The twist of the Zelda being the Light Dragon is one of the most hidden-in-plain-sight moments in gaming history, and I love it. I had to hold back my own tears during that transformation scene.
Could've made it better by giving us a hug scene at the end. It wouldn't be inappropriate, and not suggestive the least since friends can give hugs too. But for some reason they decided to keep Link in a blank state even at the most emotional moments.
@@gamanzhiydanil Not so much a hug as holding her tightly. Not the same, but moments like these say a lot in place of his words. His actions tell us all we need know.
@@stunseed8385 Someone use camera modding to turn the camera around during the bit where Zelda talks about waking-up, and Link actually smiles at the moment she does. Unfortunately we can't see it normally
A small thing i don't see a lot of people mention is Zeldas scream. If you listen closely right after she transforms and roars there is a human scream mixed in. Its a bellowing horrific screech that sounds like someone who just lost everything. Rauru is confident when he sacrifices himself. Sonia is dead, he doesn't have anyone intimate to lose. He is sure and doesn't falter, his sacrifice doesn't seem to pain him or even take that much mental strain, but Zelda? She is agonizing over the fact that in shedding her humanity to restore the sword, in her attempt to give Link a chance, she will never see him again
I cry every time I watch that memory but now... Omg, you can clearly heard her scream in the second roar of the dragon... And now I am a sea of tears... Poor Zelda...
Bruh considering that Zelda is cannonicly in love with link I just… I’m losing it man it’s so fucking sad she loves him enough to sacrifice and go through this much pain and she doesn’t know if she will see her love again
I think Ganondorf’s sacrifice has always been part of his personality. In a lot of iterations, he is a sore loser. He drops the facade of a warrior-king once he starts losing and starts going all out. He will do what it takes to win so long as you lose and he doesn’t. He chooses to have a one on one duel because it suits his fancy. Dragons are immortal and mighty. He would give up his. Entire being to bring you and Hyrule to ruin so long as he would destroy his enemies. Sacrifice made out of spite and desperation to win. So why not? In OoT, he tries to drop his castle on you and Zelda and even then he turns into Ganon. In WW, he loses his wish and starts laughing like a madman, and resorts to killing you with his blades. No plan, no scheme, just venting his anger that he lost. In TP, he lost and by the Triforce of Power, he still clings to life. Ganondorf uses the Sword of the Sages as a form of twisted retribution and often taunts the efforts of Link and the others. Even in his dying breath, he refuses to admit defeat until the fatal wound takes him. Not dying on his knees but standing. Ganondorf is a selfish and power-hungry man. We always know this. He doesn’t exactly need a deep reason for his powerlust, just have it presented in an entertaining way for the purposes of the game.
It's very much emblematic of his true nature; as much as he professes that power is all that matters to him (and he might honestly believe he follows that philosophy), he's not one to accept defeat when he is overpowered. He also frequently relies on trickery and goes to incredible lengths to avoid admitting he lost, and you can even attribute the clearly meta phenomenon of him constantly popping up in the games despite being sealed or killed every time to his squirrelly nature. I think this provides some interesting speculative insight into the backstory we never really get to see form his character; in the Ganondorf video Brett specifically bemoans that we never get to see his experience among the Gerudo, but I think we can extrapolate the important bits pretty easily. The desert is a harsh environment, and it's not easy to survive in it if you aren't willing to do some dehumanizing things; Ganondorf almost certainly didn't grow up in the kind of environment we see in BotW's or TotK's Gerudo Town, but a much harder, nomadic lifestyle where thievery and murder to capture the limited resources of the territory was necessary. Add to that the responsibility of being the only male for generations that weighed on him literally as soon as he was born, and it's unsurprising that he goes to such length to win and sees every other nation as antagonistic; to him, survival is a life-or-death competition, and there can only be one winner.
@@notnath14 Yes, but I see how their people thrive in Gerudo Town as an example, so I do agree the harsh desert only allows the strong to survive in it, and make no mistake Ganondorf is strong, he’s very much also a despot, thief and liar. He may have had the power to let his people flourish, but given the chance, he never would have done that. So his mentality that conflict breeds might isn’t entirely unjustified, just to a high degree. He is a king by right and he does what he believes a king is entitled to do by that right. Even having to kill for it.
I think the biggest tragedy in Zelda’s sacrifice is that we spend the entire game looking at the huge difference she was able to make in just a few years for all of hyrule and how much she planned for the future (just outside of lookout landing are foundations for new buildings and I almost cried when I noticed). Everything she did after a hundred years gone, all her hope for the new future she will never see it again. All the children in hateno, the researchers she organized, everything she spent all those memories trying so hard to go back and she has to make a terrible decision for the future she’ll never even remember hoping for. When you see how much hyrule came to love and depend on her in so many quests it hurts all the more that the world without her is much emptier like in BotW, her sacrifice is so heavy because she’s shouldering a lot more knowledge of what will come
RE: the lack of loneliness. When you go so deep that your sage partner avatars can't reach you, it suddenly feels really weird and scary. Loved that touch.
“Ganondorf’s sacrifice is for no one but himself.” During the final fight, I remember feeling especially angry and motivated seeing Ganondorf turn himself into a dragon. I couldn’t accurately put words to that feeling, but I think you nailed it. The Demon Dragon is an insult to Zelda’s sacrifice. Ganon makes a mockery of Zelda’s entire struggle - he even LAUGHS at you when he does so. It makes the fight so much more desperate and so so satisfying to prove him wrong.
The three sacrifices kinda remind me of the three peices of the triforce (in a way) Zeldas is wisdom as she uses her sacrifice to heal Links weapon with the knowlege he will use it in ways that can complete her mission. Then there is Rauru couragously sacrifices himself to keep the world safe, not caring about his own morality. Then there is Ganondorf who uses his sacrifice as a way to gain power and nothing else. This probably is reaching a little but I thought it was an intresting idea...
To add more to Zelda, her plan was pretty sound. She didn’t just eat the stone on a whim, she made many, MANY preparations. She planned with the sages of the past to pass on their stones to the future sages, and Mineru stayed behind in spirit to assist Link by giving him the full story. Only then did she throw chance to the wind and Draconify herself. She really does embody wisdom in her plans.
No actually this is a really good point! Rauru's sacrifice was a last ditch effort that would have killed him whether he succeeded or not, and he knew he was just delaying the inevitable. You have to have a lot of courage to be willing to do that. Zelda's sacrifice was a tactical decision, a plan to win a war that she knew was coming in thousands of years. She made the wisest decision she could, even if it cost her everything. And Ganondorf's 'sacrifice' was a desperate attempt to hold onto the power he coveted so much he fought and stole and killed to get it. He would rather lose himself than lose his power, and in the end he lost both, and his life
One contrasting thing about Rauru's and Zelda's sacrifices that was interesting to me was that they mirror each other in what they knew and what they did not know. For Rauru, he knew exactly what him sealing Ganondorf would do to him (even says this to Ganondorf) but what he did not truly know was that if he made this sacrifice that would Link actually come along to finish the job thousands of years later. For Zelda, she truly did not know what becoming a dragon and losing oneself would be like for her but she knew that if she made this sacrifice and it worked that Link would finish the job. They both had to take a massive leap of faith in each of their critical moments for Link to have the opportunity to save them all.
Rauru did know that in the future a brave knight called Link would come and finish the job, he literally said that too Ganondorf as well. He had too make the leap of faith that Link would succeed, hence his sacrifice would not be in vain.
I just now realised, that in the Phantom ganon cutscene in the castle : Link doesnt draw his weapon to defend himself from the gloom/malice stuff. (like he did in the games intro cutscene) he crosses his arms in front of his face and braces himself against the assault, (he even does that if you got the master sword prior to this cutscene). Link - the embodiment of the spirit of the hero and courage itself - is afraid of what happened under hyrule castle repeating itself
I know its a lame answer but its probably just dramatic effect. The story knows he wont need to block that Attack so he rather does a striking Pose Link read the script!
Gannondorf sacrificing himself to become a force of nature and spew gloom over Hyrule was a good touch. If he cannot rule Hyrule, then he will destroy it completely. When the Demon Dragon explodes and "Destroy Gannondorf: Complete" appears on screen, I was grinning ear to ear. TotK had one of the most satisfying finales of any game I've played.
Before swallowing the Stone, Ganondorf says "I will yet rule this Land", implying that he thinks he'd still be some sort of ruler once he kills Link by any means, even though his goals should end up unknown to him after the transformation.
@@goli8699 By rule I think he means that he dictates the destiny of the kingdom. Be it as a human, demon, or dragon. he wants to dominate everything, even if he is just a beast.
and when one considers the curse of Demise, well, this incarnation is dead now, but what of the next, whatever form it takes, Ganon will return. The Yiga Clan still exist and will likely seek to revive him, and then there's the unanswered question regarding Twinrova, will they show up in a DLC, or will we merely hear hints of their activities, of them potentially showing up in a sequel of some sort whether it be in the current Link's life time or the next, we just don't know.
@@LSSTyranus whatever happens, for now there is no world size threat, so society can be rebuild again and Link and Zelda can hopefully relax again for at least some years. If not even Ganons return being the worry of Links and Zeldas next reincarnation. I would grand them the peace.
@Leif Emmanuel hence my theory that this is in a timeline that happens due to a split that happens at Skyward Sword, because then the Triforce just remains hidden and forgotten under the giant Goddess Statue, never to be found as Skyward Sword Link already killed Demise in single combat.
I always read Zelda’s “Link!” and “Protect them all!” as two separate things- one instinctive, desperate cry out as she’s scared and losing herself- the other an explosion of deeper self brought forth to the surface as she’s losing all the other superficial aspects of herself left with nothing but her core conviction. It called me back to Age of Calamity, and the phrase that motivated that entire game’s story, her internal dialogue in botw’s moment of greatest crisis: “I must protect everyone”
@@a.jthomas6132Im not even sure they can without more handwaving. It's said in Totk Rauru's seal broke because of the Calamity, not Zelda and Link walking into the room. Since AoC's 2nd Calamity 100 years later was preemptively stopped, it'll be another 100 years until Ganondorf is freed (maybe) They could just have him get free early. But then it's a game with a slightly less destroyed Hyrule fighting dehydrated Ganons army. It would definitely be an odd experience, Depths battles, Sky Ship fights possible, the Divine Beasts probs not even dismantled.
The Hyrule throne room cut scene was quite interesting to me. Because Link‘s defensive posture against the gloom wouldnt have protected him. He would have just lost both arms…. So his reaction was a bit like trauma or some such. And this trauma was dissolved when his friends saved him. At least thats how I interpret the cutscene.
Interesting. Guess trauma is another theme to be added to. But what about the trauma Link has undergone after looking at Zelda’s memories. How would he feel about the way she turns into a Light Dragon?
@@jonson856 does humming and her grunting counts? Also you can tell through his body language when he was shocked by witnessing the last tear memory. He does show some personality.
Only works if he had a barrier. Shame the arm doesn’t give him that ability, but then again we would have the same issue Daruk’s Protection gave us in the last game. Maybe.
@@a.jthomas6132 shocked and traumatized are quite different things. We don't know how exactly he experienced the memories. Was it as invisible 3rd person, or as Zelda herself? We don't know. Him being shocked I believe came from him understanding what happened to Zelda. But to be fair, after every memory he does that. So I'm not sure if it's shock
I didn’t realize how lonely I would feel when all of the sages got taken away during my approach to Ganon. It made the moment where they all rejoin you for the final fight so special.
I don’t think you mentioned this, but I find it interesting that during Ganondorf’s transformation, his eyes change less than Zelda’s do, likely symbolising how he’s already lost some of his humanity.
One thing nobody ever mentions about the story cutscenes is how gorgeous and well-directed they are in general. I don't remember anything in BOTW looking half as polished.
Yeah the cutscenes in Botw often felt stiff and a little awkward. The voice acting wasn't bad but it didn't feel natural enough for the characters. But in this game everything is just massively improved! The voice acting feels a lot more natural, even though there's a lot of the same voice actors (they got better voice direction this time I think) and the animations just feel a lot smoother and (once again) more natural.
There was also motion capture listed in the credits for TOTK, I don’t remember it being there in botw but it really adds an extra layer of acting and subtlety into the animations- Ganon especially I don’t think would’ve had nearly as much weight purely animated, I’m convinced he had a lot of mo-cap used for him, the way he kneels and stands and walks feels so grounded And that’s just the animation- now they’ve hashed out all the foundations and artistic basics in the original they’ve been polished to perfection in this one
I have to say the sheer difference in tone and feeling between BOTW and TotK astonished me so much. I’m BotW, Link feels like a lone swordsman who passes by and fixes everything, gaining the respect of the people, but never staying forever. It makes the fight against Calamity Ganon feel really personal, as the Champions only support you with their ghosts and abilities, making Link an avenger to them. But it still makes you feel like the lone traveling swordsman. In TotK, you almost always have some kind of companion with you. For the intro, you have Zelda. For the great sky island, you have Rauru. Lookout Landing, you have Purah, Robbie, and all the soldiers who call you by name with respect and even honor. As you go to the different areas, it always feels like the people not only respect you, but give as much assistance as possible. The Rito and Gorons guiding you to the sages. The Zora working to fix your armor and king dorephan willing to help. The Gerudo literally battling alongside you. Mineru taking control of a gundam you built to persist after her own death. Even in the dark depths, the Sage avatars make you feel like you have an army by your side, and the battle against Ganondorf feels like his army, vs yours. Even in the final damn fight Zelda comes to assist you.
Mineru is technically with you the entier time even if you don't unlock her because her spirit is in the Purah pad and has been there for thousands of years.
its like link’s, the champions’, Zelda’s sacrifices in BOTW gave birth to TOTK Hyrule’s revival, and no one can no longer be alone because BOTW gave that spark of rebirth
Botw is about Link doing a journey mostly alone, his friends are dead but at least they can give some of their power to him. It’s bittersweet in a way TotK is about him no longer needing to be alone, just like you said he always has someone beside him in one way or another, no matter where he is. Even those ghosts that give you weapons in the depth add to this in a way, because in a place so dark and dreary it’s nice that there are still those who will help you, even if they can only give you a weapon
Zelda’s relationship with Link is more than just friends. She loves him since Breath of the Wild. Remember, her sacred powers were awaked when the person is closest to her is in grave danger. Plus, Kass’s last song show the Princess of Hyrule feelings towards her Appointed Knight. And we get a lot of hints and suggestions again in Tears of the Kingdom that they are more involved as they lived together in his house, help restoring Hyrule, and build a school for a new generation of Hylian children (another thing about community). Especially in one of the tear memories where she speaks fondly of her knight/hero to Rauru and Sonia which they would like to meet him as any parent would like to meet their daughter’s boyfriend in real life. When the Light Dragon (Zelda) comes to aid Link from a Demon Dragon during the final boss fight, do you think a part of her is not all but lost? I think it was her instinct love for Link is what saves him when confronting Draconified Ganondorf. Their relationship to me is so special to me! I was a bit disappointed that the developers didn’t give much Zelink moments in the game. Even there is no reunion hug after Zelda is changed back. I hope we can see Link and Princess Zelda together more in the next Zelda as a possible future rulers of Hyrule.
I know you mentioned that there is no reunion hug, and while that is true when Zelda is awake, Link does still hold her in a warm embrace when they plummet from the sky at the end. She even mentions that hug helped to wake her up. Yeah, it’s nothing compared to her actually being awake and tackling him with a hug, but it’s still so heart warming watching Link pull her close right before they hit the water.
Not sure if it’s related to his sacrifice much, but I love the music that plays after Ganondorf rips the Secret Stone off his head. It’s a very “oh fuck he’s actually gonna do it”-sounding song
I became so much more emotional at the ending of the game then I expected, but I knew exactly why. The sacrifice Zelda made wasn’t nearly as impactful to me as her return, and that’s because at least to me, it felt deserved. I did most of the quests the game had to offer before I marched to the end, & so I noticed a strong connecting force across the entire kingdom. Everywhere I went, there was at least one person singing Zelda’s praises & talking about what she did to help them. And before the events of this game, Zelda along with the entire kingdom suffered immensely to the calamity. I can’t think of anytime it’s mentioned that Zelda indulged in herself in any way, except maybe when she asked for a well to get some privacy every once in a while IN HER OWN HOME. Seeing her back to normal, falling back down to the surface, it felt like she was finally being given back for all she’s done. The entire kingdom felt like it was screaming for her safety & prosperity as I adventured, & so I cried. It was beautiful to see her there, & it felt cathartic to see someone be rewarded for their sacrifice for a change. If anyone understood & embraced community in this game, it was Zelda.
