The Zelda Cycle isn’t Real

So we all know about the dreaded Zelda cycle right? No? Just look at the little image above. I am sure many of you have seen this exact image, and if not, you at least understand the premise it presents. Did you know there is actually some disagreement about what exactly the Zelda Cycle is? Above presents one specific take on it. However, that take isn’t universal – in fact none of the supposed Zelda Cycle ideals are universal. This all leads me to conclude that the simple fact is that a Zelda Cycle doesn’t truly exist.

Of course, before we can go about debunking the cycle we need to first define what exactly the cycle is. You would think defining it would be simple, but it’s not. In fact, here are just a few examples of what many feel the Zelda Cycle truly is:

So, when we consider all these different perspectives, we can find some common ground on what the Zelda Cycle supposedly is. We know from all these different graphs that the cycle itself refers to us fans and how we react to Zelda games over a period of time. After that it gets a bit muddy, though. Some claim fans are saying it’s the best game ever when it comes out and changing that opinion some months later. Some are saying fans claim the game is terrible when it comes out and then praise the previous Zelda game as the best ever. Some complain that the game isn’t Zelda and then praise the previous game while still claiming they want an original title. One thing we know for certain: the Cycle is a means of measuring how fans react to each Zelda game released over a period of time, and each determining factor ultimately at some point leads to fans bashing the latest Zelda release and praising the previous one, while simultaneously demanding something fresh and unique only to then end up repeating it over and over again. The exact form of the cycle is harder to pinpoint, but the general gist of the cycle is well known. It all eventually leads to what I just laid out above. I’m here to tell you that the cycle is complete bullshit.

Now, it’s important to note what it actually means to be a cycle to begin with. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a cycle is a set of events or actions that happen again and again in the same order: a repeating series of events or actions. That means for the cycle in this case to exist it has to be repeated over and over again in the exact same order. This has never really been the case when it comes to our fandom, despite popular held beliefs that this is the case.

The cycle itself came into being really around the release of Twilight Princess. There were a contingent of people who claimed Twilight Princess was bland and that The Wind Waker, a game that had had a very mixed reception, was superior. Then Skyward Sword came out, and it appeared that people hated that game but loved Twilight Princess. The problem in all of this is that it’s complete and utter bullshit. That’s not what actually occurred, and we can’t be using a vocal minority to define an entire fanbase.

Now, yes, there were certainly a contingent of fans who did this, but not a large enough one to really make it a true cycle. The Wind Waker had a hard time with the fanbase because the art direction was vastly different from previous iterations. This turned people off. Over time, people came around to enjoy the art style and eventually gave the game a chance. Once they played it, their opinions on the game changed. This is a common occurrence. I can’t tell you how many games I thought were crap but then when I played… were damn good. The Wind Waker was one of those games.

Twilight Princess came along and became easily the most hyped Zelda released ever. It got very high review scores and heaps of praise at release. The thing is, that praise never really ended. There wasn’t a large contingency of fans complaining about it. Twilight Princess had over 7 million players; what a few hundred said on the internet does not a game define. While it may have been impossible for the game to live up to the hype, fact remains that Twilight Princess brought the most new fans into the series since Ocarina of Time. I’ve done enough articles about the various games in the series to know that the game has always placed high on many fans lists, more so than the fans that really disliked it when it came out. Obviously you can argue that because so many like it right now, it is a sign that the cycle is currently in place, but it doesn’t all start and end with that one game.

Majora’s Mask is widely praised these days, and most view it as a hipster movement. It’s a bit of an anomaly because the praise doesn’t fit nicely into the cycle as it stands. What happened was the game required an expansion pack and not very many Zelda fans played it back in 2000. Then as time moved on and editorials came out from the Majora’s Mask fans that did exist (which were a minority at the time) that talked about the depth of the story, more fans began to give it a good play. Lo and behold, they ended up really enjoying the game once they gave it a try.

Fast forward to Skyward Sword. Many cite this as the perfect example of a game that proves the cycle and that I myself have proved the cycle through my own words. Shortly after Skyward Sword’s released I talked about how the game may potentially be the best Zelda ever. Fast forward to today and you can see me making an argument for A Link Between Worlds being the best Zelda ever. Cycle confirmed right? Well, not really. Everything I said about Skyward Sword in 2011 I still believe today, so much so I republished that editorial this year during Classic Month. I really enjoyed the game and still praise it as much as I did back then. When anyone asks me what Wii game is worth their time, Skyward Sword is the first game that comes out of my mouth (sorry Mario Galaxy). I think it could arguably be the best game in the series, but for me it’s a bit harder to decide. I love A Link Between Worlds. Heck, I love Twilight Princess. My opinions of these games haven’t changed because time moved on or I became a more seasoned gamer; all that has changed is that more games have come out. That doesn’t mean opinions can’t change over time, but nothing replaces that feeling you had in your first playthrough. You loved the game, hated the game, or felt indifferent. Either way, you had that feeling, and nothing changes that.

Getting back to Skyward Sword, it was never universally praised or universally hated. It’s had arguably the most mixed reaction in the series since The Wind Waker. Even today, Skyward Sword‘s opinion is still mixed. It’s likely always going to be mixed. No amount of new games will change that overall feeling for the game. A lot of people liked Phantom Hourglass, but a small contingent liked Spirit Tracks more, while some hated it and liked Phantom Hourglass more. Some hated them both. Some loved them both.

The point I am making is that the Zelda Cycle as we know it doesn’t actually exist. A small contingency of fans can be seen repeating things, but on the whole this isn’t true on a game by game basis. The Wind Waker HD recently came out – where is the cycle with that? People love it, but it’s not even the most recent console game. Heck, it was crafted three console games ago.

At the end of the day I am tired of seeing generalized comments talking about the cycle as if it’s some grand factoid we just have to accept as a fanbase. It’s not true on the whole or even on an individual basis. We all like what we like and dislike what we dislike. I’ve never seen the reactions and reality wholly match up to the perceived cycle we blindly accept as reality. Believe it or not, I think the Zelda fanbase is actually better than that. If you think otherwise, you may just be wading in the wrong crowd. Hell, we can’t even come to a consensus on what the best game in the series even is. That alone should be a huge indicator that the cycle is complete bollocks.

(Note: The online Zelda fanbase only represents a small fraction of the people who actually play the Zelda series. You could argue then that any measurement that only takes part of small parts of an online fandom are always going to be inaccurate representations of the Zelda community.)