![]() ![]() There were a few moments of internal eye-rolling while I sized up the crowd from my car and tried to calculate just how long it would take to get through it, but as I approached the store the sounds and sights sparked memories from that fateful night 17 years ago, and I couldn't help but smile. That feeling of apathy faded almost immediately. Whatever the reason, I remember thinking, 'If this is going to be too much of a hassle, I'll just go home and play something else'. Even though, as I mentioned, Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of all time, I just wasn't as excited as I felt I should've been.Ĭhalk it up to the dulling effects of writing about games for a living, or the ever-expanding backlog side-eyeing my new game with a cynical leer, or the fact that Tears of the Kingdom looks aesthetically similar to Breath of the Wild, or even the stack of major life events and responsibilities weighing heavy on my mind the last few months. To be irresponsibly frank, I was struggling to really get into the Tears of the Kingdom pre-launch hype. I made friends I'll probably never see again but will remember, most likely, for the rest of my life. I remember not feeling ready to say goodbye to the spirit and passion of the night, but knowing that the whole reason for it all was in my hands, and I felt exactly the same way as I walked out of that same GameStop holding Tears of the Kingdom, now a 32-year-old man with a mortgage and a full-time job. As a 16-year-old who'd just moved to a new area, that sense of community was big, and in retrospect, might've even contributed to my enduring fondness for Twilight Princess. Minute by minute, jubilant fans - often with tears in their eyes - trickled out of the store with their shiny, plastic-wrapped copies of the game, while those with less fortunate positions in line cheered them on. I'll never forget that night there was an infectious energy, a bustling community of strangers meeting, sharing stories, and posing for pictures like they were old friends, all bound together by a mutual love for the Zelda franchise. Last night, however, was rivaled only by the 2006 midnight release for Twilight Princess, the follow-up to the iconic Ocarina of Time, a launch game for the Nintendo Wii, and my second favorite Zelda game right behind Breath of the Wild. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |