As all of you could tell, I love the Legend of Zelda for many reasons. What, with its great gameplay, awesome stories, and magnificent music, I'm very confused as to how someone could not like this franchise. But behind these aspects, the Zelda series contains a large amount of strange and downright wrong things. With a multitude of choices, compiling a list of these things was not a challenge in the slightest. Whether it be weird, disturbing, or even cringe-worthy, these are, in my opinion, the creepiest things in the Zelda franchise.
Number 15...
Romani's Abduction- Majora's Mask
When you first enter Romani Ranch and talk to Romani, she will tell you about... Them. She's referring to a type of invaders that show up at the the time of the festival to take away cows for unknown reasons. Yes... The beings Romani is talking about is aliens. There are aliens in a Zelda game. Romani asks you to arrive back at the ranch on the night of the first day, in order to help her fight them off. When you arrive back, things start coming together. The aliens appear and begin attacking the ranch. The whole scenario is extremely unsettling, but unfortunately, it gets worse. If you manage to defend the ranch for a full period of in- game time, things will return to normal. But, if you let just one alien reach the ranch, this is where things get freaky. An entire alien saucer comes down and not only abducts the cows, but abducts Romani as well. For the whole of the second day, Romani will be entirely missing from the ranch, but will be back on the third day. When you do see her on the third day, Romani is entirely different. Not only has practically all her memories been erased, but her entire character has shifted from a happy, fun- loving girl to a depressing and emotionless wreck. This raises a question: What exactly did the aliens do to her up there? ... On second thought, I don't want to know.
Number 14...
Zant Hand- Twilight Princess
Well... This practically sums up my experience:
Number 13...
Silent Realms- Skyward Sword
After getting Zelda away from Ghirahim's grasp, your required to enhance your sword by passing trials set by the Goddess. These spirit trials are fairly interesting. Taking a page out of the Twilight areas in Twilight Princess,you need to collect 15 tears of a specific Goddess, in order to allow your spirit to grow. Now this seems fine and dandy... Until you run out of petals. These enemies in the picture above are known as Guardians, and trust me, you do not want to mess with these guys. Every time you collect one of the tears, you are given a 90 second time period where the Guardians are stuck in limbo. But if that time runs out ( or you run into a Watcher or Waking Water), these enemies will begin chasing you. These enemies cannot be defeated, and if they hit just once, you have to start the trial all over again. One of the things that makes the Silent Realms so freaky is how, when they're chasing you, contrasts so much from the rest of the Silent Realm. The Silent Realm mostly has a soft, comforting track with a little comforting appearance to make you feel safe. When the Guardians awaken, everything turns rough and terrifying. There are sounds of hard footsteps and scraping of sythes, and it's just... Aaaaahh. And the chasing music is just nightmare inducing. This was me the first time I played through the Silent realms:
Number 12...
Ancient Cistern Underground- Skyward Sword
A thing the 3D Zelda games never seemed to get right is the water dungeons. All of them alter the game in a negative way, and all of them turn out to be the most tedious in the game. However, there is one 3D Zelda dungeon that does the water thing correctly. And that would have to be the Ancient Cistern from Skyward Sword. Not only does this dungeon not focus on underwater trends, it also has a unique design and is overall, a very fun dungeon. But this dungeon does have something that will surprise quite alot of people. What is this dungeon hiding? Well... Hell, of course.
Seriously, when I first played through this dungeon, I never saw this coming. Not only is this basement floor a huge contrast to the upper floor, this place is quite literally Hell. You have the dead just walking around, you have various torture- looking implements, and you even have a lake of purple liquid that can gradually kill you. But what really pushes this area over the edge is that it's actually based on a story known as the Spider's Thread. In this Buddhist story, Buddha is walking through paradise ( the upper floor) and gazes through a pond, where he can see into the depths of Hell ( basement). He spots a criminal named Candata ( Link), who had performed one good deed throughout his life: Choosing not to step on a spider. Moved by this, Buddha desends a spider's thread into Hell, which Candata starts climbing in order to reach paradise.
However, other damned souls ( Cursed Bokoblins) begin climbing the thread as well. worried that the thread would break, Candata announces that the thread is his and his alone. With that, the thread snaps and all the sinners, including Candata, fall back into Hell. Pretty unique once you think about.... But, pretty morbid as well.
Number 11...
Diabolical Cubus Sisters- Phantom Hourglass
Phantom Hourglass. I've had so much fun with this game, and it never seems to get old. In the first portion of the game, the story focuses on tetra being kidnapped by the Ghost Ship, and Link being required to collect the three force fairies to find the ship. Once those three have been collected and you've progressed through the foggy deep, you enter the Ghost Ship. The Ghost Ship, in itself, is a relatively creepy dungeon. It is continually inveloped in fog and there are a multitude of freaky enemies. As you progress further, it's apparent that you mast save there four sister trapped within the dungeon.
As you help, suspicion begins to arise. The four girls constantly get you caught by the patrolling enemies and gives you advice that turns out to put you in more danger than before. It makes you think these girls are trying to get you purposefully killed... Oh, wait. they are. Once you save the final sister, they reveal themselves as the boss of the Ghost Ship, The Diabolical Cubus Sisters. The sisters look pretty damn pretty, what with their permanently forced smiles and their shiny red eyes... *shivers*
Number 10...
