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Popular Culture and Philosophy #36
The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am
With both young and adult gamers as loyal fans, The Legend of Zelda is one of the most beloved video game series ever created. The contributors to this volume consider the following questions and What is the nature of the gamer’s connection to Link? Does Link have a will, or do gamers project their wills onto him? How does the gamer experience the game? Do the rules of logic apply in the game world? How is space created and distributed in Hyrule (the fictional land in which the game takes place)? How does time function? Is Zelda art? Can Hyrule be seen as an ideal society? Can the game be enjoyable without winning? The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy not only appeals to Zelda fans and philosophers but also puts video games on the philosophical map as a serious area of study.
263 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
April 18, 2019
There is no deeper meaning behind Link not existing when the game is turned off. You are reading too much into it.
I am not sure what exactly I expected, but, for the most part, I didn't get it. Most of the philosophical discussions in this book are linked to the Legend of Zelda by the most tenuous of threads, relate the content of the game to philosophy in a way that is so meta that all meaning is lost, or are simply uninteresting.
In this book, Zelda is either being shoehorned into the philosophy or the philosophy is being shoehorned into Zelda. Many of the examinations also ignore or are ignorant of game design considerations in favor of philosophical considerations. This basically invalidates their work, as the design of the Legend of Zelda is an intrinsic part of its existence.
There was a single exception. The Triforce and the Doctrine of the Mean, written by Patrick Dugan is a fantastic example of what a volume like this should contain. He examines the purpose and usage of each part of the Triforce within the world created by the Zelda games and judges them using Aristotle's Doctrine of the Mean. This is interesting because it is confined to the game world, (it does not try to relate the Triforce to something outside of Hyrule) and it contains interesting observations about the way the characters in the Legend of Zelda are depicted based on how they use their piece of the Triforce. I would give this chapter by itself 3-4 stars and I would recommend you read only this chapter in a bookstore, rather than buying this book.
I am not sure what exactly I expected, but, for the most part, I didn't get it. Most of the philosophical discussions in this book are linked to the Legend of Zelda by the most tenuous of threads, relate the content of the game to philosophy in a way that is so meta that all meaning is lost, or are simply uninteresting.
In this book, Zelda is either being shoehorned into the philosophy or the philosophy is being shoehorned into Zelda. Many of the examinations also ignore or are ignorant of game design considerations in favor of philosophical considerations. This basically invalidates their work, as the design of the Legend of Zelda is an intrinsic part of its existence.
There was a single exception. The Triforce and the Doctrine of the Mean, written by Patrick Dugan is a fantastic example of what a volume like this should contain. He examines the purpose and usage of each part of the Triforce within the world created by the Zelda games and judges them using Aristotle's Doctrine of the Mean. This is interesting because it is confined to the game world, (it does not try to relate the Triforce to something outside of Hyrule) and it contains interesting observations about the way the characters in the Legend of Zelda are depicted based on how they use their piece of the Triforce. I would give this chapter by itself 3-4 stars and I would recommend you read only this chapter in a bookstore, rather than buying this book.
July 30, 2017
I got this book as a gift from one of my dearest friends, Patty van Delft. We're both huge Zelda nerds and we also like to get philosophical every now and then. I perhaps a bit more than she does. I really liked the idea that was presented by the book. How can philosophy be "linked" (pun intended) to a video game series such as The Legend of Zelda? The answer is simple. It can, because Nintendo created an entire universe for us, with its own rules and its own culture.
When I started reading this book, I was delighted by most of the content. The book consists of a total of twenty different essays in which The Legend of Zelda is used to explain certain concepts in philosophy. This is very nice, because it gives you the opportunity to read one essay every now and then, which is exactly what I did.
At the same time, it's also the book's biggest downfall, because the quality of the essays differs quite a bit. Not to mention the writing style. Especially essays 8 and 9 ("The Hero of Timelines" and "Linking to the Past: Zelda is a communication game") were ones I had a lot of trouble getting through, mainly because it was mostly about semantics of dialogue and conversation. Not a field of philosophy I'm particularly interested in.
The ones I enjoyed best were the more metaphysical ones, where we delved deep into who Link exactly is to us as the player and whether or not he has a free will, and if we even have a free will. Also ethical essays like "How can there be evil in Hyrule?" were very entertaining.
