I'd imagine Ganondorf, after claiming Forsaken Fortress, would send the Gerudo pirates out to sea searching for the triforce. All would fail and die at sea. All but one. One Gerudo crew may have found the triforce shard, but died either due to misfortune or divine intervention on their way to Ganondorf. The shard of the triforce of courage would then curse the ship to forever haunt the seas until one who was worthy of its power would collect it.
I like this idea, narratively. It's always bugged me that you never see any indication of what happened to the Gerudo, especially since the lore around the Forsaken Fortress claims it was a pirate fortress in the past, the most likely culprits being the Gerudo with their history as thieves. This would then mean that Ganondorf's takeover might have been more peaceful than once believed 🤔
@@homerman76 Considerin piracy is still alive (Tetra's crew) then it's likely that some Gerudo just assimilated into Hylian life. We do know that their blood can be diluted and lead to pointed ears like the Gerudo women in the wild games.
This is a compelling theory, particularly given the figurehead. My personal headcanon for a long time, though, is that the Ghost Ship was a Sheikah vessel. The broken ship that serves as Ganondorf's keep in the Fortress has Sheikah eyes on either side of the door leading into his throne room, so the Ghost Ship may well be the ghost _of_ that very ship. The Sheikah have associations with the dead (see the Graveyard in OoT they watch over and the Shadow Temple it contains), and as the loyal servants of the Royal Family, it makes sense for them to be guarding a Triforce Chart/Shard, and continue guarding it even in death. Once their duty is fulfilled when the new Hero has the Chart/Shard, they have no reason to linger and the Ship disappears.
What if it was somewhere in the middle? What if the Sheikah (under direction of the king) were able to break the Triforce of Courage somehow and spread the pieces out to different places in the world to prevent the returned Dorf from getting it whole. They give a piece to the Gerudo who end up making the Forsaken Fortress their home. From there I'd go with the same idea that @TheRealNorth21 came up with.
This is now my headcanon as well…and definitely makes sense given the presence of the Sheikah symbols in the fortress. I had always wondered about that but this makes so much sense.
I'm also inclined to think the Ghost Ship is connected to the Shadow Temple. Given the ship's men's-choir musical theme, and the figurehead bearing more resemblance to the stylized figures in the opening tapestry and sporting a head of short blond hair, I don't think it was a Gerudo ship. But if we take the Shadow Temple's choir to be the prison guards (the lower-pitch men's choir) torturing the prisoners (now dead, wailing and screaming in higher-pitch), it maps better to the choir of the Ghost Ship. We could also guess that the praying figure represents a last-ditch effort by its builders to survive the flooding of Hyrule. Finally, the original game's wall decoration changing its face as you approach is just creepy, haha. I hadn't noticed the Sheikah eye on either side of Ganondorf's door, though, what a neat touch!
This is one of many reasons that Zelda's games are so unique. They're detailed not only in the game, but in story and mystery even if scarcely any players will ever discovery these mysteries and what they hold. A true way to make a good game is to make it with insight and lore for players to explore. Amazing video Zeltik! I like how you asked whether this was reality or a hallucination, a good question.
A single pirate ship seems a strange place to hide one of the pieces of the triforce of courage, it would make much more sense if its original resting place was the Forsaken Fortress. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Ganondorf takes control of it in the first place, because he heard there was a Triforce piece resting there. The Ghost Ship was just the final contingent of surviving pirates fleeing while taking their greatest treasure with them. And if those pirates were Gerudo as you mentioned, it would make the name “Forsaken Fortress” make sooo much more sense. Ganondorf massacring the last of his own race thereby “forsaking” them all for the Triforce.
Yet the ship ressembles Tetra's, with the dragon-shaped figurehead at the prow greatly implying a connection to the Royal Family of Hyrule. Wouldn't it make more sense if the Ghost Ship belonged to Daphnes who told the ship's crew to flee the flooding kingdom with a shard of the Triforce of Courage? The ship would then be attacked by Ganon's minions, killing its crew and turning the ship into its ghostly form.
@javiervasquez625 not really! It's a different figure head and most pirate ships had a similar build to other ships. The pirates also could've just stolen a royal hyrulean ship and put their own figure head (similar to how real pirates got their ships)
I also like the idea that it was a group of Gerudo trying to survive the flood and protect the triforce of the hero until he returned. That crew eventually died and their spirits lingered until the hero came to retrieve his treasure. Monsters being on board also makes sense since Ganon is also searching for it.
Omg that's so cool i never thought of making the connection with the gerudo, by that logic the painting at 3:22 could be a ghostly version of the smiling suns that act as light activated switches in the spirit temple!
I'm convinced that the Ghost Ship is one of the two planned full-length dungeons that got scrapped for time in Wind Waker's development. Around the time Wind Waker HD was released, an interviewer asked Aonuma if they were going to include the scrapped dungeons in the HD remake and he told them no, on the basis that the concepts for those dungeons have been used in other Zelda games since then. Between Phantom Hourglass's ghost ship and Skyward Sword's sandship dungeons, I think it's safe to say that the Zelda team had been wanting to make a dungeon aboard a ship but didn't have the opportunity to do so in Wind Waker.
After you mentioned Ganondorf possibly killing his people to take the Forsaken Fortress, it made me think that maybe all of the souls on the ship are the murdered Gerudo awaiting their revenge on Ganondorf too. They may have been holding onto the triforce shard as a way to draw the only one who could help them, Link.
3:30 I would like to point out the expression bears a striking resemblence to the Earth temple statue. Which has several interesting connections. Firstly, both the ghost ship and he Earth temple are heavily associated with death and the undead. Secondly, both the ghost ship and the temple statue are tied with celestial bodies. The moon and the sun respectively. Thirdly, I remember it was a comment on the Wind Waker dungeon lore video that more that just a redead the Earth temple statue also most closely resembles a Gerudo with its large pointed nose and topknot. Which if we go with the idea of the ghost ship possibly being tied with the Gerudo does tie these to grining faces together more.
