Spoiler Zant - What Should Have Happened?

[Justac00lguy]

Zant is definitely one of my favourite figures in Zelda, I won't go into detail, but I just feel his odd persona, his creepy presence, his general aura etc. all gave him this powerful role - something that I think is unique in this series.

I think people are split though, his controversial twist in attitude once we encounter him in the Palace of Twilight, turned heads. He completely lost his composure and with it, his standout persona. Now I think that it was beneficial that he did this in order to introduce and build up Ganondorf, but I can't help thinking "what if?"

So this question is for you guys, what should have happened? Do you think this twist was the best option? Or do you see a better way in what could have made those set of events better?

 

[A Link In Time]

Zant's turnaround in the Palace of Twilight is inconsistent with his earlier behavior in Twilight Princess. Prior to his revelation, I thought he was a menacing badass on par with Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time. Zant's facial reveal was teased earlier in the game, building a sense of fear and anticipation. After seeing his spiky teeth, I imagined a demon desiring blood lust, yet he resembled a stereotypical alien humanoid reminiscent of those found in studies claiming to have found extraterrestrial life.

Zant's last stand was a very anti-climatic moment that could have been improved with a more menacing, aggressive look and tone.

 

[Cfrock]

I don't think anything should have been done differently; Zant was one of the most memorable and enjoyable villains in the entre series. His change in behaviour was consistent with his character. We are shown that he was a weakling who desired nothing but power before he encountered Ganondorf and at the end he did not 'change' into a lunatic, he just revealed his true nature. The time he spends as an ominous, reserved bad-*** was the time he spent behaving differently. But that is justified, as a coward who finds himself with immense power will want to use it to dominate people, or a world, that has belittled him for so long. He could have just killed Midna whenever he wanted. Instead he turned her into an imp and then later filled her with light (or something). He was torturing her more than anything and he took great pleasure in doing so. This fits in with his backstory and character of growing to resent the Twili royalty.

For once we were not presented with a villain of great power. Zan is no Ganondorf, no Vaati, no Malladus; all of his power and confidence are borrowed from another entity. This makes him far more interesting than almost every other villain in the series because he is in a position he did not earn and that he cannot handle. Given Zant's background, it was inevitable that he would lash out the way he does and it is just him revealing who he really was all along, not suddenly becoming someone else. Zelda often gives us big, strong, one-dimensional bad guys and Zant was a much needed and very refreshing change in pace. I wouldn't change a single thing about how he was handled.

 

[DarkestLink]

I liked the twist...because before that he was a boring generic Ganondorf clone...but I feel they could have used one or two more scenes to transition it.

 

[Salem]

The Palace of Twilight should have had a different boss with Zant being the final boss at Hyrule Castle.

 

[Dimooshky]

I liked it as it emphasised how pathetic Zant was in trying to rule the Twili and how he was weak compared to Midna the true ruler. Then, when discovering a 'God', he was firmly in belief of his bestowed power in mutating his own race and covering Hyrule in twilight. So his snap in attitude from calm and demonic to going mental was brilliant as it showed how much faith he had in Ganondorf, and on seeing Link and Midna in the Twilight Realm he thought that his power against Midna had failed again and was frustrated that even being given power by a supposed deity he was not able to do all he wished. He was angry at Midna for being more than he was, at Ganondorf for not fulfilling his full lust for power, and at himself for not getting rid of Midna and Link when he was able to.

 

[Ventus]

I liked the twist...because before that he was a boring generic Ganondorf clone...but I feel they could have used one or two more scenes to transition it.

I don't recall Ganondorf giving pressing demands such as "Life or death" ;p he typically forces death on people.

---

Zant is a great villain. He commands the camera AND the player to look at him whenever he appears. And not for cutesy moments. He does it because he rules with an iron fist. He usurps a throne, roflstomps the real Princess, and even turns the Chosen Hero to an animal. That's amazing stuff. All that said...

I honestly do not believe that Zant should've went baby like he did. People will claim up and down that it was already shown that he was a weakling, but it came across as my kind of writing writing to me. Yes, it WAS shown that Zant was a weakling before he found Ganondorf. But it wasn't emphasized. It wasn't necessarily a point (at least, not a strong one) that Zant was weak before he found power. The cinematic direction didn't care to emphasize this, Midna didn't care to emphasize this, hell Zant didn't care to emphasize this. So when he flipped out, it was kind of like "wtf?". There was no decent transition.

Now, the fact that I didn't notice a strong transition isn't inherently bad. I don't notice any sort of transitions out of "bipolar", bipolar, or multiple personality folks in the real world ("bipolar" meaning the girls who claim to be bipolar but aren't truly so). Zant doesn't NEED a transition - he's still an effective villain with much more of a lingering presence than any other Zelda villain without that transition. I would just desire one. If there were more hints and nods to Zant's babylike persona, then him going baby in the end would be better for me. ;p

 

[ihateghirahim]

I enjoyed Zant. I won't say what's already been said, but he's powerful and intimidating. His going nuts at the end would have been surprisingly satisfying if only Ganondorf hadn't been revealed too early on.


PS- why can't we "Like" anymore?