Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Glow in the Dark Keychain My Nintendo Rewards

To celebrate the release of the Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, the My Nintendo rewards store offered this beautiful glow in the dark keychain for 550 points.  It’s soft and made out of rubber or vinyl and it has a lot of details on it.  I really love stuff like this, and I always try to collect everything Zelda on the store.  If only shipping was free, lol.

My Nintendo Rewards: https://my.nintendo.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuAR5A7vv3U

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: Dreamer Edition

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: Dreamer Edition for the Nintendo Switch released on September 20, 2019.  The Dreamer Edition includes the game and an art book.  At the time I wasn't the biggest Link’s Awakening fan, nevertheless I was still excited to get this game because of the Nintendo Direct release trailer; which featured an anime video of Link being shipwrecked.  I bought the special edition the day it released and also the lone Link amiibo as well.

Flash forward years later, and I have played the game already and my opinion of the game has changed dramatically.  Initially I really hated the game because the maze like dungeons confused me a lot.  I can’t change my first impressions, however the real value of this game is the re-play.  And it’s in the re-play that I have fallen in love with this game.  Once you know what to do, and where to go you achieve a sort of buzz from the flow of the game.  Despite the updated graphics and console, the game still plays exactly the same as the original release; making this a bonafide timeless classic.  Link’s Awakening is now my favourite 2D Zelda game.

The Legend of Zelda: www.zelda.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nognSBwk9m0

NES Nintendo Coasters

These Nintendo coasters are so dope!  I wanted them for a while but unfortunately they were hard to find in my area, and I didn’t want to import them.  I was actually concerned that the quality wouldn’t be so good because I assumed they were as fragile as paper coasters.  I didn’t want them to be a one-time-use thing.  Thankfully, now that I own them and have used them a few times I gotta say they have far exceeded my expectation.  They’re made using a thick cardboard material and have a nice wax coating at the top and bottom to protect them from moisture.  I’m so happy I got these because these mini NES game coasters are so cute to use.

Paladone: www.paladone.com

YouTube: https://youtu.be/03QqIoYIsX8

Zelda Breath of the Wild Collector Pin

I bought this Zelda Breath of the Wild collector pin because it features the same artwork from the special edition Switch big box game; so I thought it would be cool to own a mini version.  Unfortunately it is a blind box, meaning that the pins are random.  I was hoping to get the Sheikah Slate, but I wasn’t lucky enough, so I just bought it online instead.  The quality of the pins are nice, but the back stud does worry me that it might fall off because the pins have some weight.  Overall they are awesome, and I can’t wait to display them on my jean jacket.

PowerA:

www.powera.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNdRR_4cVOE

Zelda Hylian Shield Hat

I’m not much for wearing video game apparel, but when I first saw this hat I knew I had to get it.  It features the Hylian shield from the Legend of Zelda on the front and comes in this blue colorway.  It also has a strap on the back so you can adjust it to any head size, thankful it fits my big head.

The hat was made by BioWorld, a company that makes a lot of video game and pop culture apparel.  I’m not much for wearing video game stuff (I hate the attention I get), but the design on this hat is simple and clean.  It’s so nice I had to collect a few more hats, lol.

BioWorld:

www.bioworldmerch.com

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/vdhxOZjMPvo

The Legend of Zelda 2020 Calendar

Here’s the Legend of Zelda wall calendar for 2020.  I bought this calendar from Walmart and it was printed by Abrams Books.  I love the artwork or prints so much that I’m almost afraid to use it because I don’t want to damage any page; especially because I want to preserve them for my artwork.  My only complaint about this calendar is the small variety of Zelda games showcased; having the original NES games would have been amazing.  Either way it’s still a beautiful calendar that I love.

Abrams Books:

www.abramsbooks.com

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/ZuyLcspY7nQ

Zelda 7-Eleven Collector Cups

Something I miss from my childhood are collector cups.  Those things used to be given out primarily at fast food restaurants, and were made of glass with beautiful painted images on the side.  Unfortunately over time they stopped giving them out because the glass would break or the paint they used was poisonous.  They were then made out of plastic and usually came in jumbo size cups.  Unfortunately over time they also became rare to see, except at movie theaters and places that sold Slurpees or Slushies.

Thankfully this year 7-Eleven released Zelda themed collector cups to celebrate the release of Link’s Awakening on the Nintendo Switch.  They made three different variants and were exclusive to 7-Eleven Canada.  It’s nice to finally have something in Canada, because I always have to import things from the US.  Unfortunately 7-Eleven Canada wasn’t prepared for Nintendo and Zelda fans because these cups sold out immediately and only had one run.  Fortunately I was able to find all 3 cups and was able to complete my own version of the Slurpee tri-force, lol.  I’m glad that 7-Eleven worked with Nintendo on these cups and I hope to see more of these collector cups in the future (and hopefully they’re not limited).

