Sunday, March 4, 2012

Legend of The Screwed-Over Hylian

(This post contains spoilers. Just throwing that out there.)

Apart from the obvious fact that it is a video game, I've always thought that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a great story that conveys the typical Hero's Journey, the kind outlined by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. I can appreciate a good ol' Hero's Journey.

That being said, Ocarina of Time is also an atypical princess story. Unlike most princess tales, which demonstrate how the princess faces adversity and has to wait for her prince to come, The Legend of Zelda is seen by the hero's point of view rather than the eponymous heroine's.

I mean, if you need proof as to who the real protagonist is, Navi, the Fairy harbinger, clearly called upon Link to save Hyrule.





This, of course, was an incorrect prediction by the Jerk Mido (yes, I know he refers to himself as the Great Mido, but, c'mon, we all know he's a pretentious jerk because he refers to himself in the third person) because the "Old Man" figure summoned Link to begin his quest and to right the hubris wrongdoings of Ganandorf, the Gerudo King. (Boo! Hiss! Jeer!)






Even after being thrust upon a perilous quest, Link didn't get any slack from his Kokiri "pals."




He soon learned that the outside world was dangerous, filled with mysterious creatures, menial jobs and creepy people who shamelessly rip him off.





















It wasn't all so terrible for Link, for he managed to aid the citizens of Goron City and the Zoras. Yet even after all that, including the haphazard arranged marriage, Link still hadn't gained enough experience to save the world because quite a number of Hero's Journeys take place over a period of several years. I suspect that's the reason why Link, upon unleashing the Master Sword, was put to sleep for seven years.

Imagine being woken up seven years older and being confused as to how you ended up wearing a new attire. More importantly, WHO changed you out of your old clothes and saw you butt nekkid while you slumbered? Was it Rauru, the ancient (albeit portly) sage?



Kinda freaky if you reflect on it too much...

Then, as if things weren't creepy enough with the whodunit about the new clothes, Link encountered a new character who, amazingly enough, showed up right after he woke up.


Thus Link continued on his Hero's Journey of collecting stuff. However, in the time that he slept and aged, he discovered, much to his dismay, that the prosperous Hyrule he once knew had fallen to pieces under the command of Ganandorf, the Evil Gerudo King! (Boo! Hiss! Jeer!)


Link ventured into various temples, solved block puzzles, helped creepy strangers--


--defeated more bosses and continued to be harassed by Navi about what was painfully obvious.




He was also turned back into a kid, then returned to his adult form so he, Troll Sheik and the Sages could defeat Ganondorf, the Evil Gerudo King (Boo! Hiss! Jeer!) only to then be re-changed into a kid once more.



With all that happened in Ocarina of Time, I'm honestly surprised that Link wasn't asked to go clothes-shopping with Zelda in Hyrule's Market and ended up carrying her purse as he denied that a pair of jeans made her butt look enormous.

The more I think about how video gamers played through Ocarina of Time and experienced Link's trials and tribulations, not to mention confronting scary-ass ReDeads, the more I feel that the franchise has been wrongly titled. It's true that certain Legend of Zelda games have acknowledged the protagonist with their titles (The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening), but the point is his name comes after the colon, as if he were an afterthought that didn't merit much importance. I'd say that Link got majorly screwed-over in the title department.

For those of you wondering how on Earth I ever came up with this post in the first place: fine, I admit that I just felt like making a bunch of drawings based on Ocarina of Time (if you must know, I am a bit nerdy). This sort of thing happens when you really appreciate a good Hero's Journey story and clearly need a job.

Anybody feel like employing me to  make some crappy illustrations?

Barb the French Bean

35 comments:

  1. That clothing change thing makes me think of the infamous Han Solo carbonite wardrobe change. Perhaps an illustrated Star Wars series is in order?

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  2. Hmmm. It's not a bad idea, Dave. Now, when you mention Star Wars, we *are* talking about the original trilogy, right?

    -Barb

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  3. I also love a good monomyth!

    However, my knowledge of Zelda is non-existant. I kinda feel sorry for Link after reading this though! And I can't figure out if he's an elf, a pixie, an imp, a fairie, a gnome, or a sprite. Poor guy.

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  4. The name of Link's race is actually called Hylian (hence, the title of this post), and they are said to be humans who have elf-like ears. These humans, unlike those of the non-pointy-ear variety, possess magic powers and abilities.

