I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that I was a Legend of Zelda fanatic as a child. I still love the series to this day and I eagerly await the release of Breath of the Wild 2. But as a kid, it was a part of my whole world. The games resonated with me more than any others, and I would jump at any chance I got to experience something new that was related to the series.
Around age 9 or so, I started to wonder why The Legend of Zelda didn’t seem to have any sort of TV appearance, other than commercials, or have any movies or any sort of media that wasn’t a video game. I had just figured out the concept of the internet, and after some digging, I couldn’t believe what I found. A DVD case of an actual Legend of Zelda cartoon, officially licensed by Nintendo!
I was determined to get my hands on this Zelda cartoon DVD, and after a lot of favors for my parents and a touch of good behavior, I finally got my hands on it. And it blew my mind. Great music! Voice acting! A LINK THAT TALKS! Entertaining action sequences! And, of course, the corny 80s catchphrases, including the infamous: “Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Princess!”
Overall, I honestly really enjoyed it. Of course, me being the ‘expert’, I was picking apart some things I wondered about, like why Link had brown hair instead of blonde, or why the shield looked different, or why Ganon looked different (at the time I had only seen him as Ganondorf), and who or what was a Sprite? The strange Mario intro and outros before the cartoon started also got me raising an eyebrow. But hey, I can “Do the Mario”, so who’s laughing now?
And you know what the best part was? This DVD only had the first 3 episodes. When I later found out there was thirteen more, needless to say, I wanted them, I got them, and I loved them all just the same. I grew to really enjoy this take on Link’s character, and I enjoyed this cartoon very much as a kid. And the best part was, I didn’t have to wait for commercials! It was like having a TV show in the palm of my hand — literally!
Fast forward to my later teenage years. I saw that many people seemed to not enjoy the cartoon or flat out despised it. I wasn’t sure why back then, but in the present time, I can see why some would feel that way. Link wasn’t the idea of a hero that everyone expected him to be, Sprite was annoying, Ganon was an idiot, and even though I think the catchphrase is funny, I can understand why many find “Excuse me, Princess” to be ear-grating.
Still, I think the series has some merits that other cartoons back then didn’t have. Some of the dialogue was legitimately hilarious, like when Zelda’s father gave Link flowers as he was about to swing into his daughters room, and even encouraged it. Zelda was also an actual major part of the show — not just because she’s the princess, but because she was always fighting alongside Link and taking on a real warrior’s role. I also, to this day, still like this take on Link’s character: making him a sort of cocky veteran adventurer who can’t comfortably settle into a cushy lifestyle in the castle. And Ganon’s voice? Yeah, he can be an idiot, but there was more than one occasion where he sounded legitimately terrifying.
The cartoon wasn’t perfect — far from it. Even as a kid, I could see some issues. But these did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the show, and I sometimes go back and watch episodes again to this day.
