5 Comparisons Between Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls
A crazy notation, I will admit. These two series seem like polar opposites at first glance. Between Dark Souls 3 and my recent play through of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, I started to see the parallels to this series emerge. Here are my top 5 comparisons that make these game more closely related than initially expected.
5.The Silent Protagonist
One of the broader comparisons, as these are not the only two games with this feature. The choice of having the main character of the game be silent allows for mystery and for players to better identify with the character. While Link is not customizable like the Dark Souls character, a bond is still formed. The story is told and explained with narration and through NPC characters. For Legend of Zelda, this involves Link gaining a guide character to pull players along the path.
4. Setting
No, Dark Souls does not take place in Hyrule. However, Lordan, Drangleic, Lothric and Hyrule exist in a style that was inspired around the Medieval Era. The Kingdoms and royalty are two items that both games have that were prominent in this era of history. This time period gives to the setting of the game and the weaponry. The stable weapons used in both games is a sword with a shield combination. The long range weapon of a bow was common in the Medieval Era as well as both these games. Link’s character is compared to the myth of Robin Hood of the 15th Century.
3. Healing
This comparison becomes all the more prominent in the Hero mode of Legend of Zelda. In hero mode of Skyward Sword, damage is increased and hearts can only be regained through potions. No more hoping to find a heart in a vase or grass. Even when those are an option, it is only luck that one will be found in some areas. Also in the hero mode, foes will hit harder, making the need to be more careful and slow paced all the more necessary. That sound familiar? That is how Dark Souls is played. Rushing into any area is unwise, even if possible. Dodging and parrying enemies to get out relatively unscathed is a necessity. This makes players go at a slower pace to be able to progress to the next area of safety.
2.Bosses
The boss battles are the center points of both games. The area of travel in-between is interesting and different, but what always stands out is the battles fought. It is in these battles that difficulty is raised to the highest. In both these titles, learning the patterns and tells of the boss help in defeating them. For Legend of Zelda, it will also involve a special task, in most cases, necessary to complete to be able to finish off the boss. In the Dark Souls series, there can be tasks to make bosses easier, but you are free to attempt to beat the boss without the help. In theory, this could make some of the bosses in Dark Souls easier than those of the Legend of Zelda series because it limits you less.
1. Cyclical Stories
While the story of Dark Souls isn’t told in the same handheld way of Legend of Zelda, both of these series involve stories that are repetitive and continuous as they cycle on. In Dark Souls, the goal is to rekindle the flame of the world to keep everything alive. But that means it will remain in chaos, and the need to rekindle the flame will come again. Even the game makes a cycle with the use of New Game plus. For Legend of Zelda, the cycle lies with Link himself. In the world of his series, he will be born in time to fight against evil. The series of games, while not seeming to be as directly connected as Dark Souls, still sits within a timeline of Link’s many lives.