There is an eternal truth that I have been taught over and over again in my short 28 years: life is hard.

But sometimes I look back at past dark times in my life and wonder, “How on earth did I get through that?” Whether it’s been falling in the seemingly bottomless pit of anxiety and depression, getting caught in the crossfire and repercussions of my brother’s heroin addiction, dealing with a chronic illness that ups the difficulty level of my daily life, or even facing a worldwide pandemic, I, like so many of us, have faced a slew of towering challenges that have often seemed impossible to topple.

But against all odds, here I am — here we all are — still pressing forward, still growing, and still finding reasons to keep smiling.

We are pretty remarkable.

And as silly as it sounds, I’ve realized that something that has always kept me pressing forward against insurmountable odds is a good story — stories of triumph, courage, and redemption. And one story that I have often turned to in moments of darkness and overwhelm is the Legend of Zelda series. Every game is filled with deep lessons that resonate with my heart. Lessons of friendship, failure, sacrifice, and so many other values run rampant through these stories, but a few particular games have offered me three distinct lessons of hope during the hardest times in my life.

 

1. A Lesson from Ocarina of Time 

One of the most timeless (pun intended) themes of Ocarina of Time is the “coming of age” trope. To this day, even on my 100th playthrough of this game, I am filled with so many emotions the moment when I enter the Temple of Time in peaceful, whimsical Hyrule as a child and then step out seven years later in a corrupt and terrifying world as an adult. Link’s childhood being snatched away awakens the grief I feel when thinking of the naivety and joy of my childhood.

When I reached this point in the game as a kid, I wasn’t really moved by the drastic change of tone in Hyrule. But replaying nowadays, after facing difficulties of adulthood like heartbreak, unfairness, and confusion, I really feel for Link when he awakens as an adult and is told of the heavy burden he has on his shoulders.

I understand how disorienting it feels to suddenly be faced with so many unknowns.

In Ocarina of Time, Link and Zelda do everything in their power to prevent darkness, pain, and suffering from coming to the land, but it happens anyway. They make a naïve mistake that leads Ganondorf right to his goal and he takes over Hyrule, reinforcing the truth that no matter how much we try to prevent ourselves from feeling the pain and challenges in the world, sometimes we can’t stop the inevitable. But the powerful lesson that this story unveils is that even when intimidating challenges come our way, we have a choice to run or to turn and face them head-on with courage.

As an adult, Link braves terrifying temples that are drastically more sinister than the dungeons he faced as a kid. He feels the grief of losing the only parental figure he’s ever known, the Great Deku Tree. He experiences the sad truth that relationships change over time, especially through his childhood friendship with Saria, who once served as an anchor to the bliss of his childhood. And no matter how much he wants to avoid it, he ultimately faces every challenge simply to prepare to battle the man who literally haunted his nightmares as a child.

Link’s endurance throughout Ocarina of Time simply shows how, as we grow older and as we have more experiences, we will often have to meet our deepest fears head-on, particularly the fear of change that comes from the passing of time and of circumstances beyond our control. And the lesson I take from this story is this: if Link and Zelda can eventually rise against the greatest evil in their world and still, by some miracle, come out on top, I can always choose to have hope and gather my inner strength to accept change and to face whatever challenges and unknowns come my way too. The Legend of Zelda, and particularly this story, is a testament that no matter how bad things get, we can always prevail against the darkness — every time.

 

2. A Lesson from Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword gets a lot of grief for numerous reasons, but this game truly changed something in me on my first playthrough, all because of the brilliant storytelling throughout. This is the first Link and Zelda, ever. And they aren’t extraordinary; they are simply just people. They are students who don’t necessarily worry about the goings-on in the world apart from the teenage drama of crushes and bullies. This story exploits Link’s weakness of character in the beginning as well. He’s lazy, he doesn’t really have a care in the world, and he spends his days quite literally with his head in the clouds. He doesn’t even consider the reality of responsibility until Zelda is snatched by Ghirahim. And even then, he is hesitant to agree to his part to play in the destiny revealed by Fi until she mentions that Zelda is still alive. While he agrees to be her hero, he still has so much growth and development throughout his journey.

This Link is one of the only ones who truly has to gain strength of character to become the legend he was born to be. His courage and heroism don’t come naturally, but instead, visibly develop throughout his journey. He is flawed and naive in the beginning, and he is actually one of the only Links to show hesitation and fear, which is apparent when he faces Ghirahim for the first time in the Skyview Temple. He is also chastised for not taking his role seriously in the Earth Temple by Impa when he failed to protect Zelda, something that clearly prompts a change in him. But eventually he takes on the Silent Realms, he forges the Master Sword, and he even works off his debt to the Lumpy Pumpkin owner after he selfishly broke the chandelier to get a Piece of Heart! And eventually, all of the challenges, puzzles, monsters, and fortresses he topples pay off.

