The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Golden-age Hollywood director Billy Wilder once famously said of story structure: “If you have a problem with the Third Act, the real problem is in the First Act.” Twilight Princess possesses a deeply flawed First Act, introducing characters and concepts that are all but forgotten by the game’s end. As a consequence, major characters and thematic elements that dominate the Third Act are given little emphasis in the First Act, which leaves the game feeling like two halves of an incomplete whole. 

Twilight Princess opens by breaking with established series tradition, skipping a legend-based prologue in favor of a dialogue between Link and a local man from their village. While this isn’t a bad choice on its face, the way their conversation progresses fails to build anticipation for the game’s next segment, as it doesn’t introduce a source of conflict. When the scene begins, Link and the unnamed man are seated together by a pond at dusk, and as the light dims around them, the local man reflects on the strange feelings that come with the setting sun, saying:

“Tell me…Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls? They say it’s the only time when our world intersects with theirs…The only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left our world. That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight…”

This conversation introduces the story’s twilight motif, but the potential to expand on the motif is lost when the unnamed man abruptly changes the subject. He needs Link to journey to Hyrule to deliver something to the royal family. While the man doesn’t explain why he won’t take the task, even when the mayor directly asked him to do it, he notes that Link has never been to Hyrule. Link shows no physical signs of agreement or disagreement—a feature that comes to define his Twilight incarnation—and the conversation comes to an abrupt end.

Through this single exchange, one of Twilight Princess’s largest problems makes itself known. There’s no sense of urgency at the close of the scene; it merely ends because the pair decide to leave the pond. Link’s lack of reaction is also strange, as this is his first chance to visit a new and distant place. The lack of dialogue isn’t surprising, as Link is a silent protagonist, but his lack of emotion extends to his animations as well. In the absence of any dialogue, sounds, or gestures, there is nothing to indicate that Link cares about his quest. While it’s certainly possible to write a compelling story with an apathetic protagonist, it’s significantly easier when the protagonist shows interest in the narrative’s events. Players want to empathize with the protagonist, especially in role-playing games, so when the protagonist doesn’t care, the player won’t care, either.

The next sixty-odd minutes of playtime feature similar character introductions and player interactions, none of which arouse emotion from Link and all of which saddle the player with tutorials masquerading as chores. The first such chore, herding village goats, involves a detour to meet the horse, Epona, and the local girl who cares for her, Ilia. Ilia’s introduction focuses on her feelings for Epona, rather than Link, and Link’s lack of reaction makes him feel like an afterthought in his own game.

The introduction of the village children—Malo, Talo, Beth, and Colin—is slightly more effective, as it directly focuses on their relationships with Link. Each child is given surface-level details to their personalities and appearances to make them unique, and they are all equally excited to help Link learn how to use his tools. Although this is a clever conceit for teaching the player the skills necessary to play the game, it quickly wears out its welcome as the story slows to a halt. Ironically, the characters become obstacles to the progression of the narrative.

The extended tutorial segment comes to an abrupt end when a monkey wanders into the village, and the children chase after it. Link rides Epona to the Forest Temple, passing most of the children, and finds Talo and the wayward monkey locked in a wooden cage. Using his sword, Link frees Talo and the monkey and returns to the village. Although this sequence represents the game’s first point of conflict, it does not serve as the Inciting Incident, as it ends with a return to the status quo. To say none of it mattered would be an oversimplification, as some of the characters introduced have future roles to play. Still, the amount of time it takes for tension to develop in the narrative is excessive, and the developers could have trimmed the introduction extensively without sacrificing essential details.