UNSOLVED MYSTERIES AND URBAN LEGENDS

MA T T H E W BYRD

15 The Legend of Zelda’s “Swastika” Dungeon

The earliest controversy in The Legend of Zelda’s 35-year history occurred when some players claimed the game’s third dungeon resembled a swastika. Years later, more detailed renders of the dungeon’s map inspired a new generation of fans to ask questions about Nintendo’s design choices.

It turns out the map is designed to resemble a Manji: a Buddhist symbol that represents good fortune. Perhaps Nintendo felt that the two symbol designs were distinct enough (they look similar but face different directions) to ensure that there was no need to change the dungeon for the game’s Western ports.

14 Breath of the Wild and the Zelda Timeline

Years ago, Nintendo published a chart that helped explain the famously confusing Legend of Zelda timeline. However, 2017’s Breath of the Wild is conspicuously absent from that chronological chart to this day.

Nintendo has said that it didn’t want to limit people’s imaginations by assigning BOTW a clear place on the timeline. Furthermore, it’s generally accepted that the game takes place many years after any other Zelda title. Still, many fans suspect that the game’s absence from that official timeline is meant to hide some major secret about the true nature of the experience.

13 Beating the Running Man

The surest way to convince gamers they can do something is to tell them they can’t. There are few better examples of this phenomenon than the idea that you can beat the Running Man during Ocarina of Time’s race sequence outside Kokiri Forest.

To be fair, the fact that Ocarina of Time players consistently got close to beating the Running Man made it easy to buy into years’ worth of fan theories, photos, and even videos that claimed it was possible to win that race. However, the vast majority of those methods turned out to be doctored or based on hacked versions of the game.

12 The Mystery of Snowpeak Ruins

Along with being one of the best dungeons in 2006’s Twilight Princess, Snowpeak Ruins has to be considered one of the most mysterious major locations in any Zelda game.

It’s never explicitly stated what the mansion’s origins are. The same could be said of a number of Zelda locales, but Snowpeak’s large suits of armor, blend of military and residential aesthetics, hostile location, strange paintings, and defensive structures feel so out of place in the Zelda universe that you’d almost suspect that it was transported from another world. While that’s one popular fan theory for the mansion’s mysteries, its true origins remain unknown.

11 Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link Isn’t a Zelda Game

Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link has long been considered one of the oddest entries into the Zelda franchise, but one urban legend suggests that the game wasn’t originally intended to be a Zelda title at all.

Some fans believe that the game was based on a completely different project that Nintendo converted into a Zelda game at some point in development. But series creator Shigeru Miyamoto shot down that theory in a 2003 interview, in which he stated that the sequel’s differences were “his idea.” That said, he also referred to the idea as “sort of a failure.”

Ganondorf’s Mysterious Armor

Ganondorf’s armor in Twilight Princess HD features an image of a hero that resembles Link facing off against a giant bird. It closely resembles a scene from 2002’s The Wind Waker, but that doesn’t make sense since these two games exist in separate parts of the Zelda timeline.

We don’t know the official explanation for that discrepancy, but it’s possible that image was a leftover asset from a time when Twilight Princess was reportedly intended to be a Wind Waker sequel. Either that or someone at Nintendo thought it looked cool and didn’t let the lore stop them from putting it in the game.

9 Nintendo’s “Abandoned” Wind Waker Remake

In 2005, Electronic Gaming Monthly seemingly revealed that Nintendo was designing a remake of The Wind Waker in the visual style of Twilight Princess. This was a dream come true for fans who desperately wanted Wind Waker to feature more “realistic” graphics.

It turns out the screenshot was one of EGM’s famous April Fools’ pranks. Even after EGM confirmed the whole thing was a joke, some fans continued to speculate that Nintendo was working to “fix” Wind Waker. Fortunately, those rumors died down once more people recognized Wind Waker as one of the best Zelda games ever.

