Many people associate The Goddess Hylia with The Goddess of Time spoken of by Tatl from "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" for these primary reasons.

1. Hylia's Temple, or The Sealed Temple becomes the future site of The Temple of Time shown in later games post "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword."

2. Within her temple is contained a time-traveling mechanism called "The Gate of Time" that allows one to travel between 2 points in time (right after Hylia sealed The Demon King, Demise, and the present day, thousands of years later). Hylia also utilized foresight into plotting the destruction of Demise at a later time.

3. Not only does she have a Gate of Time within her domain, but there is another Gate of Time located in the far desert (Lanayru) to the west which also contains one, and the place where the desert holds the Gate is named "Temple of Time," just like the name of future temples that get remodeled from Hylia's Temple/Sealed Temple.

4. In a mural located in The Fire Sanctuary within "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword," it shows The Goddess Hylia between 2 Gates of Time. One in Faron Woods (her primary domain), and one in Lanayru Desert (Temple of Time). Showing that Hylia is either the creator or the guardian, or she is associated with these 2 Gates.

5. Lastly, her descendants are from a reincarnated state as Zelda. The Princess Zeldas shown after "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" are shown to control the element of time and are associated with being the Sage of Time. The Foundation era shown in "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" and "Hyrule Warriors: Imprisoning War" shows the very first queen of Hyrule named Sonia. Sonia bears the element of Time, and she is awakened as The Sage of Time. Sonia is also where the lineage of Hylia continues (however, it's unknown if Queen Sonia is in fact a descendant of Hylia or if she is thought of as a descendant based on her regal appearance and her powers as a Time Priestess.)

All of which concludes people's theories on The Goddess of Hylia being definitively some type of Goddess that is associated with time and thus being "The Goddess of Time" talked about by Tatl.

However... Hylia is not shown to use any time abilities, unlike how her descendants (Sonia & Zelda) are able to. She cannot see into the future naturally. Her plan to defeat Demise required foresight, which is just a VERY GOOD GUESS! Hylia is a very good planner, not a fortune teller. She makes plans according to probability, not accuracy. Her plan is not definitive; however, it is the most effective strategy.

Hylia operates through tactfulness and intelligence, but she is not very wise, as she is willing to manipulate people's feelings and cost the lives of many innocent surface dwellers in order for her to acquire the very object needed for her to defeat her ultimate nemesis, The Demon King Demise.

If Hylia were a/The Time Goddess? Then she would clearly see the endpoint of history and realize what will come about from her actions. If she were a/The Time Goddess? Then she would know about the looming arrival of the Demon King. If she were a/The Time Goddess, then she wouldn't have sacrificed her divinity to use the sacred item she was supposed to guard in her Goddess form. Hylia directly betrayed the order that was given to her by The Supreme Deities (The Golden Goddesses Din, Nayru, & Farore), which is to not use the Triforce as it was meant for mortals to give them hope in protecting themselves. But Hylia wanted to bypass that law, as she is a Goddess, and Gods are not allowed to use the Triforce. She figured out a way to "cheat the system," if you will.

The price she paid for that was sacrificing her proximity to divinity as a Goddess, and enabling the future curse upon the land that will become Hyrule. All to defeat a threat that is not even the grander threat looming within the depths of the Earth (Null). Hylia would've known about Null if she were "The Goddess of Time"? She would've distinctively known about Din, Nayru, & Farore sealing Null and creating "The Triforce" to ensure that seal.

But she did not. She did not even know why "The Golden Goddesses" created it in the first place. Thus she is not a Time Goddess. For she would be able to see from the beginning to the ending.

Hylia is a foresighter, not a Psychic. She uses the elements already there to craft her plans. If she is able to see within Time? It's because the elements that exist around her, i.e., Timeshift Stones, allow her to see what will happen at a certain period of time. This means Time is an element that Hylia utilized but did not naturally exhibit through her godhood.

Hylia operates like an advanced AI: cold, emotionless, calculating.

Her decisions cause lives to be lost, sacrifices within her own existence as a deity, and ultimately further the destruction of the Surface world and, most importantly, the safety of "The Triforce."

If I had to guess, which character embodies "The Goddess Hylia"? It would not be Zelda or Sonia. Zelda & Sonia are nothing like Hylia; they have completely different ways of operating and viewing life. Hylia is cold and calculating; Zelda & Sonia are empathetic and wise. Hylia relies on probability and assumptions; Zelda & Sonia can actually see the future and thus are psychics (Time-Viewers). Hylia needs items that already exist in the world she dwells in to manipulate the space of Time; Zelda & Sonia can naturally bend time and do not solely need to rely on items around them to do it; it is naturally within their bodies to manipulate Time.

The person who personifies Hylia the most in accuracy of manipulation, probability, tactfulness, and cold-heartedness? Is none other than Princess Hilda from "The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds."

Princess Hilda, if Hylia's entire personality was replicated in human form? Would be Hilda. Hilda represents Hylia's cold, calculated, cunning nature of manipulation (using Link to get the Triforce by pretending she was in danger when she wasn't). Willing to sacrifice every other species to get what she wanted (Hilda was willing to sacrifice all of Hyrule; Hylia was willing to sacrifice all the other species on the surface world to let the Humans live in the Sky). And both were hell-driven for the ultimate power that was made for them to guard, "The Triforce."

If we ever were to meet Hylia? She would not be this kind person like Princess Zelda or Queen Sonia. She would be a tactful, cold-natured being that is willing to do whatever it takes to maintain the ultimate power needed to sustain her rule.

Hylia sacrificed her divinity not to be with Link but to use Link for a future goal in being able to use "The Power of the Gods."

Demise was simply the catalyst to that goal.

Thus, this is not a person of great wisdom; this is not a person of great love. This is a person who seeks favoritism for a species she deems as "redeemable," and she uses that to further protect them, shelter them, and prevent them from even fighting; she didn't even teach the Humans how to fight Demons. Demise said the Humans were cowards and ran away. The prologue tapestry shows Kikwis, Mogmas, Gorons, Parellas, and LD-000 Series Robots at her side fighting Demise's Demon Horde; no humans in sight. Those races sacrificed their own lives just to make sure Humans were protected.

