The Zelda Community: Unique
Posted on November 2, 2009 1:34 AM by Nathanial Rumphol-Janc
Category: Articles
It's no secret that the Zelda community is not only quite large, but also unique among gaming franchises on the internet. From sites like Zelda Classic that provide a custom game along with the tools to create your own custom 2D levels, Zelda Universe with its large forum community, Zelda Dungeon with its top notch walkthroughs, ZREO with its music reorchestrations, WZMR being your source for nonstop Zelda radio all day every day, North Castle being the king of Zelda related fanworks, to us here at ZeldaInformer bringing you informative articles, it's easy to see just how wide spread the fandom is for this franchise.
Bottom line: Zelda has widespread internet support from fans, unlike the Mario Brothers, Metroid, or Pikminseries. A lot of the fans of those franchises you can find lurking at more general gaming sites such as GoNintendo or IGN. Why is this? What is it about this community that just makes it work?
First of all, it comes down to the passion of the people who create the sites. As the community has grown over the years, none of it would of happened without select fans saying "I love this series so much I am going to create a fan dedication site about it." What started as a few sites with some simple guides grew into hundreds of sites with unique personalities. Many of these sites have come gone over the years, but without fans having enough passion and love for Zelda to go through the effort of making a site, none of this happens.
Why Zelda though? Mario has vastly more games and is the Nintendo mascot. Halo has a massive following of online players, and Age of Empires is a strict PC title. Why above all these titles, and so much more, does Zelda instill that passion the other games don't? Honestly, I don't have an answer, but I do have a few guesses. Firstly, Zelda is simply better then the rest as a franchise. Each title is a instant best seller... and not just because of its name. Each title is surprisingly a lot of fun, and there is rarely a let down. Zelda is what Zelda is, and nothing out there is like it. That may be the most important reason for its popularity: Zelda is one of a kind.
Secondly, Zelda games always leave us wanting more. We finish off Ganondorf, the quest is complete, and Hyrule is saved yet again. However... something never feels quite complete. It's as if you just know your quest isn't really over... and thus we always want more. Twilight Princess did a great job of making us want more, as did Ocarina of Time. These games just make us want to play more, and thus we want more and want to express that feeling through a site.
Last, but not least, is the fact that Zelda leaves a lot of questions to be answered. I am not just talking about the timeline, but life in general. Majora's Mask started an interesting trend of linking problems in the game to real life issues we deal with as we grow up. We started to examine the other titles and notice the same thing. In short, Zelda connects with the player in ways no other game seems able to accomplish.
This isn't all to say that there are not communities out there that are as big, if not bigger, than the Zelda franchise. Among some of the larger communities for individual franchises you will find, none top the Final Fantasy series or the Pokemon franchise. In general though, none of them simply have the variety that make the Zelda Community one of a kind.
In closing, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to all the fans out there that make all of this possible. It's you guys that inspire me to run this site and keep providing content that I feel you guys will enjoy and make use of. Without the fans we would not exist, none of the Zelda sites would exist. You guys make it all possible, so I think I can say safely that we as a website community want to thank all of you for making everything possible. Everything we do is for you guys. Enjoy your time at this site, and at all the other sites out there. We, together, look forward to continuing to give the community everything it wants and then some. In The Legend of Zelda we trust.
Permalink | 19 Comments
19 Comments
oCto | November 2, 2009 2:29 AM
I don't even go to those other Zelda sites >_>
Zelda Classic sounds fun though and ZREO sounds interesting.
Rianne | November 2, 2009 3:24 AM
Feel good article... I feel like I'm surrounded by puppies and kittens right now.
Just for mentioning Age of Empires, this article is an instant favorite.
Melchizedek | November 2, 2009 4:25 AM
This is too true: my search for online Matrix and Lord of the Rings communities that match the caliber of what it seen throughout our Zelda community has been fruitless.
Though many deny the theorizing crowd, I would point them out as one of the main reasons why the Zelda community is thriving. There is always something that can be discussed, whether the timeline, life lessons, or the other many aspects of theorizing. What is there to spend so much time discussing with Mario? Zelda has so much left open, and that's what makes us unique.
Mike | November 2, 2009 4:32 AM
I don't visit any of the other community-oriented sites, but I like this one and I liked Zelda Blog because the writers thought outside the box.
