The Light Dragon: The Perfect Foreshadowing in Tears of the Kingdom
Vložit
- čas přidán 30. 07. 2023
- The Light Dragon is an incredibly important figure within the story of Tears of the Kingdom. But, its foreshadowing and perfect reveal was what made it so memorable. Here's why I still can't stop thinking about it, even to this day.
_____________________
Music Used:
Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Ancient Zora Facility - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
YunoboCo HQ - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Purified Dragon - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Forgotten Temple - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Light Dragon - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Final Fall - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
_____________________
Footage used:
• Zelda Tears of the Kin...
• The Legend of Zelda: B...
• All Intro Cutscenes of...
• How to get Master Swor...
• Dragon Riding in The L...
• Easy Dragon Farming: F...
• Zelda: Tears of the Ki...
All other footage is personal gameplay.
#tearsofthekingdom #thelegendofzelda #breathofthewild - Hry
I am absolutely FLOORED with the attention this video has been receiving! Starting my own CZcams channel has been a dream of mine since I was a kid and after going at it for a few months, I didn't think I would even reach 1k views on one video within the same year. I'm still not sure how it all happened, but I want to thank you all so much for clicking on my video and giving me a chance! I read every single comment and they fills me with even more motivation to continue, so I'm whipping up another video right now to hopefully upload soon! Again, I can't be anymore grateful to all of you. You're making my dream a reality!!
I finally watched the video. Nicely edited. And even though i believe the story was not good, you did a good job presenting your case!
@clonetrooper2003 Thank you so much! I really appreciate you coming back to my video, the feedback is really helpful!
@@DadaPonMari anytime, mi amiga
I have no doubt that if you continue to put out quality videos like this that you will earn many subs quickly!
@-.MidnasLament.- Thank you again for the sweet comment! Hearing this really makes me feel a lot more confident for the future of my channel!
There’s one additional point that makes Zelda’s sacrifice even heavier… in BotW and TotK it’s established that the afterlife is a real thing that definitely exists - the Champions and Rhoam go there, as do Rauru/Mineru/Sonia.
A person undergoing Draconification essentially dies, since everything about them is wiped out completely and the dragon replaces them - but the dragon still has their spirit, and the dragon is immortal, which means that person can *never* go to the afterlife to rejoin their loved ones.
So basically, a person who goes through with Draconification not only sacrifices their life - they also sacrifice their afterlife. I’m guessing that’s why the ritual was forbidden.
I didn't think about this until I read your message, and this makes Zelda's sacrifice hit even harder. Just the idea of Zelda flying above in the skies for thousands of years without anyone realizing it's her is already heartbreaking enough, but to think that, if she wasn't turned back into human at the end of the game, she would continue to drift away forever, even after everyone is long gone, is just an extra layer to this tragedy. I'll be thinking about this for even longer now, haha!
@@DadaPonMari only a select few people and very little kids are able to see dragons
@@DadaPonMari it also tells you that botw got rewritten when Zelda dragonified herself to save hyrule, she technically ereased herself from that moment on to totk, witch is also very sad to know that hyrule started going into a state of decline from those events till the end when she turns back into her human self, knowing all this, this is a ultimate sacrifice to help save hyrule but at a ultimate cost, when I learned that the Light Dragon was Zelda to the time I was getting the sword put so many tears in my eyes knowing she is there but not there all at the same time, Nintendo really hit it home with this plot twist and story unfolding about Zelda and her Dragonification
Well... there are ghosts, for sure. Beyond that, who can say? If Zelda's consciousness was out of commission for the dragon duration then she is effectively just sleeping.... which isn't a bad deal at all since there is no awareness nor perception of the passage of time. Basically she eats the gem, then wakes up falling out of the sky. You think she'd be better off as a ghost?
@@SotiCoto she didn't know she was going to be saved, so she would have never joined the afterlife
If you take a picture of the light dragon it says “it’s presence is almost comforting” that in itself is kind of foreshadowing, also the fact that the scales heal you when fused to a weapon and how the description of the dragon parts say “an oddly familiar ability” are really cool to see after finding out Zelda is a dragon.
I didn't think of this, but you're completely right! I love how there's hints scattered about in the game, it adds a lot of depth to the twist, even after it happens.
TOTK (and BOTW) really is Zelda’s story. It’s about her growth, emotions, passions, and sacrifice. It really drives home why the series is called The Legend of Zelda. As Link, we witness her ups and downs and ultimately want to bring her home safely so she can have a second chance at life after all she has done for her kingdom.
I agree! Zelda went through a lot of character development and it was great watching her grow throughout the two games.
Indeed! I'm glad that the franchise finally released a game about the woman who's name has always been on the box :D
Actually I think it’s both. Link is the main character, but Zelda so far plays just important a role in the 2 games, from Wild bringing them all together to defeat Calamity Ganon, and Tears where she time travels, and was now a dragon all this time and makes a great sacrifice, Link is the one who always saves the day in the end defeats the big threat, but it’s Zelda who guides him or helps him in some way that allows him to beat the threat. That’s where she’s different to Princess Peach, Peach is often the damsel in distress, or just another ally to help Mario, but Zelda even when she is a damsel in distress actually guides or helps Link in some way.
Dont forget ss.
It was released on switch on purpose, and fujibayashi definitely wanted you to play them together.
SS is the story of zelda having it together, and link learning to grow up.
Botw/totk is the story of link having it together and zelda learning to grow up.
Sadly, zelda has the same sacrifices to make in either case.
Additional thought:
Fi helps link, fi helps Zelda. I'm sure the intention is that you assume fi kept zelda with her, otherwise bringing her up is pointless.
The earliest foreshadow imo was when you complete the sky island tutorial and have access to Hyrule, Zelda says “come find me” and the light dragon comes up from the clouds. She literally was calling to us in that moment.
That's great foreshadowing as well! I had forgotten about that scene until I was going through the cutscenes to get clips for this video and was reminded of it. A really beautiful scene with the way the clouds open up too to reveal Hyrule below. It can also be seen as Zelda revealing the true goal to you, which is saving Hyrule above all else.
