Author's Notes:
It's been so long since I last posted something, I just had to. But since I'm stuck in regards to "The Queen's Treasure" and "Raising Link," I decided to post this instead.
This is another one of my crazy ideas; it came to me when I was watching "Wreck-it Ralph." I planned to post this as a "Wreck-it Ralph"-LOZ crossover, but since Ralph and company are not going to show up here, I decided to post this instead as a regular story. Tell me though if you think it's more of a crossover.
Anyway, this is going to be a collection of short stories loosely inspired by the movie "Wreck-it Ralph;" short stories which focus on LOZ characters, though I will include and mention several characters, items, and worlds from other video games; some famous, some not so much.
This is purely for fun and laughter; if you have no sense of humor, if you are not open-minded, and absolutely loathe certain characters and/or games just because, this story ain't for you.
I will be making a bit of fun of some characters, but I do not intend to bash anyone or anything; so, if your favorite video game character doesn't look so good here; it's just for fun and laughter, no harm intended, everything I wrote here is to make people laugh, it's purely for comic effect.
This here is just the prologue plus a little teaser so that you get an idea of what to expect.
To my faithful readers of "The Queen's Treasure;"
Sorry that there's still no new chapter. I haven't forgotten about it; I'm just busy and stuck. I'm not quite sure how to proceed.
To my faithful readers of "Raising Link:"
Same problem; stuck. No real idea how to proceed.
It is now the 25th century and much has changed in our world… way too much to list here!
Some notable changes?
Well… for one, Earth is no longer the only planet in our solar system on which humans live.
There's a big mining city up on Mars and it keeps on expanding; more and more people migrate over there to live as Martians.
Mountain climbers today don't care much if you have climbed Mount Everest; go to Mars and climb Olympus Mons! That's serious mountain climbing!
What else has changed?
Hm… oh yes! Cannabis is legal now! For any and every use, for everyone! 'Has been for at least two centuries. Many consumers today cannot understand why it was ever prohibited in the first place. They find the idea so silly that they can't stop giggling!
Nowadays there are no TVs; instead, people watch shows and the news on 25th century computers or iphones. Not only are they much more versatile… they allow you to watch your favorite show UNINTERRUPTED BY ADVERTISEMENTS!
Same sex marriages are totally okay today too. In fact: Statistically, they are much more stable and last a whole lot longer than opposite sex marriages! The experts still do not fully understand why that is so, but they suspect that one reason why same-sex marriages tend to work out more often is because homosexual couples rarely marry following an accidental pregnancy.
And, let's face it: Guys don't get girls, and girls don't get guys; never did, never do, never will!
But all of these changes are insignificant to what has changed in the gaming world!
The most glaring difference is that there are no more gaming consoles!
All those Playstations insert-roman-numeral and Nintendos-whatever… they are all gone! Both stationary and handheld!
You can only find them now in museums. Or in some private vintage collection. You could also find them in very dusty, old antics. Or buried deeeeep down in the bottom of trash pits.
What happened to them?
It all started sometime in the 23rd Century. The sales of video game consoles just kept on decreasing. More and more people would choose to buy a high-grade 25th century equivalent of an iphone, laptop or PC instead.
Why buy an expensive gaming gadget and tons of games for it every 3 years or so when for the same money you could buy a high-grade iphone that could do so much more? And since everyone already owned one of those, the big gaming companies decided to simply program games for those, instead of designing and manufacturing a new video game console with corresponding accessories and cartridges every 3 years just wasn't worth it. It was simply much cheaper and time-efficient, and there were simply not enough buyers anymore. So, not long before the 24th century, all the powerful video game companies had completely stopped the whole video game console thing.
What happened to all those video games that came before that?
They were all uploaded to a website called Arcadea Virtualia or the Virtual Arcade. It is basically a huge online arcade where you can play all those games up to the 23rd century.
You want to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? Just log in and you are good to go!
Well… almost. Since it's an arcade you gotta have an online bank account so that you can pay for the play.
