One of my theories is that since the world is not mapped, there is no true north, or that maybe if there is a true north, that maybe not all maps north is directly up. A lot of maps in history rotated their orientation, in fact that is where the word orientation comes from, it means to turn the map so east (or another direction, usually east) is up on the map. This is why the Orient is called such, because on these rotated maps, the East was at the top of the map, so it was what they oriented the rest of the map with, the East. So the East is the orient. That is a long way of saying map making is a complex art and there is no way to guarantee that up on all of these maps is north, meaning death mountain may not haved moved that much if the map had just been tilted like 20 degrees from game to game. Tectonics could have been a factor for sure, its clear that the hyrulean civilization has been around far longer than all of human civilization has. Human civilization has only been around for about 10,000 years, BotW's single time skip was that long, so it is possible tectonics had a factor. However I think that map tilting is also a good factor because most objects are relatively in relation to each other if you take that into account. It also is possible that lake hylia is actually a different lake in some games and its just what the locals call it because of their religion. Who knows
I buy into that as part of my personal theory. I treat death mountain as up or north no matter how the map is aligned. Like you say what Hylian's call north or up can easily change. Borders of the country can change. The lake itself can shrink or grow based on climate. The lost woods are frequently shown to manipulate space, so perhaps they have the ability to move within the magic of the game universe. They frequently seem to show up wherever the Master Sword is whenever its not sufficiently defended by Hylians. You keep the map rotated with DM as North, Lake Hylia as South, most of the rest lines up close enough assuming manmade places get moved time to time due to war, climate, disasters, etc or even rebuilding after Ganon attacks between the ages we play.
The direction of North has varied greatly between games. For example between Zelda 1 and 2 we see the world map expanded significantly with the Z1's region now found in the SW corner. The Z2 map now includes Hyrule as both a mainland and large island. As later games established, this island is what became the kingdom of Hyrule. Much as Eldin Mountain was renamed, the Death Mountain in Z2 is on the mainland. Oddly enough though, the island has a mountain range called Valley of Death with a graveyard at the foot of the trail through the mountain range. A feature later associated with Death Mountain. It would seem like the Western direction on the Z2 map became North in later games and this is heavily supported by key geographical landmarks. If you rotate the map, this causes the ocean to be along the east and southern side of Hyrule as featured in BotW. The Z2 lake with Fairy fountain is then located where you find Zora's domain in later games and the Palace on the Sea becomes where the Gerudo Desert is usually located. Given that we know the desert was once taken over by the ocean due to being so close to sea-level it would make sense it could flood again. We also see on the Z2 map has a central field where Nabooru Town is located much like Hyrule Field and nearby we see a forest connected to these grasslands by the Northern Cave much like the Kokiri Forest is separated from central Hyrule in later games.
I just made a post about this Ocarina of Time: Temple faces West Castle is North of Temple Market Fountain is West of Temple Sunrise is East Sunset is West Breath of the Wild: Temple faces North Castle (Eastern Abbey) is East of Temple Market Fountain is North of Temple Sunrise is South Sunset is North Ocarina of Time (Rotated 90 Degrees Clockwise / New Magnetic North) Temple faces North Castle is East of Temple Market Fountain is North of Temple Sunrise is South Sunset is North
Hylia when Demise appears: "Ascend! Ascend ascend ascend ascend with Gorb!" Zelda when Link kills Demise: "Descend! Descend descend descend descend with Gorb!"
I can easily explain how an entire forest can move from one location to the next. I offer you the real world phenomenon of Forest Migration. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_migration
The map's a mess, nothing's consistent, and everything swaps between at least three different names, but you can fit so many adventures, relics, civilizations, and confusing timelines in it that none of that really matters.
@@wutmagna7222 Hi. I'm Rick Steves giving you the best of Greater Hyrule! Today we will be playing the accordion with a talking bird! Explore some ancient shrines and go food tasting with Link's unique cooking skills! We will also show off some ancient battles with machines! How to climb extremely high walls without proper safety equipment,and how to capture horses the wrong way!
and here we see a wild hero in its natural habitat. the hero is largely known for its aggressive behavior and taking very long naps. The hero has an extensive diet consisting of literally anything. a truly fascinating creature.
Myamoto doesn't have any, he barely accepted that fun games can also be fun because they have a good Story. Mario still suffers a goddamn lot under this (let's be honest) Boomer
@@ardd.c.8113 that's a Movie, not a Game And there are Two (no just one since Alphadream is no more) Legendary series that suffered everytime a new Idea, both for Worldbuilding and Story came up in the Development. Because Miyamoto deleted that Ideas.
@@ardd.c.8113 let's take Origami king for example : you can literally see how the devs tryed hard af to fullfill Fancritic without risking to get fired They managed to pull a sad death scene, but only because it's a Bob Omb
The Faron region is sometimes referred to as a sea of trees in Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity, though its possibly just a small nod to Four Swords.
I think the Hyrulean people get the Lost Woods exact location wrong in most games except Breath of the wild (due to Sheikah science) as there are roads through the woods that lead to other locations far away from the Lost woods itself In some games its because of the Kokiri/Koroks or the Deku tree in others its the work of spirits like Poes If one Hyrulean took a trip through a forest in Southern hyrule they could suddenly end up in Akkala
My theory regarding the Skyward Sword map not matching up with others for example Ocarina's is because there are only 4 big chunks of locations and we don't know how far they are away from each other since between in unexplored area. The reason why Eldin volcano is to the North, the dessert is to the west and the lake to the east could be because of simple estimating. After all all we could see from Hyrule was from above, maybe Eldin volcano was a bit more north-east of the Sealed Temple and we'd never really know for sure. So simply put the map of Skyward Sword is just an estimation of where the locations are.
@@nworder4life He manipulated the king planed a lot of things, let other people and creatures do the work and only started getting his own hands dirty at the very end. I think it takes a lot of wisdom to get that far but seeing how he did it (using others even link to a extend) makes me think that he lacks courage.
@@brotbrotsen1100 Mhh maybe? But that's not necessarily wisdom, but intelligence, cleverness and using strategies to deceive power figures. Not exactly wisdom.
@@Egg-zactly He also knew about the triforce, where he can obtain it, where the master sword is, who the sages are before some of them knew that they are sages and were the temples are located. I'd say he had a lot of wisdom
Zelda theorists would really benefit from some Ockham razor reasoning,why attribute the change in geography to highly unlikely tectonic plate movements when we can just assume maps just got better at depicting the landscape overtime.
I also think a little too much focus is put towards explaining the location of the Temple of Time, when we probably ought to simply accept that the building, along with being connected to a literal Divine Realm, is probably itself magical, and might be able to simply move.
An interesting thing to note. 5:16 ; Demise's dialogue suggests the Link in Skyward sword is *not* Hylia's first knight. That the first *knight* was not *human* which is what he calls Link. Suggesting he is somehow either a reincarnation of something as well, or some completely new force that starts it's reincarnation cycle with the advent of Demise's fall.
I don't think this is possible. The Korok/Kokiri are specifically referred to as "forest spirits" and that they were created by the Great Deku Tree whereas the Kikwi appear to be organic creatures devoid of any magic or spiritual elements. It's likely that the Kikwi either died off or more than likely simply migrated elsewhere after the Hylians began inhabiting the surface again.
@@davisbowe8668 there's no actual proof that the kokiri are created by the great deku tree,I personally believe that they evolved to look a lot like hylians.
@@totallyahuman5055 Could have been an ice age for a few thousand years and created a whole new ass mountain with the all the ice moving the terrain and such
I tend to assume that the word "legend" really applies to all the games- legends change and shift depending on who is telling them and when. If in one story, death mountain is in a slightly different location, its just because this "telling" of the legend is a little murky or different for whatever reason. I dont worry too much about the continuity of the geography for that reason. We also see examples in Chinese and Japanese history (and many many other places) of the capital of an empire or country moving depending on who is in charge. Royal families sometimes flee or just leave one area and rule from other palaces, etc. For example royals from different places marry each other, form alliances, and sometimes that means the capital changes places
@@totallyahuman5055 That can be easily explained. Take a look at a city, countryside or town 100 years ago. Then, take a look at how they appear presently. Many things can change in only 20 years time. Things can be drastically different in 100 or 1000 years.
@@DanX_27 yeah, understandable, especially since we link the greeks to astronomy inherently. Thats why I like, that when Uranus was discovered, they decided to do a greek name, and not named it by an offbrand god lol
@@demodrakkaen0316 But taking the Romanized name is fair though just because Latin became the more defining language. At least it is named after an actual greek god, you know? ^^
It doesn't split if their heart is "evil" or not. The triforce doesn't judge someone on their moral values. It splits if their heart isn't balanced in the virtues of power wisdom and courage.
I believe it’s called “the legend” of Zelda for a reason. When stories get passed down through time, details get messy. Every lake Hylia is the same, every death mountain and castle. Racists called zora monsters, and others didn’t know that Tito were intelligent. The legends of a childlike race of tree people living in the forest. These are all details that are very similar. It’s all the same story. The same legend
I do feel like this is part of the inspiration of the series (it's my understanding that this is a common idea in Japanese mythology, and it explains why so many games are variations on the "Zelda has been kidnapped, Link go save her" plot), though the games are definitively still all part of continuity to each other as fitting. After all, if each and every game (barring obvious exceptions like Majora's Mask or Phantom Hourglass) was supposed to be the same exact events but retold and corrupted, then Nintendo wouldn't have had a reason to talk about how the games fit in continuity with each other as far back as A Link to the Past; the third game in the series. A lot of people say the timeline was completely pulled out of Nintendo's ass for Hyrule Historia because of fan demand and that the series was never supposed to fit together in any way, but the evidence doesn't seem to match that hypothesis in my eyes. I think it's more likely that (in addition to them being inspired by what you mentioned) the timeline and continuity is simply a secondary or even tertiary priority to them, with making sure the games feel fun and distinct, and that the locations are memorable being bigger concerns. Continuity is still a factor they take into account I feel (e.g. Wind Waker is clearly supposed to take place after OoT, you don't need to do theory-crafting to figure that out), but it is nowhere near as large a concern for them as the fans seem to want it to be.
@@LonelySpaceDetective This is 100% correct but I think at this point fan demand may turn those tables. Especially since story and lore and, well...serialization in general is the norm now. I think from Breath of the Wild on, more attention will be paid to continuity. Or maybe I'm just an optimist.
@@river_acheron I suspect the direction Nintendo wants to go is treating Breath of the Wild and onward as a whole separate continuity practically, and abandoning the original timelines outside of the occasional re-release, remake or remaster. A soft reboot if you will, though harder than most soft reboots. That isn't necessarily incompatible with what you said, but my point is that I bet whatever they do with BotW and its sequels won't really matter for the earlier games.
I particularly like the Lake Hylia explanation. Considering we have multiple cities named Alexandria in real life, all named after Alexander the Great, the Hylians naming multiple lakes Lake Hylia after Hylia isn't such an outlandish concept.
Love the Video! Great content as always!! As a Geographer, I really appreciated you bringing up Plate Tectonics too. I have a little addition to the theory, based on my knowledge of Plate Tectonics and Volcanism; here is my best explanation of why Death Mountain, or other mountains, would shift. A phenomena called 'Hotspot Volcanism' -- essentially, there is a giant plume of very, very hot magma underneath the Earth's crust, creating a giant volcanic mountain chains, such as Death Mountain. As the Tectonic Plate shifts in location, the magma plume stays relatively still, creating new volcanic mountains in the process -- with the older mountains slowly eroding over time (take the Hawaiian Islands as an example, the biggest, and youngest island is above, or nearly above the plume, with each island getting smaller, due to erosion, as you get further down the chain). So, in the case of Hyrule's geography, I *think* Death Mountain due to hotspot volcanism. With the plume residing somewhere to the North of Hyrule Castle, and the tectonic boundary separating the two areas, the 'Hyrulean Plate' and the 'Goron Plate' being a "Transform Boundary", where the plates are sliding past each other. With the both plates moving in the same direction (SE), but the Goron Plate going faster, relative to the Hyrulean Plate. Its been a while since I've taken Geology courses, but I think this is why Death Mountain moved. But, its probably just inconsistency from Nintendo :) Happy Holidays!
Happy holidays! And thank you so much for this amazing insight. I absolutely LOVE researching and reading about stuff like this. The earth is so dynamic and interesting. Your knowlegde is greatly appreciated. I wish I could've talked to someone in your field before I made the video ^^
@@MonsterMaze yeah, this video has more-or-less sent me spiraling down a rabbit hole of trying to make sense of Hyrule's geography. Looking into it, based on BotW's map, it is either a REALLY complicated set of plate boundaries or it is Nintendo just messing around with the locations of places, in addition to the renaming of places, or a wild combination of the three. Either way, its a fun thought experiment. Cheers!
On this subject, there's an excellent speculative world map series that was featured on r/TrueZelda (I wish I could give credit to the user, but it's a little obscure and I was only able to find the Imgur album for now. If anyone recognizes it or wants to do some digging feel free!): m.imgur.com/r/truezelda/HNNba The amazing thing is that this map was made pre-BotW but it's shockingly compatible with the BotW map, especially if you take into account geographical differences tens of thousands of years after any known game. There are some inconsistencies that I think you had better thought out, namely making sure the OoT castle was in the right place (unless I'm reading the map wrong, it's not correct in the speculative maps), but it might be an interesting bit of added research before the next installments?
I also had a similar thought about Death mountain being caused by a hotspot. I would be reluctant to say that Death Mountain and the rest of hyrule are on two different plates, because we don't see much evidence of faulting. Rather, I would think the entirety of hyrule is on a plate that is moving Northwest, on top of a stationary hotspot (very similar to the formation of Hawaii) which is why Death Mountain would move Southeast.
Not only does the geography and geology of a setting can change over time, *CLIMATE* can change too: what is a desert now can become a jungle in a few hundred thousand years (or quicker if a species releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere). Also languages change quickly as well over time so if one forest or some place has a new name that would explain it. Many of these critters change quickly too so maybe evolution happens fast because of so much space/time continuum shenanigans. Things to consider as you explore this series.
Goodness, your videos just seem to have higher and higher production values every time a new one is released. Your custom maps and landscape shots always blow me away, and that's to say nothing of the content itself. I say it every time, but truly fantastic stuff.
Thank you for taking the time at the beginning of your video to acknowledge the practicality of game development and design and then say that you were going to theorize anyway because it was fun. As a casual Zelda fan I find these theories fascinating but - the artist, filmmaker, and aspiring game designer inside me can sometimes get turned off by the intensity and overzealousness that theorists often have when presenting their ideas. By acknowledging the actual, real world reasons - and then moving forward anyway - you made this super entertaining and accessible for me. THANK YOU
This is just amazing. Geography has always been my favorite part of Zelda Lore- I love piecing together how locations and regions are linked! Its just impossible for me to ignore the connections between areas seen thought the games, so I'm so glad you've started this series. It's so cool to see somebody else's ideas regarding the matter. I cant wait for the other videos to come out! Keep up the amazing content!
I just realized that BOTW is the only Zelda game where we see the sheikah tribe because in every other game we only see impa we never saw any other members.
This gets me wondering. With all this talk going around about the incarnation cycle. I wonder if Impa is in on it too?? She keeps reappearing throughout the series too in different iterations. What about her origins and that of the sheika?
my personal theory is that when Demise used his final words to curse link and zelda into their eternal reincarnations, he also cursed groose and impa with them. his specific wording was “you people”, implying more than just link and zelda. groose and impa are both present at the sealed temple with zelda when demise casts his curse. seeing as groose is the only male with red hair and yellow eyes, maybe the whole 1 male gerudo being born every 100 years rule stems from demise’s curse of reincarnation? that would explain why impa keeps showing up as well, and why ganondorf is always reincarnated as a gerudo rather than a demon.
To add on this me and my husband have discussed and it seems like the curse that causes link and Zelda and others to be reincarnated, is pulling in more people possible with every new incarcerate cycle. Like if ruto from Oot got reincarnated and eventually became botws mipha. It's possible that anyone who aids the original few cursed in defeating their iteration of demise/Ganon then becomes cursed themselves. That's totally speculation tho
Totally valid, but I don't like the idea that Mipha is a Zora princess because millions of years ago there was another Zora who was also a princess, or that Impa is a Sheikah because billions of years ago another Sheikah named Impa existed. Either Impa is a name or a title. It could be that there was a prominent Impa at one time, so Impa became a popular name. I imagine if a Kaleb saved Canada or Britain or the US from impending doom, there'd suddenly be a lot more people named Kaleb. Or, it could simply be the Sheikah word for "leader" or "wise one" or something, in which case not even gender plays a part in who is and is not Impa.
@SupplyGuy yes that’s what I meant haha. For him to die, it would mean he’d have to be reincarnated. I mean, FSA openly states it’s a different ganondorf/male Gerudo who became Ganon in that game, implying he’s likely the next incarnation of demises’ hate
With what you said about the lost woods, I think it's reasonable to say that there's actually two primary woods in Hyrule. The Lost Woods to the north/north-west as we see in ALttP and ALBW, and the Faron Woods to the south-east as seen in OoT and TP and that the names of the woods overlapping are merely a result of the Hylian Kingdoms expansion over time, similar to how we have 'York' in the UK and 'New York' in the US, or tones of places all called Victoria. In Breath of the Wild we can see both the Lost Woods and the Faron Woods in their respective locations.
