Four Zelda games in 48 hours
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Jan 12th 2008 at 11:45AM }
We've all, at some point, had a game that we decided not to put down until the closing credits. Whether you uncompromisingly soldiered on through a Warcraft III campaign, or decided to topple Bowser before turning in for the day, we're all familiar with marathon gaming. However, a small gathering of Zelda enthusiasts are attempting a seemingly impossible gauntlet of non-stop dungeon raiding -- all four 3D Zelda games (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess) in just 48 hours.
That's four water temples, three Ganondorf confrontations, and a whole mess of heart containers, stretched over a two day period. With nearly thirty hours to go, the CameronBanga.com team have already bested Ocarina of Time, and are currently trudging through the most tedious of all the Zelda titles, Majora's Mask. We can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night than watching these goons sink into sweet, Hyrulian madness via their live webstream -- but then again, we're what most camp counselors would call "indoor kids".
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Triforceowner @ Jan 12th 2008 11:48AM
Someone hammered out the majority of Majora's Mask in one set of three days (game days), I thought.
Roto13 @ Jan 12th 2008 12:02PM
You know, without the time limit and save system, I think Majora's Mask would have been better received.
rockintom @ Jan 12th 2008 12:15PM
Am I the *only* person who likes Majora's Mask better? I've always thought it was a lot more fun than OOT, though obviously a lot less epic. I guess it's my huge love for anything time-travel related.
Roto13 @ Jan 12th 2008 12:33PM
I really like Majoras Mask, too. Not to the extent of Ocarina of Time, but it's still a great game in my eyes.
Tuatara @ Jan 12th 2008 12:42PM
You aren't the only one. I prefer Majora's Mask to Ocarina of Time. I loved playing as the Zora, and the constant strain of 3 days...3 days...3 days... was bad ass too.
Not to mention the batshit crazy mask guy who hung out under the clock tower. He needs to be in Brawl.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jan 12th 2008 12:55PM
i liked majora's mask as a whole, but i hated a lot of the stuff i did resetting every time i reset the time. made me feel like i ended up accomplishing nothing.
James @ Jan 12th 2008 12:55PM
I've still got to play MM. I've played, loved and beaten all other Zelda games. Needs a VC release.
jasoncooper @ Jan 12th 2008 3:04PM
I was goonna comment on this post to defend Majora's Mask, but I am glad to see the job has been done for me. Majora was genius in my view, and would live to play a sequel or similar type of game, Zelda or otherwise.
Mr Khan @ Jan 12th 2008 2:43PM
Majora's Mask was probably the best-populated Zelda game in terms of NPC's, and the game was a completionist's dream come true
It's a real discontinuity from OoT -> Windwaker, but awesome enough in its own right
Skippy @ Jan 12th 2008 3:03PM
I'm the dissenter in this argument: Majora's Mask was great, Wind Waker was just okay. WW was too short (needs more dungeons), far too easy, and the sailing grew tiresome after about ten hours. MM suffered from a lack of dungeons, but it had the cool transformation masks and time-travel aspect. It's gained a poor reputation because it was weird and came out right after OoT. Let's face it: any Zelda game that came out after OoT was probably going to suffer backlash. I'm not sure what's up with the TP hate, though: that game was solid.
bm @ Jan 12th 2008 3:32PM
"I'm not sure what's up with the TP hate, though:"
Bitter PS3/360 fanboys, that's what's up.
And yes, MM was awesome. In fact, Griffin McElroy, I don't know why on earth you would use the words "trudging" and "tedious" in the same sentence as it.
Trickob @ Jan 12th 2008 3:39PM
first of all, i loved majora's mask too but i just wanted to point something out to rockinton and skippy who mentioned MM's time-travel aspect:
doesn't OoT stand for Ocarina of "TIME"?? i think time travel played a minor part in that game as well. just thought i'd mention that ;)
Spiza @ Jan 12th 2008 5:11PM
I also loved MM, but I'll admit its replay value was hurt (imo) by the clock system. The first play through was better for MM over OoT, but I've played OoT several times through, and only MM once. Couldn't finish a second run through.
Now the game that sucked on that list was Wind Waker. Only Zelda game I've played that I didn't get all the extras. I haven't played the handheld games because I hate small screens. VC gameboy games pls.
Noshino @ Jan 12th 2008 8:00PM
actually, now that many are mentioning, I also think that Majora's was MUCH better than OoT.
I liked many zelda games, especially Oracle of Seasons/Ages, Link's awakening, and Majora's mask
the story was much different and darker than previous installments, the timeline of the game was something not seen before, I mean, damn, having to reset every 3 days? Also, it was MUCH more challenging than OoT...
