Twilight Princess Ending Discussion




Posted by Ant

This thread will contain massive spoilers for those of you who haven't completed the game. DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T BEATEN THE GAME AND CARE ABOUT THE SURPRISE STORY ELEMENTS! Anyways...

I was speaking with Speedfreak and he brought up some interesting points about the ending and some other plot holes.

1. What's the deal with Gannondorf after Link stabs him in the last battle? Is he dead? Can he actually die and be reborn later? Do they just leave his body there? What about Windwaker? Many questions come to mind.

2. When you first see Gannondorf in the first cinema with his appearance. How did he get out of the Sacred Realm? It's kinda like, BAM! "You're going to be going into the Twilight World now have fun bye lol". What happen?

That's it about the plot holes. However, the whole scene with Midna saying goodbye to Link I thought was very poignant. Seems like something Midna would do, and wraps it all together very nicely.




Posted by Arwon

I think that sort of discontinuity between games is just part and parcel of the Legend of Zelda. It's the same main characters playing out their story again and again. I personally just assume the triforces keep Ganondorf, Zelda and Link's souls essentially immortal and carrying on down the ages.

I was most interested in what seemed like genuine love between Link and Midna by the end. It was quite a sad ending, especially with the implication that he's just gone off to settle for the horse girl instead of being royal consort to some bizzarely cute blue-skinned princess of a parallel world. Such is the fate of an eternal hero, I suppose.

It's a weird ending. Link being more emotionally involved than he's ever been in a Zelda game before, and characters outside the 3 triforce-holders being the main drive of the story. By the end, Midna is the central character and main protagonist. You as Link are just along for the ride, and Zelda and Ganondorf are really quite peripheral. Not sure I approve, but that's probably mainly because I wanted more Ganondorf.




Posted by maian

Yeah, I'm pretty disappointed with Ganondorf. His presence in the game was awesome, no doubt. I loved every moment he was in. However, I'm not sure if I even wanted him in there, because it almost feels like they threw him in there just because he was Ganondorf. He didn't really have a big influence over anything. He just kind of appeared at the end, and, well, died.

I thought it was good that Midna closed the Twilight Realm, it was expected. It was a surprising story. Before I bought it, I was really expecting it to be about the Tri-Force. But, I guess that'll wait till next game. I wish Zant was cooler, though. He became unimagineably lame at the end.

I really want the next game to get all into the Triforce, as much as it's been done. This is by far Zelda's best game breaking from the mold, but for storyline issues, I really want the next game to focus on the Triforce saga. How about explaining what happened to get Hyrule flooded? That would make for a truly epic game.




Posted by Vasioth

Maian, about the Hyrule getting flooded thing. Didn't it explain it at the end of Wind Waker though? I mean, I can remember something along in the lines of that game saying "Hyrule was flooded so that even if Ganon escaped the seal he couldn't escape to the outer world" or something like that (My memories real bland) ...

The ending of Twilight Princess... wasn't at all that great. I could possibly say that the gameplay was up-there or if not better than OOT but the story-line... well the Wind Waker left lots of Cliff-Hangers, this isn't really an acception.

And the Ganondwarf encounter's or even getting to see him was pretty poor through-out the entire game...




Posted by Zeta


Quoting maian: I wish Zant was cooler, though. He became unimagineably lame at the end.


I thought he was still pretty cool. Badass villain are too cliche, so I was pretty pleased when he started acting insane. Hell, he's my favorite Zelda villain now, despite being a little crybaby. :cookie:

Also, there will most likely never be a game that includes or explains the flood. WW's opening states that a hero never appeared. Would it really be a Zelda game if you weren't Link?



Posted by Alastor


Quoting Zeta: Also, there will most likely never be a game that includes or explains the flood. WW's opening states that a hero never appeared. Would it really be a Zelda game if you weren't Link?


Exactly. The only way I can see a flood game being made was if you died in the end, which would suck and make like no sense.


Zant was cool. A welcome change from the norm. Of course I like pretty much all of the non-traditional villains. His insane role was kind of... suprising, but my perspective on him didn't change much after it happened. I did kind of feel that Ganondorf was just kind of slung in at the last second. Sure, his role of giving Zant his powers was fitting, but it just seemed more tacked on than the rest of the story did.

Although, the ending of TP was hands down my favorite of the franchise. I mean, fighting Zelda, then the expected Ganon, then the wtf-he's-still-alive-onoes-midna-;_; horseback fight, then the epic swordfight with Ganondorf... I loved every second. It did feel a little rushed in some parts concerning Ganon, but I loved it either way. Best end to a Zelda game ever, IMO.



Posted by Bebop

I liked Zant but he went from insane and excited to childish. That ruined it.




Posted by BLUNTMASTER X


Quoting Ant: What's the deal with Gannondorf after Link stabs him in the last battle? Is he dead? Can he actually die and be reborn later? Do they just leave his body there? What about Windwaker? Many questions come to mind.


Did Ganon's neck break? I think his neck broke. I was pretty surprised that he kept on standing, though.

[Quote=Arwon]I was most interested in what seemed like genuine love between Link and Midna by the end. It was quite a sad ending, especially with the implication that he's just gone off to settle for the horse girl instead of being royal consort to some bizzarely cute blue-skinned princess of a parallel world. Such is the fate of an eternal hero, I suppose.

By the end, Midna is the central character and main protagonist. You as Link are just along for the ride, and Zelda and Ganondorf are really quite peripheral. Not sure I approve, but that's probably mainly because I wanted more Ganondorf.

Everything here is exactly what I was thinking, especially during Midna's dialogue with Ganondorf in the throne room. I actually felt more kinship with her than I did Link.

