Hi r/Zelda, I have a question and I thought you could help me. My 11yo cousin asked me what Zelda she should start with and I'm unsure what to tell her. For context she just got a Switch, her first console ever and has very little experience with videogames, let alone RPGs. She sent me a text today asking me what game she should buy first.
My first thought was LADH but I worry about a few things:
I really want her to like Zelda games and she's at that age where she might be off-putted by the more "childish" appearance of the game.
Remake or not, it's an OG Zelda game. If you're stuck, you're stuck, there's no way around it. Since she is very inexperienced with RPGs, pretty young and not always focused, I worry she ends up too frustrated to enjoy it.
My second thought was BotW. I initially thought it would be too difficult for her, and LAHD would be better but at this point I don't know. Maybe the open world makes it less easy to be stuck?
She's not the first of my cousins I introduce to the LoZ franchise but it was somewhat easier with the 3DS or the Wii, with middle ground titles like Oot or TP, which had the linearity AND the cool more "mature" art direction (in quotes, I love all art styles). Switch games don't have this kind of in between. .
If you could give me advice, especially if you have or know kids around her age who play Zelda games, it'd be greatly appreciated. I just really want her to have a fun time. Thank you!
(Of note, I welcome other recommendations, but her mom will not buy digitally, so it cannot be a game only available on the Nintendo eShop).