Your Thoughts on Zant?

[basement24]

I personally fell that Zant is the best original villain to come out of the series other than Ganon/dorf himself. There was a real sense of unnerving fear behind the lingering threat he posed. Whenever he arrived on the scene prior to his final confrontation, it was a very unsettling moment. The shriek he uttered and his quiet imposing demeanor really helped build him as a credible opponent.

Of course, in the end, we find out that he was a pawn, if you would, of Ganon. I still found that he was quite interesting because he was then revealled to be quite power hungry to the point of becoming pathetic. I'm sure a number of people thought this was not done well, but I was very intrigued by the idea that he essentially made a deal with the devil in order to gain noteriety.

The battle with him was great as well, with his calm, composed attacks increasingly becoming more frantic and desperate as he began to realilze that Link was a greater threat than he anticipated. The quicker, more nonsensical music added to this feel greatly. In the end when he looked around desperately and realized he was out of tricks, it was a great moment.

Personally, I think the only thing I might have changed was that he would have been chosen to recieve the Triforce of Power. It would have been interested to see the Link / Zelda / Ganondorf dynamic tossed up a bit with a new contender for Power. I really did like the pawn of Ganon aspect, but this would have been an interesting take as well.

So, what did you think of Zant as a villain? Was he worthy of being a Zelda villain? Did you like or dislike the fact that he was a pawn of Ganon/dorf? What would you have done to make him better?

 

[dur.i.am]

Yes, I also think that Zant was the best enemy to come from the Series other than Ganon/Ganondorf himself. It did take the magic out of Zant though, Finding out he wasn't he own source of power but that he was actually feeding off of Ganon/Ganondorf's.

I liked him though, How powerful, Composed and well...sort of elegant he seemed at the start, It was like he was in full control but then as the story went on we find out he is actually the exact opposite, Weak...infact he was feeble, How he started to get desperate and realised that this mere Child was more than a match for him....how he realised that Midna was actually going to win.

I loved the fact that he was very dark as well, I loved it how he threatened Zelda and demanded that either she gives up her throne or the beings of Hyrule die...I also loved at the very end when he realised there was no hope and Broke his own neck.

I was sort of disappointed to find out though that it wsa Ganon/Ganondorf powering him, In my opinion it would have been better to find out he had become Desperate and Power hungry and thus forcing himself into the realm of insanity. Although I liked the fact Ganon/Ganondorf was using him as a pawn, It was interesting and if you think deeper into it Ganon/Ganondorf had used him for a well thought plan.

He was definately worthy of becoming a top Zelda villain, I thought he was very dark, Zant, The Usurper King...How he wanted to force the whole land of Hyrule into the world of darkness where many people started to live a nightmare.

 

[arkvoodle]

I agree Basement, Zant is possibly one of the best original villians, His mysterious nature and imposing prescence helped add to the overall evil of the character.

Zant's clothing also added to the mystery and evil behind the character, The Helmet concealed his face, and looked quite threatening. while the Shawl/Cloak Made him look quite mystical.
Even though, when we find out that he was a pawn in Ganondorfs game of Power, Zant still seemed like a major character in the overall plot,

Even Zants Insanity added to the sense of fear behind the character, his child like and wild movements, resembled those of Majora. Zant's Lust for power eventually drove him to this insanity, which I think makes him quite unique, unlike other Zelda villains.

As Darklink said previously "Near the end of the game, Zant was getting desperate, realising that this mere child was more than a match for him, that Minda was going to win"
Unlike other Zelda Villains, Zant accepted this fact, and took his own life at the end of the game, realising, that he could never win.

Zant definitely deserves a place in the top and most unique Zelda Villains.

 

[Master Kokiri 9]

Personally i thought he was a heck of a boss but he is in my opinion the zelda equivelant of fawul and i personally hate him for pitting innocent twili against link as well as having them kill most of kakariko's hylian/human population. And arkvoodle zant didn't commit suicide; Midna accidentally killed him with the fused shadows.

