I had a weird sense of logic as a kid. I always attributed the Legend of Zelda franchise to be solely video game related, so I made the assumption that it would always stay that way. I thought I’d never see the series portrayed in movies, comic books, or even on television (little did I know back then there was already a cartoon series). So imagine my surprise when one afternoon, a commercial for The Wind Waker came on between my programs.
When it first played, I didn’t even know it was a Zelda-related commercial at first; I thought it was a Harry Potter teaser, given the accent of the hooded stranger. But the second I saw Link doing a backflip and taking out Bokoblins with a two-handed sword, I was instantly hyped up. The music started to swell, and each second following just raised my joy to new heights.
With the narration in the background detailing “legends” and “destiny,” and all of the shots taken in live-action, a part of me thought this was going to be a commercial for a movie — maybe a live-action/animation hybrid, similar to what Space Jam had done. Only when it showed the Gamecube logo did I know that we were finally getting a new game.
Everything just hit me at once: The Legend of Zelda on TV. A new game! I couldn’t believe it. Questions swarmed in my head: Could there be a movie in the future? Would there be more commercials? What was this new game about? I was so excited and couldn’t wait to see what would come of it. As a kid, I used to absolutely hate commercials due to my nonexistent patience — but this was one I would always look forward to seeing come on again.
