Should Link's Bird Replace Epona?

[Cuju]

I think that fresh ideas are gonna be of huge importance, and I think that having the bird alongside Epona would be pointless. I much rather we let Link's new plumed stead to shine in this game.

What do you think? Should the Bird replace Epona in Skyward Sword, or should they both be present, since we've heard nothing that says otherwise?

 

[CrazyforCuckoos]

I think the bird should be present in Skyloft and Epona present in Hyrule. For air and land travel.

 

[Hero of Time]

I doubt we'll be seeing Epona. In all 3 games that Epona's in, she's held in a ranch before Link gets her. With it almost confirmed that no one has been to the land below besides already existing races such as Gorons and Mogmas, there seems to be no way for horses to be in the game at all unless they roam free about the fields.

Also, it's been said that the whole game is like a dungeon, therefore long expanses of land will probably not be seen, dubbing Epona worthless.

I'm happy with only having the bird and walking across the land. To me, the bird flying seems really fun and intuitive and I don't want it to be limited because of horse-riding. I'd be OK with having both, but I'd prefer to only have the bird, and I also think we will only have the bird.

 

[Cuju]

I also hope that we'll be able to soar over Hyrule, yet under the clouds. That would make the game so awsomely awsome! I think I heard somewere in an interview that Link's Bird is special because it can go beneath the clouds, does anyone know which interview that was from? I think it was the same one were he mentioned the game's school.

 

[Ventus]

I believe that is the same interview as well. I don't agree with Epona not being in the game, however. I'm a semi-purist, so while new ideas are welcome, they can't destroy the already existing ideas. We're below the clouds, why WOULDN'T we have a horse or some sorta steed to take us across the land below? With the Loftbird, I think the flight would cause a bellowing sound throughout the land, which would only serve to further anger the entities below, and also eventually lead to height limitations when flying.

/jokeaboutairplanes

Honestly, I want both in the game. If I had to choose, it would be Epona, but I can't so who really cares. The bird sounds nice, but I can't help but feel it'll have some fatal flaw that makes Epona ever so slightly better, but that's my thought on the matter.

 

[Djinn]

I do not expect to see Epona in this game at all. I assumed the sky bird will hold a similar role as the alternate transportation much like the King of Red Lions in WW or the Spirit Train in ST. Basically as something different for this game to give it a little bit of flavor aside from the usual modes of transportation seen many times in the past.

However I am not so sure if the bird will be used as a form of transportation below the clouds. It does sound possible but we have not seen any gameplay displaying it. Even though we have seen very little ground level gameplay overall. I am already interested in more information about the ground in SS since we now know more about Skyloft. So far there have been no screenshots of Link riding anything else nor any official artwork depicting Epona. Going by that I do not think we will be seeing any horses. However that could change the closer we get to the release date and more information is leaked. From what I understand the bird is for transportation around the sky while Phi will transport Link between the ground and sky levels.

 

[Maikeru]

Yeah, I think the bird should replace Epona, at least for this game. It would be nice to travel by foot again. I wouldn't be disappointed either way.

Also, unless OoT Epona has parents, or ancestors, I don't see it happening. She was a baby horse in OoT.

 

[Cuju]

Yeah, I think the bird should replace Epona, at least for this game. It would be nice to travel by foot again. I wouldn't be disappointed either way.

Also, unless OoT Epona has parents, or ancestors, I don't see it happening. She was a baby horse in OoT.

Thre's a weird tradition in the Zelda series were ancestors, or even unrelated things, are named the same as they're descendants. The dev team doesn't rely on the timeline too much when waking it's games.

 

[Maikeru]

True, since Epona was in Twilight Princess.

Still seems unlikely, since I'm assuming this will be taking place at a time when life on the world below, aside from monsters, is obsolete. Horses would usually have someone to take care of them. I don't know though, it could happens, I believe this will be the bird's game though.

 

[nicktheslayer]

I doubt we'll be seeing Epona. In all 3 games that Epona's in, she's held in a ranch before Link gets her. With it almost confirmed that no one has been to the land below besides already existing races such as Gorons and Mogmas, there seems to be no way for horses to be in the game at all unless they roam free about the fields.

Also, it's been said that the whole game is like a dungeon, therefore long expanses of land will probably not be seen, dubbing Epona worthless.

I'm happy with only having the bird and walking across the land. To me, the bird flying seems really fun and intuitive and I don't want it to be limited because of horse-riding. I'd be OK with having both, but I'd prefer to only have the bird, and I also think we will only have the bird.

She's in at least at least 6 games. And shes ridable in 4.


But i do see your points. The biggest reason i dont think we'll have Epona is that its confirmed theyre going for a "smaller, more concentrated hyrule", as opposed to Twilight Princess's open and bland Hyrule. If it's that small, we might not need her at all. But it would be nice, i love horse riding.

Also, unless OoT Epona has parents...

How would she NOT have parents? o-o

 

[Maikeru]

How would she NOT have parents? o-o

The first horse had to come along some time in the family tree. :O

 

[cvBon]

I think in this game, because it is said to technically be the first in the series, that no Epona would be fine, just because of the fact he's fro Skyloft, and not Hyrule. Then, when the Hero of Time comes along, he has Epona, and she stays with him. though it will be sad to not be able to have Epona in this game, I think technically it would appropriate to have just his bird because Epona has yet to be introduced into the legend.

 

[Fullmetal]

I think that having a nice balance of both the bird and Epona would be good. Horse Riding + Bird Riding = Awesome!

 

[Ronin]

I would want Link's bird for air-travel and Epona for the ground. If they left Epona out, I would really miss using her to run over bokogoblins.

 

[Hero of Time]

She's in at least at least 6 games. And shes ridable in 4.

Oops, I only counted the 3D games she's in.D: My bad.

But i do see your points. The biggest reason i dont think we'll have Epona is that its confirmed theyre going for a "smaller, more concentrated hyrule", as opposed to Twilight Princess's open and bland Hyrule. If it's that small, we might not need her at all. But it would be nice, i love horse riding.

Yes. And, to further expand upon that point, it's been said that the whole game is like a dungeon. I doubt we'll be riding a horse for five minutes while travelling between locations if the game is meant to be more continuous and have a better flow. Besides sidequests, Epona probably won't be necessary.

Also, I don't want Epona to steal the bird's thunder. After all, this whole game is about the sky and traveling to and from the sky. The bird will be fun to use in the sky overworld, and I wouldn't like the rather plain mechanics of riding a horse around barren fields to take away from the bird flying segments. So, yes, for this game I want the bird and only the bird.