Kakariko Village

Kakariko Village (Pronounced, ) is one of the main settlements in Hyrule, second only to Hyrule Castle Town. It has appeared in several The Legend of Zelda games, making its debut in A Link to the Past. Kakariko is said to have been founded by the Sheikah, attendants who serve the Royal Family of Hyrule, and it used to be their village exclusively before Impa herself opened up the village to the common people. The graveyard by the village is known to be the final resting place of the members of the Royal Family and deceased Zora leaders.

A Link to the Past
In A Link to the Past, Kakariko Village is the largest settlement in the game. It is located in the western side of the Light World, just south of the Lost Woods. Here there are several merchants, as well as characters with vital information for Link. Being the largest city in the game, Kakariko Village has a number of businesses, including a blacksmith, a shop, a Bottle Merchant, a Fortune Teller, a tavern, and an inn.

Kakariko is the home of Sahasrahla, the famed elder, and his family, and it is with the intention to find him that Link first comes to the village. Upon arriving in Kakariko, Link discovers that he has been blamed for the abduction of Princess Zelda, and that some villagers who believe him to be guilty will summon soldiers to arrest him. Others are more sympathetic, and the family of Sahasrahla will provide him with clues as to his whereabouts.

After Link retrieves the Master Sword from its pedestal in the Lost Woods, Kakariko Village will be overrun by soldiers who will attack Link at sight, forcing the village's citizens to remain inside their homes. It is also at this point that Link can free the bird sealed within the Weathercock located in the middle of the village. After the young hero receives the Ocarina from the Flute Boy in the Dark World, Link can play the instrument in front of the statue to reveal a small bird within. Now that the bird has been awakened, Link can call the flying animal so that it can transport the young hero to specific places in the Light World any time the ocarina is played.

Blind, the leader of a gang of thieves, once lived in Kakariko Village, where his home served as the hideout for his mischievous companions. However, when Link visits Blind's home, the hideout turns out to be vacant except for a couple of Treasure Chests lying around. During Link's adventure to rescue the Seven Maidens, he journeys to Kakariko Village's Dark World counterpart: the Village of Outcasts, a town notorious for its corrupt establishments as well as the many thieves it has roaming around. It is here that he finds Blind, who reveals himself to be the boss to the Dark World's fourth dungeon: Thieves' Town.

Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, Kakariko Village is the main settlement of Hyrule. It is located on the northeastern portion of Hyrule, right next to Hyrule Castle Town and at the foothills of Death Mountain. The town is an entrance to a number of locations, such as the Shadow Temple, the well, the graveyard, and the Death Mountain Trail.

The village's origins are elaborated upon during the game, explaining that it was founded by the Sheikah, the guardians of the Royal Family of Hyrule. Moreover, it is revealed that the village was home to only those pertaining to the Sheikah tribe, although it was later opened up to the poor commoners by Impa, who was also born and raised in Kakariko. As such, she is often considered the leader of Kakariko Village, not only for having helped the poor commoners of Hyrule, but also for her great efforts in trying to turn the village into a great city to equal the bustling metropolis that is Hyrule Castle Town.

Kakariko Village as seen in Ocarina of Time is one of the most prominent locations in the game due to it being Link's primary destination many times during his adventure through Hyrule. The town is home to many important attractions, such as the windmill, which is used to draw water up from the well, the village's only source of water. It is also the location of the Kakariko Graveyard, where the souls of the fallen Hyruleans, Hylian Royal Family, and Sheikah tribe members are said to rest. The small town also contains many buildings of interest, including a Potion Shop, a Shooting Gallery (still under construction in the earlier time period,) and a Bazaar. Some notable residents include the Cucco Lady, the Carpenters, the Graveyard Boy and his family, and Dampé. Through various actions, Link will obtain numerous items from this village, including the Lens of Truth, a bottle, a Hylian Shield, and several Ocarina Songs, such as the Song of Storms, Sun's Song, and Nocturne of Shadow. The House of Skulltula is also here, where Link will be rewarded based on how many Gold Skulltulas he has killed.

Link's first visit to Kakariko is called upon when Impa advises the young hero to go to her village to learn more about the Spirital Stone of Fire, the Goron's Ruby. When Link first visits Kakariko as a child, he finds that most of the village is under construction due to Impa's goal in trying to improve the small town and turn it into a true city. Later on, once Link learns the Song of Storms as an adult, the young hero can play that melody inside the windmill in front of the Windmill Man to dry up the well, allowing him to explore the interior of the well and obtain the Lens of Truth in the process.

During the time that Link remains in his seven-year slumber due to him retrieving the Master Sword from its pedestal, Ganondorf launches an attack in Hyrule Castle Town, forcing its citizens to flee to Kakariko Village to escape from Ganondorf's wrath. When Link returns to Kakariko after having awaken Princess Ruto as the Sage of Water, he finds the village in flames. The young hero learns from Sheik that the evil shadow spirit, which had been sealed by Impa long ago, has escaped from the bottom of the well, wreacking havoc on the village and setting it on fire (which is later extinguished by the constant rain falling upon Kakariko). The spirit easily defeats both Link and Sheik, and once the young hero regains consciousness, Sheik explains that Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple in an effort to try and seal up the spirit again. Sheik goes on to reveal that Impa is one of the six Sages, and he urges Link to go help Impa by teaching him the Nocturne of Shadow. This song, which is the melody necessary to gain access to the upper part of the graveyard, is the only entrance to the Shadow Temple, where the "Phantom Shadow Beast" Bongo Bongo resides.

