Zelda Games Are Highly Underated

Simple definitions; Highly is "in or to a high degree; extremely". So, I don't even need to show that Zelda games are accurately rated-- just that they aren't highly underrated. I'm going to start by briefly going over some reasons the Zelda games are not at all underrated, and then go over my opponent's arguments. FIRST- Zelda games are consistently ranked amongst the best games of all time. In fact, someone compiled dozens of lists of greatest games of all time, and weighted the results to get an average between all of the lists. The average list, between over 50 different lists, places Ocarina of Time as #1, and Link to the Past as #5 [1]. Making up 20% of the greatest games ever is no small feat. Other Zelda games also frequently are on these lists. SECOND- Zelda games are critically recognized upon release. It isn't just in retrospect-- the critical perception of Zelda games has always been positive. Ocarina of Time has a 99 on Metacritic [2]-- higher than any other game on the website. Majora's Mask received a 95, which, to put in perspective, is the same score that The Last of Us received. THIRD- Consumers recognize the quality of the Zelda games. The Zelda Games have sales that have reached over $74 billion as of 2011 (they have likely grown significantly since then) [3]. Calling one of the best selling video game series of all time "highly underrated" is a pretty big stretch. Now looking at my opponents arguments. She never demonstrates actual, widespread cases of gamers disregarding Zelda games because they have poor graphics. Personally, I've seen a few rather young gamers look down upon older games, but as a whole, I've never seen this phenomenon exist. Even non-nintendo gamers have respect for Zelda. Moreover, when looking just at the NES Zelda, some common criticisms seem fairly valid. Game critics today recognize that the early Zelda games, while good, aren't the masterpieces that were later achieved in games like Ocarina of Time-- Nintendo Life even calls the NES Zelda "rough around the edges", and gives it an 8 rather than a 9 or 10 [4]. Zelda truly became great AFTER the NES games came out. Regardless, I would like to see some more explanation on this argument in the next rounds. Now onto the argument about Majora's Mask. Today, Majora's Mask is pretty well loved, with an 89 for the 3DS remake on Metacritic [5]. I definitely wouldn't call that being "rated the worst". Moreover, Zelda fans themselves when discussing the topic consistently rank the game as one of the better ones in the series [6]. Majora's Mask really took a radical departure from the other Zelda games, so it's understandable that it isn't widely recognized as a classic like Ocarina of Time is. And ppeople have not left these games "at the back of the cupboards"-- Majora's Mask 3D is selling VERY well [7]. As for the last remark-- that people like violent games now-- I think this has always been true. Maybe with games like Call of Duty, it is becoming more regular, less creative, and more annualized, with games losing much of their creativity. But violent video games are not new. Look at games like Doom, or Mortal Kombat. Violent video games have been around longer than Zelda video games. [1] http://www.jjmccullough.com... [2] http://www.metacritic.com... [3] http://en.wikipedia.org... [4] http://www.nintendolife.com... [5] http://www.metacritic.com... [6] http://www.gamespot.com... [7] http://www.ign.com...