The 'Shroom:Issue 107/Zelda Memories

Zelda Memories

Written by: Midoro (talk) (ZeldaWiki profile)

My first Zelda game was A Link to the Past for the SNES. I distinctively remember how I came to discover it. Some friends came over who were leaving soon and lent all of their old SNES games to play. Back then, I was mostly interested in Mario and was excited to play their Mario games. But then I also noticed a curious looking cart that read 'The Legend of Zelda (A Link to the Past)'. They told me that it was "a hard game", and me being fairly young then, I heeded their words and didn't play it at first. I was still curious though, so when they left, I finally decided to play it. And I'm glad I did. I was introduced to a whole new world, filled with forests, mountains, caves and monsters everywhere. It was a totally different experience to Mario. I enjoyed exploring Hyrule and attacking the evil soldiers as I went. Infiltrating the castle in the rain gave me such a foreboding and urgent feeling. When I first left the sanctuary and heard the main theme play, I felt empowered and excitedly ran out into the world. I remember being so happy with myself and jumping around when I beat the Armos Knights at the Eastern Palace (which are actually very easy, but in retrospect, I was young). I always found myself getting stuck trying to navigate the mountain, so I didn't get very far as a kid. But for what it was, it was a very good game that I really enjoyed playing.

While A Link to the Past is definitely one of my favorites and first in the series, it wasn't actually until I played Link's Awakening for the GB that I truly became interested in the series. I absolutely loved this game. I loved the island world I was introduced to, adored all of its kooky and strange characters, and how I kept finding new mysteries one after the other. I liked Hyrule in A Link to the Past, but in Link's Awakening, the world fueled my imagination and I was determined to explore every inch of it. I really liked the dungeons too and how unique their themes were. And of course, I liked the addition of all the Mario enemies too, as silly as they were. For awhile I was stuck fighting the giant Moldorm boss at the first dungeon, but when I finally beat him, a whole new world opened up to me that I couldn't get to before. It felt so liberating. I had never felt more accomplished in a video game before that. I kept playing, growing to love the characters and feeling sad learning that the island was just a dream. I was amazed when I finally beat the game and watched its ending cutscene. I still get a kick out of playing that game to this day. It was the game that completely immersed me into the series and its world. Even now, the 2D-styled games are still my favorite. I have my childhood curiosity to thank for that. - Midoro of Zelda Wiki

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