The Developers Aren't Always Right - TotK Interviews

[@Drakenwild]

Sorry for the second half being weird! It underwent some big changes and cuts as to not spread misinformation but unfortunately it happened very late into the process, which resulted in it being the way it is.

[@ajm4288]

It’s fine! You did a perfectly good job, even if it has some flaws. *It’s still good!*

[@fishnewt1331]

I find it humorous to imagine about Drakenwild being a dragon trying to do research in Hyrule and the Hylians constantly gawking at her.

[@Drakenwild]

It can be so tiresome. Once they even spooked a mob of deer I was studying! Can you imagine?!

[@TheRealMerbirb]

@@Drakenwild there is something so immensely charming about the idea that the full sized dragon did not scare off any of the deer, but a single Hylian did

[@Drakenwild]

@@TheRealMerbirb that's because he was loud :c

[@DrunkedOwly]

Yeah, that sheikah explanation sounds like the behind the scenes explanation, not a in-universe lore explanation at all

[@Drakenwild]

Yeah, I can believe them that it was but also, clearly, they didn't see fit to put it in the game and that's saying something

[@santiagopomares6287]

It's also important to remember that the devs themselves actually AGREE with this take. Recently Aonuma was asked if Zelda and Link are together, and he responded by saying that whatever the devs wanted to convey, it's already in the game, and that he wouldn't answer the question so fans could choose what to believe. In the same or another close interview, Fujibayashi was asked about the timeline of the past of Totk and he said that he could very well be wrong about the answer, again wanting the players to choose what to believe. The devs have a somewhat similar style regarding lore to Hidetaka Miyazaki, who likes to leave his stories incomplete for fans to fill in the blanks. This isn't anything new, they've always been like this. Love it or hate it, that's the way it is

[@Drakenwild]

Yeah, the "we like to leave it to player interpretation" was and still seems to be a common response from them, which is good imo. Even aside from my thoughts on the matter, coming up with lore discussions and theories is only interesting because there are gaps waiting to be filled.

[@mtgstudios1556]

I feel like this is a good point in the circumstance of game worlds that are shown through only a single game, but as soon as prequels or sequels are added it falls flat because by making the prequel or sequel the breadth of imagination becomes defined and more limited due to the timeframe that connects the two games. Reason for it is we somehow have to get from the end scenario of the first game to the start scenario of the second game which makes it very hard to do imaginations because of having to respect both sides. Typically in this situation what ends up happening is someone imagines a detail, but once the other side is considered it makes the theory impossible making there really only a single way for the events to unfold to satisfy both sides. This video shows this off with flying colors of disproving the possibility of the interview. So in effect the approach of leave it up to the player's imagination has a bad con for logical writing and can even be an excuse/disclaimer for lack of logic consistency in regards to prequels and sequels. So especially in my own projects I think my takeaway from this is the game/story cannot be called a prequel/sequel unless the events in between the two games are entirely defined and are in the fact category specified at the beginning of the video. (if this isn't true then the games cannot be certain to be set in the same world). To me it really shows the difference in design approach to making a true sequel/prequel than making a standalone adventure and the extra documentation that must be done if a planned standalone work is intended to be a singular game in what will be a set of works. So note taking for me: use leave it up to interpretation to account for the infinite time pre-existing the story and the infinite time following the completion of the story.

[@santiagopomares6287]

@@mtgstudios1556Can't agree honestly, if the details are not very relevant to the situation at hand then I don't have a problem with leaving a bit of room for interpretation, the thing is, even if I would have explained the disappearance of the tech, its existence wouldn't have mattered, it would just be there, deactivated and unusable, and be bothering for the views. If you want to have rules for your writing that's fine, but it's just a subjective opinion and they can have theirs, it isn't an objective con because there are people that enjoy it, myself included.

[@mtgstudios1556]

@@santiagopomares6287 Depends on what you value then as well as what the game is intending to accomplish. (a correction I need to make though is its only a con in the scope of maintaining said logic from game to game because you can't have both maintained logic and leaving it up to interpretation. This con exists in this scope and only this scope. It does not invalidate your ability to speculate) this probably needs to be updated on the original comment. Your approach aligns with the mechanics based approach discussed at the end of the video so in theory the mechanics are built first then the world kind of like a hierarchy of mechanics->story with story being held inside the mechanics folder and limited by it (if the mechanics folder is changed then the story inherits that change). where as my approach is the other way around Story->Mechanics where mechanics lives inside the story folder and any change to the story is inherited by the mechanics. (this is a new realization to me as of this moment in time) it seems that both are valid approaches of design where the more something inherits from a different part the more vague it gets. Meaning the vague story details is a consequence of where it aligns in priority.

