If you’re familiar with The Legend of Zelda, you are likely well acquainted with the temples. On that same note, if you’re familiar with Smash Bros, you most likely know one of the most iconic stages of all time, the Temple, (or as you may call it as I do) Temple of Hyrule.
Smash gameplay analyst, MockRock, takes us through the journey of this stage as if it were a story designed by Takashi Tezuka himself. MockRock answers the philosophical questions you didn’t even know the stage inspired from within you: From what parts of The Legend of Zelda lore is it derived? How can architecture build a dramatic battle filled with tension? What is it about this stage that makes gameplay flow so rewardingly for casual and advanced players alike?
The premise of the video, and the context of watching it all the way through, inspired some of my own ideas on how Hyrule Temple represents The Legend of Zelda so elegantly…
...How each portion of the stage feels as if it were a room in a dungeon, never knowing what is around the corner; how the deeper down you go, and the more damage you rack up, the harder it can be to escape.
...How the actual building in the background beckons back to the castles in Zelda, in the background but always a visual present and impending presence.
...How the juxtaposition of the battleground and ethereal realm are part of the visceral design, and almost like the Goddesses watching over you, reincarnating after death.
...How the colors of the stage even represent the characters- the Temple the color of the Princess herself, with the battleground dressed in the color of our Hero Link.
...I finally noticed how the stage even looked like a structurally upside Triforce, itself.
I wonder, users;
Does the stage breakdown lure you to write poetry?
Whoever were the last two would have to fight in 'the pit' as a final showdown. Bonus points for the Fire Emblem remix that we would pick if we were playing Marth or Roy. Good times indeed.
