This is a guest article written by Matti-Pekka Nuorva, known on our community forums as “Roikka,” and edited by Colin McIsaac. If you’d like to submit your own guest article, we encourage you to do so here.
Among the most essential elements of the Legend of Zelda seems to be the past. Almost every game in the franchise has some aspect of the game grounded in the past, some even more so than the present. Events prefiguring those of the game are constantly emphasized more than the storyline they presage. There are some exceptions to this trend, but they are the games like the original Legend of Zelda or the Oracle games (individually, of course), where little happens story-wise, anyway.
As an example, lets take the black cat of the franchise: Majora’s Mask. The story Majora’s Mask is about the game’s ancient namesake, of Skull Kid’s loneliness, and of the two combined turning his kindness into mischief. Then Link comes and wakes the Giants, who go on to stop the moon while Link kicks Majora’s ass. Link’s part in the story of Skull Kid himself, however, is actually quite small. In that story and in each sidequest of the game, Link only serves a small but concluding role.
But what about more traditional Zelda titles? Head past the jump to keep reading.