Now that “they find a forest that’s easy to get lost in and call it the lost woods” part is reminiscent of Asgore. Specifically the fact that he’s bad at naming.
16:29 if we rotate the map about 90 degrees, it sort of lines up with the northeast corner of the map in Breath of the Wild. Death Mountain is obviously Death Mountain, the Sea of Trees could correspond to Akkala, and Talus Cave looks a lot like Zora’s Domain. Also, with the possibility of events like the Upheaval, there’s no telling what sort of wacky ways the geography would change over time
You brave soul. You’re actually gonna tackle this one. - ...personally as a loooong time Zelda Player/Fan? I’d rather see Hyrule actually geographically consistant even if the regions themselves vary drastically over time (lakes and seas becoming plains or deserts then back to bodies of water again; Zora River carving DEEP gorges and canyons; Death Mountain having periods of fertile greenery and lava-scorched hellscapes) and seeing Other Worlds besides Hyrule more often. Regions beyond Hyrule have long been a series staple for over two decades now and add much-needed variety into a franchise this long-running. I really wish Devs and the fanbase would embrace them (and Actually Same but Changing Hyrule Geography) a bit more. I don’t care about Lake Hylia being the same nearly barren area just to have it shoehorned back in at random. I want to see it in the same place but Bigger, with Zora Dwellings and maybe a trade network or fishing villages. I want to explore places like Holodrum and Labrynna and more vague regions like Koholint and Termina again. Or places that are named in homage (New Hyrule) but we know simply aren’t those same places from Old Hyrule
12:03 volcanos can go dormant or no longer active (when the lava supply is moved somewhere else. Thus also known as a "dead volcano") so that might be the same eldin mountain, but its ether dormant or dead. The missing lava in the goron region can be scientificly explaned
There are two other explanations for map differences between Skyward Sword and Ocarina: 1) Skyward Sword's map is inaccurate for convenience and/or aesthetics. This would explain why there is no representation of what is present between the mapped territories; the map is meant to only roughly reflects the real positions, rotations, and even scales of the territories. 2) Magnetic north shifts over time. Rotating Skyward's map a bit will get it to line up better with Ocarina's map.
so question the time of creation when the goddesses made everything it would of been a time before recorded history and everything from that time would be just guessing but if din created the earth in the legend would that mean the world that hyrule is on is called din and the sun would be nayru as the sun appears when nayru creates law
din = is the planet which "cultivated the land and created the red earth" nayru = the sun that "poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world" farore = life in general? she did "produced all life forms who would uphold the law" im not entirely set on that though din and nayru were easy to place due to them representing inanimate objects while farore doesnt represent anyone individual thing something else i have noticed is that ganon, zelda/hylia and link could also be connected to this ganon being the harsh unforgiving nature and repetition of the world (din) zelda/hylia being the light of the sun (nayru) and link being the hope of life (farore)
@@tylerherr4288 You could be right about the planet being called Din, but i find Nayru being their name for the sun harder to accept. After all, she is a water-associated goddess. I do think she is related to the celestial bodies though, as their existence plays a part in the laws of gravity and the tides amungst other things. Additionally, the Sheikah are somewhat obsessed with the stars, and seem to gain some of their knowledge from them. Nayru is the goddess of wisdom, after all, so it would make sense for their fixation on space. As for Farore, I agree that she is the creator of life. According to the lore recited by the Great Deku Tree, she poured her spirit into the land and gave it life. Forest regions are home to many land spirits such as Koroks and Faries, who possess magic that can enhance armor, heal wounds, or revive a deceased horse. There is a lot more about those three goddesses that I have theories about, so im kinda happy to share it at an appropriate time!
@@moonflower1717 my only point for the sun being nayru is that the sun didnt seem to exist till nayru did her thing in the deku trees story and its probably just me looking for any sort of connection but from a chemistry standpoint both water and stars has hydrogen in them so i dont think its too far of a stretch
Those two kids were known in the future as the creators of the spiritual succesor of the zelda franchise... ok i'm kidding, i'm not a time traveller.... or am I?
@@rhettmitchell Next year is dedicated to the Zelda Franchise, and it will be using the same models and artstyle (ergo, the same engine) than breath of the wild and age of calamity, right?? I believe trailers will start before summer 2021
I like to think that so much time passes between Zelda games that the geography changes. It can happen, maybe weathering, erosion, and other things that cause landscape changes happen much quicker in the Zelda universe than IRL. The people just keep naming the new landmarks after the goddesses. Also, structures can be torn down or built for any number of reasons.
Here's a thought,if the minish descended from the sky,are they descendants of the skyloftians? My theory on what happened to the ones who stayed in skyloft split into various groups among the islands,some became the minish,whilst others became the Oocca tribe,perhaps they transformed skyloft into their city? They may have even come in contact with the wind tribe,perhaps the wind tribe was made up of skyloftians who wished to return to the sky?
I love that you talk about the history of Hyrule but actually talk about the multiple theories with speculation rather than doing the history with one collection of selected theories to roll with like "this could have happened but this could have happened as well" rather than the straightforward "this is how it happened in our interpretation of the timeline"
I consider areas in BotW where there is a large crater (Skull Lake, Rito Village, etc) to be potential areas where Hyrule castle may have been. These would be areas where Ganon potentially had created his floating fortress.
I know this is an old video, but I still wanna point out the fact Nayru’s Love is found in the Gerudo Desert, further tying the naming conventions of “Lanayru Desert” to OoT if the Hylians had lived in that land at the time
It's nice to stumble upon a theory that looks at the change in Geography of Hyrule over time and possibly string together all Hyrules in one. Analyzing videogames similar to real science, especially by long lasting series can be so much fun.
Please don’t take this the wrong way because I truly mean it as a compliment. This reminds me of the educational documentary style movies they would put on at school that I said were boring but secretly really liked. The scriptwriting here really is what does it for me, it’s very well done and if it was an intentional homage it comes across very well. Almost in the same manner as the Star Trek: Prelude To Axanar fan film.
A minor correction, but the Goron in Minish Cap surprisingly aren't located on Mt. Crenel. There are several who appear in a cave next to Lon Lon Ranch because of kinstone fusion, one who sells kinstones in town after a fusion event brings him there, and Biggoron is located at the top of Veil Falls. They appear more like the drifters of Wind Waker than of the organized society we see later in the timeline.
I feel a reasonable explanation for how landmarks just slide around is that each game takes place in the universe with a slightly different arrangement of landmarks where the events don’t change but where they happen do
Here’s an idea to explain why the Realm of Memories shows memories of the future As our good old friend Einstein once said, time is relative, and given how time travel and visions are a major part of Zelda as a whole, perhaps any sort of illusory realm which draws upon one’s memories has a chance to draw upon a memory of the future, like Aang seeing Toph in Avatar
This was the video that got me to subscribe. Hyrule's geography has long been an obsession of mine, so to see that someone else did a video that had been in my head since Skyward Sword came out was really awesome. Now I'm rewatching it for research purposes.
the mogma could be the acro bandits or a kind of primitive moblins due to their shape and proportions, i mean, they have the same torso and that pig-like head, with the gorons migrating to the mountains and eating the mogma's territory they could have rise from underground to live on the surface
I always thought that the Temple of Time from Skyward Sword became Ocarina of Time's Forest Temple due to its location, low architectural profile, and central hall surrounded by courtyards. The similarities between the layouts of the basement of the Forest Temple and the Temple of Time itself also give the impression that they served a similar purpose, which, if I'm right, is because it was rebuilt to serve the same purpose closer to Hyrule Castle.
The thing to remember when doing these kinds of geography theory crafting is to remember the distinction between static and impermanent features. Names are impermanent as are man-made structures. So when you see a body of water called Lake Hylia, that does not mean it is useful as a static point of reference. Given that Nintendo never intend to keep strictly to rules for Hyrule geography they do tend to mainten key features in positions relative to each other even if the names change. Hyrule always has a large mountain range and frequently has a volcano, there is always a central area with grasslands, there is always a region with a large body of water like a lake or swamp and in recent years there is always a desert on the opposite side of the kingdom from the volcano.
well, the only location that must be the same in most games is the master sword pedestal, on the temple of time, which by the time of tp or alttp was engulfed by the forest, but it's the exact same location where skyloft lies
I've loved Zelda games since childhood. I've even gotten into the habit (passion) of going on long treks in desolate areas, quite often listening to Zelda songs while I'm at it
Hi. I'm Rick Steves giving you the best of Greater Hyrule! Today we will be playing the accordion with a talking bird! Explore some ancient shrines and go food tasting with Link's unique cooking skills! We will also show off some ancient battles with machines! How to climb extremely high walls without proper safety equipment,and how to capture horses the wrong way!
