Daily Debate: Why Has the Tetraforce Theory Endured For Over 20 Years?
Posted on January 24 2020 by Alexis S. Anderson
When I discovered the Tetraforce theory, I felt as though I had stumbled upon an old, unattended magic shoppe obscured by ivy in a forgotten alleyway. It was like I was being beckoned to read from a spellbook opened to an accursed page. I was deep in the Zelda Wiki and it warned in bold letters that this was a non-canon theory, which just piqued my interest further.
The Tetraforce is as compelling a conspiracy theory as they come. It’s so easy to trick your mind into believing it. The evidence seems just real enough that you question whether it was actually intended to be there. A perfect example of this evidence is the fourth triangle that appears on Link’s shield in Ocarina of Time. Just what does it represent, if not the Tetraforce?
Of course, Producer Shigeru Miyamoto has denied the existence of the Tetraforce, which oddly seems to have encouraged the whispers of its actual existence. This emphatic shutdown makes theorists question what Nintendo is hiding from us and why they’re getting so defensive. On another tangent, if the Tetraforce did exist, it would have ramifications in every Zelda title. This is exactly the sort of thing that gets Zelda lore-masters excited!
All-in-all, the Tetraforce is a strange, mythic piece of Zelda lore. I believe it endures because of how vague and simple it is. There was in fact a fourth triangle on Ocarina of Time Link’s shield. So in a series littered with triangle iconography, it’s easy to project this theory onto any number of titles in spite of denials from Nintendo. And who knows, it just might be scooped up off of the cutting room floor someday!
Why do you think the Tetraforce theory has captured the imagination of Zelda fans for so long? Let us know in the comments below!
This Daily Debate was inspired by Discord user @Horayn.
Alexis S. Anderson is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon who joined the writing team in November, 2014. She has a JD from the UCLA School of Law and is pursuing a career in Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. She grew up in the New Jersey suburbs with her parents, twin brother, and family shih-tzu.