A agree, the statue in the Earth Temple looks very much like a Gerudo to me, so if that's true than it's interesting how they are closely tied to themes of death and the afterlife in this game
Considering that the Earth Temple shares similar themes to that of the Spirit Temple from OoT, I wouldn't be surprised if it was also of Gerudo origin. The location doesn't quite match up, since its located at the south of the map, but it's possible that the Gerudo were driven south at some point after Link defeated Ganon in the Adult Timeline and they built the Earth Temple afterwards.
Ikr? It was so creepy back then. That and the aliens from Majora's Mask is why I don't like playing those games because it got too creepy. 😂 It's funny because I'm okay with the bottom of the well and the shadow temple. 🙃
@@kairi4640 it's probably because the well and shadow temple already were presented as horror dungeons. Meanwhile the ghost ship is just kind of there and by random chance you can see it and it just does nothing for the longest time
I feel like I tell this story every time this darn ship gets mentioned, but it’s very special to me. Wind Waker is my favorite game of all time, and it has been ever since I was a kid. One of my favorite things to look at was Lenzo’s photo collection. One picture that I always found cool was the ghost ship, but I didn’t necessarily believe it was real. Like some sort of in-game rumor and Lenzo edited the image or something. Well, I was met with the fright of my life one night when I was sailing around Greatfish Isle and the ship I didn’t believe was real appeared right before me. I immediately ran to my bed to get my iPod and take a picture, thinking I just caught some really rare easter egg, obviously unaware that it’s required to beat the game 😅 I still have that photo, and despite now having photography as a minor hobby now, it remains one of my favorites I’ve ever taken.
I personally find it more likely that the ghost ship is a remnant of the Hyrulean navy, thus their final voyage and mission was to protect a piece of the triforce. A mission they continue in death until Link, rightful owner of the triforce of courage, recovers it
Something that intrigues me about the chart is that it seems to adjust to the islands state. Greatfish Isle is depicted in its broken state instead of its original form.
I remember just barely seeing it in the horizon on a stormy night. Took out my spyglass to get a better look at it. I don't think I sailed towards it the first time I saw it, was a little freaked out, but I remember the second time around, I did.... and it just disappeared. It stuck with me up until I was finally able to board it. This was one of my favorite things in Wind Waker because I rather like ghost ships and stories around them..... but also because it was something that seemed so mysterious and I just discovered it on my own. To be honest, though, I was a little disappointed when we actually got to climb into it. Yeah, it was a bit more decrepit and haunted-looking than other ship interiors but it shared the same design and I feel like there wasn't a whole lot of uniqueness to what you could do in it. Still, it's a part of the WW world that I really enjoy.
Considering that we know that there was a crapload of content that was cut from Wind Waker, it wouldn't surprise me if the Gerudo were initially planned to occupy the Forsaken Fortress as a rival pirate gang to Tetra's crew. The ship model could've initially been a Gerudo pirate ship, hence the Egyptian themed figurehead, and was later repurposed into the Ghost Ship after the Gerudo were cut. Obviously this is all speculation and based off nothing, but it does seem odd that the Gerudo don't appear in the game at all considering that, with the existence of pirates, they would've been perfect for it.
It’s the Great Sea’s incarnation of the Shadow Temple. Or, what’s left of it. On the ferry ride (which, incidentally, uses wheels, like it’s PotC), you can see those same ghosts on the cave walls (at least in the 3DS version). It may very well be some kind of evolution of that boat, into a full-on seafaring vessel.
I think it was a real missed opportunity to not make the Ghost Ship a full-on dungeon. It’s one of the more memorable parts of Wind Waker and it’s only used for the lame Triforce Shards quest at the end.
The Ghost Ship is indeed very fascinating. Sometimes I would just sail after it just to look at it and hear the chant and felt melancholy when I realized it was never to return after I entered it.
One of the best things in the game. I remember avoiding the thing until my curiosity finally drove me to sail right into it (I had the map by then). Fascination, creepiness, and awe.
In the original, the game really doesn't like it if Link leaves the ground in the room with the treasure chest on the ship. In testing, I've found that it always freezes if I jump (Jump Attack, side hop, backflip) or get airborne through other means, like using the Hookshot on the chest. I think it's some weird interaction with that ornamental face, like maybe the game gets confused about how to change it if you move vertically instead of horizontally. But honestly, it makes the room and the scream a lot more chilling to me...almost as if the spirits within are trying to escape not just the ship, but the game itself...
So glad someone mentioned this. Growing up I used to love jump slashing onto chests in Wind Waker cause it would still let you open the chest while standing on top and the animation was super funny to me. So it terrified me as a child when I jumped onto this chest and the game froze, with the spooky face changed. Never heard anyone else make note of this!!
Between the name "David Jr." and the River of Souls on board, I feel there is a strong influence from Davy Jones and The Flying Dutchman. I love this theory and channel! Keep up the good work!
Man I wish the HD version didn't remove the souls in the ceiling (fun fact they look identical the souls in Ghostly Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy) and the creepy smiling face
Bit of an aside, but I know that some people consider Ganondorf's justifications at the end of the Wind Waker about conquering Hyrule for his peoples sake to be a load of shite because it seems to be at odds with what we see during Ocarina of Time's later half. This leads them to think that he's just making up some sob story to get Link to drop his guard or some such. As for me though, I like to believe he wasn't lying, that at some point he did have noble, if misguided, intentions for his people. Sure, the Gerudo do still seem to be sticking to themselves in the desert even after Ganondorf seizes Castle Town. But Maybe Ganondorf just wants to stamp out any resistance, including the hero and the princess, and acquire the complete Triforce before having his people move in. Though personally I like to think he lost sight of his original goals after getting a taste of the Triforce's power and then became wholly focused on obtaining the rest of it, forgetting all about his original intent. However, after having spent a century or two sealed away with plenty of time to reflect he realized he had lost his way at some point. As for why he does what he does in Wind Waker even when most, if not all, of his people are long gone and he supposedly has nothing left to fight for, I put it down to a manic denial. He thinks if he can return Hyrule to it's former glory then maybe he can set things right. His people can return and live upon the verdant fields of Hyrule as he originally intended. This might sound far fetched, but consider: Why else would Ganondorf want to restore Hyrule so badly? If all he wanted was to rule, why can't he just subjugate the Islands of the Great Sea? Why does it absolutely HAVE to be Hyrule? It's like the King says at the end, both he and Ganondorf have lived their lives bound to Hyrule. They were both so caught up in desperately trying to regain a past glory long since lost that they couldn't face the reality of their situation. While the king eventually realized this, and left the future to the next generation, Ganondorf never could. Things had to go back to how they were or he would having nothing left.
