The Zelda Cast

We're back for another week with a very special episode, one that we've been looking forward to for a while: analyzing the world, characters, and themes of Studio Ghibli's 1997 masterpiece Princess Mononoke and seeing how that movie made a lasting impressing on the Zelda series, and Breath of the Wild in particular. We compare Link and Ashitaka, Zelda and San, Lady Eboshi and the citizens of Iront...

We are answering a PLETHORA of fan questions, so with absolutely no time to waste, let's go over some of what we touch on this week. Other than Breath of the Wild 2, what's our biggest hope for Zelda in 2022? Why aren't the CD-i game included in Best Zelda Ever? What' the right balance between reveal and release? What Nintendo IP would we sacrifice to bring another IP back from the dead? What old...

Happy New Year everyone! To kick off 2022, we're looking back at the year that was and then up ahead at the year that is to come! Was Zelda's 35th anniversary really that bad? Do we think Breath of the Wild 2 is still on track to release in 2022? What was the turning point in 2021 where fans started to get grumpy with the anniversary? Are hopes for a mobile Zelda game officially dead? Is Minish Ca...

This is our last show on 2021, so we're going out with a bang and celebrating the culmination of all of our writing team's hard work: Best Zelda Ever 2021! Our annual list is out, and of course Andy and Al were two of the writer that contributed to the list, so this week, we're going over the finished product and seeing what we agree with and what we don't! Come listen to some scathing rants and g...

The title really says it all, doesn't it? This week, we go over everything shown and, more importantly, not shown at The Game Awards this year, including Breath of the Wild 2. Come hear Andy explain why he's losing anticipation for the sequel, our thoughts on The Game Awards as a legitimate award, our reactions to some of the games shown, and how Geoff Keighley fumbled an important chance to hold...

We're back on our usual biz this week, passing the time by assembling a Zelda Dungeon All-Star Team! Inspired by the NHL All-Star game every year, the gang decide if they had to pick the best intro dungeon, the best forest dungeon, the best water dungeon, etc. what would that list look like? We came up with some surprising answers, and also gave homage to some of the titans among the series. Copy...

Another slow week of Zelda news makes way for us to dip into one of our oldest bag of tricks and answer Daily Debate questions from our amazing Zelda Dungeon writing staff! Would Link and Zelda swapping roles be compelling? What do we want DLC to look like in the future? What's the most excited we've ever been for a Zelda game? What's our favorite version of the dead man's volley? Best physical pr...

Which version of Impa reigns supreme within the Zelda series? Join Andy and Al this week as they discuss their takes and rank the many iterations of this beloved character, from her humble beginnings in The Legend of Zelda, to her latest, action-packed role in Age of Calamity. Find out if you agree with their list in the end, or if you prefer a different choice at the top! And of course, feel free...

Another week goes by, another week with no Zelda news. In order to pas the time and entertain ourselves, Andy and Al are joined by Gooey Fame to answer some Zelda-themed "would you rather" questions. Would we rather see a live action or animated Zelda movie? Would we rather hang out at Telma's Bar or the Lofty Pumpkin? Would we rather every new Zelda game play like Tri Force Heroes or look like Tw...

The second batch of DLC for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, called Guardian of Remembrance, dropped last month, promising new vignettes, playable characters, stages, abilities, and more. Was the DLC a smashing success? Well, not exactly. This week, come listen to the gang as they lay out their problems with Age of Calamity's story, discuss the new playable characters, go over the missions and wh...

Happy Halloween Zelda fans! Get into the spooky mode by celebrating some of the scariest and creepiest dungeons and areas in the Zelda series. We are definitively ranking them to figure out what is the absolute creepiest of them all. From heavy hitters like the Shadow Temple and Arbiters Grounds to lessor known dungeons like Phantom Hourglass's Ghost Ship or Oracle of Seasons' Explorer's Crypt, al...

With another slow news week in the world of Zelda rolling on by, we decided to pass the time by bringing back an old favorite: Guess That Zelda ____! This time, we've decided to try and stump each other by picking some of the dungeons (and mini-dungeons) of the series. Joined by our own Skull Kid Nico , we activate what we're calling Fusion Difficulty (thanks Metroid!) and limiting ourselves to on...

