Midna

Midna (ミドナ) is a character from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Midna, a Twili, teams up with the protagonist, Link, to battle a "greater evil" that she alone cannot overcome. In fitting with her dark nature, she has a playfully mischievous sense of humor and shows a somewhat cynical demeanor during most of the game. She also has the most extensive voice acting of any character in the series, as all of her dialogue is represented by audible (though unintelligible) vocalization. Most of her magical abilities feature her hair taking on the shape of an arm, or having some other relation. Midna's voice is provided by Akiko Koumoto.

Midna, like all creatures from the Twilight Realm, cannot tolerate light and hides in Link's shadow when he is in the Light World. The only time she takes her physical form is when he is in the Twilight, is a wolf, or is in a dungeon. This may also imply she cannot fraternize with the light-dwellers; this would seem to fit with Zant's claim that Midna is incapable of consorting with light-dwellers. However, when Zelda restores Midna, she also gives Midna the ability to withstand the light, though Midna still chooses to remain in Link's shadow for most of the time.

Biography
Midna is one of the Twili, a race descended from wielders of powerful and evil magic who were banished to an alternate dimension by the goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru. This alternate dimension, out of which the sublimated descendants could only exist as shadows, eventually became known as the Twilight Realm. In recent time, the Twili have been converted to fearsome Shadow Beasts (and Midna into an imp-like form) by the self-styled Twilight king, Zant.

Midna first meets Link after King Bulblin and his minions kidnap Colin and Ilia. When Link gives chase, he crosses into the twilight, transforming him into a wolf. He awakens trapped in a jail cell beneath Hyrule Castle; Midna helps him escape through the Underground Waterway and return to Hyrule. Midna makes it clear that she is helping Link only to save her own world and has no concern for the Realm of Light. She informs Link that they should recover the parts of a powerful magical artifact known as the Fused Shadows. After gathering the third Fused Shadow, Zant appears and exposes Midna to the light of the spirit Lanayru, almost killing her. He then puts a curse on Link to trap him in his Wolf Form and takes the three Fused Shadows away from them (strangely, he allows Midna to keep the one that she wears on her head). Lanayru transports the cursed Wolf Link and injured Midna back to Hyrule Field. Wolf Link takes Midna to Princess Zelda, hoping that she can remove the curse on him and heal Midna. She tells Link to find the Master Sword in the Sacred Grove to break the curse on him; less could be said for Midna. As Midna is nearing death, Zelda decides to sacrifice her own life to save Midna, though Midna tries to stop her. With Zelda gone and Midna restored, Link and Midna set off to find the Master Sword. Beginning from here, Midna's attitude changes. Midna tells Link that, in order to destroy Zant, they must find the Mirror of Twilight to access the Twilight Realm again. When the two find it in the Mirror Chamber of Gerudo Desert, they see that it has been shattered into four shards; one of which still remains on the Mirror's pedestal. The Ancient Sages of Hyrule appear and explain that it was Zant who broke the Mirror; but this happened only because the sages had previously sealed Ganondorf in the Twilight Realm, who inevitably gave Zant his power. Midna later reveals that Zant could only shatter the Mirror; only the true ruler of the Twili could completely destroy it. After going through the Snowpeak Ruins, the Temple of Time, and the floating City in the Sky, the pair travel to the Mirror Chamber to restore the Mirror of Twilight. At this point, the Sages reveal that Midna is the Twilight Princess, leader of the Twili. She later reveals her intentions with Link and says that she did not care about what happens to the Realm of Light; all about which she cared was to save her own realm, but after seeing the selfless acts and sacrifices of both Link and Princess Zelda, she felt in the bottom of her heart that she had to save Hyrule, too. Thus, Link and Midna agree to save both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm.

When Link and Midna confront Zant in the Palace of Twilight, a long battle ensues spanning tactics and arenas from past bosses and sub-bosses of the game. After the fight, Midna retrieves the Fused Shadows from Zant but does not return to her original form as she had hoped. Zant then reveals to her that only by killing Ganondorf can the curse truly be lifted and Zant truly be destroyed; that was the purpose of the barrier erected outside Hyrule Castle — it would allow a safe place for Ganondorf to hide so that Zant could stay alive. In a fit of rage, Midna uses the Fused Shadows to impale Zant with several locks of hair, killing him. After returning back to the Light World and Hyrule Castle, she regains the magic of her inheritance and becomes able to use the Fused Shadows to transform herself into a gigantic, dark, arachnid-like creature and shatters the barrier surrounding Hyrule Castle. Link and Midna then confront Ganondorf and, after Link battles both Zelda (who is being used by Ganondorf) and Ganon himself in beast form, Midna teleports Link and Zelda out the castle and faces Ganondorf alone. After transporting Link and Zelda to safety, Midna once again transforms into the spider-like creature and engages Ganondorf in battle, with the castle being destroyed in the process. However, it is soon revealed that Ganondorf was victorious; he emerges from the castle carrying Midna's helmet before crushing it in his hand. Thus, Midna was seemingly killed. After Link, with some assistance from Zelda, defeats Ganondorf once and for all, it turns out that either Midna had survived the encounter, or the Light Spirits had brought her back to life; and Ganondorf's spell on her was, at last, broken, allowing Midna to regain her true form. In a comical moment when Link first sees her true form, she is amused by his silence and asks, "Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?" Link is speechless. She then takes leave of the Light Realm, saying goodbye and thanking Zelda. Turning to Link, she begins a sentence: "I..." before breaking off and saying, "See you later..." (which she says to Link throughout the game). She states that as long as the Mirror of Twilight remains intact, she and Link could see each other again someday, before throwing a tear into the Mirror, shattering it completely. Midna returns to her realm just before the Mirror shatters, destroying the only known bond between the two worlds; however, this may not exclude the possibility of Midna returning in a future game.

