39 replies to this topic

[Chiaki]

Link's parents are mentioned briefly in Twilight Princess revealing that Link was orphaned. Link recalls these events even if he does not know what happened to them.

This is according to the wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia....of_Zelda_series ) on Zelda characters...but I don't remember hearing anything about Link's parents anywhere...

Edited by LinksLove, 03 March 2007 - 09:36 PM.

[SteveT]

Hmmm.....amnesia regarding his parentage.

Sounds familiar.

[Keen]

His orphaning was mentioned in Ocarina of Time, but I don't recall much about that in Twilight Princess.

[SOAP]

Well according to Ilia, Link was always there beside her, so we at least know he's always lived in Ordon Village and was always Ilia's friend. We also know Ilia's mother died because Ilia is described as resembling her late mother by her father. So it isn't much of a stretch to assume the same happened to both of Link's parents. It might explain why they're so close.

[Kairu Hakubi]

I'd go ahead and fix that in the wiki article, except I have a -slight- memory of the orphan thing possibly being mentioned by Rusl/Moi or something.. but probably not. It's kinda implied, but then again... hmm...

[MK.]

I pay attention to detail, I recall no direct mention of Link's parents...

[SOAP]

Maybe whoever wrote that confused the reference to Ilia's mother being dead with Link's parent's being dead. Though still it's pretty much implied that they are.

[Kairu Hakubi]

It's a bit odd. Link has his own place, of course, being a young man... but if Ilia actually grew up with Link, not just.. in the last few years.. then he came to this village before striking out on his own as an adult, so to speak... assuming people do things like that.. and that facilitates an orphan situation.
So the question is, I mean, did he have his own house all along, or (more likely by our standards) did he live with one of the other families? No one group seems to be more like his 'family' than the others. He dresses like Rusl/Moi, and his trade is the one Link is closest to, but he's definitely more of an idol than a big brother to Colin.. Hmm.. then again he could easily have moved off to his own place while Colin was still a wee kid.
Oh, DUDE, you know what that reminds me of? There's a cute kid's-crayon-drawing on the wall in Colin's house, which has a mom, a dad, and two kids of different sizes.. My first thought was "aww, Colin drew his family with the new baby already born" but ... perhaps Link drew that? Hrmm.. now I'm... ponderinging..

[SOAP]

I thought that too and now you're making me think. Rusl does seem like a father to Link, though I'm still not sure... It could be possible the Link was an orphan Rusl found on one of his travels and adopted as his own son.

[Hero of Legend]

Link is a Hylian. Rusl isn't. Therefore, Rusl is not Link's father. Same with everyone else in Ordon.

As for Link's parents, I say either SOAP is right and Rusl found him as a child, or Link's parents migrated from Hyrule.

[SOAP]

I'd go for the adopted theory. It eliminates the need of having to explain what happened to Link's parents if they had settled there. It's strange though, that no one in Ordon seems to acknolege Link's Hylian heritage. He's the only one with long ears in the whole village but he's treated like everyone else. Besides the fact that he lives by himself just outside the village.

[Keen]

This brings up another point, that Hylians are, according to Twilight Princess, more human than elven. So that answers one question about the Hylians. There don't seem to be any elves in Legend of Zelda. So being Hylian isn't really much different from being any other sort of human.

[Showsni]

No, it isn't much different. They just happen to be the god's chosen race. Basically, they're like the Israelites in the Old Testament. Still human, but special to the goddesses.

[Kairu Hakubi]

Showsni's right about what Hylians are. Nobody seems to really acknowledge the difference.

This brings up another point, that Hylians are, according to Twilight Princess, more human than elven. So that answers one question about the Hylians. There don't seem to be any elves in Legend of Zelda. So being Hylian isn't really much different from being any other sort of human.

Say what? Did you play the same TP I did? Nobody says the word 'elf' in any zelda game, so how can a race be more-human-than-elven-according-to-TP?
Oh, and SOAP, I wasn't implying that Link was anyone's kid, just that he might have moved to the village on his own, not out of need for a family. We don't know for -sure- that he moved in as a kid... could have been as a mid-teen independent.. guy.. but yeah, I think adopted is more likely.

[Hero of Slime]

In TP the hylia are mentioned just as they were in ALttP. Link in TP is human, it says so multiple times trough out the game. I think that the people of Hyrule at the time of TP and ALttP do not distinguish the people with pointed ears or round ears, both are human. The ones with pointed ears are just have hylian acestry.

Now when it comes to the elf thing. I think that this comes from the original game. Link was made to look like an elf but this was before the races of Zelda were identified in ALttP. There are no elves in Zelda. However I do agree that the Hylian's culture is more human like that it is like the elf culture shown in mythology.

[Keen]

Say what? Did you play the same TP I did? Nobody says the word 'elf' in any zelda game, so how can a race be more-human-than-elven-according-to-TP?

I was only commenting on the fan reaction. I know there are no elves in Zelda. I think fairies might be the only creatures that Legend of Zelda actually took from another mythology.

[Tekky]

In TP the hylia are mentioned just as they were in ALttP. Link in TP is human, it says so multiple times trough out the game. I think that the people of Hyrule at the time of TP and ALttP do not distinguish the people with pointed ears or round ears, both are human. The ones with pointed ears are just have hylian acestry.

