Mailbag

From:	David
Subject:	Fierce Deity mask...good or evil?
Date:	07/23/02
Message:	I was just wondering if anyone thought about the fierce deity like I have.I think most people just consider that the Fierce deity is a evil mask that link uses to obtain power,sound familier?In my opinin I think the fierce deity mask isn't really evil.I think that in the distant past, "fierce deity" was kinda just a kid like link.But instead of the evil villian being Ganon(dorf) it was Majora's Wrath.Ofcourse a hero must stop the creature and that hero is Fierce Deity.After a while Fierce Deity might have been gifted by the gods and granted supreme power,in which they called they're new god " Fierce Deity" (dangerous god).Now as a warrior of the gods,he later finds Majora and stops it's rain of terror.By trapping the evil spirt into the mask,however by doing this the warrior lost his life in the progress and put his soul into a mask.I think that it said that it has dark powers because it means dark powers against evil,the demons may have called it evil so that no one would ever put on the mask and make the hero live again.On Majora's Mask,Majora thought he could over come the child "link" and give him the mask,but before the child would figure the true power of the Fierce Deity mask out,he would destroy him.So thats just my theory of the Fierce Deity mask being more of a hero than a villian,like you said:"Sometimes in japanese tales Onis play the role of a guardian".Also at the end of Majora's Mask the mask salesman says "The masks you have are full of happiness,this is truly a good happiness".So that means that the Fierce Deity must contain a good natured soul ^_^

Well, I'm not one to think that the Fierce Deity mask is entirely evil. As I've discussed before, the best clue to the mask's power is in the interpretation of the original Japanese word "oni." I don't know whether the Fierce Deity mask contains a real "soul" as such; your theory seems to think so. Your interesting bit of fanfic is unsupported by evidence, so I won't comment further on it. But it is my opinion that the Fierce Deity mask simply contains the power of all of the masks. Not all of the masks, I think, are full of happiness. There is sadness, loneliness, and anger mixed in too. The quote you mentioned, I believe, comes from after Link defeats Majora's Mask. Perhaps driving the evil from that mask drove the evil from Link's masks, since it was Majora's Mask that was causing much of Termina's woes. But there's no telling whether Link still has the Fierce Deity mask after he defeats Majora's Mask. I think that the Fierce Deity mask is somehow connected to both Majora's Mask and all of Link's masks. Destroying the evil in Majora's Mask may destroy the Fierce Deity mask as well; or perhaps it just drives the evil from it. Since the Fierce Deity mask is a gift from Majora's Mask, I find it likely that its dark power originates in that mask.

From:	Draqua
Subject:	Two or one?
Date:	07/22/02
Message:	I've been wondering... Are Zelda and Sheik the same person or are they like two people who became one or what? Because Sheik is the last alive of an old tribe that has a name like hers but how can that be if Zelda's a princess? (Sigh) It just doesn't make sence. Help! P.S Cool sight!

"Sheik" is just a disguise that Zelda puts on, like a change of clothes. Zelda has strong magical powers, and has the ability to change her form.

From:	Lord Jabu-Jabu
Subject:	Master Sword
Date:	07/22/02
Message:	Let's assume that the 'future' of OoT continues to go on after the game finishes. What happens to the Master Sword? Did Link take it with him? Does it magically end up in the Temple of Time? Does it simply cease to exist? The reason I want to know, is because I believe LttP happens in the OoT 'future'.

If we take your theory, it would indeed seem that Link took the Master Sword back with him to the past. This would mean that the Master Sword wouldn't exist in the future. You would, therefore, need to explain the origin of Link and the Master Sword in ALttP.

From:	David
Subject:	Ganondorf
Date:	07/21/02
Message:	I was just wondering if Ganondorf took part in the Fierce wars?He must have because the Fierce wars ended when Link was just a little baby.So Ganondorf was around while the war was going on...right?