[@mtgstudios1556]

@@santiagopomares6287 Your comment caused me to have a brainwave and find a solution to a question I've been pondering for two weeks. Thanks for helping with that.

[@youtubeviewer8063]

Lady dev just explained how it works in the corporate world to a tee. Nintendo is no different, and I don't expect them to ever connect the dots cohesively. That's why I enjoy the lore channels, it's not about who's theory is right but the possibility of deeper storytelling within a games fictional world. Love the videos, keep up the good work!

[@Drakenwild]

Thank you, appreciate it!

[@justme14357]

I think Lore is the worst part of TOTK. They just handled it terribly.

[@santiagopomares6287]

There's no Zelda game that handles lore, most of it come in books that normally contradict the games anyway, this has always been their style. Totk despite its inconsistencies or weirdness with the Sheikah tech, it's still the most consistent follow-up along with Wind Waker.

[@Drakenwild]

I honestly don't think it was that bad. Previous games only had connectivity in broad strokes, same is true for botw and totk. And then, botw was very detached from the Zelda Timeline already. Totk just feels like a more direct statement of it. (Plus, between TotK and BotW personally I'll easily have enough topics to last me until next Zelda comes out).

[@BriarBeeBenson]

@@DrakenwildI am someone who thinks people judging the lore in TotK and how it connects to the lore of the other Zelda games besides BotW aren’t really being fair to TotK, that feels more like people pedantically nitpicking. One of the things I love most about Zelda lore is how a lot of things are left up to interpretation, it’s very fluid and not set in stone so after you’ve finished the game or a quest, the game is still making you think, trying to come to a conclusion. To figure out the answer. And I think this is very fitting for a game full of puzzles. That being said I still think there are plenty of fair criticisms one can make about TotK’s continuity and lore because… what I just said is barely the case. How TotK functions as a sequel is just… okay. It’s not great but it’s not extremely terrible either. However, if this development team had a dedicated team of writers and a continuity director then these problems would have been ironed out very early in development. The story also wouldn’t read as a first draft or punish the player for accidentally sequence breaking in their first play through for spoiling said story or if you’re like me and found Mineru early, by accident, then making the player miss out on basically a whole quest and mystery! TotK not being consistent with other games entirely disconnected from it is nitpicking, like TotK not being consistent in regard to the pre-established lore of the Triforce. Well that would only matter if we were talking about lore BotW established about the triforce, of which TotK is consistent with it. Therefore it’s kinda disappointing but it’s not an issue since it’s consistent with the rules that have been established in this version of Hyrule, which imo is all that matters regarding lore. However, TotK not being consistent with the lore that was established in BotW or even its own lore, narrative and characters are valid critiques because these things actually do very much matter in an open world game. When the developers don’t care about them then as a player it breaks my immersion and makes me feel stupid for caring about things the game introduces and makes me form an attachment to. Because yes gameplay is important but in an open world game you really need adequate and consistent lore and worldbuilding to enrich the world you’re playing in and make the gameplay feel justified and grounded in that reality. Otherwise it just makes me feel empty, it makes everything I do feel pointless. It makes me not want to ruminate further about the questions I have or about a certain character’s personality or story because there’s nothing for me to grab onto. I’m not given any clues so the trail goes cold really quickly. And when everything new introduced only exists to give context to the oh so precious gameplay, including the new characters, then it makes me feeling like nothing they introduce even matters and my expectations as I played became lower and lower. I started on a high note and ended up being bitterly disappointed because I was introduced to so many things that had so much potential but by my 3rd temple I just expected that the game wouldn’t do anything with it so I didn’t let myself care or have any hopes or excitement about it. Which… sucked. Because BotW gave me the opposite of that experience. It hyped me up, it raised my expectations sky high and delivered on that promise almost every time. Want to know more about Revali and the Rito as a whole? Great, complete his temple and we’ll give you more information about him. Go around Rito village and find out more about his culture by completing quests and talking to them all so you can have context for Revali’s characterisation and design. Examine the surrounding environment and put the pieces of the puzzle together to come to your own conclusion about him. I can do that in TotK for places like Hateno Village and the environmental storytelling there is done really, really well. But I can’t do that for characters like Mineru, Sonia or even Rauru! And I certainly can’t do it for the other sages and Ganondorf. If I want to know more about the relationship between the faceless Sage of Lightning and Ganondorf well I… can’t. If I want to know more about Zonai culture and history, well I can’t. There’s nothing to explore there. It’s all empty and only exists to give context to the gameplay, it doesn’t feel like grounded in this world like Hateno village does. And that’s immensely disappointing because coming from playing BotW I genuinely thought I would! And I think that’s the position a lot of people are coming from when they critique the lore and narrative aspect of this game.

