Why are there so many Malons? And who is Marin?

[GZ Zelda]

I am once against looking for help as I am basically completely lost.

Why are there so many Malons? Like I get the "it's nice to see a familiar face," but how is the exact same archetype popping up over centuries of time.

Ganon, I get, Link, I get, Zelda, I get. But Malon? A Minish Cap era Malon, an Four Swords Adventures era Malon, OoT Malon, an Oracles/ALttP era Malon. Is it Malanya reincarnate (Malan...Malon...coincifrickingdence)? Are they descendants of each other? If so, where'd the FSA one come from when there wasn't one in TP? Was it Ilia's kid? Then why isn't Ilia named Malon? Probably Malanya reincarnate right?

And what's going on with the mixed symbolism. Marin and Tarin were the basis for Malon and Talon, but Marin is compared to Zelda, and Aryll, WW Link's sister, has an affinity for seagulls/the same floral pattern as Marin. So is Marin a Zelda incarnate, an Aryll incarnate (the implications are incesty), or a Malon incarnate?

I'd say Malon incarnate, but that would only be possible if we use the HH (or linear) timeline. If we use the ZE (and developer intention) it's Zelda, but that doesn't explain the fascination with seagulls and her flower-patterned dress (Aryll-specific traits), which really doesn't conform to any continuity. Maybe it's a coincidence that Aryll and Marin are so similar, and so directly connected to two totally different Links?

Maybe it's the same spirit reincarnating in different forms throughout time, like the spirit of the partner? The Hero, the Princess, the Demon, the Partner? It's a quadrangle of reincarnation. Or Malon's spirit became so bound to Link in Minish Cap that she became a part of the reincarnation loop via him? That one doesn't make as much sense.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

malon's not the only one, there's several reoccurring NPCs across all the games

its just easy to say they're all descendants and reincarnations, just for the sake of having some familiar faces across different eras

 

[Chevywolf30]

Maybe Nintendo doesn't have much creativity when naming their ranch girls. Maybe the Zelda multiverse is a thing.

 

[Fraxinus]

Even if they can be said to fall on a timeline, it's possible the games are roughly retellings of the same "legend" and that's why they follow a similar blueprint, including why a lot of the npcs are the same. Same story, with slightly different elements and setting.

 

[Link&Midna]

Maybe it's just a popular name among ranchers in Hyrule, and maybe they all look similar because they all descend from the same Medici-style ranch family... thats headcanon territory but hey worth thinkin about

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

Nostalgia, I'd guess. It's a familiar name and lets fans instantly latch onto an old character reappearing in a new game without Nintendo needing to do anything new to establish them.

 

[Moblinking5000]

For the same reasons why there's multiple Links/Zeldas(and Ganons thanks to Ganon II from FSA), I suppose; reincarnated people in the series seem to have the same names from lifetime to lifetime, perhaps through destiny(although multiple Zeldas exist at the same time in the era of the NES titles, that can be explained by the naming tradition established prior to those games as mentioned in the Zelda 2 backstory; the tradition isn't a law in other parts of the timeline though, so we can use the reincarnation explanation in those parts of the timeline).

As for Marin, the manual confirms that she's the doppelganger of Princess Zelda(the one from ALttP, since LA Link is ALttP Link).

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Even if they can be said to fall on a timeline, it's possible the games are roughly retellings of the same "legend" and that's why they follow a similar blueprint, including why a lot of the npcs are the same. Same story, with slightly different elements and setting.

To be honest, Breath of the Wild makes something like this seem more likely.

 

[Moblinking5000]

To be honest, Breath of the Wild makes something like this seem more likely.

How? If they fall on a timeline, how can they be retellings? The games are explicitly not retellings of the same legend. The Wind Waker constantly mentions the events of OoT as having happened in the past, with constant references to the Hero of Time and the stained glass windows of the sages, ALttP was promoted as a prequel to the NES games, and even BotW mentions the sages from OoT having once sealed Ganon long ago, just as some examples. And are you really going to tell me that Phantom Hourglass is a retelling of The Wind Waker, or that Majora's Mask is a retelling of Ocarina of Time when they are obvious sequels to their respective games featuring the same Link and even take place in a seperate land from Hyrule?

With all due respect, the whole idea of each game just being a retelling is easily disprovable by reading developer interviews, looking at the official timeline, or even just playing the games as demonstrated by the examples above.

 

[Uwu_Oocoo2]

Why are there so many Tingles, or Beedles or Dampes? It's probably best chalked down to Easter eggs, game devs like tossing in stuff they think will give us good nostalgia. I don't think it would be a "helper" reincarnation considering we don't really see anyone like that in SS. Gotta say, I never thought of the Aryll or Malanya connections though

 

[Ryuu Kage Desu]

I don't think it would be a "helper" reincarnation considering we don't really see anyone like that in SS.

Two ways immediately come to mind, to help with the reincarnation idea. One is to say that everyone reincarnates, and some times we see new faces, simply because they were somewhere else before. If that one doesn't work for you, it could be that as time goes on, individuals get caught up in the cycle, but that requires an additional explanation as to what is driving the reincarnation. It would probably the whole curse thing, meaning that the curse gets stronger over time.

