Favorite Zelda Moments: The Final Battle With Malladus

A lot of people dislike the DS games for various reasons, sometimes disliking both, and other times disliking one while having some fondness for the other. Me, I’ve always enjoyed the DS Zelda games, and I find them to be equal in different ways. Some of Spirit Tracks’ strengths for me are cinematic presentation and soundtrack, and they’re part of why the final battle with Malladus at the end of the game is one of my favorite final battles of any Zelda game.

It helps that Malladus is discussed fairly often, but never really shown… and he never speaks until the end. When he does appear, it’s only in Zelda’s body. His alleged “true form” is later shown in the form of a ridiculous cartoony skull, so it’s all rather disappointing. His final form though, while not his true form (he’s possessing Chancellor Cole), is a perfect form for the final boss, and helps give the game a climactic end.

Admittedly… he’s basically just a copy of Ganon… but even if that’s true, he’s a really cool one and in my opinion the presentation here even beats some of the final Ganon fights from other games. It was amazing, hearing him speak for the very first time, only to say something like:

And to this music, no less. This entire part of the game has great music, including the actual battle theme for Malladus’ final form, but for me, none of them beat this tune. This simple, under 30-second theme, gives me chills every time I hear it. There’s a lot of cool fights leading up to the very final battle, but none of them have presentation like this.

So how about you? Did you like the final battle with Malladus? Did it do the game justice and/or manage to trump the finales of any other Zelda games? Or do you think it was underwhelming? Tell me in the comments!