Spoiler Why Don't the Triforces Grant Power?

[j-pod89]

I while back i said I'd post a thread like this. I meant to do it earlier but I didn't have time. Anyway, let's get started.

Some of the comments from the Post I made in World of zelda will help me out in this post. Sombody said that if the triforces had power, they'd each be the triforce of power. True, but that's not exactly what kind of power i'm talking about. I'm talking about the triforces helping you in someway. Somebody else said that after link has the triforce of courage, (in TWW) he shouldn't be frozen in fear because he doesn't have the triforce of courage. I completely agree. Why isn't it like that? If you've beaten any games that link has the triforce of courage, you've seen that he can survive (withe the help of some red faries maybe) without any special courage power. Maybe that's why he doesn't have special powers that come with the triforce. Nintendo just thought it wasn't needed. But of course, (and i've heard this countless times) that's the boring answer. EVERY zelda fan hates an answer like that. To a zelda fan, everything needs to be explained and if an answer has to do with Nintendo, the fan hates it. Maybe some of you aren't like that but from what i've seen in these forums, practicly everyone's like that. Well, I share my theory with another person who posted a comment. This person said that each triforce is showing who the person is. Link having the courage because he's a kid who did some crazy stuff to save Hyrule. Zelda having the wisdom because her dreams give her the wisdom of what's going to happen. And ganon with the power because he wants hyrule and is crazy strong. So the triforces are ways that show who the person is. It also shows that they're decendents of the heroes. To me it makes sense and I can't think of any more possible reasons as to why link isn't scared of anything or zelda can't tell the future. So I guess my work here is done. Hope this helps!

 

[Djinn]

You are referring to Triforces with Power?

For the purposes of an action adventure game, I cannot see what ready abilities the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage could grant. Other than what was mentioned before with redeads not scaring the individual holding the symbol of courage.

Now for telling a story say in a book or movie the available uses of the two triforces could be easily established and defined. But that is because they are not combat oriented. At least not in the sense of using the magical triangles to shoot some unknown divine energy at enemies or protect the user granting superhuman powers.

But when it comes to a game the purpose behind the Triforce of Courage is already given in the form of the player not having any trouble leading Link into dungeons full of monsters and giant creatures to singlehandedly defeat them all. And easily do things like crawl up vines on the sides of mountains and jump from platform to platform above bottomless pits. Any normal person would have questioned ever wanting to do something so insanely suicidal and lost their nerve after just a few jumps over chasms. Players have no fear of actual death so they send Link in anyway regardless of level of danger. But in a story these actions could easily be (or require) explained away as Link carrying the essence of the goddess of courage, so he has no fear of taking on Argorock after leaping from wall to wall in a city floating miles in the sky. So since the player fills the role of a perfectly fearless Link it is very hard to actually invent anything more the Triforce could grant him.

When it comes to Zelda carrying the Triforce of Wisdom it becomes even harder to define. We already see very little of Zelda in each game as the hero is Link. And Zelda only appears to advance the story between dungeons at the most. So we cannot be completely certain exactly what she has gained from her piece of the triforce. Obviously she does not gain any superhuman abilities as she is still overpowered by Ganondorf and his Triforce of Power. It is her position in the game to be captured and then be the reason behind Link's adventure. So any extra magical or physical abilities would undermine her place in the scheme of things throughout the series. So we rationalize that the Triforce of Wisdom grants amazing insight and good judgment, but cannot counter the Triforce of Power and it's wielder at all.

But we do know from Link to the Past and Wind Waker that the combination of the three Triforces are capable of granting any wish. So it might be that the pieces actually power each other making the complete Triforce much more powerful. and not just a Power/Wisdom/Courage combination. But courage amplified by power and guided by wisdom, Power given wisdom to do what is right and courage to act upon it, and wisdom granted the power and courage to follow through.

The closest example of what I am trying to say is actually with something found in comics. The Infinity Gems in Marvel comics follow a similar method.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_Gems

Owning every gem makes the owner the most powerful being in existence, while each gem only gives one or two powers each. The Power Gem makes the user strong and durable, the space gem gives the user the ability to teleport, the soul gem gives the user master over spirits, the time gem allows the user to time travel, the mind gem gives the user psychic abilities, and the reality makes imagination become real or unmake reality. Now it is the combination of gems that creates many more abilities. Time can only time travel, but time+power can create time loops, warp time itself, etc. Mind only gives psychic abilities, but mind+space means the user can see what is on anyone's mind anywhere, while time+mind+space means all of space and history or future. Soul+reality+power can make or unmake life anywhere.

This was just an example meant to drive my point. That the combination of Triforces are what makes them the supreme power by combining their properties together. But owning just one piece might not grant exactly 1/3 of that overall power. The powers granted by Wisdom and Courage are not all together flashy and amazing in appearance, nor is it perfectly equal to 1/3 of a granted wish. So that might be why it appears that no extra abilities are given to the player.

 

[T Edoc]

In the french and german translations of the games, it says ''Triforce of Strenght'', not ''Triforce of Power''.
The definition of ''Power'' as used in the english version probably is ''Big Strenght''.
Of course, like many other words, it comes from the original game, miss-translated in many points.
(Really, 'Darknut' sounds dummy...Why not 'Dark Knight'? :-)

Of course Ganondorf doesn't do only things related to strenght, but since he already was a magic-wielder, I guess the triforce enhanced his powers.

I guess Link has more courage from the moment he possesses the triforce of courage. The bosses and temples get harder and harder so a triforce of courage comes in handy.
But I don't think 'courage' means 'no-fear' anyway. It probably means 'Face even if we fear'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courage
Of course Link already has courage before getting it, since the trifroce usualy goes to the person who best represents its force in the world.

But when it comes to a game the purpose behind the Triforce of Courage is already given in the form of the player not having any trouble leading Link into dungeons full of monsters and giant creatures to singlehandedly defeat them all. And easily do things like crawl up vines on the sides of mountains and jump from platform to platform above bottomless pits. Any normal person would have questioned ever wanting to do something so insanely suicidal and lost their nerve after just a few jumps over chasms. Players have no fear of actual death so they send Link in anyway regardless of level of danger. But in a story these actions could easily be (or require) explained away as Link carrying the essence of the goddess of courage, so he has no fear of taking on Argorock after leaping from wall to wall in a city floating miles in the sky. So since the player fills the role of a perfectly fearless Link it is very hard to actually invent anything more the Triforce could grant him.

I agree.