Has Hyrule always been Coastal?

[Spirit]

While looking at the BotW map something occures to me that I'd never really thought of before...

The right side of the map of Hyrule is coastal and leads off into an ocean. The left side of the map seems to back on to more land mass, which is to be expected. But it got me wondering of Hyrule has always been coastal.

Obviously the likes of OoT and TP didnt have coasts and gave the sense that Hyrule was a rather land-locked Kingdom.

The earlier Zelda games had coasts though, so did we just not see them in TP and OoT and any other game that didnt have it?


I know its down to whatever Aonuma wants to do, and Hyrule being a coastal kingdom or not isnt really important but do you think it adds anything for Hyrule to be a coastal kingdom?

And another more interesting question, has the kingdom of hyrule moved around over the years, or pushed out its borders as it prospered?

 

[VikzeLink]

I think the question should be: Have Hyrule ever been consistent?

 

[Spirit]

I think the question should be: Have Hyrule ever been consistent?

Very true. Like who puts a desert next to an ice cap?

Looking at your Four Swords Adventures!

 

[VikzeLink]

Very true. Like who puts a desert next to an ice cap?

Looking at your Four Swords Adventures!

To be fair, in FSA the section that was Frozen Hyrule had been magically frozen by... ehh... well, either Ganon or Vaati, so that's why in that case.
Also, in the real world its not that uncommon that there are deserts next to high, icy mountains. Altitude makes a lot of difference ^^

 

[el :BeoWolf:]

The only explanation I can think of, is territorial changes from invading or being invaded by other kingdoms over the centuries.

 

[Castle]

The borders of Hyrule in Ocarina and Twilight always struck me as indistinct. While Hyrule field is oddly bordered by stark cliffs to keep players within bounds, who knows what could conceivably lie beyond them? or the forest or the desert... I have yet to wonder where there is space for a coastline in Oot/ALttP (which are essentially the same map) and TP. Strange, given my obsession with trying to make sense of Hyrule's inconsistent geography. There is presumably a greater portion of the kingdom north of Death Mountain as seen in AoL that hasn't featured in any other game to date (though sometimes I wonder if TP doesn't take place there) and it contains more coastline than anywhere else in Hyrule. Then of course there is that stretch of coast present in the original LoZ.

Damnit Spirit. Now you've gone and given me something to think about....

 

[Castle]

The only explanation I can think of, is territorial changes from invading or being invaded by other kingdoms over the centuries.

Hyrule has no neighboring countries to speak of, so I think it's more likely that Hyrule's borders change based on Hylian infrastructure and migration and the general decline of the kingdom overall. This is evident in the extensive ruins all over Hyrule in TP, the general remoteness of the Ordon province which is heavily implied to not be considered part of Hyrule, the Snowpeak Ruins which may have once been the stronghold of a Hyrulian expeditionary force, and even the Forest Temple in OoT suggests that Hylian's may have once had a presence in the Lost Woods though the history of that place is a complete mystery.

 

[Spirit]

To be fair, in FSA the section that was Frozen Hyrule had been magically frozen by... ehh... well, either Ganon or Vaati, so that's why in that case.
Also, in the real world its not that uncommon that there are deserts next to high, icy mountains. Altitude makes a lot of difference ^^

Sssshhhhh! Let the hater hate :p

... must be cold in Skyloft, and hard to breathe...

 

[Night Owl]

Well someone discovered that the ALttP map tilted 45 degrees almost lines up perfectly with the BotW map, Kakariko Village is the major difference between the maps:
http://nintendotoday.com/breath-of-the-wild-map-a-link-to-the-past/

Hyrule might have always been close to the sea and it just isn't always included on the map. I suspect that Hateno was always on the border and would be Hyrule's main port town.
Perhaps Hateno was it's own kingdom and held favorable trade relationships with Hyrule until Hyrule grew large enough to absorb Hateno.

 

[Castle]

The atlas that the most recent LoZ games seems to be derived from is the ALttP map. OoT's map is practically 1:1 to ALttP in overall geography. Really only the location of the forests in each game is the only major discrepancy. While TP's atlas mixes up the geography quite a bit, TP still retains most of the areas from ALttP/OoT even if they do look completely different and are in totally different places.

My point is none of these games had a coast line. Hyrule's coast went away after two games, then reappeared in BotW which is the series most expansive map to date.

I think it's likely that Hyrule simply withdrew from the coastal areas. It is very difficult to find much commonality between the conventional ALttP derived atlas and the first two games (which shared a common atlas), but it's likely the coast would be somewhere south or southeast of Lake Hylia in OoT/ALttP. Or the southeast corner of every map, really, given that it has appeared there consistently, all both times. Of course there's also the land north of Death Mountain, it has a lot more coast line, but ZeldaII is the only game to date to take place there.

 

[Lilith]

Hyrule is essentially a sort of Pangea, thus surrounded by water on all sides but spanning enough geography to have diverse climates. Many notable changes are likely the product of vertical isostocy and changes brought about by sea level changes... The flood of the Wind Waker is proof of this, and that in itself served as a resetting event that caused geological displaysia. The planet Hyrule exists upon its itself growing, thus accounting for discrpencies in exact locations and distances.

 

[PalaeoJoe]

To be fair, in FSA the section that was Frozen Hyrule had been magically frozen by... ehh... well, either Ganon or Vaati, so that's why in that case.
Also, in the real world its not that uncommon that there are deserts next to high, icy mountains. Altitude makes a lot of difference ^^

To expand on this, not only can deserts be bordered by snowy mountains but it is often because of the mountains that there is a desert in the first place. This is because the mountains will stop wet air from entering the desert and catch all the moisture before the air mass enters the desert. This occurs in places like the Gobi Desert in Asia and the Atacama desert in South America and is called a rain shadowing.