Daily Debate: Should We Play as a Villain in a Zelda Game?
Posted on September 24 2014 by Tyler Meehan
A few days ago I was thinking about
Hyrule Warriors (as one is wont to do), this time focusing mainly on how cool it’s going to be playing as Ganondorf, Ghirahim, Zant, and the game’s unique villains, and a thought came to mind: what if that happened in an actual, canon game? Not necessarily a case of switching between various characters, like in Hyrule Warriors; what if Nintendo released a Zelda spinoff where you played as the villain throughout the entire experience? Perhaps as a sort of prequel to one of the canon games?
My mind immediately jumped to
Ocarina of Time, as that game’s Ganondorf definitely has a lot of backstory and moments that could be used to create such a game. Showing Ganondorf’s life amongst the Gerudo tribe, the gathering of his followers and their war against Hyrule, perhaps even culminating in his final attack on Hyrule Castle and obtaining the Triforce of Power… There’s a lot of ground that could be covered.
It wouldn’t have to deviate much from the traditional
Zelda formula, either. A younger Ganondorf could traverse the Spirit Temple to prove his worthiness of commanding the Gerudo to their Goddess of the Sand; he could explore darker, more sinister dungeons of Hyrule as he starts to plot the kingdom’s downfall; he could travel through well-known locales like Dodongo’s Cavern as he seeks the Spiritual Stones. And, of course, he could battle his way through a host of Hylian Knights as he heads to the throne room to take out the King of Hyrule during his usurpation—and how cool of a final boss battle would that be? King of the Gerudo vs. the King of Hyrule? Definitely some promise there.
There’s also the fact that this would let us see Ganondorf’s backstory and motivations firsthand. We learn of Ganondorf’s reasons for conquering Hyrule in
The Wind Waker, but that’s a short summation of his goals many years after the fact, when the Dark Lord has had centuries of imprisonment to grow wiser and reflect on his past. There could be a whole host of other contributing factors and emotional moments that we have yet to learn about. How did Twinrova become his “surrogate mother”? Was Ganondorf always respected amongst his people, or did he have to earn it from a young age (yes, Gerudo law dictates he must be their king, but that hardly forces them to respect him)? Did he always intend to conquer Hyrule, or was there a time when he might have settled things more peacefully? How did he manage to deceive the King of Hyrule into thinking he was trustworthy?
Basically, what happened in his life to lead up to the events of
Ocarina of Time?
Fans are often saying that they’d love to have a game exploring
Sheik’s actions during the seven years Link was asleep, but after thinking about it I almost want to say that a game from Ganondorf’s perspective would be a more fascinating option. And of course, that’s just one example of a villain-centric title. Could we see more of the Twilight Realm by having Zant explore it in preparation for his kingship or eventual usurpation? What was Ghirahim up to prior to
Skyward Sword? Could we learn more about Agahnim by showing the events leading up to A Link to the Past? Heck, if we’re going that far back in gaming history, how about a game showing how Ganon infiltrated Hyrule and captured Princess Zelda prior to the original Legend of Zelda?
There’s a ton of potential in such ideas, and if they tried I think Nintendo could give us some incredible moments and revelations concerning the villains we love to hate. Do you think this could work? Which game and villain would you want to see and play as? Head into the comments to give us your thoughts and join the Daily Debate!
