I used to play a LOT of Magic: The Gathering.
From the mid-90’s to about 2000. I played a lot with friends at school. I liked collecting new cards, opening packs, being surprised by the cards I found, and then making completely bonkers decks. The more bizarre or silly they were, the better. I even made it a mission to collect the complete Parody Set of Unglued, which I foolishly sold off (I wish I had held onto that set…).
But, around 2000, something changed.
The hype for over the last several months has finally exploded with the recent release of the new Nintendo Switch - and the latest installment in the Legend of Zelda series, Breath of the Wild.
As is the case with many people my age, the original Legend of Zelda game was one of the very first complete, cohesive video games I’d ever played, and it helped sparked an obsession in video games, and world building that is still going strong today. Although, the recent installments to the series have been more and more of a let-down, I have anticipated this release with bated breath, hoping that Nintendo will deliver on it’s promise that they are finally returning to their roots to bring back what has been missing from Zelda, and that I can lose myself in the land of Hyrule once again, wrapped up in wonder, excitement, discovery, and adventure.
I picked up my copy at Midnight on release day, and spent 3 days playing it almost non-stop. I’m about halfway through the game (maybe?), and I wanted to take some time to talk about some of the thoughts that are bubbling up from the experience - in order to start a dialog, or even just to help solidify, and exorcise them from my brain.
So, I hope you will take a moment to read through this heavily opinionated post, and join me to discuss it further at the end.