I was in tears. Diving towards her in the sky. As the music crescendos…. After everything she’s done and sacrificed… as I went into the final battle at the end of the game I was honestly fully prepared for her to stay a dragon. Because the game built that up for me by showing how impactful becoming a dragon was
I think that the romantic overtones are strong in this new Zelda series. I saw a pretty good breakdown of BotW that nails it down pretty good, and that's before the new TotK info comes into play. I guess at the end of Hudson's wedding scene, Bolson tells Link that some flower petals that are floating around in the air can only be seen by people with pure love in their heart (or something along those lines), and then during the secret post-credits ending cutscene, we see Link and Zelda run toward each other in the background and these same flower petals are swirling around in the foreground, and then it even pans to a Silent Princess and fades to black on that imagery. It's a little convoluted, because it required you to have paid attention during Hudson's wedding and remember what he said, AND you have to have basically 100%-ed the game to see this special ending cutscene, but when these scenes are both laid out right in front of you it's _not at all subtle._ It shows the love flower petals, them running toward each other on a very "Sound of Music" type of hill, and ends on a shot of Zelda's favorite flower. BTW, I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else, but I'm going to assume that I'm not the first one to notice this, but the very fact that Zelda's favorite flower _is_ the "Silent Princess" kind of spills the beans right there. Think about it, Silent = Link, Princess = Zelda. So the flower Zelda loves the most is one that represents both her and Link at the same time. _AND_ we are introduced to Zelda's liking of the flower in the same scene where we first see her being cute and friendly with him (and where the developers _absolutely knew what they were doing_ when she lunged out for the frog) Also, I mean, come on. Zelda moved into Link's house and made her own private underground lair to have some privacy from him, but also has his old hair band in a chest with her. Those two things cannot exist at the same time and make any sense for any scenario except them being a couple and also living together. If they're not a couple and not living together, then it'd be super weird for her to be holding onto Link's old hair tie in a treasure chest in her private study. If they are living together, platonically, _and she still has that hair tie,_ then that's even weirder (that has some pretty creepy, "caught stealing her roommate's underwear" vibes). But no matter what, Link basically _has_ to be living there, even if you choose to believe that he's sleeping on a cot in the shed, because Zelda outright says that Link never leaves her side, and there's not really anywhere else in town where he could be living long term. It would be pretty shitty of Zelda to make him sleep at the hotel after he gave her a house. And if he was crashing at someone else's place, then _one_ of the residents would need to have some sort of dialog that mentions something like, "Hey, I was wondering when/ if you were going to come back, do you still need a place to sleep?" or "I didn't think you were coming back, so I packed up your bed. We love having you here, but since Zelda isn't around, would you mind just sleeping at your old house when you're visiting town, so I don't have to have a bed ready and taking up space for the 99% of the time when you're not even in town, anyways?" _SOMETHING_ to acknowledge this would be kind of necessary if Nintendo really wanted to make sure they were platonically involved. And he _couldn't_ have been teleporting in and out of town every day, because we see that the Shiekah network was not operational at the beginning of the game. The Shiekah shrines and towers had all burrowed back into the ground, the new Zonai shrines didn't appear until the upheaval, and the new Sky View Towers only become operational once Link finishes setting them up by collecting the aerial survey data, so he _has_ to be living in town. Any other option kind of makes Zelda seem like a mega bitch, which is canonically untrue of her character, just based on how basically every NPC who has met the _real_ her has nothing but glowing fondness to express about her. I _DO_ think that Nintendo intentionally left _just_ enough of an out for players who don't want that romance in their playthrough. But it seems pretty clear to me that the story is "They're together unless you _really_ don't want them to be, in which case we left you _just_ enough ambiguity for you to fill in the gaps so that they're not an item in your mind" and not "It's 100% ambiguous and totally up to you, player!" Which is... fine. I personally find it a little frustrating, but I understand why they did it that way. I wonder if they left that ambiguity in just to throw out feelers and see what the reaction would be so that they have the option of either doubling down and going all in on them being together if the fans want that, or backpedaling into murkier ambiguity or an outright strictly platonic relationship in the DLC or the next sequel. I wish that Nintendo would just make both options available rather than doing this weird inconclusive stuff, though. Seriously, this debate could _easily_ be solved with a couple of dialog choices. I get that this ain't Fallout New Vegas, but I think that it weakens the story to have this be unclear, and they would be far better off just letting the player decide in game, so that the story could just fucking commit to one or the other.
Rauru would’ve been a great partner to Link if not the briefest opening part. There is a bit similar with both him and Link such being lost without the love of their love of their lives (Queen Sonia and Zelda). Hopefully we get to see their interactions in future dlc.
Yeah, which considering that he is essentially tied to Link through his arm they should've existed with them the entire game. It would've made sense and could even play with the theme of sacrifice in creative ways. How much is Link willing to give up? Will Link give up so much he isn't Link anymore?
Really would have added more to that excessively safe ending that devalues Zelda's sacrifice. He's been absent since the tutorial, he acts like he's essentially dying for real before disappearing, why is he back? At least if he was present throughout the game his return at the end would have made more sense.
Cool thing I found while playing: in the Light Dragon’s description in the hyrule compendium, it says that the dragon ‘somehow gives a comforting presence’. After getting all the memories and having the big reveal, the desc finally made sense and it truly cemented my love for this game.
Just a correction here. Medoh was shooting down Rito that took to the air, that is establish with Teba. Naboris was not only causing sandstorms, it was causing extreme thunderstorms and it was getting closer to the town, that’s why they were panicking. I enjoy your videos. Just pointing out the details of you claiming they weren’t threats. They were. Not the extreme ones like Rudaina and Ruta, but they did cause issues.
While the threats were real they didn't seem as present as Ruta flooding the domain with a never ending rainstorm. And It being death mountain which was always associated with heat and lava you wouldn't think Rudania was the cause of the excessive heat where you needed potions or armor to even walk around. If you had rainless lightening storms plaguing the desert and Medoh could've not only shot at Rito in the air but at the ground around the village with spotlights visible at night where Link was shot at if he enters them.
@@Ser_Matticus Would have been great if Medoh was so threatening that climbing higher than a jump triggered his attacks or his reach was super far that he'd snipe you out of the air as you paraglided. We were told that Rito were being attacked and Medoh was a threat, but it didn't do anything except screech and fly around...
They certainly don't feel as dangerous as the Regional Phenomena, but had Naboris and Medoh randomly decided to attack the towns, their people would've been utterly screwed, so the panic is fully justified.
I love that distinction between BotW and TotK where one is extremely lonely and the other genuinely feels like you have a community. Not only does it perfectly work to uphold the themes and tone of each game like you said but I also love the distinction when it comes to the narrative evolution between the two games - And with BotW being a spiritual "remake" or the first game it calls back to "Its dangerous to go alone." with TotK's "But you are not alone." You start a game with a companion in Zelda, a clearly stark difference from BotW, but she's taken away. And you ony get companions back when you complete the main quests and goto the different regions, because the game at the same time as the looming threatis about rebuilding Hyrule. Its about reestablishing those connections that was lost. It's pretty great metatext to BotW's place in the entire franchise and how TotK is in many ways a "return to form" really really great stuff imo, great video too
There’s another side quest in Hateno that spells out the theme pretty directly. The first time you go to the school, Symin is teaching a lesson about the Calamities of 100 and 10,000 years ago. Symin tells the kids of the sacrifices the past generations made to maintain peace, and one of them says “I want to give the next generation a good life too!”
I suspect some of those kids weren’t even alive during the events of BotW. It’s because of this I estimate TotK takes place at least 5 years later. Plenty of time for changes to happen.
Yes! The Hateno election quest bugged me at first exactly bc I thought it was the typical “choose a side” thing, but was pleasantly surprised to see Cece and the carrot humper seek common ground. Really like how TotK is consistent with these themes.
I saw the ending coming, but I thought it was a really cool twist how both secretly agreed with some of the other's ideals and you have to snoop around in their business to find out. Tears of the Kingdom feels way more like a Zelda game than Breath of the Wild to me, and the vastly improved side quests are a big reason why.
I love this cutscene. You feel like you're going alone into this castle. Purah tells you to go, you fight monster group after monster group. You feel alone there, because of this place. Its the most lonely place in hyrule. Everythis was build up or restored, but not the castle. It is still empty, dark and feels like frozen in time. The only person that you see, is a fake. A fake of someone important. That makes it so lonely. So when I met phantom ganon, I felt lonely again. Lonely, like in Breath of the wild. But then, out of nowhere, my friends came to me, defended me. They came, when I needed them. It's always:" link, we need you. link, pls help us. link, go there and do the thing. Link, you are important because Hero/Master Sword" But here it is: "Link, we will help you. You are not alone."
Exactly! As someone whose first Zelda game was BOTW it felt like that all over again. It was so tedious, I was ready to do it all by myself whatever it was. Going up and down floor, looking at the map and planning my route. It really sapped the energy out of me, feeling like BOTW all over again. It was really nice to see the sages stand with link, I don't need to elaborate more. It's just nice and feels like a good sigh of relief!
13:30 this was my FAVORITE moment in the game. I love how the characters you met along the way save you in your time of need. How after the lonely journey of BOTW, TOTK nails the community aspect between the characters.
There was a mirror between both games I noticed in my playthrough which I found really sweet. In Breath of the Wild, it shows the connection that Link had to the previous generation of champions a century prior. You have all these heart-warming 'slice of life' moments (especially in Age of Calamity) which makes Zelda, Link, and the champions feel like they are a loving group. By the end of Tears of the Kingdom, however, you have that connection formed with the next generation of "champions" (sages) come full circle and have it feel how it was before with the champions. Especially in the final good ending cutscene it does feel 'slice of life' in the way it was before. You also feel the emotional connection as a player to this next generation as you did towards the champions of Breath of the Wild, and things feel as if they can become better than before because of Ganondorf being defeated. If you play both games, the torch feels like it has been truly passed and this new community is stronger than ever. It feels very much like the group and community of the champions of 100 years prior and as if their wish of the posterity of the world and their respective peoples has truly been fulfilled and their descendants can live the life in the way they were deprived of by the Blight Ganons that killed them. Also, in Breath of the Wild you really have this feeling that Link is alien to the Hyrule of a century later. But in Tears of the Kingdom he feels like an integrated part of the world he is in, like before the calamity. That becomes truly consolidated through the journey that all the characters share together. In Breath of the Wild I didn't care too much about the current-era characters compared to the champions of before because Link was positioned as someone of a hundred years prior. in Tears of the Kingdom, by contrast, it really did a good job of allowing me to move on from the champions and to embrace the current sages with those parallel feelings I had for the champions because of the way the plot positioned Link as being truly someone of the present era by that time of 3-5 years later. With all that combined, by the end of both games it really gives you a feeling a hope. Even though the spirits of the champions have passed on and the divine beasts are gone, I can imagine they would smile and be happy with how things turned out and notice how the group is how it was once more, without the threat of Ganon looming over and destroying things. I'm glad that these last few Zelda games have allowed me to form a connection with such a great group of characters.
With the section on community, you perfectly summed up how Tears of the Kingdom excels as a thematic sequel to Breath of the Wild. In the first game, Link adventures alone to try and rescue a devastated Hyrule, and after saving the world, he finally got to live in it. It makes me think, after losing the Champions, his king and his family, Link must be so grateful for the new communities he finds. Gosh, I'm choking up now
I notice that the three sacrifices discussed also reflect the aspects of the Triforce: Ganondorf's sacrifice is for selfish Power. Rauru's sacrifice is his Courage to believe in a better future. Zelda's sacrifice is based in the Wisdom that Link will find her and the Master Sword.
Heartfelt?! LOL! They didnt do jackshit witht his story! *Sonia and Rauru are the blandest characters ever* *Link and Zelda’s relationship is NEVER explored* *Ganondorf is poorly written and has no reason for taking over hyrule* *ignores all zelda lore in favor of a poorly written remake of OOT’s origin story*
The theme of community was one of my favorite things about TotK. Link already has a reputation for saving communities by the time of TotK, but this time it pays off even more. You get to see the results of Link's actions around the kingdom. Beyond the different races appearing in Lookout Landing, you even see Hateno cheese spreading everywhere, and NPCs talk to you about what happened in Lurelin, and you get to see one thing you did in Tarrey Town have an effect way across the map in Gerudo Town. You also get to see the people of Hyrule deeply caring for Zelda. They organize and fight for a better tomorrow because Zelda inspires them. Lookout Landing refocuses entirely on finding Zelda when Link shows up. The newspaper focuses on finding Zelda. The separate races dedicate themselves to Zelda after Link helps them resolves their own issues. Even down to the kids in Hateno Village, they see Zelda almost as a mother figure, because she cared for the children like a mother would. Zelda comes across as the ideal monarch, more so than she has in any other Zelda game, and her people absolutely love her. She is a beacon for the community and fosters that sense of community. Imagine how much more her people will love and revere her when they hear the full story of what she did for the Kingdom. Having companions on your journey was also one of my favorite things about this game. It's not a traditional JRPG party, but I love having a ragtag group of misfits traveling Hyrule with Link, even if they are there mostly in spirit. It was actually one of my favorite things about Pokemon SV too, although unfortunately you only get a party (of humans) to travel with at the end of the game. Thankfully TotK lets you build up and travel with your party much earlier in the game.
Zelda also could have delayed her sacrifice to live more of a life, yet even after a century spent in stasis sealing Calamity, she took the secret stone as soon as preparations were made.
The problem with putting it off is that doing so can be construed as lack of resolve and conviction on Zelda's part. A weakness. After all, isn't putting off something so significant a form of hesitation in and of itself? And any conviction she might've had at the start would've only weakened and waned with time. Never mind the fact that any time spent not in dragon form would've meant the Master Sword would be that much weaker. Sadly, with something such as this, sooner is better than later.
I wish rauru stayed through the whole game as a companion. It was so cool seeing him pop up in the sky island as a ghost but then he's just gone and reduced to a worse old man
Especially since we have his arm... it would make sense for him to stay connected to us. It would even help with the flashbacks because he can reflect on those moments and realize the mistakes. It also give a reason to see them in chronological order and in turn make a pay off of "You've been everything I hoped for." The player/Link being tied to those events more tightly and even lets them play around with sacrifices you could choose to make as Link giving the player interesting choices with actual consequences and picking what you value more.
The Zelda Writers somehow create the best and worst storys in a game at the same times. I adore so many moments but then you have moments watching the same cutscenes 4 times
Zelda being the light dragon is such a great twist, because the player knows somthing is off. 1. There is a random new dragon 2. The dragon is unnamed, simply called light dragon while the other dragons are named farosh, nayadra and dinnral. 3. All of the dragon parts you get from the light dragon heal, with most speaking of calm, familiarity, a gentle glow. 4. Its not that noteworthy, but the light dragon has a golden mane, very similar to zeldas hair 5. The memories are called "dragon tears" 6. It doesn’t come up untill later in the game, but the light dragon inexplicably has the master sword. With all of these factors, it should be very obvious that zelda is the light dragon, however that's where to genius of the twist comes in. The dragons are foreign. The other dragons are just there and we're not expected to bat an eye. We're just told they guard springs, not even considering the dragons could've been people once. So, from a storytelling standpoint we just say to ourselves "the light dragon was probably too high for us to see before, and it probably protects the sky." Then, of course the memories slowly start telling us that zelda is the light dragon. By the last few, you either figured it out, or are scratching your head in suspicion. Either way, the last memory you get is epic.
Ganondorf, as the villain of the story, is meant to be the antithesis to the theme of community. he is disgusted that the people of Hyrule can come together without conquering one another, and seems to resent Rauru for squandering his divine power by intermingling with the hylians. He even abandons the community that raised him when he becomes The Demon King, instead replacing them with violent unintelligent monsters that can only take from others like he does.
