Wind
Winds are recurring Objects in The Legend of Zelda series.(TWWThe Wind Waker | FSAFour Swords Adventures | TMCThe Minish Cap | BotWBreath of the Wild | TotKTears of the Kingdom)[1][2][3][4][5][name references needed] Over the course of the years, they have played different roles storyline-wise and gameplay-wise. These roles include being a helpful element, being an obstacle, and having a symbolic value.
Role in the Series
Wind as a Symbolic Element
The game where Wind takes the biggest role is The Wind Waker. It is given sacred status by two Wind Gods: Zephos and Cyclos, both lending Link their respective wind-related powers. For the first time, the element is embodied by the Wind Temple, and it is also represented by a melody, the Wind God's Aria. The Wind Temple is utilized by the Sage of Wind, who performs the Wind God's Aria to empower the Master Sword. When Link retrieves the Triforce of Courage, he is recognized by the King of Red Lions as the Hero of Winds for his role in utilizing the element to traverse the sea.
Historically, however, Wind has been revered for centuries: When Hyrule was still a living kingdom, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule used the titular Wind Waker to conduct the Sages as they prayed to, among other things, keep the Power to Repel Evil within the Master Sword.[6] A common saying among the Sages mentions a "wind of fortune."[7]
Ganondorf, before battling Link and Princess Zelda, tells the former that, during the time of Ocarina of Time, he used to covet the lively wind blowing on Hyrule, rather than the harsh weather conditions under which he and his people lived.[8][9]
Besides The Wind Waker, a few The Legend of Zelda games make use of wind as a major theme. The most significant is The Minish Cap featuring a two-dungeon search for the Wind Element via interactions with the Wind Tribe, the use of the Ocarina of Wind to teleport between Wind Crests and the Gust Jar. The villain, Vaati is also a wind mage. Another one of these games is Twilight Princess, where Link finds the Gale Boomerang, which houses the power of the Fairy of Winds. In Phantom Hourglass, the Temple of Wind not only features wind-related puzzles, but is also located on an island filled with windy geysers and gusts blowing from varying directions.
The element of Wind has been represented by several races and tribes throughout the series. In The Wind Waker, the Koroks are the evolved forms of the Kokiri, who have adapted to the Great Sea by gaining the ability to fly with the Wind. The Korok Makar eventually awakens as the Sage of Wind, taking up the mantle from his ancestor, the Kokiri Fado. However, in the alternate timeline presented in Twilight Princess, the Kokiri have long since disappeared, and the forest is instead inhabited by the human Ordonians. Other sky-dwellers include the Wind Tribe, descendents of Hylians who learned to walk across clouds; the Oocca, a dimimutive, flying species who reside within the City in the Sky; and the Hylians of Skyloft, who share a mental link with large Loftwing steeds, which are utilized to travel between the sky islands.
The Rito also bear some connection with the sky. Although normally wingless in The Wind Waker, they can developed wings with a scale from the Sky Spirit Valoo in order to subsist through the steep terrain of Dragon Roost Island. By the time of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the Rito are born with wings, and the Rito youth Tulin eventually awakens as the new Sage of Wind.
The Sheikah often make use of Wind in their technology, magic, and combat techniques. This can be seen prominently in Ocarina of Time within Kakariko Village and the Shadow Temple, such as the large propellers used in the latter to blow away intruders. In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the Yiga Clan commonly uses the Windcleaver and the Earthwake technique to combat their enemies.
Wind as a Gameplay Element
Gameplay-wise, wind plays two roles: As an obstacle, and as an ally. In several The Legend of Zelda games, fans often blow wind intensely to make Link's exploration more difficult, or even impossible if he doesn't have an item to counter the eolic force (such as Iron Boots). Wind doesn't always have to come in the opposite direction to Link's to be constituted as an obstacle (in Twilight Princess, a gust of wind may drag Link to a side-placed bottomless pit in the City in the Sky; in The Wind Waker the small cyclones on the sea abruptly change the position of the King of Red Lions as Link tries to sail towards an island). As an ally, wind can favor Link's movement, either to reach more quickly to a place or even to an otherwise inaccessible spot; another benefit is that, when expelled from Updrafts, wind can help the young hero to take flight (either as Deku Link in Majora's Mask, or with the Deku Leaf in The Wind Waker).
