General Zelda Adding a Sense of Mystery to the Villain

[DuelMark]

We all love plot twists in the series (Except when it's something we find kind of messed up) I think that it's because we like twists, kind of like mysteries. And that's what I'm here for.

I actually like mysteries, I'm not good enough to solve a real one, but I like the idea of figuring out who the bad guy is due to clues. There are plenty of games with a great amount of mystery to them with the villain's identity reveal being kind of clever.

Take Persona 4 for example (For those who haven't played it, or seen Persona 4 The Animation, I've graciously put it in spoiler)

Spoiler

So, as the group believes that former politician Narutame is the killer, Yu Narukami (Yes, I know he's nameless in the game, but because he's called that in the anime and in other versions, I'm calling him that) questions if he is due to his belief that he's saving the victims, meaning he didn't really know that the TV world was dangerous, and that Yu received threat letters telling him not to "save" anyone. Naoto suggests the real killer must be someone they know. Yu believes it may be his uncle's assistant, Tohru Adachi. At first Adachi seems clueless, but when the others start barraging him with questions, he shouts "Narutame did it! He threw them in there!" Suddenly, he inadvertently revealed he knew about the TV world. Naoto then points out that when they found Narutame's journal, pointing out it lists all of the disappearances and the sole murder that was done by another killer wasn't on the list, Adachi claims that it proves he's the real murderer. They question why he would think that, as only they knew the disappearances were kidnappings and attempted murders and yet he already knew there was a connection when the police saw them as separate crimes. From then on, he shows his true colors and admits to the murders.

I'm suggesting that maybe one of these days, we should have a game where the villain's identity is a secret because he wears an armor or some clever disguise, he's among Link's or Zelda's friends and it's your job to figure out who it is.

Sound interesting?

 

[Salem]

If it turned out to be Ganon after all, then no. But other than that, I'm okay with it I guess.

 

[A Link In Time]

The notion of mentor as villain has always appealed to me, not necessarily as the primary antagonist, but as an impediment in the hero's journey and a transfer of power to the next generation. It's worked in visual entertainment plenty of times before such as the recent second Legend of Korra books, and this would feel natural in Zelda while also branching out from archetypal villains.

 

[Ventus]

I like the idea a lot, however there may be a fundamental disconnect from plot twist to what happens onscreen. Nintendo loves to spell out "VILLAIN" with giant neon lights, so for this to work out, the villain would actually need to be secret. We shouldn't have any immediate cues as to who it is.

 

[ihateghirahim]

What if the murderer turned out to be the guy you play as, and there were hints all along? Now that could be cool.

 

[Salem]

What if the murderer turned out to be the guy you play as, and there were hints all along? Now that could be cool.

Pretty sure Zelda isn't a Silent Hill game.:xd:

 

[ihateghirahim]

Well, I don't expect Zelda to do it, Sroa, but it's a cool idea. Maybe I'll try SH some time.

 

[Salem]

Well, I don't expect Zelda to do it, Sroa, but it's a cool idea. Maybe I'll try SH some time.

You should, I suggest you try the first three games first, try four as well, some say it is when the series went downhill but I liked four ads well.

also the number of posts you have now is 1666. :xd:

 

[HappyMask]

You should play Braid. Nice twist.

 

[Random Person]

Oh, you mean like how Ganon was secretly Aghanim? Or how Majora was just using Skull Kid? Or how Ganondorf was pulling the strings behind Zant?

JK, I know what you actually mean.

This is just another example of how Nintnedo could improve by stepping out of their basic storytelling in the series. Will they do that? The evidence suggests "no" as we tend to eat their games up no matter what story they throw at us (I love most of their stories anyway) but that doesn't mean we can't hope.