I've heard some people complain about the way Zelda sacrifices herself in this game because of how often she does so in a lot of LoZ games (SS, TP, etc.), but I think it works here because she does it not out of a sense of royal duty, but out of love for Hyrule and Link. The theme of community plays into this more than you let on in your video. Yes, she was thinking about Link, but she was also sacrificing herself for Hyrule as well. In the years following BOTW, she and Link settled down in Hateno and set up a school. Details in the game show that she was beloved by the children, as well as all the other villagers of Hateno. The time she spent with Link allowed her to develop a love for Hyrule, its people, its history, and its wildlife. She took all of those things into account when undergoing draconification, hence why she told Link to "protect them all." She wanted to ensure that all of Hyrule would have a future.
Evil is the lack of a good, just as dark is the absence of light. There is no dualism. The more evil one becomes, the less of their own self they maintain. Ganondorf is not a villain lacking in motivation for being evil, he is the logical conclusion of what anyone who loses themselves to vice will look like if they do not turn around and change.
Someone pointed out a thing regarding Zelda's sacrifice. She could've lived in the past for years, experienced so much, and then transform into a dragon and still be able to repair the master sword and save Link. But instead she did it right after Rauru sealed Ganondorf, as if the possibility of living without Link and without her Hyrule was something she couldn't do, even though she would've still been able to repair the sword at, say, 40 years old as she would as 20- something years old.
4 great sacrifices... Link sacrifices his arm, time, convenience, comfort, and safety to put all the pieces of Hyrule back together and "protect them all". We literally play and experience this.
What I find ironic about Ganondorf's sacrifice is that, if you think about it carefully, it was for absolutely nothing. By becoming a dragon, it makes him no different than the other 3 elemental dragons we already know about. Yes, his is a force of evil, and by no means a dangerous being, but if draconification eliminates will, mind, and eveyrthing from the user, then it also has no drive to do anything but live. If anything, the Demon Dragon could be just roaming Hyrule like the other dragons have been doing for millenia. His sacrifice didn't mean anything in the end, he obtained all that power for absolutely nothing, and it was a selfish sacrifice out of spite that in the end eliminated the very reason he obtained the Secret Stone for. As opposed to Zelda, who had a very clear objective in mind when becoming a dragon, giving Link the ultimate tool to defeat the Demon King.
Ganondorf also had a very clear objective in mind: destroying Hyrule and killing Link at all costs. While draconification does turn the user into an animalistic beast, I don't think it completely erases their mind. There is still some sort of instinct that remains in their brain. Zelda still has the instinct to defend Link and Hyrule, and Ganondorf has the instinct to destroy. If not, the Demon Dragon wouldn't even spit fireballs at you, it would just go fly somewhere else. It's basically like Calamity Ganon: Mostly a mindless beast, but retains its destructive instincts. I'm sure the Calamity was smarter than the dragon though
I think the dragons do retain something of an echo of the person they were before, the the driving will of that person. Otherwise there would be no reason that the Light Dragon would rush to you, to the point of basically ignoring the Demon Dragon in favor of racing to catch you after you fell from the Demon Dragon's jaws. She wasn't there on some instictual Light vs Dark moment, she was there for LINK. There to save him and help him fight by carrying him to a sufficient vantage point to land on and harm the Demon Dragon. There's definitely room for Ganondorf's "FUCK IT! JUST DESTROY EVERYTHING!" decision to carry over onto the Demon Dragon.
You just defined the difference between power for the sake of power and power that is developed through foresight ... or maybe better defined as Wisdom. All these years later, and all 3 archetypes still hold true to their nature.
@@elfilin-to6dh Yeah, I too think that the Calamity had a more intense drive than this dragon. I truly hope that if there's a DLC in mind for this game, they go in depth about the process of dragonification. For example, I would like if they reveal who the 3 elemental dragons were in the past and why did they sacrifice themselves for.
Well the Demon Dragon did part of what Ganondorf intended. The final part had the blood moon rise. So he was capable of shrouding the land in eternal night and raze it all.
The scene with Zeldas sacrifice also suffers from translation issues. In the german translation Zelda outright screams: "Link........Save us all!" (Link.......Rette uns alle!)
In Japanese she probably wanted too say; save the world. The only thing she was able too say was world before she turned into the light dragon prematurely (before finishing her sentence). That’s how good the original language and texts are.. they actually show how emotionally heartwretching her situation was. She didn’t even get the chance too speak her final words before being changed into a dragon for eons too come.
"Save us all" is really impactful for that moment, but I like the line "Protect them all" as it calls back to her signature line from Age of Calamity "I must protect everyone". She's always been dedicated to keeping her people safe, but she has to entrust that role to Link now that she'll no longer be able to fulfill it herself, and that line is a great way to represent this. That's probably the only credit you'll ever hear me give the English translation. I'm looking forward to seeing how French handles it.
The importance of the community mentioned in this video reminds me so much of why i adore Age of Calamity. Sure a lot of people didn't like it and dismissed it as a cheesy game. But one of the things i love from that game more than i did with BoTW was exactly present in ToTK: helping people around you and they help you in return. Throughout AoC, you go around Hyrule with other characters to save those in need. Gerudo was infiltrated by the Yiga Clan, the Rito was attacked by Guardians and began to distrust outsiders, big tough Gorons also needed help, the Zora was about to be invaded by a massive army of monsters that the king himself stepped in to fight and protect his people. Sacrifice was not absent either in AoC. Sooga eventually sacrificed himself to save Kohga as he views the Yiga leader as his father figure and feels indebted to him for saving his life as a child. From that sacrifice and betrayal from Astor, Kohga changed and bowed to Zelda to make an alliance with her. Kohga is a comical figure but he is very prideful so the fact he knelt on the ground really shows how much Sooga's sacrifice affected him, and as a result, you have the Yiga Clan on your side as well. I should also mention, even King Rhoam was prepared to sacrifice himself to save his daughter to atone for his mistakes. At the end of the game, every single race from Hyrule banded together to defeat Calamity Ganon once and for all. As you run towards the castle, you literally fight and run alongside these races that you helped. My favourite moment in the game was when Purah used the Sheikah Towers to transport the whole army of races and the cutscene was epic as hell and seeing Zelda lead them, is no short of awesomeness.
Another great example was in Zora’s domain. In breath of the wild, it is raining nonstop and causing some electric type monsters to hang out in the surrounding area, but the Zora thrive in water, it wasn’t to much of a problem, it’s just that people couldn’t visit. Stopping the divine beast makes it rain less occasionally, but it still didn’t really change much. That does change in tears of the kingdom when the sludge caused by the upheaval ruins the waters in the surrounding area, causing pain and dismay in all of the citizens of the domain. When u beat the boss at the end of the temple, you actually see the thankfulness of the Zora when you speak to them, and not only that, but it does show too. The sky seems to shine more on the reflecting blue cliffs of the surrounding area, and some even start exploring the area in the sky, and the waterworks beneath it. You also see king Doriphean giving up his position as king to Sidon, finally seeing that not only has Sidon now proved himself by saving the Zora once again, but also that he sees himself being too old to keep up with everything going on (as he did also get extremely injured and go into hiding).
People is missing some points. Zora's domain controls the water flow for most of the continent, with non-stop rain a big chunk of Hyrule will just flood. Also in the video he says Vah Medoh does nothing other than just being menacing and that's not true, it avoids Rito merchants doing their businesses, or gathering resources for the village, and of course it's not safe having it flying around even mentioning that Vah Medoh even shoots indiscriminately if approached. In Vah Naboris I directly don't understand why he says the sandstorm does nothing for the Gerudo... he just ignored completely that portion of the game and erased it from his head or something... Is easy to ignore those points after 6 years playing BotW, as we are not that impressed anymore.
@@CarlosSaulRodriguezA I don’t entirely understand what point you’re trying to make. Sure, Vah Medoh is definitely a threat that needs to be dealt with. However, I think the difference between the threats surrounding Rito Village in BotW vs TotK comes down to showing, not telling. In Breath of the Wild, the Rito continue to tell us how much Vah Medoh is a threat. It’s up there, apparently if Rito fly to high they’ll get shot down. Do we see any of this? Well… yes, but only once we go to fight it. Cuz of course it would attack us, we are playing the game. So no, we don’t see Vah Medoh shooting down any Rito otherwise and we solve the problem immediately. Meanwhile in Tears of the Kingdom, it’s exactly what was said in the video. Rito Village is being hammered by a violent snow storm that has prevented the Rito from finding food. The adults are taking care of finding food that we notice that only the children are left taking care of the town. We even see the process for this when we try to find Tulin after the first cutscene. The game actively shows us what is going on, the impact it is having on these characters, and what is at stake. It’s environmental and gameplay storytelling are more compelling than Breath of the Wild for this reason. I understand what you’re saying, but you’re also just telling us stuff that happened in BotW. I don’t really remember seeing much of it compared to how this game handles the threats. You said that Hyrule WOULD flood because of the situation in Zora’s domain in BotW. However, in Totk it’s not about what could happen. Everything has already happened.
People who are complaining about the Reede and Cece questline ending with them both reconciling their differences forgot that's one of the best Questlines in Majoras Mask.
I loved this analysis! I couldn’t quite put into full words or details why I loved Tears more so than Breath, but the moment you mentioned community and how everything is tied together, it’s exactly how I felt too!
Zelda's sacrifice really made me so sad. I don't know how Link felt at that moment watching this memory, but I felt heartbroken knowing she won't come back.
During the moments I was watching Zelda's transformation for the first time I thought back to a previous cutscene indicating the foreshadowed moment - I knew what was to come. However, the impact of how the moment was to unfold is the ultimate expression of storytelling, and the ability for a cinematic to deliver this was impeccable. The Legend of Zelda series possesses some of the most incredible examples of faith in another person or in other people that games have offered. I felt Zelda's reluctance, but also her understanding that this transformation was /the only/ method capable of even ensuring the tiniest fraction of hope for success. "Link, you must find me!" Was as much a plea as it was a directive, almost like a prayer in a sense as she speaks out to the ether. But the transformation itself: there was grief alongside duty, hope alongside despair, uncertainty alongside faith - and also love, I daresay. Due to the cinematic framing of the moment the roars of Zelda's dragon form almost felt like cries of desperation mixed with a sort of proclamation of duty. But ultimately I felt her grief that she would never be the same, and the loss of the relationship that mattered the most to her... While I agree that this addition to the franchise could have had more added to make the characters and story more robust, this moment in the story stood out and absolutely broke my heart. I shed real tears and I can only be grateful that this moment was written so expertly well.
I collected all the memories pretty early on in the game because I got invested in the memory storyline and when I realized what Zelda was going to do I was audibly going "no no no". Watching her transformation was so impactful that I just stared at the dragon in the sky for several minutes. And at that moment my feeling of "oh in the end I'm going to fight Ganondorf I guess" changed to "I am going to destroy Ganondorf". I really appreciate how the narrative of TotK made me emotional and how I felt like Link and I needed to defeat the demon king and his forces for the sake of a loved one and all the people who believed in us and helped us
Zelda's sacrifice was incredibly shocking to me. She is terrified, and rightfully so; she basically chose to die. Ganondorf became a dragon so he could personally crush all of Hyrule under his fist. Zelda became a dragon so that Hyrule's future wasn't one of destruction. The Ouroborros symbol we see in the logo for TOTK makes so much more sense, both with the time travel and the overall storyline.
I've never heard someone explain these new games AS EXPERTLY AS YOU HAVE!!!! Tears of The Kingdom is the first game since Twilight Princess that made me feel the way I felt when I first played Ocarina of Time on the N66!! It's this sense of story line progression though the characters and communities you discover and grow to love that (to me) make these game SOO enjoyable and replayable!!
in the french dub, zelda says “protect my people” which connects it more to the scene between her and rauru before the final battle - the sacrifices of the first king of hyrule and its current ruler for the sake of the people of hyrule. “Protect them all” just doesn’t hit the same to me
Another great detail is that Ganondorfs and Zeldas transformation, like the stones themselves, only reflect/amplify their powers, with Zelda transforming in a ball of blinding light and Ganondorf seemingly transforming into that thing that surrounds Hyrule Castle in BotW before transforming completely into a Dragon. This game has so many little details that just show how much dedication and love this game received from it's developers... Such a masterpiece!
I absolutely loved watching Lookout Landing grow throughout the game but one thing I wish they had done was have it play a part in the finale. Many of the peoples that move there say they’re helping defend it but we never actually see them do so. I wish we could have had Ganondorf summon a hoard of monsters on the surface in the castle town ruins just outside the landing. We could have seen the various races squaring up against different monster, gorons against moblins zoras against lizalfos gerudo vs gibdos all capped off with Purah and Josha piloting a zonai mech decked with cannons to take down a battle talus. Now THAT would’ve been an awesome way to really hammer home the theme of community but that’s just a nitpick I still love what we got.
Yes! This was my dream ending too! Especially if it happened after Ganonorf Dragon snatches Link and takes him above ground. It could have been Link helping to defend the fort, collectively defeating the Ganondorf Army from overtaking Lookout Landing, and THEN taking to the sky to defeat the Ganonorf Dragon. That would have been absolutely glorious!
This video really brought words to my feelings in this game. Something about going on adventures with these characters, fighting alongside the NPCs, seeing the growth and changes in towns... It's the exact opposite of BotW, where its an isolated wasteland. It's a growing world full of people who acknowledge and help you in the adventure.
12:58 - I got to this scene just yesterday, and I legitimately screamed when your allies showed up to save you. I expected Link to get knocked away and maybe some kind of vision with Zelda would appear to give him strength. Again, it was that feeling where everything is on your shoulders as always; but this time, game characters actually show up to help you after you've been helping them. It was the same emotional rollercoaster as in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and the champions get saved at the last moment during the time where they would have originally been killed by the blights.
I can never not help the little guys that are going to take out the monsters forces when I see them around. Poor guys have to do that every blood moon, but they keep going because they need to protect the people. I love it
There's a reason I think for the way some dialogue is written for Zelda at the end: Among what she says, she tells Link she's met so many amazing people in her journey through time and then of course the one that caps it off, that she's home. Obviously the theme of community at play there. But more interesting than that I think is the connection to the title: Tears of the Kingdom. "Tears of the Kingdom" is a reference to the dragon tears shed by Zelda upon her transformation, the tears that contain her memories from the past, shed as draconification robs her of her identity, what makes her who she is. The tears, the sacrifice she's made, it's to be without community, to be without companionship and memories to look back on for an eternity, but all of that which she loses is contained in those tears, these themes are contained in those tears. And yet those tears play an important part in bringing her home, back to community. And that's the struggle of the Hyrulean population in this game, fighting the existential threats to their community which isolates them from others, whether it's the critical food supply of the Rito, the crippling addiction of the Goron tribe, the sludge choking and poisoning the Zora and the sand storm ravaging the Gerudo. Their struggle is to restore their communities in the face of existential threats. The way I'm coming around to seeing the mission statement of Tears of the Kingdom isn't that community is good, everyone knows this. But that when threatened, that's when people really come together. That when community is threatened, we will cling to it harder than ever because that's what's truly important to us, it's what NEEDS to be the most important to us.
@@ZeroJump It is absolutely romantic. If you paid attention to some of the smaller details found in Tears of the Kingdom, after she warmed up to him, she had eyes only for her knight. TotK is just full of it.
This analysis is incredible! I love how this was presented and the emotions conveyed in TotK, especially since it introduced a lot of nuances that LoZ was not known to have that other games were known to have. The final installment in the series (so far), and finally, the Hero is not fighting completely alone.
I like how you analyzed the game with themes of communities and sacrifices. There are other themes in it like overcoming your trauma (as you see Yona with Prince Sidon) and the coming of age (as you see Hudson and Rhondson‘a daughter Mattison is set off to Gerudo Village to become a Vai). There are also a theme I’ve between Link and Zelda as the pair are closer since the secret ending of Breath of the Wild.
Not sure if you noticed but the battle with Phantom Ganon in Hyrule Castle is locked behind finishing the Regional Phenomena. Meaning there's no way to get that fight unless you invest your time helping the citizens of Hyrule, futher emphasizing the theme of community.
