#Even when everyone was hating one skyward sword I was defending it

[exploring-in-space]

These totk leaks......😬😬😬

Its not looking good

The moment I saw the game was leaked, I deleted twitter and left all Zelda related subs on reddit. I don't want the leaks to color my judgment of a game I've waited several years to play. I don't want the leaks to color my judgement because I do trust Eiji and Co to deliver another game I'll play hundreds of hours on. I hope when you play it, you'll find that it's better than expected!

[curseofpower]

As a Side Note to my TotK post

I do not like the idea of Ganondorf being possessed by a demon and that's why he's ~evil~, in general. Let me explain.

I just took the hints ToTK gave which were so blatant that even I, someone who has never played skyward sword, could see what they were doing... and I ran with it. Because I didn't like the literal nothing they gave us other than beating us over the head with how hated Ganondorf was by everyone and everything since the beginning of time despite being called a hero and being faithfully followed by the Gerudo for well over 30 years. Maybe even 40. Maybe more! The way some scenes were worded were literally sickening, the way the lore was written about the Gerudo was also sickening. In this game they felt like a beaten down people with no history to call their own and that is intolerable to me. Of course they couldn't hear the ~gods~. They had their own god! Though I guess that was taken from them, too. So I thought... there had to be a better reason. And the devs said "go nuts" when we asked about timelines and other canon, never giving solid answers. So... I did. I went fucking nuts.

In the OoT, TP, and WW timeline I do not believe he was possessed. I believe he was a very emotionally wounded individual lashing out at the world due to the suffering he was forced to witness his people go through at the hands of Hyrule. I believe he believed, like every other Gerudo, that sovereignty and independence were paramount. It came with the territory, same as needing to defend yourself and keep yourself alive first and foremost. Though it seemed he did try to help them, even if it meant simply keeping them out of the war he was waging until it was through. (Breaking the bridge to their fortress was likely a tactical move during a skirmish. Of which there were no doubt many after he took over. Why do you think he also decided he needed his castle to be floating with no easy access points? Castle town was likely also destroyed during a battle.)

In no timeline mentioned above can you convince me he didn't care about his people... I'm sorry. I think he cared about as much as he was able to. Right up until the end.

In ToTK, he believed they betrayed him. You cannot feel betrayed without first caring about someone.

In the other timelines, his whole goal was to find a better land. A better world, even. Because he hated watching his people suffer and die. Though he only ever admits that last bit in WW due to it being a show of weakness to even say it. To say you care in any capacity is to show weakness.

All the violence, inflicted horrors, and tactical warfare was all him, and it shows, because it was intelligent and he's a damn smart guy. The only time he isn't is when he snaps, and that's typically what always leads to his downfall.

The non-possessed Ganondorf is the one who is truly, deeply interesting to me. And that's sort of why I'm obsessed with writing OoT Ganon right now.

Anyways that's it. Disclaimer finished.

[blueskittlesart]

unless you’ve already done it can we get a ranking / tier list of the zelda games you’ve played?

oh god this is going to be difficult. ok let’s go!! (note: i left out nes zelda, zelda II, and a link between worlds because i haven’t played enough of them yet to have formed strong opinions)

1. botw. oot almost beats it out but even i can recognize that oot cant REALLY compare to botw in terms of gameplay or story no matter how much i want it to in my mind. botw is just a new level of character development and storytelling for loz imo and the way it was implemented into the gameplay was so incredible i wish i could go back and experience it blind again

2. oot my beloved. incredible story incredible characters. the og. literally the baseline which i compare all other zelda games to bc it’s just. so strong all around. absolutely one of the games of all time everyone go play oot

3. skyward sword!! i know it gets bumped down on a lot of people’s lists because of the controls (and trust me, i know why. i played it on the wii) but the story was so compelling to me that it’s one of my top favs regardless!! i also really REALLY love the art direction in this game it was so good

4. a link to the past. classic!! i think it’s the strongest of the 2d zeldas i’ve played so far, and it still holds up on its own (though when compared to other games it’s pretty bare-bones) plus it gave us bunny link which. UGH i could go on and on about how obsessed i am with that plot point

