It's actually acceptable when you're quoting a title; since the title is "The Wind Waker" it's fine to refer to it that way, but it should be 1. italicized and 2. capitalized in every word.

So, eh, still wrong, but eh.

I know the correct way of writing the title is The Wind Waker, but I actually find 'the Wind Waker' to be more aesthetically pleasing. A matter of preference. Think of it as artistic license.

wfz: What did you think about the game? I actually do allude to the baton when I talk about Link controlling the Wind, 'borrowing the power of the gods'.

Cheebee: I think people are underestimating what Nintendo does in terms of storytelling. A focus on game mechanics during the concept and design phase does not preclude a meaningful story. Just look at Majora's Mask.

Mr Khaan: I think that's true, as well.

Food for thought: What do you guys think about the motifs of Link sleeping at the start of (virtually) every game, and the fact that Zelda is always the one who, directly or indirectly, instigates his journey?

Well I would love a discussion about the actual baton, but if we're going to talk about the game, okay okay okay.

I loved the game, and I also enjoyed reading your interpretation of the story. I generally agree with each point you made, and it's part of the reason why I love the story so much. It's not straight forward. The characters aren't flat cardboard cutouts; it's an amazingly complex ordeal and I absolutely loved it. It's the first and only time I've felt sympathetic towards Ganondorf. It's also the only time he hasn't been portrayed as a cookie-cutter "gimme power grahh!" sort of villain (which, sadly, was brought back in TP).

There is one part I don't have clarity on though, and that's about Link and Zelda being the chosen ones. It is true that they don't have the Triforce pieces inside of them in this game, and they have to gain them, but does that mean they have no direct relation to the previous heroes and are not chosen by the Gods?

Since the Triforce is connected solely to Hyrule, and since Hyrule is flooded and lost in time, doesn't it make sense that even if Link and Zelda were the chosen ones, they wouldn't have Hyrule's power? They're in a different new world, after all.

Then again, you could make the claim that even if they weren't from Hyrule, they should still have the Goddesses blessings if they are the chosen ones.  Also, since they aren't from Hyrule, but are supposed to be the saviors of Hyrule, they should be given the power of Hyrule's heroes, right?

I'm unable to draw any real conclusions about this. Maybe it's impossible to truly tell such minute details, but what opinions do the rest of you have about this?

They may not have been born in the old Hyrule, but they are descendants from the original inhabitants of Hyrule. The people of Hyrule fled to the mountaintops, which became the islands of TWW's Great Sea, and started new lives there. Out of these people, TWW's Link and Zelda/Tetra were born.

Besides, Zelda/Tetra is supposedly a direct descendant of the old Hyrule's Zelda. She even wears a piece of the Triforce of Wisdom she inherited as a family heirloom, and is actually magically transformed into her 'real' self (the princess), upon reaching the old Hyrule Castle in the game.

Link probably isn't a direct descendant from the Link in previous games, since he almost never is. According to Miyamoto, the different Links aren't usually related to one another, but are rather heroes who arise when they are most needed... Also, Link IS chosen by the gods in TWW. Remember the Tower Of The Gods that rises from the sea? It was mady by the gods to test a hero's worthiness. Link was found worthy eventually.

interesting thread, I wont add much but I enjoyed reading all y our ideas

I know Wind Waker's story well, you don't have to explain. I know they are all descendants of the Hylians, and I know Tetra is a descendant of the previous Zeldas, but the difference is Tetra inherited a physical piece (her necklace) of the Triforce of Wisdom from her late mother. The Triforce wasn't actually inside of her or a part of her, like it usually is in Zelda games. It's not until later in the story that the Triforce of Wisdom actually gets put back together and goes inside of her body, making her the chosen princess.

Link, again, doesn't have the markings of the Hero in him, he has to literally go around and pick them up. He fought to claim the orbs and open the ToG because all of the Guardian Spirits believed in his capabilities as a hero. Even after then, he still has to physically assemble the Triforce of Courage before it becomes his. This is unlike previous games where the Hero was given it as the chosen one.

So, were they chosen by the Gods, or did they challenge to choose their own fate of being the chosen ones? Either way it is very different from most Zelda interpretations, as they had to earn their power instead of the power being innately given to them.

It's the difference between being porn a prince - the throne being your birthright, and being born a peasant - fighting your way through life to become worthy of obtaining the throne.

I personally have grown fond of the typical startup. I'm not sure why but I find something magical about the idea of a simple individual having his world turn lopsided and doing what he feels he must do to set things straight for the sake of those he loves, himself, and eventually a lot more.

Now this is where I feel that Ocarina of Time is a bit of an oddball. Whereas many other Zelda titles have started off with kidnappings or the general loss of a close relative for whatever reason (In reference to Twilight Princess, A Link to the Past, Wind Waker), or in other case being abruptly tossed into a whole other world or land (Majora's Mask, Phantom Hourglass etc.) and ended up seeing Link journey on to find who he is searching for or look for a way back home; Ocarina of Time started with a number of events that ultimately changed his life forever from the start.

Nightmares plagued his slumber at first, but there were more to the repeating dreams then he knew. A new and special friend in Navi. Being tasked with ridding the Great Deku Tree of a horrible curse. The revelation that he was not who he thought he was, being informed by the Great Deku Tree that he was in fact a Hylian. The eventual death of the Great Deku Tree. Now, though he was told by the Great Deku Tree to seek the Princess of Destiny, I always believed the aforementioned truths were what truly set Link on his own true journey of discovery, and it just was not as simple as Go and meet Zelda, to which Link just obliges.