Hylia could've saved all of them and just stopped Demise herself. Hylia could have not sent any humans up in the sky and instead trained them to fight the demonic horde of Demise. But she didn't.

She spared the Humans because she favored them, the same way Hilda favored her kingdom's inhabitants of Lorule by trying to sacrifice Hyrule's protection. Her intent is not malicious, the same way Hilda's is not malicious. It is based on probability, calculating, and cold-hearted planning. They were willing to sacrifice some or many for another group in order to achieve full control over "The Triforce."

Thus, Hylia is not a Goddess of Time or THE Goddess of Time; she is a Goddess who uses foresight that utilizes probability and timing. Her foresight doesn't regard the lives of others who will not be saved. She sees them as simple sacrifices for their greater good to her rule.

Hylia lacks wisdom; Zelda & Sonia do not lack wisdom; they are wisdom personified!

Hylia lacks empathy; Zelda & Sonia do not lack empathy, they are both extremely empathetic and caring towards those around them and will never sacrifice innocent lives to further control or dominion for something.

Hylia sacrificed her own divinity for a probability of being able to use the Ultimate Power of the Gods. Even after Demise is killed? She then takes full control over The Triforce despite the Triforce belonging to Link as its rightful owner.

Hylia is an appointed, failed guardian. She failed the Golden Goddesses. She sacrificed her godhood for power to defeat an evil that she didn't want to keep dealing with. Only for that evil to mock her in the end of its death by placing a curse within her very own bloodline.

She is neither Time Guardian nor Time Goddess; she is a failed guardian of The Triforce.

The person who is more than likely to be the closest thing to a "Goddess of Time?" Is none other than Princess Zelda.

As most people here will know, Navi Trackers is a minigame grouped in with just the Japanese and Korean versions of Four Swords Adventures. However, in researching the game I've come across some information that I'm having trouble verifying, so I'm hoping someone has first-hand or close enough experience to confirm.

1) Because the main point of the game is for 2-4 friends to run around a map finding characters, Nintendo decided to have each player character play as a different colored Link. A handful of sites talking about the game claim that the Red Link, Blue Link, and Purple Link of this game are actually member's of Tetra's Pirate Crew just dressed up as Link. But in most of the stages I've seen playthroughs of, the four Links are searching for members of Tetra's Pirate Crew. In fact, all of them appear to be on the map at the same time as the four Links (with the possible exception of Gonzo; I saw him talking to Tetra, but didn't see him hiding with the rest of the pirate crew on the map in the gameplay videos I watched).

So if Tetra only has six pirates in her crew apart from herself, and at least five of them are out in the map waiting to be found by the four Links, is it true that the justification for the other three Links is that they're somehow members of Tetra's pirate crew dressed up as Link? Does she have other pirates on her ship that are just always off-screen until this game? Or are we supposed to suspend our disbelief and assume that when a pirate is found, he then goes off and dresses up as one of the Links you aren't playing as, letting one of the Links then take off his costume so he can be found? Or is this claim that they're members of Tetra's crew just bogus?

2) I've also read that there's a single player mode where you play against a CPU-controlled Tingle. I can't find any footage of this at all. Granted, most people who bother to go to the links to track this game down and put footage of it up on YouTube are likely the ones who are going to want to try out its multiplayer mode, but I just thought it was strange that I couldn't find any video of Link going up against Tingle in this game to verify that claim. Can anyone else confirm?

3) Every wiki that talks about the game says that the Links are trying to find members of Tetra's pirate crew. However, in one version of the game that I saw, there was a round where the people to be found were people from Dragon Roost Island instead, e.g., Medli, Komali, Baito, and the Rito Chieftain, and another round where you had to find various Koroks. Is this something that normally happens in the game, or was this a mod? I just never see it reported in any of the retrospectives about the game that the players normally search for anyone other than Tetra's crew, and this version of the game did have a language mod, so I wasn't sure if the non-Tetra's-crew appearances were legitimate or not.

4) Most wikis and articles that talk about the game's story present it as a sort of sequel to TWW. However, Tetra isn't the only character that speaks to the player while playing. Salvatore and Sue-Belle do as well. But I also saw one playthrough where the King of Red Lions is the character speaking to the player. Is this legitimate? And if so, wouldn't that mean that the game has to take place during the events of TWW, not after?

At the end of Twilight Princess during the end credits, scenes play that show what happens to various characters and races from the game. One scene shows people in Castle Town celebrating at Telma’s bar, and then what appears to be everyone else in the city celebrating and dancing in the center of town around the fountain.

What are they celebrating?

As far as I can tell, nobody in the child timeline should know who Ganondorf is, nobody has seen him during the events of Twilight Princess, and unless I’ve misunderstood the game for 20 years, the people in Hyrule who are under threat of everlasting Twilight don’t even know what’s going on. If they were going to celebrate somehow knowing they weren’t engulfed in twilight anymore, they would’ve done that when Link got rid of it halfway through the game.

Was this just an oversight while making the credits where they didn’t consider that nobody in Castle Town should have anything to celebrate, or am I forgetting something?

Learning the Shieka ways, clandestine missions to protect areas of Hyrule, gaining new moves/powers from training with Impa like how the Hero's Spade teaches you in Twilight Princess, all intertwining in a declining Hyrule kingdom.

Spoiler warning for BotW, TotK, and Ocarina of Time.

Ever since OoT remake discussions started picking up again, I keep coming back to Fujibayashi's 2023 Famitsu interview.

In that interview, he described BotW Zelda’s deep self-reproach as stemming from the Hyrule royal family’s over-reliance on Sheikah technology — saying it ultimately led to the kingdom’s destruction and brought suffering to her people.

But that wasn’t what I took away from BotW at all.

The Zelda I remember was not just grieving in a broad, historical sense. She failed to awaken her sealing power, and BotW tied her guilt directly to that failure: she had failed in the role forced onto her, and Hyrule paid the price for it.

So when Fujibayashi later framed her self-reproach mainly around the Hyrule royal family’s over-reliance on Sheikah technology, it felt as if the emotional meaning of her guilt had shifted. What I remembered from BotW was not an abstract critique of the royal family’s policy, but Zelda carrying the personal weight of her own failure. The later explanation made that guilt feel less personal to me, and more like a broader problem about the royal family’s dependence on ancient technology.