I just want to say something about the Zelda sacrifice since he says that it’s likely that link is more than a friend to Zelda. In btow it is confirmed not hinted at or implied Confirmed that she has romantic feelings towards link by kass who states that her love for link awakens her power and even throws in that she rejects a dude for link. And this is substantiated by totk where in the Sonya and Zelda cutscene among other things she starts blushing when talking about link and raru and Sonya act like parents wanting to meet their daughter’s boyfriend. So when you put these things in context her sacrifice being for link is just fucking heartbreaking she loves this man so much that she is willing not just to die but essentially deny herself a afterlife to get this sword to link if there is not a more romantic act the idk what is
When fighting the final boss myself, when I was watching Gannondorf turn into the demon dragon, I at first thought that he was turning back into the Calamity.
Another big part of totk I noticed is companionship, and not just because of the company of the Sages alongside Link or the communities. One of the first things I noticed was that, in all of the shrines, the statues that give the Light of Blessing, (even in the shrines named Rauru's blessing), depict both Rauru and Sonia, who are holding hands. In the Messages from an Anchient Era side quest, you learn from the sky tablets that their relationship went beyond just a king and his queen; they were close friends as well, dancing together in celebrations, and doing things like taking walks together (what they were doing before Zelda showed up out of nowhere). They respected one another, creating and ruling Hyrule together rather than one following the others' lead. Throughout everything Rauru did for Hyrule, he had Sonia with him; Hyrule was built on the foundation of companionship. Along with that, when Zelda showed up, she was welcomed into their kingdom with open arms and offered comfort and security, something that has been a common theme in the villages throughout Hyrule in the game; Link is almost always welcomed with open arms, and not just because he weilds the sword that seals the darkness, and its a normal thing to go up to one of the villagers and help them with whatever problem they may be having (side quests). The companionship present throughout the entirety of Hyrule, including its history, is what highlights how powerful Ganon is. He essentially (not including Rauru's sacrifice) defeated the Sages on his own. When he developed the ability to make his own army, he dropped the Gerudo, his people he was supposed to lead, like they were nothing. When it comes to Ganon, companionship is another opportunity of weakness, and so he avoids it. Its what makes him so formiddable; he caused all this destruction and chaos on his own, and not even seven of the most powerful beings in Hyrule could defeat him without a sacrifice. As opposed to botw, having the Sages on your side while you fight is not only nice because of the company, but because it represents how the Imprisoning War should have gone, and how Zelda was right about Link being powerful enough in his own way to defeat Ganon. Of all the things i enjoyed the most about totk, the companionship of the Sages, even if they werent actually there, was a prominent highlight, and having them there was a reminder that Link always had help, and that he wasnt alone in the battle.
My biggest takeaway with the community was when you went to fight Ganondorf. At the beginning you had access to all the sages to help you, but once you went down to far you lost them ALL! At first I was like "I got this, no problem." Then after 1 battle I realized how much I loved having all the sages with me. This made them showing up for the big battle of monsters so much more satisfying! I started to tear up and yelled "WE GOT THIS GUYS! HELL YEA!!!!"
I love when you just let a cutscene play! You set it up better than the game does sometimes! The way you present it lets me appreciate games in a more narrative light than before.
Ganondorf and Rauru are basically opposites, of course with their different sacrifices but also with how they view their duty as king. Before Rauru faces Ganondorf, he says: “As with any leader, it is my duty to safeguard and protect my people. Even if I must risk my life.” And before Ganondorf faces Link, he says “I will crush any opposition. I will rule. That is what a king must do.” Rauru is giving it his all to protect his kingdom and its people, and Ganondorf is simply trying to take over Hyrule, but they both view what they do as what they have to do as a king.
Came across your channel specifically because I was looking for someone to break down these themes in TotK that you have articulated perfectly in this video and the ones before it about Ganondorf and Kohga. Most of what you've talked about I agree whole heartedly, but lacked the words you've put them into. Thanks so much for this content, it's helped me structure my own thoughts from playing this game. Can't wait to dive into your other videos!
The Sage's and their Avatars make me think a multiplayer Zelda could absolutely work. Another game in this style but where other players can hop in and out to explore and fight alongside Link as members of other races would be amazing.
One small thing I really enjoyed about the Gerudo segment is how unique and unexpected the whole town defense is. “Siege segments” are relatively common in a lot of western RPGs - Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR 2, hell, ME2’s finale is basically a siege mission except you’re the one doing the sieging - but I don’t remember seeing them very much in a lot of JRPGs or the like. But they’re a perfect fit for a game like BOTW/Tears, perfectly blending (or dare I say… “fusing” ;u ) even more Japanese-Western influences.
I also used to hate it, but seeing it over and over, it started to grow on me. It's like Hyrule's version of gaudy designer brand fashion like Gucci or Versace.
this..... this video wrecked me (in a good way). I think a lot about how important it is to "pick up the torch" of people who have made sacrifices to keep it going, and how alienation could be described as not having anyone to sacrifice for, when there's no one who will do it for you either.
This game’s story was so damn good. Not perfect, but I don’t really find the issues you had with it (for example, in the Ganondorf video) to be a big deal…but the things they did well, they did VERY well.
I think Zelda's sacrifice is almost greater. Rauru had basically lost everything already when he made the choice. He was getting revenge on the man who killed his wife. And on top of that, Zelda basically told him what was going to happen, so he knew it was inevitable on some level. Zelda has no idea what her fate will be, no idea if she'll actually be able to assist Link after turning, but she feels it's the best and only option to save everyone. She literally says "Protect them all," so I don't reduce it to just being for Link.
Community is portrayed so much throughout everything. Not even just community but two or more forces coming together the create something even better. This is done a LOT through hands coming together specifically. You gain the sage abilities by holding hands, there’s the whole hands meeting with zelda and link and the beginning and end of the game. Even the music (especially from the trailers) features lots of clapping sounds. It’s not apparent what that means until the end when link grabs Zelda’s hand and you hear the sound of it followed by a musical queued clap. The mural shows Rauru and Sonia putting their hands together to symbolize a bond which is the foundation of hyrule so that too also symbolizes community. Even some of the abilities showcase this theme of coming together to create something better. Fuse and ultrahand function around the combination of different objects that on their own don’t do much, but together create near limitless potential
When i stumbled upon the first Monster Control troop quest, i had still a saphire staff with me. So my first thought was: "You know what? I am bashing monster camps all day. Lets just play support for once. At the end i cheered with them when they won. Wish they were more than 6 of these quests, considering you can repeat them as many times as you want.
I genuinely enjoyed the side quests when you can join forces with the monster control units in battle, its a small thing and the hylians fighting are usually pretty bad at combat but they still go to battle with what they have ready to die for one another, joining those moments actually made me feel like i was fighting in the moment for someone for them my comrades, Because while link can be a one man army having hylians who want the same thing you do fighting with you is just a unique feeling.
Something to point out, Zelda told Rauru what she found in the future, its not like Rauru went into that battle knowing he had a chance to win, he knew he was going to lose and that the only shot they had was if he restrained Ganandorph. I wouldn't really say it was a spur of the moment descision made during the heat of battle, when it was probably a consideration before they even went into the battle. Plus it feels kinda weird to cut the line off at "Link!" When its "Link! Protect them all!" I personally wouldnt say that she sacrified herself for Link, a single person, when its made clear that everything she does is for her KINGDOM, and she even states that THATS why shes making the sacrifice to give Link the power he needs to defeat the big bad.
Here’s hoping a third game in the BotW canon doesn’t have Zelda sacrifice herself again but becomes an active player in the story, unlike what she did in BotW and TotK. I get that there’s no other way to help Link and save Hyrule, but goddamn, between being trapped in a darkness infested castle for 100 years, using all her power to keep Calamity Ganon at bay _and_ turning into the Light Dragon to restore the Master Sword and give it the power to slay Ganondorf for countless eons. Zelda’s been through enough. I just want her to see Link’s journey for once and be there for him instead of coming in at the last minute. The only time we get to see this is Age of Calamity, but it doesn’t really count when it’s not a free exploration game and is a hack and slash.
there’s a reason “Character A is about to take a fatal blow, then suddenly character B jumps in and saves them at the last second” is such a common trophe in media. It’s because it’s badass as hell; it never gets old because there’s nothing better than seeing your favorite characters work together and cover each other’s backs when they need each other the most
"I think [the people who dislike the stories working out well] are missing what makes Nintendo, and the Zelda series so charming and appealing. These games are charming because it's a setting where everything works out in the end." Absolutely. I see people endlessly complaining about the ending and the sacrifice being undone. How it cheapens the sacrifice and removes it's meaning. It's baffling to me. The whole point is that it works out, the series isn't speaking to some grim reality. But rather to an ideal. And we should have stories that do that. Not everything needs to end grim. It's great that some stories can end poorly for the characters, it speaks to us in a different way. Zelda, though, isn't that. I hope it never becomes that. I like Nintendo taking difficult to pull off narrative devices and giving them a good try. The subverted tragedy of TOTK is really hard to pull off, and really rare when it does work. They could still improve it, but they did a great job in TOTK. One thing to note about the tears and whether it is Zelda's last humanity leaving her. I think it's not. Obviously it can be interpreted differently. But, the fact that, thousands of years later, she sheds one more tear after Link finds those memories, to me that says that her humanity is still locked away inside there. It's more tragic to think her mind is destroyed in that moment, but I don't think it is. I think something else is going on. Also, yes, that scene is absolutely horrifying. It is an awful sacrifice. The contrast of the beauty and horror of it is interesting. But it is so sad it's crazy how they managed to just murder my heart with that scene. But then, existential horror is horror that affects me the most. And everything you mentioned here, how she had to agonize over it for days, maybe longer. How she's giving up her mind forever. How she's never going to see her, at minimum, very close friend ever again, even in the afterlife. It's just, holy smoke it's so sad. Part of me wants them to write more of the story after that, because both her having to agonize over that sacrifice, and then Link having to watch her do it. It's such an interesting inter-personal story that could have formed into this really deep and meaningful relationship after the ending. It'd be interesting to see what that would look like. I imagine both of them were in a rough spot after the ending.
Anyone who thinks Zelda should have stayed dead is a complete and utter moron. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. It’s teenage edgelord nonsense. Not everything needs to be super-edgy-depressing-grimdark.
@@metroidcypher I listened to it. I disagree with him for many, many reasons. Yes, Zelda games definitely have Zelda often making a sacrifice. But he thinks that her reverting back with "no cost" is undermining her sacrifice. It does not. It just doesn't. I could probably write a book on why her changing back at the end was the correct thing that had to happen and it doesn't diminish the sacrifice even a little. Just because you don't see the affects afterward, doesn't mean there are none. There are hints in the end that she remembers at least some of it. She says she "doesn't really remember" the key being "really." She might remember some things. Where Nintendo dropped the ball is in they didn't properly show the emotions of the characters, and if you take their emotions at face value. I can see how Ratatoskr comes to the conclusions he does. But I think you can just assert that her sacrifice was probably horrifying and devastating for both Link and Zelda. Turning her back allows for them to recover. But she still killed herself, for eternity. She did it, she did the act. That is not something someone just gets over immediately. Even if they ultimately survive and if they don't show the scars of that sacrifice right away.
There is nothing wrong with a story working out well. The problem is both rulers have sacrificed their lives. Now consider that Link sacrificed himself to protect Zelda and lost his arm... only to get it back immediately. Zelda became a dragon... only to become a human in her own time. Link and Zelda are exempt from consequences and can live their lives without issue. It stops being a sacrifice. They shouldn't be exempt from the rules everyone else faces and that lone ruins it for people. Link and Zelda don't need to be killed, but they got off for almost free and arguably even made things better for them by extension. Link's new arm had utility, he gained more then he lost. Zelda went 1,000s of years back to where she was and became human again. Other people who sacrifice tend to lose massively and this is constant through the series as a whole. When you know this is the likely outcome of sacrifice it means Link could literally get shot and you start playing as Zelda and you know things would 100% work out for Link. Because Link and Zelda will always win and their consequences will be undone.
@@Buglin_Burger7878 You have it completely backwards. Zelda coming back in the end doesn’t make her sacrifice any less significant. She didn’t know she would come back. Link didn’t know he would turn out okay when he threw himself in the way of Ganondorf’s blast. _You_ only think what you think because you have the benefit of meta knowledge.
Zelda's transformation hits different than Rauru's to me for one other reason: The end of Zelda's Lullabye in the music. Throughout ToTK and BOTW, Zelda's Lullabye is referenced in SEVERAL tracks, such as in Hyrule Castle, in the track "Final Catch", and a few other instances. That being said, it's typically the main melody that makes its appearence. In the Sacrifice scene, however, it's the ending bit of the Lullabye, which isn't used nearly as often as the beginning of it. The Lullabye is ending in this scene. Zelda is saying her final goodbye, truly believing she'll never see Link or anyone she cared about again. Finally, in final Catch, Zelda's Lullabye reappears, but rather than the calm and somber feel it's taken in the duology, it sounds purely joyous, like you're rushing to meet a dear friend that you thought was gone... which I guess is true for both Zelda and Link in that scene.
The twist of the Zelda being the Light Dragon is one of the most hidden-in-plain-sight moments in gaming history, and I love it. I had to hold back my own tears during that transformation scene.
Could've made it better by giving us a hug scene at the end. It wouldn't be inappropriate, and not suggestive the least since friends can give hugs too. But for some reason they decided to keep Link in a blank state even at the most emotional moments.
@@stunseed8385 Link kinda gave Zelda a hug during the fall
@@gamanzhiydanil Not so much a hug as holding her tightly. Not the same, but moments like these say a lot in place of his words. His actions tell us all we need know.
@@stunseed8385 Someone use camera modding to turn the camera around during the bit where Zelda talks about waking-up, and Link actually smiles at the moment she does. Unfortunately we can't see it normally
@@acgearsandarms1343 To be fair, she does call the whole ordeal a "warm loving embrace" so...
A small thing i don't see a lot of people mention is Zeldas scream. If you listen closely right after she transforms and roars there is a human scream mixed in. Its a bellowing horrific screech that sounds like someone who just lost everything. Rauru is confident when he sacrifices himself. Sonia is dead, he doesn't have anyone intimate to lose. He is sure and doesn't falter, his sacrifice doesn't seem to pain him or even take that much mental strain, but Zelda? She is agonizing over the fact that in shedding her humanity to restore the sword, in her attempt to give Link a chance, she will never see him again
Also considering how the transformation is clearly physical and not "burst of light/hidden inside" it probably HURTS.
I cry every time I watch that memory but now... Omg, you can clearly heard her scream in the second roar of the dragon... And now I am a sea of tears... Poor Zelda...
@@tyranitararmaldo Yeah!
Please I spent all of last night crying over the ending, don't get me started again 😭😭😭 Zelda needs to take a holiday!
Bruh considering that Zelda is cannonicly in love with link I just… I’m losing it man it’s so fucking sad she loves him enough to sacrifice and go through this much pain and she doesn’t know if she will see her love again
I think Ganondorf’s sacrifice has always been part of his personality. In a lot of iterations, he is a sore loser. He drops the facade of a warrior-king once he starts losing and starts going all out. He will do what it takes to win so long as you lose and he doesn’t. He chooses to have a one on one duel because it suits his fancy. Dragons are immortal and mighty. He would give up his. Entire being to bring you and Hyrule to ruin so long as he would destroy his enemies. Sacrifice made out of spite and desperation to win. So why not?
In OoT, he tries to drop his castle on you and Zelda and even then he turns into Ganon. In WW, he loses his wish and starts laughing like a madman, and resorts to killing you with his blades. No plan, no scheme, just venting his anger that he lost. In TP, he lost and by the Triforce of Power, he still clings to life. Ganondorf uses the Sword of the Sages as a form of twisted retribution and often taunts the efforts of Link and the others. Even in his dying breath, he refuses to admit defeat until the fatal wound takes him. Not dying on his knees but standing.
Ganondorf is a selfish and power-hungry man. We always know this. He doesn’t exactly need a deep reason for his powerlust, just have it presented in an entertaining way for the purposes of the game.
It's very much emblematic of his true nature; as much as he professes that power is all that matters to him (and he might honestly believe he follows that philosophy), he's not one to accept defeat when he is overpowered. He also frequently relies on trickery and goes to incredible lengths to avoid admitting he lost, and you can even attribute the clearly meta phenomenon of him constantly popping up in the games despite being sealed or killed every time to his squirrelly nature.