Minute 30 seconds in and I always thought of this other games as a story told of The legend of Zelda passed down through history locations and events change because that's what it is a legend.
This once again shows why you are truly a special individual among the RUclips Zelda theorists. You are able to explain such a big and complex topic so well and in a calm way that makes it easily understandable. Your (always well-made) graphics and animations help a lot, too. But what I like most about you is that you are completely aware that all of this is just... well... total nonsense, to be honest :D Whereas other Zelda theorists act as if their theory definitely has to be the one thing that the developers must have had in their mind, you are aware that in reality it worked differently - but nontheless you love to find those theories, even if they can be overwhelming even for you at times. This is something that can be noticed in several videos of you, and I really like that, because it makes everything more light-hearted and down-to-earth. Oh, and while I'm at the topic: The other thing I really love(d) about you is the humor you sprinkle into your videos at times. However, unfortunately this has become very scarce in the last months. Would appreciate it a lot if you returned a bit of the humor that you used in your earliest videos :)
This is an awesome work, I love the part about plate tectonics and how you actually sought out footage and images in that research. My own theory about why the locations always change is the idea that Zelda is a legend. It's a story, told over and over again, and like many stories, it isn't important WHERE the Lost Woods is, it's that there IS a Lost Woods. I can see the appeal of wanting to literally answer the questions though, which is why I seek out this content.
Minor correction at 20:03: as far as I know, the Triforce does not distinguish between good and evil. If someone with an unbalanced heart attempts to take the Triforce, then the Triforce splits into three and the piece which has the characteristic most exemplified by the one taking the Triforce goes to that person while the other pieces are split up. Great video otherwise!
The movement of death mountain southeastward could also explain another motive for the Hylians establish their capital near the sealed temple, and if you compare the maps, you can see how they would’ve been slowly losing land over the ages. Kakariko village may even be a remnant of the old capital.
Thank you for the great video. I am a 10 year old kid aspiring to become a Pokemon master, and this knowledge of my co video game Zelda will be useful!
Not only is this video interesting, the request was so sweet it almost gave me a cavity or two. :-) I've been curious about the whole map-changings across the games as well, and have wondered what others thought of it, so I'm so glad you've made this video and I'll be watching the others in the miniseries. :-)
Great video. Hyrule Historia sadly says the races we see in SS (that we don't see in other games) went extinct. Hyrule Encyclopedia also says the Kokiri were originally Hylians who moved to the forest before becoming Kokiri. A map from Hyrule Encyclopedia also has Castor Wilds above Gerudo Desert interestingly enough.
Also something to note is that as time goes on more things get discovered like in the real world, how Spanish explores thought that California was an Island and how people thought that nothing existed past the Atlantic or Persian desert.
One thing I'm a little confused about is the Temple of Time. If the Temple of Time we see in Ocarina of Time and BotW is the same temple built up upon from the Sealed Temple from Skyward Sword, then what exactly is the Forgotten Temple in BotW? I saw a theory talking about how the Forgotten Temple could be the original Sealed Temple because of a lot of similarities. But if the original Sealed Temple becomes the Temple of Time, there's no way the Forgotten Temple could actually be the Sealed Temple
I love these deep dive videos. They get me so excited about the possibilities that lie within the mythologies of Hyrule. I would throw money through the screen at Nintendo if they released a game titled The Legend Of Zelda: War For Hyrule. Where you take part in the Hyrulian Civil War. I just imagine a journey where you choose to play as a character from each of the four main races Hylian, Gerudo, Goron, or Zora. Each character played reveals new details about the war as the tale branches apart, and paths overlap. Meeting familiar faces, and helping to shape the histories of kingdoms that inevitably lead to the war for Hyrule before the events of Ocarina Of Time.
Dude this was amazing and I can't wait for more. I always love to read/hear about Zelda lore on the macro level and your high quality videos are always a blast to watch
Omg I'm so excited for this mini series!! I think about this dang map all the time and how it's moving and I guess just.... Forgot the real life concept of plate tectonics. Always so blown away by the original graphics for each video and the effort you put in 💞👍🏻 Can't wait for the next one!!
i love this video, and the depth you go into! my personal theories align with your a lot. imo things like the lost woods moving around is actually up to hylians being forced to move around so much, they were just taking the landmarks names with them
The issue with using forests as a point of reference is really unwise though as Nintendo move their woodlands around just as much as real forests change in the real world. BotW is a prime example of this as the Deku Tree itself hasn't always been associated with the Lost Woods and the areas named the Lost Woods have varied significantly over the games. It's best to see the location of woodlands as a bonus to support theories if they are found in the right place rather than being the main supporting feature of a theory.
I like this format you've been using. Great work! And speaking of Zelda fan parents, I haven't seen her in a while, but one of my coworkers is named Zora.
I don't know if its because my first and favorite game is OoT but the goddess story theme and title theme always hit me deep. Hope you had a Merry Christmas.
I think the lost woods may be able to shift to wherever the Deku sprout grows. Perhaps the sprout was shifted before it could take roots somewhere for some reason.
![The Evolution of Hyrule [Part 2] - Zelda Theory](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ChCI9CxxCqo/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Evolution of Hyrule [Part 2] - Zelda Theory](/img/tr.png)
![I Solved the Map of EVERY Zelda Game! [Legend of Zelda Theory]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zz3FbQJXIvk/mqdefault.jpg)
One of my theories is that since the world is not mapped, there is no true north, or that maybe if there is a true north, that maybe not all maps north is directly up. A lot of maps in history rotated their orientation, in fact that is where the word orientation comes from, it means to turn the map so east (or another direction, usually east) is up on the map. This is why the Orient is called such, because on these rotated maps, the East was at the top of the map, so it was what they oriented the rest of the map with, the East. So the East is the orient.
That is a long way of saying map making is a complex art and there is no way to guarantee that up on all of these maps is north, meaning death mountain may not haved moved that much if the map had just been tilted like 20 degrees from game to game. Tectonics could have been a factor for sure, its clear that the hyrulean civilization has been around far longer than all of human civilization has. Human civilization has only been around for about 10,000 years, BotW's single time skip was that long, so it is possible tectonics had a factor. However I think that map tilting is also a good factor because most objects are relatively in relation to each other if you take that into account. It also is possible that lake hylia is actually a different lake in some games and its just what the locals call it because of their religion. Who knows
I buy into that as part of my personal theory. I treat death mountain as up or north no matter how the map is aligned. Like you say what Hylian's call north or up can easily change. Borders of the country can change. The lake itself can shrink or grow based on climate. The lost woods are frequently shown to manipulate space, so perhaps they have the ability to move within the magic of the game universe. They frequently seem to show up wherever the Master Sword is whenever its not sufficiently defended by Hylians.
You keep the map rotated with DM as North, Lake Hylia as South, most of the rest lines up close enough assuming manmade places get moved time to time due to war, climate, disasters, etc or even rebuilding after Ganon attacks between the ages we play.
The direction of North has varied greatly between games. For example between Zelda 1 and 2 we see the world map expanded significantly with the Z1's region now found in the SW corner. The Z2 map now includes Hyrule as both a mainland and large island. As later games established, this island is what became the kingdom of Hyrule. Much as Eldin Mountain was renamed, the Death Mountain in Z2 is on the mainland. Oddly enough though, the island has a mountain range called Valley of Death with a graveyard at the foot of the trail through the mountain range. A feature later associated with Death Mountain.
It would seem like the Western direction on the Z2 map became North in later games and this is heavily supported by key geographical landmarks. If you rotate the map, this causes the ocean to be along the east and southern side of Hyrule as featured in BotW. The Z2 lake with Fairy fountain is then located where you find Zora's domain in later games and the Palace on the Sea becomes where the Gerudo Desert is usually located. Given that we know the desert was once taken over by the ocean due to being so close to sea-level it would make sense it could flood again. We also see on the Z2 map has a central field where Nabooru Town is located much like Hyrule Field and nearby we see a forest connected to these grasslands by the Northern Cave much like the Kokiri Forest is separated from central Hyrule in later games.
@@RhysStorm The Temple of Time did end up in the Lost Woods in TP. I think.
I just made a post about this
Ocarina of Time:
Temple faces West
Castle is North of Temple
Market Fountain is West of Temple
Sunrise is East
Sunset is West
Breath of the Wild:
Temple faces North
Castle (Eastern Abbey) is East of Temple
Market Fountain is North of Temple
Sunrise is South
Sunset is North
Ocarina of Time (Rotated 90 Degrees Clockwise / New Magnetic North)
Temple faces North
Castle is East of Temple
Market Fountain is North of Temple
Sunrise is South
Sunset is North
6 and 6 6
Hylia when Demise appears: "Ascend! Ascend ascend ascend ascend with Gorb!"
