I started with Batman, touting how awesome the Dark Knight is, and now it’s time to shower the Hero of Hyrule with praise. The Legend of Zelda, which found it’s start decades ago in the 80’s, specifically 1986, graced the Nintendo Entertainment System and changed the world. Okay, maybe it didn’t change the world, but today, or yesterday technically, since this will be going up after Halloween, there are thousands upon thousands who dress up as the green tunic’ed elf, which probably means it changed people at least…on the internet…which can be considered the world?Link, is an icon, and the hero of “The Legend of Zelda” series, the one to save the kingdom of Hyrule with the use of the Triforce and his iconic sword that shot out lazer beams to defeat his enemies. This guy, who is often cosplayed by girls, which in turn totally confuses my libido, has captivated so many that I would be hard pressed to find anyone who HATES Link. Okay, well, when the cartoon came out in the late 80’s and early 90’s, the guy was an idiot with his “Exxuuuuuuuuse me, Princess,” tag line, and I’ll admit, I hated him then. But his voiceless video game persona? I’m pretty sure no one hates that guy.
And that’s what makes this game the greatest video game series of all time. It was an action adventure game with dungeons and dragons and difficult bosses and hidden treasures and secrets and a pretty princess and a likeable protagonist and a dastardly pig villian! Who doesn’t like those things? And pigs are considered more intellligent than domesticated dogs, so there you go! I also think this is the only game I know of where each iteration of Link, Zelda and Ganon aren’t the same. In other words, from my understanding, the three main characters are always the same in name and look, but TECHNICALLY, aren’t the same people because each Legend of Zelda game takes place in different centuries or times or dimensions. I could be smoking bacon, but I remember reading that somewhere.
Either way, it’s a fun game, it’s a game with memorable moments and characters and it’s a game that actually crossed over into other video games. Soulcaliber had Link as one of their famous pugelists, in World of Warcraft there’s a character named “Linken” who gave out quests in the vein of the Zelda universe, and so on and so forth. This game and these characters are so well loved that it’s made it’s way into the real world. Costumes with the actual sword and shield replicas from the game grace geek conventions and of course, Halloween every year. Women time and again try their darndest to look sexy as Link, and I applaud them every time. I would even dare to say that Cosplay and The Legend of Zelda almost go hand in hand.
That brings me to the characters. You never really know much about Zelda, other than the few times she fakes you out by not being the Princess. When she’s not the captured princess, she often plays different characters where who ware just as capable, if not more so, than our hero, Link. I won’t spoil it for those who still haven’t played every game, like myself, but I know so much about the games and read so many spoilers, that I’m pretty familiar with how Zelda works. She’s strong, complex, independent, and incredibly good at disguise. Then there are the moments where Zelda is kidnapped, and as hard as she fights back, she still needs to be rescued from evil. And that brings Ganon into the picture. A guy who’s devilish and often plots and schemes to find ways to rule the kingdom of Hyrule. He’s evolved over the years from a rather, rotund piece of pork to the towering menace he is in the more realistic Zelda games. He lusts for power, and you can see it in his face, and he just exudes “evil” and oddly enough, is not the only main baddy in the Zelda games. He’s the main boss when it comes down to the end of the day (yes, I like to combine cliches), but you’ll find games out there where he’s not even mentioned. Then there’s of course, Link, who again, does not say a word, but simply fights because it’s right, to save a land and a woman he loves. He’s likeable, even when he doesn’t speak, because his face has so much personality. His expressions, in the latter games, just displays everything you need to know about our hero. I would be remiss to not mention Link’s many companions. Like the Doctor, he needs help on ocassion, whether it’s the Princess in disguise, Navi, or even a weirdly dressed little guy named Tingle, his friends have always had big personalities where you either love them, or hate them, or both.
I can talk about the stories, but there are SO many of them, it’s hard to really put a fine point to it. Just know that each story is fairly good, not always epic, but definitely enjoyable. Yet, even with all these fun characters, the cool stories and the creatures aplenty, it’s the music that sucks you in. The moment the intro starts up, I know my heart begins to swell, I inhale deeply, and get wrapped up in the orchestration and the melodies. It’s just so amazing that people still use the original 8bit chiptune as a ringtone. The sound effects alone in the game were so awesome that they used it in Scott Pilgrim! It’s recognizable and I think it’s the staple of an entire generation and one of the many markers that makes a game “the Greatest Video Game of All Time!”
Now with all this praise, there must be some hate and there is. Not all the games were top notch, like Link’s Adventure which was a weird side scroller, and some of the characters were kind of annoying, but really, the negatives are few and far between. So, have I made a convincing argument? Is there another game better than this? What do you love and or hate about the Legend of Zelda series? (My one hate is that it’s an exclusive Nintendo property and I’ll never see it on my PS3 in beautiful HD. Oh well.)
