#Every Zelda is the Darkest Zelda

[starshucker]

happy wrapped season

[pocketseizure]

In Ocarina of Time, Impa is described as Zelda’s “nursemaid,” which is an odd position for a highly skilled warrior in the prime of her physical prowess to occupy. While it would make sense for the princess to have a personal guard, it’s strange for that person to be someone like Impa, a high-ranking member of a clan of torturers and assassins.

The Sheikah are the guardians of Hyrule’s royal family, but this role is open to interpretation. The royal family’s secret treasure, the Triforce, is so powerful that it can reshape reality. It would be all too easy for the Triforce to create a tyrant, so perhaps one of the responsibilities of the Sheikah is to ensure that this doesn’t happen. In addition, the Ocarina of Time itself is a mysterious but deadly tool, and it would be disastrous if it were to be wielded by a princess with evil intentions.

It’s interesting to think that perhaps Impa is observing Zelda to judge whether she’s worthy of the power she will one day command. If the young princess seems as though she doesn’t possess sufficient wisdom, it’s not outside the realm of possibility for it to be Impa’s duty to eliminate her before she becomes a threat.

[moonstandardtime]

i want to put link in isat. im sure hed do fine. the heros spirit endures

[lizzybeanbutt]

totk trailer

[pocketramblr]

TP the cat befriending simulator is seen as edgy while OoT has a whole ass labyrinth of torture chambers, there is an acopalypse, the protag is homeless in the end and has been flirted with by grown-ass women. He's also not even in the double digits.

And then the homeless orphan finds his way into another apocalypse with people dropping dead around him that he has to wear the faces of to settle things with their family, all while knowing no one will ever make it back to his former home and tell them why he couldn't return or offer any other chances

TPink's dad, by contrast shows up at the end and saves his life before the final fight and he's able to go home and always return to his family or friends and travel freely between them. Still, it's easy to see why TP is mistakenly called the darkest game because it's interphase looks very similar to the actual most grimdark instalment: Link's crossbow training

[timegears-moved]

man.

[arcanemagica]

fuck fuck shit oh fuck i cant do with this. *boots up age of calamity instead* oh fucj wait. wait all of this hurts *boots up twilight princess instead* no no no wait god oh god oh god wait this hurts so much worse hold on fuck fuck fuck fuck *boots up ocarina of ti

[spiritunwilling]

oh the fondness i have for [insert jacob geller video]

[defectau]

Jacob Geller!

[bigskycastle]

they let me do an illustration for jacob gellers book..! this one is for the essay "every zelda is the darkest zelda"

[revretch]

I've been thinking about if they released a Pokemon game themed around every type, and what they would be like.

Ghost: Most obvious, something like Luigi's Mansion. Very cute, spooky adventure in a big haunted house. Prominently features references to youkai and ghosts like Toilet Hanako.

Psychic: By contrast, the psychic game is actually sci-fi horror (as much as a Pokemon game could get by with it). Lavender Town vibes, would heavily feature Alakazam and Hypno.

Water: Epic underwater survival game like Subnautica.

Fighting: A martial arts story like a Jackie Chan movie, though probably more like Kung Fu Panda. All the characters are fighting-type Pokemon. Main character is a Mankey as a nod to Journey to the West.

Flying: Set on a flying island like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Dark: Another horror game, with a darkness-based sanity mechanic like Darkest Dungeon or Amnesia: The Dark Descent. (Though, probably a stat other than sanity.)

Fairy: A medieval fantasy RPG with a story evocative of old stories dealing with the fae.

Ground: Set deep underground, a cave exploration game.

Rock: Set on another planet/dimension, about mining strange alien mineral formations. Your choice whether the Pokemon were brought along, or somehow already there.

Steel: Pokemon meets gundam!

Electric: Expanding on the teleporter incident with Bill in the first game, following a series of teleporter fusion mishaps and figuring out how to fix them. Gameplay in the form of engineering puzzles.

Normal: A medical game where you work in a Pokemon Center doing surgery on Pokemon. Obviously heavily featuring Chansey.

Fire: A traveling circus act with acrobatics using the elaborate fire displays that fire-type Pokemon can make. The gameplay mechanic is both navigating the fire-based obstacle courses, and designing them for maximum style to garner approval from the audience.

Ice: A platformer where you make ice to proceed, and can trap your enemies in ice.

Grass: A first-person RPG set in a jungle, Jumanji vibes. You play a botanist trying to find a rare flower.

Poison: A Thief-like game where you sneak around and poison assassination targets in the most kid-friendly way possible. Possibly you play as a member of Team Rocket.