5. majoras mask. i LOVE the story of this one and it makes me insane but the timer makes me so anxious that it’s functionally unplayable. which is 100% a me problem but that’s why it’s so low on the list

6. links awakening. i don’t. really have much to say about this one tbh. like it’s not BAD but it just wasn’t super memorable for me plus the final battle was so fucking difficult to beat it annoyed the shit out of me

7. twilight princess. i hate this game lol ❤️ don’t defend it in the comments either because i’m correct and i don’t care how you feel

[scrawnytreedemon]

Zelink for the ship bingo? :0 any game!

OH GOD, THIS IS?? Gonna be a doozy. Buckle in.

SkSw:

WW-PH: Link/Tetra:

Spirit Tracks(in theory! I haven't seen the game yet, can't speak personally):

Nearly all other instances:

RIGHT! getting onto individual analysis,

1, SkSw: By far my favourite of the bunch, and a longtime delight. Whether you construe their relationship as romantic or not, doesn't matter-- They've got such a wonderful arc of trust and unbreakable love. Zelda starts off incredibly worried for Link, constantly fretting and deeply unsure of his abilities. She steps in to defend him, willing to go up against Big Boys like Groose to do so. As the game progresses, however, and Link grows, in strength and in character, Zelda, and everyone else for the matter, put more trust in him-- By the end of the game, they're on equal footing, and, oh god, oh man, I'm gonna crybhfgjfhdgkjdjd--

2, WW-PH: Nothing to say except, tough girl, sweet boy? Phuck yeah!

Jokes aside, Link and Tetra's arc is also one of trust and vulnerability, but from a different angle. Tetra's a hard-as-nails, independent, morally dubious young girl who's landed herself as captain of a ship full of Big Boys, and sees Link as little more than a useful, if rather weak coincidence she can use to her advantage. However, as the pair grow,(really as Link grows and Tetra is thrown out onto the sidelines as her royal heritage is revealed and she's forced to take on a 'princess' role, one that notably feminises her and lightens her skin), again there's that theme of growth of trust! They take down Ganondorf together, build a new Hyrule together, and isn't that just what dreams are made of?

3, Spirit Tracks: Nothing much to say, other than the dynamic looks super sweet, and there's an interesting play with gender and presentation on Zelda's end? Love it to bits, 12/10.

Now... Onto the potatoes of this, I think. Get your gravy.

This... There's going to be more objective analysis and criticism, obviously, but alot of this is also going to be deeply coloured by my own personal experiences of heteronormativity and alienation. This isn't a commentary on anyone else's enjoyment of the dynamic-- I hope I've made that clear --But, just... I guess I should get to it.

Link and Zelda,

Zelink.

As one anon put it, the vanilla icecream of shipping.

Mild, sweet,

And incredibly heteronormative.

The Golden Relationship; the one toted by fans and Nintendo alike as "the ship".

Everything else, anyone else, is a deviation. It slots neatly into the expected hero-damsel dynamic that we've had, since, well, the beginning of time, almost. It's almost as dust of the earth as it gets. The issue for me being... They don't spend time much, really. Link is barely characterised half the time as little more than a slightly lackadaisical vessel for the player, and Zelda is a sort of guiding light; a dignified keeper of the plot, Righteous Guardian of Hyrule--

The culmination of all Hyrule presents itself as: wise, smart, beautiful, dainty but compitent, ready to lead a charge should need be... but rarely unruly. Rarely ever. Always right.

Obviously, it goes without saying how Breath of the Wild's iteration of this duo changes it up immensely. Zelda is a far more flawed, and in her attempt to put on a strong face, a far more emotionally vulnerable character than any of her gentle predecessors could ever hope to be. While this pairing and her character fail to hit that particular sweet spot in me, it's deeply intriguing, and I hope, perhaps vainly, that they'll develop her and her relationship with Link even more in the sequel-- Honestly, when it comes to this? An equality between her and Link is, I think, what would be best. A mutual understanding; vulnerability.

