Author: Sean Gadus

It took me more than fifty hours of playing Breath of the Wild before I made my way to Rito Village. Despite this long wait, the moment I stepped into Rito Village has become the single most powerful and joyful moment across my two-hundred total hours of adventure. As I stared up into the whimsical town, bustling with activity, one of the most beautiful songs sprung into life. This acoustic guitar cover by Sam Griffin helps me remember and relive the…

Link’s Awakening holds a strange place in my life as a Zelda fan. Since I have never owned a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Nintendo 3DS, I have had limited opportunities to (legally) play the game. Despite this, I am fascinated with the story and music of the game; both elements are distinct from many other games in the Zelda series. As a fan of the credits themes from The Legend of Zelda games, this cover of Link Awakening’s ending theme…

Since the original Legend of Zelda on NES, Ganon has been terrorizing Hyrule with cruel satisfaction. The pig demon has become one of the most recognizable villains in video games, rivaling peers like Bowser. Throughout the years, the villain has taken several forms including a trident wielding demon, a powerful human mage/warrior (Ganondorf), and a monstrous amorphous beast. In Breath of the Wild, Ganon took the form of Calamity Ganon, a being lacking any recognizable humanity. Taking the form of four…

From the moment I met Ghirahim at Sky Temple in the early hours of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, I knew there was something special about him. From his first line of dialogue to his final grotesque moments, he was a character I loved to hate. Throughout my journey, I watched the self-proclaimed Demon Lord smirk, sneer, and mock Link with an attitude that varied between flamboyantly gleeful and murderously violent. While Ghirahim is not as imposing as his…

Sheik: “Time passes, people move…  Like a river’s flow, it never ends…  Now listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself….” Koji Kondo is a master composer, and Ocarina of Time‘s soundtrack highlighted his incredible musical skills in several distinct ways. Some of his most impressive accomplishments were the game’s twelve ocarina songs. With an extremely limited range of notes and rhythms, Kondo was able to create a dozen iconic songs, many of which have appeared in other…

In a slow year for The Legend of Zelda, some of the biggest stories were the results of rumors. The rumor of Skyward Sword being remade in high definition (quickly squashed by Nintendo’s PR department) opened up an enormous fan debate about what remakes Nintendo should see prioritize on their hand held console hybrid. There are two excellent Zelda remakes that are sitting dormant on Wii U, The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD. With this in mind, which HD remake…

After watching this incredible fan animation on Vimeo, I am dying for Nintendo to give the world the Zelda animated series so many of us have been requesting. This stunning two-minute sequence by QianyaYin sees the animators recreating/modifying Breath of the Wild’s art style and translating it into an animated video. In the video, Link helps an adorable (but sad) Korok battle a group of Guardians. The battle goes badly for Link but he persists through the battle, eventually defeating his enemies. There’s a…

Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild both contain strong connections to the Sheikah tribe, the guardians of the royal family and loyal servants of the Goddess Hylia. In Skyward Sword, Impa plays a key role as a mentor and protector to Zelda, while Sheikah technology plays a critical role across the entire landscape of Breath of the Wild. This composition by Rebecca E. Tripp and Gamer of the Winds combines the Sealed Grounds theme from Skyward Sword, and the Sheikah…

The Great Hyrule Forest — and, within it, the Lost Woods and the Korok Forest — was one of the most exciting locations in Breath of the Wild. Unlike many of the other areas within the game, where the world is open and accessible to the player, the Great Hyrule Forest was tucked away in the back half of the map, with little to no visible entrances and exits. It’s a location that is shrouded in mystery, where players are…

Like many larger than life stories, The Legend of Zelda series often focuses on the battle between good and evil.  Evil can be defeated, but rarely destroyed. Evil is amorphous, a shapeless and seeming unstoppable force that finds ways to leech its way into the hearts of humanity. With this in mind, what location in Zelda franchise best represents the evil that has eternally plagued Hyrule, Lorule, and the other locations seen within the series? What locations represent the pain,…