Culture Crash: A Foray Back Into Zelda

The first Legend of Zelda game came out way back in 1986. In total, the Nintendo franchise has released 20 main entries, but the Zelda brand has never been bigger than it is right now. This May saw the release of the latest entry in the series, Tears of the Kingdom for the Nintendo Switch, and it sold 10 million copies in its first 3 days of release.

Tears of the Kingdom is an open-world game, meaning players can explore the world at their own pace. Like in its predecessor Breath of the Wild, the game allows users to climb any mountain, swim in the streams, and glide through the air taking in the astonishing vistas. New to Tears of the Kingdom, though, comes an entire building system. If you see 4 wheels and a board, you can combine them into a makeshift wagon. Thanks to energy cells and various fans all around, users can even craft skateboards, motorcycles, and aircrafts.

For a somewhat casual gamer like me, this world of engineering is a bit overwhelming, but it really does make the possibilities feel endless. Scrolling through TikTok will show you just how deep the engineering in this game goes: I even saw a video of someone who crafted a Batmobile for Link to traverse Hyrule in.

What I value most about the Zelda games, though, has always been the creativity and the puzzles. Where other systems and game franchises value graphics and violence above everything else, the Zelda games prioritize the user experience. The game looks a bit cartoony compared to other new-release games, but I think the visuals really work. They bring back a nostalgia, and they make the game more approachable and escapist than anything else on the market.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an astonishing game, earning rave reviews across the board and setting a new standard in the gaming community. Tears of the Kingdom is available on the Nintendo Switch now.