Folks, the time is nearly upon us... a brand spankin' new Zelda adventure!  If this game is anything less than amazing, I think most of us will be very surprised. 

In honor of this occasion, I would like to jog a little bit down memory lane.  Now, of course you don't have to answer ANY of these, and yes we have had some of these questions before (even recently), but what the hell, can you really have enough Zelda?
Here we go...

a)What are your favorite Zelda boss battles?  (for fun, what do you think are the worst?)
b)Which supporting character is the coolest, and which the lamest?
c)Which opening sequence (start of the game) in which Zelda game did you enjoy the least and which the most?
d)What is the most annoying dungeon and which the best?
e)Which of Link's weapons/gadets is the worst and which the most kick-ass?
f)What's the best Easter Egg in the series?  What's the lamest Zelda moment that you can think of?
g)What's the weirdest thing in the series?
h)What's the ONE new thing you wish to be able to do in upcoming Zelda games? (keep it clean)
i)Feel free to share any thoughts...

note: the CD-i Zelda games do not count...so don't even bother mentioning those!  As for my answers:

a)OOT the boss against King Dodongo "Infernal Dinosaur" was awesome (even if not too hard   I also loved the fight against Ganon in Wind Waker, I thought it was great and the only challenging fight in the entire game! 

b)coolest = Malon,  one who deserves to die a painful death = Tingle,  typically lame = Zelda but sometimes she's cool (aka Sheik and Tetra), quite annoying = non-stop crying Goron in MM

c)I thought the opening sequence in Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask were great (although MM had a fairly long and challenging intro).  I still don't understand what's up with the old man who gives you a sword in the original Zelda?

d)I really didn't like the water dungeon in OOT.  I thought it was too repetitive.  I actually thought all the dungeons in Wind Waker were superb (yeah, a bit on the easy side)!

e)I always thought the raft and ladder in the original Zelda were pretty sweet, although it's too bad they have such limited use!  I wanted to see Link sail to far away lands...but no. 

f)Having an ENTIRE new quest (the "second quest") in the original Legend of Zelda came as a complete suprise (and damn was it hard)!  Also seeing those Chomp-Chomps in Link's Awakening was cool   On the other hand, I remember getting to some town in Zelda II with just a tiny bit of life left...and then I spoke to some villager who turned into a bat and killed me (and I was out of lives)...that bastard!

g)I really don't understand the Link's Awakening story.  Can someone explain it?

h)Link needs to get a slightly darker side... he's too goody-goody thus far!

cheers,

-avatar!

The best example I can think of to somewhat understand the Wind Fish concept would be to go watch The Matrix again (the whole 'Reality vs. Subconscious/Dreaming scheme)

Oh and for Lamest Zelda Moment I would say a tie between having to scour the oceans for Triforce shards in WW and..
Well, the ending for Ocarina of Time was not as compelling as it was hyped to be, imho.

Best Easter Egg? Maybe putting your name as ZELDA in Link's Awakening and getting to hear a variant of the Zelda theme.. I'll have to think some more.

a).  I have a lot of favorite bosses, but some of the coolest ones were Phanton Ganon (OoT), Odolwa (MM), and a handful from the 2D Zeldas whose names I don't remember (or ever knew).

b).  Coolest supporting character...?  Kafei (MM)!  That was a very involved sub-quest, and I loved figuring that one out the most.  Best character in the series for me is Ganondorf (OoT & WW).  I nearly bust one when I saw the screenshots of him in Twilight Princess, no homo.

c).  I like all the intros...  Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Twilight Princess.  Wind Waker has the least impressive of the 3D Zeldas... the title logo was on the screen the entire intro, which was lame.  I like how it came up during the last 10 or so seconds in LA, MM, and TP.

d).  Best dungeon is easy -- Rockvale (MM), followed by the Forest Temple (OoT).

e).  I'm not too fond of the Clawshot, but the Hookshot is still the coolest.

f).  Best easter egg....  Mario, Luigi, Peach, and co. pics in Hyrule Castle (OoT), the Mario mask that the Happy Mask Salesman has, Goombas and Cheep-Cheeps in the side-scrolling sections of LA along with a Bowser head statues that spit fire.

g).  The cows in Jabu Jabu's belly (OoTMQ), Tingle, the invasion of "them" at Romani's Ranch (MM), The inside of the moon (MM - which was weird in a good way).

h).  I think it would be cool to collect weapons, tunics, and sheilds amass and have a rudimentary stat system.

i).  I can't wait for Twilight Princess.

