Go, Gustav, Go

While Jenny disappears into Final Fantasy III, I’ve been running around with Link—whom I’ve named Gustav, obviously—in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Two screens, enemies everywhere, bushes to slash, the occasional chicken to terrorize. The real entertainment is watching Jenny nearly have a cardiac event every time I tear through a temple with two hearts left and a shrug. There’s a specific Zelda nostalgia that doesn’t work like regular nostalgia—it’s more physical, like muscle memory, a pull in the chest when the overworld theme starts. Gustav runs. Gustav fights. Gustav survives on nothing but stubbornness and Jenny’s anxiety. Go, Gustav.