I think that's what puts me off from Zelink, on the whole. Link is bound to her, by destiny, by guidance, ever-performing his knightly duties, and Zelda is bound to him for strength, for protection. There's little emotional substance, half the time, save for small, precious moments, many with another face, because it's a dynamic inherently dependent on the war-- On danger.

It's all impartial, situational. There's nothing personal here.

And if that were it, if this were truly explored from that angle(as it is, to an extent, in BotW), then I think I'd like that-- Especially if it weren't romantic, I feel.

But that's not the vibe we're told to get: not from the fans... not from Nintendo.

Nintendo tends to be largely neutral on certain matters, such as pairings-- Honest to god, for the best, in my opinion-- But Zelink is that one blind spot where that ethos falls away. Here, Nintendo expects us to see it as some grand, destiny-bound romance, I feel,

And the pre-Skyward Sword manga, from what I know, cements this best.

It's why, quite frankly, I don't care for the idea of it being canon. Genuinely.

It undermines what little weight Ganondorf via Demise had on all of this, this horrific cycle of blood, pain and despair, always bracing for the next wave, of the sisyphian climb of this civilisation, and turns it all into a grand goddess' love for a boy bound to her by fate and destiny manifest.

I hate that.

For something like this, something where no one has any choice, where greatness is thrusted upon them, this endless state of being used that Skyward Sword even condemned, to be seen as good.

To get onto personal experience, before this blog, and this "persona," as it were, I used to have an art account where I largely posted TLoZ, frequented by my family. My very Christian, somewhat socially-conservative family. I would perform straightness, in the form of either pushing aside or pursuing M/F romance, because I was extremely uneasy about the types of conversations anything otherwise would arouse.

This was at a time where I wasn't even sure if I was bisexual, let alone divergent in my gender, so I felt a constant pressure to tamp it down and keep it out of the spotlight, relegating my explorations via art to DMs with the friends I'd make.

Here, on Tumblr, where peppy-queerness is the status quo, there's this tendency to gloss over unpleasant things and make them soft; sweet.

I think I've talked enough at length why that alienates me.

So, yeah... I guess, Zelink on a wider scale kinda just, sums up my unease about the often hegemonic status-quo of shipping, and on the whole I'm just kinda eh about it all.

Again, I think it should be very clear that this is not a reflection on my opinions of people who create Zelink content, who are attached to these characters. That sort of weirdly-tribalistic thinking is awful, and only brings about needless conflict-- Early 2000s-2010s kinda shit, y'feel me?

I hope this all made sense, kinda. I've just got... alot of feelings.

[pastelsandpining]

So, unpopular opinion! I actually like the HWAOC version of Zelink a lot. I’ve stopped expecting it to be BotW Zelink, because it isn’t. It was never going to be. It’s not BotW, it’s HWAOC. We already know Nintendo is partial to creating timelines and using time travel and just splitting stories to they can fit together when they really shouldn’t, so that’s all this is. HWAOC is just another timeline—but one where the heroes win. And even if it’s fanservice, so what? I haven’t been into Zelda for very long but I’ve played and watched a playthrough of these games: Ocarina of Time, A Link Between Worlds, BotW, Twilight Princess. NONE of these games aside from BotW gave us a straight up romantic Link and Zelda and implied that the were connected before and after the events of the game (with an exception of Ocarina but again, that started the whole time travel, timeline split thing). The only game that does is Skyward Sword and I see a lot of hate on that game. So if this game is just fanservice for Zelink fans, what’s so wrong with that?

I fell in love with the Champions and storyline of BotW. I thought it was brilliant and it had all my favorite elements, and the tragic part is what made it so charming. But when I had the opportunity in HWAOC to give them all the happy ending they deserved, of course I was more than happy to do it.

It’s perfectly fine to disagree, everyone is entitled to their opinions! But you’re going to comment just to shit on HWAOC, you’re better off scrolling on by. I like this game and I will defend it.

