Line #100 WhatAnIdiot/TheLegendOfZelda


1	Characters in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series are prone to stupid decisions at times, and not even the Triforce of Wisdom is any relief from the idiocy.
2
3	----
4	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'':
5	** [[MagnificentBastard Ganondorf]], surprisingly enough, gets one of these. After Link meets Zelda in the Temple of Time and obtains the light arrows from her, he traps Zelda inside a crystal so that he can get the Triforce of Wisdom.\
6	'''You'd Expect:''' He would trap Link too while he was distracted by the monologuing, obtaining all three Triforce parts and being able to rule the kingdom of [[TheGoodKingdom Hyrule]] without any opposition.\
7	'''Instead:''' He allows Link to enter his castle, and gets defeated twice, and then trapped in another dimension.
8	** Yet another one for Ganondorf, which occurs after Link removes the Master Sword from its pedestal and opens the gateway to the Sacred Realm.\
9	'''You'd Expect:''' Ganondorf to kill Link before he is sealed within the Sacred Realm. Not only is Link an easy target (being only a child), but it would also eliminate the only true threat to Ganondorf's reign and potentially give him access to both the Triforces of Power and Courage.\
10	'''Instead:''' He simply gloats about how Link essentially handed Hyrule to him on a silver platter, then laughs. Seven years later, and his entire regime is practically undone by Link.
11	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'':
12	** Koume hosts a target shooting game in the Southern Swamp.\
13	'''You'd Expect:''' She would set up stationary targets in a similar fashion to the game from Gerudo's Fortress in the last game.\
14	'''Instead:''' She carries the target with her.\
15	'''Result:''' It's all to easy to hit her and she cancels the game if Link hits her ten times, but what was she expecting from all this?
16	** Anju schedules a meeting with Link at 11:30pm to discuss Kafei's whereabouts. The Stock Pot Inn closes hours earlier.\
17	'''You'd Expect:''' She'd give Link a key to the inn or come answer the door if he knocks.\
18	'''Instead:''' She doesn't think about letting Link in at all, to the point of shooing him away if he tries to open the door after closing time.\
19	'''Result:''' Link either has to sneak in through the veranda door or steal the Goron's Room Key to get in, all because Anju didn't make it possible for Link to attend the very meeting she set up.
20	** Two of the Business Scrubs sell Magic Beans and Bomb Bags.\
21	'''You'd Expect:''' For the Scrubs to expand their markets and sell to humans, the kind of people who can actually use them.\
22	'''Instead:''' The former only sells to Deku Scrubs and the latter exclusively to Gorons. You could argue that those are the main inhabitants of their areas, hence their desire to move elsewhere, but they openly refuse to do business with Link if he approaches them as a human.\
23	'''Result:''' No one is taking them up on their offers.
24	* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages]]'':
25	** So Link has just used Mystery Seeds to get Veran purged from Nayru's body. But soon after, Veran possesses Queen Ambi, whom she manipulated into doing her bidding.\
26	'''You'd Expect''': That Link would repeat the same process he did with Nayru.\
27	'''Instead''': He doesn't do anything until Nayru is forced to escort both him and her lover Ralph back to the present when the guards get summoned.\
28	'''Result''': Link has to find the last two Essences of Time in order to get another shot at purging Veran from Ambi's body.
29	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'':
30	** Link, Tetra/Zelda, King Daphnes and Ganondorf are atop Ganon's tower. Tetra's out cold, Link's barely conscious and Ganondorf thus manages to snatch their Triforce pieces and reassemble the whole Triforce. Now, he must only touch it and all his wishes will come true- except King Daphnes beats him to it and touches the thing first.\
31	'''You'd Expect:''' The King would wish Ganondorf out of existence and heal Tetra's and Link's wounds. If he wants to close the book on Hyrule, fair enough, but at least make sure the protagonists are safe first.\
32	'''Instead:''' He wishes only for Hyrule to be gone, and Link and Tetra (still barely able to stand on their feet) to have hope for the future. The pair of them are subsequently forced to battle Ganondorf, who now suffers a VillainousBreakdown over his plans being derailed.
33	* Zant in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' gets a lot of these moments throughout the game thanks to his overwhelming arrogance.
34	** Prior to the events of the game, Zant has received his newfound powers from Ganondorf and has begun his hostile takeover of the Twilight Realm. During the coup, he has Midna cornered on the balcony of the Palace of Twilight.\
35	'''You'd Expect:''' Zant to simply kill her now so he'd be rid of the only opposition to his rule as the rest of the Twili have been transformed into loyal Shadow Beasts under his control.\
36	'''Instead:''' He merely turns her into an imp and lets her live.\
37	'''Result:''' Midna escapes into the Light World and eventually meets Link, and the two of them team up to defeat Zant, essentially making him responsible for the events of the game.
