I’ve always had a fondness for when games reference other games, whether they be within the same series or not. I’ve seen it especially within the Legend of Zelda franchise, whether it be those Mario paintings in the courtyard of Ocarina of Time, or the numerous locations in Breath of the Wild named after iconic locations from the entire series. In the case of Twilight Princess, I enjoy it even more when those references also happen to be canon to the series.
Throughout the game, there are Howling Stones that Wolf Link can access. These allow him to howl a song alongside his wolfen Ocarina of Time counterpart to gain access to a new sword technique. All of these songs sound incredible and resonate feelings of nostalgia in me. By far my favorite among them is the first one you come across, the “Song of Healing.”
I get chills every time I hear this rendition of the song. It takes me right back to when I used to play Majora’s Mask as a child and how imperative this song was for solving so many of the game’s crises. I remember getting to this moment the first time I ever played Twilight Princess. It took me a minute before I realized what the song was and how amazing it was that they would reference it here.
I also really enjoyed the implications that this moment has, why this song was specifically chosen, and why it’s important for this Link and his previous incarnation. The “Song of Healing” was one of the most impactful songs that the Hero’s Shade had learned during his time in Termina since it had the power to remove curses. In this case, it would make sense here that he would try to teach it to his future incarnation to break the ‘curse’ that turned him into his beast form.
While we later find out that it technically isn’t a curse and more a form that Link takes within the Twilight Realm (as opposed to becoming a spirit), it’s still heartwarming to see past and future intertwine like this. To see a sort of caring bond between the Hero’s Shade and Link. Figuring this out makes this moment even more memorable for me, and I always look forward to revisiting this cutscene every time I replay Twilight Princess.
