Some people felt like Skyward Sword soared. Others felt like the latest entry in Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda series was saddled with annoying issues. Even current steward Eiji Aonuma feels like changes may need to happen to the long-running franchise.
While the impact of these mixed feelings on the next Zelda game is a long ways off, some good may come out of the response to Skyward Sword in the form of a very promising graphic novel.
Second Quest is a comics project that has a writer and artist trying to recapture the sense of discovery they felt when playing older Zelda titles. And it’s not just any writer or artist wither. The art’s being handled by David Hellman, the creator responsible for the beautiful painted backgrounds in Braid and he’s collaborating with Tevis Thompson, whose critical essay on Skyward Sword echoed the thoughts of other die-hard fans. Here’s how they describe the graphic novel:
Second Quest is a comic for those who love video games but want more compelling worlds and a sense of real discovery. Zelda fans will enjoy familiar motifs turned upside-down, but you don’t have to know Zelda to enjoy our story. It’s for anyone who’s felt the pull of distant landscapes and longed to explore a world full of mystery.
Second Quest takes place in a world that has already been saved. Chaos was banished long ago, and the people were united. It is now the Age of Harmony.
A young woman discovers that she can draw out memories from objects just by touching them. But what these objects show her does not fit the legends she’s always been told. What will she discover about her island home? And what place does a curious, daring young woman have in a world that has already been saved?
Second Quest also engages many conversations that are happening in the video game community right now — about the representations of women in games, the failures of triple-A titles, the role of achievements and trophies, and why we even play games at all. We hope our comic will offer a unique take on these issues.
The art shown so far look great and there’s clearly passion for Zelda and video games in the team’s hearts. Take a look at the Kickstarter project pages and see if you’re swayed into opening your wallet. Who knows, it might be like opening one of Link’s treasure chests.
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