During the events of The Wind Waker, Link receives the titular baton from the King of Red Lions, and shortly afterwards learns the Wind's Requiem from Zephos. This melody allows the young hero to manipulate the direction of the wind's flow, which significantly favors his sea travel, as well as his flight with the Deku Leaf, and reveals chests pinpointed by wind insignias on the ground. A second song, the Ballad of Gales, allows Link to warp from one island to another by creating a cyclone surrounding the King of Red Lions, and is taught by Cyclos.
Several other items in the series have exhibited eolic properties as well. The Deku Leaf, in addition to helping Link fly, can also create gusts of wind able to activate fan-shaped switches, move wooden elevators and obstruct enemies; the Gale Boomerang serves a similar purpose in Twilight Princess, thanks to the cyclone surrounding it, as does the Whirlwind in Spirit Tracks. The Swift Sail, introduced in The Wind Waker HD, manipulates the wind to automatically blow in the direction Link is sailing. The Korok Leafs in Breath of the Wild are similar to the Deku Leaf, being able to create gusts that can blow away certain light items and enemies.
Relationship with Forests
Over the course of the series, there has been an overlap between the elements of forest and wind. In Ocarina of Time, the Forest Temple was originally intended to be the Wind Temple, as evidenced by various beta features and quotes from interviews with the developers, but it was changed in the final version of the game. That said, there are various remnants of the temple's original purpose. Namely, the Forest Medallion has an emblem reminiscent of a hurricane, which can also be seen through the temple's doors. Also, when Navi tells Link to go to that dungeon, she gives a hint on the type of evil influence roaming Kokiri Forest;[10] and it's also hinted that Saria was to be the Sage of the Wind instead.
Furthermore, although Farore is commonly associated with forests, her signature spell is Farore's Wind; in addition, the Forest route of Ganon's Tower is actually wind-themed. In The Wind Waker, the Wind Temple does make an appearance but, conversely, it has a few elements brought from the Forest Haven, namely the grass on the ground, the usage of the Deku Leaf, and some of the enemies being originally from Forest Haven; its sage was a male namesake of Fado, also a Kokiri, before being succeeded by Makar, a Korok from the aforementioned Forest Haven. The Forest Temple of Twilight Princess and the Forest Temple in Spirit Tracks both house a wind-related item (the Gale Boomerang and the Whirlwind, respectively). In Majora's Mask, the Woodfall Temple corresponds to Deku Link, who has the ability to fly. Also in Twilight Princess, the giant Deku Baba who first appears on the aforementioned Forest Temple, appears in the City in the Sky as well.
Wind and Music
The majority of musical instruments Link has played (or at least had) through the games are wind instruments. The list includes the Fairy Ocarina, the Ocarina of Time, the Ocarina of Wind, the Flute, the Recorder, the Horse Call, the Horse Grass, the Hawk Grass, the Strange Flute, and the Spirit Flute.
-
Link (Hero of Winds in The Wind Waker)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
See Also
References
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker—Prima's Official Strategy Guide, Prima Games, 2003, pg. 12
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures—The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 92
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap—The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 34
- ↑
Bosh Kala Shrine
— Map (Breath of the Wild)
The Wind Guides You - ↑
Kisinona Shrine
— Map (Tears of the Kingdom)
Wind Power - ↑
That Wind Waker you hold was used long ago to conduct us sages when we played our song to call upon the gods. In those days, it was always the king who conducted for us...
— Fado (The Wind Waker) - ↑
May the wind of fortune blow with you
— Laruto (The Wind Waker) - ↑
My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing... Death.
— Ganondorf (The Wind Waker) - ↑
But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose. It can only be called fate.
— Ganondorf (The Wind Waker) - ↑
An evil wind is blowing from the direction of the Forest Temple.
— Navi (Ocarina of Time)