This Link is an absolute force to be reckoned with at the end of his journey. He doesn’t even flinch when facing Demise, the most evil being in the universe who even brought a goddess to her knees, in a battle to the death. And he only could have reached that point through the adversity he overcame. Watching this sweet-natured teenager struggle to change from a naïve, lazy boy into a full-fledged hero worthy of all three virtues of the Triforce really gets me pondering about what courage, wisdom, and power I’ve gained from all the struggles I’ve faced too. The biggest takeaway from Skyward Sword and all stories of Zelda and Link, really, is the simple message of how the challenges we overcome can become our greatest strengths.

 

3. A Lesson from Breath of the Wild

When I first played through this masterpiece of a game, the full impact and devastation of Calamity Ganon didn’t really hit me. Yes, the setting was post-apocalyptic; yes, everyone died. But I had heard stories similar to this premise before, so I was sort of numb to the emotions of it all. But on repeat playthroughs, after I had read Creating a Champion and played through the “what if” scenario of Age of Calamity, the heart-breaking reality of this time in Hyrule really struck a cord in my soul.

Link and Zelda, despite preparing, training their entire lives, and doing everything they could to prevent the catastrophe of the Calamity, utterly failed. Everything and everyone they loved and cared about was obliterated in a flash of a Guardian’s beam. And almost the entirety of Hyrule’s population simply waited to meet their end, knowing that no one was coming to save them. To add insult to injury, Zelda finally unlocked her powers at a point when it was already too late and even Link was on the brink of death. And all the princess could do was face Ganon alone, knowing fully that she couldn’t defeat him on her own.

Link and Zelda lost everything, even memories in Link’s case. And the devastated villages and crumbling ruins he passes throughout his journey serve as a reminder of the failures in his past that continue to haunt every soul in Hyrule.

A major theme of this story is one of trauma and loss. For Link, the looming enemy that haunts his past is not truly gone, but waiting in the shadows to defeat him for good this time. No matter where you stand in Hyrule, there’s always a glimpse of the entity shrouding Hyrule Castle in the distance, seemingly mocking Link throughout his journey. For me, the corrupt Hyrule Castle sort of serves a visual metaphor for how our own failures or struggles or mistakes in our past can continue to affect us, even years later. But Link, despite all the reasons to simply give in to defeat and accept that he was beaten, keeps pressing forward.

But a triumphant moment in this story that particularly touched my heart was after Link regains his final memory — the memory in which, after giving his all to protect Zelda, he finally succumbs to Ganon’s attack. After fully remembering his past, Zelda’s faint voice calls out to him, but unlike his awakening on the Great Plateau, this time he knows her voice. He knows her. He remembers everything they’ve been through together. She reminds him that, despite losing almost everything, it’s not over. They still have each other, and she’s still out there, waiting for him to help her end the turmoil of the past century. Even though so many have given up hope after their initial failure, there’s a chance at redemption! And despite the trauma and horrors of the past and the odds against him, Link clenches his fists and gets a look of determination on his face, ready to give one last shot toward victory.

And he and Zelda are victorious after so many years, standing together to make beauty from ashes and rebuild Hyrule together.

The lesson I take from Breath of the Wild is that no matter what harsh realities, failures, and challenges loom in our past, present, or future, it’s never too late. There is always a second, third, or even fourth chance to rise above all that is against us, to find healing, redemption, and a new beginning.

 

We Can Always Hold On To Hope

Our life stories are often full of tragedies and hardship, but that doesn’t mean they have to end that way. For so long, I thought all that is against me would completely pummel me into the ground; but as hard as it has been at times, I have still found strength within me to rise again and to allow my challenges to refine me into a better person than I was before. An empowering thought someone once told me was that we are in charge of writing our stories. Yes, hard times will come, but you have so much power over where your story goes.

How powerful is that?

Just like in Zelda, there will always be evils in the world and personal “Ganons” to face in life, but there will also be good and light to push back the darkness too. On the toughest days, just remember, if a little boy in green can somehow defeat an unspeakable evil time and time again, we can also have hope that whatever impossible odds we are facing, we can call upon the courage within our hearts and find victory as well.

We can always choose hope.

What about you? What stories in the Zelda series have given you hope? Let us know in the comments below.

Art Sources: Ocarina of Time art by Tom Garden, Skyward Sword art by blueskittlesart, Breath of the Wild art by オットン, Temple of Time by WillGtl 

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Chakell Herbert is a Writer for Zelda Dungeon. She lives with her husband and sweet little cavalier King Charles spaniel. Outside of Zelda Dungeon she is a full-time magazine editor, and a full-time nerd. She’s also a sucker for good books, podcasts, s’mores, cute dogs, and loves the little things that make life great.