I think this provides some interesting speculative insight into the backstory we never really get to see form his character; in the Ganondorf video Brett specifically bemoans that we never get to see his experience among the Gerudo, but I think we can extrapolate the important bits pretty easily. The desert is a harsh environment, and it's not easy to survive in it if you aren't willing to do some dehumanizing things; Ganondorf almost certainly didn't grow up in the kind of environment we see in BotW's or TotK's Gerudo Town, but a much harder, nomadic lifestyle where thievery and murder to capture the limited resources of the territory was necessary. Add to that the responsibility of being the only male for generations that weighed on him literally as soon as he was born, and it's unsurprising that he goes to such length to win and sees every other nation as antagonistic; to him, survival is a life-or-death competition, and there can only be one winner.
@@notnath14 Yes, but I see how their people thrive in Gerudo Town as an example, so I do agree the harsh desert only allows the strong to survive in it, and make no mistake Ganondorf is strong, he’s very much also a despot, thief and liar. He may have had the power to let his people flourish, but given the chance, he never would have done that. So his mentality that conflict breeds might isn’t entirely unjustified, just to a high degree. He is a king by right and he does what he believes a king is entitled to do by that right. Even having to kill for it.
Ganondorf managing to remain standing after death is one of the rawest moments in fiction. That's my GOAT.
@@jjtheenton Kings don’t die on their knees or their backs. They do it standing.
@@notnath14 But it would still be nice to see that in action, even if it’s implied by visual storytelling.
The real sacrifice was trying to swallow that stone at all. People have trouble swallowing some advil with out water and Zelda just tanked it.
of all the comments, this got the biggest reaction from me. as someone who cannot swallow pills for the life of me, i have found the funny
Meanwhile…
SPOILERS
Ganondorf throating his whole forearm to get that stone down.
Yeah she did a really good job swallowing I'm proud of her 😊
XD I was just thinking that lol
she ain't a quitter
I think the biggest tragedy in Zelda’s sacrifice is that we spend the entire game looking at the huge difference she was able to make in just a few years for all of hyrule and how much she planned for the future (just outside of lookout landing are foundations for new buildings and I almost cried when I noticed). Everything she did after a hundred years gone, all her hope for the new future she will never see it again. All the children in hateno, the researchers she organized, everything she spent all those memories trying so hard to go back and she has to make a terrible decision for the future she’ll never even remember hoping for. When you see how much hyrule came to love and depend on her in so many quests it hurts all the more that the world without her is much emptier like in BotW, her sacrifice is so heavy because she’s shouldering a lot more knowledge of what will come
this is a video spoiling the main story, so i assume you won't care, but still, spoiler warning
Zelda becomes human again in the ending
It’s such a beautiful game
RE: the lack of loneliness.
When you go so deep that your sage partner avatars can't reach you, it suddenly feels really weird and scary. Loved that touch.
Exactly. That's the actual moment when it hits you. Not that you wouldn't face Ganondorf, but that feeling that you would do so ALONE.
“Ganondorf’s sacrifice is for no one but himself.”
During the final fight, I remember feeling especially angry and motivated seeing Ganondorf turn himself into a dragon. I couldn’t accurately put words to that feeling, but I think you nailed it.
The Demon Dragon is an insult to Zelda’s sacrifice. Ganon makes a mockery of Zelda’s entire struggle - he even LAUGHS at you when he does so. It makes the fight so much more desperate and so so satisfying to prove him wrong.
The three sacrifices kinda remind me of the three peices of the triforce (in a way) Zeldas is wisdom as she uses her sacrifice to heal Links weapon with the knowlege he will use it in ways that can complete her mission. Then there is Rauru couragously sacrifices himself to keep the world safe, not caring about his own morality. Then there is Ganondorf who uses his sacrifice as a way to gain power and nothing else. This probably is reaching a little but I thought it was an intresting idea...
I don’t think it’s a reach at all!! Great theory
To add more to Zelda, her plan was pretty sound. She didn’t just eat the stone on a whim, she made many, MANY preparations. She planned with the sages of the past to pass on their stones to the future sages, and Mineru stayed behind in spirit to assist Link by giving him the full story. Only then did she throw chance to the wind and Draconify herself. She really does embody wisdom in her plans.
But is Zelda willingly to break Link’s heart since they are in a relationship?
No actually this is a really good point!
Rauru's sacrifice was a last ditch effort that would have killed him whether he succeeded or not, and he knew he was just delaying the inevitable. You have to have a lot of courage to be willing to do that.
Zelda's sacrifice was a tactical decision, a plan to win a war that she knew was coming in thousands of years. She made the wisest decision she could, even if it cost her everything.
And Ganondorf's 'sacrifice' was a desperate attempt to hold onto the power he coveted so much he fought and stole and killed to get it. He would rather lose himself than lose his power, and in the end he lost both, and his life
Wisdom what about the wisdom to not use the sheikah tech in the first place
One contrasting thing about Rauru's and Zelda's sacrifices that was interesting to me was that they mirror each other in what they knew and what they did not know. For Rauru, he knew exactly what him sealing Ganondorf would do to him (even says this to Ganondorf) but what he did not truly know was that if he made this sacrifice that would Link actually come along to finish the job thousands of years later. For Zelda, she truly did not know what becoming a dragon and losing oneself would be like for her but she knew that if she made this sacrifice and it worked that Link would finish the job. They both had to take a massive leap of faith in each of their critical moments for Link to have the opportunity to save them all.
Rauru did know that in the future a brave knight called Link would come and finish the job, he literally said that too Ganondorf as well. He had too make the leap of faith that Link would succeed, hence his sacrifice would not be in vain.
I just now realised, that in the Phantom ganon cutscene in the castle : Link doesnt draw his weapon to defend himself from the gloom/malice stuff. (like he did in the games intro cutscene) he crosses his arms in front of his face and braces himself against the assault, (he even does that if you got the master sword prior to this cutscene). Link - the embodiment of the spirit of the hero and courage itself - is afraid of what happened under hyrule castle repeating itself
Maybe he even dread the Master Sword to be damaged again, maybe without repair now. He prefers to die before losing the only hope Hyrule has.
If he let the sword be destroyed. Zelda's sacrifice was for nothing.
I know its a lame answer but its probably just dramatic effect. The story knows he wont need to block that Attack so he rather does a striking Pose
Link read the script!
Gannondorf sacrificing himself to become a force of nature and spew gloom over Hyrule was a good touch. If he cannot rule Hyrule, then he will destroy it completely. When the Demon Dragon explodes and "Destroy Gannondorf: Complete" appears on screen, I was grinning ear to ear. TotK had one of the most satisfying finales of any game I've played.
Before swallowing the Stone, Ganondorf says "I will yet rule this Land", implying that he thinks he'd still be some sort of ruler once he kills Link by any means, even though his goals should end up unknown to him after the transformation.
@@goli8699 By rule I think he means that he dictates the destiny of the kingdom. Be it as a human, demon, or dragon. he wants to dominate everything, even if he is just a beast.
and when one considers the curse of Demise, well, this incarnation is dead now, but what of the next, whatever form it takes, Ganon will return. The Yiga Clan still exist and will likely seek to revive him, and then there's the unanswered question regarding Twinrova, will they show up in a DLC, or will we merely hear hints of their activities, of them potentially showing up in a sequel of some sort whether it be in the current Link's life time or the next, we just don't know.
@@LSSTyranus whatever happens, for now there is no world size threat, so society can be rebuild again and Link and Zelda can hopefully relax again for at least some years. If not even Ganons return being the worry of Links and Zeldas next reincarnation. I would grand them the peace.
@Leif Emmanuel hence my theory that this is in a timeline that happens due to a split that happens at Skyward Sword, because then the Triforce just remains hidden and forgotten under the giant Goddess Statue, never to be found as Skyward Sword Link already killed Demise in single combat.
I always read Zelda’s “Link!” and “Protect them all!” as two separate things- one instinctive, desperate cry out as she’s scared and losing herself- the other an explosion of deeper self brought forth to the surface as she’s losing all the other superficial aspects of herself left with nothing but her core conviction.
It called me back to Age of Calamity, and the phrase that motivated that entire game’s story, her internal dialogue in botw’s moment of greatest crisis:
“I must protect everyone”
Why! That is an in theory! I hope we can get to see AoC alter time again.
@@a.jthomas6132Im not even sure they can without more handwaving. It's said in Totk Rauru's seal broke because of the Calamity, not Zelda and Link walking into the room. Since AoC's 2nd Calamity 100 years later was preemptively stopped, it'll be another 100 years until Ganondorf is freed (maybe)
They could just have him get free early. But then it's a game with a slightly less destroyed Hyrule fighting dehydrated Ganons army. It would definitely be an odd experience, Depths battles, Sky Ship fights possible, the Divine Beasts probs not even dismantled.
@@garathrahl9640 not 100, most likely 1000s of years as the building up of malice probably takes time
The Hyrule throne room cut scene was quite interesting to me. Because Link‘s defensive posture against the gloom wouldnt have protected him. He would have just lost both arms…. So his reaction was a bit like trauma or some such.
And this trauma was dissolved when his friends saved him.
At least thats how I interpret the cutscene.
Interesting. Guess trauma is another theme to be added to. But what about the trauma Link has undergone after looking at Zelda’s memories. How would he feel about the way she turns into a Light Dragon?
@@a.jthomas6132 we don't know since he never shows any emotions🤷🏻♂️
@@jonson856 does humming and her grunting counts? Also you can tell through his body language when he was shocked by witnessing the last tear memory. He does show some personality.
Only works if he had a barrier. Shame the arm doesn’t give him that ability, but then again we would have the same issue Daruk’s Protection gave us in the last game. Maybe.
@@a.jthomas6132 shocked and traumatized are quite different things.
We don't know how exactly he experienced the memories. Was it as invisible 3rd person, or as Zelda herself?
We don't know.
Him being shocked I believe came from him understanding what happened to Zelda. But to be fair, after every memory he does that. So I'm not sure if it's shock
I didn’t realize how lonely I would feel when all of the sages got taken away during my approach to Ganon. It made the moment where they all rejoin you for the final fight so special.
I don’t think you mentioned this, but I find it interesting that during Ganondorf’s transformation, his eyes change less than Zelda’s do, likely symbolising how he’s already lost some of his humanity.
One thing nobody ever mentions about the story cutscenes is how gorgeous and well-directed they are in general. I don't remember anything in BOTW looking half as polished.
i think they used that new studio nintendo acquired specifically for cutscenes as they are credited in the end credits
Yeah the cutscenes in Botw often felt stiff and a little awkward. The voice acting wasn't bad but it didn't feel natural enough for the characters. But in this game everything is just massively improved! The voice acting feels a lot more natural, even though there's a lot of the same voice actors (they got better voice direction this time I think) and the animations just feel a lot smoother and (once again) more natural.
@@lasercraft32probably because of aoc
@@Dado_nastrowow
There was also motion capture listed in the credits for TOTK, I don’t remember it being there in botw but it really adds an extra layer of acting and subtlety into the animations- Ganon especially I don’t think would’ve had nearly as much weight purely animated, I’m convinced he had a lot of mo-cap used for him, the way he kneels and stands and walks feels so grounded
And that’s just the animation- now they’ve hashed out all the foundations and artistic basics in the original they’ve been polished to perfection in this one
I have to say the sheer difference in tone and feeling between BOTW and TotK astonished me so much.
I’m BotW, Link feels like a lone swordsman who passes by and fixes everything, gaining the respect of the people, but never staying forever. It makes the fight against Calamity Ganon feel really personal, as the Champions only support you with their ghosts and abilities, making Link an avenger to them. But it still makes you feel like the lone traveling swordsman.
In TotK, you almost always have some kind of companion with you. For the intro, you have Zelda. For the great sky island, you have Rauru. Lookout Landing, you have Purah, Robbie, and all the soldiers who call you by name with respect and even honor. As you go to the different areas, it always feels like the people not only respect you, but give as much assistance as possible. The Rito and Gorons guiding you to the sages. The Zora working to fix your armor and king dorephan willing to help. The Gerudo literally battling alongside you. Mineru taking control of a gundam you built to persist after her own death. Even in the dark depths, the Sage avatars make you feel like you have an army by your side, and the battle against Ganondorf feels like his army, vs yours. Even in the final damn fight Zelda comes to assist you.
Mineru is technically with you the entier time even if you don't unlock her because her spirit is in the Purah pad and has been there for thousands of years.
Just like in the manga Berserk
its like link’s, the champions’, Zelda’s sacrifices in BOTW gave birth to TOTK Hyrule’s revival, and no one can no longer be alone because BOTW gave that spark of rebirth
Botw is about Link doing a journey mostly alone, his friends are dead but at least they can give some of their power to him. It’s bittersweet in a way
TotK is about him no longer needing to be alone, just like you said he always has someone beside him in one way or another, no matter where he is. Even those ghosts that give you weapons in the depth add to this in a way, because in a place so dark and dreary it’s nice that there are still those who will help you, even if they can only give you a weapon
Zelda’s relationship with Link is more than just friends. She loves him since Breath of the Wild. Remember, her sacred powers were awaked when the person is closest to her is in grave danger. Plus, Kass’s last song show the Princess of Hyrule feelings towards her Appointed Knight. And we get a lot of hints and suggestions again in Tears of the Kingdom that they are more involved as they lived together in his house, help restoring Hyrule, and build a school for a new generation of Hylian children (another thing about community).
Especially in one of the tear memories where she speaks fondly of her knight/hero to Rauru and Sonia which they would like to meet him as any parent would like to meet their daughter’s boyfriend in real life.
When the Light Dragon (Zelda) comes to aid Link from a Demon Dragon during the final boss fight, do you think a part of her is not all but lost? I think it was her instinct love for Link is what saves him when confronting Draconified Ganondorf.
Their relationship to me is so special to me! I was a bit disappointed that the developers didn’t give much Zelink moments in the game. Even there is no reunion hug after Zelda is changed back. I hope we can see Link and Princess Zelda together more in the next Zelda as a possible future rulers of Hyrule.
Linda 🥱
Zenk 🤟
@@MrSaverio97 What is it you’re trying to point out?
@@a.jthomas6132 ship name I’m guessing
A wild guess but since Zelda hid the champions tunic in the sanctum, more specifically behind the throne, maybe this might hint something!
I know you mentioned that there is no reunion hug, and while that is true when Zelda is awake, Link does still hold her in a warm embrace when they plummet from the sky at the end. She even mentions that hug helped to wake her up. Yeah, it’s nothing compared to her actually being awake and tackling him with a hug, but it’s still so heart warming watching Link pull her close right before they hit the water.
Not sure if it’s related to his sacrifice much, but I love the music that plays after Ganondorf rips the Secret Stone off his head.
It’s a very “oh fuck he’s actually gonna do it”-sounding song
I became so much more emotional at the ending of the game then I expected, but I knew exactly why. The sacrifice Zelda made wasn’t nearly as impactful to me as her return, and that’s because at least to me, it felt deserved. I did most of the quests the game had to offer before I marched to the end, & so I noticed a strong connecting force across the entire kingdom. Everywhere I went, there was at least one person singing Zelda’s praises & talking about what she did to help them. And before the events of this game, Zelda along with the entire kingdom suffered immensely to the calamity. I can’t think of anytime it’s mentioned that Zelda indulged in herself in any way, except maybe when she asked for a well to get some privacy every once in a while IN HER OWN HOME. Seeing her back to normal, falling back down to the surface, it felt like she was finally being given back for all she’s done. The entire kingdom felt like it was screaming for her safety & prosperity as I adventured, & so I cried. It was beautiful to see her there, & it felt cathartic to see someone be rewarded for their sacrifice for a change.
If anyone understood & embraced community in this game, it was Zelda.
