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Why/How Did Zoras Turn to Ritos?

Locke

Hegemon
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Location
Redmond, Washington
My theory is posted here. (Ignore the SS stuff...this was posted a long time ago.)

I think the main reason for the change was to keep Hyrule secret. I also see the saltwater as a possibility. However, I don't believe that there are no fish in the sea. Ganondorf's speech sounded more like a metaphor for Tetra's insecurities to me.

Another interesting theory I posted there is that Jabu-Jabu moved to Lake Hylia, either by divine command or for safety from Ganondorf, but only some of the Zora followed him. When the time of the flood came around and Din had to create mountains, she created Greatfish Isle (which happens to be just north of Lake Hylia if you combine OoT's and WW's maps, iirc) to be Jabun's new home (still not sure why he would have changed his name). So the Zora that followed him climbed that moutain while the others climbed Death Mountain, and all of them were made to be land-dwellers by Farore in order to maintain Hyrule's secrecy. The Zora on Death Mountain were given wings via Valoo's sales, while the Zora on Greatfish remained in their finless, wingless form until they were destroyed by Ganondorf during WW. I think they would have looked just as normal as Link.
 

Majora16

KOOLOO-LIMPAH!
Joined
Jun 2, 2010
Location
Windfall Island
The only games I've played with Zoras living in the ocean was MM and that was a PARALLEL DIMENSION. Everything was different. Were there Sea Zoras in other games that I don't know of?
 

Locke

Hegemon
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Location
Redmond, Washington
I don't really know how the Zora's evoled into Rito but hey if Dinosaurs can evolve into birds so can zora's
The flood happened suddenly. If they were put in a position in which they were forced to change (whatever the reason) they would have died out unless that change happened nearly instantly (within one or two generations).
 

Clucluclu

Time for waffles
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Location
Los Angeles
I don't think the original inhabitants of greatfish isle were Zora. This is mainly because of the presence of boats. I don't think that the Zoras would have needed boats unless they wanted protection from Gyrogs, however, based on the Zora's abilities as displayed in MM, I don't think the Gyrogs would have been an issue.
 

Linebeck1000

Legendary Captain
Joined
May 16, 2010
Location
Misery Mire
I don't tend to believe the Zora "evolved" in the darwinist meaning of the word... I prefer to think they were transformed into the Rito through magic. Wasn't the word "evolved" only used in the English versions of the game? I don't consider that canon. Magic makes more sense in this context, given that the world of Zelda is full of it and lacks much science and technology. I just don't think that a concept as modern (not to mention controversial) as evolution belongs in a Zelda game, and I don't think that was Nintendo's original intention.

And, like Locke64 said, it's not possible for the Zora to "evolve" in the darwinist meaning of the word in such a small amount of time.
 
I am not so sure if the Zoras evolved, but a lot of people say the Kokiri evolved into the Koroks. CORRECTION! They gave up their humanoid forms magicaly so they can fly using the Deku Leaves. So if Lineback1000 is right, and they were magicaly turned into birds, then that would make sence.
 

Zeruda

Mother Hyrule
Joined
May 17, 2009
Location
on a crumbling throne
You know.... there have been a couple of threads regarding this question. Try using the search and you will find the various threads. Anyway, I've already answered this question numerous time, but allow me to quote myself quoting myself:

I'm just gonna go ahead and quote myself on another post I made a while ago. The article is mainly about the Rito tribe, but information on the Koroks is mentioned as well:
rito.png


青沼 「時のオカリナ」に登場したゾーラ族の進化した形がリト族で、コキリ族が森から離れてコログ族になった、という設定です。見た目はまるで違います が、血は継承されています。
AONUMA: We created the Rito as the evolved form of the Zora that appeared in "Ocarina of Time" and the Koroks as what the Kokiri became once they left the forest. They appear different, but they have inherited their blood.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laruto: "O great hero, chosen by the Master Sword! My name is Laruto. I am a Zora sage. For an age, I offered my prayers here in the Earth Temple, praying that the power to repel evil would ever remain within the Master Sword. And yet... unfortunately, due to Ganondorf's evil designs, the Master Sword you hold has lost this power. After his defeat at the hands of the Hero of Time, Ganondorf was sealed away... but not for all time. He was revived, and he returned to Hyrule in a red wrath. He attacked this temple and stole my soul, knowing that he had to remove the power contained in that enchanted blade. In order to return the power to repel evil to your sword, you must find another to take my stead in this temple and ask the gods for their assistance. You must find the one who carries on my bloodline... The one who holds this sacred instrument... Nothing can stop the flow of time or the passing of generations... but the fate carried within my bloodline endures the ravages of all the years. It survives. The song you just conducted is one which will open the eyes of the new sage and awaken within that sage the melody that will carry our prayers to the gods. The door that blocks your way will only open when the sage plays that song. May the winds of fortune blow with you."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Medli: "Just now, a sage spoke to me. She spoke so gently... There is something... something I must do. Link... Thanks to you, I've been awakened to the knowledge that I'm a sage of the Earth Temple. There's actually something that I can do to help this world. It's incredible... I bet my teacher knew all about this... Link, please... You must take me to the Earth Temple. We must hurry and wake the power to repel evil that sleeps within the Master Sword."
(SOURCE)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...gosh I'm a nerd. Also, fun fact, the Rito tribe was inspired by Akira Himekawa's original Watarara race. As for evolution, it's not so hard to see how those big fins on their arms eventually were able to become wings.


