Have you ever met a character in a Zelda game who feels like they are out of place in their world? These are characters, like Tingle, who is strange no matter what game he appears in. Or perhaps like the Happy Mask Salesman of Majora’s Mask whose energy feels almost too sinister, even in the…
Beautiful. Schemer. Intelligent. Manipulator. Regal. Coward. Midna, the eponymous Princess of Twilight, appears to be many things throughout Link’s journey in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Yet, most of those things are only discovered during Link’s interactions with Midna after she’s been cursed and introduced to him in her impish form. So, let’s take…
Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, the internet has exponentially increased the speed by which humanity is able to communicate. From Facebook and Twitter feeds to Snapchat and Instagram boards, message transmission has never been easier. While the aforementioned mechanisms have proven expeditiously convenient, each creates a synthetic exchange that occasionally feels hollow and…
My dearest grandson, As I watch a ghostly fog reach forward and curl toward Outset Island, it takes me back to a time when my world seemed faded and my heart was heavy with loss. I often find myself looking out to sea, hoping to catch a glimpse of sails on the horizon once again,…
With the unbearable weight of the creeping Twilight mysteriously lifted by unknown means, Hena was finally free to get back to work. The sole owner and operator of the Fishing Hole, Hena is a young, hard-working woman with a passion for all things fishing. She assumes it will take some time for customers to come…
Link has been through a lot in his many iterations. Throughout The Legend of Zelda series, he’s been “skyward bound, adrift in time [and] steeped in the glowing embers of twilight” (according to Zelda’s speech during Link’s knighting ceremony). But Breath of the Wild brought about a very different kind of trial for the hero,…
Upon entering the Cave of Ordeals, Link is unaware of what challenge awaits him. Only a mysterious voice guides him, telling him when he is ready to complete the trials ahead. After facing the first ten floors, Link finds a fountain with a strange glowing aura. When he approaches the structure, the mysterious voice reveals…
We learn much about Link through his interactions with the various inhabitants of the lands he travels. Sometimes, through the player’s ability to choose how Link should react, the player learns a little about him or herself. In that way, some characters that Link encounters serve as moral tests, questioning how Link, and the player…
The Great Deku Tree had been watching over the Kokiri Forest long before Link began his quest to save Hyrule. Possibly the oldest living being in Hyrule, the Great Deku Tree was a wise and caring giant whose only desire was to see the Kokiri, whom he saw as his children, prosper and live peaceful…
In order to make Hyrule feel vast and occupied, there are characters who are simply there to provide ambiance. These characters are ordinary people, going about their lives as Link saves the world time and time again. Sometimes they might offer Link an errand or a hint about his next objective, but most of the…
The Gerudo Champion Urbosa is the embodiment of everything I love about the Gerudo race. Fierce. Beautiful. Determined. Dignified. Fearless. In fact, Urbosa also represents a quality of the Gerudo that is easy to overlook, given how Link usually sees them as enemies at worst and tolerant at best. Despite the burning deserts that surround…
In the course of a lifetime, a person will devote a substantial portion of their youthful energy to an occupation. For many, the daily grind of punching a timecard is simply a means of providing for a household. But for a lucky few, the intersection of passion and profession creates a vocational bliss that they…
Could everyone please stand for her royal majesty, Princess Ruto. Feisty, headstrong, and a tad spoiled, the princess of the Zora’s is not your average damsel in distress, but then again, who is in the land of Hyrule? A tomboy in her own right, Ruto is the sole embodiment of a child who has little…
At the end of Windfall Island’s main path, at the highest point of the island, Link finds a number of interesting homes and businesses, but it’s the impressive and almost-monumental windmill that draws his attention. This town is full of life, surely this windmill is the centerpiece of the excitement, right? Link’s eagerness fades quickly…
Just like many before and after me, Ocarina of Time is one of the most influential Zelda games I have ever played. Regardless of what will come after it, I can never deny just how much it shaped how I see and experience a Zelda game. It’s almost as if it’s a sort of standard…
