Finally a Zelda post

 I've wanted to do a post about The Legend of Zelda games since I restarted blogging a couple of years ago. I beat the Switch remake of Link's Awakening last night after getting it for Christmas, so I suppose now is as good a time as any. 

The Legend of Zelda games have been a favourite of mine since A Link to the Past in the early 90's. In fact, my contact with this game would be the first of several times where I coerced someone into lending me not only the game but the actual console so I could play through it. I suppose that's why I'm not letting myself get too mad that my daughter lent my copy of Breath of the Wild to a friend. This is how we fall in love with these games. 

I played Ocarina of Time on a roommate's N64, Windwaker on a GameCube I borrowed from my job at the Movie Factory. You get the idea. Actually, the first Zelda game I played was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. I rented it for a weekend, and it was the single hardest game I ever played. Never made it anywhere. 

And so that obsession has continued. I haven't played all of the mainline (or even all of the sideline games), far from it. But I do feel like I've played all the games that are at the core of the series. 

Playing Link's Awakening was a great reminder of what makes a Zelda game to me. Since it was designed by essentially the same people as Link to the Past in the same era, it captures many of those elements that are core to the game for me. Dungeons, hookshots, that thing you hit that turns orange or blue. 

Egg

In fact, I commented last night that despite the fact that the game doesn't have Zelda, Ganon, the Master Sword or the Triforce, it feels more like a Zelda game than the two Wild Era games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Not that I'm throwing any shade at those games, they're amazing. But they kind of miss something in the puzzle/progression area. 

And then there's ocarinas. 

Obviously, Ocarina of Time is the most famous appearance of the instrument in the series, but Link's Awakening, Link to the Past, Majora's Mask and The Minish Cap also feature this instrument. The fam actually got me a Zelda brand ocarina for Xmas. Been trying to make some noise with it, but to be honest, I've been too busy playing Zelda to learn a new instrument lately. Maybe this summer, while I'm camping, I'll learn the Song of Time. Or Tingle's Tingler. 

No one seems to want to get me a Master Sword and Shield. Or a hookshot. 

So yeah. Another Zelda game crossed off the list. I need to go back and finish Skyward Sword. I have the Switch port, and I didn't really like the control scheme, so I gave up early on it. But I've got an exercise bike and a commitment to try and bike and play every night. So it's probably time to go back to that. Then I need to get on Echoes of Wisdom. Kayah brought it home last year, so I've played the first couple of dungeons but never wrapped the game. 

Then who knows from there? I've never played through the original game. The Oracle games look really fun, if very difficult. And of course, I'm always up to playing Link to the Past again, if only to show Kayah how good it is. Oh, and I've never played Majora's Mask, and that seems like a major oversight. 

What's your favourite Zelda game? Do you know what a Minish Cap is?