A Heroic Tale of Becoming An Adult
A princess kidnapped, an evil dark lord bent on domination and a mysterious hero with a great destiny, this is the world of ‘The Ocarina of Time’. Hands down one of the greatest fantasy games ever made. When I was a kid this game blew my mind. It was like nothing else I’d ever seen. Now I’m older, I haven’t played it in almost twenty years, and Nintendo has announced a remake. I decided to go back and play the adventure again, to see if Hyrule had changed.
Let me say that on the outset, I had a vastly different impression of the game than I did as a child. There’s so many concepts and themes that are geared towards adult players. I’m really amazed at how mature this game is. I’m not referring to adult content, rather, just how complex the themes are. Not everyone gets a happy ending. It deals with themes of love, loss and friendship in a way few games ever do.
The concept of the video game revolves around time travel. When Link pulls the legendary Master Sword from its pedestal, he goes forward in time and becomes a man. When he returns the sword, he goes back in time to when he was a child.
The entire landscape reflects Link as he grows up. When he is young, the world is vibrant, green and everyone is happy always. When Link is a man, he goes into a world destroyed by the wicked Ganondorf. The world is no longer so happy, and people are living with real consequences.
Even worse, many don’t recognize Link, even though he remembers them. It just underscores the theme of loss, to grow up is to accept change. Sometimes that change hurts.
I think that is such a powerful image of growing up. I reflected on this as I replayed it. When I was a kid, everything was awesome and good. I looked at the world and saw good times. Growing up, I see it differently. I now see that there is pain and loss, there are problems I can’t solve. Part of growing up is accepting that not everything is wonderful and happy.
Part of the ‘Ocarina of Time’s brilliance is seeing how other characters evolve other than Link. The beautiful ranch girl Malon is sweet and kind as a child, grown up, she is still kind, yet her kindness has been abused by an evil landlord.
One of the more poignant moments is Links relationship with the forest girl, Sarai. Sarai is Links only true friend, and upon realizing that she is in danger, he rushes to save her. While her life is saved, they must still part ways. It’s such a tense moment when Link realizes that growing up also means that some people, even the ones we most love, won’t always be there for us. Sometimes people die, and other times, they just move on.
There is also the Zora Princess Ruto. Ruto is bossy, demanding and a bit pretentious. Link is quiet (VERY quiet..), humble and brave. Yet for some reason, Ruto has decided she loves Link. At first this is treated as a joke, but upon growing up, they both realize that they have moved beyond just ‘I like you’ or ‘puppy love’. Ruto despite her snobby attitude really does love Link for who he is, and it makes for a bittersweet moment when she leaves to save Links life.
Of course no discussion of this legendary game is complete without discussing the music. ‘The Ocarina of Time’ features some of my favorite game soundtracks of all time. I have dozens of knock off covers on my Spotify playlist to this day. Link travels with his ocarina and as he travels people he meets teaches him new songs. These songs are there to progress through the game of course, but now I see it differently.
The songs represent memory. The things we are given from others, our friends, family members, kind people we meet, sooner or later we end up parting in some way or another. But as Link plays the songs, he is reminded that the people he loves aren’t truly gone. Even if he can’t see them or talk to them anymore, he can always let the music take him back.
As the video game ends, Link gets to go back to a new world. The Master Sword is sealed away and he is back to being a child, and growing up in a world where the stories can end differently now. Link will never be the same, and that’s OK. We don’t know how he lives differently, but I’ve had this ‘head canon’ in my mind. I’ve always thought he would cherish every moment with Sarai. That he would realize that Ruto’s pushiness is her way of saying she loved him. And that even if the world doesn’t need saving again, there are always more adventures just outside of his forest.
‘Ocarina of Time’ really is a masterpiece of video game storytelling. It’s about growing up, and accepting that not only will the world change, but you will as well. That girl you think is annoying might not annoy you so much later. The best friend you think will always be there may not be with you. So it’s important to remember the journey continues, and there will always be other people along the way.
Link and I are different people as we’ve grown up. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept the darkness that ever encroaches or forget the ones we love. We can always choose to be the hero, as we carry our Master Swords and the memories of those we love with us.