Is ZANT the BEST ZELDA VILLAIN?

There's a ton of great villains in The Legend of Zelda, and a lot of people like to put down Zant as a character that was "ruined", which I disagree with so strongly I made this video.
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[@SpiritOfWaterMontaru]

I had mentioned a bit of this in the twitter post, but yeah I think that Zant is a perfectly fine antagonist, and one of my favorites in all honesty. His split in personality comes from how things are going for him. When things are going well, he can keep his facade of the strong imposing king he thinks he is, such as conquering the Castle, or curing Link, or when he revives Stalord as basically a gloat to breaking the Mirror of Twilight before Link and Midna can use it. When things aren't going well, such as when he is refused to be king, or when Link and Midna arrive against all odds in his throne room, he goes into his chaotic state. And this was a game all about the opposite sides of things. From the Twilight realm corrupting the main world, but when you learn about the actual Twili, you see they were mainly benevolent barring Zant and the original Interlopers. Midna appearing to just be a mischievous imp with little motive other than the Fused Shadows, which we only know of as items originally used to combat the world of light, to being in actuality the princess of the Twili. And Link as the wolf being perceived as a monster by everyone, when he is a noble hero to them all. And even his actions have traces of him not being truly a mastermind. He turns midna into an imp, instead of killing her to assure he remains king. But he has the strength from his God that makes he not have to worry about Midna and it would be more entertaining for her to suffer as an imp. When he first appears to Link after the Lakebed temple, he effortlessly beats them and Lanayru, returning the province to twilight. But when he is unable to get Midna to join him, he doesn't just kill her and Link for their insolence, he curses Link to remain a wolf, and returns Lanayru to poison Midna for a sense of Ironic justice. But even after that, he doesn't bother to return any of the Provinces to twilight. And this all culminates in the final act where after being beaten by Link and Midna regains the fused shadows, he is effortlessly "killed" (Still ambiguous how he and Ganondorf were connected with the ending, that's another topic for another day) by her in spite of her still being an Imp. Like Ganondorf had said about the Twili, he had some skills which enable him to do what he already did, but he lacked the true power to fully rule. He was only ever the Usurper, with a false power. If Zant stayed "serious" the entire game, then we would have just basically had two Ganondorfs, and Zant would just be forgotten. And even if you might not like how he turned into a raving lunatic, this doesn't truly undermine the rest of his presence, because all the other parts still happened. After getting power from Ganondorf, he brings Hyrule to heel in record time. His raving personality just brings depth to his motivations, and show another of the facades/alternate sides for Twilight Princess as a whole.

[@SuperMCGamer]

Really great points the entire way through. As much fun as Ganondorf is, I agree that just having one is a nice feeling.

[@DamontheDemon7]

You make a fantastic argument! Yes Zant is a great villain regardless of his personality twist at the end because he was still successful in what he did. After Ganondorf empowered him, Zant conquered nearly ALL of Hyrule! He took over Hyrule castle in the time it takes to order a pizza! Plus, he reduced the soldiers of Hyrule to spineless cowards! Effectively crippling their military!

[@joshuaweston6531]

Exactly...Zant should never have overshadowed Ganondorf. His role was perfect!

[@purrfaite]

I LOVE Zant! He’s absolutely one of my favourite characters, and I’m so glad you appreciate him the way you do!

[@SuperMCGamer]

Thanks, glad to have someone who gets it!

[@olilagoon2770]

YES

[@emperoralvis6559]

Zant is one of if not the most underrated CHARACTERS in the series. Let alone being an underrated villain.

[@PropheticAnomaly]

I'm super late to the party, but I just finished playing Twilight Princess for the first time and luckily went in mostly blind to the events of the game. That being said, I LOVED how Zant seemed to be this cool, calculating villain, only to completely go bananas. It caught me off guard and made me appreciate his character so much more. That character trope is my jam.

[@spongebobmiscellaneous]

I’m also late to the party! 😂 new Zant lovers, coming through

[@toxicastigator]

Zant being an insane multi-layered villain makes him “goofy” in other people’s eyes?!