All in all I enjoyed this book, with the exception of a few essays. Personally I couldn't help but shake the feeling that most of them were a bit of an "entry level" philosophy piece. So I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in philosophy, but hasn't delved too deep into the rabbit's hole. I think I prefer my philosophy a bit meatier.
When I started reading this book, I was delighted by most of the content. The book consists of a total of twenty different essays in which The Legend of Zelda is used to explain certain concepts in philosophy. This is very nice, because it gives you the opportunity to read one essay every now and then, which is exactly what I did.
At the same time, it's also the book's biggest downfall, because the quality of the essays differs quite a bit. Not to mention the writing style. Especially essays 8 and 9 ("The Hero of Timelines" and "Linking to the Past: Zelda is a communication game") were ones I had a lot of trouble getting through, mainly because it was mostly about semantics of dialogue and conversation. Not a field of philosophy I'm particularly interested in.
The ones I enjoyed best were the more metaphysical ones, where we delved deep into who Link exactly is to us as the player and whether or not he has a free will, and if we even have a free will. Also ethical essays like "How can there be evil in Hyrule?" were very entertaining.
All in all I enjoyed this book, with the exception of a few essays. Personally I couldn't help but shake the feeling that most of them were a bit of an "entry level" philosophy piece. So I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in philosophy, but hasn't delved too deep into the rabbit's hole. I think I prefer my philosophy a bit meatier.
July 16, 2010
OH DEAR LORD I MADE IT.
Of all the pop culture philosophy books I've read so far, this is was the most disappointing. While the philosophy itself was actually well thought out and presented, it had very little, if anything, to do with the Zelda series. Yes the game was mentioned on a regular basis, but every time it's brought up the examples are so generic that you could just as easily have pulled the reference out of a hat. Example: the idea of warping is brought up early on, focusing on journey vs destination. While the discussion was interesting, the author of that particular essay mentioned Zelda once then spent nearly five pages going off on Mario.
There just isn't enough unique story content in the Zelda series to produce a really good book. I love the Zelda games to death (except The Wind Waker which is of course the one they bring up the most), but honestly there really isn't much in there story wise that you can't find somewhere else.
Of all the pop culture philosophy books I've read so far, this is was the most disappointing. While the philosophy itself was actually well thought out and presented, it had very little, if anything, to do with the Zelda series. Yes the game was mentioned on a regular basis, but every time it's brought up the examples are so generic that you could just as easily have pulled the reference out of a hat. Example: the idea of warping is brought up early on, focusing on journey vs destination. While the discussion was interesting, the author of that particular essay mentioned Zelda once then spent nearly five pages going off on Mario.
There just isn't enough unique story content in the Zelda series to produce a really good book. I love the Zelda games to death (except The Wind Waker which is of course the one they bring up the most), but honestly there really isn't much in there story wise that you can't find somewhere else.
June 28, 2024
It's a shame that I read The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia before this one. It brings nothing new to the table, or at least nothing I thought before.
The first pace of the book is depressing. It takes 50 pages to tell us "Zelda It's only a game". Yes! I know it's only a game and nothing is real, knock it off already! After that it questions the relationship between the character and the player. So when do we talk about the Zelda franchise?
100 pages later and it still talking about general videogame culture with some zelda examples here and there. You could as well replace Link with Mario and the content would be intact. At some moments it seems that the 'philosophers' here didn't play any Zelda game at all.
This book is nothing but a review of the Videogame Entertainment that happen to display a triforce in the front cover. If you want Zelda philosophy, go play the games and share your opinions with other players at any forum; you'll find more enlightment in there.
The first pace of the book is depressing. It takes 50 pages to tell us "Zelda It's only a game". Yes! I know it's only a game and nothing is real, knock it off already! After that it questions the relationship between the character and the player. So when do we talk about the Zelda franchise?
100 pages later and it still talking about general videogame culture with some zelda examples here and there. You could as well replace Link with Mario and the content would be intact. At some moments it seems that the 'philosophers' here didn't play any Zelda game at all.
This book is nothing but a review of the Videogame Entertainment that happen to display a triforce in the front cover. If you want Zelda philosophy, go play the games and share your opinions with other players at any forum; you'll find more enlightment in there.
