"The flow of time is always cruel... Its speed seems different for each
person, but no one can change it... A thing that does not change with
time is a memory of younger days."-Sheik, Ocarina Of Time
You've Met With A Terrible Fate, Haven't You?
We've graduated from college and moved on to the real world. It's not quite what we expected, but we're here; so what do we do now? We learn how to escape it, of course.
There's no better way to escape reality than with the help of our favorite ocarina-toting mute. Just like us, Link saw years pass by in an instant (pull on a sword and instantly become legal...ladies); he's a hero who can relate to our plight. Link will always be around to save both Hyrule from Ganon and us from boredom. We've followed Link across the sea, through twilight, and even up onto the clouds, like Cloud Atlas where Link and Zelda's souls find each other again and again. Epic adventure after epic adventure. It's grand. Clearly, the real world should be nothing more than the time we waste in between Zelda adventures.
So what's next in the world of Zelda?
It's Dangerous to Go Alone! Take This!
(Shield yourself against the upcoming spoilers or just skip ahead)
We recently celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Zelda with Skyward Sword, Hyrule Historia, and even the Ocarina of Time remake for Nintendo 3DS. Now, the Wii U has made an
First of all, let's look at what's already happened in the Zelda-verse. When it comes to the 3D console games that we've been taking with us over the years, we have: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword. The adventure all started when the original Link was freed from imprisonment and defeated the demon king with the help of the goddess Hylia. The goddess then began the eternal rebirth cycle of Link and her own mortal form, Zelda, whenever Hyrule was in danger (from Hyrule Historia). In Skyward Sword, the reincarnated Link, Zelda, the sword spirit Fi, and a large bird team up to stop evil. They succeed, but in the end they lose Fi and Zelda makes Link's sword go skyward. The End.
Adult Link defeats Ganon and then leaves the Adult timeline to return to his childhood. He warns Zelda of Ganon's plots. Zelda has Ganondorf imprisoned and sends Link away with the Ocarina of Time so that the sacred realm will never open. Unfortunately for Link, he never became a hero in this timeline and no one acknowledges him. Even worse, the only girl left in his life, Navi, ups and leaves after their seven year journey/one-night stand. He travels the realm searching for Navi and training city guards (from the Majora's Mask manga), until eventually he's met by another child, the skull kid possessed by Majora's Mask. Their play date goes sour when Majora turns Link into a deku scrub (talk about morning wood...), brings him into Termina (far away from Ganon and Zelda, hoo-ray) and tries to destroy the entire world with a weepy, teary-eyed, 'so ugly not even its mother could love it' moon. Link gets to saving the townsfolk and then watching his good deeds vanish and the same people suffering over and over again. He also gets to possess bodies of the dead and talk with their loved ones. Childhood post-traumatic stress disorder, anyone? Three excruciatingly long days later Link saves Termina, befriends the skull kid, and returns to Hyrule, where no one knows of any of his heroic exploits, except for his also-mute horse. It's tough being the Hero of Time.
Now we have an interesting time gap that's ripe for another story. What other adventures does the Hero of Time have? Maybe some more worlds like Termina, without Zelda or Ganon? In the end, Link dies but his spirit lives on as a Shade, just so he can train a hero, someone who will be recognized and respected as a hero in his own time, unlike the poor Hero of Time. Thus comes the next reincarnation: the Hero of Twilight, trained by the Hero of Time's Shade. Ganondorf's imprisonment finally ends with an execution, only he survives, escapes, and starts causing trouble. Of course the Hero succeeds in saving Hyrule and the Twilight realm, and again he loses his new friend, Midna. There's plenty of room afterwards for new Zelda adventures. But we've left something out; what happened to the Adult timeline that the Hero of Time left?
That timeline ultimately ended with Ganon reappearing, Link being reincarnated as the Hero of Winds,Zelda being reincarnated as the pirate Tetra, and the same old story now repeating, but at sea. Link and Zelda stop evil once again, but Hyrule has long since been destroyed. The old King of Red Lions sends Link and Tetra on a journey to find a new land, a new world. Here's where things get interesting.
Hey! Look! Listen!
We have two tantalizing tidbits of information from Nintendo regarding the upcoming Zelda Wii U releases, yes multiple releases. The new Wii U Zelda will be the biggest game to date, taking advantage of the Wii U's 25 GB discs with massive temples; the Forest Temple will be larger than Ocarina of Time's Hyrule Field. Since this game will take so long to make, Nintendo is remaking Wind Waker in HD to sate fans while they wait for the new game. In the mean time, what else can we figure out about the new game?
Well, the new Zelda game needs a huge open space to place dungeons. While they could remake the tried and true Hyrule Field, only larger, they may just be using a completely new land. Where in the timeline has Nintendo set things up so that our hero can enter a brand new world, a large world? Go forth toon Link and Tetra, find us that new land.
Also, it's probably not a coincidence that Nintendo decided to remake The Wind Waker, specifically. What better way to prepare fans for a true console Wind Waker sequel (after Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks)?
For now, we'll just have to wait until the Fall for the remake (although that won't be enough to make me get a Wii U) and 2014 for the next game. But we can always keep speculating...
Where do you think the sequel will take place?
-Me
