Triforce

"In a realm beyond sight, the sky shines gold, not blue... There, the Triforce's might makes mortal dreams come true."

- The Book of Mudora The Triforce is a sacred golden relic left within the Sacred Realm by the Golden Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore, once they finished creating the realm of Hyrule. It was formed at the point where the Goddesses departed, and that area became the Sacred Realm, a realm parallel to Hyrule itself. The Triforce consists of three separate triangles: the Triforce of Power on top, the Triforce of Courage on the right, and the Triforce of Wisdom on the left. It is interesting to note that the Triforce, development-wise, did not start with three pieces. The first game only featured the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom. The Triforce of Courage was added to the group one game later. This implies that the name "Triforce" initially referred to the shape of the pieces, instead of the number of pieces as is commonly believed.

Legends of the Triforce
For ages after the creation of Hyrule, the Triforce rested within its temple, the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm, untouched by mortal hands. The Goddesses ordained the Triforce as Hyrule’s providence, the ‘True Force’ to govern all; an ultimate source of power. Of all the powerful mystical forces in the realm of Hyrule, none compare to the Triforce; thus, whoever claims the Triforce gains virtual omnipotence, their power, wisdom or courage dwarfed only by the Goddesses themselves. The Triforce ultimately determines Hyrule's destiny, such that if a person with a righteous heart claims the Triforce, Hyrule will enter into a golden age of peace and prosperity. But, if a person with a wicked heart claims the Triforce, the realm will inevitably fall into an age of darkness. However, it is prophesied that if one with an evil heart were to claim the Triforce, a Hero is destined to be born.

The Triforce contains the essence of the Goddesses, but unlike the Goddesses, it does not discriminate between those who are good or evil. It grants the wishes of whoever touches it, regardless of their motives. The stronger the wish, the more that wish comes true. However, if the one who takes the Triforce from it’s resting place within the Sacred Realm doesn't have a balance of Courage, Wisdom and Power within their heart, the Triforce will separate into its three parts, and the one who touched the Triforce will be left with only the Triforce aspect in which they most believed. To gain the full power of the Triforce, the one who touched the Triforce must seek the two lost triangles and reconstruct it.

Holders of the Triforce
Few have ever possessed the Triforce, or any fraction thereof. For the better part of the series, the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage are held by Ganon, Zelda, and Link respectively. There have been other Triforce possessors in the past, possessing the Triforce in its entirety. In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Ganon acquired the complete Triforce, yet he was trapped within the Sacred Realm by the Seal of the Sages, and as such, was unable to fully exploit the Golden Power. In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Ganon was able to reform the complete Triforce, yet before he was able to harness its power, the King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule stepped in, claimed the Triforce, and entreated the Goddesses to flood Hyrule and save the realm from Ganon’s evil. Aside from the three known Triforce Holders, to date, only one other person has possessed a part of the Triforce: in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Princess Zelda conferred the Triforce of Wisdom to, Midna, allowing her to exist in the World of Light. Though Zant never actually possessed any part of the Triforce, he received his power from Ganon, thus indirectly receiving power from the Triforce of Power.

Triforce of Power
The Triforce of Power embodies the essence of the Goddess of Power, Din, the creator of Hyrule. Whoever holds the Triforce of Power is granted "true power". This power is absolute, making the recipient of Din's blessing a god-like entity, vastly more powerful than any mortal, affording its wielder immortality, invulnerability, vast strength and an unlimited source of mystical power. When Ganondorf invaded the Sacred Realm and claimed the Triforce in Ocarina of Time, the sacred triangles separated, leaving him with only the Triforce of Power, the aspect in which he most believed. Nevertheless, the Triforce of Power makes Ganondorf unimaginably powerful, granting him unlimited strength and matchless mystical power. In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Ganondorf retains the Triforce of Power that he had seized, unbeknownst to the Sages (who only understood it to be a "divine prank"). It allows him to survive his execution, but he seemingly loses the Triforce of Power after he is impaled by the Master Sword.

