Midna, Mischievous as a Mask - Zelda Character Study 

I fell in love with Midna in 2007 and I still love her now, after 15 years I can still play Twilight Princess and not ever tire of her progression and development. Midna is the companion character all others should aspire to be.

I love how creepy and unsettling she is. It's also nice to have a companion that ISN'T sucking up to Link, rather, she just tolerates him, and only helps him in order to help herself, but she changes and undergoes ACTUAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and begins to care about Link for the sake of caring about *LINK,* not her personal guard dog, not her servant swordsman, but Link as a person. And again, she's creepy, she's uncanny, and by Hylia, she's enjoyable as hell.

I appreciate you saying that true form Midna is distinctly the same Midna we've been with because I see SO MANY people say "urgh she's just a pretty lady devoid of personality now". Like I am truly baffled by the viewing comprehension of people who think that way. We only get FIVE MINUTES of screen time with true form Midna, so OF COURSE she isn't going to have the chance to be as expressive as imp Midna was. And even in those five minutes, everything true form Midna does is perfectly in-character: she opens with some teasing, does some introspection in the mirror chamber (and she has many introspective moments as imp Midna), and closes with a selfless act (destroying the mirror) which is akin to when she asked Zelda to heal Link and not her, or when she warped Link and Zelda to face down Ganondorf on her own. True form Midna, even in the short time we have with her, builds on everything imp Midna has become, and it is so annoying to see anyone ignore that.

Here’s a bold opinion: Midna is the better princess. Her character development is deeper than any version of Zelda. Her personality is bigger and I always find myself caring more about saving Midna than Zelda.

You saying "and midna can barely even make a full sentence" followed by her going burger... Hurry..... Got me good

Midna isn’t just the best companion character, she’s hands down the best Zelda character in general Also, since video game film adaptations are so in these days, who else wants to see a Twilight Princess adaptation? This game has some serious cinematic potential, and I can see it being done justice in a single movie, if not a short episodic series

I truly believe midna is the best character in the entire series. Sadly to the other games, their usually a little too up beat to properly portray a truly sad story

Seeing the scene always reminds me of how much I love a part of that Zelda/Midna dialogue that no one seems to talk about: Zelda: "Midna... This is no time for levity" Midna: *starts levitating* 4:31

Midna had the most impactful introduction to any best friend in any game. I was very skeptical of her when I first met her and assumed she would be a boss early on only to want to protect her at all costs by any means necessary as the game progresses.

Think on the Majora/Twilight connections, when Midna gets Link's shield when he's in wolf form - she wears it on her face like a mask. Yeah she's being a little sh*t, but putting it on like a mask makes me think a part of their culture revolves around masks. Zant wears a mask, all the Twilit beasts have masks for faces, and your first objective is to get the Fused Shadow (an evil mask). Midna's mask and early concept art for TP Ganondorf both have Majora eyes on them... I think the Interlopers and Majora's "hexing tribe" are essentially one in the same. A Tribe of dark magic weilders who can utilize masks as a medium for their spells.

I really hope people understand that talking about this character essentially means you need to spoil the whole game XD

Midna becomes honest and sincere, but when she asks him to help her instead of commanding him, she’s still being manipulative. She’d get so close to him and touched his face. It came off flirty. She knew he’d agree because he cared. Unless it just reflected her comfort with him because she spent 24/7 in his shadow or riding on his back, and also cared.

Midna is probably my favorite characters for the reason of her character development.

The final cutscene of the game will never not be heartbreaking to me. I love Midna so much. She was one of the last video game characters to make me cry as a kid.

Twilight Princess will always be forever my favorite game 💜🖤

That fused shadow…It’s so ironic how even someone royal like her is shocked about her own ancestor’s power. If the theory that the fused shadow is linked to majoras mask is true, that would be some ground breaking history. My other small theory is that Midna is possibly a gerudo. Gerudo are basically nowhere to be seen in TP and i feel like Midna strongly show Gerudo personality traits. She’s snarky and almost doesn’t take things so seriously, yet she knows when to be serious and her own pride shows a lot too. Oh, and she’s nice and tall like a Gerudo. My theory is that the royal family definitely banished the gerudo into the twilight realm sometime during the start of the child timeline. The only problem is, is that it’s hard to tell how they would establish themselves as a new race of twili people with their palaces and whatnot. So many what ifs but i think i can form a better theory once i finish Majora’s Mask since i have a feeling those events are also linked to TP. One other thing i hope to see is the Twilight Princess sequel that’s been rumored to have existed in between TP and SS. Princess Zelda of the hero of twilight era could definitely have a prominent role in this sequel. It could be a great opportunity to see her use her sword and bow haha. Plus i think it’ll be awesome if this sequel could explain the creation of Sheikah Technology that we see in botw. great video btw. Midna definitely is a prominent part of Hyrulean history

Ok I finally sat down to watch this. This video is great! And I had made a big stink about how I wanted Midna to resume acting like the gremlin she is, but hiding her pain with her act makes SO MUCH SENSE. Midna was such a well thought out character. Thanks for another stellar video

Midna is not just the most developed and fleshed-out companion character in Zelda, she's the most developed and fleshed out character in Zelda period. Not even Link, Zelda, and Ganon are so well-developed - not even across the timeline as a whole; they are all relatively-Jungian archetypes. Whereas Midna is a walking, talking story. (Or I guess a levitating, talking story.)