Read
April 21, 2013Not really going to rate it. It wasn't really what I hoping for. More of a book that uses things in Zelda to help explain philosophy. I really wanted more of a book that either talked about the philosophy in Zelda or talked about how Zelda and philosophy intertwine.
Just wanted something more than, "It’s About the Journey, not the Destination" and Zelda uses this by making you walk every where.
Just wanted something more than, "It’s About the Journey, not the Destination" and Zelda uses this by making you walk every where.
November 7, 2016
This book explains the culture & philosophy of Link's adventure to save the princess Zelda from the evil Ganondorf...
January 12, 2016
The Legend Of Zelda And Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am, Edited by Luke Cuddy
An amusing example of efforts by philosophers to demonstrate the seriousness of pop culture [1], this volume consists of about 20 essays that fill 250 pages of entertaining essays that view the video game series of The Legend of Zelda with a great deal of seriousness. For those who are fond of the series, there are a lot of inside jokes here to be found that show the absurd sense of humor of philosophers who are clearly moonlighting by writing parts of a volume that both demonstrate potential that video games provide for serious thought and reflection for those who are so inclined, as well as to provide an opportunity for philosophy graduate students to demonstrate the viability of their writing in search of elusive opportunities for works read by a wide audience. This volume, as part of a series of books of similar size and contents that demonstrate the philosophical implications of pop culture, is fairly representative of the series in that it rewards those who are philosophically inclined who also happen to take pop culture, like cinema, television, music, literature, and video games seriously. If you are such a person, you know who you are, and you will enjoy at least a fair proportion of what you will read here.
In terms of its contents, the twenty essays of this collection run a wide gamut, and are organized into different levels. The first three essays are grouped around the topic of emotion, experience, and thought, and deal with questions of why we care about whether Link saves Zelda as well as questions of critical thinking. The next two essays deal with the subject of death and Link’s search for meaning from the point of view of existential philosophy. The next two essays after that deal with questions of identity as well as the distinction between Ganon’s “master” morality and the slave morality of the people of Hyrule that leads them to be rescued by Link and his master sword. The next two essays after that deal with timelines and the question of canonicity within the world of Zelda. After this come two essays dealing with the temporality of Zelda (specifically Majora’s Mask) and the construction of NESpace (specifically in the original Legend of Zelda) out of various elements with various items that allow the player to interact with the environment of the game. The next two essays after this look at the Zelda series from the point of view of art criticism as examples of translucent art and also examine Hyrule from the point of view of a utopian ideal. The following two essays after this examine the problematic status of freedom and the will among both the player and for Link himself. Two more essays deal with the Triforce and the doctrine of the mean which separates Zelda and Link from the villainous Ganon(dorf). Following this are questions of the nature of evil in Hyrule, Zelda’s problematic status as a feminist icon, and the importance of getting to know the world around us and the ways in which our lives show both literal and logical distance that make our behaviors into quests [2], like the games we play.
What is the value of such an investigation? To be sure, many of the essays are riddled with the biases of contemporary philosophy, but at the same time they offer much in the way of encouragement to those who straddle two worlds, the world of academia with its focus on deconstruction and irony and politics of various kinds and the wider world of pop culture that is often considered to be beneath serious study, yet often richly rewards those who look at it closely and critically. To be sure, this book is not a book that one can trust in terms of morality or even ethics, especially since those authors that touch upon ethics are quick to praise the ethics of mastery and domination, so long as they are the ones doing the domination. What is more noteworthy and praiseworthy about this book is its encouragement to its readers, at least implicitly, to take everything in life, and every aspect of culture that one comes across, as the potential subject of study and investigation and analysis, and that is an approach that is worthy of emulation, even if the contents of that investigation will vary based on the presuppositions and worldviews and approaches of the analyst.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
An amusing example of efforts by philosophers to demonstrate the seriousness of pop culture [1], this volume consists of about 20 essays that fill 250 pages of entertaining essays that view the video game series of The Legend of Zelda with a great deal of seriousness. For those who are fond of the series, there are a lot of inside jokes here to be found that show the absurd sense of humor of philosophers who are clearly moonlighting by writing parts of a volume that both demonstrate potential that video games provide for serious thought and reflection for those who are so inclined, as well as to provide an opportunity for philosophy graduate students to demonstrate the viability of their writing in search of elusive opportunities for works read by a wide audience. This volume, as part of a series of books of similar size and contents that demonstrate the philosophical implications of pop culture, is fairly representative of the series in that it rewards those who are philosophically inclined who also happen to take pop culture, like cinema, television, music, literature, and video games seriously. If you are such a person, you know who you are, and you will enjoy at least a fair proportion of what you will read here.
