Oh hai there....

Well I certainly haven't been on here in a while, but I am going to try and remedy that starting today. Between working, school and just having a life, I know that I am not going to be able to do as much on here as I would like to, but I am going to try and make an effort and post something at least once a week. Well now that that is out of the way, let's get down to why I am writing this blog entry.

Skyward Sword is less than two months away and I am extremely excited, but even with all the excitement surrounding the next Zelda release there are still people who are dismissing Skyward Sword based on the idea that it's not modern enough for today's gamers and I hear the phrase "Zelda should be more like *insert game name here*". Now when I say modern, I don't mean a Zelda set in modern times, I am of course talking about how Zelda doesn't appeal to the tropy/accomplisment earning, "I don't care about a story" gamer, the fact of the matter is that Zelda is not, has not and will not ever be the game for that type of gamer and it should not be changed just to appeal to this demographic. Zelda games are about the story and getting so attached to the characters that you absolutely feel compelled to help and rescue them from whatever evil that may be plaguing them, not because you want to unlock a trophy. That sentimental attachment right there is the beauty of the Zelda franchise, you develop feelings and care for the characters involved in the story. I don't think any Modern Warfare gamers become attached to characters in their games and I am not bashing shooter games or any other game genre for that matter, I am just saying it's a different type of game and a different type of emotion that is attached to that type of game. I don't expect the next shooter to try and appeal to me because I am not it's demographic and the same should be said of Zelda, Zelda knows it's demographic and how to attract it.

The other argument that I hear is that Zelda has not evolved and is becoming stale. In my opinion, every Zelda game, with the exception of Twilight Princess and Spirit Tracks, has evolved either in the form of graphics, game play, storyline or even perspective, each Zelda game has offered something different. Don't believe me, then let's go through the list.

The Legend of Zelda:
The original Zelda has no predecessors to compare to but back when it was released, it was an advance compared to other games. The ability to save and the idea of exploration was new to the gaming world at that time.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link:
There is no argument in this game's evolution, Zelda II is a complete 180 in terms of the original Zelda. Zelda II offered RPG elements as far as XP to upgrade weapons, life and magic and even offered spells. For anybody looking for your "RPG Zelda", take a retro trip back to this NES title.

Link to the Past:
Now we are going backwards in terms of the perspective of the game, LttP went back to the original perspective of top-down, but even with this step back, there is a step forward and that step is the story evolution. LttP offered a much more in depth and colorful story then the previous two Zeldas. This story helped better immerse the player into the plight that Hyrule was enduring and made the player feel as though he or she truly was the hero of Hyrule.

Link's Awakening:
Zelda became portable and while other hand held games of the time were proving to be short and sweet, LA was a long and intense game with a unique storyline that proved that Ganon was not the only enemy that our hero Link could face.

Ocarina of Time:
For me, Ocarina of Time is the game changer, not only for Zelda games, but for all video games. Oot would and will forever be the game that I compare every game that came after it to. Oot's story, graphics and game play were brought together in perfect harmony to produce a game that elicited emotion and immersed the player in the realm of the Hero of Time. It is not only the best Zelda game, but the best game period in my mind.

Majora's Mask:
Majora's Mask was the deep, dark Zelda game that fans had been begging for and was dismissed largely for two reasons: The clock and you fight as young Link(which if you are complaining about young Link, then you are missing the point of Zelda games COMPLETELY), but I digress, we are suppose to be talking about the evolutionary aspect of this game. The aspects of MM that I felt pushed the game in a new direction was the time element and the dark story behind this game.

First, the clock: A lot of people could not get past the issue of quests occurring on a "schedule" and that you had to prioritize your time or you would miss your opportunity and have to start over and try again. I felt accomplished when I beat MM because a lot of self proclaimed Zelda fans had not or were not able to beat it. The time element was another evolutionary step for Zelda games, but Zelda fans complained so much about it, that Nintendo has not truly utilized it in the same way again.