[@Dynomation4]

I do think nintendo could have done a better job showing this trait reveal about zant. It just seems all of a sudden he goes crazy where it would have been nice to see maybe a bit of an aside from him showing his mental status so the player can see that the drop from this menacing state was justified (that was hard to put into words)

[@SuperMCGamer]

I mean, I think they did a pretty good job right before the fight. It's the first time his facade drops and we see him hopping around a bit, and you say "Wait, what? What's going on?" Then they show you what happened to him before. Storytelling wise, I think the impact of him being absolutely crazy would be diminished if they showed moments like that before this climatic moment.

[@Dynomation4]

Oh, no i didn't want it before the moment. Seeing him being this great villain then falling was great, it just would have been nice to see a little inside him *while* he was falling during that scene, something where he says to himself "How could you have gotten this far, it was not supposed to happen this way, you were never supposed to be able to challenge me" almost sounding worried for once. Then again I haven't seen the entire scene in months so maybe something like that did happen but then it musn't have been enough to stick in my mind.

[@MsKaoz101]

Zant is my absolute favorite character! I’m absolutely obsessed with him.

[@spongebobmiscellaneous]

Same!! 😃

[@jsksnob3562]

Zant has always been not only my favorite Zelda antagonist, but one of my favorite villains of all time. I love how he's not this "ultimate evil, bad for the sake of being bad" villain like Ganondorf. While Ganondorf is certainly more intimidating, Zant is much more relatable. You can understand why he is the way he is. I feel like the fake out of his character isn't out of character at all, but rather what defines his character and makes him so great. He had delusions of granduer, and this intimidating, brooding villain is what he always saw himself as and what he always wanted to be. Its not until Midna manages to get under his skin that he's revealed as the petulant child he always has been. Great video!

[@TheGamerSpirit]

I do agree with you! I myself am in the minority of loving Zant. You did good on explaining why.

[@SuperMCGamer]

Zant is a good boy.

[@GenetMJF]

"Ugh this character that is unique and not like most of the villains is so bad. Why cant he be like every villain ever." "He acts like a child" I say STFU. He is evil and scary bc he is insane! He can be cool and collected but when pushed too far he snaps like a mad man! Dont forget all the brutal things he has done in tp. Everybody seem to forget all his evil work in moment his face and craziness is revealed. Zant has a nice background story. And If I was him, I'd snap too bc of Link and Midna ruining my plans

[@SuperMCGamer]

Exactly! Zant worked HARD and Link kept crushing his plans. Heck, even Ganondorf has a moment like this at end of Ocarina of Time!

[@lennonsliger3632]

Ghirahim is a lot weirder than Zant because of the fact that Ghirahim makes diamonds appear out of thin air, however, Zant is a ninja and a magic man.

[@lennonsliger3632]

Also, Ghirahim is an idiot because he is a fish, led by the Skyward Sword.

[@eboroni]

You stole my cookies did you?

[@vs2vs750]

I've have always loved Zant. He being my second favorite villain in zelda (plus he's the most fun to play in Hyrule Warriors)

[@SuperMCGamer]

Your first favorite better be my boy G-Dawg.

[@vs2vs750]

SuperMCGamer well it's Ghirahim so

[@ThePrimordialLord]

I'm in Hyrule Warriors? I wish I hadn't sold that game with my Nintendo Switch! (Yes evil Usurpers still shop in the stores.)

[@Medusa7700Siren]

Yes! He’s my favorite too! Villain character wise and in Hyrule Warriors to play!😍

[@sternevogn]

I love Zant and that can never be changed

[@madchu7]

Yeah, I never had a problem with zant. I like psycho villains the best, the people who are just evil because they are crazy. Zant is an excellent example of that, and it's both amazing and hilarious to watch him break down and go nuts on link. His boss fight was also very challenging and fun.

[@SuperMCGamer]

He's the best beyblade.

[@lordsoup374]

I love zant and what he represents, although, I think the game could have foreshadowed his descent into insanity better, and much sooner. Ganondorfs inclusion could also have benefited from an earlier presence and more build up. Would make the game more cohesive in my view, especially helping multiple playthroughs where the player could place background information together better. Good video.

[@Hiperoloix]

I actually love how he goes crazy in the end, because he knows that the fight against midna and link could be his last one, besides all his efforts to make them fail, he can't manage to actually let them fail their mission, which makes him so angry that he fell out of his "evil", "scary" role and reveals his true crazy and mad personality which is perfectly showed at the fight against him. totaly underrated character who just deserves more love in future zelda games.

