whats even worse about the deku butler and his son is that its during the credits. everyone in termina is celebrating,being jovial and festive. while the deku butler is alone,mourning the loss of his child.
That's what I was thinking. We're able to fix everyone else...reuniting Anju & Kafei, restoring Romani Ranch, giving Lulu back her kids, healing Pamela's dad, etc. but the Deku Butler is the only person we couldnt help. It's excruciating...I wonder what stories we'll see in Botw2. Aonuma said that's gonna be the new darkest game
I love how dark Zelda can get. You can just stroll around the game playing and then one day stumble across dialogue and have that sudden relization..."something is not quiet right here."
Most tragic moment in all of Zelda for me was majora's mask day three at the ranch. When the older sister gives the romani milk (most likely alcoholic) to her little sister so she will be able to sleep through the moon falling.
Something that i was just telling my wife; the deku butler was the hardest hitting for me. When MM came out, my family had seen a total of 8 deaths within 2 years (on my mother's side) and then my dad's mom died right before I finished this game, all while I was still in high school. By the time my dad lost his mother, I couldn't cry. I had gone so numb to the pain of loosing yet another close family member that I felt so guilty over not really showing my dad any emotion that it ate me up. For days I played MM, never finishing the game to see the end credits cause I always restarted before the end of the 3rd day. So when I finished the whole game, I let the credits finally play. Then I saw that scene. I lost my edge and just cried for a whole hour. Something about it, specifically THAT scene, of the butler, someone who was composed all through the game and just completely distraught at finding his son's ...husk, really gets me, even now. I always praise OoT for being so revolutionary and one of the best Zeldas of all time, Majora's Mask was the most impactful for me, just because of how many tragedies are in the game and how harsh it is. For a 'kid friendly' game, it doesn't hold back punches. It will knock you down and make you cry and scare the hell out of you, and I can really appreciate how _honest_ the game is because of that. But that scene alone, man. I'm thankful for it, because it helped me heal, and I felt so silly over it because "it's just a fictional character," but it really did help me heal. As cheesy as it is, the Song of Healing really is named properly, because after that, I tried to heal everything. I even tried going back to his son and playing the song to try and heal him, but of course, nothing happened. It hurt, but it made me realize that Death is just as natural as life, and I have a video game to thank for that.
Something similar happened to me after watching the movie Coco. When I was around seven, my mother's mother died to an illness. I was an impulsive and selfish kid back then, and was never quite fond of visiting my grandparents, though I have some fun memories with them. When my father told me, carrying me on his shoulders, that my grandmother died, I only asked in disbelief if that was true, and then went silent. I think I did not show any emotions whatsoever, only a numb feeling, like a punch to the belly, remained. My mother suffered a lot from this. After her mother died, her father descended into alcoholism, and, I suppose to protect me, she cut off my contact with him. Some year or two later he died as well. Now me, a college student already living on his own for four years, I was watching Coco. And when Miguel sang his song to his grandgrandmother, and later she was shown in the ancestors realm, I broke down and started crying, and could not stop for one hour. I went through my apartment and wept, feeling horrible grief for never saying goodbye properly to my mothers parents, never as a tiny kid expressing how much I loved them or being able to appreciate them for who they were. I felt guilty for not supporting my mother and for never having shown any proper emothoins back then, when it was needed the most. I can, say, I still felt bad after that. What lies in the past I could not chance, even by crying. But at least I realized, that some emotion was there, hidden very deep inside me.
@@meisteryogurt1460 Oh man, I bawled over Coco. I still do. I feel you, I have yet to loose my parental figures, but I can't imagine the feeling. Honestly though, loosing such important figures in your life so young does fuck you up for a while. I'm not surprised you just regressed into yourself.
**Sees the title** **Thinks of at least half the characters in Majora's Mask** Also No.1 would be Link (either Time, Wild or Legend): Cause they lived through it all...
The saddest character moment to me came from windwaker and Links grandmother! She was just such a sweet, innocent old lady whose heart ached to see her grandchildren again. It all turned out alright obviously. But some of her dialogue genuinely tugged at a few heartstrings when i first read them
Something I find amazing is that Revali's theme when Link talks to his spirit is so mournful and evocative that it makes you feel sorry for him, even though he was horrible to Link.
@@Cloudaddy220 The only game that can compete with it is Twilight Princess...that's the only Teen rated Zelda game. Also they're both in the Child Timeline. It's ironic that the one where Link regains his childhood is the darkest
And what makes it worse is that, unlike Anakin Skywalker, his son can't become a spectral avatar. Therefore, the Deku Butler is forced to live not seeing his son for the rest of his days in Termina. Sad, yes, but it teaches us a harsh lesson in life: you can't change yesterday, but you can change today, therefore, affecting tomorrow.
I generally prefer to explore as much as possible, before continuing a story, so I found the guard in the back alley in my first play through. It was a moment that stuck with me for a while.
The changed dialogue in castle town made me want to check the back alleys - a place I found out about because I talked to the npc that tells you about it. I wasn't expecting much else after no one said anything new, thinking it was a shame that they didn't, but it was also understandable. They were hidden, possibly drunk, and likely didn't see anything, ergo, had nothing new to say. (I entered the back alley to the right [link's left] of castle town entrance). The guard was definitely a shock and a bigger shock when I realized he just died and couldn't interact further with him. I'm just floored so many missed him because finding him seemed so natural. if you enter the back alleys by the shooting gallery, you only have to turn a corner once to come across him. He is why Shiro the soldier exists in MM and if you look at his dialogue, it could easily still fit as the thoughts of the dying soldier in oot. If link had thought to give a blue or red potion to the guard, he might've lived, which is why Shiro asks for something to heal him "to be seen/noticed". In the og MM there was a deku scrub merchant that sold blue for 200 rupees in the area and for a long time I thought that was the only potion he would have taken.
I remember when the game came out not putting the deku butler connection together until the credits and then having it hit me like a ton of bricks. Definitely cemented MM as the most emotional and memorable game in the series for me.
Great vid as always, One of the most tragic characters in this series in my opinion is the hero of time the guy: was an orphan bullied Watched a tree die Saw a ton of people get killed save everyone only to get sent back in time to redo the process Lost all his achievements Got ditched by his fairy Got turned into a deku scrub had to deal with majoras mask as a whole(which would double this list) Died regretful and became a ghost At least he got a God mask makes it worth it (assuming he got to keep it)
I always thought his life was the most tragic too... Sounds enough to make anyone go unhinged. Imagine? Saving the world twice and no one remembers you...
Not entirely tragic but definitely sad: in botw, at the Snowfield Stable in Hebra, there's an old man named Monkton. He let's you know of the North Lomei Labyrinth and the Forgotten Temple. However, he only knows of these two locations because he lost two friends -Harry and Mary - there during his younger years. Monkton urged Harry to wonder into the Labyrinth, but he never came back out. And for Mary, while she and Monkton were treking to the Forgotten Temple...Mary uh, fell off a cliff. And Monkton saw it. If you interact with Monkton while he's asleep, he dreams of them. Edit: I thought I had add on here that they were horses. Maybe it wasn't updated. But yes, Harry and Mary were horses.
they were horses this whole time?! i thought when he said their “descendants are here today” he meant the 2 young people (the guy with short black hair) and the pale lady who works at the stable...
