Hello, my name is Video Gamer X. I, the webmaster, designer, and creator of this site, welcome you to "The Odyssey of Hyrule" From some portal in this digital dimension you have arrived here, perhaps out of a yearning for the most complete internet Zelda experience, or by just plain luck, but nevertheless fate has brought you to the doorstep of these hallowed halls. This supersite tributes a legendary series of video games that span 14 years of history, starting from humble beginnings in 1986 to the lush 3-D adventure of today. The Legend of Zelda is more than just a series of games, it is a way of believing that each and every one of us has the capability to manifest our visions of becoming a knight on a crusade of good against the evil force that threatens to bring impurity to the kingdom. We relive the mythical adventures of our ancestors' imaginations and become an active character of the fairytale.
In the Odyssey of Hyrule you will find many interesting articles, strategy for the Zelda games, exclusive game secrets and special tricks, interactive message boards, activities, music, multimedia, games, polls, and everything related to Zelda and more. This website remains devoted to it's fans and you will find many discussions related to the experience of playing Zelda, understanding Zelda, and going beyond the game into other avenues of thought spawned by its complexity. There are sections that may make you laugh and some that will make you sad.
So many great words can be said about the experience of playing these games, and its newest 64-bit addition to the saga. Please send your insightful comments, thoughts, and ideas about The Legend of Zelda and "The Odyssey of Hyrule" to Video Gamer X. I may not be able to answer your letter due to the volume of mail that this site receives each day but guaranteed it will be read and I look forward to reading great mail from Zelda fans.
HOW TO NAVIGATE THE SITE
I have endevored to make surfing this site as easy as possible for the visitor. Everywhere you want to go can be found right on the Main Page. From the main page you can access all the Odyssey of Hyrule news by scrolling down the news window. There are many articles and events that can only be found in the news section. The news chronicles the entire history of this great website from it's humble beginning to the goliath you see today. Did you know that the first sections of this site ever made by Video Gamer X are the the Zelda 64 Screenshots, Zelda: Then and Now, and A Time for Zelda?
Beneath the news you will see a selector for Zelda music both from the game and original. Simply select the music you would like to hear and press the "Play" button to activate the music. A multimedia window will appear. You can minimize this and listen to the music while you explore the site.
Beneath the lovely Nabooru to the right of the news window, you will find links to Zelda resources, like the Encyclopedia of Zelda Terms, Historical Reference, and a Retrospection of what Zelda and Nintendo was to gamers in the decade of the 80's including movies of the Zelda Cartoon Series. Here also on the right side of the site you will find links to many fan interactive resources like discussions, memories of a growing up with Zelda, There are also impressions of Zelda 64 Here. Every so often Video Gamer X will get a letter that goes above and beyond and truly shows depth and thought, such a very select letter becomes "Letter of the Month" and is forever a part of this site. Also too there are the installments of Video Gamer X's own, "Something to Laugh At" with loads of laughs related to Zelda and Video Games. If you feel that you have the time to sit down with a good story, take a look at "The Many Adventure's of Link" a section where Video Gamer X has posted Zelda related stories written by young authors. (Due to a high backlog of sent-in stories that need to be edited, this section is not currently accepting submissions but will reopen upon notice by Video Gamer X) Furthermore, if you scroll down you will locate, Activities related to Zelda, and the very popular Message Board Forums that keep gamers talking and sharing in the experience of playing the game.
To the left under the music selection bar and announcement marquee you will see sections devoted to the games feature in-depth strategy guides, exclusive reports, hacked glitches, gameshark codes, more discussions about the games Zelda: The Ocarina of Time and Zelda: The Continuing Saga, and much much more. Before asking Video Gamer X a gameplay question, he would prefer that you consult the strategy guide, past discussions, and the glitch reports.
Every once in a while Video Gamer X will attempt something innovative, and a new special section for it will be created. If you have a VRML plug in for your browser like Cosmoplayer or Intervista you will be able to explore some experimental 3-D environments Video Gamer X made in "The Enchanted Forest." Since I am not a pro at this type of programming, there may be glitches. The Enchanted Forest is slated to be expanded to include other virtual Zelda environments in 2000.
Feel free to take part in the Poll that is always running on the site, and if you like the site you can vote for it in the "Mygaming Top 50" list.
One thing about this site you will notice is that you will have to pay attention because updates occur sometimes unannounced and within allready existing sections. Also too, there may be special announcements only found in the news window, so if you missed an important event or news flash you can always get to it.
Overall, I hope that you enjoy your time surfing this site and come away feeling like something was gained by your visit. I do this because it is fun, not because I obtain money for it, so you will find that this site is very unencumbered by influence and multiple webmaster quarrels and constant pleas to click on an advertising banner. It has been quite a battle of determination verses setbacks to singlehandedly keep this site up, but you can trust that with the continued support of fans like you "The Odyssey of Hyrule" will be an valuable resource for your connection to the Saga of Zelda for quite some time. Video Gamer X thanks every fan who has contributed to this site.
TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS
The cover page of this site has been designed using programming techniques implimenting HTML 4.0, Cascading Style Sheets, and Java Scripting. It is recommended that you use an updated version of Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Netscape to view the site. The site is viewable on AOL 4.0 and 5.0, but you may experience difficulties with activation of some things. The site is viewable with WebTV but I really would not recommend this because WebTV tends to distort the text and graphics. Netscape Communicator 4.04 will register Java Script errors. The site works fine in MSIE 4.0, 5.0 and Netscape 4.7.
If the music sounds distorted, tinny, or annoying, or doesn't play at all then more than likely you have an lower grade sound card or your multimedia sound drivers support a different sampling of instruments than General Midi. If you are playing a CD while surfing the site Midi may conflict with the sound so go to the volume control on the taskbar and move the Midi balance to the bottom.
If the site doesn't load at all or load very slowly this could mean that you have an lower baud rate modem, the site is experiencing heavy traffic, or there is a connection problem with your ISP or the server that host's the site. Click the "Reload" or "Refresh" button to try it again.
THE ODYSSEY OF HYRULE