[@SuperMCGamer]

Appreciate your appreciation of my boy Zant

[@TC1YT]

Astor+Zant+Ghirahim+Kohga=best villians in the whole series

[@Trithis2077]

Personally, I still think that Wizard form Vaati is one of the best villains, but then they just wasted him in later games by removing his personality and just keeping him in Wrath form.

[@SuperMCGamer]

Eh, I think he had potential to be a great villain, but he fell short by just being a spooky guy who betrayed his elder. That was truly the extent of what made him interesting to me.

[@Trithis2077]

I can understand that. I also have to admit that I may be looking at him through rose tinted glasses because Minish Cap was the first Zelda game I completed on my own. However, I still do like his plan, personality, abilities, and aesthetic.

[@cinnamon_berry7413]

I like Zant! But like, imagine if the twist was handled in a way that portrayed his eccentric side as more...dangerously psychotic? Rather than tantrummy? Kinda like the joker? I think that'd be so epic!!!

[@nobody-jm8bf]

I LOVE ZAAAAANT , MY BAE !!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@deangartshore5796]

Zant is one of the more complex villains in Zelda he had his own reasons for serving Ganondorf and wasn't just some blindly devoted servant following orders like so many of the other puppet villains

[@ShadowWizard224]

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

[@Godman545]

Yeah I mean I really haven't played many of the Zelda games but I think you made a good point

[@SuperMCGamer]

Thanks very much, hope you can play some more Zelda sometime!

[@sonicmastersword8080]

Reminds me of Kefka Palazzo. He is insane, but his methods of attack are remarkably effective. He has no qualms in abandoning honor and ethics to acquire power-eventually betraying the force that gave him his initial power and acquiring nearly all the power in the world, i.e. magic.

[@DamontheDemon7]

You make a fantastic argument! Yes Zant is a great villain regardless of his personality twist at the end because he was still successful in what he did. After Ganondorf empowered him, Zant conquered nearly ALL of Hyrule! Heck, he took over Hyrule castle in the time it takes to order a pizza! Plus, he reduced the soldiers of Hyrule to spineless cowards! Effectively crippling their military!

[@user-hz6vu9fs2r]

BTW the Twilight Princess Manga does a great job of leading up Zant's crazy side. They do a deep dive into his character, and it's great.

[@ohhaithere2010]

This might be an awful comparison, but I feel like Zant’s storyline feels very similar to Azula’s in ATLA. Always being the good girl, doing what she was asked, then when given power, and that power was then challenged, it rot her mind and turned her into a psycho. Obviously some differences, but it feels similar to me at least, lol

[@gryphonbotha1880]

I know what you mean.

[@Zant]

Yes, I am.

[@joshuaweston6531]

I 100 percent agree with you my man! It was great getting a new villain in the Zelda series. And what an entrance Zant makes! He manages to capture Hyrule with his army of twili beasts, put Zelda on her knees and subjugate her people, all at the beginning of the game! A feat Ganondorf never achieved so quickly! Thing is, that's also kinda the first red herring. WHO is this guy and just HOW did he manage to pull this off? These are the questions every player should have been asking from the beginning, myself included. And we do, but we don't quite make the connection that of course Zant didn't do this alone. He is very powerful and creepy, but Zant is a great villain because it's all a facade. Sure, he's plenty dangerous on his own, but the fact that he's actually a power hungry lunatic that gained his power from worshipping Ganondorf as a god, is far more interesting than if he was just really powerful and stuff...because. Ganondorf is the Dr. Robotnik or Bowser of the series. It's always going to come back to him because of his fated relationship with Link and Zelda that continues throughout time. The depiction of Zant was a great way to add a new villain without taking away from Ganondorf! I loved Zant's character when I first played Twilight Princess and still do! I also love that he goes batshit insane when Link and Midna reach him. Here he was all powerful, but suddenly Ganon has abandoned him and he can see his reign about to come to an end...so he flips out! It's great stuff and I really wish Nintendo would port Wind Waker and Twilight Princess to the Switch!

[@ewinternetvideos]

Can you make a video about Linebeck and how he is the best character?

[@SuperMCGamer]

I can talk about why he is a GOOD character probably.

