Day 73 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: The Legend of Zelda

On New Years Eve 2013 I made a number of resolutions. One of those was to finish every game in the Zelda franchise...suffice to say I've failed, but I did play through a few of them. Let's see, I've finished...

The Legend of Zelda
A Link to the Past
Ocarina of Time
Four Swords (GC)
Four Swords (GBA)
Minish Cap
A Link Between Worlds
Skyward Sword

I've still got a few to go but for today's blog however, I want to focus on the first of the series.

The Legend of Zelda was released on NES in the UK in 1987, and was regarded as an absolute masterpiece, thanks to its grand scale and allowing players the freedom to approach the game in whatever way they wanted. You could tackle the dungeons in any order, explore Hyrule till your heart's content or perhaps increase the challenge by not allowing yourself to use the sword.

I on the other hand didn't need to increase the challenge because the game drove me utterly mad! I was constantly getting killed, I never had a clue where to go, a walkthrough was never more than a few inches from my face and those Keese/Bat things have to be the most hated characters in gaming, ever!

...so why is this a happy gaming day?

When you gather the scattered fragments of the triforce, make your way to the enemies lair, defeat Ganon and save the Princess...it feels so rewarding. The Legend of Zelda rewards exploration, experimentation, and overcoming seemingly impossible odds. Yes, the game is horrendously difficult, but it laid the foundations for an entire franchise that generations have come to enjoy, and thankfully the principle of rewarding a players curiosity and ingenuity has lasted the entire series.

Hopefully this will still be the case when the new open-world Legend of Zelda title hits the shelves in 2015.