I remember that sometimes I had to wait a while to accomplish certain quests, and sometimes I would forget and get late to the place...and having to do it all over again...
There needs to be another Zelda game like this one, Wind Waker was better than OoT, but not than Majora's mask, and TP wasn't a la par with neither Wind Waker or Majora's Mask =(
samfish @ Jan 13th 2008 12:05AM
I enjoyed Majora's Mask, but it was by far my least favorite of all the Zelda games. Constantly traveling back in time and having to wait for certain events and such just felt tedious to me.
Wind Waker would have been the best if it weren't for that damn fetch quest at the end. Those should've been dungeons.
I still have yet to play a game that compares to WW when you first enter the frozen Hyrule castle, too. That was one of those rare times a game sent shivers up my spine.
I also liked it because it was a clear continuation of Ocarina. Majora was, too, but it didn't further the story the way Wind Waker did.
...and Twilight Princess was just it's own damn game. That's where I felt it failed. I've heard people say it's the other time line from Ocarina, but I don't really buy that. It did nothing to connect the two games together, so there's no reason to believe it, in my opinion.
Roto13 @ Jan 13th 2008 12:26AM
Bah. People complain about Twilight Princess for so many random reasons and a lot of them contradict each other.
Geist @ Jan 13th 2008 1:29PM
I hate TP cause you had to press 'A' to read the signs. I mean, what is this, the 90s?
Oh Vlad Cole, you were such a tool.
Anyway, so far the only Zelda I've been disappointed in was...hrm...maybe Phantom Hourglass? And by disappointed, I mean it didn't have the same awesome epicness that the other titles did; it was still fun though.
Chris @ Jan 12th 2008 12:12PM
hm. they're having tech difficulties. probably cause of the amount of people that've just flocked to their site cause of this article. Way to go joystiq.
jimy @ Jan 12th 2008 12:13PM
it has also been posted to digg and other sites. i just wanna watch kids play some damn video games.
Dustin @ Jan 12th 2008 12:19PM
Hm, keeps crashing my computer at work. I'll have to tune in later this evening, then.
Does anyone think they'll finish them all within their time frame?
Hate to be a downer, but I'm predicting they'll only get about half-way through Twilight Princess.
Hope they prove me wrong!
Cameron Banga @ Jan 12th 2008 12:20PM
Having problems with our webcasting feed. Working on it, sorry for the inconvenience.
Please feel free to check back later, we're sorry we have this problem.
T3H WICKERMAN (FDF) @ Jan 12th 2008 12:21PM
Pretty cool. I liked Majoras Mask but its not as good as Ocarina imo. They havent really were not able to capture that epic feel again til Twilight. I like they way both games made me feel like I was in a race against gannondorf that would culminate in an awesome showdown. They might as well do the NES ones as well. The first is still my favorite.
playwhutyalike (kinda digs Manhunt 2) @ Jan 12th 2008 12:28PM
That water temple in OOT is a real bitch. Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick....
playwhutyalike (kinda digs Manhunt 2) @ Jan 12th 2008 12:30PM
I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jan 12th 2008 12:57PM
yeah it is, when i first got there it pissed me off to the point where i didn't pick the game up again for a whole year. Guess i got a whole lot smarter in a year cause i cruised through thta and the rest of the game oddly.
playwhutyalike (kinda digs Manhunt 2) @ Jan 12th 2008 1:10PM
Yeah, I hear you there. I put it down for a while too. Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down.
MN Guy @ Jan 12th 2008 3:31PM
The water temple made me abandon OOT for 7 years before going back and finishing it 3 years ago. That is the truth. I actually skipped Majora's and Wind Waker because of the Water Temple. I didn't buy a Gamecube (until I got one used for $30 towards the end of its cycle) because of the water temple.
I occasionally get nightmares of standing on a platform with some dumbass eye in front of me that opens a door when I shoot it with an arrow but I can't get to the door in time before it closes. I clearly needed a longer hookshot to get in there faster but can't find the damn big chest no matter how many times I repeatedly change the water levels. AAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!
This just ruined my day. Thanks for bringing up the Water Dungeon you frigin a-holes.
Spiza @ Jan 12th 2008 5:16PM
That just shows how dumb gamers are these days. I hate when gamers complain about a game being too hard. Go play my little pony or something then. The Mario Brothers game on the NES are harder than the water temple (if you don't use warps).
playwhutyalike (kinda digs Manhunt 2) @ Jan 12th 2008 6:55PM
Thanks for your contribution to the thread Spiza. Now do humankind a favor and cut your nuts off.