[@KingCalumari]

You know, I never really saw this perspective. I feel like it is really cool the way they handled his shift. Since we as you said really aren't supposed to know too much, seeing him shift like that seems out of place, but in reality, it shows us the real him. If he would have been this scary intimidating fella the whole time he probably wouldn't express the same kind of emotion he ended up showing in the end. I like it...

[@SuperMCGamer]

Exactly. If he's scary the entire time, it's boring and we've seen this. At that point, you might have as well just had Ganondorf the whole time. If he's a mania the entire time, he isn't someone to fear.

[@user-hz6vu9fs2r]

There's a reason I made a Zant cosplay. He's my favorite Zelda villain.

[@Flufux]

I honestly just wish they did more with him. When I played through Twilight Princess for the first time, I still remember being really pissed off that they took this interesting and off-the-rocks insane villain and shoved him aside for what I still consider to be one of the most bland versions of Ganondorf yet. I mean, maybe he works best if he was a puppet for someone else, but then I think he probably would have worked better if he was given more screentime and presence, like they did with Ghirahim. Or failing that, make him appear in more than one game. Personally, I'm kinda sick of Ganon and would rather see another villain make a return in the series.

[@SuperMCGamer]

I recognize all your points but mostly want to address your last thought. I'm personally so SO much wanting a proper Ganondorf story. It's been SINCE Twilight Princess (13 years) since a story featuring GanonDORF. Yeah we see Ganon in A Link Between Worlds, and Breath of the Wild's Ganon is pretty un-eventful. I am not sick of Ganon at all, mostly because there HASN'T been anything featuring him (aside from hyrule warriors) since this game.

[@Flufux]

@@SuperMCGamer Yeah, but I don't think there's much more you can do with him by now (personally, I don't think anything can top his Wind Waker appearance). Meanwhile are there still a lot of very interesting one-shot villains who Nintendo seems to have completely forgot about. Majora, Ghirahim, Zant, Vaati, Bellum and so on haven't been properly used at all much (aside from a few showing up in Hyrule Warriors) since their debuts, and I think they deserve a chance of showing up again more than Ganon (who has already appeared in most games in the series).

[@usurperkingzant7466]

Yes I AM the best villain!

[@michaelk.3811]

The weird movements Zant makes in the fight don't really ruin him as a character for me, but just make his fighting style quite unpredictable, in my opinion.

[@lennonsliger3632]

I like Zant as a lunatic.

[@alisha8099]

Well, i started liking him much more, after i played kirby star allies and realised that the main villain of that game is basically an Expy of him.

[@mintysauce7783]

Other than Ghirahim he's my favourite. Not only does he have an incredibly interesting and unique design his personality, drive and behaviours make him a very intimidating and fantastic villain. His childishness and eccentricity is also something that never bothered me; I've always loved it and don't get the complaints about it since these same people who complain about it usually praise Ghirahim who was also really eccentric and unstable while also being the literal personification of the word flamboyant and Majora who was also really spontaneous and sparatic in behaviours. Characters like Zant and Ghirahim are a nice change of pace from the always serious and typical villain we see from Ganondorf.

[@SuperMCGamer]

Glad you liked my thoughts and the video!

[@sharkgam3z592]

Yes. He is.

[@mlpkillers6293]

I like this game way better than the rest of the Zelda games.😊

[@radicalzoey155]

You should talk about bongo bongo from OOT and why he is.. well what he is. And why is he so similar in design to Gohdan from windwaker

[@SuperMCGamer]

He's similar in design because Nintendo likes this style of boss.

[@sydneyfpierce]

I love him too!

[@SpringyGirl69]

I wouldn’t care about him if he was very calm through the whole game but now that he’s crazy I love him because I am crazy myself so zant is pretty much the embodiment of me

[@Mesruksi]

Press X to doubt

[@Mesruksi]

The part that you are somehow crazy that is

[@SpringyGirl69]

Mesruksi well yes I mean Yea not crazy just very energetic

[@SpringyGirl69]

2 year ago me is cringe

[@danboom101]

Zant is absolutely great, it makes sense that he goes crazy in this story. He in general is a good sub-villian. But noone will rise to ghirahim heights. Ghirahim is like a flamboyant Zant after Nintendo fine tuned the personality to perfection.

[@Sascha053]

Awesome video! Keep em coming :)

[@SuperMCGamer]

Only if you behave.