Zelda when Link kills Demise: "Descend! Descend descend descend descend with Gorb!"
huh ;-;
Gorb
Hollow Knight reference. Nice
Looks like someone's getting dream nailed
Is that a mf Hollow Knight reference!?
I enjoyed this Geography of Hyrule class at the University of RUclips. Can’t wait for our next class! 😁
Good evening and welcome to your first class of LOZ 138, Hyrulian Geography. Please turn to page 27 in your textbook and let us begin.
@@wutmagna7222 😂
I would go back for my Masters if this existed
Happy Holidays everyone! ^^
One more video to go, and then it's a wrap for 2020!
YOU ARE A GENIUS!
Impa is also chosen by the goddess? HAPPY HOLIDAYS
I can easily explain how an entire forest can move from one location to the next. I offer you the real world phenomenon of Forest Migration. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_migration
@SwagMazterRohan The world is a mysterious and fascinating place.
On the short list of great things that happened during 2020, discovering your channel was one of them. Happy Holidays.
"Today, on National Geographic, we explore the great land of Hyrule!"
The map's a mess, nothing's consistent, and everything swaps between at least three different names, but you can fit so many adventures, relics, civilizations, and confusing timelines in it that none of that really matters.
@@wutmagna7222 Hi. I'm Rick Steves giving you the best of Greater Hyrule! Today we will be playing the accordion with a talking bird! Explore some ancient shrines and go food tasting with Link's unique cooking skills! We will also show off some ancient battles with machines! How to climb extremely high walls without proper safety equipment,and how to capture horses the wrong way!
and here we see a wild hero in its natural habitat. the hero is largely known for its aggressive behavior and taking very long naps. The hero has an extensive diet consisting of literally anything. a truly fascinating creature.
This is one of the best comments I have seen ever. ❤😂
@@autumin6843 And wildlife tends to vanish around the hero.
this man has more zelda knowledge than miyamoto himself i swear
This man has more knowledge than the Goddess Hylia
Myamoto doesn't have any, he barely accepted that fun games can also be fun because they have a good Story. Mario still suffers a goddamn lot under this (let's be honest) Boomer
@@seretith3513 are you saying that a mario story is a great idea? I beg to differ, I've seen the movie.
@@ardd.c.8113 that's a Movie, not a Game
And there are Two (no just one since Alphadream is no more) Legendary series that suffered everytime a new Idea, both for Worldbuilding and Story came up in the Development. Because Miyamoto deleted that Ideas.
@@ardd.c.8113 let's take Origami king for example : you can literally see how the devs tryed hard af to fullfill Fancritic without risking to get fired
They managed to pull a sad death scene, but only because it's a Bob Omb
The Faron region is sometimes referred to as a sea of trees in Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity, though its possibly just a small nod to Four Swords.
Is it? I don’t think I caught that
Another possible nod is the Stone Talus enemy being a reference to Talus Cave.
I think the Hyrulean people get the Lost Woods exact location wrong in most games except Breath of the wild (due to Sheikah science) as there are roads through the woods that lead to other locations far away from the Lost woods itself
In some games its because of the Kokiri/Koroks or the Deku tree in others its the work of spirits like Poes
If one Hyrulean took a trip through a forest in Southern hyrule they could suddenly end up in Akkala
My theory regarding the Skyward Sword map not matching up with others for example Ocarina's is because there are only 4 big chunks of locations and we don't know how far they are away from each other since between in unexplored area. The reason why Eldin volcano is to the North, the dessert is to the west and the lake to the east could be because of simple estimating. After all all we could see from Hyrule was from above, maybe Eldin volcano was a bit more north-east of the Sealed Temple and we'd never really know for sure. So simply put the map of Skyward Sword is just an estimation of where the locations are.
that and a big part of estimating the direction is based on Castle Hyrule. No high Rule castle means there is no telling which direction is which.
A person with an unbalanced heart shatters the complete Triforce into three parts, not necessarily evil.
Good catch
They need to have all the aspects of the triforce to obtain it, I guess Ganondorf didn't have wisdom.
@@nworder4life He manipulated the king planed a lot of things, let other people and creatures do the work and only started getting his own hands dirty at the very end. I think it takes a lot of wisdom to get that far but seeing how he did it (using others even link to a extend) makes me think that he lacks courage.
@@brotbrotsen1100 Mhh maybe? But that's not necessarily wisdom, but intelligence, cleverness and using strategies to deceive power figures. Not exactly wisdom.
@@Egg-zactly He also knew about the triforce, where he can obtain it, where the master sword is, who the sages are before some of them knew that they are sages and were the temples are located. I'd say he had a lot of wisdom
Hyrule’s tectonic plates are just like me when I’m asleep. I wake up and I’m upside down and on the other side of the bed.
Zelda theorists would really benefit from some Ockham razor reasoning,why attribute the change in geography to highly unlikely tectonic plate movements when we can just assume maps just got better at depicting the landscape overtime.
I also think a little too much focus is put towards explaining the location of the Temple of Time, when we probably ought to simply accept that the building, along with being connected to a literal Divine Realm, is probably itself magical, and might be able to simply move.
An interesting thing to note. 5:16 ; Demise's dialogue suggests the Link in Skyward sword is *not* Hylia's first knight. That the first *knight* was not *human* which is what he calls Link. Suggesting he is somehow either a reincarnation of something as well, or some completely new force that starts it's reincarnation cycle with the advent of Demise's fall.
the fierce deity got em
@@acedzombo3007 A deity being another deity’s knight and not getting a mention.
TOTK validates this opinion with the whole Legendary Hero character
I feel like the Kikwi became the Kokiri and finally the Koroks since the name structure follows fairly close
it makes sense,doesnt it?
I don't think this is possible. The Korok/Kokiri are specifically referred to as "forest spirits" and that they were created by the Great Deku Tree whereas the Kikwi appear to be organic creatures devoid of any magic or spiritual elements. It's likely that the Kikwi either died off or more than likely simply migrated elsewhere after the Hylians began inhabiting the surface again.
@@davisbowe8668 there's no actual proof that the kokiri are created by the great deku tree,I personally believe that they evolved to look a lot like hylians.
If there’s one thing we Zelda fans can never get enough of, it’s lore.
Just inject all of it into my bloodstream please
I feel like the map changes every game because the games take place thousands years apart. so the castle moves and they rename places.
What about literal geographic changes like mountains appearing out of nowhere.
@@totallyahuman5055 earthquakes maybe? Maybe they grow legs or something and move. Who knows.
@@totallyahuman5055 Could have been an ice age for a few thousand years and created a whole new ass mountain with the all the ice moving the terrain and such
I tend to assume that the word "legend" really applies to all the games- legends change and shift depending on who is telling them and when. If in one story, death mountain is in a slightly different location, its just because this "telling" of the legend is a little murky or different for whatever reason. I dont worry too much about the continuity of the geography for that reason.
We also see examples in Chinese and Japanese history (and many many other places) of the capital of an empire or country moving depending on who is in charge. Royal families sometimes flee or just leave one area and rule from other palaces, etc. For example royals from different places marry each other, form alliances, and sometimes that means the capital changes places
@@totallyahuman5055 That can be easily explained. Take a look at a city, countryside or town 100 years ago. Then, take a look at how they appear presently. Many things can change in only 20 years time. Things can be drastically different in 100 or 1000 years.
"We named the planets after greek gods"
Ancient greeks: *triggered*
Uranus, being the only planet named after a greek god: *cries*
This, the planets are names after Roman Gods.
I also noticed this... I took it he meant "constellations" and "Greco-Roman mythology"
@@DanX_27 yeah, understandable, especially since we link the greeks to astronomy inherently. Thats why I like, that when Uranus was discovered, they decided to do a greek name, and not named it by an offbrand god lol
Except even Uranus isn't Greek. The actual Greek Titan's name is Ouranos, and they used the Romanized spelling (Uranus) instead.
@@demodrakkaen0316 But taking the Romanized name is fair though just because Latin became the more defining language. At least it is named after an actual greek god, you know? ^^
It doesn't split if their heart is "evil" or not. The triforce doesn't judge someone on their moral values. It splits if their heart isn't balanced in the virtues of power wisdom and courage.
this was a long time ago,before the lore was confirmed
Best Christmas present ever.
I believe it’s called “the legend” of Zelda for a reason. When stories get passed down through time, details get messy. Every lake Hylia is the same, every death mountain and castle. Racists called zora monsters, and others didn’t know that Tito were intelligent. The legends of a childlike race of tree people living in the forest. These are all details that are very similar. It’s all the same story. The same legend
I do feel like this is part of the inspiration of the series (it's my understanding that this is a common idea in Japanese mythology, and it explains why so many games are variations on the "Zelda has been kidnapped, Link go save her" plot), though the games are definitively still all part of continuity to each other as fitting.