Elemento | November 2, 2009 7:24 AM
Mentioning Age of Empires? I approve of this behaviour. +1 to you, Nathanial.
Radox | November 2, 2009 7:54 AM
You should see some of the Chrono community. Considering that the franchise only has two 'proper' games both of which are over a decade old (Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross), the community size and spirit is surprising, Unfortunately it's all gone a bit down hill, with Square issuing Ceast & Desist letters to any and all fangames mere days before they're released (despite years of hard work on some of them.) I think the community may finally be dying. Good job Square-Enix, nice way to piss all over your own fanbase.
That being said, both of these series have something in common: Theories. Unknowns, mysteries and things like that keep a fanbase alive and speculating long after you'd expect them to die. This is true both for Zelda and the Chrono series. If it weren't for things like the boggled timeline, then, whilst the community would still exist (It is Zelda afterall) it probably wouldn't be so opinionated, discussive and/or as united.
nick | November 2, 2009 10:41 AM
nate i'm going to start charging you 25 cents for every it's/its mistake you make
NinjaCat | November 2, 2009 11:18 AM
Wow! A happy article for a change! I really appreciate that :D.
I've been to ZREO and it is a very nice place, I just don't visit other zelda sites because they constantly whine 24/7 about everything... and I noticed that the same thing is happening here, which is a shame. I think I will start avoiding those whining articles and focus on happy things XDDDD.
North Castle the king of zelda related fanworks? Mhh... I thought you could find a lot of zelda fanart on Deviantart.
Anyway, I really find your updates on fandom stuff interesting. Keep it up ;D.
Ares | November 2, 2009 12:01 PM
@Nick
I'm sure you won't mind either if we charge you for every capitalization error and punctuation error too. I mean, just look at your comment dude. Aside from that, I love this site and IT'S great to be apart of the Zelda community.
Mike | November 2, 2009 12:38 PM
I got to agree, we wouldn't have such a big Zelda community if it weren't for the fans. Who knows if it could get any bigger.
nick | November 2, 2009 12:41 PM
@ares
must be new here yall
Nathanial Rumphol-Janc | November 2, 2009 12:55 PM
Don't mind Nick folks. I posted this at 4am so I figured there would be some mistakes. Good thing Nick is my fall back for late "after posting" edit work.
No need to throw some defense for me Ares, but I appreciate it. It's just a reminder to proof read before I become barely conscious.
HyLorian | November 2, 2009 2:22 PM
Indeed, the Zelda community can only be summed up as one of its kind. Maybe not the most passionate on the net, but interesting to say the least. Maybe it's because Zelda, despite its popularity, is still a niche franchise and cult favourite that its fanbase enjoys such widespread success, but who knows.
Now, with the next game on our doorsteps and a new console game sometime in the near future, I genuinely hope that the community will finally liven up again. After all, the next most entertaining thing besides playing games is discussing them!
avenged | November 2, 2009 3:00 PM
But we still can not forget about the old and other original web sites that are still far more unique than any site with just their web archived url.
BTW Deviant Art is not a Zelda fan site. Nathan was speaking of Zelda sites only, lol.
River Zora | November 2, 2009 6:57 PM
Just to round off all the grammar Nazi-ing people have been doing- 'Very unique' is a nonsensical phrase. 'Unique' means 'only one' how can something be very only one? Much like saying 'very identical' or 'very 100%'.
Love you Nate :P
Nathanial Rumphol-Janc | November 2, 2009 7:46 PM
River Zora: I have no idea what you're talking about. Now go post in the forums and write some more bombers stuff. :p
Vincent | November 3, 2009 9:19 PM
@avenged: I am so tired of you always bring that up, every single time you get a chance to. We know that the old sites existed. We know what they did for the community, and we know that they were original and all that. We are here now, as the current generation of sites, and we're doing our best. We deserve some love too, dammit.
Nathanial Rumphol-Janc | November 3, 2009 11:46 PM
I like to think ZI is pretty unique. Maybe that's just me?
Xizor | November 2, 2009 2:25 AM
I'm glad you're repeating what I said back in August when LoZ gave "The Pinnacle" to ZW. =P
Good work, Nathan.