The New York Times Publishes “Interactive Documentary” Celebrating the Legacy of The Legend of Zelda
Posted on May 11 2023 by Leslie Jacobson
On May 4th, The New York Times published an article by Zachary Small and Rumsey Taylor titled, “How The Legend of Zelda Changed the Game.” Small calls the web version of this article an “interactive documentary,” as clicking on highlighted text reveals a picture or video that gives extra information. The very first instance of this feature is in the title of the article itself with the word “Zelda.”
You can experience the article for yourself right here.
The article explains the phenomenon surrounding Tears of the Kingdom and explains why the game is so highly anticipated. One of those aspects is the mythology of the series, with the article citing a certain mythology expert. That expert’s name may not be immediately recognizable, but the accompanying videos have the familiar face and voice of YouTube content creator Zeltik.
In addition to mythology, the article also discusses the history and evolution of the Zelda series. Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to focus on exploration and gameplay, and series producer Eiji Aonuma brought more story-involved elements to that gameplay. Since then, the series has been attempting to strike the balance between gameplay and story. Breath of the Wild was a chance for the series to turn back to its exploration roots. One journalist quoted in the article, Charles Pulliam-Moore, believes Tears of the Kingdom will focus more on experimentation.
On Sunday May 7th, the print version of this article appeared in The New York Times‘ “Arts and Leisure” section. The print article included a full-page art print by Kathleen Fu, who goes by Urbsvidi on Twitter. A high-quality scan of the print is viewable from History of Hyrule on Twitter.
Yess! My friend, and Zelda comic artist, @om_nom_berries, figured out who to credit for this amazing Zelda feature cover for the @nytimes
It’s Kathleen Fu, Twitter @Urbsvidi, and you can find her on Instagram here: https://t.co/5H4aoAfgsA pic.twitter.com/Oh732qMg7o
— History of Hyrule (Zelda Archivist) ♿✊🏿🏳️⚧️🏞️ (@HistoryofHyrule) May 7, 2023
As a long-time Zelda fan, I am happy that an outlet as well-known as The New York Times is acknowledging the Zelda series. The videos are fun explanations of concepts for those not familiar with the series. Even I learned some things about the series I did not know previously. There is even a special message at the end of the article if you find all of the videos, making the entire read an adventure all its own. Luckily, for any Zelda fan, it’s not really a secret to anybody.
Go check out the article and tell us what you think. Do you think The New York Times did justice to The Legend of Zelda? What else should the writers have included? What did you think of the “interactive documentary” aspect of the article? Let us know in the comments!
Source: The New York Times
Leslie is a mom, a cosplayer, an educator, and a fervent fan of The Legend of Zelda series. She lives in an area of the United States that reminds her of the Akkala region in the fall and Hebra the other 11 months of the year. She owns The Legend of Zelda t-shirts older than most of her students.