38	** After the heroes find the final Fused Shadow and dispell the Twilight around Hyrule, Zant confronts Link and Midna at Lanaryu's spring and takes the Fused Shadows from them.\
39	'''You'd Expect:''' Zant, seeing how much trouble Link is, would simply kill him and Midna and spare himself further headache.\
40	'''Instead:''' Zant merely curses Link to permanently remain in Wolf form and nearly kills Midna by exposing her to light. He doesn't even bother taking the Fused Shadow Midna is wearing.\
41	'''Result:''' Link manages to escort a barely-alive Midna to Zelda, who heals her wounds. The two then go on to break Zant's curse using the Master Sword and eventually make their way to Zant's front door. Midna all but spells it out for him when they finally meet.
42	--->'''Midna:''' Isn't this ironic? Here we are, all thanks to the dark magic curse you placed on Link!
43	** Later, Zant meets Link and Midna at Arbiter's Grounds. Realizing they're still alive, Zant reanimates Stallord to distract the heroes while he goes to destroy the Mirror of Twilight, the only link between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm, and thus, the only means the heroes have of reaching Zant. However, as he is not the true King of Twilight, he can only fragment the mirror into four shards, so he scatters three of the shards to the far reaches of Hyrule.\
44	'''You'd Expect:''' Zant to take the final mirror shard with him and keep it with him at all times. That way, even if the heroes find the other three shards, they'll never be able to fully restore the Mirror of Twilight without the final shard. Or alternatively, you'd expect Zant to take all four shards with him and deprive the heroes of the only method of reaching him as he is the only character who can travel between the Twilight Realm and the Light World at will without the Mirror of Twilight.\
45	'''Instead:''' For some inexplicable reason, he leaves the final mirror shard at Arbiter's Grounds, '''''right where Link and Midna can get it!''''' This allows them to simply find the three shards and restore the Mirror of Twilight.\
46	'''Even Worse:''' At no point in the second half of the game does Zant even ''attempt'' to stop the heroes from restoring the Mirror. [[OrcusOnHisThrone He just sits on his throne and awaits the inevitable confrontation.]] Speaking of which...
47	** Link and Midna have finally managed to fight their way through the Palace of Twilight and are about to battle Zant.\
48	'''You'd Expect:''' Zant, remembering that he took the Fused Shadows from them earlier, would actually '''use''' them. He knows what they are and what they can do, and while he doesn't have the complete set[[note]]Midna's helmet is the fourth Fused Shadow.[[/note]], the power boost he would get from just the three fragments would be more than enough to help him beat Link.\
49	'''Instead:''' He doesn't bother using them and fights Link with his own power, even though Link has grown strong enough to actually challenge Zant. Thus, though he puts up a good fight, Link manages to defeat him.
50	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'':
51	** [[spoiler:Link has learned that Ghirahim is pretty damn angry about losing Zelda and Impa to the Gate of Time in Lanayru Province, which Impa explicitly destroyed to prevent pursuit - this is learned because Ghirahim banters on about the second Gate of Time prior to the battle at the Fire Sanctuary. Link activated the Gate of Time in Faron Province to learn about the Triforce and Zelda's role in current events, and not only did he manage to get his hands on the Triforce in its entirety, but Link also uses it as it was intended by Zelda - to utterly annihilate the Imprisoned beyond all hope of recovery. Zelda is scheduled to wake up shortly due to her seal no longer being needed, but Ghirahim is still out there.]]\
52	'''You'd Expect:''' [[spoiler: Link to blow up the Faron Gate of Time or ask old lady Impa to dismiss the gate, since Hylia's loyalists no longer have a use for it. Ghirahim explicitly ''wanted'' to know about this gate so he could get his hands on Zelda, after all, and with him at large, leaving the Gate operational is a bad thing.]]\
53	'''Instead''' [[spoiler:Link walks up to greet Zelda as she awakens from her crystallized sleep. If you still couldn't put two and two together by now, Ghirahim kidnaps Zelda, drags her through the Gate of Time, and offers up her soul to Demise in sacrifice - and since Zelda's soul is Hylia's, Demise awakens from his thousand-year imprisonment 999 years early. You know, guys, ''you could have prevented this whopper''!]]
54	** Earlier, Ghirahim sees Link enter the Skyview Temple and recognizes him as the boy from earlier when he conjured the tornado to bring Zelda to the surface world.\
55	'''You'd Expect:''' Ghirahim to kill Link now and spare himself any future problems. Even if Link is just a human, it's best to not take any chances.\
56	'''Instead:''' Ghirahim toys with Link, believing him to be no threat at all, even letting him live when he can no longer sense Zelda's presence at the temple.\
57	'''Result:''' Link continues to interfere with Ghirahim's plans again and again and even manages to [[spoiler:use the Triforce to kill Demise in the present, forcing Ghirahim to go to the past with Zelda and attempt to resurrect Demise there.]] By the time he faces Link for the final time, Ghirahim admits that letting Link live was a fatal mistake.
