Spoiler Saddest Zelda Moment?

[dur.i.am]

I've been trying to think of this answer for a while, and I haven't really been able to come up with a lot to be honest. I read through other members replies to see if I agreed with anything that had already been said, and the only one that I can really claim through experience of the mentioned ones of being a sad moment is the moment in Twilight Princess in which Midna destroys the Twilight Mirror after her little speach to Link. It didn't really make me want to cry or anything like that, but it was quite sad to see. The same can go for the section of the game after you beat the Lakebed Temple and gain the last piece of the mask, and Zant attacks Midna. It wasn't the fact that she got attacked, but the way Nintendo set the environment and weather. It was quite dark and there was heavy rain, and the music was quite slow and was created by using the lower notes of a few instruments if I am thinking of the correct song.

I think the top saddest moment has to be in Majora's Mask when you fail to use the Song of Time before the end of the 3rd day. When the Moon hits the Clock Town, you think about the entirety of death and destruction that has occured, all in the name of mindless violence. It was quite a sad moment to witness in my opinion, and stands as the saddest Zelda moment of all time, until Nintendo can top that of course.

 

[Random Person]

Well... see..., there's sad and then there's emotional.

As far as the saddest moments go, Kafei's is one of them. If you go into Sakon's hideout and don't make on time, what Kafei says is so sad. He tells you to leave him in there. If you have some way to escape and you have no choice but to warp out and leave him trapped there forever. Also on this list is the flute boy on ALttP and the missing guard on ST.

As far as emotional goes, when you rescue Panela's father in MM I was pretty emotional. That annoying background music is replaced by the lovely Song of Healing and you see Pamela and the scientist hugging. Yeah. It got me right here. *points to heart piece*

 

[insanity76]

The ranch on the final day/night after you've done both Romani's and Cremia's sidequests is another sad one.

 

[Atheistbigred]

yeah the ending of links awakening really saddened me, it was also kind of messed up, even seeing the no death alternate ending got me crying, every time i hear the ballad of the windwish i cry. midna's supposed death really got me too i guess i cry to easy, either that or the story can make anyone cry.

 

[DuckNoises]

First and foremost, this needs a spoiler tag.

Rytex, let's not forget that there are many interpretations to the LA ending. However, all of them are sad, so point well received.

However, the saddest moment in my opinion is by far the primary ending to the Anju and Kafei quest in Majora's Mask. I'm not one to dabble in spoilers, but those who have seen the ending to that quest should know that it is very tragic and touching. In fact, it's one of very few instances where I've actually shed a tear over a video game (and I'm man enough to admit that ).

 

[MrMosley]

The only moment I actually got a "sad" feeling while playing Zelda, was the end of Twilight Princess. First, let's think about the other possible sad moments here...

The whole Anju and Kafei scenario was obviously dramatic. Both are in love. They make masks symbolizing their engagement to one another, to later be combined into one mask once they are married. Then, out of no where, Kafei gets turned into a kid. Now, he is obviously sad about this, but Anju has no idea really what's going on. She's only sad because Kafei is missing, but we know he's still alive, so that takes away from the sadness that would be "Kafei is dead". Alternatively, he's just been turned into a kid. Its not like he is actually dead, so there's always the potential for him to turn back into an adult, which is apparently what happens as the two are shown to be getting married in the credits of the game. So, conclusively, the scenario is dramatic, but it has a happy ending which makes the whole thing a lot less, if at all, sad to me.

I'm a big fan of Link's Awakening, but Koholint Island disappearing isn't really sad to me. The fact that Marin is obviously gone could be considered sad, since there is an obvious love interest between her and Link (well, more-so from her towards Link). But in the end, it was all a dream world. Marin never really existed outside of this dream world, so what is there to really be sad about? I could have a dream tonight about the greatest woman I've ever met, but once I wake up, I know it wasn't real. It might be sad that she wasn't real, but this just doesn't stack up well against other potential "real" moments in the Zelda series.

A Link to the Past was filled with what could be considered sad moments, such as Link's uncle dying, the King dying, the Flute Boy disappearing into the influence of the Dark World... There are many there that I think could be considered top of the list. But ALttP has always carried a sort of emotionless feel to it for me. Link has little to no emotion in the game itself, and when the player is experiencing the game through his perspective, it makes other things happening less personal, and less sad.

Mikau's Death in Majora's Mask wasn't very sad at all. Before he flops over dead, he perks up just fine to play a tune on his guitar. The whole scene is really surrounded by less than serious actions and dialogue.

There are probably many I'm leaving out, but I'll end it with the one that I picked. Throughout Twilight Princess, there really isn't a whole lot of Link showing emotion or attachment towards Midna, at least until towards the end. Finally, when Midna's true form is revealed, you understand that she was struggling the entire time be being sealed in the form of an imp, though she never once really let this get to her. She kept to her goal in helping Link save Hyrule and keeping the Twilight Realm from falling deeper into the hands of evil itself. In the end, we find out what she really looks like and who she really is. The last scene clearly shows that Link cares about Midna, and Midna obviously has grown to care about Link. Then, she shatters the mirror with her tears, making it impossible for the two to ever see each other again. Unlike in most other Zelda games, this whole scenario is based on Link's emotion and a character directly connected to him. It is more personal because it has to do with the character you are actually playing and experiencing the game through's eyes. Unlike "Link's Awakening", this attachment actually exists in the real world, so its not like it was a fake attachment to begin with. Knowing this, I conclude that this is the saddest moment in any Zelda game to date.

