Since the fall of Breath of the Wild’s Calamity, Princess Zelda has been on a journey to help the people of Hyrule recover and rebuild. That was, at least, until she vanished beneath Hyrule Castle at the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom. One of the unfinished projects she left behind, the Hateno Village School, is…
Fans of The Legend of Zelda series are often spoiled with rich gameplay experiences that make the player’s efforts feel crucial within Hyrule’s truly epic history. Traveling though time, uniting entire races of people, and facing off against godlike villains – all are events which hold an intense emotional weight that players actively participate in.…
Twilight Princess is the game to play if you’re looking for a mysteriously gothic good time, with the player traversing through yawning mansions, spooky passages, and haunted forests. Even in the early stages of the game, after Link gets transformed into a wolf, a deep feeling of dread can be felt watching the world of…
When writing your bullet-list for what makes a great Legend of Zelda dungeon, there’s a few obvious requirements: clever puzzles, story relevance, awesome aesthetics, and perhaps the maze-like experience of doubling back to unlock new areas. It probably should weave in some key thematic tones. A solid boss fight, surely. Honestly, what better way to…
As an ancient evil plagues Hyrule’s every corner, it’s both a dreadful and disgusting feeling to return to Zora’s Domain in Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo’s newly-released sequel to Breath of the Wild. With a broken rendition of the Domain’s theme echoing across the Zora River, Link trudges though muddy riverbanks and sludge-polluted paths on…
Zora’s Domain probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind when remembering the epic whirlwind that was Twilight Princess. Even as I write this article, I need to retrace my steps and remember the details of the domain, which lies frozen behind the cliffs of Lake Hylia. Even though it does offer a few…
It depends on every individual’s playthrough of Breath of the Wild, but it’s rare that people head out to the upper corners of the map right out the gate. By the time the average player reaches the autumn-swathed Akkala province, they’ve likely completed numerous shrines, side quests, boss fights, and/or freed a Divine Beast (maybe…
Well, you’ve done it. You’ve freed all four Divine Beasts, completed all 120+ shrines scattered across Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule, and collected every photographic story detail Zelda left for you a century ago. You’re finally ready to tackle Calamity Ganon at the source: Hyrule Castle. But what’s the best way to go about that?…
Hateno Village has an all-encompassing comfort to it and that remains true regardless how often I’ve visited it. The castle and its acrid malice is hidden behind Neculda’s mountain ranges, making Hateno’s crisp scenery a purposeful reprieve for the player. And when he first arrives, Link can seek refuge from his long journey by staying…
The major geological changes throughout Zelda series can be fun to analyze. It’s very surreal to play Breath of the Wild, arguably the most current game in the series’ timeline, only to immediately thereafter play Skyward Sword and get thrown rapidly back in time. Peering back into Hyrule’s very beginning, armed with intimate knowledge of…
One of the most enticing things about Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule is the way local legends merge with ancient history, enriching a world that the player is free to explore. An amazing example of this is the fountain of the Horse God, Malanya. Its location is moderately out-of-the-way for the player, being in the…
In my first playthrough of Breath of the Wild, the first legitimately intriguing location I encountered after leaving the Great Plateau was Hickaly Woods. I was still getting used to the open world around me, grappling with how big Hyrule truly was, and Hickaly Woods felt like an exciting example of how much detailed lore…
