7 Incredible The Legend Of Zelda Fan Theories That Were Actually Confirmed (And 12 That Should Be)
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The Legend of Zelda has created so much wonderful lore, but Nintendo is very good at being sneaky with confirmed theories…
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The Legend of Zelda franchise is a bottomless pit of theories. With symbolism up the wazoo, three separate timelines, and reincarnation playing big parts in the series lore, fans are able to speak endlessly of their varying perspectives and ideas on the land of Hyrule.
Nintendo has proven to be stalwart gatekeepers when it comes to the secrets of The Legend of Zelda. Only the smallest fractions of fan theories are confirmed or denied by the video game company. Perhaps it’s because the makers know that the mystery is part of the fun or maybe they just like to watch us squirm.
The release of the comprehensive Hyrule Historia answered most of the timeline theory questions. However, now that a game like Breath of the Wild has been released post Hyrule Historia, many fans are back to square one in terms of their questions. Some fans even deny the facts of Hyrule Historia and believe the games are all the same story told in various ways, almost like how folklore transforms over time.
Nintendo is so secretive, there are not even 20 confirmed theories to be found, so we are doing the confirmed and should be confirmed theories! I hope you are well-versed in the games, timelines, and characters because this research nearly exploded my brain with the amount of aspects involved in these theories. I must say I am proud of my fellow man to put so much energy and intellect into their ideas about this game series.
20 Confirmed: Twilight Princess Is A Sequel To Majora’s Mask
This theory was confirmed by the almighty Hyrule Historia. Twilight Princess comes after Majoria’s Mask in the child era timeline. The timelines are essential to understanding most theories.
Hang on to your hats if you’re not well versed in the three timelines, because I’m going to explain that right now.
Blame Ocarina of Time for the timelines. Due to time travel in that game, three timelines were created that influenced how Hryule is in each game a great deal. Link fails to defeat Ganondorf in one, child Link protects the sacred realm in another, and the third is one where adult Link has Ganondorf sealed.
According to Eiji Aonuma, the designer, director, producer, and manager of The Legend of Zelda, as Majora’s Mask continues the story of young Link from Ocarina of Time, it therefore takes place shortly after Ocarina of Time and over a hundred years before Twilight Princess.
19 Should be True: Lost Woods Are The Forbidden Woods And The Sacred Grove
The Lost Woods in an infamous location of The Legend of Zelda series. Basically it’s a forest where people get lost and if they get lost for too long, they become monsters! That’s kind of awesome.
To give you an idea of how infamous this location is, the Lost Woods appear in these games: The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Oracle of Seasons, Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, A Link Between Worlds, and Breath of the Wild. That’s a lot of games!
Even if you happen to play a game without the Lost Woods like Twilight Princess, you still basically have the same deal with the Sacred Grove with some different woods. But are they so different? Same music, same location, I think it’s just the same place under a different name.
18 Should Be True: Tetra’s Pirates Are Reincarnations Or Relatives Of Her Aides
Mako, Niko, Nudge, Senza, and Zuko are Tetra’s loyal crew of pirates. Very little is known about their background except that they used to serve under Tetra’s mother’s orders before she died and now they serve Tetra.
But if you look at a portrait in the sunken Hyrule Castle, you may find that the pirates bear a striking resemblance to Princess Zelda’s courtiers.
Since we eventually find out that Tetra is Princess Zelda, we may also assume that the pirate crew and castle aids could be related in some fashion.
Whenever Tetra’s ancestor fled in the Great Flood, they were probably accompanied by the aid that descended into the Tetra pirates we know. In a way, they still are aids who guard and serve her with the same loyalty as a castle aid.
Art by lulubuu.
17 Confirmed: The Rito In Wind Waker Are Descended From The Zora
A lot of fans were unhappy at this theory confirmation. In Wind Waker, most to all of Hyrule is submerged in water but the Zora, who live in the sea, are nowhere. Well guess what, they turned into Rito, the bird people! You can easily guess why this upset a lot of people.
You take fish people, you add water, and then they’re bird people. What?
They transformed because the sea was full of monsters. Also in Wind Waker, the Rito say that they only were able to get their wings when the dragon Valoo gives them a scale, which can imply that he kickstarted their evolution.
The confirmation is in the Hyrule Historia. In the English version of the book on page 128, “The Zora tribe, who now bear bird like beaks, have transformed into the Rito.”
16 Should Be True: Happy Mask Salesman Is Not Human
I feel like adding “No duh,” to the title, but no litany or in-game information has actually confirms this! This guy is probably one of the most memorable characters of The Legend of Zelda franchise due to his creepy behavior and look.
Not to mention that he is a mask salesman, which symbolically screams, “He’s not what he seems!”
He moves erratically, warping from one animation to the next. One moment he can be talking to Link and the next he is attacking the boy. No other character in the game moves like that. He’s in Clock Town but no one in Clock Town ever mentions him and he interacts with no one but Link.
Also at the end of the game, he disappears and we see him literally fade out of existence. Ghost? Deity? We still don’t know, but he’s definitely not human.
