The Dark World is introduced in A Link to the Past as an alternate realm similar to Termina, the Twilight Realm, or Lorule. In this title, the Dark World acts as a parallel dimension to the overworld, a darker reflection of Hyrule and a corrupted form of the Sacred Realm. After Link’s call to adventure and receiving the Master Sword, he ventures through the Dark World in order to save the six maidens and Zelda from the clutches of Agahnim. It’s a neat, twisted version of the overworld that the player journeys through for most of the game. However, this reflection of Hyrule (sometimes referred to as the Light World) offers a bit more of a thematic presence than just being another repeat overworld.
First, a brief history on the Dark World. The Dark World is explained to have originally been the Sacred Realm, also called the Golden Land. The Triforce had been sealed away by the goddesses, safe from anyone who may try to use it. The Sacred Realm was a mysterious place that would eventually reflect the heart of whoever entered and claimed the Triforce. When Ganondorf entered and obtained the pieces of the Triforce, The Sacred Realm was corrupted and became the Dark World by reflecting the greed and evil in his heart. Many people driven by greed entered the former Golden Land seeking out the legends they were told of the powerful Triforce and became members of Ganondorf’s army. Now the Dark World, these people found themselves transformed into monsters, animals, and other random objects. War broke out to contain this corrupted realm and would come to be called the Imprisoning War. When Link is summoned by Zelda to help stop Agahnim, the war and Ganon are a distant memory.
What I like most about the Dark World is the consistent theme of greed that plays throughout. Looking at a map of the Dark World, we see that it is filled with different shades of green, brown, puke-green, darker green, and slightly darker green. Rather than make the Dark World seem scary or mysterious, this color scheme instead makes the Dark World seem gross, ugly, and drab. Perhaps it was a limited color pallet of old technology on the SNES, but I like to think this palette was chosen to compliment the theme. We can also find how the corrupted Dark World has affected the people. In the Village of Outcasts, once law-abiding citizenry turned to a town of thieves, while others had more extreme cases by even transforming into monsters. Rather than use a frightening environment to reflect the greediness and evil of Ganon, it uses a bleak, more disgusting one. I think this is an accurate portrayal of the evil we find in people’s hearts. It’s not necessarily dark, it’s just ugly.
Greed is contagious, and we can see how this works in the Dark World. Ganon’s reflected desires not only transforms the land of the Sacred Realm, but also influences the people in it. I find it interesting how such greed and yearning for the power of the Triforce came over the people of Hyrule. This would seem to be the only game where something like this has ever happened. Where people other than the antagonist are fighting over the ultimate power that is the Triforce. Was it the opportunity to get the Triforce themselves, or Ganon’s contagious greed that caused people to act in such a way? With all this evil amongst the people, it is surprising, yet more heroic, that the Hero of Legend would not be influenced by such greed and temptation. Even his reflected form in the Dark World was not a monster, but an innocent bunny.
I think it’s cool how the Dark World is utlized in this title. Rather than just being another area to explore, it utilizes the environment to add more depth to the overall story. A Link to the Past is one of my favorite games. Not only does it have great dungeons, but it is subtle thematic nuances like this that makes this game, and other Zelda games, just that much more interesting.
