I downloaded The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild video game for my Nintendo Switch last weekend. My brother has long touted it as the best game since it first came out and I’d been thinking about playing another Zelda game again once I got my Switch over the summer.
I’ve always loved the Zelda games. But I haven’t really played most of them. I have so many memories of sitting side by side with Wesley when we were kids watching him play Ocarina of Time and screaming at the sight of spiders in the Deku Tree. I’d go on to watch him (and my ex) play many Zelda games and sometimes tried them out myself.
It wasn’t until after college I played through my first game all on my own: Skyward Sword. “All on my own” being relative since my ex would sit side by side with me and could give helpful hints. Alternatively, he’d make me so nervous or get so frustrated at my lack of video game battle instincts that he’d have to leave for a while as I worked through a particularly difficult boss. But I held the controller the whole time and beat the game, so it counts.
I’ve just always loved Link’s world and all the stories it tells.
I got a nudge the other week when my friend Lin shared with me an article about Link’s character being designed as gender-neutral (hello, nonbinary canon). Apparently, that was always the intent for Link and it was more explicit in Breath of the Wild. I have a lot of feelings about that.
I am very early into the game and I know it’s going to take me a while. Setting aside how long I take to understand video game cues that are second nature to people who grew up on them plus how often I die, I don’t see myself playing every day. But it was relaxing this afternoon and I did get better at strategically going into battle. And not falling off cliffs. So it’s a win.
With Love,
Natalie