Dragon: Another medieval fantasy RPG, fairly typical DnD fare.

Bug: Saving my favorite type for last! A species identification game, featuring real bugs as well as Pokemon.

[erismourn]

I want to make video essays but I have nothing new or smart to say about things

[vioshortforviolence]

Yes!!

This is one of my favorite things about the series as a whole: Happy graphics that mask a darker story and themes.

I've always loved that kind of contrast in games.

Even Twilight Princess - one of the most "serious" entries in the series - is still full of fun and goofy moments!

I mean, have you seen Link's face when he discovers the Fishing Hole?? lol

And don't even get me started on the Ooccoo...

(Link's face here is also great.)

The Zelda series has a case of "judging a book by its cover" - or in this case, by its graphics; it isn't really quite as "kiddie" as people outside the fandom tend to think it is.

The Shadow Temple from Ocarina of Time comes to mind, especially the original version with all the blood splatters everywhere.

"Here is gathered Hyrule's bloody history of greed and hatred..."

ALSO DEAD HAND

Just what the heck was this mini-boss, Nintendo?! LOL

Anyway.

The Wind Waker: A happy sea-faring adventure that actually takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the entire kingdom drowned because the hero wasn't there to save them.

Majora's Mask is its own brand of deep and depressing moments - but as OP said, it's still full of themes of hope and forgiveness.

And... ah, the ending of Link's Awakening. Mhm.

It's funny - whenever I see a doubting YTber play the Zelda games for the first time, they're always pleasantly surprised to see their own assumptions about the series being super kiddie be torn to pieces, lol.

This series is happy, goofy, serious... but most importantly, it's heartfelt.

I could go on and on about this series...

Anyway.

am i the only person in this fandom that wants this series to have more hopeful stories rather than completely dystopian and depressed stores? and i genuinely feel like the series darker moments have way more impact in the more “light-hearted” entries in the series…i seriously can’t be alone in this 😩 why do people want this series to be dark and gritty so bad? these games have always been a healthy mix of hopeful and tragic and i wouldn’t want that to change at all

[duckapus]

God, imagine being Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom

-You get captured by your kingdom's worst enemy, thought to be merely a legend by those who know of him at all

-You're stuck in some ruined temple with him, trapped in a magical crystal, for who knows how long waiting for who knows what

-Eventually a boy in green clothes and a blue cloak you've never met before shows up and fights the Demon King and wins, like a scene from the fairy tales Impa told you when you were a little girl

-and then something goes horribly wrong, and the boy is sinking, and he looks up at you without a hint of fear on his face and uses his final act to free you

-and just like that you're alone, in the dark, with nothing to do but leave the temple as fast as you can before the rift swallows you too

-you pick up his cloak as you run

-once you're out and your father's men have found you, it sinks in; that boy, that hero, gave everything to save your kingdom

-to save you

-and you don't even know his name

-you get back to the castle and reunite with your father, only for another rift to appear and take him from you too

-and then some thing wearing his face manages to trick everyone into thinking you're the one behind this new crisis and you're trapped again

-(in the darkest corner of your mind you can't help but wonder if you really do share some of the blame somehow. you're the only one who survived the very first rift, after all)

-a strange creature appears before you, offering to help in exchange for your aid, and of course you're wary because you've never seen anything like Tri before and her power seems far too similar to whatever made the imposters that have taken over your kingdom to not be connected somehow, but given the circumstances you really have no choice but to trust her for now

-you sneak your way through the bowels of your own home, past your own soldiers, and at the very end your luck seems to run out... only for Impa, loyal to the end, to jump in and rescue you

-she gives you a disguise and a map and tells you to go to a village to the south where you'll be safe, and she stays behind to cover your tracks

-as you emerge into the sunlight, even with Tri beside you and Impa on your side, you feel terribly, painfully alone

-you make your way to the village, and even though they have every reason to be suspicious of a strange hooded girl and her even stranger companion, especially with their home and families ravaged by the rifts, you're met with kindness and open arms

-Many of them tell you of a boy named Link, who's kind and helpful and so painfully shy that he barely says a word, and how some time ago he ran off on a journey with nothing but an old sword on his back and a strange feeling that someone needed his help

-As you hear their stories, it slowly dawns on you that the boy they're talking about is your hero, and the guilt settles heavy in your gut

-Well. At least you know his name now

-You continue on towards the very temple where this all started, pushed forward both by Tri's urging and your own determination to get to the bottom of all this, and eventually you find yourself in a nightmarish realm of stolen land and lost souls