It also acts as a sad parallel to Hylia's story in Skyward Sword where to give the world hope she sacrificed her godhood to become mortal, and Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom gave the world hope by sacrificing her mortality to become a god.
Great point! I also noticed that Fi's theme plays during cutscenes revolving around the Master Sword, so looks like there's a lot or references to Skyward Sword.
@@DadaPonMari There is another one, in the bedroom you can buy after buying a plot for a house from Rhondoson, links shirt from the start of skyward sword is folded up on a table
Until it was thrown in the garbage at the end of the game. I just love Nintendo ♥️
@Malcolmbutler-dv6nn I didn't notice that! I'll have to go back into the game and check that out!
Compare sealed temple from Skyward Sword to Forgotten Temple and be prepared to be amazed 👍
Found out by complete accident. I was flying around and saw the dragon, I needed a claw and didn't attention it was radically different. I had enough stamina to pull it right away, it was an amazing moment.
I love how everyone can figure out things so differently in this game like this! It really makes it feel like each person's playthrough is personalized, since this is so much different from how I discovered things. Really glad the developers gave us free reign for basically everything so we can have moments like these!
I went for the dragon without all the tears, the sword wasn't there, sooooooo, I doubt you pullet it out without knowing it was there and it was Zelda...
@@bortescalante5898huh? I did it without half the tears-
@@bkc.108 mmmm, then idk what happened, I discovered "the true" and I went directly for the dragon just to see if I could do something for her (I didn't know about the sword), nothing there, maybe I needed some "pre-goal" for it to be there
@@bortescalante5898Maybe the sword is locked behind that first dragon tear quest with Impa at the beginning? So you might need at least the first memory.
the light dragon was first foreshadowed in the 2021 teaser, when it ended with zelda's lullaby played on the dragons' strings. it was forshadowed for years and nobody noticed
You're right! I noticed after rewatching the trailer to grab some clips to edit this video and only then did I catch onto Zelda's lullaby at the end. So, it was hinted at even before the game was released, which is amazing to think about.
And the Koltin quest. The entire quest Koltin wants to become a ethereal being, the Satori, by eating a babbul gem. Sound familiar?
That part blew my mind into another dimension. The truth has been right there in front of us since 2021, we just didn't have the context for it then. I don't know why more people aren't talking about it.
Somebody noticed. There are a few reddit posts dating back to beginning of 2023 of people saying Zelda will turn into a dragon.
One small detail regarding the light dragon music.
Maybe I'm looking too deep into this but when you pull the master sword out of the light dragon, the full phrase of Zelda's lullaby plays as it zooms into the dragons eyes dialating and as she calms down.
I can't help but feel that for that one tiny moment, she remembers who she is. That makes it even more emotional to me! And the fact that she joins you in the final battle tells me that there's still a part of Zelda that remembers! It's so touching!
No, I like your idea! While looking at the master sword cutscene through this lens, the cutscene where she talks to Link is especially emotional, because she doesn't talk about herself, but instead how Link can now use the sword to save Hyrule. Even during her small moment of consciousness, she only thinks of the good of her people. I also think the cutscene when the Light Dragon sheds a tear after Link finds all the memories is another great moment that reflects this theory.
@@DadaPonMari I agree I think Zelda was never completely lost. In addition, while mineru states you lose yourself after transforming, your ambitions and essence of who you are remain. Zelda's instinct to repell evil I believe would have tied in to the small amount of Zelda that remained while ganondorf's essence of greed and evil still remained. If these dragons were completely lost souls, then Zelda and ganondorf would literally just fly around aimlessly and not give a dam.
The dragons were my favorite mystery of botw and I was so happy to learn more about the lore of these dragons. If we get dlc I really am hoping we get some backstory of the other 3 dragons, ie. Who were they, why did they draconify themselves? Etc.
@@MrSuperleobros Yeah, I'm really glad the dragons got the spotlight in this game, because nothing has ever stopped me in my tracks in a video game like they did for me in BotW. Here's hoping they get some more lore bits in the DLC!
That tracks I think. There’s one thing I never see anyone comment about when it comes to the final battle.
(Spoilers for those who haven’t reached that point yet!)
When Ganondorf first emerges during his draconification and snags Link in his jaws, there’s this heavily distorted high-pitched cry of “Link!” from....somewhere. To me, it sounded most like the high-pitched part of the Light Dragon’s cry during Zelda’s draconification. That, combined with how the fight against the Demon Dragon begins, really gave me that feeling of “She’s not entirely gone, she still remembers!”
@@optimistprime3192 I thought that was just tulin tbh
after seeing zelda was the light dragon, i was like “does that mean the final fight against ganondorf will be him as a dark dragon?” then when i turned out to be right, the fight was still so epic and blew my mind how it was even possible, considering it’s running on the switch. love this game!
Honestly the best part about TotK that I've noticed is, it doesn't matter too much if something is spoiled, it's still absolutely fantastic to experience yourself.
It wasn't necessarily the reveal that got me, as it was more of a slow realisation over time as I played the game. What I found heartbreaking was watching the scene where Zelda transforms. I didn't know how to process the emotions that the cutscene instilled within me, so I channeled them into slaughtering a camp of Bokoblins out of anger at Ganondorf for forcing Zelda to destroy herself in order to stop him. Those were my feelings around it.
Yeah, when I started piecing everything together, I was really hoping that I would be wrong. So my denial was pretty strong up until the very last point, haha.
The sheer imagery of Zelda crying as a Dragon is just so Cool and powerful that it hurts.
Not only crying as the dragon, but literally shedding her memories in her tears.
I saw a lot of fanarts of the light dragon crying
The first memory tear i picked up was the one where they talked about becoming a dragon. After that it was way too obvious that it's Zelda. Still a great moment though, but it was kinda spoiled for me since i did the spirit temple super early.
Yeah, some of the memories, especially the one about draconification, are a bit of the nose when you find them early. But, as another person commented earlier, it gives the twist a different perspective, as you kind of know what happened, but you're hoping that's not true until you fully confirm it for yourself. Also, I was going to try to do the spirit temple early without realizing it, but gave up after realizing that I couldn't see anything in the mist on Dragonhead Island, so it's funny how much my perspective would've changed if I kept going.
