I’m a video game collector. I’ve had a deep love for video games ever since my dad got me started on his PS2. As I grew older, collecting became one of my favorite hobbies. I always make sure to pick up the newest releases, and once a month, I go browse around local used and retro game stores to see if there are any good finds. My most recent discovery, however, was nothing short of unsettling. This was the only time a video game had managed to make me feel physically sick. Not even Thrill Kill had such an effect on me.
A few weeks ago, I had just received my second paycheck of the month. I had a bit of time to kill over the weekend, so I decided I would stop by my favorite local game store: Planet Zero Games. As I walked in, the clerk greeted me with a smile and called me by name. This, of course, wasn’t out of the ordinary as I visit this place a lot. It’s almost like a second home to me. I looked through the displays and found a few things I wanted. Pocky and Rocky, Mortal Kombat Gold, and Super Mario RPG. I approached the counter with my finds, and as the clerk was ringing up my purchases, I happened to notice some new items sitting on a shelf behind him. They had barely just gotten their price tags.
“Hey, can I take a closer look at those behind you?” I asked.
“Oh, for sure, man! No worries,” the clerk replied. He pulled up a step stool to reach up onto the shelf, grabbed the items, and set them on the counter for me to look at.
“Yeah, the guy who brought those in here seemed pretty eager to get rid of them. It’s a shame, really. They’re all in really good condition,” he said, staring down at the games in front of me. And it was no lie. Outside of the actual physical condition of the games, however, what he laid out in front of me was nothing spectacular. Just a few Star Wars titles, a copy of Killer Instinct, and some old controllers and memory cards. There was one thing that caught my eye, though. At the bottom of the pile was a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Collector’s Edition. The box was hardly bent or dented, albeit previously opened. It seemed to be in pretty good condition, and I couldn’t help my shock. How could someone just let go of something like this? I turned the box around to check the price. It was around $150. Pretty steep, but not the end of the world. I just couldn’t pass it up. I returned my previous selections in exchange for the game and made a promise to myself that I would not buy any more games the next month. The clerk rang me up, and I was on my way.
I could not get home any faster. Now, I’m usually not one to break the rules of the road, but this was a special case. I had to get home to test the game. There’s no way somebody would just sell a near-mint condition copy of Ocarina of Time to a local game shop. It’s just unheard of. You’d have to be the biggest sucker in the world to make a move like that.
I rushed into the door of my apartment and immediately ran to my room. I set up my N64, carefully removed the cartridge from the box, and inserted it into the slot. I booted up the console and was promptly greeted by the Nintendo 64 logo and that majestic opening theme.
Yep, the game worked.
I pressed the “A” button and was brought to the file select screen. The person who had the game before me had forgotten to delete their save. Somebody named “Zarina”. Seriously, this person must have been insane to not only get rid of such a valuable game, but with their save file still intact. I thought about deleting it, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me. I opened the file and waited.
The game opened in Hyrule Field. It looked like they had only gotten about a third of the way through the game, having only received the three Spiritual Stones. Did they just give up? I decided to run around the map and explore a bit before closing the file and starting my own. I remembered the secret holes in Hyrule Field and decided I would set out to find them just to see if Zarina had already received the hidden treasures.
I dropped a bomb next to a tree between the castle and Kakariko Village. As expected, the secret jingle played, and a hole in the ground opened up. I dropped into the hole and arrived in the hidden grotto. The treasure chest had already been opened. Maybe this Zarina wasn’t so crazy after all. I was just about to leave the room when I noticed something behind the chest. On the back wall of the room was a locked door with a Triforce plate in front of it.
“Huh, that shouldn’t be here,” I thought to myself. Maybe it was just some weird glitch causing the maps to merge with one another. But I’d be remiss to say it didn’t make me feel a little uneasy. There was just something about that door. As much as I’d like to think of it as just a bug, the placement of the door felt too deliberate. It was almost like the door was there for me. I felt this feeling deep in my gut that something was wrong, and I had to exit the area immediately. I took one last look at the door and left before closing out the game and deleting the Zarina file entirely.
I needed a moment to collect myself. That strange door had left an impression on me – one that I didn’t like. So, I cooked up some lunch, smoked a bowl to calm my nerves, and screwed around on my phone for half an hour to take my mind off it. I knew I would eventually have to return to the game, but something was telling me I shouldn’t. Call it divine intervention or whatever. Something told me not to continue playing, and I knew that was the right choice. However, in spite of it all, I stupidly decided to turn the game back on.
The game started up as normal, and the Zarina file had not returned. Maybe I was worried for nothing. I mean, this isn’t some cheesy creepypasta fairy tale. What did I think was going to happen? As those reassuring thoughts filled my head, I created a new save file and began a new journey.
The game played like normal. I met Navi, got the Kokiri Sword and Shield, and played through the entire Great Deku Tree dungeon. After slaying one last monster, I approached the boss door to take on Queen Gohma.
Wait.
No.
This can’t be right.
Where the boss door once was now stood a locked door with a Triforce plate in front of it. The closer I got to the door, the more the music and sound effects started to fade out until I was left in complete silence. Just me and that fucking door. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t even have an ocarina yet, so how was I expected to open it? I felt angry, scared, and confused. I saved my game and turned off the console. I was about ready to take the game back to the store, but I figured I’d give it one more shot. One more chance to rectify these eerie glitches. But that would have to wait. I needed to sleep on it, first.
