A Link Between Words

We are back after Brady's four month second baby hiatus! This is the first part in a deep dive series of episodes where we will discuss the Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

• 00:00: Introductions

• 00:30: Maps and Catching Up

• 02:50: The Red Sox Turnaround

• 04:41: Our First Deep Dive, Star Wars, Corona

• 08:45: Our Personal Histories with A Link Between Worlds

• 22:10: Development History

• 46:08: Narragansett Beer Intermission

• 49:30: The Opening Hours, Characters, and Gameplay

• 1:20:20 Wrap Up

This is the second of two episodes where we will analyze the music of the series. Check out the timestamps below for specific topics.

• 00:00: Introductions

• 00:29: Baseball

• 02:56: Unsolicited Political Commentary

• 05:33: The Need for Two Episodes

• 06:38: Fi’s Theme

• 07:50: Shane Sings

• 08:34: How Zelda Creates Variations on Its Themes

• 12:14: The Absence of Music

• 14:26: More Tracks We Missed

• 15:56: Oath to Order

• 18:16: The Dark World Theme

• 20:17: Ikana Valley

• 22:56: The Flute Boy from A Link to the Past and Emotional Weight in Zelda Scores

• 26:39: The Song of Time and the Relationship Between Limitations and Creativity

• 32:06: Link’s Instruments

• 32:56: The Wind Waker Baton

• 39:38: The Ocarina and Other Wind Instruments

• 56:57: Bongos

• 57:50: Guitar

• 1:02:05: Link’s Other Instruments

• 1:05:16: The Problematic Treasure Chest Minigame Girl from Majora’s Mask

• 1:09:11: Minigame Music

• 1:17:42: Battle Music

• 1:19:27: Woodfall Temple Music

• 1:20:58: Ganondorf Battle Music in Ocarina of Time

• 1:22:15: Ganondorf Battle Music in Twilight Princess

• 1:26:43: Colgera Theme

• 1:27:20: An Apology to Skyward Sword

• 1:28:14: Boss and Mini-boss Battle Themes

• 1:35:00: House/Shop/Town Themes

• 1:36:24: Clock Town

• 1:46:00: The Astral Observatory

• 1:53:39: Kakariko Village

• 1:59:27: Hyrule Castle Town in Ocarina of Time 

• 2:02:27: Hateno Village

• 2:04:49: Outset and Windfall Islands

• 2:05:32: Tarrey Town

• 2:06:11: Other Hyrule Castle Town Themes

• 2:08:16: Spoiled Boston Sports Fan

• 2:09:27: Hyrule Castle Courtyard in Ocarina of Time 

• 2:12:13: Inside a House and Shop Themes

• 2:14:51 Zora’s Domain 

• 2:16:18: Dragon Roost Island and Rito Village

• 2:21:33: Goron City

• 2:26:17: Seinfeld Tangent

• 2:28:37: A PSA for the Arts

• 2:30:30: Incidental Music

• 2:43:16: Wrapping Up

• 2:44:43: Honey and Darling and High School Boy Insecurities

• 2:49:52: Outro and Future Release Schedule

This is the first of two episodes where we will analyze the music of the series. Check out the timestamps below for specific topics.

• 00:00: Introductions

• 00:29: Comedians, Sitcoms, Good Friday, and the Sox

• 03:59: Music is Integral to Zelda

• 06:22: History of the Zelda Theme

• 07:19: Loading Screens in A Link Between Worlds and A Link to the Past

• 08:27: Zelda, Classical Music, and Film Scores

• 11:25: The Genius of Koji Kondo and Spaghetti Westerns

• 19:02: Overworld Themes

• 42:38: Dungeon Themes

• 1:05:36: Zelda’s Lullaby

• 1:12:38: Ganondorf’s Theme

• 1:13:00: Shane’s Crush on Din

• 1:14:45 Song of Storms

• 1:19:00: Link’s Theme

• 1:20:18: Character and Race Themes 
• 1:48:20: Outro

In this episode, we will analyze the chronology of the history of Hyrule. Special guests include Brady's wife Emily and their dog Wren.

• 00:00: Introductions

• 00:37: The Nietzsche Ball Bros

• 03:02: Special Guests Emily and Wren

• 04:15: Emily’s Personal History with Zelda

• 11:30: Introducing Wren

• 13:36: History and Controversy of the Timeline

• 17:42: Brady’s Take on the Timeline

• 20:11 Two Timelines, Not Three

• 21:27: The Chronology of Nintendo’s Flagship Titles 

• 24:15: Avatar: The Last Air Bender and Star Wars

• 25:58: Skyward Sword’s Impact on the Timeline 

• 27:35: The Minish Cap

• 30:13: The Curse of Demise

• 31:58: The Credibility of the Timeline

• 34:08: Four Swords

• 37:43: Ocarina of Time

• 39:49: Timeline Split

• 41:48: Hyrulean Satire

• 43:44: Gary Gulman

• 45:54: Child Timeline

• 46:12: Majora’s Mask

• 50:30: Twilight Princess

• 52:25: Four Swords Adventures

• 53:37: How Many Links?

• 54:31: Who’s Taking Care of the Master Sword?