To be fair, I think Ganondorf started with noble intentions, but between Demise's influence, Twinrova raising him and living through the Hylian Civil War corrupted him. And by the time he got the Triforce in OOT, he was deluded by power. Then, in WW, he was a veteran who fought in 2 conquests and lost them both because of the Hero of Time, the Princess of Destiny, and divine intervention. He lost nearly everything and tried to reclaim what he could. Not only was his race supposedly gone, his powers sealed away, his kingdom wiped away, and, while my personal theory, Demise's influence was diminished after Link was sent back to the past by Zelda. (Demise's curse is connected to the Hero's Spirit and Goddess's Bloodline, and WW nails in that Toon Link doesn't have that Hero's Spirit that connects Demise to Hyrule), Ganondorf refused to accept the Great Sea as nothing but a shadow of Hyrule. This is why he is less of the King of Evil and is more composed and sober. It's only at the end when Hyrule is being destroyed that Ganondorf snaps and defaults to his old ways. .he is a war veteran who is stuck in the past and is reliving the worst of it all. His home is gone, his tribe is gone, and his dream is gone. All he has left is the "Hero of Time" and "Princess of Destiny" reborn that caused this to happen in the first place. He doesn't use magic or really care about winning. He's taking everything out on Link because he wants to make him bleed. Zelda could wait. The Duel/ Rematch with the "Hero of Time" was a top priority.
I kinda see him as someone who became blinded by Power, his heart wasn't balanced, as we saw. In his old age, he had a long time to reflect on his actions, and he started to gain Wisdom. It wasn't until his dream was literally washed away in front of him that he finally snapped. At that point, he was just looking to die. And he took his final exit for the timeline, so far.
Considering Wind Waker takes place in the Adult Timeline; Link had befriended the Geurudo and Nabooru led the geurudo over Ganondorf. I would think its more likely that; yes they probably were pirates, and maybe they did steal the triforce stuff/ or they were given it. Regardless of how they came to be in possession of it- I believe its very possible that; given their friendly relation to adult link, and their disdain for ganondorf in that timeline, they probably were protecting it until Link could come along and retrieve it. That maybe they stole it from ganon, or did what they could to keep it from ganon. It could be directly tied with how Ganon even came to be released. Considering its similarity between the cursed Greatfish Isle and the ship- both sporting the same storm; its likely the ghost ship was made by ganon thinking he killed them- but they lived on to fulfill their duty or "unfinished business". this would tie in well with the fact that the cry of pain at the end is a sped up version of jabun- which also directly correlates to greatfish isle. let me know what you think of this!
Maybe Ganondorf went to them and swore himself in as their king, but due to time and the flood the Gerudo knew not of his legend and didn't obey him, he then blamed that on the flood and forced a takeover, which resulted in them trying to escape with that ship
The video is really great and interesting! The way the information is presented is clear, easy to follow, and the content is engaging. I really enjoy how you deliver the message. Looking forward to seeing more videos like this! ....
i haven't watched Zelda theories in forever bc it's all been tears and breath. so when i saw this pop up i knew it was gonna be a banger this is the first one in a long time that actually dropped my jaw. nice work dude, this one feels canon
Personally, I always interpreted it as the chart being guarded by the spirits, intentionally awaiting the hero. Would still fit with the Gerudo, especially since we see in other games that they've "repented" and turned against Ganondorf. Possibly also the Sheikah (though I like to believe one or more of the pirates is descended from the Sheikah. Speaking of porates' lineage, have you tackled Jolene and her sister from Phantom Hourglass yet? I'm pretty sure they're Gerudo. Perhaps a flooded Termina's version of them. Also
The Gerudo, in my mind, were eradicated by the Goddess in The Wind Waker as a “nuclear” option. If the Gerudo are no longer around, Ganondorf cannot be reborn. However, this was fruitless, because Demise’s curse still lived on. Bellum from Phantom Hourglass, and Malladus from Spirit Tracks. All three of these games exclude the Gerudo from their world.
I never realized the commonality between David Jr's father and the cartographer of the ghost ship chart. That's actually super interesting even just on its own! I don't think Ganon is behind the ghost ship though. Ganon seemingly only started acting up shortly before Wind Waker begins, but the ghost ship has clearly been a story for a while given the chart leading to it is old and abandoned.
The more WW videos I see makes me wish Nintendo would make another Zelda seafaring game that could either be a sequel from PH or be a different timeline.
I think David Jr.'s dad and the adventurer that mapped the ghost ship's route are the same person, even inciting David Jr. himself into becoming an explorer. Also, Lenzo has a picture of the ghost ship on the second floor of his shop.
@3:21 The face behind the chest could be that of David Senior, father of David Junior, assuming he's the creator of the Ghost Ship Chart and that the ghost ship took his soul in retaliation.
In a Link to the Past... besides just not having been created yet, there are no Gerudo. Even the Desert does not hold them, but in the Dark World version that Desert becomes a giant Swamp... because of unending rainfall...which could be the same as what caused the Great Flood of Wind Waker. I once made the observation of a mysterious glitch in the Dark World Misery Mire Swamp, that you get attacked by invisible beings... I tried to suggest that those are the lost spirits of the Gerudo. And if that great Swamp became a larger flood, they would wander the seas.
I remember being so fascinated by the mask in the back above the chest that I was so disappointed when they removed it in the HD version. I can surmise they removed it because there used to be a crash if you jump-slashed towards the chest, but still disappointing they couldn't fix it without replacing the whole interior entirely. It's also a shame that for all the build-up for the Ghost Ship lore-wise, in-game it's basically an over-glorified submarine that you go in, kill some enemies, grab chest, leave.
