Author: Sean Gadus

One of most intriguing aspects of the Zelda series is the developers’ resistance to making direct sequels. While there have been a handful of Zelda sequels, most of the games can stand on their own in terms of art style, game world, and narrative. Even the direct sequels in the Zelda series like Zelda II and Majora’s Mask play remarkably different from their predecessors or take place in exciting new worlds. The resistance to sequels is part of what makes Tears…

The creative process in video games, films, and television is very complex, and it is always fascinating to see how characters, settings, and story events evolve over the course of development. One of the best tools for exploring the development of a project are “making of” or “art of” reference books. These books often contain concept art from different points in a project’s development along with interviews with key figures involved in the project. Over the past decade, Nintendo has…

Tears of the Kingdom is an absolutely massive game, and it required a soundtrack as sprawling and epic as its map in order to do Hyrule justice. Like Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom utilized a variety of composers to construct its sprawling soundtrack. The game features the work of four composers: Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, and Tsukasa Usui. As part of a post on Nintendo’s Japanese recruitment website (as translated by Nintendo Everything), Tears of the…

Speedrunning is a part of the Zelda community that I do not have a lot of experience with. The first time I paid any attention to speedrunning was in Spring 2019 when I attended my first Zelda Dungeon Marathon. Even getting into the mindset for speedrunning (let alone doing very well in my runs) is very challenging because it requires me to play Zelda games at a pace that is different from how I usually play Zelda games. I enjoy…

The rise of online marketplaces and e-commerce companies like Etsy have given fans more options in how they showcase their love of different film, television, or video game franchises. The Zelda series is one of the most popular video game series on online marketplaces like Etsy, and I am always amazed at the creative products that fans can pick up from talent creators. For Zelda fans looking to decorate their first apartments or houses, these online market places are filled…

The narratives of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have a lot of similarities. In both games, Link awakens after a tremendous defeat to a world that has changed in his absence. Additionally, both games utilize memory or flashback cutscenes in order to fill in the backstories for Link, Zelda, and other key characters. Breath of the Wild requires the player to match different locations across the world with a picture from the Sheikah Slate. These memories…

“Ballad of the Goddess” is one of the most notable new songs to appear in the Zelda series over the past fifteen years. In addition to playing a key role in the story of Skyward Sword, the song also doubled as the main theme of the 2010 game. Since its debut, “Ballad of the Goddess” has appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series on Zelda stages, and it has cameoed as one of the Milk Bar song in A Link Between…

Since August 2021, Zelda Dungeon’s YouTube Team has been creating Tier Rankings lists for fans to discuss, debate, and enjoy. Taking inspiration from Tri Force Heroes, the show was titled Tier Force Heroes. With the release of Tears of the Kingdom, the YouTube Team saw the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to the latest Zelda game. The series has relaunched with a fantastic new title: Tiers of the Kingdom. The new show retains all the wit, joy, and fun that fans…

Tracking the release of Zelda titles is an exercise that can help explore and analyze development trends in the series. Looking at the data, the time gaps between 3D console Zelda games has been growing over the past fifteen to twenty years. The growing time gap between 3D Zelda games is first noticeable in the five year gap between Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. Up to that point, the longest gap between 3D Zelda titles in North America was roughly…

On Thursday, April 11th, the 20th BAFTA Games Awards will highlight the “outstanding level of creative excellence” from a variety of developers across the world. While BAFTA is the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the organization behind the ceremony has been honoring innovations and achievements in videos games for the past two decades. The first BAFTA Game Awards were given out in February 2004, where The Wind Waker won the Adventure Game award. At the 2018 BAFTA Game…