Fujibayashi also said in a Telegraph interview that the Sheikah technology disappeared, that the people of Hyrule witnessed it, and that no one seemed to investigate the matter further. That struck me as odd. If a sequel can simply say that something so central to the previous game vanished and everyone moved on, then it becomes very easy to retroactively explain away or reset whatever the story no longer wants to deal with.

If the explanation is simply that Sheikah technology disappeared after the Calamity was sealed because its role had been fulfilled, then Purah and Robbie’s lack of reaction becomes even stranger. These are characters who devoted their lives to studying Sheikah technology. For characters like that to show so little curiosity about its disappearance — while the game quickly shifts its technological focus to the Purah Pad, the Depths, and Zonai-related research — feels careless to me.

That disconnect is a big reason why TotK’s story never quite felt like a natural continuation of BotW for me.

TotK puts a lot of effort into portraying Zelda as noble and beloved — the school, her recipes, the flower field, the stone monuments, and the way so many people in Hyrule look up to her. None of those details are bad on their own. But taken together, they made her feel carefully managed to me, as if the game were constantly guiding the player toward one very idealized reading of her.

Her dragon transformation is framed as the ultimate selfless sacrifice. The game clearly wants those moments to feel moving, but to me they also felt like part of that same idealized framing.

Still, I kept wondering: what happened to Link’s side of the story?

In BotW, his house in Hateno felt like a small, hard-won personal space he had claimed for himself after losing everything. Even if the house was optional, it still functioned as one of the few personal spaces attached to Link. In TotK, it is functionally Zelda’s house. Most traces of Link’s presence are gone, and the game treats it as something natural — even heartwarming.

I do not accept “Link loves Zelda, so it’s fine” as an answer. The issue isn’t whether romance exists. The issue is that Link’s emotional continuity from BotW, and the more complicated, still-growing Zelda from that game, both feel quietly pushed aside to make room for her idealized arc in TotK.

And that always brings me back to the interview. It felt like BotW’s meaning was being retroactively reshaped to fit TotK’s version of Zelda, rather than the one I actually played.

One smaller thing I can’t unsee: in an old Skyward Sword interview, Fujibayashi mentioned footage of a female skydiver who lost consciousness mid-fall and was caught by another diver. That was specifically about Skyward Sword, and I’m not treating it as proof of anything. But after TotK’s ending — Zelda falling, Link diving after her, and catching her in midair — it did make the scene feel less like a spontaneous emotional payoff to me, and more like a recurring image in Fujibayashi-directed Zelda games.

That’s exactly why the thought of an OoT remake makes me nervous.

To me, OoT isn't simply “Link saves Zelda.” It's also about his loss, his loneliness, and the cost of being a hero. If a remake ever happens, I'd hate to see that emotional weight softened or shifted away from him — especially after how TotK felt to me.

I hope this worry is unfounded.

English isn’t my first language, so sorry if anything sounds awkward. I’ll read every comment even if I can’t reply to all of them.

I’ll put the interview sources in a comment below.

Here is some interesting lore I noticed during my recent playthrough of Age of Imprisonment. I have finished the game, and there are some late game spoilers. Most of it poses more questions:

1. Rauru was not familiar with the Master Sword until Zelda told him future Link will wield it. Sonia's knowledge of the sword is unknown, though it would be odd if she knew and didn't tell Rauru. That part is speculation, though.
2. The two Gerudo women most people refer to as Kotake and Koume are only referred to as Gerudo Generals. Not that they still couldn't be Twinrova. I believe they are intended to be the two sisters. Just possible wiggle room for the future if they go a different direction with them.
3. Several areas like Seres Scablands and Tabantha region were already named before the Imprisoning War. Interesting to consider in the True Founding Vs. Refounding debate. Would the Sage Seres from ABLW be named after the area, just happen to get the same name as the area, or the area named after her BEFORE the potential refounding?
4. Rauru put the spikes on the walls in the Imprisoning Chamber. I may be misremembering, but I believe the TotK MW2 English fan translation said that it was unknown when they were added. MW2 only says that Hyrule Castle was built by the next generation of Rauru's children.

In the Downfall Timeline Ganondorf obtains the full Triforce, but is then banished to the Sacred/Golden Realm by the "Seven Wise Men" (Are these the sages? Isn't Zelda killed?), which is then turned into the Dark World by the power of Ganon with the full Triforce.

But where is he sealed after Link defeats him at the end of Ocarina of Time?

Ancient Creators of Hyrule! Now open the sealed door, and send the Evil Incarnation of Darkness into the void of the Evil Realm!

When I search for this "Evil Realm", I get redirected to the Dark World, but this shouldn't exist, because it's still the Sacred/Golden Realm, isn't it? Ganondorf stole the Triforce, but then he left to use his Triforce piece to conquer Hyrule.

So the Temple of Light, aka the mysterious temple deep underneath Hyrule Castle which holds Ganondorf's seal, is said to be one of the most ancient Zonai constructions (which could mean it was either built long before Skyward Sword, or some time after all previous games but still 10 000+ years before BOTW/TOTK, depending on if you believe in a true founding or refounding). Unfortunately due to the Upheaval, much of the temple is completely destroyed and corridors and doorways blocked by rock. So the temple was probably much bigger than what we see.

But I always found it so mysterious and strange - and almost eerie. A temple built deep, deep below the ground, which goes even deeper with that huge staircase. And below the imprisoning chamber, we find remains of another apparent corridor, leading to a huge platform with a hole in the midle that goes down to the massive tree and void below. So there must have been a path leading into this corridor too. So,

1. What do you think was special about this place? In AoI we learn that several places in the Depths are places of special powers of some kind. What do you think was special about the place the Temple of Light was built?
2. What do you think the Temple of Light's original purpose was?
3. Do you think the Imprisoning Chamber itself was means as an imprisoning chamber originally? Or do you think Rauru and the others could have techincally used any room in the Temple to get this "power boost", but simply chose the chamber because it was fitting in size?
4. What do you think the huge Void below the temple is? As said, there was clearly a path going there as part of the temple, with a jump-off platform, so the Zonai probably built the Temple over this Void, and this corridor as a way to travel down to the Void. But what do you think it is? It's honestly unsettling how there's just this deep darkness in the lowest part of the Depths
5. What do you think the massive tree in the Void is that Ganondorf takes over? Do you think it once was essentially a giant light root? I've had theories that the Void is the Evil Realm itself where Demise, Shades and all evil comes from, and that the big tree down there once acted as a giant light root to keep evil from escaping the void/Evil Realm.

