The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timemust rank fairly high when it comes to games in the series that have the most mysteries, especially sinceseveral of them remain unsolved even decades after the game’s release. Adding to its mystique is the fact thatOcarina of Timeis the game thatsplits the officialZeldatimelineinto three new branches based on whether Link succeeds against Ganondorf. Combining these elements with a touch of nostalgia, it’s easy to see why players keep returning to thisZeldaclassic to dig into its secrets.
Unlike manyZeldagames,Ocarina of Timetakes place during two distinct periods of time. The first time period is when Link is a child, and the second is seven years later, when Link is an adult after being sealed in the Sacred Realm. Using the Temple of Time,Link can travel between those time periodsat will by placing the Master Sword back in its pedestal to go to the past, or removing the sword to go to the future. Because of this skip in time, it’s obvious that Castle Town has undergone a lot of changes.
Changes To Castle Town When Ganondorf Takes Over
Immediately After And Seven Years Later
When Link first arrives at Castle Town, there are plenty of NPCs going about their day in the area, specifically the markets that make up the first part Link visits when entering the town. Compared to more modern games in the franchise, it can feel like Castle Town isn’t as populated, but a big concern throughout the development ofOoTwas theamount of storage space available due to technological constraints of the Nintendo 64. However, Castle Town manages to feel lively at the beginning despite those constraints, and it’s possible to pick out who’s missing.
Move ahead seven years, after Link returns from his stasis in the Sacred Realm, andCastle Town has become drastically different. It’s clear thatOcarina of Timeneeded Link as a herobefore he was ready to be one, and there was nobody else around to take up that role. As a result, Castle Town and Kakariko Village saw casualties, residents leaving as refugees, and even unexplained disappearances. While there are some possible explanations for a few disappearances, quite a few are left without answers.
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Considering the devastation seen in Castle Town, it’s easy to conclude thatthere were at least a few deaths there. The buildings are broken down and in ruins, to the point that Link can’t enter shops that he could go into previously. Instead of citizens hanging out around the market, there are Redeads, which could be former citizens, but their origins aren’t clear enough to say that some of the missing people became Redeads with certainty. Given the state of things, it’s likely that there was a period of chaos, and Link wasn’t present during what happened during that time.
Looking Into The Missing People Of Hyrule
Where They Went
Monster Mazeon YouTube put together an amazing video thattakes account of every NPC in both Castle Town and Kakariko Village, goes through the known fates of those Link sees or hears about as an adult, and then speculates about the fate of those who are unaccounted for after the timeskip. For some characters, it’s easy to make a reasonable guess about what happened, such as theking of Hyrule inOoTlikely being killed, but that’s far from the case for every NPC living in Hyrule in this game.
After looking at every NPC before and after the timeskip, Monster Maze comes to the conclusion that15 citizens of Hyrule are unaccounted forduring the period when Link is an adult. As in, they vanish and don’t even return for the celebration at the end of the game, which other NPCs who aren’t present while Link is an adult show up for. He moves on to speculating about the most likely fates of those citizens. Three of the older citizens could have simply died from old age while Link was in stasis.
With the remaining unaccounted-for citizens, there seem to betwo primary explanations of what could have happened to them. The first is that they left Hyrule and simply never returned to be part of the celebration at the end. Perhaps they didn’t know that Ganondorf’s rule was over, or they could’ve settled into a new life in a different area, not seeing a need to go back to the home they lost. Of course, the second option is that they died during Ganondorf’s takeover, which, depending on how long it took him to destroy Castle Town, is likely.
The Reality Of Ganondorf’s Takeover Of Hyrule
It Would’ve Been A Terrible Time
It wouldn’t have been fun to live in Hyrule when Ganondorf took power, and that’s especially true for anybody who was living in Castle Town. However, Link’s limited perspective of what happened in the seven years he was in stasis means that it’s tough to figure out with certainty what happened to the NPCs who vanished. As a result, important information is missing that could help solve where those NPCs went, such ashow much time passed before Ganondorf targeted Castle Town, considering the town is relatively normal right after he takes care of the king.
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Since it doesn’t seem like Ganondorf went straight from taking care of the king to destroying Castle Town, it’s possible that some citizens had time to leave before any destruction happened. However, that wouldrely on them having some knowledge about the situationthat was going on, which it doesn’t seem like they did. One NPC mentions that it’s strange to see a Gerudo around, but it seems like he’s more curious than concerned. Even the guards of the castle don’t offer an explanation, they simply say that nobody is allowed in the castle at that time.
Even after decades,OoTholds mysteries that might never have conclusive answers, but that adds to the charm of the game. Considering the technology available at the time, this game is an amazing developmental feat that pushed the Nintendo 64 to its limits and required a lot of creativity to tell its story with limited resources. In the end, the fates of those missing people might never be known, but it’s possible they went on to live happily in a different region duringThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