Triforce of Wisdom
The Triforce of Wisdom embodies the essence of the Goddess of Wisdom, Nayru, the author of law. It imparts divine wisdom upon its holder, and grants the holder untold mystical abilities, including the ability to heal others, manipulate reality, and the ability to communicate telepathically. The Triforce of Wisdom leads its holder to make the right decisions, making them wiser than any mortal. When the Triforce was split into its three aspects, Princess Zelda was imparted with the Triforce of Wisdom. The essence of Nayru grants Zelda a myriad of mystical abilities as well as divine wisdom. In The Legend of Zelda, Princess Zelda splits up the Triforce of Wisdom into eight fragments and hides them throughout the land, fearing Ganon's rule after he steals the Triforce of Power. Link must reassemble the Triforce of Wisdom if he hopes to enter Death Mountain, destroy Ganon, and save Princess Zelda. In The Wind Waker, Zelda, in her guise as Tetra, carries a part of the Triforce of Wisdom in the form of a pendant. The remaining fragment is given to her by the King of Hyrule.

Triforce of Courage
The Triforce of Courage embodies the essence of the Goddess of Courage, Farore, the source of all life. Bestowed upon the Hero of the Goddesses, Link, the Triforce of Courage is more than a mere symbol of Link's exemplary courage. Though Link is not a skilled sorcerer like Ganondorf or Zelda, the Triforce of Courage, like the other sacred triangles, grants him untold mystical abilities, one of them being some extent of protection against evil magic. In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the Triforce of Courage, from the very beginning of the game, is already visible in Link's left hand (or right hand in the Wii version). One of the known effects of the Triforce of Courage in the said game is transforming Link, instead of into a lost soul like every other being from the Light World, into a Wolf. The Triforce of Courage also repels the Shadow Beast who attempts to attack him. In The Wind Waker, Link must retrieve the eight pieces of the Triforce of Courage from the bottom of the ocean, where it has been hidden in order to safeguard it. It shattered after the hero holding it left Hyrule. In The Adventure of Link, it is revealed that a previous King of Hyrule, fearing the misuse of the Triforce, sealed the Triforce of Courage away in the Great Palace, where only a hero worthy of its power would be able to obtain it after proving himself. Link endured the trials of the Great Palace, including defeating his own shadow, and recovered the Triforce of Courage. Uniting it with the Triforces of Wisdom and Power, he was able to break the spell cast on the sleeping Princess Zelda.

Triforce Shards
A Triforce Shard is a fragment of a shattered Triforce. In order to hide the Triforce from evil, it has been broken into pieces and scattered throughout Hyrule. Splitting the Triforce not only protects it from evil hands, it also ensures that whoever manages to assemble all the pieces is worthy of possessing it. The Triforce has been fragmented in two games thus far: the original The Legend of Zelda, and in The Wind Waker.

In The Legend of Zelda, in an attempt to keep Ganon from obtaining the remaining Triforce of Wisdom, Princess Zelda divided the Triforce of Wisdom into eight fragments and scattered them throughout the land. She then sent Impa to find a man courageous enough to defeat the evil monster ; however, Impa is eventually attacked and cornered by Ganon's minions. Just as there seemed no hope, the young adventurer known as Link saves her from peril. Impa saw the potential in this boy, and decided he would be the hero to end her search. She presented him with a mission: to find the eight shards of the Triforce of Wisdom and rescue Zelda. Link set out to end Ganon's reign of evil and recover both the Triforce of Wisdom and Power. In the flooded land of Hyrule in The Wind Waker, Link must recover the eight shards of the Triforce of Courage that hid throughout Hyrule after the departure of the Hero of Time. With help from Tingle's cartography skills, he sets out to find the Triforce Charts that would show him the location of each of the fragments. It is only after Link assembles the Triforce of Courage that he sets off to fight off Ganondorf and save both the Great Sea and Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda
In the original game, the Triforce of Wisdom and Triforce of Power are described as "golden triangles possessing mystical powers" that grant their holders great power. Prior to the events of the game, Ganon attacked the kingdom of Hyrule and stole the Triforce of Power. Fearing Ganon's wicked rule, the Princess Zelda split the Triforce of Wisdom into eight shards and hid them in the dungeons beneath Hyrule. Link must fight his way through the eight dungeons to recover the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, and then battle his way through Ganon's stronghold to defeat him and recover the Triforce of Power.