8 The Recurring Hand in the Toilet

In 2000’s Majora’s Mask, you’ll find a hand sticking out of a toilet that asks for a piece of paper. Strangely, a similar hand appears again in both Oracle of Ages and Skyward Sword. While the owner of the hand is named Phoeni in Skyward Sword, the hand is referred to only as “???” elsewhere.

Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that the mysterious hand was inspired by old ghost stories involving a hand coming out of the toilet to grab the occupant. However, it’s still not quite clear whether these are three different hands or if they share some kind of horrifying connection.

7 The Fate of Navi

At the end of Ocarina of Time, we watch Link’s companion, the fairy Navi, leave through a window. However, it’s never been entirely clear why Navi left, where she went, or what happened to her.

Navi is referenced at the start of Majora’s Mask, but that game doesn’t elaborate on her fate. Navi appears in the North American version of Hyrule Warriors but was removed in other versions of that game. Interestingly, there’s a popular Zelda fan game called The

Missing Link, which tells the story of what eventually happened to Navi. That’s about as unofficial as Zelda lore gets, though.

6 Zelda and Link Are Related

At the beginning of 1991’s A Link to the Past, we watch as Link’s uncle says, “Zelda is your…” shortly before dying. In the Japanese version of the game, Link’s uncle says, “Y-you are the princess…” before passing away. Both of those lines have led fans to believe Link’s uncle was about to tell him that Zelda is either Link’s sister or mom. The Game Boy Advance version of the game clarifies the matter by having Link’s uncle say, “You must rescue Princess Zelda. Our people are fated to.” Even still, some fans continue to look for proof of this wild theory.

5

Link’s Parents

Have you ever wondered why Link seems to never have parents across hundreds of years of franchise history? Link’s father is referenced in Breath of the Wild, and there’s a nod to Link’s mom in Ocarina of Time, but other than that, we don’t know much about Link’s parents.

Link plays the titular instrument in 1998’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

While it’s likely this is just one of those things that Nintendo doesn’t have an answer to, the fact that Link’s parents are referred to at all has only opened the doors for speculation regarding who they are in the various timelines and the significance of their absence.

4 Thawing Zora’s Domain

In Ocarina of Time, you’re expected to set some things right that have gone wrong over the years. For instance, beating Forest Temple drives away enemies from Kokiri Forest. Given all of that, you would suspect that beating Water Temple would eventually unfreeze Zora’s Domain.

However, that’s not what happens. To this day, nobody has found a way to unfreeze that area without hacking the game. Many have said that you’re just supposed to “assume” everything eventually works out, but it’s certainly bizarre that the area isn’t affected by your actions in the same way other key environments clearly are.

3 The Time Paradox of the Song of Storms

In Ocarina of Time, the timetraveling adult version of Link learns the Song of Storms from a man who can’t get it out of his head after he learns it from a child. We eventually learn that the child was Link, who played the song in the past after learning it as an adult. It’s a fun idea that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The two most popular theories for this mystery involve alternate timelines or the far more likely explanation that the logic of this moment was simply overlooked or disregarded when Ocarina’s story was written.

2

The Royal Origins of Tetra’s Pirates

In Wind Waker, we learn that the pirate Tetra is actually Princess Zelda. However, some fans suspect that Tetra’s pirates are also more than they seem. We’re initially told that the pirates used to serve

Tetra’s mother and later followed Tetra. However, Link finds a photo in the sunken Hyrule Castle that shows an older Princess Zelda with a group of nobles that bear a striking resemblance to Tetra’s pirates. Are they the nobles or descendants of those nobles? If so, are they ever made aware of their lineage? We may never know the full story.

1Finding the Triforce in Ocarina of Time

No Zelda urban legend is more famous than the long-running belief that it’s possible to acquire the Triforce—a powerful relic—in Ocarina of Time. In 1999, a user on the Zelda forums named Almandoz claimed they had found a way to acquire the Triforce. Almandoz shared some images meant to “verify” their findings, but they later admitted they made it all up to show how easy it was to exploit fans. To this day, though, many fans choose to believe it’s possible. It’s a fascinating example of a legend taking on a life of its own.