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The End of the Twilight Princess
I finished The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess on the Wii two nights ago.
Don't worry, I'll throw any spoilers behind a cut.
But I think it's safe to make some general comments, first.
First of all, it's a great game. We spent over 150 hours playing it, and we definitely haven't exhausted all of the side quests - not by a long shot!
Second, I do think that it's very well-designed. There were challenging puzzles, but it was almost always possible to solve them with a bit of observation and hard thinking. The combats and bosses were easier than I expected (or feared), but that was fine with me; it allows me to think that I'm a great warrior. :D
Third...it's a surprisingly romantic game. Not in the classic sense, but it seemed to me that there was a lot of strong emotion built into the plot; so much so that the ending really stayed with me, and I'm thinking about it still. In fact, that's why I'm writing this.
Okay, time for the cut.
SPOILERS AHOY!
The game surprised me in several ways. One was that Link had virtually no attachment to Zelda, emotionally. She was somehow almost inhuman, if it makes any sense to use that word about a character in a video game.
At the same time, it seemed pretty clear to me that by the end of the game, Link and Midna actually loved each other - and that really made sense, given the storyline. Which made it all the sadder when the two of them separated (presumably) forever.
I'm a geek, I guess. At 43 I shouldn't get caught up in the love lives of video game characters. :D
Anyway, here's the ending.
Actually, wait a second: let me clarify, if you haven't played the game. Link was pulled into a dark world, in which he changed into a sacred wolf and was imprisoned. In his cell, he was rescued by a little imp called Midna.
Midna accompanied him throughout the rest of the game, often teasing him, riding on his back when he was in wolf shape, and generally moving the story along. Finally at the penultimate battle she sent Link and Zelda away from the castle, battling Ganondorf one-on-one. From the distance, Link and Zelda saw the castle destroyed...and then saw Ganondorf on horseback, holding Midna's headpiece. After a long battle, Ganondorf was mortally wounded, and:
Unfortunately they left out the very last bit, but I can describe it from memory:
It's a really sad ending! And it really seems as if the story is set up for a sequel in which Link tries to reach Midna in the Twilight Realm. I think that there's a parallel of some sort with Majora's Mask, in which (apparently) Link had left Hyrule after the end of the Ocarina of Time, and ended up in a different world.
Unfortunately I doubt that Nintendo will do a direct sequel, and I suspect we won't see Midna again.
Don't worry, I'll throw any spoilers behind a cut.
But I think it's safe to make some general comments, first.
First of all, it's a great game. We spent over 150 hours playing it, and we definitely haven't exhausted all of the side quests - not by a long shot!
Second, I do think that it's very well-designed. There were challenging puzzles, but it was almost always possible to solve them with a bit of observation and hard thinking. The combats and bosses were easier than I expected (or feared), but that was fine with me; it allows me to think that I'm a great warrior. :D
Third...it's a surprisingly romantic game. Not in the classic sense, but it seemed to me that there was a lot of strong emotion built into the plot; so much so that the ending really stayed with me, and I'm thinking about it still. In fact, that's why I'm writing this.
Okay, time for the cut.
SPOILERS AHOY!
The game surprised me in several ways. One was that Link had virtually no attachment to Zelda, emotionally. She was somehow almost inhuman, if it makes any sense to use that word about a character in a video game.
At the same time, it seemed pretty clear to me that by the end of the game, Link and Midna actually loved each other - and that really made sense, given the storyline. Which made it all the sadder when the two of them separated (presumably) forever.
I'm a geek, I guess. At 43 I shouldn't get caught up in the love lives of video game characters. :D
Anyway, here's the ending.
Actually, wait a second: let me clarify, if you haven't played the game. Link was pulled into a dark world, in which he changed into a sacred wolf and was imprisoned. In his cell, he was rescued by a little imp called Midna.
Midna accompanied him throughout the rest of the game, often teasing him, riding on his back when he was in wolf shape, and generally moving the story along. Finally at the penultimate battle she sent Link and Zelda away from the castle, battling Ganondorf one-on-one. From the distance, Link and Zelda saw the castle destroyed...and then saw Ganondorf on horseback, holding Midna's headpiece. After a long battle, Ganondorf was mortally wounded, and:
Unfortunately they left out the very last bit, but I can describe it from memory:
- The village children come home at last.
- Link's house is empty. One of his friends comes by and calls for him, but Link is gone. The gift that he got from Ilia, the village girl who was his girlfriend at the beginning of the game, has been left hanging in front of the door, along with some sort of green sash.
- The Master Sword has been returned to the stone where Link got it.
- We see Ilia standing by herself at the forest spring, looking away.
- Link rides away alone on Epona. It seems clear that he won't be coming back.
- As always, the final image is the Triforce.
It's a really sad ending! And it really seems as if the story is set up for a sequel in which Link tries to reach Midna in the Twilight Realm. I think that there's a parallel of some sort with Majora's Mask, in which (apparently) Link had left Hyrule after the end of the Ocarina of Time, and ended up in a different world.
Unfortunately I doubt that Nintendo will do a direct sequel, and I suspect we won't see Midna again.