Volume IV: Q & A
Q:
Why would the Oracle games happen after ALttP and not AoL? Aren't the necessary conditions met
after both games?
A: (Major Spoilers)
That's true, the Oracle games could happen after either AoL or ALttP. In both Ganon is dead and
the Triforce is united by Link; however Ages sends you 400 years back in time when Jabu Jabu
was still very small (presumably before OoT). We know the Oracle games necessarily take place
after OoT and the first game in which Ganon was killed and the Triforce united, ALttP; putting
the first two Zelda games too in that time lapse would be too much for a mere 400 years,
especially now that we also need to add TP and FSA. Also the ending to the Oracle games seems to
lead into Link's Awakening, a game whose (English) manual foretells Ganon's return (or further
hardships for Hyrule, anyway), so placing them last in a timeline would not give it much closure.
Besides, the rule introduced by ALttP that the Triforce only obeys the first who touches it,
already brought us to theorize that another Zelda was born and placed into Eternal Sleep between
ALttP and AoL (even more convenient, the adventure is far from Hyrule, so this Zelda can very
well have a brother). And AoL makes Link a king ruling with the Triforce, which is a far better
way to close the series.
One may argue that most characters in these games' artworks have no pointy ears and that this
would mean they happen after the blood of the Hylia has grown even thinner than in previous
games, but this is not the case: the people only have rounded ears because they are not from
Hyrule. Proof of this is that even those who live in Labrynna 400 years in the past, likely
before OoT, have the same rounded ears.
Q:
How come the Oracle games (as well as FSA and MC) feature characters originally from games set in
another age (OoT and MM) other than a new Link, a new Zelda, a new Impa, the witches and Ganon?
A:
That's what happens when marketing meets lazyness. Basically Capcom figured out that by re-using
characters from those games they would both save the design time and attract players of said
games. Naturally this makes little sense plot wise, but when has that been a problem?
As far as we fans are concerned, we may choose to dismiss that as unimportant, think of those
as descendants/reincarnations of the original characters, or pretend that they are just filler
to make the actual legend more lively (rather than part of the "hystorical account").
Q:
Why tell the story of Seasons first?
A: (Caution spoilers)
I could have been more vague and say that it is not known which of his quests the Hero of the
Essences undertook first (and in fact it isn't), or I could have told of Ages first since it
would make more sense for Link to help the possesed Impa without her suspicious inability to
recognize her friend and it would spare us some paradoxes like Rosa appearing 400 years in the
past (maybe an unaware victim of Veran's meddling?). But playing the games that way, one will
witness King Zora reveal the broken Noble Sword you obtain from an old Zora (and have some hermit
fix), to be the Master Sword which really makes no sense. Why would broken Master Sword be in
the possession of an old Zora from Labrynna? (Note that TWW had not been released yet) And how
would King Zora have anything to do with all this?
Playing Season first instead, you'll obtain the Master Sword after being tested by an old man
in green robes. It still doesn't really explain how the legendary blade got to you, but it's
more mysterious and allows for the player to imagine an explanation on his own.
Personally, I like the idea that it could be a previous Link that went to the future so the
present Link could borrow the sword of evil's bane, and that then took it back in his own time
(so the sword can still sleep forever after ALttP). But of course, that's just what I like to
think, not what I believe the story writers were thinking of, hence why it's being speculated
here and not stated in the Oracles' page.
Q:
What about the familiar symbols on Onox and Veran?
A: (minor spoilers)
Veran has the (new) Gerudo symbol on her clothes for the same reason Onox does: they serve
Twinrova. Additionally, Veran also has a variation of the Sheikah symbol, and in her room atop
the Dark Tower are pillars with the very same symbol of Aghanim. This isn't really surprising,
for she is the Sorceress of Shadows and the original owners of that symbol were the shadow
folk. In fact, I'd deem it likely for Veran to really be a Sheikah.
Q:
How did those witches return?
