Origins of Darkness: Theories Regarding the “Nega-Triforce”

The Zelda theorizing community is still trying to recover from Iwata’s shocking revelation of a new, fully-separate Triforce present in the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. We discussed the possibility of such an idea having been present in previous games here, but now it’s time to delve a little deeper into this sudden mystery.

What exactly is the “Nega-Triforce”? Is it truly a different Triforce for a different world, fashioned by said world’s own variant of the three goddesses, or might it be something more sinister? If thematic points from previous games are to be taken into account, the evidence definitely points to the latter.

What evidence, you ask?

While there have (obviously) been no direct revelations regarding a distinct Nega-Triforce, a very similar concept raised its head in Oracle of Ages/Seasons, when the witches Koume and Kotake attempted to resurrect Ganon in those games’ secret ending. The ritual for resurrection called upon an intriguing idea that we hadn’t seen before nor have seen since.

In this ending sequence, it is revealed that Koume and Kotake were the instigators behind the events of both games, utilizing the chaos of the world in both Labrynna and Holodrum to light two of three “Flames” – the Flame of Destruction, and the Flame of Sorrow. Their reasoning for kidnapping Zelda earlier on is also revealed; they plan to sacrifice her to light the third flame, the Flame of Despair. Ultimately this plan fails, as they are defeated and end up using their own bodies as the sacrifice, and even then it only results in summoning a mindless beast that happens to look like Ganon.

This near-throwaway secret ending comes with a surprisingly large thematic wallop taking into account what we know of both the overarching series timeline and the lore of A Link Between Worlds. Said game takes place a few generations after A Link to the Past – which in “timeline speak” translates to “in between Link’s world-hopping journeys (Oracles, Link’s Awakening) and before Ganon was resurrected to wreak havoc anew before the events of the first game”. While we can’t be sure where exactly A Link Between Worlds falls on the timeline quite yet, it’s important to remember that the period between A Link to the Past and The Legend of Zelda was considered a golden age, where the kings of Hyrule had access to the Triforce and used it to better the lives of the people.

Well, where did we end off in A Link to the Past before Link went out to journey far and wide? In the opening scene of Oracle of Ages/Seasons, we see that the Triforce currently resided in none other than Hyrule Castle – a heavy implication that the fabled “golden age” had already begun. So assuming that, since the king must have had constant access to the Triforce, this period marked the beginning of the golden age, A Link Between Worlds would therefore take place in this same period.

But it’s not all candy and rainbows (can’t believe I just wrote that phrase) in the world of Hyrule. There’s a reason this particular branch is called the “Downfall Timeline” – the golden age comes to an end when Ganon is resurrected and the old wars begin anew, and he weaves a tapestry of destruction that shakes the kingdom to its very core (yes, there’s actually a reason beyond graphical limitations why everyone’s living in caves in the first Zelda).

Continuing this line of logical deduction, it seems a safe bet that A Link Between Worlds – taking so much inspiration from its predecessor down to the point where the overworlds are the same – will have Ganon as the antagonist. Considering that the Triforce has been proudly located in Hyrule Castle during this time, it would therefore follow that A Link Between Worlds chronicles the fall of the golden age and the return of Ganon.

That… sounds a bit harsh, but unless the plan is to either have yet another “return of Ganon/Ganon Sealed/return of Ganon” awkwardly thrown in there, or to retcon Hyrule Historia so soon after its release – or, least likely of all, come up with a new antagonist (zing!) – nothing else quite fits. It also wouldn’t exactly be the first time this particular timeline branch would be marked with misery. I mean, it kicked off with the Hero of Time’s death, features a game for which the conclusion is the mass death of every character you’ve grown attached to, and is officially called the “Downfall Timeline” – it’s like Nintendo’s punching grounds to throw the Zelda universe into utter misery, and kicking off the end of the golden age as a conclusion sounds pretty much in line with this entire branch so far.

But getting away from timeline shenanigans for a moment – how exactly does Ganon get resurrected? We already know he’s present in the events of A Link Between Worlds due to a little snippet of conversation viewable in that last Nintendo Direct, but in there it says he was “sealed” at the end of A Link to the Past, which is decidedly not what happened when Link destroyed him and he exploded into golden dust the last time I checked.

Assuming that there’s a bit of retconning here and not yet another Ganon resurrection/Ganon sealing in between Link’s Awakening and this game, this still means Ganon has to come back in some way – we know from A Link to the Past and Twilight Princess that Ganon can’t just waltz out of his seals by himself. No, he needs outside help, or some kind of impetus.

In comes the Nega-Triforce, perhaps?

The “Dark World” of A Link Between Worlds is a real wrench thrown into the mix, since the Dark World of A Link to the Past was reverted back to its original Sacred Realm state per the ending of that game. Are we about to witness another retcon (seeing as there’s already been one regarding Ganon), or might this in fact be a different Dark World instead of the corrupted Golden Land of past games?

Well, interestingly enough, there is one “Dark World” in particular that comes to mind regarding all of this – and no, it’s not the Shadow Realm of Four Swords Adventures.

It all stems from this question: where did Demise and his demon army come from, and why does he adorn his blade with an upside-down dark Triforce?

Skyward Sword goes to interestingly great lengths to establish the idea of a sort of demonic empire in the Zelda universe, ostensibly ruled from “under the earth”. These were the armies that besieged the forces of good in the great war generations before the events of Skyward Sword, and their leader bears a dark rendition of the Master Sword bearing the very same “Nega-Triforce” symbol as seen in the logo of A Link Between Worlds.

Could it be that this is the Dark World of this next game? Will this Dark Triforce play into Ganon’s release… and what are the odds that its component parts are “Sorrow”, “Destruction” and “Despair” as a call-back to a game on this very same timeline branch? Only time will reveal the answers to these questions – when Nintendo reveals a new Triforce, everything is on the table.

Stay tuned for further articles delving into A Link Between Worlds, and comment away!