a_link_to_the_past_3What is the Legend of Zelda to you? Is it simply a game that you enjoy to pass the time with, or is it something more meaningful? Have you been enjoying journeys through Hyrule for most of your life, or have you only recently tried you hand at your first adventure as Link, the hero in green? We all have our stories, playing these games, finding inspiration from them and always wishing for more adventures to enjoy on the latest Nintendo hardware.

Well, Jon might have said that his Zelda story started late, but he had no idea what late really meant. My Zelda Story begins two whole handheld systems after his, with perhaps the most despised non-CDI game in the series: Phantom Hourglass.

An Unusual Start

For those of you wondering why I even bother writing an editorial series on Phantom Hourglass (which will return soon with a lengthier installment, I swear), the simple answer is that Nintendo’s attempt to make Zelda more accessible worked. I was over at the house of a friend when he showed me this new game that he had bought used the week before at the local Gamestop. I played through the opening section with the help of his guiding hand, and was absolutely hooked. It was December, so thanks to my loving parents that Christmas I found myself with a copy of… Spirit Tracks.

For a young gamer with no prior knowledge of the Zelda franchise, this wasn’t a problem at all, and the game quickly became a favorite. I vividly remember driving to my grandparent’s house and trying to get through the ice dungeon for that whole, ten hour car ride. That stupid bell puzzle had me stumped forever. It’s hardly a traditional introduction to the series, but Spirit Tracks piqued my interest by putting me in a grand adventure the likes of which I had never played before.

Spirit-Tracks-Train

In the years following, I didn’t touch Zelda at all. I didn’t know anything of the rich history of the series; I had never heard of A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time, and was vaguely aware of the existence of The Wind Waker only because Phantom Hourglass was billed as its “spiritual successor” on the back of the box. As such, I was as surprised as literally no one ever when I saw a little game called The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword appearing on Game of the Year nominee lists in 2011. Although I had picked up a used Xbox 360 earlier that year and was enraptured with Batman: Arkham Asylum and the like, I figured that this game looked good enough to be worth dusting off the Wii and giving a fair shake.

As soon as I played Skyward Sword, I was absolutely floored by the game. The game’s 1:1 motion-controlled combat was mind-blowing to a young gamer, and the visuals surprised me; the game looked stunning for an “outdated” console. In addition to the game itself, I got the twenty-fifth anniversary CD and the musician in me immediately fell in love with the music of Zelda. Before I knew what Twilight Princess was, I had listened to the Twilight Princess Symphonic Movement on repeat for hours. This soundtrack proved to be my gateway to the history of the franchise.

Skyward Sword First Art

A History Explored

In October of 2012, I was invited to a Halloween party hosted by a kid in my class. Though I couldn’t tell you much about the party itself, I do distinctly remember seeing a little misshapen grey box underneath an old CRT TV. I didn’t know much about retro video games, but I knew I had spotted something cool. I asked my friend about it and, as luck would have it, he was selling it in a garage sale starting the following morning As soon as my parents picked me up, I made sure that we would stop by at eleven o’clock the next day. So, a young me got a Super Nintendo with Tetris Attack, Super Mario World, and Illusion of Gaia for fifteen bucks, and quickly set about building my retro game collection.

Seeing that there was a Zelda game in the SNES library, I snapped it up in an Ebay auction a few months later. My love for A Link to the Past is well documented, and it was the game that got me hooked on exploring older games in the Zelda series. Through the soundtrack mentioned above, I had been able to learn about Zelda’s past, but A Link to the Past was my first experience with any of the older titles. It took me about six months to beat, but the time it took me to finish the game felt nebulous. Even today, I can navigate that map from memory alone. Everything about it, from the over world to the dungeons to the music (oh my, the music!) was intoxicating; A Link to the Past can be given the lion’s share of credit for my deep love of the series.

The_Legend_of_Zelda_A_Link_to_the_Past_SNES_Game_Cover

Jumping Ahead

For the interest of time, I won’t be chronicling my adventures in every Zelda game in order; I feel like those moments formative to my love of the series have been outlined. Over the years, the amount of time I have spent on Zelda has waxed and waned. I played The Wind Waker, Link’s Awakening and Majora’s Mask in the span of five months, but didn’t play any of the series for over a year as I worked through games on my JRPG back log, like Xenoblade Chronicles and Final Fantasy VI. No matter how much I play them, though, my love for the Zelda series has remained. I started writing for Zelda Dungeon about a year and a half ago, and looking through the series with a critical eye has only reinforced my passion for Zelda. I first learned about Zelda’s place in gaming during the twenty-fifth anniversary, and am enthusiastically looking forward to the thirtieth. Feel free to leave your own Zelda stories in the comments below, and happy gaming!

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