A Royal Assist
Posted on April 03 2011 by Trevor Magnani
Destructoid recently posted a new entry in The Memory Card. In this entry Chad Concelmo talks (for the third time) about The Wind Waker. However, this time Chad focuses on the ending and how it established Zelda as more of a helping character that fights along side Link rather than stand hopeless on the sidelines.
The first half of the article sets the scene for the moment, detailing the final cut scenes leading up to the final encounter with Ganondorf. Chad believes that Zelda was much more of a helpful character in The Wind Waker as opposed to Ocarina of Time, and backs up his opinion in his post.
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Throughout the entirety of Wind Waker, Tetra/Zelda is a major part of the story. She helps Link in so many situations, easily becoming the game’s second main character (outside of the King of Red Lions, of course).
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As soon as Zelda wakes up, she is not going to stand on the sidelines like the end of Ocarina of Time. She is there to fight. She is there to do whatever it takes to put an end to Ganondorf.
To conclude the post Chad discusses how the Ganondorf battle in Twilight Princess borrows similar side-by-side fighting as seen in The Wind Waker.
I agree with Chad that this moment changed the Zelda franchise, as we have now seen 3 final battles where Link had Zelda by his side for at least part of the battle. In Twilight Princess Link and Zelda chased down Ganondorf on horseback, Zelda would fire light arrows at Ganondorf when Link was close enough. Similarly in Spirit Tracks, Link would distract the Demon King Malladus, and Zelda would fire light arrows into his back. We have seen Link and Zelda take on the final boss in the last 3 out of 4 games, but it is yet to be seen if we will see a similar role for Zelda in the upcoming Skyward Sword. Chances are good that if Zelda is involved in a boss battle, she will use light arrows.
What do you think of the partner battles in Zelda? Do you think we’ll see one in Skyward Sword? Let us know in the comments!
Related: The Wind Waker Walkthrough