Think of this post what you will.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I agree. Zant was an excellent villain, and no, Ganondorf being included in the game did not "ruin" him at all. It added to his character, and made for a much more deep story line as far as Ganondorf was concerned from OoT to TP.

At the beginning, he seems to be this ultimate villain. Ganondorf is nowhere to be seen, and Zant has taken over Hyrule by himself without the mighty power of the gods. "Oh yes, a question for all the people of Hyrule....... life, or death?" That was a pure win line. Seeing Zelda drop the sword made it even better, and added to Zant's all powerful first impression. This impression continues, as you see the scene with him nearly killing Midna and permanently turning you Link into a wolf. Bringing Stalord to life was another display of the amazing power we assumed he had. By the time I got to the Twilight Palace, Zant had become an ultimate badass villain. Then, you find out he isn't what you thought he was. He's just a power hungry pawn, being used by none other than Ganondorf himself. And his own lust for power and desire to serve his "god" (Ganondorf) was his ultimate destruction.

That battle was a fine one, even if it was too easy. We haven't had a hard 3D boss battle since Gyorg from MM, so I wasn't bothered by it too much. Like you mentioned Basement, he starts off the battle cool, overconfident, and sure that he can dispose of Link quickly. Then, as the battle progresses, he finds out that Link has a power equal to his own, and he gets more and more desperate. The final stage of the battle proves just how crazy and desperate he was for power. Attacking in rage, screaming continually, it just added to the terrific shock of his character.

 

[Immortal_One]

Zant was one of the my favorite villains of the series. The first few cutscenes you see him in, you see him as a powerful, assertive villan looming over you like he is the mightiest villian the series has ever seen. His appearance is far more frightening than that of Ganondorf's, and he is cloaked in ornate garments draped far over his entire body. When I saw him the first time, I honestly thought that the only way Ganondorf would be able to play into this game would be if he was Zant's pawn, or at least on the same level as Zant.

Obviously, I was wrong. After the dungeon in the Twilight Realm, I realized what was going on, Ganondorf showed up to Zant after Zant lost all faith in himself, which in turns made Zant think of Ganondorf as a God. Near the end of the game, the image of Zant as a powerful leader of a parallel universe is shattered. He turned out to be just the opposite of what I thought of him, a cowardly being who was at the whim of Ganondorf.

Zant was a great character in my opinion, you see him in one light early in the game and see him as his true self at the end. The boss battle was great too, very unique to itself. His actions during the boss battle with him actually solidified the new impression I had of him. I don't think there could be another character like him in another Zelda game.

 

[Waker of winds]

Yes, I also thought that Zant was a frightful villain at the start, but then I realized that he was just a pawn, and my image of him became a little...different. I think he is a complete freak.

I started vewing him as a weird guy. And the thing that made me think like that was the final battle with him. Such bizzarre movements, kinda like Majora's Incarnation. Then the final scene where he just snaps his neck. That was the first time when I shouted "what a weirdo!!!".

 

[Midna666]

Zant was a character that I did not find interesting at first.
But each time that I've replayed the game, I've slowly started to like the character more.

I did not think that Zant was that interesting of a character, till I saw how crazy he really was near the end of Twilight Princess.

He seemed to be someone who thought was intitled to power, and when he was passed over for the right to the throne, he acted like it was everyone else's fault, and could not understand that the reason he was not chosen was because of how he acted.

 

[Nepolink]

I thought he was some kind of really blood thirsty Vampire. xD Also i thought he was the villain of this game since Ganondorf didn't show up anywhere. o.o But then Zant was foolish, it was not his own power to cover Hyrule into the Twilight, thanks to Ganondorf. All the parts till The Twilight realm he seem to be a serious villain. If you meet him in his own Throne he's a Hyper Active someone. ._. He's totally crazy and he looks so crazy. xD The battle with Zant was Priceless. I loved him more because of this, i like him better in crazy mode.

Zant was a freak but i really like him. Battling Zant was the greatest fight in the whole Zelda series.

