The Legend of Zelda is a relatively conventional fantasy series: in most games, players take control of a young hero named Link who has to wield a legendary sword and shield combo to take down the evil wizard/monster Ganon and rescue the titular Princess Zelda.
But, of course, with technology getting more and more complex and advanced, these games slowly began implementing more outlandish narratives that helped them stand out more. This was a very good move from Nintendo, because now the entire Legend of Zelda series is well-known for its ridiculous, eccentric, and over-the-top (albeit extremely captivating) storylines, with the following examples being the most notorious ones in the franchise’s history so far.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead!
Link’s Awakening
It Was A Giant Fish’s Dream All Along!
While the plots of early Legend of Zelda games were quite simple, it could be argued that The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was the first one that actually tried to do something unique and bizarre with its story. At first glance, this seems like a regular Legend of Zelda adventure: Link finds himself stranded on the mysterious Koholint Island, so he has to collect eight instruments and wake up the Wind Fish if he wants to return home.
But, as the player delves into Koholint Island and its inhabitants, it’s slowly made clear that this is a very surreal place, since it’s filled to the brim with strange locations and zany characters, including several cameos from characters from other Nintendo properties. Everything is properly explained at the very end: both Koholint Island and its inhabitants are a product of the Wind Fish’s dream, so when Link wakes him up at the end, the entire island also ceases to exist. Not only is the plot of Link’s Awakening quite ridiculous, but its ending is very bittersweet as well.
Majora’s Mask
A Time-Traveling Quest To Prevent The End Of The World
The arrival of 3D gaming revitalized the Legend of Zelda franchise and, as a result, 1998’s Ocarina of Time quickly became known as one of the best and most important video games ever made. Its narrative was quite solid, but it was not too far off from what people usually expected from this franchise, so its direct follow-up had to go in an entirely different direction. Because of this, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is now famous for being one of the most distinctive and darkest games in the series.
There are two reasons the plot of Majora’s Mask is so ridiculous: first, the setting of the game, the Land of Termina, is surprisingly macabre, disturbing, and depressing, especially for a Legend of Zelda title. Secondly, the entire game is centered on Link having to stop Skull Kid and the titular Majora’s Mask from ending the world by dropping the whole moon on it. To accomplish this, he (and, by extension, the player) has to relive the same three days over and over while trying to awaken the Four Giants that can stop them.
Twilight Princess
Link Turns Into A Wolf And Saves Hyrule From Creepy Shadow Beasts
In 1992, A Link to the Past set a precedent by introducing a dark parallel dimension where Link was randomly turned into a rabbit. Oddly enough, this became a recurring plot thread in future games, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess took it to a whole new level. This story kicks off when a mysterious dark substance known as Twilight begins spreading all over Hyrule, and Shadow Beasts that terrorize the population come out of it.
Link suddenly turns into a wolf and meets a small imp-like creature called Midna, who tells him that they have to work together to revive the Light Spirits and stop Zant, the usurper king of the Twili Realm. Similar to Majora’s Mask, the plot of Twilight Princess is surprisingly mature for a Legend of Zelda game, but it does include more out-there elements like parallel dimensions, an entire race of shadow beings, and of course, Link’s bizarre wolf transformation.
Spirit Tracks
Princess Zelda Gets Turned Into A Ghost In This Whacky, Train-Centric Adventure
Phantom Hourglass was the series’s first foray into the Nintendo DS family of consoles, but its plot was way too reminiscent of The Wind Waker’s nautical narrative. So, its direct follow-up, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, not only takes place a century after the events of its two predecessors, but it also changed its focus to a completely different method of transportation: trains.
That’s right, in Spirit Tracks, the entire map is connected by railroads, and Link will have to move around by driving a train. Needless to say, this means that this adventure is also full of bizarre enemies, like a giant Demon Train. If that wasn’t weird enough already, the plot has another unique hook: at the beginning of the game, Princess Zelda gets her spirit removed from her body by the evil chancellor Cole, so she’s forced to accompany Link on his quest as a ghost who can even possess enemies. As strange as this may seem, most fans see it as a very good thing because this is one of the few entries in the series in which Zelda has an active role throughout the entire duration of the story.