Buckle in, because we have an action packed show for you today! We asked you to give us your best Majora's Mask questions and as usually, you did not disappoint! What would a Rito transformation mask have looked like? Is there any reason to ever come back to Termina? Where does Skull Kid rank on the list on non-Ganon Zelda villains? What do we make of the "Link is dead" theory? What's a sidequest...

So, full disclosure: this is more an episode about Metroid from a Zelda fans perspective than an episode about Zelda itself, so if you're looking for in depth Zelda, come back next week (when, by the way, we're answering Majora's Mask questions, so if you have any, make sure to ask us on Discord !). This week, we're celebrating the release of Metroid Dread by looking back and examining why it is t...

Gather round the fire and prepare to be enraged as the gang gets together and debates which Zelda games have the best OST's. We're tackling a bunch of different topics that were a lot of fun, including: does one great song redeem the Spirit Tracks OST? How has our opinions on Breath of the Wild's ambient music changed over the years? Is the music of Tri Force Heroes its one redeemable quality? Whi...

We had our usual September Nintendo Direct, and while it didn't necessarily blow the roof off the house, it was still a solid show that gave us a look at a lot of cool stuff! Come listen as we break down and react to the announcements, including our thoughts on the Mario movie and casting voice actors versus celebrities, if you should be mad that Nintendo 64 games coming to NSO will cost you more...

If you're anything like us, you might feel like you're in a bit of a Zelda drought. With no new new Zelda games for the last couple years and a bunch of remakes to hold us over, the itch to play something Zelda-like can feel pretty intense. Luckily this week, Andy and Al are covering some of the absolute best Zelda-like games you can play! Come hear us talk about classics like Okami, Shadow of the...

If you haven't heard by now, the third annual Fall Brawl Character Contest is LIVE over on Zelda Dungeon, and this week we're going through the field of 64 to narrow it down, match by match, until only ONE character is left! Who will end up being our favorite character? Senior Editor Heather Beard makes her Champions' Cast debut to help us narrow it down! YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO FILL OUT A PREDICTI...

This week, Andy makes his triumphant return to the show to tell a few wedding stories about his bachelor party and a homeless person sleeping in his car, while also tackling a plethora of Zelda questions! We asked you for your best, and as always, you didn't disappoint! What's our favorite mini-dungeon in the series? What kind of Zelda game do we think comes after Breath of the Wild 2? Other than...

Behold the triumphant return of Guess that Zelda Location! Gooey, Corey, and Al had a great time playing this game last year. So we decided to bring it back with some new guests! Come see how well we know each other, and try to guess the Zelda locations in 16 questions or less as you play along with us!   Follow The Champions’ Cast! Twitter Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316)   Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha...

Andy is off getting married this week (congrats friend!), so we decided to dig deep into the archive for this week's episode. We're taking you back to the Andy and Taylor days as Andy recounts his wacky adventures in Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland! Whether this episode is a blast from the past, or a whole new listening experience for you, we hope you enjoy, and maybe even consider playing Tingle's spinof...

Andy and Al are back for another fun ride through the world of Zelda, answering a bunch of Daily Debate questions. Which Link has the best character arc? Which game has the least amount of plot holes? Would we like to see upgradable items and weapons make a comeback? Was Demise way too hard of a final boss? Should we stop calling it the Zelda timeline and instead call it a Multiverse? All this and...

Last week in our Definitive Ranking of Skyward Sword, we glossed over the dungeons, giving them a perfect 5 and promising to elaborate the next week. Well, that week is now here, and we have a lot to say about the different dungeons of Skyward Sword! We go over all seven dungeons, discussing in great detail the bosses, the items, the music, the aesthetic, and puzzles, and more! We had wildly diffe...

Alasyn returns this week to join Andy in one of their absolute favorite activities: definitive rankings! Borrowing the concept from their Hyrule Compendium pals, definitive ranking entails taking the ten categories that really make up a Zelda game - the world, the art style, the story, the music, the dungeons, the bosses, the items, the pacing, the extras, and the gameplay - and ranking it from 1...

Happy ZDMX week everyone! This week, our pal Alasyn is away for the 10th annual Zelda Dungeon Marathon, so we're cracking open a previously-Twitch-exclusive episode pitting Andy and Al against Zelda Universe's Alex Trevino and Amanda van Hiel ! There might be a few audio hiccups on here, but we figured it was better than skipping a week of the show, so come on and play with us! There are some epic...