My Dark Master

Since I have begun playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii, I have come to accept a new master in my life.

Her name is Midna. I met her soon after I began playing the game. After a short introduction where I was introduced to my life as a ranch hand, I was ambushed by some sort of goblin, knocked unconscious, and sucked into a dark realm of some sort, where I turned into a wolf. Here is a video of our encounter:

She floats through the air, and speak in a sort of hollow gibberish that I can understand. She teases me mercilessly, she promises that she will help me escape my wolf form and rescue my friends if I will only accept that I am now her bitch.

Which I accept.

And then she proceeds to ride me like the jackass I am.

I do what she says, I go where she tells me. I listen to her make fun of me and tell me I should be smart enough to figure out this part by myself. Obediently, I obey her every whimsical beck and call while she yawns and stretches out on my back.

What a fascinating character! I have grown quite fond of Midna throughout the course of my adventures. The way you interact with her through the story is like being led by the nose by a very powerful, dark, spoiled, mischievous and playful little child.

I can never quite shake the feeling that her intentions don't have a sinister edge to them, but she does help me out quite a bit in return. When the way forward is not clear, she glides forward to show me places to jump where I can find sure footing. After a while, all the taunting and "You gotta do what I say" drops off a bit and it feels like a strange buddy flick - the stoic hero and the dark child partnered up to save the world.

I feel like I am following her lead but also that I am her guardian at the same time. She reacts with fascination at events that don't seem to phase me.

You may be thinking, the first person perspective is a little much for a blog post about a character in a video game, but if you know me well enough by now, you'll know that I take these things very seriously. I like to completely immerse myself in each gameplay experience, and little touches like this are what makes the difference between a fun game that I pick up and play and put away and a game that I remember years later like a favorite bedtime story.