What drives me to play Zelda is something from the past. It's something that's elusive and hard to put in words. It's something that I almost never experience in games anymore, even though the Zelda series always manages to do it the best. So, what is it? To me, it's the feeling that you truelly lose yourself in the game. I was born in 1990, so my very first Zelda game (not my first Zelda experience) was Ocarina of Time. Back then we didn't have internet at our house, so everything I knew about the game came from magazines and advertisements. I was completely blank when I started playing the game.
I remember that it took me days to finally find the Kokiri Sword. I didn't speak or read any English and I had no clue where to go. But it didn't matter, because there was so much to explore and see. I'd seen the entire Lost Woods by the time I finally reached the Deku Tree. The Deku Tree took the little me quite some time to finish, but it was worth it. Then came what might be the gaming experience of a lifetime. The first time I set foot on Hyrule Field. It was magical. So much room, so much space, so much freedom. I could go everywhere I wanted to go. I felt small and humble. Wow, this game was huge. That is the very first time a game actually enchanted me. I lost myself in the game and the epic story. Now I realise how amazing it is to make someone totally addicted to the without even fully understanding the story. Ocarina of Time did it. It's hard to describe the feeling. It's like you are in some strange land yourself and are constantly exploring something new and exciting. This happened to me again with Majora's Mask, the masterpiece by Nintendo. Luckily, by then I could read some more English
What I want from Zelda games is something that they may never give me again. That feeling of being constantly amazed and exploring a vast new world where you know and recognise nothing. It's much harder to see the logic in games when you're younger, so it's also much harder to get the same feeling again. Makes me nostalgic describing this feeling. I refer to it as
'the Zelda feeling'. Games, other than Zelda, that came close where maybe Skyrim and The Last of Us from this generation and Banjo Kazooie/Tooie and Donkey Kong 64 from the 'old' generation. I still love Zelda games very much, and maybe it's unfair to compare new games with the old, but I never get this magical feeling again. Still, nothing brings me closer than a new Zelda game. Can't wait for Zelda Wii U!
