I think "I" just fixed Zelda

Technically all I have is a paragraph. So I think I should run around the bush a little.

As I've written multiple times - I used to be a huge Zelda Fan but then came to retcon my enthusiasm into ... apathy fueled by disappointment. And that's one of the stories that I found sprayed across the world as it unfolded and developed alongside my own aging.

Speaking of stupidification, mostly - a thing, by the way, that ultimately culminates into the now most apparently right interpretation of a prophecy in the Bible (2 Timothy 4:3+4) - which ironically is a story mimicked by the Zelda Franchise. On the other hand I like to paraphrase this "demise" as 'Gmork - servant of the Nothing' (Neverending Story); Or 'personify' rather, to speak of a Villain or Force that drives this destruction.

My criticism, sparked by Twilight Princess, then made me re-evaluate Ocarina of Time; And me explaining why OoT sucks actually has - so it would seem - since become one Thesis of mine. Within it a trend is being highlighted that had been further manifested within Wind Waker; And probably, from what I could tell, within every other Zelda game since.
And ... also ... pondering upon these things led to me elevating the Soulsborne games into the true Zelda games I was looking for. Though they sure lack in a few things to be a Zelda game, other than title and Characters, I don't care. The Moonlight Greatsword is like the new Master Sword - and you sure can think the one or the other thing into the overall Dark Taint that these games are shaded in.


To re-iterate then: Zelda games used to be tightly packed, somewhat interconnected maps with the occasional bottleneck or secret passage. In Ocarina of Time then that changed, basically, with there being one hub area and the various other areas of significance attached to it. More like a spiderweb, but without the "arms" connecting to each other. For all intents and purposes. In Wind Waker then - this 'diffusion' had to world then shattered entirely, although that kindof brought the sense of an open world back a little. What opened my mind to that was how linear Twilight Princess was. That I breezed through it and somewhere in the middle wondered how the fuck I got this far without ... having like ... "played the game". (Well, "the game" wasn't really in the game, that's why).
Then, Skyward Sword I think does the same thing - and so does Breath of the Wild I hear. Though it's - similar to Wind Waker - an open world where you can theoretically go anywhere, it's empty. And apparently somehow they managed to make Tears of the Kingdom even more empty.


Now; I don't look at these last two titles and think that they suck. I think it's interesting what Nintendo did there - where I think it's probably good for a young audience, from a 'playing a game' perspective; Not so much a "what I think the Zelda experience (Lore included) should be" one.
Though if I had to maintain a critical stance, I'd worry that a lack of purpose and cohesion while focusing too heavily on an open world to get lost in ... has like ... "Lost Woods" vibe that might also have a bad interaction with ADHD stuff. But ... that's just a concern I don't know much or anything about.

And also the Master Sword seems to have lost its power.

And it all starts with a Link to the Past. Here the concept of the Master Sword was born, basically, as the thing that allows Link to shoot with the sword; While previously any sword that Link might wield could do that. So, taking this game as the basis, first cracks started to show in Ocarina of Time. As also the point where the sword lost its power.
And this is how I'd usually leave it.

And now - well, I have to iterate by talking about religion. Cycles, Spirits and Rebirth make up a significant chunk, by my westernized understanding, of eastern Religiosity. As a Christian I have my issues with that - naturally - in as far as we're trying to talk of 'actual Reality'. Likewise I have no issues with the employed philosophies ... up to a point. To not let this get out of hand, I want to focus on the term: 'potentials'. Here in the west for instance, people have a very Christianized understanding of Buddhism, for instance. Many people I talked to would say that Buddhism is the only religion they could get on board with; And by giving reasons as to why they basically just mention Christian values - apart from the Christian institutions that have since put their own stamp onto the legacy. And learning of the essence of Buddhism for instance, like Religions in general, eventually comes to the point where to me a Dark Side is being revealed. That might be a very fatalistic understanding of the struggle between Good and Evil. Or, sure, fairy tale in place of any true connection to the divine.

So, religions broken down into philosophies bears the potential for good. But eventually those potentials get misguided ... into dark strands that may be more or less significant here and there.

A central theme of the Zelda Franchise happens to be the central plot of the game - extended into a fictional reality wherein its repeated existence is explained as a cyclical condition in which Ganon, Zelda and Link have to play their respective roles. As a way to maintain the world's balance or whatever. Central to that is the Triforce. Each of the three is associated with one part of it - and as such they're connected in ways every game may have an individual spin on. I'm not all that familiar with the franchise anymore.

And also in Ocarina of Time, some creation myth was associated to it. Respectively are there three deities, each resembling a part of the Triforce. Power, Wisdom and Courage.

It seems to be a logical conclusion. Some internal beauty to the various pieces the games have ever revolved around - and yet it seems to have lead to destruction.
And in my opinion, it's dirty. It's ... corrupt. It's ... as the Erdtree or Golden Order by time the game takes place.


Now, one solution is just ... dial things back, re-invent, stuff like that. Whatever. But I'm more concerned of fixing the Lore. Not to argue that all Zelda games have to fit into a single time-line or such; Which is nonsense anyway; But to settle them in some kind of Multiverse.
Here then the story is this: "In the Beginning", as Ganon (or whatever) somehow got his hands on the Triforce, he cursed it - being himself some kind of Wizard - so that for as long as the Triforce existed, his reincarnation would be assured. Alongside that he invented Lore surrounding its nature, that would make people not question it. He knew that he would be challenged regardless of what he did, until he might eventually figure out how to solve that problem. And so Zelda and Link have become two tragic roles of this cycle. The "Gods" associated to the Triforce are at that only Guardians - Guardians of the "new Nature" of the Triforce. However ... to make this work - Ganon had to remove a piece from the Triforce. "The final piece". Making it a "Quadruforce" in a way, but ... it's still a triangle. Well ... like a pyramid maybe? Either way ... the piece removed ... is ... Love. Power is the whole thing - in a weird distorted way - and so the story faded into darkness ... until one day ...