As for Zant, I loved the guy. His creepy aura was pretty much destroyed in the final showdown, though. Again, like everyone else, I felt Ganondorf's arrival was a little tacked on - I guess the developers were aiming for a less predictable Zelda baddie, but then they realised a finale with Ganondorf would be waaaay too badass to ignore

My main gripes with the endgame of Twilight Princess were regarding how rushed the last two dungeons felt. The Palace of Twilight had barely started before it was over, and the dungeon's item was the power to slash at fog. I liked the open-ended style of Hyrule Castle, but again, it could have been so much better (read: longer). The arrival of the Adventurer's Club, for example, could have been fleshed out into a full aspect of the dungeon, and the lack of an item was disappointing.

The finale, however, was brilliant, and at times I was actually getting seriously excited and upset watching events unfold. My only complaint was the difficulty - in the final duel with Ganondorf, I only lost half a heart, which sort of ruined the satisfaction of sticking the Master Sword into his gut.



Posted by Ant

Heh, I kinda make the final battle harder for myself at the end by just going all willy nilly. And yeah, the last two dungeons should have been at least 30 minutes longer each, considering how hard the sky temple was (for me anyways), I thought the next two were going to be even longer.




Posted by Zeta

The Twilight Realm should've been fleshed out a bit more. Like, a dungeon for each of those Sols instead of some crappy hallway.




Posted by maian

Eh. I considered Twilight Palace a mini dungeon, and Hyrule Castle not a dungeon at all. I mean seriously, name a 3D Zelda game where there wasn't some sort of challenge in the end that was dungeon-esque. Ganon's Tower? The Moon? Flooded Hyrule? That's always how it's been. Hyrule was no dungeon, it was the final obstical course.




Posted by BLUNTMASTER X


Quoting Zeta: The Twilight Realm should've been fleshed out a bit more. Like, a dungeon for each of those Sols instead of some crappy hallway.

That was the main thing that irked me about having the power of Sol in the Master Sword - the Palace of Twilight was the last time you'd ever visit the Twilight Realm anyway. They could have allowed it to fire magic bolts, at the very least.


Quoting maian: Eh. I considered Twilight Palace a mini dungeon, and Hyrule Castle not a dungeon at all. I mean seriously, name a 3D Zelda game where there wasn't some sort of challenge in the end that was dungeon-esque. Ganon's Tower? The Moon? Flooded Hyrule? That's always how it's been. Hyrule was no dungeon, it was the final obstical course.


I guess it's a 3D Zelda thing. A Link to the Past and Minish Cap, as far as I remember, had fully-fledged last dungeons with the final boss at the end. Hyrule Castle this time around was a massive dungeon, size wise, with quite a few interesting puzzles. It really could have been something special, especially when they threw Rusl and company into the mix.



Posted by Arwon

Most of the dungeons were just obstacle courses. I could probably count the genuinely clever puzzles on one hand. It was a failing of the game throughout, which simply became blatantly obvious with the lacklustre final two dungeons.




Posted by Pit


Quoting The X: That was the main thing that irked me about having the power of Sol in the Master Sword - the Palace of Twilight was the last time you'd ever visit the Twilight Realm anyway. They could have allowed it to fire magic bolts, at the very least.



I guess it's a 3D Zelda thing. A Link to the Past and Minish Cap, as far as I remember, had fully-fledged last dungeons with the final boss at the end. Hyrule Castle this time around was a massive dungeon, size wise, with quite a few interesting puzzles. It really could have been something special, especially when they threw Rusl and company into the mix.



A link to the past didn't have a final dungeon. You climb up the pyramid and fall into the hole and fight ganon, he didn't have his own dungeon.

I thought the game was amazing. It was the largest Zelda game and the dungeons were huge.

Last boss fight I think, should've been harder, just the sword fight. It was cool how he controlled Zelda and tranformed into the boar rather than an orc this time around.

It should've been more like OoT though. Had the last room sealed, or the big key sealed by 6 other rooms, with a mini boss to break a seal to get to the key, like in oot. Cause OoT did have that, it wasn't really dungeony, since it was pretty straightforward, break seals, go to ganons tower, but it was pretty cool.



Posted by Arwon

O, yeah, Rusl and company should definitely have played a larger role. Defeating a bunch of arbitrary bad guys that I could have taken, then just sodding off never to be seen again? Meh. It was enough of a tease that there wasn't a Snowpeak village despite that girl being from there. The Club Of Overly Obvious Hints should have either been better or not in it.




Posted by BLUNTMASTER X


Quoting Ant: 2. When you first see Gannondorf in the first cinema with his appearance. How did he get out of the Sacred Realm? It's kinda like, BAM! "You're going to be going into the Twilight World now have fun bye lol". What happen?

Just picked up on this while re-reading the thread.

The sages brought Ganon back from the Sacred Realm to physically execute him (Arbiter's Grounds scene) - it's not really explained why, but I guess it's because he'd defiled the realm. The sages realise they don't have the power, and instead, re-seal him in the Twilight Realm.



Posted by Twilight_Midna

The ending made me cry bad! Midna totally betreyed Link by shattering the mirrior with her tear right after she says he can see her again. She`s still my favorate character, though...




Posted by BLUNTMASTER X


Quoting Twilight_Midna: The ending made me cry bad! Midna totally betreyed Link by shattering the mirrior with her tear right after she says he can see her again. She`s still my favorate character, though...

Betrayed? On the contrary, I thought she was protecting him.



Posted by Noir

Zelda endings are always sad (I especially loved the Wind Waker ending. So...dramatic). This, however, seemed too abrupt. It didnt seem like a big enough finale to end such a big game.