Midna

Midna as she appears in Twilight Princess.
Midna
Species	Twili
Eye color	Red/Yellow
Voiced by	Akiko Koumoto
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Midna was the princess of the Twili people who was featured as Link's partner character in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Initially she is motivated by a more selfish desire to turn herself to normal and save her Twilight Realm, but she eventually comes to care for the people in the realm of light as well through her adventure with Link.

Background

A member of the Twili people whom had been imprisoned in the Twilight Realm, Midna was chosen to become their princess. Like most Twili she resented the people of the light world but humbly accepted her place in the Twilight Realm. But all this changed when she was usurped by Zant, who used dark powers to change Midna into a grotesque imp. To Midna's disdain, Zant became the Twilight King and used his power to change the Twili people into monsters, and to begin fusing the realms of light and twilight.

Midna escaped Zant and, hiding her hair within a helmet, began seeking a way to stop him. This led her to establish a secret alliance with the imprisoned Princess Zelda, although Midna showed a minimal amount of respect for her. She also sought the Fused Shadows, which contained the forbidden dark magic that her ancestors had used. One day she witnessed Link being taken into the Twilight Realm and saw that he was turned into a wolf upon entering the Twilight. This reminded Midna of the legends that the legendary Hero would appear in the Twilight Realm in the form of a wolf, an animal held to be sacred by the Twili. This led Midna to free Link from a dungeon in Hyrule Castle. While he was in wolf form, Midna rode his back and aided him in battle by magically turning her hair into a giant hand. After Link resumed his Hylian form in the light world again, Midna would hide in his shadow until he returned to the Twilight and became a wolf again.

Midna manipulated Link into helping her find the Fused Shadows by telling Link that they would find Link's kidnapped friends along the way. Aling the way they prevented the fusion of the light and dark realms. Link and Midna were successful in gathering the three Fused Shadows. However, at that point the Shadows were immediately stolen by Zant. Link tried to defend Midna, but Zant used dark magic to trap him in wolf form. Zant then fatally cursed Midna. Link was able to bring Midna to Princess Zelda in time. Zelda put her power into healing Midna, despite Midna's objections. After healing Midna, Zelda had disappeared. It was the selfless acts of Link and Zelda that caused Midna to gain respect for the people of the light world and seek to save both worlds, light and twilight. Midna first brought Link to the Forest Sanctuary, where he was restored to his Hylian form by gripping the Master Sword. Midna's new plan became to find the Mirror of Twilight, which they could used to attack Zant in the Palace of Twilight. But when they found the Mirror in the Arbiter's Grounds, they saw it had been shattered into four pieces. Though it was a setback, it also gladdened Midna. This was because it was said that only the true master of the Twilight Realm could destroy the Mirror of Twilight, while Zant could merely shatter it.

Midna and Link were successful in finding and gathering the three remaining shards of the Mirror. But along the way they learned of the Mirror's dark power, leading Midna to believe they might eventually need to destroy it. With the restored Mirror of Twilight, Link and Midna attacked Zant's stronghold. Midna also told Link the truth of her background and how he had changed her. Link successfully defeated Zant and restored the Twili people with Midna's guidance. Midna recovered the Fused Shadows, but she saw that she was still in her imp form. Zant told Midna that his powers came from Ganondorf, who had more power than the Fused Shadows, so Midna could not undo the curse that had turned her into an imp. In anger, Midna killed Zant with only a fraction of the Fused Shadow's power. She then fully unleashed the Fused Shadows' power, turning her into a giant monster. In this form she broke the barrier leading to Hyrule Castle, which had been occupied by Ganondorf.

Midna in her true form.

Midna, in imp form, continued to aid Link in the battle with Ganon. She also went out of her way to keep Zelda safe, as Zelda had been captured by Ganon. When Ganon turned into his giant golden head form, Midna turned into monster form again. She teleported Link and Zelda to safety while she took on Ganon in one last stand. An explosion ensued. Midna seemingly lost the confrontation, but Ganondorf had been reduced to his normal form afterwards. Midna was believed dead in the explosion, but she found to be alive after Link killed Ganondorf. Midna had been restored to her true form, one that Midna thought had made Link speechless due to her beauty. Link and Zelda later saw Midna off when she returned to the Twilight Realm via the Mirror of Twilight. However, as she left she tossed a tear that completely destroyed the Mirror of Twilight, cutting herself off from the world of light forever.

In Other Zelda Games

Hyrule Warriors

Midna is featured in Hyrule Warriors, where she is unlockable as a playable character. In the initial game, she is playable only in her imp form, where she attacks with a hand formed from her hair, similar to her attacks in Twilight Princess, and her weapon is simply referred to as being 'shackles'. She also can summon a shadow wolf to ride or several to sic on enemies, and she has several moves involving magical energy. Her original Twili form also appears as a separate playable character; in the original Wii U game, Twili Midna is only available as DLC, while in Legends and the Definitive Edition, she is part of the actual game and can be unlocked through Adventure Mode, as well as being playable for one of the new scenarios in Legends Mode. Her weapon is a floating mirror (similar to the Mirror of Twilight) that she uses to cast attacks at enemies.