I'll just say the greatest moment I had with Zelda was burning that tree in Zelda 1 and nearly crapping myself upon seeing I was in "Level 8". I think I had cleared 1-3 and was looking for 4 at the time. Learning to kill blue Wizzrobes was a blast too...literally.

Also, I remember an old electronics show in Maryland where Zelda 3 was just coming out and there was a timed demo of the opening sequences (where you save Zelda). I think I watched that at least 20 times. That got me pretty excited for the game. Saving a princess at the START of a game was pretty innovative at the time...

My problem with this is my ridiculously bad memory. Everything (like absolutely everything in my life) sort of blends into one. But here goes -

a)Boss? Hmmm...I don't think I remember any except for the mask kid in Majora's Mask and that's probably only because I fought him many times for some reason.

b)I know the constant nudges bugged people but I loved Navi. Epona too. I felt a real connection with Epona. I'm not sure I felt much for any of the characters until the series went 3D.

c)Link's Awakening. For some reason, that game just opened perfectly for me. I loved the title music rendition too.

d)Best? No idea. Worst? I vaguely remember the last few in LttP annoying me because I felt the game had outstayed its welcome. It was about 6 dungeons too long. I too suffered at the hands of the OoT Water Dungeon but I got a huge amount of satisfaction getting through it, something I didn't get from the latter LttP dungeons.

e)Always loved the boomerang. Probably my fave item in the game.

f)Easter egg - not sure I ever found one. Lamest moment - about an hour after I got on that boat in Wind Waker until I eventually gave up on the game.

g)Weirdest thing, I don't know. Not being able to get all of the houses in that last GBA one. I can't even remember exactly what I'm talking about there but I remember something feeling really incomplete. Maybe the whole time concept of Majora's Mask which I thought was a real gamble but, personally, I loved it.

h)I'm not sure I need anything new in Zelda. More time travel would be cool but that's more old rather than anything new. I loved the seasons idea in Age of Seasons (was that what it was called?). Would love to see that in one of the 3D Zeldas.

i)I have no particular thoughts to share. I love the Zelda core but do think it has gone astray in the past. Really looking forward to the new one.

Favorite Boss = Holy f---, this takes a bit of thought. Facade in Link's Awakening was a cool idea. Having the room you are in be the boss itself was pretty cool. I also liked the Shadow Temple boss in OoT. That thing was bad-ass.

Best Supporting = Epona, by far. Loved that horse.
Worst Supporting = I want to say Tingle, but even he wasn't that bad.

Best Opening = Ocarina of Time's. So much majesty worked into an almost panoramic view of Hyrule

Most annoying dungeon = Does it even need to be asked? Water Temple in OoT was THE worst.

Best gadget = Call me insane, but I always loved the grappling hook more than anything else (even more than the much overblown hookshot, so back off). Totally ninjariffic!

Best Easter Egg = Inputting "Zelda" as the name in most games netted you some kind of cool thing, but I'd have to go with the various Nintendo references in Link's Awakening. Seeing Wart (Mario Bros. 2) and Yoshi was totally cool.

Weirdest Zelda thing = Majora's Mask was just a really bizarre game. A lot of my friends hated it with a passion, and I can see why, even if I totally disagree with them. I liked the game a lot.

One thing I'd like to do in Zelda = Zelda does a lot of things really well, and I can't really think of anything I'd really like to do in the next one aside from what is already presented.

My thoughts = I really like the darker atmosphere that this one is presenting. Zelda taking a slightly more mature turn is a great development.

If Navi or one of her ilk makes a return for this game, they really need to include the option to mute her 'flying' sound effect.

It drove me to extreme distraction/destruction

a)What are your favorite Zelda boss battles?  (for fun, what do you think are the worst?)

Ummm... memory not so good right now... maybe I'll edit this one in later.

b)Which supporting character is the coolest, and which the lamest?

Tingle for both answers, though the guy from SimCity is also pretty cool.

c)Which opening sequence (start of the game) in which Zelda game did you enjoy the least and which the most?

