Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released in 2017. I played through it shortly after it came out. A perfect game, I thought.
Six years later came its sequel. I picked up Tears of the Kingdom on release day. In-between work, family life and everything else, I couldn't find time to enjoy the game properly. The game was put aside. I thought my days of playing the Legend of Zelda were over.
Majora's Mask was released in 2000. I was 16 years old when I opened the present from my grandmother that Christmas, and found the game inside. I spent the rest of the holidays as Link trying to save Clock Town and the rest of Termina.
The rest, as they say, is history.
I was so inspired by the game that I started writing about it on my old home page. That particular portion of the site got so popular that I decided to spin it off as a separate website. I called it Zelda Universe. Although I left it behind almost two decades ago, it's still a thriving community for Legend of Zelda fans.
For a long time I thought I favoured the traditional Link rescues Zelda and Hyrule storyline of Ocarina of Time. Yet, Majora's Mask stood out as my all time favourite gaming experience.
With time, I've come to cherish its unique story and gloomy settings. I've since come to consider it my favourite game. And, with gaming's waning role in my life, I didn't ever expect the experience or the game to be toppled.
Some time early this year, as Pokémon Scarlet was growing stale, my son asked about that game on his Switch. "You have grow a bit before we can pick up that one", I told him. At this point he's five, can't read and doesn't speak a lick of English. He didn't give up, however, and kept nagging me. "Can't I just watch while you're playing for a little bit?" he asked.
And so it began.
Watching your son become mesmerised by the same stories and the same characters that have been part of your life and identity for most of your life is transcendent.
To see him awed by Hyrule Castle.
Enthralled by the story of how Ganon came to power.
Proud of solving a puzzle.
Pumped after claiming The Master Sword.
Smitten by Zelda's strength and sacrifice.
It's the joy of rediscovering all these feelings for yourself and, at the same time, getting to share them entirely with someone who means the most to you.
After finishing Tears of the Kingdom, we went back to Breath of the Wild.
In the midst of all of the above and translating the dialogue and re-enacting the voice acting of the cut scenes, I hadn't been able to fully appreciate the quality of Tears of the Kingdom.
Breath of the Wild feels like an early stage release candidate by comparison. Everything from the characters to the gameplay mechanics to the abilities and the extended world makes Tears of the Kingdom a perfection of the formula first brought to fore by Breath of the Wild.
How lucky am I?
To have that game just lying in waiting for that little guy was not quite old enough to play it yet. And, thus, get to play through it with him at my side. Sharing every puzzle. Every odd character and every marvellous detail of the storyline. Every frustration and every victory.
My experience with Majora's Mask is still up there. But in 2024 it was, unexpectedly, usurped not only as my favourite game but as my most treasured gaming memory as well by Tears of the Kingdom.