@@DadaPonMariI completed the spirit temple the second because the dragon head island was easier to reach than the rest of the dragon islands
I think that's a big reason for Puppet Zelda's inclusion, to have you question what's going on with Zelda in the present day and pull your suspicions away from the Light Dragon until the time comes.
She is my absolute favorite incarnation of Zelda and this story they've made for her just adds to it. I love everything about her. TOTK is definitely the game of the year
Me too! I've always felt that Zelda gets a bit sidelined in the previous games and although her roles get progressively better in each entry, I'm really glad they gave her more of a focus in BotW and TotK.
I had a hunch the light dragon was Zelda since the beginning, the focus they give to her once you star playing and the golden mane were my biggest clues. But still, when I got to the cutscene where she transformed I was so shocked, that was literally one of my favorites and most powerful cutscenes of the franchise. I immediately followed her, took the Master Sword and stayed in her mane for a couple of minutes. 🥺
I do the same whenever I see her flying past in the sky. I either go all the way up to chill with her on her head for a few minutes or silently watch from below as she gets farther away. It's just so emotional seeing her every time since the reveal.
I was on a sky island and zoomed in on it. The hair broke my heart. I knew immediately.
What clued me in was the music, but it's cool to hear how the Light Dragon's design was what clued you in during the moment. It's another detail that was well crafted for the overall reveal!
I actually realized the twist right after I watched the 3rd memory: the one where draconification is first mentioned. At first I thought it was maybe a cool explanation for the main three dragons, but then I looked at the light dragon, saw her mane, read her compendium entry, and proceeded to have a deep dread hit me for at least the following hour. She actually happened to float by an island I was on not long after and I happened to have enough stamina to pull the master sword. An amazing moment for sure, but by golly was I dreading finishing the memories and having it be confirmed. Even being reminded of it or hearing the theme still hits me hard. Game of the year.
When activating a tower i saw the light dragon from afar, but didnt approach it because i felt it was too far away. After that, my first memory was Mineru's Counsel, and when she started talking about draconification i remembered the dragon's yellow mane and went "Zelda NO!" My second memory was the master sword-shaped one, which ended up confirming it more 😅 It was an amazing twist regardless, i just did everything out of order lol
Exact same way I started to figure it out. 😅
12 months later and it still brings me to tears . . . and I'm a 50 year old man!
Zelda's sacrifice has no equal in any game I've ever played.
I agree! It really is amazing how a game is able to bring out such emotions from others, regardless of age!
And one great/sad part about it is there are moments when you know that the light dragon is Zelda yet you don’t know if she will evert revert back so it creates a great since of mystery and thought into whether this is the last installment of this branch of the Zelda timeline.
I was somehow very slow. I got all the core memories, and saw the dragon cry one last tear. My subconscious might have noticed, but I had no clue yet. Not really
Then I saw Zelda transform, cry her last tear. Protect them all!
I sat there, rocking back and forth. "Tears of the Kingdom! Tears of the Kingdom! Zelda is her kingdom, and she has been crying this entire time!"
It all made sense at that time. It was devastatingly beautiful
Me too, haha! I felt like a maniac trying to connect all the dots to the title and the ouroboros symbol on the cover, but it was such a heartbreaking, yet amazing experience when everything fell into place.
I sped through the main story and grabbed the master sword from her, thinking nothing of it, but when I discovered all of the memories before taking on Ganondorf, the pain and remorse that hit me after coldly ripping that sword out of that strange dragon I now knew was Zelda was worse than being hit by a Silver Lynel... 😢
The moment i got the memory of mineru foreshadowing draconification i knew the light dragaon was zelda.
If you complete the dragon tears in a radius circular direction from the beginning of the map, you can almost follow them in the proper pattern in chronological order. Once I found the last one, I had the great opportunity to see the "Light Dragon", right above me after the cut scene ended. A sky stone landed in the right spot, and I soared up to her. It was perfect timing or planned in the game. Not sure, but whoa; was it epic. Got up to her and had enough stamina. Pulled that puppy right out of her head. (Edit: Also, while crying. It was such an emotional moment! The best part of the storyline.)
That's amazing! Moments like these in video games where everything lines up so perfectly are incredible, so I'm really glad that this moment was so great for you!
It's basically criminal that comments like these have so few upvotes. Yet those cheap and snide, Contrarian ones labelling Tears as ''OveRAtED!1'' or ''bOtW waz beTter!1'' and using ''the same Hyrule'' (when really a lot of the main areas significantly have changed for one), have 100s. Sad but eh, that's the internet for you(!)
👍 The Circle theme is definitely evident, of course the Title logo itself and numerous imagery in the game.
I actually hadn't done any of the flashbacks before I found out who the dragon was. I pulled the master sword and quickly realized that the dragon was somehow Zelda and was blown away once I confirmed it through the memories shortly after. The pulling scene is still one of the best scenes in a game I've ever witnessed.
It really is a surreal moment. The way you're pulled into an almost heavenly setting with the golden clouds and the silence after Zelda tells you everything, before being landing back down at the place where you first pass the sword off to Zelda. It was beautifully crafted.
I ended up never seing the light dragon before collecting all of the tears, so my experience with this part of the story was really different. I also found the memory with the master sword seen 2nd overall so I sort of knew where the story was heading. But with the zelda sightings side quests, I thought that draconification was something that removed her emotions and let her live for thousands of years and that all the stable rumours were about her preparing for the final battle (the singular goal in her mind) with no regards to anything else. I find it kind of amazing that i could be "spoiled" so early on but still get hit by the plot twist!
zelda’s lullaby during the final catch can bring a grown man to tears (no pun intended)
I remember when I found out the Zelda was the Light Dragon. I actually stopped playing the game for the rest of the night. At that point, I didn't think she would ever revert back and it just instantly made the game's world feel so bleak and empty. There have only been a few moments in video games that hit like a ton of bricks, and this was one of them for me. It's right up there with Revan in KotoR or Aerith in FF7.