I'm impressed you managed to say more about the ghost ship than the fishmen. I thought it was a pretty nothing vessel, only remembering that I couldn't get to it at first and that it laughed at me when I got the chart. I beat Wind Waker twice without noticing all the rest.
I recently played LTTP and noticed that everyone speaks of Hylians as ancient unknown people. The "hylian" book of Mudora is unknown script. Who are these new people and what happened to the hylians? This is a theory I've never heard
If I remember correctly according to the official timeline LttP is in the timeline branch where Link is killed in his final battle with Ganon in OoT and Ganon completely takes over Hyrule so it makes sense that he would wipe out the Hylians as you don't see any in Castletown after he takes over. As for who the new people are, who knows, maybe the Gerudo evolved since they didn't live in the desert anymore
In Wind Waker, the Forsaken Fortress is a kind of stealth section of the game. In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, the Gerudo have stealth sections. Makes sense! I always found it odd that they put a stealth section so early on in the game. With the Gerudo connection, it kinda makes sense now. Good video!
3:22 I always thought the "teeth" were a beard and it was an image of a man growing older the closer Link got to it. If it is teeth, that's actually a lot creepier.
I can't really explain why, but I spent a lot of time in TWW, watching Ghost ships, and taking multiple pictures of it, on my Picto box. An interesting discussion, since we know so little of it.
Finally this was covered by you, I love the mystery of this Spectral Vessel, and wished it's been a more major mission. And the origin of it you proposed. Is far more fascinating than others.
The Gerudo most likely spread to other reaches of the world; no longer being in Hyrules area. The idea of the ghost ship being a Gerudo pirate vessel is interesting.
The disappearance of the pirates at Forsaken Fortress and the appearance of the Ghost Ship would be a very neat connection. But I don't think the timeline works out, since the Ghost Ship appeared at minimum around 10 years ago if we go with your guess on the David Jr connection, and Tetra doesn't look old enough to have been leading a pirate crew for that long, or talk about the disappearance of the Forsaken Fortress's inhabitants as a recent thing if she was that young. I didn't know about the version differences, though! I wonder why they closed up the ship's hull in the remake...
We know that the Royal Family and the Sheikah do shady things in service of Hylia. I think it was you who suggested that the Redeads are Sheikah guardians. So, what if this was just a simple ship? I think they were just merchants unknowingly hauling a triforce chart/shard and were either cursed by either the Sheikah or the Triforce of Courage itself
Huh. You know I never really thought about the ghost until this video. And it is as said, that would make this Ganondorf one of the most ruthless incarnations he's ever had.🤔 And also real good point of my I love your theory videos more than other people.
I don't know if it's just me, but your videos don't fill the screen in theater mode or fullscreen mode. There's a thick black border around it, making it look awkwardly small in the center of the screen. Also, I think the figure in the front of the ghost ship is the same person in the creepy painting hanging above the chest inside the ship. They both have the exact same nose.
Persoanlly, I don’t think Ganon would have slaughtered the Gerudo. I think it’s more likely he sent them out to hunt for the troforce which they found a shard of/chart leading to, but then were all lost in a storm of kind, or taken out by other pirates on the seas causing them to haunt it.
Kinda disappointed you didn't mention the ghost ship appearances in the handhelds... The one in OoA is so enticing when you first find it, and super a rewarding experience when you can actually ~get~ to it.
I would have never thought of that, Zeltik!!! Now, if that was Gerudo pirates, that could mean other Gerudo pirates could have been at different seas. And if that is true, then there could be Gerudo in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom at the end of the adult timeline. Amazing video!!!! 👍👍👍👍😁😁😁😁👏👏😀
I always like the creepy places in the Zelda series from haunted places to undead monster infested places it just has the correct feeling of dread and horror in what is usually a E for everyone game series it is even better when there is a mystery to it instead of yeah it happened because of the villain of the story did it
Thankfully not all gerudo perished. Phantom hourglass shows that few are still alive. Maybe a small group left the Hyrule area and are living far away in the open sea
@@WCircuit7224 No I distinctly remember that smile and the way it changed as Link approached. I even walked in and out of the area on purpose to watch it change back and forth.
I generally love this theory, however there's only one detail I think got missed. Jolene the Pirate from Phantom Hourglass. She, along with her sister that pretends to be a mermaid, bear a striking resemblance to the Gerudo as well. Given that we see Gerudo taking more Hylian traits by the time of BotW, we know that their dominant traits aren't the be-all-end-all. I think it's quite likely other Gerudo survived, sailed past distant oceans, and eventually began to intermingle with other peoples to survive. In mamy ways, much like the Kokiri and Zora, the Gerudo still survive through their descendants, no matter how much they've changed.
One thing Nintendo can do well, and that is make something not so scary and turn it into something scary. Be it the bottom of a well, a graveyard, a temple that housed torture for the imprisoned, spider house, or some ghost ship. Have you ever explored the connections of Zelda 1 and Wind Waker's Triforce pieces. Because they both share the same quest of collecting fragments in both games, having being broken into multiple pieces. Not once have I ever seen something discuss how the Triforce can be easily broken into fragments, or just outright destroyed like in Lorule in A Link Between Worlds, and what kind of power it takes to be able to break it into fragments or outright destroyed in the first place. We pretty much assume it's made of gold, because that's the color it takes on. Gold is a malleable and can be broken down, but seeing as it's a powerful magical artefact, it would have to be much stronger material than gold, since it never decays or rusts, no matter how long of a time its been, but is able to be physically damaged where it can be broken into multiple pieces, a magical artefact would need divine protection of some sort so nothing, or almost nothing can destroy it, and the fact that it represents balance, it's also known as the Hojo clan's symbol in Japanese culture which belongs to a Japanese Samurai family between 1203 and 1333 who held political power for a time in Japan.
It’s a compelling theory with the gerudo except the only game that shows them as pirates is MM. and MM and WW are on separate time lines. It’s a fascinating theory but one that’s hard to grasp without explaining what happened between the end of MM and the relationship between TP and WW.
It would make perfect sense if when the the gods flooded hyrule the gerudo left Nabooru to her sage duty and the gerudo decedents became pirates over in the now great sea. The only way I can see the gerudo theory working is if you disregard the child timeline.
I'd imagine Ganondorf, after claiming Forsaken Fortress, would send the Gerudo pirates out to sea searching for the triforce. All would fail and die at sea. All but one. One Gerudo crew may have found the triforce shard, but died either due to misfortune or divine intervention on their way to Ganondorf. The shard of the triforce of courage would then curse the ship to forever haunt the seas until one who was worthy of its power would collect it.
Wow,that's pretty Interesting! My sister and I were also just wondering are the re-deads In windwaker actually cursed Gerudo? 😱
Oooh that's good!
I like this idea, narratively. It's always bugged me that you never see any indication of what happened to the Gerudo, especially since the lore around the Forsaken Fortress claims it was a pirate fortress in the past, the most likely culprits being the Gerudo with their history as thieves. This would then mean that Ganondorf's takeover might have been more peaceful than once believed 🤔
@@homerman76 Considerin piracy is still alive (Tetra's crew) then it's likely that some Gerudo just assimilated into Hylian life. We do know that their blood can be diluted and lead to pointed ears like the Gerudo women in the wild games.
I like this better than the idea Ganondorf killed his kin just for a fortress.
This is a compelling theory, particularly given the figurehead.
My personal headcanon for a long time, though, is that the Ghost Ship was a Sheikah vessel. The broken ship that serves as Ganondorf's keep in the Fortress has Sheikah eyes on either side of the door leading into his throne room, so the Ghost Ship may well be the ghost _of_ that very ship. The Sheikah have associations with the dead (see the Graveyard in OoT they watch over and the Shadow Temple it contains), and as the loyal servants of the Royal Family, it makes sense for them to be guarding a Triforce Chart/Shard, and continue guarding it even in death. Once their duty is fulfilled when the new Hero has the Chart/Shard, they have no reason to linger and the Ship disappears.
What if it was somewhere in the middle? What if the Sheikah (under direction of the king) were able to break the Triforce of Courage somehow and spread the pieces out to different places in the world to prevent the returned Dorf from getting it whole. They give a piece to the Gerudo who end up making the Forsaken Fortress their home. From there I'd go with the same idea that @TheRealNorth21 came up with.
I've felt similarly, Carrying the triforce/chart was it's duty
This is now my headcanon as well…and definitely makes sense given the presence of the Sheikah symbols in the fortress. I had always wondered about that but this makes so much sense.
Would also check out with the ghost ship in skyward sword
I'm also inclined to think the Ghost Ship is connected to the Shadow Temple. Given the ship's men's-choir musical theme, and the figurehead bearing more resemblance to the stylized figures in the opening tapestry and sporting a head of short blond hair, I don't think it was a Gerudo ship. But if we take the Shadow Temple's choir to be the prison guards (the lower-pitch men's choir) torturing the prisoners (now dead, wailing and screaming in higher-pitch), it maps better to the choir of the Ghost Ship. We could also guess that the praying figure represents a last-ditch effort by its builders to survive the flooding of Hyrule. Finally, the original game's wall decoration changing its face as you approach is just creepy, haha.
I hadn't noticed the Sheikah eye on either side of Ganondorf's door, though, what a neat touch!
This is one of many reasons that Zelda's games are so unique. They're detailed not only in the game, but in story and mystery even if scarcely any players will ever discovery these mysteries and what they hold. A true way to make a good game is to make it with insight and lore for players to explore. Amazing video Zeltik! I like how you asked whether this was reality or a hallucination, a good question.
And it's just further proof that Nintendo does care about story, it's just not their number one priority
Agreed!!! 👍👍👍
A single pirate ship seems a strange place to hide one of the pieces of the triforce of courage, it would make much more sense if its original resting place was the Forsaken Fortress. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Ganondorf takes control of it in the first place, because he heard there was a Triforce piece resting there. The Ghost Ship was just the final contingent of surviving pirates fleeing while taking their greatest treasure with them.
And if those pirates were Gerudo as you mentioned, it would make the name “Forsaken Fortress” make sooo much more sense. Ganondorf massacring the last of his own race thereby “forsaking” them all for the Triforce.
These 2 paragraphs tie the entire theory together so well in a way the actual video was missing imo. Excellent comment
@ Thanks man, I also like this conclusion but I definitely wouldn’t have gotten to it without any of Zeltik’s theory crafting.
Yet the ship ressembles Tetra's, with the dragon-shaped figurehead at the prow greatly implying a connection to the Royal Family of Hyrule. Wouldn't it make more sense if the Ghost Ship belonged to Daphnes who told the ship's crew to flee the flooding kingdom with a shard of the Triforce of Courage? The ship would then be attacked by Ganon's minions, killing its crew and turning the ship into its ghostly form.
Yo, I love this theory!
@javiervasquez625 not really! It's a different figure head and most pirate ships had a similar build to other ships. The pirates also could've just stolen a royal hyrulean ship and put their own figure head (similar to how real pirates got their ships)
I also like the idea that it was a group of Gerudo trying to survive the flood and protect the triforce of the hero until he returned. That crew eventually died and their spirits lingered until the hero came to retrieve his treasure. Monsters being on board also makes sense since Ganon is also searching for it.
Omg that's so cool i never thought of making the connection with the gerudo, by that logic the painting at 3:22 could be a ghostly version of the smiling suns that act as light activated switches in the spirit temple!
My thoughts as well
I'm convinced that the Ghost Ship is one of the two planned full-length dungeons that got scrapped for time in Wind Waker's development. Around the time Wind Waker HD was released, an interviewer asked Aonuma if they were going to include the scrapped dungeons in the HD remake and he told them no, on the basis that the concepts for those dungeons have been used in other Zelda games since then. Between Phantom Hourglass's ghost ship and Skyward Sword's sandship dungeons, I think it's safe to say that the Zelda team had been wanting to make a dungeon aboard a ship but didn't have the opportunity to do so in Wind Waker.
After you mentioned Ganondorf possibly killing his people to take the Forsaken Fortress, it made me think that maybe all of the souls on the ship are the murdered Gerudo awaiting their revenge on Ganondorf too. They may have been holding onto the triforce shard as a way to draw the only one who could help them, Link.
