The Nintendo Mangaverse is WILD

If you read my recent article on Nintendo needing to stop disrespecting Princess Daisy and how Nintendo needs to step up their respect for her — especially after they announced she wasn’t going to be in the latest Mario Strikers game for no good damn reason — then you might remember I mentioned that in the manga, the tough-as-nails character defends her kingdom from Wario with a punch and defended her boyfriend from a virus with a bazooka.

And a lot of you might be thinking, “Hold up, there’s manga?” Oh man, you guys. As the proud owner of several of these, yes there is. And they are not what you’d imagine.

In this article, we’re going to go over my three favorites starting with The Legend of Zelda.

Legend of Zelda

Now, everyone knows The Legend of Zelda’s Link. He’s the quiet, stoic, protagonist that confidently roams the land and battles against all sorts of madness. But let’s check out The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past manga that a local library gifted to me after I checked it out too many times.

In this book, it covers the Link to the Past from the SNES. But while the events are familiar, Link might not be.

First off, Link is goofy. Real goofy. He’s constantly worn out, making silly faces, and collapsing from being tired. He pratfalls. He burns himself. Oh, and he talks. A LOT. Regardless of what kind of scene he’s in, something silly goes on with him.

Not only do you get to witness Link being silly and talking all the time, often even monologuing to himself, but you also get to witness another bizarre change in the character. Do you know how Link is often going on adventures by himself or with a fairy? Nah. Not here.

In the manga adaptation, Link jumps at the chance to get someone to partner up with him and keep him company. He loves it and extends an offer to almost every living thing he comes across. In this case, he wants the help of an archer who can change into a bird who wants to stop Ganon himself. And given his speed and range versus Link’s, he is honestly way more suited to do so.

That’s not to say that the entire thing is a goofy buddy comedy though. The artist of the book, Shotaro Ishinomori, is an absolute expert at taking some of the most boring moments of the game and some of the most forgettable enemies, and turning them into absolute nightmare fuel.

Now, next up, we got Splatoon, so make sure you go to the next page if you want to see what the manga does with the Inklings because…it’s a lot.