An interview with the characters of The Legend of Zelda

For my last and final blog post, I have decided to interview someone who has been the inspiration in a few of my other blog posts. Link the Hero of Hyrule has made my English class what it is and I am more than honored to be able to create a machine to bring him and his companion Navi into our world just for this interview. The invention process was boring and a whole lot of not entertaining so I just won’t go into it. Just know this machine takes up the whole room and I have a few awards now because of it (go me).

 Back to Link and Navi, the two of you are what makes the games of Zelda what it is. The two of you are seen racing all across Hyrule to save princess Zelda from the fiend that is Ganondorf.  What is it like having the fate of the world rest on your shoulders time after time?

Link: *looks around the room in shock*

Link? Are you doing alright there?

Link: *looks at me confused*

Right. I forgot. You don’t speak. Navi? Are you around?

Navi: *flies out from links overcoat * Yes! I’m here!

Good! So, how is it knowing that if you and Link fail, so does the rest of the world? I know it seems like you have not a single care in the world but there has to be some stress, right?

Link: *nods*

Navi: You’re totally right! This whole hero of Hyrule thing gets suuuuuperrrrrrrr boring after you’ve been doing it for hundreds of years! I am ready for someone else to take the helm of the hero so I can sleep. Despite my appearance, I am really a fairy, I just happen to shine super bright day or night. That’s how Link can find me so easy. But even fairies need sleep. But when Link and I are off darting from temple to temple, I can’t get any rest! And neither can he! Not to mention my least favorite adventure of them all, the one where Link died. Do you remember that one Mr. Interviewer? I almost died several times but this fool I mean I mean this HERO (and at this point, Navi floats in front of Link as if to block to block his reaction) actually did die! But I guess if he died then I died too. Huh. You’ve got me feeling all kinds of existential Mr. Interviewer.

Link: *Pushes Navi out of the way so he can see who he is talking to*

Well, goodness. Uh. I’m sorry to bring you to the revelation? I more or less thought you knew that already. I mean, it would seem to me that you were like a guiding light that would lead Link into the light of his death in the long run. That was also the first time that you had met the hooded adventurer, right?

Link: *glares at Navi for an answer*

Navi: Well that was the first time I met in the afterlife incarnation. See, our world exists a little differently than the one that you live in. Here, we are able to connect to the past, present, and the future. Along with all of that, we are able to talk to the alternate universes that exist. There are three ways that the timelines split, one if Link defeated the big bad Ganondorf and seals him away in the shadow realm. Another one if Link defeats Ganondorf but is also defeated in combat. The last timeline is one where Link is defeated in battle by Ganondorf, that’s where I first met Link. His adventure with me marks the beginning of the end of his life. Geezzzzzzzz Mr. Interviewer, you ask some tough questions.

No need to get too emotional Navi. We all know how that game ends anyway. You two save the world and all of those who inhabit it. So, congrats to you guys. I can tell you that as someone who has played that video game, that you about made me put my console into the afterlife. But one thing that I will say, is that the music that I heard while playing through your adventure was ethereal.

Link: *Raises an eyebrow in confusion*

Navi: Yes yes yes yes!! The music of the land is a wonder. We idolize it and immortalize it with statues and books all throughout the world. But I must ask Mr. Interviewer, what is a “video game?” Is that some kind of future-telling device?

No no no Navi. It is a kind of entertainment we have in the human world. Now, back to the music, has the music of the land influenced how you two interact with the world?

Link: *nods head*

Navi: The music is a key factor in any of our adventures but probably most importantly, the same adventure I met Link on. The music in the woods is upbeat and makes me want to fly all over the woods! It’s so happy! The music in the towns that we got to visit sound like it comes right from a festival. Everything in a town sounds like it came right from those glorious stringed instruments!

Here, I think I can find what you are talking about. I’ll pull it up on my phone so I can play it out loud for both of you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtz-qGWKNOw

Is this what you were talking about?

Link: *looks shocked*

Navi: Yes! That’s it how did you manage to get your glass box to play our town's music? You are confusing me more and more Mr. Interviewer.

Yeah well, this world is confusing most of the time. Trust me, it’s not like we all like it here. I am actually going to use the machine I made to bring you into my world to take me into yours for a little vacation. Alright, back to the music. This music is made by who exactly? Who or what do you believe made the music that you are hearing all throughout the world?