TDLR: HWAOC is not BotW and HWAOC Link and Zelda are not BotW Link and Zelda. It’s a whole entirely different timeline. When I stopped comparing them and complaining about it, I enjoyed the game a whole lot more. I still love BotW Zelink and their moments, but HWAOC Zelink is an entity of their own and it’s not a bad thing to like them.

[dark0angel13]

The Ties That Bind

This is a story I’ve been working on for the better part of four years. I have it posted to my FFN account, but the beginning chapters are trash so I’m rewriting it and posting it to my AO3 account. You can find the original 33 chapters here, but if youd rather wait until I get around to posting updated chapters, you can read the first chapter now here,

Without further adieu...here goes.

I forgot how cruel the world could be. For a split second, the thought of a person taking another life, was foreign to me. What happened to make humanity lose its grip on compassion? What was the trigger for this complete switch to one’s personality? The questions flash through my mind almost too quickly as hot tears stream down my face. My eyes seem glued to my sister as she's carted off to God knows where, and just like that, my heart shatters into pieces.  

A scream rips its way up my throat, and I’m clawing at the arm around my neck, nails digging into flesh in an attempt to free myself. The grip is strong, but no matter how hard I struggle, twist, and fight, escape seems impossible. All I can do is watch in horror as her form grows smaller; the carriage she’s locked in gets further from my reach. Their cries echo around me and my jaw tightens.  

“Struggle all you want little girl, you won’t save them.” The owner of the voice flexes his arm and breathing becomes difficult. “You would be going too, but a child who fights tooth and nail against everyone, will serve no purpose in the Tower of Heaven. You will die here, and while you bleed out you can regret not cooperating when you had the chance. You will never see your sister again.” A gasp escapes me when he relaxes and I’m doing my best to suck air into my lungs. Every nerve ending is alight with white hot pain, and I can feel my head pounding in time with my pulse, but giving up is not an option right now. Not when she needed me.  

“I’ll…kill…all of…y-you…” The threat comes out as a hiss and blackness encroaches on the edges of my vision; my arms feel like lead.  

“Little bitch!” His anger is almost palpable, and seconds later my hearing fails. The world seems to stop, time itself standing still and I feel something hit me, followed by a tugging sensation.  My eyes widen and my body jerks, but there’s no pain. My struggling stops; my arms refuse to work anymore, falling limp at my sides, and I can feel a rush of liquid invade my mouth. My sense of taste is next to fail me, and even though I know blood dribbles from the corner of my lips, I can’t taste it. Nor can my nose pick up on any smell at all, as that sense quickly follows suit. Every sense I have, refuses to work. I can’t help a glance down; knowing full well what I’ll see, but still needing the clarification, and sure enough, the blade is there—protruding just to the right of my belly button—glistening in the moonlight, and tinged crimson.  

Words fail me then, and I can barely manage a gasp of air because each shallow breath I make, seemed an impossible feat. Even the slightest shift in my body is enough to move the blade and though it didn’t hurt, the damage would only increase. Is this it? Am I going to die here? The questions come, but not the answers and when I look up, I meet her beautiful amber eyes now wide with terror. Her face is contorted in shock and I can see her hands trembling around the bars, her knuckles white from tension.  

Sound comes rushing back to me then, filling my ears with a myriad of acoustics that I can only barely comprehend. The iron grip around my neck is suddenly gone and it’s in that moment, when my legs refuse to hold me up anymore and my face is rushing to meet the ground at an alarming speed. My entire balance shifts on its axis and I hit the ground with enough force to bring a scream from my lips, pain exploding in my left temple. But it’s not me I was worried about. I couldn’t care less about what happens to me. All I cared about was her. Her image leaves my field of vision but I hear my name die on her lips before a bone crunching thud echos and her grunt of pain follows.  

All around me houses burned, livestock lay slaughtered, and people lay lifeless as the monsters who stormed into our small village, now vacate just as swiftly as they’d come. What did we do to deserve this? The question repeats over and over in my head. The sound of the carriage is gone, leaving me to bask in the symphony that is raging fire and haughty laughter, and I hate it. They were just going to vanish now, literally getting away with not only murder, but child abduction as well. That simply could not happen.  