 

[GZ Zelda]

I don't think it would be a "helper" reincarnation considering we don't really see anyone like that in SS

My theory is Orielle and Parrow are the beginning of the cycle. Orielle has an affection for Loftwings, seemingly more than other residents of Skyloft, much like Malon's affection for horses or Aryll/Marin's affection for seagulls. Orielle also has big dreams, just like Marin, but Zelda is the thing stopping them (Zelda plays the Goddess in the festival when Orielle wanted to, and Marin can't be with Link because Link needs to get back to Hyrule). Also, in a reversal of Talon in the Mysterious Woods, Parrow (her brother, not her father) asks Link to seek her out.

With all due respect, the whole idea of each game just being a retelling is easily disprovable by reading developer interviews, looking at the official timeline, or even just playing the games as demonstrated by the examples above.

This doesn't disprove the idea that these are all bad retellings that have been woven into an order, kind of like the Bible. This gets into bigger questions regarding trustworthy narrators and real-life mythological texts vs. historical texts, but it is entirely possible that there were events similar to those depicted in-game and also they are all based on familiar Hyrulean/human archetypal structures (the Goddes become woman, the courageous hero myth, the myth of the demon king, the farm girl, the loyal servant (Impa)) etc. It can be both.

Maybe it's just a popular name among ranchers in Hyrule, and maybe they all look similar because they all descend from the same Medici-style ranch family... thats headcanon territory but hey worth thinkin about

I like this. Beetle-sellers are traditionally named Beedle, forest boys named Link, ranchers named Malon, cuccoo farmers named Anju.

Also, IMPA? Impa's even more recurring than Malon. Why? How? She's in the loop too? This reincarnation loop is like a glacier, picking up everyone that gets caught in it.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

How? If they fall on a timeline, how can they be retellings? The games are explicitly not retellings of the same legend. The Wind Waker constantly mentions the events of OoT as having happened in the past, with constant references to the Hero of Time and the stained glass windows of the sages, ALttP was promoted as a prequel to the NES games, and even BotW mentions the sages from OoT having once sealed Ganon long ago, just as some examples. And are you really going to tell me that Phantom Hourglass is a retelling of The Wind Waker, or that Majora's Mask is a retelling of Ocarina of Time when they are obvious sequels to their respective games featuring the same Link and even take place in a seperate land from Hyrule?

With all due respect, the whole idea of each game just being a retelling is easily disprovable by reading developer interviews, looking at the official timeline, or even just playing the games as demonstrated by the examples above.

I mean like in a disconnected sense. For example, one time when I was on Eventide Island in BotW I thought maybe people saw this Island and thought, hey it looks like there is an egg ontop of that mountain, and since there are frequently rainbows over Eventide, maybe they created a myth about that?

I do subscribe to the timeline though, and I think the games do connect, but these are thoughts that have crossed my mind regardless, and I don't think it's bad to have thought excercises like this to be more flexible as a theorist. I can't prove these ideas though and that's what makes it different from being a real theory. Sometimes I like to try toppling my theories on purpose, you know? If I can't topple them than that just means what I came up with is pretty solid.

 

[Moblinking5000]

I mean like in a disconnected sense. For example, one time when I was on Eventide Island in BotW I thought maybe people saw this Island and thought, hey it looks like there is an egg ontop of that mountain, and since there are frequently rainbows over Eventide, maybe they created a myth about that?

It looks a lot like Koholint, but due to its nature(different name, not existing in a dream, etc.) it's probably just a meta reference at best.

and I think the games do connect, but these are thoughts that have crossed my mind regardless, and I don't think it's bad to have thought excercises like this to be more flexible as a theorist. I can't prove these ideas though and that's what makes it different from being a real theory. Sometines I like to try toppling my theories on purpose, you know? If I can't topple them than that just means what I came up with is pretty solid

I certainly agree with the overall point here; you should always reassess and question your ideas to see if they hold water, and being open to new ideas is important, but not all ideas are equally valid from a logic and/or evidence based perspective. Some theories are better supported and plausible than others, and the Literal Legend theory is not a good example of a valid theory, IMO. It doesn't hold up to scrutiny, and falls to pieces thanks to, among MANY other things, the first five minutes of The Wind Waker.

This doesn't disprove the idea that these are all bad retellings that have been woven into an order, kind of like the Bible. This gets into bigger questions regarding trustworthy narrators and real-life mythological texts vs. historical texts, but it is entirely possible that there were events similar to those depicted in-game and also they are all based on familiar Hyrulean/human archetypal structures (the Goddes become woman, the courageous hero myth, the myth of the demon king, the farm girl, the loyal servant (Impa)) etc. It can be both.

What about games like Link's Awakening that don't have many of these archetypes?

 

[Uwu_Oocoo2]

Two ways immediately come to mind, to help with the reincarnation idea. One is to say that everyone reincarnates, and some times we see new faces, simply because they were somewhere else before. If that one doesn't work for you, it could be that as time goes on, individuals get caught up in the cycle, but that requires an additional explanation as to what is driving the reincarnation. It would probably the whole curse thing, meaning that the curse gets stronger over time.

I think the second point t here is really interesting. The curse starts with link, zelda, and demise's malice, then over time begins to affect more people. We see recurring characters such as Malon/Marin, and recurring themes such as Mipha being in love with Link like Princess Ruto. There's no basis for it that I can see without further study,but it is something interesting to think about.