OoT tells us little about how Ganondorf was involved in the fierce wars for the Triforce. But he must have been involved somehow, because the King of Hyrule was trying to gain his allegiance. As told by the Deku Tree sprout, the King of Hyrule attempted to end these wars by unifying Hyrule. At this time, the Gerudo were still a part of Hyrule, so the King needed their allegiance if he was to have peace. This implies that the Gerudo were involved during the fierce wars. As told in the ALttP manual, these wars were fought because the people of Hyrule lusted for the Triforce. Paradoxically, the ALttP manual tells that everyone had forgotten where the Triforce was hidden. It should be obvious that Ganondorf was plotting to get the Triforce, long before OoT began. It is unclear how long before OoT the fighting stopped (a few years perhaps), but it is clear that Ganondorf continued to search for the Triforce after the King began enforcing his peace. It is almost certain that Ganondorf was one of the people looking for the Triforce during these fierce wars. And it should also be clear that Ganondorf, and the Royal Family, knew more about where the Triforce was hidden than they were willing to openly admit. Whatever one may think about Ganondorf's actions prior to OoT, Nabooru's opinion of him is instructive: "Though we're both thieves, I'm completely different from Ganondorf. With his followers, he stole from women and children, and even killed people!" Whatever Ganondorf's prior involvement, his ruthless, evil methods are crystal clear.

From:	dougie littler
Subject:	zelda's balls
Date:	07/20/02
Message:	Could you please help me i need to find out what was the name of zelda's spinning balls. this would settle a lot of hassle with my mates. Thanks Dougie

What on earth are you talking about? You need to clarify your question a little bit, because right now it sounds like you've made a dirty joke.

From:	Lord Jabu-Jabu
Subject:	Your thoughts on Kaepora Gaebora
Date:	07/20/02
Message:	I was just wondering what your thoughts are about this: "They say that the owl named Kaepora Gaebora is the reincarnation of an ancient Sage."

Indeed, the owl's actions do not seem to be bound by time. Recall that, when Sheik meets you outside the Spirit Temple in the future, you see the owl flying off, for the first time in the future, in fact. Later, when you're back in the past, the owl meets you again when you get the Silver Gauntlets. Here is what he says:

A long time in this world is almost nothing to you, is it? How mysterious! Even I thought that the tales of a boy who could travel back and forth through time was merely a legend. Link, you have fully matured as an adult. From now on, the future of all the people in Hyrule is on your shoulders. Maybe it's not my time anymore. Here is my last advice. Two witches inhabit this temple. In order to destroy them, turn their own magic against them.

Interpret this however you want, but to me, this says that the owl has some mysterious power, that allows him to see through the veils of time. If the owl is indeed the reincarnation of an ancient sage, then perhaps this is not surprising. It is thought that this sage would have been a contemporary of Rauru, since Rauru was also an ancient sage.

I also think it's possible that the owl is the representation of Rauru's spirit in Hyrule. In LA, the owl is a "part" of the Wind Fish's spirit, and is his representative in the physical world. In the same way, Kaepora Gaebora could be Rauru's "reincarnation" of sorts in Hyrule. But this may be going too far. Rauru never hints that he has any special connection with the owl. The same idea holds, I think, if the owl is the reincarnation of some other sage.

From:	Lord Jabu-Jabu
Subject:	"Zelda is your... ... ..."
Date:	07/20/02
Message:	Most of us Zelda fans know that in the Japanese version of LttP, Link's uncle's last words are "Zelda is your destiny." Firstly, what is meant by this? Secondly,That's what it says in the 'Japanese' version, but that doesn't really make is 'canon' does it? Maybe in the English version he was going to say "Zelda is your cousin." Which is quite likely. Don't the English and Japanese series have different storylines of something?

Link's uncle means that Link's destiny is tied up with Zelda's. I think that the justification of this statement becomes all too clear, as you play further into the game. After all, Link does end up saving Zelda twice. She is the reason that Link got into his adventure in the first place.

I view the Japanese versions of the Zelda games as more representative of Miyamoto's original intent. They are the "originals," and the versions we have (English, French, German, Spanish, etc.) are merely translations. I think no one would argue that a translation is superior to the original; rather, it is always the other way around, since something is always lost in translation.

