The Legend of Zelda Turns 25:
Cubed3’s Favourite Moments
Have you ever wanted to wield a sword, travel through time, explore the world through land, sea and air? You can do that in real-life, but it’s not quite the same without that sprinkle of pure Nintendo magic. The year is 1986 and Famicom players in Japan are already pounding Koopa Troopers and scoffing down mushrooms with Super Mario Bros., but Nintendo needed something a little less linear – an adventurer who also sought to save a princess, but explored a huge world dominated by monsters rather than bouncing merrily over platforms. The Legend of Zelda was born, and over two decades later has gained millions of fans across the globe. Here are some of our favourite memories from the series.
Jorge Ba-oh, Founder
If anyone knows my gaming appetite, it most certainly includes The Legend of Zelda. If anyone’s ever read a gaming feature by me, food is usually present. What a meaty series from the creators of Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong Zelda is. Delicious!
I do tend to criticise the latest incarnations of the now quarter-century franchise, but there have been a ton of brilliant, jaw-dropping moments that make the world of Hyrule one of my favourite series of all time.
It all began when I was creeping on eight years old. Power Rangers were in and so was Game Boy. Unfortunately the spandex-wearing heroes were all sold out at my local shop, so in came two alternatives: Tetris and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. I tried the latter and found it confusing, shoving it deep within a box full of old toys. Little did I know that, years later, the Game Boy adventure would become one of my favourite Zelda titles to date.
It’s a fairly standard answer with fans of the series now, but Ocarina of Time still leads the way with memories of love, fear and excitement. I even broke the unwritten law of ‘don’t open your presents before Christmas’ one night to venture into the Deku Tree. I gave up turkey, kisses from creepy relatives and the New Year countdown for a slice of Nintendo 64 ecstasy. The moment you step out as Adult Link; horseback archery; pegging it down Ganon’s Castle after the final battle – all much loved memories.
Then came the sequels – the brilliant Kafei/Anju side quest and playing instruments/transforming in Majora’s Mask, finding out the boat’s true identity in The Wind Waker and being sucked into the void for the first time in Twilight Princess are amongst my favourite moments.
The Legend of Zelda encompasses some of the best things about Nintendo – the sense of adventure, refined gameplay, memorable characters and sublime music. Truly a series worth remembering again and again.
Adam Riley, Senior Editor
Being the oldest and crustiest member of the Cubed3 Clan, my memories date right back to the original game, The Legend of Zelda on the NES. Was it the most amazing game of its time, the pinnacle of adventures on Nintendo’s 8-bit console, an experience that changed my life forever? In short, no. In fact, as young and naive as I was back then, I didn’t really see the appeal and when I finally got around to picking it up at the start of the 1990s, I returned it along with the (in hindsight) sublime Solar Jetman and got my dear mother to buy me…wait for it…Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart’s Super Off Road! The saving grace is that I also ended up with the brilliant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and unforgettable Faxanadu (which just landed on Virtual Console, actually). Therefore, in a manner of speaking, my first memory of Zelda was considerably poor.
The Legend of Zelda II: Link’s Adventure, on the other hand, had far more of an impact and could well be the reason for me loving a tough challenge rather than an easy-going ride for the following two decades. The side-scrolling adventuring appealed in the same way that Falcom’s Faxanadu had, and the precise control of Link required to navigate the world, whilst deftly attacking surprisingly tough enemies with short-range weapons and limited magical abilities, was absolutely thrilling. I still fondly recall even the earliest stages, trying to stubbornly trudge through a dark cave full of monsters, both on the ground and dive-bombing from the ceiling, without the aid of a candle, or even coming face-to-face with the first major boss after meticulously grinding through a dungeon filled with numerous elevators and plenty of frustrating soldiers that seemed to block almost every sword strike by swiftly moving their shields up and down.
From that point on I was somewhat of a Zelda fanatic, adoring the dual world aspect of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES, and then being stunned by how faithful the Game Boy’s version, Link’s Awakening, was, showing how skilful Nintendo’s programmers were by being able to shrink the 16-bit RPG into the diminutive handheld so perfectly. The love continued with the epic Ocarina of Time and dark, twisted approach taken for the multi-layered Majora’s Mask. Special mention should go to Oracle of Seasons and Oracles of Ages, both on Game Boy Colour, as well as Minish Cap and the Link to the Past Game Boy Advance port that featured the multiplayer adventure, Four Swords. All four were developed in conjunction with the now defunct Capcom subsidiary, Flagship, and hold a special place in my heart, especially Minish Cap with its stunning soundtrack. Finally, the two Tingle off-shoots are fond reminders of how good Zelda spin-offs can be. The old CDi adventures from Phillips may have been a bust, yet Freshly Picked Tingle’s Rosey Rupeeland on DS was a successful attempt at marrying monetary antics with an RPG flavour, and its Japanese-only sequel put the green fairy in an extremely enjoyable point-and-click setting.