15 Confirmed: The Old Man In Breath Of The Wild Is The King Of Hyrule
I bet you’re also thinking “No duh” to this theory as well. However before Breath of the Wild was released on the Nintendo Switch and every Zelda fan became broke from having to buy a new console and game, we actually did not know who this old man in the trailer was.
A lot of theories floated around at the time, my favorite being this could even be some form of Ganondorf.
However a lot of theorists hit the nail of truth and told their fellow fans, “Dude, that’s the King, what’s wrong with you?” They recognized his facial features and the sped up Hyrule castle theme music. Though it would have been super interesting if the hooded old man turned out to be Ganondorf.
14 Should be True: The Postmen Are All Relatives
The postmen of The Legend of Zelda take their jobs very seriously. They are also pretty consistent in the games, appearing in Majora’s Mask, Oracle of Ages, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.
These postmen all are alike in look and devotion to their work. It’s odd, but you could even compare him to how Zelda and Link appear in every story with a similar destiny. Except unlike Link and Zelda, the postman is not attached to some deity war! Maybe the gods take mail seriously too and reincarnate him because he’s so good at his job?
It’s more likely that there is a bloodline of mailmen and the job is the family business. They all run super-fast, so they probably have the same training and teach the same ideals.
13 Should be True: Breath of the Wild Is Part Of The “Link Defeated” Timeline
This is probably the biggest modern Legend of Zelda debate right now. Since the Hyrule Historia confirmed timelines for us and laid all the games out based on timeline, we now have a game post-publication and don’t know where it fits in the timeline!
Game Theory got me very convinced that Breath of the Wild is in the Link is defeated timeline, so see for yourselves.
I think the most convincing evidence if Ganondorf’s form in Breath of the Wild. According to the Hyrule Historia, Ganondorf gives up his Garudo mortal form and becomes more of a force of nature after his defeat of Link. The other games in the hero is defeated timeline show Ganondorf as a monster rather than a Garudo.
12 Confirmed: The Hero’s Shade Is Link From Another Game
Remember the Hero’s Shade from Twilight Princess who taught you how to fight well? The Hyrule Historia confirmed that the Hero’s Shade is in fact child Link from Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.
The Hero’s Shade has certainly aged well, hasn’t he?
The character is rather tragic; as Hyrule Historia describes that he died lamenting that he was never remembered as a hero, as well as not passing down his skills to the next generation. Though he does remedy that a little by teaching Twilight Princess Link how to fight.
There are still unconfirmed theories about him, such as is possible that he could have been a member of the Knights of Hyrule, since he is wearing that fancy armor. Others have claimed that his grave is in Twilight Princess in the Castle Graveyard with the description as “Cursed Swordsman.”
11 Should be True: Malon And Link Got Together
Before you go bonkers, no, I don’t ship it, I think this just has a lot of evidence.
One piece of evidence is a gossip stone that is outside the Temple of Time. It states that Malon dreams of a knight in shining armor. Also Talon, her dad, jokes that Link should marry his daughter. Malon also appears interested in Link, since she is always acting cheerful around him.
Just to twist your mind a little more, I’ll also let you know that the Hyrule Historia mentioned that Twilight Link is a descendant of the Hero Shade Link.
Seeing as Twilight Link is a farmer, it makes sense if he descended from Malon and Hero Shade Link, who married Malon and made a farm family. Malon being related might also explain why Twilight Link knows Epona’s song, which Malon learned from her mother.
Art by Esuri.
10 Confirmed: Split Timelines
Before the almighty Hyrule Historia graced us with knowledge, the split timelines were only a theory.
Oh gods, there were a lot of theories about split timelines before they were confirmed.
There were anti-timeliners, who believed the franchise was just using stock characters to create different multiverse stories. Split timeline debate was skyrocketing in March 2009, after YouTuber ocarinahero10 uploaded a video arguing for a split timeline due to time paradoxes.
Apparently in the early 2000s, Nintendo of America posted a timeline. However the timeline was vetoed by the Japanese game developers when they realized that they wanted to keep the timeline a secret for a long time. So fans continued to scramble for years to create a timeline that would make sense. The developers probably loved the passion and ingenuity of the fandom’s imaginations that they rewarded us with the confirmation of split timelines.
9 Should Be True: Masks In Majora’s Mask Are Souls
I’ll make this theory very easy to understand. You find a departed person, play a song, then boom, you have a mask that makes you look just like them. With a deal like that going on, how can the masks not be souls?
The song you play is called the Song of Healing, which was taught to you buy the Happy Mask Salesman who says that the song heals troubled spirits.
You can play for spirits of the dead and then they leave and you are given a mask. Some could say it’s just a gift, but it makes you look like them so I think it’s a part of them.
Majora’s Mask may have the most theories just because of how dark the story and characters are. Some think Link is also departed. The Termina has the five stages of grief, though that’s just symbolism, not really a theory.