However, you (and many others) fear that the storyline itself may have been drastically changed in the translation process. In my opinion, this fear is groundless. There is little reason to believe that the storyline was changed in any major, important way. It is true that localization (adapting certain things to fit the target culture) has changed a few things here and there. But, from what I've heard, and from looking at a few comparisons myself, this hasn't changed the storyline in any important way. I fully intend to do a textual comparison some day between all translations of the games. But for now, I think there is good reason to reject groundless fears and trust the experts on this one.

From:	Gomess
Subject:	Gonna have to disagree there...
Date:	07/18/02
Message:	The form Ganondorf takes at the end of OoT is nothing like the pig he is in LttP onwards- its 10 times bigger, with different colours, clothes and weapons and it has hair... Plus when you beat it you clearly see the normal Ganondorf sucked into the Sacred/Evil Realm. I'm saying that he uses Power to become that demonic dude at the end of OoT, but when he's beaten he reverts to normal. Then when he corrupts the Triforce and makes the Dark World it turns him into the blue pig (see last letter)- that they are unique forms with different origins. Of course its up in the air- just thought i might be able to change your mind with my huge amounts of evidence.... Phew, maybe i shoulda posted this in the forums ;)

I did not say that the Ganon form is one form. Nor did I claim that the Ganon forms in OoT and ALttP are exactly alike. The differences are obvious to anyone who has played the games. But I don't think you understood my point. *If* Ganondorf has the ability to change his form at will, then there's no reason why he should choose the exact same form all the time. One could see the different forms of Ganon as different "versions" of a form that Ganondorf is trying to perfect. And despite the differences, it remains a fact that all forms are given the name "Ganon." Also, you seem to be saying that the Ganon form stays essentially the same in all Zelda games other than OoT. But a comparison of art and screenshots will show significant differences. Anyway, I've discussed this issue several times in the Mailbag, if you want to search for my previous commentary.

From:	David
Subject:	Triforce and Termania
Date:	07/18/02
Message:	I just found out something that might interest you!A while ago you said that Termania has nothing to do with the hero of time,Triforce,Princess of destiny.But in Majora's Mask you can see a picture of the triforce!It's located on one of them blocks that makes a bridge for you to enter Stone Tower.Isn't it wierd?Perhaps that the mark of the triforce is nothing important to them?Or maybe nintendo is just getting sloppy

Certainly, the Triforce symbol does appear a few times in Termina. It can most notably be found on the Hero's Shield, which is sold all over Termina. The "Triforce" symbol need not mean the same thing in Termina as it does in Hyrule. In Japan, the "Triforce" is really a Shinto symbol. Who knows what it may signify in Termina. In any case, in Termina there is no reference to the Triforce or to golden goddesses. The three triangles could symbolize something else entirely. This reminds me of the Nazi swastika and the Japanese manji symbols, which look the same but mean completely different things. (See my older article, "The Manji Labyrinth.")

From:	Gomess
Subject:	Curse of the pig
Date:	07/18/02
Message:	I read in some kid's fanfic that he thinks Ganondorf was turned into a pig by some unexplained curse even before OoT happens. So.... why isn't he a pig until LttP?? In LttP's it's explained (dunno who by) that ever since Ganon took over the sacred realm anyone who enters it is turned into a shape that reflects their identity (Link becomes a pink bunny- go fig). Ganondorf is greedy, so it makes sense as long as he's in the dark world he's a pig. So why is he still a pig in LoZ, back in the 'light world'? Maybe a side effect of the corrupted Triforce he holds, or a curse from the goddesses... Your theories have been good so far- what do you think of this one?

It is my belief that Ganondorf voluntarily turned himself into Ganon. This form is far more powerful in battle, and more frightening to his enemies. At first he uses the Triforce of Power to do this (in OoT). But, even after he's lost the Triforce, he remains Ganon (in the Oracle games). I think it likely that either (1) Ganon was stuck in his monster shape after a while, or (2) he had enough power to stay in his Ganon shape, and chose to remain this way. It all depends on whether you think Ganondorf can willingly change shape or not. I think it's likely that he can, or that he could at one time, but the issue is up in the air.

From:	someone
Subject:	no really a question
Date:	07/16/02
Message:	I was playing OoT and i had my Gameshark in. i used the code to press L to levitate. After you turn adult and then turn back to kid. i went back in the castle. the guards that block you were there so i levitated over them. all the guards that are always there are gone. the i got to wear Zelda is and Zelda was still there.i thought it was weard. then she said something about the royal family song. i wanted to tell someone so i told you

Well, games are programmed to be played in a certain order. If you mess with that order by using codes, you will get strange results. I'm sure you are not supposed to enter the castle after Ganondorf's attack, so anything you see there can be discounted.

From:	Gomess
Subject:	sleeping zelda....
Date:	07/14/02
Message:	I've had a go at organizing the timeline, and I came up with a theory that the sleeping Zelda in AoL is the Zelda of ALttP/Oracles. This gives grounds to my theory that Link III has a full triforce on his hand because all of the triforce holders at the time were incapacitated (Ganon stuck in dark world, Zelda II sleeping, Link II wherever he is after LA), so the goddesses conferred the mark of all three triforces onto him. Comments? If you want to hear my full timeline theory just email me.

I haven't written an article on this, but right now I find it probable that, in the standard ordering, Zelda from the Oracle games is the sleeping Zelda. But you're saying that Zelda from ALttP is the one, right? However, this theory doesn't explain why the sleeping Zelda wasn't awoken during the Oracle games, or earlier. The whole Triforce was in Hyrule. Why didn't somebody wield it and awaken Zelda? But if the Zelda from the Oracle games is the sleeping Zelda, this mystery is solved. The Triforce of Courage, we can say, was hidden by the king before he died. So Zelda couldn't be woken until the Triforce was united once more, as it was in AoL much later.

From:	Jessica
Subject:	The Sage Descendants, etc...
Date:	07/12/02
Message:	Hi, I've been a long-time fan of the Zelda games. However, the only one I had the chance to beat was OoT, though I've researched the others throuoghly to see what I missed. Though since 1999, not long after I beat OoT for the bazillionth time, I switched over to Zelda's arch rival, Final Fantasy (gasp! Don't kill me!) Anyways, after playing FFVIII for a while, their storyline on how Sorceress powers were passed down reminded me of the Sages from ALttP or whatever one it was. Who says that the Sages have to be 'biological' descendants? In FFVIII, a sorceress passes on her powers to another person before she dies, no matter race or relationship. Maybe the same thing happens with the Sages? And by some chance, after all those years, that the powers had been passed on to all human people who the previous Sages saw fit to hold those powers. And yes, those sorceresses are called descendants, so that could make up the title of Sage Descendant as well. That's just one of my little theories, so of course it doesn't make much sense and probably won't be heard of again. Now I'm one of the people who believes in the one-Link theory, but I don't believe in the one Zelda theory. I think the Sleeping Zelda is the one from OoT, despite all the counter-arguments to this, I don't see why she can't be. Then the one from ALttP and LoZ are different ones, or maybe even sisters, since they aren't really that far apart if you hold true to the one-Link theory. Then of course the OoT Zelda is back in AoL. The truth is: we don't know much about the OoT Zelda aside from she's the 7th Sage, Sheik, and a tomboy. We never learned if she had siblings or not, so she could of had a brother. (Note I'm not counting the Oracle Series, since I consider them irrelavent A.U./side stories that have nothing or little to do with the true series.) And Link calling his descendant ' great-great-etc. Uncle?' Now I have been a gamer of Japanese games for a long time (FF, Zelda, and Metal Gear or what-not.), and have witnessed some laughable mis-translations before. Maybe great should have actually of been grand or something like that, or should of had a whole different title all together. Nintendo is famous for its vast editing of a games true storyline, sorry to say. So maybe the things that don't add up actually were supposed to, but got translated wrong. Well, those are just my theories. Keep in mind I've been out of the Zelda world for over a good two years at least, so I probably got some things wrong. But, that's all I've got to say so far.. tah-tah!