I completely agree. I played the entire game on my channel and once I got to the big reveal, I tried to keep the mood lighthearted but I was absolutely devastated on the inside and couldn't stop thinking about it even after the stream. It's amazing how much the entire tone of the game shifts once you realize the truth.
i’m not one to cry about stories but just hearing zelda’s lullaby & how it’s incorporated in the soundtrack strikes me every time. they really maximize the yearning of that melody when played on string instruments
I think one of the things about the Zelda side of the story is, even if you as a player know you'll probably be able to save Zelda later on, because of course you will, it still hits hard.
Because they really sell that Zelda isn't really hoping for a way that Link can save her. She really is giving everything up for the chance that it will save the rest of Hyrule in her own time, and it terrifies her in that moment of transformation as she's desperately holding on to the Master Sword.
I'm honestly a little surprised that so many people were blindsided by the Light Dragon. All of the indications were there from even before the game was released. The music in the trailers ended with Zelda's Lullaby being played with the instruments used for the other dragons, so the moment I heard it, I suspected Zelda would have a deep connection with the dragons in ToTK. In the first few hours of play, I spotted the Light Dragon and when trying to get a good close up picture of it, saw the blonde mane. Given by that point that a lot of talk in the game was about finding Zelda, I immediately suspected that the dragon somehow was Zelda. The moment draconification was mentioned in the cutscenes, I immediately knew the Light Dragon was Zelda, and had a fair suspicion of what would happen in the final battle with Ganondorf.
Didn't make the game any less fun for me, but still surprised so many people apparently didn't see it coming.
Yeah, upon rewatching the trailer for clips to use for this video, I did notice zelda's lullaby playing with the same instruments as the dragon theme, so the hints were there even before the game was released! Another thing that I love that isn't exactly connected to Zelda and the Light Dragon is that you can also hear Fi's theme during the trailer and in cutscenes revolving around the Master Sword, so there's a lot of motifs that were used very cleverly in this game.
I'm so glad I didn't realise the connection between that bit of music to the dragons in the time since the trailer was put out. And that somehow this seemed to pass Zeldatubers/the subreddits by.
Right before finishing the game I rewatched all the memories again and the same music shows up at the very end of the one where the transformation happens, and I finally twigged the connection. That a trailer from 2 years ago was audacious enough to hint so strongly at this whole thing, and that it went over my head for that long. I was impressed (in awe!) of this
I freaking loved the Moragia fight. I did it on a wing with fans and I felt so satisfied that I had managed to beat it with a thrown together flying machine.
I didn't see the zonai parts laying around so I was trying to whack it at first while being burnt alive before realizing LOL
I think your analysis of the theme for the light dragon was super compelling. Overall good stuff
Thank you so much! Seeing comments like these give me a lot of motivation and confidence, so I really appreciate it!!
I found out when my 9yo son had me watch him beat Ganondorf. I hadn’t gotten nearly that far, but he’s a kid on summer vacation so he has way more time to play video games than I do. I picked up the game on release day and I still haven’t beaten Ganondorf, but I have played over 200 hrs.
It's really sweet that you were able to experience that with your son! I hope you enjoy the Ganondorf fight when you get to it, because I had lots of fun with it, especially when compared to Calamity Ganon in BotW, haha.
If I remember right Raru says that Zelda is waiting for behind a door. You go there, and her spirit gives you recall. However that doesn't seem to be what Raru was referring to. Once you send to Master Sword to the past the Light Dragon breaks through the clouds revealing the surface. Zelda was behind the door, just not in a form we recognized.
You're completely right! I didn't think about this at all, so that would be another detail that makes the foreshadowing of the reveal even better! I find it really amazing how many hints they gave you and I feel like it'll really make a second playthrough feel like a totally different experience because of it.
I get choked up at all the cutscenes... Every time.
The whole overarching theme of love being the ultimate source of power.
I remember seeing the Light Dragon for the first time too and taking a picture of it for the Compendium. I can't remember how far I was in the game when I did but I do remember that seeing its official name being Light Dragon didn't actually tip me off to her identity in any way. But once I read the Compendium description of the Dragon, it said something that DID tip me off, and it's not the part that you might think.
The last sentence reads "It looks divine as it soars through the sky, giving off a soft glow, and its presence is comforting somehow." As soon as I saw it use the word "divine" to describe the Dragon, that's when I immediately had the first feeling that it could be Zelda. The reason for that is because my favorite song out of the entire Zelda franchise is from BOTW, specifically the Champion's Ballad DLC. It's the song that plays in the final memory where we see Zelda, Link and the Champions take that famous picture together. The song is called "The Divine Princess and the Five Champions". I've listened to that song and seen that cutscene so many times that it just never really left my head, I guess haha.
That's an amazing way to figure out the twist! I absolutely love it when the title of certain tracks in a game, as well as the song itself, is able to tell a story on its own. It adds a layer of depth that I appreciate so much because one of my favorite things to do is listen to a game's OST, so being able to discover little details by giving it a closer look and listen is always a great feeling. To be able to piece everything together from BotW all the way to TotK is even more impressive, especially since it was your favorite song! I've read about people's experiences and how they discovered the truth behind the Light Dragon, but yours is definitely one of my favorites!
I think what's also fascinating with how much foreshadowing Nintendo had with it is when you first get the quest "Find Princess Zelda," the Light Dragon is clearly in frame as the quest title appears.
One thing that I loved while editing this video was finding all the foreshadowing I missed during my first playthrough of the game, because there were so many signs during the cutscenes the light dragon was discussed in! It definitely adds onto the replayability of the game.
I never once noticed the light dragon until the master sword quest. When I got to the dragon I noticed it's blond hair and blue eyes and thought, there's no way thats Zelda, right? Once I got the sword and saw that cutscene of Zelda I realised right there that the Dragon was Zelda. It was only after doing all the memories that I truly learnt of her legend... The Legend of Zelda
BotW and TotK had such a great focus on Zelda that really built her up to be a wonderful character throughout both games. The Legend of Zelda is a really fitting title, especially for these games. :)
oh boy if they do another timeline shift as they did in Age of Calamity, I could totally see people on the ground (post-game) referring the light dragon to "The Dragon Princess"
That would be a really neat idea! It could also cover a potential route where Zelda wasn't changed back in the end, kinda like how Age of Calamity was a more happy alternative route. There's a lot of potential with this plot!
