MM is what it is, at least in part, because they didn't go for the epic scenario. Hell, I'd say that's been something the Zelda team has been pretty consistent in doing, creating their own stories while still tying together the timeline.
Indeed. OoT was focused on the whole hero saving the world deal, and thus focused on the world rather than the main character feelings and characters populating that world, they were extras.
You can either go epic or go macro; they went for macro with this sequel, because after saving hyrule the year prior they couldn't possibly negate the greatness of it; they could only do a sequel with less scope, more self contained. And thus, focusing on Link.
Zelda's in fact tend to not care about the hero's feelings, for it is implied that the hero is left without a place to call home/can't go back to being what he was, hence typically ends up with him packing up and leaving somewhere. But still the game has a "happy ending" tone whilst being bittersweet to the hero, creating something only the fans actually ressonate to, sympathy for the hero.
Saying this, reminds me of
this article and it's addendum, it always cracks me up:
There is one aspect of these bittersweet endings that I am happy to see was not continued. In every other Zelda game, Link stands apart from the world he saves. After doing all this, after saving the world and reaching such heroic heights, how can he return to normal life? I always get a sense of sadness about Link’s situation. In Link’s Awakening, everyone and everything you knew from the game disappears before your very eyes. In Ocarina of Time… Link has nowhere to go. He could never fit in among the Kokiri, or any place else. Majora’s Mask… he leaves the world of Termina behind him. Even the Wind Waker ends with Link sailing away from his home. But our final view of Link and many of the other characters in Twilight Princess is of them returning home, to a village that is welcoming them back. Finally, a Zelda game that ends with Link being accepted into Hyrule as a person, and not raised on some untouchable, lonely pedestal. A small touch, but one that was very important.
In the end, I loved Twilight Princess and its ending. I am proud to name it one of the series’ greats.
Addendum: It has been a few weeks since I published this article, and I have received several emails pointing out a mistake I made in the last paragraph: Link is riding away from Ordon at the end, not towards it.
Lots of people did "autocomplete" that detail, the way it's built allows that to happen, if I remember the sequence of events, we have Ilia waiting by Ordon's entry, flabbergasted as if waiting for something whilst zoning out, and we have Fado screaming his lungs out for link's house calling for him, then they show link in ordon woods.
This is shown after the events of the game, so the player tends to think link is returning, Ilia is expecting him, and Fado is cheering.
The clue to the puzzle is that the gamer sees what he wants to see, and thus fails to realize he's walking out of ordon, not into it, and thus the scene means to say in a silent way that Link just left and only said his goodbyes to Ilia, since Fado clearly knows nothing. Wether he feels he still has something to do, or can't fit in Ordon anymore is up to anyone's guess. But it really feels like goodbye.
Now I was fooled the first time I saw the ending, and I know more Zelda fan's that misunderstood that scene, because it was built that way. From my experience it's the non-fan of the franchise that usually doesn't fall for it, actually; because they're not looking for a pattern to be broken. Then I found that article of a fine lad commemorating what he thought he saw... But didn't.
Coming back to the argument: Majora Mask though, was focused on the hero and characters. As the other well known sequel, Link's Awakening was, and that poses lots of chances for real character development.
Of course Link wasn't ok with it, the whole Hyrule concept means nothing to a kid who grew up in the woods and has no parents, he did it all for Zelda and yet in the end because he didn't live those seven years he get's sent back so he can avoid in the past the condemned future scenario (and not trigger it). Sent back for a world that is oblivious to his deeds, a world to whom he's just a kid, again, despite being way more mature than most adults after experiencing what he did.
MM could focus on story, because OoT gave it the context leaving them to focus on everything else, depth.
Leaving implied stories as you say as just that and not pursuing and explaining every detail is what make Zelda stories interesting to me, it's precisely like you said in a previous post:
Yeah, and (sorry for derailing) the whole concept of "legend" is something that more games should fish up, it's really great.
Allows for implied liberties such as the fact that the hero's name wasn't necessarily Link but was probably lost in time, perhaps he didn't wear a green garb, perhaps princess Zelda wasn't called Zelda. Wind Waker explores that by revealing her real name was Tetra. Details get lost, hero's that fail (even if they existed) are forgotten, it's normal and in the end every scenario is an interpretation of the legend.
It brings a whole "up to your interpretation" thing to it, and yet makes so much sense.
This is of course how I view things, but I don't feel that wanting them to expose everything and fulfill fan-fiction dreams is the right posture to take. Whatever that means
I wholeheartedly agree.
If anything, I think Koizumi would go in the opposite direction, he would want to do his own thing even more instead of following up other games.
Of course, specially games he didn't work on like SS who is pretty self contained.
If he was working with Zelda he wouldn't banish them for continuity purposes but I'm sure he would build up the plot on the lose ends he himself left or start anew.
