Are you a massive fan of The Legend of Zelda? Many of us grew up on the adventures of Link and Zelda and their various quests to save Hyrule. We spent more of our chore money renting Ocarina of Time from Blockbuster than we would care to think about. To this day, many still hold the series in high regard, and with the release of Breath of the Wild a few years ago and the upcoming releases of Hyrule Warrior: Age of Calamity and Breath of the Wild 2, Zelda hype is still prevalent. It also doesn’t hurt that the games are endlessly replayable. With the world in such chaos this year, what better way to relax than to enjoy another nostalgic playthrough of one of your favourite childhood games?

Naturally, when you love something, you try to find as many ways as possible to bring it into your life. So if you love playing Zelda, why not look for other Zelda-esque forms of entertainment to get your fix? While there is an official Legend of Zelda manga series written by Akira Himekawa (which is really fun), unlike many other popular video game series (I’m looking at you, Halo), there aren’t any official Zelda novelisations that you can pick up. However, the world of literature contains a hotbed of reads that give off a similar vibe as the beloved video game series, with stories featuring unexpected heroes, kingdoms under attack by a vicious evil, and a diverse cast of characters and creatures.

Here is a list of ten books/series that will give you real Zelda vibes:

The Traveler’s Gate series by Will Wight

This story follows a young man named Simon on a journey to destroy an evil Overlord. Simon has no idea what he’s doing and he has no magical powers or weapons to help him. While Link has some magic on his side, both of these stories feature a young hero thrust into a dangerous situation and led by a desire to overcome an evil villain.

The Runelords series by David Farland

This story features a young man on a journey to protect a princess, her royal family, and their world from an evil power. Change “young man” to “Link”, “princess” to “Zelda”, and “kingdom” to “Hyrule”, and you could have your very own Zelda novelisation.

The Belgariad series by David Eddings

A young man living a quiet life on a farm is thrown into a magical quest to protect the land from a dark evil, one that’s haunted him in his dreams for years. Sounds pretty similar to Ocarina of Time. This story also contains a rich history of the world its characters inhabit, which is something that the Legend of Zelda series has always done well.

The Green Rider series by Kristen Britain

A young woman witnesses the death of a messenger delivering a message of vital importance to the king. She takes up the mission with the help of a wise horse and a mythical sidekick (in this case, the ghost of the dead messenger). This series mixes Zelda vibes with a female protagonist, so anyone who has always wished for more Zelda in their Zelda games will probably find much to enjoy here.

The Riddle-Master series by Patricia A. McKillip

This story follows a man living in a world that’s magical history has been buried deep for centuries until mysterious things start to occur. This man also has a symbol ingrained on his forehead that seems to be leading him towards an unforeseen destiny, à la the Triforce piece Link finds marked on himself throughout the series.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Do we really have to explain this one? A young man living a quiet country life is thrust into a magical adventure to save the land from an evil entity, to put it simply. Quintessential Zelda vibes.

The Redwall series by Brian Jacques

This series has that same young-hero-lives-quiet-life-until-thrown-into-magical-adventure trope that many of these entries have, but this one is friendly for younger readers just as the Zelda series has always typically been friendly to younger gamers.

The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin

An enchanting tale of magic, fantastical creatures, and an evil that must be destroyed, this series also features an expansive world with unique and diverse lands for the reader to explore. If your favourite part of Zelda was always exploring the various lands within the world of the game, then this series is for you.

The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix

A young woman (along with her magical companions) embarks on a quest to discover what happened to her father and ends up finding out much about herself and the powers she holds. There’s also a lot of undead beings in this story, so if you’re a fan of ReDeads, Gibdos, and Poes, you might find much to like in this series, as well.

The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series by Tad Williams

A dark power threatens to overtake a peaceful land. An evil ruler aims to overthrow the king of said peaceful land. A young, lowly kitchen boy is sent on a quest that offers the only hope for survival for the threatened land. Much like The Hobbit, this story contains all of the essential elements of a good Zelda story.

Hopefully, this list has given you some reading options that will fill your days with the warm, nostalgic Zelda vibes we all deserve.

