There are many fan theories in the Legend of Zelda series over the past 40 years, and most of the time, Nintendo leaves them up to us to determine our own truths. For example—for those that don’t know—Nintendo didn’t have an official timeline until they released Skyward Sword in 2011. Even then, many franchise veterans gave that the side eye, muttering beneath their breath that Nintendo may’ve just phoned that one in. One topic that fans debated for years was whether the sages in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time were dead; however, it seems that the remake deliberately cleared that topic up.
[Note: Mild spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake.]
The original Ocarina of Time released in 1998, and Link’s adult journey included recruiting five sages to help put an end to Ganondorf’s evil reign (Rauru and one other very important character *wink wink* make a total of seven). When you reach each temple, you either see the sage at the beginning or not at all until you defeat the boss and “awaken” them in the Sacred Realm. The game never made it clear, so it’s easy to see why many fans theorized the sages are actually dead.
For example, Darunia leaves Link to rescue the Gorons in the Fire Temple to fight Volvagia. When you retrieve the boss key and take on the fearsome dragon, Darunia is nowhere to be found. In the Water Temple, you meet Princess Ruto briefly. She leads you to the area to lower the water level, but then she vanishes. Lastly, Nabooru is sucked into a suspicious looking vortex by Koume and Kotake as child Link, reappears as a mini boss as adult Link, then vanishes again thanks to Ganondorf’s loyal witch duo.
The developers of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake (confirmed as The EPD Production Group No. 3 by Nintendo and not Grezzo or Monolith Soft) took a shocking stance on this topic, which is very un-Nintendo-like. They made it very clear in several instances that the sages were, in fact, NOT dead.
There are a couple of new cutscenes where dialogue indicates that these sages were saved before meeting a theoretical doom. For example, Saria states, “I was making my way through the Forest Temple when I was summoned to this place by Rauru the sage“. Then Darunia: “I hate to say it, but I’d be a pile of gravel right now if Rauru hasn’t pulled me outta the fire back there“.
Image credit: Nintendo via Gamer’s Little Playground
These new and intentional cutscenes give us no doubt that Nintendo wants us to believe the sages are alive and well, even if they are never meant to walk the land of Hyrule again. I’m not entirely sure why Nintendo felt the need to update this aspect; however, this can be one debate us Zelda fans can put to rest now.
What do you think about Nintendo’s decision about the sages? Did you subscribe to ‘the sages are dead’ theory? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.
Nintendo Pow Block – A Nintendo Podcast by Boss Rush
Nintendo Pow Block is a weekly Nintendo podcast hosted by Edward Varnell, Corey Dirrig, and their friends from around the internet. Each week, they dive into the latest Nintendo news and rumors for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, new and upcoming releases, updates to Nintendo Switch Online and the Nintendo Music app, and discuss what they’ve been playing in the Playing with Power segment.
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Image credit: Nintendo via Gamer’s Little Playground
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