Star Wars Fan Fiction: Breaking the Cycle

          So as I mentioned two posts ago, a Star Wars-themed discord server that I’m part of announced a three-round writing contest. The third and final round ended the other day, and this time, between myself and three other contestants, I came in second-to-last place (with a score of 8.25/10). That said, I still want to share my story from that final round here.

        NOTE: The prompt this time said to write about whatever we wanted, as long as it was related to Star Wars in some shape or form. 1200-1500 words.

        So, without further ado, here’s my third and final Star Wars fan story!

Breaking the Cycle

Rey looked deeply into the vastness of space, as her ship dropped out of light speed…

The Unknown Regions looked like any other part of the galaxy, at least at first. She took another look at the ancient star map that led her here, just to make sure she was in the right place.

“This is it, alright!”

With that, she landed on the world closest to her, a forest planet filled entirely with leaves of red, yellow and orange. An eternal autumn. As her vessel touched ground, she began to meditate, tapping into the Force. The voice of a Jedi from before her time suddenly echoed in her mind;

“For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic… Before the dark times… Before the Empire!”

Through the Force, she looked into the past. She could see dozens upon dozens of Jedi being killed, across multiple generations.

The ruler of that evil Empire happened to be her own grandfather, Darth Sidious. Each and every day, she recalled their fateful meeting, the night she defeated him, in his layer of darkness;

“Long have I waited,” the hideous, cloaked man had growled, “for my grandchild to come home!”

She couldn’t help but sigh at the recollection. She hated being reminded of her dark ancestry, and did her best to bury it in every way she could, even taking on another family name. Nevertheless, the memories of her twisted past still remained.

“He’s long gone, Rey,” the voice of her dead Jedi master, Luke Skywalker, said from the netherworld of the Force.

“And you’re one of us, now,” added his sister, Leia, also speaking from beyond the grave.

It was true. That evil Empire was gone, as was the dark soul who ruled it. And despite her heritage, Rey was one of only two Jedi left. It was up to her now to help restore the fallen order to what it once was… But first, she needed answers.

With a deep breath, Rey opened her eyes, stood up, and left her ship.

Carefully, she trekked up a hill, until she reached its surface, covered in stone ruins. The remains of a Jedi temple long gone…

Suddenly, a spirit of sorts faded into existence, emulating the familiar blue glow of Jedi ghosts. The figure bore brown robes, complete with long, graying hair and a beard.

“Welcome, Rey,” he said with a smile.

She took a few steps back, “Who are you?”

“My name is Qui-Gon Jinn. I was once a Jedi in life, and have always been the guardian of your family.”

Rey raised an eyebrow in confusion, “My family?”

“That’s correct, Ms. Skywalker.”

“Oh, yeah.” She rolled her eyes and laughed, “That…”

“What brings you to this world, young Rey?”

“I need answers. If I’m going to be starting a new Jedi order then I need to know as much about the history of the Jedi as possible, to try to prevent another downfall from happening.”

He shook his head, “The cycle of good and evil is destined to repeat eternally, my friend. Balance is always temporary.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But there must be something we can do! Just for the sake of trying to be better, even if it doesn’t last.”

“Well, you won’t find any answers here, in the ruins of this long forgotten temple.”

She sighed once more, “Well then I guess I came all this way for nothing.”

He smiled again, “Oh, well don’t be so sure!” He pointed to a nearby bed of flowers, “You may be able to find something of interest over there.”

Rey walked over to the purple plants in question, but upon looking closer, all she saw was pollen, being moved around by small, flying insects.

“Do you see now?” Qui-Gon asked.

“No,” she shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t.”

“Hm…” He stroked his chin for a second, before looking beyond the hill, “Well perhaps you should journey deeper into the forest. There’s a village beside a river, not too far away. I believe you may find something useful there.”

Rey shrugged, “Well, if you say so.”

Qui-Gon then faded away, as Rey made her way down the hill. Soon enough, she reached the small riverside community, complete with wooden huts, and primitively-dressed people, many of whom looked at her with shock.

