Author: Kora Burton

No matter what holiday you celebrate this time of year, odds are it’s built on several layers (or centuries) of tradition. Family-specific traditions also tend to take deep root into many revelers’ hearts. As someone who celebrates Christmas, I’ve always been pretty relaxed about specific activities or places to celebrate the holiday, as I tend to rotate my time spent between different sides of the family; but without at least a few brightly-themed decorations, a healthy dose of festive music…

While the holiday season is certainly one of my favorite times of the year, it brings with it a lot of extra stress on top of my normal responsibilities at work and at home. Joining the shopping rush, planning for travel or hosting festivities, and making sure it all doesn’t break the bank really sends my anxiety skyward. In years past, I’ve also had to make sure I passed my final exams for college or graduate school, which was always…

“Did you know that Nintendo cancelled a Zelda game between Link’s Awakening and Ocarina of Time so they could make Star Fox 64 instead?” With this attention-grabbing line, the popular and talented team over at the YouTube channel Did You Know Gaming? (DYKG) began their most recent video “The Mystery of Ura Zelda SOLVED.” With the help of data miners, translations of old magazine interviews, and insider perspectives from folks who worked on the games, DYKG sets some facts straight…

With the year drawing to a close, December is a time of gift-giving and thankfulness for many of us. As we make shopping lists for others and wishlists for ourselves, it’s easy to get lost in all the nerdy options for new Zelda-related merch, keepsakes, and collectibles. With a limited budget and endless options, sometimes it’s hard to choose: a cozy Korok plush or a cool fan art poster? A Breath of the Wild Champion figure or some themed new…

Follow along for a few years, and you know what you’re in for when it comes to video gaming’s annual celebration-fest: The Game Awards. In all its goofy 3+ hour glory (especially if you caught the pre-show), this year the awards provided audiences with a lineup of entertainment including Crash Bandicoot, well, crashing through the ceiling, celebrities announcing category winners with presentation styles ranging from the awkwardly adorable to the delightfully bizarre, and food sponsorships bursting from the seams. Several…

I’ve watched plenty of Let’s Plays and tutorials in my time as a gaming enthusiast, especially with so many games on my bucket list I know I’ll never have the time to truly dive into. But getting to see original debugging footage of a game I’ve already played? That’s a first for me! In their recent video “Leaked ZELDA: MAJORA’S MASK Debugging Tape,” YouTube’s Hard4Games shows off a never-before-seen PAL region (i.e. Europe) debugging VHS tape from Nintendo, which includes…

2017 was a banner year for Nintendo fans. We got the launch of the Switch and some of the platform’s most well-loved titles, including Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, and, of course, Breath of the Wild. According to former Nintendo staffers, however, when the 2017 awards season came around, the company was concerned that they may have had too much of a good thing on their hands. Former Nintendo staffers Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang of…

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches for those of us in the US, grocery parking lots fill up, store shelves dramatically empty of stock baking items, and the more chaotic elements of the holiday season begin to make their annual appearance. I am looking very much forward to sitting down with my family for our yearly feast of personal classic favorites like turkey, ham, mac and cheese, green beans, and sweet potato casserole. However, I have to admit there’s a lovely…

When it comes to Zelda covers, I usually default to orchestral or jazz ensembles. That being said, it’s always great to listen to some of my favorite tracks through a new musical lens. For example, I’ve listened to plenty of classical guitar Zelda covers, but solo bass? That’s a new one! French composer and sound designer Tomarktus, a.k.a. Djon Schneider, has created a solo bass cover of Breath of the Wild‘s main theme that’s helping me broaden my Zelda cover horizons….

Hands down, my favorite quest in Breath of the Wild was “From the Ground Up.” Akkala has always been my favorite region to explore, I loved the meditative gathering that building Tarrey Town required (can you tell I’m also an Animal Crossing fan?), and the resulting storylines were heartwarming and rewarding. Tarrey Town, by the player’s own making, becomes a cozy oasis in an often inhospitable world, with a whole host of lovely design touches. My love of Tarrey Town…