This post contains spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a standout 2006 GameCube title from Nintendo. Targeted toward a teenage audience, Twilight Princess takes on a darker atmosphere while introducing an entire new realm to the longstanding Legend of Zelda franchise. While it’s grim direction was in part due to the poor reception of the cartoon-style in 2003’s The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, care was necessary in how fans of the series were to respond to this shift and how characters of their respective realms interact and struggle to convey this divergent setting to an otherwise continual series. Even atop the then 20 year foundation of the Zelda series, a new world was daringly crafted for its 13th installment.
To open, Link, the protagonist, is shown talking to another villager of his small town by a small lake. Swiftly, the mysterious Twilight realm is mentioned, but soon the topic shifts to traveling to the familiar kingdom of Hyrule, which fans recognize from prior games. A mystery is presented but is currently overshadowed by both the familiar small town to Link and the familiar preposed plot structure to the player. The player continues to preform mundane tasks around the village in preparation for the trip to Hyrule, until Link and other village children are attacked by unfamiliar beasts.
An unusually geometric portal—which might be more alike Mayan cultural designs—is formed and Link is kidnapped and transformed into a wolf. Not only does this event bypass the predicted plot structure of venturing to Hyrule, but it starkly contrasts the familiarity of Zelda for fans of the series. Even something of Link, the protagonist, is now unfamiliar. Later, as the Twilight Realm is explored it becomes clear it is no new area, such like introducing a new race or kingdom. Truly it is a parallel existence which bends the Light World itself, just as player’s expectations are bent by the manipulation of familiarity.
As a side note, it is true the juxtaposition of the familiar setting being predominantly European inspired and the foreign realm being Mayan inspired could facilitate prejudice or stereotypes due to the fact the Twilight Realm is initially depicted as a force of evil. In a way, however, this can also play into a more historical framework where foreign cultures can seem caustic or contrary at first, but by gaining more information and insight this initial bias is proven false. Functionally, under the framework of the Zelda series, these traits are foreign due to the series consistent aesthetics, however.
Now in continuation, not only does Link as a character represent this foreign world but also Midna, the companion of Link and a resident of the Twilight Realm. Their interactions are crucial to how the player’s perception of the Twilight Realm shifts. Link, of course, sports a new form: a wolf. No longer can the player wield a sword or utilize their tools; they are at the mercy of the new world. Link awakens as a wolf in, fittingly, a prison cell. Here he first meets Midna, who is made clear to be from Twilight due to her geometric headdress, distinctly colored skin, and manner of speaking. She mocks Link as he escapes from the cell. She then mounts him and offers her assistance under the condition Link is obedient.
Midna is not shown to be malevolent like the previous monsters, but the player’s relationship with her is strictly of circumstance not companionship. In no way is the player intended to sympathize with the Twilight Realm currently, but by fact of weakness they must cooperate. Even as areas in the Light World are infected by Twilight and bear the same structural layout, the player must navigate them differently as a wolf and face different enemies. In a sense, this corruption furthers the oddity of the new Twilight Realm, as the same method as previously outlined is utilized: what is expected and familiar is abstracted.
However, this conception is challenged as Midna and Link grow. Midna’s selfish resolve is due to her forced dethroning as The Twilight Princess. Her initial carelessness is overwritten when Zelda sacrifices herself for Midna. Her and Link grow closer, and the player understands the Twilight Realm itself is not evil, but the current ruler is to blame. Even further the player—having had to play with restrictions as a wolf—can better grasp how she is also trapped in a weakened body; their cooperation is now not of circumstance but mutual struggle and trust. Midna no longer brazenly teases Link, but regards him with care.
Finally, the game ends with the defeat of the force binding Midna. She, too, regains her true form, just as the Twilight Realm is restored to its true state. The emotional connection built between Link and Midna throughout their journey and hardships writes how the Light Realm and Dark Realm correspondingly exist, and even further support the tragedy that is the end. As Midna steps through the mirror, she shatters the passageway with a tear; two sides of the same coin cannot rightfully intersect and so banished again is the Twilight Realm.
