What is Hyrule Historia’s Role in Zelda’s Lasting Mystery?

When the Hyrule Historia was released in December 2011, it seemed to bring with it a sense of finality for the multitude of Zelda fans who had forever wondered how the games all pieced together. It was as though each little slice of Hylian heaven, from the original Famicom/NES Legend of Zelda to the Wii’s combat-enhanced Skyward Sword, were coming together like pieces of the Triforce for everyone to behold. At last, they had their wish – to make sense of all the Links in the twenty-five year chain.

Here was a way to understand when and how Princess Zelda returned, and Ganon in his many guises; the Triforce, the Goddesses, the Sages. And how, amongst all that, there was a place for the dark days in Termina, the distant dreams of Koholint Island, and the seasonal discordance in Holodrum.

Along with the extensive timeline, there were pages upon pages of artwork from over the years, and a section of the Skyward Sword manga at the end to give the game roots. For a lot of people, this was the answer to all their brooding questions: referenced in interviews with series director Eiji Aonuma, and at the source of theorising articles about what next for The Legend of Zelda. Now, everything has its place, from traitorous wizard Agahnim to traveling sail-salesman Zunari. From Aches to Zols. From Acorns of Defence to Zora Eggs.

The only problem is… I don’t believe it. Here’s what I think.

I think Nintendo have been good – so very good – at making these games for twenty-five years that they’re pulling our collective leg somewhat. They have consistently provided gamers with a courageous character to embody, worlds to explore, soundtracks to remember, lessons to learn, truths to understand. And all of that shrouded in mystery.

It’s

there from the first moments that Link steps into the gaping mouth of the ill-fated Great Deku Tree, or when Link, newly transformed, traverses underground vaults to a clock tower, or when Link leaves his home behind and faces the colossal open sea. Mystery is Nintendo’s greatest ally when it comes to creating The Legend of Zelda, and it’s one that continues to bear fruit.

So would Nintendo truly let Zelda fans in on everything? I’m not so sure. Why give away the very essence of what has worked so well for them in the past, what has given Zelda the gaming status it has? Now, I couldn’t say for certain that the timeline is a complete fabrication, but I don’t believe that every detail in the Hyrule Historia can be said to be accurate just because it’s been printed. Neither can every question that’s been asked in reference to it since.

I read an article in April of this year about the likeness of Rauru, Ocarina’s Light Sage, in Gaepora, the Knight Academy’s headmaster in Skyward. The nuances within both games and characters, and the various ways in which they might be interlinked, were delicately explored. So much so, that it was as if there could be no doubt that Rauru and Gaepora were of the same bloodline. However, the author’s conclusion was that because Eiji Aonuma had effectively said that their resemblance was coincidental, we had to accept that the opportunity for that particular mystery in future games was gone. I found myself unable to suppress a smile. After all, Nintendo are the masters of their own handiwork, and I believe they will do anything to protect the mysteries of what is yet to come; to placate their audience if necessary. I believe that if Aonuma and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto wanted a connection between Rauru and Gaepora that was integral to a future game, they wouldn’t give it away in an interview. They would do what was best for them and save it for the playable experience.

I know Aonuma and Miyamoto have always made it clear that Zelda games are borne out of gameplay capabilities with stories subsequently fashioned out of them, but they know, as we do, the importance of the tale they are telling. If the finished game is a statue, the gameplay mechanism is just the block they sculpt from. Just as that block has evolved from concrete to crystal over the years, the finished product is richer for it. I look at Super Mario 3D World and I see Mario with the freedom Nintendo have always imagined for him. And Zelda is next in line.

I think we could see Zelda games released within the next decade that surprise critics and fans alike. Already, with the added element of gamers’ freedom of choice in A Link Between Worlds, we are seeing Nintendo think outside the box, break open those confines of Zelda tradition for the betterment of the player’s experience. But what if they went back on their printed word too? As we’ve established, the stories depend on mystery. If Aonuma is determined to continue to use the staples of Miyamoto’s gaming genre – the Triforce, Ganon, Zelda of course – then he will need to tweak his recipe. The cook who has made the same dish for thirty years will inevitably find new ways to enhance it.

So,

what if the timeline is purposefully wrong? Or just a part of it is? What if some small, seemingly incidental moment from a past game comes back to upset the apple cart of everything we thought was a given in Zelda. Many fans long for a return of the mystery surrounding Majora’s Mask. We still don’t really know where it came from. Some can’t understand the bit-part played by Demise. And we still don’t really know everything there is to know about him. These are just two examples of details that, if further explored and executed in future games, could pave the way for unprecedented storytelling within Zelda.

It’s easy enough to dissect an entire Zelda game and point out how and where it was built on mystery. But this is about the lasting mysteries of the entire series. It’s about the games as a whole, but also what’s come out of them: the words of the heralded and trusted people who make every creative decision. We should be listening carefully to everything they have to say, by all means, but nevertheless be wary of how much they are withholding for their – and ultimately our – benefit.

That it all might be a ploy from Nintendo to maintain the lasting mystery of The Legend of Zelda is at the heart of how I feel about the information fed to Zelda fans in recent years. They used to say that only three men had access to the timeline. They used to say they’d never give it up. Can we even be sure that they have?