I've been quite interested on the book The Writer's Journey from Christopher Vogler (special thanks to the brazillian Nerdcast for bringing that up), which is a simplified version of Joseph Campbell's work and I can't resist the opportunity to apply it to one of the only unanimity from the game's industry.

Every game has a story, only one has a legend. That catchphrase has been pretty popular on message boards, not only because it's brilliant, but because it represents specially well how The Legend of Zelda has always been on a whole other level than "normal" games.

But apart from side stories, and most fans have ranted about that, you'll notice that the main story is pretty much the same, and that could be said by Mario too. Princess is kidnapped, Link has to go trough great lengths to save her from Ganondorf.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the almighty creator of the game, has told us many times that it's all about the simbolism, a story of growth from a powerless child to a warrior that can face the personification of evil. It was all about Courage against Power. It was also the way Miyamoto chose to tell us about his childhood, when he explored nearby caves in search for adventure.

Is it possible that this legend has been around longer than Miyamoto's childhood? Joseph Campbell believes that certain archetypes are at some point present in all of us, trough several cultures, thus creating greater imersion, being the material that makes a good story a great story.

"The Hero's Journey", as it's called, is a twelve stage process that will take these wimps... I mean, candidates, to become what they're suposed to be, heroes!



Stage 1: Ordinary World
Kokiri Forest anyone?

To first tell the player that Link is making a sacrifice, a leap of faith, by leaving his daily life to pursue an adventure, you have to feel what's his everyday routine. This can be felt on its greatest on the most recent chapter, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii/GameCube), and can also be seen on several movies, like the classic, The Wizard of Oz, or a more recent example, Matrix.

Before you can learn Kung Fu, you'll know Mr. Anderson, Neo's altergo (see what I did there?), just your average programmer try to earn some money, but something doesn't feel quite right. This is a feeling every person can have, even if they're not connected to a computer generated alternate reality, they connect to this feeling.

I've seen many people say how the first moments on the village are dull and boring, plain unnecessary. If I well remember, Sean Maelstrom share this view on his blog. But as a storytelling mechanism, you live a day in Link's life, so you can understand what he'll be leaving behind when he gets his second stage.



Stage 2: Call to Adventure
Hey! Listen!

That's when something happens, be it the white rabbit, or the voice from God himself coming from the skies, someone will tell you of a great adventure that awaits your decision to live it. In the Legend of Zelda we see the raise of Ganondorf, the leader of thieves and usually how he plans to conquer the world with his Triforce of Power.

How to forget the last moments of the Great Deku Tree explaining how your world is no longer yours, you weren't even a Kokiri! You can also see this role being fulfilled by the King of Red Lions, Link's boat in The Wind Waker (GameCube).

But the third step, is something we probably don't see in videogames, it's when the hero refuses that call. Maybe you remember when Luke didn't want to join Obi Wan in Star Wars: Episode IV. But on a videogame, that would be a hard one to pull.



Stage 4: Meeting The Mentor
It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.

If one thing is clear from the many RPGs I played is that you need an old man telling you what to do. You'll believe him. Why? Cause he's old, it's not like he is going to make fun of you, right? Right?!

Of course, not all wise mentors are old men, but they are some of the best. We gotta remember one of the greatest mentors from The Legend of Zelda games, Sahasrahla, from A Link to the Past (Super Nintendo/GameBoy Advance).

The mentor will obviously guide the player for a while, but he won't be around until the end. At some point, the little bird has to fly on its own. The role of the mentor is to prepare the hero to face the unknown, not hold his hand while he fights it.



Stage 5: Crossing The First Threshold
There is a hidden path from outside of the castle

That exact moment you take out that single piece of grass and jump down straight into trouble. Your uncle gives you a sword and shield, and then you're no longer connected to your Ordinary World, it's no longer possible to go back and forget about your journey, it's too late to refuse the call.

Like Christopher Vogler says, this is the part where the boat departs, a metaphore that gets very solid with The Wind Waker. This is the point Dorothy decides to follow the yellow brick road, it's the start of the journey, the first step you take towards your objective.

This is actually the time the character face his first fear and by surpassing it, he's one step closer to being a hero. It may seen a bit too natural on videogames, but if you remember the most recent games, like Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64), Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, you probably could see how Link show strong emotions about not being prepared. Usually he has an uneasy look that will eventually disappear until the end of the game.



Stage 6: Tests, Allies & Enemies
This is not fried chicken!

In the beginning, The Legend of Zelda shared some of the loniless of the Metroid universe. Specially in the first game, you were all alone in a giant world to explore. That is no longer true if you think about the most recent games.

This is the stage where after crossing the threshold, you begin to know who are your friends and who are your enemies. It's not hard to remember the scene where Neo meet the crew of the Nabucodonosor or Morpheus' training telling him about the agents. Before you can actually feel good for beating them, you gotta know they are evil.

We can remember a few enemies, like Phantom Ganon or the  Goblin leader, but mostly, The Legend of Zelda has only one reocurring enemy, which is also your ultimate Nemesis. Of course, in the last two games we had "The Horde", those strange monsters from Wind Waker and Twilight Princess running around.

