Daily Debate: What are the Things that Keep You Coming Back to the Zelda Series Year after Year?
Posted on July 02 2024 by Sean Gadus
The Zelda series has been around for almost forty years, and the games within the series have taken a variety of different forms. From 2D to 3D, from console to handheld, from linear to open world, the series has been remarkably diverse and innovative over the course of its history. While a great deal of the connective threads in the series comes down to its characters, iconography, and narratives, the games can look and feel wildly different from each other. Because the Zelda series has changed so much over time, it is helpful for players to reflect on how their love for the series has grown or changed throughout the years. Whether you have been playing Zelda games for years, or if you started yesterday, what draws you to the series or keeps you playing?
With your personal history with the series in mind, what are the things that keep you coming back to the Zelda series year after year?
Overall, the things that keeps me coming back to the Zelda series over and over again is the joy, wonder, and sense of adventure that permeates the entire series. There are a lot of great fantasy video games, but the Zelda series does an amazing job of giving the player interesting worlds to explore; worlds that feel appropriately wild, dangerous, and enchanting. Even in my third, fourth, and fifth playthroughs of games like Twilight Princess, The Wind Waker, and Ocarina of Time, I still feel a profound sense of joy as I go on the long journeys that each game is built around. I love revisiting all of my favorite characters, battling all of the dangerous bosses, and seeing every amazing vista. To me, the tight gameplay, the brilliant puzzles, the beautiful art design are all in service of creating the wonderful stories and experiences that will remain in your heart long after a Zelda game has ended.
What do you think? What are the things that keep you coming back to the Zelda series year after year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
