8 things to know about the epic

The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom’s Tears arrives May 12th. The saga launched in 1986 has its share of anecdotes. Primal music, subtle cues, the best score… Here are the tidbits Zelda and Link fans should know.

before arrival The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom’s Tears On May 12, take a look back at a story that began in 1986 with the tidbits every fan should know.

• Zelda is the real star of the game

Link may be the hero of the game, however the latter is called The Legend of Zelda. And this is nothing more than creator Shigeru Miyamoto’s homage to a woman he found “too beautiful.” The game is named in honor of the wife of writer Frances Scott Fitzgerald and novelist Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, who was dubbed “America’s First Kid” in the 1920s and 1930s for cutting her hair short.

Link takes his name more simply from the fact that he acts as a link between the different eras through time travel, while Epona, his faithful steed, owes his name to the Gallic deities, garrison riders and travelers.

• Hyrule is located near Kyoto

The world of Hyrule where the entire game takes place is inspired by Miyamoto’s childhood landscapes. Born in rural Kyoto, he returned from his jungle outings, mountain landscapes and explorations of the surrounding caves, landscapes and blueprints of Zelda.

• Hylian language already exists

Want to learn to speak Hylian? maybe. The game language has a real alphabet that can be translated into Japanese or English thanks to the decoding table found in certain titles such as Ocarina of time or Breath of the Wild. However, in legend of zelda, A few characters talk about him, and depending on the game period, Link sometimes doesn’t understand.

• The initial musical theme was written in one night

If the iconic music The Legend of Zelda It is in all players’ heads as soon as it was mentioned that, at first, it wasn’t the idea of ​​selection. Koji Kondo, its composer, had the idea of ​​using Maurice Ravel’s bolero as the theme, arranging it in the then-8-bit Sauce to make it more of a video game.

But he did not know that the piece, composed in 1928, had not yet fallen into the public domain, and therefore it was necessary to pay the copyright, even if Ravel had died since 1937. Kondo must then decide to compose a new theme. What he would do in one night, as a musical revelation seized him.

The final theme will combine inspirations, from Deep Purple to Beethoven and country music.

• The Legend of Zelda, Backup Revolution

When it was released in 1986, Episode I marked a turning point in the history of video games on the console and in the lives of gamers. Provides backups. Admittedly, it was only at well-defined times (end of a dungeon, stage, etc.), but it had an edge that was there thanks to the addition in the cartridge of an MMC1 chip that saved game progress thanks to its memory-powered lithium battery. A way to ensure that players will go to the end of the adventure long enough that it is impossible to finish it all at once.

• Ocarina of Time is absolutely the best

Among the 20 and some games The Legend of ZeldaHard to missOcarina of time So much so that it put into the minds of the players. Released at the end of 1998, it is then the fifth episode of the saga and is presented as a prequel to the game. A link to the past in which Link travels thanks to Ocarina. It will bring many changes. Starting with the arrival of 3D with rendering now possible behind Link.

The action-adventure game takes on another dimension, offering more freedom to move around the expanded world of Hyrule. The gameplay has been enriched with more weapons and different combat items can be customized to the buttons. Newness hitting the mark and Ocarina of time It inherits a score of 99 out of 100 from Metacritic, which includes all scores given by the press. It’s hard to do better today.

• The link is left-handed

Well, it depends on the episodes. In the first games with low detail top or side view, everyone was free to fantasize. Then, he started getting a shield in addition to his sword, to switch to 2D, then to 3D and we had to face the facts: Link is left-handed.

He holds his sword in his left hand and this is where the Triforce symbol is drawn. With his right hand, he counters attacks with his shield. However, he will make exceptions in some games including Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword and then the hero becomes left-handed.

This has a fairly simple explanation: these are Wii games, and then players mostly used the right Wii Remote for immersion. So the game just adapted.

• Super Mario is also in The Legend of Zelda

Mario and Link have one thing in common: the Creator. Shigeru Miyamoto is also the man behind the famous mustachioed plumber and his buddies. Normal when we find references to Mario Bros. in The Legend of Zelda And on the contrary. affiliate A link to the pastwe can see a picture of Mario in a house in Karariku Village, just like Princess Zelda Ocarina of time. A game in which we find opponents very similar to Mario and Luigi.

in Awakening LinkGoat pretends to look like Princess Peach while Mario’s enemies can be seen in several places. in Majora’s Mask-You can find a mask with a man doll in overalls.