“It’s alright,” she smiled and raised her hands in defense. “I come in peace.” She had to remind herself that those native to worlds of the Unknown Regions were usually hesitant towards visitors…

Looking ahead, she noticed a teenage boy holding a bow and arrow in one hand, and a caught mammal of some sort in the other. He walked towards an older man who had a bow and arrow of his own.

“Well done,” the older one nodded in approval. “You’re a true hunter now… Which means the time has come for me to go.”

“What?” The teenager tilted his head in confusion, “But why?”

“Because my work here is done. Now I must go to the next village down the river, and teach someone else to hunt.” He smiled at his pupil, “Perhaps you should do the same.”

“Do you see now, Rey?” Qui-Gon’s voice echoed in her mind.

“Yes,” she nodded with a smile. “I see now.”

***

“Well, here it is!” Finn produced a small device from his pocket. With the click of a button, a large projection of the galaxy suddenly filled the air, complete with red dots scattered about. “These are all the worlds where I was able to find others strong with the Force,” he said, as he and Rey stood there in the room that once belonged to the Jedi Council, on the city world of Coruscant.

Rey looked around at the empty red chairs all around them, each in front of a large window that exposed the metropolitan landscape beyond.

Finn went on, “With these kinds of numbers we should be able to build a new council in no time, especially if we bring in multiple kids to train at once.”

Rey shook her head, “We’re not going to build a new council, Finn.”

“What?” Finn shut the projection off, placing the holo-chip back in his pocket, “What do you mean?”

“We’re not going to take these kids away from their homes,” she looked at her partner directly in the eye, “We’re going to travel to all of their planets, one at a time, and train them individually. We’ll go in separate directions, to speed up the process.”

He shook his head in disbelief, “But I thought we wanted to stick together now.”

“Believe me, I would like to,” she said with a sigh. “But if the Jedi are going to evolve for the better then we need to decentralize. We need to pollinate. Bring the ways of the force to the people, not the other way around.”

Finn looked downward, before nodding in agreement, “I understand…” He picked his head back up, “So, where are you gonna start?”

“Don’t know yet,” she shrugged. “How about you?”

He smiled, “There’s a kid on Canto Bight I’d like to start with…”

Click here to read my story from Round 1!

Click here to read my story from Round 2!

Related: Fiction Repository

Star Wars Fan Fiction: There Is No Try

         So as I mentioned in my last post, a Star Wars-themed discord server that I’m part of announced a three-round writing contest. The second round ended the other day, and this time, between myself and two other contestants, I came in last place (with a score of 7.75/10). That said, I still want to share my story from that round here.

        NOTE: The prompt this time said to write about spending a day with Yoda and learning some kind of lesson from him. 1200-1500 words.

        So, without further ado, here’s my second Star Wars fan story!

There Is No Try

“Pay attention, you must!” Master Yoda pointed in my direction, “When gone, am I, the last of the Jedi will you be.”

But I knew that wasn’t true. It had only been five years since the Jedi order fell, and I knew there were plenty of other survivors out there, hiding from the ever-growing evil Empire, all across the galaxy…

I raised an eyebrow at him, “Is that just something you say to people to motivate them?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, the little green man pointed to a large boulder on his left, “Your next challenge, young one.”

I recoiled at the sight of the natural structure, taller than I even was. Up until then, I had only lifted objects that were a mere fraction of that size.

“Alright,” I sighed. “I’ll try.”

“No,” the ancient one shook his head. “No try! Do, or do not… There is no try!”

I couldn’t help but scoff, “What’s that supposed to mean? Whatever happened to trying your best?”

“By saying try, quit before even beginning, you have.”

“That’s not true! I-” But before I could even finish, I suddenly felt a strange, unnerving sensation all around me. A tremor in the Force. I looked around at the misty swamp that surrounded us, “Something’s not right… I feel cold.”

Yoda pointed to a manhole on the ground, about a dozen feet away, “That place… Strong with the dark side of the Force, it is. A domain of evil… And in it you must go.”