-You reach the temple and brave its many tricks and traps, until halfway through you're met with the cruelest of jokes; Link, your lost Hero, looking at you with cold, hate-filled eyes the color of blood

-You have no choice but to fight him, and as you do it soon becomes clear that this is yet another imposter

-Eventually you defeat it, and its sword, Link's Sword, is left behind

-As you pick it up, you feel Something shift, as if your spirit has touched that of another, and you look down at yourself and find that you're glowing blue and wearing an unfamiliar-yet-familiar tunic

-your hero is with you, now, or at least a piece of him, and it finally feels like maybe you really can solve this crisis

[phoenixcatch7]

The more I think about it the more confused I am by the very brief appearance the triforce makes in botw (and then nothing at all in totk?). Like, it should have evaporated calamity ganon on the spot, it should have overpowered him completely. If zelda had his triforce piece, if he didn't have the Power piece to resist like in tp. He should have gone poof.

Did she accidentally use her wish early? Pure hearted don't break the triforce by wishing on it, it didn't save link, it didn't defeat ganon. Did it break? Where did the pieces go? I can't remember if she actually had a triforce mark on her hand?

Totk having the triforce be in pieces above the clouds would have been so cool...

I'm not considering aoc canon for this but also?? What's zeldas magic and what's the triforce? Did -

Did she just wish for the power to save link? To defend him and protect the kingdom? Is THAT why she suddenly became so insanely strong??

Wait I think I'm onto something here. Zelda carrying the triforce without realising and only having the strength to wish upon it in her darkest hour, but being unaware and untrained, the triforce lost to faintest myth over eons, instead of wishing for ganon to be destroyed and the kingdom restored like every other purposeful use in other games, she instead simply wished to be able to save link, to not be powerless, not be helpless.

And the triforce granted it. Which is why that's the only time it appeared in botk.

[chongoblog]

Weird question, I know, but do you have any recommendations for getting into roguelikes? Or at least roguelites?

Great question! As far as the genre of roguelike/lite goes, there’s a pretty wide berth. I think it depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for.

I was gonna give a breakdown of lite vs like, but honestly I’m just gonna go down the list

Hades/Hades 2: Very good if you want to experience a story, tight gameplay, and be pretty sure that you’ll make your way to the end eventually without ragequitting. A lot of its charm comes in it being easier and focusing more on progressing story than Just Being A Wall like some of the other games on this list. Probably the best entry point to roguelikes in this whole list.

Spelunky/Spelunky 2: Remember when I mentioned a wall to throw yourself at? I haven’t played nearly as much Spelunky 2, but I can tell you that I have SOOOOO much time in the first Spelunky (hell I had a lot of time in it back when it was freeware. Now THAT was an exciting time). It’s very very difficult and unforgiving. But it’s a blast once you figure out the tricks.

Slay the Spire: THE deckbuilder roguelike. A ton of roguelikes nowadays have deckbuilder elements and I feel like a lot of it comes from this game. Can’t recommend it enough. If you’re looking for other deckbuilder roguelikes, you can try Monster Train or Balatro (warning this one is crack if you like Number Go Up)

FTL Faster Than Light: You know Star Trek? Imagine if you were a ship captain and you were in control of all the ship functions and crew members. And also everything wanted you dead. And uh oh half your crew is dead. Oh god the O2 chamber is on fire. Another one of those “Throw Yourself At A Wall” type games. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever completed a run myself, but it’s a wonderful experience every time I pick it up

Skul: Definitely one of my favorites in recent memory. A fun action platformer where you get to be a lil skeleton dude, what more could you ask for? Very similar to Dead Cells, which I’ve also played, but I think I like Skul a good bit better (DC is very good though!!!)

Dicey Dungeons: Made by the same guy who did VVVVVV, Dicey Dungeons is a very fun take on the genre, basing it around dice, and allowing for a lot of creative playstyles around the mechanic.

Binding of Isaac: I feel like this one needs no introduction, but in case it does, BoI takes most of its inspiration from the original Legend of Zelda. I have a few issues with it myself which is why I don’t play it nearly as much as I used to (mostly due to it having soooooooo much stuff that trying to remember everything is a hassle, kinda like my issue with TF2 unfortunately) but it’s beloved for a reason so it might just end up being up your alley

Other games I know about but haven’t played much of, so I can’t say much are Streets of Rogue, Risk of Rain 2, Rogue Legacy (I did play a lot back in the day but never got far), Noita, Into the Breach, Darkest Dungeon, and Crypt of the Necrodancer

If anyone else has any recommendations or if you second any of these recs, feel free to put em in the replies