By Kirby Ellis
Roughly a decade ago, I got a Wii for Christmas. It was honestly the best thing little me could get my hands on, and I wasted no time hopping on and throwing in a game. One game I stumbled upon was one my dad had gotten: The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess. I had never really heard of the Zelda series besides what my dad had mentioned, so I was definitely curious. I put the disc in the reader, went to the game start, and had my world forever changed. I’ll never forget the chills I got when I heard the choir that plays before you press start, or the rush of excitement from the opening scene. Even today hearing the blasting orchestral track makes me so happy I feel like I might cry. With the19th release date anniversary last year and Zelda’s 40th anniversary just passing, I come to you, dear reader, to share my love for what I believe is a criminally underrated game with a hope that you may see its beauty too.
The background
After the harsh backlash regarding the childish graphics of the previous mainline Zelda game, The Wind Waker, Zelda director Eiji Aonuma knew something had to change before they lost the American market completely. A Wind Waker 2 was in development, but things had slowed exponentially. Aonuma went to Shigeru Miyamoto, and asked to switch gears completely, wanting to try a realistic Zelda game. Miyamoto was hesitant, but gave the green light. After a few adjustments, things took off from there. The public still thought a Wind Waker 2 was coming and had no idea things were changing so much behind the scenes.
Hype was building, and at E3 2004 the announcement for the new gritty and realistic Zelda game finally came. The reaction was intensely positive, with some in the crowd moved to tears. Although it had no name yet, there was already a air of excitement surrounding the game. E3 2005 gave another trailer, and the games name: Twilight Princess.
The game itself
Twilight Princes follows a new reincarnation of Link (who is actually a direct descendant of Ocarina of Time Link). Link in this era is a humble ranch hand who lives in a tiny village called Ordon on the outskirts of Hyrule. Nothing major happens in the town, and the biggest thing that happens to Link is he is given the task of delivering a sword to the Hyrulian royal family. Then comes the games storyline kickstart.
Bulblins, goblin like enemies, attack the village, knock Link out, and kidnap the villages children. When Link wakes up, he goes after them only to be confronted by a wall of strange magic. A horrifying hand pulls him through, and he enters the twilight. Once he enters, the triforce of courage awakens and turns him into a wolf, rather than have him turn into a spirit shade like others affected by the twilight. He is taken by the beast that pulled him into the twilight, and the main story begins.
Link awakes in a cell, and comes face to face with a strange Imp named Midna. Her motives are unclear, but at the moment she seems helpful. They ascend the building Link was trapped in, revealing that he was brought to the now captured Hyrule Castle. They meet the imprisoned Princess Zelda, and Links journey to save Hyrule from the Twilight and the beasts within it really kicks off. We travel all over Hyrule, banishing the Twilight one province at a time and returning the light, saving the people of each area. We eventually come face to face with the main villain, Zant, who usurped the princess of the Twilight Realm and went on to try and take Hyrule as well. There are far too many good storylines that I can’t include here, as I feel it would ruin part of the experience of the game. If you want the full story, I highly recommend either watching a playthrough or playing it yourself!
What makes Twilight Princess special
Links Motivation and Character
One of the driving forces of the game is to save Hyrule like most other games, but I think the real motivation for Links character is the quest to save the children of Ordon. He isn’t some grand hero, he isn’t doing this for the glory. He just wants to save the people he calls family; Saving Hyrule is just a good side affect of that. So many of the games story beats revolve around the people of Hyrule and Links relationships with them. Everything he does, from saving Prince Ralis of the Zora, to helping Yeto the Yeti make a soup for his sick wife, shows Links character beautifully. He may just be along for Midnas grand revenge plot against Zant, but he still does his best to help others along the way.
The Story and its Characters
Throughout my playthrough of Twilight Princess, one of my favorite things to do was interact with the insane array of different characters and personalities throughout Hyrule. Every person feels unique, with motivations beyond just helping out Link. These characters really flesh out the story, and honestly they’re what kept me engaged. Without the feeling of duty towards the children of Ordon, Link might never have started his hero’s journey. The story itself is so intertwined with building these relationships and helping the characters that it almost feels like the main quest falls to the background. The beginning goal was just to get the kids back and maybe repay Midna for freeing you, but as you talk with the characters and learn their stories and plights, it continues to drive you forward into freeing them from their usurper and the twilight that plagues them. In return for your help, the characters go out of their way to help you.