I looked at the strange cave entrance, and then back at him, “What’s in there?”

“Only what you take with you.”

I wanted to ask so much more, but refrained. This wasn’t the same Yoda I once knew, back when I was just a youngling at the Jedi temple. That Yoda told me time and time again that someday I would be assigned a Master, and that together we would travel the galaxy, bringing peace to every world we would visit, all while unlocking more and more secrets of the Force. That Yoda was long gone. The fall of the order had changed him…

I had spent years trying to find him, the wisest of all Jedi, after hearing rumors that he was still alive. Whomever I found instead was someone else. You would think trauma wouldn’t have such an impact on a being who had been alive for nearly a millennium. Guess we all have a breaking point…

But who could blame him, really? He was the grand master. Every Jedi was once his student, at some point or another. One could only imagine what he felt when the purge happened…

So I didn’t ask any further questions. I simply did as he requested, and made my way towards the manhole. As I dropped into the cave below, the first thing I noticed was more mist, identical to that of the surface, still somehow illuminated.

Suddenly, a serpent-like creature, hissing as loudly as it could, slithered out of the fog, towards me. To defend myself, I raised my arm towards it. Tapping into the Force, I gained full control of the serpent’s body, which then began to slowly rise into the air, still a few feet away from me.

As I tapped deeper and deeper into the Force, I began to feel the creature’s throat through my mind. For a second, I thought about choking it, but held myself back. I then let it go, allowing it to drop back down to the ground. Immediately after, the creature turned itself around, darting straight back into the fog from which it came.

A few moments later, I began to hear human voices, a man and a woman, coming from the very same mist. My curiosity getting the best of me, I walked deeper in, until I was surrounded entirely by the heavy steam. For a second, my eyes watered up, but soon cleared. As my vision restored itself, I noticed a middle-aged couple, the source of the voices, now standing before me. I didn’t know their names, yet they seemed familiar…

They continued their argument, staring directly at one another, completely oblivious to my presence. This was clearly a vision of another place and time…

“Ever since we gave the baby to the Jedi you’ve become more and more of a mess,” the woman said. “If you keep chasing this crazy music dream of yours we’ll end up on the streets! I can barely support myself with my job, let alone the both of us!”

“I know,” the man sighed. “I’ll find a way to keep us stable. Please, just let me try!”

And then, out of nowhere, the vision vanished, replaced by a new vision, deeper in the mist. I walked forward once more, only to find the same couple, now slightly older, dressed in dirty rags and sitting down. They each had a pan in their hands for collecting change. They were homeless…

The woman looked over to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay. You tried.”

He shook his head, “No… No I didn’t… Not really.”

SIX YEARS EARLIER

Yoda wandered through the desert, unsure where he would arrive…

Centuries of training had allowed him to see the future far more clearly than most other Jedi could, but the last few years had been different. The war had allowed the dark side to grow stronger, clouding his vision…

His ship had been hit by the enemy in the middle of the air, causing him to be separated from his battalion. Now here he was, trying to find them… So on and on he went, growing more tired with each and every step, slipping into moments of unconsciousness. Even beings strong in the Force like him could still succumb to the challenges that come with age…

Nevertheless, he trekked onward, until he noticed a tall, hooded figure in dark robes, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Was this figure really there? Was it an illusion from the dark side? A guiding vision from the Force itself? Perhaps nothing more than a mirage? No matter what it was, Yoda knew he had to face it, so onward he still went, until he was merely a few feet away from his new acquaintance of the desert.

The figure pulled back their hood, revealing the face of an elderly human male, complete with a white beard and slicked-back hair.

“Dooku…” Yoda sighed at the sight of his fallen pupil.

“We meet again, Master.” Dooku smiled, tauntingly, “The end of the war is near, Yoda, and with it, the end of the Jedi. For you, all is lost!”

