Vacation in Hyrule

 I have been needing a vacation, a getaway, a retreat. Since I have had other priorities so far this year I have not planned any sort of vacation. I need to do that. In the interim, while I sort out some other things, I have been pursuing some of my favorite escapes in the form of video games. My recent emphasis has been heavy on nostalgia. 

When my Mario play throughs hit the place that I need to finish either Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2 or Mario 64, I knew that I had gotten past the quick completed games. This is both a good and a bad thing. I can find my same sense of flow and relaxation playing through a level of Yoshi's Island... unless Mario comes off Yoshi's back and that terrible crying starts. The majority of my morning meditation then comes from Mario 64. I spent most of last week racing Momma penguin down the slide. It did not have the relaxation impact I desired. 

I decided in the middle of last week that I wanted a different challenge while I am taking a break from my mainline Final Fantasy play through. I can advance my Mario runs in short intervals in the morning and on breaks from work. I wanted a game to sink my teeth into, but something lighter than FFIX. 

I chose the original Legend of Zelda for a couple of reasons. I had never finished the game on my own. I also have had a deep love for the series since I first encountered in in the mid to late 1980s. I never owned the original on the NES. I did own Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It was a drastically different game. They were both difficult. I have always enjoyed a challenge though not enough to already have finished both of those games on my own. 

I booted up LoZ on the Switch and got to work. There is a significant amount of gathering and exploration you should do in the original before trying to start tackling castles. I got into it. You would think my button mashing skills would be on point and polished from the recent run and gun experience of the Super Mario Bros. series. I felt like it didn't help at all. They are such different styles of play. 

I found myself missing with my sword, unable to dodge stones from the Octorocks, and often just walking into Moblins and their attacks. It took a good bit of time to adjust. Getting my shield lined up with projectiles did not come naturally or quickly. I persevered through several silly deaths. 

As I started collecting upgrades, things got better. Three hearts is not a lot to walk around on. That wooden sword is just awful. I got quite into collecting power ups and the rupees to pay for them. Then I started working on completing castles. The early enemies got easier. What's a Moblin to a Link who has gotten good at slaying Wizzrobes? Well, the orange ones anyway...

Pretty soon I was facing Gannon for the first time. I find it impossible to believe that there is more skill than luck in defeating him. Most invisible bosses I have dealt with over the years give some indication that makes them more practically invisible rather than actually invisible. Not Gannon. That pig-faced arschloch teleports around throwing fireballs a mile-a-minute. I suppose a smart or talented player would chase the area the fireballs was coming from. I more or less walked around swinging my magic sword and dodging fireballs until I smacked the prig. A couple of lucky swipes turned him doodoo brown and I fired home a silver arrow. Villain slain, Princess rescued, Game over, man!

Now it could be said that reducing Gannon to ash with that silver arrow represented the end of a thirty-six year long casual quest. I had seen the end of the game. I had helped friends play it over the years, but that was the first time I completed the original Legend of Zelda. It felt both really cool and a little sad. 

I waited until the next day to start Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Now, I LOVE this game. It was one of the first games I owned for the NES. It is also one I have sunk hundreds of hours into. I am 99% sure I had never gotten past the 4th palace on it. For some reason though, the end game felt very familiar to me. Had I watched a friend beat it? 

AoL is a departure from the LoZ formula. The action takes place on side scrolling stages. Link can jump which wouldn't happen again until the Nintendo 64. I think I was more prepared for these elements from my recent Mario conquests. I burned through Zelda II in about a day. Taking out Dark Link was laughably easy. Cast Shield. Stand at the end of the screen. Swing Sword. Done. I had the Triforce of Courage and went on to wake up Princess Zelda. The curtains literally fall on Link and Zelda smooching. Are those two a couple? It seems to depend on the game. 

Finishing Zelda II: The Adventure of Link has been thirty-five years in the making. It was significantly more satisfying for all of the hours I know I have put into it over the years. LoZ still felt like a new game to me. AoL feels like returning to a beloved friend's house and finding everything just as I remembered it. The funny thing is that I wonder if I will ever pick it up again. That ending felt like I was ready to move on. 

In reflection on finishing those two games the obvious next stop would be Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I have finished that entry into the series several times. It was my favorite game for many years outside of the Final Fantasy series. I also think it is the single best game available for the SNES. 

That got me thinking about what Legend of Zelda games I have played and which I have completed. The list breaks down as follows:

The Legend of Zelda: Completed

Zelda II: A Link to the Past: Completed

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: Completed 

Link's Awakening: Never Played

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Played

Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Barely Played

Legend of Zelda: Oracles of Seasons: Never Played

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages: Never Played

Four Swords: Never Played

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: Never Played

Four Swords Adventures: Never Played

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap: Never Played

Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess: Played

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: Completed

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks: Completed

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: Played

Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds: Completed

Tri Force Heroes: Never Played

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Completed

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch): Never Played

Some of these make total sense. I wasn't allowed a Gameboy growing up because my parents were worried about me straining my eyes. Its funny, when I hit adulthood buying a Gameboy Color was a major act of rebellion for me. I put quite a bit of time into the early Pokemon games. I didn't back track and pick up the LoZ titles for Gameboy. I don't even know if I regret that. 

I also never owned a Gamecube. That lets me out of the Wind Waker and Four Swords games. I admit that I did buy a copy of Wind Waker to play on the Wii. I don't remember ever getting around to it... kind of like I slept on my copies of Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. I had the games. My priorities were just not on spending time completing them. I never even opened the cellophane on Twilight Princess or the Wii version of Skyward Sword. 

The funny thing is, I don't know that I will now. In a very not me type move, I don't know that I need to collect and play all of the Legend of Zelda games. They are all amazing I am sure. I just don't know that I want to invest the energy into them. 

Still, it is nice to take a break from things and save a Princess now and then. When Breath of the Wild 2 rolls out, I am sure I will heed that call to adventure. For now, I feel like I may have earned my heart container or triforce tattoo should I ever decide I want them. They would really need to look 8-bit though.