Shad calls the pointy eared folk "Hylians", he even says it in the somewhat present tense (excuse my lack of descriptive english, tenses always did elude me. Hence I do science ), something like "We the Hylians" or whatever.

The human term also dates back to MM (all the Terminans were referred to as humans)

[Fyxe]

I was only commenting on the fan reaction. I know there are no elves in Zelda. I think fairies might be the only creatures that Legend of Zelda actually took from another mythology.

Um... *COUGH*Dragons*COUGH*

Also, Moblins are just goblins. Many things are inspired by folklore and myth. Poes are based on ignis fatuus (will o' the wisp), and so are Bubbles, and Lynels are based on sphinx. Stalfos are animated skeletons, also common in folklore (and are sometimes depicted with hooded robes, like the Grim Reaper). There are some even more obvious examples too, like Medusa Head in Oracle of Seasons.

[Keen]

Dragons are real.... Heh, all right, maybe not, but that's why I added "might be" in there. I always forget something.

[Koroks Rock]

I believe that the people of Hyrule view pointy ears a lot the way that Americans view angular eyes- "Oh cool, you must have some Asian ancestry." Nothing more than that, because the whole "chosen by the goddesses" thing isn't brought up on a regular basis. A lot of them have probably entirely forgotten that detail of their legends- it's one of the defining characteristics of legends, bits of them have been forgotten or mangled.

[mohammedali]

It's not just that they're chosen by the gods, it's also that they have been blessed with certain abilities such as hearing the gods etc. There is more of a distinction between Hylians and Humans than just looks.

[Fyxe]

it's also that they have been blessed with certain abilities such as hearing the gods etc.

Except that, as mentioned by a few characters, they've never actually heard the gods, and there's no indication of anyone hearing from them. As far as we know, that's just a saying, a mythological explaination for why they are the 'chosen race'.

It's all in the past, and it turns out that they might not even be the chosen race of the gods anyway, if Twilight Princess is any indication.

[Chaltab]

It's all in the past, and it turns out that they might not even be the chosen race of the gods anyway, if Twilight Princess is any indication.

You mean the Occa? Somehow I doubt they're the chosen race of the goddesses, and I also think Shad was running at the mouth when he said they created the Hylians. The Occa don't even seem to be magical--everything they have that the Hylian's don't is based on technology.

[FDL]

Yeah, I think the Ooca were just some weird chickens who happened to be inhabiting some old palace or something. I gotta say, they were my least favorite part of TP. I mean, the rest of TP's world and history felt like a continuation of OoT, but then they bring up a new race that is supposedly worshipped or whatever. I mean, the Twili were at least something that could be retroactively made to be what was referred to in the Shadow Temple, but the Ooca were completely out of left field. Though the Spirit Temple does have some stuff that's suspiciously Oocish.....

[Fyxe]

You mean the Occa? Somehow I doubt they're the chosen race of the goddesses, and I also think Shad was running at the mouth when he said they created the Hylians. The Occa don't even seem to be magical--everything they have that the Hylian's don't is based on technology.

...The Dominion Rod? The Temple of Time? The flying city? That's all technology, is it? Yes, they have high technology too, but a lot of their technology is based around magic. There's a close similarity with the Tower of the Gods in TWW, actually.

Look, just because you guys don't like the Ooca doesn't mean that their place in the storyline is mooted. I actually thought they were kind of neat, in a freaky way, and I was actually GLAD that their city wasn't full of houses and shops and stuff like that.

The idea is that the Ooca are above that sort of thing, and are serene and enlightened.

And it's not entirely out of left field, y'know. The bird motif, often appearing with a large round head, is regularly seen throughout the series, mainly on Link's shields. Or am I the only one who noticed this obvious connection? Just look at Link's shield in The Minish Cap.

Edited by Fyxe, 26 March 2007 - 08:04 PM.

[Showsni]

...and there's no indication of anyone hearing from them.

The creation of the Master Sword is one time they heard them at least.

[Arturo]

And TWW's background story.

[Fyxe]

The creation of the Master Sword is one time they heard them at least.

I forget how it was created in the Japanese version...

Besides, remember, the 'hearing the gods' thing is easily metaphorical. It doesn't mean they actually heard them with their ears, they probably just had prophetic visions and stuff, like Zelda in OoT.

[Hero of Legend]

The idea is that the Ooca are above that sort of thing, and are serene and enlightened.

What? They're bumbling fools as far as we see! Quite a downgrade when we find out that the 'divine-beings' are the same comic-relief characters as Ooccoo and her son...

I'm still confident that it’s all just a joke on Nintendo's part. Especially with Shad's involvement. It’s got to be a poke at us timeliners... It has to be.

I forget how it was created in the Japanese version...

Divine message from the gods through an oracle.

Besides, remember, the 'hearing the gods' thing is easily metaphorical. It doesn't mean they actually heard them with their ears, they probably just had prophetic visions and stuff, like Zelda in OoT.

Yes, this is obviously the case. I've been arguing it for years.

Edited by Hero of Legend, 28 March 2007 - 03:30 PM.

[Hero of Slime]

Wow, I did not see the thing with the sheild before. The Hylian symbol of the Bird and Triforce makes sence now. The Bird could represent the Hylians connection to the sky and the ooca, while the triforce represents their connection to the Gods.