Wallmasters- Ocarina of Time
For being a bunch of disembodied hands, these things can be extremely frightning. In certain dungeons, if you stand still for a period of time, a Wallmaster will drop from the ceiling, grab onto you, and pretty much drag you all the way to the beginning of the area. Lets say you were playing Ocarina of Time for the first time. You get to the Forest Temple. You read the sign about the shadows on the floor. You see the shadow of your feet start to grow in size.Then you stay... Mesmorized by it... Then, almost instantly, a Wallmaster comes down and takes you away. It's a suttle type of horror, but extremely effective.
Number 9...
Reveal of Blizzeta- Twilight Princess
Mood- whiplash moments can be incredibly effective if you do it right. And lucky for us, Twilight Princess just happened to have one of these moments. Lets set the scene: You've just gone snowboarding down a mountain, and it was really fun. Afterwards, you arrive at the home of two Yetis, the Snowpeak Ruins. The two Yetis that live here have found one of the Mirrors of Twilight, and locked it away in their bedroom, but surprisingly, they are very willing to help you retrieve the mirror shard, even if there are a few detours. See, the girl Yeti tries to give you directions to the bedroom key, but... Fails. TWICE. But the third time, she gives you the right directions and Link and her go into the bedroom together. You see the mirror shard and Yeta walks toward it to get it... But then she stops. She starts trembling, the music becomes darker, and then...
... Wow. This is definitely a great case of mood- whiplash. All throughout the dungeon, Yeta was sick due the power of the mirror shard, but was still a very pleasant character. For her to have such a huge transformation is startling for even the most harden gamer. The unveilment of Blizzeta is is just so cringe- worthy. The blood- curdling scream she makes was enough to send me reeling in my seat the first time I saw it. when replaying the scene, I saw her that her entire head does a 180 degree turn, and that face is on the back of her head... Why in the living hell does she have two faces?!?! Oh, Nintendo...
Number 8...
Re- Deads- Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time
Out of all the scary things in the Zelda series discussed by fans, this enemy is the one that pops up the most. While the Ocarina of Time Redeads look pretty derpy, in my opinion, the Wind Waker and Twilight Princess ones are far from it. Wind Waker ones, oh my... You thought the original Redead screams were horrid? Listen to the Wind Waker version: (Please visit the site to view this media) OMIGAWD... Anyways, the Twilight Princess ones are something different. Instead of using *ahem*.... "Rape" to attack Link, they use their trademark scream to stun you, then swing at you with their giant blade. With these two kinds of Redeads, it's know wonder they got this high in the list.
Number 7...
Shadow Temple- Ocarina of Time
Referring back to Ocarina of Time for a bit, an aspect this game is praised on is its unique dungeons. With the Forest Temple and its unique Bow implementations, the Spirit Temple with the use of both versions of Link, and even the water temple is unique for its... Difficulty... However, second to the Water Temple, the most famous dungeon in Ocarina of time would have to go to the horrifying, 7th dungeon, the Shadow Temple. When I first played through this dungeon, all I was thinking was " This got an E rating?!" I mean, not only is it directly linked to a graveyard, but it's also where the most villainous people all of Hyrule are buried... Seriously? I'd imagine this being in Silent Hill, not a freaking Zelda game! This dungeon is greatly known for being the one of the most horrifying locations placed video games, let alone Nintendo games. things like Redeads and wallmasters make the appearance here, but things get worse from there on out. From a large number of room made out of what appears to be actual dead bodies, several reaper statues, and even a ghost ship that tries to drop you into a huge pit of death. The boss, like the Redeads, looks kinda derpy, but there is sort of a creepy sensation when your fighting a severed head and hands, while you fight on a beating drum, surrounded by a pool of the dead.
Number 6...
Huge Poes- Twilight Princess
At the beginning of the Arbiter's Grounds in Twilight Princess, you see a huge door surrounded by four torches with flames. You are about to go into to the door, but it suddenly closes due to the fact that four of the Grim Reaper- looking enemies take the flames from the torches and then fly away. Now you have to play some hide and seek! .... GRRREEAAAA- And giving the darker, creepier tone on this dungeon, it's pretty much terrifying to search for these practically invisible foes. But, if you see a lantern nearby... Be prepared. Still, it's kinda creepy to know these four poes are just lost souls that were condemned to the prison known as the Arbiter's Grounds.
Number 5...
Death Sword- Twilight Princess
Like the Huge Poes, the Death Sword was also a prisoner in the Arbiter's Grounds, just a bit more powerful. When you come into the mini boss room, you see a sword held to the ground by these talisman- like ropes to contain its power. Like the curious Link you are, you cut off one talisman, and the sword comes alive. At first, you see sword just flying around in the air by itself, but put on your wolf senses and...