Link's world was thrown upside down, the mundane Kokiri life he lived up to that point was all he knew, but now everything was different, everything - even himself - had changed in the snap of a finger. Nothing would ever be the same again. But why was it like this? Why was the world once ravaged by wars so terrifying that his own mother was forced to leave him in the well-being of a spirit who guarded a sacred forest cut off from the rest of the world? Who were those same characters that tormented his dreams again and again, and what did they mean to him? What about the land beyond the forest was so abstruse that he was only now entrusted with a guardian fairy? For what reason had the Great Deku Tree been cursed, and taken away from from this world, from the children who loved him, solely because he refused to hand over a prized possession? All of the answers, and more, were out there, beyond the forest, deep in the great lands of Hyrule. That is where Link would find out the truth, and seeking out Princess Zelda - the final bed of wisdom handed to him by the Great Deku Tree -  was of course his only lead and the best course of action. Link wanted answers, and by god he was going going to get them. No man, fortress, beast, Stalchild or supernatural being was going to get in his way. At least, this is how I saw the intro to Ocarina of Time, and I remain captivated by it to this day.

On the topic of the Wind Waker: I will have to agree with your own and especially Khuutra's thoughts. Unfortunately I cannot offer more to the subject beyond that outside of my questioning of the gods motives and their relationship with their own world and Ganondorf: Exactly why do they not feel the need to get themselves directly involved with the affairs of their world unless a hero is absent. And when such is the case, why is their course of action to cause calamity to the world they created? Do they not have the means to dispose of Ganondorf themselves? Perhaps - and bear with me on this one - they are just taunting Ganondorf? Trying to keep what he want's just out of reach, possibly as a cruel punishment for taking the Triforce of Power? Seeing as he presumably cannot be finished off for good?

wfz: I know about the issue to which you are referring, but I would argue that Zelda is chosen, where as Link is not. The Kings outright says that the sole reason Tetra lives is to play the role of Princess Zelda, and she does nothing to 'earn' that right. Link however has to prove that he is 'worthy' by completing the tests of the gods and assembling the Triforce shards. He plays the role of the Hero by his own accord. Aonuma also made a point of this.

As for being 'chosen' and carrying a Triforce piece (since birth), Twilight Princess was the first game to introduce that concept, and it did so under special circumstances. It is difficult to apply it retrospectively to the Wind Waker, though the game explains why the Triforces are hidden, regardless.

IxisNaugus: With regards to Ocarina of Time, Link did not learn of his Hylian heritage until returned as an adult and talked to the Deku Tree's sprout. Other than that, I take no issue with your account.

As for the Wind Waker, that's likely what Ganondorf thought. I think the goddesses have different motives, though; I see the fight over the Triforce as test to see if people are worthy of their blessing. The Hylians failed, so they were thrown out, and Ganondorf was punished for his insolence (it is made evident the goddesses are partial - the Hylians were their chosen people, after all). The Twili were no better off in Twilight Princess, though they used forbidden magics, and so no one 'failed' that time.

I am greatly enjoying this thread.

Does anyone else find Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks somewhat... how do I put this? Well, as Khuutra stated, Wind Waker marks the end of an era... and it's a brand new take on the wielders of the triforce (does the Triforce even carry any significance anymore?). Actually, that last statement about the trifoce having any weight is what I'm trying to get at. With the end of Wind Waker, it seems to me that many of the "values" of Hyrule have been done away with. I can't help but feel some sympathy to Ganondorf's struggle to preserve the Hyrule of old (even though his way of doing this was completely motivated by greed and malice), as I look back on the old Hyrule and the mythology it brought.

After Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass, I still covet that wind I suppose.

Well, first of all, Zelda actually owning the Triforce of Wisdom inside her body isn't something that's the same across all Zelda games. She only has it in a few of them, actually, so her not having the entire thing in herself from the start in TWW doesn't mean a thing, really.In fact, in the very 1st Zelda for the NES, Zelda had the Triforce of Wisdom and broke it into 8 pieces. It wasn't some etheal force residing inside her body or anything.

Zelda's being a 'chosen one' in TWW has nothing to do with her own will, she automatically inherited the Triforce of Wisdom from her mother (or at least a piece of it), she was chosen because her ancestors were. She most probably would've inherited the entire Triforce of Wisdom, had Hyrule's old king not kept the other piece for himself to keep it safe. She was Princess Zelda, keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom, not by her own choice, but because she was chosen. She couldn't change it at all.

Second, the Triforce mark on the back of a person's hand doesn't mean this person actually owns the Triforce itself. It's simply a mark that the gods favour him or her, that they're a 'chosen one'. For example, in the Oracle games, Link has the mark on the back of his hand while not owning any of the pieces of the Triforce at all (he actually comes across the complete Triforce in the beginning of both games, whilst already having the mark beforehand).

In TWW, Link IS chosen by the gods. He has to go around collecting Triforce of Courage-pieces, yes, but they are worthless to him, -until- he goes back to the Tower of the Gods, where the gods re-establish the Triforce of Courage into a whole and give it to Link by setting it into his body.

As a side note, the Triforce of Courage was split into different pieces in TWW because the hero who once held it left Hyrule (presumably the old Link either really left the land or died). The Triforce of Courage, without a bearer, had to be kept safe from harm, and was thus split up, with the individual pieces locked away and hidden. Only one worthy of its power could find all of them, but even after they had, it'd be useless to them if the gods didn't put it back together and grant them its power. But of course you know all this, knowing TWW's story so well...

Your last sentence applies to all Zelda games, really. It's basically the essence of every Zelda: in every one, Link is a simple young boy at the beginning, and eventually fights his way through many challenges to become a hero. The end. It's all pretty straightforward, really.