“It is a secret to everybody.”*
—Moblin, Legend of Zelda (1986)
With sales of video games in the billions of dollars per year, it is fairly safe to assume that almost everyone has played one, whether through their phone, computer, or on a console. Why are video games so popular? The answer lies in the field of psychology: the study of the mind, including conscious and unconscious motivations for and reasons behind our behavior. Psychology plays a particularly important role in explaining the impact of video games as a form of play and why we are so drawn to these virtual worlds to begin with. Looking at the psychology behind our favorite video games also helps us understand the characters we play as, why we pick certain games, avatars, or talents over others, and why we choose to defeat those crummy monsters time and time again. Ultimately the psychology surrounding video games helps us understand the video gamer and the influences video games may have upon them.
Since the release of the original Legend of Zelda in 1986, millions of video gamers around the world have taken up Link’s sword and shield in hopes of defeating Ganon and becoming the savior of Hyrule. In total, over 75 million copies of Zelda games have been sold, including more than nineteen different titles across twelve video game systems. This longstanding, widespread popularity, and the games’ themes of heroicism, struggle, and triumph, make the Legend of Zelda series an excellent model for better understanding psychological theory and our own psychological makeup.
Each of the Legend of Zelda video games finds the same (or similar) characters in the same virtual world, although with various beginnings and timelines. Yet, rather than losing interest because of the repetition, we continue to be drawn to these games again and again. Why have we fallen in love with this franchise? What psychological elements are at work while we’re playing these games? Why do we relate to particular characters and storylines? These questions have been burning in the minds of those of us who have fallen in love with the Zelda games and wish to know why they speak to us; this book will answer these questions and more.
This collection’s expert writers, chosen for both their love of the games and their knowledge of psychological concepts, provide a primer on the psychological concepts encountered and experienced by players throughout the Legend of Zelda series. These concepts help provide a more nuanced understanding of the complex psychological draw of this specific game—they help us to see why the Legend of Zelda series in particular resonates so strongly with its players.
From the undertaking of the Hero’s Journey at the start of each game to understanding the orphan archetype and its unconscious pull to the player, this book dives into the psychological reasons why we, as players, gravitate toward Link. Have you ever noticed that Link doesn’t speak in his own story? This book explains why that’s so important. Did playing Majora’s Mask help you deal with your own grief or depression? This book explains that experience, too.
What about that pesky Shadow Link—what does he represent within us? How about the way Princess Zelda herself has evolved over the course of the series? What roles do the hero, goddess, and villain archetypes play in the game and how do we experience them in our real lives? Why is the music of Zelda so powerful and immersive that we readily recall or hum its themes even after we put down the controller? This book has answers to all these questions, while continuing to ask new ones about Link and his comrades.
Take this book, as it is dangerous to go through this journey alone, and be armed with the understanding and knowledge of why we, as video gamers, love this series so. Hoist up your Hylian shield and the Master Sword and continue forth if you wish to not just remember the different Legend of Zelda games, but discover more about yourself and the virtual world in which we spend so many hours playing.
I hope you find the same enjoyment in reading this book that we experienced while playing, reliving, and writing about these games.
* Unless you’ve read the chapters in this book!