Throughout its two-decade history, Zelda Universe has seen countless members of staff come and go. There have been so many incredible people over the years who have volunteered their precious time and lent us their skills and creativity to keep our home page thriving with content, maintain a fun and pleasant space for our community members to connect, populate our media channels with entertainment, and so much more.
Zelda Universe and its vast community simply could not exist or continue beyond its 20 years of existence without these passionate Zelda fans, and this is where I want to sincerely thank them all for their service. This is part one of a Realm of Memories subseries in which former and existing staff reflect on their favorites moments of the website. I’ll let them take it from here!
Alison Smith (Saber)
Before Forum Games was a board in the Community section of Zelda Universe, we had what I lovingly dubbed the “Clans Arena.” This wonderland was the space in which the three clans of ZU (Din, Farore, and Nayru) would come together for games and general merriment. In those days, forum games were only allowed within the Clans section of the board and the posts did not increase your profile Posts count (just as today’s “SPAM and stuff” section does not).
Getting into a clan was huge; you did not pick the clan but it was selected for you based upon your answers to the clan test (which you can still take today!). Even more, you had to have been a member for so many days with a certain post count threshold to be considered. When you were placed you felt part of an exclusive club, making the Clans Arena all the more infamous as the sole place to play games with friends who were not in your clan.
Source: Zelda Wiki
Recalling one my most fond memories in the Arena are the “Clan Wars” that took place (all in good fun, of course!) and participating in “The Transient Interclanetary Thread” (link works for Dinnies only, sorry folks!). There was something mystical, in particular, about the Interclanetary thread that I always found exciting: It was similar to waiting for a letter in the mail you’re anxious to read and then keeping the chain going.
These days the Clan Arena does not exist for the average user, except as a distant memory. I suppose its due mostly to the creation of “Forum Games” outside of the clans and something about “ZU Olympics” that I don’t know the story about. However, I’ll never forget some of the best memories from my teenage years of the great people and threads of the Clan Arena.
Alison is currently a news reporter for Zelda Universe and a longtime beloved forum member under the name Saber. You can catch her on Twitter and check out her articles here!
Hoju
I’ve been a part of Zelda Universe community since 2002. I have witnessed it grow from a small fansite to one of the biggest Zelda communities around.
I’m honestly quite impressed at how many dedicated Zelda fans we have working for this site that continue to make it one of the most friendly and welcoming communities I have been a part of. The community here at Zelda Universe is the reason I keep coming back to the site and the reason I will probably never leave. Every time I have returned after an absence I have always been welcomed back by friendly the community and staff.
Happy 20th birthday, Zelda Universe!
Hoju is a moderator on the Zelda Universe forums, a host on our Discord server, and a longtime beloved member of the community.
Janice Scott
The Legend of Zelda is without a doubt my most beloved franchise of all time. It has impacted my life in so many ways, from the people that I have met, to the places that I have visited, and to the career that I do for a living now, which is being an illustrator and technical artist in the video games industry.
It all started in the days of my childhood where I was already playing a number of games before the release of Ocarina of Time, but nothing has beaten those iconic moments only found in that game. Those eye-opening moments, such as seeing the vastness of Hyrule Field and Link pulling the Master Sword, only strengthened what I wanted to do career-wise, and my personal desire to get even better with my art at that age.
As I grew older, I followed the series very closely, being constantly inspired by each story and each change in the style. It’s almost like I can pinpoint the events in my life due to the release of each game after Ocarina of Time.
I think it goes without saying that no other franchise has or will affect me as much as The Legend of Zelda, and you can be sure that I will continue to be a beloved fan until my last days.
Janice is a former art director at Zelda Universe. Today you can find her and her incredible Zelda artwork on Twitter and Instagram!
Zelda Universe is now celebrating its 20th birthday! Be sure to check out more of our memories from the site’s two-decade history.
