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Legend of Zelda Celebrates 20 Years
The Legend of Zelda is one of the most beloved gaming franchises Nintendo has created. It is also celebrating two decades of life this week. 1up has a great feature on the anniversary, exploring the different games in the series with a list of 'stuff to love'. From the article: "Twenty years ago this week -- February 21, 1986 -- thousands of Japanese gamers played The Legend of Zelda for the first time, and their perspective on gaming was forever changed. Here was a huge world, a massive quest, an open-ended odyssey that demanded exploration. When we Americans first placed that golden cartridge in our Nintendo Entertainment Systems a few months later, we learned what our friends overseas had already discovered: Zelda was addictive. It was adventurous. It was ambitious. It was amazing." Four Colour Rebellion also has commentary on this auspicious occasion, with a Happy Birthday look back and some fond remembrances.
When my parents kicked me off the Nintendo to make me play outside (which was frequent) they understood that they weren't ruining my last 20 minutes of gaming. Heck, my mom or dad would often sit co-pilot with the map helping me find where to go, but I wasn't allowd to play unless weather didn't permit me to go outside. I grew up in Minnesota, so we get a lot of extremes.
Ah.. memories.
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
Can't read it from work, but I hope the article mentions the miserable Phillips CD-i games in there somewhere.
If not, here's a brief history:
Originally, Nintendo worked with Sony to create a CD add-on to its then-successful SNES. Things were going along merrily, but, for some reason, Nintendo cut ties with Sony and changed to working with Phillips- and Sony didn't find out until Nintendo made a public announcement. As part of the agreement for developing a CD attachment for Nintendo, Phillips got to use some of Nintendo's properties for its own ill-fated CD-i game system.
There were three games in all (Wand of Gamelon or something is the only title I can remember.) One had a cartoon opening scene (dubbed "Gay Link", and you'll know why if you ever see the video), another had live-action scenes (I think it was something like Myst), and another had you messily controlling Zelda on her way to save Link (hey, it had to happen sometime.)
In the end, Nintendo did away with the whole CD thing anyway. So, out of this entire thing, we got:
-One (1) ill-fated gaming console by Phillips
-Three (3) horrible Zelda games which should only be referenced to prove that a good series can go bad
-No (0) CD add-on for the SNES
And, as you may have already guessed, Sony didn't stop production after Nintendo cut its ties- the project they were working on? You know it now as the Playstation.
That's right- Nintendo help create the very gaming console that now overshadows them. This was the first of many stupid decisions that lead up to the Gamecube (where they corrected many of the problems.)
As an aside, some of the other stupid decisions were: forcing N64 developers to work on the Virtual Boy (we all know how that faired), the Virtual Boy itself, using cartridges over CDs for the N64 (due to, as I understand it, mainly piracy concerns- you can't copy something if you lack the media), and losing Final Fantasy to Sony.
Years ago we were flying from London to San Francisco on Virgin, Premium Economy class. In that class you got a SNES built-in to the back of the seat in front of you, and I spent a happy while revisting my Blanka-dominated StreetFighter II past.
My then-girlfriend-now-wife however, not a gamer normally though certainly not averse to them, picked up Zelda: A Link To The Past. She said she really enjoyed it, but found it incredibly hard to dodge everything and couldn't get the hang of fighting.
Years go by, and when the Gameboy Advance SP came out I bought her one along with Zelda: Link To The Past. Again, she loved it. But again she complained she just couldn't get the hang of fighting anyone. So I took a look.
Right at the beginning of the game, you get a lamp. Except my wife didn't think this was a lamp, she thought it was a flamethrower. For several years she'd been going up to guards in the game and just flashing that lamp in their faces, expecting them to die, whilst totally ignoring the perfectly good sword she had as well.
It's just stuck in my mind since - imagine you really are a guard in that world. Some madman comes up to you, shouts "ha ha varmint, have at you" and quickly flashes a small torch at you, Then looks puzzled and disappears. Then re-appears and does it again. FOR THREE YEARS.
Well, I think it's funny anyway.
And does anyone remember those freaky comercials that came out for it with the guy popping his head up going "zelda?zelda?" I can't believe after all these years I still remember the damn commercial.Got to give credit to Nintendo.They really saved console gaming after the crash of '83.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
The white/multicolored sparkly clouds were in 1st quest. They took your sword away for a few seconds. 2nd quest had red clouds (took your sword away permenantly) and blue clouds (which restored it). Problem one, some dungeons had only red clouds, a real pain in the ass :(
Zelda almost stopped me from getting married. I own a lovely first edition Gold Cart of Ocarina of Time (you know, the one with blood and Muslim chants). In college my now wife (then barely a friend) kidnapped it because my room mate (their good friend) was playing it too much. I thought someone had stole it. Once I found out it was them I was pissed. They had my baby. So...my (now wifes) first real impression of me was that I was some video game luvin' jerk.
:)
Why she married me I will never know
I still have that cart...and she knows not to touch it...
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Now that's just silly. Are Kirby: Rainbow Run, or Advance Wars: Dual Strike or Trauma Center all about the graphics? How about lumines? How about geometry wars?
I think your case is hardest to argue when I mention games like the excellent "Spider and Web" or "Photopia."
Nostalgia is great, but there have always been crap games and good games. Then and now. But you have to admit that in general the ratio of crap to good was much higher in the 80s. Or did you enjoy "endings" that were one sentence long? Or playing Tiger Heli? Or Yo! Noid?
Once every couple of years, I pull my NES out of the closet and load up The Legend of Zelda. Yes, I get all nostalgic when I hear the intro music, and when I walk into that first cave to get my little wooden sword which Link is so proud to hold above his head. But after playing halfway through the first quest (or using the name ZELDA to skip directly to the second) the nostalgia wears off and I realize... the game is still actually fun. Lots of fun. Decades of playing has made the exploration part not quite so exciting... but navigating the dungeons, beating the bosses, collecting the items... Fantastic. This is truly a game that stands the test of time.
The enemies of Democracy are
Zelda: Ocarina of Time. A friend shoulder-looking. Just after racing with the undertaker's ghost. I drop into a tiny room deep under ground surface, a small enclosed cube with no exit in any direction, somewhere at the end of an obscure tomb in the cemetery. Badly hurt, no fairies, no potions, generally screwed up.
"I don't think it can get any worse" - I say.
"Maybe try playing some song, the song of time or something" - says the friend.
So I whip out the ocarina and try playing the song of time, from memory.
And I play the wrong song. Song of storms.
It starts raining.
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