These days I run into quite a few people with an obsession of some sort that influenced how they grew up. Harry Potter, Star Wars, Disney ect. For me that obsession was The Legend of Zelda.
Unlike most hardcore gamers I did not grow up in a household of games. My first system I received was a Gameboy color for Christmas when I was 11. The following birthday came around and I was given two games that year: Super Mario Land, which I was (and forever will be) terrible at, and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. This was the game that changed things for me. I found that I had a knack for Zelda's puzzles and non-linear game play. I loved the different weapons and gadgets you could wield. The characters and settings were fresh and original. I must have gone through 50 AA batteries playing that game alone, but my relationship with Zelda was just beginning...
I'll always remember my 13th birthday, because a youtube video of a screaming kid opening an N64 is a constant reminder of my reaction, only it's cute when you're seven. As you can probably imagine the first game I went out and picked up was Ocarina of Time. Until that moment I had only heard of this legendary game from the local school kids. They would sit hours on end discussing bosses, temples, and the best way to find all the pieces of heart. So as I blew some air into the cartridge and flicked on the power, a wave of excitement overcame me. Now any fan of the series can probably beat Ocarina of Time in about 10 hours or so (without all the collectibles), but everyone (weather they admit it or not) takes about 30 the first time they play it. I spent my entire summer vacation playing that game to perfection.
Ocarina of Time was more than one of my favorite game expiriences, it was an amazing story to watch. My siblings would sit down next to me and watch me play for hours. They would ask me questions and even wake me up early to plug in. At first I didn't think much of it, I thought maybe they wanted to play but every time I offered the controller (not often I'll admit) they would turn it down. I didn't fully understand why until one day my Dad came down to my room and asked if he could start a game. I was shocked. My dad hadn't really been a gamer but something about Zelda intrigued him enough to pick up the controller. I found myself in my sibling's spot, right beside him and I finally understood the appeal. I found my self cheering aloud for my dad when he bested enemies, cringing when he dropped below three hearts of life and laughing along with him when he encountered an outrageous character. In those moments I saw the kid my dad used to be, my mom would call us for dinner and we'd pretend not to hear just to squeeze a few more minutes out of the game. When I went away to summer camp for a week, my dad wrote me a letter about how he had finally beaten "Morpha" the water temple boss. I couldn't wait to go home to talk to him about it.
Most die hard Zelda fans agree that Ocarina of Time was and always will be the best Zelda game...not this guy. I prefer the two that follow: Majora's Mask and Windwaker. I wont go into why because I would rant for far too long, but I will say that like Ocarina of Time my siblings and my father were with me the whole way.
2006 rolled around and Nintendo announced their new system the Wii, I was working at the time and I knew it was going to be tough to get the opening weekend of Happy Feet off but I had a plan, a stupid crazy plan that backfired, but a plan non the less. I told my boss that I had a Speech meet to go to on Saturday and that it would take all day. It is true I did have a speech meet, but I only went for a few hours before meeting up with my friends in Line at Best Buy. I should mention that this Best Buy was pretty much next door to my work and when a fellow employee stopped by on his way, I didn't think much about it. The wait was cold snowy and long, but at 6 am I went home the proud new owner of a Wii and Zelda: Twilight Princess. Once again my childhood came rushing back and for about two hours I was pretty pleased with myself. Then Jed called to give me a heads up; apparently that employee who passed our best buy line told my boss that yours truly was in it. I felt terrible and promised him that it wouldn't happen again. He told me that he had done the same thing when the PS2 came out so he sorta understood.
And now here I sit five years later, on the eve of yet another amazing adventure, and the most stunning revelation just hit me. Could it all be a coincidence that once again a Zelda game is releasing the same weekend as a Happy Feet movie? Or that It's releasing on my Father's birthday? Probably, but I like to think that there's more magic to the game that I can honestly say changed my life, as nerdy as that sounds.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
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