... http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7qmklyRhu1qjo3xfo1_400.gif
If it's appearance wasn't terrifying enough, it lets out a blood- curdling scream to let you know it's pissed and wants to end your life. The whole time I was fighting it, I literally thought that it was going to come behind me, snap my neck in two, and take me into the shadows so that I'd never see the light of day again... Thank you, Mr. Death Sword for making me officailly scared of rams. Well, at least you get to watch it explode into black butterflies once you defeat it... Oh, wait... That's creepy...
Number 4...
Dead Hand- Ocarina of Time
Out of all the things people rant and rave about over the Shadow Temple, the biggest thing is the mini boss. Now in all seriousness, what in Mary's holy name is this abomination? As you walk into the boss room, you are greeted by long white arms with long white fingers with red finger nails. As logic would suggest, since there's nothing else in the room, you are drawn to these hands. The hands then grab you as this disgusting thing emerges out of the ground. the Dead Hand is sickly white covered in purple spot and stained in blood. It's battle start is to hold you in place with its arm and then attempt to bite your head off.
^ Really. He's always aiming for your head. Its German name, Hirnsauger, literally means brain feeder... Again, I believe Nintendo screwed up big time when they put this as a E rated game...
Number 3...
Weird Cutscene- Twilight Princess
Just... Watch...
(Please visit the site to view this media)
Number 2...
Elegy of Emptiness Statue- Majora's Mask
It order to progress through certain areas of the game, you will need to learn a specific song regarding to that area. In the more particularly scary area in the game, you will learn a song known as the Elegy of Emptiness. In essence, this song creates a statue in whatever form Link is currently in. While it is useful for making it through the Stone Tower Temple, these statues are extremely creepy. Mostly the human Link statue, though. This statue is the epitome of creepy, but what make is so high on this list is not the sheer creepiness of it, but more of the Creepypasta inspired by it. Many of you known this Creepypasta as Ben Drowned. If you've ever read it, you'd have the feelings I do about this unsettling statue. You see, the Creepypasta tells the story of a guy who finds a haunted copy of Majora's Mask. He is then haunted by a spirit known as Ben, based to the kid that originally owned the game, who drowned, and his spirit takes the form of the human Link Elegy of Emptiness Statue. Even though this story is totally fake, its so well written with some incredibly well crafted videos to go along with it, that I admit, put me on edge when I first saw them. There's just something about the the Song of Healing being played backwards followed by a creepy statue following you, followed by you burning to death multiple times that I don't know... Creepy?
Number 1...
The Moon- Majora's Mask
A large part of you probably saw thing coming. As well as the last level in Majora's Mask, the Moon is the driving force behind Termina's destruction. The first thing to note: Just. Freaking. Look at it. It has huge, unblinking eyes and a cynical grin. Moons do not look like that. For how gigantic it is in size, its surprisingly suddle. Think about it: When your not actually looking for it, it tends to stay out of sight like its up there... Watching you... Waiting for a chance to wipe you off the face of the Earth. When you actually enter the Moon to fight Majora, what do you think the Moon looks like? An insane world with no rules? Room filled with pain and torture? Anything stereotypically scary? Well.. No. None of those appear. The inside of the Moon is...
A green field with a lone tree in the center? Playing around the tree are four children, each wearing a mask of the bosses you've beaten. They will offer to play games with you in exchange for the masks you've collected. These "games" are trial rooms, where you have to make it through a room based off the dungeon the boss was from. Once you reached the end of these rooms where you find one of the children, you will be asked to give them more masks. After giving them the number of masks they require, they will start asking some strange and psychological questions such as "Who are your friends?" and "What do they think of you?". All these things in the final area of the game just raises a huge amount of questions: What the hell is happening? Who are these children? Why is the inside of a demonic room a paradise? Is this Heaven? If so, why is Majora a devilish monster here? Even though a confusing concept, it is explained very well in the Majora's Mask manga. See, there is a short story on how Majora's Mask actually came to became to be. Majora was a beast in the distant past, who fed on the desires of humans who came to steal his armor that could grant the wish of those who took it. One day, a travaler came to the monster and began talking to it. He found that the monster was miserable and wanted to die, so the man then played a tune on his bongos, sending the beast into a dancing trance for 3 days, until the beast died from exhaustion. The man then took the armor then carved it into a mask, and sealed the beast's power inside of it. That mask was named Majora. The mask then seeks a host, not resting til its wish was granted. This leads to a back story of the Skull Kid. The Skull Kid was once friends with giants who protected Termina. Eventually, the giants had to leave, making him feel lonely and miserable. This resulted in him lashing out on people, like the Happy Mask Salesman, allowing him to fall under the influence of Majora. Why does this entire story matter? Think about it: Majora possessed the moon and created an illusion based on the Skull Kid's misery. The lone tree represents Clock Town. The kid wearing Majora's Mask is him, sad and alone, while the other four symbolize the giants who were once friends with him. All the questions asked by the four children are questions the Skull Kid himself wanted an answer to. Playing with the child, while looking into his own personal Hell is where Majora's Mask makes its home. To sum this all up, the Moon is disturbing and creepy for a number of reasons. Its appearance, the presence of this strange world inside, of it, and the answers I've wanted to know for so long makes the Moon the creepiest thing is the Zelda series.
What do you think is the creepiest thing in Zelda? Comment below and thanks for reading!