A: (minor spoilers)
Because they were not killed. In OoT's past to which Link returned after his battle against
Ganon, Koume and Kotake were still alive.
Q:
Why is the third flame pink/purple? Normally the set of colors used would be Red, Blue and GREEN,
as the three Goddesses.
A:
It could be because it was lit by kidnapping Zelda and not Farore. Or because it's the color you
obtain when mixing blue and red (the colors of the two Oracle games you must have played and
combined with passwords in order to get there).
Q:
Is this Dark Realm of Onox and Twinrova the same as ALttP's? Did it not vanish?
A: (Caution spoilers)
Supposedly yes, it did: when Link obtained the Triforce Ganon's Dark World was replaced by the
image of Hyrule Link had in his heart. Yet, later in the Oracle games we learn that beings like
Onox still inhabit the place, so I would guess that although more similar to Hyrule it continued
to be a dangerous place inhabited by creatures which settled there during Ganon's rule.
Additionally, Ganon may have somehow reverted it to his Dark World when he came back in Ancient
Stone Tablets. I wouldn't really know how though (since he did not have the Triforce).
Especially since the current owner of the Triforce that rests in Hyrule Castle during Oracles
should be shaping the place... (unless one has to be in it, but Ganondorf wasn't in OoT, if not
for a brief time).
Q:
Okay so if the games happen between ALttP and LoZ, and they show how difficult it is to revive
Ganon that Twinrova had to wreak havoc in two countries, then how does he come back in LoZ?
A: (Caution spoilers)
Perhaps all of that ritual was necessary because Ganon had been completely destroyed and his
soul had moved on to the afterlife. Although Zelda says so, after Oracles this may not be the
case since he was not killed with a Silver Arrow (though in Oracles he didn't have the
Triforce either, so that may be why he was more vulnerable), this might make it more easy to
resurrect him.
Or maybe, despite what Zelda believes, he did not die at all! In the Minish Cap, also made by
Capcom everybody (including Zelda) thinks Vaati is dead after he explodes like Ganon did, but
he comes back for a final showdown. Maybe Ganon survived, but because he was an insane
raging Ganon it took him ages to find his way back into Hyrule (perhaps because he was buried
under the rubble of his keep too). I imagine the issue will never really be touched on again,
leaving it fairly open to interpretation.
Oh and a side note about Vaati: it appears that being revived after MC affected his personality
too (he sounds quite unbalanced in the original FS). Also both Ganon and Vaati are not very
talkative after these resurrection (in LoZ and FSA). Could it be a theme Capcom is going for,
the concept that revival can easily lead to raging (speech-less) madness?
Q:
What's this about two different Link living the adventure in Koholint??
A:
That's just me being miffed at such a pointless and vast retroactive change as the placement of
a game in the timeline ;)
I mean, there are hints for Link's Awakening to happen after both ALttP (as it was originally
meant) and the Oracles.
For ALttP it would be the fact that the game was released immediately after the SNES one (and the
official Japanese site made years later still presents it as a sequel), with the same art style
and clear references in the manual (well some, namely the prophecy of the Legendary Hero, only
in the English manual), as well as a reference to LA made in AST, ALttP's other direct sequel.
For Oracles it would be the fact that they were released shortly after LA DX, that the very same
ship Link has in LA's intro appears in the ending (but then the castle is identical to that of
OoT too) during which the programmers made sure all references to ALttP from LA's manual could
apply to Oracle Link too (even those from the English manual with the prophecy of the legendary
hero thrown in as if they thought "let's make this connection clear also oversea!"), and a
similar art style (with the very same shield).
So rather than arbitrarily choosing one, I found a way to put it after both or either of them.
After all, we can use the prophecy of Ganon's return to introduce the first Zelda game (even though
it's only in the English manual) and Link's absence seems appropriate for Zelda to be cursed
with eternal sleep, so those are good reasons to have it after Oracles; but we also know he was
in Koholint during Ancient Stone Tablets, which happens shortly after ALttP.
