Author: John Lortie

Tears of the Kingdom’s dungeons weren’t always the versions players experience now. Considering the game’s scope, that statement probably isn’t surprising. But what if we were to tell you that early builds of Tears of the Kingdom’s dungeons persist in the game’s code, or that one existent early build of a temple is totally different from what was used in the final game? Dataminers in the “TotK Data Collection and Research” Discord server found these unused builds and have successfully…

I guess it could be argued that, to some extent, Zelda has never truly been a solitary experience. I’ve read that ‘80s kids on playgrounds used to talk about their discoveries in the original The Legend of Zelda, swapping stories and hints about every secret they’d uncovered. Nintendo home consoles had long been equipped with multiple controller ports for couch co-op, but it wasn’t until the Game Boy Advance remake of A Link to the Past came out that we got…

Update: Pre-orders for the Blood Moon Rising fan zine have been extended to March 31st, according to the project’s X account. The extension comes as the project’s final stretch goal was unlocked this past Thursday. John LortieJohn’s been a Zelda fan since he was seven years old (which was a good few decades ago). He loves the last three months of the year, analog media, his family, and Tolkien. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild and his favorite game is Night in the…

Love them or hate them, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom did a lot to shake up (or outright change, depending on your opinion) the Zelda formula. Linear progression was replaced with open-air exploration. Sprawling dungeons were (to an extent) replaced with Shrines and overworld puzzles. All-powerful weapons were replaced with ones that degrade and break. Dungeon items you acquire over the course of the game became a handy set of abilities you get at the adventure’s…

If Tears of the Kingdom looms as large in your memory as it does mine, you probably remember the final cutscene of the Imprisoning War incredibly well. This is that pivotal moment when Rauru seals Ganondorf, buying time for all of Hyrule until Link is well enough equipped to do what the Sages could not. It’s a powerful scene, which is made all the more so thanks to the bombastic score accompanying it. Pixel Partitas on YouTube has created a…

Producer and musician Helynt is no stranger to Zelda music, having released such high-profile Zelda fan albums as 2020’s Legend of Synthwave and 2022’s Zelda’s Memories. And his new album, Legend of Chillwave, features tracks from an array of Zelda titles, ranging from Link’s Awakening to Tears of the Kingdom, and is dripping with 1980s vibes. Legend of Chillwave debuted on record label GameChops’ YouTube channel earlier this month. The whole album’s a retrofuture experience. From Helynt’s hazy, dreamy arrangements and production, to…