Yoda closed his eyes for a few moments, attempting yet again to see the future, to see if what his former apprentice had been saying was true. Alas, he saw nothing. Only black. He opened his eyes again, looking straight at the man he once thought of like family. Foolishly, he hoped to see the good-spirited student he used to know. Instead, he only saw a being of pure evil. An individual who had been changed, right to their very core.

Dooku went on, “You seem distressed, old friend. What seems to be the trouble? Are you sad that you failed to make me like you?”

“No,” the ancient Jedi shook his head. “Sad that I tried.”

Click here to read my story from Round 1!

Click here to read my story from Round 3!

Related: Fiction Repository

Star Wars Fan Fiction: A Bowl for a Blaster

        So recently a Star Wars-themed discord server that I’m part of announced a three-round writing contest. The first round ended the other day and, between myself and four other contestants, I won (with a score of 9/10), so I thought it’d be cool to share my story here.

        NOTE: The prompt said to write about someone sneaking into the Death Star and uncovering a secret about the Empire. 1200-1500 words.

        So, without further ado, here’s my first Star Wars fan story!

A Bowl for a Blaster

Little Cole hugged his twin sister tightly…

“It’s going to be okay,” he said, as they quivered there in the darkness. He wanted to believe in his own words, though deep down, he feared the worst…

Despite being a desert world on the outer rim, Garel was usually pleasant, complete with a purplish sky, an eternal mix of sunset and sunrise. Cole and Flora had been lucky enough to live in the capital city, where most buildings had been decorated with golden lights and symbols. While some crime occurred here and there, most days were peaceful for the two of them… But not this day.

The boy and girl, both dressed in gray rags, sat there in the alley, shaking as a pair of super battle droids approached them slowly, their blaster hands ready to fire. Unlike their standard counterparts, these silver droids were bulky, and far more intimidating…

Cole began to whimper, believing this moment to be his last… Until suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the droids ceased to walk, and instead began to float, just a few feet above the ground. The children looked past the droids, only to find there behind them a man with his gloved arm raised in the air. He sported brown robes, with his hair long and unkempt. A scar could be seen across one of his eyes. Cole could tell that, whomever he was, he had certainly been through a lot…

“A Jedi,” Flora smiled in awe.

Her brother couldn’t help but smile as well, having always wanted to see a Jedi with his own eyes…

The man clenched his raised hand into a fist. Instantly, the droids collapsed onto the ground, falling forward as their chests imploded. They each let out a dying roar, before shutting down completely…

The children breathed heavy sighs of relief, as the Jedi approached them.

“Don’t worry,” he smiled, in a way that felt warm and sincere. “You’re safe now.”

Cole quickly brought himself to his feet, overcome with joy, “We sure are lucky that you came along!”

The Jedi laughed, “There’s no such thing as luck, kid. Nothing happens by accident.”

TWENTY YEARS LATER

General Draven raised an eyebrow, “Are you listening to me?”

Cole nodded in assurance, though he hadn’t truly been paying attention. He was tired. His last mission had ended just the night before. He barely had any time to make it back to base and rest, before being pulled into yet another debriefing…

The young assassin now found himself fatigued by the dark meeting room, the only light being that from the green holo-display table, there in the center. Draven stood right across from him, his aging hair slicked back, like always, a far cry from Cole’s messy mop. In fact, the only visual link between the two were their matching beige jackets, a common clothing article for Rebels…

Cole eyed his superior directly, “Are you sure I’m the only man for the job, sir?”

Draven sighed, “If Andor were still here I’d send him instead, but…”

“I understand,” Cole interjected. The Rebellion had seen enough casualties as is. Continuing to dwell on all of them would be futile…

“Very well.” The General cleared his throat, “Let’s get right to it.” He then pressed a button on the table there before them, which instantly projected the image of a spherical space station, “The Empire calls this The Death Star. It has already destroyed a city and a base, and we believe it may have the potential to do far worse.”

Cole felt his gut twist…

Draven went on, “An ally of ours recently returned to Alderaan and sent his daughter on a mission to retrieve the station’s blueprints, as they may reveal a weakness that can be exploited, but we have yet to hear from her.”

