Three-Act Structure, Act III

The Wrap-Up plot point functions as a story’s epilogue, showing how the characters and the world around them have changed for the adventure. Blake Snyder refers to this moment as the Final Image and emphasizes the importance of relating it to the opening. “…[The] final image in a movie is the opposite of the opening image,” he states. “It is your proof that change has occurred and that it’s real.”² In shorter stories with smaller casts, a final image may be just that—a single image to define the story—but in large, sweeping stories with many characters, audiences typically want to see what’s become of the story’s different players after the climax. Video games, with their expansive worlds and ensemble casts, will often use a montage over the closing credits to touch on the minor changes that have resulted from the protagonist’s success. The major changes—the ones that directly impact the protagonists—are the ones that get their own cutscenes, uninterrupted by credits.

A Link to the Past features both a closing cutscene for the protagonist and a montage for the larger cast. In the closing cutscene, Link is seen approaching the Triforce, which speaks to him about Ganon’s evil plans for the Light World. Thanks to Link, Ganon is gone, and the Triforce needs a new owner. All Link needs to do is touch it with a wish in his heart, and the power in the Triforce will make it come true. While Link’s wish is never explicitly stated, the montage that follows makes it clear what he wanted: a return to the peaceful world that existed before Ganon opened the seal to the Dark World. Sure enough, the Triforce functions as promised, healing all those who have been injured (or worse) and restoring the King of Hyrule to his throne. The final image in the montage—the image that ties it all together—is the Master Sword resting in its pedestal. Just as Link’s journey began with the quest to find the sword, so too does it end with the sword returning to its rightful home.