Armchair Brain
Armchair Brain
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The Legend Of Zelda Taught Me To Be My Own Hero | The Legend Of Zelda Video Essay and Retrospective
It's dangerous to go alone and play every Zelda game but this one.
Today, The (original) Legend Of Zelda is more of an historical document rather than a pleasurable gaming experience, and, to be honest, was the first Zelda game I played in which the word “pleasurable” should never be used. Nevertheless, despite the almost-completely unforgiving nature of this game, you can see with fresh eyes today where this franchise was going to go. The world of Hyrule back then may have looked plain with its simple pixelated art design, but take a step back for a moment, and you can fill all of the gaps and be wowed that the team behind this game pulled off the impossible. This video essay explains why.
-------------------------------
Chapters/Time Stamps:
1. Introduction - 00:00
2. Simplicity - An Open Secret Everyone Knows About (But Dear God, Why Does It Take So Darn Long To Find Every Darn Secret In This Very Darn Game And Why Am I Forgetting To Collect Another Darn Key ?!?!?) - 10:08
3. Conclusion - 32:37
Make sure to subscribe to the Armchair Brain TH-cam channel for future video essays:
www.youtube.com/@armchairbrain/
Watch My Other Video Essays:
Night In The Woods Taught Me To Love And Hate My Hometown - th-cam.com/video/sDyh77ffaQ8/w-d-xo.html
Hyper Light Drifter | At The Heart Of Mortality -
th-cam.com/video/qvI0WRVf8Mw/w-d-xo.html
Breath Of The Wild Taught Me To Love And Appreciate Nature | The Legend Of Zelda Retrospective -
th-cam.com/video/yDPwLIEfyUM/w-d-xo.html
Why Gone Home Does Not Hold Up | A Gone Home Ten Year Anniversary Retrospective -
th-cam.com/video/ZVG_W-LNTlE/w-d-xo.html
Melatonin Taught Me To Love And Appreciate Dreaming | Video Game Analysis & Retrospective -
th-cam.com/video/2FZ41eRTgQQ/w-d-xo.html
Star Fox 64 Taught Me To Love And Appreciate Video Games | A Star Fox Video Game Retrospective
th-cam.com/video/lHUtszjM3dY/w-d-xo.html
Social Media Links:
Twitch: www.twitch.tv/armchairbrain
Blue Sky: bsky.app/profile/armchairbrain.bsky.social
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@armchairbrain
Mastodon: mastodon.social/@armchairbrain
Twitter: armchairbrain
References and Sources:
Kushner, David (2003). Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAANE.pdf
zelda.fandom.com/wiki/Development_of_The_Legend_of_Zelda#The_Legend_of_Zelda
www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2016/December/Take-a-look-behind-the-scenes-with-design-documents-from-The-Legend-of-Zelda--1169414.html
www.nintendotimes.com/1987/07/21/the-legend-of-zelda-review/
www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/05/forgotten_interview_with_miyamoto_sheds_light_on_a_classic_zelda_production
All Zelda Game Footage Captured By Myself Playing Nintendo Consoles Unless Otherwise Noted
Video Games Referenced And Captured:
Celeste
Cuphead
Doom
Fez
Grand Theft Auto 3
Grand Theft Auto - Vice City
Hollow Knight
Hyper Light Drifter
Pac-Man
Pong
Quake
Tetris
The Legend Of Zelda (1986)
The Legend Of Zelda - A Link To The Past
The Legend Of Zelda - Breath Of The Wild
The Legend Of Zelda - Majora’s Mask
The Legend Of Zelda - The Minish Cap
The Legend Of Zelda - Ocarina Of Time
The Legend Of Zelda - Tears Of The Kingdom
The Legend Of Zelda II - The Adventures Of Link
Wolfenstein 3D
The Legend Of Zelda - The Wind Waker footage captured by CAPTAIN LEGZ:
th-cam.com/video/DbylHgL6XTg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=h13ZuMTtUOiav7Qd
Tags:
The Legend Of Zelda, The Legend Of Zelda 1986, Zelda games, Zelda video games, video games, gaming, games, Link, Zelda, Ganon, Ganondorf, The Legend Of Zelda video essay, The Legend Of Zelda video game retrospective, A Link To The Past, Breath Of The Wild, Tears Of The Kingdom, Majora’s Mask, Minish Cap, Ocarina Of Time, The Adventures Of Link, The Wind Waker, mythology, philosophy, hero’s journey, retro games, retro gaming, retro game, Nintendo, Nintendo Entertainment System, NES, NES games, gaming history, video game video essay, video game art, 8bit graphics, video game development, video game philosophy, keep it simple, Hollow Knight, Hyper Light Drifter, potions, magic flute, Overworld, Underworld, Magical Sword, Master Sword, Old Man, It’s Dangerous To Go Alone, Impa, adventure game, action adventure game, 2D game, 8bit game, Wizzrobe, Darknut, Keese, Gleeok, King Gleeok, Nintendo History, video game video essay, Shigeru Miyamoto, relaxing video essay, most relaxing video games, video game development, Zelda Documentary, How Gaming Used To Be, fun facts about video games, Armchair Brain, botw retrospective, average video game player
#TheLegendOfZelda #thelegendofzeldatearsofthekingdom #thelegendofzeldabreathofthewild #videogames #gaming #videoessay #nintendo #retrogaming #retrospective #ArmchairBrain
มุมมอง: 1 831

