Autism

My favorite Zelda game? Ocarina of Time.

Nostalgia plays a part. I was 7 or so when it came out. My family had a NES, but we skipped the SNES and went straight to N64. The leap was mind-blowing, I had never played a game that felt so real. I was captivated by the characters and environments. At first, I was too scared to play the first dungeon because of the spider noises, but I still enjoyed running around the Kokiri forest. My brother could get farther than I could, but we still needed a strategy guide to beat it the first time.

In 2007, I made a flash cartoon for Newgrounds called "Ocarina of Stupidity." I ended up making 5 parts, 4 of which are currently on YouTube and my website. It's pretty cringe, but I was very proud of it at the time. My screenname was Dark_Link777 for awhile, sometimes without the underscore.

Now that I'm an adult, the game hits different. My parents were abusive and I have more problems than I realized. I had to grow up quickly in some ways, but I'm stunted in others. So although I am 34, I feel like a child in an adult's body. I have a drinking dependency that I am getting therapy for. I am estranged from my family (good riddance) and have had many relationships fail. Moments like saying good-bye to Saria and Navi hurt. I miss my friends. The cuccoo lady's brother basically killing himself feels... a little too relatable.

I take inspiration from Link. He does not get the triforce of power or wisdom. He gets courage. He doesn't know whether he can win, but he knows he has to try. He often helps people whether or not they pay him back. I have a wall scroll of him riding Epona with his sword in the air.

I want to help people, too. Not for glory or compensation, but because it's the right thing to do. But that has proven difficult due to the problems that were forced upon me.

I am still not crazy about Windwaker, and while I loved Twilight Princess when it came out, it's difficult for me to ignore its faults. Skyward Sword was one of the biggest disappointments of my life, lol. I like the Oracle games, I do not like Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks. I have a soft spot for Zelda 2 because we had it on NES. We did not have Zelda 1 and I didn't play a Link to the Past until my teens, so I don't have the same passion for them as many other fans seem to, but I respect them and enjoy playing them. Four Swords Adventures on GameCube was fun; we had 3-4 people with GBAs, all linked up. I don't know whether I'll ever get to play it like that again. Majora's Mask is phenomenal, but I rarely play it because it's so stressful. I think I like Breath of the Wild more than Tears of the Kingdom. The sense of exploration was excellent. TotK feels a bit too busy and gimmicky, though I enjoyed much of it.

Thank you for asking.