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brightknightie) wrote2024-12-22 04:34 pm
brightknightie) wrote2024-12-22 04:34 pm
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Before lore theory, there is lore story, and I can recommend these ZeldaTubers
My favorite ZeldaTubers are lore/theory specialists, folks who take continuity questions seriously and grapple with canon, themes, metaphors, and all that stuff I love. This is the home territory of Zeltik, Bandit Games, Nintendo Black Crisis, etc. But of course story comes before theory, and a lot of the games are essentially inaccessible to ordinary folks like me; unlike the manga, we can't just check them out from the library and enjoy them freely (even if your library has games, and old games, what about the systems to run them on?).
So speaking as a complete from-the-sidelines newbie amateur, I've observed that there seem to be two very broad genres of video-game recapitulation videos on YouTube: the "let's play" (aka playthrough, playalong), which involve watching the YouTuber play the game in that YouTuber's chosen style, and what I think of as the "retelling," which involve the YouTuber editing personal gameplay footage, including cut-scenes, into that YouTuber's vision of telling the game's story as if it were a movie, TV show, or campfire tale.
For retellings, my personal current top recommendations are Zeltik himself (his "Story Explained" playlists) and The Lady of Lore (one Zelda playlist), both of whom take the "Let me tell you the story" approach and narrate their retellings, plus Zelda Universe (many Zelda playlists), which takes the "What if the game were a TV series or movie" approach and dubs in voice-acting by fans (except Link, as far as I've seen).
For let's plays, my latest delight is QuinBoBin (all playlists), who takes a joyful, cheeky, fun, positive approach. I was all in for The Bread Pirate when I discovered his EoW playthrough (first hour of play), hugely appreciating his investigative bent and in-character choices, but he very unfortunately did only three hours before abandoning the project. Zelda Master (all playlists) is a marathoner, pleasant, positive, and dependable to follow, but he's more my fallback than my favorite (the poor guy struggles to read the game text as clearly and accurately as I want). And I will watch/listen to Red of Overly Sarcastic Productions do pretty much anything she wants to share (BoTW & TotK playlist, Link's Awakening marathon part one).
There are of course many, many others! I've sampled only a very few. And while it's not on YouTube, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite TLOZ podcast, Sacred Realms, which has a unique mix of these genres, playing through a game one slice at a time and breaking down each chapter in an examination and discussion that includes a retelling (in a style roughly in the same genre as The Lady of Lore's approach, but always referring to the player character as we/us).
What are your recommendations...?
So speaking as a complete from-the-sidelines newbie amateur, I've observed that there seem to be two very broad genres of video-game recapitulation videos on YouTube: the "let's play" (aka playthrough, playalong), which involve watching the YouTuber play the game in that YouTuber's chosen style, and what I think of as the "retelling," which involve the YouTuber editing personal gameplay footage, including cut-scenes, into that YouTuber's vision of telling the game's story as if it were a movie, TV show, or campfire tale.
For retellings, my personal current top recommendations are Zeltik himself (his "Story Explained" playlists) and The Lady of Lore (one Zelda playlist), both of whom take the "Let me tell you the story" approach and narrate their retellings, plus Zelda Universe (many Zelda playlists), which takes the "What if the game were a TV series or movie" approach and dubs in voice-acting by fans (except Link, as far as I've seen).
For let's plays, my latest delight is QuinBoBin (all playlists), who takes a joyful, cheeky, fun, positive approach. I was all in for The Bread Pirate when I discovered his EoW playthrough (first hour of play), hugely appreciating his investigative bent and in-character choices, but he very unfortunately did only three hours before abandoning the project. Zelda Master (all playlists) is a marathoner, pleasant, positive, and dependable to follow, but he's more my fallback than my favorite (the poor guy struggles to read the game text as clearly and accurately as I want). And I will watch/listen to Red of Overly Sarcastic Productions do pretty much anything she wants to share (BoTW & TotK playlist, Link's Awakening marathon part one).
There are of course many, many others! I've sampled only a very few. And while it's not on YouTube, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite TLOZ podcast, Sacred Realms, which has a unique mix of these genres, playing through a game one slice at a time and breaking down each chapter in an examination and discussion that includes a retelling (in a style roughly in the same genre as The Lady of Lore's approach, but always referring to the player character as we/us).
What are your recommendations...?