Across the growing number of entries into the coveted Legend of Zelda franchise. Snow is an environment you’ll rarely find yourself inhabiting. Ice on the other hand has a little more emphasis through it being a semi recurring dungeon theme, but traversing to these Ice dungeons is not quite the climatic shift that makes a lot of sense (but in a game of such fantasy we can let that fact slide.
An interesting conversation starter to ask any Zelda series fan is what their top 5 or so Zelda games are (don’t ask them to choose just 1 as that’s cruel and the type of thinking I’d expect from Ganon). So following on from that case study you’ll find that you’ll get different answers when it comes to asking people if they have a particular stand out memory when it comes to snowy experiences across the games.
Most memorably to me as of time of writing would be the Snowpeak region from Twilight Princess.
Side note: I’ve never beat Majora’s Mask (so can’t speak for Snowhead), and whilst I’ve been meaning for a long time to replay Spirit Tracks since it’s release, that area hasn’t really stuck with me over time. Beating a Zelda game I’ve never seen all the way through for the first time or revisiting ones I’ve not played in years is a constant on my gaming to-do list so if I really ought to be writing about other Snow/ Ice regions in Zelda then comment away and I’ll aim to please in a future list.
Snowpeak immediately grabbed my attention on my first play through of the game as it starts off so desolate. If you were going into it blind like I originally was then you’re left to your own thoughts as to what you’ll be getting too once you manage to endure the terrain and climb to the peak.
Once you get there you meet a somewhat cute goofy yeti type character who introduces you to a Snow surfing mini-game from the peak down the to where his home is, which in turn ends up being your next dungeon, filled with a few ice related tropes you’ll sort of expect if you’ve played other Zelda entries. Inside this dungeon you get the occasional guiding hand from the Yeti’s wife (she refers to him as husband, so presumably it’s legally standing).
So here now in Snowpeak Ruins a seemingly innocent item that was found and stashed here is now suddenly drawing evil too it, albeit once evil is unleashed as with any Zelda story you expect a lot of scenarios like this. So as the hero of time it all checks out and you can banish said evil and in turn help out these Yeti creatures take back their huge manor that is now ostensibly a dungeon.
I really want to avoid spoilers in this post as the boss in this area is one that really surprised me back at 20 years old (in a series that only surprises me for how great it is to play, and rarely ever for any story twists that weren’t telegraphed). I’d genuinely feel bad if I was to deny someone some of the high points of this game even if it’s over a decade old now.
The great thing about leaving this Zelda post so late in the month is that I can now show some love to “Zeldathon”. An annual marathon streaming of the Zelda back catalogue which is all done for a great charitable cause.
Currently airing “Dec 27th 2016 to Jan 2nd 2017”
Watch live video from SuperMCGamer on www.twitch.tv
I’ve been a fan of this team for years now. At the time of writing it’s just hit $140,000 raised and there is a long way to go. Twilight Princess is on the schedule as the last game to be played kicking off January 2nd. If you can spare some money, then it’s always great to support this sort of thing and know you’ve done something to aid someone else out their in this often cruel world. I’ll certainly be adding to the total, and be having this as a 2nd screen entertainment source throughout it’s duration.
If you want to check out Zelda Twilight Princess the best option to date would be the HD remake on the WiiU. However through timing this game seems to currently be the Zelda game that won’t stay down. Released on GameCube, Wii, WiiU, and presumably will be seen on the Switch through either a Virtual Console release or potentially even some sort of WiiU re-release just to put it in the hands of more potential players.
We know Snow Surfing will sort of be making a return in 2017 with the shield-surf technique in Breathe of the Wild. Plus we already know there will be snowy regions with cold weather affecting Link’s health if not prepared for it, so it may well be that I can look forward to recommending that to any new people who leave it till later in the year to pick up a switch in 2017 (or for those that are picking up a WiiU late even).