So there you have it.
So there you have it... again. :>

As for why... well, that's how things work. They said it is an evolved form, which implies that magic has nothing to do with it. Things just evolve quickly in the Zelda universe. You can't really apply the rules of the way our real world works to the Zelda world because the Zelda world doesn't try to mimic the real world- it is its very own world.
 
T

TheJosh

Guest
I always assumed the Rito were evolved Gorons due to them being on Death Mountain, in what appears to be the Goron City from Oot. But, I haven't played WW all the way through in ages.
 

Locke

Hegemon
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Location
Redmond, Washington
I don't think the original inhabitants of greatfish isle were Zora. This is mainly because of the presence of boats. I don't think that the Zoras would have needed boats unless they wanted protection from Gyrogs, however, based on the Zora's abilities as displayed in MM, I don't think the Gyrogs would have been an issue.
As I said, they wouldn't have been the amphibious Zora we see in OoT. They'd have lost their mastery of water just like the Rito had, just would have been without Valoo's scales so they wouldn't have wings.

You know.... there have been a couple of threads regarding this question. Try using the search and you will find the various threads. Anyway, I've already answered this question numerous time, but allow me to quote myself quoting myself:


So there you have it... again. :>

As for why... well, that's how things work. They said it is an evolved form, which implies that magic has nothing to do with it. Things just evolve quickly in the Zelda universe. You can't really apply the rules of the way our real world works to the Zelda world because the Zelda world doesn't try to mimic the real world- it is its very own world.
The fins didn't become wings via evolution. The wings were given to them by Valoo.
Technology is said to 'evolve,' but that doesn't mean that people don't intentionally make it better. Evolution can take place by the design of higher beings.
I agree that it is a different universe with different rules. For example, while I don't believe in macroevolution in real life, I don't automatically rule it out as a possibility in the Zelda universe even though I don't think it applies to this particular case.
I did read that interview a while ago and remember thinking that it did something to disprove some part of my theory, but I forgot what it was exactly. I'll have to go find it again.

EDIT:
Eiji Aonuma: In Ocarina of Time, as in most Zelda, we have created a large number of tribes, like the Goron who live in the mountains or the Zoras, people from the water. For the episode "The Wind Waker”, when we chose to situate the action in the middle of the ocean, we immediately felt the need to create a race that can move through the air. During long trips offshore, we needed faster characters capable of transmitting information to Link. It was at that moment that I remembered Watatara clan, you had invented for the adaptation of "Ocarina of Time." In short, I digress a bit about the initials but we are inspired by your work to give birth to Rito Race, creatures that are half-man half-bird that can move very quickly with their wings.

Honda: In fact, we invented this passage to the needs of the manga. But these characters did never appear elsewhere in the world of Zelda. I think we would have been impossible to imagine all this without the great wealth of the series. When we made the decision to add this passage, we wanted to offer a new breed for the players. However, the only characteristic that we had was to fly.

Aonuma: Ha ha ha! We have therefore followed the same reasoning!

Nagano: Indeed, when we reflect on the particularities and details of their lives, only the birds had not yet played a major role in Zelda and only the sky was still uninhabited.
I still don't remember what this disproved... But it is interesting, as you said.
 
Last edited:

Anemos

Master of Chaos
Joined
May 12, 2010
Location
The United States of Hysteria
There are two possible reasons:
Zoras were a strictly fresh-water species so they could not survive in the ocean.

· [FONT=&quot]“Don't think us noble sea Zoras the same as those savage, vulgar river Zoras!”[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

I think that this quotation explains everything I wanted to say...
 

Jedizora

:right:
Joined
Feb 25, 2010
· [FONT=&quot]“Don't think us noble sea Zoras the same as those savage, vulgar river Zoras!”[/FONT]

I think that this quotation explains everything I wanted to say...

Based on that quote, the Zora's in Pre-Wind Waker were river Zora's. By that I mean it saying about different species of Zoras. That gives a reason for them to evolve. The reason is that that they can't live in salt water.
 
Based on that quote, the Zora's in Pre-Wind Waker were river Zora's. By that I mean it saying about different species of Zoras. That gives a reason for them to evolve. The reason is that that they can't live in salt water.
That can not be true since their ancestor sage (name escapes me) is a Sea Zora. Also, in PH (which happens right after TWW), there is a River Zora enemy which looks nothing like the sage. (In ST, the River Zoras reapeared with the name Geozard.) The only game Sea Zoras lived in the Sea were in MM, which is a canonical fact that they can live in salt water. (Not some [air quotes]terminian counterpart[/air quotes] thing.)
 

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