“Leave the girl to bleed to death. She can’t do anything anyway, and it would be a waste of time to finish her off. Let’s go boys.” That same gruff voice speaks, and I can hear the amusement.  So, they were leaving me for dead? I didn’t warrant even a finishing blow? How insulting. My pulse races faster now; my blood boils so hot I can see steam emanating from my skin. The numbness in my limbs abates, replaced by seething hatred faster than I can comprehend, and something inside me seems to explode outward, ripping up the ground around me even as the pain fades from my consciousness.  

I know instantly what the feeling is. The magic lying dormant within me finally activating, and I feel the raw power of it running through me light a current. My strength swells, letting me know I still have the opportunity of ridding the world of the scum that remained in my village. I was given a second chance I sure wasn’t going to let it slip through my hands. The air grows silent around me as the magic rages like a torrent, swirling in a typhoon of brilliant indigo that rockets skyward. The blade comes free with a sickening squelch and a pained hiss escapes me. It was a beautiful dark steel, running the entire length of my body, the hilt decorated with woven red and blue patterns.  

I struggle to stand, my legs threatening to collapse under me, as the world spins. The sword is heavy, but at the same time, the weight of it has a calm washing over me. I can do this. The thought flutters through my mind as my right hand applies pressure to the wound in my stomach, the sword held in a death grip by my dominant one with every ounce of strength my body would allow. My magic chooses that moment to calm down, and it dissipates on the wind like smoke.  

“Hey!” The anger in my voice surprises me, the steadiness of it even more so, and the threat laced within the simple word sends a shiver racing down my spine. I watch as their forms freeze, and I swear not a single one even risks a breath in. I take a step forward, making sure my stance allows me to either attack or defend should the need arise. Two of the five remaining jumped slightly, stepping back on instinct if I had to muster a guess, and even from here I could smell their fear; see the beads of sweat glistening on their trembling forms, and a primal part of me loved that feeling. The hunters were now the hunted and I wasn’t going to let them get away.  

“Easy now…I know you’re upset…but killing us isn’t going to bring anyone back. It’s not going to make you feel better!” The man in front says shakily, his once arrogant chuckle, replaced with terror.  

“No,” I crouch and reel my arm back, ready to put everything I had into this, to ensure they never bothered anyone again. To make sure they never ripped apart another village; another family again. “but it’s a start!”  

I move then, my body blurring as I release all of my magic power at once, and the force of it obliterates everything in its path. The fires that run rampant through my village are snuffed out in an instant, their memory floating through the night in the form of ash, and the shock wave rockets the remains of the houses off into the distance, the screaming of the wind overpowering every other sound. They didn’t stand a chance really, and it’s over before I even straighten.  

In the wake of my sword, is a trench forming outward into a massive ‘V’ shape, originating at my feet and easily reaching what looked to be as wide as five houses. The effect has my entire body shaking and I can feel the magic fading. A sigh escapes me, and I turn on my heel to sprint off into the direction I last saw the carriage heading.  

 will find you… My foot catches on a root and I hit the ground with a grunt, and stars dance in my vision. Air is suddenly difficult to acquire and the pain is slowly, agonizingly, beginning to return as the high of adrenaline fades into nonexistence. I try to stand, to move any limb at all, but my body refuses to obey me anymore; seems to be fine with succumbing to numbness as all sensation fades in my hands and feet.  

This is it. This is where I die. Alone, weak, and wondering if my younger sister would even live to see her fifth birthday. My jaw clenches as a fresh wave of tears fall and soak into the dirt.  

“At…least I c-can die…knowing I avenged…our p-parents…stay alive….”  The last vestiges of strength leave me in a rush of breath from my already burning lungs, and blackness encroaches on my vision. The last thing I remember is her face flashing through my mind, and her name fading from my lips.  

“Erza.”

END

In my opinion, this is still trash, but I won’t get better unless people rip my stuff apart and tell me what they want. So...have at it. Tell me if you love it, hate it, want me to keep going, or if I should give up writing all together. 