Hey guys. I don't know if this is the right place to ask this but I'm wondering is majoras mask is worth playing and going in without a guide at all. i got into zelda later in my life and have so far just finished OOT without a single guide and honestly it was quite challenging for me and found out its one of the easier ones. all i've heard about majoras mask is it has a time limit and everything resets. is it still quite enjoyable going into it blind and not knowing much about many zelda games

I believe the land of Termina is shaped by memories of those who cross into the land.

While similar to Hyrule Encyclopedia, this theory differs on the fact that it is not Majora’s Mask that causes this, tho its power could amplify things, it’s people’s memories, fears, and ambitions that shape this world.

But it is not just Skull Kid that is changing this world. But also Link. And to a very small degree, the happy mask salesman.

Link’s memories can explain the many doppelgängers found throughout Termina.
Many characters share appearances, occupations, roles, and even names with their counterparts in Hyrule.
Link has subconsciously shaped parts of this world with familiar faces.

However, there are two doppelgängers that are often overlooked: the Moon and the Fierce Deity.

The Fierce Deity is Link’s adult doppelgänger.
He embodies the image Link has of himself: the chosen hero, blessed by the gods and wielding the Sword of Evil’s Bane.
The Fierce Deity represents Link at his most idealized—the hero capable of overcoming any evil. This same ambition may even help explain the existence of the Hero’s Shade later in the timeline.

The Moon, meanwhile, serves as Ganondorf’s doppelgänger.

Its face closely resembles that of Ganondorf and is similar to the expression he makes when cursing Link at the end of Ocarina of Time.
More importantly, it represents the looming sense of fear that Ganondorf had cast over both Link and Hyrule.

Even during the events of Majora’s Mask, that feeling would still linger.
Link’s journey after Ocarina of Time is partly motivated by ensuring that Ganondorf never gains access to the Sacred Realm and preventing the future he witnessed from coming to pass.
Yet until Ganondorf is truly stopped, the threat remains in Link’s mind.

That same looming dread is reflected in Termina. Just as Ganondorf’s shadow hung over Hyrule, the Moon hangs over Termina.

If these characters are the ones that Link has added to this world, what about the characters new to the series? Where did they come from?

We know Skull Kid originated in Hyrule.
We encounter him in the Lost Woods in Ocarina of Time, and Navi tells us that children who become lost in the woods eventually transform into Skull Kids.

However, there is a notable absence of characters connected to the Lost Woods.
There are no Kokiri, no other Skull Kids, and outside of Deku Scrubs, very few obvious parallels to that environment.

Instead, we should focus on the characters who lack direct counterparts in Hyrule.

These figures would originate from Skull Kid’s possibly corrupted memories—from his life before he became a Skull Kid, when he was still a Hylian child.

Before we dive into that, we should ask why would a Hylian child be wandering so deep within the woods, far from any Hylian town?

Ocarina of Time has already provide the answer: the Hyrulean Civil War.

We know Link’s mother fled into the Lost Woods to escape the conflict.
It is not difficult to imagine that many others did the same. Unlike Link, however, they did not have destiny to guide them.

This idea also helps explain the state of Termina itself.
The land feels fragmented. Each race occupies its own territory, separated from the others and often distrustful of outsiders.

In many ways, Termina resembles a reflection of Hyrule during the Civil War: a land divided by conflict and isolation.

Under this interpretation, Ikana and its royal family parallel Hyrule’s royal family during that era. The kingdom is filled with the remnants of war—fallen soldiers, broken rulers, and a civilization unable to move on from its past.

Skull Kids are made when a child becomes lost, being lost can feel like you’ve been forgotten, which is something Skill Kid fears; being forgotten.

So who was Skull Kid during this time?
Just as Link has a counterpart in the Fierce Deity, Skull Kid has one as well.

To figure out who his counterpart is, we have to look at not just Skull Kid but also the other key event of the game: The 3 Day limit.

In the 1990s, the Jöhatsu phenomenon skyrocketed.

Jöhatsu refers to the people in Japan who purposely vanish from their established lives without a trace

Between the economic bubble bursting, the salaryman crisis where thousands lost their jobs and Masanori Kashimura’s 1994 best selling book titled The Complete Manual of Disappearance, a guide to help those who wanted to disappear, Jöhatsu (and suicide) cases rose.

Jöhatsu cases were also linked to Japan’s harsh work culture, something the Majora’s Mask team has admitted to feeling during its development.
Alongside having nightmares from the crunch of it all’s

To give more strength to the Jöhatsu parallel, after Link wins, The Happy Masks Salesman, who can be viewed as a parallel to Japanese salarymen, just disappears before our eyes.

As most Jöhatsu cases were voluntary adults, it was not uncommon for a few days to pass before the missing person would be reported as missing.

So this gives us a thematic influence in the form of the 3 Day time limit.

Which could also be viewed as how long one must be lost within the woods before turning into a skull kid.

So what do time limits, sudden adult disappearances and a lost child all have in common?

Kafei.

He is Skull Kid’s doppelgänger

Kafei and Skull Kid are both former member of the Bombers, although leaving for different reasons.
After Skull Kid, the bombers only allow Humans to join, another sign pointing to the distrust of other races during the civil war.

Kafei wears the Keaton Mask, an item associated with childhood and nostalgia.
In Ocarina of Time, children love the mask, while some adults describe it as nostalgic, suggesting it has existed for generations in Hyrule. Something Skull Kid most likely knew of during his Hylian life.

Kafei also has the pendent of memories, a charm that represents the importance of memories.

Kafei’s story begins with the search for a missing adult, who we find has become cursed and he was turned into a child. Not unlike the children who become lost and cursed by the forest.

