Dreams, nightmares, and visions carry special significance in storytelling throughout human history. Legendary 20th century psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung called dreams the “little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul”. Often times,  dreams and visions are used to examine and manifest the hidden or underlying ambitions, desires, and fears of characters. One of the most iconic visons/dreams in the Zelda series is Lanayru’s vision from Twilight Princess, a haunting and disorientating warning about the power of the Fused Shadows.

This Breath of the Wild fan animation by shar , titled “Dreams Alone”, is a brief but fascinating glimpse of the darker side of Link’s journey. The video opens with a close-up on Link sitting alone in blank space. From there, we see Zelda, dressed in her white robe, hazily come into view as Link struggles to recognize or remember her. Then, we are treated to a terrifying image of a weeping Zelda as the blood-red shape of Calamity Ganon rises to devour her whole. Link wakes up panting and drenched in sweat, with his horse unaware of his plight.

While some of shar’s other wonderful videos have focused on cute modern animations like texting, a train ride, and a Valentine’s Day gift, this one has a much darker tone. The disconcerting music and close-ups do a great job of keeping the viewer on their toes. The image of Zelda weeping helplessly as Calamity Ganon rears up is truly nightmare fuel.

One of the reasons I love this video is that it hints at a darker aspect of Link’s journey. The video also illustrates how utterly alone Link can be and how that can be a downside sometimes. In Breath of the Wild, Link has dealt with some devastating and traumatizing experiences including his own death. It would be fascinating for Nintendo to explore some of the residual effects of Link’s and Zelda’s trauma and pain in the sequel to Breath of the Wild.

What do you think of this haunting Breath of the Wild animation by shar? Let us know in the comments below!

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