Here's a tragic character: Marin from Link's Awakening. She, like the other characters of that game, are condemned to only exist within a dream, meaning although you form a bond with her, she is fated to vanish along with the land she walks on: Koholint. Although at the end an image of hers appears during the ending, should Link not have gotten a game over once, it's not clear what that means. It could mean Link is just remembering Marin as he watches the birds fly in the sky, or something else. Regardless, she was fated to disappear after the island in that dream vanishes upon waking up. As one who's had felt attachment to things in my dreams... I know what it feels like to have attachment to someone or something...only to wake up and realize it was only a dream they existed in... it's heavily disappointing and hurts... Hearing fanmade vocal covers of Ballad of The Windfish...just makes me sad....thinking of Marin... although Hyrule Warriors had her as DLC, not only is Hyrule Warriors non-canon, she isn't even canon in that game, as she has no part in the story, and only is unlocked by purchasing the Link's Awakening DLC for Hyrule Warriors (if playing the 3DS version of the game) or in the Definitive Edition on Switch through the Link's Awakening Adventure Map
Marin made a wish to the Wind Fish to be reborn as a seagull. In the ending in which Link never gets a Game Over, her wish is granted. When Link looks at a seagull at the end of Link's Awakening (all versions), he has a vision of Marin smiling while looking down at him. This is because that seagull is Marin, as in her wish was granted, not because he is remembering her. This imagery does not take place when Link get's at least one game over as for that playthrough, Marin was not reborn as a seagull and perished along with the rest of the Konolint Island inhabitance.
Interesting Fact: In BotW, the Zora are NOT the only long-living race that still remember seeing the Champions and/or Link 100 years prior. Some of the Gorons also remember seeing Link, and even greet him when Link first arrives at Goron City via the main entrance!
@@L337M4573RK You're talking about the goron that greets you by saying "Welcome Master Link!" Right? If you talk to him again and ask him how he knew who I was he explains that his day would be boring if he didn't pretend to meet The Hero every now and then.
The flute boy in link to the past always made my sad. He turns into a tree after stumbling into the dark world. And the boys on death mountain in the dark world is kinda sad to.
I always felt so bad for that butler in Majoras Mask and after seeing the ending credits and saw the scene where he was mourning in front of his dead son, i just cried. Cuz at the beginning of the game, it felt strange that there was this random sad looking tree. And after making these connections after the first dungeon, i already had a bad Feeling about it. Its like you dont really think about it until the end where it then Hits u straight in the feels. Such an amazing game
Definitely would love a mini series of this! LoZ’s depth to their main characters as well as even small background characters is what makes the stories so rich and entertaining. There are plenty of tragic characters in Zelda, not least of which being Link and Zelda themselves -in like every iteration, and I feel like it would provide a very interesting topic for a series. :)
continuing on with the tragedy of Lady Mipha, ive had these theory for roughly two years now, and would like to hear your opinion on it: Mipha has more than healing abilities and also had the ability to briefly see the future of whomever shes healing. In Zelda's diary, shes says Mipha excelled with her divine beast, and they (divine beasts) were found in a ruined state, and i believe she may have healed Ruta to some extent, as she speaks to her as she would another person. Mipha has healed link since he was a child, and it would be a waste of a gift not to heal herself. In the memory where they sit upon Ruta, she says how she would like to spend time with link, implying she knows they will both die. shes saying she would like to spend time with him as spirits. in the memory where the calamity returns, Mipha is about to tell Zelda the secret to her powers, and i think she may have healed her with her words rather than her powers, therefore she knew Zelda would succeed, but doing so too late. also finding out link would be taken to the shrine of resurrection, which is why she later chose not to tell Zelda the secret, as she knew it would be her love for the knight that would unleash her power. She believed with her dying heart that link would return that feeling which is why she never gave him the Zora armor, and died with the knowledge of her secret love for link.
I'm so excited for you to talk about Malladus!!! You never see theories about the two DS games, but those were the games that got me into the Zelda franchise as a child. I'm so excited!!!!!
Queen Rutela cemented Twilight Princess as my favorite. In my first playthrough I was enjoying it, but everything hit very hard when she says, "Though I would give it gladly, I no longer have a life to risk in his rescue." It broke my heart, and I always thought of her as the most tragic character. She was a beloved queen, executed as a message to her kingdom, and lingers as a spirit, unable to sacrifice her life for her son.
Love the red dead redemption 2 reference in the beginning. I played it for the first time this year and it’s climbed up into my top 3 games of all time so to hear “that’s the way it is” and see arthur in the beginning was awesome
Whenever I think of tragedy in Zelda I go toward Ocarina of Time. Games like Majora's Mask and Breath of the Wild tend to litter their themes right in the dialogue or as their main plot, but in Ocarina: Link is tragic in the subtext of the story. His story is everywhere in cryptic phrasing and what we actually know about his character is through those sentences. It says something about his character too, his efforts would've been forgotten in other games, as mentioned in Twilight Princess, but never would you have guessed that just by looking at the surface level of Ocarina of Time. Link lost everything: his home, his father figure, his friends and Navi, the world he would've lived in, his perception of reality as a whole, and his childhood. In this game, it truly feels as if Link is a silent hero, and a tragic one at that.
So you watched oot: masterclass of subtext too? I believe the 5 temples as an adult could also symbolize the stages of grief. Forest temple > denial. So many things changed in terrible ways when link became an adult...Saria dies because he was too late to save her, the forest _his home_ no longer feels welcoming or safe. No one recognizes him. The skull kids despise him because he's an adult. Worse, the deku tree sprout tells him he is an outsider to the kokiri, thus answering why he never had a fairy for years and why Mido treated him the way he did. Going back in time, he could pretend none of it happened. Fire temple > anger. The "red and hazy" environment. The hammer, the switches and bomb flowers. He is now angry at himself, at ganondorf for messing with the gorons _again._ interestingly link is too far away for Navi to interact with darunia to confirm he was really alive or not. After all, we only hear him go through the door, not see him. Link the goron becomes fatherless and the gorons lose their leader. All because you show up too late. Water temple > depression. The ice caverns were the numbness of emotions. The water temple was the up and downs, and many locked doors symbolize feelings you didn't know you had. Dark link symbolizes the darker thoughts that have begun to plague him. Thats why ruto assures him zelda is alive after beating the temple; he needed to hear his efforts were't wasted he wasn't able to save like he did last time. But the bottom of the well where he truly hits rock bottom. He goes back to childhood to play at being an ignorant kid going on a harmless adventure like he used to...only to learn something he shouldn't have, leading to question everything he's been doing up until then. thus The shadow temple > bargaining. He inadvertently traded his innocence for knowledge when he discovered what was beneath the well and behind the graveyard. He wants to be a kid but he can no longer play pretend and the bottom of the well and the shadow reflect that disconnect due to them not having a connected area between them. There are invisible paths because he doesn't know what is true anymore. He doesn't know what to believe. The lens of the truth helps him see the right path. Spirit temple > acceptance. His "inner triforce" is now balanced, his wisdom and power now match his courage. he has fully accepted his responsibility to take down ganondorf and by the end of the temple, shows that he's willing to kill if he must. The child and adult side of the temple intersects in the same room, showing the balance and clear connection; he has no other doubts on what _he_ wants. fighting a stalfos as a child shows how much stronger and wiser you've become since you started this journey. A wolfoes as an adult is nothing. This time link gets somewhere on time...only to be unable to do anything about her getting taken away until he came back as an adult, avenging nabooru after the witches kill her - reanimation is a thing and I feel like that was their intention so she would be easier to brainwash and manipulate. He managed to save her from a fate worse than death, but still ended up losing her like all the others. But he is strong enough now to avenge them. _He can do something._
I do agree that Mipha is a tragic character, but it was Revali's story that really resonated with me. Playing through the game the first time I liked him as a character, but didn't think much of him beyond being the arrogant rival-type (ironic, given he's now my second-favourite character of all time). But playing through a second time (with the DLC), it really made me slow down and take in his whole backstory. He spent his life constantly striving to be the best in the eyes of others, only to fail again and again to prove himself against Link. Even in death, he couldn't admit that Link was truly better, chalking it up to "luck". It's not as dramatic a story as some of the other Champions', but imagine having to live (and die) with feelings of inadequacy, especially when your rivalry seems entirely one-sided.