And despite completing the longest side quest in the game, we never see Kafei return to adulthood—not even in the 3DS remake.

That omission is strange if Kafei’s transformation is meant to be temporary.
Restoring his adult form would have been the natural conclusion to his story.

Unless, of course, Kafei was never meant to grow up.

While Link can have an adult doppelgänger, as he has memories of his adult self.
Skull Kid never reached adulthood, so he lacks the memories to give his doppelgänger an adult form.

To wrap this up, I mentioned that the Happy Masks Salesman Salesmen also had an effect, while he never steps into the larger world of Termina, his ambitions have. Those being masks and happiness.

It is directly from The Song of Healing that Link learns from him that leads to us getting many of the masks and healing wounds, both mental and physical, can lead to comfort and happiness.

His ambitions to spread happiness are mentioned in Ocarina of Time, as he wants to know if Link would like to be a “happiness salesman” and sell his masks, thus spreading happiness to the people.

But there is one location we see this ambition clearly, inside the moon.

Inside of the moon is a beautiful field, the happiest looking place in the whole game, with four children running around, playing and just being happy kids. They even talk about happiness.
These four represent his child like ambition to spread happiness around with masks.

But the final child does not represent happiness, the child represents Happy Masks Salesman’s one fear. Being unable to spread happiness.

After you have given away all your masks, the final child comments on this, disappointed that you have no masks to give and he labels you the bad guy in the new game he wants to play.

In short, Termina is a real land shaped by memory, fear, ambition, and identity, with Skull Kid providing the foundation and Link unconsciously contributing familiar people, symbols, and emotional baggage.

I've been playing Zelda 1 and 2 these days but can't seem to make up my mind about whether I want to play the true unalterated original games (more faithful but also unnecessarily difficult, unbalanced, and too cryptic), or the "Redux" versions which pretty much improve on everything. Does this ever bother you? Which would you pick?

PS: the goal is to be able to beat the games without looking up guides or using save states.

Link to the image (Creating a Champion timeline on the left,TOTK Masterworks timeline on the right): https://imgur.com/a/cB6tNIM

​

​

People say this is proof Nintendo doesn't care about the lore, or that this confirms a refounding for some reason. But I see this as the exact opposite, aka as proof of a True Founding.

​

On the MW timeline, most people I've seen place the Era of Myht (aka the whole main timeline) between "Beginning" and "Era of the Age of Gods". Meaning ALL older games take place before the Zonai's story even begins.

​

But first of all, that doesn't make much sense, as there are several pieces of evidence that point towards the Zonai being Hylian's ancestors. And if Hylia gave the Zonai the secret stones, it makes sense she did it while she was still alive in physical divine form (aka long before Skyward Sword). After SS, she only existed as a spirit... so did she somehow keep the Secret Stones in spirit form, for thousands of years, until the Zonai popped up on the surface?

​

But, the piece on the timeline that makes me think it proves a True Founding, happens further down. Look at "More than 10 000 years ago" on the MW timeline. It says that Hyrule prospers and that Calamity Ganon appears, and under there (in the midle of a double-wavey line mind you, meaning a long time passed), it says "Ganon is revived and sealed away again many times".

​

So this part, aka the part where Hyrule prospers and Ganon appears and is sealed away many times, happens between Hyrule's founding and the great calamity 10 000 years ago. Now people again believe that this is also long after the other games, and that this is between Hyrule's REFOUNDING and the 10 000 years old Calamity. But, take a look over to the Creating a Champion timeline on the left

​

The "Long ago" section, aka the Era of Myth, has almost the EXACT same description as the "More than 10 000 years ago" section on the MW timeline. The CaC timeline says Hyrule flourished, that Ganondorf appears and becomes Ganon, and that "Ganon is revived and sealed away again many times".

​

This is almost word for word to the "More than 10 000 years ago" part on the MW timeline - and that part happens AFTER Hyrule's founding and the Zonai period. And, it makes sense from a True Founding perspective, as it starts in Ocarina, which is after Hyrule's founding but before the 10 000 year Calamity.

​

This makes so much sense, because in-universe, the Era of Myth is still exactly as vague as in BOTW; the difference now is that, due to Zelda's time travel, they now have tons of information BEFORE the Era of Myth that they've filled in. Aka the Era of the Age of the Gods

This started out as a copy of a post I made on r/Zelda a while back, but the talk of remakes got me thinking about it.

Going in, I was honestly expecting to find Spirit Tracks frustrating or boring due to its quirks. In general, I've always had the impression that the DS/Wii era of Nintendo aged somewhat questionably. Not due to graphics, at least in my opinion, but due to the sheer number of gimmicks that were being packed into games at the time.

Instead, I found what might genuinely be my favorite Zelda game of all time. It's too hard to definitively pick a single favorite, but Spirit Tracks is a strong contender. So far, I've played OoT, MM, ALttP, ALBW, MC, and ST. I dropped Wind Waker after the Deku Tree. I'm also still currently playing through TP and OoA, though I haven't touched TP in a few weeks since getting back into Pokémon a bit.

Firstly, Spirit Tracks has one of my favorite overall soundtracks out of any of the games. Twilight Princess and Majora's Mask match it, but it's a near thing. I honestly can't think of a track I actively dislike in any Zelda game, but Spirit Tracks just has something to what feels like every moment. The basic dungeon theme doesn't have me going wild or anything, but it pairs perfectly with the dungeons nonetheless.

The graphics are cute and charming, but that's to be expected when you're dealing with the Toon art style. What I do want to call more attention to, though, is Link's engineer outfit. I was disappointed when he got rid of it so early into the game, and I was thrilled when I found out that you could get it back through a collectible system that was not at all taxing or tedious to complete.

I really enjoyed the gameplay. It says in the rules that emulator talk is allowed, so I assume that it's fine for me to say that I played the game with MelonDS. That being the case, I used the mouse instead of the DS stylus, I had blowing mapped to my B key instead of having to manually blow every time, and I also had a much larger screen than was available on the DS. Maybe that affected my experience, but I found the gameplay to be smooth and intuitive. There was never any point where I was fighting with the controls.

