Author: Simon Rayner

As far as Zelda villains go, it’s sometimes easy to forget we’ve got more than just our tried and tested evil lord Ganondorf. A permanent series mainstay, ever reincarnating from original ancient evil Demise,  he remains the father of all things dire in the realm of Hyrule. He’s supported by the likes of crass clowns and hysterical harlequins with delusions of grandeur, like living sword Ghirahim or the Usurper King Zant. If they’re not Ganon, they’re often effeminate tricksters like…

Zelda inspires a lot of us, working its way into all manner of modern media, bringing rise to all kinds of art, fan games and music. French Rap Metal band SMASH HIT COMBO has a long history of honoring the games they’ve played that inspire them. In their latest video for their song “Falls Apart,” SMASH HIT COMBO weaves an entirely epic tale, meshing imagery from Ocarina of Time with Majora’s Mask, and just a dash of Alice in Wonderland for…

Majora’s Mask has always been seen as an oddball entry in the Zelda series’ history, a black sheep among its brethren, a game and story that was never afraid to be a little twisted, a little unhinged, a little hairy. Surrounded by conspiracy theories regarding terminal Termina’s alternative world being that of purgatory, with dark dilemmas, warped characters and some form of tragedy permeating each compass point, its easy to see why. And on an initial quest to find his beloved…

If you’re a Zelda fan, you’ve almost definitely thought about adorning your home with some kind of Hyrulean flourish. Have you ever wanted to own your own set of Sage Medallions? Or perhaps the luster of Wind Waker’s Goddess Pearls keep you up at night? Well look no further than the fine wares of Chinook Crafts, true artisans of resin and silicone. With a fine selection of Zelda gubbins to covet, from shiny Rupees and Heart Containers, to Boss Keys, Gossip…

As The Legend of Zelda has evolved from pixels to polygons in its 30 plus year lifespan, a lot has evolved and a lot has remained the same. Link for example will always wield a sword of some description, or more recently an axe, a spear or even a soup ladle within Breath of the Wild. Whilst a vaster array of weapons were available, and the combat was more nuanced with split second flurry rushes and projectile deflection, and enemy…

In Zelda’s most ambitious outing yet, an open world adventure with a focus on climbing and scaling mountains, why oh why wasn’t the series staple, the Hookshot, in Link’s arsenal for Breath of the Wild? As it turns out, the Hookshot was included, but was cut early from the beta by the team as they felt it detracted from paragliding and climbing. That the mechanic rendered the others redundant. It’s easy to understand since climbing and paragliding are fun. These…

Having dipped back into the warped waters of terminal Termina recently, I recalled just how disjointed, alien and strange so much of Majora’s Mask is, such is its charm. The most odd thing however is definitely the veritable chaos god that is the Happy Mask Salesman. His animations purposefully jump and change, he conjures an entire elaborate organ to teach Link the Song of Healing, and he’s the first/last thing you see upon a game over. Just who is this…

In the run up to it’s December release, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comes to the Switch at the end of the year. Like some kind of wonderful Nintendo Christmas, everyone comes home for the holidays. The roster for Ultimate covers everyone whose ever been playable in the Super Smash Bros. series. The Zelda representation for this brawler is stronger than it’s ever been. For Zelda, we got three different versions of Link, Sheik, Princess Zelda from A Link Between Worlds,…

Zelda is widely renowned for its horde of creative, cinematic and engaging boss fights. From a duel with a golden, corrupted, clockwork Buddha statue hellbent on your demise, to the almost Lovecraftian, bongo playing hell-beast that lurks deep in the catacombs of Hyrule. Each of these stands as a conquest to remember. Then there are mini-bosses which span from promoted Lizalfos, to creatures I feel worthy of far more than mere Boss Key guard or item guardian. I’d like to…

It might not be too often that we find ourselves gritting our teeth, slamming our collective faces against a wall in white-hot rage against a Zelda boss, but when it does happen, it’s a battle to remember. I might not consider my first fumbling forays within Breath of the Wild frustrating, more comical as I was bludgeoned and fried betwixt Lynel blade and painfully accurate Guardian laser, clearly punching above my three-heart weight. What I do remember is a painful,…