วีดีโอ

Star Fox 64 Taught Me To Love And Appreciate Video Games | A Star Fox Video Game Retrospective
มุมมอง 8865 หลายเดือนก่อน
The older I get, the more I relate to Falco Lombardi. So "let's have a little fun" and discuss one of the greatest Nintendo 64 games, and arguably the most perfect N64 game. Chapters/Time Stamps: 1. Introduction - 00:00 2. Nintendo 64 History Matters - 07:40 3. Play, Win and Repeat - 22:08 4. Star Fox Is Literature (Yes, Really)...And Also A Sci-Fi Film Disguised As A Video Game - 27:16 5. On T...
Melatonin Taught Me To Love And Appreciate Dreaming | Video Game Analysis & Retrospective
มุมมอง 2807 หลายเดือนก่อน
Dreams are what you make of them, but how can you make anything of such dreams when the real world is more chaotic than dreams could ever be? The 2022 indie rhythm game Melatonin is a unique little game that plays well as a chillout experience for most gamers, and is deceptively more difficult to play at times than you think at first play through despite the game’s artwork and soundtrack giving...
Why Gone Home Does Not Hold Up | A Gone Home Ten Year Anniversary Retrospective
มุมมอง 12K9 หลายเดือนก่อน
Gone Home is one of the most critically acclaimed video games released over the last decade or so, noted for its storytelling, characters, and influence on the walking simulator sub-genre of adventure games. And now ten years after the game’s release, we dive into the ways Gone Home works character-and-story-wise, and where the game has fallen short when compared to its gaming ancestors and the...
Breath Of The Wild Taught Me To Love And Appreciate Nature | The Legend Of Zelda Retrospective
มุมมอง 2.3Kปีที่แล้ว
The best Legend Of Zelda game is the one where your prize for collecting a bunch of seeds is a trophy made of doo doo. There’s a lot I didn’t cover here, but I liked to think I covered the basics, along with my insights and analysis after playing it for a few years given the length of this essay. I recommend Chapters 2, 6, and 7 to get into the deeper analysis on themes, video game storytelling...
Hyper Light Drifter - At The Heart Of Mortality | Video Game Analysis And Retrospective
มุมมอง 531ปีที่แล้ว
Hyper Light Drifter - At The Heart Of Mortality | Video Game Analysis And Retrospective
Night In The Woods Taught Me To Love And Hate My Hometown | Video Game Analysis And Retrospective
มุมมอง 2.3Kปีที่แล้ว
Night In The Woods Taught Me To Love And Hate My Hometown | Video Game Analysis And Retrospective
The Curious Case of Aimee Terese - Exiled Marxist Socialist or Catfighting Twitter Catfish Troll ?
มุมมอง 9K4 ปีที่แล้ว
The Curious Case of Aimee Terese - Exiled Marxist Socialist or Catfighting Twitter Catfish Troll ?
The Problem With Sam Harris - Islamophobia, Race Realism, and Fear of Debating the Left
มุมมอง 1.1K4 ปีที่แล้ว
The Problem With Sam Harris - Islamophobia, Race Realism, and Fear of Debating the Left
The Problem With New Atheism - Sam Harris, Occam's Razor, & Why New Atheists Aren't Good at Politics
มุมมอง 2674 ปีที่แล้ว
The Problem With New Atheism - Sam Harris, Occam's Razor, & Why New Atheists Aren't Good at Politics