Legend Mode

In the game's Legend Mode, an alternate version of Midna's situation in Twilight Princess unfolded. Zant took over the Palace of Twilight, and Midna was cursed to turn into an imp, but in this game the curse was the work of a dark sorceress named Cia. In Cia's Tale, the scenario "The Usurper King" depicts Cia arriving at the Palace of the Twilight during the middle of a battle between the forces of Midna and Zant (in a continuity error, Midna is shown to be in her imp form prior to Cia's arrival). Midna tried to use her knowledge of the Palace to her advantage to spring a trap for Cia, but Cia was ultimately able to overcome and defeat her. Cast out from her throne, Midna and her forces began working at finding a way to seek and defeat Cia so that she could regain her original form.

In the main campiagn, she originally appeared as a boss in the mission "Land of Twilight". In this mission, Midna's forces advanced on Hyrule Field, where they came across Lana and Agitha. Midna stole Agitha's Goddess Butterfly so that she could use it to locate Cia, and she had her forces wage battle against the dark forces of Cia and Lana's Hyrulean forces alike. In the battle, Midna drew strength from the keeps that were enshrouded in twilight, but Lana's forces could weaken Midna by claiming the keeps for their own and driving the light out. Eventually, Lana's forces were able to defeat Midna. She reluctantly surrendered the Goddess Butterfly to Agitha, but once she learned that Lana was also seeking to fight Cia, she agreed to join forces with them.

In the following mission, "The Shadow King", Midna acted as an ally in helping Lana's forces to attack the Palace of Twilight. The battle was a successful one in that they managed to claim the palace, and Zant was overthrown. Lana was also able to seal off the Gate of Souls. However, Cia managed to escape, and so Midna was still trapped in her cursed form. Midna was able to knock Cia's mask off before she escaped, which caused her to realize that she was identical to Lana. After Midna demanded an explanation, Lana revealed that she was the living embodiment of the good that was cast out of Cia's body when she was corrupted by darkness.

Midna then came with Lana through a time portal to the game's present time in order to to take part in the final battles against Cia. This also involved working with that era's Link and Princess Zelda. In "The Sacred Sword", she helped in the battle to claim the Master Sword at the Temple of the Sacred Sword. In order to open the temple's gates, Midna, Darunia and Impa ended up each having to empower one of three different statues in the area, with Midna being assigned to the Statue of Twilight. That plan succeeded, and Link claimed the Master Sword. Midna also lent her support in the following battles at the Temple of Souls in "A War of Spirit" (where she was among those to support Link in fighting off the Dark Links) and at the Valley of Seers in "Shining Beacon". The latter battle ended with Cia perishing. In the aftermath, Midna joked about coming together for another crisis someday before she and Agitha left through the time portal to return to their original time.

In the Legends port and the Definitive Edition, Twili Midna was also featured in the Linkle's Tale mission called "Her True Self". In this mission, loosely set sometime after "The Sacred Sword", Zelda traveled to the Palace of Twilight to investigate a dark force that she sensed there. Midna was concerned about Zelda handling it on her own, so she secretly tried to follow her. She ended up coming across Linkle as the young girl examined a mysterious crystal. Midna looked at the crystal herself, and it ended up restoring her original Twili form. Midna and Linkle then proceeded to work together to save Princess Zelda from shadow versions of Zant and Twili Midna that were created by the darkness. After winning the battle, Zelda still sensed lingering darkness, but Midna assured the princess that she could handle it herself and convinced Zelda to leave. Midna had realized that the crystal was actually connected to the dark energy and so destroyed it, eliminating its danger while also causing the imp curse to come back into effect. This move of selflessness inspired Linkle.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Her helmet appears as unlockable headgear in Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, where it is known as "Midna's Mask".
• Within the Super Smash Bros. series, she has appeared as an Assist Trophy starting in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U. When summoned, she teleports around and attacks other fighters by throwing them around with her hair. Throughout the series, she has also appeared as a trophy (with Wolf Link) and two stickers (one solo image and one with Wolf Link) in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a trophy in the 3DS/Wii U game and as two stages of a Primary Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Her initial Spirit is an Ace-Rank Spirit, and when leveled up to Level 99, Midna's Spirit could be enhanced into a Legend-Rank Spirit of Wolf Link and Midna, which comes with a boost to dash attacks. When fought in a Spirit battle, Midna's Spirit would possess Bayonetta and receive assistance from her Assist Trophy self.
• In Super Mario Maker, an 8-bit sprite of Midna appears as part of the Mystery Mushroom costume for Wolf Link.

Trivia

• Her name seems to be a play on "midnight".
• Midna's voice was created by mixing up pieces of English voice clips.
• In Breath of the Wild, Midna's Helmet appears as a piece of armor after obtaining the first DLC pack. It is mentioned as being among the priceless treasures that the Great Thief Misko stole from Hyrule Castle, and it is hidden within the Sage Temple Ruins. The helmet's special effect is an increased resistance to the attacks of Guardians. Its description also mentions that it is "much like" the helmet worn by Midna, implying that it is actually a replica of the original. Her helmet reappeared as part of the base game of Tears of the Kingdom, where its effect was changed to gloom resistance, due to he lack of Guardians in that game.