But that's not to say there aren't any allies in the story. In Twilight Princess you get a whole "league" of heroes that try to help Link, and of course, you got the charming Midna; in Ocarina of Time, how to forget characters like Saria and even Epona? Wind Waker's Medli and Makar were also strong parts of the story.

And of course, you can't talk about Wind Waker without mentioning Tetra, which is going to challenge you for quite some time on her boat. This is another part that people thought it was completly unnecessary, but it's somehow connected to the Hero's Journey, and can also be seen in the form of Sheik in Ocarina of Time.



Stage 7: Approach to the Innermost Cave
*Dungeon music here*

You've prepared yourself long enough, it's time to face your first real challenge. You know who your friends are, you know where your enemy is at. This is the point where it's no longer a matter of doing things right or wrong, it's about surviving. There's real danger involved. This is when Luke and his friends assault the Death Star to try and save Leia.

Being on a videogame, you'll usually have several caves that actually represent the Innermost Cave, and you might not face your greatest fear on them, because... well, fear is pretty relative on videogames.

We can remember everyone once in a while a duel with a "dark Link" in Ocarina of Time, which at some point might represent an evil version of the hero. It's a little hard to pinpoint the exact location of the Innermost Cave on The Legend of Zelda games, since they're more of a dungeon journey of their own to retrieve three pendants or six medallions, or anything like that, but you'll probably recognize the following steps.



Stage 8: Supreme Ordeal - The Probation
*Ganondorf's laugh*

Past all the stages, you're facing the villain, but if you well remember, this is not the time yet. Remember Luke Skywalker facing Darth Vader for the first time? That didn't go so well... now remember Ocarina of Time when Link faces Ganon for the first time, right after Sheik runaway with Princess Zelda.

There's another parallel with the young Jedi there. The Probation is a point where the hero actually dies. The death can be metaphorical though, and you can probably see this when Luke jump to death, but end up stuck at an antenna, or when Link gets hit by Ganondorf's magic.

They don't actually die, but a part of them does. If you remember Return of the Jedi, you do notice how Luke has changed and in Ocarina of Time that's represented by "Adult Link", the death of the child for the rise of the man. Even though Link reverts back to being a child, he prooves his worth was not by adulthood on Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64). Once again, all metaphorical.

You can see the raise of this "Adult Link" in Wind Waker and Twilight Princess too, from a scared boy to a full-fledged warrior. That's the point when the eyes of the character change, and it's really a beautiful detail to pay atention to.

This actually repeats at Stage 11, Resurrection, but this is the point where it starts.



Stage 9: Reward - Seizing the Sword
The Blade of Evil's Bane

Do I even have to say something? After all these stages, the boy has become a man, the wimp has become a warrior, and he now needs a real weapon to go with his new self. As legendary as the legend itself, the blade that can vanquish all evil, the Master Sword.

Now this is the stage where the hero not only gets a weapon, he gets the method to fight his nemesis. Luke gets the plans to destroy the Death Star, Neo gets his message from the Oracle, and Link gets the Master Sword.

This is also the point where he has already become a hero, and recognizition is finally starting to show up.



Stage 10: Road Back
Hyrule Castle

That's the first thing it comes into my mind when I think about the Road Back, Wind Waker's Hyrule Castle. The castle is completly frozen in time, then you get the Master Sword and when you get back, everything is back to life.

In The Hero's Journey, the Road Back is when the hero also notices that his life on this new world is coming to an end, and he will eventually go back to his Ordinary World, but there are many dangers still ahead, and he's divided.

The Road Back share some of the greatest moments on the series, when you're going to fight Agahnim in A Link to The Past or when you return to the Temple of Time in Ocarina of Time and finally meet Princess Zelda. Discovering your new powers is part of the fun, but none of these compare to the incredible Wind Waker scene.



Stage 11: Resurrection
Phoenix Down (Ops, wrong game)

This is mostly a second probation, just to check if the hero got everything right from the first time. This is when evil has his final desperate atempt and the hero finally destroys it. This is the last battle.

The hero is now completly transformed and even though he will return to his own Ordinary World, he won't be the same ever again. It's not uncommon for the hero to be almot defeated on this last battle and oftenly we see Princess Zelda coming to his aid in one form or another.

We all know how the story ends, Ganondorf is defeated, Prncess Zelda is safe, and what becomes of Link?



Stage 12: Return with Elixir
But the Hero of Time did not reappear

Took me a while to mention it, but I see no better example than Lord of the Rings, when Frodo finally goes back home. Although he's a hero, you see that all he brought with him were experiences from his adventure. That's the elixir.

It's when the hero goes back with some kind of treasure, healig artifact, or even his own memories and experiences, back to his regular daily life, although completly changed.

In the world of sequels, our heroes usually find another adventure to live, but we can also see when they go back to their Ordinary Worlds with little more than their sole knowledge that they saved the world.



We WILL find it! The land that will be the next Hyrule!
Ah, but child... that land will not be Hyrule. It will be YOUR land!

During these twelve steps we saw what The Legend of Zelda has on its best, making us heroes, letting us live the life of that small boy with nothing on his behalf other than Courage, as we depart from our world by the call to adventure of a new game on the series, fighting Ganon and saving the Princess, now with a new point of view over it.