What Does Zelda Mean to You?

[Kazumi]

I'm sure that we've all heard questions like this before. What does X mean to you? What does Zelda mean to you? How is Zelda important to you? How has the game, and the series, affected you as a person? How has it affected your life? For me, it has affected me more than I would like to think.

My first Zelda game was Wind Waker, and I primarily loved it for it's exploration and vast world. Now that I look back on the series, exploration and a vast open world are there, but aren't exactly the series' strong points. Anyway, I loved the game, so when I got my own Wii I decided to play other Zelda games. I got Twilight Princess at the same time as my Wii (which I got about 8 months after launch), and I really enjoyed the game. It was a blast to play through. At this point I was really loving Zelda, and wanted to play even more. From here on I purchased and played through every currently existing main Zelda game. I enjoyed the series a lot, and still do, but now it's more then that. Playing Zelda at a relatively young age, and getting so involved in it has undeniably altered the course of my life, for better or worse. It has changed me in multiple different ways, from the way I think about things, how I spend my time, and even my social interactions.

On the most basic level, Zelda has introduced me a lot more to video games. Before I started playing Zelda I enjoyed playing games, but really didn't understand them on anything more than a basic level. I was also not exposed to the culture of gaming before Zelda. After playing and enjoying Zelda I moved onto other Nintendo games, and enjoyed those. From there I expanded into games from genres similar to the ones that I played. I enjoyed titles not made by Nintendo, though at that time still often on their consoles. While I did have a PS2 before my Wii, and before that an N64, I had never really experienced video games further than playing a few select titles that I enjoyed. From there I yearned for something that wasn't Nintendo. More and more I was starting to notice the faults that Nintendo had compared to the increasingly more seductive gaming experiences of the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. I had experience with both PC gaming and the PS2 before, but never to this level. A few years back when my father and I built a new family PC, I decided it was time to get into PC gaming. I grew from owning Civilization III, Rollercoaster Tycoon, and Quake to having an expansive library of more than 100 games on just Steam alone. Everything from huge titles like BioShock and Borderlands to indie games of the most obscure variety. I even own and have played a large quantity of classic games, from Deus Ex, Half-Life, and System Shock to classic Elder Scrolls and Dungeon Siege. In addition to PC gaming, I purchased and Xbox 360 and have enjoyed many games from that system as well. Zelda has changed the way that I view and play games, and by this logic has changed the way that I act, what I do, and who I interact with.

Playing Zelda has led me to the internet, for better or worse. The internet has changed me in ways that even I cannot fathom. I have learned a lot from being on the internet, about people, about the world, and even about myself. I have met many wonderful people on the internet, many of them from ZD. I've learned about a vast majority of subjects, most of which I may never have known at such a young age otherwise. However, I've also seen many terrible things on the internet, and I can safely say that the thought of someone being brutally raped, then gruesomely murdered and the body being set on fire doesn't really repulse me, if you get what I mean. The internet has desensitized me to many things, which can be both positive and negative. The internet has also made me quite cynical and jaded, but at the same time opened me up to many new ideas and possibilities. It has given me a much broader outlook on life and the world, and has given me a better understanding of how to proceed in life. It has changed me in ways both good and bad, but in the end I feel that it will turn out being positive, and help me in my future. This may all sound silly, but if you trace it back this all stemmed from playing Zelda, going on the internet, and joining ZD. In a way, ZD has changed my life as well.

Lastly, Zelda has changed the way that I think and the way that I interact with people. Video games are a part of my lifestyle, and as such I feel much more comfortable when they are a topic. I can get to know someone, and can talk to someone a lot easier if the topic is video games. I've met many people in relation to games, and have formed friendships, or at the very least acquaintanceships, due to video games, particularly Zelda. If I have a single thing in common with the fairly large amount of people that I enjoyed spending time with, it's that we all like and enjoy video games. I'm almost always open for a discussion or debate about video games, and this has also improved my speaking and debating skills, which I can say have already helped me many times in life. In addition to people that I know in real life, I've also met a whole slew of people on the internet, as I have stated. I always think that categorizing people you know with "IRL" and "Internet" isn't really fair, because really they are all real people. On the internet I have met more people of different ethnicities, religions, lifestyles then I would have ever met where I to not spend so much time on the internet. These people have exposed me to many things, both good and bad. I've learned a lot from people on the internet, and I thanks them for it. Once again, everything that I have learned and everyone that I have come to know on the internet can be traced back to playing Zelda.

