The Legend of Zeldagames are known for many things. This enduring gaming franchise has a storied history that represents the very best of storytelling and upgrades over time to gaming, both graphically and how other aspects of the industry have leveled up over the years since the release of the firstZeldagame back in February 1986.
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But tonally, theZeldagames do move around quite a bit. Some of the stories told have remained light-hearted and joyous throughout, while other games have dark moments or stray into more adult subjects to a degree unexpected by many fans.These darker storieshave proven somewhat controversial to the franchise over time, but many of the themes which were daringly included have helped make fan-favorite entries.
6The Wind Waker
Thematically,Wind Wakeris much darker than thecolorful, beautifully fun animationcould possibly direct fans of theLegend of Zeldagames to believe off the bat.Wind Wakerdeals with themes about poverty and greed in frightening ways on Windfall Island. There are also melancholy themes to the ending when the adult characters realize that they are no longer relevant and must vanish. Not to mention that the entire kingdom was totally wiped out.
All of this makesWind Wakermuch more devastating in a thematic way than mostZeldagames. It is overshadowed at times by the light-hearted nature of the visuals, but even this drifts away when players reach locations such as Greatfish Isle. Here there is a completely destroyed island that Ganondorf’s influence has seen turn to ruin completely. It is a terrifying contrast to most of the places that Link visits inWind Waker.
5Ocarina Of Time
There are a lot of theories aboutOcarina of Timewhich makes one of the most legendaryZeldafranchise entries into one of the darkest as well. On the surface, there are already some terrifying aspects to the game, for instancewhen Link jumps forward into the futureand returns to Hyrule Castle, the town has been horrifically destroyedand filled with Redeads.
But besides this, playing the game back, players are left to wonder what happened in all the other timelines. Since it is suggested that splitting timelines will leave every world except the one where Link triumphed either trapped in darkness or completely destroyed. Either way,Ocarina of Timeleaves a lot to the imagination which can be pretty terrifying and dark.
4A Link Between Worlds
This is another significantly devastating moment that involves another world being (potentially?) destroyed, and it really comes down to what players think panned out. InA Link Between Worlds, the doppelgangers of Zelda and Link in Lorule, Ravio, and Hilda, have to accept when they return the Triforce to their counterparts that they will probably die.
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Zelda and Link manage to cheat this possibly devastating outcome when they return to Hyrule. But there is something that remains devastating, and disturbing about this whole situation for many players when they go to replay this infamous entry in theLegend of Zeldafranchise. Many fans haveforgotten about this fascinating entryin the franchise, but it is worth remembering.
3Breath Of The Wild
As an open-world game, the intricacies that makeBreath of the Wilda darker story than some expect do have to be searched for. There are a surprising number of sad stories among the NPCs depicted in this entry. A notably sad story that remains truly heart-breaking for players is Koko, who still hopes for her mother’s return despite Link knowing that her mother is dead.
Breath of the Wildis another Zelda game with beautiful colors and a bright world, but the calamities of the game and the dark meaning of what the world suffered aremore nightmarish than mostZeldagames.All of this has left many Zelda fans hoping thatTears of the Kingdomwill be less thematically dark.
2Twilight Princess
It is difficult to know where to begin with the darkness ofTwilight Princess. This game has a number of aspects that make it come off as a much less child-oriented game than others in the franchise. Unlike other games in the franchise, the dark themes aren’t hidden by brightly colored animation, colors are much more muted throughout and humans have almost been wiped out, with only a few settlements being shown as remaining asLink discovers Ganondorf behind the evilall along.
The story ofTwilight Princess, a conquered kingdom, eternal darkness slipping over the world, and Zoras frozen, is almost like a horror game. Not to mention that the story throughout makes everybody, including Link, seem like they are in it for their own motives. There is a lot less black and white in this, which was a surprising turn for aZeldagame. Not to mention the Twili, whose own backstory as a race is terribly depressing.
1Majora’s Mask
IfTwilight Princessborders on being a horror game thematically, thenMajora’s Maskgoes all the way. This game is thematically dark, with the entire world feeling much more on the brink of the true apocalypse than regular NPCs do in mostZeldagames. The themes of death and loneliness are ever-present, and then there is the Happy Mask Salesman.
A terrifying scene with this salesman is near the top of the list of scariest moments in aZeldagame.Link’s masks in the gameall hold the souls of Termina residents, and the Deku mask turns out to hold the soul of the Deku Butler’s son, who is seen weeping next to his son’s lifeless corpse after the credits roll at the end of the game. This is just another example of how completely devastatingMajora’s Masktruly was compared to other Zelda entries.
