I hated Link.
Every time I heard or said his name, it was like poison was oozing from my mouth. I could see in my heart of hearts why Ganondorf wanted to kill him. Now, I understand that you might wonder: “Why would you hate Link?” The answer to that question is very simple and it had nothing to do with a Zelda game at all. Nope. It was all thanks to a game of Super Smash Bros.
In 1999, Nintendo released the first ever Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. I’m sure you’ve heard of it but for the very few that haven’t, Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game with Nintendo’s biggest stars where the objective is to eliminate your opponents from the battlefield by knocking them out of the stage. Growing up, me and my friend would play the game all the time. I was the legendary Fox McCloud and he decided to pick Link. And the battle would always end the same way. Me, losing.
I hated it. He would always use the same move over and over again. Bombs to the left of me, boomerangs to the right, and there I was, stuck in the middle with nothing but pain and anger. Then, to top it all off, he would throw me off the stage and press down and the A button to spike me down the map with that stinking sword. No matter how hard I tried, he would always beat me! It was annoying, and frustrating. Even if I decided to switch characters, all it did was leave me with a false hope, thinking the next match was gonna be different. Yet all I did was fail, nonetheless.
So I did what anyone would do if they struggle with a skill or a game. I practiced. I turned the difficulty to the highest possible and set the computer to play as Link. And with me as Fox, I practiced and played until I could master every single move Link would throw at me. With each game I played, I was getting better at destroying that pesky Hylian. I was finally ready.
Finally the day came, and I was ready to face my friend again. I picked the great Fox McCloud and he, of course, picked Link. Once the fight began, I knew he was going to be crying to his mommy at the end of the game, as I’d finally defeat him and give him the beating of a life time.
I lost.
Badly.
Every. Single. Time.
All that practice was for nothing. My friend gave me a beating every single time with Link and I grew to hate him whenever I see him in Super Smash Bros. Every time someone chooses to play as Link, I want them to lose. Sure, this may come from pettiness, but I have been scarred forevermore because of Link and can never get over it.
I hate Link.