After all, if each and every game (barring obvious exceptions like Majora's Mask or Phantom Hourglass) was supposed to be the same exact events but retold and corrupted, then Nintendo wouldn't have had a reason to talk about how the games fit in continuity with each other as far back as A Link to the Past; the third game in the series.
A lot of people say the timeline was completely pulled out of Nintendo's ass for Hyrule Historia because of fan demand and that the series was never supposed to fit together in any way, but the evidence doesn't seem to match that hypothesis in my eyes. I think it's more likely that (in addition to them being inspired by what you mentioned) the timeline and continuity is simply a secondary or even tertiary priority to them, with making sure the games feel fun and distinct, and that the locations are memorable being bigger concerns.
Continuity is still a factor they take into account I feel (e.g. Wind Waker is clearly supposed to take place after OoT, you don't need to do theory-crafting to figure that out), but it is nowhere near as large a concern for them as the fans seem to want it to be.
Which is why I reject the “timeline”.
technically speciesism at that point
@@LonelySpaceDetective This is 100% correct but I think at this point fan demand may turn those tables. Especially since story and lore and, well...serialization in general is the norm now. I think from Breath of the Wild on, more attention will be paid to continuity.
Or maybe I'm just an optimist.
@@river_acheron I suspect the direction Nintendo wants to go is treating Breath of the Wild and onward as a whole separate continuity practically, and abandoning the original timelines outside of the occasional re-release, remake or remaster. A soft reboot if you will, though harder than most soft reboots.
That isn't necessarily incompatible with what you said, but my point is that I bet whatever they do with BotW and its sequels won't really matter for the earlier games.
Is this THE Hyrule's geography evolution breakdown I have always wanted to see? I'm very excited to watch!
This is so good!
I’m starting to believe that Hyrule’s a real place...
Man, I wish all history documentaries were this entertaining.
I particularly like the Lake Hylia explanation. Considering we have multiple cities named Alexandria in real life, all named after Alexander the Great, the Hylians naming multiple lakes Lake Hylia after Hylia isn't such an outlandish concept.
Love the Video! Great content as always!! As a Geographer, I really appreciated you bringing up Plate Tectonics too. I have a little addition to the theory, based on my knowledge of Plate Tectonics and Volcanism; here is my best explanation of why Death Mountain, or other mountains, would shift. A phenomena called 'Hotspot Volcanism' -- essentially, there is a giant plume of very, very hot magma underneath the Earth's crust, creating a giant volcanic mountain chains, such as Death Mountain. As the Tectonic Plate shifts in location, the magma plume stays relatively still, creating new volcanic mountains in the process -- with the older mountains slowly eroding over time (take the Hawaiian Islands as an example, the biggest, and youngest island is above, or nearly above the plume, with each island getting smaller, due to erosion, as you get further down the chain).
So, in the case of Hyrule's geography, I *think* Death Mountain due to hotspot volcanism. With the plume residing somewhere to the North of Hyrule Castle, and the tectonic boundary separating the two areas, the 'Hyrulean Plate' and the 'Goron Plate' being a "Transform Boundary", where the plates are sliding past each other. With the both plates moving in the same direction (SE), but the Goron Plate going faster, relative to the Hyrulean Plate.
Its been a while since I've taken Geology courses, but I think this is why Death Mountain moved. But, its probably just inconsistency from Nintendo :)
Happy Holidays!
Happy holidays! And thank you so much for this amazing insight. I absolutely LOVE researching and reading about stuff like this. The earth is so dynamic and interesting. Your knowlegde is greatly appreciated. I wish I could've talked to someone in your field before I made the video ^^
@@MonsterMaze yeah, this video has more-or-less sent me spiraling down a rabbit hole of trying to make sense of Hyrule's geography. Looking into it, based on BotW's map, it is either a REALLY complicated set of plate boundaries or it is Nintendo just messing around with the locations of places, in addition to the renaming of places, or a wild combination of the three. Either way, its a fun thought experiment. Cheers!
On this subject, there's an excellent speculative world map series that was featured on r/TrueZelda (I wish I could give credit to the user, but it's a little obscure and I was only able to find the Imgur album for now. If anyone recognizes it or wants to do some digging feel free!): m.imgur.com/r/truezelda/HNNba
The amazing thing is that this map was made pre-BotW but it's shockingly compatible with the BotW map, especially if you take into account geographical differences tens of thousands of years after any known game.
There are some inconsistencies that I think you had better thought out, namely making sure the OoT castle was in the right place (unless I'm reading the map wrong, it's not correct in the speculative maps), but it might be an interesting bit of added research before the next installments?
I also had a similar thought about Death mountain being caused by a hotspot. I would be reluctant to say that Death Mountain and the rest of hyrule are on two different plates, because we don't see much evidence of faulting. Rather, I would think the entirety of hyrule is on a plate that is moving Northwest, on top of a stationary hotspot (very similar to the formation of Hawaii) which is why Death Mountain would move Southeast.
Not only does the geography and geology of a setting can change over time, *CLIMATE* can change too: what is a desert now can become a jungle in a few hundred thousand years (or quicker if a species releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere). Also languages change quickly as well over time so if one forest or some place has a new name that would explain it. Many of these critters change quickly too so maybe evolution happens fast because of so much space/time continuum shenanigans. Things to consider as you explore this series.
Goodness, your videos just seem to have higher and higher production values every time a new one is released. Your custom maps and landscape shots always blow me away, and that's to say nothing of the content itself. I say it every time, but truly fantastic stuff.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Thank you for taking the time at the beginning of your video to acknowledge the practicality of game development and design and then say that you were going to theorize anyway because it was fun. As a casual Zelda fan I find these theories fascinating but - the artist, filmmaker, and aspiring game designer inside me can sometimes get turned off by the intensity and overzealousness that theorists often have when presenting their ideas.
By acknowledging the actual, real world reasons - and then moving forward anyway - you made this super entertaining and accessible for me.
THANK YOU
This is just amazing. Geography has always been my favorite part of Zelda Lore- I love piecing together how locations and regions are linked! Its just impossible for me to ignore the connections between areas seen thought the games, so I'm so glad you've started this series. It's so cool to see somebody else's ideas regarding the matter. I cant wait for the other videos to come out! Keep up the amazing content!
I just realized that BOTW is the only Zelda game where we see the sheikah tribe because in every other game we only see impa we never saw any other members.
didn’t even watch it yet but i liked it because ik it’s gonna be great
that is the way of monster maze
This gets me wondering. With all this talk going around about the incarnation cycle. I wonder if Impa is in on it too?? She keeps reappearing throughout the series too in different iterations. What about her origins and that of the sheika?
my personal theory is that when Demise used his final words to curse link and zelda into their eternal reincarnations, he also cursed groose and impa with them. his specific wording was “you people”, implying more than just link and zelda. groose and impa are both present at the sealed temple with zelda when demise casts his curse. seeing as groose is the only male with red hair and yellow eyes, maybe the whole 1 male gerudo being born every 100 years rule stems from demise’s curse of reincarnation? that would explain why impa keeps showing up as well, and why ganondorf is always reincarnated as a gerudo rather than a demon.
To add on this me and my husband have discussed and it seems like the curse that causes link and Zelda and others to be reincarnated, is pulling in more people possible with every new incarcerate cycle. Like if ruto from Oot got reincarnated and eventually became botws mipha. It's possible that anyone who aids the original few cursed in defeating their iteration of demise/Ganon then becomes cursed themselves. That's totally speculation tho
Totally valid, but I don't like the idea that Mipha is a Zora princess because millions of years ago there was another Zora who was also a princess, or that Impa is a Sheikah because billions of years ago another Sheikah named Impa existed. Either Impa is a name or a title. It could be that there was a prominent Impa at one time, so Impa became a popular name. I imagine if a Kaleb saved Canada or Britain or the US from impending doom, there'd suddenly be a lot more people named Kaleb. Or, it could simply be the Sheikah word for "leader" or "wise one" or something, in which case not even gender plays a part in who is and is not Impa.
@SupplyGuy What about Twilight princess?
@SupplyGuy yes that’s what I meant haha. For him to die, it would mean he’d have to be reincarnated. I mean, FSA openly states it’s a different ganondorf/male Gerudo who became Ganon in that game, implying he’s likely the next incarnation of demises’ hate
With what you said about the lost woods, I think it's reasonable to say that there's actually two primary woods in Hyrule. The Lost Woods to the north/north-west as we see in ALttP and ALBW, and the Faron Woods to the south-east as seen in OoT and TP and that the names of the woods overlapping are merely a result of the Hylian Kingdoms expansion over time, similar to how we have 'York' in the UK and 'New York' in the US, or tones of places all called Victoria. In Breath of the Wild we can see both the Lost Woods and the Faron Woods in their respective locations.
