Is The Legend of Zelda the Perfect Video Game?
Part-Time Genius
iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope
4.5 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 24 March 2026
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Strap on your sword and grab your ocarina, because today we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda! Join Mango and Gabe as they uncover the secrets of Nintendo's landmark fantasy series, including the real-world inspirations and technical breakthroughs that helped bring the games to life. Plus: The inspiring story of a nonagenarian Zelda fan, and the reason why Link is so darn handsome.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:18.7 | You're listening to Part-Time Genius, |
| 0:20.8 | the production of kaleidoscope and IHeart Radio. |
| 0:28.0 | Guess what, Mango? |
| 0:29.5 | What's that, Dave? |
| 0:30.5 | The original Legend of Zelda game launched in Japan in 1986, which means this year marks the 40th anniversary of the series. So if you think about it, |
| 0:42.1 | Link, the main character, he's officially over the hill. Which is super weird to think about |
| 0:48.4 | because he looks so young in the games. And plus, he's like running everywhere on that map and |
| 0:53.1 | climbing mountains and swinging a heavy sword. |
| 0:56.2 | It feels it feels weird to think that he and I are fairly close to age. |
| 1:00.8 | Yeah, I mean, he really needs to start pacing himself, right? |
| 1:03.9 | I mean, especially when you consider that Link was meant to be about 12 years old in that first game. |
| 1:09.2 | So if the character really did age in real time, |
| 1:12.7 | he'd actually be in his 50s by now. Oh, wow. I do think Nintendo made the right call, |
| 1:18.5 | keeping him more or less the same age, because I don't think I'd really want to play him as a |
| 1:23.4 | geriatric. But I mean, that is really fun to think about. Well, one of my favorite things I |
| 1:29.5 | found out this week is that the series creator, a gaming legend, Shigero Miyamoto, he never |
| 1:35.3 | wanted Link to age to adulthood. He thought the character worked best as, you know, a playful, |
| 1:40.6 | childish boy. And that, as he put it, quote, if we made him too cool, he wouldn't be |
| 1:45.8 | Link anymore. But, you know, that philosophy, it began to change in the mid-1990s when |
| 1:51.9 | Nintendo started development on the Legend of Zelda Akarina of Time, which was the first |
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