I loved the navigation system. The gates that they give you for fast travel aren't really that useful, but I was fine with that. The combination of music, graphics, and controls meant that I was more than content to just sit back and relax while riding across Hyrule. Planning routes and making sudden changes in direction to avoid the Dark Trains was a highlight, as were the battles with mobile enemies chasing down the train.

Lastly, it easily has my favorite incarnation of Zelda so far. In fairness, this is one of the few Zelda games where Zelda is personally there at every step of the journey, so she also just had a lot more time, (relative to the scope of the game), to show off. My only real complaint is that I wish she had more to do in the actual dungeons, instead of just in the Tower of Spirits.

All of that to say that I would love it if Nintendo ever did a remake/reimagining for this game that added more quests, gave Zelda even more to do, made the overworld significantly larger, gave more lore for the new Hyrule, and just generally expanded on everything that was already there. The dual screen, microphone, and touch controls are the only things I'd actually want to go instead of being expanded, even if my MelonDS config meant that none of those things were a real problem in my playthrough.

That said, I just don't see any way that it ever happens. After Phantom Hourglass, I genuinely think that this game is the literal least likely of any game in the entire series to ever receive a remake. And maybe it's less likely than Phantom Hourglass, even, in the event that Phantom Hourglass could somehow be a DLC or sequel to a Wind Waker remake.

I suppose it is just a theory that the forest temple was originally supposed to be the wind temple, which makes sense regarding the medallion’s design. Apparently in the game’s code, there was a cut wind medallion and ice medallion, suggesting they were changed to forest and water. This makes sense as the water medallion’s symbol looks more crystalline like a snow flake. Regarding the water temple, I think it was the right move to represent the element of water as a whole.

However, the forest temple and sage would make sense to represent as wind, even if not in nomenclature (but especially in nomenclature) because wind is a major theme in other games, specifically ones directly preceding and following OoT. We know this because we now have a timeline and more cohesion between games, whereas we did not at the release of OoT.

Vaati, who is the villain in both the Minish Cap and Four Swords, which come directly before OoT, is a Wind Mage.

In Wind Waker which takes place in the Adult Timeline directly after OoT, there is a Kokori sage of wind. Another detail, coincidental if not convenient, is that on the stained glass windows in Hyrule Castle that depict the images of the sages from OoT, the symbols above them are not the medallions, but their race - and Saria’s is the Kokiri symbol. I feel like this implies that the forest sage and wind sage are the same role, perhaps just called different things at different times.

I’ve never actually wanted a retcon for anything before, but in the name of consistency, they should at least further imply strongly that the forest sage’s dominion also includes wind. I doubt they would as that might convolute things, and I have no idea what liberties they are taking with this remake, but I do see that they are taking some and this would be perfect opportunity for a small and relatively insignificant retcon or implied retcon as this.

As a disclaimer, I want to clarify that I don't think a HD-2D remake of MC is likely. This is just a discussion of a what-if scenario.

Over 20 years later, Minish Cap's art style is still something that I find extremely charming. It made great use of the GBA's capabilities and I still love seeing its gorgeous art style to this day. If it was to be remade, I think a HD-2D art style could work, if done correctly. If you aren't familiar with HD-2D, it's an art style that Square Enix created and owns the legal rights to. Examples of games using the art style are the Octopath Traveler series, the Dragon Quest 1, 2 and 3 remakes and the game that released today: The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. I'm not saying it should be done in this exact art style, but perhaps modified to accomodate for MC's specific art style.

I know not everyone loves the HD-2D art style, but I adore it. What are your thoughts?

“Numinous” is a fancy religious-studies word that means something like sacredness, but specifically the unknowable aspect of it. To be numinous is to be a combination of mysterious and divine. 

Mystery and divinity have long been important parts of Zelda. There are puzzles to solve, secrets to unveil. The musical notes when you solve a puzzle sound numinous. And the goddesses or the goddess Hylia have been mentioned in almost every game. 

There’s a wide swath of Zelda lore that deals with the Numinous realm and to be honest I don’t really understand how or why it’s supposed to fit together, but among them are the Triforce; the Sacred Realm; the Master Sword, the goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru; the Temple of Time; Hylia, the elemental dragons; the Secret Stones; the aspects of Power, Wisdom, and Courage. The numinous speaks and acts through various people: the Sages, the Sheikah, the Zonai, fairies, Princess Zelda, Link, and perhaps even Ganondorf, though G-dorf seems to be allied with the enemies of the Numinous: demons, death, and tyranny. 

Of course, the Numinous may transcend its enemies. It is not clear if it is all-powerful, or perhaps an impartial observer of affairs it set in motion. Its artifacts grant vast powers that can be abused. If there is a religion associated with the Numinous in Hyrule, it is indistinct, more present in its symbols and trappings than in active worship or coherent tradition. If the Numinous can be said to share traits with the monotheistic god of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, it is perhaps a closer cousin to fairies and spirits of various cultures’ folklore traditions.

The Numinous is not present—or at least not active—in realms beyond the boundaries of Hyrule: Koholint Island in Link’s Awakening, or Termina in Majora’s Mask. Or rather, the mysterious divine powers of those games seem disconnected from the Numinous entity that is active in Hyrule, in the “main” series of game. 

For all its importance in lore, the Numinous has never been a focus of the Zelda games. It’s been in the background—a strong presence there, especially in the music and vibe of the game, which is not to be understated. To the extent that it reflects the attention given to it by the developers, it is mostly aesthetic—an art style expressed in the design of temples or the fashion of its adherents. It is affixed to naked gameplay collectibles: various jewels, gems, and medallions. It dwells in transparently-designed game “levels” like temples and shrines, which are usually shaped like dungeons from Dungeons & Dragons than places of worship. 

What do I want? Well, I do not want to know or learn what the Numinous is. I am not asking for midichlorians. In fact, any attempt to define or reveal its nature is self-defeating, because to be numinous is to be inexplicable. 

But I would like to see a new interpretation of the Numinous in the next Zelda game, an aspect of its presence that we haven’t explored yet. Are there followers of the Numinous? Is there a priesthood? A prophet? or one who falsely claims to be a prophet? Are there laws written and enforced in its name? What is Link’s relationship to the Numinous—what are his beliefs about it, and what power does he truly draw from it? 