The Adventure of Link
The Triforce of Courage is first introduced in the second installment of the The Legend of Zelda series. A historic King of Hyrule who had mastered the complete Triforce (the only character in the series known to have done so) placed it in the Great Palace, where it could only be obtained by one who could fight his way through six other palaces to break the magical seal left by the king. Guarded by a wizened sage, the Triforce could only be recovered by a hero capable of defeating not only the soldiers and monsters set to guard the Great Palace, but also his very shadow. Link overcame these obstacles to achieve the third Triforce, and used the power of the united relic to wake the slumbering Princess Zelda.

A Link to the Past
The Triforce is first revealed as a divine manifestation of the Goddesses' power in A Link to the Past. Bestowed upon Hyrule upon their departure, it lay hidden in the fabled Golden Land until the evil thief Ganondorf and his minions broke the seal into the hidden land. Within the Golden Land, the Triforce has the power to change the shape of anyone who enters from the outside. The cruel and evil Ganon was transformed into a hideous pig-like creature, while later in the game the innocent and pure Link was changed into a pink rabbit.

Upon murdering his companions and claiming the Triforce for his own, Ganon used its power to turn the Golden Land into the Dark World. Raising an army of monsters to assault the land of Hyrule, Ganon was nearly successful in spreading his evil over all the land, but was stopped when the Knights of Hyrule and the Seven Wise Men sealed him in the Dark World. Still in possession of the Triforce, Ganon used Agahnim to crack the seal between worlds by teleporting the seven maidens, who were descended from the Wise Men, one by one into the Dark World, sealing them in crystals and creating a portal between the worlds. After obtaining the Master Sword and rescuing the seven maidens, Link defeated Ganon and recovered the complete Triforce. Instructed by the Triforce to take it with a wish in his heart, Link used its power to cleanse the evil that had been done by Ganon; healing those who had been wounded by his evil, restoring the Dark World to the Golden Land, and restoring peace to Hyrule.

Ocarina of Time
Ganondorf, the sole male Gerudo from the desert in the west of Hyrule sought the Triforce, and through the manipulation of the young boy Link, he was able to enter the Sacred Realm uncontested once Link opened the portal by pulling the Master Sword from the Pedestal Of Time. In that instant Ganondorf seized his opportunity and attempted to lay claim to the Triforce. However, there was another tale told about the Triforce, one that stated that if a person whose Wisdom, Power and Courage were out of balance with each other should lay their hand upon it, the Triforce would shatter into its three separate pieces. The person would keep the Piece of Triforce that represents the thing one most believes in, and the other two pieces would seek out a hiding place in the body of those chosen by destiny. When Ganondorf laid his hand upon the Triforce this prophecy came true, and the Triforce shattered, sending the three pieces into the bodies of Ganondorf (Power), Princess Zelda (Wisdom) and Link (Courage).

Out of all current games, Ocarina of Time has been the basis of the most rumors on receiving the Triforce in a Zelda game to date. Although it is well known that it is not an item that can be received in the game, many stories and rumors from fans claiming they have obtained the Triforce by doctored photos and such have come up.

Link obtaining the whole Triforce was originally going to be in the game, as seen in the screenshot to the right. But the idea was scrapped in the early states of development. Although if an Action Replay is used, it can be "found" in the debug room. By using a Gameshark code to L-Button levitate in Hyrule Castle Garden, the player can actually get underneath the garden's floor, revealing a Triforce symbol located roughly under where Zelda is standing.

An engraving of the Triforce is also seen on the Quest Status menu, centered between all of the Medallions, but it is only there for decoration purposes.

Majora's Mask
The Triforce does not play any direct role in the storyline of Ocarina of Time's sequel. It is, however, depicted throughout the Stone Tower Temple. Fans who support the idea that the Temple was meant to insult Hyrule's Goddesses cite the irreverent display in their arguments.

Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
The Triforce plays an identical role in both Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. During the introduction, the Triforce calls to Link from its place in Hyrule Castle, telling him to accept their quest. It then sends him to Holodrum (in Seasons) or Labrynna (in Ages).

The Wind Waker
The Triforce of Courage, left in Hyrule after the legendary Hero that appeared in Ocarina of Time left Hyrule (original Japanese suggests the Triforce split when the Hero "journeyed the flows of time" at Ocarina of Time's end), shattered into eight pieces, and was locked in chests in the sea. Eight special Treasure Charts were drawn and hidden to stop anyone without a courageous heart from assembling it. Link assembled it, and when showing it before the Gods at the Tower of Gods, the Triforce fused with him, showing the acceptance of the Gods, thus making him the Hero of Winds.

