Ganon’s Puppet Zelda (Twilight Princess)

A lot of what makes the Puppet Zelda fight is just how charged and haunting the visual of it is. Princess Zelda has had many roles throughout the games adorned with her name, but the throughline of the mutual care she shares with Link has never been in question. That’s what makes one of the final fights in Twilight Princess so memorable, as it is a complete distortion of everything we’ve been conditioned to see Zelda as. Where she has been an ally, someone to be trusted or saved, Ganondorf possesses her and turns her power and your connection against you. The fight itself isn’t particularly challenging and utilizes the same “pass the ball back and forth” concept as Phantom Ganon, but this dramatic moment is one of Twilight Princess’ most striking. The haunting encounter is accompanied by a twisted score that reuses “Zelda’s Lullaby” as a motif to remind you of who you’re fighting to save, but to save her, you’ll have to go through her. — Kenneth Shepard