Link and Epona

I wanted to share a new piece of fan art with this issue, so I went hunting for something that was just recently posted.

This new artwork of Link and Epona caught my eye. It’s from a new-to-me artist, Sol. It’s a simple composition, but I really like the blue pallet

Sol, BlueSky

ZeldaMaster revisits Tears of the Kingdom

ZeldaMaster recently completed a new series where he replayed and re-evaluated Tears of the Kingdom. This series just concluded in mid January.

Revisiting The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, ZeldaMaster

Why Every King of Hyrule is the Best King of Hyrule

I got a laugh out of a new article from Zelda Dungeon: Why Every King of Hyrule is the Best King of Hyrule

The article takes a look at every King of Hyrule in the Zelda series – including a few you probably forgot. It’s probably not meant to be a particularly funny article, but it surprised me and I enjoyed it.

Why Every King of Hyrule is the Best King of Hyrule, Zelda Dungeon

Theophany returns with a Colgera arrangement

Many years after last working on a Zelda music arrangement, Theophany has returned with a new arrangement of the Colgera battle theme from Tears of the Kingdom.

Theophany’s past work, two Majora’s Mask albums titled Times End and Times End II, are some of my favorite fan albums, and Colgera is already a new favorite. I’m excited to see what Theophany works on next; it sounds like more Zelda arrangements – including Times End III – are happening!

Colgera (Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) | Theophany Remix, TheophanyRemix

In Case You Didn’t Know…

This video was published this weekend, and I thought it was important to include it.

100PercentZelda

The Minish Cap Retrospective

Liam Triforce publishes incredible retrospectives for many Zelda games, and I enjoyed revisiting this video to mark the occasion.

Zelda: The Minish Cap – New Perspectives, Liam Triforce

Fan art spotlight: Ezlo and the Chuchu

Flr shared this art about a month before the Japanese anniversary last year. I think it perfectly captures Ezlo’s frustration with the Chuchu early in the game.

The original social media posts also include a timelapse video.

Flr, Bluesky

The Hero of Men

One of the still unanswered questions in the story of The Minish Cap is the identity of the “Hero of Men” – a previous hero who defeated evil in the past.

The character is generally believed to not appear in any game, but some fans have speculated that the Hero of Men could be King Gustaf or Swiftblade the First.

Zelda Lore has a quick refresher video sharing the basic lore for the Hero of Men. It won’t offer any answers about their true identity, but it’s a good reminder about the backstory of The Minish Cap that fuels the theorizing.

Who is the HERO OF MEN?, Zelda Lore

Unused assets in The Minish Cap

Last year, Zelda Universe published an article focusing on the unused assets in The Minish Cap game files and how they suggest a connection to The Wind Waker. One fun tidbit is that one of those assets was used on the official website as part of a promotional online preview demo of the game.

Zelda’s Study: Unused assets in Minish Cap suggest a connection to The Wind Waker, Zelda Universe

Peace Returns

Let’s close out this issue with a beautiful cover of one of the end game musical themes from The Minish Cap. Aaron Grubb included this track in his Legend of Zelda Collection, Vol. 2 album in 2022.

We do not often mark the 20th anniversary of a Zelda game; mark the occasion with a song.

Peace Returns (From Minish Cap), Aaron Grubb

The Oldest Unsolved Zelda Mystery

Monster Maze published a thorough deep dive into the often debated clue “EASTMOST PENINSULA IS THE SECRET” from The Legend of Zelda. The video covers all of the possibilities in detail and surprised me with new comments from Gail Tilden, one of the early Nintendo of America employees, to help confirm community suspicious.

The Quiet Differences between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

Samuel Edwards has just recently launched a YouTube channel, and their first videos focus on the sound design of popular video games.

The first video I encountered compares the sound design of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. This is a part of game design that I tend to not give much thought, but I was fascinated by the comparisons in this video. It gave me a new appreciation for the work that goes into bringing Hyrule to life.

15 Easter Eggs & Secrets – Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Zeltik shared a series of Easter Eggs found early in Echoes of Wisdom. When I first watched the video, I was immediately surprised by the first segment featuring Link’s House.

I never visited Link’s House during my first playthrough, so I was caught off guard and very happy to see the care that went into its design.

The Source of Hyrule’s Suffering – The Temple of Light

Gossip Geist published what is probably my current favorite Zelda timeline fan theory. They have been developing this theory for a while (this is part 3 of a series), but the conclusions so far offer a convincing argument that The Depths in Tears of the Kingdom are the old kingdom of Hyrule from The Wind Waker.

The Tragic Life of the Hero of the Wild – Zelda Theory

Commonwealth Realm created a complete biography of the Hero of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. The video serves as a lore recap for both games, but focused on Link and his relationship with Zelda.