Introduction Q & A
Q:
This site is about BS Zelda, but where is its story?
A:
The original BS The Legend of Zelda, which was made playable through the patches contributed to
this site (and by this site) is, as a matter of fact, a remake of the very first The Legend of
Zelda (thus having almost the same story). You can find it in Volume I Title
1: BS The Legend of Zelda Hyrule Fantasy. After the common events, the page has been divided
in two, to the right are the events as they develop in the original NES game, to the left the
BS Zelda alternative. And here is the first Zelda's Q&A.
Ancient Stone Tablets instead, has an all new story which can be found
here.
Q:
Who are these BS-X mascottes? What do we know about them?
A:
The BS-X mascottes were avatars (one for boys, one for girls) for the user interface of the BS-X
which was in the form of a city through the buildings of which you could access different
services (games, minigames, settings, etc.). As such, the mascottes primarily are meant to
represent the player. Therefore, by having them star in the BS Zelda games (and other less known
games) the programmers intended for these to be a "live your own adventure in Hyrule" sort of
experience (based on this, it could be said the mascottes are from our world since they are meant
to be us, even though the BS-X city looks like a really crazy place).
You would interact through your mascot anytime you turned the BS-X on, so even before or after
playing a game, your character would continue to exist. As such, it would be possible for us to
regard this Hero (of Light, according to AST) character(s) as having had two different adventures
in the land of Hyrule in two different ages (in a later setting first, then an earlier one).
Then again BS The Legend of Zelda, unlike BS The Legend of Zelda Ancient Stone Tablets, doesn't
just add to the stories of existing Zelda games, but by having a hero from another world replace
Link actually rewrites one in part, and this is clearly not canon (at best, the mascot may have
appeared to aid Link in his quest), so it isn't really of much importance whether we assume the
same hero appeared in two different ages or that it was two (one per game) different but alike
looking (as do all Links) heroes since to actually have the mascot in BS LoZ requires to either
consider it not canon or twist the facts presented by the game a bit. Similarly, you may decide
yourself whether they come from our world or a similar one.
Q:
It is a proven fact that there are more than one Link; but are these heroes different persons
or does Link reincarnate?
And what about Zelda?
A:
I always have been for the idea that Link was like Moorcock's Eternal Champion: many bodies for
the same soul. He doesn't remember his past lives but he does have the same spirit as before.
One particular line in The Wind Waker would seem to indicate that Link's spirit keeps being
reborn into the world of Hyrule each time it is threatened.
His profile in Smash Bros can also be proof of this: "Link is the valiant boy hero of The
Legend of Zelda series in which he fights against Ganon to recover the Triforce. Tough his
tools may change with each adventure, his strength and righteousness remain constant."
As you see it refers to him as a single person while speaking of many games (MM was yet to be
released at that time) which are actually listed below: LoZ, LttP and OoT.
Also there is the LttP manga: in the first chapter Zelda decides that Link must be The
Legendary Hero who appears in Hyrule once every hundred years. However, we must not forget,
that the Lttp manga stretches the story a lot, and in fact in LttP it is clearly stated that
When Hyrule is in danger an Hero is destined to appear which seems to refute the one hundred
years time. Still, Smash Bros Melee (and everything else really) seems to accept as canon what
a similar Super Metroid manga also published on Nintendo power revealed; even though that too
didn't follow the story with much accuracy.
This cant be as easily applied to Zelda (not all Zeldas at least), for if you think of the
first and second games, youll immediately remember how there is a time when 2 Zelda exist.
It has however been suggested, that after AoL, by having several Zeldas predate the
establishment of the rule that every princess was to bear the name of the sleping one, Nintendo
may have implied that the rule was previously not necessary because she, like Link Impa and
others (consider the Oracle games, MC and FSA, all apparently indicating reincarnation of
several characters), would normally be reincarnated.
Now with the release of TP, a wrench seems to have been thrown in the conception of Link being
reborn: the Hero's Shade. For a number of reasons, this character is believed by many to be
the spirit of the Hero of Time. These reasons will be further analyzed later.
But even if he was, it's entirely possible that in Hyrule reincarnations are only facets of a
soul, and that under exceptional circumstances these facets of an eternal being could meet (see
Lovecraft's "Through the gates of the Silver Key")
In conclusion, it's really up in the air whether people reincarnate in Hyrule or the Goddesses
are just unimaginative and create different beings with more or less the same looks, roles and
even names (granted mortals pick the names, but it could be destiny set by the gods).
Q:
Hylian, Hyrulian, Hyrulean?
A:
The Hylians were an ancient race whose blood (according to ALttP both manual and game) grew thin
after the Imprisoning War to eventually almost disappear, supposedly as a result of cross
breeding between Hylians and other races.
The still pointy eared current inhabitants of Hyrule refer to themselves as humans, just as
round eared people do (they all are races belonging to the human species, even Hylians). But the
pointy ears still serve to distinguish them as descendants to the native people of Hyrule.
Now while both the terms Hyrulian and Hyrulean refer to anything and anybody the belongs to
Hyrule (whatever species they are), I personally enjoy calling these direct descendants Hyrulians
(as it is closer to Hylian than Hyrulean. Sort of like Roman and Roumanian.), and use the
alternative Hyrulean for what generally belongs in Hyrule, but that's just me.
The Gerudo People and the Wind Tribe too are races of humans. Those that look like us, with round
ears, may be referred to as "common" humans, and are found mostly outside of Hyrule, in the lands
of Holodrum, Labrynna and, in some periods, in the province of Ordon and within Kakariko even.
One could ask if Hylians and their pointy eared descendants are in the end the same race: yes and
no. The idea is that Hylians decayed losing part of their powers, their wisdom and got less
pointed ears; so you could basically say that the race is still around with a different name
(considering how small the differences are).