• 55:45: Dampé the Gravedigger and Babu Frik 

• 56:59: Adult Timeline

• 57:57: The Wind Waker

• 58:38: Emily’s Coughing Fit

• 1:00:12: Seals in The Wind Waker

• 1:01:46: Emily’s Coughing Returns

• 1:02:19: Religion in Hyrule

• 1:04:04: The Implications of The Wind Waker’s Ending and Shane’s Pizza

• 1:06:55: Phantom Hourglass

• 1:08:20: Spirit Tracks

• 1:08:57: The Races of Hyrule in and Wrap Up of the Adult Timeline

• 1:16:49: The Downfall Timeline

• 1:17:13: The Imprisoning War and A Link to the Past

• 1:18:20: Link’s Awakening

• 1:19:05: Oracle of Ages and Oracles of Seasons

• 1:22:43: A Link Between Worlds

• 1:22:35: Triforce Heroes

• 1:25:48: Echoes of Wisdom

• 1:27:03: The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II:  the Adventure of Link

• 1:33:33: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

• 1:33:24: Reincarnation in Zelda

• 1:32:52: The Legend of Laelaps

• 1:35:30: Wrap Up

• 1:37:04: Outro

This is the second of two episodes where we will analyze the dungeons, puzzles, and items in the series. 

• 00:00: Introductions

• 01:32: Juggling Brothers Cosplay and Thus Spoke Zarathustra

• 07:18: Items Introduction

• 08:16: Traversal Items

• 15:30: An Ode to the Boomerang

• 16:37: Gust Items and Tangents

• 19:10: Tools

• 21:20: The Mirror Shield

• 23:12: Puzzles and Switches

• 24:32: Roc’s Cape/Feather and Jumping

• 26:35: Classic Puzzle and Dungeon Design

• 30:15 Other Traversal Items

• 31:45: Items with Multiple Uses are Best

• 35:18: Twilight Princess’ Temple of Time

• 38:04: Bombs

• 44:38: Bow and Arrow

• 45:31: Hookshot

• 48:33: Magic

• 52:14: Some Wind Waker Love

• 54:23: Masks and other Magic Items

• 57:16: Swords and Shields

• 1:08:22: Shane’s Grievances with Breath of the Wild

• 1:12:18: Breath of the Wild Puzzles

• 1:17:52: Memorable Puzzles

• 1:23:25: Little Women and Shane’s Full Name

• 1:26:30: Back to Memorable Puzzles

• 1:41:54: Dungeon Order in Ocarina of Time

• 1:44:21: Other Tools

• 1:51:03: Musical Instruments

• 1:53:19: Fishing Rod

• 1:54:58: Use of Space in Ikana Canyon

• 2:05:31: Memorable Boss Fights

• 2:09:24: Shane Loves the Megaton Hammer

• 2:12:47: Brady Loves the Hookshot

• 2:13:47: Outros

This is the first of two episodes where we will analyze the dungeons, puzzles, and items in the series. 

• 00:00: Introductions

• 03:37: Dungeons are Zelda

• 06:24: Memorable Leadups to Dungeons

• 08:38: City in the Sky Tangents

• 13:11: Other Memorable Leadups to Dungeons

• 18:47: Dungeons Fitting into the Narrative

• 21:03: Constraints Inspire Innovation

• 23:10: Preludes to Dungeons and Dungeons as Organic Spaces

• 30:01: First Dungeons

• 37:24: How Zelda Approaches Dungeons

• 38:54: What Makes a Great Zelda Dungeon

• 1:08:35: Divine Beasts

• 1:10:30: Catholic Tangent

• 1:11:39: “Bad” Zelda Dungeon Qualities

• 1:15:07: Dungeons as an Experience

• 1:19:24: Dungeons Are Not Just Puzzles

• 1:22:25: Items and Dungeon Design

• 1:29:05: Some Brief Final Dungeon Analysis

• 1:38:35: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks Development Choices

• 1:45:33: 2D vs. 3D Dungeons

• 1:51:58: Our Favorite Dungeons

• 1:56:18: Shrines in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

• 2:00:08: Forest, Fire, and Water Trifecta

• 2:01:40: Pivotal Dungeons

• 2:03:54: Outro

Our first episode of our first podcast ever! In this episode, we will introduce ourselves, the show, and why we love this video game franchise.

• 00:00: Introductions

• 02:00: What Zelda Means to Us

• 08:01: Boston Sports Fans

• 09:18 More Personal Histories

• 18:01: Video Games as Art

• 19:44: Cultural Inspirations in Zelda

• 21:00: Shane’s College Essay

• 23:18: Brady’s Examples of What Zelda Means to Him

• 24:04: Music and Sound Effects

• 36:30 Zelda is Relatable

• 40:36: Zelda Stays Fresh

• 42:49: The World of Hyrule

• 54:27: Rhode Islanders 

• 55:35: Remasters

• 56:39: Fantasy and Puzzles

• 1:03:32: There’s Beer in the Fridge!

• 1:03:48: Outro

A Link between Words is a podcast run by two guys who love the legend of Zelda video game franchise. Co-hosts Shane Watterson and Brady Conley leave no pot intact in their discussion and analysis of all things in the series. Episodes range from general topics and themes to deep dives into specific titles. If you just can’t get enough Zelda, then crack a beer with us and give us a listen.