ความคิดเห็น

  • @KingOppSanti
    @KingOppSanti หลายเดือนก่อน

    It has its flaws but I like BOTW over TOTK. TOTK felt copy and paste for me.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain หลายเดือนก่อน

      I think they both play each other off really well (TOTK is really great), but take away the sky islands and depths, and TOTK could work as a DLC. Thanks for the comment :-)

  • @UWG3
    @UWG3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Looking back now we can clearly see this game started the woke " games journalism " shit and gamers were not wise to their bias at the time. This game was hyped into the stratosphere because it featured a gay character that was central to the story. I don't like walking simulators but because of the insane hype surrounding this garbo even I got curious enough to give it a go and man was it dogshit!

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain หลายเดือนก่อน

      "we can clearly see this game started the woke 'games journalism'..." Please explain what "woke" even means. Thanks for the comment, anyway.

  • @Tututu22
    @Tututu22 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hi there. Its me, the fan of your Gone Home video that recognized you in a Sam Seder comment section. This video is great.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Hey, man! Thanks for stopping by and watching again :-) Good seeing you!

  • @ViviBuchlaw
    @ViviBuchlaw 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Playing Zelda 1 with a walkthrough is like playing Tetris but in super slow mo, like why do it? The point of the game is to explore, and you'd rather follow a set of instructions someone else laid out for you already?

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Agreed, which is why I dig BOTW and TOTK for sharing the first game's freedom. At this point, I don't even need any guide for Tears Of The Kingdom other than my curiosity around the Sky Islands. Thanks for the comment :-)

    • @ViviBuchlaw
      @ViviBuchlaw 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@armchairbrain I personally disagree with the common sentiment that they "Share" the same sense of _Freedom_ They share a similar sense of exploration, but not freedom Zelda 1 has no tutorial, no "Great Plateau" section, 8 nessecary dungeon, and then the final dungeon. Numberous core items that aren't essential. BOTW has numerous optional dungeons and 1 mandatory one. BOTW has some additional restrictions, and directions, such as telling you to go to Kakariko. Wild Era is Open World, Zelda 1 is metroidvania. Both are open, and explorative but are decidedly not the same

  • @Prosh745
    @Prosh745 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thank you so much for such a well made video man keep thugging this shit out🫡🫡

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for the comment and support :-) I'll try to make the next video essay even better !

  • @armchairbrain
    @armchairbrain 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hey gang! Thank you all so much for taking the time to watch this Zelda video essay and for having patience as I learned the ropes with Adobe Premiere Pro in editing and producing this one. I won't lie when I say it felt like a test learning Premiere within a short span of time, but I feel like it paid off with this video. The next video essays planned for the Spring are for DAVE THE DIVER and FIREWATCH, and maybe a short, 20 minute video in between projects intended for April. Oh, and there's also the super-secret Summer Project I have been working on since last year which is going to premiere later this summer (there's a hint within this video). Feel free to subscribe to the Armchair Brain channel when new video essays premiere and thanks again for your support: www.youtube.com/@armchairbrain/

    • @Prosh745
      @Prosh745 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Beautiful vid

  • @Majo_Ellen
    @Majo_Ellen 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    HOLD UP THERE, MY BROTHER. Super Mario Land was my first video game too. That's such a callback.....Okay, back to the video.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Noice, too bad it's taking me 20 years getting to beat it. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment :-)

  • @NavJack27gaming
    @NavJack27gaming 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    awesome video!

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for the comment, man. Glad you enjoyed it ! :-)

  • @riftshredder5438
    @riftshredder5438 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Ok, this needs to stop, Andross is not the giant floating head, the giant floating head is his space ship that he's piloting from the inside

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      *O-kay*, then how does that explain the exposed big brain and eyes towards the end, in contrast to the fake ending with the robotic head? How does that account for the experiments he did on himself at Venom? Not sure if trolling or just didn't know. Thanks for the comment, anyway 😂

    • @riftshredder5438
      @riftshredder5438 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @armchairbrain Andross is an expert bio engineer, many of the bosses are his bio weapons, he can make bio mechanical creations, like a giant organic head that looks just like his face

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@riftshredder5438Uh, it says he experimented on himself right on the Star Fox wikipedia, hence he's a massive head. You're simply wrong. Thanks, though.