Four Swords Adventures
In Four Swords Adventures, the village is set in the extension of darkness into Hyrule that is the Dark World. The darkness in turn has caused a state of anarchy, and the village is now overrun by mad thieves. In addition to that, Shadow Links have futhered the chaos by starting fires around the village. The four Links were required to capture the thieves in order to advance north of the city, to a place where they could summon rain, thus quelling the many fires started by arsonist Shadow Links.

This time, Kakariko Village had no prominent features but was a collection of houses with few residents within. Although north of the village lay a pond which housed a rather large Zora who requires the four Links help to feed him in an optional mini game. After swimming the stream outside the city, the Links fought a Big Dark Stalfos and in so doing, recovered the Green Royal Jewel.

The numerous thieves in the city is obviously a nod to A Link to the Past ' s Village of Outcasts, and the Cucco population in the village may relate to the Cucco-tracking challenge in the Ocarina of Time rendering of Kakariko Village. We may also attribute the excessive thief problem to the village's new location - directly within the Lost Woods. One dastardly form of thievery comes from the Fortune Telling swindle run by a mage. For 100 Force Gems, she may warn Link of upcoming bad luck and steal 300 of his remaining Force Gems. However, she may give Link 1, 200 or 300 Force Gems instead for the initial price of 100, but it is not worth it, as Link may lose much more than he is likely to ever win from the game.

Twilight Princess
In Twilight Princess, Kakariko Village is located in the Eldin Province, right below Death Mountain and just of Hyrule Field. It has several homes, as well as a Bomb Shop, an inn, a sanctuary, a spring, and a hot spring. Moreover, a graveyard can also be found right behind the sanctuary, which houses the tombstone of the King Zora. According to Queen Rutela, Kakariko Village is considered to be a "sacred place for the Zora people" since that is where they take their eternal rest. This town is where many of the important plot events occur and where many items for the game can be bought and found, such as bombs, the Hawkeye, a Hylian Shield, and the Zora Armor.

By the time the events of Twilight Princess take place, most of the townsfolk have been already transformed into Shadow Beasts due to Zant's invasion of Hyrule. The only survivors left seem to be Renado, Luda, and Barnes, and because of this, Kakariko seems to be a rather desolate place. When Link visits the village, he finds Beth, Colin, Talo and Malo taking refuge inside Renado's sanctuary along with Barnes and Luda. It is here that Barnes recalls how a woman was attacked by a Shadow Beast and, although a group of villagers went to save her, she was already gone by the time they arrived.

Once Link returns light to the Eldin Province, it is explained that Renado, who is actually the shaman of the village, took the Ordon children in after the Shadow Beasts left them to die. It is then that the young hero is tasked with retrieving the second Fused Shadow from Death Mountain in order to cleanse their sacred grounds from evil. However, after trying unsuccessfully to climb the mountain, he returns to Kakariko to find a wild Epona being controlled by Bulblins but is eventually able to tame her.

Link visits Kakariko Village once again just in time to witness Colin, who actually pushed Beth out of harm's way, being kidnapped by King Bulblin. Later on in the game, the young hero must lead Telma's caravan from Hyrule Castle Town all the way to Kakariko in order to bring the dying Prince Ralis to Renado, the only person capable of saving the young Zora boy. After successfully reaching the village and placing Prince Ralis in the village's care, Queen Rutela makes an apparition to Link and beckons him to follow her to the graveyard, where she rewards him with the Zora Armor for saving her son.

After obtaining the Mirror Shard in the Temple of Time, Link will receive a letter from Renado urging him to visit the village again since he has a clue on how to retrieve Ilia's Memory. Ilia eventually recovers her memory with the help of the Horse Call, an item which she gives to Link inside the sanctuary to aid him on his quest.

Kakariko Village is last seen during the ending credits when the Ordon children are saying their farewells to Luda and Renado as they get ready to depart back to Ordon Village with the help of Rusl and his caravan.

Hidden Village
Another area in Twilight Princess, called the Hidden Village, bears resemblance to Kakariko in Ocarina of Time. In fact, a sign on the outskirts reads "Welcome to Old " in Hylian. The name has been misspelled, which is likely a simple mistake given that the original text was written by a Japanese person, likely without knowing the official English spelling of "Kakariko". The sole inhabitant of the town, Impaz, is believed to be one of the only Sheikahs left, Renado being the other, which is strengthened by Impaz's claim that she was named after the creator of her village, suggested to be Impa from Ocarina of Time.

While this theory, however, loses strength when one considers that the actual Kakariko Village in that game shares several similarities with the one from Ocarina of Time, especially its proximity to Death Mountain and the presence of a graveyard, the sign is contradictory and is the strongest piece of evidence there is, essentially confirming that the Kakariko in Ocarina of Time and the Twilight Princess Hidden Village are one and the same.