Now that “they find a forest that’s easy to get lost in and call it the lost woods” part is reminiscent of Asgore.
Specifically the fact that he’s bad at naming.
16:29 if we rotate the map about 90 degrees, it sort of lines up with the northeast corner of the map in Breath of the Wild. Death Mountain is obviously Death Mountain, the Sea of Trees could correspond to Akkala, and Talus Cave looks a lot like Zora’s Domain.
Also, with the possibility of events like the Upheaval, there’s no telling what sort of wacky ways the geography would change over time
I read the title as "Evolution of Zelda Theory" at first. I had a good laugh about it afterwards
New idea for a video? ;)
That seems a bit more in line with a Dr. Wily video, "Evolution of Princess Zelda" something or other.
@@MonsterMaze yes
As someone who loves Zelda, Geography, and History, this is amazing for me :)
You brave soul. You’re actually gonna tackle this one.
-
...personally as a loooong time Zelda Player/Fan? I’d rather see Hyrule actually geographically consistant even if the regions themselves vary drastically over time (lakes and seas becoming plains or deserts then back to bodies of water again; Zora River carving DEEP gorges and canyons; Death Mountain having periods of fertile greenery and lava-scorched hellscapes) and seeing Other Worlds besides Hyrule more often.
Regions beyond Hyrule have long been a series staple for over two decades now and add much-needed variety into a franchise this long-running. I really wish Devs and the fanbase would embrace them (and Actually Same but Changing Hyrule Geography) a bit more.
I don’t care about Lake Hylia being the same nearly barren area just to have it shoehorned back in at random. I want to see it in the same place but Bigger, with Zora Dwellings and maybe a trade network or fishing villages.
I want to explore places like Holodrum and Labrynna and more vague regions like Koholint and Termina again.
Or places that are named in homage (New Hyrule) but we know simply aren’t those same places from Old Hyrule
I’m very interested in how the Hyrule will be and how they will change it in the Botw sequel... fantastic video as always
12:03 volcanos can go dormant or no longer active (when the lava supply is moved somewhere else. Thus also known as a "dead volcano") so that might be the same eldin mountain, but its ether dormant or dead. The missing lava in the goron region can be scientificly explaned
Great vid. This felt like a zelda lore breakdown and a geography lesson at the same time xD
Happy holidays!
There are two other explanations for map differences between Skyward Sword and Ocarina:
1) Skyward Sword's map is inaccurate for convenience and/or aesthetics. This would explain why there is no representation of what is present between the mapped territories; the map is meant to only roughly reflects the real positions, rotations, and even scales of the territories.
2) Magnetic north shifts over time. Rotating Skyward's map a bit will get it to line up better with Ocarina's map.
so question
the time of creation when the goddesses made everything
it would of been a time before recorded history and everything from that time would be just guessing
but if din created the earth in the legend
would that mean the world that hyrule is on is called din
and the sun would be nayru as the sun appears when nayru creates law
Interesting idea
How does Farore fit into all this?
din = is the planet which "cultivated the land and created the red earth"
nayru = the sun that "poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world"
farore = life in general? she did "produced all life forms who would uphold the law"
im not entirely set on that though
din and nayru were easy to place due to them representing inanimate objects
while farore doesnt represent anyone individual thing
something else i have noticed is that ganon, zelda/hylia and link could also be connected to this
ganon being the harsh unforgiving nature and repetition of the world (din)
zelda/hylia being the light of the sun (nayru)
and link being the hope of life (farore)
@@tylerherr4288 You could be right about the planet being called Din, but i find Nayru being their name for the sun harder to accept.
After all, she is a water-associated goddess. I do think she is related to the celestial bodies though, as their existence plays a part in the laws of gravity and the tides amungst other things. Additionally, the Sheikah are somewhat obsessed with the stars, and seem to gain some of their knowledge from them. Nayru is the goddess of wisdom, after all, so it would make sense for their fixation on space.
As for Farore, I agree that she is the creator of life. According to the lore recited by the Great Deku Tree, she poured her spirit into the land and gave it life. Forest regions are home to many land spirits such as Koroks and Faries, who possess magic that can enhance armor, heal wounds, or revive a deceased horse.
There is a lot more about those three goddesses that I have theories about, so im kinda happy to share it at an appropriate time!
@@moonflower1717 my only point for the sun being nayru is that the sun didnt seem to exist till nayru did her thing in the deku trees story
and its probably just me looking for any sort of connection
but from a chemistry standpoint
both water and stars has hydrogen in them so i dont think its too far of a stretch
Those two kids were known in the future as the creators of the spiritual succesor of the zelda franchise... ok i'm kidding, i'm not a time traveller.... or am I?
If so, then when will BotW's sequel release?
@@wutmagna7222 This timeline may be slightly different but exactly the 4th week of June 2021
(i'll laugh if i'm on point XD)
@@BlaxeFrost-X God that’s so early man idk
@@rhettmitchell Next year is dedicated to the Zelda Franchise, and it will be using the same models and artstyle (ergo, the same engine) than breath of the wild and age of calamity, right?? I believe trailers will start before summer 2021
@@BlaxeFrost-X well, the second trailer for botw 2 came out during the month of June 2021, but no game until 2022. :(
I like to think that so much time passes between Zelda games that the geography changes. It can happen, maybe weathering, erosion, and other things that cause landscape changes happen much quicker in the Zelda universe than IRL. The people just keep naming the new landmarks after the goddesses. Also, structures can be torn down or built for any number of reasons.
Here's a thought,if the minish descended from the sky,are they descendants of the skyloftians? My theory on what happened to the ones who stayed in skyloft split into various groups among the islands,some became the minish,whilst others became the Oocca tribe,perhaps they transformed skyloft into their city? They may have even come in contact with the wind tribe,perhaps the wind tribe was made up of skyloftians who wished to return to the sky?
I love that you talk about the history of Hyrule but actually talk about the multiple theories with speculation rather than doing the history with one collection of selected theories to roll with like "this could have happened but this could have happened as well" rather than the straightforward "this is how it happened in our interpretation of the timeline"
I consider areas in BotW where there is a large crater (Skull Lake, Rito Village, etc) to be potential areas where Hyrule castle may have been. These would be areas where Ganon potentially had created his floating fortress.
I know this is an old video, but I still wanna point out the fact Nayru’s Love is found in the Gerudo Desert, further tying the naming conventions of “Lanayru Desert” to OoT if the Hylians had lived in that land at the time
I really do enjoy your videos and are happy to hear that this is a new series!
It's nice to stumble upon a theory that looks at the change in Geography of Hyrule over time and possibly string together all Hyrules in one. Analyzing videogames similar to real science, especially by long lasting series can be so much fun.
Please don’t take this the wrong way because I truly mean it as a compliment. This reminds me of the educational documentary style movies they would put on at school that I said were boring but secretly really liked. The scriptwriting here really is what does it for me, it’s very well done and if it was an intentional homage it comes across very well. Almost in the same manner as the Star Trek: Prelude To Axanar fan film.
I would have had straight A’s if history class was this interesting back in the day. Masterclass video, brother!
Geography is pretty pog.
Like if you do some research you can actually find that botw's lake hylia has its source at zora's domain
A minor correction, but the Goron in Minish Cap surprisingly aren't located on Mt. Crenel. There are several who appear in a cave next to Lon Lon Ranch because of kinstone fusion, one who sells kinstones in town after a fusion event brings him there, and Biggoron is located at the top of Veil Falls. They appear more like the drifters of Wind Waker than of the organized society we see later in the timeline.
I feel a reasonable explanation for how landmarks just slide around is that each game takes place in the universe with a slightly different arrangement of landmarks where the events don’t change but where they happen do
Here’s an idea to explain why the Realm of Memories shows memories of the future
As our good old friend Einstein once said, time is relative, and given how time travel and visions are a major part of Zelda as a whole, perhaps any sort of illusory realm which draws upon one’s memories has a chance to draw upon a memory of the future, like Aang seeing Toph in Avatar
This was the video that got me to subscribe. Hyrule's geography has long been an obsession of mine, so to see that someone else did a video that had been in my head since Skyward Sword came out was really awesome. Now I'm rewatching it for research purposes.
the mogma could be the acro bandits or a kind of primitive moblins due to their shape and proportions, i mean, they have the same torso and that pig-like head, with the gorons migrating to the mountains and eating the mogma's territory they could have rise from underground to live on the surface
This certainly was worth the watch. I love how you can connect things and make sense of the lore in the different games, it's fascinating! :D
Dang monster maze is pretty freakin smart. Merry Christmas to you and you do an amazingly great job on your videos!!!
