LEGO has taken us on some truly fantastical adventures in recent years. We’ve traveled from Middle-earth to the realms of Dungeons & Dragons and beyond. And now, LEGO is bringing us on a highly-anticipated outing. Yes, LEGO’s first The Legend of Zelda set has arrived, and it features a 2-in-1 build of the Great Deku Tree. No matter whether your favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time or Breath of the Wild, LEGO has you covered with this set. Let’s take a look at the impeccable LEGO homage to The Legend of Zelda and its iconic Great Deku Tree.

LEGO’s The Legend of Zelda The Great Deku Tree Set is a 2-in-1 Build

Although LEGO is only releasing one The Legend of Zelda piece at this time, fans actually get two different builds in the deal. When building the LEGO set, creators can decide whether they want to bring The Great Deku Tree to life as it was shown during The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or manifest it in its Breath of the Wild form. Both, of course, are equally beautiful and come with their own unique facets and details.

A release from LEGO about The Legend of Zelda: The Great Deku Tree set notes:

This 2,500-piece set encapsulates the essence of adventure and nostalgia whilst featuring meticulous details. Fans can build a selection of their fondest moments from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild through building and exploring the depths of the Great Deku Tree.

Here’s what LEGO had to share about the different ways The Great Deku Tree can be built using its pieces.

The LEGO Features of The Great Deku Tree Ocarina of Time Build

If fans decide to build The Great Deku Tree from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, they can expect a slew of delightful references tying their LEGO adventure to the nostalgic game. LEGO reveals that “the Ocarina of Time Great Deku Tree version boasts a captivating mechanism: when activated, its mouth opens, revealing a cleverly designed Skulltula (a spider-like enemy from the games) that descends into its depths.” A chilling twist, to be sure! Who among us has not fallen prey to the Skulltula more than once?

LEGO also notes of this Zelda set, “In the Ocarina of Time version, builders will encounter a lush green foliage-adorned Great Deku Tree. This version includes Link’s House, a pivotal element tied to the Ocarina of Time narrative, adding an extra layer of nostalgia and authenticity to the set.” Link’s house is, of course, strongly tied to many fan’s first memories of The Legend of Zelda.

The LEGO Features of The Great Deku Tree Breath of the Wild Build

Meanwhile, in the Breath of the Wild Great Deku Tree LEGO build, slightly different Zelda adventures await. A release shares, “In the Breath of the Wild version, enthusiasts will marvel at the Great Deku Tree adorned in vibrant pink blossoms, accompanied by the iconic Master Sword pedestal. Notably, this rendition boasts an engaging feature: the ability to animate the tree’s expressive eyebrows and mouth, adding depth to the build.” This interactive feature can be brought to life with a simple press of a lever.

But don’t worry, regardless of whether your LEGO Great Deku tree is in its Ocarina of Time or Breath of the Wild form, you’ll get to enjoy all the set’s many facets. LEGO makes a point of assuring its fans of this. It notes, “It’s worth mentioning that regardless of which version you choose to build, you will have the ability to construct both the Master Sword pedestal and Link’s House as smaller models.”

The Legend of Zelda LEGO Minifigures and Other Buildable Characters

Of course, The Great Deku Tree’s LEGO builds will come with new The Legend of Zelda Minifigures and buildable characters. First up, the set will naturally include LEGO Link and Zelda. These are obvious choices, but we’re glad to see them anyway. But in true LEGO form, The Great Deku Tree will also bring us an assortment of fan-favorite creatures and characters that fans can actually build out of bricks. We love our Minifigures, but there’s something especially satisfying about forming characters by snapping together LEGO pieces in cool ways.

Here are all the Minifigures and buildable characters that The Legend of Zelda: The Great Deku Tree set will include:

The set includes four LEGO minifigures that showcase iconic characters from the series. In the Breath of the Wild version, Princess Zelda and Link are dressed in their recognisable blue attire. As for the Ocarina of Time rendition, you’ll find both Young Link and Link. Additionally, the set includes buildable characters and creatures such as Hestu the Korok (complete with his maracas), several smaller Koroks, Deku Babas, Navi the Fairy, the Deku Sprout, and a Skulltula.

When Will LEGO’s The Legend of Zelda Great Deku Tree Build Release?

LEGO’s first The Legend of Zelda set will release on September 1, 2024. The Great Deku Tree is now available for pre-order. This Zelda LEGO set will cost $299.99.

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Shock of shocks! Hot on the heels of The Super Mario Bros. Movie making—conservatively speaking—a s**t-zillion dollars earlier this year, it seemed only reasonable for Nintendo to keep that ball a-rolling. However, while an animated Mario movie was a sure bet, the next project might prove a bit trickier. Recently, Nintendo announced it will develop a live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, arguably the game manufacturer’s second most important property. The franchise began in 1986 and has continued to this very year with Tears of the Kingdom. And while we still don’t know too many details about the live-acton The Legend of Zelda movie, its director has revealed a few teases.

The Legend of Zelda Live-Action Movie’s Director Sheds Light on the Film

Wes Ball, director of The Maze Runner movies and the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, will direct. Speaking to Total Film, Bell recently shared a bit more about his vision for The Legend of Zelda movie. He revealed, “I have this awesome idea. I’ve been thinking about it for a long freakin’ time, of how cool a Zelda movie would be… I want to fulfil people’s greatest desires. I know it’s important, this [Zelda] franchise, to people and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape.” Total Film further shares that escapism as a huge impetus for the movie. Additionally, Bell notes, “That’s the thing I want to try to create—it’s got to feel like something real. Something serious and cool, but fun and whimsical.”

Ball won’t, however, say what his favorite Zelda game is. But it’s not because he’s not a fan! “Relax guys, I’m one of you,” Ball noted on Twitter alongside photographic evidence.

More About The Legend of Zelda Movie

There’s no word yet, though, on a writer, cast, or any of the other fun stuff for the live-action The Legend of Zelda movie. Nintendo’s Representative Director, Shigeru Miyamoto, will produce the movie alongside Avi Arad’s Arad Productions. Arad’s name should be familiar to our readers, having executive produced all of the Spider-Man films, many of the X-Men films, and a number of other Marvel properties. Nintendo will co-finance the movie with Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Sony handling worldwide theatrical distribution. The press release also points out Nintendo will put up “more than 50%” of the money for the movie, assuring they retain the most creative input.

Over the years, many Zelda films and TV series, both live-action and animation, have been in development. None have managed to make their way much beyond that point. This, however, feels a bit different. Nintendo is in its own driver’s seat and coming off a monster global hit movie. The big question is which of the many Zelda games will be the basis of the film, or if it’ll end up as a totally separate story that doesn’t remake or contradict any previous game. The Legend of Zelda game timeline is one of the most complex in gaming, so probably they’d be smart not to mess with that.

And as long as we don’t get a Link saying “Well excuuuuuuuse me, Princess,” we should be in good shape.

Originally published on November 7, 2023.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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If, for the rest of your life, you could only ever play Zelda games on mute or listen to music from the franchise without ever playing again which would you choose? Brutal choice, we know. Sophie had it easy in comparison. Fortunately you don’t have to pick. We’re only thinking about that horrible hypothetical because Nintendo has reminded us just how much we love the Zelda score. The company posted a live performance by an orchestra featuring some of the very best songs from The Legend of Zelda franchise.

Nintendo of America uploaded a beautiful live performance that was pre-recorded in Tokyo, Japan. This medley concert was originally scheduled to be part of Nintendo Live 2024 TOKYO. It’s easy to see why. It features tracks from the entire history of the The Legend of Zelda series. That includes “adventurous arrangements from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and many more.”

Here’s the entire track list of the Legend of Zelda orchestra concert, which offers a wide array of music from across the long-running and beloved video game series:

• “Tears of the Kingdom: Main Theme (Reprise)”
• “The Ballad of the Goddess”
• “Zelda’s Lullaby”
• “Link’s Awakening Medley 2024”
• “Breath of the Wild: Main Theme”
• “Hyrule Castle”
• “Breath of the Wild: 2017 Nintendo Switch Presentation Trailer”
• “Ocarina of Time: Kakariko Village”
• “The Legend of Zelda Main Theme”

My favorite track from this performance? I’m old enough to have played the original Zelda when it came out. Nothing beats hearing the original theme song even after all these many years.

You can (and almost certainly will) put this video on in the background when you want to hear something beautiful. However, like The Legend of Zelda games themselves, this music is best enjoyed while looking at a screen. There’s something special about watching talented performers bring to life music that has accompanied generations of gamers as they worked their way through level after level, game after game. Why only choose to listen to these songs when that’s only half the experience?

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We imagine fictional worlds colliding all the time. What would happen if the Doctor had a run-in with Darth Vader? Could Rick the weird scientist leave Morty behind and travel with Michonne from The Walking Dead? What if The Last of Us’ gaming world collided with Animal Crossing? (Now that would be wild.) We may never know the answers to these burning questions… unless you have fanfic that you’d like to share with the class. But we do know that The Legend of Zelda and the Studio Ghibli universe go together like peanut butter and jelly. YouTuber RwanLink used his creative chops to create Castle Town, a fanmade film set in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s world with a Studio Ghibli aesthetic. 

RwanLink put 600+ hours into his venture—which he created using Unreal Engine 5—with 30+ characters and a full storyline in the span of just one month. That’s basically a full-time job on top of whatever he does for a living. The love for fandom and creativity is apparent. The short film clocks in at less than 20 minutes and it is so visually stunning and comforting. It’s the perfect way to celebrate 25 years of Ocarina of Time. The character’s expressions and music compensate for the lack of dialogue as we follow Link on a brand-new adventure. And yes, we saw the teaser before, but this is a longer trailer with even more animation.

Zelda fans took to RwanLink’s comments to give him lots of love. From praising his skills to simply thanking him for putting so much love and care into celebrating the game, there’s so many heartwarming exchanges. This speaks to the enduring power of both universes, which are still going strong after all this time.

We hope to see more of The Legend of Zelda fan films in the style of Studio Ghibli in the future.

The post This Fanmade LEGEND OF ZELDA Film Takes on Studio Ghibli’s Signature Style appeared first on Nerdist.

That very familiar Godzilla roar is currently coming from a very odd source. Thanks to the folks at IGN, we’ve discovered how one Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Godzilla fan has mashed up both properties together for a fan film. Created by sumoguri2323 on Twitter, they have made a whole Godzilla-inspired film entirely within Tears of the Kingdom, and it’s genuinely a sight to behold. And it’s all thanks to Tears of the Kingdom’s customizable crafting mechanics. You can watch this short fan film, which currently has over a million views on Twitter and counting, down below.

In this short video, we witness as a Lurelin Village must contend with the Zonai/Godzilla hybrid kaiju emerging out of the ocean depths. And it’s about to treat the poor village and its inhabitants in the very same manner that Godzilla usually does with Tokyo. They created the mashup of Godzilla and the Zonai using Zonai materials and devices and the Ultrahand ability. We see tanks fire on the rampaging creature with abandon. But once we hear that familiar roar, and see the electricity charge up its spine? We just know that the poor village is toast. Also, points for using the classic Godzilla theme from the old Toho movies. It really adds to the whole mood.

Godzilla is having quite a moment this year. The Big Guy currently appears (sporadically anyway) in the excellent Monarch: Legacy of Monsters series on Apple TV+. Plus, he’s starring in two movies. There’s the Japanese Godzilla Minus One, and next year’s continuation of the Monsterverse version, with Godzilla x Kong: The New Kingdom. But we’ll take any version of the King of the Monsters we can get. Even one with a Legend of Zelda makeover. Now, is anyone out there up for Zonai/Mothra mashup?

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks

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We all love an excellent mashup video. Now YouTuber RwanLink has taken The Legend of Zelda, and created an animated teaser showing what it would be like if Link came to life in the style of Studio Ghibli. This short teaser was created with Unreal Engine 5, the latest engine created by Epic Games. RwanLink recreated Ocarina of Time, which many believe to be the franchise’s most popular installment. In fact, Ocarina of Time turns 25 this year, so what better way to honor the game? You can watch the full 4K teaser for Zelda Ocarina of Time X Ghibli: Castle Town below:

Of course, this video is just a teaser. RwanLink has revealed they will release another, longer trailer on November 21. Then, their full Zelda Ocarina of Time X Ghibli: Castle Town video will drop on December 25. That will be a true Christmas present for Zelda and Studio Ghibli fans. The full video will showcase over 30 characters in total. This is not the first fan video RwanLink has created based on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine 5. So far, the artist has recreated Goron City, Kokiri Forest, and Zora’s Domain.

All those other videos from RwanLink look incredible, and will blow you away with their detail. However, mashing up The Legend of Zelda with the Studio Ghibli aesthetic really took it all to the next level. This is not the only remake of Ocarina of Time going around these days, especially with the 25th anniversary this year. But it certainly seems like the best one, as it truly captures the look and feel of a Hayao Miyazaki production. Hopefully, this is a harbinger of a real Nintendo and Studio Ghibli collaboration at some point. Yes, it’s unlikely, but this trailer proves it sure would be cool.