And here’s the interesting part: in the german translation revali said smth like (if I remember it correctly): “link, u are indeed the key to all of this, u always are.” So I’m rly curious what’s the original japanese text of this… Edit: and in the german version he also admitted that link is actually the stronger one.
@@vacancy959 Really? I didn't even think of checking what his lines were in other translations! They both fit pretty well. For the English dub, it makes sense because Revali worked extremely hard to get to where he is, so seeing how effortlessly Link surpasses him, "luck" probably would seem like the only explanation. But the German phrasing is so clever! It feels like a nod to the fact that Link is always the key to everything in every Zelda game. I'll have to try to look up the Japanese text now...
Hyrule gamer made a video that further proves this. In the video he stares that Revali’s death was more tragic because when fighting windblight Ganon, he was at a significant disadvantage because canonically speaking, rito have poor night vision, which is bad because all of the champions were fighting their blights around nighttime. This means that Revali was fighting an enemy he couldn’t really see, which most likely terrified him. This might be why his SOS in his divine beast theme came later but was much more frantic than the rest.
@@david_laranjeira Well, that's...even more depressing. I'll have to go check it out. It's nice to know there's actually a theory as to why he was at such a disadvantage, especially since people always give him so much shit for losing to WBG.
Not even sure why mipha was included, may as well have included all the champions at that point, just because she had a thing for link and the zora couldn't move on from her death doesn't make her any more or less tragic than the others.
I remember playing A Link to the Past and meeting this person who plays the flute and later turns into a wooden fox, and bawling my eyes out. I think that retrospectively, it's what made me fall in love with the franchise. OoT and Majora's Mask will forever be the best games I ever played because they're so incredibly sad
I think what makes the deku butler's son so memorable is the fact that there is absolutely nothing you can do to help him, especially in a game where helping people is all you do. Even with Darmani and Mikau, you can see them being brought peace, you can see their spirit/body disappearing. The deku is so different from those two that it just FEELS wrong, almost like the player could have done something about it. We never see him in person or what he was like before he died, he doesn't get a song of healing cutscene (the one we do have is more for link than for him, really) and his carcass just stays there throughout the game, looking petrified and miserable, no matter what you do.
Yes, a mini series would be great! I think that one of the most tragic characters in Zelda is definitely Link from ocarina of time, especially if you consider the adult and child timelines and how he’s connected to the spiritual successors in those given timelines.
I'd also add Midna herself to that list. She hasn't died or anything but she did go through a lot of shit and although we restore her back to her lovely true form at the end and she's able to rule over her realm once more in peace, she loses the means to be able to see the arguable one person she's truly formed a bond with, that she can see as a true friend (potentially even something more), who's gone through struggles by her side; Link himself.
I was expecting Grog to take the ocarina of time spot. His whole life he has been depressed, with most people (including his own father) being horrible towards him. And in the end he gets lost on the lost woods and turns into a stalfos.
Worst part is that he went to the woods to die, changed his mind when you reminded him of Kojiro and his sister, but by the time you come back to him to save him, it's too late
I absolutely freakin’ LOVE the little Super Paper Mario references you sprinkled here and there. I know this is technically a Legend of Zelda video, but I adore the fact that you mentioned one of my favorite stories of all time ever, as it rarely gets the recognition it deserves. Thank you SO MUCH! And awesome analysis by the way. Love your videos!
@@lnsflare1 Hello, Xenoblade & Fire Emblem fan here. If you liked the story in Xenoblade 1 and/or 2, you'll probably find Three Houses's story to your liking. It's a war story and much like Xenoblade it has complex tragic antagonists that make you feel for them, and due to their actions the main cast also suffers quite a few tragedies. I'd also recommend Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn because they have great stories and world-building as well, but their gameplay is a but sluggish and outdated compared to 3H.
@@lnsflare1 IMO, the OLED is definitely worth buying. The screen makes a huge difference and they’ve also made the console more firm and durable. Some of the plastic parts of it have been replaced with steel and the joycons don’t bend apart so easily… but it’s not worth buying from a scalper. Don’t support that nonsense with your hard earned money. I wish that nobody would buy from scalpers
Mini series fo sho. My favorite part of Zelda games is seeing the pain and suffering the characters experience. Makes their development so much better in my opinion. Makes you care and feel for their plights.
Link from oot could be one of my favorite tragedies. Some theories say that he's dead, hes lost, he went to brazil or whatever but one of my favorite theories is that majoras mask is Link's journey of grief. Why is he in grief? Because he saved the world and is not only forced to live in a time where all of his adventures never happened, he lost his identity as the hero of time and will never be able to live a normal childhood. There's a video about the whole theory but it's in Spanish
Wow. Watching this casually and the very end scene of Rutella watching over Ralis made me literally cry. I don’t think I ever noticed this. As a mom, clearly I’m more sensitive, but that just wrecked me. Sheesh.
The deku butlers son was probably still alive when majora ripped his soul out reducing his husk to a tree. He was probably hanging out in the deku flower, majoras magic started attacking him, he went to flee the flower and only made it a few steps before unimaginable pain twisted his body around ripping out his soul and rooting him in place.
The guard in the alley is absolutely chilling, especially the first time you see the event. I remember the first time my cousin and I were playing Ocarina and... basically stumbled onto the guy by accident, no guides or cheat sites or anything took us there. So I went to check him out and... yeah, it was really strange to see someone straight-up *die* in the game without turning into black smoke like in Wind Waker or other games.
the alley guard freaked the shit outta me as a kid! At that point in my life that was so dark to me.. cuz no other games i had played went that far. when he didn't disappear I thought maybe it meant you can save him but no luck and I tried to avoid the alley at all cost lol
I was 12 when I played through majora the first time, I remember wishing I could plead with Angu and Kafei to leave or take them with me using the ocarinas magic, feels bad
I would say that Time and MM Link is also a really tragic character. He lost his parents in the war, grew up never belonging in kokiri forest, was given such a heavy destiny where he had to become an adult before his time, gets sent back to a time he no longer really belongs to, and ends up searching for the only companion he really had throughout that journey. No one remembers his accomplishments because he made sure they never had to happen. He's just alone.
Majora’s credits always feel like a huge slap in the face. It’s like, “And everyone lived happily ever after… except for the Deku butler with his own child’s corpse.”
