Skip to main content

The Legend of Platypus





I've been sick for the past two weeks and the thought level on my blog has dipped accordingly. It turns out I caught a very severe case of the flu along with a secondary bronchitis infection. Being sick, however, left me with a lot of time on my hands and the capacity to do very little with it. It's hard to read N.T. Wright's "The Resurrection of the Son of God" when you might barf any second and all you've been able to eat for the past two days has been ginger ale and crackers. That left me wracking my brain for what I used to do when I was this sick 15 years ago (Yes, I have not been this sick in the last 15 years!). The answer was what any boy my age did: play video games. So I fished around in the storage closet and brought out my old Super Nintendo. In went the "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past;" quite possibly the best video game ever made.

The ensuing journey into my childhood explains all the art on my blog recently. The images track the evolving concept of "Link" down through the years. We all remember "Ocarina of Time," when Link finally got pants. Of course, he lost them again for "Majora's mask." "The Windwaker," however, restored his leggings and they've been stock-in-trade ever since. The most recent incarnation of "Zelda's" protagonist seems to be influenced by the gritty realism of Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings." It's interesting to watch a beloved character age with you.

For an entire generation of men (being a man, I only presume to speak for men here), "The Legend of Zelda" series was a key formative element in our creative imaginations. It taught us the value of heroism, and standing up for what's right. In an age of concrete wastelands and demystification, it brought back a sense of wonder. Tolkien would come later, and baptize my imagination, but it was green-clad Link exploring the glades and hills of Hyrule with his sword and shield that first awoke it.
Labels:

Comments

Marcy said…
Browsing past posts...

The Legend of Zelda and Tolkien were near simultaneous for me, I think, but I read Tolkien so very young (possibly before I learned to swim, and my parents had a pool) that I didn't enjoy it all that much at first. I sort of convinced myself I did, because I knew I was supposed to, since my older brothers loved him. And I didn't see any reason why I wouldn't -- back then, I thought being old enough to understand a book only had to do with general reading proficiency, not emotional maturity. At any rate, despite all that, I was fortunate to grow up inundated with all kinds of heroic role models, from Link to fairy tales to fantasy to classic children's books -- so although I can't point at Zelda as particularly formative, I suppose that's just because it was one of so many.

One woman's point of view (albeit partially shaped by four of her seven brothers)...
6:01 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Platypus Reads Part XXVII

Thoughts after reading the "Iliad" to prepare a Greece unit for my students: -Hector is a jerk until he's dead. He even advocates the exposure of Achaean corpses and then has the cheek to turn around and ask Achilles to spare his. He rudely ignores Polydamas' prophecies and fights outside the gate to save his pride knowing full well what it will cost his family and city. After he's dead, he becomes a martyr for the cause. -Agamemnon has several moments of true leadership to balance out his pettiness. In this way, he's a haunting foil to Achilles: the two men are more alike than they want to acknowledge. -We see that Achilles is the better man at the funeral games of Patroclos. His lordliness, tact, and generosity there give us a window into Achilles before his fight with Agamemnon and the death of Patroclos consumed him. -Nestor is a boring, rambling, old man who's better days are far behind him, and yet every Achaean treats him with the upmo...
15 comments
Read more

SNES as Money Well Spent: Platypus Nostalgia

I got my Super Nintendo Entertainment System when I was eleven years old.  That's a couple years after it first came out.  The occasion was a little dramatic: to celebrate the end of a two-and-a-half year course of treatment for cancer.  I had no idea that it would be waiting for me at home after the final doctors visit.  It was a nice spring day, the trees were waving gently in the breeze outside the bay windows.  With a cup of tea resting on the coffee table, I set down to play.  What was that first game?  It was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past .  Around twenty years later, my SNES still works as does that Zelda cartridge.  It's been a long way from boyhood in Southern Connecticut to manhood in North Houston, but I'm still playing. Why am I still playing?  There were stretches when I didn't.  Many times, I've just been too busy.  There were also seasons when it felt embarrassing to still be playing video games....
10 comments
Read more

Under the Moon: The Platypus Reads Part LXVI

My wife and I were discussing our favorite books from the Chronicles of Narnia on our way back from lunch.  My wife, true to her sunny personality, is a staunch fan of "The Voyage of the Dawntreader."  I can't argue with that choice but, when push comes to shove, "The Silver Chair" has always been my favorite. I have a bit of a theory.  I think "The Voyage of the Dawntreader" is Lewis' grail legend.  If that's so, then I'd hazard a guess and say that "The Silver Chair" is his "Pilgrim's Progress." -just think about the shape of Puddleglum's hat and the fact that he lives in the Fen Country and you'll see what got me thinking down this line. That brings me to why I like "The Silver Chair" so much.  When I was little, we had a children's version of "Pilgrim's Progress" that my mom used to read to me.  I lived in New England and the Christianity I was raised with had a heavy tin...
7 comments
Read more