I was in tears. Diving towards her in the sky. As the music crescendos…. After everything she’s done and sacrificed…
as I went into the final battle at the end of the game I was honestly fully prepared for her to stay a dragon. Because the game built that up for me by showing how impactful becoming a dragon was
I think that the romantic overtones are strong in this new Zelda series. I saw a pretty good breakdown of BotW that nails it down pretty good, and that's before the new TotK info comes into play. I guess at the end of Hudson's wedding scene, Bolson tells Link that some flower petals that are floating around in the air can only be seen by people with pure love in their heart (or something along those lines), and then during the secret post-credits ending cutscene, we see Link and Zelda run toward each other in the background and these same flower petals are swirling around in the foreground, and then it even pans to a Silent Princess and fades to black on that imagery. It's a little convoluted, because it required you to have paid attention during Hudson's wedding and remember what he said, AND you have to have basically 100%-ed the game to see this special ending cutscene, but when these scenes are both laid out right in front of you it's _not at all subtle._ It shows the love flower petals, them running toward each other on a very "Sound of Music" type of hill, and ends on a shot of Zelda's favorite flower.
BTW, I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else, but I'm going to assume that I'm not the first one to notice this, but the very fact that Zelda's favorite flower _is_ the "Silent Princess" kind of spills the beans right there. Think about it, Silent = Link, Princess = Zelda. So the flower Zelda loves the most is one that represents both her and Link at the same time. _AND_ we are introduced to Zelda's liking of the flower in the same scene where we first see her being cute and friendly with him (and where the developers _absolutely knew what they were doing_ when she lunged out for the frog)
Also, I mean, come on. Zelda moved into Link's house and made her own private underground lair to have some privacy from him, but also has his old hair band in a chest with her. Those two things cannot exist at the same time and make any sense for any scenario except them being a couple and also living together. If they're not a couple and not living together, then it'd be super weird for her to be holding onto Link's old hair tie in a treasure chest in her private study. If they are living together, platonically, _and she still has that hair tie,_ then that's even weirder (that has some pretty creepy, "caught stealing her roommate's underwear" vibes).
But no matter what, Link basically _has_ to be living there, even if you choose to believe that he's sleeping on a cot in the shed, because Zelda outright says that Link never leaves her side, and there's not really anywhere else in town where he could be living long term. It would be pretty shitty of Zelda to make him sleep at the hotel after he gave her a house. And if he was crashing at someone else's place, then _one_ of the residents would need to have some sort of dialog that mentions something like, "Hey, I was wondering when/ if you were going to come back, do you still need a place to sleep?" or "I didn't think you were coming back, so I packed up your bed. We love having you here, but since Zelda isn't around, would you mind just sleeping at your old house when you're visiting town, so I don't have to have a bed ready and taking up space for the 99% of the time when you're not even in town, anyways?" _SOMETHING_ to acknowledge this would be kind of necessary if Nintendo really wanted to make sure they were platonically involved. And he _couldn't_ have been teleporting in and out of town every day, because we see that the Shiekah network was not operational at the beginning of the game. The Shiekah shrines and towers had all burrowed back into the ground, the new Zonai shrines didn't appear until the upheaval, and the new Sky View Towers only become operational once Link finishes setting them up by collecting the aerial survey data, so he _has_ to be living in town. Any other option kind of makes Zelda seem like a mega bitch, which is canonically untrue of her character, just based on how basically every NPC who has met the _real_ her has nothing but glowing fondness to express about her.
I _DO_ think that Nintendo intentionally left _just_ enough of an out for players who don't want that romance in their playthrough. But it seems pretty clear to me that the story is "They're together unless you _really_ don't want them to be, in which case we left you _just_ enough ambiguity for you to fill in the gaps so that they're not an item in your mind" and not "It's 100% ambiguous and totally up to you, player!" Which is... fine. I personally find it a little frustrating, but I understand why they did it that way. I wonder if they left that ambiguity in just to throw out feelers and see what the reaction would be so that they have the option of either doubling down and going all in on them being together if the fans want that, or backpedaling into murkier ambiguity or an outright strictly platonic relationship in the DLC or the next sequel.
I wish that Nintendo would just make both options available rather than doing this weird inconclusive stuff, though. Seriously, this debate could _easily_ be solved with a couple of dialog choices. I get that this ain't Fallout New Vegas, but I think that it weakens the story to have this be unclear, and they would be far better off just letting the player decide in game, so that the story could just fucking commit to one or the other.
i love this comment your dedication to writing it is awesome
I agree with you
Rauru would’ve been a great partner to Link if not the briefest opening part.
There is a bit similar with both him and Link such being lost without the love of their love of their lives (Queen Sonia and Zelda).
Hopefully we get to see their interactions in future dlc.
Yeah, which considering that he is essentially tied to Link through his arm they should've existed with them the entire game. It would've made sense and could even play with the theme of sacrifice in creative ways.
How much is Link willing to give up? Will Link give up so much he isn't Link anymore?
Rauru gives me big king of red lion vibes
@@Squirmychair The one from Windwaker? Maybe. But this is not connected to the Adult Timeline.
@@a.jthomas6132 I just meant they remind me of each other. I don’t think they’re the same person
Really would have added more to that excessively safe ending that devalues Zelda's sacrifice. He's been absent since the tutorial, he acts like he's essentially dying for real before disappearing, why is he back? At least if he was present throughout the game his return at the end would have made more sense.
Cool thing I found while playing: in the Light Dragon’s description in the hyrule compendium, it says that the dragon ‘somehow gives a comforting presence’.
After getting all the memories and having the big reveal, the desc finally made sense and it truly cemented my love for this game.
Just a correction here. Medoh was shooting down Rito that took to the air, that is establish with Teba. Naboris was not only causing sandstorms, it was causing extreme thunderstorms and it was getting closer to the town, that’s why they were panicking. I enjoy your videos. Just pointing out the details of you claiming they weren’t threats. They were. Not the extreme ones like Rudaina and Ruta, but they did cause issues.
While the threats were real they didn't seem as present as Ruta flooding the domain with a never ending rainstorm. And It being death mountain which was always associated with heat and lava you wouldn't think Rudania was the cause of the excessive heat where you needed potions or armor to even walk around.
If you had rainless lightening storms plaguing the desert and Medoh could've not only shot at Rito in the air but at the ground around the village with spotlights visible at night where Link was shot at if he enters them.
@@Ser_Matticus Would have been great if Medoh was so threatening that climbing higher than a jump triggered his attacks or his reach was super far that he'd snipe you out of the air as you paraglided. We were told that Rito were being attacked and Medoh was a threat, but it didn't do anything except screech and fly around...
They certainly don't feel as dangerous as the Regional Phenomena, but had Naboris and Medoh randomly decided to attack the towns, their people would've been utterly screwed, so the panic is fully justified.
I love that distinction between BotW and TotK where one is extremely lonely and the other genuinely feels like you have a community. Not only does it perfectly work to uphold the themes and tone of each game like you said but I also love the distinction when it comes to the narrative evolution between the two games - And with BotW being a spiritual "remake" or the first game it calls back to "Its dangerous to go alone." with TotK's "But you are not alone."
You start a game with a companion in Zelda, a clearly stark difference from BotW, but she's taken away. And you ony get companions back when you complete the main quests and goto the different regions, because the game at the same time as the looming threatis about rebuilding Hyrule. Its about reestablishing those connections that was lost. It's pretty great metatext to BotW's place in the entire franchise and how TotK is in many ways a "return to form"
really really great stuff imo, great video too
Not even gonna lie. I cried hard during the last dragon tear memory
I shed a few tears there for sure. Also when Link catches Zelda at the end, as he wasn’t able to do the first time
There’s another side quest in Hateno that spells out the theme pretty directly. The first time you go to the school, Symin is teaching a lesson about the Calamities of 100 and 10,000 years ago. Symin tells the kids of the sacrifices the past generations made to maintain peace, and one of them says “I want to give the next generation a good life too!”
The kids of Hyrule are gonna be alright 😢
@@PTFVBVB😢
I suspect some of those kids weren’t even alive during the events of BotW. It’s because of this I estimate TotK takes place at least 5 years later. Plenty of time for changes to happen.
@@acgearsandarms1343 6-7 years if I’m not mistaken
@@acgearsandarms1343they definitely weren't alive. those children are new and exclusive to TotK. they are nowhere in BotW.
Yes! The Hateno election quest bugged me at first exactly bc I thought it was the typical “choose a side” thing, but was pleasantly surprised to see Cece and the carrot humper seek common ground. Really like how TotK is consistent with these themes.
I saw the ending coming, but I thought it was a really cool twist how both secretly agreed with some of the other's ideals and you have to snoop around in their business to find out. Tears of the Kingdom feels way more like a Zelda game than Breath of the Wild to me, and the vastly improved side quests are a big reason why.
I love this cutscene. You feel like you're going alone into this castle. Purah tells you to go, you fight monster group after monster group. You feel alone there, because of this place. Its the most lonely place in hyrule. Everythis was build up or restored, but not the castle. It is still empty, dark and feels like frozen in time. The only person that you see, is a fake. A fake of someone important. That makes it so lonely. So when I met phantom ganon, I felt lonely again. Lonely, like in Breath of the wild. But then, out of nowhere, my friends came to me, defended me. They came, when I needed them. It's always:" link, we need you. link, pls help us. link, go there and do the thing. Link, you are important because Hero/Master Sword" But here it is: "Link, we will help you. You are not alone."
Exactly! As someone whose first Zelda game was BOTW it felt like that all over again. It was so tedious, I was ready to do it all by myself whatever it was. Going up and down floor, looking at the map and planning my route. It really sapped the energy out of me, feeling like BOTW all over again. It was really nice to see the sages stand with link, I don't need to elaborate more. It's just nice and feels like a good sigh of relief!
13:30 this was my FAVORITE moment in the game. I love how the characters you met along the way save you in your time of need. How after the lonely journey of BOTW, TOTK nails the community aspect between the characters.
It reminded me a lot of the strike of the divine beasts from botw but with a bit more weight
There was a mirror between both games I noticed in my playthrough which I found really sweet. In Breath of the Wild, it shows the connection that Link had to the previous generation of champions a century prior. You have all these heart-warming 'slice of life' moments (especially in Age of Calamity) which makes Zelda, Link, and the champions feel like they are a loving group.
By the end of Tears of the Kingdom, however, you have that connection formed with the next generation of "champions" (sages) come full circle and have it feel how it was before with the champions. Especially in the final good ending cutscene it does feel 'slice of life' in the way it was before. You also feel the emotional connection as a player to this next generation as you did towards the champions of Breath of the Wild, and things feel as if they can become better than before because of Ganondorf being defeated. If you play both games, the torch feels like it has been truly passed and this new community is stronger than ever. It feels very much like the group and community of the champions of 100 years prior and as if their wish of the posterity of the world and their respective peoples has truly been fulfilled and their descendants can live the life in the way they were deprived of by the Blight Ganons that killed them.
Also, in Breath of the Wild you really have this feeling that Link is alien to the Hyrule of a century later. But in Tears of the Kingdom he feels like an integrated part of the world he is in, like before the calamity. That becomes truly consolidated through the journey that all the characters share together. In Breath of the Wild I didn't care too much about the current-era characters compared to the champions of before because Link was positioned as someone of a hundred years prior. in Tears of the Kingdom, by contrast, it really did a good job of allowing me to move on from the champions and to embrace the current sages with those parallel feelings I had for the champions because of the way the plot positioned Link as being truly someone of the present era by that time of 3-5 years later.
With all that combined, by the end of both games it really gives you a feeling a hope. Even though the spirits of the champions have passed on and the divine beasts are gone, I can imagine they would smile and be happy with how things turned out and notice how the group is how it was once more, without the threat of Ganon looming over and destroying things.
I'm glad that these last few Zelda games have allowed me to form a connection with such a great group of characters.
With the section on community, you perfectly summed up how Tears of the Kingdom excels as a thematic sequel to Breath of the Wild. In the first game, Link adventures alone to try and rescue a devastated Hyrule, and after saving the world, he finally got to live in it. It makes me think, after losing the Champions, his king and his family, Link must be so grateful for the new communities he finds. Gosh, I'm choking up now
It's wild. Liam Triforce came to the SAME conclusion. The theme of totk is "you are not alone"
I notice that the three sacrifices discussed also reflect the aspects of the Triforce:
Ganondorf's sacrifice is for selfish Power.
Rauru's sacrifice is his Courage to believe in a better future.
Zelda's sacrifice is based in the Wisdom that Link will find her and the Master Sword.
Very impressed with how nintendo writers pulled off this heartfelt story.
Agreed. The story in Botw was pretty alright to me but this was amazing. Like damn I didn't expect this at all.
Would’ve been nice if Nintendo allow the Relationship of Link and zelda to continue to grow. Let alone, Zelink canonized.
Heartfelt?! LOL! They didnt do jackshit witht his story!
*Sonia and Rauru are the blandest characters ever*
*Link and Zelda’s relationship is NEVER explored*
*Ganondorf is poorly written and has no reason for taking over hyrule*
*ignores all zelda lore in favor of a poorly written remake of OOT’s origin story*
@@Comicbroe405 it was worse than BOTW
@@clonetrooper2003 Troll
The theme of community was one of my favorite things about TotK. Link already has a reputation for saving communities by the time of TotK, but this time it pays off even more. You get to see the results of Link's actions around the kingdom. Beyond the different races appearing in Lookout Landing, you even see Hateno cheese spreading everywhere, and NPCs talk to you about what happened in Lurelin, and you get to see one thing you did in Tarrey Town have an effect way across the map in Gerudo Town.
You also get to see the people of Hyrule deeply caring for Zelda. They organize and fight for a better tomorrow because Zelda inspires them. Lookout Landing refocuses entirely on finding Zelda when Link shows up. The newspaper focuses on finding Zelda. The separate races dedicate themselves to Zelda after Link helps them resolves their own issues. Even down to the kids in Hateno Village, they see Zelda almost as a mother figure, because she cared for the children like a mother would. Zelda comes across as the ideal monarch, more so than she has in any other Zelda game, and her people absolutely love her. She is a beacon for the community and fosters that sense of community. Imagine how much more her people will love and revere her when they hear the full story of what she did for the Kingdom.
Having companions on your journey was also one of my favorite things about this game. It's not a traditional JRPG party, but I love having a ragtag group of misfits traveling Hyrule with Link, even if they are there mostly in spirit. It was actually one of my favorite things about Pokemon SV too, although unfortunately you only get a party (of humans) to travel with at the end of the game. Thankfully TotK lets you build up and travel with your party much earlier in the game.
Zelda also could have delayed her sacrifice to live more of a life, yet even after a century spent in stasis sealing Calamity, she took the secret stone as soon as preparations were made.
But is she willingly to break Link’s heart since they are in a relationship?
The problem with putting it off is that doing so can be construed as lack of resolve and conviction on Zelda's part. A weakness. After all, isn't putting off something so significant a form of hesitation in and of itself? And any conviction she might've had at the start would've only weakened and waned with time. Never mind the fact that any time spent not in dragon form would've meant the Master Sword would be that much weaker. Sadly, with something such as this, sooner is better than later.
I wish rauru stayed through the whole game as a companion. It was so cool seeing him pop up in the sky island as a ghost but then he's just gone and reduced to a worse old man
Especially since we have his arm... it would make sense for him to stay connected to us.
It would even help with the flashbacks because he can reflect on those moments and realize the mistakes. It also give a reason to see them in chronological order and in turn make a pay off of "You've been everything I hoped for."
The player/Link being tied to those events more tightly and even lets them play around with sacrifices you could choose to make as Link giving the player interesting choices with actual consequences and picking what you value more.
I liked how Zelda and Ganondorf did the exact same thing for different reasons. While Zelda was ultimately rewarded, Ganondorf paid the price.
Nice catch! That’s true
The Zelda Writers somehow create the best and worst storys in a game at the same times. I adore so many moments but then you have moments watching the same cutscenes 4 times
Yes, the narrative paradox. You both love and hate it at the same time. Well put.
demon king? secret stone?
@@odile2odette so it's my destiny to fight the demon king with you?
Thats not really a direct story issue though, more a cinematography/dialogue pacing issue
@@odile2odette It gets old real fast. Good thing the last sage doesn't do that.
Zelda being the light dragon is such a great twist, because the player knows somthing is off. 1. There is a random new dragon 2. The dragon is unnamed, simply called light dragon while the other dragons are named farosh, nayadra and dinnral. 3. All of the dragon parts you get from the light dragon heal, with most speaking of calm, familiarity, a gentle glow. 4. Its not that noteworthy, but the light dragon has a golden mane, very similar to zeldas hair 5. The memories are called "dragon tears" 6. It doesn’t come up untill later in the game, but the light dragon inexplicably has the master sword.