58	--->'''Ghirahim''': If only I'd put you in your place from the very beginning! Give a human a little mercy, and next thing you know, ''he thinks himself your equal''!
59	* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'':
60	** Zelda has survived an attempt against the Dark Forces. To protect the people around her, she faked her death and comes out as Sheik.\
61	'''You'd Expect''': That she'll come clean to the Hyrulean Forces about the secret. They'll understand what she did what she had to do, so they agree to use the ruse to put the Dark Forces off their tracks on her.\
62	'''Instead''': She doesn't come clean to any of her allies, not even to Impa, her bodyguard and confidant.\
63	'''The Result''': The Hyrulean Forces get demoralized, Impa doesn't trust Sheik, and Wizzro impersonating Zelda. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Way to go, Zelda, for screwing up your own forces!]]
64	** Speaking of the above, Impa should know better of finding out Sheik's true identity.\
65	'''You'd Expect''': That with the Triforce of Wisdom on the back of Sheik's hand, she would immediately figure out she's Zelda. After all, who else would have the sign other than the princess herself?\
66	'''Instead''': She only became more distrustful of Sheik.
67	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'':
68	** The Yiga Clan can attack you anywhere (except Death Mountain) at anytime... even during a lightning storm.\
69	'''During that, you'd expect that they either:'''\
70	'''A.''' Forgo metallic weaponry and wield wooden weapons/bows instead.\
71	'''B.''' Retreat immediately and attack later when there's no danger of being zapped.\
72	'''Instead of the above options:''' They continue to attack in the lightning, making it possible for them to get zapped by it.\
73	'''Making matters worse:''' A flashback in the Ballad of the Champions [=DLC=] shown one of them getting zapped by Urbosa, which provides an indication that they learned nothing from getting fried.
74	** In the same flashback, Urbosa confronts two Yiga Clansmen while walking with Zelda, and one of them was shown taking her on.\
75	'''You'd Expect:''' That the other ninja would go after the unarmed Zelda.\
76	'''Instead:''' He attempts to stab Urbosa in the back after she defeated his partner, leading to him getting zapped by her lightning and forcing both Yiga ninjas to retreat.
77	** Even the leader of the Yiga Clan, Master Kohga, is not immune to this - when you defeat him in his boss battle, he proclaims he is going to unleash a forbidden technique upon you that he spent years perfecting. He whisks up a giant spiked metal ball... which lands right in front of him, and begins to drift slowly towards him with his back towards the large bottomless pit in the center of his boss chamber.\
78	'''You'd Expect:''' For him to not perform the technique next to the pit in the first place, and even in this situation to just move out of the way or even float above the pit, as he is shown to have the power to levitate during his boss fight.\
79	'''Instead:''' He panics and jumps around like a buffoon, letting the spiked ball push him into the large pit which presumably crushes him. Fortunately for him, he's shown to have survived in the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom sequel]].
80	** Gerudo Town is a bazaar town in the middle of the desert. It's also populated entirely by women, as they have an old rule that males aren't allowed in at all, and they're an almost female-only race (only one male is born every 100 years). As a result they're in danger of disappearing, as stated by one of the Gerudos.\
81	'''You'd Expect:''' Them to realize how counterproductive and outdated that rule is and [[JustEatGilligan abolish it,]] what with the place's whole economy being dependent on commerce in a kingdom where most traveling merchants are male, not to mention their race being in risk of going extinct due to the lack of males.\
82	'''Instead:''' They stick to tradition and keep enforcing the rule, not even allowing Hyrule's champion in. So, the only way to keep the town from disappearing is for Gerudos to leave the place to find Hylian mates to procreate with, then come back later with their children alone, as their fathers aren't allowed in.
83	* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'':
84	** Master Kohga and the Yiga Clan plan to turn the Gerudo against Link, Princess Zelda, and Impa, so Kohga disguises himself as their chieftain, Urbosa (who was away at the time) and orders them to attack the trio and any fighter the player has in their selected team. While the concept isn't bad by itself, there are some flaws.\
85	'''You'd Expect:''' Master Kohga to send his spies to do some research to get a better understanding of the relationship between Zelda and Urbosa and the latter's mannerisms to hide his disguise better, and better yet, capture Urbosa and have her locked in their hideout to prevent her from interfering with his plans on assassinating the princess.\
86	'''Instead:''' He never did any of all this, so his chances of success were significantly much lower.\
87	'''The Result:''' The Gerudo Captains were confused by "Urbosa's" behavior and believe there is something off about their chief and Urbosa ends up returning unscathed and electrifies him before he can attack Zelda and her allies.