I remember in one of your previous vids you talked about the mystery of the poe collector in OoC. After you talking about the injured guard being a betrayer, perhaps it's the same guard that wanted bad things in the world and he helped Ganondorf and being turned into the poe collector was hit reward.
Not gonna lie, after watching the first few, I could definitely feel myself getting a bit emotional when it came to the Deku Scrub, the thought that the poor dad literally had his son taken from him, and that he had no idea he was gone, and to think of what his reaction must have been when he finally did find his son, but only to discover that his son has died, that’s an extremely sad story. Aside from the timelines, the writers of Zelda really do a great job with story telling, and definitely know how to hit your emotions.
I sort of agree and sort of don't agree with the lead-in. There's no doubt that tragic endings can stick with you. But so can positive and triumphant ones. They are simply two extremes and both can be incredible when done well and both can kind of suck when that's not the case.
I thought the last tragic character you'd talk about would have been OoT Link himself. Dude came back in time to live a childhood that was stripped away from him only to just then go through the trauma of Majora's mask, come back as a forgotten hero, and die before being able to pass his knowledge on to a suitable successor.
It happens far too often where I'll be playing and suddenly get chills from either some dialogue or just NPC behavior because its horribly sad or disturbing.
One thing that I think makes Mipha's death more tragic is that, compared to the other Champions, she is very explicitly *not a fighter.* Daruk's just about the toughest Goron, Revali's the most accomplished archer among the Rito, and Urbosa is literally the chieftain of a warrior race, but Mipha? She's a healer, not a fighter (despite what AoC would have you believe). Whereas the other Champions probably fought with at least the thought that they could *maybe* win, Mipha undoubtedly spent her last minutes in sheer terror as Waterblight Ganon hunted her down.
Majora's Mask is the depression meal of Zelda. It's comforting but spending too much time consuming nothing but it can have a mood dampening effect. Great video!
There’s a fourth wall break in BotW that is a Ghibli reference to the movie Grave of the Fireflies. There is a sub quest in Kakariko village where you need to place 5 fireflies in the room of one of the Sheikah. There you can choose one of two options to say back to her, and the second talks about how the fireflies are going to die soon.
I have a potential theory. The Under a Red Moon shrine quest is quite unnatural. The blood moon is caused by Ganon, but the shrines are older than Ganon ( of corse ) and the pedestal that you should stand on seems to be forced into the ground. It doesn’t seem right maybe you could look at it if you want.
I think many people overlook Botw Link when it comes to tragic story, yes he's still alive but he lost his friends and failed to protect his kingdom and slept for a century, woke up only to know everything he once knew and loved was destroyed not to mention lost his memory overall and people blaming him for calamity and constantly remainding him of his failures
I don't know, I always feel the Zora, Mikau dying is more tragic than the butler's son. I think it's pretty clear he's the father of the baby Zora, and more tragically, he's the only transformation character that no one seems to realize is dead. For some reason, even though the Butler says Link reminds him of his son, he knows he isn't. The Gorons seem to think Link is the hero guy, but they all know he's dead also. They've just sort of accepted he's somehow come back to save them, and none of them are attached to him personally. But the Zora (other than the band manager ) all seem to think that Link is actually the Zora guy . So from the prospect of his children and their mother, he's just going to randomly disappear, rather than the truth, which was he died trying to save his children.
The credits of Majora's Mask just hit you out of nowhere with sadness. Link's leaving Termina back to his home, shows just everything bad you reversed, and then BAM, Deku butler crying infront of his dead child. Why Nintendo?!
in my opinion, i actually think that revali's death was the worst, because of one think: vision. you see, rito have terrible night vision, and we see that the fight against ravali and wind blight ganon took place at night, meaning that revali had to slowly die, wile barely being able to see what was killing him
whats even worse about the deku butler and his son is that its during the credits. everyone in termina is celebrating,being jovial and festive. while the deku butler is alone,mourning the loss of his child.
Who wouldn't be depressed over something that tragic?
Yeah! He lost his son, I'd be sad too!
@@wyatt8292 It's like Amos mourning Cedric in HP. They're both heartbreaking
That's what I was thinking. We're able to fix everyone else...reuniting Anju & Kafei, restoring Romani Ranch, giving Lulu back her kids, healing Pamela's dad, etc. but the Deku Butler is the only person we couldnt help. It's excruciating...I wonder what stories we'll see in Botw2. Aonuma said that's gonna be the new darkest game
@@krishnamckay3247 yes or how Harry literally made the other actors cry when he screamed when Bellatrix killed Sirius
I love how dark Zelda can get. You can just stroll around the game playing and then one day stumble across dialogue and have that sudden relization..."something is not quiet right here."
Hold up, wait a minute, somethin ain’t right!
Yay🥰🥰
Every time I go to kakariko village tbh… ever since ocarina of time that village gives me bad vibes.
Quite*
Most tragic moment in all of Zelda for me was majora's mask day three at the ranch. When the older sister gives the romani milk (most likely alcoholic) to her little sister so she will be able to sleep through the moon falling.
No. She was taken by the aliens and most likely brainwashed and is not herself anymore because of it?
Something that i was just telling my wife; the deku butler was the hardest hitting for me. When MM came out, my family had seen a total of 8 deaths within 2 years (on my mother's side) and then my dad's mom died right before I finished this game, all while I was still in high school. By the time my dad lost his mother, I couldn't cry. I had gone so numb to the pain of loosing yet another close family member that I felt so guilty over not really showing my dad any emotion that it ate me up. For days I played MM, never finishing the game to see the end credits cause I always restarted before the end of the 3rd day. So when I finished the whole game, I let the credits finally play.
Then I saw that scene. I lost my edge and just cried for a whole hour. Something about it, specifically THAT scene, of the butler, someone who was composed all through the game and just completely distraught at finding his son's ...husk, really gets me, even now. I always praise OoT for being so revolutionary and one of the best Zeldas of all time, Majora's Mask was the most impactful for me, just because of how many tragedies are in the game and how harsh it is. For a 'kid friendly' game, it doesn't hold back punches. It will knock you down and make you cry and scare the hell out of you, and I can really appreciate how _honest_ the game is because of that.
But that scene alone, man. I'm thankful for it, because it helped me heal, and I felt so silly over it because "it's just a fictional character," but it really did help me heal. As cheesy as it is, the Song of Healing really is named properly, because after that, I tried to heal everything. I even tried going back to his son and playing the song to try and heal him, but of course, nothing happened. It hurt, but it made me realize that Death is just as natural as life, and I have a video game to thank for that.
Something similar happened to me after watching the movie Coco. When I was around seven, my mother's mother died to an illness. I was an impulsive and selfish kid back then, and was never quite fond of visiting my grandparents, though I have some fun memories with them. When my father told me, carrying me on his shoulders, that my grandmother died, I only asked in disbelief if that was true, and then went silent. I think I did not show any emotions whatsoever, only a numb feeling, like a punch to the belly, remained. My mother suffered a lot from this. After her mother died, her father descended into alcoholism, and, I suppose to protect me, she cut off my contact with him. Some year or two later he died as well. Now me, a college student already living on his own for four years, I was watching Coco. And when Miguel sang his song to his grandgrandmother, and later she was shown in the ancestors realm, I broke down and started crying, and could not stop for one hour. I went through my apartment and wept, feeling horrible grief for never saying goodbye properly to my mothers parents, never as a tiny kid expressing how much I loved them or being able to appreciate them for who they were. I felt guilty for not supporting my mother and for never having shown any proper emothoins back then, when it was needed the most. I can, say, I still felt bad after that. What lies in the past I could not chance, even by crying. But at least I realized, that some emotion was there, hidden very deep inside me.