One quest I loved was the quest to revive the Zora Prince Ralis. Telma, a bar maid within the castle town, and your old friend Ilia who has lost her memory, both take on a dangerous journey with you through Hyrule field in order to get Prince Ralis help. The weight of their character (and the beauty of their writing) really shows through here. They decide to do something not even the royal guards are willing to take on, just to help a young boy they barely know. They are almost a reflection of Links own character, showcasing their willingness to help others and helping us see the same in Link.
The Artstyle
One of my absolute favorite things about Twilight Princess is its insanely unique art style. The color pallet is absolutely beautiful and something I’ve always tried to emulate in my own art. The colors are earthy, almost diluted, yet so bright and full of vibrancy. The darker scenes FEEL dark, yet places like Faron Woods feel so bright and warm because of the range of this pallet. There’s so much range within the colors, yet it all feels so perfectly cohesive.
The character designs are also something I like to rave about. Some characters are definitely unique to say the least, but I think they genuinely have a charm to them. Zelda in this game is stunning, and Midnas design really captures her personality. Links design really speaks to his background as a ranch hand; He’s lean, but toned. He has a farmers build, not a soldiers. Even in his Hero’s tunic, he still has that air of humbleness to him. I also like the sharp/angled parts of the design. He almost has wolf-like features. His wolf form is amazing too. His eyes were intentionally made to look similar in both human and wolf form, which was a brilliant design choice in my opinion.
The environments we encounter are also beautifully crafted. The first three dungeons are man-made structures within natural areas, i.e. a tree made temple, a volcanic mine, and a place of worship at the bottom of a lake. These three give the idea of nature dominant architecture. All of these areas still have so much nature intertwined within them, much like the first three temples of Ocarina of Time. The next four are more man dominant architecture, with nature trying to take these areas back. Arbiters grounds, an abandoned prison in the desert, and Snowpeak Ruins, a mansion made military base left to rot in the mountains, are two examples of nature reclaiming the dungeons as they rot away. There’s so much environmental storytelling in these two dungeons alone I could write a whole article about them alone. The Temple of Time and the City in the Sky are in more “pristine” condition depending on how you look at them, but they still have some level of natural reclamation to them. Even a lot of the populated areas have some kind of natural feel to them. Ordons houses all have large logs and branches as their supports. Links house itself is literally within a tree. The Goron village on Death Mountain is carved into the mountain itself. Zoras Domain is a giant cove complete with a large waterfall to the coral covered throne room. Even Kakariko Village is structured around the walls of the canyon it’s in. The only place that’s genuinely man made is Castle Town. Even then, it still retains the cozy feel the other villages have.
It’s impact on me
This game is like a parasite that has burrowed so deep into the folds of my little pea brain that I don’t think I’ll ever be rid of it. Even it’s mere mention sends me into a joyous frenzy, foaming at the mouth and biting at the bit to try and talk about it. I want to eat this game and have it forever a part of my body. My first tattoo was a Twili Beast. I. LOVE. this fucking game.
Twilight Princess inspired me to draw, to create my own characters. My first real goal career and future-wise was to get good at character design and become a concept artist for Zelda games. I wanted to create the next Twilight Princess, to inspire people with my art the same way this game did. I wanted to create a beautiful memory, and a beautiful game.
This game showed me courage is learned and something I can achieve. Hell, my favorite track in the game is titled “Courage”. As a kid who was bullied, anxious, always put down, and usure of myself and what I could accomplish, this game was a shining light in the darkness. Links ability to just keep getting back up and keep going on has always inspired me. His humble beginnings showed me even if you come from nothing, you can build something for yourself and the ones you love.
“A sword has no strength unless the hand that wields it has courage” -The Hero’s Shade, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