There have been some excellent memories over the past 25 years, but the best years are definitely ahead and, personally I think it would be great to see Nintendo and Eiji Aonuma expand the Legend of Zelda series to include a traditional turn-based RPG style affair in the future.
Mike Mason, Reviews Editor
Zelda has always been with me throughout my gaming life. As an original Game Boy-owning child I spent many an hour playing Links Awakening, though I had no idea of the series prestige at the time and it was all thanks to the good taste of my parents that it even ended up in my possession. Later on I can distinctly recall weeks of anticipation leading up to the release of Ocarina of Time during my school days, swapping information garnered from Computer & Videogames, Games Master, whatever gaming magazines we could get our hands on. That golden cartridge never let me down once it entered my Nintendo 64; it was everything we had hoped for and more. I have never felt school days drag as much as the ones during my first play through of Ocarina of Time. To this day, Im more than happy to let Navi look after me in t-shirt form, alerting all those around me to listen!.
Wind Waker had a similar effect on me, and almost eight years on its still one of gamings most incredible visual feasts, perhaps the closest that gaming has come to a fully interactive cartoon. It may not be viewed as favourably as Ocarina of Time as a whole, but it definitely contains some of my favourite moments in all my years of gaming, not least in the almost unimaginable story-ending action that contrasts perfectly with the child-friendly style to form a final encounter not easily forgotten.
For Zeldas 25th year, Im looking forward to revisiting the world that absorbed my 12 year old self in the 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time, and I have high expectations that Skyward Sword will deliver an entirely new tale to take over my evenings. Ill always make time in my life to hold aloft that Master Sword, gallop after Ganondorf and bring peace to Hyrule; the Zelda franchise is embedded into my gaming life almost as much as the Triforce is in the lives of the series main characters.
Ross Marrs, General Writer
Back in the summer of 2003, anticipation for the next instalment into Nintendo’s popular and beloved Zelda franchise was building up within the gaming community. Whilst there was a divide about the visual style, I was among the lovers of it and I have never been as excited about a Zelda game before or since The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It was during a time just before the release period of the title when I particularly started to gain more excitement about it. Not only were the TV advertisements on various childrens channels making me act bananas, but a small article in the once named NOM (now ONM – Official Nintendo Magazine) told of a bonus disc containing Ocarina of Time with early copies of the game. I was hell-bent on obtaining that disc.
This brings me onto my favourite Zelda moment (or at least one of them). Being the younger person I was, I had a warped perception that I wouldnt get the disc if I didnt go into town early and I would miss out on a copy. I remember setting my alarm on the release date and jumping eagerly out of bed, telling my dad that we had to go in early to make sure I got the bonus disc. It was always a bit empty in the shopping department, but we did have a Woolworths, and it was the only shop I used to buy my games from. I remember the warm feeling I got as we were heading in and the anticipation as we got closer and closer.
Once we got there, I remember I felt like running through the shop to get to it, but that would have been rather embarrassing, so instead I speed-walked to the GameCube section. I still had a buzzing feeling when I finally picked up the case. I was in awe of its golden sheen and the inclusion of Ocarina of Time. Once I was home, all I remember doing is playing it for hours, whilst eating various snacks. Its been a fond memory and thats why its one of my favourite Zelda moments.
James Temperton, Contributor
My favourite Zelda moment was playing Ocarina of Time on the Virtual Console last winter. If you remember, it was rather cold and the house I lived in didnt really have central heating. This made life depressing. To brighten up our cold and depressing lives, my housemates and I decided to bring Ocarina of Time back into our lives.
We split into two teams and set up two different games and spent the following month alternating between people as we multiplayered our way through every glorious inch of one of the greatest games ever made.
Ive played through Ocarina of Time a fair bit over the years, but playing through it with a group of friends (twice, in one month) was daftly entertaining. We all had different memories of the game, had different ideas about how to do things, knew different tricks and remembered different secrets and shortcuts. While it didnt stop the house from being a freezing crap-hole, it was unquestionably one of the most entertaining and brilliant ways of playing through a game all over again.
Rudy Lavaux, General Writer
My oldest Zelda moment is when I first discovered the series through a French Nintendo Club Magazine from 1990 which was passed to me by a friend of my parents. The magazine featured some NES and Game Boy games. I didn’t own a NES back then, so I dreamt while looking at the maps of the overworld of the first Zelda and read informations about the enemies and items. I dreamt about exploring such an interesting world, but was too young to own or play such a complex adventure.
I wouldn’t get to experience my first Zelda game until I got a Game Boy, and borrowed Link’s Awakening. I’ll never forget being (stupidly) stuck right at the beginning, not understanding that the magic powder had to be used on the racoon in the forest to get past him, not knowing how to use the power bracelet, getting completely stuck in the sixth temple. Back then I would also let my imagination fly as to what would appear behind the black tiles of the map which would only reveal itself after having explored a ‘screen’.