[@Drakenwild]

@@BriarBeeBenson agreed. I tend to not conflate the story with the lore - I see lore as a subsection of the worldbuilding and not the narrative (like, you can have a good narrative and bad worldbuilding, and vice versa, these things connect but aren't dependent on each other). By saying the lore isn't that bad I mean that the game's worldbuilding is mostly consistent with itself and botw. Not 100% consistent but mostly consistent. That said, yes, the game absolutely has massive problems with its story and the way that story is being presented, there's no denying that. I like that they were ambitious with it but the major worldbuilding inconsistencies are the ones introduced by the plot.

[@FieryRed_BE]

well, they focus on gameplay first. remember, devs focus on programming. they should definitely have someone that handles the lore in their team

[@thajocoth]

My theory varies a bit depending on the item: * Shrines - The lifeforce of the monks maintained the shrines in some way. With them gone, the shrines' power slowly went out. The researchers managed to salvage some of the contents, but not as much because they require Link to enter each time. When power failed on one, it left behind only the surface entrance with no way to delve inside, which they eventually dismantled for parts. (This could be where the idea of Shiekah tech disappearing could come from as well, since the spaces in the shrines cease to be accessible.) There are also a lot of chasms in places where Shiekah Shrines once stood. These spots could've had the ground more weakened by the hollow spaces, making it easier for these spots to be where these chasms formed. * Towers - The towers were part of the same power network as the shrines, so they had a similar difficulty. Some may have retracted or partially retracted, but they're tall, thin, & ancient structures. One of them is going to snap and topple. Once this happens, dismantling begins for parts. * Divine Beasts - We know at the end of BotW that Vah Ruta stopped working. Odds are that the others did as well. If they couldn't get them to function as is, perhaps they could figure out other ways to use their parts. * Guardians/Other - Without malice holding them, they stopped respawning with the blood moons, so the supply became finite. If any were still functional, they'd've been sent to fight against larger and more powerful monsters like Hinoxes and Lynels. Anything not functional (or destroyed by monsters) had its parts collected for reuse. * All the parts - A lot of Hylians have formed a militia. With the wealth of parts and Cherry being able to create really good weapons from these parts, they probably started off with great weapons and the intent to clear out all the monsters from Hyrule for good, with the thought that maybe if they ALL got cleared out that they might not come back. (This didn't work.) Combine this with weapons breaking after a while though, and there's not nearly enough parts left. At some point Purah saw where this was heading and put aside all the parts she'd need to recreate what she could of the towers and Sheikah Slate (and maybe even improve on parts of the designs where she could, like giving the towers an elevator, though she couldn't replicate everything these things used to be).

[@Usith]

How about the big chasms?

[@thajocoth]

@@Usith Being a theory on what happened to Shiekah tech, any chasm that didn't appear in a place related to Shiekah tech would be unrelated to my theory and would need a separate theory. Really, the note on the chasms that do coincide with Shiekah Shrine locations is only tangentially related anyway as I haven't claimed them to be the cause for those shrines to vanish, which is what my theory here is actually about. A theory on why the chasms appeared in the places they did would need to account for all the ones that appeared in Shiekah Shrine locations as there are too many for coincidence, but there would have to be other factors that determined locations as well since that doesn't apply to all of them.

[@NetherBane-zx4gq]

My headcanon for the sheikah technology disappearing was that after Botw, it was generally decided from the public that sheikah technology shouldn’t be used anymore because they were scared of it, since Ganon had turned all the guardians into killing machines. Though... I’m not sure how the shrines disappeared, or the shrine of resurrection. But there is still one broken guardian atop Robbie’s lab at Hateno in Totk, so I like to think that one was kept there just because it was broken and made for a nice decoration in a strange way.

[@happysmilesworldandgames8755]

9:00 i like the way you said vah naboris

[@Gyashonav]

My theory for the what I'll call the "not so great disappearance" of shiekah tech is that Purah and/or Robbie went under the astral observatory and either purposely or accidentally hit a switch that caused spacetime shift stones to bring the tech back to "it's originally state". It's originally state being before it was mined and/or manufactured, the time shift stones that did this may not be in certain things and may be in some of the things the Purah and Robbie made because it was in so many others and they thought it was important. Purah and/or Robbie would then put out a statement about what happened. All of that happened long enough ago that no one talks about it any more. With the observatory now gone, gloom may start leaking out and Purah eventually sends Link and Zelda down, causing the start of the game. Although I do really hate that they did all of this world building and emphasis on the scars of the past never going away only to then have it vanish in an instant. Also, is AoC the doomed timeline? I mean they one the battles against the calamity but just delayed Ganon's return.

