Among the typical bright and lively characters of the Zelda franchise appears some of the most terrifying NPCs. From the floating hand in the toilet to Pam’s zombified father, there are plenty of scary characters that inhabit the world of Hyrule. The characters that scared me the most, however, were the characters that seemed cute on the outside but were hiding dark secrets within. For example, Skyward Sword’s cute Remlits becoming horrid little demons at night is cited as one of the most unnerving scenes in the game.
However, the character that gave me the most nightmares when I was a child was the sweet and gentle Yeta from Twilight Princess.
Bombers’ Notebook is a series where we take a special look at the various and unique characters found in The Legend of Zelda series. From the central figures to the supporting cast, every character has a story to tell and an important part to play. So, take a moment to become acquainted with the wonderful people and creatures that give life and energy to the world of Zelda and learn how they help make each game legendary.
After following the fearsome yet sweet Yeto to the Snowpeak Ruins in search of a Mirror Shard from the Mirror of Twilight, Link discovers that the dungeon in which it resides is actually the large mansion belonging to Yeto and Yeta. Yeto explains to Link that his wife has a cold and that he needs ingredients for the soup he is painstakingly making for her.
Upon meeting Yeta, we see that she is a small yeti wearing a cute argyle sweater. The sweater is so fluffy, it makes her look like she has no arms. She seems sweet enough, calling Link cute and beckoning him closer. She even offers to help Link find the bedroom key so he can see the Mirror Shard, which her husband gave her.
I fell in love with Yeta right away when I first saw her. She is downright adorable and her relationship with her husband is super wholesome. The love they clearly demonstrate is enough to melt the snow around the ruins. Unfortunately, nothing is as it seems with Yeta.
Her memory is a bit lacking, as she keeps forgetting exactly where she left her bedroom key, directing Link to soup ingredients instead. When Link eventually finds enough soup ingredients, Yeta is able to correctly locate the key to the bedroom. She leads Link up the stairs and the nightmare begins.
Yeta gazes at the Mirror Shard in her bedroom, and like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, her obsession with the cursed object becomes apparent. She twists her head 180 degrees with a horrid and monstrous expression. She shrieks to Link that he cannot take her mirror, and transforms into Blizzeta.
The scene where Yeta becomes Blizzeta is scarier than many scenes I’ve watched in horror movies. I was terrified of her when I was a child. I really did not like Yeta for the longest time because not only was she super scary, but her boss fight was really hard thanks to the ice physics.
Eventually, though, my fear softened when I was finally able to complete the boss fight. Yeta was able to transform back to normal once she was defeated. Yeto rushed into the room, pushing Link aside to get to his wife. She was sorry that the mirror turned her evil, especially since it was such a nice gift. But Yeto tells her that the only reflection she needs is the one she sees in Yeto’s eyes.
So a horrifying image is replaced with the sweetest display of love I have ever seen in the Zelda series. Despite my childhood fear of Yeta’s transformation, it was an excellent subversion of expectations and is now one of my favorite plot twists. And her scene with Yeto is super endearing.
Characters are never quite what they seem. Sometimes they can be the cutest characters and sometimes they can be the scariest. But the characters that can be both will melt even the coldest of hearts.
