In Defense of Zant

I have read many threads as of recent, and have noticed that many people did not like the Zant character in Twilight Princess because of his shift in character toward his defeat. I actually liked him A LOT. Here's why:

Although he was basically one of Ganon's minions, he was powerful enough to take over Hyrule. His world of Twilight basically started to engulf Hyrule, only to ready Ganon's return. We saw cutscenes of him take over Hyrule castle. Yes, Zant is one tough cookie.

He makes appearances and taunts Link, telling him there is no way he can succeed. He is a mysterious character, but we know that he and Midna have a connection and history, and that's why we are intrigued by him.

He reveals his story and how he helped Ganon because he believed him to be a god. Zant is out for himself and became King of the Twili...he's even responsible for the curse on Midna, which we learn is not her true form. He destroys the Mirror of Twilight so Link cannot reach his palace.

He reveals his true form, and this is where he tells the story about his past.
He imitates the past boss fights with his power to destroy Link, but Link overcomes them through his experience. Zant is pissed...

It's at this point where people say they didn't like the character anymore...because Zant becomes enraged, practically psychotic, and many of you didn't agree with his over the top behavior during his supposed duel with Link outside Hyrule Castle Town. Why not? He has tried everything in his power to keep Link away and failed everytime. I understood his frustration, and I loved how he freaked out during his battle. To me, it was his plea of desperation (he was swinging his sword arms everywhere just to get a hit).

I think Zant is the great character in that his desire to be in power led to his downfall, so those of you who did not understand why he would freak out overlooked that it was a character trait that revealed he was not ready to be in power. He was just an immature Twili who had a lust for power, but couldn't handle it.

....Makes sense, really. I didnt like Zant before but after reading this I dont really have anything against him........ Im gonna go turn TP on and tell him that, after kicking his ass again of course

Before I got to his battle, If anyone had asked me who was more evil, Zant or Ganon, I would have said Zant. His calm sneer is way cooler then Ganon's confident laugh

I liked the character and I enjoyed the the fight.

I just dont like how he went from some mysterious bad ass, to some crazy person. In my head he was this calm, and minipulative person. He comes in shows how weak you are and leaves.

I can understand his frustration, but even Ganondorf doesnt become crazy.

Would have been cool if he just kinda stayed the same and kind of be like 'So I was wrong, you are stronger. Who knew?' you know that kind of behavior?

I mean whether he was this bad ass villian or some crazy person I dont care either way. It was just this dramatic change. We could have atleast seen his frustration grow as the game goes on.

I thought it was funny.
He seems to be pretty schizophrenic, though I liked him.

Also, this thread should have spoiler warning.

I thought Zant would end up being a bland as heck character who'd probably look like Sephiroth, but paler and with black hair, until the cutscene in the Palace of Twilight. His face, his motives, the music, and him twisting his body like a scene from the Exorcist made me like him. He was the complete opposite of what gamers probably thought he was, and to me, that was awesome. Not to mention that the boss fight was cool. Dual-pistol magic blasts ftw. (Fun fact: those aren't fireballs. The Ordon Shield doesn't burn.)

Regarding the whole "He's not a badass" stuff, 1. Zant whupped the collective butts of Link, Midna, and Lanayru twice in one cutscene, and 2. considering that he was still alive (albeit about to die) after the brutal fight with Link, he's made of some tough stuff. In conclusion, I'm just going to paraphrase a quote from IGN.

Originally Posted by MissyPissy

Come on people, the reason you hate Zant is because he wasn't like Ganondorf in TP, and the reason you hate Ganondorf is because he wasn't like Zant in TP.

Basically, people don't like Zant because he wasn't a shallow, stereotypical villain, and they don't like TP Ganondorf because he was a shallow, stereotypical villain.

Zant was my favorite villain until he went crazy then he went down a notch below Majora's mask. If he hadn't gone crazy and instead just whooped you with moves that made him hard to defeat then he would've gone down in zelda history as Zant, the even more uber badass than we still think he is.

I don't think Zant was the one going crazy.
I was watching the Exercist and relized that Zant was showing many of the signs of possesion during the boss fight. I believe ganon was taking control of him at that point.

I always liked Zant throughout the entire TP, but then he took his mask of.....

If I pretend he never showed his real face, he's my fav Zelda villain besides the Skull Kid in MM

I liked him, Majora 11 nailed alot of points on the head.

Originally Posted by Minion of Talazar

I just dont like how he went from some mysterious bad ass, to some crazy person. In my head he was this calm, and minipulative person. He comes in shows how weak you are and leaves.

I can understand his frustration, but even Ganondorf doesnt become crazy.

Would have been cool if he just kinda stayed the same and kind of be like 'So I was wrong, you are stronger. Who knew?' you know that kind of behavior?

Well, Ganondorf does go crazy. That pig form . . ? That was his version of wigging out. Zant did not have a cool form to turn into, so he just contorted himself. He is more magical and floaty than Ganondorf, so this manner of dealing with it makes sense. And the idea of him accepting that Link is stronger would require him to A) not be a zealot in awe of Ganondorf, and B) to be more like an anti-hero (like the Bulblin King was).

What I think is funnier is that the same people that diss Zant are the ones that love the Majora's Incarnation fight with Majora spinning around like a ballerina and doing the moonwalk. Now THAT doesn't make sense.

Am I the only one who thinks that Zant isn't insane at all?