Another moment is related to A Link to the Past: taking up the challenge of beating the game on one sitting, without saving. Indeed, in both of the original NES titles, you could only save after you died, and it would keep track of how many times you died before beating the game. In the SNES title, it would let you save and quit whenever you wanted, but it would count it as a game over, and only after you cleared the game would a number appear next to your save file, showing how many times you saved or died. To achieve a file with “00” displayed next to it, it meant beating the game in one sitting. This was one of the first big challenges of my gaming life.
Ocarina of Time also holds a lot of great memories. Riding on the Hyrule field, looking at the sun rising on Lake Hylia, mesmerized by how beautiful the colours were… or wondering why I couldn’t free the Zora from the ice! I even enjoyed getting lost in the Water Temple, whereas a lot of players complained about how hard it was. But the music is what holds my greatest memory about this game. I didn’t buy it at launch, but got a CD with four music tracks from the game which came with the July 1999 issue of the French Official Nintendo Magazine. This was sort of my first ‘moment’ with the game: its music !
Then came Majora’s Mask, which remains my favourite to this day. Watching the non-playable characters really going about their lives, doing different things at different hours, is my greatest memory ever in a Zelda game. I really wish Nintendo would do something like that again with the series. Not necessarily with a looping days system, which could be dropped for all I care, but where the characters felt equally as credible, if not more given how the hardware as improved. I also loved how much more dramatic the overall story was, getting in depth in the story behind the NPCs. This hasn’t happened in a Zelda game since.
Throughout the series, what makes up Zelda‘s essence for me is the sense of adventure in a vast open world which, while being rich and full of history, also contains a great attention to little details which are left undescribed for your imagination to soar.
Calum Peak, General Writer
I arrived both early and late to the Zelda franchise, which seems a little odd until you consider that I didnt have an up-to-date console until 2004. Up until that point I watched my primary school friend take his first steps into the world of Majora’s Mask and engage in the beautifully crafted world and wonderful story, taking down enemies and on a few occasions, could remember my jaw hitting the floor when the end of dungeon bosses appeared. Moving swiftly on to 2004 I got my trusty silver GameCube, and alas, I became more of a Metroid fan and never really turned my eyes towards the Zelda games. Dont get me wrong, I knew they were fantastic, but I just found it difficult to sink into its culture with the back-story, and then there was the fact that by 2004/5 Gamecube games were getting difficult to get hold of.
It seems very fitting then that my first ‘proper’ Zelda experience was delivered to me by our very own Josh (AKA SuperLink) in the form of a loaned copy of Wind Waker. Now, call me a heretic, but I never actually completed it. Josh wanted it back, so he could play through it. Again. But what I did experience was one of the most amazingly crafted worlds Ive ever played on. The islands that loomed up out of the distance as a new discovery, the cel-shaded visuals, and on those islands, whole new races of people to interact with and little secrets to discover. Then there where the bosses – Im a sucker for gigantic bosses, perhaps why I like Metroid so much – but my first encounter with foes like Valoo the Dragon, Jalhalla (the Giant Poe) and Kalle Demos have forever been etched in my memory. You just cant beat the satisfaction of taking down something that is twenty times your size.
Skip forward several years and I managed to get hold of a copy of Twilight Princess. After the bright beautiful worlds of Wind Waker, this was its polar opposite, gritty artwork was the name of the game, and it suited it. Twilight Princess had a much darker, twisted world and story. Enough of what it looked like, though; what truly blew me away (quite literally) was the arrival of Sky Town. For me, it featured some of my favourite puzzles in a Zelda game to date, lest you plummet to your doom miles below. Setting off with your double grapples, every move scrutinised, every puzzle thought out logically…and then there was that weird race of humanoid birds. Dont worry though, I did get to the end and Twilight Princess was in fact the first Zelda game I ever completed. Just like Super Mario Galaxy was the first Mario platformer I completed (yes, I know, its shameful…shoot me). Im more of an obscure title person when it comes to Nintendo, thats why I love them so much. What I will say, though, is that both games have stuck in my mind like glue and make me smile – those are the memories that stay sharp and clear in my mind. They both had worlds that drew you in and didnt let go until the end. Then there was Phantom Hourglass, with its Wind Waker-esque graphics. I fell all over again.
In conclusion…
It’s quite hard to believe that The Legend of Zelda has enriched our lives and taken us on dozens of new adventures in the last twenty five years. Although the series has wandered and many do question the originality of recent entries, each of Link’s many stories bring such fond memories that are forever engraved in our minds. Here’s to another quarter of a century with our favourite Hero of Time!
So what are you favourite moments throughout The Legend of Zelda history?