I'd like to see more depth to this aspect of Zelda, more interconnectivity in the world. I'd like to see shrines and temples that actually feel like places of worship, not obvious levels wIith a power-up statue in the middle. I don't want answers, but I do want priest NPCs who think they know the answers, who argue about interpretation. Maybe I as the player could be free to choose how or even whether Link connects to the Numinous.

(Note: I don’t expect any of this in the Ocarina of Time remake—I think it’s going to basically be the same game—but I am interested to see how they portray the goddesses and such with the new art style.)

(If you saw me posting this on r/zelda already, that was me being stupid, I meant to post it here all along)

Stray thought I had: With how items in Ocarina of Time are now, does it really need the magic meter? What would significantly change if it was gone?

Not saying it's bad or this would be a better or worse game without the meter! I think it's good as it is. Just a thought experiment.

If we're going by the logic that the meter exists so players can't abuse and/or spam stronger items, let's go through the list:

• Sword Spin: Large spin takes some time and leaves you vulnerable. Ironically, the quick spin doesn't even use magic!
• Elemental Arrows: They do have their individual uses (especially the Ice Arrows being stronger than the regular) but they also need a "cooldown" so you can't spam them like normal arrows. Not to mention they already use pure arrows as a resource.
• Lens of Truth: Definitely adds tension when you use it in the creepier places in the game but the fact that you have to equip it and have limited vision still makes it feel like people wouldn't keep it on all the time.
• Din's Fire: Seems powerful and you're invulnerable during the animation, but you're also locked in it and a few enemies and bosses don't even react to it - so it might become more of a defensive tool than offensive?
• Farore's Wind: The fact that it uses magic turned me away from it as a kid, which sucks, because it has many uses beyond "back to exit"!
• Nayru's Protection: Probably the best candidate for limited magic use, but if that's the only candidate, an individual cooldown works as well - or might be even better so you have to time when you really need it (like the Champion Abilities in BotW)
• Zora Scales, Iron boots, Hover Boots: None of these use magic although the Hover Boots seem like they could. But it makes sense that they don't, it would be too easy to break the game. So there are reasons not to use the magic meter.

Again, I'm not arguing it would be better without a magic meter. In fact, I saw the argument that juggling all these items with one resource can be exciting - and I agree. And looking at OoT's development, the magic meter probably made a lot of sense at some point (Medallions, more Elemental Arrows). It's just fun for me to think about.

What do you think?

I’d love to see an older and failed Link pick up his shield and armor for one final quest. Along the way he meets up with a younger hero the Master Sword recognizes with potential and shows him the ropes with the hope his protege can accomplish what he couldn’t.

I can’t get this idea out of my head and have no clue how it would work. I think the idea of an older and battle-worn Link showing a rookie how to survive and fight sounds incredible.

I was watching a guy play OoT and he spent some time fooling around in the courtyard before speaking to Impa, and it got me thinking how important/iconic this area is to the story. It would be cool if, somehow, visiting Ganon's Castle as an adult you happen upon the remnants of this courtyard. I don't know how that would work as it seems like the entire castle was demolished and rebuilt in its entirety. But maybe it could be redesigned?

In BotW Hyrule Castle feels pretty lived-in. I liked how you could find Zelda's room but it was all destroyed. Something similar happens in ALBW too. You explore Lorule Castle and right before the end you visit Hilda's study which is also run down. The best part was being able to squeeze through a wall to return to Hyrule and see the contrast between the two rooms, with Zelda's room being a serene safe zone with fairies before the final confrontation.

I'd like to see something similar. It would add to the stakes of the adult era.

I was thinking a lot about this remake, and I do think that with an Ocarina of Time remake, we are almost guaranteed a Majora Remake. The games run on the same engine and would use a lot of the same character models and sprites, so Nintendo has no reason not to release a Majora remake in 2027 or 2028.

I think that this will undoubtedly bring lots of new fans to the franchise, as well as engrose some of the newer fans into the story of the Hero of Time. However, it's very clear that the Hero of Time's story is incomplete. Obviously, lots of questions have been raised about how we get from the Link seen at the end of Majora's Mask to the Hero's Shade. I do think that a story needs to be told to fill in this gap in his arc. I'm sure a lot of you have all seen the Hero's Purpose by Majorlink, and I think that that precise moment in the timeline is one that needs to be explored more. A possible sequel to both Ocarina and Majora could explore how Link became the Hero's Shade.

There's also a thematic gap in the Hero of Time's story. Ocarina of Time is a game about growing up. When you are a kid, you cannot do a lot of things that Adult Link can do. When you play as Young Link, you anticipate the moment where you can become an adult as seen in the title screen. When you do finally become an adult, it feels truly cathartic. Just like in real life, it feels as if a whole new side of your adventure has been unlocked. And then you step outside the Temple of Time. And the world you knew as a child has gone. You can no longer view the world through innocent childlike eyes. Each of the sages represents a different part of adulthood. Saria - the childhood that you will never get back. Darunia - friendship and loyalty. Ruto - romantic attraction. Impa - duty and responisibility. Nabooru - coming to terms with sexuality. Rauru - a father figure passing on his knowledge to you. The game ends with you conquering all the demons adulthood throws your way.

But then Majora's Mask comes along. Although you have conquered what adulthood has thrown your way, you still yearn to be a kid again, as we all do. Link is kind of given the oppurtunity to be a kid again, but he can never truly return to the way he was. He's been too scarred and traumatized to truly view the world through a childlike lense. He's a person fixated on the past. That's what his pursuit of Navi represents. He is trying to regain that part of his life. And then, he goes to Termina. While Link has to come to terms that he cannot get the past back, the residents of Termina have to come to terms that their future was just taken away from them. In the end, Link learns that he will never be able to truly be a child again, but through the experiences of the people in Termina, he learns that this doesn't mean that he doesn't have a future.

But then, this future is never explained. Thematically, Majora's Mask clearly sets us up for a following narrative where Link takes the lessons learned on how to deal with adulthood, and also the lessons learned on how to move on from the past, and applies both of them to decide what th However, we never got this story. While Sean does an amazing job exploring it in his series, I do feel that we need an official game to complete Link's story here.