On my run, the very first key thing I did was figure out how to enter Korok forest. Once I got the quest and effectively lo-jacked the master sword, I quickly figured out I could constantly harvest light dragon horns for weapons as, early and mid-game, they are very good. So for a vast majority of the game, I farmed the living hell out of Zelda for swords and arrows....
I'm such a good bodyguard.
"Could you love even if I was a wyrm"?
The Light Dragon twist was spoiled for me, despite that Zelda's transformation still hit me hard. It motivated me to keep playing and beat Ganondorf.
Great video.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you still got a great experience with the game in the end!
I was so happy I picked up the clue in the lost temple as to the order in which to collect the dragons tears. It all made sense and I wasn't as confused as a lot of my friends and people I talked to on the internet.
It's a bit of a shame that the twist could be spoiled early on for others depending on which memories they found first, but I'm glad to hear that it played out perfectly for you! It was so investing trying to piece everything together.
I remember it clearly. I had gone to the Great Deku Tree on my way to find the 10th memory. I felt like I knew what was going on when the Deku Tree told me Master Sword was _moving,_ but it didn't really hit me until I actually saw the 10th memory. When I first saw the final memory, I was so shocked that I just kinda watched her go. I kinda went around doing some side quests, then saw she was within gliding range of the Lookout Landing tower, and that's how I got the Master Sword.
I hadn't been anywhere near her before then. I wanted to cry. I spent a while up there with her.
After the whole reveal, I always get sentimental when I see the Light Dragon off in the distance. I like to fly with her and land on her if I'm nearby, but if she's off in the distance, I watch until the music fades away and she eventually disappears from view. Moments like make me appreciate the twist event more.
@@DadaPonMari I do exactly the same thing. I didn’t expect to be affected by it as much as I was!
I didnt see the light dragon until after collecting all the tears. Didnt even know there was a forth one
If I hadn't see the Light Dragon while on Death Mountain, I don't think I would have seen it before collecting the tears, so I'd definitely be in the same boat as you!
Maan, I even remember thinking after playing SWS in anticipation of TOTK that I would NOT fall for the same Zelda trick twice if they decided to pull anything like it again but they GOT me again, dangit!!
I was spoiled on most of the general story bits, months, and months ago . But your video on the details of it made me cry I would never have noticed Zelda’s lullaby in the dragon song thank you.
Zelda's lullaby is definitely what made me the most emotional about this reveal, so I'm glad it hit you just as much as it did for me. And thank you for the kind words!!
i knew there was a fourth dragon pre-game bc of watching all the trailer analyses. the realization of the dragon being zelda was when i got the draconification memory early on in my playthrough. the final memory still absolutely broke me though and then the transition to getting the master sword immediately afterwards was so powerful and yet painfully sentimental
What makes it even more heartbreaking is that during the cutscene where you get the Master Sword, Zelda doesn't really talk about herself or ever tell Link to find out a way to bring her back. She only talks about how the sword will be the key to defeating Ganondorf and saving Hyrule. So, even when she has the chance to say something to Link, her thoughts are only ever about the good of her people. A really bittersweet moment.
i love hearing about all the different ways people realized it was her, eapecially when it took them a while, for whatever reason. that dawning (horror) realization that this game almost universally gave us all is very interesting, something i feel also kinda bonded the community. the light dragon (and the associated boss fight) remain my favorite things about this game.
It's very interesting how vastly different people discovered things in this game and how the specific way they found out shaped their experience! And I 100% agree with the final boss, everything about it was so cool and it felt like everyone was really united in the end.
I remember my reaction to the sword memory. I didn't have aot of context for it but I figured it out pretty quickly. "Zelda, you didn't."
That's how I reacted too. I didn't want to believe it at first, but everything was connecting too well, and then the reveal happened. It was great, but it sure hurt a lot, haha.
okaaayyyyy at 10:25
I did NOT need to hear that bit about scent memory and childhood,now im crying
Haha, sorry about that! It was the first example that popped into my head!
@@DadaPonMari ☺
I have not seen anyone mention how the title screen shows the eternal snake (2 dragons in this case) eating its own tail, that can also be considered as foreshadowing as zelda comes back to the present by becoming inmortal and waiting
The ouroboros symbolism in the title really is perfect for this story! It was great in Xenoblade 3 as well, so Nintendo's really got this theme down, haha.
i might be misremembering but iirc right after link sends the master sword back in time on the great sky islands, the clouds clear and zelda appears. that tiny yet brilliant bit of foreshadowing adds SO much when you notice it!
There's a real sense of tension and desperation as the player intellectually knows and expects that there must be some way to save Zelda from her tragic fate, be it through the power of the Zonai, the power of the sages, the power of the hero or even nothing more than the power of love, but cannot rest easy until the moment finally arrives.
That's exactly how I felt! It's amazing how TotK was able to capture that sense of urgency so perfectly.
In hindsight, did anyone else notice the foreshadowing on the main theme?
The last part is Zelda's lullaby but played using the main instrument for the dragon themes since BotW.
They were telling us ever since the trailer with the theme reveal!
I cried when I realized it was her. What an awsome game!
Wow I never noticed Zelda's lullaby in the dragon theme. It's small details like this that make the game incredible.
thumbs up if you agree:
zeda should've stayed a dragon in the end, making the consequences that that she was told, real. and making the most beautifully shocking moment in the series, watching her sacrifice herself and shedding a tear, be meaningful instead of having the writers cheat and make a "it was all a dream" kind of solution to the severe consequences we were previously taught.
this would have made her an eternal being in the sky, told since ancient times to have been a woman, thus, a legend. the legend of zelda
I can see it going both ways. While I do agree that her staying as a dragon would've added more consequences to her choice and really set in the cost of her sacrifice, there are some great parallels to the beginning of the game where Link is able to finally catch her in the game when he wasn't able to in the beginning, really adding onto the Ouroboros symbolism. Additionally, while I'm not sure how canon this is, many people believe in the reincarnation theory throughout the series, so Zelda being trapped as an immortal dragon could've possibly disrupted that cycle, as she wouldn't be able to move onto the next life.
