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Hyrule
“From the earliest times, the history of the royal family of Hyrule is also the history of the calamity Ganon: a primal evil that has endured over the ages.”
Impa (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
The genesis of The Legend of Zelda
After the success of Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros, Shigeru Miyamoto is looking to create a new game for the Famicom – known here as the NES.
With the success of the 1984 microcomputer game The Legend of Hydlide and the arcade game The Tower of Druaga, Miyamoto decided to create his own heroic-fantasy game in order to allow Nintendo to compete with its competitors.
Initially called Adventure Title, Miyamoto’s new project was originally intended to be a dungeon-building game. The goal was to give players the opportunity to create their own heroic-fantasy universe. But very quickly, the developer will rework his project, judging that the construction is not fun. He wants to focus his game on an activity that is dear to him: exploration.
The inspiration of Hyrule
Born on November 16, 1952, Shigeru Miyamoto grew up with his two brothers and sister in the small town of Sonobe. Far from the city life of Tokyo, Sonobe and its surroundings is a real playground for young Shigeru.
Very quickly, the young boy decides to go on an adventure: “When I was a kid, I went hiking and found a lake. It was a surprise for me to stumble upon it. When I was traveling across the country without a map, trying to find my way, stumbling upon amazing things as I went, I realized what it was like to go on an adventure like this.” (Confidences of Shigeru Miyamoto from his website).
This childhood as an exporter of his village and its surroundings was the main inspiration for the creation of Hyrule, and the essence of his new video game The Legend of Zelda.
From the very first game, the player (incarnated by Link) is pushed to discover the world in which he wakes up in order to accomplish his mission and save the kingdom of Ganon. In his quest, the player must explore forests and caves, just like the young Shigeru twenty years ago.
The evolution of the kingdom
The success of the game is such that sequels were quickly envisaged. As the games go on, Hyrule evolves.
In 1998, players discovered Hyrule in a new way with Ocarina of Time, the first 3D game of the license.
In 2003, players found a sunken kingdom of Hyrule with Wind Waker, offering increased freedom of movement.
But it is with Breath of the Wild, released in 2017, that players are truly free in their actions, no longer forcing them to follow a defined plot.
Even if the graphics and gameplay ideas evolve, the soul of The Legend of Zelda has never disappeared, pushing the player more and more to explore this incredible kingdom of Hyrule.
The first game The Legend of Zelda sold 6.51 million copies.
Sonobecho Kozakuramachi
Sonobe is an ancient Japanese town located in the district of Funai.
Formerly a walled city of Sonobe Castle, it merged in 2006 with the former cities of Hiyoshi, Yagi and Miyama to form the new city of Nantan.
The city has remarkable monuments including Rurikei, one of the 100 best soundscapes in Japan.
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Map BRUSSELS of the 100 cult places [French Edition]
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By Damien Biju
Passionné par le cinéma, les séries d'animations et les jeux vidéo, il rêve secrètement de voyager à travers le monde à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture à bord d'une Delorean.