@@meisteryogurt1460 Oh man, I bawled over Coco. I still do. I feel you, I have yet to loose my parental figures, but I can't imagine the feeling. Honestly though, loosing such important figures in your life so young does fuck you up for a while. I'm not surprised you just regressed into yourself.
Tears 😭
**Sees the title**
**Thinks of at least half the characters in Majora's Mask**
Also No.1 would be Link (either Time, Wild or Legend): Cause they lived through it all...
Legend Link?
@@RentabaAmakura A Link to the Past Link, I think. At least that is the usual one people mean.
He is the Link from A Link to the Past, Links Awakening, and the Oracle games.
Looks at the nicknames used.
I see you. I like that comic too
The saddest character moment to me came from windwaker and Links grandmother! She was just such a sweet, innocent old lady whose heart ached to see her grandchildren again. It all turned out alright obviously. But some of her dialogue genuinely tugged at a few heartstrings when i first read them
Something I find amazing is that Revali's theme when Link talks to his spirit is so mournful and evocative that it makes you feel sorry for him, even though he was horrible to Link.
What's truly saddening is how they translated Revali. In Japanese he isn't that rude - sure, he's got pride, but he just wants to be rivals with Link.
Majora’s mask is arguably the darkest Zelda game
I’d say it’s *inarguably* the darkest Zelda game
& Aonuma said the BotW2 is gonna be even darker
@@Cloudaddy220 The only game that can compete with it is Twilight Princess...that's the only Teen rated Zelda game. Also they're both in the Child Timeline. It's ironic that the one where Link regains his childhood is the darkest
@@Cloudaddy220 nah bro OOT was pretty dark.
@@chadroose6781 i’ve played ocarina of time (trying to 100% it atm) but i have got to say that majora’s mask is darker.
The Deku Butler mourning the loss of his son alone in the woods while Termina is happy and celebrating is so sad and dark
And what makes it worse is that, unlike Anakin Skywalker, his son can't become a spectral avatar. Therefore, the Deku Butler is forced to live not seeing his son for the rest of his days in Termina. Sad, yes, but it teaches us a harsh lesson in life: you can't change yesterday, but you can change today, therefore, affecting tomorrow.
I generally prefer to explore as much as possible, before continuing a story, so I found the guard in the back alley in my first play through. It was a moment that stuck with me for a while.
The changed dialogue in castle town made me want to check the back alleys - a place I found out about because I talked to the npc that tells you about it. I wasn't expecting much else after no one said anything new, thinking it was a shame that they didn't, but it was also understandable. They were hidden, possibly drunk, and likely didn't see anything, ergo, had nothing new to say. (I entered the back alley to the right [link's left] of castle town entrance). The guard was definitely a shock and a bigger shock when I realized he just died and couldn't interact further with him. I'm just floored so many missed him because finding him seemed so natural. if you enter the back alleys by the shooting gallery, you only have to turn a corner once to come across him. He is why Shiro the soldier exists in MM and if you look at his dialogue, it could easily still fit as the thoughts of the dying soldier in oot. If link had thought to give a blue or red potion to the guard, he might've lived, which is why Shiro asks for something to heal him "to be seen/noticed". In the og MM there was a deku scrub merchant that sold blue for 200 rupees in the area and for a long time I thought that was the only potion he would have taken.
The Deku Butler and his son gets me every time. Idk it's just so heartbreaking.
I remember when the game came out not putting the deku butler connection together until the credits and then having it hit me like a ton of bricks. Definitely cemented MM as the most emotional and memorable game in the series for me.
Great vid as always,
One of the most tragic characters in this series in my opinion is the hero of time the guy:
was an orphan
bullied
Watched a tree die
Saw a ton of people get killed
save everyone only to get sent back in time to redo the process
Lost all his achievements
Got ditched by his fairy
Got turned into a deku scrub
had to deal with majoras mask as a whole(which would double this list)
Died regretful and became a ghost
At least he got a God mask makes it worth it (assuming he got to keep it)
His only solace is getting to train the hero of twilight 🥴
I always thought his life was the most tragic too... Sounds enough to make anyone go unhinged. Imagine? Saving the world twice and no one remembers you...
There is a really good OoT fan animation called "Hero's purpose" that really does a good job outlining the Hero of Time's sad story.
@@damianedmundcincurak2657 Ah yes, MajorLink did a great job on that one
@@damianedmundcincurak2657 I have to search for that
Not entirely tragic but definitely sad: in botw, at the Snowfield Stable in Hebra, there's an old man named Monkton. He let's you know of the North Lomei Labyrinth and the Forgotten Temple. However, he only knows of these two locations because he lost two friends -Harry and Mary - there during his younger years. Monkton urged Harry to wonder into the Labyrinth, but he never came back out. And for Mary, while she and Monkton were treking to the Forgotten Temple...Mary uh, fell off a cliff. And Monkton saw it.
If you interact with Monkton while he's asleep, he dreams of them.
Edit: I thought I had add on here that they were horses. Maybe it wasn't updated. But yes, Harry and Mary were horses.
Poor horses
The saddest thing is that he didn't have actual hyliam friends. They were horses
they were horses this whole time?! i thought when he said their “descendants are here today” he meant the 2 young people (the guy with short black hair) and the pale lady who works at the stable...
Here's a tragic character: Marin from Link's Awakening. She, like the other characters of that game, are condemned to only exist within a dream, meaning although you form a bond with her, she is fated to vanish along with the land she walks on: Koholint. Although at the end an image of hers appears during the ending, should Link not have gotten a game over once, it's not clear what that means. It could mean Link is just remembering Marin as he watches the birds fly in the sky, or something else. Regardless, she was fated to disappear after the island in that dream vanishes upon waking up. As one who's had felt attachment to things in my dreams... I know what it feels like to have attachment to someone or something...only to wake up and realize it was only a dream they existed in... it's heavily disappointing and hurts... Hearing fanmade vocal covers of Ballad of The Windfish...just makes me sad....thinking of Marin... although Hyrule Warriors had her as DLC, not only is Hyrule Warriors non-canon, she isn't even canon in that game, as she has no part in the story, and only is unlocked by purchasing the Link's Awakening DLC for Hyrule Warriors (if playing the 3DS version of the game) or in the Definitive Edition on Switch through the Link's Awakening Adventure Map
this would also *now* apply to MM too?.. as didnt the loz encyclopedia mention that termina was some manifestation of majora's powers
Marin made a wish to the Wind Fish to be reborn as a seagull. In the ending in which Link never gets a Game Over, her wish is granted. When Link looks at a seagull at the end of Link's Awakening (all versions), he has a vision of Marin smiling while looking down at him. This is because that seagull is Marin, as in her wish was granted, not because he is remembering her. This imagery does not take place when Link get's at least one game over as for that playthrough, Marin was not reborn as a seagull and perished along with the rest of the Konolint Island inhabitance.
@@Cruptile The encyclopedias made that up
Interesting Fact: In BotW, the Zora are NOT the only long-living race that still remember seeing the Champions and/or Link 100 years prior. Some of the Gorons also remember seeing Link, and even greet him when Link first arrives at Goron City via the main entrance!
might have something to do with how the gorons reproduce
Actually the goron at the entrance is only pretending that he's greeting the legendary link.
