Sharks are usually portrayed as enemies in video games, given their on-screen reputation in the media as killing machines. As a huge shark nerd, I don’t always like that they’re portrayed in such a light. In The Legend of Zelda series as a whole, there have only been very few shark enemies. The Gyorg’s of…
Remember at the start of The Wind Waker, when you returned those three missing pet piglets to their rightful owner? Only to return to your home island later on, of course, and find that two of them actually ended up as dinner? It seems that there is someone else in the game who also has…
After we learned that each Link and Zelda were not the same characters in each game, many of us probably questioned: “Why do they all have the same name?” Was it some sort of tradition that each descendent be given the names Link and Zelda generation after generation? In Zelda’s case, yes, that is exactly…
Lynels have not appeared in many Zelda games, but each encounter is hard to forget. These beasts are powerful and resilient, and they have earned their reputation as one of Link’s deadliest foes. Lynels first appeared in the original Legend of Zelda as common enemies that dwelled near Death Mountain. The beasts came in two…
My brother has been trying to get me to watch Twin Peaks for years. He often references the television show and shows his love with a Twin Peaks ugly sweater and a Bookhouse Boys ball cap. I ignored his advice for years. Then, as I was thumbing through the Zelda Encyclopedia one afternoon, I noticed…
Trying to “break” games by testing their limits is a bit of a hobby of mine, especially when it involves venturing outside of a game’s established borders. In most cases, a successful attempt at this can cause glitches that, while amusing, are clearly not intended by developers. Sometimes, however, developers can prove to have excellent…
Having discussed the Game Boy Camera quite a bit lately, I’ve only ventured further into the rabbit hole of dead Nintendo peripherals. Somewhere along my research on the Game Boy Camera, I came across a fleeting mention of something called the Nintendo GameEye, which seemed strangely familiar. I think what fascinates me more than the…
Ruto, Rauru, Saria, Darunia, and Nabooru. These are all names that we’ve come to know as some of the sages from Ocarina of Time, and from this point on they are referenced throughout Zelda lore. However, what some people may not know (though there are many who do) is that these names did not hail…
The Legend of Zelda series’ quintessential mindless foe, Chuchus serve the role of being a mild nuisance in every game they appear in, with each encounter being similar in style and threat level. The Chuchus first appeared in Majora’s Mask as translucent blobs with large mouths and eyes on stems. The eyes and slimy body were likely inspired by…
Did you play Ocarina of Time when it was first released? If so, you may have noticed that the music in the Fire Temple is different than in re-releases of the game. The Fire Temple theme in the first two versions of Ocarina of Time featured chanting, but all later versions replaced the chanting with MIDI…
Recently, a rare interview with Nintendo Producer Shigeru Miyamoto was rediscovered from a 1992 issue of Electric Brain magazine. In it, he discussed many of the challenges that Nintendo faced while developing the incredibly ambitious Zelda title, A Link to the Past. It’s a fascinating read that covers many aspects of the design process of the game. There…
I first came across a character named Fado in The Wind Waker. I later found out that the rancher’s name in Twilight Princess was also Fado. I realized the name was the same but didn’t think much of it — that is until I discovered that in Ocarina of Time there was another character named Fado…
Perhaps the biggest point of contention for folks who didn’t enjoy Majora’s Mask was the strict time limit. The clock ran down quickly, and as the days passed, the stress of completing your quest became more pressing. Though the game gave you tools to slow down time, for many players they weren’t enough to ease…
One of the joys of following a long-running series is hunting for Easter eggs and other references to previous installments in the most recent release. Zelda games are no exception. I always appreciate the creative ways Zelda developers allude to preceding titles in their work. In A Link Between Worlds, one of the primary story and…
I always wanted a Game Boy Camera. It was an accessory compatible with all Game Boy systems (excluding the Micro) which allowed users to snap and store digital photos, and to customize them with Nintendo-themed stamps. The ads and the magazines made it look so fun, and as a child constantly glued to my Game…
