Twilight Princess is certainly one of the weirder Legend of Zelda games. The characters are bizarre, the tone moody, and the gimmicks unconventional. The overall design choices are both bolder and more specific than the games that came before.
One such choice is the design of the Boat Rental Cabin. In a few ways, it defies the Zelda convention. It’s not a weird, mad scientist lab, like in Ocarina of Time or Majora’s Mask. Nor is it a clean cabana on stilts, like the Swamp Tourist Center, also of Majora’s Mask.
What we have is a squat, dilapidated cabin straddling an estuary. Planks are hammered over holes in a haphazard fashion, green with mold or algae. The deck and its steps are equally as rough, looking like they’ve been cobbled together from leftover planks or replaced throughout the years with whatever could be found.
Covering the gap where boats can enter is an old fishing net, yellowed with age and dripping with moss. The roof is thatched, and slightly ragged wall hangings decorate the exterior. There are other decorations, lamps and old paddles for example, but none of them match.
Overall, the look is very eclectic and ramshackle, but homely nonetheless. It’s been repaired with some degree of care, though maybe a lack of skill or time.
It’s surrounded by thick tree roots and weeping branches. So when you combine the look of the cabin, the fact that it’s elevated on stilts over the water, and the swampy surroundings, you get the overall impression that this is a little bayou area. This is quite unusual for a Zelda game, where there are some swamps but rarely a bayou.
Inside, the convention is subverted again. It’s basically empty. The interior is that of a functioning boathouse, a jetty wrapping around two walls so you can easily hop in a boat. Beyond that, there are some breakable pots and little else. There’s no kitchen and no bedroom. That’s it. But it is a little neater than outside, the wood scrubbed clean and crossbeams straight.
The interior of the cabin reflects its owner and operator Iza. No-nonsense, straightforward, and maybe even a little harsh. Her outfit incorporates ropes and waders, giving her a practical appearance that matches her business.
The Boat Rental Cabin doesn’t take up much screen time, but it was designed with something a little different when it could have easily been a copy and paste. I always love looking at the little details that give the place an overall different feel, and this design is very successful in portraying swampy marshy bayou with just a few elements.
