• Welcome to ZD Forums! You must create an account and log in to see and participate in the Shoutbox chat on this main index page.

Geography and Placement *SPOILERS*

Joined
Nov 22, 2013
Location
Portland, OR
I was looking through the interwebs and my copy of Hyrule Historia when a few questions popped up in my head regarding the "official" placement of a few games in the Defeated Timeline. Specifically, Links Awakening, The Legend of Zelda, and The Adventure of Link.

My first question is about what happens in between the ending of Links Awakening and the beginning of The Legend of Zelda? As we know, at the end of Links Awakening after Koholint fades away and Link wakes up stranded in the ocean on a remaining plank of wood from his ship. What I want to know is, what happens next exactly? First off, I'm not entirely sure if the Link in LA and the Link in LoZ are supposed to be the same one, but assuming they are, how does Link get to land when his ship was destroyed? Are we to assume he just drifted there naturally and he coincidentally ended up on Hyrule as opposed to some other landmass? If so, how did he end up where we start in LoZ? Where exactly did he wash up on shore and why doesn't the game start there instead?

My second question is in regards to the land of Hyrule in LoZ. In LoZ, our hero is set upon rescuing the princess, Zelda, from the evil Ganon, but in order to do so, he must recollect the 8 fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom that Impa scattered across Hyrule upon the princesses request. Hyrule being a kingdom and having a princess, you would think there would be a bit more followers or common folk. The Hyrule in LoZ has very scarce inhabitants except for the occasional old man, old woman, or shopkeeper, as well as the main characters in our story, Link, Zelda, Impa, and Ganon. The downsized population aside, where are all of these people living exactly? Everyone you meet in Hyrule is either in a cave, a hole in the ground, or a sealed room inside a dungeon. The only buildings in this land seem to be the dungeons scattered across the land. It isn't until AoL that Hyrule appears to be further inhabited by more common folk and buildings. The only recurring geographical location that is familiar to us is Death Mountain. Since this is supposedly the same Hyrule from Ocarina of Time and given the placement of Death Mountain, I think we can safely assume that this,

OoT_Overworld (1).jpg

is where the events in LoZ take place since it is the only place that geographically would make sense. However, tying back into my previous question, this would make everything in this region:

overworld1.jpg

either a river or a lake of sorts due to the closeness of Zoras Domain. To further this explanation, the presence of River Zora in LoZ sort of prove that that area is indeed a river. Which means no where in the area of Hyrule from LoZ could Link have washed up on shore. Does this mean that the Links from LA and LoZ are different? Perhaps, but then what happens to the Link in LA? Did he drown? Wash up somewhere else and live out the rest of his life?

My last question is in regards to the main quest in LoZ and AoL. Link searches Hyrule for the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom, and then defeats Ganon and recovers the Triforce of Power. Then, later in AoL, Link is in search for the remaining Triforce of Courage. What I want to know is what happened to the Triforce of Courage in the first place? Hasn't it always been with Link? In Ocarina of Time, Link acquired the Triforce of Courage after Ganondorf touched the Triforce and it split in three, and since then it has been passed down through generations. Zelda always inheriting the Triforce of Wisdom, Link always inheriting the Triforce of Courage, and Ganondorf always having the Triforce of Power. At what point in between Ocarina of Time and a Link to the Past did Link stop possessing the Triforce of Courage? How was the King of Hyrule able to use the power of the Triforce bringing on the Golden Era previous to The Legend of Zelda if the Triforce was still split into three? Before ALttP, Ganon still possessed the Triforce of Power when he was sealed away during the Imprisoning War and still had it when he escaped. I guess what I'm asking is, how does someone lose their piece of the Triforce?

Anyways, I apologize for the really long ramble. A brief overview: How does Link end up in Hyrule after Links Awakening? Where in Hyrule do the events in The Legend of Zelda take place? And lastly, how does someone lose their piece of the Triforce?
 