“So I’m the fallback.”

“That’s right.” Draven then pressed another button on the table, causing the projection to change to that of an elder imperial officer, green suit and all, “You’re target is this man here, Grand Moff Tarkin. We believe that he is the one leading the charge on this battle station in question. If we take him out, the crew of this Death Star, as they call it, may be left temporarily directionless, which could buy us some time, even if brief…”

The assassin examined the hologram carefully, making sure to commit Tarkin’s sharp facial features to memory…

“One of our U-Wing pilots will hand you your stormtrooper armor in a duffel bag and deliver you to a docking bay near an Imperial checkpoint. We anticipate a squad to be picked up there and brought onto the Death Star. That’s your way in.”

“And where exactly is this checkpoint?” Cole asked, bluntly.

“Just outside the capital city of a desert world called Garel.”

Cole immediately felt his whole body freeze, his eyes widening in shock…

Draven tilted his head in confusion, “Is there a problem?”

It took Cole a few seconds to answer, “No sir… No problem at all.”

The General still seemed perplexed, for a moment or two, but then merely shrugged, “Very well. You may proceed to the lobby, then. And remember; terminate whomever else you need to along the way.”

***

Garel was exactly as Cole remembered it…

He did his best to walk through the city with haste, though he was slowed by the weight of the brown duffle bag on his back, its strap around his shoulder. Nevertheless, he pressed on, looking for an alley he could use to change into his disguise…

“Come on,” he suddenly heard one child call to another, “Flora’s expecting us!”

Instantly, Cole stopped dead in his tracks and sighed. He knew he couldn’t avoid his past any longer. He had to go see her…

Carefully, he followed the pair of children into a small, dimly-lit canteen, one he knew all too well. Just as he expected, the place was full of men, women and children of all kinds, all down on their luck, all eating from matching bowls.

There in the central bar was a woman about his age, dressed in gray rags, serving everyone. With a deep breath, he walked up to her, “Hey…”

Flora looked upward, her eyes widening for a quick second, “Oh, hey… What brings you here?”

“Had to come out here to do a job.”

“What job?”

He shook his head, “Can’t say.”

She shifted her eyes, taking note of the strap around his shoulder, “What’s in the bag?”

“Like I said, can’t say… You should’ve come with me. The Rebellion could’ve really used you.”

She pointed to a bowl there on the counter before her, “You should’ve stayed here. Could’ve used your help running the place.”

He rolled his eyes, “You still don’t get it! What The Rebellion is doing will help the entire galaxy.”

“At what cost?” She pointed to his blaster, strapped to the side of his belt, “That right there is the reason I stayed behind.”

He merely shrugged, “The Jedi killed people too. Did they all deserve to be wiped out, like they were? Don’t you ever think about that Jedi who saved us? I’m pretty sure he’d want us to be fighting the good fight, like he did…”

She ignored all of his questions, instead pointing to a bearded man slightly older than them, sitting alone at a table, eating from a bowl, “See him over there? He was TK-059. He defected from The Empire just a few years ago.”

Cole took a quick look at the former stormtrooper, and then faced his sister once more.

She went on, “If he could change, why can’t the rest of them? Why take that chance away from them?”

The assassin shook his head once more, “I can’t let a one-in-a-million chance like that stop me.”

***

Cole could barely see through the stormtrooper helmet…

Nonetheless, he did his best to navigate through the bleak interiors of The Death Star, gripping his blaster rifle tightly…

He could see Tarkin just down the hallway, about to enter the main lobby, where a row of TIE Fighter ships were sitting, waiting to be hijacked. He would likely have to take out a few other Imperials along the way.

It’s worth it, he told himself…

Suddenly, he heard a chilling, robotic breathing, creeping up behind him…

Quickly, Cole swung himself around, only to find standing there a tall man in black, his face hidden beneath an angular helmet. He appeared to be evil incarnate. As evil as someone could be…

“You seem lost, trooper,” the dark figure spoke in a deep, terrifying voice.