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It’s been an exciting week in the entertainment world. Anakin Skywalker taught Ahsoka an important lesson, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom released a trailer, Daryl Dixon ended up in France, and we even revisited bloopers from Star Trek‘s original series. But a lot of other exciting and interesting things have been in the mix as well.

Here are some of our favorite pop-culture news odds & ends that you don’t want to miss reading about.

This Week’s Odds & Ends in News:

• Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 Reveals First-Look Images of Pooh and Tigger
• Beyond Fest 2023 Line-Up Announced
• Our Flag Means Death‘s Third Season Will Be Its Last if It’s Renewed
• Celebrity Auction Supports Production Crew Members Whose Healthcare Is at Risk
• Pokémon Teams Up with Van Gogh for Mystery Collaboration
• Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Will Likely Not See a Switch DLC
• BlackMilk’s 2023 Halloween Collection Is Here
• Lost Star Wars X-Wing Fighter Will Be Up For Auction

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 Reveals First-Look Images of Pooh and Tigger

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey got us excited with its horror spin on a childhood classic. Although the movie itself may not have necessarily wow-ed us, the visuals were good. Now, we have our first look at the sequel movie Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. Blood-soaked Pooh has returned to our screens, and we also get to see a horrific version of Tigger for the first time courtesy of IGN.

First look at ‘WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD & HONEY 2’.

(Source: https://t.co/LyrXasH89R) pic.twitter.com/3qTicVIzuy

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 8, 2023

IT WASN’T RABBIT!! Here’s your first look at Tigger from ‘WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY 2’. 🐯

(Source: @IGN ~ @poohbandh) pic.twitter.com/2pZwiCwLZ4

— CoveredGeekly (@CoveredGeekly) September 11, 2023

Check out the original Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey trailer, here:

Beyond Fest 2023 Line-Up Announced

It’s time again for Beyond Fest! The biggest genre film festival in the US is back for its 11th outing, and it has some excellent movies in store. We’re particularly excited about the new movie from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘s director Gareth Edwards, The Creator, and Legendary Pictures’ The Toxic Avenger remake. A24’s Nicolas Cage movie Dream Scenario and V/H/S/85 also have our attention. 

The full line-up is available here.

Check out some early looks at the movies Beyond Fest will screen, here

Our Flag Means Death‘s Third Season Will Be Its Last if It’s Renewed

Our Flag Means Death season two will arrive this October, but fans are already considering if there will be more of the show. There’s no official renewal for Our Flag Means Death yet, but creator David Jenkins noted in an Instagram comment that he’s aiming for season three. However, should the show get a season three, it will be Our Flag Means Death‘s final season. Still, better a finished show than a canceled one.

Check out Our Flag Means Death‘s season two trailer, here:

Celebrity Auction Supports Production Crew Members Whose Healthcare Is at Risk

The studios’ refusal to compensate and support their creatives fairly has led to difficulties across entertainment-related occupations. In solidarity, many people have come together to help those whose livelihoods are at risk in creative ways. Per Variety, The latest effort is an auction by The Union Solidarity Coalition to “help production crew members whose healthcare benefits are at risk because of the work stoppage.” The auction includes all kinds of fun entertainment-related memorabilia as well as celebrity experiences. Among other items are “Natasha Lyonne Will Help You Solve the New York Times Sunday Crossword” and “The Bear Signed Apron Jeremy Allen White Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ayo Edebiri + More.” The auction runs until September 22.

Check out how to help Hollywood creatives in need, here:

Pokémon Teams Up with Van Gogh for Mystery Collaboration

Who doesn’t love it when Pokémon gets a little creative? The latest fascinating Pokémon project is some kind of collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Could Van Gogh-style Pokémon cards be heading our way soon? We’ll find out on September 28.

For now, we can appreciate Sunflora in full Van Gogh realness.

Check out every Pokémon Squishmallow that’s ever been released or teased, here:

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Will Likely Not See a Switch DLC

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was a highly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And when it finally launched, it was incredibly well-received. But don’t hold your breath for the massive, open-world game to evolve any more than it already has. As Polygon shares, the Breath of the Wild development team is moving on to the next thing. While that next thing could be more The Legend of Zelda content, it likely won’t be a Tears of the Kingdom DLC.

Check out some of the gameplay features that Tears of the Kingdom offers, here:

BlackMilk’s 2023 Halloween Collection Is Here

Ready for a little something sleek and scary (in the best way)? Well, BlackMilk’s 2023 Halloween collection has arrived in a whirl of bat wings. BlackMilk’s spooky season selections include more general season favorites like black cats, skeletons, and creepy eyes, but also some iconic favs like everyone’s favorite clown from IT, Annabelle from Annabelle Creation, Friday the 13th‘s Jason Voorhees, and more. We also love BlackMilk’s Beetlejuice and The Corpse Bride patterns, of course! ‘Tis the season to supplement your wardrobe.

The full BlackMilk 2023 Halloween collection is available now on the company’s website.

Check out ways to also ready your pantry for Halloween, here:

Lost Star Wars X-Wing Fighter Will Be Up For Auction

Get your bidding fingers ready, Star Wars fans. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, a piece of Star Wars history, an X-wing fighter miniature from Star Wars, is heading to auction. According to the publication, this Star Wars item was “lost for decades.” The official description for the miniature shares, “Built by the team at Industrial Light & Magic, which won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Star Wars, this 1:24 scale filming miniature is one of only four hero filming miniatures created with servo-controlled wings that spread open into ‘Attack Position’.”

Check out where Star Wars starships stack up among the rest, here:

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Some games, you can just feel have that special something. And the trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gives us precisely those feelings. The whole thing reminds us of a Studio Ghibli movie. (And that is high praise.) The floating music, the sweeping sceneries, the epic adventures we glimpse, they all come together to form a perfect whole. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases in May. But honestly, that feels too far away.

Although previous Tears of the Kingdom trailers have shown off the beauty and cleverness of this Zelda game, all its parts come together in this final tease to give us a worthy whole. The vistas have never been more open. The horse riding has never felt grander. And, of course, the evil we’ll face as Link has never felt crueler. This Tears of the Kingdom trailer finally gives us our first look at the villainous Ganondorf in this Zelda outing.

The Demon King is here to infect the beauty of Hyrule. And that’s bad. But he carries with him a familiar voice that Critical Role fans will recognize and cheer on. Yes, Matt Mercer is voicing Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Mercer revealed his excitement and love of the character in his announcement of the role.

Regardless of who is voicing Ganondorf, he will be hard to beat. Link is the kingdom’s only hope yet again. But, of course, he’ll be joined by friends, new and old. And the most important one, of course, yours. In addition to all its beauty and plot, the trailer shows off a lot of ingenious gameplay. It’s time to get creative, problem solve, and battle your way to heroic triumph.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases on May 12. It is now available for pre-order.

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We’re all excited for the upcoming The Legend of Zelda game Tears of the Kingdom. This Breath of the Wild sequel has been highly anticipated for some time among serious gamers and casual fans alike. But it’s not all fun and games in Link and Zelda’s world because great evil is on the horizon. The latest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom teases that there is much menace to come. And it looks dark enough to rival any great fantasy series. Players will have to contend with a dark cloud of their own, though, as Tears of the Kingdom also comes with a surprising price hike. But, the game will probably be more than worth it to fans.

Take a look at the sneak peek at The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Hyrule is in grave, grave danger. But even though Princess Zelda isn’t sure if Link can beat the darkness, we know better than that. If Link can’t do it, no one can. And by Link, we mean you. Of course, this look at the game also teases the great beauty of this open world, as we’d expect. But the ending note is one of warning.

The trailer’s official description shares more about what we can expect from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom:

An epic adventure across the land and skies of Hyrule awaits in The Legend of Zelda™: Tears of the Kingdom for Nintendo Switch. The adventure is yours to create in a world fueled by your imagination. In this sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you’ll decide your own path through the sprawling landscapes of Hyrule and the mysterious islands floating in the vast skies above. Can you harness the power of Link’s new abilities to fight back against the malevolent forces that threaten the kingdom?

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Price Increase, Release Date, and More

In addition to our latest glimpse at the game, Nintendo announced that a collector’s edition of Tears of the Kingdom will release on launch day. Much to players’ dismay though, the regular version of the game comes with a not-so-excellent twist. Tears of the Kingdom will cost $69.99, a first-of-its-kind price bump for Nintendo first-party games. Until now, games have cost players $59.99. According to Game Informer, Nintendo has noted the Tears of the Kingdom price hike will not apply to all games. And that the cost of any game is determined “on a case-by-case basis.” The collector’s edition of the game, meanwhile, will cost approximately twice as much, with a price tag of $130.

A new Amiibo figure will also be available as a treat for fans. The figure will also release on May 12 and will offer weapons and materials when tapped. You’ll also unlock a special fabric for Link’s paraglider. Nintendo notes that other The Legend of Zelda amiibo figure will also give you a boost in Tears of the Kingdom.

We’re excited about Link’s latest adventure and the journey it will take us all on. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases on May 12, 2023. Pre-orders are now open.

Originally published on February 8, 2023.

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It has been a long wait for the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Considered by some to be the best video game, perhaps, ever, Breath of the Wild holds an almost legendary position in the gaming world. Even the most casual gamers know of Breath of the Wild. So when Nintendo announced Breath of the Wild 2, there was understandably a huge response. But unfortunately, the game faced delays and moved its initial release date estimates from late 2022 to spring 2023. But now Zelda fans can rejoice once more. Because Breath of the Wild 2 has set its official release date, and it also has a brand new name, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Okay, so The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t actually seem like a joyous title. But we certainly feel happy to know the title and the release date for this Breath of the Wild sequel. Breath of the Wild 2, a.k.a. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, will release on May 12, 2023. That’s not so bad, is it?

The release date announcement for Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t showcase too much new footage. But we’re sure we’ll get a fuller trailer very soon. What we do get to see consists largely of ominous carvings on ancient walls. Could that be history we’re looking at? Or maybe it’s prophecy? Only time will tell for sure. Past teases for Breath of the Wild 2 seem to warn of some kind of evil creeping in. But, of course, that’s par for the course. We can’t spend all our time marveling at the scenic open world.

As ponder this and more, at the very least, we can officially start the countdown to this amazing sequel. We can’t wait for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom‘s release date to finally arrive.

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Folks find all kinds of ways to revere the video games of their youth. But one artist has just put everyone else to shame with his tribute to one of his favorite games, The Legend of Zelda. Via Boing Boing, we’ve discovered the work of Connor Gottfried. The talented Canadian artist made a three foot wide playable replica of Nintendo’s classic Game & Watch version of The Legend of Zelda. And it even comes with a normal-sized controller to play it with. You can check out images of this incredible tribute piece below.

Connor Gottfried

Gottfried explained “When I was five (in 1982), my parents bought an Apple II+ and it made a huge impact on me. I found myself fascinated right away with how they programmed an interactive experience and displayed it on a screen. I loved how there were little worlds bound by rules that you could play in and we’d always try to find the bugs. Like the secret spot to jump where you’d go off the screen and break the game!”

Connor Gottfried

To create these pieces, Gottfried took images of the insides of the electronics and layered them with the outer shell. The end result really shows off how intricate these old electronics were, even if we think of them as primitive technology today. Anyone who grew up with this game can see just how accurate this re-creation is. And it is sure to bring back all the nostalgic feels.

Conner Gottfried 

The timing for these pieces couldn’t be more perfect either. On the heels of its Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., Nintendo hopes that lightning strikes twice when they release Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda to celebrate the game’s 35th anniversary. In fact, Nintendo just released a new trailer for the game, which comes out on November 12. It’s all a nice bit of serendipity.

Connor Gottfried

For more of Connor Gottfried’s work, head on over to his Instagram account.

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Tuesday morning brought Nintendo‘s time to shine at E3 2021. With their Nintendo Direct presentation, the company announced Mario Party Superstars and Metroid Dread. And Nintendo shared an update on a much-anticipated title: the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game developer dropped the first look for the follow-up to the popular Zelda game at E3 2019. That trailer showed a game in early development and mostly cinematic style footage. But Tuesday’s tease reveals more in-game footage.

Perhaps the most exciting update is that not only are we returning to Hyrule and all its weird wonderfulness, we get to play in the skies. That will open up new areas to explore, fresh maneuvers, and likely different allies and foes. This teaser shows the dramatic world in all its pastel-hued glory. It’s light and adventurous… until it isn’t. Something seems amiss in Hyrule and we just have a hunch it will be up to the player and Link to save the day.

Nintendo

Even if things get darker in Hyrule, the addition of the skies in the Breath of the Wild sequel gives players another method of navigation. Imagine if the game includes sky beasts you can ride around! If you only move by flying or gliding, taking to the air and diving around clouds looks like a blast. And that’s not even mentioning the portal situation. We see Link blip through a rock like it’s nothing, which is surely a skill that will come in handy when evading foes and traveling quickly.

Nintendo plans for the Breath of the Wild sequel (no official title yet) to arrive in 2022. With it only being a year away, we’re guessing maybe towards the end of 2022.

Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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When I think back on my memories playing Ocarina of Time in 1999, I remember that one moment absolutely blew my young mind. The first time I stepped into the Spirit Temple and that epic and ethereal song started, I was sold. I thought: this is the greatest game to exist. That music and how it signaled a long adventure coming to a head did it for me. It was just so atmospheric. And facing down a final obstacle (if you played the temples in the standard order) inside an ancient Egyptian shrine was something I had never experienced before. It fueled my curiosity and forever spurred an interest in Egyptian culture from that moment on. It also solidified The Legend of Zelda’s impact on me and left me craving more of those unique and epic adventures.

Zelda producer Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to create a world that drew on his time exploring rural Kyoto, Japan as a child. “… It was the first time I had ever experienced hiking up this mountain and seeing this big lake at the top. And I drew on that inspiration when we were working on The Legend of Zelda game and we were creating this grand outdoor adventure,” he said in an interview with NPR. He and the team took that idea and expanded it with Ocarina of Time, building a world inspired by diverse cultures and myths that expanded upon the Western-influences we had seen previously in RPGs like Final Fantasy.

CryZENx/Nintendo

The team’s dedication to building an interesting, well-researched, and diverse Hyrule is, to me, the heart of the franchise. It amplified the feeling of exploration that millions of young players were experiencing. Adventures inside Egyptian temples, listening to MIDIfied versions of worldly instruments play from our screens… the game captivated our generation. Miyamoto and the team didn’t have to go so hard, but I’m glad they did.

In Ocarina of Time, Hylia has a complete map, incorporating different geographical regions. Like Tatl says in Majora’s Mask, “Swamp, mountain, ocean, canyon…” seem to be the four corners of Hyrule’s world. And Ocarina of Time introduces players to many cultural influences. The Water Temple draws on Eastern Asian myth with the temple’s Chinese Dragon statues and the Qanun-like instruments we hear in its theme. Even the duality of fighting Dark Link suggests that of yin and yang from Chinese philosophy. Hieroglyphic-like Gerudo text covers the Spirit Temple’s walls. The Temple has snake goddess statues as a potential reference to Wadjet and an Eye of Horus motif painted on the frame of some of the temple’s doors.

Joseph Billing/Nintendo

In Majora’s Mask, the Swamp Temple has many references to Meso-American or African cultures. That includes the ziggurat pyramid that rises out of the swamp and the moth and statues inside the temple. And even the character of Odolwa himself. The dual-boss Twinmold references the myth of the Mongolian death worm. Some of the masks even pay homage to myth like the Keaton Mask that resembles the Kitsune from Japanese culture. Then there’s also the Fierce Deity Mask based on the Japanese ogre, the oni.

Breath of the Wild pays homage to real world locations. For example, the trees in Hyrule Ridge look similar to the dragon blood trees in Yemen. The trees from the Taobab Grasslands are similar in name and appearance to the Baobab trees found in East Africa.

That’s not even accounting for the characters in the Zelda franchise. The Gorons have hints of Pacific Islander with their tattoos, and the Gerudos’ appearances suggest the Middle East. The women wear traditional Arab clothing, and the Gerudos breed Arabian horses.

Nintendo

What’s most exciting about The Legend of Zelda franchise’s attention to multiculturalism is twofold: the way they pull from a variety of sources to create something unique to Nintendo itself and the amount of details put into these games. And it’s these details that have extended that feeling of exploration and curiosity outside of the games themselves. Zelda fans have long been interpreting and analyzing the games, and sharing their findings in either blogs, videos, or discussions.

Representation has never been more discussed and people both scrutinize and crave it. Both are important to ensuring that our representation is not ethnocentric, or suffering from tokenism, in which a situation offers one example of a particular ethnicity or race and unfairly sets the standard. While we acknowledge the unfortunate implication of the blond and blue-eyed Hylians as the heroes of the game while Ganon and the Gerudo–dark-skinned and based on Middle Eastern culture–are the villains, there’s still room to celebrate.

The Nintendo team took care in researching these cultures in our world. They brought a whole new depth of life and complexity into the Zelda franchise. It sparked curiosity and passion in so many young players. Nintendo will hopefully continue to do so with the Breath of the Wild sequel currently in development. I can’t wait to see where they take us next.

The post Multiculturalism Is the Heart of the ZELDA Franchise appeared first on Nerdist.

I remember watching John navigate the Death Mountain dungeon for the first time. We’d been stuck on it for an hour, having reached the room where the old man says “Go to the next room,” but there was nothing in any of the rooms nearby. 

“Hold on,” I said. “Does he mean you should blow up the wall?” 

Shrugging, John placed his bombs only to be rewarded with the chime that said we’d found a secret passage. We cheered and he hugged me. “Yeah! You did it, Sis!” He beat the game that very day. 

I was nine when we got A Link to the Past (1991). John stayed up late powering through the last three dungeons and the final boss at the end of the game. “You played without me?” I said the next day. 

Unrepentant, he handed me the controller. “Your turn!” he said. I was skeptical, but he insisted. “It isn’t as hard as it looks. It’s mostly puzzles, and you’re good at puzzles.”

And he was right. I struggled with combat and platforming, but I knew how to solve puzzles. If there was something I couldn’t reach at the beginning of the game, I assumed I’d find an item to help me reach it later. If no items turned up? That was another puzzle to solve. Though I died a lot, I eventually defeated Ganon without once handing John the controller to get past a difficult part for me. 

I played on my own more after that, gaining confidence with each game I finished, but the Zelda games remained a prominent part of my life. As pre-teens, John and I played Link’s Awakening separately, since we finally had our own Game Boys. As teenagers, we fought over whose turn it was to play Ocarina of Time on our shared N64.  

Nintendo

When I was 22 and living out of state for the first time, John drove two hours from our hometown to visit me. We spent the day playing Four Sword Adventures, the first multi-player Zelda game. We were at it for hours, laughing as we attacked each other with the fire rod. It was the last time I ever saw him before he died in an accident at only 24 years old.

Not long after that, Twilight Princess came out, but I just couldn’t make myself play it. I kept remembering how much John said he had been looking forward to it. The grief was a puzzle, and I hadn’t yet found the tools to navigate through it. I focused on grad school, on starting my career, and, when I had any energy for gaming at all, I replayed Ocarina of Time and Link’s Awakening, ignoring the newer games that John would never get to play. 

As the Zelda series was turning 25, now older than John, I found myself looking forward to Skyward Sword. It occurred to me that while he would never play it, I could play it for him, and to my surprise I felt strong enough to do so. I cried when I finished the game, another level of my grief defeated. 

Over the next few years, I grew stronger still. I played Twilight Princess at last along with Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, two games I had missed on their release. I replayed our old favorites and played every new Zelda game as it came out, and with each game my grief felt a little smaller, a little easier to push through.

When Nintendo released that first Breath of the Wild video, the one with Link taking out a Guardian with a perfect bow shot, I felt intimidated. It looked like a hard game. But I remembered feeling the same way about A Link to the Past once upon a time. I picked it up on release day, and I played it for both of us. I’m still bad at combat and platforming, but I know how to solve puzzles.

I know, in life and in gaming, that if there are things I can’t do now, I just have to find the tools to get there. 15 years after John’s tragic death, I have finished my third playthrough of Breath of the Wild. It wasn’t as hard as it looked. Sometimes, I’m the Hero of Time and I save Hyrule. But always, every day, I’m my brother’s clever sister and I can do hard things.

The post How THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Helps Me Honor My Brother’s Life appeared first on Nerdist.

Some of the best storytelling in any medium these days is happening in video games. Crafting a player-focused experience in increasingly elaborate fictional worlds is a tough enough job, but to make the player curious about the entire universe of the game is something else entirely. Enough to make several TV shows out of them?

With Resident Evil and The Last of Us already heading to serialized TV, we thought there are plenty more candidates with stories, characters, and settings we’d love to see on telly.

Here are six such games in no particular order.

Bloodborne

Sony/FromSoftware

The hallmarks of all FromSoftware games are overwhelming difficulty and deep environmental storytelling. Of all of their games, the one that would make the best TV show is Bloodborne. A mélange of all kinds of horror, but most prominently Lovecraftian cosmic horror, the story of Yharnham and the amnesiac hunter who wakes up to fight the beast scourge would make compelling, troubling, and terrifying TV. And it even makes sense for the hero to die a million times and keep going!

God of War

Sony/Santa Monica Studios

Think The Witcher but instead of lusty Geralt you have the hate-os of Kratos. Setting the show in the continuity of the 2018 game would allow for great scenes of togetherness between our titular god and the BOY, plus we could get flashbacks to when he frigging annihilated all the gods of Mount Olympus. And because people love Thor, there’s already a connection with the Norse mythology and terminology they’d need. The only real requirement is the actor to grow the mightiest beard of all time.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Nintendo

People have wanted a Legend of Zelda TV show forever, and no that cartoon from the ‘80s doesn’t count. In fact, a series very nearly came to Netflix. The beauty of any kind of Zelda show is that each season could be a different game adaptation. For our money, and because we’re retro gaming shills, they ought to start with the first SNES title, A Link to the Past. It’s got enough of the basics of any adventure of Link and his high-fantasy realm but it also has the reality-hopping antics that later fans have grown to expect. And honestly we’d rather Link have zero lines. Gotta keep that consistent.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Guerrilla Games/Sony

Few games in recent memory have such a compelling fictional world. It’s way in the future, but humanity has given up electronics in favor of an agrarian society. There’s a definite class hierarchy and warring tribes. But there are ALSO giant robotic animals that pose a threat. And right at the center we have the endlessly heroic Aloy, and her journey to understanding why she has a kinship with the machines. There’s enough in just the first game to last a few seasons, not to mention the sequel on the way. It’s also great when your show’s logline can just be: “Young woman shooting bow-and-arrow at robot tigers.”

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch/Sony

Playing the 2020 open world samurai game felt kind of like three full seasons of a TV show to begin with. The dramatized events of the Mongol invasion of the late 13^th Century had palace intrigue, enormous battle sequences, tons of dueling, and a mechanic where you get to pet foxes. We’d mandate they kept that, of course. The coolest thing about a Ghost of Tsushima show is that it’d pretty much just be a historical drama. Our hero is a samurai who roams the island giving aid to the peasants against an invading army. And yet, as straight forward as that is, there’s plenty of room for diversions and following different characters’ goals for awhile. But maybe we don’t need too many Bamboo-Slashing episodes.

Control

Remedy

We made this list because of 2019’s Control. There’s no game that feels as tailor made for TV. The whole show takes place inside the Oldest House, a brutalist building that somehow keeps getting larger and contains everything in existence; our hero Jesse Faden has a dark past and untapped superpowers; and the entire history of the Federal Bureau of Control and the Oldest House itself contain so much potential for exploration. Part office hijinks, part universe-ending dilemmas. Really the entire Remedyverse should be included, so Alan Wake is definitely in there, but there’s enough existential weirdness and dread just within Control to last for years.

Like how Northmoor, the FBC’s former director, got so powerful that he went supernova and they just turned him into the machine that powers the whole building. Wild! Eldritch creatures, retro objects of power, a janitor who might be GOD?!?! Control has it all. And every episode must end with a new installment of the terrifying puppet series Threshold Kids.

Remedy

And there you have just six of the many, many video games that would make a great TV series. Like and share this video and maybe we’ll make a second installment! And for everything else you could possibly want, set your objective markers to Nerdist.com.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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If you’re a child of the ’90s, chances are some of your favorite holiday memories involved getting the latest The Legend of Zelda game as a gift, and then promptly playing it for the rest of the holidays and ignoring the rest of your family. The holidays and characters like Link and Ganon are tied together in the memories of so many. So it’s only fitting that someone finally release a proper The Legend of Zelda Christmas album. Honestly, how did this take so long?

Materia Collective

The folks at Materia Collective are mashing up classic Christmas carols with the world of the classic Nintendo game for A Merry Hyrule Christmas. Produced by Eric Buchholz (Hero of Time) together with a merry band of arrangers, this festive collection is sure to bring a smile to your face. These clever arrangements will bring cheer to both Christmas music lovers and fans of the kingdom of Hyrule. With grandiose orchestra and choir combined with epic rock stylings, A Merry Hyrule Christmas has something for pretty much everyone.

The full tracklist is as follows:

1. Kakariko Village
2. O Sacred Light
3. Clock Town Sleigh Ride
4. Silent Knight
5. Carol of the Goddess
6. Dragon Roost Hymn
7. Din Rest Ye Merry Deku Scrubs
8. The Twelve Days of Christmas

In a statement, producer Eric Buchholz said “A Merry Hyrule Christmas is the first album to combine music from The Legend of Zelda franchise with classic holiday tunes of various genres. We have Zelda music with a Christmas twist, as well as Christmas music with a Zelda twist!. My goal was to create an album of videogame music that could blend in seamlessly with classic holiday tunes. I love the idea of folks being able to ‘trick’ their parents, grandparents, and family into listening to videogame music—without them realizing it!”

A Merry Hyrule Christmas is now available on all storefronts and streaming platforms.

