Twilight Princess Poster Symbolization

I’m sure most of you have probably seen this poster before. If not, well there it is. The poster for Twilight Princess. But this poster has much more information within it than meets the eye. Not only does it define aspects of the game like horseback riding and wolf form but it also gives pieces of the plot of the game away to us.

If you want to know more about the the hidden and yet obvious symbolism of this poster you can find out after the jump!

To start off, let’s take a look at a larger version of the poster, just so we don’t miss anything.

First let’s look at Wolf Link and Midna. Both of them are trapped in an alternate state. Wolf and imp form respectively. The positioning of Midna on Link’s back and the flailing of her arm let us know not only is she a guide for link but she is also a very dominating character, at least from early to mid game. Her expression further supports this as it appears she is commanding Link to attack the shadow beasts. As for the shackle around Wolf Link’s leg, we will return to that shortly.

We’ll also return to Link in his human state on Epona as well.

Next look at the three characters on the top of the poster. We have a trio of sorts who are positioned specifically in their proper places and ways. First turn to the figure on the left. We clearly have Zelda, but why is her head tilted upwards? I personally feel confident in saying that she is this way because it symbolizes her redemption and her striding to return to the light and out of twilight. How did she end up this way? Well we have to turn to the middle figure for that. Zant. He is positioned in front of the two characters to either side of him. Why? He is the reason that both characters face their desperation. He causes the conflict and is the central enemy throughout the game. Therefore why not place him in the center? Finally we have the right character, Midna. It should come as no surprise that imp form Midna and human form Midna are the same person just from looking at that poster. Having their color schemes the same really took the surprise out of this one. She’s facing downward, being from twilight and being cast into the shadows and forgotten about may be one reason for this. But I believe that she is looking down to represent her fall from grace and power as ruler of twilight. When Zant usurped the throne she was cast aside hence why she is looking down.

Now we have Link and Epona. Link and Epona directly parallel Wolf Link and Midna. The human rides the animal, the imp rides the beast. The similarity between the two is uncanny.

Finally Link’s wolf form shackle. Simply a shackle? Absolutely not. When Midna broke Link free in twilight she broke the physical shackle that held him. But from that point on the actual shackle remained with Link, as did Midna. The shackle in the poster represents the shackles that keep the two together. They need each other. Link required Midna to return to human form, and Midna needed Link to help her take the throne back. Their initial connection and meeting creates the lasting shackle throughout the game.

Thus we have the hidden meanings behind the poster.

Most of this of course is just opinion and careful observation. But let me know what you think. Am I way off? Does it make sense? Please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear.