The Pitch: The Legend of Zelda - Hero of Time

Ok, so last time we covered just why two Legend of Zelda games from the 2000s are still on my mind way too often more than twenty years later, now let's get to the real meat of what I wanted to say. Up until Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda titles really didn't have direct sequels to speak of, so although I've wanted a third installment for the Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask series, I've never dared to hope much and kept my ideas for how I would write such a game pretty private. Even though I've had a title in mind for almost all that time.

The Legend of Zelda: Hero of Time

Ok, first things first, this is pretty much pure fantasy, even more so than my usual "The Pitch" articles. As a published author, it's not inconceivable that something I write one day will get big and I end up doing more professional writing, which could include film work. It's really fucking unlikely, I'll admit, but not utterly impossible. Writing a major Nintendo release however? Yeah, good luck. I'm not here to cirticise Nintendo's fan-management, but given that I'm not a Japanese games developer already, let's just say they're not interested in anything I have to say, or ever will. Which is fine, I doubt too many hardcore Zelda fans will like my take on this anyway.

As my background is in prose and not really interactive media, I'm working with a three-act structure for Hero of Time, because, honestly, it's a good way to build a story, for almost every medium. For the fans in the gods, this will be a direct sequel to Majora's Mask, with the Link featured being the very same, though now-adult (or late teens, really), and having essentially continued running for the intervening years. This Link is still haunted by his past, but not to the "brutal and damaged" state, this is a Legend of Zelda game, we're keeping things PG. We'll break it down more below, but the three acts are essentially, 'The Journey Home', 'Saving Hyrule' and 'The Dark World'. Although, being a video game, players can wander back and forth pretty much at will, the idea is to delineate each act visually as well as geographically.

I actually like a good opening cinematic, so we'll be going all-out for Hero of Time, with a voice-over from Zelda explaining the history of Link, how he traveled through time to save Hyrule, but couldn't just be a child again and left, saving Termina on his way out into the world. But the evil didn't stay sealed, leaking into the land slowly as the years crept by, the Sages not even noticing until it was too late. Queen Zelda took it upon herself to battle the darkness, but was lost in the wastes West of Hyrule. In desperation, the remaining sages sent out the fairy, Navi, to seek the long-lost Hero of Time. Opening credits.

The game begins in a small coastal village, deliberately reminiscent of Windwaker but not specifically anywhere from the game, as we're not tying directly into anything other Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Navi finds a now-adult link wandering the shore and has to convince him to return to Hyrule to help Zelda, which he is reluctant to do at first, trauma being like that and all. Of course Link agrees in the end and the reunited companions have to head back to Hyrule. As this version of Link is by now a seasoned adventurer, he'll actually be starting out with some equipment, rather than having to gather it as he normally does. Nothing special, just a sword, shield, bow and bomb bag, everything else will come over the course of the adventure. The first part of the game is a mountain range that Link has to cross, basically it's a chance to learn the controls, try out the equipment and gather a few Heart Containers, but it will also discourage players from wandering back to the first town, as there's not all that much there to see.

Link emerges from the mountains in northern Termina, we get a nice sweeping shot of the HD version of the landscape which, yes, will be bigger and more detailed than it was in Majora's Mask, this is a sequel, not a remake. Before he can move into Hyrule, Link has to revisit some of the important locations in Termina, find some treasures and help people out, places like the Great Bay, Clock Town and the Moon. Again, this isn't a remake, so it's not the same dungeons and quests as Majora's Mask, but we get to see the characters of the games ten or so years on like we did in Ocarina of Time. This section of the game will be substantial, with Link needing to get some items, defeat some bosses and getting his hands on the Ocarina of Time, with which (and the Song of Soaring) introduces our fast travel mechanic. If, at this stage, the player can be bothered returning on foot to the starting area, there will be a nice little bonus, like some equipment or a new mask.

What's that? Yeah, we're doing masks again. Not to a Majora's Mask extent, but some old favorites like the Bunny Hood, Deku Mask and even the Fierce Deity and Majora's Masks will pop up, but more on them later. After gathering what he needs from Termina, Link can depart to the next area of the game, and the next act, Hyrule. Much like in Ocarina of Time, Hyrule is a nightmare kingdom of darkness and monsters, with the few living survivors hiding in towns and settlements. From townsfolk and people from his past, Link uncovers information about what has happened; a new dark force came from the Desert, Zelda went to fight it and was never seen again. No one knows anything specific, but the Sages, when Link finds them, push him to get the Master Sword and go confront the evil, rescue the Queen, etc. Some of the Sages are in or near the Ocarina of Time dungeons, but the player doesn't need to clear all of them again, maybe just the good ones for fun, though with some expanded sequences.

What Link really needs to recover the Master Sword is, of course, the three Spiritual Stones, so it's off to the Great Deku Tree, Dododongo's Cavern and Zora's Domain (Jabujabu is dead from the pollution, so I'm guessing Ruto hid it in the Ice Cavern or Water Temple). Each of these locations will be reminiscent of how they appeared in Ocarina of Time, but still very different, remember, this is not a remake. There will be a dream sequence, however, after Link has found the Spiritual Stones that takes the player through a full 64-bit dungeon made up of iconic bits of Ocarina of Time, just as a nice bit of fan-service, though it dumps Link in the Temple of Time and he can finally pull the Master Sword. Also in terms of fan-service, the various songs from Ocarina of Time will mostly still work, and if the player can figure them out without Link "learning" them, they work. Like the magic spells in the old Ultima games.

Finally, Link can head into the Haunted Wasteland to confront the great evil that is destroying Hyrule. He finds that the Gerudo Fortress has been destroyed and all the Gerudo killed, probably being told this by the ghost of Nabooru, and the wasteland is now more reminiscent of the Dark World from Link to the Past, a surreal nightmare of darkness more so than a traditional landscape. In this section of the game, Link will pretty much be battling nasty monsters, finding the last few items he needs to complete the game and clearing a couple of dungeons to make his way to the final boss. This is probably where he finds things like Majora's Mask and the Gold Bracers, really building up that Link is about to take on the biggest foe he's ever faced. This section of the game should ideally be pretty difficult, at least for a Zelda game, though there's a Great Fairy's Fountain just before the Boss, so that players can go in at full health, and probably with Nayrue's Love now in their arsenal.

Can't really go any further with this without dropping the big reveal; the villain is Princess Zelda. After ascending to the throne and having the influence to learn more about the Triforce and the whole cosmogonic cycle that she, Ganon and Link are destined to repeat for eternity. Wanting to break that cycle, Zelda used her magic to kill Gannondorf (who has been imprisoned since the end of Ocarina of Time) and steal the Triforce of Power from him. Of course, power corrupts, so it wasn't long before Zelda wanted to get her hands on the Triforce of Courage in Link as well, so she starts to destroy Hyrule to lure the Hero of Time back. In an attempt to subvert the cycle, Zelda has merely shifted her role within it, becoming Ganon while Link remains the hero and someone, probably Saria, Ruto or Nabooru, in the Triforce of Wisdom Role. To finish the game, the player, and Link, have to save Hyrule by killing Princess Zelda.

I'm typically a bit down on massive boss fights in video games, but the Link/Zelda fight should be pretty long and cover multiple parts, just maybe let players save and quit between sections? I don't know why more games don't do that? Link will have to use everything in his arsenal to defeat Zelda, as she's still part good, so the Master Sword doesn't do the full job, and even the Fierce Deity Mask can't quite bring down an sorceress with two Triforce sections. In order to strike the killing blow, Link has only one choice; put on Majora's Mask. Link gets to throw around some serious power for a few rounds with the mask on, but what we're really building to is a sequence where Link, as Majora, has to travel to the moon, meet the Moon Children again, and, tragically, crash the moon into Zelda to kill her. With this act, as well as narratively tying up the previous two games, Link destroys Zelda, the Triforce, and himself, closing the cycle begun in the Deku Tree so many years ago and moving on to the next rotation. Although this is a sad ending, there is reference to games that happen in the "future" of the timeline and reinforcement of the Campbell-esque ideas of mythic cycles at the core of the series.

Hero of Time is a story of gods and epic destiny, but also is very human, with Link's trauma being a big driving force for the narrative as well as the whole mythology thing. In fact, with some clever writing, Link's 'silent protagonist' status could actually be played to make him seen withdrawn and reluctant, rather than just shy. The game echoes both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, but is it's own thing, think more like the 8-Bit sections and Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey than Kirby's Adventure Wii. And, well, I'm done? I'm not a video game designer, I'm a writer (and psychotherapist and some other stuff), so the above has been an exercise in storytelling, not game design. And also the main point was to get this out of my head where it's been rattling around for a couple of decades. Hope you enjoyed the ride, but it's back to superheroes next time.