Featured Image: Materia Collective

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Are you in dire need of some new quarantunes while stuck in quarantine? Want to flatten the curve of COVID-19 while expanding your musical horizons? Do you yearn for an endlessly relaxing genre of music that will help you focus on working from home while releasing a steady stream of nostalgia-fueled serotonin? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Like so many people out there, I find that I am most productive when I’m listening to largely instrumental music with a driving beat, but I don’t want to be distracted by too many clever lyrics or pesky vocals. These playlists are perfect for fans who want to blend their love of classic video games like Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon with chillhop, the explosively popular music genre characterized by jazzy lo-fi hip hop beats. Basically it sounds like you found a haunted VHS recording of your favorite cassettes. Except in this case, they’re all digital mixtapes of classic video game tunes.

So put on your headphones, turn on any one of these playlists, and prepare to be more productive than you’ve ever been before. Or just kick back, relax, and feel like you’re floating away on a cloud.

The Legend of Zelda

For once, it’s safe to go alone, but these mellowed out melodies will are the missing Link in your current musical rotation.

These sweeping beats from Breath of the Wild are almost as satisfying as one-shotting a Guardian.

If Ocarina of Time is more your speed, then this Koji Kondo mix will transport you to an era where you’re calmer, more focused, and happier–no complex button inputs required.

Mario

Even Wario would calm the eff down after listening to this.

When you need something a little more up-tempo, this is the musical equivalent of grabbing a Super Star.

Final Fantasy

Maybe the single best opening to any of these mixes, but maybe I’m biased because I’m a diehard Final Fantasy VII fan.

Okay, maybe I’m just a sucker for the PlayStation startup noise. The first track on this is my eternal rainy day soundtrack.

Final Fantasy IX is unfairly slept on for some reason, but you should absolutely listen to this mix immediately.

Chrono Trigger

Time will fly by when you turn on this bad boy.

Is this just the same song for an hour straight? Yes. Is that a problem when it’s a straight-up banger like this? Hell no.

Kingdom Hearts

Disneyland and Disney World might be closed for the foreseeable future, but these tunes should fill you with hope.

52 minutes isn’t enough time to clearly explain the truly bonkers storyline of Kingdom Hearts, but it’s enough time to put a smile on your face after mainlining its killer tracks.

Pokemon

Whether you need to finally catalog everything in your Pokedex or veg out like Snorlax, this mix is super effective.

If you grew up playing Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum, then this mix has your name all over it.

This Johto region mix is like Rare Candy for your eardrums.

Animal Crossing

Dream up ways to overthrow that bell-hungry oligarch Tom Nook with this certifiably chill collection of Animal Crossing vibes

Silent Hill

Now, I know what you might be thinking, but trust me on this and just listen.

What is your favorite lo-fi/chillhop video game music mix? Share them in the comments below!

Featured Image: Nintendo

Dan Casey is the creative director of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).

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[ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 2/26/2015]

Is there a real way we can have three separate Zelda universes? Kyle makes sense of the Legend of Zelda timeline, wielding the mighty sword of quantum mechanics. This week’s Because Science has never been seen on the Because Science Channel. Unless you’re a time traveler from a different branch of the universe, in which case, please tell us the future is not a fiery hellscape.

The post ZELDA Timeline According to Quantum Mechanics | Because Science appeared first on Nerdist.

We came, we played, we yearned for the sweet release of death because we didn’t do enough cardio and vastly underestimated the size of the Los Angeles Convention Center. And now we have definitively chosen the best games of E3 2019.

Determined through a highly scientific formula and rigorous criteria, these are the games that left us thinking about them long after we parted ways with the show floor. Some of them you can play in the near future; some of them you can’t play for many, many months. But all of them are worthy of accolade.

As always, we have divided them into two categories: Editor’s Choice and Best in Show. Our Editor’s Choice seal of approval marks the most innovative, impressive, and genuinely fun titles we saw at E3. However, for that one game that rose above the competition to stand on its own, we have our Best in Show award. There were so many fantastic games on display at this year’s E3 that choosing was a deeply challenging, almost Sisyphean task. Yet we separated the wheat from the slightly less golden wheat to present the games you need to play.

Editor’s Choice

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Developer: Square Enix
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release date: March 3, 2020

The maelstrom of emotions swirling inside of me as I played Final Fantasy VII Remake on the E3 show floor is difficult to describe. As an introverted, lonely child growing up in suburban Massachusetts, I lost myself in the cyberpunk fantasia of Final Fantasy VII. It’s the way that I discovered role-playing games, but more importantly, it was the first time I understood the power of video games as a narrative tool.

Seeing it rebuilt from the ground up for a new generation of gamers filled me with earnest, irrepressible joy. Playing it was even better, as I rent enemies asunder with a well-timed swing of Cloud’s mighty Buster Sword or shredded them like Swiss cheese with Barret’s machine gun fire. By the end of the demo, which was a fairly on-rails experience meant to introduce players to the combat system, my face hurt because I had been smiling from ear to ear for its entire duration.

With a deeply satisfying combat system, drool-worthy graphics, and what sounds like an expanded story, Final Fantasy VII Remake is looking like it will be well worth the wait.

The Outer Worlds

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment:
Publisher: Private Division
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: October 25, 2019

If you’re someone (like me) who correctly thinks that Fallout: New Vegas is the best game in the Fallout franchise, then buckle up, because The Outer Worlds is about to blow your mind. This sprawling single-player sci-fi RPG trades in the nuclear wastelands of America’s irradiated west coast for the corporate dystopia of planets on the outer rim of the galaxy. With a distinctly goofy sense of humor, lavish world-building, a seemingly limitless amount of player choice, and compelling combat mechanics, The Outer Worlds looks like the spiritual successor to New Vegas that I’ve always wanted, and the main reason I’ll be canceling plans this October.

Dying Light 2

Developer: Techland
Publisher: Techland Publishing
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: TBD 2020

Easily the most stressful game I saw at E3 2019, Dying Light 2 was also one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises. The open-world, parkour-filled zombie apocalypse of Dying Light 2 takes what made the first game so addictive and raises the stakes in every conceivable way. Whether you’re barreling through abandoned buildings at a breakneck pace, hijacking a van full of murderous goons to infiltrate their fortress, or sparking up an ultraviolet flare to buy yourself precious time and repel a room full of Infected, every little moment in Dying Light 2 feels like it could be a tense, thrilling set piece in a big-budget zombie movie. And given how deeply player choice will affect the storytelling and the game map—to the point where you’ll only see approximately 50 percent of the game on your first play-through, according to a Techland representative in our live demo—it seems as though you will be the director and the star of your own horror film.

John Wick Hex

Developer: Bithell Games
Publisher: Good Shepherd Entertainment
Platform: Mac, PC
Release date: TBD

Have you ever wanted to become Baba Yaga himself? You can in John Wick Hex, an incredibly stylish strategy game that puts you in the bulletproof suit and dog-loving shoes of John Wick. Directed by Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell, John Wick Hex is an elegant ballet of death, destruction, and devious design as you must maneuver the most feared assassin in all of pop culture to cut a swath through the bad guys and reach his final destination.

With John Wick Hex, Bithell Games has created sleek, fluid, and deeply original gameplay mechanics that allow you to weave a beautiful, murderous tapestry as you use your gun-fu to create adrenaline-pumping sequences of events that feel like they could be ripped straight from the big screen. And yes, that includes throwing your weapon to take out hired goons.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Developer: MachineGames
Publisher: Bethesda
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
Release date: July 26, 2019

The only thing better than playing a video game where you can kill Nazis is a game where you can kill Nazis with a friend. Wolfenstein: Youngblood continues MachineGames’ proud tradition of making frenetic, addictive, delightfully bombastic first-person shooters that let you turn Nazis into loose piles of Campbell’s Chunky Tomato Soup.

This time around, you and a friend (or an AI if you want to play solo) take on the roles of series protagonist BJ Blazkowicz’s daughters, Jess and Soph, as you search for your missing father and riddle the Third Reich with bullets in Paris circa 1980. Expect plenty of secrets to unlock, classic co-op-style puzzles, and outrageous action as you run-and-gun or stealth your way through this tremendously fun game.

Watch Dogs Legion

Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia
Release date: March 6, 2020

Any game that lets you take on the role of an elderly woman who just so happens to be a retired assassin is an instant-buy in my book, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg in Watch Dogs Legion. In the dystopian near-future London in which the game takes place, you will need to build a resistance army to hack the planet and take down the bad guys who are oppressing innocent Londoners.

Where Watch Dogs Legion blows my mind is in its new “Play as Anyone” gameplay system, which lets you quite literally recruit practically anyone you encounter in the game. Taking the “N” out of “NPC” makes the game feel like a truly open world and continues to push the envelope for the ambitious action-adventure series.

Plus, Clint Hocking is serving as the game’s creative director, which if you’re familiar with his resume, puts this immediately atop our list of most anticipated games coming in 2020. And that’s saying something given next year’s insane release schedule.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release date: September 20, 2019

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening isn’t just a remake of the 1993 classic; it has been completely rebuilt from the ground up for a new generation of gamers. The result is a beautiful, joyous, rapturously fun experience that breathes new life into the many mysteries of Koholint Island through a bright, sunny, aggressively cute new aesthetic. Whether you’re releasing a wave of nostalgia-fueled endorphins or experiencing it for the first time, Link’s Awakening is a nearly perfect game. I say “nearly perfect” because I can’t play the full version on my Switch right now. Now that would be perfect.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: November 15, 2019

If there is a purer joy in video gaming than using the Force to fling a stormtrooper from a catwalk as they Wilhelm-screaming to their doom, then I have yet to experience it. After witnessing the false start of Star Wars 1313, I have been aching for an addictive, action-adventure title set in the galaxy far, far away. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order delivers the goods with what feels like a delicious blend of Uncharted, Mass Effect, and Dark Souls.

Yes, I said “Dark Souls.” Because the combat system will require you to become a Jedi Master, learning the intricacies of lightsaber combat, and wielding the Force against all manner of fiendishly clever AI who want nothing more than to execute Order 66, and you in the process. If the rest of the game is as good as what I was able to play at this year’s E3, then we may have a new classic on our hands.

Borderlands 3

Developer: Gearbox
Publisher: 2K
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: September 13, 2019

Inject this game directly into my veins. Borderlands 3 is bigger, brasher, and better than its predecessors. Expect more of the same high-intensity, chaotic looter-shooter action that you know and love, but amped up in every single way. With a robust cast of new characters, a mathematically implausible amount of new weapons to discover, and a scope that takes the action way beyond Pandora, Borderlands 3 is going to be the harbinger of death for my productivity this fall. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Best in Show

Cyberpunk 2077

Developer: CD Projekt Red
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: April 16, 2020

There’s only one word you need to describe this game: “breathtaking.” But I’ll write a few more nonetheless.

Just when you thought the hype for Cyberpunk 2077 couldn’t get any higher, they go and add Keanu Reeves as legendary rockerboy Johnny Silverhand. The incredibly ambitious, sprawling world of Cyberpunk 2077 looks better and better with each new piece of gameplay we get to see.

Based on Mike Pondsmith’s seminal sci-fi tabletop RPG, Cyberpunk 2077 offers a world where it truly feels like you can do anything. If you want to go in guns blazing and use gang members as human shields to absorb turret fire, you can do that. If you want to hack someone’s neural implants and force them to pull the pin on their own grenades, you can do that. If you want to talk your way out of any situation and make it through the game without killing a single person, you can do that too.

It’s a world of endless possibility, all driven by you. I’m preemptively calling in sick for the last two weeks of April so I can immerse myself in the dynamic, dazzling world that CD Projekt Red has built from the ground up.

What would be on your personal Best of E3 list? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Square Enix, Warner Bros. Interactive, Ubisoft, 2K

The post The Best Games of E3 2019 appeared first on Nerdist.

Long before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild commanded every waking second of our spare time by way of a healthy amalgam of mesmerizing visuals, engaging gameplay, and one of the most enchanting narratives to grace the gaming medium, its forebear The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening did pretty much the very same. And now, we get to appreciate the bounties of both games once more. At E3 2019, Nintendo announced both a sequel to 2017’s Zelda: Breath of the Wild and an update of 1993’s Link’s Awakening for the Switch!

The Breath of the Wild sequel news hit the web on the heels of the Nintendo Direct video stream; said revelation was scant on the details, taking form solely as the below teaser:

As far as Breath of the Wild goes, that’s all it really takes to get us pumped.

Now, no one’s going to compare the far simpler aesthetic design of the 1993 Gameboy game to that of its successor on the Nintendo Switch, nor is Link’s Awakening quite so sprawling or complex as the aforesaid 2017 release. But don’t let yourself forget just how enthralling your adventures through the mysterious, animal-laden Koholint Island really were. Thankfully, you can relive them once more, and with updates to both the look and motivity, as Nintendo is releasing Link’s Awakening for the Switch.