A Link Between Worlds
It’s Even More Over-The-Top Than A Link To The Past
A Link to the Past already had a relatively bizarre narrative, but its spiritual successor, A Link Between Worlds, took everything that made that SNES classic so memorable and brilliantly used it to make an even more ambitious and more ridiculous new story. Just like its predecessor, this game is all about the Dark World and Link having to travel to this parallel dimension to save both it and Hyrule.
However, A Link Between Worlds also has some fresh (and bizarre) new ideas and elements that set it apart from A Link To The Past, like an extravagant new villain called Yuga, Link’s new ability to turn into a 2D painting that can squeeze through narrow gaps, and the sudden appearance of a merchant named Ravio who wears a bunny costume and is revealed to be Link’s Dark World counterpart at the very end of the game.
Hyrule Warriors
A Celebration Of The Entire Franchise, With Cameos Of Many Classic Characters
As a spin-off title, Hyrule Warriors had the opportunity to tell a more unconventional story that explains why and how so many beloved characters from across the entire Legend of Zelda timeline could meet in one place, and that’s exactly what developer Team Ninja did. This plot is quite ridiculous from the get-go, as it kicks off when a sorceress named Cia opens dimensional portals to different eras just because she has romantic feelings for Link.
It doesn’t take long for Hyrule Warriors to turn into a massive reunion of heroes and villains from previous games, like Sheik, Impa, Darunia, Midna, Fi, Ghirahim, Zant, and many more. This is not a nuanced plot, but it’s okay because it doesn’t really need to be, as its over-the-top nature fits the bombastic gameplay of this Musou spin-off perfectly, not to mention that it’s also meant to be a celebration of the entire Legend of Zelda franchise that any longtime fans can enjoy.
Tears Of The Kingdom
Zelda Travels Back In Time And Turns Into A Dragon To Fight Ganondorf
As successful and revolutionary as Breath of the Wild was, this open-world game was heavily criticized for its bare-bones, subdued storyline. So, naturally, Nintendo went all-in on its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, which features one of the most bizarre, over-the-top, and fascinating plots in the entire franchise. After the Demon King Ganondorf’s seal is broken, and he unleashes his dark forces all over Hyrule, Link will not only have to stop him but also find out what happened to Princess Zelda.
The player slowly finds out that, as the Sage of Time, Zelda actually traveled many years in the past to the early days of Hyrule, where she met its founders: King Rauru and Queen Sonia. This not only means that Tears of the Kingdom’ story has a great time-traveling element, but it also affects what Link is doing in the present in many fascinating ways, including the shocking reveal that the Light Dragon that had been soaring in the skies throughout the entire adventure was actually Princess Zelda, who had to go through the process of draconification to save Hyrule in the present. Needless to say, the final battle between the dragon versions of Zelda and Ganondorf is one of the most amazing set pieces in the entire series.
Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland / Ripened Tingle’s Balloon Trip Of Love
Two Equally Strange Adventures, Starring The One And Only Tingle
Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland
- Released
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September 2, 2006
Most Legend of Zelda fans often forget (or, rather, choose to forget) that there actually are two Japan-exclusive Nintendo DS spin-offs starring Tingle, who was already a very bizarre and polarizing character in the first place. For starters, there’s Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland, which revolves around a middle-aged man who has to gather an absurd amount of rupees to make a tower grow upwards toward the sky and reach the titular Rupeeland.
On the other hand, Ripened Tingle’s Balloon Trip Of Love is (weirdly enough) a Wizard of Oz parody about a similar middle-aged man who wants to find love in a fantastical land that exists inside a storybook. Neither of these games takes itself seriously, and they almost feel like parodies of the Legend of Zelda franchise, complete with that exaggerated and surreal sense of humor that Japanese audiences know and love. Most games on this list have ridiculous stories because they’re strange, unconventional, and/or over-the-top, but the plots of these two Tingle spin-offs are simply stupid (by intention).
