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[JoshuaJSlone]

I'm probably not the best person to chime in on this as I really don't care if the storyline is rescue the princess or something new, but it'd be nice to see some reason for Ganon's evilness. Or whoever the badguy is.

This whole idea of someone being evil just because they are, or are just after power, isn't that interesting really. It would be intriguing to see a character whose actions are indeed malevolent, but we can see how it came to that, we almost sympathise with him/her.

Failing that, giving the character some degree of depth would be nice. Show that they care for something other than world domination.

Wind Waker covered that a little bit. They didn't exactly make him Charles Foster Kane, but considering what he'd been for the past decade or two it seemed like a lot.

 

[rawk]

If you're looking for a theme/motif from the new Zelda, all indication so far is that it's very horse-based. They could just be holding stuff back as they always do (it's not like the first WW trailer showed ANYTHING about the wind or the sea), but on-horse combat seems to be a big new thing.

I really enjoyed the sense of Hyrulian history conveyed in Wind Waker. I really don't give much of a crap about the story continuity or whatever between Zelda titles (it's not a movie or a novel -- the point is just to figure out puzzles and fight bad guys over and over again into eternity), but the atmosphere is really important. Wind Waker made a great sequel to Ocarina of Time by referencing it as mostly forgotten history. If you played OoT in 1998 and WW in 2002, it was very effective.

 

[Mama Smurf]

At the end of The Wind Waker...

Spoiler

You learn that all Ganondorf ever wanted was to help the Gerudo. The wind graces the land of Hyrule, but always bring death to his desert. He wanted to conquer Hyrule so the Gerudo could have better lives. Apparently absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that never happens, but Aonuma did a very good job at making Ganondorf human. Still my favorite ending of this gen- maybe even all-time. And that's after the pure awesomeness that is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

That's great news! I have to admit, I never actually completed WW. I think I'm close enough to the end that I probably should go back and do it, but it's been a while and is pretty daunting as I have no idea where I'm up to and what I'm supposed to do next anymore.

 

[Jade Knight 08]

What kind of Rage you think Link will envoke once Zelda get killed???

:lol :lol

 

[DDayton]

I'm noticing two interesting groups form whenever a Zelda discussion takes place...

* Folks who cry out for "more story" and loved OoT the most.

* Folks who cry out for "more gameplay" and loved MM more than OoT.

Now, I'm not saying this is a constant, but I have noticed that a lot of the folks who want "more story" more than anything else always point to either LttP or OoT as their favorite Zelda... yet the most involved/complicated/"mature" storylines in any Zelda game yet were in Majora's Mask and Wind Waker. Why is this?

 

[AniHawk]

That's great news! I have to admit, I never actually completed WW. I think I'm close enough to the end that I probably should go back and do it, but it's been a while and is pretty daunting as I have no idea where I'm up to and what I'm supposed to do next anymore.

Here's part of the ending if you don't want to go through (it's worth watching for the art and animation, IMO.

Spoiler

*Link walks into a room with shallow water. In the middle of a room is a small island with a bed. In the bed is a sleeping Zelda/Tetra, and Ganondorf looms over her.

Ganondorf: Do you sleep still?

*Link takes some steps forward*

Wait! Do not be so hasty, boy...

I can see this girl's dreams...
Oceans...
Oceans...
Oceans...
Oceans...
Oceans as far as the eye can see. They are vast seas...
None can swim across them...
They yield no fish to catch...
What did the King of Hyrule say? ...That the gods sealed Hyrule away? And they left behind people who would one day awaken Hyrule?!

How ridiculous... So many pathetic creatures, scattered across a handful of islands, drifting on this sea like fallen leaves on a forgotten pool... What they can possibly hope to achieve?

Don't you see?
All of you...

YOUR GODS DESTROYED YOU!

I have been waiting for you, boy. For one like you... Yes... For the hero.

Do not betray my expectations.

*Boss fight ensues against Puppet Ganon. After the fight, Ganondorf takes Zelda to the top of Hyrule Castle. Link follows.

