Author: Michaela El-Ters

The Zelda series’ reputation for expertly crafted dungeons and puzzles that cleverly incorporate important key items is unparalleled in the video game industry. So much of what makes the series special is the emphasis on coming up with creative solutions and thinking outside the box, and these principles are perfectly encapsulated in Zelda‘s dungeons.   What Makes a Dungeon Good? There isn’t just one thing that makes a dungeon memorable and fun to explore. There are many factors that come…

There’s something to be said for designing a game around the player’s ability to completely curate their experience. In Breath of the Wild, players could choose the order they completed story beats in and unlocking some or all of Link’s Recovered Memories, and these decisions impacted how they experienced the game. It shook up the Zelda formula significantly, with previous games like Skyward Sword being considered too linear. While I appreciate the amount of freedom Nintendo gave players to choose…

All of Nintendo’s remakes of Zelda juggernauts like Ocarina of Time and Link’s Awakening have been very successful, adding modern enhancements while keeping the spirit of the original. But the list of games they could remake is still pretty long, with games like Oracle of Ages, The Minish Cap, and A Link Between Worlds as top candidates. If I could pick the Zelda game Nintendo remakes next, it would be A Link to the Past. They could use the same…

Breath of the Wild introduced the Yiga Clan, a group who split off from the Sheikah Clan hundreds of years ago and are trying to resurrect Ganon. They hunt Princess Zelda in the past and Link in the present. They are masters of disguise, and the history behind why the clan split off is compelling. The Yiga Clan is a foil of the Sheikah Clan, who are incredibly loyal to Hyrule and the Royal Family. While the idea of introducing…

Dripping with strange visuals, discordant music, and a dark and apocalyptic storyline, Majora’s Mask is a game I’ve come to associate with Halloween frequently over the years. From the disturbing statue of Link in Stone Tower Temple, to Pamela’s zombified father in Ikana Valley, The Moon as it’s pulled closer and closer to Termina each day, the Happy Salesman’s dramatic shifts in demeanor; I could go on about all the terrifying imagery and how it traumatized shaped me growing up….

The Zelda games have a reputation for featuring high-stake stories and compelling sidequests. Many sidequests, such as “Anju and Kafei” in Majora’s Mask and “From the Ground Up” in Breath of the Wild, greatly enhance the player’s experience with the game. Whether you learn more about the story, characters, or make a meaningful impact on Hyrule’s landscape, these sidequests can often be just as satisfying as playing through the main story. Of course, not every sidequest can be this excellent….

In early trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, Princess Zelda and Link are seen exploring an underground cavern. Seeing the two exploring together, with Zelda sporting a shorter haircut, was pretty exciting. But they seemingly become separated and we see her falling from a great height reminiscent of Zelda in Skyward Sword. We haven’t seen Princess Zelda since these early trailers. Will she be relegated to a damsel, trapped until the end of the game similar to Breath of the Wild?…

One of the earliest games I played that included a secret boss was Kingdom Hearts. I remember challenging the Platinum match in Olympus Coliseum, quickly recognizing Sephiroth’s hair and sword and immediately freaking out (and getting a game over not long after). The Secret Bosses in the Kingdom Hearts series have a reputation for being extremely challenging, requiring precision movements, blocks, and quick strikes during short attack windows to achieve victory. In addition, nearly all them are well-designed, established characters…

Tears of the Kingdom‘s official artwork released at the Nintendo Direct features a return to the same art style as Breath of the Wild, showcasing Link crouching on a floating structure in the sky high above Hyrule. It’s a gorgeous piece of art, and something interesting about it, for me, is its resemblance to The Temple from Super Smash Bros. The Temple in Super Smash Bros. is one of the representative stages for the Zelda franchise, and for me it’s…

The Nintendo Direct released a lot of fantastic news for Breath of the Wild‘s sequel (we can finally stop calling it that now!) with a title announcement and a plethora of screenshots and stunning artwork. Something I found immediately eye-catching was the mysterious circular logo behind the title of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. In the trailer, the logo merges from two halves into an abstract spherical design, and I immediately began to wonder what it means….