To be honest, I'm a 3D Zelda h8r. I just find them long-winded and not fun. The 2D games, however, are among the finest games ever created, but when you think about it, only one of them was item-title-based, The Minish Cap. That was one fantastic, too. Ok, they all are. To answer the question, however, I think focusing on one item is a great storytelling convention. It sounds like the title of a pulp novel, almost, and makes the games seem almost episodic (albeit long episodes). I like episodic, therefore, I like the titles.

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Twilight Princess?
Unless a princess is now an item?

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lazy? maybe...
but the way the story played out was still great so i don't mind.

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I love it when they name the game after a particular item, it gets the player's mind going at the e3 announcement.

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I agree with #1 the 3D ones are OK but I will always love the 2D ones more. I think the naming scheme that they have been using is great. It kinda lets you know a little about the game. It's better than some games where all they do is add a number after the title.

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I agree with #1 the 3D ones are OK but I will always love the 2D ones more. I think the naming scheme that they have been using is great. It kinda lets you know a little about the game. It's better than some games where all they do is add a number after the title.

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i agree with Metroider4, i think the title is a good way of centering it around the main idea and gives the gamer an idea of what to look out for. i remember hearing the name 'twilight princess' and wondering if it was zelda or who else it could be! besides, what would you call Ocarina Of Time.. besides that?..

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Well I'll stand up for 3D. I loved 2D back in the day (Lttp, Link's Awakening) and thought I'd love Minish Cap when I recently bought it. But to be honest, after the 3D titles, I thought Minish Cap was a boring game completely devoid of atmosphere. And now I'm frightened to go back and play other 2D Zeldas for fear they'll be tainted too.

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For the most part I tend to prefer the 2D games, but I didn't like the original, nor did I like Link's Awakening or either of the Oracle games. I guess that means I prefer A Link To the Past, The Adventure of Link, and The Minish Cap, but not the rest of the 2D games.

While I agree with the convention of adding something to the name of the title (it's much prettier than "The Legend of Zelda XIII"), I don't think it always needs to be an item, as long as they can keep it original.

People who make fangames, keep in mind that the titles you tend to use such as "Link's Story", "Revenge of Ganondorf", and "Fight for Hyrule" don't count as original, they just seem stupid and contrived.

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You're all wrong. Adventure of Link is clearly the best in the series.

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[[[[the first one didn't even have a subtitle, and it's still the best one.]]]]

I disagree. The best one is A Link to the Past. And a link to the past is not an item.

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I am a fan of the 2d zeldas, loving the titles for Gameboy, GB Color, and GBA, and I look forward to a Zelda title on the DS because they've kept the gameplay consistent in all the handheld zeldas and each one has a nice blend of classic items, new items, and new items that do something similar to older items (Minish cap, frinstance, was just a way to get to certain otherwise-isolated spots and solve certain puzzles, like some items in the Gameboy Color "Oracle of..." titles).

They could call it Legend of Zelda: Abuse of the Franchise, and if had that classic gameplay I'd buy it and play it and love it.

I wouldn't play it all the way through, mind. Zelda games, fun as they may be, often hit a point about halfway to three quarters of the way through where the fun has turned to frustration and I stop playing them. so as long as the first half of it is good, i'll play it.

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I'm also more of a fan of the 2D zelda games(which is why PH is getting me hard) rather than the 3D ones...

As for a subtitle/item thingy... Well, as long as it doesn't start getting silly. Phantom hourglass - fine. Ocarina of time - cool. Once we start seeing "Triangle of Underwear Elastic" (a magical triangle that allows Link to control underwear elastic)... then we know theyre out of ideas.

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Well, i don't think basing a story around an item is a tired convention. If the story surrounding it is solid, it's a fine way to give the adventurer an impetus for exploration.

Campbell's writings on modern myths, which have been used extensively in western culture, support the idea of the 'chalice', or object of the hero's quest. Just because it's been used a lot doesn't mean that it can't be implemented in a fun, original, engaging way.

But one limitation of the Zelda games that i do think needs to go is the lack of speech in the characters. Technology has been an excuse until now...i'd like to see Link say more than just "Ya...Ya....HeeeYAAAAAA!"

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I'm simply furious that it's stylus based.

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Sounds like Metroid Prime 2

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