On top of the castle, Ganondorf stands looking out at the ancient kingdom.*

Ganondorf: My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a
burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed
into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it
came, the wind carried the same thing... Death.

But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose. It can only be called fate.

---
There's more to it than that, but those are parts of the major lines Ganondorf delivers. It did a lot to flesh out his character, and I felt it was very well pulled off.

 

[Mama Smurf]

That's very well written, makes me look forward to the new Zelda that much more.

I'm noticing two interesting groups form whenever a Zelda discussion takes place...

* Folks who cry out for "more story" and loved OoT the most.

* Folks who cry out for "more gameplay" and loved MM more than OoT.

Now, I'm not saying this is a constant, but I have noticed that a lot of the folks who want "more story" more than anything else always point to either LttP or OoT as their favorite Zelda... yet the most involved/complicated/"mature" storylines in any Zelda game yet were in Majora's Mask and Wind Waker. Why is this?

Well I'm on of the anomalies you mention, I prefer OoT and don't care about the story so much. Both MM and OoT have simple stories though (but told in quite a nice way), MM's story was just a bit different than usual.

 

[soundwave05]

The storyline in Zelda: Wind Waker is phenomenonal. A lot of people overlook that because of the cartoony style of the game unfourtunately, but its like Joesph Campbell-level mythic.

 

[FoneBone]

Here's part of the ending if you don't want to go through (it's worth watching for the art and animation, IMO. *snip*

Those cutscenes and the final boss fight were fucking amazing.

 

[AniHawk]

The storyline in Zelda: Wind Waker is phenomenonal. A lot of people overlook that because of the cartoony style of the game unfourtunately, but its like Joesph Campbell-level mythic.

The story is much better told than other Zelda games (jarrod would argue about me with MM, I know). Even still, it's not the main focus of the game. It became a huge focus at the end when it all wrapped up with the spectacular ending. There's so much done in such a small span of time with so few words. It was great for myself as a Zelda fan, because it was completely unexpected.

Some more for Mama Smurf, containing some MAJOR spoilers:

Spoiler

*Link punches the crap out of Link and uses his triforce of courage to form the Triforce*

Ganondorf: Gods! Hear that which I desire!

Expose this land to the rays of the sun
once more! Let them burn forth!

*shouting* Give Hyrule to me!!!

Before Ganondorf can touch the Triforce...

(King) Daphnes Hyrule: He who touches it will have whatever he
desires granted...

That is what you said, is it not, Ganondorf?

*shouting* Wash away this ancient

land of Hyrule!

Let a ray of hope shine

on the future of the world!!!

*normal voice* And let our destinies finally be fulfilled...

Ganondorf! May you drown with Hyrule!!!

*Final battle begins. Zelda/Tetra picks up the light arrows, and Link and her work together to defeat Ganondorf as Hyrule's destruction rains down around them. The final attack is a parry move that has link uppercut with the sword, jump high, and stab downward into Ganondorf's head*

Ganondorf: Ughnn... Heh heh...

The wind...

It is blowing...

*Ganondorf turns to stone*

Daphnes: My children... Listen to me.

I have lived regretting the past.
And I have faced those regrets.

If only I could do things over again...
Not a day of my life has gone by without
my thoughts turning to my kindom of old.

I have lived bound to Hyrule.

In that sense, I was the same as Ganondorf.

But you...

I want you to live for the future.

There may be nothing left for you...

But despite that, you must look forward
and walk a path of hope, trusting that it
will sustain you when darkness comes.

Farewell...

This is the only world that your ancestors
were able to leave you.

Please...forgive us.

Zelda: W-Wait!

You could... You could come with us!

Yes, of course... We have a ship!
We can find it!
We WILL find it!

The land that will be the next Hyrule!

So...

Daphnes: ...

Ah, but child... That land will not
be Hyrule.

It will be YOUR land!

*Water floods the top. Link and Zelda are encased in protective bubbles and they are pulled to the top. Link swims to Daphnes, who puts his arm up. Link cannot reach Daphnes, and Daphnes lowers his arm as Link is swept away towards the surface. The King fades into darkness*

Daphnes: I have scattered the seeds of the future...