With all of these factors, it should be very obvious that zelda is the light dragon, however that's where to genius of the twist comes in. The dragons are foreign. The other dragons are just there and we're not expected to bat an eye. We're just told they guard springs, not even considering the dragons could've been people once. So, from a storytelling standpoint we just say to ourselves "the light dragon was probably too high for us to see before, and it probably protects the sky." Then, of course the memories slowly start telling us that zelda is the light dragon. By the last few, you either figured it out, or are scratching your head in suspicion. Either way, the last memory you get is epic.
Ganondorf, as the villain of the story, is meant to be the antithesis to the theme of community. he is disgusted that the people of Hyrule can come together without conquering one another, and seems to resent Rauru for squandering his divine power by intermingling with the hylians. He even abandons the community that raised him when he becomes The Demon King, instead replacing them with violent unintelligent monsters that can only take from others like he does.
I've heard some people complain about the way Zelda sacrifices herself in this game because of how often she does so in a lot of LoZ games (SS, TP, etc.), but I think it works here because she does it not out of a sense of royal duty, but out of love for Hyrule and Link. The theme of community plays into this more than you let on in your video. Yes, she was thinking about Link, but she was also sacrificing herself for Hyrule as well. In the years following BOTW, she and Link settled down in Hateno and set up a school. Details in the game show that she was beloved by the children, as well as all the other villagers of Hateno. The time she spent with Link allowed her to develop a love for Hyrule, its people, its history, and its wildlife. She took all of those things into account when undergoing draconification, hence why she told Link to "protect them all." She wanted to ensure that all of Hyrule would have a future.
Evil is the lack of a good, just as dark is the absence of light. There is no dualism. The more evil one becomes, the less of their own self they maintain. Ganondorf is not a villain lacking in motivation for being evil, he is the logical conclusion of what anyone who loses themselves to vice will look like if they do not turn around and change.
Someone pointed out a thing regarding Zelda's sacrifice. She could've lived in the past for years, experienced so much, and then transform into a dragon and still be able to repair the master sword and save Link. But instead she did it right after Rauru sealed Ganondorf, as if the possibility of living without Link and without her Hyrule was something she couldn't do, even though she would've still been able to repair the sword at, say, 40 years old as she would as 20- something years old.
I feel illegally early to this video
You're right, put your hands up 👮👮♀️🚓
SAME!
Same
4 great sacrifices... Link sacrifices his arm, time, convenience, comfort, and safety to put all the pieces of Hyrule back together and "protect them all". We literally play and experience this.
What I find ironic about Ganondorf's sacrifice is that, if you think about it carefully, it was for absolutely nothing. By becoming a dragon, it makes him no different than the other 3 elemental dragons we already know about. Yes, his is a force of evil, and by no means a dangerous being, but if draconification eliminates will, mind, and eveyrthing from the user, then it also has no drive to do anything but live. If anything, the Demon Dragon could be just roaming Hyrule like the other dragons have been doing for millenia. His sacrifice didn't mean anything in the end, he obtained all that power for absolutely nothing, and it was a selfish sacrifice out of spite that in the end eliminated the very reason he obtained the Secret Stone for.
As opposed to Zelda, who had a very clear objective in mind when becoming a dragon, giving Link the ultimate tool to defeat the Demon King.
Ganondorf also had a very clear objective in mind: destroying Hyrule and killing Link at all costs.
While draconification does turn the user into an animalistic beast, I don't think it completely erases their mind. There is still some sort of instinct that remains in their brain. Zelda still has the instinct to defend Link and Hyrule, and Ganondorf has the instinct to destroy.
If not, the Demon Dragon wouldn't even spit fireballs at you, it would just go fly somewhere else.
It's basically like Calamity Ganon: Mostly a mindless beast, but retains its destructive instincts.
I'm sure the Calamity was smarter than the dragon though
I think the dragons do retain something of an echo of the person they were before, the the driving will of that person. Otherwise there would be no reason that the Light Dragon would rush to you, to the point of basically ignoring the Demon Dragon in favor of racing to catch you after you fell from the Demon Dragon's jaws. She wasn't there on some instictual Light vs Dark moment, she was there for LINK. There to save him and help him fight by carrying him to a sufficient vantage point to land on and harm the Demon Dragon.
There's definitely room for Ganondorf's "FUCK IT! JUST DESTROY EVERYTHING!" decision to carry over onto the Demon Dragon.
You just defined the difference between power for the sake of power and power that is developed through foresight ... or maybe better defined as Wisdom.
All these years later, and all 3 archetypes still hold true to their nature.
@@elfilin-to6dh
Yeah, I too think that the Calamity had a more intense drive than this dragon.
I truly hope that if there's a DLC in mind for this game, they go in depth about the process of dragonification. For example, I would like if they reveal who the 3 elemental dragons were in the past and why did they sacrifice themselves for.
Well the Demon Dragon did part of what Ganondorf intended. The final part had the blood moon rise. So he was capable of shrouding the land in eternal night and raze it all.
The scene with Zeldas sacrifice also suffers from translation issues. In the german translation Zelda outright screams: "Link........Save us all!" (Link.......Rette uns alle!)
She also says "For You" before doing it. Im glad the other dubs are good because the English dub removed do much from for example Ganondorf.
In Japanese she probably wanted too say; save the world. The only thing she was able too say was world before she turned into the light dragon prematurely (before finishing her sentence). That’s how good the original language and texts are.. they actually show how emotionally heartwretching her situation was. She didn’t even get the chance too speak her final words before being changed into a dragon for eons too come.
"Save us all" is really impactful for that moment, but I like the line "Protect them all" as it calls back to her signature line from Age of Calamity "I must protect everyone". She's always been dedicated to keeping her people safe, but she has to entrust that role to Link now that she'll no longer be able to fulfill it herself, and that line is a great way to represent this. That's probably the only credit you'll ever hear me give the English translation. I'm looking forward to seeing how French handles it.
Gotta love how he’s started giving us homework while watching the cutscenes!
right? felt like i was back in high school in english class lol
as the definition of the 🤓 emoji when it comes to something like that, i actually liked it. feel free to spam 🤓 emojis at me
The importance of the community mentioned in this video reminds me so much of why i adore Age of Calamity. Sure a lot of people didn't like it and dismissed it as a cheesy game. But one of the things i love from that game more than i did with BoTW was exactly present in ToTK: helping people around you and they help you in return.
Throughout AoC, you go around Hyrule with other characters to save those in need. Gerudo was infiltrated by the Yiga Clan, the Rito was attacked by Guardians and began to distrust outsiders, big tough Gorons also needed help, the Zora was about to be invaded by a massive army of monsters that the king himself stepped in to fight and protect his people.
Sacrifice was not absent either in AoC. Sooga eventually sacrificed himself to save Kohga as he views the Yiga leader as his father figure and feels indebted to him for saving his life as a child. From that sacrifice and betrayal from Astor, Kohga changed and bowed to Zelda to make an alliance with her. Kohga is a comical figure but he is very prideful so the fact he knelt on the ground really shows how much Sooga's sacrifice affected him, and as a result, you have the Yiga Clan on your side as well. I should also mention, even King Rhoam was prepared to sacrifice himself to save his daughter to atone for his mistakes.
At the end of the game, every single race from Hyrule banded together to defeat Calamity Ganon once and for all. As you run towards the castle, you literally fight and run alongside these races that you helped. My favourite moment in the game was when Purah used the Sheikah Towers to transport the whole army of races and the cutscene was epic as hell and seeing Zelda lead them, is no short of awesomeness.
Another great example was in Zora’s domain. In breath of the wild, it is raining nonstop and causing some electric type monsters to hang out in the surrounding area, but the Zora thrive in water, it wasn’t to much of a problem, it’s just that people couldn’t visit. Stopping the divine beast makes it rain less occasionally, but it still didn’t really change much. That does change in tears of the kingdom when the sludge caused by the upheaval ruins the waters in the surrounding area, causing pain and dismay in all of the citizens of the domain. When u beat the boss at the end of the temple, you actually see the thankfulness of the Zora when you speak to them, and not only that, but it does show too. The sky seems to shine more on the reflecting blue cliffs of the surrounding area, and some even start exploring the area in the sky, and the waterworks beneath it. You also see king Doriphean giving up his position as king to Sidon, finally seeing that not only has Sidon now proved himself by saving the Zora once again, but also that he sees himself being too old to keep up with everything going on (as he did also get extremely injured and go into hiding).
People is missing some points. Zora's domain controls the water flow for most of the continent, with non-stop rain a big chunk of Hyrule will just flood. Also in the video he says Vah Medoh does nothing other than just being menacing and that's not true, it avoids Rito merchants doing their businesses, or gathering resources for the village, and of course it's not safe having it flying around even mentioning that Vah Medoh even shoots indiscriminately if approached. In Vah Naboris I directly don't understand why he says the sandstorm does nothing for the Gerudo... he just ignored completely that portion of the game and erased it from his head or something... Is easy to ignore those points after 6 years playing BotW, as we are not that impressed anymore.
@@CarlosSaulRodriguezA I don’t entirely understand what point you’re trying to make. Sure, Vah Medoh is definitely a threat that needs to be dealt with. However, I think the difference between the threats surrounding Rito Village in BotW vs TotK comes down to showing, not telling. In Breath of the Wild, the Rito continue to tell us how much Vah Medoh is a threat. It’s up there, apparently if Rito fly to high they’ll get shot down. Do we see any of this? Well… yes, but only once we go to fight it. Cuz of course it would attack us, we are playing the game. So no, we don’t see Vah Medoh shooting down any Rito otherwise and we solve the problem immediately. Meanwhile in Tears of the Kingdom, it’s exactly what was said in the video. Rito Village is being hammered by a violent snow storm that has prevented the Rito from finding food. The adults are taking care of finding food that we notice that only the children are left taking care of the town. We even see the process for this when we try to find Tulin after the first cutscene.
The game actively shows us what is going on, the impact it is having on these characters, and what is at stake. It’s environmental and gameplay storytelling are more compelling than Breath of the Wild for this reason. I understand what you’re saying, but you’re also just telling us stuff that happened in BotW. I don’t really remember seeing much of it compared to how this game handles the threats.
You said that Hyrule WOULD flood because of the situation in Zora’s domain in BotW. However, in Totk it’s not about what could happen. Everything has already happened.
People who are complaining about the Reede and Cece questline ending with them both reconciling their differences forgot that's one of the best Questlines in Majoras Mask.
I loved this analysis! I couldn’t quite put into full words or details why I loved Tears more so than Breath, but the moment you mentioned community and how everything is tied together, it’s exactly how I felt too!
Zelda's sacrifice really made me so sad. I don't know how Link felt at that moment watching this memory, but I felt heartbroken knowing she won't come back.
He is seen as in complete shock at the briefest moment but I think he might of crying in the behind the scenes
As someone said on the TotK trailer 3: "From 'it's dangerous to go alone', to 'you are not alone'."
During the moments I was watching Zelda's transformation for the first time I thought back to a previous cutscene indicating the foreshadowed moment - I knew what was to come. However, the impact of how the moment was to unfold is the ultimate expression of storytelling, and the ability for a cinematic to deliver this was impeccable.
The Legend of Zelda series possesses some of the most incredible examples of faith in another person or in other people that games have offered. I felt Zelda's reluctance, but also her understanding that this transformation was /the only/ method capable of even ensuring the tiniest fraction of hope for success. "Link, you must find me!" Was as much a plea as it was a directive, almost like a prayer in a sense as she speaks out to the ether.
But the transformation itself: there was grief alongside duty, hope alongside despair, uncertainty alongside faith - and also love, I daresay.
Due to the cinematic framing of the moment the roars of Zelda's dragon form almost felt like cries of desperation mixed with a sort of proclamation of duty. But ultimately I felt her grief that she would never be the same, and the loss of the relationship that mattered the most to her...
While I agree that this addition to the franchise could have had more added to make the characters and story more robust, this moment in the story stood out and absolutely broke my heart. I shed real tears and I can only be grateful that this moment was written so expertly well.
I collected all the memories pretty early on in the game because I got invested in the memory storyline and when I realized what Zelda was going to do I was audibly going "no no no". Watching her transformation was so impactful that I just stared at the dragon in the sky for several minutes. And at that moment my feeling of "oh in the end I'm going to fight Ganondorf I guess" changed to "I am going to destroy Ganondorf". I really appreciate how the narrative of TotK made me emotional and how I felt like Link and I needed to defeat the demon king and his forces for the sake of a loved one and all the people who believed in us and helped us
Zelda's sacrifice was incredibly shocking to me. She is terrified, and rightfully so; she basically chose to die. Ganondorf became a dragon so he could personally crush all of Hyrule under his fist. Zelda became a dragon so that Hyrule's future wasn't one of destruction.
The Ouroborros symbol we see in the logo for TOTK makes so much more sense, both with the time travel and the overall storyline.
I've never heard someone explain these new games AS EXPERTLY AS YOU HAVE!!!! Tears of The Kingdom is the first game since Twilight Princess that made me feel the way I felt when I first played Ocarina of Time on the N66!! It's this sense of story line progression though the characters and communities you discover and grow to love that (to me) make these game SOO enjoyable and replayable!!
in the french dub, zelda says “protect my people” which connects it more to the scene between her and rauru before the final battle - the sacrifices of the first king of hyrule and its current ruler for the sake of the people of hyrule. “Protect them all” just doesn’t hit the same to me
BOTW: " *Im so lonely* "
TOTK: "THE POWER OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP GO"
My little Hylian, friendship is magic
Another great detail is that Ganondorfs and Zeldas transformation, like the stones themselves, only reflect/amplify their powers, with Zelda transforming in a ball of blinding light and Ganondorf seemingly transforming into that thing that surrounds Hyrule Castle in BotW before transforming completely into a Dragon.
This game has so many little details that just show how much dedication and love this game received from it's developers... Such a masterpiece!
I absolutely loved watching Lookout Landing grow throughout the game but one thing I wish they had done was have it play a part in the finale. Many of the peoples that move there say they’re helping defend it but we never actually see them do so. I wish we could have had Ganondorf summon a hoard of monsters on the surface in the castle town ruins just outside the landing. We could have seen the various races squaring up against different monster, gorons against moblins zoras against lizalfos gerudo vs gibdos all capped off with Purah and Josha piloting a zonai mech decked with cannons to take down a battle talus. Now THAT would’ve been an awesome way to really hammer home the theme of community but that’s just a nitpick I still love what we got.
Yes! This was my dream ending too! Especially if it happened after Ganonorf Dragon snatches Link and takes him above ground. It could have been Link helping to defend the fort, collectively defeating the Ganondorf Army from overtaking Lookout Landing, and THEN taking to the sky to defeat the Ganonorf Dragon. That would have been absolutely glorious!
This video really brought words to my feelings in this game. Something about going on adventures with these characters, fighting alongside the NPCs, seeing the growth and changes in towns...
It's the exact opposite of BotW, where its an isolated wasteland. It's a growing world full of people who acknowledge and help you in the adventure.
12:58 - I got to this scene just yesterday, and I legitimately screamed when your allies showed up to save you. I expected Link to get knocked away and maybe some kind of vision with Zelda would appear to give him strength. Again, it was that feeling where everything is on your shoulders as always; but this time, game characters actually show up to help you after you've been helping them. It was the same emotional rollercoaster as in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and the champions get saved at the last moment during the time where they would have originally been killed by the blights.
I can never not help the little guys that are going to take out the monsters forces when I see them around. Poor guys have to do that every blood moon, but they keep going because they need to protect the people. I love it
There's a reason I think for the way some dialogue is written for Zelda at the end:
Among what she says, she tells Link she's met so many amazing people in her journey through time and then of course the one that caps it off, that she's home. Obviously the theme of community at play there.
But more interesting than that I think is the connection to the title: Tears of the Kingdom.
"Tears of the Kingdom" is a reference to the dragon tears shed by Zelda upon her transformation, the tears that contain her memories from the past, shed as draconification robs her of her identity, what makes her who she is. The tears, the sacrifice she's made, it's to be without community, to be without companionship and memories to look back on for an eternity, but all of that which she loses is contained in those tears, these themes are contained in those tears. And yet those tears play an important part in bringing her home, back to community. And that's the struggle of the Hyrulean population in this game, fighting the existential threats to their community which isolates them from others, whether it's the critical food supply of the Rito, the crippling addiction of the Goron tribe, the sludge choking and poisoning the Zora and the sand storm ravaging the Gerudo. Their struggle is to restore their communities in the face of existential threats.