    • @riftshredder5438
      @riftshredder5438 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@armchairbrain maybe he did, I'd like to know what their sources are

    • @mre1561
      @mre1561 11 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Aah don't flatter yourself. He might be a little misinformed but doesn't mean he's necessarily trolling lol.

  • @zenmaster7973
    @zenmaster7973 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    great video. happy holidays to you, brain.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      you too, mate. Thanks for the comment :-)

  • @amanlymanderly9464
    @amanlymanderly9464 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    @6:14 lol, the "Slippy Get Back Here !" gets me every time and perfectly in sync. Well done, sir.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Looking forward to BETTER NOT SLIP on AMC. Bravo Vince! Thanks for the comment :-)

  • @VoidReplicant
    @VoidReplicant 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    It was Lylat wars here, stepping up from Starwing being my first snes game this game made the transition to N64 great.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      That's awesome. I definitely think playing the first game enhanced my opinion on the greatness of Star Fox 64. Thanks for the comment ! :-)

  • @armchairbrain
    @armchairbrain 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Thank you so much for your patience and for supporting the Armchair Brain TH-cam channel. This video essay was another passion project for me that I am proud to upload, as STAR FOX 64 was one of my favorite childhood video games and I wanted to explore the game's two strongest elements: its gameplay and its storytelling, both making a combination that helped setting this game ahead of SUPER MARIO 64 and THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME. The FIREWATCH video essay is still in production, and I have *a lot* more videos planned for the Armchair Brain channel in 2024, which I will outline in my first quarterly update on New Year's Day, so stay tuned for future video essays and updates. Again, thank you all so much for supporting this channel and for your patience. As always, much appreciated with gratitude.

  • @lanzinator4734
    @lanzinator4734 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This was really good

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for the comment, man. Hope the next Zelda essays will be just as good ! :-)

  • @AmeshaSpentaArmaiti
    @AmeshaSpentaArmaiti 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    the entire stakes bit felt like an in the moment justification for why you couldn't invest yourself in a story that just wasn't vibing with you. I mean, what are the stakes in minecraft? or team fortress? hell what about pong, arkanoid, 2048, flappy bird. stakes are there for the narrative, if the narrative doesn't need stakes then there doesn't have to be stakes, that doesn't make the narrative less compelling, otherwise shows like Seinfeld wouldn't exist. you don't have to like every game, creative decisions you disagree with aren't flaws, anymore than ketchup on a steak is a mistake. stake steak stake.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I...don't...like steak, but okay. Thanks for the comment, anyway.

  • @Zectifin
    @Zectifin 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    being mad at people who live in rural areas and red states regardless of their political ideology or how they got their is peak centrist liberal thinking. Fake progressives who are glad when people get hurt by shitty laws regardless of the minorities living in those states that might be harmed or the young people who didn't vote for that who will also be harmed. Having no empathy for workers who were conned by right wingers because they are afraid for their livelyhood is how we have this shitty two party system that hurts everyone.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yeah, unfortunately, this is why it was important to push back on the "Trumpian game" claims that certain gamers were claiming NITW was. Without one party trying to make material conditions better, one blatantly obvious party will exploit their real anger and economic pain by redirecting it towards the "other" (minorities, marginalized groups) and the other one will just put a incremental bandage on said pain. "South Park for Bernie Games" is a more apt description for this game. Thanks again :-)

  • @Zectifin
    @Zectifin 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I feel like Night in the Woods has inspired a shitton of indie games, and yet nothing can come close to what it does. I hope the devs' next game Revenant Hill can live up to Night in the Woods's legacy.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Oh, I sincerely hope so too. *Revenant Hill* is right on top of my games to look forward to. Thanks for the comments :-)

  • @halfasleepgames
    @halfasleepgames 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Oh wow! Did not expect this. Thanks for the comment, and especially for making such a fantastic game ! :-)

  • @SpoopySquid
    @SpoopySquid 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    May Al Gore's Rhythm accept this humble offering

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Why, thank you for your offering and support, man :-)

  • @AriAzure
    @AriAzure 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    When I was playing, I saw the dream world as a museum, because there was rope stopping you from going too far. And the dreams looked like exhibits with items on display.