Towards the end of the game, Ganondorf unites all three Triforce pieces on top of his tower at long last and tries to make a wish, but he is stopped as King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule presses his hands upon the golden symbol, and then asks the gods to cover the land of Hyrule completely. Upon closer observation, after the king's wish, each piece of the Triforce is seen flying off in opposite directions, possibly implying that the Triforce returns to the Sacred Realm after it is used.

The Triforce is referred to as the Triumph Forks by the Fishmen. By the time The Wind Waker takes place, the word "Triforce" appears to have been forgotten, possibly due to the Great Flood and distortions of the old legends of Hyrule. The "Triforce" legend had been seemingly supplanted by a "Triumph Forks" legend.

The Minish Cap
Though the Triforce is never mentioned in The Minish Cap, it can be seen on Link's shield and on Princess Zelda's dress. The Triforce crest can also be found on various places around Hyrule, such as above the bell in Hyrule Town, or at Hyrule Castle, and on Gustaf's tombstone in the Royal Crypt. According to the director of the game, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, it is unknown if the light force, which Vaati searches for, has some relationship with the Triforce.

Twilight Princess

 * See also: The Story of the Interlopers

The word "Triforce" is not used at any point during Twilight Princess. However the Triforce is obviously well-known since markings of it exist on the Hylian Shield and on various walls. Its power is also spoken of by the ancient Sages of Hyrule who guarded the Mirror of Twilight. Unlike in Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker, Ganondorf makes no attempt to retrieve the other Triforce parts, despite being in the same position of power as he was in Ocarina of Time, as the "ruler" of Hyrule but lacking omnipotence.

In this episode, the wielders of the three parts of the Triforce (Power, Wisdom, Courage) are obviously Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, the same as Ocarina of Time. Each of them can be seen using their piece of the Triforce at various points in the game. Also, the wielders of the Triforce are said to be "blessed by the goddesses". Though it is not directly stated, it appears that Zelda transfers her piece of the Triforce to Midna to save her life when Link brings her to the princess.

The Triforce symbol can be seen on Link's hand from the beginning of the game, signifying he holds the Triforce of Courage. Also, Zelda, Link and possibly Ganondorf are not turned to spirits by the Twilight just as Midna, once she receives Zelda's Triforce, does not have to transform into a shadow in the Light World, signifying that their Triforce pieces protect them.

Phantom Hourglass
The Triforce is not mentioned at all in Phantom Hourglass except for an instance in the Temple of the Ocean King. Link is told that in order to pass through a door in the Temple, the "sacred crest" must be drawn on it; this symbol is the Triforce.

Spirit Tracks
In Spirit Tracks, the Triforce is also not mentioned throughout the whole game. It appears on Princess Zelda's dress and in the Shield of Antiquity, which is the shield that belonged to the Hero of Winds. The Triforce also appears on the Ancient Gold Piece.

Nintendo Adventure Books
The Triforce pieces also make an appearance in the Nintendo Adventure Books: The Crystal Trap and The Shadow Prince. The Triforce of Wisdom is situated in the Triforce Room of the North Castle, kept away from the hands of evil. The Triforce of Courage rests within Link's heart while the Triforce of Power is in the possession of Ganon.

In The Crystal Trap, Ganon encases the Triforce of Courage and Wisdom in a Crystal using a spell from the Magic Scroll; however, since the Triforce of Courage is in Link's heart, the young hero became trapped as well. Towards the end of The Shadow Prince, Charles of Moria reveals to be Ganon in disguise and steals the Triforce of Wisdom from the Triforce Room, although Link is successful in retrieving it by slashing Charles's necklace in two, defeating the false knight.

Trivia

 * The Japanese name for the Triumph Forks is Tarai to Hosu which means "Bucket and Hose", whilst Triforce is Toraifosu, so the name is a pun in both languages (Japanese and English).
 * The Triumph Forks are mentioned again as an Easter Egg in The Minish Cap, appearing as titles of books in the Library (The titles appear in Hylian. Translated it says Ta Ra I To Ho Su). The books bearing the Triumph Forks titles appear next to other books referencing the original titles of the Oracles series.
 * WWE superstar Cody Rhodes has a Triforce symbol from The Legend of Zelda series featured on his boots. Rhodes is a big fan of the games, and has admitted to re-playing A Link to the Past yearly.