Heroic Verse

Heroic Verse is an engine for writing poetry inspired by The Legend of Zelda.

As you use this engine, you’ll create a word bank based on the games’ vibes & themes, and use that word bank to write different forms of poetry. You’ll need at least 1 six-sided die (d6) if you want to randomize your results.

This type of poetry is an exercise in writing things that are beautiful and not necessarily meaningful! If you struggle with getting thoughts on the page, are never sure what to write about, or have never written poetry before, give it a try.

Heroic Verse consists of one sheet of paper, front and back. Although it's arranged in three columns, it's not meant to be folded; simply read one side and then the other. (The printable version has no background color so that it doesn't use all your ink.)

The game comes with two small expansions: Co-op Mode and The Blood Moon Rises. These fit on a single side, which also has a printable version.

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Further reading + examples from The Poetry Foundation on a couple of the poetic forms used in this game: Duplex and Triolet.

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Heroic Verse was written for the Majora's Mask jam. It was inspired by Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, the Second Guess System by William Lentz and rumors about The Legend of Aesthetic by Jackson Tegu. Thank you to the jam discord and the Explorers discord for your feedback and support!

P.S. All of the Sheikah runes do actually say things.