Daily Debate: Which Version of Hyrule Castle Would You Take a Guided Tour Of?
Posted on April 08 2021 by Michaela El-Ters
Storytime: when my grandma was nineteen years old, she immigrated to America from Scotland. We’ve embarked on several trips to Scotland over the years to visit her remaining family and friends (we were even planning on going back again in 2020 before COVID ruined everything), and our deep love and appreciation for the beautiful country have only grown with time. By far, my favorite parts of our trips have been touring the absolutely incredible castles that dot the landscape. There are so many of them! And each one has a unique look and history behind it; even castle ruins have a story to tell. I absolutely love going on guided castle tours, and it got me thinking about what it might be like to tour a fictitious one, like Hyrule Castle.
Sure, some versions of Hyrule Castle just function as dungeons and don’t feature any realistic corridors or rooms, or in other cases, the castles are dilapidated and full of monsters. But let’s ignore all of that and pretend that they aren’t overrun with monsters or designed to be the final dungeon in a Zelda game. If each Hyrule Castle was spruced up and open to tourists, a la Scotland guided castle tours, which one would you visit? Which one has the best architecture or layout? Which one has the best history behind it? For me, I think Breath of the Wild‘s Hyrule Castle most closely resembles a real castle, with realistic furnishings and practical spaces like Princess Zelda’s study and the dining room. It may be overrun with Malice and Guardians in the present, but what little of it we do see of the castle in Link’s Recovered Memories is breathtaking. The architecture is absolutely lovely, and the surrounding gardens and walkways outside would be so much fun to explore.
What do you think? Which version of Hyrule Castle would you take a guided tour of? Let us know in the comments!
Michaela El-Ters is a Senior Editor for Zelda Dungeon. She is also an Senior Writer for Boss Rush Network, and writes blogs and streams games on Objection Network. HerĀ favorite Zelda game changes with the seasons, but the series as a whole is near and dear to her heart.