Daily Debate: Was Demise a Good Villain?
Posted on March 25 2015 by Rod Lloyd
There are many opinions surrounding Demise, the Demon King. Since his introduction in Skyward Sword, this antagonist has been the topic of many discussions, speculations, and fan theories. Many fans appreciate his mysterious and malevolent nature, whereas others have a difficult time connecting to his character. Some argue that he is the most intriguing villain in the Zelda series, while others don’t believe he compares to the villains of other games. Demise no doubt left an impact after Skyward Sword, so it’s now time to come to a conclusion on his role as a villain.
As it stands, Skyward Sword serves as the first game in the official Zelda timeline. As a way to set the chronological stage for other games, Skyward Sword introduced the conflict between the Goddess Hylia and the Demon King Demise, a conflict that contextualized the fates of Zelda, Link, and Ganon. Demise definitely created interesting layers in the Zelda lore, and made way for many fan interpretations and theories. The fact that he rules a mysterious and underutilized race in the Zelda universe is in itself significant, and his presence in Skyward Sword makes me want to see Demons return in a future game.
Let’s not forget his sweet design too; Demise is one of the most visually striking and intimidating character designs I’ve seen in the entire Zelda series. And that boss fight. So epic.
However, some may argue that Demise played a very minor role in the actual game. Sure, his menacing presence was alluded to throughout the plot, but the player was never allowed to interact with him until the game’s final moments. Compared to other villains like Ganondorf or Skull Kid, the threat of Demise was not developed enough for some players to care. For this reason, Demise can be seen as a boring and under-developed character, devoid of enough interesting traits or motives. I’ve heard some fans complain that Demise is simply a flat character, a villain that is evil for the sake of being evil. If this is the case, Demise’s overall motives are hard to relate to for the player and the antagonist is not as memorable as he could have been.
I leave you to decide. Was Demise presented as a strong villain? Does he stand up to other villains from the Zelda series? Join the Daily Debate!
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