“S-Sorry, sir,” Cole stuttered. “Was asked to go check on the trash compactor.”

“That would be on the detention level.”

“T-Thanks,” Cole stuttered again. “Lucky I ran into you, then!”

What the masked man in black said next shook Cole to his very core;

“There’s no such thing as luck, trooper. Nothing happens by accident.”

Click here to read my story from Round 2!

Click here to read my story from Round 3!

Related: Fiction Repository

Top 5 Ways I Would Adapt "Zelda"

  Fun fact about me: I love the Legend of Zelda video game series… Another fun fact about me: I’ve never completed a single Zelda game in my entire life…

Yes, it’s true. I was never much of a gamer growing up, but my brother was, and I would sit and watch him play through many different games, particularly from the Zelda franchise. I loved the lore, the characters, the different environments, the music, and so on. Furthermore, being the big movie fan that I am, I wondered for years what a Zelda film or show would be like (the 80’s cartoon doesn’t count, though I enjoy it ironically). With a new animated Super Mario Bros. film well under way, it’s only a matter of time before Nintendo gives a proper Zelda adaptation a chance. Therefore, I thought I’d share my Top 5 ideas for it here.

Disclaimer before we begin; I will be discussing the official, controversial timeline of all the games throughout this entire post. Believe it or not, the timeline has actually grown on me recently. At one point or another, A Link to the Past, The Wind Waker and Majora’s Mask (and by extension, Twilight Princess) were all intended to be sequels to Ocarina of Time, so the three-prong split allows for that all to still be true. Furthermore, all the other games are still in the chronological positions where they were said to have been upon release, with the exception of Four Swords Adventures. That one was clearly intended to be both a direct sequel to Four Swords as well as a “replacement prequel” for A Link to the Past during different points of production, but ended up being neither. That said, Ganon is referred to as an “ancient demon reborn” in that game, which fits with his death in Twilight Princess (which was in early development when Adventures came out), so I’m fine with the final placement. I also don’t mind the idea of Breath of the Wild being so far in the future (ten thousand years, to be exact) that it can take place at the end of any of the three timelines.

So, with that all out of the way, let’s dive right in!

1. A loose adaptation of Ocarina of Time

I felt like it made the most sense to start with this one since it’s by far the most popular game in the franchise. Furthermore, it’s the entry that causes the timeline to split into three fragments, which could lead to a lot of neat storytelling potential in the future. On top of that, an adaptation can take artistic liberties that could allow for the “downfall” timeline branch to be better justified. At the moment, that branch is only possible if you, the player, die in-game when playing Ocarina. However, an adaptation can, for instance, show Link dying or nearly dying and then have Zelda/Sheik use the ocarina to undo his downfall. In fact, she could have an arc where she starts off not seeing Link as the “chosen one,” only to then grow to trust him throughout the story, thus leading to her wanting to use time travel to save him.

There are other artistic liberties I would take as well, for the sake of simplifying the plot down. I wouldn’t have Link travel back and forth between childhood and adulthood, for starters. Furthermore, I wouldn’t include many side quests or dungeons or bosses, with the exception of maybe Dark Link and Phantom Ganon since they can serve as thematic reflection and foreshadowing, respectively. I would also reduce stuff like finding the stones and awakening most of the sages to just montages.

That all being said, the most important aspect of nearly any story is knowing what theme you’re going for. The game Ocarina uses time travel to cleverly play on the theme of “growing up and letting your childhood go.” Young Link starts off living with a bunch of kids who magically stay kids forever, only to find out that he’s not really one of them, and that he will someday grow up. He’s then swept away on an adventure that leads to him “sleeping” for seven years and suddenly waking up as an adult. Soon enough, he returns to his home, only to find that his closest friend, Saria, is really one of the sages he needs to awaken. In a way, even she needed to “grow up.” Zelda also lost her childhood during the seven years when Ganondorf ruled while Link was asleep (maybe exploring this more can help with their bonding). The story ends with Link finally being able to go back to the past and live out his childhood, but he doesn’t return home (as seen in the direct sequel Majora’s Mask), cause he knows now that he can never truly go back.