"David Jr.'s father" too bad we don't know that guy's name :/ If only there were some kind of hint...
David Jr. Sr.
I bet you're right.
@@PatrickGilland this made me giggle
Tony. Definitely Tony.
3:30
I would like to point out the expression bears a striking resemblence to the Earth temple statue. Which has several interesting connections.
Firstly, both the ghost ship and he Earth temple are heavily associated with death and the undead.
Secondly, both the ghost ship and the temple statue are tied with celestial bodies. The moon and the sun respectively.
Thirdly, I remember it was a comment on the Wind Waker dungeon lore video that more that just a redead the Earth temple statue also most closely resembles a Gerudo with its large pointed nose and topknot. Which if we go with the idea of the ghost ship possibly being tied with the Gerudo does tie these to grining faces together more.
A agree, the statue in the Earth Temple looks very much like a Gerudo to me, so if that's true than it's interesting how they are closely tied to themes of death and the afterlife in this game
Wake up, babe. New Zeltik just dropped
Considering that the Earth Temple shares similar themes to that of the Spirit Temple from OoT, I wouldn't be surprised if it was also of Gerudo origin. The location doesn't quite match up, since its located at the south of the map, but it's possible that the Gerudo were driven south at some point after Link defeated Ganon in the Adult Timeline and they built the Earth Temple afterwards.
I am so fascinated in Zelda lore for some reason. Once I watch one, I just keep going 😅
Oh yes, 11:00pm, can't sleep, new Zeltik drops, Ghost Ship.
First time I saw it as a kid I froze
Ikr? It was so creepy back then. That and the aliens from Majora's Mask is why I don't like playing those games because it got too creepy. 😂 It's funny because I'm okay with the bottom of the well and the shadow temple. 🙃
@@kairi4640 it's probably because the well and shadow temple already were presented as horror dungeons. Meanwhile the ghost ship is just kind of there and by random chance you can see it and it just does nothing for the longest time
I feel like I tell this story every time this darn ship gets mentioned, but it’s very special to me.
Wind Waker is my favorite game of all time, and it has been ever since I was a kid. One of my favorite things to look at was Lenzo’s photo collection. One picture that I always found cool was the ghost ship, but I didn’t necessarily believe it was real. Like some sort of in-game rumor and Lenzo edited the image or something. Well, I was met with the fright of my life one night when I was sailing around Greatfish Isle and the ship I didn’t believe was real appeared right before me. I immediately ran to my bed to get my iPod and take a picture, thinking I just caught some really rare easter egg, obviously unaware that it’s required to beat the game 😅
I still have that photo, and despite now having photography as a minor hobby now, it remains one of my favorites I’ve ever taken.
Its like it was a real ghost story/mystery for you, it has all the hallmarks of a ghost horror film. Thats pretty funny
13 years after I first played this game...ît suddenly clicks with me that Lenzo's name is a pun on lens.
I personally find it more likely that the ghost ship is a remnant of the Hyrulean navy, thus their final voyage and mission was to protect a piece of the triforce. A mission they continue in death until Link, rightful owner of the triforce of courage, recovers it
Something that intrigues me about the chart is that it seems to adjust to the islands state. Greatfish Isle is depicted in its broken state instead of its original form.
Great point. This seems to imply that either the map was VERY recently made, or it was created with magic and always has current depictions.
@@dozytoast416 and I'd say it's the latter because the chart has such degraded edges
Could just be an oversight.
@@dozytoast416Greatfish Isle is destroyed during the events of the game, shortly before Link reaches it, so I definitely think it was magic.
I remember just barely seeing it in the horizon on a stormy night. Took out my spyglass to get a better look at it. I don't think I sailed towards it the first time I saw it, was a little freaked out, but I remember the second time around, I did.... and it just disappeared. It stuck with me up until I was finally able to board it. This was one of my favorite things in Wind Waker because I rather like ghost ships and stories around them..... but also because it was something that seemed so mysterious and I just discovered it on my own. To be honest, though, I was a little disappointed when we actually got to climb into it. Yeah, it was a bit more decrepit and haunted-looking than other ship interiors but it shared the same design and I feel like there wasn't a whole lot of uniqueness to what you could do in it. Still, it's a part of the WW world that I really enjoy.
Considering that we know that there was a crapload of content that was cut from Wind Waker, it wouldn't surprise me if the Gerudo were initially planned to occupy the Forsaken Fortress as a rival pirate gang to Tetra's crew. The ship model could've initially been a Gerudo pirate ship, hence the Egyptian themed figurehead, and was later repurposed into the Ghost Ship after the Gerudo were cut. Obviously this is all speculation and based off nothing, but it does seem odd that the Gerudo don't appear in the game at all considering that, with the existence of pirates, they would've been perfect for it.
It’s the Great Sea’s incarnation of the Shadow Temple. Or, what’s left of it.
On the ferry ride (which, incidentally, uses wheels, like it’s PotC), you can see those same ghosts on the cave walls (at least in the 3DS version). It may very well be some kind of evolution of that boat, into a full-on seafaring vessel.
I think it was a real missed opportunity to not make the Ghost Ship a full-on dungeon. It’s one of the more memorable parts of Wind Waker and it’s only used for the lame Triforce Shards quest at the end.
Yep a full fledged dungeon but make it end-game
Lol, make it like the shadow temple. 😂 To be fair though, the ship wouldn't have been big enough for a full on dungeon.
@@kairi4640 They could easily have made it bigger on the inside; it would fit the mysterious and eerie nature of the ship.
Wind waker had a lot of content cut. It might have been the original intention
Has been a long time since playing it, but im sure in my uk copy the ghostship interior was a make of portal pots and not an empty room
The Ghost Ship is indeed very fascinating. Sometimes I would just sail after it just to look at it and hear the chant and felt melancholy when I realized it was never to return after I entered it.
One of the best things in the game. I remember avoiding the thing until my curiosity finally drove me to sail right into it (I had the map by then).
Fascination, creepiness, and awe.
