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Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom: Threes the Charm!

Hi! In this post I will be going over every pattern of three found in Breath of The Wild and it’s sequel Tears of the Kingdom, and what it could mean for the upcoming game!

Disclaimer: Many theorists have covered this subject and I won’t be linking every single one. This is my own take and thoughts in the end.

The Triforce:

It’s common knowledge that the super sacred triangles are the key to the LOZ series. Possess one and you’re cool; possess all three and you can make a cute little wish!

But seriously, we all know that the triforce is the ultimate pattern of three in the Zelda series. The three pieces represent power, wisdom, and courage after the Golden Goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore. Before the goddesses left the world of Hyrule, they created this power and placed it into the hands of the goddess Hylia to watch over the lands.

Although it isn’t seen in BOTW, we know it’s legend still carries into the game and will hopefully appear as an important artifact in the sequel. That being said, their are several patterns of three that relate back to the triforce and their characteristics seen in BOTW and the trailers of ToTK.

The Dragons and the springs:

The most obvious triforce connection is to the three dragons and springs found in BOTW. We have Dinraal and the Spring of Power, Farosh and the Spring of Courage, and Naydra and the Spring of Wisdom.

The dragons didn’t have much involvement in the game besides the side quest Spring of the Wisdom where Link must free the dragon of malice before accessing the spring. Besides that, their parts were primarily used to unlock each shrine at their respective spring and upgrading armor.

The springs, found in Akkala, Faron, and Lanayru, also didn’t have much involvement besides the aforementioned dragon part to unlock their shrines.

Despite this underuse, we do see Zelda journeying to the springs in the story plot to try and unlock her sealing powers. All three represent their respective goddesses and their traits.

Though there’s another important reason to bring up the dragons: look at their coloring. Dinraal is red, Farosh is green, and Naydra is blue. This all connects back to the Golden Goddesses who are portrayed across many Zelda games. Naydra is represented by blue, Farore by green, and Din by a combination of reds and oranges.

Restating, Naydra = blue, Farore = green, Din = red/orange. Got it?

Malice, Sheikah Technology, and the Wild:

Again, this isn’t a real “secret” if you’re looking closely at the game and it’s imagery.

In BOTW, we have three main components that make the main plot and over world unique- Ganon’s malice, Sheikah Technology, and the free exploration of Hyrule.

Ganon’s malice, obviously, ties back to Calamity Ganon as it is the physical form of his hatred and evil in this magenta, tar-like substance. In BOTW, Calamity Ganon takes over the guardians and the Divine Beasts by projecting malice, like a disease. The blights, Calamity Ganon, and Dark Beast Ganon are all forms of malice with the two former being mixed with Sheikah Technology. Malice pools covered places like Hyrule Castle Town, the Akkala Citadel, and the coliseum. In the teaser trailers of ToTK, we see malice make a return. Pools of it are pouring out of Ganondorf’s body and Death Mountain is spewing with the evil substance. We even see Link attacked by it, encasing his sword and arm. We can expect malice to be another player in the upcoming game.

The Sheikah technology seen in BOTW was the main game mechanic. Items like the Sheikah slate that has unique abilities to use in the Sheikah Shrines and to activate the Sheikah Towers spread across Hyrule. The Divine Beasts and guardians are offense creations to be used against Calamity Ganon. We do see a lack of all of these in ToTK trailers, and I personally don’t think they’ll be making a return. That would be too repetitive in a game that is already taking place in the same Hyrule.

Speaking of Hyrule, let’s talk about the wild! The third and final piece to this pattern is the over world itself. BOTW open world concept allows the player to traverse over the landscape, visiting regions from Hebra to Akkala, Gerudo to Faron, and everything in between.

Power is represented through malice- the evil and hatred of Ganon in a physical substance that has the power to decimate Hyrule’s landscape. Wisdom in the form of the Sheikah Technology- 10,000 year old machines that hold key information and highly advanced function. Courage represented through the landscape of Hyrule- exploring the land that Link must traverse to be rightly called the Hero of the Wild.

Now remember what I said about colors in the last section? Yeah, let’s bring that back.

Sheikah technology shines blue once activated, malice is magenta/red, and the wild is (although many colors) primarily green. Each representing a key component of BOTW and the bigger LOZ universe with the triforce and the golden goddesses.

Sky Islands, the Surface, and Underground:

In BOTW, we were able to explore the lands of Hyrule. In ToTK, we see the use of vertical exploration with sky islands and the hopefully traversal underground.

The underground, where many have theorized Ganondorf’s body is said to rest. Trapped by an unknown spirit for ages, Zelda and Link find this body and cause the Hyrule as we know it to change. In the trailers, we see Link and Zelda in one of these underground caves filled with luminous stones and decorating wall depictions of mysterious events. Additionally, the malice coming out of Hyrule castle and emerging from Death Mountain.

The sky islands are as equally mysterious and seem to be an important game play mechanic. Besides the obvious connection to Skyward Sword, the use of Link’s new hand time-reversal mechanic may bring us beyond the clouds and into the sky.

