When the first "Zelda" game came out for NES, I played it at a friend's house and it blew me away. Because of that game, I bought an NES. And because of all the sequels I subsequently bought the SuperNES and the Nintendo64.

I think Shigeru Miyamoto, the game designer responsible for the Zelda series (and all of the best games at Nintendo), is simply a genius. His games are always revolutionary, and they invariably change the landscape of video gaming as everyone else scrambles to catch up to his visionary ideas.

Anyway, I saw drewg's post yesterday about playing Zelda: The Wind Waker. I haven't been

playing console video games much lately (I peaked with Halo on my X-box), and I didn't realize the new Zelda game was out yet.

So I went to my friendly local videogame store. Put my faith in Miyamoto. Dropped the cash for a Game Cube and a copy of Zelda. Went home.

Once again. I'm blown away. This is the best video game I've played since Halo came out. Like all of Miyamoto's games, it is entertaining and whimsical without being childish. I feel like I am playing an episode of Samurai Jack, but with better animation. And calling his new style "cartoony" is like calling Disney's Fantasia "cartoony." This new style works in an artistic way that is far beyond the tired and ubiquitous "3-d realism" that is everywhere in videogames today.

And the first time in the game when I put a pear on my head to catch a seagull, and then peered out the eyes of the seagull as I flew up over a mountain....wow....I almost fell out of my chair in amazement. (people who have played the game will know exactly what I mean)

Anyway, sorry to rant. But in these current times of global insanity, to find something that lets you escape into a wonderful world of beauty and pure fun is something very precious.

Domo arigato, Mr. Miyamoto. Again.