@@connerblair8852 That's incorrect, and it wouldn't make any sense. Go back, and read that NPC's dialog again.
@@L337M4573RK You're talking about the goron that greets you by saying "Welcome Master Link!" Right? If you talk to him again and ask him how he knew who I was he explains that his day would be boring if he didn't pretend to meet The Hero every now and then.
But I'll go back and check anyway
The flute boy in link to the past always made my sad. He turns into a tree after stumbling into the dark world. And the boys on death mountain in the dark world is kinda sad to.
I always felt so bad for that butler in Majoras Mask and after seeing the ending credits and saw the scene where he was mourning in front of his dead son, i just cried. Cuz at the beginning of the game, it felt strange that there was this random sad looking tree. And after making these connections after the first dungeon, i already had a bad Feeling about it. Its like you dont really think about it until the end where it then Hits u straight in the feels. Such an amazing game
Great video Scrilliam! 💪
Definitely would love a mini series of this! LoZ’s depth to their main characters as well as even small background characters is what makes the stories so rich and entertaining. There are plenty of tragic characters in Zelda, not least of which being Link and Zelda themselves -in like every iteration, and I feel like it would provide a very interesting topic for a series. :)
Same! there's so many people with sad backstories.. itd be nice to see them all talked about
Feel so bad for Mipha 🥺
They grew up together and she was even near-ready to ask to marry him.
Sidon would’ve made such a great brother-in-law, too…
continuing on with the tragedy of Lady Mipha, ive had these theory for roughly two years now, and would like to hear your opinion on it: Mipha has more than healing abilities and also had the ability to briefly see the future of whomever shes healing. In Zelda's diary, shes says Mipha excelled with her divine beast, and they (divine beasts) were found in a ruined state, and i believe she may have healed Ruta to some extent, as she speaks to her as she would another person. Mipha has healed link since he was a child, and it would be a waste of a gift not to heal herself. In the memory where they sit upon Ruta, she says how she would like to spend time with link, implying she knows they will both die. shes saying she would like to spend time with him as spirits. in the memory where the calamity returns, Mipha is about to tell Zelda the secret to her powers, and i think she may have healed her with her words rather than her powers, therefore she knew Zelda would succeed, but doing so too late. also finding out link would be taken to the shrine of resurrection, which is why she later chose not to tell Zelda the secret, as she knew it would be her love for the knight that would unleash her power. She believed with her dying heart that link would return that feeling which is why she never gave him the Zora armor, and died with the knowledge of her secret love for link.
Spirit tracks had some real slapping music, Chancellor cole’s theme being the top of the tier
I loved the dungeon music in that game, especially the Fire Temple and Sand Temple themes. It was so much better than Phantom Hourglass.
The Sacred Duet and final battle music is also very good
I'm so excited for you to talk about Malladus!!! You never see theories about the two DS games, but those were the games that got me into the Zelda franchise as a child. I'm so excited!!!!!
Queen Rutela cemented Twilight Princess as my favorite. In my first playthrough I was enjoying it, but everything hit very hard when she says, "Though I would give it gladly, I no longer have a life to risk in his rescue." It broke my heart, and I always thought of her as the most tragic character. She was a beloved queen, executed as a message to her kingdom, and lingers as a spirit, unable to sacrifice her life for her son.
Love the red dead redemption 2 reference in the beginning. I played it for the first time this year and it’s climbed up into my top 3 games of all time so to hear “that’s the way it is” and see arthur in the beginning was awesome
Whenever I think of tragedy in Zelda I go toward Ocarina of Time. Games like Majora's Mask and Breath of the Wild tend to litter their themes right in the dialogue or as their main plot, but in Ocarina: Link is tragic in the subtext of the story. His story is everywhere in cryptic phrasing and what we actually know about his character is through those sentences. It says something about his character too, his efforts would've been forgotten in other games, as mentioned in Twilight Princess, but never would you have guessed that just by looking at the surface level of Ocarina of Time. Link lost everything: his home, his father figure, his friends and Navi, the world he would've lived in, his perception of reality as a whole, and his childhood. In this game, it truly feels as if Link is a silent hero, and a tragic one at that.
So you watched oot: masterclass of subtext too? I believe the 5 temples as an adult could also symbolize the stages of grief.
Forest temple > denial. So many things changed in terrible ways when link became an adult...Saria dies because he was too late to save her, the forest _his home_ no longer feels welcoming or safe. No one recognizes him. The skull kids despise him because he's an adult. Worse, the deku tree sprout tells him he is an outsider to the kokiri, thus answering why he never had a fairy for years and why Mido treated him the way he did. Going back in time, he could pretend none of it happened.
Fire temple > anger. The "red and hazy" environment. The hammer, the switches and bomb flowers. He is now angry at himself, at ganondorf for messing with the gorons _again._ interestingly link is too far away for Navi to interact with darunia to confirm he was really alive or not. After all, we only hear him go through the door, not see him. Link the goron becomes fatherless and the gorons lose their leader. All because you show up too late.
Water temple > depression. The ice caverns were the numbness of emotions. The water temple was the up and downs, and many locked doors symbolize feelings you didn't know you had. Dark link symbolizes the darker thoughts that have begun to plague him. Thats why ruto assures him zelda is alive after beating the temple; he needed to hear his efforts were't wasted he wasn't able to save like he did last time.
But the bottom of the well where he truly hits rock bottom. He goes back to childhood to play at being an ignorant kid going on a harmless adventure like he used to...only to learn something he shouldn't have, leading to question everything he's been doing up until then. thus
The shadow temple > bargaining. He inadvertently traded his innocence for knowledge when he discovered what was beneath the well and behind the graveyard. He wants to be a kid but he can no longer play pretend and the bottom of the well and the shadow reflect that disconnect due to them not having a connected area between them. There are invisible paths because he doesn't know what is true anymore. He doesn't know what to believe. The lens of the truth helps him see the right path.
Spirit temple > acceptance. His "inner triforce" is now balanced, his wisdom and power now match his courage. he has fully accepted his responsibility to take down ganondorf and by the end of the temple, shows that he's willing to kill if he must. The child and adult side of the temple intersects in the same room, showing the balance and clear connection; he has no other doubts on what _he_ wants. fighting a stalfos as a child shows how much stronger and wiser you've become since you started this journey. A wolfoes as an adult is nothing. This time link gets somewhere on time...only to be unable to do anything about her getting taken away until he came back as an adult, avenging nabooru after the witches kill her - reanimation is a thing and I feel like that was their intention so she would be easier to brainwash and manipulate. He managed to save her from a fate worse than death, but still ended up losing her like all the others. But he is strong enough now to avenge them. _He can do something._
I do agree that Mipha is a tragic character, but it was Revali's story that really resonated with me. Playing through the game the first time I liked him as a character, but didn't think much of him beyond being the arrogant rival-type (ironic, given he's now my second-favourite character of all time). But playing through a second time (with the DLC), it really made me slow down and take in his whole backstory. He spent his life constantly striving to be the best in the eyes of others, only to fail again and again to prove himself against Link. Even in death, he couldn't admit that Link was truly better, chalking it up to "luck". It's not as dramatic a story as some of the other Champions', but imagine having to live (and die) with feelings of inadequacy, especially when your rivalry seems entirely one-sided.
