On Zelda and Brotherhood

I got a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for X-mas this year. Hardly surprising, especially considering that I bought it over a month ago and wrapped it up. It was one of those games that I had to have for the holidays.

Whenever I get a new, highly anticipated game, however, my brain acts differently than most. Rather than jumping in the moment the shrink-wrap hits the trash bin, I become obsessed with getting the perfect conditions for when I first play it. This drives Y, my younger sister, mad, as she loves watching me play RPGs and Adventure games like she would a movie -primarily for the story.

And as Zelda is a game I've been eagerly anticipating for nearly two years, then, naturally, the conditions have to be better than with any other.

Therefore, many of my recent conversations with Y have gone somewhat like this:

Y: Are you going to play Twilight Princess today?
Me: Probably not.
Y: Why?
Me: Because....

Several reason I've cited:
-Room isn't clean (gotta have the optimum environment),
-I don't feel good enough (pre-exercise),
-It's too late, you'll be going to bed too soon (post-exercise and dinner),
-Elite Beat Agents (for the DS) rocks too much, I don't want to play something else right now (pretty much anytime, if you have a DS but not this game I pity you),
-Super Mario Bros. (for NES and VC) is too much fun (best five bucks I ever spent).

But finally, this evening, the stars aligned. I'm feeling fresh after my daily exercise, it's not that late, my room is spic-and-span, and the two aforementioned games are out of sight.

There is, however, one thing missing.

My sister.

It all started with Tales of Symphonia. The story and characters hooked her (and me) early, and from then on out I wasn't allowed to play through even the smallest bit of dialogue without her in the room. When I neglected the main quest in favor of other parts of the game her complaints and requests for me to stop completing sidequests/random battles and continue the story were almost maddening.
While no game's story has captivated her quite the way Tales did, that doesn't stop her from demanding the same of me with games like WindWaker, Chibi-Robo and Baten Kaitos.

Tonight, Y is at an extended family pizza party with some cousins from out of town. I chose not to go, primarily because I have a long day of socializing ahead of me tomorrow, but also because I felt tonight was perfect for cracking into a good game.

I reverently loaded the disc and watched the game's icon appear on my Wii Channel interface. I clicked on the icon and was treated to a short intro worthy of the greatest of video games. So, I backed out onto the Wii menu and watched it again. And again. And then, hype flowing through my veins like a raging river, I clicked on the "Start" button to load the game.
What I saw next took my breath away. It was like the intro to Ocarina times five. A beautifully lit plain, broken by a bridge and the green-capped hero-on-horseback we all (Zelda gamers, anyway) know and love. As the scene unfolded, becoming better and better, I already knew the two-year wait had been well worth it.

And yet, as I came to the title screen, I realised I couldn't do it.

Y has become so ingrained into my gaming life that the idea of starting my most anticipated game ever without her is laughable. Sure, her demands with games like Tales were annoying and somewhat restricting, but reading the text out-loud to her and discussing the story added a sort of enjoyment to it that simply wouldn't exist otherwise. When I start Zelda, I want the conditions to be perfect. Not tonight.


I think I'll go play Super Mario Bros. That game is loads of fun, and, best of all, lacks any kind of real story.

Tootle-oo!


-A Smashing Brother (if I do say so myself).