[@3DSCarnaje]

My cousin and I actually theorized that AoC split the timeline into TotK, since if AoC happens, BotW doesn't. The main problem with this theory, and the main problem with the lore as a whole, is the damn school. The one f***ing place in the game they actually reference the calamity at all.

[@Elithralith]

Sheikah tech was designed to help the Hero in the future. They knew the Hero would need the Shrine of resurrection and the shrines. Once Link is done with a shrine, the structure itself is useless there is no more Sheikah monk in it. We have been theorizing since 2019 teaser that Sheikah tech was going to vanish from Hyrule, because that's a magical technology. If Guardians and Divine Beasts were still around during the Upheaval, Ganondorf would have corrupt them again. The Sheikah from 10 000 years ago knew what they were doing. You can criticize the fact that nothing tells us in the game that the sheikah technology suddenly disappeared by magic (like for example when Link teleports) because they could have add a line in Purah's diary like "One day, most of the Sheikah tech just vanished suddenly" but explaining to people that they should not take into account what Fujibayashi says in an interview (when the man himself is the main author of the Oracles, FS, Minish Cap, Phantom Hourglass, Skyward Sword and BotW/TotK) is just admitting that you didn't understand their world. Also you should read the Iwata Asks, especially about Skyward Sword, to learn how the Zelda team was working back then

[@justme14357]

I really love this Channel!

[@Drakenwild]

Thank you!

[@8FootGamer]

I do wish there were some continuity. But, there isn't really any continuity around Age of Calamity either. I guess the connecting thread is throwing time travel into a game and then trying to have the story developers come in AFTER (because they forgot to explain it during the game) just messes up how it fits in the larger picture 😅

[@Drakenwild]

Yeah, same. I would have preferred it if it was a committed sequel. But the way it is, those clarifications by the devs really aren't making this any better.

[@dalooneylass5561]

My explanation for the Shika tech disappearing suddenly is that the Shika tech, specifically the Devin Beasts and the Guardians and those sort of things have spirits. And the Shika shrines and towers, while not in possession of spirits themselves, are connected to beings with spirits, mainly the Monks, and to other Shika tech. When Link defeated Calamity Ganon, the Shika tech with spirits decided that, now that the calamity is gone and their duty fulfilled, that they want to rest, to move on from this world. And so the Shika tech in possession of spirits signalled to the Shika tech that now lack spirits, that “Hay! Is time to rest and power down” and thus the Shika tech powered down and vanished. This would not work for things such as the ancient blades as they are knives that exist independently of any other Shika tech, whereas pretty much all the other weapons come from/are part of the Guardians or are made from their scraps. My main reason for the Shika tech having spirits is the Devine Beasts and their behaviour, as well as the egg Guardian from AoC, AND the Zonai Tech of which seems to be the basis of the Shika tech, the steward constructs more spasticity.

[@SenketsuFi]

i just want my master cycle back....

[@Drakenwild]

Honestly, same :/

[@Chubby_Bub]

It's quite evident to me that their response on the Sheikah tech was just to give people an answer because there wasn’t in game; there was not much thought behind it. Lady Dev's example is absolutely right because even aside from the Sheikah tech, there are some existing structures that inexplicably changed between games (e.g. Akkala Citadel's interior is somehow a natural cave, and the buildings on top, which were already in ruins, are arranged differently). Personally, I think the creators' words are noteworthy for providing insight, but they still should be acknowledged as distinct from the actual game. It seems Aonuma agrees with you and I too, he said in a recent interview with IGN: "I don't think that Zelda is a type of game where the development team says, "This is what Zelda is, this is what the story is, this is what the game is." Everything that the development team wants to convey has already been placed into the game. And the rest is up to the player's imagination, and their reflection on how they feel… what they've experienced in the game." He also reiterates the recent thing about the series chronology being secondary to what game they want to create. For all the people fretting about "official positions"… their official position is that they don’t have one and it’s up to you.

[@Drakenwild]

Yes, absolutely. I'm by no means calling to forget they ever said anything but rather to avoid taking their words as an absolute authority of the matter. I actually agree with some of the claims they made but not because they made them but rather because they make sense and are actually supported within the game.

