Life through the lens of a child can be so magnificent, and experiencing the world for the first time can be an amazing journey. Describing childhood as an adventure is an understatement. That childhood curiosity is the foundation of what The Legend of Zelda is all about, after all. Capturing that innocent need to explore the world is no easy feat, but Zelda games have time and time again been able to capture it perfectly. One of the clearest examples is shown in Skyward Sword. In the hub area of Skyloft, Link comes across a wide range of townsfolk. One of the townsfolk is a little girl named Kukiel.
Kukiel is a small girl who resides with her parents in one of the Skyloft houses. When Link first speaks to her, she talks about how she will be going to meet her “Special Friend.” To be young and enjoy the company of an imaginary friend is something that is familiar to most. However, Kukiel’s special friend is by no means imaginary.
As the player progresses through the game, Kukiel is strangely absent from Skyloft. It is only once Link obtains the Ruby Tablet that the player learns Kukiel is missing. According to her mother, Kukiel was abducted by someone — thus, Link’s search for Kukiel begins. After asking all around the overworld, Link starts to hear about a monster lurking in Skyloft. Before the anxiety of what could have befallen Kukiel sets in, Link hears that a man at The Lumpy Pumpkin has information regarding the monster.
After speaking with the old man, Rusta, Link learns how to enter the monster’s domain. So, he sets off towards the lair of the beast. When he approaches it, he hears Kukiel scream. At once he barges into the house to see Kukiel with a big and scary monster! Fortunately, the monster is just Batreaux, and they were playing a fun game called Scream As Loud As You Can. Link then meets the fabled friend that Kukiel has been raving about.
The story of these two friends holds a very special message. When everyone in the town reacted towards Batreaux with fear and hate, Kukiel reacted with friendship. This unbiased and non-judgemental behavior can only come from an innocent child. That is what makes Kukiel so great! She looked past the bat wings and grotesque appearance. She even refers to him as “Uncle Bats” as if he were part of her family.
Batreaux always dreamed of becoming human, and thanks to this tolerant child who decided to be friends with him (as well as Link’s tireless search for the Gratitude Crystals), his dream was realized. Aside from Kukiel’s feelings towards Uncle Bats once he loses his wings (“Huh? Uncle Bats is a human now? …Awww, that’s too bad. I liked his flappy bat wings…”), they continue to stay friends throughout the end of the game. Now that Batreaux’s dream came to fruition, Kukiel’s side quest also comes to an end, and so concludes this story that conveys to the player an important and profound lesson on acceptance.