LttP.  The story setup in the attract demo has fantastic music and gets you pumped up and the urgency keeps flowing once you get control.

d)What is the most annoying dungeon and which the best?

The most annoying are the two secret dungeons in the GBC games.  The best?  Take your pick from Lttp or any of the first six from OOT.

e)Which of Link's weapons/gadets is the worst and which the most kick-ass?

I'd say Deku nuts are pretty lame.  The bow is the most kick-ass, especially in OOT and MM (Octorok shooting is too fun).

f)What's the best Easter Egg in the series?  What's the lamest Zelda moment that you can think of?

Best easter egg: all the Nintendo references in LA.  Lamest moment: realizing there's no freaking way to do Zelda 1 without either (a) burning every damn bush in the game or (b) using a strategy guide. 

g)What's the weirdest thing in the series?

People's refusal to give Four Swords Adventures' single-player mode its due.  Sure, Nintendo dropped the ball with the connectivity, but the single-player mode still rocked.

h)What's the ONE new thing you wish to be able to do in upcoming Zelda games? (keep it clean)

Tingle target practice.

i)Feel free to share any thoughts...

Buy Four Swords Adventures.  It's like Zelda VR missions, and it's fun.

All I remember about Four Swords was the afterthought mini-game put into the GBA version of Link's Awakening, then seeing Nintendo releasing a 16-bit looking game of it as a poster child for their connectivity gimmick at the price of a full $50 game. I don't think it was the right answer for Halo 2 at the time...

Think for $20 (where it is now), I might give it a shot eventually, but it's one of the most bizarre releases ever released by any company, IMO.

The red candle is your friend. After finding level 8 in the middle of nowhere, I couldn't wait to get to doing some more deforestation.

I beat the first quest by myself, but the second I think I used the Nintendo Power guide for help. I actually forget if I beat it or not.

Bearing in mind I've not played Four Swords, Minish, or either Oracle, let's go.

A. Best: Helmasaur King (Z3), Ganon (Ocarina), Odolwa (Majora) and most especially Molgera (WW) stand out for me. Worst: Hmm...Thunderbird (Z2), Viterous (Z3) Evil Eagle (LA) and Goht (Majora) were all supremely annoying.

B. Best: Bowwow was pretty fun. I also think Medli was button-cute. Worst: TINGLE.

C. Best: Link to the Past. Simple & elegant. Worst: Wind Waker. Mainly because I saw the opening while letting the game sit at the start and had to sit through the same slow-ass intro when I actually started.

D. Best: Turtle Rock (LA) is a cool stumper. Fire Temple (Ocarina) is also nice. But Blind's Dungeon is probably my personal fave. Worst: Can't stand Turtle Rock (Z3), ironically or Great Bay (Majora). Great Temple (Z2) is a special kind of hell, too.

E. Best: Anything that makes him dash. Worst: Damn Candle (Z1)...all the time, running into the flame. Argh

F. Coolest: Stealing in Z4. Worst: Tingle Tuner (WW). Why would I WANT Tingle with me all the time?

G. Toilet Paper Man or Gypsy-Dancin' Mask, both from Majora.

H. Twin Sword Usage, a la Ganondorf (WW).

I. Most amusing moment is the Ironknuckle who temporarily forgets his weapon (Ocarina). Cute Link > Mature Link. Bring on Phantom Hourglass!

P.S. regarding LA:
Ultimately, what you get from the story relies on how much you believe is actually happening. Was there really a Koholint (an anagram, mind you, of Link and Hoot - hence the owl), or did he dream the whole thing up? It's open to interpretation. Thematically it's about a stagnant, 'drifting' experience vs peering into the unknown.

Haha! Sad to say that at this moment, absolutely NO answers come to mind. Which is funny considering how much I really love the Zelda series. I guess I just never replayed them enough to form an opinion...after all, almost every time you play a dungeon or fight a boss for the first time, you think it's hard as hell.

I guess for the dungeon thing, I'd have to say level 4 (I think it was level 4...the green castle where you get the raft) in quest 2 of the original Zelda. I had to use a guide to realize that there were invisible passageways that you had to push against the wall in order to find. And one such passageway was just above the triforce room...If you didn't know that and had to come back to get the secret item AFTER having already claimed the triforce, I swear there was NO way to escape the castle without being forced to reset or die.

