What's been happening in Hyrule, lately.

In August after my used DS, that I bought as a high school graduation present to myself, kept freezing mid-game Ben and I went into serious talks deliberating selling both of our DS's and getting a brand new 3DS to share. 

The next day we preceded to the mall and the GameStop located there. We found a purple 3DS brand-new and it was a done deal. I couldn't wait to get home and continue playing Bowser's Inside Story on this sleek, new, purple system. Little did we know that the Ace Card that I had stored almost all my DS games on was blocked through the 3DS. Ben quickly turned to the internet and tried every trick they suggested, but much research revealed just how much the Ace cards had hurt Nintendo's revenue for DS systems so they were well armed against it. Stripped of Bowser's Inside Story and with a new and expensive toy literally just sitting on the shelf I went in search of a game that I would be interested in. 

I looked for the Harvest Moon that had come out for it but not with a lot of luck (I was also in Target so I didn't expect much) but I did find Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. 

My brother had played LoZ: OoT when it came out for Nintendo 64 and I spent much of my time watching him. I also tried to play it then, but I really sucked and lost my patience even before I could free the Great Deku Tree of the evil that was possessing it. 

This time I had the internet.

A side-by-side comparsion of the orginal game and the 3DS version.
Source

Ben makes fun of my need for a guide by saying I don't have any intuitive gaming skills, and he's absolutely right. Legend of Zelda games are full of puzzles and that's not a problem for me, it's finding the puzzles that leaves me aimlessly running around Hyrule field with Navi yelling stupid things at me for hours that really trips me up during game play. 

This time, armed with my guide, was different. I was actually able to accomplish tasks and make progress in the game half an hour at a time,

 and since I had a guide I could see how far I had left to go. Pretty soon my evenings were spent with Ben in silence, him playing Skyrim and me on the 3DS our respective games chirping away and occasionally one of us swearing or hooting in triumph. (that was actually all just from me, Ben's very stoic when he's gaming)

Through all of this I understand the act of Gaming a little better. Before, playing a game for several hours a night seemed boring to me, but now I get it. In the game you're accomplishing things and a lot of time those things are hard things to accomplish, so by the time you're done you feel like you've really accomplished a goal you had in real life, so that day was successful- when the truth of it is you just sat in the midst of all the unfolded laundry in your pajamas for six hours.

This is what happened to me, I never beaten a game before ever, so when I saw that it was a possibility it became my new goal in life. For the next few weeks I worked hard on this goal, letting laundry stay unfolded, neglecting this blog and generally not wasting time with silly things like putting on make-up before going to work. 

However, I've decided to take pause at the entrance of the Shadow Temple and recall my life before Zelda had petitioned me to save all of Hyrule. 

I understand why this game is considered one of the best and why the memorabilia and tattoos have last for the past 17 years, its an engaging game that doesn't get too repetitive or expects too much from you the first dungeon in. 

After I beat it though (and I will) I think it'll be time to surrender the 3DS to Ben so he can play Pokemon XY or whatever, and find myself as person again. My foray into the gaming world has been fun, but someone has to fold laundry, and there are always books to be read.