You would have to make other slight adjustments to the lore and story to make this theme work better, like maybe Ganandorf felt pressure his whole life for being the only male Gerudo, and therefore felt like he never truly had a childhood because of that. In any case, I definitely think the game provides a solid story to work off of.

2. A loose adaptation of Skyward Sword

Here me out. I know this game is not as beloved as most of the others in the franchise, but that has mostly to do with the gameplay mechanics (which don’t really matter in this context) as well as the fact that the narrative is a little too linear for gamers to truly feel “in control.” That said, a linear narrative is just what a movie or show adaptation would need. Making a solid adaptation could also help to redeem the game in the eyes of many. It also helps that this is the first entry in the timeline, and is basically a creation myth that explains “the beginning of everything” for the franchise.

Again, I would keep the plot simple. Keep the bosses and dungeons and side quests to the bare minimum, and don’t revisit locations over and over like the actual game does (I don’t think anyone would complain about that change). Furthermore, just have the skyward sword turn straight into the master sword, instead of having it turn into a bunch of different swords in between.

In regards to theme; this game, like Ocarina, uses time travel to cleverly tell a coming of age story. You, the player, keep hearing about an ancient hero throughout the game, only to then go back in time to defeat the final boss, meaning you were the ancient hero all along (manga be damned). I think any sort of adaptation of this game should emphasize that aspect as much as possible. Maybe have this incarnation of Link be someone who doesn’t really believe in himself, but then during the final battle he realizes that he himself is really the ancient hero he grew up hearing so much about, and this realization gives him the confidence boost he needs to deliver the final blow. I would probably also play around with the idea of Link and Zelda both being afraid of unintentionally causing evil, which technically happens when Demise (proto-Ganon) casts a dark spell that forces the three of them to be reincarnated over and over throughout the rest of time. But by this point I would have Link and Zelda both come to terms with the fact that evil is simply inevitable.

So again, I think there’s potential here. The neat visuals and art style of the game itself, along with its fully orchestrated soundtrack, also make it a pretty strong contender for a cinematic adaptation.

3. A loose adaptation of Breath of the Wild

For starters, this is the most recent main game released (soon to be followed by a direct sequel), so it’s the one freshest in people’s minds. Also, as mentioned above, it takes place far enough in the future to the point where all other entries in the franchise are nothing more than myth. Furthermore, in my honest opinion, this is the only entry that would work in live action, simply because of the fact that Link doesn’t wear a hat in this one (let’s face it, that hat is never gonna look right in real life). And once again, I would try to keep the plot simple. Little-to-no side quests, and only montages for the shrines.

Okay, time to talk theme now. So this incarnation of Link is an amnesiac who slowly regains his memories as the game progresses (depending on how the player chooses to play). Not too long ago, I came across a Redditor who suggested that a potential Wild adaption could showcase Link adapting to his new, simpler life in the post-apocalyptic Hyrule (cooking and fishing and whatnot), but as his memories return to him, he gradually realizes that he needs to put his own personal interests aside to do what’s right for the kingdom’s legacy and future. So again, we’re dealing with a theme of heroism, but with a dash of “do the right thing” for good measure.

4. A loose adaption of A Link to the Past

I figured this one also made sense, since the narrative is fairly simple and traditional. Plus, it was first game released in the franchise where the narrative was tied into the gameplay itself (the first two games left most of the narrative stuff to the prologues and manuals). This also happens to be the first game taking place in the aforementioned “downfall” timeline (where the Link from Ocarina looses), so you can add a Mistborn type of spin to the story where the failure of the ancient “chosen one” has since affected the culture of the present.