8 Should Be True: Oocca Were Once People/Pets
“According to legend, Hyrule was made by the Hylians, who, as we all know, are the closest race to the gods. But also according to legend, long ago there was a race even closer to the gods, and some say these creatures made the Hylians. When they created the people of Hylia, they simultaneously created a new capital, a city that floated in the heavens.” – Shad from Twilight Princess.
My favorite theory is that these little buggers were once a race of highly evolved people but years of isolation made them devolve into these weird birds. Even better, they may be pets of the real Oocca since obviously they can’t build but there are bird perches everywhere in their sky city. These little freaks of nature certainly do give me a lot of questions.
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6 Confirmed: Skyward Sword Took Place Prior To Ocarina Of Time
Once again, this was only a theory before the Hyrule Historia came into being. Skyward Sword is actually the first game in the timeline, making it canon in all three timelines since it occurred before the three timeline splits in Ocarina of Time.
Before Hyrule Historia confirmed that it was the first game though, fans already had their suspicions. Since Skyward Sword was about Link’s Master Sword, it only made sense to some that it predated Ocarina of Time since the sword was already present in that game.
It’s important to note that this is the first in the timeline thus far, meaning that future games may take place before Skyward Sword! The creators are hesitant to say anything is the first game, because they want a lot of space for future creations.
5 Should Be True: Gerudo Reproduce with other Races
Gerudo are a nearly all female race, so how do they keep having kids? Statistics show that only one male Gerudo is born every 100 years.
It’s a fact that Gerudo can often be seen traveling and seeking out a mate.
While the Gerudo are a rather isolated society and culture, we do see them travel to seek mates. We see this when bumping into them in Breath of the Wild and Nabooru shows affection to Link during the Spirit Temple, showing that they have interest in men.
But how are their babies all just…Gerudo? They all have the same traits, not any mix of race can be seen. A theory is that the Gerudo work like the Asari from Mass Effect and the Gerudo gene is just so dominant that that’s how a nearly all female race can reproduce effectively.
4 Should Be True: Midna is the Second Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom
In Twilight Princess, the well…Twilight Princess, Midna, is a prominent character.
Coming from the Twilight Realm, Midna cannot stand light and hides in Link’s shadow for the near entirety of the game. However there is a part where she gets light blasted and she gets into a near-death state. Link brings Midna to Princess Zelda, who heals her.
But there is a theory that Zelda did more than that. As Midna looks at her hand which is hidden from view and says, “I have taken everything you had to give…though I did not want it.”
While many point out that Zelda may have just given Midna her light-filled soul to stay alive in the light realm, many also point out that Zelda got possessed by Ganondorf at the end of the game and that may be because she gave Midna her only means of protection from Ganondorf, the Triforce.
3 Confirmed: Reincarnation Of The Three Wielders
So why are Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link in this constant battle?
Well, reincarnation was a big theory that was eventually confirmed in the games and Hyrule Historia.
In the manga in Hyrule Historia, it is confirmed that Zelda and Link are reincarnated when Hylia says that she will sacrifice her divinity to make sure that “their spirits will endure through time” Zelda is also a reincarnation of Hylia.
Skyward Sword confirms that Ganon is reincarnated because the demon king, Demise, places a curse on their bloodlines, in which he says that a part of him shall always arise to fight their descendants, the only consistency is Ganon in their bloodlines.
2 Should Be True: The Interlopers Mentioned In Twilight Princess Also Created Majora’s Mask
So in an earlier I mentioned that the Interlopers could be the Ancient Ones who are mentioned in Majora’s Mask? That would mean it’s possible that these Interlopers created the mask in the first place. This meant the Twili from Twilight Princess may have created Majora’s Mask. This could even be part of why they were banished into the Twilight Realm in the first place.
The Twili are known for their dark magic, which greatly connects to Majora’s Mask which in-game explained that it was once used for hexing rituals. There is also the uncanny resemblance between the eyes of Majora’s Mask and one of the eyes of the Fused Shadow forged by the Interlopers that Midna wears a piece of. Some also say that Zant’s odd movements remind them of Majora’s Mask as well.
1 Should Be True: Skull Kids In Ocarina Of Time And Majora’s Mask Are The Same
It’s widely believed throughout the Legend of Zelda fandom that the Skull Kids in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask are the same. Despite the belief, this has never been confirmed so it’s still only a theory.
There is a strong evidence such as in Majora’s Mask that the Skull Kid seems to recognize link from Ocarina of Time. At one point he even tells Link he smells the same as, “that fairy kid who taught (him) that song in the woods.”
In Ocarina of Time, Link played Saria’s Song to a Skull Kid.
Link sells the Ocarina of Time Skull Kid a skull mask which seems like more than a coincidence since the kid plays a major role in Majora’s Mask as a mask theif. There is also a Skull Kid in Twilight Princess, and he knows Saria’s Song.
Writer, author of The Awei Series, and cat foster parent. Her favorite games include Dragon Age, Pokémon, Final Fantasy XIV, Team Ico games, Ōkami, and RPG maker horror games. She probably would be a Fairy/Ghost type Pokémon Trainer.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-fan-theories-that-were-actually-confirmed-and-that-should-be/