Wind Waker's Ethereal Sea (Zelda Lore)

[@ThePhantomguy321]

By the time we play the game, I wonder if "fishing" has just colloquially evolved into a term specifically referring to "sea monster hunting." Orca is probably a minor celebrity and the reason Outset is known as a "fishing" village. Maybe he even built Outset's watchtower to spot distant monsters?

[@kokiriforistima]

Ganondorf proved correct once again. The Gods are monsters, rebellion against the heavens is the only moral option. But yeah I never noticed that stuff about the Great Sea before. Great video!

[@LUVIIKUU]

@@kokiriforistima Thank you!

[@bob3294]

The supernatural justification given in the encyclopedia makes sense, but thinking about it, the absence of fish (and zora) in the Great Sea could have an ecological explanation too. To the average fan, it seems stupid that the creation of a giant sea would kill off fish and force the Zora to evolve to no longer be aquatic. However, flooding or excavation that connects saltwater and freshwater can be devastating even on a small scale, so a cataclysmic event like the flooding of hyrule would have wrecked the ecological balance. The retroactive establishment of the river/sea Zora split, which Echoes of Wisdom really ran with, suggests that Zora are sensitive to their environment. Furthermore, the games which necessitated the split, the Oracle series, show that the King Zora of Labrynna is interested in suitable locations for new domains. The joke is that Holodrum has no water for him, but this characterises the Zora in general as conscious of their environment. Even if the Great Sea is completely real, I wouldn't be surprised if ecological collapse is the reason the Zora had to evolve so dramatically, because it would no longer be suitable for them. The remaining sea creatures in Wind Waker are mostly large and aggressive, which would make sense if sea predators had come to dominate by feeding on the displaced river fish, and vice versa. I can't give a reason why these predators would be able to survive once those displaced fish died out, because then they would have nothing to eat, but I think the argument works up until that point. The return of fishing in Phantom Hourglass and especially Spirit Tracks supports the idea that the lack of fish in Wind Waker is an issue local to Hyrule. I think thematically this resonates with Ganondorf's words on there being no fish to catch, and the trilogy's entire theme of moving on - the gods doomed Hyrule and there is nothing left there, for humans or for animals. The Great Sea is an ecological waste that gives no reason for species from abroad to move in, only pressure for what remains to leave. Hyrule is stuck in the past, and the future cannot come until it is left behind. Spirit tracks features both a collectible called the Ruto Crown, and some enemies called Zora Warriors, who take after river Zora from other games. Both of these are reused from Phantom Hourglass, but I don't think it's unreasonable that small numbers of Zora left Hyrule during the Great Flood, and were able to survive, similar to their disappearance and reappearance in the Downfall timeline. The non-Hylian races leaving the bounds of Hyrule is a useful narrative device to explain their absence in some games, and ties well into the cross-game narrative thread of the kingdom's decline under incompetent rule (Zelda knows Ganondorf's plan in OoT, but the ruling adults don't, the decline before the NES games, Zelda's frustration that she is powerless to help her people in Twilight Princess, etc). Great video! This is the kind of fun thinking I like to see about the series.

[@TheSenhorcaioo]

The book explanation makes sense and I always thought of that. When Link enters Hyrule for the first time, we can see how the blue from the skies of hyrule are in fact the sea from the surface. The sea is like a magical barrier

[@mrsw2266]

7:45 was rad! Great video 👍

[@aliastheabnormal]

How do Hylians know about fish yet not know about the Triforce?

[@LUVIIKUU]

That's a good question. My guess would be the world-wide sharing of knowledge and cultures. Because the 'Big Catch Flag' that I mentioned does objectively confirm the existence of a foreign fishing festival, so fish do still exist. Just not within the maritime boundary of the Great Sea. As for the Triforce, it was seemingly a topic of legend even during the Era of the Hero of Time, and likely even before that.

[@yaqbulyakkerbat4190]

More importantly. The Tri-fish!

[@Georghiou2D]

never realised this. i always wondered why zoras would evolve into ritos when the water was at its most abundant. cool to find out there's a real answer

[@voltron77]

You got it.

[@Arcadia_warlic]

Well said.

[@LUVIIKUU]

Thank you!

[@TheTempestFunk]

huh, neat