[@Drakenwild]

@@HipnotikHylian idk why you think that I'm angry. The entire video was a giant I don't really care statement. I've had these views on art and authorial intent for years, it's not like they only sprung up because of some interviews.

[@cupkelpie4656]

Yay, a new Drakenwild video! :D

[@Drakenwild]

[@crowmaster9652]

I like your video, it touches on very important surface concepts that would help modern game developers consider their cultures more such that they are not subjugated into time pressure cultures for the incentive of meeting a timed quota by a company that has its focus more on money than substance. Then there are those that aren't in it for money but for shoehorning ideals. M. Night Shyamalan shoehorned his intepretation of avatar only to come across as someone who barely watched and said I want my version to be more serious and fast paced and live action. When a cook throws in what they think will make their dish taste great but forgets about consistency because of short term profit or shoehorning their ideals we come to an understanding as why these two distinct forces don't have a working formula yet are allowed to "create" because they are in such a fortunate position.

[@isupposeiexist]

The actual answer: They've never had to worry about continuity before, they just didn't bother to deal with it this time. In universe answer: Many of them may have disappeared/dispersed much like the monks do when you're done with the shrine, their task completed. Not all of it was successful, and what wasn't was studied and looked in to. This disappearance left holes suggesting the depths and released the gloom, and looking into that they started finding Zonai information and started connecting their own dots, leading to Link getting down there and kickstarting TOTK

[@Drakenwild]

They have continuity in broad strokes, just as they always did, yeah. I feel like it's only more noticable now than in WW or TP because of map and characters being reused.

[@Shinntoku]

Honestly I don't actually think Fujibayashi's explanation is all that farfetched. I think the reaction most Hyruleans would have to the shiekah tech vanishing would be relief, not panic. No one wants the death machines that destroyed the world to stick around, and only Purah, Robbie, Impa and Zelda would have any knowledge of the technology because the sheikah gave up on their technology after the calamity

[@javiervasquez625]

Didn't the Yiga know about the technology as well though? I would assume they would have something to say about it vanishing especially considering their loyalty to Ganondorf whom they are fully aware was responsible for the tech's corruption in the first place and thus would write down their dissapointment at been unnable to use them in order to assist him in his plans to conquer the realm.

[@Shinntoku]

@@javiervasquez625 see, they would have if Koga hadn't fallen into the depths and discovered the Zonai technology buried in the depths. They shifted their research over, and that's why they have fully functioning vehicles while the Hyruleans can barely figure out sticking a steering wheel onto a plank

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Shinntoku _"They shifted their research over..."_ Change They with "Nintendo" and research with "new gameplay" and you got yourself the true reason for such an out of character development on the part of the entire Yiga clan.

[@Shinntoku]

@@javiervasquez625 that makes zero sense but okay. It's not like the Yiga actually even *used* Sheikah tech in BotW, so it's really not "out of character"

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Shinntoku They didn't but their _knowledge_ of it was most definetly there.

[@LordAlduin]

Another wonderful vid!

[@Drakenwild]

Thank you!

[@FAMILYNDIAYE]

Could u make a video about sheakia teck going away?

[@Drakenwild]

I don't plan to because Capt. Burgerson already covered it and to be honest, I'd be just repeating after him.

[@dekufiremage7972]

12:00 To be more charitable, he might have meant that it was the first time Ganondorf was portrayed as killing a plot significant character and that the killing caused some significant change within the story and character motivations moving forward. Him killing faceless sage didn't really mean much for Twilight Princess after all. Not any more than the dying back alley guard in OoT. Don't want to give the impression that I think TotK handled its story or lore well though, nah it's still by far the worst Zelda game at handling those elements.

[@dreamer1292]