You'd be very surprised though if you actually saw those 'old' games; cuz, they've been given a thorough make-over! They've been remade, completely from scratch! They had to be.
You see, the virtual arcade is not very popular, never was. For most people of the 25th century all those console games are too… for a lack of better word, antiquated. It's kinda like offering a kid who grew up playing with a Nintendo Wii or Playstation 4 to play some of the first Game Boy games.
Heck, that kid would probably ask first what a Game Boy is! And imagine his reaction once you tell him that the screen is as small as a matchbox, the graphics are not 3D, you can count all the pixels, there's no color!
Because of that issue, the owners of the arcade soon had all the games remade from scratch! The changes that were made include, first and foremost, the graphics of course; all 3D, high-resolution and high detail. The voices, the sounds and all the music have been replayed and recorded again in much better quality.
Other changes that have been incorporated depend on the game in question, but overall those changes include things like new playable characters, new levels, new items, new side quests etc.
Another important change that has been made is that the owners of the arcade incorporated 25th century artificial intelligence into the games to make them more realistic.
But despite all these changes and improvements, the virtual arcade remains rather… unvisited. Many people do not even know that this website, and all the games inside it, even exists. And those that do know… don't care. Too much.
However, that would certainly, instantly change if the people knew the secret of Arcadea Virtualia…
And that secret is… all the video game characters are ALIVE!
Well… errr… no… not really… at least… not biologically.
But philosophically speaking; they exist; they are conscious! They think! They act according to their own volitions! They have their own personalities and feelings!
Nobody knows how it happened (or that it happened for that matter; not even the owners.) Not even the video game characters themselves know this came about.
Well… of course there is the AI that was incorporated into their core programs and it was intended to give them their own personalities… or rather to simulate this. It was never intended nor sufficient to grant them a real conscious.
Speaking of which… there was that one time when the website owners upgraded all the AI in an attempt to make the games more realistic (and the site more popular.) And the source of that upgrade, not to mention the upgrade version itself, was rather dubious…
And then there was that one time when some strange bug got into all the archives and screwed up all the games.
Since Arcadea Virtualia doesn't get many visitors, it doesn't generate income. And so, due to lack of funds, the website security ain't the best. Then, when the owners run their cheap, outdated clean-up program, it failed to fix much.
But strangely enough, even so all the games become playable again! The owners didn't understand it, but since the problems was solved they just decided to open the arcade again.
Whatever the case, however it happened… the video game characters are alive – errr… conscious! And led their own lives.
They are pretty much like actors; Once the game is on, everybody takes his positions and then acts according to game script.
What do they do once the game is off?
Well… the game is never truly off; it's just on stand-by, sort of.
And during such a time, any video game character is free to leave or enter the game and… play it.
Maybe it's better to just give an example…
Okay, let's take Dead or Alive: Extreme Paradise. When some real-life player plays the game, Kasumi and all the other DOA girls play out their parts according to game script, except, of course, for the girl that the player chooses as his avatar; that one has to do what the player wants her to do.
Once the player had enough and 'leaves' the game what happens is this: First, all the girls get properly dressed (just because they have to wear swimsuits all the time in their game doesn't mean that they are exhibitionists, okay?!)
Then they call it a day, pretty much how like a normal worker does, and then they leave Dead or Alive Extreme Paradise and go enjoy their off-time in some other game. It is not unusual to see them snowboarding in games such as Infinite Air and Steep.
It may sound weird, but many video game characters have developed a certain… dislike towards their own games, and thus play totally 'opposite' games in their free time.
World famous adventuress and archeologist video game character Lara Croft for example after a long day or running, jumping, climbing, shooting wild beasts and others strange creatures in booby-trapped, deserted faraway ruins in her Tomb Raider game, is usually found relaxing in the peaceful villages of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory. It's not that uncommon to see her sun-bathing on Zack Island in Dead or Alive: Extreme Paradise either.
That's what happens in Dead or Alive: Extreme Paradise once the game is 'off.'
