Zelda doesn’t grow old; we do

Officially, the classic video game Legend of Zelda is two decades old. First published by Nintendo in 1986, the elven Link and Zelda the Princess sure has come a long way, becoming superstars in their own fantasy way.

Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Zelda franchise has proven to be one of the more resilient games around, maintaining a loyal fanbase as well as recruiting new ones. And with the emergence of Nintendo’s Wii, it’s just gotten a face lift. One that is deemed by some as necessarily called for, now that Zelda is getting old.

Or is it, really?

Scott Colbourne, over at globeandmail.com seems to think so. After all, fighting monsters in caves didn’t seem to be as much fun anymore. Nor does exploring caves give him as much thrill as he used to. He calls this “adulthood: the moment you stop caring about whether Link saves Zelda, when the promise of innovative puzzles at the 20-hour mark can no longer sustain you through 15 hours of not having to think much.”

Pretty much, that alone already gives the answer to the question. It is not Zelda that’s grown old; it’s us. So it may be the same characters, the same classic storytelling, the exploration of its trademark setting, the same task of saving the ever-in-trouble Princess. So it may have the same elements, tried and tested as they are. But that doesn’t mean it’s getting old.

To a certain degree, maybe Colbourne was right in saying that for those who grew up with Link, the game may seem old. Then again, it could just be that we would want to believe that he does, just like we do. After all, there’s nothing more sucky than being reminded that you have aged, while your childhood pal, Link, never did.

It could be some form of denial, that we inevitably have to face life apart from the fantasy world we so love to lose ourselves in. There won’t be a second chance if we mess up on this one. We can’t reset that part of our life we screwed up in. And most definitely, we can’t save a portion of it, and just get back to it when we already feel like taking it on again.

So while it’s not entirely wrong to credit the Wii’s technology for the refurbished Zelda adventure, it would be a big injustice to conclude that that is all the game has to offer. Yeah, so it’s a breakthrough to be able to get the character to respond according to your own physical movements, or to fish in the game as you would in real life. But these aren’t what makes and sustains a classic.

It’s the escape we cannot afford to have in real life. And really, we could all use the reminder of youth every now and then, if only to free ourselves from the suffocating grasp of adulthood. Yeah, we sure have every reason to envy Link.

Via globeandmail

Officially, the classic video game Legend of Zelda is two decades old. First published by Nintendo in 1986, the elven Link and Zelda the Princess sure has come a long way, becoming superstars in their own fantasy way.

Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Zelda franchise has proven to be one of the more resilient games around, maintaining a loyal fanbase as well as recruiting new ones. And with the emergence of Nintendo’s Wii, it’s just gotten a face lift. One that is deemed by some as necessarily called for, now that Zelda is getting old.

Or is it, really?

Scott Colbourne, over at globeandmail.com seems to think so. After all, fighting monsters in caves didn’t seem to be as much fun anymore. Nor does exploring caves give him as much thrill as he used to. He calls this “adulthood: the moment you stop caring about whether Link saves Zelda, when the promise of innovative puzzles at the 20-hour mark can no longer sustain you through 15 hours of not having to think much.”

Pretty much, that alone already gives the answer to the question. It is not Zelda that’s grown old; it’s us. So it may be the same characters, the same classic storytelling, the exploration of its trademark setting, the same task of saving the ever-in-trouble Princess. So it may have the same elements, tried and tested as they are. But that doesn’t mean it’s getting old.

To a certain degree, maybe Colbourne was right in saying that for those who grew up with Link, the game may seem old. Then again, it could just be that we would want to believe that he does, just like we do. After all, there’s nothing more sucky than being reminded that you have aged, while your childhood pal, Link, never did.

It could be some form of denial, that we inevitably have to face life apart from the fantasy world we so love to lose ourselves in. There won’t be a second chance if we mess up on this one. We can’t reset that part of our life we screwed up in. And most definitely, we can’t save a portion of it, and just get back to it when we already feel like taking it on again.

So while it’s not entirely wrong to credit the Wii’s technology for the refurbished Zelda adventure, it would be a big injustice to conclude that that is all the game has to offer. Yeah, so it’s a breakthrough to be able to get the character to respond according to your own physical movements, or to fish in the game as you would in real life. But these aren’t what makes and sustains a classic.

It’s the escape we cannot afford to have in real life. And really, we could all use the reminder of youth every now and then, if only to free ourselves from the suffocating grasp of adulthood. Yeah, we sure have every reason to envy Link.

Via globeandmail