Maddy Myers

I have to believe that this world is real and that the friendships that Link made and the experiences that he had here mattered to him.

Like that really captured my imagination as a kid.

And I think it was also one of the first times I had

experienced a piece of media that toyed with your emotions in that particular way of like ripping away something that felt extremely real and telling you that it was actually a dream and uh that that twist quote unquote is is kind of known i mean the game's literally titled links awakening like i again i don't know how i managed to not understand it as a kid but it

It both blew my mind, broke my heart, and also just captured my imagination forever.

But even though I have a soft spot for it, I wouldn't say it's my favorite Zelda game of all time.

My favorite is a cliche.

It is Ocarina of Time.

And I had to really pressure myself not to pick Ocarina of Time items for my entire draft list.

But we'll see how well I managed to fare at that.

I did have to...

really consider the other Zelda games.

But I just... I mean, like so many girls who played games, the character of Sheik and Zelda in that game was extremely important to me and still is.

And the entire concept of Zelda having something else going on that she's tending to...

outside of your purview is something that is a theme in Zelda games that I've always found really fascinating and compelling.

And I think it can work really well, even though I think it's bittersweet that we have yet to play a Zelda in a major Zelda title that people really know.

Yes, I know there's obscure examples of times when you get to play as her, and God knows I've selected her in Super Smash Bros.

many times in my life.

and love playing as her and as Sheik in those games, it's often true that she is just busy doing something else and often something more important or meaningful than you as Link are doing.

And you just hear about the after effects.