You're not the first to think of that Sage theory. There have been many speculations that the "descendants" aren't biologically descended. Though I never considered that their "powers" would be passed on. I just assumed that the title was passed on, and the receiver already had sufficient magical powers to do the job.

I won't ask how you think the one-Link theory works. I'm sure you've worked it out somehow. And I don't object to you making OoT Zelda the sleeping Zelda. It raises difficulties, such as, "why wasn't she woken up in ALttP?", but I won't argue the point. However, I do object to your rejection of the Oracle games. They are just as valid as any of the other Zelda games. I believe they fit in the true storyline, and pretty well at that. My full argument for their inclusion is given in my "Oracle Mysteries" article.

Note that Zelda.com was not "translated" from anything. It is the invention of several NOA staff members. No where in any game, guide, manual, etc. is Link's uncle ever referred to as anything but an uncle. Zelda.com simply invented this, along with the rest of things that I objected to.

Thanks for the comments! Your theories weren't too bad, so don't worry!

From:	Sam Ward
Subject:	Zelda
Date:	07/12/02
Message:	Your site is really cool and the page with zelda games on it is brilliant but you have forgotten the first ever zelda game on the nintendo game and watch handheld.

I have not forgotten it. I have simply neglected to post information on Zelda material which I don't consider to be canon or official. I'm working to remedy this situation.

From:	DRew
Subject:	midi
Date:	07/09/02
Message:	Go to E-ZELDA.COM. Download midi's and post them on your site.

I have all the midis they do, and more, in my Multimedia section.

From:	Josh Deahn
Subject:	Zelda for Snes
Date:	07/09/02
Message:	South of Kakirocko village I met this old man and he told me to do something.Now he keeps following me.How do I get rid of him?

Weird, I've never had this problem. Could you elaborate a little bit more?

From:	Saria
Subject:	idea
Date:	07/06/02
Message:	what about if you make a kind of trading cards? something that you can download and trade whit oters wat do you think?

I'm not really into "interactive" things. My site is a commentary on Zelda, not a "fun" distraction for bored Zelda fans.

From:	Chibi zelda
Subject:	ganondorf...Brown or green?
Date:	07/04/02
Message:	This seems like quite the stupid question, but earlier a friend of mine and I were having a debate over what color skin Ganondorf has. It appears that in the game Oot, and some pictures of Ganondorf, he has olive green skin. In other pictures, and in SSBM, Ganondorf has brown skin! My friend insisted that Ganondorf had brown skin, but i have to disagree with him. My friend said that Ganondorf MUST be brown skinned because he is a gerudo and Gerudos have brown skin. But they are the gerudo WOMEN who have the brown skin. Since Ganondorf is the only male in the gerudo race, it's impossible to compare him to the other gerudos because they are all women. maybe there is a difference between Gerudo women and men. Another thing, koume and kotake are ganondorf's surrogate (sorry if i spelt that wrong ^^; ) mothers right? And they are green...So, you see my point, but Who knows? All i know is that in Oot Ganondorf is green, not brown. so that's what i believe his color is. =p What are your thoughts on this? ^_^

It doesn't appear to me that any of the people you mentioned have olive-green skin. Perhaps this impression is given across by badly saturated screen shots, or badly adjusted TVs. As far as I can tell, Gerudos, Ganondorf, and Twinrova all have swarthy brown skin. If one WANTS to see olive-green, you could of course detect a hint of green. But, really, it's a swarthy brown.

From:	Roy Flanagan
Subject:	The legend of Zelda on gamecube
Date:	07/01/02
Message:	I just wanted to ask if there will be any other not cel-shaded zelda games for gamecube.

Nobody knows at the moment. It's a distinct possibility, since Nintendo is planning to keep GameCube out for a long time, and they might want to make a few more Zelda games.