Tag: Story

Time is concept that is very common within the Legend of Zelda series; with 16 installments over 27 years, the series has brought us a total of six games which have used the idea of time in some manner. Time has also played a factor in the grand scheme of Zelda in the form of the timeline itself. Ocarina of Time has three alternate outcomes — two of which were a consequence of Princess Zelda sending Link back in time…

Let’s talk about stories. To those of you familiar with my article work on this site, you will know that I have a deep passion for storytelling, and specifically, story structure. I’ve written about the monomyth — or, as it is more commonly called, the “Hero’s Journey” — and how this literary phenomenon is reflected within the Zelda series. I’ve talked at length about Joseph Campbell’s theories and their pertinence to both the series and video gaming at large. It…

Each Zelda tale is rich in puzzles, enemies, and overall solid gameplay. However, I have recently realized that my favorite Zelda games tell (what I perceive to be) the best stories in the lore. Maybe the writer in me makes me bias to liking one Zelda game over another based purely on this factor. It’s tough to justify this; video games should be enjoyable based mostly on how much fun you have actually playing the game. Stories are important, for…

The Zelda franchise has a long history of being incredibly versatile, borrowing disparate elements from many different series such as God of War, Darksiders, and Goof Troop. Lately, however, the franchise has stalled a bit, failing to bring any exciting new elements to the table. But the gaming industry overall has never been more diverse; there are so many series that Zelda can look to for inspiration, and perhaps the most exciting one is Call of Duty. Frequently selling millions…

Zelda lore is truly unique. After over 25 years, we finally have a clear-cut timeline, and some very basic facts laid out: There are three Triforce pieces, several heroes, several princesses, and a monstrous succession of villains bred by hatred. But for every question each new game answers about the series’ lore, more questions arise. How does this world work? What is its history really like? How much of what we see in each Zelda game can we trust, when…

On Introductions

October 19 2012 by Hanyou

A Link to the Past arguably had the best opening sequence not just of any Zelda game, but of any video game. It introduces the player to the controls, the lore, the world, and the level design, and does so seamlessly while pushing Link forward through a rapidly-progressing story. Several pivotal things happen in succession, but they all make sense and set the tone for what’s to come. It’s the fastest-moving section of the game, and not only did it…

Zelda is a quest by definition. It features a hero or protagonist working at a goal. The intent may be of various nobility. There is an antagonist, many obstacles obstructing the path to the goal, and in nearly every game thus far, there has been an underlying theme of maturity and coming of age. Self-knowledge is gained as the character progresses through the storyline and upon completing the quest, he/she will typically experience an epiphany regardless of whether or not…

Throughout the Zelda titles, there are a select few supporting characters that stand out to me as particularly strong. I’m not talking about major characters like Zelda, Midna, or Marin, who I would consider main characters, but the denizens who populate the surrounding areas of Zelda games. Malon and Talon are certainly standouts. They’re integrated well into gameplay, as they’re introduced in the main quest, but several subsequent in-game quests allow their characters to develop further. Win Epona from Ingo…