlindGamer]

Thanks a lot man! Glad you enjoyed this and the playthroughs :)