    In the game play of Ocarina of Time, certain characters refer to him as "The Fairy Boy." I think it stems from him having the rather annoying Navi (a fairy) hovering above him 24/7.

    Hope that helps a bit. :)

    -Barb

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    Replies
    1. Hylians, eh? Sounds made-up. Unlike those other things I mentioned, which clearly exist.

      Is Navi like Tinkerbell? I always wanted one of those.

      Delete
    2. Navi is sorta-kinda like Tinkerbell...but not really. Her function is to inform Link of new creatures he needs to battle and to prattle obliviously on about game play tips that players often encountered prior to her even mentioning it. Example of a conversation you would have:

      Navi: "If you press such-and-such button, you can do this move!"

      Link/You playing as Link: "Yeah, I figured that out, like, four hours ago. Thanks."

      Delete
  5. "Captain Navious" made me LOL. Acutally a few things in this whole entire post did. I have a limited Zelda knowledge base, but I feel like you've just enabled me to fake it until I make it. Thank you.

    Lor

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  6. Is it bad that I work as a game designer and I still have to lay this game?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll admit that this has made me raise a couple of eyebrows, but it's not entirely unheard of.

      Haven't any of your co-workers tried to convert you to playing some games with the famous wonky N 64 graphics?

      Delete
  7. Hahah these are great drawings! It felt a tiny bit like an acid trip. Just a tad. :P

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    Replies
    1. And all of this was provided without the use of drugs! :D

      Delete
  8. LOL! The first thing I thought of was the dorkly bits for some reason...Also can you believe I have zelda games and I don't play them at all (to the point that I don't know the full story of the game) ahha

    good stuff.

    Hanny

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    Replies
    1. O_O

      We should have a Zelda marathon one of these days.

      -Barb

      Delete
  9. These are some themes that really inspire me, especially when the Jerk Mido tells him he will never amount to anything... it is a classic underdog's tale of a lone crusader who triumphs over a world run by criminals who operate ABOVE the law. Actually, I stole that last line from the opening of the tv show Knight Rider, but my heart is in the right place.

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  10. This must have taken FOREVER to draw! I loved the old original pixelated Zelda.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It certainly took a quite a few hours over three days to make all of these cartoons, but I had fun doing so!

      Delete
    2. *official CAPTCHA test*

      Oh. I'm terribly sorry...but you've failed the official test. Word verification is most definitely on. I love your blog anyway.

      Delete
    3. Oh, dear...thanks for the heads-up.

      A couple of weeks ago, I changed my browser because it was outdated and thus it switched to a different version of Blogger (the one you demonstrated is the older version). I've been checking the Blogger template all over and I *cannot* find the option to change that under "comments"! --.--

      Delete
  11. I still have this game, but I don't have a N64 anymore. Hopefully, my girlfriend will get me one for my birthday.

    It actually took me roughly 4 years to beat this game because I got stuck int he water temple and basically just gave up until I was smart enough to figure it out.

    Hilarious post!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks!

      And didn't you feel great once you figured it out? lol

      Delete
  12. I played this game again 6 months ago because like most old people I enjoy digging out games from my childhood and playing them while the rest of the world plays a game 8 million times cooler.

    Also, as a blog run by 2 guys that draw dinky webcomics, I have to say this is an awesome blog, and we're glad you found us/vice versa!

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  13. Wow I will never ever look at Nintendo 64 the same way again.

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  14. I still have nightmares over the water temple.

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    Replies
    1. You might need a Legend of Zelda dream catcher in case they continue to haunt you!

      Delete
  15. lol are all of these characters even from the same game(s)

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    Replies
    1. Yep! And there were certainly many more in Ocarina of Time/other games!

      Delete
  16. Navi: This twisted hallway is like totally twisted!

    Link: Yeah, thanks captain Navious.
    I love that part :D

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  17. The clothes changing part was freaky and it made Rauru even weirder for me. And the Navi part-lol In Dodongos cavern out side the room with KIng Dodongo she said
    We can blow op the boulder with a bomb flower
    me: yeah thanks done that been there
    this was hilarious the drawings were cute

    ReplyDelete

Apparently, leaving comments on this blog is a hit-or-miss game of Russian roulette: you are either lucky and can comment away, or you are required to log in when the settings are CLEARLY set to allow trouble-free commenting (sorry 'bout that, folks). If anything, the Facebook page is always a viable option. :) -Barb