The way I'm coming around to seeing the mission statement of Tears of the Kingdom isn't that community is good, everyone knows this. But that when threatened, that's when people really come together. That when community is threatened, we will cling to it harder than ever because that's what's truly important to us, it's what NEEDS to be the most important to us.
30:53 You will have to pause it to see it, but Zelda's tears fly out in a heart-shaped form. That's some STRONG love there.
Zelda loves Link its pretty clear mabye not in a romantic way but she definitly is very close to him...
@@ZeroJump she loves him in a romantic way, it’s clear since botw
@@truthwillsetyoufree2236 Yeah people who say it isnt implied havent fully understood the story of botw
@@ZeroJump it’s more than implied, it was outright said that Zelda only has eyes on her knight and that what awakened her powers was love
@@ZeroJump It is absolutely romantic. If you paid attention to some of the smaller details found in Tears of the Kingdom, after she warmed up to him, she had eyes only for her knight. TotK is just full of it.
Not even gonna lie, I started BAWLING uncontrollably during that last cutscene. It was so beautiful.
This analysis is incredible! I love how this was presented and the emotions conveyed in TotK, especially since it introduced a lot of nuances that LoZ was not known to have that other games were known to have. The final installment in the series (so far), and finally, the Hero is not fighting completely alone.
This reminds me of a saying i heard once, "Wise is the man who plants trees whose fruit he will never taste and whose shade he will never enjoy".
I like how you analyzed the game with themes of communities and sacrifices. There are other themes in it like overcoming your trauma (as you see Yona with Prince Sidon) and the coming of age (as you see Hudson and Rhondson‘a daughter Mattison is set off to Gerudo Village to become a Vai). There are also a theme I’ve between Link and Zelda as the pair are closer since the secret ending of Breath of the Wild.
Ganondorf sacrificed for the Bokolins community. He tried his best to create a beautiful world for his little monsters
LOL.
In all seriousness, the Bokoblins deserve a better boss than Ganondorf
Was literally on a marathon after discovering this channel and this video pops up 🔥
Not sure if you noticed but the battle with Phantom Ganon in Hyrule Castle is locked behind finishing the Regional Phenomena.
Meaning there's no way to get that fight unless you invest your time helping the citizens of Hyrule, futher emphasizing the theme of community.
I just want to say something about the Zelda sacrifice since he says that it’s likely that link is more than a friend to Zelda. In btow it is confirmed not hinted at or implied Confirmed that she has romantic feelings towards link by kass who states that her love for link awakens her power and even throws in that she rejects a dude for link. And this is substantiated by totk where in the Sonya and Zelda cutscene among other things she starts blushing when talking about link and raru and Sonya act like parents wanting to meet their daughter’s boyfriend. So when you put these things in context her sacrifice being for link is just fucking heartbreaking she loves this man so much that she is willing not just to die but essentially deny herself a afterlife to get this sword to link if there is not a more romantic act the idk what is
When fighting the final boss myself, when I was watching Gannondorf turn into the demon dragon, I at first thought that he was turning back into the Calamity.
Keep on playing those cutscenes. Relevant and contextual.
Thanks.
Another big part of totk I noticed is companionship, and not just because of the company of the Sages alongside Link or the communities. One of the first things I noticed was that, in all of the shrines, the statues that give the Light of Blessing, (even in the shrines named Rauru's blessing), depict both Rauru and Sonia, who are holding hands. In the Messages from an Anchient Era side quest, you learn from the sky tablets that their relationship went beyond just a king and his queen; they were close friends as well, dancing together in celebrations, and doing things like taking walks together (what they were doing before Zelda showed up out of nowhere). They respected one another, creating and ruling Hyrule together rather than one following the others' lead. Throughout everything Rauru did for Hyrule, he had Sonia with him; Hyrule was built on the foundation of companionship. Along with that, when Zelda showed up, she was welcomed into their kingdom with open arms and offered comfort and security, something that has been a common theme in the villages throughout Hyrule in the game; Link is almost always welcomed with open arms, and not just because he weilds the sword that seals the darkness, and its a normal thing to go up to one of the villagers and help them with whatever problem they may be having (side quests).
The companionship present throughout the entirety of Hyrule, including its history, is what highlights how powerful Ganon is. He essentially (not including Rauru's sacrifice) defeated the Sages on his own. When he developed the ability to make his own army, he dropped the Gerudo, his people he was supposed to lead, like they were nothing. When it comes to Ganon, companionship is another opportunity of weakness, and so he avoids it. Its what makes him so formiddable; he caused all this destruction and chaos on his own, and not even seven of the most powerful beings in Hyrule could defeat him without a sacrifice.
As opposed to botw, having the Sages on your side while you fight is not only nice because of the company, but because it represents how the Imprisoning War should have gone, and how Zelda was right about Link being powerful enough in his own way to defeat Ganon.
Of all the things i enjoyed the most about totk, the companionship of the Sages, even if they werent actually there, was a prominent highlight, and having them there was a reminder that Link always had help, and that he wasnt alone in the battle.
Also raru and Sonya seem to parallel link and Zelda as far as relationships go
My biggest takeaway with the community was when you went to fight Ganondorf. At the beginning you had access to all the sages to help you, but once you went down to far you lost them ALL!
At first I was like "I got this, no problem." Then after 1 battle I realized how much I loved having all the sages with me. This made them showing up for the big battle of monsters so much more satisfying! I started to tear up and yelled "WE GOT THIS GUYS! HELL YEA!!!!"
This is a breathtaking breakdown and immediately one of my favorite Zelda videos ever. Thank you for sharing.
I love when you just let a cutscene play! You set it up better than the game does sometimes! The way you present it lets me appreciate games in a more narrative light than before.
Ganondorf and Rauru are basically opposites, of course with their different sacrifices but also with how they view their duty as king.
Before Rauru faces Ganondorf, he says: “As with any leader, it is my duty to safeguard and protect my people. Even if I must risk my life.”
And before Ganondorf faces Link, he says “I will crush any opposition. I will rule. That is what a king must do.”
Rauru is giving it his all to protect his kingdom and its people, and Ganondorf is simply trying to take over Hyrule, but they both view what they do as what they have to do as a king.
Came across your channel specifically because I was looking for someone to break down these themes in TotK that you have articulated perfectly in this video and the ones before it about Ganondorf and Kohga. Most of what you've talked about I agree whole heartedly, but lacked the words you've put them into. Thanks so much for this content, it's helped me structure my own thoughts from playing this game. Can't wait to dive into your other videos!
The Sage's and their Avatars make me think a multiplayer Zelda could absolutely work. Another game in this style but where other players can hop in and out to explore and fight alongside Link as members of other races would be amazing.
One small thing I really enjoyed about the Gerudo segment is how unique and unexpected the whole town defense is. “Siege segments” are relatively common in a lot of western RPGs - Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR 2, hell, ME2’s finale is basically a siege mission except you’re the one doing the sieging - but I don’t remember seeing them very much in a lot of JRPGs or the like. But they’re a perfect fit for a game like BOTW/Tears, perfectly blending (or dare I say… “fusing” ;u ) even more Japanese-Western influences.
19:00 "atrocious" mushroom style? CLEARLY someone's fashion sense is NOT with the current times in Hyrule 🙄
(Also great video love this channel)
I also used to hate it, but seeing it over and over, it started to grow on me. It's like Hyrule's version of gaudy designer brand fashion like Gucci or Versace.
this..... this video wrecked me (in a good way). I think a lot about how important it is to "pick up the torch" of people who have made sacrifices to keep it going, and how alienation could be described as not having anyone to sacrifice for, when there's no one who will do it for you either.
This game’s story was so damn good. Not perfect, but I don’t really find the issues you had with it (for example, in the Ganondorf video) to be a big deal…but the things they did well, they did VERY well.
I think Zelda's sacrifice is almost greater. Rauru had basically lost everything already when he made the choice. He was getting revenge on the man who killed his wife. And on top of that, Zelda basically told him what was going to happen, so he knew it was inevitable on some level. Zelda has no idea what her fate will be, no idea if she'll actually be able to assist Link after turning, but she feels it's the best and only option to save everyone. She literally says "Protect them all," so I don't reduce it to just being for Link.
Community is portrayed so much throughout everything. Not even just community but two or more forces coming together the create something even better. This is done a LOT through hands coming together specifically. You gain the sage abilities by holding hands, there’s the whole hands meeting with zelda and link and the beginning and end of the game. Even the music (especially from the trailers) features lots of clapping sounds. It’s not apparent what that means until the end when link grabs Zelda’s hand and you hear the sound of it followed by a musical queued clap. The mural shows Rauru and Sonia putting their hands together to symbolize a bond which is the foundation of hyrule so that too also symbolizes community. Even some of the abilities showcase this theme of coming together to create something better. Fuse and ultrahand function around the combination of different objects that on their own don’t do much, but together create near limitless potential
When i stumbled upon the first Monster Control troop quest, i had still a saphire staff with me. So my first thought was: "You know what? I am bashing monster camps all day. Lets just play support for once. At the end i cheered with them when they won. Wish they were more than 6 of these quests, considering you can repeat them as many times as you want.
I genuinely enjoyed the side quests when you can join forces with the monster control units in battle, its a small thing and the hylians fighting are usually pretty bad at combat but they still go to battle with what they have ready to die for one another, joining those moments actually made me feel like i was fighting in the moment for someone for them my comrades, Because while link can be a one man army having hylians who want the same thing you do fighting with you is just a unique feeling.
Something to point out, Zelda told Rauru what she found in the future, its not like Rauru went into that battle knowing he had a chance to win, he knew he was going to lose and that the only shot they had was if he restrained Ganandorph. I wouldn't really say it was a spur of the moment descision made during the heat of battle, when it was probably a consideration before they even went into the battle.
Plus it feels kinda weird to cut the line off at "Link!" When its "Link! Protect them all!" I personally wouldnt say that she sacrified herself for Link, a single person, when its made clear that everything she does is for her KINGDOM, and she even states that THATS why shes making the sacrifice to give Link the power he needs to defeat the big bad.
Here’s hoping a third game in the BotW canon doesn’t have Zelda sacrifice herself again but becomes an active player in the story, unlike what she did in BotW and TotK. I get that there’s no other way to help Link and save Hyrule, but goddamn, between being trapped in a darkness infested castle for 100 years, using all her power to keep Calamity Ganon at bay _and_ turning into the Light Dragon to restore the Master Sword and give it the power to slay Ganondorf for countless eons. Zelda’s been through enough. I just want her to see Link’s journey for once and be there for him instead of coming in at the last minute. The only time we get to see this is Age of Calamity, but it doesn’t really count when it’s not a free exploration game and is a hack and slash.
there’s a reason “Character A is about to take a fatal blow, then suddenly character B jumps in and saves them at the last second” is such a common trophe in media. It’s because it’s badass as hell; it never gets old because there’s nothing better than seeing your favorite characters work together and cover each other’s backs when they need each other the most
"I think [the people who dislike the stories working out well] are missing what makes Nintendo, and the Zelda series so charming and appealing. These games are charming because it's a setting where everything works out in the end."
Absolutely. I see people endlessly complaining about the ending and the sacrifice being undone. How it cheapens the sacrifice and removes it's meaning. It's baffling to me. The whole point is that it works out, the series isn't speaking to some grim reality. But rather to an ideal. And we should have stories that do that. Not everything needs to end grim. It's great that some stories can end poorly for the characters, it speaks to us in a different way. Zelda, though, isn't that. I hope it never becomes that. I like Nintendo taking difficult to pull off narrative devices and giving them a good try. The subverted tragedy of TOTK is really hard to pull off, and really rare when it does work. They could still improve it, but they did a great job in TOTK.
One thing to note about the tears and whether it is Zelda's last humanity leaving her. I think it's not. Obviously it can be interpreted differently. But, the fact that, thousands of years later, she sheds one more tear after Link finds those memories, to me that says that her humanity is still locked away inside there. It's more tragic to think her mind is destroyed in that moment, but I don't think it is. I think something else is going on.
Also, yes, that scene is absolutely horrifying. It is an awful sacrifice. The contrast of the beauty and horror of it is interesting. But it is so sad it's crazy how they managed to just murder my heart with that scene. But then, existential horror is horror that affects me the most. And everything you mentioned here, how she had to agonize over it for days, maybe longer. How she's giving up her mind forever. How she's never going to see her, at minimum, very close friend ever again, even in the afterlife. It's just, holy smoke it's so sad.
Part of me wants them to write more of the story after that, because both her having to agonize over that sacrifice, and then Link having to watch her do it. It's such an interesting inter-personal story that could have formed into this really deep and meaningful relationship after the ending. It'd be interesting to see what that would look like. I imagine both of them were in a rough spot after the ending.
zelda has done it before though, look up Ratatoskr's Yggdrasil Podcast 31 at 1:06:26 where they have a good discussion about it
Anyone who thinks Zelda should have stayed dead is a complete and utter moron. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. It’s teenage edgelord nonsense. Not everything needs to be super-edgy-depressing-grimdark.
@@metroidcypher I listened to it. I disagree with him for many, many reasons.
Yes, Zelda games definitely have Zelda often making a sacrifice.
But he thinks that her reverting back with "no cost" is undermining her sacrifice. It does not. It just doesn't.
I could probably write a book on why her changing back at the end was the correct thing that had to happen and it doesn't diminish the sacrifice even a little.
Just because you don't see the affects afterward, doesn't mean there are none. There are hints in the end that she remembers at least some of it. She says she "doesn't really remember" the key being "really." She might remember some things.
Where Nintendo dropped the ball is in they didn't properly show the emotions of the characters, and if you take their emotions at face value. I can see how Ratatoskr comes to the conclusions he does.
But I think you can just assert that her sacrifice was probably horrifying and devastating for both Link and Zelda. Turning her back allows for them to recover. But she still killed herself, for eternity. She did it, she did the act. That is not something someone just gets over immediately. Even if they ultimately survive and if they don't show the scars of that sacrifice right away.
There is nothing wrong with a story working out well.
The problem is both rulers have sacrificed their lives. Now consider that Link sacrificed himself to protect Zelda and lost his arm... only to get it back immediately. Zelda became a dragon... only to become a human in her own time.
Link and Zelda are exempt from consequences and can live their lives without issue. It stops being a sacrifice. They shouldn't be exempt from the rules everyone else faces and that lone ruins it for people.
Link and Zelda don't need to be killed, but they got off for almost free and arguably even made things better for them by extension. Link's new arm had utility, he gained more then he lost. Zelda went 1,000s of years back to where she was and became human again.
Other people who sacrifice tend to lose massively and this is constant through the series as a whole. When you know this is the likely outcome of sacrifice it means Link could literally get shot and you start playing as Zelda and you know things would 100% work out for Link. Because Link and Zelda will always win and their consequences will be undone.
@@Buglin_Burger7878 You have it completely backwards. Zelda coming back in the end doesn’t make her sacrifice any less significant. She didn’t know she would come back. Link didn’t know he would turn out okay when he threw himself in the way of Ganondorf’s blast. _You_ only think what you think because you have the benefit of meta knowledge.
That cutscene gives me chills and brings a tear of joy to my eyes every time I see it.
Zelda's transformation hits different than Rauru's to me for one other reason:
The end of Zelda's Lullabye in the music.
Throughout ToTK and BOTW, Zelda's Lullabye is referenced in SEVERAL tracks, such as in Hyrule Castle, in the track "Final Catch", and a few other instances. That being said, it's typically the main melody that makes its appearence. In the Sacrifice scene, however, it's the ending bit of the Lullabye, which isn't used nearly as often as the beginning of it. The Lullabye is ending in this scene. Zelda is saying her final goodbye, truly believing she'll never see Link or anyone she cared about again.
Finally, in final Catch, Zelda's Lullabye reappears, but rather than the calm and somber feel it's taken in the duology, it sounds purely joyous, like you're rushing to meet a dear friend that you thought was gone... which I guess is true for both Zelda and Link in that scene.