 

[Octo Rocked]

I think one that needs to be mentioned is in Ocarina of Time when Link leaves Kokiri Forest. Saria stops him, and there's no music playing, so you're fully focused on what she says to you. You feel guilty as you realize that you (as Link) were about to leave without saying goodbye. Saria's okay with that, though. She just wanted to give Link the Ocarina she made for him. Link, though, unsure of how to react, takes it, and then simply runs off. He can't quite figure out how to say goodbye (or he's mute, depending on your interpretation), so he just runs off, leaving her behind. That's the moment that struck me the most. Midna's departure was also a pretty darn sad one, though.

 

[*M i d n a*]

For me, well...I have only played Wind Waker, so my choices would be few. But anyway, I only felt sad when Aryll was taken away by that big bird and Link was left all alone on the bridge.

 

[February Eve]

I'd struggle with "saddest" moment, because I've not felt very sad while playing any of the games. But I can easily pick one that is a similar emotion to me - the ending of Ocarina of Time is extremely bittersweet.

It's not that I don't think Twilight Princess' ending is a contender. It's that I understand Midna's actions there. She's trying to protect both worlds by sealing off the passage between them. I'm a bit wibbly-wobbly about if that was the only way to do so, but after all she'd been through, I can't blame her for thinking that it might be.

Ocarina of Time is still tricky because Zelda's intentions were good. She wanted Link to regain lost time - be "where you are supposed to be...the way you are supposed to be..." She recognized that his heroics were necessary because of her lack of knowledge about the master sword/sacred realm. However, to me, Link has lost something regardless of whether he stays in the adult or child timeline. If he stays in the future, he'd have lost 7 years of his childhood and, as he helps rebuild Hyrule (which I'm assuming he would), he'd constantly see effects of Ganon's reign over the land.

On the other hand, being sent back in time means he has all these adult memories and experiences in the body of a child. He does have the knowledge that he's saved that time, and that's not insignificant, but he's also seen plenty of horrors, and he's the only one who has to deal with them. Navi experienced them with him, but she left. Zelda would listen to him, but still hasn't experienced them. The knowledge of everything that happened is a pretty big thing to deal with on his own.

Because of my view of his character, it's not that I don't think he could deal with it; I think he could and did. Still, I associate childhood with innocence. No matter where he stays, he's lost some of it. It muddles the waters a bit for me on what the "right" thing to do was in that case. Similar to Midna, though, I can't blame (adult) Zelda for thinking that was what she had to do. After all, she'd lived through the seven years Link lost and seen Hyrule fall to Ganon. She had a lot of experiences to deal with as well, and was simply trying to make the best of a bad situation.

 

[Linkanon]

1.) Mikau's Death. He's my favorite Zelda character of all time.
2.) Butterbiscuits video.
3.) Any deaths. Even Ganon, cuz Alex A. is right: he's just an overlooked guy trying to be happy with himself. Especially in OoT. He was trying to make the world a better place in HIS view of life.

Also Anju and Kafei. They're always so happy when you get them back together, but then you have to rewind time and they are torn apart once again.

 

[Epona]

I agree with many here. The flute boy in ALTTP. He can't play his flute anymore, and then when you play it for him, he turns into a tree! When Midna leaves for good is also really sad.

 

[Jedizora]

I was looking at the ending to WW, and I saw something that was really sad. The king of red lions. If you look really closely, you'll see its eyes are closed. Its just a boat now, and you knew this, but this was just heartbreaking for someone that loved to sail in WW.

 

[Sanctal]

When Midna breaks the Mirror of Twilight..

 

[mooper11]

The saddest point in any zelda game is when you beat it. cuz then its over

 

[Skalla]

Gonna go with the crowd and say Midna's farewell. Such a moving scene, and is definitely made moreso by Midna's voice work and Link's expressions. If I hadn't seen the scene before I beat the game completely, I would have cried buckets. You saw Midna progress from this bitter, hateful creature that was only using Link for his ability to switch between the Twilight and the Light worlds, to this caring individual who wanted to see the best outcome for both worlds and not just her own. You can imagine the torment in her heart when she had to decide whether to keep the bridge between the worlds intact and endanger both worlds, or destroy the bridge and never see the land she grew to love or Link ever again. It's quite an emotional scene, and the whole time through, I felt, you can see what's going to happen. But you can only hope she changes her mind or somehow gets stuck in the Light world or something of the sort.

And then there's Link, who makes the most pained facial expression of the game, and gasps and... if he weren't supposed to be the strong, silent hero, I would have very much expected him to cry. Zelda, as well. She lost the link she had to the world parallel to her own kingdom, who she could have aligned with. Imagine - both the Twili and the Hylians uniting toward a common cause in a future game. It would be a perfect alliance against Ganondorf had he returned (and he will). But at least Zelda has wisdom to tell her that Midna had done the right thing. Link is stuck dumbstruck, heartbroken, confused, and alone. I can understand why so many fanfics are written about this ending. There's a lot of thought to work through.

Link leaving the Kokiri forest is a distant second to me. She doesn't want him to leave, but she realized he has to. She leaves him with one treasure to remember her by, then lets him go. Instead of a heartfelt goodbye, he just backs up and takes off. Does he not care? Doesn't he know that he needs to reassure her that he'll return? Doesn't he realize just how painful it is for her to say goodbye to the only friend she feels she can trust? It makes you pity Saria a bit and grow a little resentment for ignorant, naive child Link. Poor girl. And then she goes to live in a Temple for the rest of her life. Yay.