88	** [[spoiler:Windblight Ganon was defeated and forced into retreat by Link and the newcomer, Teba while ultimately failing to kill Revali, who now knows that it wants his blood and Teba is at his side watching his back as they defend Western Hyrule with Vah Medoh under their control with Teba's presence increasing its output and Vah Medoh itself has powerful weapons at its disposal.]]\
89	'''You'd Expect:''' [[spoiler:Windblight Ganon to destroy Vah Medoh from below and behind where neither Revali or Teba would be able to see it as an effective way to kill them both.]]\
90	'''Instead:''' [[spoiler:It repeatedly attacks Vah Medoh ''head-on and up front'' and ''right where both Revali and Teba can fully see it'' and they give each other a heads up each time they see it appear.]]\
91	'''The Result:''' [[spoiler:Windblight Ganon ends up being killed by its would be victims with the very weapon that it tried to take control of.]]
92	** Astor has his fair share of making pretty bad decisions that make things worse for Calamity Ganon; in one of them, Calamity Ganon's return is set on Zelda's 17th birthday which was foretold. Princess Zelda would already be away at Mt. Lanayru that day to train for her sacred power which was still dormant.\
93	'''You'd Expect''': Astor to wait for Zelda and her knight to go all the way to Mt. Lanayru before triggering the Calamity so they could so that they would be too far away to help King Rhoam and everyone in the castle.\
94	'''Instead:''' He triggers the Calamity ''just as she, Link and Impa were leaving Hyrule Castle'' and they were still close enough to head back to find King Rhoam, [[spoiler:who later sacrifices himself to protect the trio when they were retreating, leading Zelda to sink into despair over her loss along with Terrako sharing the images of the Divine Beasts falling under Ganon's control]]\
95	'''The Result:''' This also ends with [[spoiler:Terrako responding to her anguish by summoning the Gates of Time to save the Champions by bringing their successors to their era and allow them to survive.]]
96	** Astor gets another one later on, after [[spoiler:Terrako summons the New Champions to save the current Champions from the Blight Ganons, the latter who are all dead to ensure their safety,]] he has to take drastic measures upon this revelation.\
97	'''You'd Expect:''' Astor to take several members to an isolated spot where Master Kohga and Sooga won't see him sacrifice their Yiga soldiers to revive the Blights and if they end up seeing the dead bodies without actually seeing what he did, Astor would then manipulate them by pinning the blame on the Hyrulean Forces, so that they would be driven by blind revenge without costing Calamity Ganon its allies.\
98	'''Instead:''' Astor sacrifices the Yiga soldiers not only in plain sight, but right in front of Kohga and Sooga, who clearly care for their clansmen and openly betrays and mocks them for their failures.\
99	'''The Result:''' Astor's horrifically low treatment of the Yiga Clan, with Sooga's fate left ambiguous, ends up causing Master Kohga and the Yiga Clan to switch their allegiance to the Hyrulean Forces, which gave Ganon's enemies more allies and costing it a good portion of its army.
100	** Again, Astor was gloating over him using Harbinger Ganon to foresee the dark future of Hyrule and Sooga warns him that Calamity Ganon is not something that a mere mortal can control.\
101	'''You'd Expect:''' Astor to listen to Sooga and understand the dangers of controlling a powerful entity and work with it instead.\
102	'''Instead:''' He lets his own pride get the better of him and ignores Sooga's warnings; [[spoiler:and it shows near the end of the story that Astor, in a fit of rage, gave Harbinger Ganon orders to destroy the Hyrulean Forces. It ends with Astor getting consumed alive by it.]]
103	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'':
104	** Addison is an employee of the Hudson Construction Company whose job is to place advertising signs on posts around Hyrule.\
105	'''You'd Expect:''' As an employee of a ''construction'' company, that he would know to securely place the signpost before mounting the sign on it so that it doesn't fall over, or to at least take a page out of Link's book and have a means to support the sign and keep it upright while he secures the post.\
106	'''Instead:''' He always attaches the sign to the post before putting the post up and never has any means of keeping the sign upright other than physically holding it up himself, requiring Link to repeatedly help him by holding the sign up while he secures the post in place.
107	** In the distant past, when Rauru and Sonia founded their version of the Kingdom of Hyrule, they were approached by Ganondorf. He is clearly lying through his teeth about wanting to uphold his pledge of fealty, and Zelda outright comments on how ObviouslyEvil he is.\
108	'''You'd Expect:''' Rauru, who admits his own misgivings on Ganondorf and states his intention to keep an eye on him, to send the Gerudo chief back to govern his tribe and send people of his own to keep watch over him. \
109	'''Instead:''' He apparently allows Ganondorf to visit Hyrule Castle as often as he pleases, allowing him to hatch his plan to steal Sonia's Secret Stone and condemn the land to thousands of years of suffering.\

Context WhatAnIdiot / TheLegendOfZelda