And here’s the interesting part: in the german translation revali said smth like (if I remember it correctly): “link, u are indeed the key to all of this, u always are.” So I’m rly curious what’s the original japanese text of this…
Edit: and in the german version he also admitted that link is actually the stronger one.
@@vacancy959 Really? I didn't even think of checking what his lines were in other translations! They both fit pretty well. For the English dub, it makes sense because Revali worked extremely hard to get to where he is, so seeing how effortlessly Link surpasses him, "luck" probably would seem like the only explanation. But the German phrasing is so clever! It feels like a nod to the fact that Link is always the key to everything in every Zelda game. I'll have to try to look up the Japanese text now...
Hyrule gamer made a video that further proves this. In the video he stares that Revali’s death was more tragic because when fighting windblight Ganon, he was at a significant disadvantage because canonically speaking, rito have poor night vision, which is bad because all of the champions were fighting their blights around nighttime. This means that Revali was fighting an enemy he couldn’t really see, which most likely terrified him. This might be why his SOS in his divine beast theme came later but was much more frantic than the rest.
@@david_laranjeira Well, that's...even more depressing. I'll have to go check it out. It's nice to know there's actually a theory as to why he was at such a disadvantage, especially since people always give him so much shit for losing to WBG.
Not even sure why mipha was included, may as well have included all the champions at that point, just because she had a thing for link and the zora couldn't move on from her death doesn't make her any more or less tragic than the others.
I remember playing A Link to the Past and meeting this person who plays the flute and later turns into a wooden fox, and bawling my eyes out. I think that retrospectively, it's what made me fall in love with the franchise. OoT and Majora's Mask will forever be the best games I ever played because they're so incredibly sad
Yeah lets make this a series I'd love to see more
Thank you finally someone mentions byrne
I think what makes the deku butler's son so memorable is the fact that there is absolutely nothing you can do to help him, especially in a game where helping people is all you do. Even with Darmani and Mikau, you can see them being brought peace, you can see their spirit/body disappearing. The deku is so different from those two that it just FEELS wrong, almost like the player could have done something about it. We never see him in person or what he was like before he died, he doesn't get a song of healing cutscene (the one we do have is more for link than for him, really) and his carcass just stays there throughout the game, looking petrified and miserable, no matter what you do.
One of my personal favorite tragic characters is Gorman from majora's mask
Yes, a mini series would be great! I think that one of the most tragic characters in Zelda is definitely Link from ocarina of time, especially if you consider the adult and child timelines and how he’s connected to the spiritual successors in those given timelines.
Tragic characters in Zelda certainly sounds like an interesting mini-series.
I'd also add Midna herself to that list. She hasn't died or anything but she did go through a lot of shit and although we restore her back to her lovely true form at the end and she's able to rule over her realm once more in peace, she loses the means to be able to see the arguable one person she's truly formed a bond with, that she can see as a true friend (potentially even something more), who's gone through struggles by her side; Link himself.
I was expecting Grog to take the ocarina of time spot. His whole life he has been depressed, with most people (including his own father) being horrible towards him. And in the end he gets lost on the lost woods and turns into a stalfos.
Worst part is that he went to the woods to die, changed his mind when you reminded him of Kojiro and his sister, but by the time you come back to him to save him, it's too late
@@kitkatboard
It's *poetic justice* how Grog ended up being far more repulsive than his despised family, if you ask ME.
Majora's mask is such a masterpiece of a game but devastating at the same time.
Spirit Tracks was my first Zelda game. Looking forward for the next video
I absolutely freakin’ LOVE the little Super Paper Mario references you sprinkled here and there. I know this is technically a Legend of Zelda video, but I adore the fact that you mentioned one of my favorite stories of all time ever, as it rarely gets the recognition it deserves. Thank you SO MUCH!
And awesome analysis by the way. Love your videos!
Fire Emblem Three Houses definitely has the best Nintendo story in my opinion, because the tragedies in that game were so emotional.
How does it compare to stuff like the Xenoblade Chronicles or Baten Kaitos series?
@@lnsflare1 Hello, Xenoblade & Fire Emblem fan here. If you liked the story in Xenoblade 1 and/or 2, you'll probably find Three Houses's story to your liking. It's a war story and much like Xenoblade it has complex tragic antagonists that make you feel for them, and due to their actions the main cast also suffers quite a few tragedies.
I'd also recommend Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn because they have great stories and world-building as well, but their gameplay is a but sluggish and outdated compared to 3H.
@@JoshRyuu I'll put it on the list of games to get once I can find an OLED Switch that isn't being scalped.
@@lnsflare1
IMO, the OLED is definitely worth buying. The screen makes a huge difference and they’ve also made the console more firm and durable. Some of the plastic parts of it have been replaced with steel and the joycons don’t bend apart so easily… but it’s not worth buying from a scalper. Don’t support that nonsense with your hard earned money. I wish that nobody would buy from scalpers
Also, FE 3 houses is one of the best games on the Switch. Hands down. I actually enjoyed it more than XB Chronicles 1 & 2.
Mini series fo sho. My favorite part of Zelda games is seeing the pain and suffering the characters experience. Makes their development so much better in my opinion. Makes you care and feel for their plights.
Link from oot could be one of my favorite tragedies.
Some theories say that he's dead, hes lost, he went to brazil or whatever but one of my favorite theories is that majoras mask is Link's journey of grief. Why is he in grief? Because he saved the world and is not only forced to live in a time where all of his adventures never happened, he lost his identity as the hero of time and will never be able to live a normal childhood.
There's a video about the whole theory but it's in Spanish
Wow. Watching this casually and the very end scene of Rutella watching over Ralis made me literally cry. I don’t think I ever noticed this. As a mom, clearly I’m more sensitive, but that just wrecked me. Sheesh.
The deku butlers son was probably still alive when majora ripped his soul out reducing his husk to a tree. He was probably hanging out in the deku flower, majoras magic started attacking him, he went to flee the flower and only made it a few steps before unimaginable pain twisted his body around ripping out his soul and rooting him in place.
So much tragedy in Zelda, it's hard to pick a "favourite". lol
Please do a Part II. This is such a fascinating, touching, and purposeful video. Great job
When the king of red lions was not included on the list:
Perhaps the archives are incomplete.
It would be awesome to turn this into a mini series
I've played and beaten BOTW before, but I still cried the other day when I played it and freed Mipha's spirit.
The guard in the alley is absolutely chilling, especially the first time you see the event. I remember the first time my cousin and I were playing Ocarina and... basically stumbled onto the guy by accident, no guides or cheat sites or anything took us there. So I went to check him out and... yeah, it was really strange to see someone straight-up *die* in the game without turning into black smoke like in Wind Waker or other games.
the alley guard freaked the shit outta me as a kid! At that point in my life that was so dark to me.. cuz no other games i had played went that far. when he didn't disappear I thought maybe it meant you can save him but no luck and I tried to avoid the alley at all cost lol
yeah, mipha's story was written well and it is why she is my favorite character in botw
I was 12 when I played through majora the first time, I remember wishing I could plead with Angu and Kafei to leave or take them with me using the ocarinas magic, feels bad
The Zora Queen’s theme from Teiligjt Process was one of the best melodies in all Zelda games.
