This game changed my life, but I have a lot of thoughts on its current state lately. I first played TF2 on the Orange Box in 2011, and I have around 3-4 thousand hours on it across two steam accounts. TF2 is a phenomenal FPS that was ahead of its time in terms of gameplay, art, and so much more, and the impact that TF2 had on both the FPS genre and internet culture is insane. Truly, little to no FPS games have come close to the success that TF2 has garnered over the last decade or so; and despite this, the current state of TF2 is nothing like the state it was in several years ago.

This game was (and still is) incredibly popular and somehow has both a bright future, as well as a stale end. Considering that Valve has not paid much attention to TF2 for several years at this point, my love for this game has begun to decline. The bot crisis is not as much of an issue as it used to be, but it's still an issue that players are forced to deal with, as these encounters are entirely unavoidable unless you are playing on community servers. I hate that the "solutions" to playing the game without cheaters have become centered around community servers, which don't give off the authentic feel and gameplay that Valve servers provide; not to say that I hate these servers at all, of course not. I just wish that bots were not an issue that we have to deal with anymore. We get updates occasionally, but these updates are always small, feel incredibly stale, and are low in quality; overall, the game does not feel the same for me anymore. The community claims to be welcoming, but is among some of the most toxic I've been in personally; I understand that this is the case for most online games, though I've had my fair share of unpleasant experiences on TF2 considering that I've been playing for years.

Despite the several negative factors surrounding this game, I have many positives to list as well. While TF2 has a massive learning curve that many new players find to be intimidating at first, the gameplay is fun, engaging, and hilarious. Every class is designed to perfection and offers unique gameplay that players can spend countless hours learning how to master. Cosmetics are an aspect of the game that makes it feel especially personal, as there are thousands of hats in the game that can result in countless loadouts. The tools that Valve provided to its players have offered countless opportunities to their players, such as the workshop, which gives players the chance to create cosmetics and maps for the game. The characters are loveable, funny, and feel genuine compared to other FPS games where their characters may feel stale, or even lifeless at times; along with the characters, the lore is a rabbit hole that anyone can fall into, as there is lore for pretty much every aspect of the game. The community has its good sides that should not be brushed aside, as many people choose to use their platform in the TF2 community for good causes. I find it incredibly endearing how servers full of people could turn friendly, and people could genuinely bond with each other despite being complete strangers; there are so many positive interactions that I have had with people that I will never see again, but that will stick with me for a long time. I could go on for hours, honestly, TF2 is a treat that everyone should experience at least once in their life.

TF2 bursts with personality, life, and fun; unfortunately, it also greatly suffers from the neglect its developers have put it through. If TF2 was still actively getting GENUINE support from Valve, I would rate it 5 stars. In its current state? 3 and a half. I rarely play it anymore because I know that I am guaranteed to come across bots, and because the lack of updates and empty promises from the developers have left me endlessly disappointed. I love this game and I truly wish I still enjoyed it the same way I used to, but I just don't. Despite this, I am still eternally thankful to TF2 for connecting me to so many lovely people over the years and for building a community that is generous and loving, even if it may be toxic at times. If this game ever gets some sort of major update, then I will definitely return to enjoy the experience; though as it currently stands, I will be enjoying other games, only to occasionally return.

”The wind will guide us!”

The original version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker has, without a doubt, the WORST pacing of any Zelda game. Sailing takes too long, constantly having to take out the Wind Waker itself kills the pace, the Command Melody is annoying, and having to salvage each piece of the Triforce is tedious.

The Wind Waker HD fixes all of those issues.

The game gifts us with the Swift Sail, a sail that doubles our boat’s speed and causes a favorable wind to constantly blow in whatever direction we want, meaning that we don’t have to waste time pulling out the Wind Waker every five seconds to change the wind direction. The game no longer plays back every single song we play on the Wind Waker, which makes the Command Melody much less of a pace breaker; instead, it’s just another item in Link’s arsenal. Finally, five out of the eight Triforce shards are simply in the chests that you find, meaning significantly less time wasted hunting them down.

All of these changes make the game much faster, bringing it more in line with the masterful pacing of other Zelda games. Since I no longer felt bored and/or annoyed, I was able to soak in the experience of The Wind Waker.

The already gorgeous visuals have been given an HD overhaul and a new lighting engine; it’s pure eye candy. The story is stil magnificent. Even the dungeons, which I considered some of the worst in the series in the original, are actually… pretty good? They don’t stack up to the dungeons in other 3D entries and they’re still too easy, but they have solid puzzle progression and distinct visual theming. The Tower of the Gods and the Wind Temple are still awesome.

I partook in more side quests this time around. They’re not the best thing ever, but they have their charm. Windfall Island is essentially this game’s Clock Town, only much less depressing. Helping all of the residents with their problems is inherently satisfying and fleshes out the world of the Great Sea, showing you why Link needs to protect it from Ganondorf.

Speaking of the Great Sea, The Wind Waker’s oceanic overworld has a wonderful sense of adventure that only Breath of the Wild would be able to recapture. Sure, the Great Sea isn’t exactly dense, but there’s still lots to do and discover. So many mini-dungeons, so much treasure, so many Heart Pieces… it’s amazing. Exploring the Great Sea makes you feel like a true adventurer.

I honestly loved The Wind Waker HD. I still wish there were more complex dungeons, but I was more than satisfied with what I got. All of the little improvements and quality of life changes have boosted The Wind Waker from the most overrated Zelda game to one of the series’ best.

Tall Glass of Water Game Design
Cool Summer Breeze Game Design
Crisp Floral Print Shirt Game Design
Cold Side of The Pillow Game Design
Taking Off Your Socks After A Long Day of Work Game Design
Freshly Peeled Orange Game Design
Riding a Bike Downhill Game Design
Popping the Perfect Number of Ice Cubes Out Of The Tray With A Single Twist Game Design
Seeing Your Favorite Movie In An Air Conditioned Theater During A Heatwave Game Design
A Dump So Big You Feel Hungry After Game Design

Many people are familiar with David Lynch's screed against watching films on smart phones. I agree with Lynch that watching films on phones sucks, though people certainly take it further. If you spend enough time talking about movies, you will encounter the "well you didn't really see the movie watching in that format" argument: only this cut, on this size screen, projected in these specifications, colour graded this way, with this quality of sound, sitting in this seat, and knowing this historical context is the only true experience of a film. Undeniably these factors can impact your appreciation of a film but I will maintain that, unless you stopped watching, you did see the movie. When my dad saw Mad Max: Fury Road on a plane and didn't like it, he was seeing it equally as much as I did in a theatre with a packed crowd or when he saw it on a big TV and enjoyed it a lot more.

You'll find this sort of discourse in any artistic medium, and as I've gotten more into video games, I've both seen and advanced similar arguments myself. Beyond the obvious instances where controllers differ substantially in form and function or a CRT provides a more authentic image, you have hundreds of invisible technical quirks that can affect the experience for better or worse. It becomes easy to just recommend/instruct people to play a game you enjoyed in the exact way you did and not risk the potential differences of emulating or going back to original hardware or whatever undermining their enjoyment. There will also always be the argument in gaming for the highest specs and most modern conveniences possible: give me a 30 year old 8-bit game running on my 360Hz 4K OLED monitor with save states, rewind, debug menu available, whole nine yards (and if I like it there better be a randomizer mod I can try out afterward).

This is a long way of saying I don't really care how you play Link's Awakening: on a pea-green Game Boy, on your Switch, on your phone; in its original, DX, or remade version; for a couple hours, to the end, to 100% completion, etc. Go nuts. There's value in all its iterations, and all of it is Link's Awakening. However you played it, you played it, and I wouldn't be concerned about what someone in a discord or on here will shame you for.

But if after all that you'll indulge me one thing: I think you should play it handheld, because I think that's the point.

Worlds in (single player, offline) games materialize when you boot them up and disappear when you turn them off. Multiple games have made artistic hay under that particular sun, tending towards the "the best thing you can do is stop playing" conceit. Link's Awakening is distinct. I've heard Koholint Island being a dream described as a twist, when in reality it is much more a premise. I'd say the twist is that despite being the destined hero who always saves the day in other Zelda games, here there is nothing you can do to alter the transience of this world. Yet the game wants you to keep playing, and see it through to its conclusion.

We make and unmake every dream we have, inherently. Turning an idea into something material or corporeal is both creation and destruction: the result is never exactly what is in your mind, and you can never quite go back to what it was as just an idea. That disconnect can make anyone despondent if they dwell on it; if they let it convince them there is no value to making something no one will see just as you see it, if they see it at all. "Verily, it be the nature of dreams to end."

The Wind Fish is right, but it is also the nature of all things to transform. Experience becomes memory becomes premonition becomes experience and on and on. Dreams deferred will dry/fester/stink/crust/sag/explode. The story in the author's mind becomes the story in the cartridge becomes the story in my mind. You know it's just images moving really fast, it's just words put into a specific order, it's just code rendering. But when I take out my Switch and boot up this game, I feel like I am holding a world in my hand. I know it will textually evaporate when I finish it, I know it will literally evaporate when I turn it off, I know it was never really there to begin with.

But they only ever made and remade this game for handheld devices. And when I hold it I feel it. And maybe by telling that to you, you'll hold this game and feel it too. Or maybe you'll feel something different because you've held these words in your head. I'm fine with whatever.