The Legend of Zelda is Awesome

So a lot has happened and I have obviously not updated this blog since its inception back in July.  But that is the nature of my Random interests.  Apparently blogging was one of them.  So I am now back to being randomly interested in blogging, and I have done a lot over the past few months, I hope to be updating the blog here a few times.  Though I doubt I will be consistent or even update outside of this one post.

With that, let’s get right off and talk about the Legend of Zelda.  Awesome games, though I have not played them all.  I wouldn’t call myself a super-fan, though I did go to the Zelda Symphony (which was totally awesome).  Though there are many Zelda games (a quick check of Zelda Dungeon tells me there are 17 games) I have only completed four of them, and I am halfway through a Link to the Past and I do have access to Majora’s mask.

The question is, why are they so entertaining? Why are these games something someone comes back to time and time again?  I think this really comes down to the basics.  Adventure. 

If you were 10 years old and was asked to describe and a mystical adventure, it would sound a lot like Legend of Zelda.  Collect the pieces of the puzzle, save the princess, defeat the evil monster bad guy.  It plays on everyone’s basic need to play pretend and it wraps it all up with a very nice universe at the same time.  The games always have a similar feel to them, yet they each feel different at the same time.  Twilight Princess is Dark, and Majora’s Mask even Darker.  Ocarina of Time is what I would consider the “Average” experience, have both light-hearted moments and dark moments, and it is the ultimate, if not basic, hero quest.  A Link to the Past is similar, while Wind Waker is a bouncy fun version, though it is no less awesome.

Now, many claim that these games are best played because of their nostalgia, playing the games 10 or more years ago, and remembering them as children.  Many would claim that they are not as good now as they were then, but I wholeheartedly disagree.  And that is because I never played these games as a child. 

I played my first Zelda game in 2009 with Ocarina of Time for Wii Virtual Console.  I had a few memories of seeing someone else play the game from many, many years ago, but that was short.  But those few minutes (an hour maybe?) was what inspired me to try the game for the first time.  And was it great.  I must have played 15 hours in the first week (a lot for me, especially at the time).  When the game had concluded, and Ganondorf had been defeated, it was the end of a truly excellent ride.  I went on to play Wind Waker a few months later, and then Twilight Princess not long after that.  All great games, all great adventures.

If you haven’t played any of these games yet, it is highly recommended.  There are plenty of illegal ways to try out these games, but I don’t recommend them and you can find them for yourself.  Otherwise, if you have a wii, go for the virtual console versions, if not, find an N64 and Ocarina of time for sale and pick it up.  It is always best playing the games how they were originally meant to be played.  Though, to be honest, a used wii and $10 for the virtual console version may be cheaper.

Either way, make sure to check it out.