I would say that Time and MM Link is also a really tragic character. He lost his parents in the war, grew up never belonging in kokiri forest, was given such a heavy destiny where he had to become an adult before his time, gets sent back to a time he no longer really belongs to, and ends up searching for the only companion he really had throughout that journey. No one remembers his accomplishments because he made sure they never had to happen. He's just alone.
Majora’s credits always feel like a huge slap in the face. It’s like, “And everyone lived happily ever after… except for the Deku butler with his own child’s corpse.”
I remember in one of your previous vids you talked about the mystery of the poe collector in OoC. After you talking about the injured guard being a betrayer, perhaps it's the same guard that wanted bad things in the world and he helped Ganondorf and being turned into the poe collector was hit reward.
Not gonna lie, after watching the first few, I could definitely feel myself getting a bit emotional when it came to the Deku Scrub, the thought that the poor dad literally had his son taken from him, and that he had no idea he was gone, and to think of what his reaction must have been when he finally did find his son, but only to discover that his son has died, that’s an extremely sad story.
Aside from the timelines, the writers of Zelda really do a great job with story telling, and definitely know how to hit your emotions.
I am so glad Prince Ralis is getting more attention! He is one of my favorite side characters in the series.
I haven’t played Majora’s Mask yet, but hearing the Deku butlers son passing away and seeing him morn gets me every time.
Love that you used that rdr2 song. Absolutley love zelda's creepy and dark moments. They just add to the fun of the games.
I love how the video is about tragedy and loss and then it just ends off with Malo Mart playing for the outro
Okay, I'm pregnant and my hormones are all over the place, I am crying hysterically watching this 😭😭😭😭
Congratulations, hope you have a healthy and beautiful child!
@@RenegadeGamer89 oohh thank you so much 🙏❤️
@Nate Zurlent aaww much appreciated, thank you 🙏 🥰
This has nothing to do with being pregnant dude 👀
I sort of agree and sort of don't agree with the lead-in. There's no doubt that tragic endings can stick with you. But so can positive and triumphant ones. They are simply two extremes and both can be incredible when done well and both can kind of suck when that's not the case.
I thought the last tragic character you'd talk about would have been OoT Link himself. Dude came back in time to live a childhood that was stripped away from him only to just then go through the trauma of Majora's mask, come back as a forgotten hero, and die before being able to pass his knowledge on to a suitable successor.
I was thinking of the probably most tragic character in oot, link, actually, in oot and mm
15:15 "where there is death, there will always be death"
~ MIB 3
I'd love a series of this, honestly
Omg SPIRIT TRACKS YES! I love spirit tracks it was my first zelda game I have a recreation of the lokomo sword on my wall I hate how under rated it is
In the Manga(Non-Canon) the Deku Princess had feelings for the Deku Butler's Son.
0:52 I remember playing paper Mario and finishing the game I wish Tippi was back😢
I still think the hero of time has the most tragic story of all…😞
Could definitely see this becoming a mini-series, there's no shortage of tragic characters in the franchise
Hearing "that's the way it is" from rdr2 in a loz vid gave me goosebumps. Such a good song
It happens far too often where I'll be playing and suddenly get chills from either some dialogue or just NPC behavior because its horribly sad or disturbing.
Honestly one of the best segways for a sponsor i have seen
Man, did you have to play THAT song and make me cry right out the gate?!
One thing that I think makes Mipha's death more tragic is that, compared to the other Champions, she is very explicitly *not a fighter.* Daruk's just about the toughest Goron, Revali's the most accomplished archer among the Rito, and Urbosa is literally the chieftain of a warrior race, but Mipha? She's a healer, not a fighter (despite what AoC would have you believe). Whereas the other Champions probably fought with at least the thought that they could *maybe* win, Mipha undoubtedly spent her last minutes in sheer terror as Waterblight Ganon hunted her down.
Majora's Mask is the depression meal of Zelda. It's comforting but spending too much time consuming nothing but it can have a mood dampening effect.
Great video!
I would enjoy a mini series about this stuff and other small details that don’t warrant a full video.
There’s a fourth wall break in BotW that is a Ghibli reference to the movie Grave of the Fireflies. There is a sub quest in Kakariko village where you need to place 5 fireflies in the room of one of the Sheikah. There you can choose one of two options to say back to her, and the second talks about how the fireflies are going to die soon.
Zelda feels like a very dark series, not just looking at Majora's Mask. But so much is left up to interpretation.
Favorite game to describe is "SMT: Nocturne" (2003). "It's starts off with the end of the world; it goes downhill from there."
I have a potential theory. The Under a Red Moon shrine quest is quite unnatural. The blood moon is caused by Ganon, but the shrines are older than Ganon ( of corse ) and the pedestal that you should stand on seems to be forced into the ground. It doesn’t seem right maybe you could look at it if you want.
Me: Beginning to feel bad for the back alley soldier in OoT
Soldier: I tried to stop Ganondorf's MEN from chasing-
Me: Say WHAT, now!?
I think many people overlook Botw Link when it comes to tragic story, yes he's still alive but he lost his friends and failed to protect his kingdom and slept for a century, woke up only to know everything he once knew and loved was destroyed not to mention lost his memory overall and people blaming him for calamity and constantly remainding him of his failures
By far the part where i was in the most tears was mikau and lulu in MM 😭🥺 Mikau dying trying to fight for the eggs and lulu’s face and silence
I don't know, I always feel the Zora, Mikau dying is more tragic than the butler's son. I think it's pretty clear he's the father of the baby Zora, and more tragically, he's the only transformation character that no one seems to realize is dead. For some reason, even though the Butler says Link reminds him of his son, he knows he isn't. The Gorons seem to think Link is the hero guy, but they all know he's dead also. They've just sort of accepted he's somehow come back to save them, and none of them are attached to him personally. But the Zora (other than the band manager ) all seem to think that Link is actually the Zora guy . So from the prospect of his children and their mother, he's just going to randomly disappear, rather than the truth, which was he died trying to save his children.
I literally started a new stardew farm yesterday. Hell of a coincidence.
Bought the moblie game about a week before i watched this
Perfect timing my guy
nabooru being tragically brainwashed for SEVEN PAINFUL YEARS and be forced to fight link.
i'd love to see this as a mini series.
Wherever there is light, there must be shadow
Love the inner-monologue bit.
The credits of Majora's Mask just hit you out of nowhere with sadness. Link's leaving Termina back to his home, shows just everything bad you reversed, and then BAM, Deku butler crying infront of his dead child. Why Nintendo?!
in my opinion, i actually think that revali's death was the worst, because of one think: vision. you see, rito have terrible night vision, and we see that the fight against ravali and wind blight ganon took place at night, meaning that revali had to slowly die, wile barely being able to see what was killing him
Keep on doing these videos, make a mini series!
We really don’t know if the guard is saved when link goes back in time, as it’s said that a war still breaks out when ganondorf is found out.
I remember that dead soldier scene. I was like, “Oh no. He’s dead. The poor bloke is dead.😨”
oh no... the soldier... he's dead...
...im on tiktok too much....
Is it the Twilight soldier that was cold?
@@goodnightmyprince6734 the ally way soldier in OoT.
@@NerdySalemSays I literally was about to say the same thing 😂
Tragic characters in Zelda? You can make 3 videos on MM, TP and BotW each lool great video man
Definitely a mini series!!