In terms of its contents, the twenty essays of this collection run a wide gamut, and are organized into different levels. The first three essays are grouped around the topic of emotion, experience, and thought, and deal with questions of why we care about whether Link saves Zelda as well as questions of critical thinking. The next two essays deal with the subject of death and Link’s search for meaning from the point of view of existential philosophy. The next two essays after that deal with questions of identity as well as the distinction between Ganon’s “master” morality and the slave morality of the people of Hyrule that leads them to be rescued by Link and his master sword. The next two essays after that deal with timelines and the question of canonicity within the world of Zelda. After this come two essays dealing with the temporality of Zelda (specifically Majora’s Mask) and the construction of NESpace (specifically in the original Legend of Zelda) out of various elements with various items that allow the player to interact with the environment of the game. The next two essays after this look at the Zelda series from the point of view of art criticism as examples of translucent art and also examine Hyrule from the point of view of a utopian ideal. The following two essays after this examine the problematic status of freedom and the will among both the player and for Link himself. Two more essays deal with the Triforce and the doctrine of the mean which separates Zelda and Link from the villainous Ganon(dorf). Following this are questions of the nature of evil in Hyrule, Zelda’s problematic status as a feminist icon, and the importance of getting to know the world around us and the ways in which our lives show both literal and logical distance that make our behaviors into quests [2], like the games we play.
What is the value of such an investigation? To be sure, many of the essays are riddled with the biases of contemporary philosophy, but at the same time they offer much in the way of encouragement to those who straddle two worlds, the world of academia with its focus on deconstruction and irony and politics of various kinds and the wider world of pop culture that is often considered to be beneath serious study, yet often richly rewards those who look at it closely and critically. To be sure, this book is not a book that one can trust in terms of morality or even ethics, especially since those authors that touch upon ethics are quick to praise the ethics of mastery and domination, so long as they are the ones doing the domination. What is more noteworthy and praiseworthy about this book is its encouragement to its readers, at least implicitly, to take everything in life, and every aspect of culture that one comes across, as the potential subject of study and investigation and analysis, and that is an approach that is worthy of emulation, even if the contents of that investigation will vary based on the presuppositions and worldviews and approaches of the analyst.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
January 31, 2013
I'm a big lifelong Zelda fan. Not a must-win-every-game-with-only-three-hearts fan, but I do very much enjoy it. I'm not sure why, as I'm not really much of a "gamer" and never have been. Yet, I've played almost every Zelda game, and beaten several, some multiple times. Something about the story, or the world, or the music, or who knows what pulled me in when I was six and watching that (in retrospect) horrible but charming cartoon series. And I love digging deeper into fantasy worlds like Hyrule, trying to gain insight into what in literure, history, mythology, philosophy, etc... inspired their creators. And I enjoy looking for deeper meanings in the imagery and stories of the games... meanings that almost certainly aren't actually there.
So why didn't I love this book? Maybe it didn't go deep enough. I mean there are some interesting concepts that are explored, but most of them are so general and vague and simple that they didn't really grab my attention. And in most cases, the essayists--whether restricted by the publisher or not, I don't know--didn't take the time to fully elaborate on the theories they posit. Furthermore, most of the topics were derived more from the nature of video games in general, and had little to do with the world of Zelda/Hyrule in particular. You could probably change the character names and repurpose most of the essays for a book about "Conker's Bad Fur Day"... except no one would read that.
There's nothing inherently wrong with this book. Most of my misgivings have more to do with my own false expectations. A few of the essays actually are quite interesting. The trouble is I'm not really sure who this book is intended for. The hard-core Zelda fan will probably, like me, be disappointed by the lack of insight into the series, whereas the more casual fan interested in philosophy could choose from a vast array of better quality titles that explore the same philosophical ground.