In conclusion, Zelda means a lot to me. It's not only a fun game series, with great roots in video game culture, but a life changer. It has decided my fate, as a child anyway. It has affected me deeply, in many different ways. So I ask, what does Zelda mean to you?

 

[Ronin]

Zelda means immersing myself in a new world that's filled with so many places to go, so many options, that it feels like I'm in a entirely different reality. My perspective comes through Link, because I am him, and every motion does actually seem like I am inside his body, controlling where he goes and does.

 

[maxman1]

i breath zelda i live zelda i grow up with zelda i don't know what i will do if zelde was not here
i played my first zelda game out when i was 5!
i'm growd up with zelda i'm the miggest fan EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LolGames4U]

Zelda is one of my favorite game series ever! I've really grown up with it, I get a lot of inspiration for designing my own games from it, and they're just so much fun!

 

[Zelda's_Child]

To me, Zelda is my ex. So it kind of makes me sad to play some games, but I got over it quickly. I really think Zelda has changed me as a person, I'm far stronger mentally, and I cope alot better with things, I think it has to do with the stuff that happens, the main characters go through so much pain, but they know they have to do it.

So yea, I lubs teh selda.

 

[Post-organic]

Zelda is my favorite series of games, and accounts for about 80% of my childhood. When I was a little kid, I'd go into the woods and pretend I was Link, slashing at imaginary octorocks and moblins with my sword, which was just a stick. I drank red and blue powerade all the time, pretending it was red and blue potion. In addition, my love for Zelda is shared by the girl I love. She and I have the same shirt, no less! (the plain black one with the crest of the royal family on front and "Ocarina of Time" on the back near the top)

 

[Batman]

The Legend of Zelda has a very special place my heart. I have a half brother who I didn't see much when I was younger and still don't see very often. When I was little I would watch him play Ocarina of Time, and to me it was like watching a movie. I was fascinated by watching Link, controlled by my brother as he made his way through the vast world of Hyrule meeting all kinds of interesting people and characters. I admired Link and his awesome Hylian shield. As well as that cool sword sword of his that I watched my brother pull out of the pedastal in the Temple of Time over and over again. A hero, a princess, an evil villan, magic, an awesome sword and shield, a beautiful and vast landscape, a mysterious story, time travel, hours and hours of secrets, and a really cool horse. What else could a young boy ask for. I remember when he made it to Ganon's Castle and I was so scared . I couldn't wait to see what happened next. The best part of all though, was when he'd let me play. I was Link now. I was saving the world. As I got older I wanted to do what my brother had done and beat these games by myself. I'm happy to say I've beaten almost every Zelda game out there. And the excitement is as strong now as it was when I was young. Thank you for my childhood Legend of Zelda. And thank you for giving me years of fun in adulthood as well.

 

[Mastik]

zelda means to me an awesome game franchise (my favorite) i just love a lot but it and i love exploration

 

[CelticMagician]

I was rarely ever exposed to videogames while I was growing up since my parents didn't really believe in them, but the Zelda series was among the first to really catch my attention.

I was about four years old when I first saw my cousin playing ALttP on the SNES system at my grandparents. I was instantly enthralled. Though I have seen and attempted to play some video games prior to my first encounter with the Zelda series, they were mostly fighting games and side-scrolling adventures in which you merely need to reach a goal. ALttP showed me something completely different. This was a game that was essentially a playable storybook, filled with dynamic characters and an adventure full of peril and wonder. I never knew a video game could be that deep and meaningful, especially since I was brought up in a household that viewed videogames as mindless entertainment. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to try and play it so I could live out the story like my cousin was doing at that very moment, I wanted to better understand this new world I had stumbled into.

Unfortunately, when I got my chance, I couldn't figure it out. Perhaps it was my young age, or more likely my lack of videogaming experience, but even though I could read the story as it began to unfold I couldn't understand mechanics in order to progress further in the game. It was thoroughly disheartening for me at the time, but I did keep trying, even when my cousin and his friend would make fun of me for not being able to figure it out as easily as they could.

After a time, ALttP ended up disappearing from my granparents house, so I couldn't play it any more in order to figure it out. Thankfully for me, my family was friends with another family with two boys who were also heavily into videogames...including the Legend of Zelda series. Though the family no longer had a SNES or ALttP there, one of the boys did have a Gameboy Colour and a copy of Link's Awakening, so I ended up trying that instead and the same thing ended up happening: I just couldn't figure out the game's mechanics despite how much I understood the story being told.

This was also around the time where the Pokemon games and OoT were just newly released too and when I saw the boys playing the first ever 3D Zelda game for the N64 system and saw yet another story unfold, I became even more hellbent on learning how to play these games. Clearly, or to me at least, I was missing out on something very special here, and I didn't want to be the one left in the dark to only merely watch people play these games in segments. It didn't seem fair.