Finally, the land of Hyrule itself. Ruled by Princess Zelda’s family for generations and inhabited by different races. The history of Hyrule is extensive and Zelda herself is a scholar who yearns to uncover all its many unsolved mysteries and secrets.

Once again, we are given another power of three that will assumably be overseen by our main characters. The underground, domain of Ganondorf as he bides his time scheming for his return. The sky islands to be explored by Link with the help of his newly powered hand. Hyrule Kingdom and it’s most curious explorer and only member left of its royal family, Princess Zelda.

To be clear, Hyrule tying into Zelda and the Triforce of Wisdom is separate from my last pattern where Link’s exploration represents the Triforce of Courage. It’s Link’s adventures that make the wild and the sky islands his, not the land itself.

Our Main Three:

AKA Link, Zelda, and Ganon. The original three that represents the triforce, each individual carrying out the traits of the golden goddesses.

Link, the hero. The one who wields the blade of evil’s bane. The one forever doomed to be mistaken as Zelda (poor guy).

Link’s iconic green tunic across several game connects to Farosh and the exploration of the wild. He is the embodiment of courage. Facing difficult challenges despite the extreme circumstances all while possessing honor and loyalty that makes him the hero of the series. In BOTW, he faces Calamity Ganon after a century of sleep and no memories. As Zelda put it, “Courage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten”.

Ganon is the reincarnation of Demise the Demon King. He’s displayed his physical strength, large following, and cunning tactics over the series. The power he possesses is backed by true fear of others as well as manipulation and trickery. Taking over the Divine Beasts and Sheikah technology proves just how powerful someone can be when they use evil tactics. The sheer scale of his final form Dark Beast Ganon representing the physical supremacy he has, rightfully representing the Triforce of Power.

And Zelda, the princess who wants to be a scholar. Who’d rather spend her time reading books and discovering Sheikah Technology. She finds knowledge in the past that helps her future. She is also the reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia, possessing powers of light that are the key to defeating Calamity Ganon. Across many titles, this divinity has helped her attained wisdom that would be otherwise unknown if not for her.

Tying everything together:

If you’ve been following along, you know how I’ve pointed the connections through these patterns all the way back to the Triforce. Link and the Triforce of Courage, representing Farosh and it’s spring while wearing a green tunic as he explores the wild and, soon, the sky islands. Zelda and the Triforce of Wisdom, the princess of Hyrule backed by Hylia and the Sheikah technology in blue colors that coincide with Naydra and it’s spring. Ganon and the Triforce of Power, using magenta malice to spread his hatred all from his place underground while Din and it’s spring are the only things that remain above the surface.

All this symbolism makes for great story telling. BOTW uses these to portray an excellent story, further conveying its plot through visuals.

For example, Zelda being trapped in Hyrule Castle while Naydra is only dragon affected by malice. The guardians and the Divine Beasts taking over by Ganon all while the world of Hyrule remains largely untouched. Finally, Zelda falling in one of the ToTK trailers, now underground in Ganon’s domain.

I have another pattern of three concerning the Sheikah, Yiga, and the Zonai but I don’t want to make this post longer than it already is. Thank you all so much for reading and there is definitely more to come!

[angellover857]

Tears of the Kingdom: People in Trouble

Hi! This is my first Zelda theory and my first post ever! Really I just need an outlet to put all my thoughts because none of my friends play video games. I apologize if this post is all over the place.

Ok to get into it, first I wanna state that I am elaborating on Monster Maze’s Secrets of the Surface video he posted recently. I highly recommend watching the video along with Monster Maze’s other content!

With the new trailer drop and release of the official artwork for Tears of the Kingdom, many theorists have noticed two main things: Death Mountain being blocked by Malice and a wind tunnel somewhere in the Tabanatha/Hebra region.

In Monster Maze’s video, he theorized what exactly is going on with Hyrule’s surface. He states that perhaps Ganon is attacking the races of Hyrule with natural disasters along with their Divine Beasts. I think that Ganon is not only doing this, but purposely trying to put the Divine Beasts out of commission so they can’t be used against him once again. In a game perspective, having all the Sheikah technology accessible to us in ToTK would be dull and we’ve already seen a lack of Sheikah Towers and Shrines in the teasers we’ve received. Explaining the absence of Sheikah towers and Sheikah shrines are easy- they aren’t needed and have sunken into the ground for the next Hero. The Divine Beasts although we’re dug up, so they have no mechanism that would explain why they disappeared into the ground. Therefore it’s a possibility that the game developers solution to this is to make the Divine Beasts unusable.

First up, the Gorons and Vah Rudania.

It’s obvious to see from the trailer and artwork that Death Mountain is blocked by malice, much like how malice is rising from under Hyrule Castle.

“If” (quotations because it’s basically confirmed) Ganondorf is underground somewhere then the malice rising from the earths crust make a lot of sense. The malice is releasing out onto the surface, and hopefully we see more evidence of this predicament in other places such as the Yiga hole or the other caves surrounding Hyrule.

So how does this affect the Gorons and Vah Rudania?

Well first off, no lava means no rock roasts. In BOTW, gorons eat “rock roasts” which look like rib of magma rock. In the side quests “A Brother’s Roast”, Blado asks Link to find a rock roast for his Gonguron who collapse in Gorko Tunnel. After eating the roast, Gonguron has enough strength to pound a wall of rocks away to reveal a shrine. Rock Roasts give the Gorons a burst of energy that practically revitalizes them.

Because Death Mountain is blocked by malice and therefore the lava flow is stopped, we can assume the gorons are in a food drought. I don’t think Nintendo would portray the extremities of such a situation, but we can expect tired sluggish Gorons. This in turn effects the mines, that would most likely not be in use due to low energy and lack of food. If that’s the case, the economy of Gordon City would also be poor as BOTW explained that the Gorons sell the minerals from their ore deposits as they are inedible to them.

Assuming the Divine Beasts can be seen (not used) in this game, Vah Rudania would be largely effected. Vah Rudania is always found high atop Death Mountain, circling its crater. What if Vah Rudania is in the volcano, blocked by the malice? We know that Vah Rudania can fit easily inside from BoTW. The malice may be erupting from Death Mountain, imprisoning Vah Rudania and afflicting the Gorons in triple whammy disaster.

Next, the Rito and and Vah Medoh.

It’s hard to tell where this wind tunnel, tornado like column is based of the artwork alone, but in Monster Maze’s video he placed it in the Tabanatha and Hebra region due to the angle and BOTW map. Either way, the actual appearance of the tunnel is strange, as it clearly isn’t forming from the sky like a tornado does. Instead, their seems to be a center that is gathering hot and cold air on the ground surface creating the phenomenon.

No matter where the tunnel is, it would hugely effect the Rito’s and their flight habits. Every Rito would be unable to navigate the strong winds in fear of getting sucked into the vortex, therefore their whole way of life is disrupted. They could be trapped in Rito village in a forced shelter in place. Those were at the flight range and Warbler’s nest may never be able to fly back home, instead being forced to walk to reach the village. If things are really extreme such as a tornado is, the vortex could be sucking away parts of the village, including the bridges leading to it.

Depending on where the tunnel is, the Ritos may be able to evacuate to another part of Hyrule like lower Tabantha or Northern Hebra near the labyrinth. This would be a cool way to change up the location of the Ritos and serve as a way to change up Hyrule’s landscape that we explored in BOTW.

As Monster Maze theorized, it’s makes the most sense for the wind tunnel to be surrounding Hebra mountain as the area in BOTW served little purpose besides shrines, a leviathan, and shield surfing. If the eye of the storm is Rito Village, that will also pose as a great danger for the Rito.

No matter where, Vah Medoh would be grounded, unable to navigate through the strong winds that could suck the divine beast into the vortex of the tunnel. Like the Rito, it would lose its main function and therefore unusable for anyone to use against Ganon.

Additionally, it would make sense if the Rito couldn’t fly, as we know ToTK features sky islands. No Rito to help Link up to the islands!

Though we don’t see any proof of these disasters inflicting the Zora and the Gerudos, I’ve theorized a couple of ways Ganon can disrupt their life.

The Zora and Vah Ruta are easier to theorize about as water can be involved in so many natural disasters. In BOTW, the Zora featured an endless amount of rain so it’s unlikely Nintendo would pull that again. That leaves a drought, a flood, or Zora’s domain freezing over. It would be a nice throwback to OOT and TP to see the domain frozen again, causing the Zora Springs to stop flowing. A flood is entirely possible, as said in BOTW that the East Reservoir could flood with Ruta’s rain.

Another possibility is that the domain is filled with the pools of malice seen in Hyrule Castle Town, the Akkala Citadel, etc. in BOTW. This would be an interesting way to plague the Zora’s who can’t swim in the malice waters.

I’d like to think of we’d get a combination resulting in both the pools of malice and the Zora Springs being dried up. That way the whole landscape of Hyrule is change as the rivers and lakes would also dry as a result, while the pools of malice would be a new affliction never seen in a LOZ game.

Either way, the Zora and Vah Ruta wouldn’t function.

Lastly, the Gerudos and Vah Naboris.

This is tough because BOTW already saw sand storms plaguing Gerudo desert and there isn’t much else to cause such a disruption.

The most logical thing I could come up with is a monsoon. Heavy rainfalls that disrupt the sand dunes, causing them to shift and unearth structures (like the Arbiter’s ground perhaps). A monsoon would cause landslides that could devastate Gerudo Town, burying it in sand and causing food and goods to be damaged.

Vah Naboris too could be buried within the sand dunes, the grains cogging up the machine so it’s unable to move at all.

All of this could accumulate into one of the things Zelda fans were missing in BOTW: dungeons.

Dungeons centered around freeing the races and their divine beasts from the disasters, allowing for a traditional Zelda experience.

Overall, I would like to see a change in Hyrule’s geography and I think it would be interesting if these natural disasters did so! I have more to say on the Hyrulian and Sheikah but I don’t want to make this post longer than it already is. More to follow!