  • @AriAzure
    @AriAzure 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Awesome video! I loved seeing your interpreatation of the story. I haven't seen many others analysing the game's story.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for the comment and glad you enjoyed it! I'm a little surprised there's only a tiny few people talking about it, so I figured why not :-)

    • @AriAzure
      @AriAzure 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@armchairbrain I found this video after I made my own video on this game 😄 I hope other people make more videos on Melatonin.

  • @locki_dos
    @locki_dos 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Gone Home is overrated to all hell, it's just ok. There's far better games that released even just a couple years after it that are far more influential, inspirational, better written and furthered LGBTQ representation than it ever did. Most importantly, Fuck Steven Gaynor. The less people that abuse their managerial roles and create toxic work environments within the industry (big and small), the better.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Eh, I'm still interested in checking out *Open Roads* and I may make a video on *Tacoma*, specifically on "what was the point of it all," but yeah, you can't look past that the guy who was part of all three projects turned out to be this way. Thanks for the comment :-)

  • @phoebeaurum7113
    @phoebeaurum7113 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Gone Home had critical acclaim? Because all I remember is people saying it's trash. Even Jim Sterling didn't like it. I feel like approaching this game as if it was completely praised is the wrong way to cover this.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I was talking about mainstream critics giving critical acclaim; the regular audience was a different story. Otherwise, the contrast between critics and the audience made the reception polarizing. Thanks for the comment.

  • @zenmaster7973
    @zenmaster7973 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    don't know if i completely see eye to eye, but i think this video made an interesting case for the 'half empty' side. seems the game was more about how dreams could motivate one to do better instead of wallowing in the here and now.

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yeah, but the game ended on a rather bittersweet note, in that nothing changes for the character and still has to go on despite the massive hurdles out of their control. Thanks for the comment, though :-)

    • @AriAzure
      @AriAzure 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@armchairbrain The ending was more hopeful to me. They were literally looking towards the bright side in the Morning. I interpreted that as them being more optimistic.

  • @amanlymanderly9464
    @amanlymanderly9464 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    First comment, I think. Surprised this hasn't gotten more views 'cause this one's awesome. well done !

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks a bunch, man. Try I may, but comments like these make me want to grow and do better. :-)

  • @armchairbrain
    @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hey gang, my latest video essay on the indie game *MELATONIN* just dropped two days ago, so so be sure to watch it by clicking below: th-cam.com/video/2FZ41eRTgQQ/w-d-xo.html

  • @Coffeepanda294
    @Coffeepanda294 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Gone Home not holding up? Blasphemy! ...okay, fine, I might watch this. Not sure if I want this ruined for me, though, I have fond memories of this game :P

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Hey, man. Everybody approaches games differently. Thanks for the comment and for watching :-)

  • @starrychan33
    @starrychan33 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I always read Janice's "affair" as almost entirely in her own head. Considering she gets an invite to his wedding, it's clear he's chosen to commit to his fiancee, shattering her dreams and revealing that he was just being friends with her, leading to her coming back down to Earth and trying to reconnect with Terry with the retreat they go on

    • @armchairbrain
      @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Ah, that's a theory I didn't even think of! And it lines up with the timeline leading up to the retreat with Terry. Thanks for the comment ! :-)

  • @armchairbrain
    @armchairbrain 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thank you all so much for taking the time to watch this video essay, and thank *God* this managed to get under 50 minutes unlike the last two essays. I know my take on the game might be a contentious one for *MELATONIN* gamers, but I still managed to have a lot of fun playing through most of the levels and I maintain it has a lot more to say about us and society than it initially appears. The next long-form video game video essay will be *FIREWATCH TAUGHT ME TO NOT TAKE NATURE FOR GRANTED* which I hope to put out by the end of this month or early-mid November. Of course, the two *BIG* video projects planned for the Autumn (meaning An hour in length +, maybe two hours for each video) will be on *SYSTEM SHOCK 2* and *HOLLOW KNIGHT*, so feel free to subscribe to the channel if you haven't already by clicking the link below. Thanks again and stay tuned! www.youtube.com/@armchairbrain/