Sidebar: The essay on nanotechnology scared the hell out of me!
So why didn't I love this book? Maybe it didn't go deep enough. I mean there are some interesting concepts that are explored, but most of them are so general and vague and simple that they didn't really grab my attention. And in most cases, the essayists--whether restricted by the publisher or not, I don't know--didn't take the time to fully elaborate on the theories they posit. Furthermore, most of the topics were derived more from the nature of video games in general, and had little to do with the world of Zelda/Hyrule in particular. You could probably change the character names and repurpose most of the essays for a book about "Conker's Bad Fur Day"... except no one would read that.
There's nothing inherently wrong with this book. Most of my misgivings have more to do with my own false expectations. A few of the essays actually are quite interesting. The trouble is I'm not really sure who this book is intended for. The hard-core Zelda fan will probably, like me, be disappointed by the lack of insight into the series, whereas the more casual fan interested in philosophy could choose from a vast array of better quality titles that explore the same philosophical ground.
Sidebar: The essay on nanotechnology scared the hell out of me!
June 30, 2018
There were very insightful thoughts and points made by the authors in the chapters! The whole book seemed very though-provoking, and it really gets you thinking about the connections that they make with the world of Zelda and the real world. A good bit of the chapters contain stuff that one has never really thought of before. The chapter “Slave Morality and Master Swords: Ludus and Paidia in Zelda” in “Level 3” of the book was one of my more favorable chapters, because it actually made more sense than most of the other chapters that seem to just ramble on about some irrelevant things. It was actually relevant to real-world situations we experience, and is probably the strongest chapter in the book in my opinion. I will say that at least a third of the chapters just shouldn’t have been in the book in the first place. One of the weakest chapters that made almost no sense to me, no matter how many time I would re-read sentences, was “Shape Shifting and Time Traveling: Link’s Identity Issues” also in Level 3. There was an entire section that had so VERY little to do with the section title. They’ll also go on saying something, and then say something like “this does not help our case.” Putting those words already said, then saying it doesn’t help your case, is putting too much there. Just get straight to your point, and leave it at that. They were just talking about too many things that, somehow to them, lead to another thing. Lastly is the poor editing. The editor should have looked over the chapters more carefully, because there were actually some noticeable typos. If any Legend of Zelda fan wants to read this book, I would still recommend it. It’s hard to read, but worth most of the effort
November 5, 2016
3,5 stars for this book. I really enjoyed reading it as I am a huge Zelda fan (thanks again to Ja Ne for this awesome Christmas gift ;-)) but some of the articles weren't to my liking (it's really a thing of personal preference here).
Unfortunately, some of the argumentations in this book went of in a promising way but started to limp and feel superficial. I know, it's a book on a popular game. Nevertheless, I think the arguments should be presented in a logical way that draws the reader into the mindframe of the authors. Also, there were some points in this book where I doubted my knowledge of the Zelda series. I am not quite sure whether I am ill informed or don't remember the specifics of the game's story anymore, so I won't make any claims in that direction.
Over all I can say that I will definitly re-read some of the articles as they really got me thinking. So for all of you Zelda enthusiast out there: Get the book and start to take a look at the games you love from a completely different perspective!
Unfortunately, some of the argumentations in this book went of in a promising way but started to limp and feel superficial. I know, it's a book on a popular game. Nevertheless, I think the arguments should be presented in a logical way that draws the reader into the mindframe of the authors. Also, there were some points in this book where I doubted my knowledge of the Zelda series. I am not quite sure whether I am ill informed or don't remember the specifics of the game's story anymore, so I won't make any claims in that direction.
Over all I can say that I will definitly re-read some of the articles as they really got me thinking. So for all of you Zelda enthusiast out there: Get the book and start to take a look at the games you love from a completely different perspective!
November 24, 2010
One quote: "Simplicity is the recurring abstraction through which the community understands the world." -Carl Matthew Johnson
One chapter: "How Can There Be Evil in Hyrule?" by Dwayne Collins
One person: Friedrich Nietzsche
One theme: Existentialism (underlying)
---
Truth be told, this is somewhere in the 3-4 range for me. I thought I had a fair grasp of The Legend of Zelda series, but I am exposed. How could I think that someone who played less than half the games in the series would understand it pretty well?
