The Handhelds: Do you prefer your sword on A or B?

[Emhave]

Link's Awakening, the Oracle games and The Minish Cap had you to use your sword as an item from your inventory, meaning that you equip your sword with either the A or B button. The game automatically sets your sword to B when you get it, as if the game wants you to use the B button for it. The sword is always on B in the other Zelda games, so I see why. However, I prefer to have my sword on A when playing the handhelds. There are actually a few advantages and disadvantages with both choices:

A is the action button that you use to interact with NPC's, and if you miss NPC's while trying to talk to them, you'll just swing your sword. If your sword is on B, you might have items like bombs or seeds on A while doing this, meaning that if you miss the NPC's while trying talk to them, you'll just waste a bomb or a seed. Before you ask, yes, missing an NPC while trying to talk to him/her happens to me all the time.
While you're underwater, you can only use items with the B button, because you're swimming with A. If there are enemies in the water, you want to have your sword at B so you can kill them. However, with the Mermaid Suit in Oracle of Ages, you swim with the d-pad and dive/ascend with B, meaning that it's switched around, and you can only use A.

I think A is the best button to use because it's got more advantages and less disadvantages than the B button, and you can just easily switch your sword to B whenever you are underwater without the Mermaid Suit. Sure, if you use B for your sword, you can just switch it to A whenever you're underwater with the Mermaid Suit. However, switching the sword to A everytime you are talking to an NPC... yeah, you see where I'm getting at. Preventing bombs and seeds from being at the A button every time you're talking to an NPC is also pretty hard to remember.

A button all the way.

[JuicieJ]

B. Definitely B. I grew up playing games where B was the attack button, so it just doesn't feel right to use the sword with A. It's a brain thing. XD

[balloondude2]

I've always used the B button, so like JuicieJ, it's a brain thing. However, I would like to point out that Link's Awakening defaults your sword to A (or rather defaults your shield to B, leaving A for your sword).

[JuicieJ]

I've always used the B button, so like JuicieJ, it's a brain thing. However, I would like to point out that Link's Awakening defaults your sword to A (or rather defaults your shield to B, leaving A for your sword).

Yup, LA tried to pull a switcheroo on me, but I WOULDN'T HAVE THAT! TAKE THAT, GAME DEVELOPERS!! >=D

[Emhave]

I made this thread knowing that most, if not everyone else, would pick B. I was still curious to see what you would think about using A, and I wanted to share my own thoughts. XD

[SpaghettiWeegee]

Personally speaking, B on a two-button controller layout is, like, "the" attack button. B is strong and closer to the center of the handheld, meaning it's sturdier. B makes Kirby suck, Mario run, MegaMan shoot, and all that jazz. Link needs to have strength in his attacks, and that's why the sword goes to B.

[JuicieJ]

Personally speaking, B on a two-button controller layout is, like, "the" attack button. B is strong and closer to the center of the handheld, meaning it's sturdier. B makes Kirby suck, Mario run, MegaMan shoot, and all that jazz. Link needs to have strength in his attacks, and that's why the sword goes to B.

???

B makes Mario run? Since when?

[kram1032]

Hmm...
I'm not entirely sure anymore but I think I used to switch places a lot.
Maaaybe there was a slight preference for B but overally, I just put it where I needed it. (Or where the less useful item at a given time was)

[zelda4eva]

I prefer it on the B button. It feels more natural that. The reasoning behind that is probably because the first Zelda game i played was OOT, which had it on B. On the GBA games I always had it set to that. Having the sword on A kind of confuses me when I play the Oracle games or Link's Awakening

[Raxit]

I'm far too used to having the attack button on B for all non-PC games. And for Minish cap I always have the sword on the B button. Sure, it's more practical to have it on a in Minish cap's case, but it's less practical to spend your time getting used to a button setup that is extremely rare for handheld RPG games anyway.

I also spend a load of time playing MM growing up, so that my be a reason behind my preference for B. Also, B seems less passive to me. It seems like an aggressive character. Don't know why.