Daily Debate: Should Princess Zelda Be The Next Antagonist of the Series?
Posted on July 28 2022 by Alexis S. Anderson
It’s all the rage to make media these days where the “bad guy” is the protagonist. But what if the “damsel in distress” was the antagonist? There are a number of approaches to this kind of concept, the game could start with Zelda as the known antagonist or her role as the villain could come as a surprise part-way through the story. Each of these paths would be different levels of hard-to-swallow for fans who know and love Zelda as a kind, sharp, selfless leader of her Kingdom. So how well would Zelda being the antagonist be received by fans?
To start, I think it’s clear that a game which reveals Zelda to be the big-bad in trailers would make a big splash. The initial reaction would probably be negative. Some may feel it is a cheap way to try to innovate within the series. Others may be excited about this break from tradition, if it were done the right way. I think overall there would be skepticism, but fans would trust that Nintendo had a strong story to tell if it chose to make such a bold move.
That said, I doubt Nintendo would ever have Zelda be the villain without some moral complexity existing at the center of it. It could be that she decided to turn the typical wisdom-power-courage conflict on its head, recognizing that after ages of Ganondorf returning she might be in a better position to protect the Triforce if she claimed its power for herself rather than attempt to maintain the balance (and maybe holding that power corrupted her further).
Or, what if this iteration of Zelda was kidnapped as a child by the Gerudo (or a different group that happens to be on the evil side in the game) and raised to one day take the Triforce of courage from whoever it manifested in; perhaps she does not know she is really the princess of Hyrule or she does but was taught to despise the Hyrulean aristocracy. If Link’s goal was to de-program Zelda, that would be an zany approach, but hard to execute well.
A game where Zelda turns evil part way through might go over better, as a hypnosis angle could play out depending on the secondary antagonist’s powers. Maybe the previous incarnation of Ganon used his last strength to curse the next Zelda to lose her conscience when she reached a certain age or we have another “Possessed Zelda” situation like in Twilight Princess. Perhaps the real Zelda is hidden away somewhere and an imposter is in her place.
There are a plethora of ways it could go, and I am sure if Nintendo proceeded with an idea like this it would be much more original and compelling than anything I could ever come up with. Ultimately, I would love to see a Zelda game where Zelda is the villain. It would be a fascinating addition to the history of the series and really get me hype for the game with all the theorizing it would kickoff post-announcement.
Do you think it would be a good idea to make a Zelda game where Zelda is the antagonist? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Featured image by Andrew Doris.
Alexis S. Anderson is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon who joined the writing team in November, 2014. She has a JD from the UCLA School of Law and is pursuing a career in Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. She grew up in the New Jersey suburbs with her parents, twin brother, and family shih-tzu.
