#the first zelda game I played

[casa-delle-galline]

Does anyone think that Spirit Tracks’ kingdom of New Hyrule should be changed to something different? I personally do because by calling the kingdom “New Hyrule”, it is, one; uncreative and redundant, and two; completely disregarding the ending of The Wind Waker in saying that they should let go of the past and Hyrule is gone, that the land Tetra and Link would establish their new home would not be an old kingdom long gone, but it would be their land.

So I’ve decided to give it my own name; The Kingdom of Ferrovia (it means ‘railroad/railway’ in Italian, and it sounds and looks pretty).

[humkoos]

7 years of breath of the wild

[onomatapeanut]

Playing around with brushes, shading and contrast.

[leciraofthewilderness]

So, despite some faults, I really enjoyed totk, and on its anniversary I want to say something about it. Other people have said similar things before but it’s really important to me and actually a big part of why the story of totk was meaningful to me, so I want to also say it:

Zelda needed to come back from draconification. The story needed that. It wasn’t lazy and just ignoring “consequences” because (imo) that was the *point*

The point is to feel like there are going to be terrible consequences and then say actually, no. You can come back from this, with the help of other people.

To me at least, that was the theme of the whole story.

If botw was about how the world goes on past loss and grief and starts to heal (how flowers grow in the ruins and the world can be beautiful again, be worth saving, even if it has changed)…then totk was about a more personal kind of healing.

The weight of the world should not be on your shoulders alone…you, alone, should not have to fix everything…you should not have to sacrifice yourself, but when you do, someone will be there to save you from it.

This turned into a really long ramble so:

You (Link) gained so much and now it’s gone. It feels like you’re back to where you started and yet you know you have to do it all again…you were weak and you failed and you’re weaker now…but

You go down to the surface. Monsters swarm across it once again. Other people are fighting them too though. You help, but it’s not just you…

You go to the Rito, the Gorons, the Zora, the Gerudo…just like with the divine beasts, there are friends who help you save each region. But this time, part of them comes along with you when you leave. It’s nice, you realize, the first time one of them protects you from a monster you weren’t prepared for. You’re still weaker than you were before, but someone has your back…

When you go up to the sky you see a strange new dragon there. There’s something about them that feels familiar. You try not to think about it.

You go down to the depths too. It’s terrifying at first. You hate it. You only want to get what you came for and get out of the dark….but slowly, the light grows. You get stronger. The dark feels like a challenge you can face (and someone has your back).

There are spirits down there. You don’t know when they’re from, but some part of you wonders…are these all the people you let die in the Calamity? (You help them find rest from their wandering. The weight on your shoulders feels a little less heavy).

There’s so much gloom. The first few times the sky turns red and hands chase you (a reminder of what you’ve lost, how you failed) you just run. Eventually though, you have to fight. It feels like the (second) worst day of your life again. But you manage to get free of the grasping gloom and stand and fight, as wild and desperate as it is. Beneath the manifestation of your worst fears, there’s another thing to fight, but this time it has a face (a voice in the back of your head says…you know this isn’t all on you and your failure…it’s really Ganon’s fault right?). You get through it.

At every turn in your travels, it seems like something reminds you of Zelda. Her passion, her curiosity, her kindness. You miss her.

At first, the tears you find reassure you. She may be in the past, but she’s safe. She’ll come back somehow…but then you hear the word draconification for the first time. You want to believe she wouldn’t do it but you know her and the fear sits cold inside you. (Zelda is a lot of things. She’s been allowed to be more of them, since she was freed from her hundred year battle, without her father holding her back. But deep down inside her, there’s a vein of self-sacrifice that still runs strong. It’s what saved the world before, after all).

She did it. She really did it. She’s gone from you (from Hyrule) forever, and it’s all your fault. If only you hadn’t failed so utterly in the battle (you can hardly even call it that) under the castle. If only you’d caught her. If only you hadn’t let the sword break. You should have protected her you should have been better it’s all your fault and now she has to live with the consequences, forever. Everything really is on you, you should have been better.

(Zelda POV: you couldn’t call upon Hylia’s power in time, you were too content to let it wither and fade away from you, ready to be free of it. You shouldn’t have. He got hurt, the sword got hurt, it’s your fault…Sonia and Rauru help you channel it again, Sonia helps you learn how to turn back time…but you don’t save her. She dies because you couldn’t save her. Rauru dies not long after. There is no one left to guide you, once again. You could spend years trying to figure it out on your own. But you did that last time. It didn’t work. Self-sacrifice, stepping in front of someone you love, that worked. (You do what you can, to call upon the sages, to help Link in the future, first). And then you swallow the stone. You’ve come a long way, in the past five years, allowing yourself to exist. But in the end, self-sacrifice worked last time. It’ll work this time too.)

You (Link) go down beneath the castle. You were supposed to bring the sages but you didn’t. It’s nice, for someone to have your back. But no one else should get hurt to fix your mistakes.

They follow you anyway. They fight with you, against the hordes, against the greatest enemies you defeated together, along the way. They’ll have your back, even if you don’t think you deserve it.

You fight Ganondorf, and then the demon king, in the hardest battle of your life. You think it’s over and then the demon king decides it’s better to lose himself completely than let you win. You’re exhausted and afraid of yet another battle, but up there in the sky, when you’re falling, the Light Dragon catches you (you wonder why she changed her path to catch you, you wonder if there’s still something of Zelda left in there to save). With her help, you win.

And then you’re in some other realm. The spirits of Sonia and Rauru are there. You remember how the two of them and Zelda channeled such incredible power together. You think about Recall. Turning something back to the memory of what it was before, like Sonia said. You stand with them and you allow yourself to hope. Maybe the Light Dragon can remember the form she took so long ago, the person that she was.

And then you’re falling, and Zelda is falling, but this time you catch her. You catch her. She’s back home with you, finally, finally.

And maybe, one mistake doesn’t have to be the end of the world. You don’t have to be perfect. Sometimes, someone else can stand with you, and it’ll all turn out alright. (You can put the weight of the world on your shoulders, you can sacrifice yourself, but someone will be there to catch you, someone will be there to pull you back to yourself, when all is said and done).

[lotus-pear]

i am not immune to totk link

[doodlesdreaming]

Twilight Princess has been showing up on my feed lately, and I got nostalgic.

[drawsmaddy]

[ID: A digital illustration of The Great Fairy Fountain at Zora Fountain from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The fountain's stone work is mostly pink with two braizers containing green fire on either side of the pool at the centre of the fountain. Water pours down the sides of the room in front of the pillars at the walls, and water covers the floor on either side of a raised central walkway to a platform engraved with the symbol of the triforce. Child Link stands on the walkway, facing away from the viewer. End description.]

Been playing Ocarina of Time for the first time!

[ezlo-x]

heartwarming: zelda fans hold hands and disagree with Aonuma saying people only like the old tloz games for nostalgia

[spirit-tracks]

I wish I could fall in love with Zelda all over again for the first time

[shayberri789]

I love the way link runs away from Saria when leaving the woods for the first time in OoT

Like. Here is an emotionally charged scene, your best friend is saying goodbye and is sad. And link, because he is allergic to feelings, backs off before FLEEING like she's some kind of predator

I love my emotionally constipated son

[u-cheeky-boy]

Just some quick little colors for these LoZ sketches that @emipon graciously shared. I haven’t colored (or posted anything on tumblr!) in a while but these looked so cute!

[dna-d2]

Okay one more thing about the new Nintendo stuff and I'm done, I promise

(i may not keep this promise)

But I'm calling out for a victory celebration of one thing in particular

WE GOT LEFT-HANDED LINK BACK, BAY-BEEEEEEEEEE

[pitchblackespresso]

First post of the year, a 2023 meme

[funsizedcrow]

Linktober day 19: Reward

Its said that the reason you sometimes find rupees when you cut down grass is because the minish hid them there

[alphagirl404]

A seasoned Breath of the Wild player (aka Me) visits Ocarina of Time’s Castle Town

*First visit*

“Wow, a Castle Town that’s populated with live people and not in ruins for once!”

*First visit after the 7 year jump*

“Oh, GODDAMMIT!"