'The Legend of Zelda' 40th Anniversary Draft | Button Mash

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The Ringer

Tv & Film

4.5 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2026

⏱️ 106 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hey! Listen! Ben Lindbergh gets together with three fellow 'Legend of Zelda' lovers—Mothership co-founder Maddy Myers, The Guardian games editor Keza MacDonald, and New York Times reporter Zachary Small—to celebrate the franchise’s 40th birthday. First, Ben, Zachary, and Maddy ask Keza questions about Nintendo and ‘Zelda’ inspired by her new book about the history of Nintendo, ‘Super Nintendo.’ Then, they each share their origin stories as ‘Zelda’ players, and the ‘Zelda’ games they have personal soft spots for. After that, they draft their favorite Links, world maps, items, bosses, dungeons, songs, and companion characters from across the series. Email us at ringerversegaming@gmail.com! Guest intros (00:00)Questions for Keza (11:11)Draft rules (41:27)Beginning of draft (45:34)Draft recap (1:37:29)Goodbyes (1:41:43) Host: Ben LindberghGuests: Keza MacDonald, Maddy Myers, and Zachary SmallProducer: Chris SuttonAdditional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you're a fan of the inner workings of Hollywood, then check out my podcast, The Town, on the Ringer Podcast Network.
0:05.9	My name's Matt Bellany. I'm founding partner at Puck and the writer of the What I'm Hearing newsletter.
0:10.6	With my show, The Town, I bring you the inside conversation about money and power in Hollywood.
0:15.4	Every week, we've got three short episodes featuring real Hollywood insiders to tell you what people in town are actually talking about. We'll cover
0:22.4	everything from why your favorite show was canceled
0:24.5	overnight, which streamer is on the brink
0:26.6	of collapse, and which executive is on the
0:28.5	hot seat. Disney, Netflix,
0:30.5	who's up, down, and who'll never eat lunch
0:32.6	in this town again? Follow the town
0:34.7	on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast.
0:53.0	Music Follow the town on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, listen!
0:55.5	And welcome into The Ringerverse, your nexus feed for all things fandom.
1:01.6	I am Ben Lindberg, senior editor at The Ringer, and final boss of Buttmash.
1:05.9	And today, Button Mash goes Moblin mode, as we devote an entire episode to my favorite franchise and possibly yours, the legend of Zelda.
1:15.0	Why are we talking about Zelda with, as far as we know, no new game on the horizon?
1:19.2	Well, Link, like me, is a 1986 baby.
1:23.2	And though I'm sure neither of us looks our age, we are, in fact, turning 40 this year.
1:28.1	In fact,
1:33.3	it was 40 years ago this Saturday that an old man in a cave in the original Legend of Zelda first advised adventurers that it's dangerous to go alone. And once again, I will heed that advice
1:38.8	by bringing on guests for this episode, which will feature a 40th anniversary legend of Zelda draft.
1:45.5	There are three pieces of the aptly named TriForce.
	...

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