The news was announced via the E3 Nintendo Direct on June 11, which treated viewers to a look at the new take on the 26-year-old classic. As you can see, the game will maintain the original’s cartoonish vibe—a stark contrast to Breath of the Wild‘s lifelike aura—but with Switch-appropriate graphics.

new link’s awakening screenshots pic.twitter.com/1D4tCoNVrY

— zelda blog (triforce-princess) (@trforceprincess) June 11, 2019

Link’s Awakening #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/cH0bxnzHCz

— Nibel (@Nibellion) June 11, 2019

Beyond just updates to the visuals and gameplay, the new version of Link’s Awakening will also serve as home to a Dungeon Maker mode in the vein of the Mario Maker series that’s won the (often sadistic) hearts and minds of players the world over.

new link’s awakening screenshots pic.twitter.com/1D4tCoNVrY

— zelda blog (triforce-princess) (@trforceprincess) June 11, 2019

Link’s Awakening – create dungeons pic.twitter.com/rHFSLKlJ2y

— Wario64 (@Wario64) June 11, 2019

Link’s Awakening will hit the Nintendo Switch on September 20. And while there’s plenty to be excited about, personally, I can’t wait to reunite with my old pal, the flying chicken.

Images: Nintendo

The post Nintendo Announces LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Sequel at E3 appeared first on Nerdist.

The sweeping majesty of towering turrets emblazoned with the Triforce. Princess Zelda’s cozy study. A library filled to the brim with more books than you can read in a lifetime. You won’t find all of this in the ruins of Hyrule Castle in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Thanks to expert builders of Team-Kyo (Team-京), you’ll only see it in dazzling detail in Minecraft.

Nintendo Japan featured the staggering Breath of the Wild-inspired build on the official website. Included is an interview with the creators, who shared what it’s like to take on a Minecraft build of this size. The tour video shows the major features of the castle, set to a calming rendition of the classic Zelda theme,”Epilogue” from the Breath of the Wild soundtrack. Slow down, take a deep breath, and just marvel at the majesty of Hyrule Castle.

Team-Kyo is made of seventeen professional builders, reveals the interview, and much of their Minecraft building experience has been in recreating cities in block form. The initial design was based on screenshots and official artwork from Nintendo. Two weeks of design and two months of building later, Hyrule Castle was restored to its former glory before the arrival of Ganon.

The amount of bricks and time it must have taken to build the audience room alone is staggering.

While it’s not currently possible to actually explore the pre-destruction Hyrule Castle in either Breath of the Wild or Minecraft, this amazing creation does make it easier to imagine what life was like for young Princess Zelda. Maybe if they make that Legend of Zelda television series or the animated series we’ve always dreamed of, we’ll get to see the castle in its full glory again.

Which version of Hyrule Castle is your favorite? Tell us in the comments.

Images: Nintendo and Team-京

The post Take a Moment to Marvel at Hyrule Castle Recreated in MINECRAFT appeared first on Nerdist.

First released in the fall of 1998, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time celebrated its 20th anniversary late last year, which means that yes, you are that old. And so are we. Now, two decades later, the famous single-player game is now a co-operative experience you can share with others thanks to a group of enterprising modders.

The fifth game in Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series was a major milestone for the franchise thanks to its 3D graphics and memorable storytelling. Considered one of the greatest video games of all time, The Legend of Zelda sold more than 7 million copies worldwide, earned multiple awards, and is still one of the most popular games in the “Speedrun” category on Twitch. It received a remake from the ground up in 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS, but this mod marks the first time that the game has received any sort of multiplayer functionality.

First reported by Kotaku, a group of dedicated modders have transformed Ocarina of Time so the famous single player game can now also be played with another Link with whom to share the adventure. The project first began last year and now you can see exactly what the modders have accomplished in the video above.

This group of hardcore Legend of Zelda fans are committed to transforming the classic game into a multiplayer experience. By running the one game on a dedicated server, players can team up in ways they never could back in the day. Currently, players can only fight against AI-controlled enemies, but the team behind the mod are already looking at finding a way to implement player vs. player combat in the future. In the video above, we can see two players exploring the world of Ocarina of Time simultaenously, and there are plans to allow up to 15 players to play together at once.

OoT Online is still very early in the development process, but you can follow their updates in real time by tuning in to the developers’ Twitch channel.

This GameBoy is so rare, it might not exist…

Images: Nintendo  

The post THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME is Now a Co-Op Multiplayer Game appeared first on Nerdist.

Everyone knows the legendary exploits of Hyrule’s Hero, but just how strong is Link? Kyle smashes some pots in search of answers in this week’s Because Science!

Learn More:
MARVEL STRENGTH SCALE: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Strength_Scale
DC STRENGTH SCALE: http://misc.thefullwiki.org/Strength_Scale
PROJECTILE MOTION: https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/projectile-motion

The post Why Link Is Stronger Than Most Superheroes appeared first on Nerdist.

If you haven’t yet purchased a Nintendo Switch, then perhaps the deluge of announcements from Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct will change your mind.

During the video presentation, Nintendo announced a metric ton of new video games, remastered classic games, and a 99-player battle royale version of Tetris that promptly sent the Internet into a tizzy. Here’s are the biggest announcements that you missed during today’s reveal:

Super Mario Maker 2

Our long national nightmare of not being able to create our own custom Mario levels on the Switch is over. Super Mario Maker 2 is coming to the handheld console this June with a bunch of new tools, including diagonal slopes, which I promise is much more exciting than it sounds.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Originally released for the Game Boy back in 1993, the classic The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is getting a 3D remake for the Switch that is so relentlessly charming that if you manage to make it through the trailer without smiling, you’re legally dead inside. The “modern reimagining” arrives sometime later this year.

Astral Chain

Scratch that itch for frenetic, futuristic cyberpunk chaos with ASTRAL CHAIN, the anime-style, third-person action game from Platinum Games and NieR: Automata game designer Takahisa Taura that has you teaming up with a living weapon known as Legion to fight all manner of monsters. The game, which drops August 30, looks like a combination of Patlabor and Devil May Cry, which are two tastes that look like they’ll taste great together. Plus you can apparently dress as a giant dog mascot and recycle? Sign me all the way up.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

The good news is that there is a new Fire Emblem game about three noble houses–The Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer–that comprise an elite training academy where students are molded into warriors, mages, and specialists. You will become a professor leading the students of one of these houses through a series of tactical, grid-based battles with major life-or-death consequences. The bad news is that you have to wait until July 26 to play it.

Tetris 99

Who knew that Twitter was just champing at the bit to tear each other a new one in Tetris? Apparently, Nintendo did. Forget Apex Legends; the hottest new name in battle royale right now is Tetris 99, which as the title suggests is a 99-player competitive multiplayer version of Tetris. This Switch exclusive is free to play and available right now in the Nintendo eShop.

BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!

On April 26, you and a friend can put your heads together for some co-op puzzle-solving action across 270 different levels in BoxBoy! + BoxGirl!.

Mortal Kombat 11

Get over here and play Mortal Kombat 11 on the go! The brutal fighting game is coming to the Switch on April 23. Prepare your body by brushing up on the deadly physics of the series in our new show, The Science of Mortal Kombat with Kyle Hill!

Final Fantasy IX

Originally released in 2000, the classic RPG is finally available on Nintendo Switch. If you slept on this back in the days of the first PlayStation, now is the time to fix the grievous error of your ways and enjoy its sprawling, fantasy worldbuilding right now. That’s right, the game is available immediately on the Nintendo eShop. And if you’re feeling nostalgic for a different PSX-era release, then hang tight because Final Fantasy VII hits the Switch on March 26.

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered

Relive the thrills and chills of the American Revolution on the go with this fully remastered version of Assassin’s Creed III coming to the Switch on May 21. With revamped gameplay, improved aiming, and all of the game’s original DLC included, it’s a no-brainer for action-adventure fans.

In addition to the aforementioned titles, Nintendo also revealed release dates for a slew of other games (Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order comes this summer), provided updates on DLC for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Persona 5‘s Joker arrives in April!), and much more, which you can find in the complete Nintendo Direct presentation on Nintendo’s website.

The post Nintendo Just Announced a Ton Of New Switch Games appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s time we all accepted the fact that The Legend of Zelda is metal. From its dark, epic dungeons to its intricate iconography to Ganondorf (the most metal villain in all of video games), The Legend of Zelda has metal running through its veins. Once you accept this truth, it will make perfect sense that metalcore giants August Burns Red unleashed an epic cover of the Zelda theme.This epic cover will appear on August Burns Red’s new Phantom Sessions EP,  which is out February 8 via Fearless Records. The track is lead by August Burns Red bassist Dustin Davidson who actually performed the cover on guitar and is a life long Zelda devotee (he even has a Zelda leg sleeve tattoo).

“For the cover, I wanted to do a mash-up of not only the original theme, but other pieces from the game as well, and since the dungeon theme flirts with the diminished scale, it just made sense to put it into a metal cover,” Davidson told us. The result of this mash-up is a furious and melodic number that stands on its own as a kick-ass song but also invokes the feeling of wielding the Master Sword against a horde of Bokoblins.It’s clear that this ripping cover comes from a place of true love. Davidson has been obsessed with The Legend of Zelda for most of his life. “Out of all of the games that I played growing up, I easily logged the most time into Zelda,” he said. “My brother and I would come home from school, race to finish our homework and fight over who got to play.”So, the good news is that one man’s love of the franchise has finally given The Legend of Zelda the metal theme it deserves. Throw up some horns, listen to metal, and play Zelda; that’s how you live life to the fullest.

The post This Metal Cover of THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Theme Is Rad as Heck appeared first on Nerdist.

For over 30 years, The Legend of Zelda has entranced gamers the world over. As of 2017, the franchise had sold over 80 million copies for Nintendo, and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Last year’s installment, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was one of the most critically acclaimed Zelda games ever, and was also the best selling Zelda game of all time. Not bad for a franchise well into its third decade.Now Dark Horse Comics is putting out a hardcover coffee table book: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild—Creating a Champion, which goes deep into the creation of Breath of the Wild, in the tradition of their amazing Masters of the Universe and Avatar: The Last Airbender art books. And we’ve got an exclusive sneak peek for you of some of its pages. Here’s the official synopsis for the book:

“This oversized hardcover is the ultimate companion to the award-winning video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and includes material from both of its DLC packs. This book features nearly fifty pages of sketches and official illustrations from Takumi Wada, two-hundred and ninety-six pages of design artwork and commentary about the making of the game from the creators, a fifty-five-page historical section that divulges the history of Hyrule as it is known in-game, and interviews with key members of the development team–Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Satoru Takizawa, Takumi Wada, and Eiji Aonuma. Witness the making of a champion!”

As you can see from these pages, a metric ton of talent was used to design every aspect of this game, and the detail the artists went to to make something unique and special shows. You can check out the rest of our preview pages for this nearly 300-page tome down below in our gallery.Would you like Santa to bring you this amazing book for Christmas this year? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Dark Horse Comics 

The post New LEGEND OF ZELDA Coffee Table Book Dives Deep into the Creation of BREATH OF THE WILD (Exclusive Preview) appeared first on Nerdist.

Forget Sony’s limited edition Spider-Man PS4 or the Taco Bell Xbox 360 or the any number of supposedly hard-to-find video game consoles. There is a Game Boy that is so rare, so elusive, that it might not exist. It’s so rare, in fact, that it has never been seen in real life, at least as far as we can tell. Does this mythical Game Boy actually exist? Was it an elaborate hoax, like being able to save Aeris in Final Fantasy VII, or unlocking Sonic the Hedgehog in the original Super Smash Bros.? Join me on today’s episode of The Dan Cave as I dive into the incredibly weird and mysterious case of Nintendo’s long-lost golden Game Boy.[brightcove video_id=”5846627311001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=“rJs2ZD8xâ€]The mythical console in question was announced back in 2004 as a tie-in promotion for the release of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap in the United Kingdom. To celebrate the game’s release, Nintendo produced 25,000 golden Game Boy Advance SPs emblazoned with the iconic Tri-Force logo. But those exist. You can easily find those on eBay. What you can’t find are the seven other consoles that Nintendo of Europe produced.These mysterious Game Boys were plated with 24-karat gold and you could only get one by finding a Willy Wonka-style golden ticket in a limited edition game bundle that came packaged with the video game and the Game Boy Advance SP console. If you discovered a ticket in your box, you could trade it in for one of these ultra-rare gold-plated Game Boy Advance SPs.According to what little intel we can find, there was a seventh console produced as a giveaway for a website called GamesTM, but the winner of that console has never been identified and all attempts to ask the site who won have led to dead ends. To this day, no one who has won one of these consoles has ever come forward and Nintendo has not made their identities public. There was a listing on a website called EStarLand, which is, of course, out of stock. YouTube sleuth LSuperSonicQ investigated the website and discovered that they apparently did have one in stock and sold it in 2013, but only for a measly $100.The closest we have come to actually seeing one in real life is a post from a Spanish message board in which a user posted photographs of what he alleged was an authentic gold-plated Game Boy Advance SP that he won at auction for approximately $700. In the post, a user named Lintic claimed that he took the console to a gold shop, which confirmed that the case is indeed plated with gold. Adding further credibility to Lintic’s claim is the fact that the user purchased it on eBay UK. Given the fact that the only consoles produced were exclusive to the United Kingdom, it’s entirely possible that this is one of the coveted consoles. The price point, though, seems to indicate that perhaps the seller didn’t exactly realize what a goldmine they were sitting on.

Image: screenshot of ElOtroLado.net

Image: screenshot of ElOtroLado.net

Image: screenshot of ElOtroLado.net

As is the case with any rare antiquity, some people seem to think that this too is an elaborate hoax. Detractors have pointed to the fact that it is easy to paint a Game Boy or give it a custom plate. If you ask me, that is an awful lot of trouble to go to just to defraud a bunch of internet strangers on a Game Boy forum. But who knows? Maybe Lintic is that dedicated to trolling their fellow Nintendo nerds, or maybe it actually is one of the only specimens of its kind in existence. The truth may be buried deeper than those old E.T. games for the Atari 2600 that were buried in the New Mexico desert. Remember those? They were the Black Sarcophagus before the Black Sarcophagus.But what do you think? Do you buy that these long-lost gold-plated Game Boy Advance SPs are still out there? What ultra rare video game console would you love to get your hands on? Let me know in the comments below.

Images: Nintendo

The post This Game Boy Is So Rare It Might Not Exist appeared first on Nerdist.

Remember the music composer from Mario Paint for the Super Nintendo? Its fun layout featured icons of cats, dogs, babies, boats, and other objects taking the place of music notes, arranged on sheet music to play whatever song you could compose with them. That feature was enjoyed by so many that there are even third-party applications out there that recreate the composer as a stand-alone app.This video looks a good deal like the Mario Paint composer, although it’s not quite that, but a different beast entirely: Grant Woolard has created a single composition that features 46 melodies from across the Nintendo soundtracks, and it combines them all very nicely (via The Kids Should See This).

If you’re trying to identify the melodies, the visuals are helpful, since each note is represented by an icon of a character from the game that’s home to the melody. The video begins with a mix of the Pokémon Red and Blue Route 1 music and the Super Mario World theme, and a few seconds after that, the music from Choco Mountain in Mario Kart 64 works its way into the equation. The mix is both a nostalgia trip and something new; if you want to challenge yourself, try identifying them all. To check your answers (or to just get the info if you don’t feel like thinking too hard), compare your results to those of  this YouTube commenter, who was able to identify every last bit of music.What’s your favorite Nintendo composition of all time? Let us know down in the comments below!

Featured image: YouTube/grantwoolard

The post This Nintendo Mash-Up Has 46 Different Melodies From Classic Games appeared first on Nerdist.

Nearly 20 years ago, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time pushed the series into the realm of 3D graphics and integrated music into the gameplay thanks to the titular Ocarina. Like many of the Zelda games, Ocarina of Time was an instant classic and one of Nintendo’s most enduring hits. Now, Koji Kondo’s unforgettable score for Ocarina of Time is getting a progressive rock and metal tribute album called The Temple. It was performed and arranged by Ro Panuganti, who also shared the first track of the album, based on “The Temple of Time.”

Via ComicBook.com, Panuganti’s The Temples features eight tracks from the Ocarina of Time soundtrack and gives them a heavy metal makeover. Kondo’s notes still shine through in the new take, but Panuganti’s additions bring a new flavor to the original music. On his YouTube page, Panuganti noted that “Temple of Time” was renamed “In Time” for the album, and he incorporated audio nods to the subsequent tracks within this selection. He also shared his memory about how his father picked up Ocarina of Time for him, which subsequently became “one of my favorite games, an adventure I couldn’t stop playing, and every level told stories beyond stories.”

The Temples is currently available on Bandcamp as the full album or as individual tracks. Panguanti’s Bandcamp page also includes links to his Breath of the Wild Tribute album, and other video game inspired music.

What do you think about Panguanti’s heavy metal take on Ocarina of Time‘s signature track? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: Ro Panuganti

The post THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME Gets a Fan-Made Heavy Metal Album appeared first on Nerdist.

As somebody who has a Nintendo Switch and enthusiastically explores the accessories market, I’ve learned a couple things: There are a ton of third-party options out there for things that can enhance your Switch-owning experience, and a lot of them aren’t the best thing for all folks. For instance, I haven’t been able to find my ideal game card case that will look natural on the shelf next to my official game cases, so a few months ago, I went ahead and designed my own, based on an official Nintendo game card case and a third-party plastic insert.

I’m very satisfied with the results, which were made to blend in. That aesthetic choice isn’t for everybody, though, so if you’re looking for an option that’s more meant to stand out, here’s something: a game card case that looks like the Master Sword from The Legend Of Zelda series (via Reddit).

While in its sheath, the 3D-printed sword looks like a standard collectible prop, but take it out, and the “blade” has slots for six games. The video uploader is quick to point out that while they did print this sword themselves, it’s not actually their design. That comes courtesy of kDaesign on Etsy, who sells the sword (or gives away the design files for free) for $30. It’s sold out at the moment, so keep an eye on the Etsy store page in hopes that more will be available soon (here’s a cached version of the product page if you want to check it out).

What’s your current solution for storing your Switch games? Would you consider something like this? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Featured image: Kickass 3D Prints/YouTube

More video game stories:

• • • How to make your own God of War leviathan axe.
    • Tetris Effect offers a next-gen twist on a classic.
    • Telltale’s The Walking Dead is getting its final season.

[brightcove video_id=”5794448371001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]

The post This ZELDA Master Sword Is Actually a Nintendo Switch Game Card Case appeared first on Nerdist.

It would be a terrible fate, wouldn’t it? To be crushed and incinerated by a falling moon in just three day’s time. It’s a highly unlikely fate–the driving force behind the classic N64 game The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask–but it poses a fascinating thought experiment. How long would it take a moon to fall to a planet’s surface? Did Link really have 72 hours to save Termina?

In my latest episode of Because Science, I’m using astrophysics to see if a nearly 20-year-old video game is astronomically accurate — as I’m want to do. There have been many nerdy videos on the dynamics of Majora’s Mask‘s sinister moon, but all of them have used in-game estimations to see what would really happen. Instead, if we use the mass and orbital distance of our planet and our moon, we’ve have a real world comparison that we can count on.

If you take the game seriously, science says 72 hours is…almost exactly right.

After you watch the new episode, check out my last video on why you never want to land like a superhero, buy a Because Science shirt, mug, hat, or collectible pin, and follow me on Twitter or on Instagram to give me a suggestion for the next episode. Want Because Science days before anyone else? Subscribe to Alpha for early access to the show and peep my premium show The S.P.A.A.C.E. Program!

Catch up on the latest Because Science!

• How to go super Saiyan with science
• What toxin is on Poison Ivy’s lips?
• Why you don’t want super strength

The post What if Majora’s Mask Made Our Moon Fall? appeared first on Nerdist.

Grab your new Because Science merch here: https://shop.nerdist20.wpengine.com/collections/because-science
Link faced a terrible fate in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, but did he really have 3 days to prevent it if it were OUR moon? Kyle has the earthly science on this week’s Because Science!
For comments and responses, check out the vlog: https://youtu.be/3Af9bw9_lI4

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Because Science every Thursday.

Learn more:
• MOON FALL EQUATION: https://nerdi.st/2kRBHFp
• RADIAL ELLIPTIC TRAJECTORY: https://nerdi.st/2xNbjWt
• FREE FALL TIME TO POINT SOURCE OF GRAVITY: http://bit.ly/2sNtcyN
• HOW LONG EARTH FALL INTO SUN?: http://bit.ly/2JuRyYx
• MAJORA’S MASK CONSTELLATIONS: http://bit.ly/2HqyNjC

The post What if Majora’s Mask Stopped OUR Moon? appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s pretty common knowledge among Zelda fans at this point that during the development process for Breath Of The Wild, Nintendo used a prototypical 2D version of the game, which looked basically like an original NES game, to help create the final product. A fan even re-created that NES-ish prototype as a playable game. Now, others are imagining what Breath Of The Wild might look like on other platforms, and this Game Boy Color version of the game looks pretty sweet (via Gamnesia).

Nintendo Wire decided to create a “de-make” of the game, and although it’s not a playable game, it’s neat to watch, especially for fans of the actual Zelda Game Boy Color games, Oracle Of Seasons and Oracle Of Ages. It has everything the GBC-era games did: The classic italicized font, the retro sounds, and a spot-on color palette. The video covers the opening moments of the game: Waking up in the Shrine Of Resurrection, getting your Sheikah Slate, and making your way into Hyrule to encounter the mysterious old man and some Bokoblins.

If this video has inspired you to do something like this for yourself, or you’re just really into the sprites and other art they used, you can get all the assets used in the video for yourself by becoming a $5 Patreon supporter of Nintendo Wire.

Is this one of the best Zelda fan projects you’ve ever seen? If not, what are some of your favorites? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Featured Image: Nintendo Wire

The post This Video Proves a ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Game Boy Color Remake Would Be Awesome appeared first on Nerdist.

Grandmothers throughout the ages have had a reputation for homemade goodness. Pies, casseroles, hand-knitted sweaters, garden-grown veggies, and…video game maps? Yes. Thanks to a Reddit user who guys by the extremely Reddit-ish username of “Plausible__Bullshit,” we have a look at a map drawn by his gramma, a seriously old-school gamer who played into her late eighties. Now, given the individual’s username, we should probably take any plausible story told by them as potentially suspect, but we can say this: whether the map in question was drawn by an 80-something year-old, or an 18-something year-old, it is an impressive piece of work on graph paper that shows the way through Ganon’s Castle in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

My grandma was a hardcore gamer well into her late 80’s, until her arthritis made it impossible to hold a controller. She drew this map and took notes before strategy guides existed. This is Ganons castle. Miss you Grandma.

The fact that it is all hand-designed and written in block capitals does make it more likely that it’s someone older with ingrained habits rather than a child or teen–contrary to the implication of the original post, strategy guides did exist when Ocarina of Time was released, so this is not a map that someone had to draw, but one they wanted to. And a senior-citizen gamer, trained on first-gen adventure games that were entirely text-based and required you to draw a map if you had any hope of survival, would be more likely to prefer it this way. Old habits are always better, you whippersnappers die hard.What’s the coolest thing your grandmother ever did? Let us know in comments!

Featured Image: Flickr/Christopher Holden

Keep reading about games!

• The Little Game Master introduces kids to RPGs.
• A mod that combines Ocarina of Time with Super Mario 64.
• Monster Hunter: World is confusing cats.

[brightcove video_id=”5720202410001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]

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Prince Sidon may have received a lot of attention when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released, but he’s not the only Zora in the game. Mipha’s both the Princess of the Zora and the Zora Champion. Cosplayer Lara Wegenaer was inspired to make a costume depicting Mipha as soon as she learned about the character. She already did a Zora cosplay in 2016, so dressing as another Zora was an obvious choice. Wegenaer’s finished costume makes her look like she’s directly from the game:

She spent about six weeks crafting her Mipha costume, and as with any Zora build, she said making the head was the trickiest part. It took a long time to shape. To make Mipha’s head, she used soft foam mattress material and added it in layers until she got the size right. Then she covered the head with fabric. She shared a tutorial on her website.

Scroll below to see more photos of the completed costume. Then, check out more of Lara’s work–including her amazing Twilight Princess Zora cosplay–at her Facebook page or at Instagram.

Do you cosplay or take photographs of cosplayers? If so, I want to see your work so we can talk about highlighting your creations in a future Cosplay Friday gallery. If you’re interested, please get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com and send photos you’d like me to feature–the more high-res the photos, the better. Be sure to provide credits for the cosplayers or photographers for each image because giving credit is good manners–bonus points if you include links to relevant Facebook pages or websites. I don’t know all about every nerdy franchise, so please let me know who or what is being cosplayed.

Images: Lara Wegenaer Arts, Nancy Napalm

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow her on Twitter and keep up with her Disney food adventures on Instagram.

Dress up with more cosplay!

• See an awesome grandma cosplay Game of Thrones‘ Olenna Tyrell.
• Meet an epic Wonder Woman cosplay group.
• Get scared by a Twilight Zone photo shoot.

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the most expansive and immersive video game experiences of all time, but that’s only true for one person at a time. Aside from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, the Zelda series has been pretty much exclusively a single-player experience, but that’s (unofficially) about to change thanks to a fan mod (via Gamnesia).

A modder who goes by the name Fooni is working on a mod that would bring local multiplayer to the Wii U version of the game (since games on older consoles are typically easier to mod). The way this works is that a second player is given control of one of the game’s NPC’s, which would have modified skins and items so it would look like a second Link. Fooni says this mod won’t actually be finished for another year or so, though, because this stuff is pretty complicated.Still, Fooni posted some screenshots that seem to show a functional early version of the mod in action, with two Links on screen and even a “You cannot ride Player 1’s horse…” message when Player 2 presumably tried to mount the occupied steed.

This early on, there are still a ton of questions to be answered. For instance, how will the camera work? How about item inventories? What other concerns do you have about this in-progress mod? How excited are you to see it in action? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Featured image: Nintendo

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Just in time for this year’s holiday season, Nintendo announced that the Super Nintendo Classic Edition, a follow-up to last year’s NES Classic, will be available starting in September. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to realize that there’s a trend starting to form here: First it was the NES, then the SNES… is the Nintendo 64 going to get the Classic Edition treatment next?