Link: *looks at Navi presumably for an answer to this question*

Navi: OHHHHHHH you mean Kondo! He is our God of music. It is said that he is even in all three separate timelines. His influence stretches across multiple universes. This is good news because that means someday he might even be able to come to where you live!

Interesting. Are there any myths of this Kondo?

Link: *nods his head*

Navi: Of course, it is said that Kondo creates the music all by himself. When he was yet a fledgling deity, self-taught to play the “electric” organ. And this drew the attention of other gods who tried to mimic his sound but failed. He managed to learn a thing or two from the ethereal beings and incorporated them into his own sound. When he played his music for the goddess Hylia, she asked if he would play music to be heard all over our world. He promptly agreed. Now you can hear all the land. Most of his work is benevolent and peaceful. There are a few times you can hear when Kondo gets nervous or excited because of the pace that he is playing at speeds up. And even fewer are the times where he is scared or sad, deeper notes entail a boss or an enemy approaching. These sounds are positively spooky and unsettle anyone who hears them. That would explain why most people don’t adventure outside of their village. It really does get the heart racing though! It’s really good for Link and I to get into our combat modes. The quicker based melodies are a sure-fire way to get anyone and everyone ready for the fight. The moments in the world that are supposed to be meaningful even have a special sound to them! All of which are different! Like talking to the goddess for the first time, speaking to different sages throughout the world, or even just having a deep and meaningful conversation with someone. The world slowly transitions into this ethereal-sounding melody that alludes to something like meditation music. Give me a moment while I catch my breath! That was a lot to talk about!

Take your time. I have nothing going on for another hour or so. That’s fascinating really! Every place has its own sound. That’s something that must have taken a lot of time to do, even for a god. So, I must say, some of the things in your world have leaked into my world. The two of you have been much the influence in my realm. How does it feel knowing that you are not only heroes in your universe but in mine as well?

Link: *smiles wide and claps his hands*

Navi: That’s rather exciting to hear! I’m just glad to know that all of my hard work has paid off and isn’t ruined but this green clad elf’s mistakes. This means what exactly though? How has our culture and our story been spread into your world?

Well, believe it or not, it has a lot to do with your god Kondo. His music has indeed spread to our world and your tales have as well! The music in your world is legendary and is heard in all corners of my world. Even more than that, you and Link’s stories have been told time and time again. You can find your holy triforce (for those of you reading this who doesn’t know what that is, its three triangles in an order that makes one larger triangle together), the seal of Hyrule, and even an ocarina or two laying around. You two are well known for your challenging temples and feats of great strength. Both of you are known to be a force to be reckoned with. Not only that, but the story of Links passing and dealing with Majora has sunk into every one of those hearts that have been touched by your adventures.

Link: *looks at Navi a little more shocked than confused*

Navi: Which story are you referring to? I am just going to save us all some time and assume that you mean to say the one that deals with Link dying. Yes, it’s sad and its awful blah blah blah. But he got over it fine enough. Our first adventure together has to be the most whiney – sorry Link but it is the truth – because all he did was whine about being dead. You can see it in all of the temples we visit. He goes through all of the stages of grieving. And each of the temple’s problems show it. But in the end, he got over it. And that is the most important part. Well, got over it probably isn’t the right wording there. But he accepted being dead, that’s better. He is at peace with the deceased. And now happily fighting alongside me to protect Hyrule (the name of their world). That is our job, after all, that and I guess to entertain the beings of your world. I’ll just go ahead and add that to the very long list of things I didn’t know I did. Which include but is not limited to, resurrecting Link when he dies –Which happens a lot mind you- find hidden treasure, communicate with gods, turn into a GIANT WOMAN that spits out other fairies, and now, be the instrument of entertainment to a population I didn’t even know existed. Mr. Interviewer, this is a lot to take in. What about you, what is your job in all of this?

I am simply here to be your mouth piece to this world. My job is to tell the rest of the world how your world and the music in it are made, how it influences our culture, and what exactly is being said through the music in your world. Thank you both so much for your time with me today. I hope you enjoyed your stay on earth, but I think it is the time I bid you farewell.

