At some point, someone at Nintendo probably pitched the idea of the Sheikah Slate having a virtual assistant who would be Link’s advisor companion. (Purah would have had fun making it, I’m sure.) The Slate already seems to talk sometimes, like when interacting with the towers, and Fi was basically a virtual assistant. (And a disaster of an advisor companion, but that could be fixed with better writing.) Instead, they decided to have Link not have a companion, leaving him alone in his adventure for once, at least once he was off the Great Plateau where the Old Man was popping up every time Link blinked. (Well, for the actual adventuring part he’s alone. He’s got more help against Ganon than anyone except maybe Twilight Princess Link.)
But the first thing that happens in the Divine Beast is Mipha’s spirit speaks up: “You’re here. I must say… that I am so happy to see that this day has finally arrived. Now Ruta can be free of Ganon’s control. You’ll need a map to prevent you from getting lost. The Guidance Stone there contains the information that you will need.” Complete with a pan from the entrance to the Guidance Stone with the map, and are you kidding me? “Welcome to the dungeon. You’ll need a map. Here’s where to get it” is not an improvement on Link walks into the dungeon, solves a puzzle, and is rewarded with a map that will help him the rest of the way. And each time Link takes control of a terminal, Mipha chimes in to remind him how many he still has, in case he’s forgotten how to count, or, once he’s done, tell him to look for the main control unit.
There are pools of Malice throughout the dungeon, and most of them have eyes sticking out; shoot the eye, the pool disappears. Some also come with mouths that spit out cursed enemy skulls until the associated eye is destroyed. Taking out a couple Malice eyes, lifting a gate with Cryonis, and killing a mini-Guardian is all Link needs to do to clear the way to the map. The map highlights the terminals Link needs to take control back. Also, simply having the map allows Link to adjust the trunk’s position, which can be used for exploring the trunk or adjusting where it’s spraying water. There are ten total settings for the trunk’s position, and maybe half of them are useful; I’m not too sure what’s gained by the extra settings here. (On the other hand, unnecessarily complicated water dungeon mechanics are kind of a series trademark.) Also, the map is three-dimensional… or, since I’m looking at it on a TV, a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional map, which renders it not very useful.
The main control unit is near the entrance to the Divine Beast. Once Link tries to activate it, energy comes pouring out and forms into Waterblight Ganon (“Scourge of Divine Beast Vah Ruta”), the thing that killed Mipha, as she informs us, before going back into tutorial mode by helpfully noting that its giant spear has a long reach. The first phase consists of dodging spear attacks and counterattacking. Once the boss is down to 50%, it raises the water level so Link’s swimming and only has a few platforms to stand on. It uses the same ice block attacks that Ruta did outside, and also gains the Guardian Laser of Death attack. After it’s finally defeated, it writhes about for a bit before expoloding, and the first Divine Beast is cleared of Malice.
As Link finishes taking control of Ruta, Mipha (“Zora Champion”) appears to him to thank him for setting her spirit free. She gives him her healing power, which will kick in when he runs out of hearts to restore him to full health plus five bonus hearts, like a super-fairy. It takes a long time to recharge between uses, but with the bonus hearts, it’s basically all the healing I need unless a Lynel fight goes sideways. Link teleports out of the Divine Beast, leaving Mipha to once again control it to fight Ganon. Ruta moves from the lake to a nearby mountaintop with a view of Hyrule Castle and shoots a laser at it. Mipha looks toward Zora’s Domain and wonders how her father is doing, wishing she could see him again.
Link reappears in Zora’s Domain and goes to see the King. The King is grateful for everything he’s done, and even Muzu expresses appreciation and regrets how he treated Link before. The King has a gift for Link: Mipha’s trident. (It will break like other weapons in the game, but Link can come back to get a replacement made.) Sidon also gets his moment in the spotlight, which he uses to cheer Link’s accomplishments further. Finally, the King notes that Link is missing his own signature weapon.
Next: Well, then. Let’s go find it.