[paragon-yoshi]

Replayed “Zelda: Skyward Sword“

I spent the last three days playing “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword“. After “Breath of the Wild“ kept me busy for a long time.

I don’t care what people say. “Skyward Sword“ always was my FAVOURITE ZELDA-GAME!

And after it lay dormant for so many years, with me forgetting many things about it, it was a rather fresh experience to play it again. And now, that I finished the game again, I still say it’s my FAVOURITE!

As for the problems people had with it...

Motion Controls worked well for me. Fi is a good character in my eyes. And I never had a problem with linearity either. In fact, I think linearity is overhated these days. It has good things of its own, ya know?

As for why I personally love “Skyward Sword“ so much:

I love the world! It has the best levels in the series, asthetics-wise. I never got sick of exploring these beautiful lands.

Also love the dungeons! Especially the “Ancient Cistern”. Most beautiful dungeon ever... with a twist!

I like the new races it introduced (especially the Kikwi and Remlit! Sooooooo CUTE! >w< )

The story easily is the best in the series! And as someone that generally plays games for story, that is the primary reason why I like it so much.

I also like how it explored the Origins of the Master Sword!

Ghirahim! Best villain in the series! Need to say more?

I also like to battle “The Imprisoned“. While it’s one of the most hated bosses in the series, ironically, it’s among my favourite bosses in this game and series. I like its design. And it’s so different from a normal boss battle and I love it for that!

It has my favourite Link and Zelda! They develop so much! And I love how Zelda is more involved here!

Groose is a freaking bro! I love his character development. He starts out as a dislikable character, but you WILL learn to love this guy! :3

I also like many of the side-characters (Fledge, Karane, etc.). While there are less NPCs this time around, a lot of them have moments and character development of their own. And I like it.

Scrapper I have a Love-Hate relationship with. I hate how he constantly belittles Link, but at the same time I think it’s cute how he has a crush on Fi. : 3 Not to mention, he looks cute himself and proves to be very helpful throughout the adventure.

However, there are a few things that I had problems with:

There often was a slight delay with the controls or the motions didnt register a few times. But to be fair, that’s an issue all WII Games had.

The Bird really should be able to fly faster. When you fly back and forth so much, you really wish there’d be a boost-technique to make it go faster.

The game resorted to a lot of padding... Key to Earth Temple, Missing Windmill Switch for the “Ballad of the Goddress“, Forced revisit of “Skyview Temple”, “Defend Scrapper“, etc.

Cleared “Earth Temple“, did everything right. And yet at the end, I am being told that I “completely failed“. While I acknowledge, that it adresses Link’s character flaws and urges him to grow out of them and become the hero of legend, I still feel insulted as a player. And I hated Impa for this. She never apologized for it either!

And yet, despite all of its flaws, I STILL LOVE IT! It’s still my favourite Zelda-Game. Even “Breath of the Wild“ could not change that.

And I think this is the mark of a good game...

“It’s not about making a game with no flaws. It’s about making a game, that makes you forgive the things it did bad, for the things it did good!“

And for me, the things it did good, far overshadowed its problems. I am willing to bear it’s problems, because the things it did good, it DID SO MARVELOUSLY!

And that’s why “Skyward Sword“ is my favourite Zelda-game.... even with “Breath of the Wild“ around!

Also shoutout to...

http://peanutbuttergamer.tumblr.com/

For making this video:

Oh and to “Yungtown“ as well, but I couldn’t find him on Tumblr. :(

But yeah, bottom line: “Zelda: Skyward Sword“ is not the bad Zelda-game, everyone makes it out to be!

[bensopinionsonvariousthingsblr]

Top 5 favorite games

Alright so here is the second, part I’ve been spending a lot of time working on this whole thing so I hope you enjoy! 

