As some of you know, I’ve been deep in the thrall of a powerful, senseless addiction. It has eaten a vast portion of my recent time and caused me to neglect exercise, household chores, and friends.
I’m talking, of course, about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Over the past week, I’ve spent about 20 hours playing Zelda, and, if it follows the Zelda formula, I’m about a third of the way through the story. What eats at me, though, is that by all rights I shouldn’t be so addicted to the game. Zelda is notorious for having every game be the same as every other. I should note that I never played Majora’s Mask, so I’m not considering it in this analysis.
Let me count the ways:
1. The hero
This factor has actually been addressed in recent games: Link, the Hero of Hyrule, is reborn again and again to face whatever threats exist to the kingdom. That’s why in every game there’s a blond haired, blue eyed youth in a funny green hat as star of the story. I think it’s actually a pretty elegant way to tie the various games together while still explaining why Hyrule changes so much from game to game.
2. The setting
Every console Zelda game that I’ve played (the original, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Windwaker, and Twilight Princess) has been set in Hyrule. Moreover, there are certain locations that keep popping up; Hyrule Castle is always in the center (logical, considering how harsh the world is), and there’s a volcano, a desert region, a lake, and a dense forest. I should take a moment to address that while Windwaker was technically set in Hyrule, most of it was underwater, so you only got to see the tops of the mountains. Even so, there was a Forest Temple, a Volcano, a Water Shrine (might be mistaken on that), and Hyrule Castle which was still, more or less, in the center of the kingdom. In the handheld games, which are set outside Hyrule while Link is wandering the world after the adventure proper, these elements all show up in one form or another.
3. The gameplay
This is where you really notice that they’re all the same game. You always start out as a hero with a crappy sword and sometimes a crappy shield. You can only access a small region of the map, and as you quest, you find items that allow you to reach new areas and do more things. Staple items include the boomerang, the heavy boots, the hookshot, the bow and arrow, and the bombs. The bulk of the gameplay is in dungeons where you wander around solving puzzles, finding treasure, and fighting bosses. Typically the key to beating the boss is to utilize whatever item or items you picked up in the dungeon; for instance, if you find Iron Boots and the Bow and Arrow in the volcano dungeon, you can bet your ass that those two items will be integral in defeating that dungeon’s boss. I also count the sound effects and music as part of the gameplay section, but I’ll talke more about them later.
4. The Plot
There’s some variation in exactly what happens, but the basic story is always as follows: Boy in idyllic village encounters wider world right as a crisis threatens the kingdom, and then it’s up to Link, and Link alone, to save Hyrule. Such salvation usually involves travelling into either a shadow realm, or into the past/future.
So, if each game is the same, why do I find each installment so damn addictive? I think it has to do with two things: the familiarity, and the innovations.
Familiarity
One thing that’s nice about the Zelda formula is that you know what to expect, and you get a sense of satisfaction when those expectations are met. There are certain touchstones, like the sound for completing a puzzle and the main musical theme, that make me all warm and fuzzy when I hear them. Also, there’s a certain satisfaction in seeing the formula play itself out: getting the new item, seeing where you can go with it, and gradually gaining power.
Innovation
While each game is essentially the same, there are variations, and these variations are just enough to make each entry feel fresh, despite the number of recycled mechanics, art, and music. Windwaker is set on the open sea, has a cel-style animation, and a quirky character design. Twilight Princess has you turn into a wolf in the shadow realm, fleshes out the Kingdom of Hyrule, and introduces action-packed set pieces. Moreover, while the basic formula is the same, there are variations in how it’s played out, so you’re never sure exactly what’s going to happen, and it’s fun to see how the designers tweak the formula.
Finally, it doesn’t hurt that they’ve hit on a solid formula.
In conclusion, I guess it isn’t so surprising that Zelda is still addictive, after so many iterations. Yes, a lot of it’s recycled, but that’s a major part of its charm.