Loved her so much. Midna really is a fan favourite

Midna needs a spin-off!

Twilight Princess was my first Zelda game, and it remains my favorite to this day! I still remember meeting Midna for the first time and immediately falling in love with her mischievous nature. Her personality infuses every part of her design and dialogue, and I look forward to that first meeting every time I replay the game

Please do Zant next! He’s such a unique character in the series and I would really love to hear what you think about him.

Just found a Midna Helmet in TotK 😢

No wonder she's been my favorite character for years, thank you so much for this video, absolutely adored every bit of it ❤

Midna best Zelda waifu. ♥ Twilight Princess is such an amazing game.

I simply *_love_* Twilight Princess. Midna is hands down the best, most-fleshed out companion in any Zelda title I've ever played. She's a character I genuinely want to help and be around. Like you said, she doesn't kiss up to Link or defer to him at all when they first meet. She's charmingly unpredictable and sardonic---and very much acts in her own interest. Midna is also quite capable in her own right even without Link......But not only is Midna more powerful when relying on others, she also gradually reveals her true, more caring nature as she does, _especially_ after Zelda's sacrifice. Darkness moved by light. She is both literally *_and_* figuratively a princess of twilight. She's also heckin' cute.

Even though I hate all things demonic I prefer it over how she really looks: she's scrawny and boney her unique hair style is dope doe

genuinely my favourite companion from any Zelda game ever. her masquerade as a cheeky and bossy trickster couldn't hide the genuine goodness she had and it caused such a precious bond to form with her during playthroughs. the ending left me feeling very sad, but that just speaks to how much she had grown on me during the story

I believe she actually is a bit mischievous at the beginning of the game because that is part of her nature. Her way of generally dealing with Light dwellers. Even though she witnessed him transformed into a divine beast, she had her doubts and preconceptions about him. She viewed Link as a foreigner to her realm. A complete stranger who she was uncertain would do well without being practically led by the leash to help achieve her agenda. It was only after time that she better understood Link, grew to believe in him, and developed a connection with him. By the end of the game Midna realized how strongly she felt towards Link. Though still believed that Light and Shadow should not mix. She had the insight to know that the only way to stop that was to cut off travel between dimensions by destroying the mirror. With her final words she almost said it with "Link... I..." Then instead reminds you of the original character you met at the beginning of the game by parting with "See you later..."

Such a great character and I love this video series! 🖤

Midna is my favourite character, although I like her imp form

Great commentary. Her drop dead gorgeous true form self at the end ...I see strength, loyalty to her people and a mysterious exit! Subbed

Midna will forever be my Princess. Imp or normal form~

Oh no! Our mirrour! It's broken!

This was an awesome character study. Another great series, stoked to see the next one.

14:37 burger...

To be honest with you guys when I first played twilight princess and saw midna treating link like garbage I genuinely wanted link to pounce on her, but at the end of the game when she sacrifices herself to save link and Zelda and almost dies by ganondorf I genuinely wanted to avenge her

You know I never realized how suffering Midna is a photo negative version of her.

The two best companions I had in all my years of gaming was Midna and Daxter from Jak and Daxter series

Wait did you name link BURGER?

Always adored Midna 🖤 Misunderstood Princess 🖤🖤🖤

Definitely the best companion character. I'm very curious to see if we'll get a new companion in the sequel to BotW. Though evidence points towards a return of Fi, it would be nice to see a new companion, but fully fleshed out like Midna. Excellent video BurgerMan

Burger, you elevated analysis to a whole new level

Midna = 10/10 blorbo from my shows

I’m going to say she’s one of the best Zelda characters in general! Also is easily the best partner character link has ever had. Also I just played the game today and so far it’s amazing! I got to the part where link first meets midna.

The end of Twilight Princess is the definition of bittersweet. I still have a hard-to-swallow pill every time I think about her and this game. 17 years later. And the manga is even worse as they put a step further in this relation between Link and Midna, wth the same end.

Awakened my shorstack fangs enthusiasm. O lawd. Ohe of the reasons twilight princess is one of my 3 favorites.

Nagatoro Fans when they find out that mischievous female characters can have proper character growth:

the fandoms views of midna is very reflective of the game itself most don't like the game immediately but it grows on them and becomes a favorite

So sad it's the last one ! I love your videos about characters development

Omg this was such a good videooo 😭💚💚💚

This was a really cool video

It's amazing how good of a companion she is, not only in a vacuum, but also in comparison to the other Zelda side characters. Her only competition being Navi/Tattle which didn't have any particularly strong arcs or character development besides just being a hint button or in Tattle's case having some background with the big bad, and the King of Red Lions, which had a cool background, but hardly enough time present; only being able to do anything between gameplay moments. Tetra might could also count, but gets even less screen time than tKoRL. Even Fi was a little stale in comparison to Midna's constantly evolving personality and motivations. Twilight Princess may not be the best Zelda game overall, but it had a GREAT story for Midna.

