While I originally joined Zelda Universe for the Majora’s Mask theories I’d come across, I really stayed here because of the people. My time spent on the forums since 2012 has evolved, but what has remained ever constant is the energy and sincerity of the users here. People are here because they want to be; they want to share, and they want to be a part of this community.
Perfect strangers come together and just care about each other, pretty much right away, without question. When I log into Zelda Universe, I see the members online at the bottom of the page and I feel a familiarity, even with users I’ve never interacted with. People who, in real life, I’d never know and walk right by, become part of an everyday routine, however small. There is something very special about that.
“People are here because they want to be; they want to share, and they want to be a part of this community.”
And the friends you do end up making stick with you. I cannot count the numbers of people throughout the years I have come to cherish on this site. I’ve been shaped by the people here over the last nine years, and in some ways, I’m not sure how I would’ve made it this far without them. A culmination of different life experiences, failures, successes, insecurities, and talents are all here and it’s a beautiful thing to watch everyone grow together.
Site-wise, I remember we had this event called the “ZU Big Piece of Paper,” which was a letter chain we sent specifically through the mail! Each member would add a page and then it eventually came back around to the original sender, and then it was shared on the site. I think the first time was a success, but the second time it got lost somewhere. It was so cool having this physical letter with different member’s handwriting and thoughts. It somehow made everyone feel more real. And some of the letters were super creative and artsy!
I also remember the infamous forum crash; everyone had to chat in Slack and Discord and wait months for the forums to come back online. We lost months of forum data and posts, and I feel like people now refer to the ZU forums as “pre-” and “post-crash” as different eras of our history.
Lastly, one of my all-time favorite things is when ZU does its annual ZUthon for charity, streaming our staff playing all kinds of Zelda games. This year, we also got to see our Twitch director, Elias Thompson, become transformed into Midna, which was definitely the highlight of it for me! ZUthons are definitely an aspect of the site I hope stays for years to come, as they’re such a positive thing for the community and bring together members from different parts of the overall ZU family.
So, happy 20th anniversary, Zelda Universe! You have changed so many people’s lives for the better, and I hope to remain an integral part of this community for many years to come.
Zelda Universe is now celebrating its 20th birthday! Be sure to check out more of our memories from the site’s two-decade history.