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 10 Books To Read If You Love ‘The Legend of Zelda’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hey there! This is the Open Worlds blog, a series celebrating the legends of gaming. We take time to study out what makes these games so special. In this lesson, we are going to discuss the fantastical world of Hyrule, transporting us back to the disco times of 1986. No, that’s not when The Legend of Zelda is set, at least not on this world. We’re introduced to the kingdom of Hyrule, a once fantastical land that is now destitute and beset by monsters. What makes Hyrule immediately intriguing is that it is so… complete. It feels like a whole, complete world, with a rich history, unique conflicts between species, and a strong set of historical figures and modern heroes. And that, students, is something to be noted, because it marked the first time in gaming history that a true, living, breathing world was delivered using the technology. Up until this point, video games were simply slapped together ideas with a thin plot to keep the gameplay going forward. But The Legend of Zelda was different. Very different.

Now you may say, big whoop, so it felt more lifelike, so what? It’s still just a video game.

Wrong.

The Legend of Zelda is one of the first titles that gave evidence of this medium’s potential. The powerful sense of storytelling it could bring that books and movies could not. Classic literature of old can only attempt to give the reader a sense of a living, breathing world, while video games can thrust a player into new realms almost immediately. The Legend of Zelda is the first game to crack this code, and truly grab players in a way that hadn’t been accomplished before. Suffice it to say, The Legend of Zelda is the Grandfather of Video Game World-building (a good note to take). And in this world, a little phenomenon happened that is wholly unique to video games—the subtle world pushed players to let their imaginations write the story. In fact, it was as if it was no longer the story of Hyrule, but rather the player’s story, and in so doing was personal, relatable, and powerful in a way that books and movies could never capture.

All this was done on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the first major home gaming system run by an 8-bit processor. Shigeru Miyamoto, famous video game developer and creator of The Legend of Zelda as well as Super Mario Bros., thought up the idea for the game while working for Nintendo. He modelled the experience around his childhood exploration of caves in Japan, using the limited technology to convey a feeling more than anything. And limited the technology was. Suffice it to say, today it looks very old. It’s two dimensional, pixellated, and lacking in colour. The rudimentary look would be laughed at if released in modern times. Yet even still today, if players put in the time, the world will begin to take on a life of its own despite these limitations. And that’s the power of video gaming, a power that The Legend of Zelda unlocked.

You play as Link (or you can name him something else if you want), a little elf-like hero who begins the game in the middle of a field. A small scroll of text explains the premise of the world of Hyrule and the conflict that currently plagues it, namely the invasion of a being called Ganon and his capture of Princess Zelda. With that information, the player prompts Link to move either up, down, left, or right, exploring a world screen by screen. As he does so, he runs into many different kinds of monsters, items, and the occasional hiding citizen of Hyrule. These citizens, often elderly, help the hero on his quest by giving him hints and information on the world’s dungeons.

Now, the dungeons of Zelda are an interesting part of the world itself. Dungeons were not unique to The Legend of Zelda, but they are and have been incredibly integral since their inception in the series from the very first title. They serve as elongated challenges for the player to conquer, solving minor puzzles and fighting enemies and bosses in order to obtain another piece of the Triforce and sometimes a new item. They follow a simple rule that video games always teach—if you put in the effort, you will be rewarded with what you seek. It’s a great lesson that can be applied practically to someone’s efforts in real life. If you put in the time and effort, you can accomplish much. And the beautiful thing about life is that it has so much more potential for reward than a game. Games like The Legend of Zelda just show us in an isolated space what exactly that looks like and the processes we can take to improve ourselves.

These dungeons serve as focal points that drive the player forward, deeper into a world full of intrigue, beauty, terror, and life. The dungeons are dark, with a chill in the air. Lurking behind the doors are large, drooling monstrosities that seek to destroy you. Outside, Link runs by a lake that shimmers with the sun’s vibrance. Out of the lake pops a fish-like creature that attacks Link, hurling stomach acids at the youth. Link escapes and finds himself staring upward at a stunning mountain. He finds sustenance there, and discovers that he can explore this mountain thoroughly for great riches. It’s these kinds of images and stories that are created again and again in The Legend of Zelda, thanks to its fantastic world. Miyamoto delivered on his dream to capture a feeling, a childhood wonder and fantasy that can hardly be replicated. Whole book series strive and fail to create a world as enthralling as the 8-bit world of Hyrule. And because of this, it will never be forgotten.

What do you think about The Legend of Zelda? Tell us in the comments below!

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