7-Eleven:

https://7-eleven.ca/

Link’s Awakening:

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/the-legend-of-zelda-links-awakening-switch/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSXKfsskNaA

The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening Switch Remake Wish List

I’m super excited for the upcoming Zelda Link’s Awakening game for the Switch that I decided to do a wish list for what I would like to see from this remake.  I limited myself to only 5 wishes (though I had many) and in no particular order.

First off I would like Nintendo to bring back physical manuals.  I grew up with manuals in games, and they would usually be the first thing I would look at when I needed help with the game (either with controls or when I was lost).  They also serve as art pieces that nicely complement a complete in box game.  Next I would like to see the return of the gold cartridge.  Now that Nintendo is using game cartridges again, it would be nice to make all Zelda cartridges gold just like past classics such as Ocarina of Time, and the original NES games.

Next I would like game cases to come with a reversible cover.  The front would display the current game and when you reverse it, it would have the classic golden bronze cover with red Zelda font, and a sword and shield.  Next I would like the game to include something I call “retro mode” where you could play the Switch version using a green filter, making your game screen resemble an original Game Boy DMG-01.  That would be old school meets new school.  And finally I would like Nintendo to release an amiibo of Link.

Nintendo:

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/the-legend-of-zelda-links-awakening-switch/

Link’s Awakening Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Link's_Awakening_(2019_video_game)

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fTYc74kwDE

The Legend of Zelda Cake

Every year for my birthday I like to splurge on a cake.  This year I decided to do a Zelda cake inspired by the original game The Legend of Zelda for the NES.  I kept it basic and clean by just adding the original logo from the title screen on a white background, with green and orange trimming.  I think it looks amazing, and I’m already thinking of what I will do next year.  And yes, in case you’re wondering the ice cream cake was delicious.

The Legend of Zelda Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda_(video_game)

Wish List: The next Zelda games

This will be a work in progress.  I’ve had ideas I wanted to share for the last year on what I would like to see in the next Zelda game (after BotW), while I would have preferred to have posted a complete article, I just don’t have the time to finish it.  And so I have to decided to have it be a work in progress, where I’ll just write down what I would like to see as time goes by.  Hopefully when I do finish I plan to make it a video as well.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Switch Remake

Wow!  What an amazing Nintendo Direct to start off the year.  The surprise announcement of Link’s Awakening remake for Switch was of course my favourite part.  The game looks fun and similar to A Link Between Worlds; with a more Chibi art style.  I just hope Nintendo decides to include the anime in the game as well, it was beautiful.

Zelda:

www.zelda.com

World of Nintendo vs. Amiibo

When Nintendo released the 30^th anniversary Legend of Zelda amiibo figures I was heartbroken when I found out that they had sold out and a second release wasn’t likely.  I was also upset because Nintendo was up to their old tricks of intentionally releasing hard to find figures in order to create hype.  To a certain point I’m okay with hunting for collectables, but in this case Nintendo made them difficult to find (releasing in separate stores), and pre-ordering was the only means of reserving them (meaning you couldn’t choose a mint condition package in-store).  While I was upset initially, I did eventually cave in and decided to buy the figures from resellers while the prices were still “reasonable.”

Buying a just released amiibo from a reseller left me with bitter sweet feelings (knowing that my money isn’t going to Nintendo directly).  Meanwhile at the same time I was also collecting World of Nintendo figures. Unlike the 30^th anniversary Zelda amiibo, World of Nintendo figures were much easier to find, and retailed for a great price.  This is why I believe it’s better to collect and support World of Nintendo figures made by Jakks Pacific.  Unless you’re a hardcore Zelda collector, I recommend you stick to buying World of Nintendo figures, and occasionally buying amiibo when there’s a figure you like.  The benefits of WoN figures is that there are plenty to go around, they’re toys that are highly detailed and poseable, and a variety of  characters continue to be released.  And while they lack the features that amiibo add to games, I recommend you just buy NFC enabled amiibo cards online instead.  That way you won’t miss out on those features when you’re playing games and you’ll still have an awesome World of Nintendo collection.

Jakks Pacific:

www.jakks.com

Nintendo Amiibo:

www.nintendo.com/en_CA/amiibo/line-up

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6I0VD_8CJU