General Zelda Why Don't the Villains Try to Kill You More?

[Mangachick14]

The title says it all. Why the heck don't the villains try to kill Link more? I mean, many of them had several ample opportunities to do so, and they just... don't. For example, at the beginning of TP Zant has you locked up and unconscious for lord knows how long, and yet he neglects to even attempt to kill you. Why is that? Doesn't he want to win?

 

[Salem]

That would mean more boss battles, since it's the same villain this means a repetitive boss battle, who know.

 

[Mangachick14]

That would mean more boss battles, sense it's the same villain this means a repetitive boss battle, who know.

What if they did a very brief fight in a cutscene? It would at least reinforce the idea that villain actually wants to win.

 

[surferguy7]

Because whenever we actually get a threatening villain like Ghirahim that tries to kill you on multiple occasions, some people like to cry "omg he failed at killing you weak villain."

Apparently intimidation to some people means sitting on a throne and doing nothing.

 

[Ventus]

Zant didn't try to kill Link because Link was inconsequential to his rule. He was a pest by all means. Link couldn't even touch Zant with the regular Master Sword; there was no reason to consider him a threat.

Ghirahim on the other hand, he was a weakass villain and didn't go all out the second time through. He himself noted that the G.Sword was the only reason why Link was alive, and yet...and yet he didn't take extra precautions. Sure, he succeeded in his plan - reviving Demise - but his plan was all for naught when he didn't put special consideration on Link.

In general, I'd chalk villains not hurting Link because he is seen by them as a mere fly. Flies typically don't do anything but run away if you swat at them. However, they always forget that flies do return not long afterwards.

 

[surferguy7]

Ghirahim on the other hand, he was a weakass villain

Right on cue.

 

[Big Octo]

Because that would make too much sense.

Good question, I'm not too sure myself. I'd actually like to see a villain whose true motives change from something clichéd (world domination!) to simply killing Link. No thirst for mystic power, just a deep-rooted anger against the hero, making the villain's main goal to destroy him. In the end of course, this won't happen. To prevent the villain from seeming weak, the villain could kill off some major characters to show that he doesn't mess around. To go even further, he could nearly kill Link, who must become to stronger to theart the villain, or actually kill him, which would force a convoluted resurrection plot device, making the former idea more appealing.

 

[Ventus]

just a deep-rooted anger against the hero

Are you hinting at a possible quest-changing for future Hero Mode installments?

 

[The Wanderer]

The simple answer is "Because it's inconvenient for Nintendo." To some extent, it may be inconvenient to the villains as well. It's a huge world filled with giant, ugly monsters. Surely one of them will do the hero in. No need to lift a finger.

Zant may not have killed Link right away because he recognized him as having the Triforce of Courage, something his master Ganondorf would surely have wanted for himself. Perhaps later, Zant changed his mind and decided to kill the pest when he became too bothersome, as evidenced when he brings old monsters back to life (Stallord) and shattered the Mirror of Twilight to slow him down. It's difficult to say for sure.

Still, I would like to see the villains themselves become more active in shortening the hero's future. We don't need the same boss battle every time, but the danger could manifest itself in several ways. One event could be a horde battle. Another could be a tense chase. As Mangachick mentioned, it could even be just a cutscene. However it's done, a greater sense of pervading danger would probably help the Zelda series. Can we really be expected to believe we're going up against the greatest evil when we go virtually anywhere uninhibited? We don't really get a sense that the villain is so horrible. In Twilight Princess, how do the townsfolk react when Hyrule Castle falls to Zant? With almost nothing. They live life as normal, and Zant doesn't seem to be doing a darn thing to remind them he's not nice. Some soldiers are still stuck in the castle and traumatized by the Twilit beasts, but it's not a pervasive sense of danger.

 

[Random Person]

The simple matter is, Link is not seen as a threat. If a one year old boy ran up to you and started sissy slapping you, you probably would just ignore him and keep walking (ignoring the concept that a one year old hates you for some reason and that his parents let him run up and start slapping you.) If that one year old grows up to be a gun wielding gang member and kills you, it's a similar situation. You won't hurt a one year old because its not a threat, but had you, you would've saved yourself a death from his later form. The first encounter in OoT with Ganondorf sums it up. Link simply isn't worth these villains time which is why Ganondorf sends a simple beam of energy to show Link how outclassed he is. It's a matter of underestimating what Link will become. The villains don't know of the threat he will become and thus don't bother. Even if they for some reason want to kill him (like Zant and Ghirahim try to do) it's not worth trying their hardest. This is a minor inconvenience, it makes no sense to throw all their power trying to swat a fly. If they fail to kill him, its highly unlikely such a foe will become a serious threat in the future.

The only time a villain truly should've killed their prey that I can think of is when Zant encounters Link in the Arbiter's Grounds. At this point, Link has established himself a major threat and Zant should've taken care of him right then and there. But other times, if the villain had tried to kill Link at when he posed almost no threat, it would've been way out of character.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

i think these guys should start looking up hyrule's history so they'll learn about the legendary hero that saved hyrule before from destruction,look at the similarities b/w them,connect them to the guy that's starting to cause problems,put 2 and ****ing 2 together
AND THEN focus their attention on eliminating the potential hero

 

[Ventus]

If they fail to kill him, its highly unlikely such a foe will become a serious threat in the future.

I agree with this as far as Zant is concerned; all Zant really cared about was power - and of course ruling over both the Twilight and the Light realms. However, Ghirahim makes a point to throw a hissy fit over Link's surviving the first encounter. I understand that it would (literally) be out of character for Ghirahim to even attempt to murder Link, but Link was an established threat right from the encounter at Skyview. Why leave him alone? Why not cripple him?

 

[onebizarrekai]

That's a good question. It really makes no sense to me as to why the villain doesn't try to dispose of you before you're at your highest strength and actually stand a chance against them. The one that made the most sense was with Ghirahim, y'know, cuz that's just how he is. It makes sense if you think about it.

And even when they do try to get rid of you, they aren't even trying their best. Their attempts to stop you really aren't doing anything but making you stronger. Why don't they try a bit harder, seriously?

 

[surferguy7]

I understand that it would (literally) be out of character for Ghirahim to even attempt to murder Link, but Link was an established threat right from the encounter at Skyview. Why leave him alone? Why not cripple him?

During Skyview, Link was barely even a threat, so Ghirahim didn't think much of it.

Even in the Earth Temple, Ghirahim pretended as if he didn't know Link's name, pretty much cementing the fact that he still treated Link like a toy and he just used Scaldera for giggles. In fact, it's pretty justified considering Zelda would have been kidnapped if it weren't for Impa.

I don't think Ghirahim really took Link all that seriously until the little Temple of Time scene. After that he's usually just too busy for Link or he actually tries to kill him. Please get over your blind hatred for everything Skyward Sword for a total of 10 seconds and perceive the facts.

And why are we pretending as if this is a Zelda villain exclusive problem? Thousands of TV shows, movies, and books have their villains spilling out exposition while the hero thinks of ways to get out of their current situation. Point being, are we really expecting Link to be killed at one point? For every hurdle any Zelda villain throws at Link, he's eventually going to succeed, so really, where is this discussion going?

 

[Mangachick14]

If they fail to kill him, its highly unlikely such a foe will become a serious threat in the future.

Yes, but what if they don't fail? Well, not in their minds, anyway. What if at the beginning of the game the villains beats you and leaves you for dead? Of course, someone finds you and saves you before you actually die, but the villain is under the impression that you are dead. I think this would establish the villain as a major threat who means business, without making them look weak.