 Number 5:The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap                                                Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2004 Japan, 2005 NA                            What it can be played on: GBA/ Wii U Virtual Console 

       So I’m not gonna pretend like 4 of my top 5 picks aren’t Zelda games, that being said the Minish Cap is a game I played more recently, around last year, and at first after beating it I sort of just put it in my top 20, I loved it yeah, but I never really thought about it until now that, even though it was short, every thing about this game was solid and fun to me, the shrinking mechanic was challenging but very well done aesthetically, and the story was good, with the relationship between Link and Zelda, them being childhood friends and Link doing whatever it takes to have his friend back, and the villain Vaati was interesting in his relationship with the Minish (The inhabitants of the tiny world) and his final boss fight being very difficult for me, and the story wraps up nicely as usual, all in all it was a Zelda experience that I truly loved, and my favorite 2D Zelda game.

 Favorite part(s): Definitely the Aesthetic and design of the tiny world, and all the charm around the entire game

 Number 4:Sonic Adventure 2                                                                                  Developer and Release year: Sega, 2001                                                              What it can be played on: Dreamcast/Gamecube/PC/PS3/XB360    

 There it is, probably the most controversial pick on this entire list, unless maybe the next one is too i dont know, but I am a Sonic fan, which is something sort of rare these days, unless you like Mania which is pretty awesome but I’m more of a 3D guy, but this game is my favorite Sonic game because, even though the story is confusing I love it, it was dark and i legitimately felt like Dr.Robotnik was actually a major threat. There are 3 types of gameplay, the Classic Sonic/Shadow, The treasure hunting, and the robot/mech levels that make up the game, the best is the Classic gameplay of Sonic and Shadow, that usually isn’t up for debate, the other modes are pretty fun, but I love the game for the Sonic/Shadow levels, and the game to me really picks up on the Space Colony Ark in the Final Act. The *spoilers ahead* part where Shadow (who I forgot to mention is one of my favorite characters and not because I’m an edgy frick) turns to Sonic’s side and fights the Biolizard to buy them time, Shadow’s character arc was amazing in this game, and the final boss was really fun too, not to mention the soundtrack i mean, it’s a sonic game of course there’s a good soundtrack.

 Favorite part(s): Shadow the Hedgehog, his levels, character arc, and general mystery surrounding the black and red anti-hero was amazing to me. 

 Number 3:The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword                                                  Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2011                                                        What it can be played on: Wii/Wii U virtual console   

 I have defended this game in so many tweets and irl debates it’s incredible, Skyward Sword released to a 10/10 from IGN (that doesn’t matter to me much but it is an accolade) a 93 Metacritic score, which I do care about since it is an overall score and even got some Game of the Year awards in a year where Skyrim, Portal 2, Minecraft, Mario Galaxy 2, and many more were up for contention, but that proves nothing I just wanted to prove that I have argued about it enough that I know what I’m talking about. The main problem everyone has with this game is the motion controls, they say they are not accurate or don’t work, which can sometimes be true but, Scott Falco (he makes the “”with a side of salt series which he has some very good opinions on) says it the best, he said that he didn’t like it sitting down just waggling the wii remote, you’ve gotta stand up and play, then you fell immersed like YOU are the one doing it and not the wii remote, that is what i agree with and stand by anyway. Now past those criticisms I don’t think there are many more, some people don’t like the story, but to me this game has the BEST story in maybe any game I’ve ever played, the Link and Zelda relationship is better than any other game in my opinion and only Breath of the Wild comes close to that relationship in my opinion, now, the rest of the story is intriguing too, the origin of the master sword (I’m not going to comment on Fi, some people got too annoyed with her to focus on her amazing character arc in my opinion) the existence of Skyloft and the very first Link, Zelda, and Ganon in the form of Demise, all of it was done well and was very interesting to me. I liked the gameplay too, I think the new sprinting and stamina system was revolutionary to the series and made movement a lot more improved from previous entries in the franchise. The final act with the boss battle with Ghirahim and eventually Demise were very cinematic and awesome, and with Zelda’s life on the line during the whole thing it made it just that much more intense. 

Favorite part(s): THE STORY, I can not say enough how much I love the story but also I loved the boss battles,  Demise,Ghirahim,The Ancient Automaton, and all of them were fun to me.