On some things that developers said that supposedly had no support in game: Sheikah tech: have you read creating a champion? They say that the sheikah technology is literally made to detect malice the towers and the weapons are on the hold 24/7 to detect its levels and predict the next coming of the calamity. Bye the end of botw the sheikah tech has no reason to remain, both the guardians, shrines and towers which is the stuff that disapeared. And the explanation for that is in totk, the reason ganondorfs seal was broken was because calamity Ganon damaged the castle and weakened the seal(characters profile and enemy compendium on ganondorf), if ganondorf is not sealed then calamity ganon has no reason to exist since it has a body now, and thus without malice spreading, the towers and shrines have no reason to remain there, since as the books stated, they were made to detect malice and predict the appearance of calamity ganon. So if calamity ganon wont appear anymore, then they sheikah tech has no purpose, plus by the ending of botw we already had been given a hint that sheikah tech was deactivating since zelda says that one of the divine beasts, vah ruta, mysteriously stopped working. Plus npcs not talking about it while weird doesn't mean its not noticed, we dont know WHEN they sheikah tech disappeared, could be 1 yr before totk or it could be a couple weeks after botw, either way it could have happened so long ago that the histeria of such event simply was accepted, which even explains why they built new towers to begin with. Its as simple as calamity Ganon was defeated for good, no more malice, the reason sheikah tech is still active is tied to the presence of malice, therefore Sheila tech has no reason to remain there. And this is just information from creating a champion and breath of the wild. Like, I get death of the author and I get how they can be wrong, myamoto once said a link to the past takes place after zelda 2 despite the game and aonuma saying it was the earliest game in the series before zelda one, but there is difference between saying the author is wrong and saying there is no evidence in the story to back up the claim, there is. Also fujibayashi has said that he cares and has laid out hints to many story points in totk, myamoto told him and Aonuma to keep the story consistent, aonuma felt a bit held back, but fujibayashi fully accepted it. Like, its clear that at least fujibayashi is keeping up with the story and myamoto wants it to keep going and aonuma is working for it too, but he is not making it his priority. And this is the nature of a work which has multiple big heads working on it, its not even a conflict of ideals, its simply the natural chaotic nature of it. There is a reason they keep it vague in interviews since they know they cant just say whatever they want unless they have reach an agreement on how a lore piece functions. One of the things I always kept saying to people when totk launched was to wait for Nintendo to release the next book and update their timeline, I feel like people are way too impatient and expect the whole lore to be given out in one go, but its not even been a year since the game later launched, if we need more information we will be given probably in 2024 or 2025.

[@santiagopomares6287]

That's all true, I still think they should have that mentioned in one of Purah's books, but let's all be honest, the real reason the tech mostly dissapeared was so that they wouldn't obsctruct the views, I wish they had explained it instead of leaving it to imagination but I prefer it gone anyway.

[@javiervasquez625]

How do you explain the derelict Sheikah Guardian sitting on top of Purah's Lab in TotK? If all the tech just "up and vanished" as Fujibayashi suggested then there's no logical explanation as to why a single derelict Guardian would magically remain within the gameworld while it's other brethren magically disappeared from the face of the world.

[@santiagopomares6287]

@@javiervasquez625 Was it specifically said that that was a guardian husk? Because it could be a replica made by Purah

[@javiervasquez625]

@@santiagopomares6287 Why would she bother making a _fake_ replica...? What's the point of that when according to some people in the comment section the people of Hyrule would react with fear if they saw such a thing hanging on someone's house right after a massive weight was lifted from their lives with the collective vanishing of all the technology spread across the kingdom? Like seriously i don't see the logic with such an answer so i simply can't accept it with as much of an ounce of plausability.

[@santiagopomares6287]

@@javiervasquez625 She is Purah, she has a little replica of a sheikah whale, and in Totk she has similar stuff with the Zonai, and it is totally in her character to like to scare people. Still, I don't know if it's fake, I was just asking if there was any line of dialogue that comfirmed it was a real one or not

[@santiagopomares6287]

Yeah, very true. This is far from the first time, I still strongly believe that Link is 16-17 in Wind Waker, I don't care if an interview says he is 12, the evidence in the game contradicts that a lot.

[@Drakenwild]

Interviews are interesting for things like inspirations for the games, reception and more technical aspects of the game development. But authorial intent and any sort of "actually, Link is 45" really should be subjected to death of the author and just moved on from.

[@javiervasquez625]

Didn't Link's grandma say he was to wear the Hero's Clothes when he reached the same age the Hero of Time had when he started his quest? Later we see a _statue_ of the Hero of Time inside Hyrule Castle looking twice the size compared to the Hero of Winds confirming this current Link has yet reached the same age as his predecessor courtesy of that very statue.

[@santiagopomares6287]

@@javiervasquez625 That could be it, but they could also be referring to the moment he woke up in the chamber of sages, for the statue, whoever made it had no idea how Link looked like besides descriptions, so he could have made Link much more manly and taller than what he actually was. Link clearly has the same age as Tetra, who not only is captain of the ship but is implied to have the same age as Gonzo, because a joke is made about Gonzo marrying Tetra and that would be innapropiate if she's a minor. Link also is said to have the same age as Komali, who is said to be a young adult. There is more, like Link participating in auctions or getting a house or not being questioned as a traveller (that should happen if he was a kid) and some more.

