The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy_ I Link Therefore I Am - Luke Cuddy [78]
Beginning with the avatar, we have the exalted Link. Whether it’s the Link from the original Zelda or the graphically detailed Link of Twilight Princess, something drives the gamer to control that little green-hatted, elflike character. It seems like there’s a reason gamers are driven to control Link, beyond the fact that he’s the sole avatar in the game. One possibility is that Link is a little elf-looking creature in green. Our culture typically associates elves with escape from reality (even if the only reason for this is that elves do not, in fact, exist). The opportunity to play as an elf, due to its connection with fantasy, is more inviting to the player, the player is more likely to be drawn into the onscreen world.
The Zelda music is incredibly appealing. I have friends unwilling to power on their Nintendo consoles unless they know the music will be heard. The music draws the gamer into the game; it brings the world of the game to her by setting up the appropriate atmosphere. There are some movies in which the music is indispensible, without which there is no movie—the Johnny Greenwood-composed Paul Thomas Anderson movie, There Will Be Blood, for example. It’s the same with Zelda games. How does the music do this? In the original Legend of Zelda there are two primary tunes: one for the outside world and one for the dungeons. The tune for the outside world is more uplifting in that it utilizes major musical keys. The dungeon tune is darker and more mysterious in its use of minor keys. In both cases the music sets up an atmosphere that can, potentially, draw the gamer in.
The backgrounds and exploratory terrain are especially pleasing to the eye in the newer Zelda games due, of course, to the enhanced graphics. But even the earlier Zelda games have their moments. A Link to the Past, for instance, is only the third game of the franchise and yet the terrain the gamer gets to explore is often visually appealing, as in the case of the waterfall area of the light world where the flippers are found. But newer games such as The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker have long drawn out sailing sequences where it’s hard for any gamer to ignore the beauty of the surrounding ocean and sky.
Characters, enemies, and bosses run the gamut. There may have been a deficiency in the first two games of the franchise in terms of characters, but beginning with Sahasrahla from A Link to the Past, the characters acquired more complexity and personality. Sahasrahla is a wise master who communicates with Link telepathically. Figures of the wise master type typically carry an air of mystique and command respect. The gamer is therefore drawn to Sahasrahla out of mystery and reverence.
There are many other characters with some sort of similar appeal (eccentric townspeople, witches, rambunctious children). From the first game on, there were appealing enemies continuing throughout the rest of the franchise. In the original, the red and blue Darknuts (the shielded knights) were challenging, but interesting to fight based on the attack sequence required to defeat them (that is, attacking them perpendicularly). There were also appealing bosses from the beginning of the franchise. It’s hard for a fire-breathing dragon not to draw the gamer in, even if out of fear or awe.
Then there’s the story. What could be cooler than trying to defeat an evil guy named Ganon, rescue a princess, and find scattered pieces of a once united Triforce in order to save the land of Hyrule? Moreover, the story draws one in more effectively due to the fact that the gamer can participate in it. Once the gamer defeats a level, she’s usually given some sort of indication from one of the characters that there are other parts of the storyline which can now be attended to (sometimes this is referred to