There are some significant differences between the N64 and the SNES and NES that suggest this may not happen, the primary one being the technical quality of the consoles and games. N64 games require hardware that’s a lot more powerful than is necessary to run SNES and NES games, so while it may be practical do produce the SNES and NES Classics, it might not be as cost effective for an N64 version.Still, that won’t stop us from dreaming. It’s definitely possible, even if they’d have to charge more for it, or put fewer games on the machine. If this were to ever happen, we have some ideas of what games should be on the system. Assuming that this mini N64 could hold 11 games, these are the ones we’d like to play.

Super Mario 64

This is the first-ballot hall-of-famer of N64 games, to the point where it’s not really necessary to explain its inclusion here. It’s one of the most important and fun video games of all time, and an N64 Classic that didn’t have this on it would be a ridiculous product that completely missed the mark.

GoldenEye 007

Although we’re not sure how licensing and other things like that related to a James Bond game would work and whether or not that would be a major hurdle, this was the defining first-person shooter of its generation, and the console’s identity is so indelibly tied to this game that, again, it would be a real shame if this title wasn’t included.

Mario Kart 64

There’s a theme here: The N64 had a lot of iconic games, and for a lot of players, Mario Kart 64 is THE game. Even today, in light of all the sequels that have followed it, this game is infinitely replayable, whether you want to take an hour or so and race through all the cups, or just play through a few tracks for a minute.

Super Smash Bros.

Meanwhile, Super Smash Bros. may not look as good today when compared to the speed- and reaction-based games that came after it. Still, Super Smash Bros. is an important piece and the genesis of a superb fighting game franchise, and while you’re playing it today, you can almost forget how much better Melee, Brawl, and the Wii U version are. Given what it is, it’s still a ton of fun.

Bomberman 64

Time has sort of left Bomberman behind, or at the very least, it hasn’t proved to have as much longevity as some of his early Nintendo brethren. Still, Bomberman 64 was a deep game that feels like a hidden gem, even though it was one of the console’s predominant titles.

The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

This is another no-brainer: Ocarina Of Time is an RPG legend, and for many players, not just the best game on the N64, but the best game they’ve ever played.

Banjo-Kazooie

Although perhaps not as great a platformer as Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie remains a staple of its era, an ageless wonder that really holds up.

Star Fox 64

Four words: “Do a barrel roll!”

Pokémon Snap

Fans have been begging for some sort of remake, sequel or re-release of Pokémon Snap for years now, and whether or not that ever comes to fruition, it would be nice to see a rare and great photography-based game get a second life, at least in this form.

Pokémon Stadium

This is as close to a console Pokémon RPG as we’ve ever gotten, and while it’s not quite the same as the handheld experience, it still, even today, feels so cool to battle Pokémon on your TV.

Donkey Kong 64

The N64 had an embarrassment of riches in terms of platformers, and while some may deride Donkey Kong 64 as too similar to Banjo-Kazooie, too much of a good thing seems like a great thing in this case.

What games did we miss that you would consider must-haves for this theoretical N64 Classic? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Featured image: Nintendo

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If getting a full arm or leg tattoo isn’t your style, but you still want to have a few pieces of ink from your most cherished fandom, consider getting a matching set of tattoos. Ben V. took that tactic with his Marvel tattoos featuring Spider-Man and Venom. Each character gets an arm, and the similar style and artistry of the tattoos unites them.

Spider-Man and Venom (Marvel) | Source: Ben V., inked by Fernando Esnaola of Lost Souls Tattoo

They make quite a pair, don’t they?

Sling a web to the gallery below to see more examples of geeky tattoos, including a Chewbacca straight from Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, a colorful watercolor take on Majora’s Mask, a Magikarp from Pokémon, and more.

If you have nerdy ink on your skin or you’re a tattoo artist that applies pop culture, STEM, music, or other nerd-inspired ink (tl;dr: I want to see basically all of the tattoos) on a regular basis, then please hit me up because I’d like to highlight you in a future Inked Wednesday gallery. I’m especially interested if you have a sleeve or other large tattoo. You can get in touch with me via email at alratcliffe@yahoo.com. Send me photos of the tattoos you’d like me to feature (the higher resolution, the better) and don’t forget to let me know the name of your tattoo artist if you have it, as well the name of the shop he or she works out of. If you are the tattoo artist, give me links to your portfolios and/or Instagram accounts so I can share them with our readers.

Featured Image: Ben V.

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There are some who have referred to the current slew of young people as the “participation trophy generation,” meaning that people under the age of 25 or so have an unwarranted high sense of self-esteem because we’ve been commended and praised for every little thing we’ve done, regardless of how remarkable it is or isn’t. That’s kind of a lame label to put on a bunch of people, but if you really want to ironically lean into it (and if you’re a big The Legend of Zelda fan), these Zelda speaker sensors ought to to the trick (via RocketNews24).

One Twitter user in particular best demonstrated how to use these two different sensors to their full potential. When the bathroom door is opened, the chime that plays when you discover a secret area plays, and then, when you life the toilet seat, the jingle for opening a treasure chest plays:

ゼルダ一番くじのエフェクトーン2種はトイレに設置した。 pic.twitter.com/nojr02FF4Q

— ｲ子 (@kinakov2) May 21, 2017

With these two motion-activated sounds at your disposal, you can turn any mundane task into a feat worth celebrating, whether it’s opening the cupboard to get a mug for your morning coffee or opening the bedroom door and celebrating the fact that you got up before noon. Probably the best possible use, though: Get an actual storage chest and make the chime play when you open that up, so you truly can be Link.

The main issue here, though, is that for Americans, they’re not that easy to get. Amazon Japan has them both for ￥7,700 (about $70), and the only other way we’re aware of is getting them as a prize via a sort of Japanese lottery system called Ichiban Kuji. We’re sure the more inventive of our readers could figure out a way to DIY this with a Raspberry Pi or something like that, so let us know in the comments if you can think of an easier way to bring this beautiful Japanese reality into our American lives.

Images: Nintendo, Amazon Japan

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Although The Legend of Zelda is best known for its iconic adventures, it’s also highly esteemed for its puzzle elements as well, whether it’s the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time or the shrines in Breath of the Wild. Challenges in real life aren’t quite so fun, but now they can be. You know those escape rooms, where you and some friends are locked in a room full of puzzles and you have to work through them all in a certain time frame in order to win? It turns out there’s a Zelda-themed one, called “Defenders of the Triforce,” and you can totally give it a go right now.

The folks at Engadget tried it out, and described it thusly:

“Defenders of the Triforce is an escape room game, but there’s no locked door and escaping isn’t the end game goal. Instead, SCRAP uses the real-life puzzle format to retell the story of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in the space of one hour. The twist: The game’s heroes have already lost, and it’s up to your team to solve puzzles and break the seal on the Master Sword to defeat Ganondorf.”

Furthermore, it seems this escape room is less tangible and physical than others you may have experienced in the past, so perhaps the adventure is best suited for imaginative folks who enjoy a good round of Dungeons and Dragons. Regardless, it seems like a fun and challenging puzzle that’s involved enough to let you get totally lost in the world of Hyrule for an hour.

The experience has actually already come and gone in cities like Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago, but it’s still going strong in New York and San Francisco, and it’ll be in Canada, England, France, Germany, and Spain this summer, says Eurogamer. Get tickets and more information about upcoming events here, and let us know if you plan on checking it out for yourself. If you already have, give us all the non-spoilery details you can!

Featured image: Nintendo/YouTube

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Last year, Japanese clothing manufacturer Uniqlo decided they wanted to make some super cool Nintendo t-shirts, so they teamed up with “The Big N” and held a global design contest to make it happen. After pouring over the 16,000 entries, Nintendo boss Shigeru Miyamoto picked 25 winners, and they look pretty great.

The promo video above shows off a few of them, and there are some real winners in the lot. The shirt claiming the top prize is the 8-bit Mario design in the image above, with a paint splatter Splatoon illustration and a detailed design based on The Legend of Zelda claiming the first and second runner-up positions. Check them out below:

The good news is that the prices will be totally reasonable: Men’s and women’s sizes will cost $14.90, while kids’ tees will only run you $9.90. The video above makes it looks like all 25 will be available for the buying, which is great news because there are plenty of totally wearable options. For instance, the red Donkey Kong shirt by Chen PoHui is subtle but nice, the Pokémon Yellow-era Pikachu sprite shirt by Benjamin Morse is a ton of fun, and Monnapat Eaimboonsiri’s wraparound DK shirt is 360 degrees of style.

Which design is your favorite? In other words, which one are you gonna buy when they become available on May 19th? There are plenty of options aside from the ones we’ve mentioned, so check them out here and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Images: UNIQLO

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Nintendo was very transparent about the development of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so much so that they revealed a bunch of the game’s inspirations, early ideas, and concept art in a series of documentary videos. The most interesting bits of information included in these videos was footage of the game’s 2D prototype, which looked a lot like a NES version of the game. It looks like we’ll never get to play that awesome-looking game, but we can check out something very similar to it. One fan known as Micropig Gaming has re-created the prototype and has released it, as Zelda: Breath of the NES (via Kotaku).

Version 2 of the game was just released a couple days ago, and it looks super impressive. It captures the spirit of the Switch title by including a lot of what makes it great, like interactive objects and environments. In the trailer above, you can see Link chop down a tree onto an octorok, and later cut a tree and roll in into an enemy to hurt it that way. It looks like there’s also plenty of exploration, along with a day/night cycle, a lot of the major items from the original, and other features that provide a smooth gameplay experience.

This iteration of the game is only a demo at this point, but it’s still playable for fans who want to check it out. It’s only a 2MB download for Windows users, so grab it here if you’re so inclined. For those of you who decide to give it a go, let us know on Twitter how cool it is.

Nintendo Switch Review:

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Featured image: Micropig Gaming/YouTube

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From an annoying, effervescent fairy to a creepy mask salesman, The Legend of Zelda franchise is full of unique non-playable characters. It’s no surprise that Breath of the Wild, the latest in the series, is overflowing with vibrant personalities as well. As breathtaking as the vast landscape is, it’s those NPC’s that give it life. For me, these characters really make the game. So, in honor of the creeps, kooks, and critters that make us laugh, here are the five best NPC’s from Breath of the Wild (spoilers ahead).

5) HESTU

Hestu is the happiest tree-person in all of Hyrule. Give him a couple of Korok seeds, and you’ll get an adorable dance in return. He’ll shake his maracas, wiggle his backside, and shriek excitedly while expanding your inventory space. I’m not sure about you, but I deeply appreciate Hestu’s positive attitude and enthusiasm. In a decrepit world where Calamity Ganon reigns, Hestu’s inner light never wanes (check out that rhyme). If Hestu can still find a reason to dance, so can you.

4) KILTON

Ah, the ever-elusive Kilton is the merchant who peddles in monster parts. He’s hard to find, for sure, but trust me when I say it’s worth it. Not only does he sell the Dark Link Armor from Ocarina of Time, he also sells special masks that fool monsters. Though his monster-themed inventory is cool, I really admire his risk taking ways. I imagine selling monster parts is a bit of a taboo thing because they’re, well, monsters. But that doesn’t stop Kilton from seeing his plans through. He designed his own currency system too. If that’s not innovative, I don’t know what is.

 3) PIKANGO

Pikango might not be the best painter in the world, but that doesn’t stop him from doing what he loves. You can find him working on his landscape paintings at every stable in Hyrule. I really love it whenever the creative spirit takes hold of him. He’ll wield three or four paintbrushes in each hand, then as if possessed, he begins painting. His zesty personality is an absolute delight.

2) PAYA

Paya is Impa’s granddaughter and, boy, is she adorable. Her bashful nature makes her really endearing and relatable. I feel compelled to protect her. If you read her diary, you’ll notice that almost every entry is about Link.  I think it’s safe to say she harbors an enormous crush on him. If you’re looking for a laugh, undress Link and interact with her. She’ll get really embarrassed and cover her face with her hands.

1) BEEDLE

Remember Beedle, the quirky merchant from Windwaker? Well, he’s back and better than ever! You can find him at every stable carrying his entire shop on his back. You might even bump into him on the road from time to time. He’s a man who really values his customers. I mean, really. His vigor is unparalleled. Whether I’m buying or selling, he’ll hoot and holler with tremendous gusto. That’s dedication right there.

Who are some of your favorite NPC’s from The Legend of Zelda franchise? Tell us in the comments below!

Image Credits: Nintendo

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild you’re playing today is very different from the game that started development in early 2013. An amazing new video series from Nintendo highlights the entire development process from the very beginning, from designing the open world concept to crafting the story and characters.

The first in the series, “The Beginning,” walks Zelda fans through some of the incredible concepts that were part of the early development process. Open to just about any idea to break some of the typical Zelda conventions of previous games, the design team pitched ideas ranging from UFOs (seriously) to a field of flying laser beams.

Perhaps the most fascinating tidbit from the early stages of development is the revelation that Breath of the Wild started as a 2D prototype.

Unlike previous 2D Zelda games, every object on the screen could be interacted with. The team then used the prototype to test game structure and other components that would come to make the Breath of the Wild game in the hands of Zelda fans now.

