The Power of the Secondary Character

For every Zelda game, there’s going to be a group of Zelda fans that hate it. Even if you think the game is the best Zelda game ever made, someone hates it. You can’t make everyone happy, especially Zelda fans.

That being said, I liked Twilight Princess; I liked it a lot. Zant-Ganon issues aside, it had a good story, a welcomed visual style, and great gameplay. But it also had something else, that while it has existed in previous titles, especially Majora’s Mask, it was never as prominent as it was in Twilight Princess. I’m talking about the power of the secondary characters, and they’re one of the biggest reasons I’m excited for Skyward Sword.

The Zelda franchise is known for its top-notch plots and endearing characters. The core characters of the series have always been Link, Zelda, and Ganon, but it couldn’t just be them forever. As the series grew, so did its ensemble.

However, in the past, gaming was strictly about gaming and design. An elaborate plot wasn’t expected or wanted. Today there are many more dimensions to it. A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening were the games that started pushing those boundaries. Link to the Past was an expansion of plot, while Link’s Awakening was an expansion of character. Then came Ocarina of Time, which combined both. The plot was rich, and Zelda’s character was given a level of dimension that was truly unexpected.

Not only that but strong secondary characters, the likes of which we had never seen before, took the stage. Each of the seven stages, in addition to representing an aspect of Link’s character and growth, had stories of their own and distinct personalities. Majora’s Mask was the developer’s chance to expand upon the style of character interaction that existed in Ocarina. And while the seven sages of Ocarina were strong in their own right, we never saw them tested as much as Anju and Kafei.

The story of Anju and Kafei arguably stole the show in the world of Majora’s subplots, making them some of the most memorable characters from the game and the series.

Wind Waker was an entirely different Hyrule than we had scene previously. It included several new races and characters. And while I personally feel that the level of character hadn’t grown much since the N64 days, the GameCube allowed us to see a wider range of animation, and in turn acting, from our characters. Their emotions were clearer, and so our attachment to them was stronger.

Then there came Twilight Princess. I never expected characters like Midna and Zant. They were both excellent editions to the Zelda family. But while both are fantastic characters and would make for an interesting character discussion, I’m here to talk about secondary characters, not main characters.

One of the many things that made Twilight Princess great was its secondary characters: the Ordon villagers, the Queen and Prince of the Zoras, and The Resistance.

The entire first act of Twilight Princess takes place in Ordon village. The inciting incident doesn’t occur until Ilia is captured and Link finds himself consumed by Twilight. The whole situation is very reminiscent of Kokiri Village in Ocarina, but much more developed and carried through. We spend a long time getting to know Link’s world prior to his becoming a hero. By the time Link’s friends get captured, we care about them, not to mention those character’s mourning family members. And every character from that group grows. The gang of bullies softens up, Colin gains his self-esteem, and Ilia goes through the whole amnesia thing.

Then there is the additional subplot concerning Queen Rutela and Prince Ralis. We have a mother who has already died, and her son is on his deathbed. To top it off these characters are Zora royalty and serve as important political figures in Hyrule. Our goal, as a player, is to save Ralis, but we also want to save Rutela. We can’t, of course, because she’s already dead, so in a sense we’re too late and already have lost. So while the final outcome, Ralis’s recovery, is a happy one, it is tainted. Though it is true that Queen Rutela found peace through this. All of this makes a more interesting story to experience. The entire subplot was entirely unexpected, and I was pleasantly threw me off guard.

But what made me most excited, even though they are the least utilized of the three character groups, were The Resistance. Someone else is trying to save Hyrule and it isn’t Link! Shad, Telma, Auru, Rusi, and Ashei were all very distinct from one other, yet they were all experts in their own fields and quite capable of handling themselves. I always went back to talk to these guys in my many attempts to learn more about them. While they didn’t say much, you could tell they were a lot more than what we saw on the surface. You can tell the game’s developers know a lot more about these five than they show in the game. To top it off, just when you think you’re done fighting minions and its finally time to face off with the big bad Ganon, a entire platoon of Moblins comes running at you, and you’re really not in the mood to fight them. All of sudden they just start dying. That’s when you realize it’s your Resistance pals there to lend a hand. The Resistance is freaking legit. It’s a shame we didn’t get to know these guys better.

As the series has progressed we’ve seen more characters, more developed and interesting characters, more direct involvement with the plot from secondary characters through the use of subplots, and more acting from our characters.

I was very pleased with the treatment of characters in Twilight Princess, but it was only a stepping-stone. Many are predicting that Skyward Sword will be the best Zelda game to date, and I can only believe that if it treats characters more thoroughly and more seriously than the Twilight Princess team did. Skyward Sword needs to have strong secondary characters and subplots to back up the main over-arching action of the game. We’ve already relieved hints of some of this with the whole school-yard-bully love triangle, but I’ll be severely disappointed if it’s nothing more than that. Honestly though, judging by Nintendo’s continued progression and improvement in these matters, I don’t think I have anything to worry about.