Just played through the Ghost Ship today, thinking about this, and right after that, this video pops out.
new zeltik right when my zelda hyperfixation popped back in LETS GO
In the original, the game really doesn't like it if Link leaves the ground in the room with the treasure chest on the ship. In testing, I've found that it always freezes if I jump (Jump Attack, side hop, backflip) or get airborne through other means, like using the Hookshot on the chest. I think it's some weird interaction with that ornamental face, like maybe the game gets confused about how to change it if you move vertically instead of horizontally. But honestly, it makes the room and the scream a lot more chilling to me...almost as if the spirits within are trying to escape not just the ship, but the game itself...
So glad someone mentioned this. Growing up I used to love jump slashing onto chests in Wind Waker cause it would still let you open the chest while standing on top and the animation was super funny to me. So it terrified me as a child when I jumped onto this chest and the game froze, with the spooky face changed. Never heard anyone else make note of this!!
@@-72- That is exactly how I discovered it as well.
Between the name "David Jr." and the River of Souls on board, I feel there is a strong influence from Davy Jones and The Flying Dutchman.
I love this theory and channel! Keep up the good work!
Missed opportunity to NOT have one of those Mob Pirate Ships in TotK be a Ghost Ship
Man I wish the HD version didn't remove the souls in the ceiling (fun fact they look identical the souls in Ghostly Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy) and the creepy smiling face
Thanks for another great Zelda theory! I really enjoyed this one.
Bit of an aside, but I know that some people consider Ganondorf's justifications at the end of the Wind Waker about conquering Hyrule for his peoples sake to be a load of shite because it seems to be at odds with what we see during Ocarina of Time's later half. This leads them to think that he's just making up some sob story to get Link to drop his guard or some such.
As for me though, I like to believe he wasn't lying, that at some point he did have noble, if misguided, intentions for his people. Sure, the Gerudo do still seem to be sticking to themselves in the desert even after Ganondorf seizes Castle Town. But Maybe Ganondorf just wants to stamp out any resistance, including the hero and the princess, and acquire the complete Triforce before having his people move in. Though personally I like to think he lost sight of his original goals after getting a taste of the Triforce's power and then became wholly focused on obtaining the rest of it, forgetting all about his original intent. However, after having spent a century or two sealed away with plenty of time to reflect he realized he had lost his way at some point.
As for why he does what he does in Wind Waker even when most, if not all, of his people are long gone and he supposedly has nothing left to fight for, I put it down to a manic denial. He thinks if he can return Hyrule to it's former glory then maybe he can set things right. His people can return and live upon the verdant fields of Hyrule as he originally intended. This might sound far fetched, but consider: Why else would Ganondorf want to restore Hyrule so badly? If all he wanted was to rule, why can't he just subjugate the Islands of the Great Sea? Why does it absolutely HAVE to be Hyrule?
It's like the King says at the end, both he and Ganondorf have lived their lives bound to Hyrule. They were both so caught up in desperately trying to regain a past glory long since lost that they couldn't face the reality of their situation. While the king eventually realized this, and left the future to the next generation, Ganondorf never could. Things had to go back to how they were or he would having nothing left.
To be fair, I think Ganondorf started with noble intentions, but between Demise's influence, Twinrova raising him and living through the Hylian Civil War corrupted him. And by the time he got the Triforce in OOT, he was deluded by power.
Then, in WW, he was a veteran who fought in 2 conquests and lost them both because of the Hero of Time, the Princess of Destiny, and divine intervention. He lost nearly everything and tried to reclaim what he could.
Not only was his race supposedly gone, his powers sealed away, his kingdom wiped away, and, while my personal theory, Demise's influence was diminished after Link was sent back to the past by Zelda. (Demise's curse is connected to the Hero's Spirit and Goddess's Bloodline, and WW nails in that Toon Link doesn't have that Hero's Spirit that connects Demise to Hyrule), Ganondorf refused to accept the Great Sea as nothing but a shadow of Hyrule.
This is why he is less of the King of Evil and is more composed and sober. It's only at the end when Hyrule is being destroyed that Ganondorf snaps and defaults to his old ways.
.he is a war veteran who is stuck in the past and is reliving the worst of it all. His home is gone, his tribe is gone, and his dream is gone. All he has left is the "Hero of Time" and "Princess of Destiny" reborn that caused this to happen in the first place.
He doesn't use magic or really care about winning. He's taking everything out on Link because he wants to make him bleed. Zelda could wait. The Duel/ Rematch with the "Hero of Time" was a top priority.
I kinda see him as someone who became blinded by Power, his heart wasn't balanced, as we saw.
In his old age, he had a long time to reflect on his actions, and he started to gain Wisdom.
It wasn't until his dream was literally washed away in front of him that he finally snapped. At that point, he was just looking to die. And he took his final exit for the timeline, so far.
Considering Wind Waker takes place in the Adult Timeline; Link had befriended the Geurudo and Nabooru led the geurudo over Ganondorf. I would think its more likely that; yes they probably were pirates, and maybe they did steal the triforce stuff/ or they were given it. Regardless of how they came to be in possession of it- I believe its very possible that; given their friendly relation to adult link, and their disdain for ganondorf in that timeline, they probably were protecting it until Link could come along and retrieve it. That maybe they stole it from ganon, or did what they could to keep it from ganon. It could be directly tied with how Ganon even came to be released. Considering its similarity between the cursed Greatfish Isle and the ship- both sporting the same storm; its likely the ghost ship was made by ganon thinking he killed them- but they lived on to fulfill their duty or "unfinished business". this would tie in well with the fact that the cry of pain at the end is a sped up version of jabun- which also directly correlates to greatfish isle.
let me know what you think of this!
Maybe Ganondorf went to them and swore himself in as their king, but due to time and the flood the Gerudo knew not of his legend and didn't obey him, he then blamed that on the flood and forced a takeover, which resulted in them trying to escape with that ship
I love these ghostly things in Zelda lore.
Hey Zeltik, thank you for making these videos all the time, I appreciate your hard work going into these and hope you have a wonderful day
The video is really great and interesting! The way the information is presented is clear, easy to follow, and the content is engaging. I really enjoy how you deliver the message. Looking forward to seeing more videos like this!