But, you make some strong points and I do agree with them, even though I can see both sides to it. So, here's a like! :)
I’d kms
TOTK is a masterpiece, but BG3 was deserved for the win. All that being said, totally agree with what you've said here. The dragon reveal was the best part of the plot hands down. I don't come to a Zelda game for the plot, so that reveal really hits you like a truck.
I share the same mindset of not going into Zelda games for the story and there are few games that leave me speechless with its plot twists, so I would have never expected TotK to get me, haha! But, it was such an amazing experience that sometimes I wish I could experience it for the first time again.
Though, in terms of BG3, I unfortunately ran into a lot of game-breaking bugs that really dampened my experience with the game. So, while I really wish I could've enjoy it, I was often left more frustrated than satisfied. But, I still respect it for the ambition it took on to make a unique game!
@@DadaPonMari …. TOTK is also littered with bugs. BG3 and TOTK both have a huge amount of bugs because of how the developers tried to account for EVERY player decision.
I did also run into a lot of bugs with BG3, like certain scenes not activating properly. But it hands down deserved the win over TOTK, which by your own words, is basically them just doing BOTW over again. BG3 basically redefined a genre, its no contest
@@zodiacwitchI don't think I ran into many bugs while playing TotK and, if I did, they weren't big enough to ruin the entire experience for me. As for BG3, I ran into so many issues that made the game nearly unplayable and I don't want to bog you down with a massive list, but the biggest one was that the game prevented me from joining my friend's game after a crash during combat by saying the save file didn't exist anymore, so if we weren't lucky and my friend didn't have a backup file from a previous save, that entire file would've been gone after many hours in.
I haven't played BG3 in awhile, so I'm sure it's running a lot better now, but getting issues like that constantly back then was quite stressful while I had nothing but pure joy playing TotK. I hope this doesn't come off as argumentative, because I still respect your opinion, but I wanted to explain my perspective a bit.
When I played the game I chose to get the memories in order like I did in botw, when I got to the memory about draconification I remembered seeing the light dragon later on, I couldn't help but think "wait...is that..." but a part of me didn't want to believe it. Later on before I got the memory with the master sword I completed the spirit temple, when I saw the memory between Mineru and Zelda I realised what they were talking about. After I immediately got the master sword and the final memory, it broke me, I was in denial over the idea of Zelda loosing herself in order to fix the master sword that the final memory hurt a lot
If I did have a problem is that the twist looses it's punch if you don't get the memories in order, but that's more a general problem I have with how TOTK tells its story. Despite that I still think the twist was done really well
Your so right this game has a story that is unmatch and so amazing.
I was waiting for someone to make a video like this too
I'm glad that this video was able to reach you, then! This game will definitely hold a special place in my heart from now on. :)
The light dragon twist didn't catch me of guard, i was kinda disappointed. I wish I wouldn't have predicted it.
Like you I found that memory early on and kept my denial going strong until I unlocked the last memory. After watching the cutscene of her transformation I was bawling. I was so moved by her self sacrifice and the one regret that she had about it was the possibility of never seeing Link again. And then knowing that she still has some of her memories because she's crying them out is too much. As a long time fan of the series I wasn't expecting such a nuanced take on love, emotion and self sacrifice.
I immediately pursued the geoglyphs to know as much as I could, and somehow did them pretty much in order lol! But that left me with so much of the game so torn about her being up there in the sky, thinking about what she had done to herself to save the kingdom. Already seeing defeating G-dorf as an important team project, knowing the full story committed me more than anything else to carrying out the task at hand because, wow, the girl turned herself into a wholeass dragon with no hope of ever undoing that fate :') like wtf. And my bummy a$$ was MIA sleeping again... had to make it right ASAP lol
I had no idea about the theme. Wow. I’m once again emotional.
I remember watching that last memory and just standing there in shock.
I didn’t do the memories in proper order, so I saw Zelda in the past, Mineru talking about becoming a dragon, and then Sonia being dead. A little later, I got to korok forest and fought my FIRST phantom Ganon.
Then, the Deku tree tells me the master sword is MOVING?! I hit a sky view tower near the ping, and see the ping is tracking a dragon. A new Light Dragon. I dive near its head, and see the master sword, and I pulled it.
The entire time, the realization hit me like a truck. I was secretly hoping I was actually looking at Mineru or Rauru’s dragon, but the spirit temple and the other cutscenes disproved me quickly.
That lost memory analogy hit really hard. Had that scent lost memory thing not too long ago
I'm not sure if BotW/Totk were your first LoZ games, but the whole "go to each dungeon, defeat a boss in order to recruit a sage/champion" is the fairly standard plot progression for the series and has been since the early 90's and the release of A Link To The Past. A few of the games leave out the sages and just do they dungeons, but it is by in large a common part of the Zelda formula. Just something I wanted to note, as I know the games gained a huge spike in popularity since the release of BotW (which makes me happy as a veteran fan!), but lots of people aren't aware of how much that BotW/Totk do that are just staple to the series.
As a longtime fan, I will say that there's something very special in the writing in this era of LoZ in that there is so much more attention put towards developing Zelda and Link as individuals. 2011's Skyward Sword was also pretty good at it but BotW brought something to the table no other game before it did; deconstructing the Chosen One narrative. Being the Hero of Hyrule and the Princess of Destiny are not easy for this version of Link and Zelda--they feel the pressure, they fail, they grow and became stronger. They make huge sacrifices and fight *so* hard for each other. Totk's story was a great continuation and conclusion to BotW's themes, and I hope the dev team continues to follow the groundwork they set here, because it's (imo) given us our strongest depictions of the characters we've ever had.
I've played OoT, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword prior to BotW and TotK coming out, so I have a little bit of experience with the series. I've also played a lot of similar games during my childhood, so I definitely understand what you're talking about! But, it's really cool that you've been a fan of ToZ for such a long time! A part of me has always wished that I got more into the series when I was younger, because the lore is just so interesting.