The Game of the Ring of Dovahkin

            Alright you cheeto-fingered bastards, let’s get our swords out and start dungeon crawling. There is an echo from deep within the cave, and there might just be treasure on the other side if we can just beat this god damn dragon this time. It’s not like this our twentieth time rushing this dungeon, and it’s not like this game is running our lives, and certainly we remembered to eat this morning, right? Anyway, it doesn’t matter, we are going to cut this thing’s head off and consume its soul and be on our marry little way. No sir, the One Ring will not be helping us today and that’s because we are talking about the wonderful world of Skyrim. This not-so-hidden gem is something of a miracle when it comes to the high fantasy genre.

            Curators of the high fantasy world seem to have their preferred poisons of:  J. R. R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings), George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones), C.S. Lewis (Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe) (I don’t know why these famous authors all have their names abbreviated but I kindda dig it).  Honestly everyone should know who these people are, and if you don’t you should go get cultured with a google or two before reading the rest of this blog post. I can promise you, the troupes referenced here are not for someone who doesn’t know about, at the very least, these three main authors. At the BARE minimum, please be up to speed on your dragon lore.

            Skyrim does a perfect job of blending the realm of paper and ink with that of code and art. There is no other word for a game as beautiful as this one is. Art is the ultimate compliment when it comes to a video game. Pokémon as is Zelda, Crash-Bandicoot on the other hand isn’t art. Skyrim is notable in the department of deeper thinking because it is the first high-definition High Fantasy RPG.

 I shouldn’t have to explain what an RPG is to a bunch of basement dwellers, but just in case someone doesn’t know what the hell I’m talking about it means Role Playing Game, or if you’re talking to a member of our military then it stands for Rocket Propelled Grenade. Use your context clues to figure out which I’m going to be referring to.

Taking a step off of my soapbox as well as my high horse, the Artist behind Skyrim have been awarded the VGX Award for Studio of the Year back when the game came out. That is kind of a huge deal. This game was cross platform when it was announced for PC, XBOX, and Play Station. I myself own this game on all three platforms but my preferred poison is PC simply because I can mod it and make the game look even better. Granted, the code is written in C++ and there is no way in Mordor that I would be able to understand how to write it, but I have friends to do that part for me. Go nerds.

Sword swingers and wand wavers rejoice because this game has both. Fans of the magical lands of Middle Earth and the heavy metal of Westeros can find comfort in this world knowing full and well that this game can be played however they want it to. No matter how you want to play the game, Skyrim can please your pallet. The Game offers staves and spells for those who want to burn their enemies to a crisp or more my style, summon demi-demons to do your bidding for you while you sit back and watch the chaos unfold. It even offers an assassin path that can be utilized with the sneak capability, daggers and bows are good here because both are low sound and can go unnoticed. But let’s say you wanted to be an assassin mage, would that work? Well you better count Akatosh’s blessings because you can do just that. There is a spell in the game that allows you to summon an ethereal bow that does mad damage. The best part about this bow is that it doesn’t use real arrows, they come with the summon. There is also a spell for daggers, but they don’t do as much damage as I would like them to. User’s discretion I guess. Just summon the big bads to work for you. Any hunt worth killing is a hunt worth obliterating with sheer amounts of force and magical ability, ain’t that right?

For the fans of Lore, there is plenty of that here too. Skyrim is the fifth game in a series in a world of wonder and gore. There is abundant dialogue amongst all of the characters in the game. Let’s dig into this little thing called the Dark Brotherhood. And by little thing, I mean a murderous cult that worships a possessed corpse of an old woman. You, as the Dovahkin, are the mouth piece of the corpse. And if you think that sounds creepy, you are so so so right. This has got to be one of the strangest things that I have ever done in a game, and yet I loved playing this story line through. Every strange little thing this dead woman wanted me to do, was a ton of fun. This has got to be one of the most interesting story lines in the game because it is literally an assassin cult who is trying to appease a demonic god, but don’t know it yet. The participants of this cult just think they are trying to do the best that they can and make a living. But to come to terms with the reality of it all, you have to re-kill the dead woman and then kill the demon possessing it. It is a really something to work for this, to quote her “Sweet sweet mother,” and then figure out how absolutely awful she is. I guess it makes it all that more satisfying in the end.