Funny enough, however, it wasn't until I beat my very first Pokemon game that I was able to play Zelda games. XD I kid you not. I had borrowed my brother's friend's Yellow Version at that point (since I was really into Pokemon and had been curious about the games since the release of Red and Blue), beat it, and when I finally returned it and asked if I could play Link's Awakening one more time it was like a light bulb had clicked on in my mind. I suddenly understood what to do!

To this day, I am still completely baffled as to what it was in Pokemon that helped me to understand Zelda games, but I can't say I was complaining. I went on to defeat Link's Awakening for the very first time and I was hooked to Zelda games for life. Since then, I have held both Pokemon and Zelda games in the highest regard of all the Nintendo games I have played.

So to me, the Zelda series has always been a captivating tale and adventure, one that I broke through barriers in order to understand and follow. There are still many Zelda games I have yet to play, but I know that one day I will be able to play them at least. This series is possibly one of the most inspiring things to still exist in my life for many, many reasons and I hope that it sticks around for a good number of years to come. I don't think I'll ever stop loving the series as long as I live.

 

[Majora's Cat]

Zelda consumes time, it provides entertainment - the franchise has become one of the most important objects in my life. I spend every minute of my free time worshipping the series on Zelda Dungeon. My thoughts revolve around the forum site and the video game series. Spending time playing Zelda and posting and socializing on the forums have taught me skills that reach far beyond the classroom. While these are not always crucial skills to possess, I think that they are very helpful in everyday life. Typing on the keyboard and maneuvering Link through Hyrule field so often has made me almost ambidextrous, I have much more control over my social life (both at school and outside of it), I can juggle schoolwork and free time very efficiently, and most of all, spending time making posts on the forums and learning as I progress has greatly enhanced my skills as an author and a writer.

Persuasive essays suddenly don’t seem as daunting, as I have written works and posts that are 10 times those in length (and even lengthier than that). There was definitely a learning curve to posting on the forums, and I picked up tricks here and there to help me improve the strength of my argument. I learned to use examples such as statistics. I learned how to thoroughly support my points. I learned everything necessary for success in my English class. And I owe it all to Zelda, which led to me to the immersive world of forums.

My First Encounter

Following the precedent Kazumi has set with his post, I wish to reconstruct my past with Zelda games. My very first was Twilight Princess, which I purchased in the fall of 2008 (without my parents’ knowledge). It was somewhat of a guilty pleasure. The idea of taking Twilight Princess out for a spin was brought on by my affection for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which I was completely obsessed with for the longest of times. In total, I have invested nearly 300 hours in Brawl, yet only 90 or so hours in TP over the course of three playthroughs (yes, I took my sweet time the first time around with nearly 90 hours). But why do I hold my first Zelda game to a higher esteem than I do SSBB: the game I spent the most time playing? I simply enjoyed Twilight Princess far more than any game I had played before it.

I dived into the game with a simple mindset: SSBB will always be my favorite game and TP will just be my second favorite. After about four Dungeons my point of view completely changed. You always hear the phrase “quality over quantity”, and that especially holds true for me when comparing Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Twilight Princess. While I didn’t spend as much time playing through TP, the experience was much more enjoyable. The appeal of a fighting game wears off very quickly, and I just played the new SSB game because there wasn’t a better game around to play. But enough about how I was first introduced to the series for I want to get more into how Twilight Princess changed the way I viewed video games forever.

The seemingly never-ending and serene landscapes of Twilight Princess were really what brought me to fall head-over-heels in love with the game. No matter how many technical flaws TP had with its visuals, I still found the game to be beautiful in its own special way. The game just proves that a gorgeous game can be crafted with the right materials and the right people working on the design. The first time I mused about how simple (but strangely pretty) the graphics in Twilight Princess, the one thing that caught my attention was how Nintendo was able to take GameCube-level building blocks and twist and configure them into such awe-inspiring environments. It’s incredible what TP’s developers were able to do with such limited resources and I am truly starting to respect them for their stunning work.

Now it wasn’t just the scenery in the game that struck me. It was nearly everything: the presentation, the climactic final battle with Ganon, the music - absolutely everything. I oftentimes spent time in the Fishing Hole and other scenic places around the game just to relax and take a breather from the main events of the game. For the first time, I felt like the game gave me complete freedom to do whatever I wanted and not really be bothered to make progress in the main quest until I felt like doing so. While the game isn’t generally considered a sandbox, given my finite experience with video games before playing Twilight Princess it really felt like one to me. There was just so much vast land to explore, so many secret Heart Pieces and other goodies to unearth and so many good memories that I knew lay ahead of me.

