For me, and for many other gamers, these are the feelings we experience before playing a Zelda game for the first time. It is an event. New console Zelda games don’t come around very often, so when they do, playing them is a momentous occasion. But why is this? What makes playing Zelda games so special? What makes it so exciting? What makes it so beautiful?
Having recently started playing through The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, I think I have finally figured it out. I think I finally understand what makes playing a Zelda game so magical and memorable.
In my opinion, no series in the history of video games has created a more inviting, wonderful, fantastical world than the Legend of Zelda series. Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Zelda, has always said he was inspired to create the now legendary series after wandering through the woods as a child and discovering a hidden cave. This sense of exploration and discovery comes through in every Zelda game ever released. Whether the game takes place in the lush kingdom of Hyrule, the mysterious, haunting island of Koholint, or the doomed land of Termina, each setting in every Zelda game is full of amazing characters, stunning environments, and numerous secrets. Every world is thriving with life. Every place has a history. Every character has a story. When playing a Zelda game, the world feels like it exists even when the console is turned off.
Nowadays, most videogames like to start with a bang. Whether the train crash of Final Fantasy XIII or the epic battle of Lost Odyssey, most modern videogames like to open with a loud, over-the-top set piece to get the action started. With Zelda, there is no rush to overwhelm the player’s senses with any kind of visual fireworks. The games just quietly start, most of the time with Link waking up in a small village, going about his normal day. Instead of forcing anything on the player, Zelda games awaken and let the player awaken with them.
The worlds in Zelda games slowly start to expand as the player explores more and more. There is no need to reveal everything right away. If the player wants to explore a new, hidden village, the game goes along with them. If the player wants to stop and take some time to fish in a beautiful, serene lake, the game stops and waits with them. Instead of the game dictating what to do and where to go, the player makes all the decisions. Or, at least, the game makes them believe they are. And that is something quite special.
When I was younger, I used to go on tons of adventures with my friends. We used to fight dragons out on the playground at recess. We used to climb our school’s monkey bars to retrieve golden treasure from the towers of trolls. We used to fear for our lives as we climbed from precarious ledge to precarious ledge, trying our best not to fall into the lava right below us.
Of course, all of this happened in the confines of our school yard. And there were obviously no dragons. No treasures. No trolls. No lava. But in our imaginations, it all existed. With Zelda, this same sense of glorious adventure returns every time I play it.
I don't care how old I am, I know for a fact that I will always play a Zelda game and be able to lose myself in Link's fantastic, epic adventures. I am Link as he finds the Master Sword. I am Link as he scales the sides of Death Mountain. I am Link as he triumphantly holds the Triforce above his head.
Every time I play a new Zelda game, I embark on the adventure of a lifetime. I have this feeling when I play Skyward Sword, and I have had this feeling while playing through each Zelda title prior to it.
When Miyamoto was a child, he discovered a cave in the woods. That moment was so special for him, that he remembered it for the rest of his life, transforming his memories into The Legend of Zelda. Every time I play a new Zelda game, I discover that cave. A cave full of magic and mystery.
The Skyward Sword Diary: Entry #3: (15 hours in) Yeah, so these diary entries are getting kind of dumb, in my opinion. I think this is going to be the last one, since I don’t think anyone really cares about me praising a game that has already received tons of critical and fan acclaim. Sure, Skyward Sword has some control issues, but it is still a fantastic game and I highly recommend it. I’ll be sure to put forth my final opinion on the game before the year closes out.