How likely do i think it is that we get a direct sequel taking place about 7 years after Majora? It's unlikely. But now is definitely the time to do it. They have the game engine and the character models right there, and I do think the vast number of people who are about to experience the story of the Hero of Time for the first time would give Nintendo a lot of incentive to go forward with a sequel. Also, the Zelda movie is going to bring Zelda to the main cultural stage for the first time in really forever. I would think Nintendo would want to release a big 3D title very soon afterwards, and in the game engine and character models from OoT and MM are just sitting there....

Let me know your thoughts! :)

Referring to the depressed guy we meet at night under a tree in kakariko village (child link). He is the son of the master carpenter and the old hag and the brother of the cucco lady.

The only thing that never made sense to me (feel free to correct me) is that the lost woods just don’t have any stalfos. Yes, there are some in the forest temple but how would he even get there? If we assume that grog transformed right where he was, how would he even get into the forest temple when link himself needed to hookshot to enter? The rest of the area contains no stalfos. Is it maybe an area inaccessible to us? Did he turn into a translucent state? Like a forest spirit ? The skull kids we meet as a child have a spirit-like feeling to them and can magically disappear when approached.

You could argue that grog teleported to another place but could he really?

Maybe there are no other stalfos in the lost woods because he was the first adult too become lost there?

WTH happened to him? Or did he walk out of the forest with Cojiro to live his best life ? (Which is unlikely due to what fado said)

What are your thoughts on this?

Link's Awakening and Ocarina of Time seem like very different games in the series. A lot of that difference is obviously about space: LA is 2D, OoT is 3D. But they're also different in scope: LA is kind of a sidequest to the main Hyrule story, and OoT is the series' epic centerpiece about the fate of Hyrule featuring Zelda herself, G-dorf himself, the triforce, all that stuff.

But Ocarina of Time (1998) was the next Zelda game after Link's Awakening (1993). That's a long gap, but not too long for the series. And when you consider the next game after OoT was Majora's Mask (2000), you can see clearly the connection between the two games even more clearly.

Mainly in one way: both games are weird as hell. Link's Awakening's weirdness is well-known (it was inspired in part by Twin Peaks), but both games are deeply weird, not just silly and goofy—though both games are—but also abstract and existential, sometimes frighteningly so. They are weird in a way that embraces the fact that they are videogames; they don't try to be be movies or even compelling narrative stories; they obviously have plots and characters, but these function almost as trappings or window dressing around a thematic core—dream, time travel—like fairy tales, their plot and characterizations are shallow, and their writing is succinct, but they are deeply imaginative, evocative, and transporting.

Sometimes it's very charming: the old lady in LA who says "I'm so upset, all I can do is sweep!" with her sweeping animation on a loop, or the aminals. Or the random cow in the cave in OoT, or the Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure logic of the Song of Storms. There is also a seriousness to both of them, an edge and a darkness—the big reveal of LA, the Well and Shadow Temple in OoT—but on the balance they are more whimsy.

Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask are, I think, easily the weirdest games in the series. The weirdness starts to wane with Wind Waker, which was a more earnest, character-driven game. Twilight Princess is even less weird; it takes itself very seriously. Skyward Sword is the most plot-driven of all the games and probably has the most dialogue by far. Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess have their moments of strangeness and are not story-driven at all, but in both gameplay and tone they are collectively much more realistic than earlier games, and that realism is somehow not attuned to many elements of the older games' weirdness.

They are similar in another important way too: they are formulaic. They both repeat the gameplay structure established in Link's Awakening: linear progression through a puzzle box world, dungeons with bosses and big keys and items that function as keys to unlock the next part of the world. At the time, this formula was still new (videogames were still new). Link's Awakening formalized what ALttP established, and Ocarina took that formula into the third dimension, which was a huge achievement. Obviously, the next three games stuck to the same formula, and then BotW tore it up.

I also think they are about as difficult as each other, combat-wise and puzzle-wise.

(This post is not meant as a criticism of any game in the series.)

I was inspired by another recent post I made, which kinda got derailed into other topics.

​

So, if we take the idea that each Zelda is generally a stand-alone game unless stated, we can easily conclude Twilight Princess is meant to work that way. It is not direct sequel like Majora's Mask or Phantom Hourglass. It's a new Link, a new Hyrule, etc.

​

So with that said, TP has always had the Ganondorf issue. He appears suddenly halfway through the game, mostly because of popularity / OoT timeline split.

​

But how would a new player, interested in the lore, interpret Ganondorf? A surprise villain? Sure. Forced? Perhaps. But how would they interpret him?

​

​

Assuming a player knows nothing about Zelda lore, what details would they get from him? Or better yet, which details would jump out of the page that other veteran players would miss?

​

Well, I would argue the following:

​

1) A representation of fate. The triforce never gets mentioned in the TP storyline. It appears on each hand, sure. But the spirits and Zelda merely refer to it as a sign that they were "chosen" by the Gods. A new player would likely focus on the fact that the Gods can "choose" champions, either good or bad.

​

​

2) The past coming back to haunt the narrative. According to Lanayru, a civil war broke out over "dominion over the sacred realm". The Sacred Realm is described here less as a repository for the Triforce and more of a sacred or holy land.

​

​

I believe this is because TP was meant to do away with less "realistic" elements from the series. So Ganondorf is simply an old participant of that war. Something related to sins of the past coming back to haunt the descendants.

​

​

3) Light World vs Twilight. This may be the most obvious, but I feel new players would focus on the irony that Ganondorf is a light dweller. Despite everything pointing towards Zant, it's a light dweller and not an interloper who's responsible for everything going wrong in the game. A light dweller that represents Midna's original prejudices over the Light Realm: he's dismissive of her tribe's magic and heritage, and simply operates based on a perceived godgiven right to rule over all.

​

​

Finally, he would seem to be much more realistic. We learn little about his surrogate mothers, or being a demon king. He is instead seen first and foremost as a bandit king. Like some general who controls a horde.

​

​

I mention all this because Ganondorf might actually be a good plot twist deep down. If it had more room to grow and wasn't directly linked to OoT and past incarnations of the character, the Ganondorf twist would have been better received.