Tingle was annoying, but Navi kind of got on my nerves after awhile, too. While I appreciate the hints she gave when you returned to the game (which was good because it would often be a long time between my game sessions), sometimes it felt like the game makers thought the players would be too stupid and required hints at every step of the way.

And wow, I never knew there were so many Easter eggs in OoT and LA! I'm going to have to play LA again! I loved that game, played it at least twice through, and I don't remember seeing those Mario references. Never knew the mask guy had a Mario mask, either! I'm going to have to try out that "Zelda" name trick, too...

And I agree with Xlord: Four Swords is great fun, although I really didn't like the GC version's use of the Gameboys. Because the GBs have no backlit screens, that thing was HELL to see where you were going.

I have no real thoughts about what I want more of in the next Zelda. I agree with others that the darker bent is interesting. I think from the beginning of the 3D Zelda series, Zelda has been going dark (Wind Waker excepted). In OoT, he's rudely kicked out of the life he's known and has to start fighting enemies as a child; MM, he has 3 days to save the world and has to keep replaying them to get different things to happen (reminds me of that new series that just started tonight/last night...Day Break, I think it is). Can't wait to play TP.

Also regarding the story of LA, I agree with Sonic's description. It's the usual "was this real, or wasn't it?" And while you get the feeling it was all a dream, there are also some things at the ending that suggest it wasn't.

And talking about GB Zeldas, I really should finish Oracle of Seasons. Great, I think I"m going to have to start with Ages again because I forgot what the heck is going on. And what were the secret dungeons in there?

What's really good with all this Tingle hate!  Granted he is a little weird and fruity, but I like him.

Also, this is the upteenth time I heard someone fully endorse Four Swords' single-player.  I'm motivated to go try it out.  I bought the game the day it was released and me and friend played the multiplayer but gave up after a while.

And what are these secret dungeons in OoS and OoA?  I played both games twice, linked.  OoS to OoA and then OoA to OoS, so I probably played the secret dungeons but didn't know they were secret?

Anyways, you guys are bring up some fond memories that didn't come to mind when I posted before!

Oh, you would probably know them if you played them since they were completely optional and hard as freaking hell.  IIRC, you have to beat both games using the same link file you started on the first game, and then you will get one of two secret dungeons depending on which game you played first.  You can replay in the reverse order to get the other one.

I vaguely remember.  Are you talking about the Hero's Cave maybe?  Do you remember the name to either of the secret dungeons?

If I didn't do them, then I'll have to fire up OoS again and find it.  Then this would be a great excuse to play through both again (OoS then OoA) to finish that secret dungeon too.

Hero's Cave... that might be right.  Going just off of memory, I think they're both called that, but the dungeons are actually different in each game.

Yeah, they're both called Hero's Cave. The Ages one has particularly brutal puzzles, but the Seasons one requires some incredibly annoying manipulation of the Boomerang. The only thing more annoying was horseback archery in OoT.

a)What are your favorite Zelda boss battles?

Anything Twinrova. I loved shoving their magic back up their butts in OoT, and the Oracles battles were fun as well.  Also loved the final Ganon battles in OoT. I was ambivalent towards Navi throughout the game, but shed a tear when she stuck with me against Final!Ganon. Zelda pitching in was also pretty nifty.

Oh, I should also mention fighting the Light World bosses again in the Dark World in LttP. I loved the new twists they threw in.

b)Which supporting character is the coolest, and which the lamest?

Zelda/Sheik is the coolest. Girl needs her own game, stat! Truth be told, I thought Zelda's Adventure was pretty decent...

c)Which opening sequence (start of the game) in which Zelda game did you enjoy the least and which the most?

OoT and Link's Awakening had great openings, but I agree that LttP really ramped up the tension early on.

d)What is the most annoying dungeon and which the best?

Water Temple as most annoying. No explanation necessary, I think.

e)Which of Link's weapons/gadets is the worst and which the most kick-ass?

I'm quite fond of the Roc's Cape. Manual jumping in Zelda was surprisingly fun!

f)What's the best Easter Egg in the series?  What's the lamest Zelda moment that you can think of?

Seeing Mario and Luigi in Link's Awakening was a neat treat.

g)What's the weirdest thing in the series?

The chicken thing.

h)What's the ONE new thing you wish to be able to do in upcoming Zelda games? (keep it clean)

Play as Sheik.