Rob @ Jan 12th 2008 8:42PM
I liked the water temple in the master quest that came with WW. That was hard. And the spirit temple. That game was just all round harder, and all the better for it. But if you're not a fan of the water temples, it would make you break down.
playwhutyalike (kinda digs Manhunt 2) @ Jan 12th 2008 9:23PM
I don't think they are impossibly difficult to beat, I just think they are a big pain in the ass. I can just imagine the creators of the game laughing while designing those levels. Anytime I've played those levels I kept thinking, "When is this shit going to end?" No big deal though. Oops, threw up in my mouth a little bit again.
samfish @ Jan 12th 2008 11:57PM
"I clearly needed a longer hookshot to get in there faster but can't find the damn big chest no matter how many times I repeatedly change the water levels. AAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!"
That's what we have the internet and FAQs for. Swallow your pride and cheat, man!
That said, it's always fun to mention the Water Temple to just about anyone because the reaction is always the same: "I HATE THE FUCKING WATER TEMPLE!"
Hatred for the Water Temple brings gamers of all stripes together.
...except for the real rabid fanboys, at least. But they don't count, anyway.
bender @ Jan 13th 2008 12:27AM
Oh c'mon, the Water Temple wasn't that bad was it? I mean I don't think I had too much trouble beating it when I was like 7. Except with that block behind the chest with the longshot that took be forever to notice.
Nigeria @ Jan 12th 2008 12:31PM
Saturday news is the best news.
Tamer Brad @ Jan 12th 2008 12:35PM
"With nearly thirty hours to go, the CameronBanga.com team have already bested Ocarina of Time, and are currently trudging through the most tedious of all the Zelda titles, Majora's Mask."
Sorry, but to say Majora's Mask is more tedious than WW and TP is pretty silly. And I hated MM when I first played it at 12 years old, but I loved it later.
Dopple Boppler @ Jan 12th 2008 12:38PM
Outside of the Triforce shard hunt I didn't think any part of Windwaker was tedious. Then again I loved the sailing aspect. I guess I'm just a freak.
Tamer Brad @ Jan 12th 2008 12:40PM
Don't get me wrong, I thought WW was great. Just sailing around was tedious sometimes.
Actually, Phantom Hourglass is the most tedious Zelda, never mind.
aka Prof Chaos @ Jan 12th 2008 12:40PM
If you're going to do something like this, at least play on a better TV. Marathon gaming requires something a little bigger (I'm looking at you PC gamers!!) I kid, I kid!
DCBlack @ Jan 12th 2008 12:42PM
I don't know if they can be happy about finishing one in 18 hours if they're looking to accomplish this. They got some serious time to make up.
Dopple Boppler @ Jan 12th 2008 1:02PM
Windwaker's significantly shorter than Ocarina and Twilight. If you know what you're doing, you can definitely do it in under 10 hours.
hegemonyhog @ Jan 12th 2008 12:44PM
Could they actually focus on the TV? I can barely see what they're playing because some dude's head is taking up a quarter of the screen.
DCBlack @ Jan 12th 2008 12:48PM
I just checked their blog and are they seriously asking for PayPal donations for their pizza fund? Not to hate, but here's an idea fellas: if you're a bunch of starving college kids as you claim, then maybe you should be spending the weekend working and making money rather than parked in front of a screen playing old games.
(note: I understand that is not fun. Welcome to reality)
Luke @ Jan 12th 2008 2:04PM
They are now taking any further donations and giving it to Child's Play.
DCBlack @ Jan 13th 2008 12:05AM
Well that's good then, I guess. Again I'm not trying to hate. If I could get free pizza money for staying up 48 hours playing video games I would so do it.
Hmm, the wheels begin turning...
Brian Fantana @ Jan 12th 2008 12:50PM
Twilight Princess sucked balls. It was so boring, I only made it half way through. And isn't TP shorter than the rest?
Undead Priest @ Jan 12th 2008 3:03PM
Twilight Princess is actually the longest title.
Mr Khan @ Jan 12th 2008 4:27PM
"and i only made it halfway through"
That might be why you think it's shorter than the rest...
...Jan... @ Jan 12th 2008 12:58PM
- Wow, 48 hours eh? It took me 50 hours to beat Twilight...but I guess I'm more of the 100% explorer no guide type. They're probably taking all the shorcuts and memorized everything.
- Hopefully they'll put up a downloadable file later. I want to watch it from the beginning.
waynski1457 @ Jan 13th 2008 12:54AM
you and me both. i could watch that for a good long while.
Jack @ Jan 12th 2008 12:59PM
A few of my friends and I have an annual tradition of playing through Ocarina of Time in a day. After a few years of doing this, we all usually clear it at a leisured pace between eight and ten hours, though the first few years were mentally daunting. We still do this because it's fun, whereas this 48 hours of Zelda sounds more like pain.