[@Shane_Leath]

What about his neck snap when Ganondorf is killed? What's the explenation for that?

[@SuperMCGamer]

That's a whole different video subject. lol

[@DamontheDemon7]

That’s meant to represent the power of the Twili, the only thing keeping him alive after he lost the Triforce of Power, abandoning him, leaving him with nothing left.

[@DevZant]

I’m biased due to sharing a name with him. Awesome character nonetheless.

[@bobbobkilu]

But Girahim is the best zelda villain, everyone knows this.

[@SuperMCGamer]

To be fair, I never answered the question the title is asking.

[@ScarECrow7227]

I couldnt agree with you more. I would even go so far as to say that Twilight Princess is the best Zelda game and Zant is the best villain in the series.

[@FireallyXTheories]

Y'know, I'm starting to see similarities between subspace emissary and twilight princess. XD

[@SuperMCGamer]

Subspace Emissary, what a thing it was.

[@cole6843]

Zant and Ghirahim are my favorite zelda villains!

[@cassanderfischer7864]

Ghirahim actually gets things done unlike Zant.

[@MacGargoyle]

No-one's perfect. Love it how they made him.

[@N0toriousIdiot]

I may be later than a father who only returned home after his son’s untimely demise, but I’ve always agreed with the sentiment that Zant brings a lot to the table that other Zelda villains don’t, and that he’s all-around just a really cool character. I’m glad I’m not the only one.

[@tomthefox8909]

I agree totally. Absolutely love this character.

[@immagical7036]

I hate Zant’s mouth The creepy cuts in the sides.. Whhyyyyyy!?!? Also the drool!?

[@lordrez88]

Zant is awsome. He was sill scary when he went nuts. Masked Zant was cool but he was creepy as fuck when he lost the mask and went nuts

[@SuperMCGamer]

Yes!! Welcome to Zant Lovers Club

[@LaserGlow]

I will definitely admit that Zant is a very unique Zelda villain, part of me just wishes there was just a little foreshadowing to the twist of his loony-ness. Overall though I think Zant is fine the way he is in the game.

[@SuperMCGamer]

Yeah, I think they could have put in a few fun foreshadowing bits. Maybe a line from Midna "Zant... He wasn't even responsible enough to hold my people's power...." Or something IDK I'm not a screenwriter.

[@thatoneguywhocommented]

Zant IS definition of Insanity for power and destruction

[@SuperMCGamer]

Look it up in the dictionary.

[@anasaze4269]

To be honest it feels weird to hit Zant in the boss battle

[@splat-tastic]

Eh, In don't really mind Zant He's a good villain. Just not my personal favorite, but I do still really like him

[@splat-tastic]

Shut up dumbass Zant fucking slays

[@MeowieTheBandit]

I do love to fight chicken men. So that's an A+ in my book.

[@SuperMCGamer]

The Twili are not chicken men.

[@MeowieTheBandit]

Oh cmon. He is only missing lie..the feathers an the legs and the beak and the comb and the noises and the brain and the birdness and the thingy... May as well be a chicken.

[@joyhildebrecht6670]

I personally do not like 'boxed' villains, characters or anything else cookie-cutter'ish. food for thought ~ being a natural born circle or heart shape, would you want someone trying to squish you in a star mold ~ ow, ow, ouch LOL ; ) May all differences be celebrated and enjoyed as they are

[@SuperMCGamer]

Well, unfortunately with Nintendo, getting characters without tons of tropes are hard pressed to locate.

[@emilhaugsbakk7281]

No he is not. Ghirahim is the number one best boy!

[@eboroni]

Oh I am amazing

[@SuperMCGamer]

this is my favorite comment

[@Themanoutsidetheman]

Bro zant and majora are the coolest Zelda villains and ganons getting a big boring now

[@SuperMCGamer]

Personally I think Ganon is only getting boring because of poor character writing.

[@brandongrotha7508]

Bring him back

[@theconductoresplin8092]

Yes Yes a lot Yes so much because he's perfect for Smash

[@sandwich2445]

He is furking creepy

[@iimxo8033]

i love zant hes crazy childish and hawt :3

[@JohanFaerie]

Neat!

[@SuperMCGamer]

I agree, the video is quite clean.

[@ilikecorndogs]

S/O to freya

[@SuperMCGamer]

Freya with the MVP play.