I really enjoyPhantom Hourglass’s opening cutscene. The game opens with a summary of events from the game’s predecessor, The Wind Waker, illustrated with a charming series of childlike pictures. After a recap of how Link and Tetra defeated an evil king, the somewhat serious tone quickly changes to a comical one upon learning that the narration and paper cutouts were provided by Niko, a member of Tetra’s pirate crew.
Despite the grand adventure the crew embarked on in The Wind Waker, there’s a comfort in knowing that nothing has really changed for them. Tetra is still scolding her crew for fooling around, Link is fast asleep (bored by Niko’s performance) like he was in The Wind Waker’s opening, and everyone is gearing for a new journey across the sea.
This sense of familiarity also extends to a small piece of dialogue that was cut out from this scene.
According to a finding from The Cutting Room Floor, there is a brief exchange between Mako and Tetra that was cut from the game’s opening cutscene.
“Mako: But…you’re the princess of a whole kingdom! I can’t go treating you like a pirate.
“Tetra: You’d better start trying, Mako! I may be a princess, but I’m a fearsome pirate. I’m traveling the world in search of new lands. And I’m the leader of you salty lot. I’m Tetra!”
This dialogue would have taken place between “Tetra worked just fine before, you know.” and “But enough about that!”, which you can observe in the video below around the 5:20 mark.
I can see why the decision was made to cut this out, as it makes for a more seamless introduction without it. While these unused lines don’t contribute much to the scene, I believe they could have added another layer of pride to Tetra’s character.
Though Tetra may seem cold at times towards her swashbuckling sidekicks, it’s clear from this dialogue that she is proud to lead them, and I get the sense that she still loves them like a family. It’s very sweet that she hasn’t changed her attitude or forgotten who she really is, despite learning about her royal lineage in The Wind Waker. Clearly, she doesn’t need a crown to show the boys who’s boss!
Reece Heather
Reece is the former leading news editor and columns editor at Zelda Universe, and is the greatest video game journalist in the history of video game journalism. He recently won an award for "World's Most Influential Video Game Critic," but had to decline his certificate as his ego is now too big for him to leave his front door.