Attachments

  • OoT_Overworld.jpg
    OoT_Overworld.jpg
    62.5 KB · Views: 2

Curmudgeon

default setting: sarcastic prick
Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Gender
grumpy
I'll try to tackle a few items and leave the rest to others (I'm not caught up on the most current version of canon chronology)

My second question is in regards to the land of Hyrule in LoZ. In LoZ, our hero is set upon rescuing the princess, Zelda, from the evil Ganon, but in order to do so, he must recollect the 8 fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom that Impa scattered across Hyrule upon the princesses request. Hyrule being a kingdom and having a princess, you would think there would be a bit more followers or common folk. The Hyrule in LoZ has very scarce inhabitants except for the occasional old man, old woman, or shopkeeper, as well as the main characters in our story, Link, Zelda, Impa, and Ganon. The downsized population aside, where are all of these people living exactly? Everyone you meet in Hyrule is either in a cave, a hole in the ground, or a sealed room inside a dungeon. The only buildings in this land seem to be the dungeons scattered across the land. It isn't until AoL that Hyrule appears to be further inhabited by more common folk and buildings

Take a look at the overworld map from AoL
6zytu.jpg

The red box is LoZ Hyurle in the context of AoL. The reason that LoZ Hyrule is so devoid of people is that Princess Zelda hid the fragments of the Triforce in what has become a wild, completely backwater portion of the Kingdom. We look at Death Mountain the wrong way. It's not the northern boundary of what is known, but a barrier that cuts that portion of Hyrule off from the rest of the civilized world. If LoZ Hyrule = OoT Hyurle, then something terrible has happened... which makes sense, as part of the 'defeated timeline' I assume Ganon and his minions would have encountered little difficulty in razing any traces of habitation (save the giant graveyard as a warning). Add a few centuries of overgrowth, and there you have it: the untamed edge of the world concealing the ruins of a great civilization.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 22, 2013
Location
Portland, OR
It's not the northern boundary of what is known, but a barrier that cuts that portion of Hyrule off from the rest of the civilized world.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean exactly by this. If it's not the northern edge of Hyrule, then where is it exactly?

Also, I'm not disavowing your map, I'm just wondering about the distinct differences in your map of AoL and this one:

map_h3.jpg

In your map, if the Link from LoZ and AoL really are the same, then how did he get from the LoZ territory to the AoL territory?
 

Curmudgeon

default setting: sarcastic prick
Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Gender
grumpy
I'm not sure I understand what you mean exactly by this. If it's not the northern edge of Hyrule, then where is it exactly?
It's the northern edge that little part of Hyrule, a barrier that separates it and the majority of a much bigger world. To scale, the events of most Zelda games actually occur in a very small area. Obviously inconsistencies occur (I suspect there was no real plan to make the geography match at all).

Also, I'm not disavowing your map, I'm just wondering about the distinct differences in your map of AoL and this one:

Yours is a drawing, mine is the overworld map from the game. The drawn map is clearly not to scale. I have to ask: have you ever played AoL?

6zCxV.jpg

6zCBY.png


In your map, if the Link from LoZ and AoL really are the same, then how did he get from the LoZ territory to the AoL territory?

They are the same.

Hyrule Historia said:
Six years after the suppression of the Demon King, a mark resembling the crest of the royal family suddenly surfaced on the back of the left hand of Link, now sixteen years old. Link, concerned, passed on this information to Impa. Surprised and flustered, she brought Link to the North Castle.

How he got there? He's the hero of legend. Where he's going, he doesn't need roads [/BttFII Reference]
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 22, 2013
Location
Portland, OR
Ah okay. When I made my first response, I will admit I found a few holes in my reasoning myself. The whole geography thing still throws me but I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. As for your question, I must admit, Adventure of Link was the one Zelda game I could not bring myself to complete. In my own personal list, it came in dead last in the franchise for me following Majoras Mask which I BARELY was able to complete without wanting to break something. Adventure of Link was just too rage-inducing for me I couldn't complete it. Maybe someday. Everything I know about it is from what I've learned on the internet and in the Historia.
 

PalaeoJoe

The Diplomatic Dinosaur
Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Location
Early Cretaceous North America
Anyways, I apologize for the really long ramble.
Don't worry about long posts this is the theory section.

How does Link end up in Hyrule after Links Awakening?
You are under the misconception that the link from The Legend of Zelda and Links Awakening are the same, they are not. This is how it went down: First, in A Link To The Past Link saves the Hyrule from Ganon, then we see link getting teleported to either Labrynna (in OoA) or Holodrum (in OoS) at the beginning of whichever game you choose. He then saves either land from evil and sails off home to Hyrule (the story is a little different if you link the two Oracle games). Then on his way home he gets stuck on Koholint Island (as you know), dose his job there and then... Well I don't think we know if he made it home safely or not, but that's the Last we see of that link. Several hundred years pass and the events of A Link Between Worlds occur. Then Several Hundred more years pass and we have a new Link who takes on the challenges of The Legend Of Zelda and Adventure Of Link.
I hope that Helped. :)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom