Daily Debate: Which Zelda Game Reminds You Most of Summer?

With summer still in full swing, I’ve been thinking about the connections that the Zelda series has to this particularly sunny season. Not only do most entries boast some form of water dungeon, but there are also some games based entirely around oceans and islands. Somehow, this just makes me think of summer! Indeed, Link’s Awakening, The Wind Waker, and Phantom Hourglass share the most direct connections to the summer season, but there are other factors at play.

For example, whenever I think about any given Zelda game, I’m taken right back to where I was in my life when I initially played it. I had just discovered online message boards around the time I played Ocarina of Time, while Skyward Sword released during my first semester of college. And though it may not have a ton in common with summer aesthetically, the game that reminds me of that season most is Twilight Princess.

Admittedly, I was a bit late to the party with this game, as I didn’t get a chance to play it until the summer after its release. To this day, I’m not sure why I waited seven months to play it, as I distinctly remember being over-the-moon excited about it for years. In any case, I received Twilight Princess as a birthday gift and was immediately consumed for the next couple of months.

Upon completing it, I didn’t revisit the game until the following summer. At that point I said to myself, “Man, I think this might be my favorite video game.” From there, it became an annual tradition to play Twilight Princess every summer throughout the rest of my high school and college years. So, ironically, I guess you could say the Zelda game that reminds me most of this season is the one that kept me from going outside more often and, you know, experiencing summer.

What about you, though? Whether it’s because of its setting, your memories from when you first played it, or something else entirely, which Zelda game reminds you most of summer? Let us know in the comments below!