The truth is that this book is MORE for the person with a decent foundation of Philosophy than it is for the (sometimes casual) gamer who is interested in a book on one of their favorite game series. And with that, while I liked the book, I am not qualified to say more than that (until I am able to ascertain the correctness of their arguments).
One chapter: "How Can There Be Evil in Hyrule?" by Dwayne Collins
One person: Friedrich Nietzsche
One theme: Existentialism (underlying)
---
Truth be told, this is somewhere in the 3-4 range for me. I thought I had a fair grasp of The Legend of Zelda series, but I am exposed. How could I think that someone who played less than half the games in the series would understand it pretty well?
The truth is that this book is MORE for the person with a decent foundation of Philosophy than it is for the (sometimes casual) gamer who is interested in a book on one of their favorite game series. And with that, while I liked the book, I am not qualified to say more than that (until I am able to ascertain the correctness of their arguments).
May 13, 2012
Don't be fooled by the title - this is primarily a book about philosophy, not the Zelda series. That's not to say the book doesn't contain the expected intersection of the two, merely that it skews hard toward the academic perspective.
This book contains some articles I really enjoyed and some I found absolutely awful. This reaction was likely due to my education and experiences - a lot of older philosophy has been superseded by modern science, so reading arguments predicated upon these outdated ideas was an excellent way to get to sleep. In the book's defense, however, it's structured so that the earlier chapters lay a solid foundation for some truly excellent articles toward the end, much like any well designed philosophy class or Zelda game.
This book contains some articles I really enjoyed and some I found absolutely awful. This reaction was likely due to my education and experiences - a lot of older philosophy has been superseded by modern science, so reading arguments predicated upon these outdated ideas was an excellent way to get to sleep. In the book's defense, however, it's structured so that the earlier chapters lay a solid foundation for some truly excellent articles toward the end, much like any well designed philosophy class or Zelda game.
January 31, 2013
Most of the essays were pretty decent high-school-level essays that used Zelda mechanics to introduce you to a variety of philosophy textbook topics. The books didn't really pick apart Zelda all that deeply, but it was more of the authors' intention to use Zelda as a springboard into philosophy rather than critique Zelda itself.
For the most part, the essays were pretty good, minus one poorly-researched one which happened to make long-renounced accusations against Nietzsche re: his supposed anti-semitism.
If you are interested in the promise of philosophy and love the Zelda series, I highly recommend this book. If you're already well-versed in philosophy and were hoping for some deep critiques of the series, you will unfortunately have to look elsewhere.
For the most part, the essays were pretty good, minus one poorly-researched one which happened to make long-renounced accusations against Nietzsche re: his supposed anti-semitism.
If you are interested in the promise of philosophy and love the Zelda series, I highly recommend this book. If you're already well-versed in philosophy and were hoping for some deep critiques of the series, you will unfortunately have to look elsewhere.
September 16, 2010
This book is, I hope to god, meant to be funny. I can barely make sense of anything past the first chapter (which actually had some decent theories on why we feel emotionally about art). I'm a fan of the Zelda franchise, though I could hardly be call hardcore. But even if I live and breathed the games, I would be ashamed for this book to speak for my game. It gives off the feeling of a ten year old trying to tie everything he hears to a few minuscule tid-bits of knowledge that he acquired through his halfass attempts at learning. I give it two and a half stars because I think they were trying to be funny, and because it's a good little novelty book.
May 3, 2009
To say I was excited for this book is a gross understatement. I love everything concerning the Legend of Zelda franchise and, to see it applied to a serious field of study really piqued my interest. Unfortunately, upon reading this, I was met with a haphazard, poorly-edited collection of essays. I plowed through it and tried to love it (I really did), but the amount of inaccuracies and lack of depth with the video game made this seem more like a cash grab than an actual look into the philosophy behind these games.
June 7, 2017
Overall, this book was good. The individual authors wrote, for the most part, insightful articles about a series that was never truly meant to picked apart so philosophically. The philosophy itself is good. However, some of the knowledge of the writers about the actual series is occasionally lacking. Most wrote about only one game in the series, which is fine, but sometimes when they make generalizations about the series, and the way the games connect, they lack the understanding I would expect.
