The Legend of Zelda games are usually amazing achievements in storytelling, art direction, and game design. While each game tries to bring a new story or world to the franchise, some elements just keep popping up. Some of these are in the form of recurring characters, especially Zelda and Link, and some are small but important elements like enemies, dungeons, puzzles, and even musical motifs.
Whilst this means there is a consistency to the franchise that not many other franchises if any can claim to, it also means there are some very old cliches that keep returning in the games. Even in a series as huge as the Zelda franchise, there are still plenty of things for players to end up rolling their eyes at.
An Ancient Prophecy
It seems as though, in the world of Zelda games, most people have heard of some prophecy about a typically green-hatted boy who would become a hero and save the land. Stemming from a fantasy trope wherein there is a "chosen one" who is already predestined to become a great hero, this cliche is used to establish Link's potential.
Whilst it doesn't automatically detract from the feats the player performs as Link, it is a shame that the hero's path to saving the world has always been set since the very beginning. It also works counter to the idea of Link as an underdog, usually being smaller and scrawnier than most of the enemies he faces.
A Silent Hero
It would almost be sacrilege to change him after so many variations of the character have been this way. Link as the game's hero responding to other characters' dialogue with, at best, meaningful silence, is one of the more noticeable cliches that appear in the games.
This ties into Link's status as more of a blank slate than a character. Link's personality, or lack thereof, allows him to slip into the background and thus make it easier for the player to imagine themselves in his position.
Damsel In Distress
From the early Zelda games, a very clear dynamic was established in which Link was the hero and Princess Zelda existed to get threatened or kidnapped so that Link could have someone to rescue. Since then, Princess Zelda has developed into more of a character in her own right, often taking a central role in the titles.
Indeed, the series has been subverting this cliche as much as using it ever since the best version of Princess Zelda. Even so, the princess needing to be rescued is still a trope the series has fallen back on many times.
Obtaining The Elemental Items
Obtaining elemental orbs, or the fragments of the Triforce, or whatever Macguffin-type items are required to gain more power or stop the game's evil forces is a recurring theme in Zelda titles. A cliche that is common in RPGs, the Zelda series hasn't been afraid to utilize the lure of apparently very important and conveniently color-coded mystical objects to get the player to visit dungeons.
One positive aspect of the usage of this cliche is that it works well thematically with Zelda dungeons, which are usually likewise based on elements like water, fire, etc. Though it may be a cliche, it is at least an effective one and there's always a sense of triumph in collecting all of the elemental items even if their premise is slightly vague.
Everyone Doubts The Hero At First
A cliche that seems to run counter to the idea of Link as the chosen one, the series also likes to feature characters who understandably have some doubts about Link's fitness to fulfill the huge quest ahead of him. Often these characters point out Link's scrawny stature and make fun of his unusual attire.
This cliche serves the purpose of establishing Link as an underdog, as he is a lot smaller and weaker than the Gorons or the Gerudo especially in Breath of the Wild, where these races are more realized than in some previous games. It also leads the player to perform some heroic feat to prove their worthiness, earning the trust of the doubters in the process.
A Noisy Helper
Perhaps one of the most annoying cliches in Zelda games depending on the title, the series has featured some infamously irritating sidekicks who are supposedly intended to help Link and the player. Whether it's Navi in Ocarina of Time, Ciela in The Phantom Hourglass, or Fi in these Zelda sidekicks inevitably end up annoying the player as much as providing any actual help on the quest.
Often these characters come with what feels like hours of unskippable dialogue and cutscenes that do nothing to advance the plot. Of all the cliches that exist in Zelda games, not many can have caused more pain to the player than the employment of these "helpful" side characters.
Mundane Sidequests
Whilst fundamental to the Zelda series and even RPGs in general, there's no doubt that tedious sidequests are one of those tropes that cause players to roll their eyes whenever they start to come up. There is something weird about stopping the quest to save the world from an all-powerful evil force to help a farmer with their escaped livestock.
These sidequests are often the bane of completionist players, wanting to do everything the game has to offer, no matter how irrelevant. To make matters worth, the rewards for these quests are often just as inane, from the recipes you can get from them in Breath of the Wild to the hilarious concept of "Gratitude Crystals" in Skyward Sword.
Time Travel Shenanigans
Time travel can be a great game mechanic when used effectively, and in fairness to the Zelda series, it does tend to employ it well. However, it can sometimes feel disruptive to the flow of the game when the player is suddenly made to solve problems at a completely different time, and most games could do without it.
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Often a source of the problem is how late in the narrative that time travel is introduced as an element, forcing the player to engage with something they hadn't thought about until that point. In games like Skyward Sword, the mechanic can be confusing and add even more scale to an already expansive enough world.
False Endings
Whether in the form of surprise second boss phases that extend the final fight all the more or entire secondary sections to the game that can be as long or longer than the first, the Zelda series loves to bait the player with a conclusion and then pull it away from under their nose.
Even as early as a Link to the Past, in which there is an entirely new quest and map to explore after the player completes the dungeons of the light world, this cliche has been central to the franchise. At this point, every Zelda player knows to be skeptical of an apparent final fight that seems to be taking place a little too early in the game.
Notorious Water Dungeons
Perhaps it is extremely difficult to make a fun dungeon themed around water mechanics but whatever the reason is, water dungeons in Zelda games have a well-deserved reputation for being a difficult and frustrating experience.
The most notorious of these is the water temple from Ocarina of Time which has a serious reputation even outside of Zelda games as an example of an unnecessarily difficult dungeon. However, the Zelda series has continued to make use of this cliche regardless, with the water dungeons of both Skyward Sword and Majora's Mask being the most difficult water dungeons in Zelda history.