[@javiervasquez625]

​@@santiagopomares6287 ...You do know that originally Aonuma and co. were considering making a direct sequel to The Wind Waker with the Hero of Winds looking exactly the *same* as the Hero of Time does in the statue? To Nintendo the statue is EXACTLY how a "Toon" version of the Hero of Time would look within the cel shaded world of The Wind Waker so arguing that the statue is just an "interpretation" of how he looked despite the massive evidence to the contrary (do the noises the Hero of Winds makes even ressemble those of a grown teenager?) is very much been both misinformed and disingenuous given Nintendo's intent with the statue in the first place. As to him participating in auctions and doing "grown up things" the young Hero of Time also got to do stuff of the sort too like playing in Shooting Galleries, venturing into cursed wells ridden with the undead and saving the world at the young age of 10 years old so i can't imagine how you reached the notion that a kid who SOUNDS like a kid could ever magically be over 16-17 years old.

[@santiagopomares6287]

@@javiervasquez625 It's all ideas and intentions but nothing in the game itself, for example originally Link was going to age in the adventure but it was scrapped, the very video we're watching talks about how only the information in the game is important. I'm not accepting he is twelve because of the statue because that conflicts with all the other things I said, while saying he is 16-17 only kind of conflicts with the 1 statue

[@myleswelnetz6700]

Not in this case.

[@RetroGoosen-ux8ty]

They coulda put one small scene where the sheikah tech just disappeared for some small reason cause it can teleport. The lack of continuity was just lazy yall had 6 years and charged $70. It’s that simple.

[@Drakenwild]

They could if they cared about getting that explanation across, yes. Seems they didn't see it as important enough to include. If they did though, they should either make some collapsed cavern structures where the biggest ones used to be or at the very least put in intact caves in those places.

[@NuiYabuko]

But why? I just assumed it got dismantled. It has been so long, no one likely cares about them having been there anymore anyway.

[@rockowlgamer631]

All I know is that the Zelda team, especially Fujibayashi, need to hire a group of people to make a proper story cause the last couple for this open world are boring at best and terrible at worst if they can't be consistent from a game sequel. All it does is estrange BotW players while potentially confusing TotK new players.

[@thephalange8630]

I don't understand how you can say "let's not keep the lore consistent, but keep everything else consistent in terms of reusing the map, a ghostly king directing us to 4 shrines, granting us our main abilities for the game, on the tutorial area, getting a sheikah, now purah, pad, leaving tutorial area hearing from Zelda, seeking out towers to get part of the map, seeking out shrines to gain hearts/stamina, reuse of Koroks, memories are back (and even spoilery this time around, worse!), dungeons in the same 4 regions with 5 locks, hidden behind 5 seperate mini puzzles, locking the boss away, etc. Also how they can say let's try and add a new level to things, while leaving all these things, of which most are Main Story Line, the same is beyond me! I believe that if they changed up everything drastically, people would still have that weird "but what the f about BotW???" feeling, but it would be overshadowed by new things, and a better story. All of this could have been solved with Link going to the past as well! Sooooo unnecessary.

[@Drakenwild]

Yeah, the vast majority of continuity problems would be removed if it was Link who gets thrown back in time.

[@NL-X]

Nintendo has always put gameplay over story (which I personally think it's the right thing to do in a videogame since you're playing it, not watching a movie) so it makes sense they didn't think that much on how to connect the story and stuff, however it's lame that no one knew Link and the Sheikah stuff just dissapeared without any reason I like TOTK more nevetheless

[@Drakenwild]

I tend to think that you can have both gameplay and story be great since they aren't mutually exclusive and the importance of story really varies between games... but yeah, that is how Nintendo tends to run things. Totk has many different flaws and is still excellent in many other ways.

[@NL-X]

@@Drakenwild yeah totally! I think the gameplay is more important since well... it's a game haha, but I agree! The best game Nintendo has with that balance is Metroid.

[@MoxieWatts]

3:25 she said it. She said the thing 😂

[@Drakenwild]

As it hath been foretold!

[@MoxieWatts]

Mannnnnnnnn like seeing the writing outsourced as something not important just seriously is so angering.

[@Drakenwild]

The outsorced company is listed in the credits of the game, just it's at the very bottom along with all other companies they outsourced work to.

[@EPadraigM]

While i don't fully agree with death of the author, I do think the way they handled it was poor.

[@Drakenwild]

That's totally fair! It's just my way of looking at things, as I've said the opposite view is also valid.

[@Monty2289]

I just want a GF with your accent I love it lol ☺

[@Drakenwild]

Lol, thank you!

