It's dangerous to go alone!
{{Short description|Video game quotation}}
"It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." is a quote from the 1986 video game The Legend of Zelda.{{#tag:ref|Due to technical constraints, the original Japanese version of this line (published with the 1986 Famicom Disk System release) was rendered in single-byte katakana rather than double-byte Shift JIS characters as would be expected for standard Japanese writing. The original line reads: {{nihongo||ヒトリデハキケンジャ コレヲ サズケヨウ|Hitori de wa kiken ja kore o sazukeyō}}.{{cite video game | title=The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu | developer=Nintendo Co., Ltd | publisher=Nintendo|date=February 21, 1986 | platform = Famicom Disk System | language = ja | isolang = ja}} The line was rendered in hiragana for Week 1 of the 1995 spin-off Satellaview broadcast game, BS Zelda no Densetsu, as {{nihongo||ひとりでは きけんじゃ これを さずけよう}}.{{cite video game | title = BS Zelda no Densetsu | developer = Nintendo | publisher = St.GIGA | date = August 6, 1995 | platform = Satellaview | version = Aug 95 | language = ja | isolang = ja}}|group=nb}} It is spoken by an unnamed old man, whom the player can decide to meet in the cave at the start of the game; he gives the player character Link a sword to aid his quest to defeat Ganon and rescue Princess Zelda. The quote has been referenced in video gaming and other media, has become an Internet meme, and has been established in pop culture.
Description
In 1986, Nintendo released the original The Legend of Zelda video game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. It opens with the protagonist, Link, entering a cave to meet an old man who offers him a wooden sword and says, "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." The player is given no further explanation within the game world on how to progress. Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto thought it would be more enjoyable to play the game without any help.{{Cite book|url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAANE.pdf|title=The Legend of Zelda Instruction Booklet|publisher=Nintendo|year=1987|pages=41}}
Reception
The quote has spawned many variations, and became a popular image macro. IGN positioned it at #22 on its top 100 video game moments list, describing it as "one of the most-quoted video game sentences" and the best example of the exploration element of The Legend of Zelda.{{cite web |title="It's Dangerous to Go Alone!" - #22 Top Video Game Moments |url=https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-video-game-moments/22 |access-date=2014-05-03 |work=IGN}} GamesRadar featured it in its list of the 40 most repeated video game quotes and of the top 100 best video game quotes.{{cite web |title=The 40 most repeated game quotes |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/the-40-most-repeated-game-quotes/?page=2 |page=2 |work=GamesRadar |last=Wilde |first=Tyler |date=2012-06-23 |access-date=2014-05-03}}{{cite web |title=The 100 best video game quotes of all time |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/best-video-game-quotes-all-time/ |work=GamesRadar |date=2013-05-30 |access-date=2014-05-03}} Ozzie Mejia for Shacknews opined that the quote "has become synonymous with gaming in the 35 years since they were first spoken. More than that, it's seeped into the greater world of pop culture. It's been referenced in other games, television, merchandise, memes, and much more".{{Cite web|last=Mejia|first=Ozzie|date=21 February 2021|title=It's Dangerous to Go Alone: 35 Years of The Legend of Zelda|url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/122832/its-dangerous-to-go-alone-35-years-of-the-legend-of-zelda|access-date=2021-11-27|website=Shacknews|language=en}} Christian Donlan writing for Eurogamer said that the phrase is "one of the most famous in all of video games" and opined that it acts as a "universal guide for playing Zelda". He also felt that it is memorable due to its compact nature and slightly awkward phrasing, which he described as "the perverse music of utility".{{Cite news |last=Donlan |first=Christian |date=2023-08-19 |title=Who really told Link it's dangerous to go alone? |language=en |work=Eurogamer.net |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/who-really-told-link-its-dangerous-to-go-alone |access-date=2023-11-22}} GameSpot staff commented on the legacy of the quotation within the original The Legend of Zelda game by stating that "there's still nothing quite like wandering through its enormous, mysterious world, with barely a hint or explanation to lead you on. It was dangerous to go alone. No help was coming. No guideposts were set along the way. There was just you, your sword, the pull to explore, and a game that rewarded you with nothing but hours of discovery".{{Cite web|title=The Legend Of Zelda 35th Anniversary: Our Favorite Games And Why|url=https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-legend-of-zelda-35th-anniversary-our-favorite-games-and-why/2900-3716/#2|access-date=2021-12-13|website=GameSpot|language=en-US}}
NF Magazine commented that the quote was well-known, and appeared "time and time again" in gaming culture. They noted that it was representative of the original Zelda
See also
- Engrish
- "I am Error", a quote from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987)
Notes
References
{{reflist}}
{{The Legend of Zelda}}