Apologies for such an extended leave of absence and limited updates, but my school schedule has been particularly hectic this summer and is shaping up to be the same if not worse now that the fall semester has begun. However, I will be doing all I can to make time for ZimP in between the classes, homework, job, relationship and friendships / fraternity that I have going at the present time. But enough of all this about me, and back to the topic at hand: Zelda. So, when I last wrote for ZimP, we discussed the recently revealed new title for the next chapter in the series, Skyward Sword. I will elaborate more on this topic and put it into perspective from a broader view to try and trace the possibilities facing the Zelda series as a whole in the coming years. Let us then proceed to where we have left off in the series with its most recent additions.
First we have Twilight Princess, which came out in late 2006 and seemingly continued the story of the so-called “Child Timeline”, one of the two timelines created at the conclusion of Ocarina of Time in 1998. In this story, we learn that Ganondorf’s attempted coup of the Royal Family of Hyrule failed (largely thanks to the Hero of Time’s warning Princess Zelda and her father of Ganondorf’s coming attack at the end of Ocarina of Time), and he was subsequently arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to death at the infamous Arbiter’s Grounds, home to the relic known as the Mirror of Twilight.
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Next we have Spirit Tracks, the latest game that came out in 2009 in what is supposedly the “Adult Timeline” established at Ocarina of Time’s ending. In this story, we learn that Tetra (Princess Zelda), her pirates, and Link all eventually discovered a new land in which to re-establish the kingdom of Hyrule, which they were searching for when we last saw them at the end of Phantom Hourglass in 2007. This game takes place roughly a century following the events of Phantom Hourglass and the re-founding of Hyrule by Tetra and Link. In the back-story of the game, we learn that the land that would become the successor Hyrule was once terrorized by a powerful enemy, the Demon King Malladus. The Spirits of Good, who presided over the land and acted as mankind’s guardians, waged a protracted war with Malladus for control of the land, causing much death and destruction before the Spirits exhausted their powers to trap Malladus’ essence deep underground and seal his prison with the titular Spirit Tracks that would span across the land and the great Tower of Spirits that stands at the center of the kingdom. In the present, the kingdom’s shady Chancellor, Cole, secretly seeks to release Malladus and return him to power. To do this, Cole causes the Spirit Tracks to vanish by means of tainting the four temples that provide the energy that runs through the tracks to the Tower of Spirits and keeps Malladus’ shackles intact. Eventually the Chancellor’s plan is revealed to the new Link and Princess Zelda, Tetra’s descendant. Cole reveals his devilish nature and abducts the Princess’ body, separating her spirit from it in order to use it as a vessel for Malladus’ essence. Ultimately, the duo perseveres and succeeds in destroying both Cole and Malladus to restore peace to the kingdom by the conclusion of the story.
The game supposedly reveals the origins of the Master Sword, originally known as the titular Skyward Sword, and is confirmed to include Link and Princess Zelda (these incarnations of the characters preceding those seen in Ocarina of Time and thus making them some of the earliest confirmed incarnations of these characters chronologically). When asked if Ganondorf would make a return, the game creators refused comment, neither confirming nor denying that Ganondorf could have a role in the game. However, as Ganondorf was an established middle-aged being at the time of Ocarina of Time and this game is confirmed to take place an unspecified amount of time before the events of that game, the answer to this question remains in limbo for the time being. A key to determining the answer to this question could come in the form of an idea of exactly how many years Skyward Sword precedes Ocarina of Time. If this amount is small, such as a few decades, it is conceivable that Ganondorf could at the very least make an appearance as a younger version of himself. However, if this game follows precedent (as many of its predecessors have done) and takes place decades or even centuries before Ocarina of Time, this would seem to decrease the chances that Ganondorf could be involved in the game as this would be before his time.
Considering that this game tells the origins of the Master Sword (which during Ocarina of Time was said to have been enshrined in the Temple of Time for quite some time by that point), I personally think this game may well take place long before Ganondorf’s birth, thus making any chance of an appearance on his part fairly slim. Though not impossible to imagine given how the designers were able to fit him into the story of Twilight Princess and make it work, I just feel that this game will be set before Ganondorf’s time and thus make an appearance by him more difficult to fit in. I’m at a loss for who could be a compelling villain for this story to be perfectly honest, and considering that the villain of this story will drive the tale of the Master Sword’s origins, he or she would certainly go down in history amongst the other major console villains such as those previously listed. Who do you think could be a fitting replacement for Ganondorf? Are there any villains we have seen before that could fit in with the game’s placement in the timeline, such as Twinrova (400 and 398 years old purportedly during the events of Ocarina of Time)? Is there a chance Ganondorf could indeed still remain the true force behind this game’s events? What do some of you think?