And I 100% agree with how BotW and TotK have made Link and Zelda into very strong characters, as well as play around with the usual narrative they use for the previous games. I've especially wanted to see more of Zelda as a character because, out of all the games I've played, Skyward Sword was the one where she felt most alive to me. But, they really raised the bar with her characterization in BotW and Totk! I'm excited to see where the story of the next game goes with how well they did with these games!
@@DadaPonMari Totally agree, before botw/totk, their Skyward Sword iterations were their best written iterations imo. That game is sadly divisive but it deserves a heck of a lot of credit for starting things in the series that botw/totk perfected--such as truly developing Link and Zelda, climbing/limited parkour, more physics based puzzles, stamina, etc. People complain about the writing in botw/totk but honestly, I think the character writing is quite good and I'm excited for what's to follow!
I had started to randomly collect them, but I didn’t want anything to be spoiled by the memories being jumbled so I found a tutorial and began doing them in order. As soon as I saw the memory where they’re talking to Mineru about what happens to a person who swallows a stone, I knew what Zelda was going to do.
What did you think about the Light Dragon's reveal, and when did you start to piece things together? Let me know, because I would love to hear how differently people figured it all out!
As always, thank you all so much for watching and if you enjoyed, it would mean a lot if you liked the video and subscribed to the channel! See you in the next video!
I have yet to watch the video but I do plan on hearing you out. However, for now p, here are my thoughts: Lets assume the internet did not ruin the twist for me with their awful spoiler thumbnails, I believe the twist was setup rather decently……until it was ruined by the ending
@@clonetrooper2003 Thank you so much for giving my video a chance! Even though it's been 2 months, I tried really hard not to spoil things before the warning in the video, so I hope my thumbnail didn't spoil anything too! Nothing is more frustrating than getting a plot twist ruined for you, so I understand how you feel.
I mentioned it in another comment, but I do agree a bit when it comes to the ending, though there are also some parts of the ending I enjoy in return. Either way, I hope you got to enjoy the reveal in your own way!
@@DadaPonMari thank you. I am looking forward to watching the vid. And unfortunately the thumbnails revealed the twist. As for your thumbnail, its not bad
Immediately. It was the most obvious solution to the Light Dragon question. But it is kinda cute that you were so moved by it. I guess there is still innocence in the world. I'm far too jaded to be impressed by TotK's plot, unfortunately.
What is more intriguing is that you have a LOT of views on this video for someone barely over 100 subscribers... so I guess your time to shine is coming soon.
Imma be honest, I didn't put things together until the last memory
Zelda fighting alongside me in dragon form at the end of the game was EVERYTHING I needed after watching my girl turn herself into an immortal monster to fix my sword and get it back to me through time 😭 I was sobbing when she transformed and the Dark Dragon fight was perfection, I was happy crying the whole time lol absolutely screambawling when I was falling through the sky to catch her 😂
I loved the entirety of that last fight and it was definitely an upgrade from BotW for me haha! Even the cutscene with all the new champions joining in to fight with you during that all out brawl was so cool. But, Zelda coming in at the end was just the cherry on top!
I pieced it together the first time Mineru talks about it. I already knew that four dragons was too many, even though i hadn’t actually seen the dragon properly yet. I spammed through the rest of the memories to see how it happened and wasn’t disappointed when link figured it out. I refuse to take any parts from her though. XD
Yeah I haven't upgraded the new champion tunic at all because I didn't want to hit her after figuring everything out, haha!
Great analysis! I completely feel you on so much of what you said in this, I love it when youtube actually recommends something good for a change.
Subscribed.
Thank you so much!! It really means a lot to me. :)
By the time I went for the master sword I'd already found all the memories, so I already kinda knew, but I hadn't fully accepted it until I got the sword. At the end of that scene when she drops you off and you're surrounded by all the silent princess flowers as she flies away, I just kinda....stood there. For like a solid five minutes and watched her fly away. I was so devastated that I had to look up spoilers for the end of the game just to make sure we could save her eventually in order to keep playing. That reveal hits so hard.
This was really well done, hope this channel blows up more!
Thank you so much! This means a lot to me! :)
I think my journey with the light dragon is slightly different than anyone else’s. I got the game at a midnight release, about as close to ‘unspoiled’ as I could get- I hadn’t even watched the final trailer. I went through the great sky island. I sent off the master sword. I watched the light dragon pierce through the cloud barrier.
And I said to myself, out loud; “crack theory, that dragon is zelda.”
I moved on. I spent days journeying around Hyrule. It took me ages to find Impa and trigger the geoglyph questline- I had seen them, of course, but hadn’t realized they had memories tied to them.
Of course, Mineru. “To become an immortal dragon is to lose oneself,” she says. ‘Oh god, no fucking way,’ I think, ‘absolutely fucking not no way’.
Yes way, it turns out. _yes_ way and I am so glad
I take so long to process information, that even after completing all the memories AND getting the Master Sword, nothing clicked for me until Zelda said "protect them all!" And my jaw dropped and stayed there for five minutes
If you get A Master Sword in Time last, it's just perfect seeing Zelda make her decision, then immediately seeing the Light Dragon fly above you and shed the final tear. It's as if she realizes Link just found out his efforts to find her were pointless and is telling him "I'm sorry, this was the only way". It's cool seeing different ways you can learn of the truth and how it impacts you through the clues provided by the world.
On a side note, I made a bet that if Tears of the Kingdom doesn't win game of the year, I will do a full playthrough of every Zelda CDI game. That's how much faith I have.
The Light Dragon shedding the final tear was not only an incredibly emotional moment, but also where everything really started to connect for me. It was when I realized the meaning behind the title of the game, where Zelda herself is the embodiment of her kingdom and their future. The aspect of piecing everything together like a puzzle is what really makes this game shine to me!
