Recently, I saw someone make the claim that Twilight Princess is the "quintessential Zelda game", because – on top of using the foundations laid out by A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time – it's "full with cameos and references to past games". I can't say that I agree with any of that, because it became too linear to truly respect those foundations. And while it certainly has some references to past games, it's mainly A Link to the Past and the other 3D Zelda games. As for cameos, I can really only think of the Skull Kid and the Postman...
However, there is one game from that era that truly was filled with references and cameos to ALL past Zelda games and that's The Minish Cap, where I was reminded of that while replaying the game once more on the Nintendo Switch. So, I thought that I should make a list of how every Zelda game before The Minish Cap gets represented. This list is not meant to be comprehensive, only to give examples to proof this point. But if you can think of anything important that I should have mentioned, feel free to leave a comment.
The Legend of Zelda
Royal Crypt. Period. This mini-dungeon is a callback to the labyrinths of the NES classic. You can hear a rendition of the music, and you can hear the secret item melody when you make keys appear, which are also just put on the ground, instead of inside a treasure chest. Gibdos can also be seen carrying items, which they otherwise don't. It's a shame that this wasn't turned into a full dungeon...
In addition, the Ocarina of Wind plays the same little tune as the Flute / Recorder.
Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
Well, Zelda II is probably the one game that has very little to go with, but in the very least The Minish Cap featured a series of learnable sword techniques, as it was first done in The Adventure of Link. And one of those techniques is even the Down Thrust, though you don't get to use it in a side-scrolling perspective here.
A Link to the Past
Mostly, A Link to the Past is represented via different music pieces. Of course there is the usual stuff, like Zelda's theme and Hyrule Castle, which are also featured in many other Zelda games. But there is more than that, like the unique callback to the beginning of A Link to the Past during the rainy part on Mount Crenel.
Also, you get to hear the cave theme when you're inside the secret passage that leads back into Hyrule Castle. And if you have unlocked the sound test, then you can listen to a rendition of the title screen theme from A Link to the Past. This one doesn't play anywhere else in the game, though, so it's really just a hidden feature.
The Four Sword's curse-breaking magic looks like the sword beam of the Master Sword from A Link to the Past. And while the Ocarina of Wind plays a different tune, the way you call a bird to travel over Hyrule is very similar to the Flute (which was also an Ocarina) from the SNES. The witch Syrup also returns, who had been present in all handheld Zelda games til this point, except for Four Swords.
As an environmental reference, you get the same prison cells in the basement of Dark Hyrule Castle as the ones in the beginning of A Link to the Past. Instead of Zelda, the king of Hyrule is imprisoned here, but overall it's quite similar in how this area is structured.
Link's Awakening
Naturally, the first handheld Zelda game had to be referenced in several ways. The Mysterious Shells are a nod to the Secret Seashells, even though they work differently. Simon's Simulations are reminiscent of the Dream Shrine. And your normal sword beams make the same sound as those from the L-2 sword.
This might be a minor detail, but the room with the two Sparks before the boss chamber in the Fortress of Winds is a callback to a similar room at the end of the Face Shrine, Level 6. More importantly, The Minish Cap is one of the few Zelda games other than Link's Awakening to feature enemies from the Super Mario series, like the Bob-ombs and Lakitus.
Ocarina of Time
Mainly, Ocarina of Time gets represented with a variety of recurring characters. Malon, Talon, and Epona make an appearance – there is even a whole Lon Lon Farm and you can get Lon Lon Milk for your bottles. Then we also have Biggoron, the carpenters, Anju (as the Cucco lady), Dampé, and more. The Hyrule Castle Town music is also a remix of the Kokiri Forest theme.
Majora's Mask
Similar to Ocarina of Time, the other N64 classic gets multiple character cameos, including Tingle, Gorman, and the Postman, but also characters that are present in both N64 games, like Dampé and Anju. Well, technically Gorman and the Postman also exist in Ocarina of Time, but here they are based on their iterations from Majora's Mask. Otherwise, Major Hagen's obsession with masks can be seen as a reference to Majora's Mask overall.
And let's not forget one of the most impressive boss fights in the game: the Gyorg Pair. Though, why they are called "Gyorgs", we will never know...
Oracle of Ages & Seasons
Din, Nayru, and Farore make an appearance. Also, each of them are looking for a new home, but you can only give two of them a house, which happen to have a red and a blue roof. This can be interpreted as a callback to how they were only able to make two of three planned games in the "Mystical Seed" series, though you don't have to go specifically with Din and Nayru.
There are even more characters from the Oracle games to be found, like Stockwell and Dr. Left (who was a reference to Mr. Write from Link's Awakening). And the Roc's Cape returns as an item from Four Swords, which originated in Oracle of Seasons as an upgrade to the Roc's Feather.
The Wind Waker
This is probably one of the most obvious examples, given that both Four Swords and The Minish Cap translated the toon style of The Wind Waker into 2D sprites, which can be seen in certain enemies, like the Moblins. However, The Minish Cap went a step further by also bringing many of its characters into 2D. We have Tingle's siblings, Beedle, Carlov, Sturgeon, Zill, or the Goron Merchants. And King Daltus greatly resembles the King of Red Lions, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule.
Also, the Mirror Shield looks exactly like the one from The Wind Waker. And one of the bosses, Mazaal, is clearly based on Gohdan. In German they even share the same name: Quartoxuma.
Four Swords
In this case it's probably easier to list what didn't make it into The Minish Cap, since the game uses the same engine and assets as Four Swords. They essentially took the multiplayer Game Boy Advance title and used it to make a new singleplayer experience.
Major story aspects, like Vaati and the Four Sword, made a return here. Even the Minish Cap itself is based on one of the items from Four Swords, the Gnat Hat.
Four Swords Adventures
The Minish Cap and Four Swords Adventures were developed in parallel, so it's far-fetched to claim that there are any intentional references between the two games. Still, since both are based on Four Swords, they share many similarities, other than featuring Vaati and the Four Sword. For example, both games use the four stones from the Four Sword Sanctuary as key items: in The Minish Cap they became the four elements, while in Four Swords Adventures they are the four "Royal Jewels".
No comments:
Post a Comment