I always thought that the Temple of Time from Skyward Sword became Ocarina of Time's Forest Temple due to its location, low architectural profile, and central hall surrounded by courtyards. The similarities between the layouts of the basement of the Forest Temple and the Temple of Time itself also give the impression that they served a similar purpose, which, if I'm right, is because it was rebuilt to serve the same purpose closer to Hyrule Castle.
For sure dude this needed to be a series! Looking foward to it and your hard work
Easiest way to explain all the changes is to treat each game as it is: a legend, a story passed down over time.
10:50 reality itself knew that no male Gerudo would match up to Groose, which is why they're so rarely born.
The lake Jabu Jabu sits in could potentially be the OLD Lake Hylia, with the new one to the south-west being a new lake that formed due to some event.
The thing to remember when doing these kinds of geography theory crafting is to remember the distinction between static and impermanent features. Names are impermanent as are man-made structures. So when you see a body of water called Lake Hylia, that does not mean it is useful as a static point of reference.
Given that Nintendo never intend to keep strictly to rules for Hyrule geography they do tend to mainten key features in positions relative to each other even if the names change. Hyrule always has a large mountain range and frequently has a volcano, there is always a central area with grasslands, there is always a region with a large body of water like a lake or swamp and in recent years there is always a desert on the opposite side of the kingdom from the volcano.
I’ve theorized Lake Hylia is the crater left by skyloft being raised.
Skyloft drops back to the same place it rose from at the end of Skyward Sword
@@TotalInsanity4 welp
Well if that's true then skyloft must have been really wide
well, the only location that must be the same in most games is the master sword pedestal, on the temple of time, which by the time of tp or alttp was engulfed by the forest, but it's the exact same location where skyloft lies
That never happened, it’s implied Skyloft is still floating by the time of BotW.
Absolutely loved this. I’ve been very curious about the extreme changes lately .
Btw that shoutout to those kids at the end was so nice of you.
I've loved Zelda games since childhood. I've even gotten into the habit (passion) of going on long treks in desolate areas, quite often listening to Zelda songs while I'm at it
Hi. I'm Rick Steves giving you the best of Greater Hyrule! Today we will be playing the accordion with a talking bird! Explore some ancient shrines and go food tasting with Link's unique cooking skills! We will also show off some ancient battles with machines! How to climb extremely high walls without proper safety equipment,and how to capture horses the wrong way!
LOL If I could heart this I would!
Just discovered this channel now I have something to binge watch this afternoon.
Minute 30 seconds in and I always thought of this other games as a story told of The legend of Zelda passed down through history locations and events change because that's what it is a legend.
I'm always surprised that this doesn't have at least a million views. I genuinely enjoy stuff like this as a friggin nerd like myself.
This once again shows why you are truly a special individual among the RUclips Zelda theorists.
You are able to explain such a big and complex topic so well and in a calm way that makes it easily understandable. Your (always well-made) graphics and animations help a lot, too.
But what I like most about you is that you are completely aware that all of this is just... well... total nonsense, to be honest :D Whereas other Zelda theorists act as if their theory definitely has to be the one thing that the developers must have had in their mind, you are aware that in reality it worked differently - but nontheless you love to find those theories, even if they can be overwhelming even for you at times. This is something that can be noticed in several videos of you, and I really like that, because it makes everything more light-hearted and down-to-earth.
Oh, and while I'm at the topic: The other thing I really love(d) about you is the humor you sprinkle into your videos at times. However, unfortunately this has become very scarce in the last months. Would appreciate it a lot if you returned a bit of the humor that you used in your earliest videos :)
The fact that people are able to come up with amazing theories about a simple story that Miyamoto came up with in the 80s is simply amazing 👏👏👏
This is an awesome work, I love the part about plate tectonics and how you actually sought out footage and images in that research. My own theory about why the locations always change is the idea that Zelda is a legend. It's a story, told over and over again, and like many stories, it isn't important WHERE the Lost Woods is, it's that there IS a Lost Woods. I can see the appeal of wanting to literally answer the questions though, which is why I seek out this content.
Minor correction at 20:03: as far as I know, the Triforce does not distinguish between good and evil. If someone with an unbalanced heart attempts to take the Triforce, then the Triforce splits into three and the piece which has the characteristic most exemplified by the one taking the Triforce goes to that person while the other pieces are split up. Great video otherwise!
The movement of death mountain southeastward could also explain another motive for the Hylians establish their capital near the sealed temple, and if you compare the maps, you can see how they would’ve been slowly losing land over the ages.
Kakariko village may even be a remnant of the old capital.
I can't believe I never made the connection between Groose's appearance and the Gerudo people. Groose. Gerudo. Holy crap 🙃
Monster Maze and Zeltik are the best Zelda theorists on RUclips! Love the content on both your channels and presentation styles.
Thank you for the great video. I am a 10 year old kid aspiring to become a Pokemon master, and this knowledge of my co video game Zelda will be useful!
The final boss should be cucco instead of ganon
Now that would be terrifying.
Not only is this video interesting, the request was so sweet it almost gave me a cavity or two. :-) I've been curious about the whole map-changings across the games as well, and have wondered what others thought of it, so I'm so glad you've made this video and I'll be watching the others in the miniseries. :-)
Great video. Hyrule Historia sadly says the races we see in SS (that we don't see in other games) went extinct. Hyrule Encyclopedia also says the Kokiri were originally Hylians who moved to the forest before becoming Kokiri. A map from Hyrule Encyclopedia also has Castor Wilds above Gerudo Desert interestingly enough.
Also something to note is that as time goes on more things get discovered like in the real world, how Spanish explores thought that California was an Island and how people thought that nothing existed past the Atlantic or Persian desert.
Yes!
Okay, your ending have me a huge smile. What an awesome call out to Dominic and Elijah. Way to go!
Absolutely love the map graphics you used in this video. Great work!
One thing I'm a little confused about is the Temple of Time. If the Temple of Time we see in Ocarina of Time and BotW is the same temple built up upon from the Sealed Temple from Skyward Sword, then what exactly is the Forgotten Temple in BotW? I saw a theory talking about how the Forgotten Temple could be the original Sealed Temple because of a lot of similarities. But if the original Sealed Temple becomes the Temple of Time, there's no way the Forgotten Temple could actually be the Sealed Temple
I would love to see them randomly turn the map by like 90 degrees just to fuck with fans
I love these deep dive videos. They get me so excited about the possibilities that lie within the mythologies of Hyrule. I would throw money through the screen at Nintendo if they released a game titled The Legend Of Zelda: War For Hyrule. Where you take part in the Hyrulian Civil War. I just imagine a journey where you choose to play as a character from each of the four main races Hylian, Gerudo, Goron, or Zora. Each character played reveals new details about the war as the tale branches apart, and paths overlap. Meeting familiar faces, and helping to shape the histories of kingdoms that inevitably lead to the war for Hyrule before the events of Ocarina Of Time.
Dude this was amazing and I can't wait for more. I always love to read/hear about Zelda lore on the macro level and your high quality videos are always a blast to watch
Omg I'm so excited for this mini series!! I think about this dang map all the time and how it's moving and I guess just.... Forgot the real life concept of plate tectonics. Always so blown away by the original graphics for each video and the effort you put in 💞👍🏻 Can't wait for the next one!!
i love this video, and the depth you go into! my personal theories align with your a lot. imo things like the lost woods moving around is actually up to hylians being forced to move around so much, they were just taking the landmarks names with them
The issue with using forests as a point of reference is really unwise though as Nintendo move their woodlands around just as much as real forests change in the real world. BotW is a prime example of this as the Deku Tree itself hasn't always been associated with the Lost Woods and the areas named the Lost Woods have varied significantly over the games. It's best to see the location of woodlands as a bonus to support theories if they are found in the right place rather than being the main supporting feature of a theory.
Monster Maze: elaborate explanation of the history of Hyrule
Nintendo : we legit make it up as we go
I like this format you've been using.
Great work!
And speaking of Zelda fan parents, I haven't seen her in a while, but one of my coworkers is named Zora.
I don't know if its because my first and favorite game is OoT but the goddess story theme and title theme always hit me deep. Hope you had a Merry Christmas.
I think the lost woods may be able to shift to wherever the Deku sprout grows. Perhaps the sprout was shifted before it could take roots somewhere for some reason.
Wholesome content rn Monster Maze, merry Christmas to all Hyrule & all if you!
I absolutely love this theory about the naming convention for landmarks, particularly the one about Lake Hylia 👍
How has this video not had more likes and views? It's fantastic.