Gameplay
Like Navi in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Midna acts as a guide who helps the player learn the controls and advance in the game. Unlike the fairy companions, she does not offer information on enemies and talking to her will give Link a small tip on what the player must do to progress or to defeat a boss. While Link is in wolf form, she usually rides on his back and assists him with an attack that creates a field of dark energy, allowing Link to lock onto any enemies within it and charge at all of them consecutively. When her icon appears, she can assist Wolf Link with jumps that Link cannot normally perform. In the Light World, she appears as a somewhat ghostly silhouette of Link's shadow, yet can still communicate with Link and is needed to pass into the twilight from the Light World.

Early in the game, Midna will allow Wolf Link to teleport to Twilight Portals across Hyrule, thus quickly spanning great distances. Once Link obtains the Master Sword, calling Midna will allow Link to freely transform into wolf form and vice versa (except for when in the presence of people, where Midna will forbid transforming to avoid startling them). Her hair can form into a hand, allowing Link to jump to faraway locations, to open doors, or to catch charging enemies.

Abilities
Midna has a variety of powers from her tribe's shadow magic, which include:


 * The ability to use her hair like a hand to grab enemies or perform other functions, like opening doors in some dungeons if Link is in his Wolf Link form.
 * Levitation
 * Extending an object's energy field
 * Grabbing something from outside the Twilight and pulling it into the Twilight (Note that this is available for any Twili)
 * Making use of Twilight Portals
 * Performing psychokinesis.
 * Turning into a deadly Twilight creature with a Twilit spear using the power of the Fused Shadows
 * Keeping an item in an unknown hammer space. She has been seen to be able to keep the Ordon Sword, the Ordon Shield, and the Shadow Crystal and have it reappear floating in her hand at will. She may use this power to store Link's items while he is in wolf form.
 * The ability to hide in the shadows of light dwellers and appear as a shadow in the Light World
 * Creating waves of energy strong enough to break metal
 * Taking the form of other beings
 * The ability to break down her body into Twilight particles. She does this to move through the bars of the cell in which Link was imprisoned.
 * The ability to create twilight portals. She is seen doing this after each dungeon boss is defeated (except in the case of Stallord). These portals appear on the ground rather than in the air, unlike other portals. Interestingly, these portals do not take Link to another portal, but instead to Light Spirit springs.
 * The ability to destroy the Mirror of Twilight, because she is the true ruler of the Twili

Theory
Midna's behavior toward Link near the end of the game, as well as her unfinished sentence before breaking the mirror, hints toward a possible romantic attraction.

Etymology
The name "Midna" may have been inspired by the word midnight, meaning the middle of the night; this further plays on the theme of the times of day in Twilight Princess.

Trivia

 * When asked if Midna would return for a future game or not in an interview with GameInformer, Eiji Aonuma stated: "Because of the way Twilight Princess ended, I don’t see her making a reappearance, but who knows? If we hear enough voices for her to come back, how can we not?"
 * As seen in the early trailers, Midna's hair style has undergone change. Originally, her hair was longer, more flame-like and was red-orange with green running throughout it.
 * It should be noted that in the Wii version her right eye is covered, but in the Nintendo GameCube version (as well as in promotional images) her left eye is covered. This is because, during development, the entire game had to be mirrored to make Link fit with the Wii's general right-handed controls (Link is traditionally left-handed). Due to this, the markings covering her body are also mirrored of each other in the two versions. On her trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it was all changed back.
 * When in an area dispelled of Twilight before Link restores all of the Light Spirits, Midna's shadow can be seen riding on Wolf Link's shadow while in wolf form, even if she isn't physically on Wolf Link's back.
 * Midna's theme music is heard several times throughout the game. One time is at the end of the title sequence. Another is when Link is entering the Twilight voluntarily for the first time; the music plays for a short time and Midna hums some of the notes. Some notes of Midna's theme music also plays in a boss room after the boss has been defeated.
 * In the basement of Link's House, there is a mirror that will reflect any weapon or tunic Link takes out but will not show Midna's reflection. Some fans see this Easter Egg as symbolizing that Midna has no soul; this is unlikely, however, considering how kind Midna is to Link throughout the second half of the game. It may instead show that Midna simply does not belong in the Light Realm, and thus has no reflection. It should be noted also that in order to "see" the mirror in the darkness, Link must use his senses, and smelling a reflection is impossible. If called out while Link is in Human Form, she will appear to be a shadow.
 * In the official Twilight Princess trading card deck, Midna has two cards: one for her imp form and one for her true form. The trivia information on the back of Midna's imp card states that, while in imp form, she is four feet tall. Midna's true form card, "Princess Midna," is one of the nine gold cards in the trading card series.