What an amazing video. I wonder how long it took you to complete the writing etc. keep up the good work.

Hey man great video you should do one of these on characters like Linebeck or the postman (more random lesser known characters who have shown up in multiple games) just subbed

She is my favorite character.

Without a doubt, Midna is one of the greatest Zelda CHARACTERS of all time. Not just companions, CHARACTERS.

dat smile...

And I thought I knew the lore of Midna. I learned something new thank you🤘

Midna is TP's Good Guy Ganon much like Groose is SS's Good Guy Ganon✌️

In the Manga Idk if itˋs Canon but there is a Short Story in Midna and Zeldas childhood Ps: Sorry vor Thais Bad English

I love her so much 🥺

I'm not a fan of Zelda games but Midna is such a cool character! If Nintendo makes another ip animation movies like The Super Mario movie, Midna Must be in it! Thx for making this video!

Great video. Midna is my favorite Zelda character.

I like in hyrule warriors she has started to rase and trained wolfs to defend her people

I thought I could use you ,,, Burger....

I recommend the Twilight Princess manga. She's even more interesting there. Midna is, in the manga, physically attracted to Link throughout the story, and slowly falls for him throughout. However she is even crueler to him in the manga than she is in the game. However under all of that, she reveals that she is deeply scared that her failure has cost her subjects too much and she is rather self-depreciating. She's also tremendously guilty about her treatment of both Link and the light-dwellers. Zant's interest in her is...even worse, and more explicitly sexual. Therefore, so is her disgust with him.

An impish fairy creature who resembles a Tarutaru she loves mirror magic, black white color schemes and brims with a glowing teal aura. She is also the princess of the "Twilight world." Midna...

Great Video :)

My top 10 Zelda characters of all time: 🙏🛡️ #10 Navi #9 Ghirahim #8 Zant #7 Fi #6 Revali #5 Groose #4 Urbosa #3 Impa #2 Sheik #1 Midna

Midna is a really interesting character. I always wished she didn't go away forever.

I wish so bad they would bring midna back or at least a descendent that’s like midna.

That's why she became my first tattoo!

Can you make a video on Zant,The Yiga clan or Astor from Hyrule warriors I think they are cool villains

I would follow her into the darkness and slay whatever she is threatened by... I'll tear Demise out of Gannon and crushing myself till he does not return! Zelda...? Who's that little pretentious princess?! I only have eyes for best Zelda girl!

I used to dislike this game dark atmosphere, but after all midna story I wanna play the game for real

Isnt there a theory that the gerudo are the twili that got banished for theyre relationship with ganon?

Now do the Manga version. Please.

Is there enough material to do a character study of Bongo Bongo

I do like Midna human form , she looks beautiful . She has mesmerizing Limk with her beauty . Hope Mipha wont jealous about this since Link also like Midna too . Her personality is opposite to Mipha since she's rebelious type while Mipha is social type

Anyone know what the music playing at 9:06 is called cuz i dont and i cant find it?

imagine if instead of ganondorf the last boss was midna that would have made it cool as heck trying to save midna as wolf link by defeating her or something hell ganondorf could have possessed midna and only awakened after zant was defeated

Excluding breath of the wild Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda game

Half this comment section low-key: "that imp ass is my favorite 👀" However, she is my favorite Zelda character

Whaats the music at the end? In that mini compilation and at the dead end?

I still think that we can get a Twilight Princess sequel. Aonuma said that if enough people want MIda to come back they'll have no choice. Nintendo has had to see all of the theories people had about a Midna connection to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Perhaps after Tears of the Kingdom DLC we'll get a Twilight Princess sequel

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Am I the only one who saw their relationship as a great love story?

Sup

Seriously. If you like this story at all then do yourself a favor and read the manga. Twilight princess is the only zelda manga that is worth a damn. Honestly, it's awesome. I can even tell you where you can read it for free if you'd like

Smash🗿

burger 😹

burger

This is the best of the best of the old zelda formula. I love anime, but new zelda is turning too much weeb

The reason why people love Midna is because she was so relatable in so many levels. The reason why she was so hostile towards everyone was because she wanted to save her world from Zant -- something that the rest of us understands, as we have to do things that others may not like to advance our own agenda. Then she DEVELOPS into the person we know now, because her experience with Link and Zelda -- she GROWS as a character, which is something we all aspire to. And ultimately, she makes a sacrifice of her own desires for the greater good.

God. This has so much more weight, depth, and nuance than the narrative of NuZelda. A consequence of not only sacrificing everything on the altar of open world, but also because an open world cannot have a structured narrative like this. The structure of a story with any depth is fundamentally hostile and mutually exclusive to what an open world setting is.

how do you people find midna likeable... i dont get it