Have you ever met a character in a Zelda game who feels like they are out of place in their world? These are characters, like Tingle, who is strange no matter what game he appears in. Or perhaps like the Happy Mask Salesman of Majora’s Mask whose energy feels almost too sinister, even in the darkest game in the Zelda series. However, there is one character who I feel stands out the most in their world. And that character is Agitha.
This self-proclaimed “Princess of Bugs” is quite unlike any character in Twilight Princess. From her strange sense of style to her obsession with bugs, to her sequestered little “castle” in the heart of Hyrule Castle Town, she is truly one of the most memorable characters in the entire game.
Every aspect of her character makes her feel like she is otherworldly, like she does not quite fit in the realm of Hyrule. And it is these otherworldly aspects that makes her not only memorable, but rather enjoyable as well.
From appearance alone, Agitha is unique. Not even Princess Zelda in her elegant dress could hold a candle to the bug-themed garb of Agitha. Her entire ensemble is reminiscent of a Gothic porcelain doll. As if her appearance could not be weird enough for Hyrule, her dress is covered in large pink butterflies, including a pair on her back that makes her look like a fairy. Whether she is truly insect royalty or not, she certainly looks the part.
Agitha’s castle bears a similar strange aesthetic to its owner. With a giant tree growing in the middle of the room, you feel like you are shrinking as you walk into her house. Perhaps Agitha wanted to be just as small as her insect subjects so she created the perfect little wonderland for herself. Agitha in Wonderland certainly has a nice ring to it too.
The strangest aspect of Agitha, however, is her personality. When Link first encounters her, she mistakes him for a bug, calling him either a giant grasshopper or a jewel beetle depending on the tunic Link is wearing. Once she realizes Link is a Hylian, she laments to him that none of the golden bugs she invited to her ball have arrived, so she employs his help in one of the more tedious quests of the game. If Link finds any golden bugs, he must bring them to her.
Hearing this dialogue for the first time, I could not help but imagine Agitha either writing miniscule invitations to these tiny bugs or sending them normal invitations which would b much too big for them. The Postman must have been very distressed nonetheless since he would have had to deliver these invitations to 24 different places such as the Sacred Grove and Gerudo Desert.
What ended up drawing me to Agitha when I first played the game was this odd sense of loneliness I got from her character. She seemed happy enough in her castle but she is the only one there. There are no parents in sight, and before you bring her the bugs, her home feels very empty.
Instead of fearing Wolf Link, she asks him if he wants to play with her and wishes she could understand “puppy” so that she could have a conversation with him. It appears that she spends all of her time away from Hylians, preferring the company of bugs and the occasional wolf.
Agitha’s ball for the golden bugs began to feel like a birthday party that nobody showed up to. She just wants friends, and those friends happen to be bugs. If having so many golden bugs around made her happier, then I did not mind traveling all the way to an arid desert to grab a dayfly. However, despite her apparent loneliness, Agitha maintains a pleasant disposition — unless Link does not give her any bugs when she knows he has them.
Every aspect of Agitha just makes her more memorable. Her strangeness is not on the receiving end of jokes like Tingle and Beedle. She feels fleshed out and human; just weird enough to be unique yet ordinary enough to be believable. Agitha reminds me of when I, too, was a lonely little child who invited my cats to tea parties, which is likely why I have a soft spot for the Insect Princess.
Agitha is truly unlike anyone else in the Zelda series with her odd looks and personality. And yet she is so relatable and real at the same time. So look out, Princess Zelda, there is new royalty in Hyrule.
