Ben’s Big Zelda Post

Hi all, here at LadiesGamers we’re all having a big review of our personal relationships with the Legend Of Zelda series. It’s easy to see what so many love about the games. Anyone who has owned a Nintendo console almost certainly has played or seen at least one of them and many have gone on to discover the many amazing trips to Hyrule.

Where I Began…

For me, I actually joined the club 20 years down the Zelda timeline. Two decades after the original was released and Twilight Princess was due to arrive on GameCube and Wii. I was very much caught up in anticipation for the Wii’s release back in 2006. I had an amazing opportunity to visit one of the showcases travelling the country with a good friend of mine, I believe I have actually written about this on this blog before. At the same time I was subscribed to the Nintendo Official Magazine here in the UK who were constantly talking about the Wii since it’s inception as Project Revolution. Since playing the brief demo that day I knew I just had to have it when I received my Wii that Christmas. I played constantly for days, completely hooked on the games’ brooding design. Super Smash Bros Melee had me keen to branch out to Nintendo franchises other than Mario and Pokémon. Zelda was my next big step!

Since Twilight Princess, using my Wii and DS combined I quickly branched out to the original NES game, Link To The Past, Ocarina Of Time, Minish Cap, Wind Waker Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. I had very quickly developed an affection for the series amazing story, lore and gameplay. On top of that, I have also played Skyward Sword, Breath Of The Wild, the HD remakes and Link Between Worlds. I have plenty of fond memories discussing the series at length with fellow site support @Evriun too, especially during our all-nighters.

My Favourite Zelda Game

I’m very fond of Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks and especially Hyrule Warriors. But Twilight Princess remains top of my list. The feeling of playing it the first time alongside my brand new Wii console was incredible and easily a top memory of my gaming career. But it’s not just that, its darker storyline is a series high and the world design too captured the Ocarina Of Time magic and scaled it up accordingly. I loved the Twilight Realm, the characters and the depth of the exploration afforded by the ability to transform into a Wolf and back.

There are so many amazing moments; riding atop Epona, sword aloft on Eldin Bridge. Link drawing the Master Sword from within the Sacred Grove and Ganondorfs grisly end during the games conclusion to name a few. Zant, the Twilight Usurper, was an interesting and delightfully mad villain with a great design. All the bosses in fact were cool and fun to battle. Recently, thanks to speed running, I have gained even more interest in playing yet again and getting to run through myself using some of the cool tricks and challenges discovered by the running community. I sincerely hope the HD version perhaps gets a chance to come to Switch.

My Hopes For The Breath Of The Wild Sequel

We recently found out that Breath Of The Wild is to receive a sequel. Reports say that the younger team had too many ideas for DLC so hopefully we’ll see a plethora of new content set in the current expansive overworld. I personally would like to see a more direct sequel to the events of the original. The trailers suggest it being a possibility what with Link and Zelda looking very similar. Zelda’s more emotive character deserves more screentime and possibly the opportunity to play as her. Hyrule Warriors does a great job at illustrating her combat potential. It would be interesting to therefore have events continue and Zelda playing a bigger physical role in defending her kingdom.

A random tidbit I read about BOTW, is that there were potentially to be areas requiring Link to shrink much like Minish Cap. I wouldn’t mind seeing that feature see the light of day! That and more returning items reimagined in the BOTW formula would be pretty awesome!

My Ideas For A Zelda Game

Sometime ago I compiled a bunch of ideas into what I thought would make a good Zelda game. This was way before Breath Of The Wild and just after Skyward Sword. It combined what I really liked about the series and draws heavily from Ocarina Of Time and Twilight Princess. A couple of centuries post-Twilight Princess, Link is reincarnated in a more modern but pre-industrial incarnation of Ordon. The hero’s home from TP is an abandoned shack where Link finds an old sword but returns the next day to see it burnt to the ground. He starts hearing the voice of Zelda who summons him to Castle City.

The worlds setting is very modern with roads, towns and cities and Ganondorf appears as a radical leader from Gerudo. As Hyrule readies its entrance to an industrial revolution, Ganondorf wants to seize control and draws forth the usual ancient magic. Zelda sends Link to ancient temples to seal the worlds magic to prevent it ruining humanity’s progress. The Ocarina returns and plays a supportive role and Melody – an assistant fairy – allows Link and Zelda to stay in contact. The game would play much as Twilight Princess did and ultimately the message was to not forget or erase the past. Zelda and Ganondorf would have playable storylines as additional post-game content. Link seals the magic but Zelda heavily documents the ancient legends and immortalises them within Hyrule Library. Link sets the Master Sword down at the end and a montage of all other heroes doing the same is shown.

But that’s all I have to say for now, thanks for reading and do tell us anything and everything about Zelda that you can think of!