<div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/zw47_q9wbBE?si=YSAlhO-bnBU-enHw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> Sometimes I watch [this](https://youtube.com/watch?v=zw47_q9wbBE) just to feel something. What an immaculate trailer. With *Tears of the Kingdom* just four weeks away[^1], it feels strange to not have a level of hype like this trailer gives folks, even to this day. Perhaps it is because I am older, more tired, and juggling more. Maybe it is the level of secrecy Nintendo has had surround the newest game. I am excited for *Tears of the Kingdom*, but I am not “hype.” Is it because this open-world Zelda is a know quantity now? Or that it isn’t launching alongside next-gen hardware? It is interesting to look back and think about all of this. Perhaps procrastination will pay off again: Since I started this draft, Nintendo now has announced the premiere of the “[final pre-launch trailer” for *Tears of the Kingdom* is tomorrow](https://www.youtube.com/live/86RuYpeSEfE?feature=share) (4/12/23). If there was ever a moment to try and chase the dragon that is the 2017 trailer, this is it. 🤞🏻 There is so much different in my life surrounding this new game compared to *Breath of the Wild*. I have a kid now. Heck, I wasn’t married when *Breath of the Wild* dropped. [[The History of Breath of the Wild|I wrote a complete history of the game’s development]]. I was working on the guide for *BotW*. This will be the first 3D *Zelda* I’ve played since 2011 that I have played purely for myself and fun, with no work of deadline surrounding it.[^2] That has me more hyped up than the game itself. It’s strange how much has changed in six years. I wonder how this version of Hyrule has changed. Will I recognize and remember the hills, mountains, and valleys? How will it feel to explore as a dad? Will I be playing in handheld while my daughter rolls around, maybe starts crawling? Change is constant, but we are not always aware of it until afterward. Using Zelda as a marker for change is making me keenly aware. I suspect the next time a 3D Zelda game releases, Eloise will be old enough to engage *with* the games. ☠️ This has turned into the ramblings of a old(-feeling) dad watching his daughter grow up far too quickly, even if it has only been six months. Perhaps I am entering my King of Red Lions phase of life. Not a terrible place to be when you put it like that. --- [^1]: And that beautiful SWOLED out in just two weeks. 🤤 [^2]: I have gone back to Skyward Sword (on the Wii) and played my fair share of the 3DS games. You get my point though.