 

[Zarom]

Yeah, Zant was a really great and unique character in the Zelda series. But I don't think we will ever see someone like him. One of a kind! He was a good boss to fight against. Really great!

 

[El Bagu]

I don´t really understand the "possible greatness" of Zant and I believe most other villains have had much more of a character. Even Onox in a game as "simple" as Oracle of Seasons had a lot more character in my opinion. Also Vaati is a lot more interesting etc.

But I must admit that I found a lot of enjoyment fighting Zant, I think he was a fun and interesting opponent and added to the epicness of the formidable game that was and is: Twilight Princess.

 

[Skull_Kid]

I really liked him, even though in the end, he was just another pawn...
He looked so fierce and intimidating at the beggining of the game, and was just an insane, spoiled servant...

Zant was rather... unique, that must be the word

 

[Swedish Link]

Zant was a more interesting and different character than most in the series.
Although, I must admit I liked him a lot better somewhere in the middle of the game rather than towards the end. At first he was this quiet, powerful, mysterious enemy. His threats were so... Well, the threats basically meant you had no other choice but to obey him. He seemed clever in that way.

My favorite part with Zant must have been in Lake Hylia when he turns Link into his wolf form, turns the lake into Twilight and then says solemn yet terrible words to Midna, in such a calm manner. You would think that he is talking about nothing more than bad weather. And the part where the bottom of his helmet goes up and his sharp row(s?) of teeth are revealed. I had a very different and much more expecting image of him at that point.

But near the end of the game, you find out that he was just being used by Ganondorf, and his mask is removed to show his face and his true character. His painful shrieks, his unusual gait and his somewhat psychotic-looking eyes all made him look like a maniacal killer to me. Some characters like this, if developed properly, can be amazing. But not Zant. He was a fightworthy enemy though, I do like his battle style, but I think Nintendo pretty much screwed up towards the end of the game. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Josh]

Yes. Zant has quite possibly been the best villain in a Zelda game ever to come out besides Ganondorf. He currently stands as the only one (beside Ganondorf of course) that I would want to come back.

He was truly, it seemed in the beginning, THE best villian in the Zelda series. Here we are already covered in Twilight, he comes marching in with his creatures, kills almost every soldier, walks up to her and says:

"It is time for you to choose: surrender or die.
Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule...
Life? Or death?!"

As if he has almost complete power over everything, which it did seem he did. We progress through the game and at every corner he's always there, always there to take back what you worked so hard for, when you thought you could beat him with only the fused shadows, and then he comes and takes them from you, and turns you back into a wolf, and injures Midna pretty severely.

And finally at the end, you see that he's not the most cunning villain, he was only power hungry, and willing to do whatever it takes to get whatever it is that he wants. That, he wasn't as smart as he and everybody else thought, that Ganon was still always one step ahead of him.

The battle, it was a little iffy. It was nice to be able to go through every place one more time though, and fight him as you did every other boss. As most others have said, he went from a very good and strong enemy who thought he'd win this in a minute, to one who could never quite beat Link, no matter what he threw at him. Battle ends, and Midna kills him. End of story.

But I really wish they'd bring him back. Along with Midna.

 

[Shnappy]

Zant is my favorite villain in any Zelda game. I liked him better than Ganon/dorf, even.

I love how he's just so... crazy. He is one odd and very unique character... That's the kind of thing I'd look for in an antagonist, such a unique, interesting, evil, and destructive personality. Though before Link fights him, he maintains a cool, sinister control, and I like how that drastic change in personality happens, and that he becomes basically a madman.

I have no idea why everybody hated the fight so much. I thought it was pretty awesome. First of all, it was cool how you had to fight short sections from previous bosses, and how it was... Zantified? I thought that actually made it pretty funny, and I guess that's a good thing. But the end part was very fun, the one on one sword fight between Link and Zant. For lack of a better word, it was very, say, epic. That's what I think of all one on one sword fights in Zelda, I guess, but in this one, you had to fight someone as crazy as Zant with his crazy spaz-hyper sword move skillage, and it's very fun to try and counter those tactics, at least in a Zelda game.