How The Legend of Zelda changed my life

Domagoj Belancic

20/2/2026

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Pictures: Domagoj Belancic

The Legend of Zelda is turning 40. To celebrate this birthday, I’m looking back on four games that had a particular impact on me.

The first Legend of Zelda was released in Japan on 21 February 1986. With the release of this iconic action adventure classic, Nintendo made history and shaped the gaming landscape.

However, this article won’t be looking at how the series changed the industry as a whole. Instead, I’m taking you on a nostalgic trip through four life-changing games featuring the brave Hero of Legend: Link.

1) Switching partners with Wind Waker

My gaming career started with my sister’s Game Boy. At some point, we also got a PlayStation as a stationary console. I was happy with this Sony-Nintendo combo for many years.

When it came to taking the plunge into the next generation of consoles, I was spoiled for choice. Would I remain loyal to the PlayStation and go for a PS2? Or would I give Nintendo’s stationary consoles a chance too and opt for the Gamecube? Buying both was out of the question, my parents confirmed as much.

I struggled with the decision. But then I discovered a special edition of Nintendo’s cubey console in a toy store, bundled with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Love at first sight. I’d never played a Zelda game before, but the packaging still magically drew me in.

I examined the screenshots on the back – they looked fantastic. So colourful, cute and epic at the same time. I read the description and my heart rate spiked with excitement:

I’d never read such an epic game description. My child hands (I was twelve years old at the time) shook with excitement. I read on and discovered that a bonus disc was included in the box. It included the N64 classic Ocarina of Time as well as a previously unreleased, more difficult Master Quest version of the game. How exciting!

I hadn’t even noticed the Gamecube in this bundle was silver, not the usual purple. My little kid brain couldn’t process just how cool this bundle was. I knew for sure: screw PlayStation, I had to get the limited edition Zelda Gamecube.

Wind Waker fulfilled my expectations. By that point in time, it was the best game I’d ever played. Nothing I’d seen in the previous PlayStation generation had even come close to this new Zelda.

The memories from this epic adventure are forever etched into my gamer brain, and the Gamecube laid the foundation for my Nintendo nerd career.

2) Flailing in Twilight Princess

After getting a Gamecube, I fell much deeper into the gaming world than before. I read magazines (shoutout to N-Zone), chatted on gaming forums and kept up to date with events like E3. This was a bit more complicated back in the day without YouTube and livestreams.

Nintendo’s appearance at E3 2004 left a particularly big mark. At their press conference, Nintendo gave the legendary Reggie Fils-Aime the stage («Kicking Ass and taking Names») to debut the Nintendo DS and introduce tons of great games. These included The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Its announcement at the end of the event is still regarded as one of the best moments in E3 history. It started with the following words:

Epic music, fast cuts, loud cheers from the audience. And then, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage with a sword and shield. It was the first time I truly felt hype for a game.

Yes, I used to look forward to new games back then too. But this defining moment was something special.

As if that wasn’t enough, Nintendo also fuelled my excitement with teasers for its new hardware. The Gamecube successor was set to be nothing less than a Revolution (the official project name) for the gaming world. As would later turn out, this revolution consisted of innovative motion controls, a weird controller and a strange name – Wii.

My two most-hyped gaming topics finally came together at E3 2006. Nintendo announced that its new Zelda would be released both on Gamecube and the Wii. With motion controls!

My teenage heart jumped with anticipation.

I can still remember that cold December night: the first time I started The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii. After all those years of anticipation, I was finally picking up the Wii Remote and swinging a sword like Link himself. An indescribable feeling.

From today’s perspective, the floppy control system isn’t mind-melting. But back then, it was pure magic that kept me alert late at night and made me wake up early in the morning. Another defining moment in my gamer life.

3) A look into the future with Breath of the Wild

While other people gamed less and less as they got older, the opposite was true for me. I discovered more and more exciting genres and series that inspired me. The older I got, the greater my desire to maybe work in this field professionally grew. With an emphasis on «maybe». I had no idea how I’d even enter the business.

So, I thought to myself: «Just do it» and started a YouTube channel in 2016. There, I tested games – in English at the time. I played my way through the gaming landscape. Watch Dogs 2 was a must, same with the obscure VR game Robinson: The Journey and The Last Guardian.

But I wasn’t really satisfied. My videos always came out too late. As a nobody, I didn’t get pre-release access. I barely got views, and the quality of my reviews didn’t make me happy either.

And then came the launch of the Switch in March 2017. Nintendo’s new console launched with a fresh Zelda release: Breath of the Wild. A massive motivator, given how much the series means to me. I wanted to give it my all. My goal: to drop the best review as quickly as possible. I wanted to prove to myself that I really could do it.

The modern classic turned everything I knew about open-world games on its head. With its completely open structure, Breath of the Wild surprised and inspired me like no other game before it. It was one of those moments where you just fall in love with gaming all over again. I wanted to do justice to this milestone, and published an awesome video.

During those first four weeks, I spent more than a hundred hours in Hyrule. My written analysis was so detailed that the video review ended up over 13 minutes long. As a result, the voiceover and editing took much longer than usual. It got frustrating. Sleepless nights, Premiere Pro crashes and self-doubt plagued me. But I didn’t give up.

The tears and the effort were worth it. I was happy with the end result for the first time… almost proud. I even sent it to friends and family and got wonderful feedback.

I didn’t even care about how little views the video got. The review made me determined to turn my favourite hobby, gaming, into a career. Whatever the cost.

I’m forever grateful to Breath of the Wild for this realisation.

4) My dreams come true with Tears of the Kingdom

Following Breath of the Wild, I gradually gained a foothold in the gaming world. I made content for the e-sports event Hero League, penning my first articles and tests (article in German) that were actually published on a real news portal. Crazy! At the same time, I was working hard on my video content.

In 2022, Digitec Galaxus advertised my dream job: gaming editor. I almost fainted with excitement and quickly applied. Spoiler alert: I got the job. Obviously. I wouldn’t be typing these works now otherwise, and you wouldn’t be reading them here.

A decisive moment in my early days here was the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023). Not just because I was once again incredibly hyped for the release. It would also be the first time that we as an editorial team had the opportunity to test a Nintendo game in advance. An important milestone in proving to the gaming world that we were to be taken seriously. A chance to show that we belonged. That I belonged. So I gave it my all again.

I thought back to the release of Breath of the Wild and the energy that drove me back then. My thoughts went back even further, to the moment I discovered the Zelda Gamecube bundle in that store. How would little Domagoj react if I told him I was allowed to test the new Zelda before its release? And what would my 2004 self say, more hyped than ever before after the E3 Zelda trailer?

Once again, I was determined to put all my energy into the review and make the most of the unique opportunity. I sank over a hundred hours into Tears of the Kingdom – over a period of less than two weeks. After all, I wanted to be finished with my review in time for the end of the embargo. I’d never dedicated myself to a game more. I lived with Tears of the Kingdom every free minute, even in my sleep.

Somewhere between euphoria and madness, I wrote a review, the length of which is just as epic as the game itself. And then there was the video review. Again, I put all heart and soul into. While editing, I thought back on my first attempts at reviewing and how far I’d come.

Breath of the Wild gave me my destiny: to make gaming my job. But the intense review journey for Tears of the Kingdom confirmed that I’d finally made it.

Thank you, The Legend of Zelda, for the many years of adventure. And for rekindling my passion for this wonderful medium countless times. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you.

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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