December 7, 2016
As a Zelda fan I decided to read this book (and because of the pun "I Link Therefore I Am"). Unfortunately, the book contains errors both grammatical as content wise (though some are hilarious). There were some articles I enjoyed, but in the end it felt like the authors did not know much about Zelda at all and it comes off as an epic fail. As for the philosophy itself, it was not that bad but it felt generic most of the time.
With poor fact checking and editing, I would rather read "philosophical" and free content regarding The Legend of Zelda on the internet.
With poor fact checking and editing, I would rather read "philosophical" and free content regarding The Legend of Zelda on the internet.
January 2, 2019
Certainly for those well familiar with philosophical ideas and more academic audiences, this volume will be less engaging as the essays that compile it are more targeted towards a more general audience. This book does make for a decent teaching resource, however, that can be used to relay complicated ideas in a more easily digestible format. While Legend of Zelda and Philosophy manages to touch on some ideas that can expand readers’ understanding of the series, more of the text seems dedicated to relaying philosophical concepts than exploring the series in a more analytical fashion.
August 31, 2014
''What would we gain if our virtual spaces required the same amount of time and effort to get to know as the real world, if the world of Zelda stretched endlessly in all directions or if a chessboard had an infinite number of squares? Our virtual spaces, whether we are talking about World of Warcraft or The Settlers of Catan, scale down reality so we can admire it, study it, and shake it up like a snowglobe.''
November 27, 2017
Not exactly what I thought it would be, but still quite interesting.
Instead of going into the philosophy of the series, it's more using Zelda as a way to talk about different philosophical theories. However, in a way that did bleed into talking about different philosophies in the series (up through 2007) which did make me think about some of my favorite games in a new way.
For casual fans of both philosophy and Zelda, there may be some interest in some of these essays.
Instead of going into the philosophy of the series, it's more using Zelda as a way to talk about different philosophical theories. However, in a way that did bleed into talking about different philosophies in the series (up through 2007) which did make me think about some of my favorite games in a new way.
For casual fans of both philosophy and Zelda, there may be some interest in some of these essays.
August 17, 2018
I liked it, but some of the essays digress a lot from the Zelda topic. Some even feel as if the game was just an excuse to talk about something completely different. It took me longer than expected to read, and it's clear that this was written before skyward sword and BoTW. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it and reading this while playing Breath of the wild gave me something to think and to enjoy the game with different thoughts in my mind.
January 25, 2010
Fun, if not extremely thought-provoking. Drawing connections from Hegel and Hume to space theory and feminism, the essays cover a lot of ground without ever moving away from short colloquial musings. Worth a read just to see if one of the writers has made a connection between Zelda and your favorite theory!
July 15, 2012
This series is a very good way for people to get introduced with a variety of philosophical concepts. However, its focus is on breadth, not depth, and additional specialized reading is required to gain a full understanding of anyone of the topics introduced. Overall, I really enjoyed it, buts it is only the first step in a journey.
March 29, 2016
Broad in philosophical concept, satisfactorily demonstrated via the wonderful world of Hyrule. Still, nothing of a game changer (pun intended), but a definite read for anyone who is a fan of zelda as well as the wonderful pursuit of philosophy. Additionally, while I've never disagreed, there was some solid commentary regarding the legitimacy of video games as an art form.
February 24, 2009
Zelda and Critical Thinking in one place at last ! For anyone that has ever wondered , who or what link is , the Timelines of the Zelda Series or a look at video games as art works this book is for you .
May 5, 2010
it's a cool idea but did not live up to my hype. some parts were cool but overall it repeated itself a lot, was very vague at lots of parts and some of the authors seemed they had never actually played zelda
May 7, 2012
While chintzy at times (as is to be expected) it actually had many, if not most of the articles more about the meta aspects of video game playing...leading me to wonder if those may have been better suited for a separate book, rather than one specifically designated for Zelda.
October 24, 2009
The fact that this book even exists in print gives it five stars.
February 17, 2010
fantastic read. it's great from a purley philosophical standpoint, as well as from just being a Zelda fan. this book was incredible.
January 13, 2010
I honestly couldn't finish it. Though I really wanted to like it. It was just so dull and dry and subjective... would rather have just spend the time playing a Zelda videogame...
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