Zelda's Top Ten

Mr Postman came with a very special package today. My copy of Zelda Skyward Sword, in all its finery. So far so good, even though Zelda games seem to be taking longer and longer to get going with each instalment. Whatever happened to the good old days where you were bashing your way through the first dungeon in a matter of minutes? Still nice to see the game offer up some degree of challenge; the first boss actually killed me once.

   Anyway to celebrate the return of my favourite gaming series, I’m going to indulge in a bit of nostalgia, and list the ten things that make Zelda, to me, a truly unique and celebrated series.

1 Hyrule

The land where Zelda is predominantly based is one of the most unique fantasy settings devised in the modern era. It is a fascinating world that, due of course to the way the game is designed, veers from open plain to arid mountains and then dense forest in only a short walk. Yet you never quite know what you are going to get each time you step out into Hyrule field for the first time. Due to how the landscape is shifted about for each title, the land often feels just as fresh as it did in the previous game.

2 All Creatures Great And Small

It is so easy for fantasy titles to fall back on the standard Tolkien-esque races when trying to fill their expansive setting. It is a credit to Nintendo’s dedication, and indeed their imagination, that they have filled Hyrule with original creatures of their own devising. What Zelda title would be complete without the Gorons or the Zoras? And the number of inhabitants increases with each title, as Nintendo strive to fill the land with as much life as possible.

3 Dungeon Keeping

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to what they want from Zelda. It is often why the fans are so divided over which game they consider the best. For me the games never quite get going until you reach your first dungeon. Often they start gloomy and enclosed, more often than not in some form of hidden forest temple, but by the end of each title you will have been subjected to a dazzling array of locations, dangers and set pieces provided by each dungeon you clear. And there are no shortcuts. You have to progress as planned, and not once has anyone ever been able to cheat the system.

4 Bosses

This is where Zelda often shines. Finishing off each dungeon with an encounter against a screen sized monster intent on pummelling you into a green tunic wearing pate. Often defeating said beastie will rely on you exploiting their weakspot using the weapon you acquired earlier in the dungeon. Which begs the question, why do bad guys leave amazing pieces of weaponry just lying about in chests? Of course it would be hard to pick a favourite, but stand outs include thwacking the great dragon Volvagia on the head with a massive hammer, turning supersize to deal with the giant insects Twinmold, and careering into the skeletal spine of Stallord on your spinning disc of doom.

5 You Against The World

Rarely do games ever make you feel like a true hero. Where you get the impression that if it wasn’t for you then the whole universe you see on your screen would wither and die. Zelda games always manage to do this. You move from one town to the next, rescuing princesses, slicing up monsters and participating in massive trading sequences, all for the simple reason that if you don’t, no-one else will. There are no NPC’s covering your back, no-one else you can designate a task to. If you fail, it’s all your fault, which makes the sense of achievement all the more potent upon completing a difficult task.

6 The Music

How many iconic themes does this series have again? At least five by now. And that’s not forgetting the countless pieces of music etched into the minds of gamers forever. Gerudo Valley, the Forest Temple, Zelda’s Lullaby, the Song of Storms, Dragon Roost Island, The Dark World, The Hidden Village, and all those overworld themes. It’s a musical feast that sets an incredibly high standard for other series to follow. And Nintendo’s bundling in of the orchestrated soundtrack CD with Skyward Sword was a truly fantastic gift.

7 Three Characters Of Destiny

The trifecta of Link, Zelda and Ganondorf has been the bedrock of the series stories from the beginning. It’s a relationship built on strong fantasy foundations, the young man who grows to become a hero; the young woman destined to rule and constantly targeted by evil because of this, and the power hungry sorcerer desperate to rule by any means necessary. Their relationship is a highly flexible one, with Zelda and Ganondorf often making way for new allies or villains, but without the history between these three characters there would be no legend to tell.

8 Combat

It’s astonishing how far combat in Zelda games has come. From the shield block/sword/shield block/sword of Ocarina of Time we now have a Zelda where combat takes centre stage. Where you actively have to think about how you deal with each enemy as opposed to simply swiping away wildly. Moreover you now find yourself swamped by several enemies at once as opposed to them attacking you one at a time. But it is worth noting that the style of combat in each Zelda is subject to the time of release and the technology it was released on. But it is only now that you truly begin to believe that Link is the master swordsman he is supposed to be.

9 The Many Faces Of Link

The one thing you can’t say about Zelda is that, while the gameplay basically remains unchanged, Nintendo really can’t be accused of not trying new things with the graphics. Each time a new mainline Zelda is released, it comes with the lick of paint applied by a graphical overhaul. Wheeling from the uber cartoony Wind Waker, to the semi-realistic Twilight Princess, and then to Skyward Sword which is a mixture of the two. In a period where realism seems to be a default graphical trend, it is great to see Zelda keep on experimenting, even if it does keep peeing fans off on the odd occasion.

10 Birth Of A Hero

Above all else Zelda sticks to its roots. A modern fairytale reminding us of the pains of growing up and facing the dangers life throws at you. Naturally not everyone in the world will grow up facing goblins and lizardmen (unless they work in banking), but the parable behind it remains strong. Zelda is, and always will be, a coming of age story, teaching us to have the courage to face our troubles down. Pretty strong stuff considering it came from the dayreams of a young boy pretending to be a swordsman, but what an imagination he had.