I think that the reason he fights like he does, is that that's his fighting style. Watch Star Wars Episode 2, and notice how Yoda fights. Do you see that he jumps and runs around like a crazy person? That's what I think the case is with Zant. He is still cool and badass, but he uses an all-out fighting style.

Zant.. I've never had much against him except that he's evil. His way of expressing things can be called crazy. He dances and moves awkwardly. But- I hope I'm not offending the Zant fans- he has shown that he is a bit pathetic. All of his power is Ganon's. He's the kind of person ( you've seen it in the cutscene ) that cries when he doesn't get what he wants.

He was just a silly creature that wanted to be king because he had a lust for power. Then he didn't get it. Then he ran and started beating the ground, crying, until Ganon showed up and gave him his powers. If Ganon hadn't shown up he might've turned to the good side by realizing why he couldn't be king, though.

Majora11: I liked what you've said and agree on most of it.
I thought Zant was a brilliant character. I almost would have liked to have seen more of his backstory, especially the part where him and Midna had crossed paths before.
I liked how he seemed a perfect contrast to Midna...in that they represented two distinctly different types of Twilight Dwellers. Midna was one that had accepted her fate and the past, and while still bitter about it, had managed to find beauty in the Realm and recognize how the lust for power was the Twili's downfall.
Zant on the other hand still wanted power, and hated the Twilight Realm as a "miserable half-existance. He could not recognize the wisdom in learning from your mistakes. Because of that desire for power-without-wisdom, he was easy prey for Ganondorf, probably because Ganondorf found a kindred spirit in him.
What I didn't like was not Zant going insane, but how he became "comical" instead of fearsome or at least pitiful. I couldn't help but laugh at some of the ridiculous parts in his battle ( him jumping around holding his foot in the ice part ) I shouldn't want to laugh at a final boss, and that bothered me.
And redemption...he was a pitiful creature, and he got played. It would have been nice to see him stand up and do the right thing...but maybe Zant snapping his neck WAS exactly that. Him taking down Ganondorf.

While the fact that Zant ended up the way he did was refreshing in retrospect, one must admit that at the time we were certainly not expecting him to be as "flexible" as he is in the fight against him. As Average Gamer said, he managed to whup Link, Midna and Lanayru by barely even moving, and I guess people were more expecting a cold, clinical sort of fight on his part.

As well as that, if you think about it how many times would Zant have had to go into one-on-one combat against somebody else...? It's not every day the master sword decides to pay you a visit, let alone a wielder of the triforce and so on. The fight against Zant is far more entertaining than the one against Ganon anyway. Again, as it was said, Ganon just felt totally shallow and shoved into the game for the sake of appearances. To the best of my memory, the triforce didn't even play a part in the game at all, did it? Is it even mentioned by name?

Originally Posted by Butler

While the fact that Zant ended up the way he did was refreshing in retrospect, one must admit that at the time we were certainly not expecting him to be as "flexible" as he is in the fight against him. As Average Gamer said, he managed to whup Link, Midna and Lanayru by barely even moving, and I guess people were more expecting a cold, clinical sort of fight on his part.

As well as that, if you think about it how many times would Zant have had to go into one-on-one combat against somebody else...? It's not every day the master sword decides to pay you a visit, let alone a wielder of the triforce and so on. The fight against Zant is far more entertaining than the one against Ganon anyway. Again, as it was said, Ganon just felt totally shallow and shoved into the game for the sake of appearances. To the best of my memory, the triforce didn't even play a part in the game at all, did it? Is it even mentioned by name?

Ganon was as full a character as they could make. He was not in this game designed for a huge role. He was meant only to be resurected in the end to fight you that's all, besides we all know plenty about ganon.

What I didn't like was not Zant going insane, but how he became "comical" instead of fearsome or at least pitiful. I couldn't help but laugh at some of the ridiculous parts in his battle ( him jumping around holding his foot in the ice part ) I shouldn't want to laugh at a final boss, and that bothered me.

I can see why you feel this way, but you missed my point. Zant WASN'T a badass, that's the thing. He was a mere follower who wanted to be in power, he had the chance, and failed. His true colors came out during the final fight, and I liked that a character who we thought was tough, was really not. It gave Zant depth.

Personally, I'm an aspiring writer with a theatre arts degree, and writers know (those who write stories, plays, screeplays, etc.) that character is everything. You just have to imagine how Zant was previously before obtaining his power. He was just another servant of the Royal Family of the Twilight Realm who had a thirst for power and had the opportunity to seize that power.

When Link's courage and strength overpowered him, he reacted in an immature way. This proves that the "badass" Zant throughout the game is just a bully hiding who he really is...and if you really want to look deeper into it (as suppose I did as a storyteller), what did Zant wear through most of the game as this bully? That's right...a mask. Masking who he really is...he didn't look too threatening without that mask, did he? No, he didn't.

I didn't think Zant was that comical. I mean, you're breaking his foot with a giant, spiked steel ball.

Zant just plainly freaked me out, to be honest. Which was probably what Nintendo meant to do. You'd been expecting this cruel, insane battle with someone who could beat the crap out of you with his little finger, and instead you have a complete psycho running around. Of course you'd be surprised, and in my situation, expecting the worst all the time. That's what made the battle even more climatic to me.

And about the Zant-being-a-follower, I think it's well placed. It would most definitely explain the change from badass to psycho