When I was about 10 (I'm 19 going on 20 now), I remember going to Game Crazy with my dad. I'd gone there to get WarioWare: Smooth Moves for the Wii, but my dad picked up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Wii and showed it to me, telling me I should play it. I argued.

"Daaad, Zelda's laaaame, I don't wanna play it," I said. I'd never played a single Zelda before and had no idea what even was the deal with that series. Dad kept insisting I play Twilight Princess, and I kept arguing. Eventually, he stopped having any of my BS and said he was buying it anyways, and still allowed me to get the game I'd originally gone there for. He also bought me a strategy guide for the game in case I needed it, even though I argued against that too. I begrudgingly put up with it, having given up on arguing since he insisted on buying the game for me. We left the store and I went home to eagerly play Smooth Moves.

Eventually, I got bored of that. I don't recall quite when, but at some point I said to myself Ugh, fiiiiine, I'll play this lame Zelda game my dad got me, whatever. He bought it for me, might as well try it.

I fell in love.

The graphics were so pretty, the Twilight worlds (both the Realm and Hyrule) were hauntingly beautiful, the dungeons were...a little too complex for 10-year-old me, so I cheated and used the guide he got me. The game was fun, so much better than I'd expected it to be. I thought Zelda was going to be lame--and I was proven so wrong. I loved everything about Twilight Princess. Even when I beat the game I would still boot it up and play just to run around the vast, beautiful world. To this day I still have my very first file, the one I beat the game for the first time on. It has...like three or four hundred hours logged. And I will never delete it.

This game is almost 10 years old--it will be in November 2016, I think. Almost 10 years old, and to this day I still love it. Twilight Princess very quickly became my most favorite Zelda of all time, not just because of everything I love about it, but because it holds a very special place in my geeky little heart as the very first Zelda I ever played. And I owe that all to him. If he hadn't bought that game for me whether I wanted it or not, I might never have gotten into the series. I might never have played Wind Waker or Skyward Sword or any other Zelda if he hadn't gotten me into the series in the first place.

So this is for you, dad. Thank you for giving me one of my favorite games of all time. Thank you for introducing me to a legendary series. I hope you reach the Sacred Realm. Touch the Triforce for me, okay? (Nerdy references, but the sentiment stands.)

Rest In Peace, JR 10/25/2015. (Initials to protect privacy.) You were a good father, and you will be missed.

I think I want to replay Twilight Princess. For him.