For not being very old, my daughter knows a lot about the Zelda series. This is perplexing because she has yet to actually play a game in the series from start to finish. She mostly just plays on my completed save files, so she has the tools to simply have fun. The majority of her knowledge actually comes from teeth brushing.
OK, let me clarify: The information actually comes from what she and I do while brushing our teeth. Each night, we grab our brushes, cuddle up, and watch Zelda theory videos. What should usually be a two-minute cleaning usually ends up taking five-to-ten minutes, as we listen to Zeltik, Hyrule Gamer, or Nintendo Black Crisis lay out the claims and evidence of their newest hypotheses.
Much like how Link usually starts from humble beginnings, so did my daughter’s interest in these YouTubers’ theories. And with time, this interest only grew. I remember eating lunch with my wife one day when my daughter strolled in, sat down, and said, “Dad, I was watching a video by Nintendo Black Crisis where he was talking about where the Leviathans in Breath of the Wild came from. Where do you think they come from?”
At first, I was stunned. There was nary a toothbrush in sight, and yet my daughter was watching theory videos. Not only that, but she wanted to discuss them with me! Soon we were side-by-side on the couch contemplating each others’ and NBC’s claims about the origins of these mysterious creatures.
After escaping the toothbrush, the theories have continued to spread not only to other parts of the house, but even outside of it. We’ve been sitting in the living room when my daughter asks me to cast Zeltik’s video examining the “Mystery of Mekar Island” on our television. The silence of a car ride has been broken by the melodious accent of Hyrule Gamer as he discusses the mystery of the Twilight Princess boss, Stallord. Through these theories, my daughter and I are never far away from a journey to Hyrule.
Zelda fans are pretty amazing. Not only do they build communities that bring fans together through websites, art, music, and videos, but they also bring parents and children together. Through their carefully researched theories, they teach useful skills like the inquiry process and how to support an argument. They extend two minutes of teeth cleaning into hours of cuddling and discussion. That’s pretty awesome if you ask me.
