Especially as the series made the jump to three dimensions in 1998 with “Ocarina of Time,” Nintendo found a way to conjure epic adventures in seemingly massive worlds with characters worth caring about.

What spurred Zarow’s imagination was the same thing that any great fantasy story does: an infectious sense of adventure. “It was something that absolutely made me passionate about games the way I am and part of why I think this field has been so interesting to me.” “I had a sweet potato ocarina that I learned to play a bunch of Zelda songs on,” Zarow says. From the moment they stepped foot in the kingdom of Hyrule as Link, Zarow knew there was no going back. The impact “Breath of the Wild” left on the game industry and gamers is still felt today, and the same can be said for the series as a whole, which now spans 19 games and multiple generations of gamers.įox Zarow (they/them), an assistant teaching professor of game design at Northeastern University, recalls their first experience playing a re-released version of the classic “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” on Nintendo Wii in 2007 with their step-uncle on Christmas morning. It’s the sequel to “Breath of the Wild,” which was immediately heralded as a masterpiece when it came out in 2017. Generations of people have been raised on these games, to the point where even if you don’t play video games, you probably have some familiarity with Link and his green hat and tunic.Įvery time a new Zelda game comes out, it puts the world on pause, but “Tears of the Kingdom” brings with it even more buzz. Since the original “Legend of Zelda” released in 1986, the story of the brave, sword-wielding hero Link, magical princess Zelda and evil demon king Ganon has captivated the world.

After years of hype and anticipation, Nintendo will release “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” the latest entry in its iconic series.

For anyone even remotely interested in video games, May 12, 2023, will be akin to a national holiday.

Video game cartridge cleaner