If TotK doesn't win, then I really don't know what to believe in anymore. But, you don't want to experience "squadala, we're off" in all its glory? LOL
@@DadaPonMari Rest in the Forgotten Realms
@@speedude0164 I am so sorry-
@@DadaPonMari Looking at what Tears of the Kingdom discourse is like these days, I'm pretty sure I pulled the greatest jinx in recorded history on myself with this one.
I found the light dragon when i was on the forge island and i pulled the master sword. But at that time i didn’t know that the dragon was zelda. I only found that out much later when i did the spirit temple.
I found out through the final memory like most people then immediately went to see the dragon because idk I felt bad. Then I found the master sword for the first time. I was so hyped I was jumping around my room.
I'm so happy that the Master Sword was the last dragon tear I got
great content coverage in this video!!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
This is a beautiful video! It came up in my recommended videos. You've earned my sub and I'm off to watch more of your videos❤
Thank you so much!! It really means a lot to me and I hope you enjoy the rest of my stuff! :)
I'm still not over just how intense this twist and reveal were and always get emotional thinking about the Light Dragon. How she was drifting along the skies for so long alone, no memory of herself and yet still has that innate instinct to help Link fight the Demon Dragon and also let him take the Master Sword.
I immediately grew suspicious when Mineru mentioned swallowing Secret Stones, and not long after found the Master Sword memory. But I hadn't yet seen the new dragon. After doing a couple of dungeons and a fair amount of shrines I decided to go to Korok Forest, as I was sure the Deku Tree would advise me on where to go for it. I spotted the mane of the dragon and instantly knew it was her, and that she was healing the Master Sword all that time.
Part of me later on wished I had seen the memories in order (I knew the temple gave the order, but I decided to tackle them by finding out the locations when in the area for other stuff) and got the Master Sword after finding Mineru, but figuring it out myself shook me and was special in its own right, so I'm also glad I did it the way I had. I adore hearing everyone's different discoveries with her, whether they realised it early on or not until getting the last memory. I don't think I've ever been hit so hard by a twist like this before and I just love how important she was--that it was only down to her sacrifice that the sword could be saved.
Ahhhhhhh i have to avoid spoilers at all costs since Im still at the beginning but Ill make sure to come back and watch this! Just found your channel and you have a super cozy vibe, cant wait to come back after experiencing it all and hearing your thoughts on everything too.
Thank you so much!! I hope you enjoy the game, it's an amazing experience through and through, and I'm excited for when you come back! :)
Rauru literally tells you she is waiting at the temple in the tutorial.
I kinda liked this, I can see you are just beginning at CZcams, but I can see you have great potential, good luck on your journey, I'll be watching...
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the support. :)
Despite how most finishing a dungeon cutscenes were the same down to dialogue, I appreciate how they had some unique moments for the Gerudo Sage Of Lightning, showing how the people of Gerudo were affected by Ganondorf being a Gerudo Voe.
That's true! I hope we get to learn more about the sages in a future DLC, because I think they have some potential to be interesting characters.
There's a lot of other more subtle foreshadowing about the Light Dragon, like smaller pieces of a puzzle. Here are some of the ones I can remember:
The name of the quest, The Dragon's Tears; it turned out to be a very literal name
If you take a photo of the Light Dragon, she's remarked in the compendium to have a "comforting presence, somehow"
A Light Dragon's scale is noted in the material menu to have "oddly familiar power"
All of her parts are required to upgrade the Champion's Leathers to max level - I can't tell if this is foreshadowing, or dark humor
On the topic of music, I suggest you listen closely to the Demon Dragon battle theme, around the start of the track. Notice the grandiose brass notes; they are, once again, the three iconic notes of Zelda's Lullaby.
In addition, I implore anyone who reads this to listen to the BGM that plays during Zelda's awakening. I believe that track is *the* Zelda's Lullaby of this game, and it highly deserves a close listen.
great video mate!
Thank you so much!!
Just finished dragon tears mission right at the start of the game to get the master sword early and I was shocked
It's funny how that's almost the opposite of what happened with me, haha. I was trying to figure out what was going on with the Light Dragon and got the Master Sword as an addition.
I was collecting the tears and actually got the last two last, but I got the master sword in the middle of my tears. I didn't pay it much attention, thinking that Zelda was just in some kind of light realm in time, or something. Then I got the last few tears, and was in denial. No freaking way did she do that. I went through all the stages of grief as I collected the last few tears, then cried myself to sleep that night.
While there are those who think being able to cure the Light Dragon diminishes from her sacrifice or makes it not a sacrifice, I disagree.
Zelda went into it fully believing it to be a one way trip and it's not like the other three dragons had someone that close to them in the way Link and Zelda are implied to be (whether you want to call it love or just friendship is up to you, but the bond is very much undeniable) so if they thought it was incurable that's probably because the other three dragons were all missing the connection that Zelda had, the very last thing, or rather person, that she thought about before turning.
Also, she did fulfill her purpose for becoming the Light Dragon, while the other three are implied that their purpose (protecting their associated springs) never will be.
I never thought of the bond between Link and Zelda, and the potential lack of bond with the other dragons, but I like that a lot! I really hope we get to learn more about the three dragons in a future DLC, because this would be so interesting.
Before I got the game I watched a video of all the memories out of curiosity.
When Zelda swallowed the stone, I paused the video just to… prepare myself for whatever horrific thing was about to happen.
And when I did get the game and saw the Light Dragon flying around for the first time…
I’m sad that I didn’t find out through the game. I was looking through the dragons on the wiki because I was trying to max out fierce deity armour and I saw both the light dragon and the demon dragon there
I was on some sky Island I flew up to on a hoverbike, and the dragon was just flying by. I already have full stamina so I just pulled it off.
The moment I figured out about Zelda been a dragon is when impa woke me up in my first vision on the geoglyph where impa was and she said dragons can shared theirs memories with their tears and I was wondering why I saw Zelda's memory then, but I've decided to move on and not thinking about it, sometimes later I explored a sky Island and I saw that dragon in the sky and I said to myself "it must be her tears... B ut wait! What did Impa said?"
By curiosity I got closer to it and I was surprised when I saw the dragon have the same pattern of Zelda and the Master sword on her head
This is when I knew the wyrm was Zelda
First game that lets you ride zelda