In Nintendo’s second developer diary, “Open-Air Concept,” the team talks about introducing an open world to Zelda for the first time. Producer Eiji Aonuma knows that Zelda players love exploring and discovering secrets, and wanted to take it a step further in Breath of the Wild. (Wind Waker was one of the first Zelda games with some freedom to explore, but limited places that Link could visit.)

The videos highlight the team’s commitment to every detail in Hyrule, even down to the sound you’d hear when a Bokoblin sticks a finger up its nose.

In the final behind-the-scenes video, the teams talks about the creation of Zelda, Link, and Ganon, the triangle that makes up every Zelda game, along with the enemies you find littered across the Hyrule landscape. It’s an almost unprecedented look at the process of character creation from start to finish.

With over 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, The Making of Zelda: Breath of the Wild video series on Nintendo’s YouTube channel is a must-see for any Zelda fan.

What do you enjoy doing the most in Breath of the Wild? Tell us in the comments.

All Images: Nintendo

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We can use our phones to take photos, call for a ride, check our bank accounts, and do all kinds of other things that seemed impossible not that long ago. However, they can’t control the rain, switch between night and day, or summon a horse (among many other things). That functionality is reserved for the ocarina from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And while those features won’t be coming to any platform any time soon (except for maybe summoning a horse), a new video from Sufficiently Advanced shows the best possible compromise: A smart home controlled by playing an ocarina

As first pointed out to us by Mashable, Allen Pan created an automated home system he can control by simply playing songs from Ocarina of Time on his own ocarina. He matched songs from the game with real-world functions as well: playing “Bolero of Fire” turns on the heat, “Sun’s Song” controls the lights—things like that. Actually using the device is simple as long as you know how to play the songs, but setting it up seems a lot more complicated.

The Alexa-like hub is based on a Raspberry Pi and a microphone, along with a light that indicates when it hears the ocarina being played. When you successfully execute a command, that classic jingle from when you do something good in the game plays. The hub connects to a bunch of WiFi-enabled devices set up around Pan’s house, all of which it looks like he made himself.

If anybody can do this, it’s Pan. You might recognize the guy from a different few things over the past couple years: He made this viral video featuring a magnet-powered version of Thor’s hammer, made more superhero gear with Grant Imahara, and was a contestant on MythBusters: The Search, hosted by our own Kyle Hill.

Featured Image: Nintendo
GIF: Giphy

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Earlier this week, Nintendo released a behind-the-scenes documentary about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that discussed, among other things, how important it was to the developers for all of the objects in the giant open world to be able to interact with each other. The video expressed how this functionality would lead to gameplay possibilities that even they didn’t plan on. It turns out they were totally right, since a few Breath of the Wild players have figured out how to actually create an airship in the game (via Kotaku).

It’s a pretty simple process. First, you kill at least a few Octoroks and collect the resulting Octo Balloons. Then, you find yourself a raft and attach the Octo Balloons to it.That’s it. Get a few balloons on your raft and it’ll start floating. The improvised vehicle is by no means precise, since the placement of your balloons has to be pretty spot on in order for your flying raft to stay level. The balloons will also pop after a short while, so for sustained flight, it’s important to have a bunch of them in your inventory.

It might seem like a bit of a silly tool, but it’s actually pretty useful. In the video above, for instance, the player used his own airship to fly directly to Ganon. The world is huge, so there are surely other hard-to-reach areas that are now a lot more accessible thanks to this fun trick. This leads to the question, though: What else can we attach Octo Balloons to? We can only imagine how useful this item will be once we unlock its full airborne potential.

Featured image: Nintendo, BeardBear/YouTube

Could an anime nosebleed turn you into a rocket?

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is filled with a diverse cast of characters, but one in particular is getting a lot of attention at the moment: Prince Sidon, a leader of the aquatic humanoid Zora race. Aside from being the best swimmer of his species, Sidon is personable, brave, optimistic, and is a positive role model for his people. Here is where players meet him for the first time in the game (spoilers ahead):

Aside from being a strong leader, Sidon is also becoming a bit of a heartthrob, for some reason (via Kotaku). Maybe it’s his rippling muscles, his winning smile, or his classic pose. If having your own page on Know Your Meme is the true indicator of meme status, then Sidon has reached it. The internet is now teeming with Sidon fan art, with some of it imagining Link in a relationship with the red fishman, since he cheers Link on and offers the Hero of Time motivation throughout the game. Other meme makers are just cracking jokes about how beautiful he is.

It’s a weird world we live in, but it’s also a pretty funny one. Check out a few of our favorite memes below, and hit us up on Twitter with your favorites that we didn’t include here.

pic.twitter.com/43pr9AhUXS

— Prince SiDAMN (@GenjiShitmada) March 11, 2017

You vs the shark she tells you not to worry about pic.twitter.com/1RRV97EwIl

— KBot @ LostSun (@ChenReee) March 11, 2017

friend: hey can i borrow your sheikah slate quick?
me: uhm yes np just one sec pic.twitter.com/OnNGSn1Jta

— alex⸎ (@linedrag) March 12, 2017

pic.twitter.com/AWHVzF2kSC

— Four-Leaf Kimover™ (@KimoForce) March 11, 2017

I am now officially a Prince Sidon fan enabler! Check out the stickers and badges here! https://t.co/Eg3PJoyO1C pic.twitter.com/zS8u4kufxM

— LixxieB (@LixxieB) March 12, 2017

Caught red handed pic.twitter.com/DgYVS9kxW9

— Prince SiDAMN (@GenjiShitmada) March 13, 2017

I’M IN LOVE???????!?!??! #BreathoftheWild pic.twitter.com/PA1pEZ2gQ8

— In Sheith We Trust (@nonixnil) March 12, 2017

sidon: breathes
me: pic.twitter.com/lpoOt2B1As

— CHRIS DAY IN 4 DAYS! (@BlGFROGS) March 10, 2017

You guys are right about the Shark from Zelda. pic.twitter.com/MY4R8Rrm99

— Mannheimer @ SXSW (@TailsChannel) March 13, 2017

Which is your favorite Prince Sidon meme? Share them with us in the comments below!

Featured image: Nintendo

Is the Nintendo Switch worth your money?

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As has been discussed ad nauseum at this point, the world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is huge. It’s so big, in fact, that it contains 900 Korok seeds! If you’re not familiar, the seeds can be given to Hestu in exchange for more space in your inventory. 900 is a lot of anything to collect, but one player, who posts on Reddit as xFateAwaitsx, discovered what happens when you collect them all, so beware the spoilers ahead (via IGN).

xFateAwaitsx recorded his encounter with Hestu after collecting all 900 seeds and posted it on Twitter. When approaching Hestu, the character says, “Hey! Guess what! All of the forest children returned to Korok Forest! You must have had an army of people searching for them, huh?” When you answer, “Nope, just me,” Hestu responds, “NO WAY! Fwahahahaha! NAAAAAAAAICE! You’ve maxed out all your stashes! So let me give you this!”

Talking to Hetsu after collecting all 900 Korok Seeds #hetsu #BreathoftheWild #botw pic.twitter.com/vBDLhyzRj8

— FateAwaits (@Fateawaits520) March 14, 2017

Then you receive the item Hestu’s Gift, which looks like a tightly wound coil of golden poop. The item’s description backs up that observation: “A gift of friendship given to you by Hestu. It smells pretty bad.” After you put the item away, Hestu says, “So? Do you like it? I hope you’ll still visit me. You can watch me dance whenever you want!”

Do we like it? We suppose it’s like when your cat brings you a dead mouse: It means well and we appreciate the gesture, but why would we want a dead mouse, or in this case, a poop trophy? If anything, it’s proof that everything in Breath of the Wild is worth exploring, because it’ll probably lead to at least a neat surprise like this.

Featured image: Nintendo

Our full review of the Nintendo Switch!

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Yesterday, we found out that Nintendo was gearing up to share a three-part documentary about the making of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The teaser trailer showed clips of concept art and Nintendo developers discussing the game, so naturally, we were intrigued. Well, today is today, and the videos are out. The 10-minute videos cover the basics and are subtitled “The Beginning,” “Story and Characters,” and “Open-Air Concept.” Watch the first one above, and the other two below.

Nintendo was very ambitious with the newest Zelda game, and some wild ideas were thrown around during development. For example, the idea of having “UFOs [that] could invade from space and abduct cattle” was heavily considered for the game, to the point where concept art was made. Fans of that 2D prototype Nintendo used to test ideas will be pleased, since the first video features a lot of gameplay footage from it. If anything, aside from all the insights this first-hand commentary provides, these videos are also treasure troves of concept art that really lets us track the development of settings, characters, and gameplay mechanics.

Another point the clips emphasize that what makes Breath of the Wild different from other Zelda games is the huge open-world concept. That seems obvious, but the team behind the game reveals it came to be this way because previous technologies forced Zelda games to consist of connected smaller areas, and then that became how the series was made. They rethought that process this time around, however, and that is what lead to the giant environment we have today.

There are so many interesting tidbits in the videos, too many for us to succinctly write about in this space, so check them out above and below.

What do you think of the videos? Let us know!

Featured image: Nintendo

Is the Nintendo Switch worth your money?

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After thirty years of The Legend of Zelda, the latest entry in the series isn’t just innovative; it’s a transformative, essential gaming experience that demands to be played whether you are a longtime fan or if you aren’t quite sure if Zelda is the boy or the girl. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece, plain and simple. It is a game of boundless fun and limitless possibility, with the whole of Hyrule spreading out before you, just waiting to be explored. While The Legend of Zelda series has always been open-world, Breath of the Wild truly puts the player in the driver’s seat, offering little in the way of hand-holding or unnecessary exposition. Instead, the game prefers to let you find its loose threads and pull at them until you unravel its myriad mysteries on your own terms.

Much as Link seemingly has no memory of the world which he now inhabits, playing Breath of the Wild requires no familiarity with the franchise, even though the game contains loads of easter eggs for seasoned fans. The result is a game that is endlessly replayable and wholly engrossing. After spending dozens of hours within the sprawling realms of Hyrule, I still feel like I have only scratched the surface of what the game has to offer. Fans of expansive action RPGs like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will experience a sense of delightful deja vu as Proustian memories flood their consciousness after spying a far-off mountain or spire, then going to clamber up its towering heights.

Yet where a game like Breath of the Wild surpasses its predecessors is in its attention to tiny details. For example, when you climb to the snow-capped peaks of a mammoth mountain, your body temperature will plummet and you will incur damage if you aren’t wearing the appropriate gear. But like everything in Breath of the Wild, there is more than one way to approach an obstacle. If you don’t have winter gear, use the game’s robust crafting and cooking system to fry up some spicy peppers, which will raise your body temperature to a degree that prevents hypothermia. Just don’t try this in real life or you’re going to have a bad time and a failed lawsuit on your hands.

Much hay has been made about the game’s difficulty level, and based on my own experiences I can affirm that it won’t be a cakewalk. With the addition of durability mechanics, combat becomes a frantic, tense experience as you must battle not only the game’s diverse hordes of enemies, but also smartly manage your resources. There are few things more terrifying in Breath of the Wild than coming across a screen-filling monster only to find that you’re armed with little more than a tree branch. The game challenges players’ intellectually too with a variety of savvy, clever puzzles to solve. Maddening motion control puzzles and an occasional lack of obvious context clues on how to proceed through shrines aside, this hands-off approach by the game designers is refreshing and it makes every victory, no matter how small, feel like something that deserves a ticker-tape parade.

Having only played it on the Switch, I cannot comment on the Wii U version, but it handles beautifully on Nintendo’s new console in spite of being locked to 900p when the system is in TV mode. Whether or not you want to spend $300 on what is arguably just a Zelda machine is another matter entirely, but the game looks gorgeous whether you’re playing it on the go, or you’re lounging on the couch at home and playing it on your big-screen TV. With an art style that feels like a clever blend between Twilight Princess and Wind Waker with a dash of Studio Ghibli thrown in for good measure, Breath of the Wild is a sumptuous, dazzling world in which to roam. Quite often, I found myself getting distracted from the game’s main quest, which is compelling in and of itself, because I spied a volcano in the distance or an interesting-looking landmark that was just begging to be explored. More often than not, my curiosity was rewarded with a secret that would have gone otherwise undiscovered.

There are very few game I would describe as perfect, and Breath of the Wild is not without its share of minor flaws (i.e. the in-game menu system, which much like Skyrim‘s is clunky and difficult to deftly navigate). However, Breath of the Wild’s shortcomings are so far and few between that it comes closer to perfection than most. It is an exquisite gameplay experience and one that will stick with you long after you “finish” the game (because with so much of Hyrule at your fingertips, it’s doubtful you’ll ever truly be done). It will go down in the annals of history not only as one of the greatest launch titles and Zelda games of all time, but one of the best games period. It’s that much fun, and I strongly urge you to embark on your own journey into the heart of Hyrule at your earliest convenience.

Rating: 5 out of 5 legendary burritos

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now on Nintendo Switch and Wii U.

Image: Nintendo

Editor’s note: This game was reviewed using a copy and Nintendo Switch system supplied by Nintendo of America.

How to explain Legend of Zelda‘s timeline with quantum mechanics:

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).

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