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What, exactly, is a White Sword?

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Oct 6, 2016
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The term ''White Sword'' is used quite commonly in the Zelda series. It's the second sword in Zelda 1, the JP name for the Noble Sword in the Oracles, the name of the reforged Picori Blade in TMC, and the name of one of the upgrades for the Goddess Sword is ''Goddess White Sword''.

My proposition is that a ''White Sword'' is the name given to a blade that possesses SOME sacred power, and has some demonic bane capabilities, but pales in comparison to the truly legendary blades like the complete versions of the Master Sword and Four Sword, as well as the Lokomo Sword, among others.

Let's look at the White Sword in Zelda 1. We can see that Link requires some degree of Life Force to wield(meaning that not just any mortal can wield it), but not as much as the Magical Sword, and he can slay demons with it far more effectively than the basic sword, but not quite as much as the Magical Sword.

The Noble Sword in the Oracles is called the ''White Sword'' in Japanese, and while it's referred to as a sacred sword when you first get it, it has problems hurting Ganon unless if you spin attack with it. It works quite well on lesser demons, however.

The White Sword in Minish Cap is a lesser version of the Picori Blade/Four Sword, although still capable of killing monsters even more effectively than the Smith's Sword, which was created by the finest blacksmith in Hyrule.

The Goddess White Sword is an upgraded version of the Goddess Sword that is imbued with the flames of two of the golden goddesses, but isn't the fully forged Master Sword.

From what I can tell, the criteria I provided for a description of a White Sword matches up with what we know in each game that has a White Sword, but what are your thoughts?
 
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Joined
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sure that makes sense to me
maybe it just means the sword is white

Could just mean that, sure. But considering the fact that each White Sword has shared traits with the other ''White Swords'', that gives us some evidence to theorize that it means something more. Also, theorizing is fun.
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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I'm not sure if it has any sacred power, really. In Zelda 1 the White Sword is decent, but the Magic Sword is better, but none of the swords in the game actually matter in beating Ganon, because only the Silver Arrows work to kill him.

I think the White Sword is just a sword upgrade in general.
 
Joined
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I'm not sure if it has any sacred power, really. In Zelda 1 the White Sword is decent, but the Magic Sword is better, but none of the swords in the game actually matter in beating Ganon, because only the Silver Arrows work to kill him.

I think the White Sword is just a sword upgrade in general.
I mean, you need a certain amount of Force in Zelda 1 to wield it, though, which is a good sign that not any mortal can wield it, as Force is called, ''the sacred power that the gods gave to the world. It's the breath of life itself'' according to HH.


Ganon and methods to kill him are weird. It seems like if he has the Triforce of Power, he can't be killed with even the most holy of blades, but he can if he doesn't have it. There are some exceptions, though:

OoT: Has Triforce of Power. Is stabbed in the head with the MS, and yet is only sealed, not killed.

TWW BS: No hero to stop him. He's sealed by the Goddesses.

TWW: Loses the ToP before the final battle, and is again stabbed in the head, but is killed this time(although the Triforce played a part here)

TP BS: Sealed by the sages of this period(most likely the Ancient Sages) after his execution fails.

TP: Loses the Triforce of Power after final blow is struck, dies.

ALttP: Killed with Silver Arrows, and he has the entire Triforce in his possession(but not inside of him).

OoX: Killed with a sword, has no pieces of the Triforce.

ALBW BS: Gets the ToP again, and is defeated by the hero of this era. But, instead of dying, he's ''sealed in darkness'' by the sages of this period.

ALBW: Fuses with Yuga. Oddly, both Yuga and Ganon die at the end, despite Yuga-Ganon having both the ToP and ToC, and no Silver Arrows being used.

Zelda 1: Killed again with the Silver Arrows, and he has the ToP in him. He's reduced to ashes, and the ToP is left in his remains for Link to retrieve.

BotW BS: Sealed by the hero and princess.

BotW: Is defeated by the Princess, who appears to possess the full Triforce. It was unknown what happened to him, but it seems like he returned to his sealed Gerudo body if BotW2 is any indication.

Silver Arrows can kill Ganon, from what we've seen, but Light Arrows can only stun him.

Damn, that would've made a fun topic on it's own.
 
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mαrkαsscoρ

Mr. SidleInYourDMs
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light arrows can kill ganon

we've talked about this before, silver arrows have been instrumental in killing ganon, light arrows primarily just stun him
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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I mean, you need a certain amount of Force in Zelda 1 to wield it, though, which is a good sign that not any mortal can wield it, as Force is called, ''the sacred power that the gods gave to the world. It's the breath of life itself'' according to HH.
I think Force ≠ Sacred Power. How much Force someone has to be able to use a certain blade does not mean that the blade necessarily has Sacred Power. The White Sword in Zelda 1 doesn't have anything special besides being stronger than the wooden sword. In Skyward Sword, the Goddess White Sword is only an upgrade because it enhances how many things Fi can dowse for, and the blade never actually gets the power to repel evil until Zelda blesses it herself.

Sacred power only matters when it comes to final bosses of games (sometimes), which are usually some kind of demon-like creatures in their final forms. It's rare that it matters against other enemies, but there are some exceptions where it is more helpful. For example, in The Wind Waker, Phantom Ganon can't actually be killed until the Hero of Winds has awakened the Master Sword's power to repel evil.
 

mαrkαsscoρ

Mr. SidleInYourDMs
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I mean we know he's not; we see his awakened corpse in the trailers.
at the moment, we don't know for certain that's him
is it probably him? eh I suppose, but until it's officially said by nintendo or in game, its still speculation

edit: plus if that is him, that just further helps the idea that the light arrows haven't destroyed in a game yet him
 

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