I awoke the next morning feeling drained. Like I had just been put through Hell twice over. Despite getting a full eight hours of sleep, I still had a hard time pulling myself out of bed. I debated just staying there all day and taking the game back to the store in the morning, but I decided against it. I was going to see this through to the end. I wasn’t going to be like Zarina. After getting dressed, eating breakfast, and brushing my teeth, I sat down at the foot of my bed and turned the game on once more.
My save file was still intact, and upon opening it, I found myself standing in front of the boss door. The real boss door. The wave of relief that came over me was indescribable. I was beaming with such immense joy that I couldn’t even go back to my resting face without it feeling weird. I defeated Queen Gohma, got the heart container, and continued the game.
But things weren’t so normal this time around. I couldn’t stop seeing the door no matter where I went. It wasn’t so bad at first. I would see the door once or twice around each map. But after a while, I would see it more often. Eventually, it got to a point where it was everywhere. Every dungeon, every village, every home. I couldn’t even turn a corner without the door being there to greet me. Almost as if it were chasing me. It needed me to go through it; to see what was on the other side. I wanted to just run away. I wanted to take a hammer and smash the game to bits. But I knew whatever evil was inside that door would follow me wherever I went. I knew this wouldn’t end until I put a stop to it.
I went back to that tree between the castle and Kakariko Village. I placed a bomb on the ground and jumped into the hole. Sure enough, the door was waiting there for me at the back of the room. Just where I left it. I slowly approached the plate and used my ocarina. I hesitated. The game had already proved that the madness could continue for as long as it needed to. How could I be so sure it would end here? Well, I wasn’t. I had every doubt in my mind that this would be the end of it. But I had to find out. I needed to know for sure. I played Zelda’s Lullaby, and sure enough, the door opened.
I found myself in quite an ominous room. The walls were dark, and the ground was made of stone. The room was dim with only a few torches to light it. Several hooded figures in crimson robes stood in a circle in the center of the room. One stood at the back of the circle on some sort of podium. This person was clearly their leader. What stood in the center of the circle, however, was the most disturbing part of it all. In the center of the circle was a large, wooden stake. Tied to that stake was Malon.
“Brothers and sisters,” said the leader, his hands closed in prayer, “we are gathered here today to pay tribute to the divine powers that gave us life.”
“Please,” Malon pleaded, “let me go! I don’t want to die! I’m too young!”
“I don’t want to die.” Seeing that on the screen made me feel like I needed to throw up. I had never seen something so dark in a game like Ocarina of Time. I could feel her fear, her pain. I know it’s just a video game but fuck, man. I felt sorry for her. Something had to be done. But I couldn’t do anything. The cutscene wasn’t over.
“SILENCE, WENCH!” the leader yelled, making an aggressively dismissive gesture. “Your screams for mercy fall on deaf ears. Nobody will save you now. Not even our guest.”
Guest? Was he talking about me?
“Heh heh heh… Did you think I didn’t see you come in?” he asked.
I froze. There was no he could be talking to me, right?
“We have been looking for you. Have you been avoiding us?”
What the hell?
“Hahaha!!! We forgive you, young hero. Now, there’s not a second to waste! Come now. There is work to be done…”
I did not want to be a part of this. Whatever was going on here was something truly devious. I tried to run, but it was no use. Link walked over to where the leader stood.
“Now, our preparations are complete. All we need is you to help us continue the ritual.”
Ritual? There’s a ritual?
“Your instrument there, do you know how to use it?”
Link pulled out his ocarina and looked at it.
“Yes, that one there! Oh, splendid! Now, let me show you what to play. This will help us begin our ritual.”
As much as I didn’t want to, the game gave me no other choice. I couldn’t back out. I played the notes that were shown on-screen. The song was titled “The Hymn of Sacrilege”. How fitting.
“Oh, wonderful! We are about to witness something truly amazing!”
A red orb began to emanate from Malon’s chest.
“What’s happening?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!” she screamed.
“Brothers and sisters, bear witness to the divine power of our goddesses!” the leader exclaimed.
The orb grew and grew.
“Let me go! It BURNS! Oh, God, IT BURNS! I can’t take it! I CAN’T!” Malon pleaded.
“It’s too late for that…” the leader said ominously.
The screen faded to black, and all that could be heard were the haunting screams of a dying young woman. As the room came back into view, I noticed Malon had disappeared. In her place was now a pool of blood sitting underneath a stained wooden stake.
“Heh… heh heh… heh heh heh HA HA HA!!! KYAHAHAHAHA!!!” The leader’s sinister laughter was nearly audible.
“My boy, you have no idea what a wonderful service you have done! Now we may continue to live in peace and prosperity! The Order of the Oracles welcomes you with open arms! You can come to us any time you like! Our door is always open!”
In tears which I hadn’t even noticed were there, I promptly exited the room. I found myself back in the grotto and noticed the door was no longer locked on that side. It was open.
Open. The door is always open. Huh. Maybe Zarina wasn’t such a sucker after all.