[@EuropeanApple755]

My personal theory on the sheikah stuff is that it shut down because it served its purpose, and it was taken apart by the Hylian and repurposed into the sheikah towers using the sheikah slates power. My evidence is that 1. Zelda says at the end of BotW that DIvine Beast Vah Ruta had stopped working and they were going to investigate 2. the sheikah slate is portable and clearly powered by something else

[@Drakenwild]

And that is a much better explanation than what the interview provided. Personally, I'm in agreement with CaptBurgerson's theory on the matter.

[@Cosmosis-86]

I love the art work at the end of the video, looks great! BOTW to TOTK: a few things that I question, Sheikah tech is one of them, that you talked about but another is the Geoglyphs and consistency in the narrative… Sure we know there is approximately seven years between BOTW and TOTK, maybe the Geoglyphs were placed throughout Hyrule when the light dragon shed it’s tears? When Link finds out that Zelda is the light dragon, he only informs Impa. I feel there are plot holes everywhere, sure Impa talks about the calamity as does the school teacher, discovering Ganondorf and Zonai artifacts under Hyrule Castle are the strongest bridge between BOTW and TOTK.

[@Drakenwild]

Thank you! And, yeah, there are plenty of continuity issues, there's no denying that. The assumption I'm running with for the Geoglyphs (which I think I stated in my Zonai video) is that they were created shortly after Zelda draconified and then hidden later on with illusory magic. That's the only way I see to reconcile that without going into a multiverse theory. But still, there are plenty of other gaps everywhere in the plot and many of them are too wide to reasonably explain without defaulting to the multiverse.

[@XanderVJ]

I stopped watching when you brought up "Death of the Author". Sorry, not sorry, "Death of the Author" is one of the most hypocritical, poisonous schools of thought in art criticism to ever exist. It's not only a recipe for putting words into other peoples' mouth, something that is truly annoying is that people only bring it up when it's convenient. When the actual canon doesn't match their headcanon, but they want their headcanon to matter outside of their heads anyway. Or when they don't like the author for whatever reason. Or when they want to compartmentalize some part of the text they don't agree with and don't want to deal with the dissonance. But the moment those types of things aren't in the way, or the authorial intent aligns with our praise or criticism, the author is brought back to life in a flash. Let me ask you a question. If Aonuma and Fujibayashi had given a satisfying answer to the lore questions... Would you have still brought up Death of the Author? Or said in a different way, if Aonuma and Fujibayashi change their mind and they start from now on to give some actual thought to Zelda's lore and continuity, would you still keep that train of thought? Yeah, I didn't think so.

[@Drakenwild]

Yes, yes I would. If you had heard me out, you'd know that the way this idea is supposed to be applied and the way I personally use it isn't just by completely disregarding the word of the author because my or someone else's headcanon is betterer. It isn't supposed to remove authorial opinion, it's supposed to remove the authority that comes with it. So in your hypothetical when they give a satisfying answer to a lore question (which already happened in the interview with NDW.jp btw), I'd investigate their answer just as I did with the unsatisfying ones, and see if it makes sense with what is in the game. If it does then it makes it valid but no more and no less valid than a different opinion on the same topic presented by someone else with equally good backing behind it. What you are describing is a toxic application of the concept but the concept itself is pretty healthy imo. It's supposed to promote critical thinking and protect from authors abusing their authority (like the one who shall not be named declaring her characters to be members of lgbt community years after the fact when nothing in the actual books even remotely pointed towards it).

[@crowmaster9652]

If the author isn't good at creating the answer would be no if the interpretors aren't good at creating the answer would also be no We live in a time period where both the intent of authors and personal interpretations that easily get the spotlight are both terrible at creating. So the answer is neither because they both stink at creating now. Back then there were geniuses, masters who excelled in their craft to develop what we know as the successful mediums of a vast variety of genres, classifications, identities. Because their main focus is suiting the casual mind as they make up a majority of the population market. Back then video games used to be difficult for casuals and it was up to the nerds, who have the mental culture to absorb all the lore and details as intended. 5:20 its funny because if they developers did their jobs they would've had the sheikah culture considered such that they can implement game mechanics that further enrich the game. So long as the researchers suit the casual mindset, the authors and personal interpretation don't matter so long as it prints money for the compant they would say who cares. Casuals make the company money, not the ones who supported the foundation for existing markets for videogames. Consistency would be sooner thrown out for short term profit by these same people Also if the author would sell his sol for 5 bucks it tells me what to expect from his creations if the personal interpretations comes up with something awesome but is super inconsistent it says everything about the culture they participate in.