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Hyrule - A Monarchy Defined

What do YOU believe Hyrule is? (And please post a response to support your answer)

  • Capitalist (Economy)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Socialist (Government and Economy)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Totalitarian (Government)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Democratic (Government, Please Explain)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (Please Explain)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

Majora's Cat

How about that
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Location
NJ
The kingdom of Hyrule itself and what the kingdom represents in the real world hasn't really been explored much. That's why I'd like to delve deeper into the world of Hyrule and explore its economy, real life counterparts, and the inner workings of its government. Too often these very noticable things are ignored, so I hope that this thread will be enlightening for some and stir up some discussion.

What do we already know about Hyrule? Well, it is ruled by a king, making is a monarchy. The problem is this: the king doesn't appear to have any real power. In each and every Zelda game, it seems as if the king has little to no power, and the king does have some sort of control over Hyrule, it was never made apparent in any Zelda game. It seems that the fate of the kingdom of Hyrule really rests in some sort of Parliament, which by that I mean a sort of council that does the real decision-making. That's why I'd like to compare Hyrule to England, because the two are actually very much alike. The reason I say this is because of England is also a monarchy, and much like Hyrule, England's leader is a figurehead. I'm only assuming that the King of Hyrule is a figurehead in each game, there's no solid proof to thoroughly prove this theory or disprove it. The King of Hyrule in the Wind Waker is a bit harder to analyze: while many may call him a good ruler, there wasn't ever a backstory about him being a strong leader or a real leader at all. He guides Link and is a character of real value in the Wind Waker, but that doesn't mean that he'd necessarily be able to run an entire kingdom all by himself (with the help with his advisers, of course). Such is the case with most kings and queens in history - they never did take much control of their respective countries, it was more of the nobles and those close to the king that really pulled the strings.

However, Hyrule is similar to England in yet another way. It's a well-known fact that England and the entirety of the United Kingdom is diverse in culture and race, much like the United States and Hyrule. There exists the Gerudo, Zora, Goron and Hylian races in Hyrule. I believe that the Gerudo and their cunning represent Middle Eastern nations, the Zora and their fondness for water represent those who live in the tropics, the Goron and their impressive strength represent countries like Russia (where the people are big and quite powerful, in terms of both physical strength and military strength), and the Hylians represent the majority of Europe. You can find people from all over the world in England (and the United States), and one can see the underlying themes of all the races of Hyrule.

10314-hyrule_super.gif
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While I'm on the subject of diversity in Hyrule, I simply must compare it to Jerusalem. Now, one may think at first that the Holy City and Hyrule have almost nothing in common. It isn't a very detailed or complicated connection between the two, it's more of a loose one. As I know many fans of the Zelda series know, the kingdom of Hyrule is usually divided into sections of the kingdom, each section being the domain of one of the four main races. The only place in the real world where there's something somewhat similar to thise is Jerusalem - the city is divided into the Christian, Jewish and Muslim sections. The three Semitic religions are sort of representative of the four races in Hyrule - each is different but similar in several ways, and there are dedicated sections of the land that is given to each religion/race.

Economically, I believe Hyrule to be strictly capitalist. At a glance, the only thing that the government of Hyrule seems to control is gates, and guards are posted around the land just to protect against perils and threats. Otherwise, the land of Hyrule isn't oppressed at all. Civilians living in Hyrule kingdom can start businesses and sell goods of their own accord, and they are not restricted in any way. Even in Hyrule Castle Town, the kingdom's central hub for business and mingling, nothing is controlled by the government. There are guards posted around the gates, but that's for the civilians' safety.

Hyrule under Ganon's rule in Ocarina of Time is a completely different situation. It seems like a the complete opposite of normal Hyrule - evil creatures are widespread across the land and seem to be under Ganon's direct command. If this is the case, then Ganon's Hyrule is most accurately described as a totalitarian society. First, I'd like to address the meaning of the term "totalitarian", for those who aren't entirely sure: totalitarianism is the exercise of control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic. Ganon's tainted and evil Hyrule fits the bill exactly - everyone must love the great Ganon, as he will be displeased if they don't. All the townspeople in Hyrule's several regions are kept under control by the threat of evil creatures of the darkness, which Ganon may or may not have control of in Ocarina of Time and definitely has control of in Twilight Princess. Hyrule's civilians are also stripped of many of their so-called "rights" as Hylians. The last statement isn't supported by a single line, but one can easily see how oppressed the people of Hyrule are after Ganon becomes supreme ruler in OoT. Therefore, Ganon's Hyrule is (just in my opinion) decidedly totalitarian, though I'm sure that examples of totalitarian government in real life aren't as harsh or fiendish as Ganon's rule.

