Before we had Majora’s Mask and the ability to change form, I was obsessed with mask quests in Ocarina of Time. Was it the dress-up aspect that drew me in, the strange masks themselves, or the shop and its bizarre proprietor? The Happy Mask shop is the first location where The Legend of Zelda gets…
A Zelda game would not be complete without a proper castle. Even when the Hero of Legend ventures to foreign lands–or supernatural realms birthed by an eldritch god–Link’s Awakening provides us with a great mini-dungeon in Kanalet Castle. A sojourn to Kanalet Castle is another one of many steps on Link’s journey across the dreamy…
Many of The Legend of Zelda games have a ghost town as a featured location. Hyrule Castle Town in the adult timeline of Ocarina of Time is probably a classic example, along with the Hidden Village in Twilight Princess. One of the central images of Breath of the Wild is the decaying buildings of an…
“Only the memory of this dream land will exist in the waking world…” bellows the Wind Fish. The Sleeping God–awoken–relays the hurtful truth of Koholint, that saving the world means destroying it. But, by holding his memories of this world dear, by keeping the images of this island in his mind, it could never truly…
The Legend of Zelda regularly follows traditional fantasy tropes with its castles, cathedrals, and enchanted woods. One trope that it often skipped is the great library. There are only two examples I can think of throughout all the games of libraries: the Hyrule Castle Library from Breath of the Wild that appears in Tears of…
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…
Twilight Princess is certainly one of the weirder Legend of Zelda games. The characters are bizarre, the tone moody, and the gimmicks unconventional. The overall design choices are both bolder and more specific than the games that came before. One such choice is the design of the Boat Rental Cabin. In a few ways, it…
Deep in the shifting sands of the Gerudo Desert awaits the quiet Spirit Temple, one of the last sojourns for the Hero of Time on his epic quest. Unfortunately for Link, the insular Gerudo clan is closed to visitors, especially in these uncertain times in Hyrule. To purloin the Spirit Medallion, Link will have to…
It’s so Nintendo to put something weird in their games. One could argue that Zelda is a weird series anyway, strange and convoluted, with funky monsters and gimmicks. The Wind Waker has plenty of quirks to offer. The sailing mechanic, the cutesy art style, the Tingle Tuner, take your pick. It’s a funny little game.…
The adventure has ended. Once again, the Hero of Legend is triumphant over evil — the Nightmares that torment the Wind Fish are put to rest. Inside this egg, an alien realm of never-ending passages, stairs materialize before Link; an ascension to a higher realm, one worthy only of gods, one the hero is invited…
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.…
Deep in the fiery belly of Ocarina of Time’s Death Mountain lies a subterranean labyrinth known as Dodongo’s Cavern. As the second dungeon on Link’s adventure, it not only serves as a challenge of puzzles and monsters, but as a narrative pivot in Link’s journey as a hero. This dungeon is a labyrinthian cave system…
I’ve been listening to some nostalgic gaming podcasts on my commute to work recently, so I’ve got the N64 on my mind. Weighing up whether Ocarina of Time or Majora’s Mask was a more formative playing experience has proved moot: I played them simultaneously and both have different merits. But Ocarina of Time is such…
The overworld is a classic feature in game design to assist the player in traversing to the many landscapes and challenges the game has to offer. An overworld is something of a world terminal, a central nexus. Termina Field, found in Majora’s Mask, embodies this concept. Termina Field can act as a reflection of Ocarina…
Sometimes a core location is small and unassuming. The plot leads Link to a locale and reveals a great truth or new ability. In some Zelda games, this moment will occur in Hyrule Castle, the Great Deku Tree, or somewhere equally immense. But The Wind Waker follows a different path. After all, when does it…