 Number 2:The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild                                              Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2017                                                        What it can be played on: Switch/Wii U   

  This game is a new staple in the Zelda series, the highest selling of all time, a new open world, a Game of the Year winner in almost all the awards shows, and even still people love to pick on this game a little bit, with all the weapon-breaking criticisms, and I know that can get annoying, but it does add a new layer of difficulty to an already difficult game, anyway Breath of the Wild was first known as Zelda for the Wii U, and it was revealed with a trailer at E3 2014 and was slated for release in 2015, of course it got pushed back and with Nintendo now finished with the switch they announced Breath of the Wild as a launch title, March 3rd, 2017 will always be one of my favorite days of all time, as I got my switch and had the first mainline Zelda game release as a fan of the series, and I did NOT stop playing it that night until about 1 AM (thats a rookie number now i mean c’mon I tweeted at 3 AM last night then went ahead and watched a movie) which was super late for me at the time though and I went to bed ecstatic about the game, I had gotten to a part where the story was starting to go forward and I couldn’t wait to finish it, about 6 or 7 days later I did and BOI let me tell ya I loved every second of that week, the gameplay is smooth and fun with combat being re-invented and then the Guardians were really fun because up until the end i didnt know about the shield thing so I would just bash them with all the brute force i had, the final boss fight was incredible (thats a common theme with my favorite Zelda games) and the Dark Beast Ganon fight was really atmospheric and entertaining as well and the ending with the re-uniting of Link and Zelda was so well done and just makes for a perfect ending.

Favorite Part(s): I loved the massive open world and all the secrets and new enemies and shrines to discover, it just made my time playing the game very enjoyable! Plus everything else like the story and the combat.

Number 1:The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker                                                Developer and Release year: Nintendo 2002 JP/2003/ 2013 HD                            What it can be played on: Gamecube/Wii U

  The Wind Waker. My unwavering favorite game for who knows how long now, the first Zelda game I ever finished and my introduction to great single player games as a whole really. The Wind Waker released in December in Japan and followed up the next year World Wide, the art style of the cell-shaded characters had never been seen before in a Zelda game and people were skeptical about whether or not it would go down well. Well it released and the people of December in Japan and of March World wide were very pleased with the game and loved it for its gameplay, story, vast ocean and many islands to explore with many hours of gameplay to be put in discovering everything the game had to offer, as for me i wouldnt get to play it for a while longer considering i was VERY young at the time of its release, so I would get to play it when it re-released for the Wii U in 2013, about ten years after the release of the original, I didnt get it though until Christmas of 2015 (or 2014 Im not honestly sure) but it wasnt even my gift, as I’ve said before it was my brother’s and i just watched him play it for a bit and tried it myself after being intrigued, and I dont know if I stopped very much over the course of the time I played it, I was challenged by the puzzles, and from the very opening at Outset Island I loved the art style and loved the characters in the story, with the new unique take on Zelda as Tetra, having Link sailing instead of walking, heck even having Hyrule not even the setting (for most of the game anyway) was new to the series and as my first 3D Zelda game I was captivated by all of it, everything about my favorite franchise now was fresh and new and thats something I’ll never get to experience again which is probably why I remember and still play the Wind Waker which such a fondness today, because of how new everything was to me and how much I enjoyed all of it, not to mention the final boss fight (here we go again) was and is still my favorite, with the world being submerged around you and you and Zelda enclosed with no way out other than through Ganondorf, the games story as always (I hate how repetitive I am) ended very well and to this day it remains one of my favorite stories ever told, and I don’t know if anything will be able to top this game just because of the time in my life in which I got to experience it and with how solid the game as a whole is.

Favorite Part(s): The Wide-open sea and the islands are all so cool and creative, plus the Final boss fight still stands as my favorite to this day.

Thanks a TON for reading through all of this, I had started work on it some time last year and got super busy doing other things during all this time but it really means a ton to me that people would actually care enough to read what I write, or even just skim it, 

                                                         Thanks -Ben :)