Do you remember your first Action-Adventure video game that you played all the way through? Was it a game that you wanted to play? Did you ever think about solving or “beating the game” when you started it up?
There are many memories from my childhood where I had started up a game and never really put any thought of what it would be like to solve the game. As a kid I was just giddy to get the chance to play the latest game that all my friends were playing. I couldn’t wait to see what new adventure was in front of me when I hit the start button and began a new journey.
I didn’t care about the final level or an end scene. It really didn’t enter my mind. I was just amped to play a new game. That was the mentality that I had when I was about 8 years old. I never thought about the game designers or all the work that game developers put into that game. All I wanted to do was just have fun playing games on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
One of my friends at that time, Alan was a huge Legend of Zelda fan. He was excited to show me the gold cartridge that was very different from the gray cartridge that was used for other Nintendo 8-bit games. He let me play the game with him. We would take turns. I really enjoyed playing as Zelda….uh I mean Link. Alan had to correct me a few times that Link was the hero even though the game has Zelda in its title.
Right there.That was the first time when I really wanted to play the game all the way through. That was when I got the itch to finish a game.
Now as a dad I was so happy to have introduced my daughters into the world of video games. The funny thing was that my kids had a very similar mindset about their approach to a video game when I was their age. They didn’t care about what would happen at the end of the game. We would get halfway through a game and they asked me to play another game with them.
They had fun playing the games, but had no desire to see a game all the way through. It is not like they got bored with a game. At their age all they wanted to do was play a game for bit and then they wanted to try something new. They didn’t have the patience to solve the game. I couldn’t blame them since I was like that when I was their age.
Then there was a turn from that train of thought. My oldest daughter’s way of thinking about how she approached a video game changed. It started when Lily got into reading the Harry Potter books and other fantasy or sci-fi books. She would read each book with so much enthusiasm. She started to understand the importance of finishing a story. She saw the rewards that came with staying with that book. She would tell me and my wife what she loved about each book after she finished each book. I was happy to see her excitement.
She wants to see the how a story ends. She wants to know what happens to the hero. She took that mindset with her books now into her video game play. She and I will now team up to finish a few of the games we left by the wayside that still needed to be solved. She loves that sense of accomplishment.
This new revelation for Lily couldn’t have come at a better time. Thanks to Nintendo my family and I were given a Nintendo Switch and the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This is the perfect game to test my daughter’s will to see if she will finish a game all the way to the end. To some it may sound silly, but to my fellow gamers you know what I mean.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been called one the best games ever. Fans and critics are raving about it. From the wide openness of the gameplay to the graphics to the cut scenes this game has it all.
Many people are loving this game. By now you have probably have seen the trailers, screenshots and videos of gamers sharing their favorite moments of the game. Zelda has been a staple for a lot of people my age. This game franchise has been with my generation and is opening up to other generations with the new titles that Nintendo is bringing out. As the Nintendo consoles push the envelope so do the games in every which way.
For me to see Link and the other characters in the franchise grow from 8-bit forms to images that look like they are taken from a graphic novel is a astounding. My daughters get to see the evolutions of game franchises like Zelda in a blink of an eye. We have the classic NES system and other Nintendo systems in our house and they have played different versions of Zelda.
When they saw this game either on the television or the Switch handheld screen they were mesmerized by the graphics.
Here is some background on the Breath of the Wild. The game follows Link, who awakens from a 100-year slumber to a mysterious voice that guides him to defeat Calamity Ganon before he can destroy the kingdom of Hyrule. Now you can search the “interwebs” for spoilers and whatnot, but I will not give away anything. This article to share the bond I have with my daughters as we play video games.
This is not a new story by any means. Parents reading this play games with their kids as well. Even Hidemaro Fujibayashi, who is the director of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild shared his thoughts with me about playing the game with his family in a letter that came with the Nintendo Switch.
Hidemaro wrote, “I have a Nintendo Switch system and play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with my family. Of course, I know a lot of the secrets about this game, so I’m able to jump in with tips whenever anyone gets stuck! My younger son is good at puzzles in side Shrines and he can solve them more quickly than my older son. My wife likes to watch the kids play and point out areas in the world which might be interesting for them to explore further. They play together and are able to get through the game so smoothly, so I almost feel sad for not being able to chime in and show-off my expertise.”
Just like in Hidemaro’s family there are households working together to solve Breath of the Wild. The game is very involved and makes each player think about what to do at that moment. Just like in life where we learn from our mistakes I see my kids learn from their mistakes in the game and solve the challenge that is in front of them.
Gaming has come a long since I was a kid. Video games has always been a staple in my life and continues today. Whether it was bonding with my friends or playing with my dad to now playing games with my daughters, video games have always been there with me.
From the time I played The Legend of Zelda to now as I start up a new adventure with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with my kids I can safely say that Nintendo has been and will be a staple in my life.
To you dads out there who are gamers you know how cool it is to be able to sit down with your kids and play a game with characters like Link that you played with when you were their age. Playing this game will create a great bond with your kids. You will help each other out during the game. You will talk at dinnertime about what you think might happen next. You will push their bedtimes a little later to get through that one level.
As we approach the summer and look to celebrate Father’s Day what better way to spend some of your free time with your kids than to share a pastime that you grew up doing? The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild not only has magic inside the video game, but outside as well. You and your kids will go on an adventure and will love solving the game together.