250px-Zeldaganonscastle.jpg

Those are my two cents on what kind of kingdom Hyrule is, if it were to be given such titles in real life. My question to you good people of Zelda Dungeon is this: what kind of kingdom do you believe Hyrule is in terms of economy, government and (maybe) politics?
 

FindSkullkid

The Energy Never Dies.
Joined
Jun 24, 2011
Location
California
I'm sure I'm one of few people who had the attention span to read this, but here's my take on this whole thing. I grew up playing Zelda, back when there was no Hyrule, and when Hyrule became the "overworld" (even though it's not, it's just the epicenter of the game that branches out), I thought of it as a fantasy filled adventure land, not a community, or a city. Yeah, I guess all the traits of the area can make it a monarchy, but I DOUBT that's what Miyamoto is focusing on.

I think this post is totally awesome, do not get me wrong, but this isn't what people should be thinking about when they play LoZ, I think that's one thing Miyamoto is doing well at, making it a fantasy land, and people play these type of games to feel like all these mythical creatures and such to escape from the real world, not to compare it. That's just my take on it. And politics? economy? wtf? that just ruins the purpose of a video game.

On the contrary, these are the type of things that will bring Zelda fans together to form a community, but I don't think Miyamoto will focus on these kind of aspects until Zelda turns into an online multiplayer, which I doubt it ever will. I think this would be a great topic if Zelda was like Gaia, but it's not. But, these are things people will want to debate about, even though there isn't any legitimate proof, because most of these things are coincidences, because it hasn't been brought out in the games, these are just observations. Great thinking though :)

P. S - LOVE the nyan cat. :P
 

guy123

The Waker of the Winds
Joined
Oct 2, 2010
Location
The Milkyway Galaxy
Hyrule's government seems really odd to me. It's almost like it doesn't even exist. The only time I can remember when two different towns (can't think of a better word...) communicated was when the gorons came to Kakiriko village. You could call it a monarchy, but I agree with FindSkullKid. I don't think that this was the focus of Zelda games. This is interesting though, and I'm going to be watching for it more as I play now, but I personally don't see any sign of government in Hyrule except for the title of "princess" Zelda has.
 

FindSkullkid

The Energy Never Dies.
Joined
Jun 24, 2011
Location
California
Totally agree. An interesting twist in the plot of the game (which Miyamoto needs to make anyway) is the king entering the picture in the games, and possibly making Link prince? Just a thought
 
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Petman1325

Poe Catcher
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Location
Georgia, USA
This reminds me of an article I made quite a long while ago about the strange things about Hyrule's Government. While it seems to be based on monarchy, it definitely seems to be more based upon the ruler than any form of parliament or aide.

Without copying and pasting my own article, I'm just going to leave this here.
 

FindSkullkid

The Energy Never Dies.
Joined
Jun 24, 2011
Location
California
Alright, so this is a reply to your article, Petman. I thoroughly enjoyed it! In my opinion, the whole "princess" term is used so much because it just sounds better. A princess is normally an active young adult who is still experiencing adventure and not sitting down on a throne everyday. That's why I'm very excited for Skyward Sword, because it seems like you will have a LOT more interaction with Zelda, not just setting out on a quest to save her. Because in my opinion, that's the thing that makes Super Mario and LoZ SO similar. Mario saves the princess from Bowser, Link saves the princess from Ganandorf. But, in Super Mario, the game was named after him, not the princess :P haha. I also would love Miyamoto to add the king and queen into the plot. But, what I was trying to say is, princess is the term used because it is the class in the royal pyramid that fits the same age group as link, and, it just sounds better, whether it's appropriate or not. :P

But that doesn't say anything about the oddities of the government. Besides the Gorons interacting with Kakriko Village, I think the separate groups should interact with eachother, and one of the games should include some kind of Civil War. Wouldn't that be interesting? It's something Miyamoto would include to make a VERY interesting plot in one of the future games. It will also support the fact that Hyrule is not only a government, but a community.
 

LordKorloros

Jared Moore
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Location
Ohio
I say it's a capitalist since there ares shops eveywhere and if I'm correct, trade caravans always going to and from hyrule castle.
 

r2d93

Hero of the Stars
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
Location
Lost Woods
It is a monarchy. An i disagree that the King has no power. A king did unify Hyrule under one banner. Also the king ordered Ganondorf to be executed. We don't know how much power he dos have seeing as we haven't seen much activity from the king.

If I had to choose from that list Id say Socialist because while there is a king, there are multiple sole proprietorships in Hyrule.
 

guapo2003

The incomparable legend
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
Location
Temple of Light
I believe it is a capitalist just because everything is based on the economy of Hyrule. Such as buildings, shops and so forth. You have to buy in order to make a living therefore I can't see it being any other way.
 

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