Top 10 Lists: The Top 10 Legend Of Zelda Cameos In Other Games
As a follow-up to my previous list that examined Zelda series references found within the Zelda games, I wanted to put together a list of games that reference the Legend of Zelda series that are far removed from the Zelda canon. These series cameos are always fun to find, and are almost always a humorous inclusion that break the gaming fourth wall to pay tribute to Zelda at the expense of a few extra pixels and a little more time. To the uninitiated, these moments can often go ignored, and bear no relevance to either Zelda or the game in question. For fans of the Zelda series, however, these moments are instantly recognizable, and can often end up being some of the fondest moments of the game.
I'll start off this list with one of the more recent titles to come out. Published by Ubisoft, Beyond Good & Evil was an excellent game that had some striking resemblences to the Legend of Zelda where gameplay was concerned, but with a style and feel all it's own. The actual reference (intended or not) comes from the inhabitants of the world called Hillys, or rather, how they refer to themselves. As spoken by the leader of the Alpha Squad, (heard many times from those propaganda videos playing in the City) the people are called Hillyans. Sound familiar? See what they did there? Anyway, it was a shame that this gem of a game was so overlooked when it came out. Fortunately, a sequal appears to be in the works, so hopefully we haven't seen the last of Jade, the IRIS network, and the DomZ.
Kirby's no stranger to Zelda. His sword power has always been a slight homage as he dawns Link's hat (much as he does in the Smash Bros. series). An even more exciting moment, however, came in one of the segments of Kirby Super Star. In The Great Cave Offensive, Kirby is tasked with looking around for as much treasure as possible. Some players might be lucky enough to stumble upon the Triforce hidden inside a chest. I guess the Unicorn Fountain was a myth after all. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the Triforce seems to be valued at 800000G. If you have the means, and access to the Great Cave, I highly suggest you pick one up.
As with most Nintendo franchises, there are several nods to the Legend of Zelda inside the game Animal Crossing. Sure, there are items that can be obtained, such as the Master Sword, and when you catch a Loach, the avatar wonders if it's "Hylian," but there are also many moments that aren't so obvious. For instance, did you notice the triforce on the back wall of the fortune teller's tent? Have you heard Tortimer's story of how he defeated sea snakes at Pinnacle Rock (an action from Majora's Mask)? Kapp'n and Gulliver also mention Hyrule, and some villagers even keep rupees in their drawers.
A tough call to make on whether this was a full fledged reference, or merely the result of working with the same development team. The warp whistles in Super Mario Bros. 3 are a direct copy of the recorder found in the original Legend of Zelda. They have the same look, the same song that plays, and you get pulled away by the same tornado. Still, the whistle came first in Zelda, and the opening of Ocarina of Time cemented that song as part of the Zelda series.
Known as "Another Code: Two Memories" in Japan, Trace Memory is an adventure game that stars a 13-year-old girl named Ashley. Using the touch screen and built in Microphone, the player is tasked with solving a variety of puzzles to solve a mystery on Blood Edward Island. It so happens that when investigating a mansion, Ashley will eventually make her way to The Silver Bird Room which contains a variety of books. One of these books turns out to be "The Legend of Zelda Chronology." So that's where they've been hiding the timeline!
A fun little text reference here, if Dixie heads to the store and talks to Bazaar the Bear about the castle, he says that "some cheeky lad called Link" came in to also ask about the castle. He even paid for information in rupees, or what Bazaar thought were misshapen sea shells. Given Link's adventurous nature, I suppose it's not too surprising that he would make his way over to Donkey Kong Country, especially as this was the first DKC that really had some major exploration elements in it (you could venture off paths in the overworld, instead of only moving from one level to another on a dotted line).
While Soul Calibur II was made for each of the last generation of consoles and was well enjoyed by everyone, it may be a safe bet to say that the Nintendo fans were appeased the most, as the GameCube release of the game came along with the Hero of Time himself as a playable fighter! Sure, Link used his standard array of items (bow, boomerang, bombs), but his weapon selection contained many references to the series history. Link's standard weapon was of course the Master sword and Hylian Shield, but he could also use the Razor Sword and Great Fairy's Sword from Majora's Mask, an Armos Sword & Shield (from those Armos Knights), Biggoron's Sword, Megaton Hammer and the Mirror Shield from Ocarina of TIme, the Cane of Byrna and Bug Catching Net (From A Link to the Past), and even the Magic Sword from the original Legend of Zelda.
Certainly not the most popular game on this list, Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak was an adventure game developed and published by Nintendo using the Hamtaro anime license. You may have noticed it scrolling through the list of Nintendo Games in Smash Bros. Brawl. As a special nod from one adventure game to another, the Merchants say "Buy Something, will ya?," which is what the shopkeepers say in the original Zelda. Better still, there is a location called Sunny Peak, where Hamtaro needs to place a blue, a green, and a red gem at an alter in order to reach the pedistal to draw the legendary....Spoon! I'm sure this action sounds familiar, as it has been a popular quest for Link since his SNES days.
Super Mario RPG had some excellent cameo appearances, such as the f-zero and star fox toys, as well as Samus resting up for Mother Brain. My favorite, however, can be found at the Rosa Inn, where if Mario & co. choose to spend the night, Mario will wake up with Link sleeping in the bed next to him. If you try to talk to him, the classic Zelda theme when link solves a puzzle will sound. This was likely the original Link from the NES zeldas, evidenced by the lack of purple hair that the SNES zelda game had.
In what was clearly a well put together and well researched homage to the Legend of Zelda, Blizzard decided to give the series, well, the World of Warcraft treatment, as it played with more series references, quests, and items that I may not even get them all on here. In the Un'Goro Crater, you can follow a long quest chain getting a map, compass, and lion-headed key, along with a photo of a familiar looking pair of gnomes (they resemble Zelda and Link). Finding the gnome in the photo (named Linken, of course), will lead to several other tasks, including distracting a Miblon (Moblin) with a piece of Meat, as well as fighting Aquementas (Aquamentus) and finding the Golden Flame (which of course is triangular) to be rewarded with Linken's Sword of Mastery, Linken's Boomerang, and the Spirit of Aquementas. There are also many textual references to the original game such as "It's a Secret to Everybody," "Grumble grumble," "Buy something, will ya?" "It's Dangerous to Go Alone", and even a character named Dadanga (Dodongo) who "Dislikes smoke."
So there you have it, ten excellent examples of how other games have made references to the Legend of Zelda Series. Many more passing references to the series have been thrown into games, like Warioware, Picross, and Tetris. Link and co. have also been mainstays in the Nintendo Smash Bros. series, allowing for even more Zelda references to come in the form of levels, trophies, and stickers. No matter the form, it's always neat to notice when the series is mentioned.
List by BlueGunstarHero (11/11/2009)
