There are phrases that no one else on the planet uses that become a common saying in your own family. You repeat them back and forth, from husband to wife and from father to daughter, like a password inviting you into a secret club. One such saying in my family is “Wakey cakey, time for Zelda,” because there are few things that will wake us all up like the Hyrulean fantasy series.
Back in 2017, I had mistakenly thought that I didn’t need a Switch at launch, but as the reviews rolled in lauding Breath of the Wild as a revolutionary entry in the series, my tune quickly changed. I began stalking my local Target’s website, refreshing it over and over to see if they had gotten Switches in stock. Finally, one evening after the store had closed, the website showed that they had Switches waiting. Despite being on Spring Break, my wife, daughter, and I set our alarms for four-thirty in the morning, so we could shower and shave and go be at the store at six. The store didn’t open until eight, but I was feeling the intense need, so I stood in the frigid morning air, hope in my heart, waiting for a Switch. My wife and daughter didn’t need to wake up with me, but they wanted to join in the experience, so they drove to a nearby Starbucks to get me coffee. In this situation, maybe we should have said, “Wakey coffee,” but that just doesn’t quite sound the same, right?
On September 26, 2020, at six in the morning, I blearily stumbled downstairs and loaded up two travel mugs full of coffee. I tucked my Chromebook under my arm as I made my way upstairs, trying to juggle coffee, Chromebook, and expectations as I made my way back to bed. I tried to quietly slide back under the covers and turn on my Chromebook, so I wouldn’t wake my wife. It was her idea to have me get coffee then come back to bed, but I know she values her sleep, so I didn’t want to disturb her. As silent as a Sheikah, I made my way to the Tokyo Game Show stream, so I could see the first gameplay of Age of Calamity. There was just one issue: the whole stream was in Japanese (as it should be for the Tokyo Game Show). As the developers showed off gameplay of Link and Impa battling their way across Hyrule Field, the flashes of light from sword slashes and Sheikah runes woke my wife. I expected her to just turn back over and go back to sleep, but she just quietly cuddled into me and asked me what they had shown. I smiled as I began talking about Impa and the little Guardian, about how the developers had integrated the Sheikah Slate into the battles, and about how Link could shield surf. She could have just laughed at me and gone back to bed, but she knew that it was “Time for Zelda,” and she wanted to share (or at least humor) my excitement.
When a demo for Age of Calamity came out at the end of October, my daughter and I were both busy with school: I with teaching and she with learning. She had been impatiently waiting for the game to come out because this was a Zelda game that she could play with Dad. The day seemed to drag as my heart was already in Hyrule, but I knew that I had to try to give my best to my students. Dinner was hastily cooked and quickly scarfed down, so she and I could begin our journey together. Just as soon as the fun began, I had to tell her that we had to stop because it was time for bed. Much whining ensued, but I told her that if she wanted, she could wake me up early to play more the next day. As she slept, my wife and I debated whether she would actually wake up early or not. We shouldn’t have doubted the allure of Zelda though, because the next day at 5:30am, I got a text from my darling daughter, dinging like Navi in my ear: “Wakey Cakey, time for Zelda.” Despite the early start, the morning was all the better for spending it in battle alongside my kid.
There are certain things people are willing to wake up early for in life. Things like Black Friday sales and Christmas morning. For my family, the Legend of Zelda series is one of those things. Maybe when Breath of the Wild 2 releases, I can convince my tired-out body up just a little earlier to cook some pancakes for everyone. “Wakey Cakey” indeed.
