Concept for Zelda Game

Start Screen:

A light breeze sweeps the Hylian shoreline and the rising sun meets the crystal sands sparkling in the wind. A small ship appears on the horizon, the mast swaying slowly with the sea. Our hero, Link, is perched atop the mast, playing his ocarina – 'The Ballad of the Wind Fish' accompanying his lonely ship to shore. Hair bleached by years at sea, battle scarred by unknown adventures, the events of Koholint Island are years gone by. But Link has not returned to Hyrule until now: facing his home a changed man.

'The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Sleep'

Prologue:

Link visited the Island of Koholint in the dream world of the Wind Fish, saving the creature from the evil Nightmare. A task befitting a courageous hero, but one that came with a price.

Link can no longer sleep, trapped in consciousness, dreams are a just a shadow of reality. As a result, Princess Zelda's past connection with Link has been severed. With no ability to sleep, her cries cannot reach his mind. The land of Hyrule remains forgotten to our hero, falling with his memories.

That is until one night, a familiar song catches the wind: a lullaby. A woman stands on the Hylian beach, singing to the sky. An ancient baton grasped in her hand, she conducts her song through the wind in hopes that a forgotten hero may return. A conjured gale pulls her song in its wake, a song fatefully caught by the sails of Link's vessel.

Game:

Link arrives on Hyrule's shores on a quest to discover the origin of the lullaby ('Zelda's Lullaby') he heard at sea. Unfortunately, the well equipped Link loses his shield, bow and Pegasus boots upon upsetting a group of monkeys, who knock him out with a bunch of coconuts and steal his items. As he regains consciousness, Link discovers a silver, feminine creature at his feet. This creature (called "Annie") asks Link about his dreams. "Did you dream, just now?", she muses, "you can't have, the closest you come to sleep is a knock to the head".

Link is embarrassed at what she knows. "Never sleeping, never dreaming, these are things of monsters. But you are not a monster… Link", she exclaims. Annie disappears, revealing Link's sword and directs him to where the monkeys have hidden – the beach side caverns.

Inside the caverns, Link is plagued by the true nature of his curse. Not mere insomnia, but the physical manifestation of dreams, invincible monsters that resemble their real world counterparts. These manifestations only appear in darkness: the environment of sleep and dreams – something Annie explains. "You cannot sleep. But you must dream: so the dreams come to you!", says Annie, "You cannot fight a dream, but I can".

Link is tasked with calling Annie whenever he believes he's fighting a hallucination. When doing so, she brutally destroys them through the strike of his sword. With Annie's help, Link finds the thieving monkeys and reclaims his gear. Now ready to discover the source of the lullaby that he heard at sea.

Although Link does not remember, a lot has changed in Hyrule. Ganondorf is now the ruler of Central Hyrule. "Civilized" Moblins now inhabit Hyrule Castle, Castle Town, Hyrule Field and Kakariko Village. People are banned from these areas and are stuck living with Gorons, Zoras and Kokiri in the fringe communities. Gorons and Zoras are unhappy with sharing their land, while the child-like Kokiri have adopted the people of Castle Town as 'parents'. Link discovers the owner of the mysterious lullaby is Princess Zelda, who now lives in the Kokiri forest community.

Zelda is concerned that returning to Hyrule has not cured his amnesia. Although Link has agreed to help Zelda overthrow Ganondorf, as his quest progresses, she begins to hear strange rumours of his actions. Link is tasked with reuniting the people with Gorons and Zoras so he may discover the Celestial Heart of each community, a power that will reunite the innocent races of Hyrule and help them take it back.

It soon becomes apparent that Link has been killing innocent companions on his quests. Princess Zelda witnesses this, when Annie appears as Link kills a farmer during the night. Link, thinking it was a Moblin, is shocked to discover Annie is the cause of his hallucinations. The creature is feeding off Link's memories, denying him his past and using his insomnia to create dreams and hallucinations that sabotage his quest.

Zelda tells Link of an ancient temple, which will allow him to sleep, enter his dreams and destroy Annie for good. As the bearer of the Celestial Hearts, Link must escape Annie's control so they can attack Ganondorf's kingdom and free Hyrule…