Zelda Universe – 25 Years in 25 Days: 2003

Another day, another year for the boys at Zelda Universe. Continuing their series 25 Years in 25 Days, they have reached a milestone year for Zelda: 2003, the year that brought us Wind Waker. As such, they have dedicated their entire article today to one of the most beloved yet controversial games in the series and the first major console game since the N64 days.

Jump inside for more in ZU’s article, as well as a little fanboy addition from me.

Now, as I said before, 2003 is best remembered for The Wind Waker, as well as the two GameCube discs that featured the first release of Ocarina of Time’s Master Quest as well as a collection of most of the games in the series to that point. If you read Zelda Universe’s article, you’ll find a far better summary of those games than I could truly give justice to, and so I’ll let you read the article yourselves.

However, there was another game released that year in which Link made a nice appearance and which holds a special place in my heart: SoulCalibur II. Somehow, Zelda Universe managed to leave this splendid game out of their 2003 coverage, and so I feel obligated to give my own two cents on it.

As many of you probably know, SoulCalibur is a fighting game much like Street Fighter or Tekken, however its characters use weaponry besides just their fists and feet. In SoulCalibur II, each console version of the game featured a special guest character. The XBox and Playstation 2 versions featured Spawn, of comic book fame, and Heihachi from Tekken, respectively. In my favorite version of the game, the GameCube release, you have the ability to play as Link himself, and his is quite and enjoyable appearance indeed. Link makes use of every iconic move in his arsenal, including the classic sword spin as well as his bow and arrows. He even pulls out his boomerang and bombs for some attacks!

As I said before, this game is pretty special for me. Some may recall that in the 1999 article I mentioned how much my brother and I enjoy duking it out in Smash Brothers, and let me say the feeling is the same here. We love SoulCalibur II. We’re no masters, but when the two of us face off as Link and Nightmare (or Talim, when I’m playing as Link) it’s a sight to see. Recently, I even scavenged the GameStops in my area to find a working copy of this game so we could play it again. Best $7 I’ve spent in a while.

So, how about you guys? How was 2003 special for you? Were you enjoying the Wind Waker, (re)experiencing Ocarina of Time through the Master Quest, or were you shooting foes out of the ring with a well-aimed arrow in SoulCalibur? Let us know what made this year for you!

Source: Zelda Universe