Once again; keep the plot simple (just a montage for most of the awakenings of the maidens). As far as theme goes; I see a through-line of “learning to deal with loss” here. The game starts with Link having to pick up the sword and shield after his guardian dies trying to save Zelda first himself, and Zelda’s father also happens to be killed around this same time. So both of our main characters have to deal with the loss of their caretakers, just like how the whole kingdom of Hyrule is still dealing with the effects of losing the previous chosen hero long ago. Of course, everything is set right in the end once Link is able to make a wish on the Triforce (including the resurrection of Ocarina Link according to some fan theories), but it would be interesting to see all the characters learning to accept their losses first before getting that “reward” at the end.

And last but not least…

5. A unique story (not based on any one game in particular)

This would probably be the best route to go, since there wouldn’t be as many expectations to live up to. If it were up to me, though, I would still take some cues from Breath of the Wild in particular, like setting it late in the timeline, and getting rid of Link’s hat if this absolutely had to be live-action. I would probably also base my incarnation of Ganon closely on the one seen in Wild (where he’s less of a person and more so just an “entity of evil” who maybe just takes on a more humanoid form on occasion for a few “boss fights,” if even that). I think Hyrule should also be presented less as a “kingdom,” so to speak, and more so as a vast, open landscape full of possibilities to explore, as it is in Wild.

And yet again, the plot needs to stay simple. The Triforce should be unified, and the objective should just be something like finding the Master Sword so that it can be used to open the door to the Sealed Realm where the Triforce is, so that a wish can be made on it. So think like a mix of Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past.

But that’s just the plot. What would the actual “story” be, you ask? Well, I think the key is to have Link and Zelda both learn from each other, in some way or another. For instance, maybe Link starts off as just an “adventurer” who loves traveling around and fighting monsters just for the thrill of it, but then learns to care about Hyrule on a more emotional level, while Zelda starts off caring too much about her role as Hyrule’s future and then learns to also take time for herself. Maybe she also starts traveling around more and learning to be “one with the people,” instead of just leading them.

Or if you really wanna get creative with it, do a role reversal! Have Link start off as a knight or something who’s focused too much on guarding the kingdom, while all Zelda wants to do is travel around and isn’t focused enough on her destiny as Hyrule’s future leader, and then by the end they “swap.” Think something along the lines of that fan art that imagines Link as a Prince and Zelda as the wandering hero (though maybe not that extreme). It would almost be like a new pseudo-origin story for the franchise, so to speak. In either case, it would be a play on the theme of “heroism vs. adventurism,” and exploring different ways to be a hero.

So there you have it! I truly feel these are all the best options, as the first two games don’t really have much of a story, and the rest, while great, are all a bit too radical to serve as the basis of the first true Zelda adaptation. That said, Link’s Awakening would make a great story down the road too, as the game involves Link having to destroy a dream world in order to return to the real one. I could see the moral that he learns being something like “Hyrule still needs it’s hero,” if that makes sense…

Anyways, it’ll be interesting to see what Nintendo eventually does…

Peace!

2025 UPDATE: So now a live-action movie is being made, and rumor has it that it’s the first of a planned trilogy. Hearing this, I couldn’t help but challenge myself into trying to figure out how I would “trilogize” Zelda. For the first installment, I think I would go with the option of having Link start out as someone who wants to be an “official” knight instead of just a wandering adventurer, and Zelda start out as a princess who wants to just be a wanderer, but then by the end of the first film they accept their roles (theme of “destiny”). Then in the second film, I would have the ancient “sleeping” Zelda awaken, so then “our” Zelda has to accept that she’s not best fit to run the kingdom anymore, and finally becomes the wanderer she wanted to originally be, while Link has to stop the resurrection of Ganon and battles Dark Link in the process (theme of “reflection”). Finally, in the third film, Ganon returns but is destroyed again, but in the process, Hyrule gets destroyed too. However, Link and Zelda escape and discover through some magic mumbo jumbo that Hyrule will eventually be rebuilt, and the two of them will be reincarnated. If the movies go beyond a trilogy, I would switch to animation and adapt different versions of the characters from some of the “weirder” games.

Related: Fiction Repository