The Game That Started It All

This is a shared topic from Blog Azeroth about RPG Nostalgia. The forum topic can be found here along with other bloggers posts.

We all started somewhere. For me, there was Duck Hunt. I had the big orange gun that I couldn’t hit anything with until my older brother pulled me closer to the TV and said, “Put the gun on the TV and shoot.” Ah, the first instance of cheating at a game. Thanks bro! Then there was Mario. Getting Yoshi for the first time, discovering secret areas, and of course beating a game and feeling complete and proud of myself.

Those games didn’t give me the love I have for gaming though. Those games didn’t give me the addiction to RPGs. One game did that. This game I consider to be the best game of it’s time. Best game ever really. I would still play it again. Over and over again. It’s that good. Of course, I’m talking about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

The story, the world, the freedom! I wasn’t limited to a line on a map of where I had to go. Oh no, there was this open space that gave me choice! Granted I did have to follow the story line and I couldn’t skip ahead or anything, but the game tricked me into thinking that I chose to see the Gorons or the Zoras. I never had that freedom before.

I still know the songs by heart and recognize the music. I remember all the secret areas and how to kill every boss. I remember more from this game than an MMO (FFXI) I played for 2 years. Sheik, Saria, and even the mention of Princess Ruto still bring smiles to my face. Epona! I squeal like a little girl every time I see her. The damn owl with the weird head. The punk Kokiri that refused to let Link see the Big Deku Tree. “You don’t even have a swoooord.” Whiny brat. All of these were memorable characters.

This game. This game brought the RPG addict out of me. This game is the reason I still play RPGs and other games. If I could have a Link shrine with a complimentary ocarina I would.