However, another piece of evidence to contradict this is that Impa from Ocarina of Time was not the founder of Ocarina of Time's Kakariko Village, but merely that she was born and raised there. This contradicts Impaz's statement that her namesake founded the village, indicating that the Twilight Princess Hidden Village is not actually the Kakariko Village seen in Ocarina of Time and probably predates it. This is logical, as there has been more than one Impa in Hyrule's history.

Link's Crossbow Training
Kakariko Village is the setting for a level in Stage 3 of Link's Crossbow Training as a Target Shooting Mode scenario. The stage begins in front of Malo Mart where the pace is set. Several targets will pop up briefly and then disappear. The first of the two scarecrows show up on the right side of the screen. After the 20 second interval is up the screen pans over to the Elde Inn, but uses a tilted angle instead of the frontal view as the other scenes in this stage. Again, targets will appear and disappear rapidly. This level normally ends in front of Barnes' Bomb Shop. The bomb shop has a few explosive barrels around, all of the expected targets, and a Bee hive, which should never be shot. The alternative end scene takes place in Eldin's spring. Eldin's spring offers nothing to attack Link, more targets, and gold targets.

A Link to the Past comic
Kakariko Village serves as a prominent location in Link's journey in the A Link to the Past comic. It is here where the young hero befriends several townsfolk, including the Librarian, Sahasrahla's Wife, and Sahasrahla's Friend, who end up helping him in his quest to rescue Princess Zelda.

Link first visits Kakariko Village at the advice of the Old Man in the Sanctuary, who tells him to look for Sahasrahla. However, when he arrives to Sahasrahla's house, he finds it in the care of his wife, who tells him that Sahasrahla left when he found out that Agahnim  was responsible for the missing maidens and does not know where he has   gone to. After Sahasrahla's wife tells Link about legends spoken about the Master Sword, the young hero leaves Sahasrahla's house. However, a villager, who is actually one of Agahnim's minions, alerts the soldiers to Link's presence. The young hero manages to escape their grasp and stumbles upon a boy who was asked by Sahasrahla to watch over his wife. After being convinced of Link's good nature, the boy tells him where Saharsahla can be found, and so Link travels to the Eastern Palace.

After acquiring the Pendant of Courage, Link returns to Kakariko to find clues about the remaining two pendants, but he finds the Library has been set on fire by soldiers. After rescuing the Librarian inside, Link obtains the Book of Mudora from him after the Librarian realizes that Link is the Legendary Hero of Hyrule. Before Link can head out to the desert, Sahasrahla's friend gives Link a hang glider that he can use to traverse the Desert of Mystery with ease.

Link, ready to rescue Princess Zelda from Hyrule Castle now that he has obtained the Master Sword, heads to Kakariko Village one final time with his friends, but finds out that all approaches to the castle are blocked by Agahnim's soldiers. The librarian then comes up with the idea of making a hot air balloon to carry him into the castle, which both Sahasrahla's wife and Sahasrahla's friend help to make. As the full moon rises, Link departs from Kakariko Village riding the hot air balloon and heads to the castle to save the princess from Agahnim's clutches.

Kakariko Village Theme
Kakariko Village Theme is a song that has been featured in several Zelda games. It cannot be learned and played using an in-game instrument at any point. The official guide for Ocarina of Time had the Ocarina notes for it in as a bonus. The song, like nearly all Zelda songs, was written by Koji Kondo.

The song was first used in A Link to the Past. It appeared again, only slightly altered, in Ocarina of Time. It was used next in Four Swords Adventures. It also featured in Twilight Princess, however in this instance the song was remixed and heavily modified.

It is usually played when Link enters Kakariko Village. The only exceptions to this is that it no longer plays outdoors in A Link to the Past after defeating Agahnim for the first time, and that it doesn't play in most of the village in Ocarina of Time between the time the village is aflame and the Shadow Temple is beaten.

The instructions for the song performed on the ocarina enclosed:

A, C-down+Up, A, C-left, C-down+Up, C-up

A, C-down+Up, A, C-left, C-down+Up, C-up

C-up, C-up+Up, C-down+R, C-up+Up, C-up, C-left

C-left, C-left, C-right, C-down+Up

C-down+Up, C-down+Up, C-down+R, C-right, C-down+Up, A

A+Down, A+Down+Z, A+Down, A, A+Down+Z

C-down+Up, C-down+Up, C-down+R, C-right, C-down+Up, A, C-up

C-up+Down, C-left, C-right, C-right+Down

Theory
Some fans have suggested the Lost Woods merely expanded in support of the "One Village Theory". A similar retraction of the woods, or placing Ocarina of Time on the timeline before Four Swords Adventures, may account for the distance between Kakariko Village and the Lost Woods in Ocarina of Time.

Trivia

 * In one of the houses in Kakariko Village from A Link to the Past, Link can find a portrait with Mario on it. If the young hero pulls it, he'll obtain Rupees.
 * In Ocarina of Time, the village's theme song in the past differs with the theme heard in the future. The village's future incarnation is known as the orchestrated version. Both songs (past & future) are included in the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Official Soundtrack.