endless potential of the Lost Woods

[WyJim]

the more I think about the Lost Woods the more I realize it's maybe my favorite area in all Zelda games

though disappointing in Breath of the Wild as it's turned into a shrine quest mini-game despite its great atmosphere...
I think I like the nearby region shrouded in perpetual darkness much more as it retains the mystery and potential of the Lost Woods of old..

I'm old school so the first time I encountered this area was in A Link to the Past.. even then it had a moody aesthetic and mystery to the area and charm too both in the light and dark worlds.

but it was truly defined as an experience in Ocarina of Time. being a trap for lost youth as a theme. go there and get lost and either become a Stalfos or a Skull Kid... situated right beside child Link's treehouse peaceful village was this mysterious playground of dark danger.

a place where the rules of reality seemed to bend and it could transport you anywhere on the world's map.

I'll argue it also led to some of the most darkly emotional elements of the game with Saria, the Skull Kids, and the guy who becomes the Stalfos or so we're told.

It's mysterious nature is even furthered in Majora's Mask where it seems to be a portal to other dimensions that are either actually physical or of a Jungian mindscape nature.

timeline wise when we see it again in Twilight Princess it represents nature reclaiming man's glory and spirituality as it has swallowed the temple of time up and hidden it from the world once again..

I truly believe a whole Zelda game could be set in this area and I would be satisfied.

As much as Zelda is about riding your horse over the expanses of the whole kingdom of Hyrule with the triumphant classic theme playing, I still would be just as fine with only being left to the Lost Woods with Saria's theme faintly playing somewhere off in the distance... I'd rather be sitting on the stump just outside the forest temple in OoT than to be on the tallest peak in Breath of the Wild or climbing the stairs to the throne room in Hyrule Castle

and the mind bending nature bending rules of this area could really be played with in a game set only in this area.

I would want something along the lines of a dark fantasy theme. Something like David Bowie's Labyrinth almost meets the child stealing fayes or elves from folklore and fantasy.. mixed with the early part of Majora's Mask meets the early part of Alice in Wonderland...

the overgrown forest could bend all rules of reality.. pulling elements of the ruins of villages into the overgrowth.. Link could stumble upon parts of dungeons in there that entertwine into other trippy areas and mindscapes like Majora's Mask or Alice in Wonderland...

the elves could be dark elves like from the recent God of War game... and mythology..
we could really dive into the danger of imps like the Skullkid more...
we could see horrifying transformations of children or men into Stalfos...
wolves (wolfos) could stalk us through the forest like a Grimm's fairytale horror story..
Phantoms (Phantom Ganons) could ride like headless horsemen through the dark forests chasing us at night...
we could disoriented looking for lost loves and friends like Saria... sages who try to guide us out of the forest or back into the light...
we could find buried history in the mysterious ruins of Hyrule we find there like archaeologists trying to unravel the past...

I don't know...

this area is just really affecting....
always has been...
at least to me..
and I'm sure others as well.

Goblin Feet

I am off down the road Where the fairy lanterns glowed And the little pretty flittermice are flying : A slender band of grey It runs creepil...

oxfordinklings.blogspot.com

 

[GZ Zelda]

this is a wonderful thread.

 

[Uwu_Oocoo2]

I the idea of having a game based in/around the lost woods is mega intriguing. It would make a good general overworld area, with passageways such as the ones in oot lead to strange lands far from hyrule, maybe even a termina cameo. Maybe there could be some sort of skull kid transformation mechanic if you wander too far or for too long.
The lost woods has always been one of my favorite areas, I greatly enjoyed mapping it out and trying to memorize all the different paths. The one in botw was dissapointing, normally the goal of the lost woods is to mislead travelers and lure them farther and farther from where they intended to go. The one in botw kinda just has one set path and then it plops you back at the beginning, it also isn't nearly as majesty. (I have actually theorized before that the lost woods we see in botw aren't the actual lost woods but I digress). Overall a very interesting concept!