Currently listening to: Breath of the Wild OST

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Recently I managed to get my hands on a copy of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and as I have been playing through the game, one thing in particular has fascinated me: the characters. This became especially true for me after finishing the Vah Ruta arc, and I couldn’t help but share some of the things I’ve noticed so far that I feel have particular value for those of us who endeavor to be writers.

For any who are concerned about spoilers, I’d suggest reading this post after you’ve played the game. For those who are just curious about my musings, here they are.

I was first introduced to the Legend of Zelda back when I was around 14 or 15 years old. The game series had been out for a long time, but I didn’t have access to any Nintendo consoles. As such, my exposure to the series was limited almost entirely to what I heard from my friends at school, with the exception of the Ocarina of Time mangas I picked up at the bookstore.

Twilight Princess was the first in the series that I had a chance to play, as I would sneak in game sessions while over at my best friend’s house, but I never had a chance to play much of it myself. Still, I watched the playthroughs on YouTube and enjoyed the story for what it was.

I’ve always liked Link as a character. Zelda, I never had much interest in, as her character always seemed somewhat flat to me. The game was named after her, but it wasn’t her story. With Breath of the Wild, I was expecting much the same sort of feel as that of Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess. I was wrong.

While Zelda’s character development in the game is much more vibrant than I remember it being in either Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess, the two characters that have really stood out to me so far are actually Link (the main character) and Sidon (the Zora prince).

Link

I have always been a fan of Link, ever since I first was introduced to the game series, and I can’t say his character is strikingly different from other renditions of him, but the thing that I wanted to mention about Link is actually how incredible it is that you can have a character who literally never talks. Or, I should say, who we never hear talk.

A regular aspect of Link in every Legend of Zelda game I’ve played or seen is that he is usually the only main character that has no notable dialogue, whether verbal or subtitled. This is equally true in Breath of the Wild. And yet, despite never really hearing his voice, we (or, at least, I) find him to be one of the most loveable characters of any story I have ever been exposed to.

As a writer, I get hung up on dialogue a lot. This is not to say, of course, that dialogue isn’t important, but if you look at how Link’s character is portrayed, clearly his dialogue is not what makes him the brave, loveable character he is.

There are two things I’ve noticed so far that really make Link stand out. The first and most obvious of those two things is the dialogue of the other characters. What Link says to the other characters is left almost entirely up to the player’s imagination, but what the NPCs say about and to Link tells you worlds about who he is supposed to be as a person.

The memory flashback of Link and Mipha, for instance, tells you almost everything you need to know about Link’s childhood and his relationship with the Zora princess. They are close friends. Mipha undoubtedly thinks of Link as more than a friend. We definitely get the sense that Mipha thinks highly of Link, though there is also mention that he was reckless and accident-prone even as a kid. Impa, either of the two researchers you meet earlier in the game, even the Zora king have positive reactions to Link’s return and give you clues as to how important he was before the Calamity, not to mention how loved and admired he was.

Though more subtle, Link’s character also comes out in his visual responses to what is happening around him. His eyes widen when he is surprised or he remembers something. Arms outstretched and body hunched, he’s ready for a fight. His most notable visual responses I’ve seen so far are in the flashback memory of the fall of Hyrule Castle, where a sobbing Zelda collapses into his arms. His reaction is awkward at first, but he eases into the embrace. His face remains somber, every bit what you could expect of a Hyrulian knight and Champion, but his body language is soft.

To sum it up, there are the two things I have noticed about writing in the character of Link. The first is that, when developing dialogue, consider whether or not it is absolutely necessary for the continuation of the story. After all, you don’t need dialogue to portray a character. When you do use it, however, make it powerful, and don’t neglect even the more minor characters. Even their reactions to your main character can have a big impact on character development.

Secondly, don’t forget about body language. This sort of falls into the “show, don’t tell” adage you will often hear in writing communities. Basically, the idea is that everything from a twitch in the eye to a bend in the knee can tell you worlds about who the character is if used correctly. It’s not just about the big, superfluous action scenes. The subtle movements of a character can be just as important.

Sidon

Sidon is the prince of the Zora who you meet in order to complete the Divine Beast Vah Ruta part of the main questline. For me, I got dragged into meeting him thanks to a collection of random Zora NPCs harassing me across the map of Hyrule saying that I should meet their prince on some bridge nearby.

At the beginning, I found Sidon to be an excessively annoying character. He’s weirdly chipper and has this thing he does where he gives Link some sort of thumbs up and a tooth twinkle at every opportunity. Basically, he was one of those characters I wanted to stuff back in the proverbial box and stamp “return to sender” on it.

Sidon is a major player throughout the Vah Ruta arc of the story, and despite his atrociously annoying quirk, he did grow on me over time. It was this aspect of the character I found fascinating: that a character so annoying could also be so loveable.

I still haven’t fully grasped what it is about Sidon that made his character grow on me, but as a writer, I find the idea intriguing. Sidon has this annoying quirk, and yet he’s so brave and passionate, you have to give him a measure of credit. He’s a bit awkward, sometimes repeating himself or talking very loudly, and by the end, you get the sense that there is a lot more depth to his character than was originally portrayed. He is the younger brother of the Zora princess, Mipha, Link’s close friend from before the Calamity and one of the Divine Champions. After Mipha lost her life in Ganon’s hijacking of the Divine Beasts, the title of heir fell to Sidon. Being so vastly different from his sister, however, Sidon has a lot to live up to, and in a way, you can see him struggling to keep up the strong façade, which perhaps is the real source of his annoyingly garish introduction.

In terms of writing, Sidon is a fascinating study of a character who can at once have both annoying quirks and loveable traits. In real life, I feel safe in saying we are all a “Sidon” at times. We all have our annoying quirks and loveable traits. Writing characters with both is what makes them real, but it’s especially important for an otherwise annoying character to have reasons for the reader to love them, too, or they become more of a hindrance in the story than a help.

There is so much more that could be said of the writing behind Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and maybe I will write about it again, but in conclusion, there is a reason why the series has lasted as long as it has, and I don’t think it’s just because of the gameplay. From the viewpoint of a writer, I feel like there is a lot that can be learned from a story as timeless as the Legend of Zelda, and that is especially true in the character development of some of the major players in Breath of the Wild, whether it be the use of dialogue and body language, or simply the art of making an annoying character loveable at the same time.