Many people would find it criminal that I have been an avid Nintendo fan all my life and have actively avoided all The Legend of Zelda games. I will admit, my reasoning is unjustified and it all started when I really began to get into the Super Mario series.
Back when I was just a little tyke, I was getting my hands on and playing all the Mario games and was falling in love with the franchise. To this day, it remains my favorite gaming franchise (and always will be). However, I vividly remember constantly going online and viewing forums and best-of lists to find that so many people thought The Legend of Zelda series was superior.
I understand now that everyone has a right to their personal opinions but at the time, I was a mere child and resented the fact that so many fans preferred Zelda. For the rest of my life, I labeled the franchise as an enemy (a rival if you will) and refused to dive into any of the games. But, that would all change.
My Experience with Star Fox Adventures
Wait, what on earth does Star Fox Adventures have to do with this post? Certainly, this is what many of you are thinking. However, for those familiar with the game, it took a huge departure from what the series had been known for. It went from a rail shooter to a flat-out action-adventure game.
To this day, though, it remains my favorite Star Fox game. Yet, there was always something that stuck with me and that was the fact that so many fans dubbed the entry a Zelda clone. Not only that, but several deemed it inferior. It was then that I realized that I may have needed to change my colors.
Then There was Super Mario Maker 2
This journey seems oddly random and looking back at it, it definitely was. Either way, come 2019, I still had not pulled the trigger on the franchise and was still in denial. I could feel a change coming; I just did not know when I was going to snap.
Then, I got my hands on a game that I was highly anticipating. I dove hours and hours into Super Mario Maker 2 creating levels and playing them with my cousin. For roughly three months, I pretty much played the game non-stop and was burnt out and unable to get my creative juices flowing.
Then, It Happened!
What I needed was an epic action-adventure game where everything was created for me. A game where I could literally explore anywhere I wanted to find dozens of secrets along the way. It was then where I had a revelation; I needed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. My cousin arrived home from work and found me face down on my knees.
I looked up and confessed that I desperately needed the game. Yes, this sounds corny and overly dramatic but that is how it went down. And, the rest (as they say) is history.
As we stand now, Breath of the Wild is one of my favorite video games of all-time and is a game I still pump hours and hours of gameplay into. I now want to track down all of the Zelda games and play them in their entirety (at least the mainline entries).
Sure, no other game in the series is designed like Breath of the Wild and I am not expecting a similar experience with any of the other entries. But, the fact remains that the Nintendo Switch entry piqued my interest in the series and made me a fan.