Tales from the Backlog - Episodes Tagged with “The Legend Of Zelda”

231: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (with Gooey & McKenna - Flashback 64)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0400

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One of these days it was bound to happen, the remake announcement solidified it- it's time to give The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo, 1998) the Tales from the Backlog treatment. This was Dave's favorite game for decades and is still by far one of the most influential games in his life, but this was the first time in a while that he had played all the way through it. Join Dave and special guests Gooey and McKenna of Flashback 64 for the deep dive. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Gooey (they/he) and McKenna (she/her)

Check out Flashback 64 https://flashback64.com/
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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Podcast Start
0:16 Introductions
7:48 Our Histories with Ocarina of Time
12:10 Top-Level Thoughts
18:50 Story Setup, Storytelling and Cinematography
31:57 Navi and Handholding
36:26 Combat
42:16 The N64 Controller
46:41 "The Zelda Formula" and Exploration
57:50 Dungeons and Complexity
1:12:56 Visual Flourishes and Art Design
1:25:41 Our Hopes for the Remake
1:35:33 Soundtrack
1:45:50 Re-Evaluating Childhood Favorites and Who Should Play?
1:57:48 Flashback 64
2:05:29 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
2:07:06 Spoilers- The Water Temple Is Good
2:30:08 Spoilers- Favorite Temples and Ganon's Castle
2:35:12 Spoilers- Sheik and More Temple Talk
2:47:48 Spoilers- A Theory for the Remake

Music used in the episode is credited to Koji Kondo. Tracks used: Title Theme, Kokiri Forest, Saria's Song, Forest Temple, Kakariko Village, Hyrule Field, Gerudo Valley, Zora's Domain, Zelda's Theme

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

117: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (with Jared - Play Along Podcast)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 22 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

As the Legend of Zelda series has pivoted to free-flowing and creativity-focused open words, "The Zelda Formula" has fallen by the wayside, left in the memories of those who grew up with it. That's certainly the case for me, as I welcomed the change that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom brought to the series. However, the old ways still hold a place in my heart, and I was happy to revisit The Minish Cap for this episode. This marks an interesting period in the series, where Capcom worked with Nintendo to develop the handheld Zelda games, and they knocked this one out of the park. Thank you to the patrons for voting this game on to the show!

I'm joined in this episode by Jared Moss from Play Along Podcast to discuss it. Jared is a Zelda head and was the perfect guest for this episode. You can and should check out everything that he is doing over at Play Along Podcast by using this link or on your favorite podcast app!

TIMESTAMPS
Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 2:31
Story Setup 15:11
Visuals/Music 23:40
Gameplay 38:41
Final Thoughts/Recommendations/Housekeeping 1:10:25
SPOILER WALL 1:23:29

Music used in the episode is credited to Mitsuhiko Takano: File Select, Title Theme, Hyrule Field, Picori Festival, Hyrule Town, Mt Crenel, Dungeon Boss, Minish Woods, Vaati's Wrath

Dave's guest appearance on "Fun" and Games podcast
Listen to the King of Games 1996 over on Retro Hangover!

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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

32: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (with Alan Nichols - A Top 3 Podcast)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Dave is joined by Alan Nichols to discuss The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. What was once little brother to the much more popular Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask has begun to resonate with many of us who grew up with the N64 during our childhoods. Add in some things that hit a bit closer to home since the pandemic started, and we have a game worth revisiting. But did the gameplay hold up? Listen to find out what we think.

*I experienced some technical issues wirh my track recording that affected sound quality. Hope it doesn't hinder your enjoyment of the episode! -Dave

TIMESTAMPS:
Intro and Opening Thoughts 0:43
Personal Histories, Masks and Time Loop 9:30
Story and Setting, Music and "Zelda Stuff" 55:35
Spoiler Wall 1:56:41

[Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!