From The Desk Of Aesop Rock: “The Legend Of Zelda”

Following a five-year hiatus, San Francisco-via-NYC hip-hop artist Aesop Rock recently returned with his first solo album since None Shall Pass. Released by the Rhymesayers label, Skelethon is the rapper’s effort to come to terms with the death of a close friend, as well as the deterioration of several friendships and close relationships. “Death has become commonplace in my life,” he says. “The past few years was an endless period of skeletons. But, hopefully, Skelethon will help put all of this behind me. It’s like a giant purging—like finishing a chapter and preparing to jump into the next one.” Aesop will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our recent feature on him.

Aesop: Admittedly, lately I’ve slowed my gaming down a bit. I’m not totally sure why. That said, I’ve made it a point to always play every game in the fantastic Legend Of Zelda series since its 1986 debut on the original Nintendo Entertainment System.

Zelda was created by Shigeru Miyamoto, a total genius of a game designer. I have found very few other action/rpg’s really match up to the immersive experience that the Zelda games offer. Sure some games in the series are better than others, but really, they are all absolutely fantastic. I think any Zelda fan would tell you that  1998’s Ocarina Of Time on the N64 system is really the crown jewel of the series. It was the first one to have 3D graphics, and they knocked it out of the park at a time when people were wondering how the previously 2D game would translate into a three-dimensional setting.

Such a fantastic experience—one that I have gone back to several times since I first played it. All the games in the series seem to keep a great balance between exploring new themes and keeping things familiar enough to not feel like you’re starting from scratch each time—be it items, characters, weapons, sound effects, etc. I love me some Zelda.

Video after the jump.