Girls from other games enter Dead or Alive: Extreme Paradise and to enjoy the beaches and everything. (By the way, Dead or Alive: Extreme Paradise, for some reason, doesn't allow any male video game characters to enter.)
Usually that includes Zoey and Rochelle from the Left for Dead games, Aya Brea from Parasite Eve, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong and all their other female coworkers from Resident Evil, and other video game girls from similar games. (Hey, if you were a lady and your job was to run through dark, creepy levels while fighting and running from zombies and monsters which are programmed to eat you and your game had the feature of splattering you with blood and gore and there are no working showers in your game… where would you go after a long day at work?!)
What happens when all the DOA girls are all out, Dead or Alive: Extreme Paradise is full of other girls and some real guy wants to play the game?
Easy, while the game loads, 'behind' the loading screen, the system of the game broadcasts to all the visiting video game characters that the game is about to be played and that they have to vacate the game. Similar to when an amusement park or mall announces that they are about to close.
As for the video game characters of the game, in this case Dead or Alive: Extreme Paradise, they receive a message from the system that their game is about to be played and that they have to return immediately.
Once all the visitors are out and the DOA-girls are all back in and everyone and everything is in position, the game stops loading and the game starts.
What if for some reason some visitors don't get out or the DOA girls don't make it back?
The game lags or crashes! What did you think?!
Sounds crazy? You don't know half of it!
All these video game characters… you'd find them in games you'd never expect them to be in! (Did you know that Jack from Harvest Moon is sometimes fighting as an axe-wielding fighter in Final Fantasy Tactics?)
And you'd find them doing things you'd never expect them to! (It's not that uncommon for video game characters to have Pokemon as their pets; Zelda for example keeps an Espeon!)
And the strangest friendships and relationships are made! (Would you believe that the Pursuer from Resident Evil has a girlfriend? And that she's happy with him?)
What do you say we look at the 'real' lives of some video game characters?
How about, we look at the lives of some LOZ characters?
Here's a small taste of what's to come!
Zelda and the Elric Brothers Part 1
A little blonde boy in green, and a big pinkish suit of armor tried to find their way out of some dungeon they were exploring.
"Link~? Are we going the right way?"
Link briefly looked up from the map he was holding and checked their surroundings. Then they nodded and they went on their way.
They were none other than Link and Princess Zelda, both from the game The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Since Princess Zelda was more use- – errr… - helpful in her phantom form, she had decided to go as one.
Not far from them, around a corner, another sm**l, blonde boy, this one in red and black, and another, grim-looking suit of armor also tried to find their way out.
"Brother! You got us lost again!"
"I got it! I got it! Don't worry Al, this time I'm sure it's the right way."
They were none other than the Elric Brothers, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his younger brother, Alphonse Elric, both from the video game Fullmetal Alchemist: The Game
"Okay, after that corner we should be-"
…
Edward stared at Link. Link stared at Edward.
Alphonse stared at Princess Zelda. Princess Zelda stared at Alphonse.
Suddenly Alphonse and Princess Zelda pointed at each other and cried:
"A WALKING SUIT OF ARMOR?!"
Suddenly Edward and Link pointed at each other and Edward (Link's a silent protagonist after all) cried:
"A LITTL- *WHAM!* WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' AN MICRO-SIZED ULTRA-SQUIRT, YOU LITTLE SHRIMP?!"
"BROTHER, STOP! THIS ISN'T HIS GAME! HE WON'T REVIVE!"
"LINK! QUICK! DRINK A RED POTION!"
Well, what do you think? The next short story will include characters from LOZ Oot, BOF IV and a few others. Oh, and you will encounter Link, Princess Zelda and the Elric Brothers again; this was the first part of a trilogy.
Please review and comment. All forms of reviews, comments and criticisms are very welcomed and appreciated. You are also welcome to send me private messages.
If you do not have the time to leave behind such, a numerical ratings from 0-10 will suffice just as well.
0 = Delete this shit. 10 = Perfect.
PS: And if you find any clerical and/or grammatical errors; LET ME KNOW! SERIOUSLY!