As a mournful howl echoed through the trees, Uli placed a hand on her swollen belly. She stood in the doorway as Rusl made his way slowly back up the meandering path to their home in the forest village of Ordon. Uli’s eyes drifted to the tree line as a shift in the wind rustled…
Though it might be debatable to call it a true species, what is undeniable is that the Beamos is one of the most iconic enemy types from The Legend of Zelda. These stationary foes are seemingly self-aware and have a long history of preventing would-be heroes from freely traversing dungeon pathways. A Link to the…
High on a rock spire in the midst of Lanayru Sand Sea, Link searches Skipper’s Retreat for the Ancient Sea Chart, his only hope of navigating the dried up ocean in search of the mighty Sandship. Link examines the Skipper’s ancient abode and discovers evidence of the Skipper’s past life. Pictures on the wall show…
It is no secret that The Legend of Zelda series is heavily inspired by literature and art throughout the world. From Link’s strange resemblance to the classic Walt Disney character Peter Pan to Shigeru Miyamoto’s fascination with the American novelist Zelda Fitzgerald, the Zelda series is the epitome of cultural diffusion. Perhaps no installment embraces…
Link is the lone hero of every Zelda game, often starting out from rather humble beginnings. It’s often pointed out that he never has parents, even when the incarnations of him are rather young, but there are actually a few games hinting that he has had parents at one point before separating for various reasons.…
Few enemies exhibit the same level of variety and persistence as the Wizzrobes do. Since the inception of The Legend of Zelda series, these foes have played the role of mysterious and magical beings of unknown origin who faithfully serve whatever evil dominates Hyrule and its connected worlds. The Wizzrobes are crafty and dangerous, and…
In Link’s Awakening, Link awakes on the dreamy island shore of Koholint, which is inhabited by a variety of strange creatures. While many are classic Zelda foes, such as Bubbles and Stalfos, some of them are monsters that you might be more likely to find in the Mushroom Kingdom than in Hyrule — and some…
Following the top-down, Zelda dungeon-style level in Super Mario 3D Land and the 8-bit Link level in Super Mario 3D World, it was a little surprising when Super Mario Odyssey arrived without any Legend of Zelda references or cameos. The seemingly closest thing we got was a gameplay mechanic similar to the Merge ability from…
When I was about six years old, my parents bought me a Nintendo Entertainment System, and from that moment on, many of my childhood hours were spent sitting criss-cross applesauce in front of my television playing and replaying my favorite NES carts. New games were few and far between, usually arriving on Christmas Day or…
As a proud member of the San Diego Zoo, I receive their annual calendar that showcases a different animal resident every month. This June’s poster fauna was a bird named “Handsome.” But it was no ordinary bird. It’s enormous, hooked beak and wide eyes gave this avian a prehistoric appearance that threaded the needle between…
The early 1990s was a magical time for American sports. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were on top of the NBA world. The Dallas Cowboys rose to prominence and won three Super Bowls. Cal Ripkin Jr. broke the record for most consecutive Major League Baseball games played. While my adolescence was filled with the…
Given the narrative history of using monstrous spiders in fantasy tales, it was only natural that an enemy would be created for The Legend of Zelda series that followed this pattern. The Skulltula, an arachnid beast that is meant to intimidate players, has held a prominent place in the Zelda bestiary for more than twenty…
The characters from the original Legend of Zelda don’t say much, but what they do say is highly memorable. Among the most recognizable quotes is “It’s a secret to everybody,” uttered to Link by a Moblin in hiding. Versions of this iconic phrase have become a recurring Easter egg in the Zelda series (and in…
From Jägerschnitzel and Bratwurst to Kinder chocolates and Doppelbock beer, German cuisine is a staple amongst my hebdomadal rotation of kitchen ingredients. While nutriment is routinely cited as the most popular form of one’s cultural exploration, another German constituent has also captivated my attention: techno music. Known for galvanizing and repetitive electrical beats, the techno genre…
Tri Force Heroes is a game that came and is admittedly forgotten by most. It was fun to play with friends, but when friends became scarce we had to rely on the internet to bring strangers of our skill level to our service, and sometimes it took a rather long time. Luckily, there was one…