Certainly I could not forget the final battle with the great Ganon. He did not take on two forms (like in Ocarina of Time), but four! Yes, I was completely astonished that there was still a section of the game on horseback after defeating Beast Ganon. I strongly believe that everything about the battle was complete and utter perfection. The setting in a semi-apocalyptic Hyrule suited the nature of the fight marvelously, and furthermore, the destruction of the castle left players wondering what would become of Midna. After defeating Puppet Zelda, Beast Ganon and Ganondorf on horseback, Link was finally ready to take on the big boss... in a one-on-one swordfight. I literally squealed with joy after seeing Ganondorf unsheathe his blade, since I had seen it being used in SSBB as a taunt prior to playing Twilight Princess. And I must proclaim that the final swordfight most certainly did not disappoint, and neither did Ganon’s other two manifestations (not including Ganondorf on horseback).

The inclusion of Zant in the game was just the icing on the cake for me. Many fans of the franchise praise him for being a very dynamic and vivid character, but I really thought that the Twilight Princess experience lay more in Link’s confrontation with Ganon rather than his meeting with Zant. While Zant played the “crazed usurper king” role quite well, his overall appearance, attitude and battle with Link lacked the grandeur that Ganon possesses. But he really was a nice touch, especially since the story revolved around his spat with Midna.

The ending credits of Twilight Princess tied up the entire adventure with a big golden ribbon, assuring that I would not forget about the grand times I had playing the game anytime soon. Not only were the screenshots of Hyrule elegant and peaceful, but I found the music that accompanied the slideshow especially tear-jerking. My emotions ran high, and tears started dripping down my cheeks like gentle rivers. Now as corny as that may sound, it happened. Never before had I seen the soft side of the gaming, the picturesque side that really brought your many adventures in the game to a close. Overall, TP changed the way I viewed games for the past three years. I do not see them simply as products for the public’s amusement. I see video games as art now, and it’s all thanks to the Legend of Zelda.

What Does It Mean?

The Legend of Zelda has taught me a few tricks here and there, but I think the way it affect me the most was how it altered the way I thought of life. I’ve always been a pessimist, but Link’s heroic escapades have helped me understand that sometimes people will achieve truly great things in life. While we may never be slaying Ganon and saving the kingdom of Hyrule in real life, there are a few friendly pointers we can take from Link’s trusty handbook of life.

Courage, Power and Wisdom are the three characteristics that are esteemed so highly in the series. Portrayed as golden triangles that, when combined, will grant the user whatever wish he/she desires, the Triforce and its three pieces represent three very important qualities that every person must possess to realize their goals.

• A person needs courage to make the necessary moves to reach your goal in life, no matter how preposterous or unattainable it is.
• A person needs power to be able to manage other people, as most successful careers will have to do with having excellent managerial skills and an ambitious mind.
• A person needs wisdom to make any ideas they have a reality, and a person needs to be intelligent to be eligible for a good career.

If the Legend of Zelda has given me any sort of knowledge throughout the years, it’s this. The three statements above are the ones I think Nintendo tries to enforce and imprint into our heads. While there may be no message here at all, I’m sure that there is some moral behind every story. I can’t stress enough how much I adore the series, even though I’ve lived a short life so far. I hope that others will recognize that Zelda means just as much to me as it does to them. Otherwise why would I be here, at a Zelda forum where the main objective is to worship and converse about one of the greatest video game series of all time? All I know is that Zelda changed almost everything in my life. It not only altered my views on certain subjects in life, but it gave me skills and taught me lessons that I could never learn in a school building.

Thank you, Shigeru Miyamoto, for pioneering one of the greatest video games franchises in the industry and for forever changing my perspective of the world and what it takes to succeed in such a vast and unrelenting environment.

 

[Cuju]

I could write up a huge post about this, but I can say what I have to with a few well chosen words... Zelda is more than a video game to me, it has helped me in dark times, and it brings me great joy. The wait for Skyward Sword is part of my life, so that tells you some more about it.

 

[Moonlight]

To me The legend of Zelda series is my inner childs pillow and blanket. I grew up with The legend of Zelda series first game I played OoT. My mom used to play the series when I was an infant and I have always had a Zelda game in my house. Wind Waker means a lot to me and so does every other game. I have always day dreamed of actually going there and living among the many races of the Zelda world. My happy place is Hyrule nowhere else...