Tatl vs. Midna: A Tael of Two Companions

[Kalahari Inkantation]

I personally find Tatl to be a much more compelling companion. Reasoning:

and the reason i prefer tatl to midna is because, despite their superficially similar personalities, she's actually exactly the opposite of midna lol

tatl wants nothing to do with you except to taunt and thieve along with her worthless brother and the skull kid, so she acts as an active accomplice as you're knocked the out, robbed of your dearest belongings and turned into a wooden newt

and in the process of forcefully preventing you from pursuing the skull kid, she ends up getting separated from her partners in crime

and they don't even care lmfao

they don't wait a single second for her to catch up, and by the time you get through the door a minute later they're nowhere to be seen

her own worthless brother would rather follow the skull kid like a dog on a short leash than waste even a minute on reuniting with tatl

and now she's stuck with you, desperately begging for your forgiveness because she has no choice but to submit if she wants any help

and as it dawns on her that she will be stuck with you for longer and then even longer than anticipated, she gradually softens to you throughout the game

in tp's case, you are broken into being midna's servant over the course of the game, and she treats you like a mere pet throughout

in mm, tatl is broken into being your servant over the course of the game, and she becomes your pet dog on a short leash

just as she deserves for introducing herself to you with assault

I've split this off into its own topic because 1. I'm curious about what Boyah thinks and why, and 2. it was getting lengthy and I'm still not finished justifying my preference just yet.

[TooB]

I don't have a great way of "justifying" my preference.

Midna has always, and will always be more interesting to me.

Tatl is just a less helpful Navi to me.

[YPrrrr]

Idk at least Midna is somewhat interesting by being different

As Feyd says Tatl is just mischievous Navi

[Thyme]

tatl is a glorified z-targeting system

[Kalahari Inkantation]

I don't have a great way of "justifying" my preference.

Well then let me make it even harder for you to justify.

navi is devoid of anything interesting

i personally think even navi is a better character than midna, but yes, navi is certainly less interesting than tatl

You know, at least midna has a complex backstory.

does she really

i would argue that it's not complex, it's contrived

it's, in essence, another generic 'completely useless princess abdicates from throne at very first sign of danger' cliche, all too common in video games

[spoiler]

in fact, that happens twice in tp

midna does it, and then zelda does it again with somehow even less resistance than midna put up[/spoiler]

midna's backstory may be grandiose, but it's not at all relatable or interesting or novel imo

[TooB]

Neither is Tatls, to me.

Maybe complex was the wrong word. She has one.

Also, what is Navis character? Find the boy without a fairy and bug him?

Basically, regardless of whether you actually like midna or not, she has the most thought put into her, as a side character, for better or for worse apparently.

All tatl had was, we found the skullkid sad and became his friend, then I got separated and had to use someone.

Yeah, midna used him too, but at least there was more to it.

[Kalahari Inkantation]

Idk at least Midna is somewhat interesting by being different

and how is she practically any different aside from looking like more than a blob of light

midna is interesting in a visual design sense, sure, i agree

tatl is a glorified z-targeting system

and how exactly does midna help you in human form at all lol

in fact, even in wolf form, midna-enhanced wolf combat is awful

[TooB]

Idk at least Midna is somewhat interesting by being different

and how is she practically any different aside from looking like more than a blob of light

midna is interesting in a visual design sense, sure, i agree

tatl is a glorified z-targeting system

and how exactly does midna help you in human form at all lol

in fact, even in wolf form, midna-enhanced wolf combat is awful

wait, are we arguing gameplay merits, or strictly character?

[Kalahari Inkantation]

Besides, midna and link become pretty much equal partners by the endgame.

it's an inverted equality, though

in tp, endgame link becomes midna's equal from midna's perspective

in mm, endgame tatl becomes link's equal from link's perspective

Idk, regardless midna is just more interesting to me.

Idk I just prefer midna

surely there must be some good reason lol

i mean, ultimately i like midna too (sort of), i just think the link-tatl situation is a far more interesting and unique one lol

[Kalahari Inkantation]

wait, are we arguing gameplay merits, or strictly character?

we can talk about both

i'm just looking for whatever reasons anyone might have for saying midna is a better character than tatl, because whatever those reasons may be, they are not apparent to me lol

[TooB]

Besides, midna and link become pretty much equal partners by the endgame.

it's an inverted equality, though

in tp, endgame link becomes equal to midna

in mm, endgame tatl becomes equal to link

Idk, regardless midna is just more interesting to me.

Idk I just prefer midna

surely there must be some good reason lol

i mean, ultimately i like midna too (sort of), i just think the link-tatl situation is a far more interesting and unique one lol

well, likewise, I feel the link-midna situation is more interesting. More unique though? Perhaps not, but it's more engaging. I just like that midna starts out ultimately unlikable, but becomes , to me, more empathetic and becomes friends with link

[YPrrrr]

Idk at least Midna is somewhat interesting by being different

and how is she practically any different aside from looking like more than a blob of light

midna is interesting in a visual design sense, sure, i agree

tatl is a glorified z-targeting system

and how exactly does midna help you in human form at all lol

in fact, even in wolf form, midna-enhanced wolf combat is awful

Yeah I meant visually. Tatl is just recycled.

It's not like her personality or character is very unique either though

[TooB]

wait, are we arguing gameplay merits, or strictly character?

we can talk about both

i'm just looking for whatever reasons anyone might have for saying midna is a better character than tatl, because whatever those reasons may be, they are not apparent to me lol

but really, you gotta know that I'm pretty bad at articulating my arguments. I may have a point, but I suck at getting it across.

[Kalahari Inkantation]

oh, and as for my formal argument against midna:

tatl >> navi >> midna >>>> fi

midna is rude and domineering from the very moment she forcefully imposes herself into your life, using you as a mere vector to effect her own goals for like the entire first half of the game

and then [glow=black,2,300]she gets ill and aww all of a sudden i'm supposed to be endeared by her plight[/glow]

no, i don't quite forgive or forget that easily

[spoiler=oh, and then there's this entire cringe-inducingly cheesy scene]



literally WHO gave this IMP permission to touch my face

i'm only going with you because i've been broken into being your steed
[/spoiler]

i was also going to complain about [glow=black,2,300]post-transformation midna, but having just rewatched all of the princess midna endgame scenes, they're not quite as bad as i remembered[/glow]

[Kalahari Inkantation]

but really, you gotta know that I'm pretty bad at articulating my arguments. I may have a point, but I suck at getting it across.

Well now's your chance to practice.

From a gameplay perspective, what, if anything, makes Midna more (or less) useful than Tatl?