Second, the dark story: Majora's Mask was the deep, dark story that a lot of Zelda fans were asking for and it was passed up by a lot of them because of the fact you play the game as a child, but I won't delve into that. The game pushed the boundaries of what most people thought a Zelda game should be based on, Link fighting Ganon to save Hyrule. Other than Link's Awakening, no other Zelda game had utilized a non-Ganon storyline and even in Link's Awakening you could argue that there was a Ganon appearance at the end of LA.

Oracle of Seasons/Ages:
The Oracles offered for the first and only time a link between the two games to allow for one long story and an alternate ending if you completed both games.

The Wind Waker:
Now obviously the biggest change in this installment of the series is the graphics, Wind Waker decided to take a step back from realistic Zelda graphics and went with the cell-shaded graphics and really offered some of the most beautiful graphics that any Zelda game has had, but there were two more elements that I really want to point out in this evolutionary Zelda chain.

First is the fact that instead of using the set field-dungeon-field formula that all Zelda games had used up to this point, Wind Waker's story was vastly told outside of dungeons and in the Great Sea. Side quests and treasure hunting for Triforce piece all took place on the vast ocean of "Hyrule". Now I do agree that Nintendo might be guilty of spreading out destinations a little too far away from each other in an attempt to make the game longer, but Nintendo did offer it's first Zelda game that for the most part took place outside of Temple/Dungeon walls.

The second evolution that Wind Waker brought us is something I think gets over looked a lot when it comes to this game, the controls. In my opinion, Wind Waker offers the best controls of any Zelda game. Team Zelda made the controls tighter and more intuitive by making slight changes, better Z-targeting, the action button during sword fights and just better handling all around. I wish the tight, precise controls of Wind Waker were the standard of which each future Zelda was measured from now on.

Four Swords/Four Swords Adventure:
Well the obvious evolution of Four Swords is the addition of multi-player Zelda. The only thing I can really say about Nintendo not taking an obvious and necessary evolutionary step is with the recent re-release of Four Swords for the Anniversary of Zelda, that re-release should of had online multi-player programmed into it.

Minish Cap:
Minish Cap offered proof that Zelda can have a reoccurring main antagonist that is not Ganon and still be incredibly fun and have a wonderful story. This evolution of main antagonists is crucial because although Ganon will always be Link's nemesis, battling him in every game can be a bit...redundant. The introduction and success of a different main antagonist in Minish Cap and the Four Swords series helped open the door for other Zelda games to take a different path and explore other story lines.

Twilight Princess:
Twilight Princess is really one of the only Zelda games that I feel didn't take any leaps or bounds to evolve the Zelda formula and I don't really consider tacking on "Motion Controls" to a GameCube game at the last minute to make it a Wii launch game an evolutionary step. I love Twilight Princess and feel it is a wonderful, fun game with a beautiful story, but it didn't really change anything in the Zelda formula.....with the exception of the DOUBLE Clawshot, which was f*cking awesome!!!

Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks:
I am including this two games together because they are basically the same game if you really think about it. The obvious evolutionary step that PH and ST took are in the controls, the use of the stylus. I was not completely on the band wagon when I heard about the use of the stylus in the controls of the new DS games, but once I got use to them, I realized how genius and intuitive they were. The use of the stylus allowed players to use the controls in ways that were never possible in other hand held Zeldas. Precision and accuracy are amazing once you get the hang of it and I hope that they continue to utilize the stylus control in future Zelda hand held games.

Anybody who wants to argue that these little changes do not equal the evolution of Zelda, I give you this, the definition of Evolution: "a connotation of gradual improvement or directionality from a beginning to an end point. This contrasts with the more general development, which can indicate change in any direction, or revolution, which implies recurring, periodic change."

Now the biggest complaint about the Zelda series and how it has become stale, the story. Link is called forth to save Hyrule or any other land he is in, fights evil and saves the day, end of story. To the people who complain about this story line I pose this question, "why are you playing Zelda in the first place?" that story IS Zelda. I love the story of the Zelda games and while they maybe similar, they are not the same. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Legend of Zelda is the story of LINK and how a young man chooses to stand up against incredible odds just because it's the right thing and through that journey becomes the hero that we come to love and cheer for. Link is the hero and he will ALWAYS save and protect those in distress, if you are sick of this plot, then I suggest you find a new game to play...