....
i haven't watched Zelda theories in forever bc it's all been tears and breath. so when i saw this pop up i knew it was gonna be a banger
this is the first one in a long time that actually dropped my jaw. nice work dude, this one feels canon
Personally, I always interpreted it as the chart being guarded by the spirits, intentionally awaiting the hero. Would still fit with the Gerudo, especially since we see in other games that they've "repented" and turned against Ganondorf. Possibly also the Sheikah (though I like to believe one or more of the pirates is descended from the Sheikah.
Speaking of porates' lineage, have you tackled Jolene and her sister from Phantom Hourglass yet? I'm pretty sure they're Gerudo. Perhaps a flooded Termina's version of them.
Also
11:27 I dont think he killed his people, tho transformed a lot of them into the monsters we fight
The Gerudo, in my mind, were eradicated by the Goddess in The Wind Waker as a “nuclear” option. If the Gerudo are no longer around, Ganondorf cannot be reborn. However, this was fruitless, because Demise’s curse still lived on. Bellum from Phantom Hourglass, and Malladus from Spirit Tracks. All three of these games exclude the Gerudo from their world.
I never realized the commonality between David Jr's father and the cartographer of the ghost ship chart. That's actually super interesting even just on its own!
I don't think Ganon is behind the ghost ship though. Ganon seemingly only started acting up shortly before Wind Waker begins, but the ghost ship has clearly been a story for a while given the chart leading to it is old and abandoned.
The more WW videos I see makes me wish Nintendo would make another Zelda seafaring game that could either be a sequel from PH or be a different timeline.
I think David Jr.'s dad and the adventurer that mapped the ghost ship's route are the same person, even inciting David Jr. himself into becoming an explorer. Also, Lenzo has a picture of the ghost ship on the second floor of his shop.
This is the kind of stuff that I think of when I hear people say "Zelda was never about the story and the lore."
Once again, Zeltik nails his theory. This makes so much sense with everything provided.
@3:21 The face behind the chest could be that of David Senior, father of David Junior, assuming he's the creator of the Ghost Ship Chart and that the ghost ship took his soul in retaliation.
In a Link to the Past... besides just not having been created yet, there are no Gerudo. Even the Desert does not hold them, but in the Dark World version that Desert becomes a giant Swamp... because of unending rainfall...which could be the same as what caused the Great Flood of Wind Waker. I once made the observation of a mysterious glitch in the Dark World Misery Mire Swamp, that you get attacked by invisible beings... I tried to suggest that those are the lost spirits of the Gerudo. And if that great Swamp became a larger flood, they would wander the seas.
I remember being so fascinated by the mask in the back above the chest that I was so disappointed when they removed it in the HD version. I can surmise they removed it because there used to be a crash if you jump-slashed towards the chest, but still disappointing they couldn't fix it without replacing the whole interior entirely.
It's also a shame that for all the build-up for the Ghost Ship lore-wise, in-game it's basically an over-glorified submarine that you go in, kill some enemies, grab chest, leave.
7:38 Nah fam, that's the Ghostly Galaxy skybox from Super Mario Galaxy! XD
I'm impressed you managed to say more about the ghost ship than the fishmen. I thought it was a pretty nothing vessel, only remembering that I couldn't get to it at first and that it laughed at me when I got the chart. I beat Wind Waker twice without noticing all the rest.
That’s a really good theory I like it
I recently played LTTP and noticed that everyone speaks of Hylians as ancient unknown people. The "hylian" book of Mudora is unknown script. Who are these new people and what happened to the hylians?
This is a theory I've never heard
If I remember correctly according to the official timeline LttP is in the timeline branch where Link is killed in his final battle with Ganon in OoT and Ganon completely takes over Hyrule so it makes sense that he would wipe out the Hylians as you don't see any in Castletown after he takes over. As for who the new people are, who knows, maybe the Gerudo evolved since they didn't live in the desert anymore
8:47 it’s Donald Trump!
Lmfao
* facepalm*
He tariffed the afterlife
make a video about the shadow temple. it would be really cool.
In Wind Waker, the Forsaken Fortress is a kind of stealth section of the game. In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, the Gerudo have stealth sections. Makes sense! I always found it odd that they put a stealth section so early on in the game. With the Gerudo connection, it kinda makes sense now. Good video!
3:22
I always thought the "teeth" were a beard and it was an image of a man growing older the closer Link got to it.
If it is teeth, that's actually a lot creepier.
Ghost Ship for Christmas
I can't really explain why, but I spent a lot of time in TWW, watching Ghost ships, and taking multiple pictures of it, on my Picto box. An interesting discussion, since we know so little of it.
what if jabun ate the ship for trying to get all the triforce pieces?
Finally this was covered by you, I love the mystery of this Spectral Vessel, and wished it's been a more major mission.
And the origin of it you proposed. Is far more fascinating than others.
Yes yes yes I’ve been waiting for this film for a while
That blue flower is called "forget me not"
They are, fittingly, a symbol of remembrance.
The Gerudo most likely spread to other reaches of the world; no longer being in Hyrules area. The idea of the ghost ship being a Gerudo pirate vessel is interesting.
Maybe Ganon killed a competing male Greudo, who was the new Gerudo king of the pirates at that time
The disappearance of the pirates at Forsaken Fortress and the appearance of the Ghost Ship would be a very neat connection. But I don't think the timeline works out, since the Ghost Ship appeared at minimum around 10 years ago if we go with your guess on the David Jr connection, and Tetra doesn't look old enough to have been leading a pirate crew for that long, or talk about the disappearance of the Forsaken Fortress's inhabitants as a recent thing if she was that young. I didn't know about the version differences, though! I wonder why they closed up the ship's hull in the remake...
The scream the ghost ship makes sounds like King Boo's dying screams from Mario Sunshine
We know that the Royal Family and the Sheikah do shady things in service of Hylia. I think it was you who suggested that the Redeads are Sheikah guardians. So, what if this was just a simple ship? I think they were just merchants unknowingly hauling a triforce chart/shard and were either cursed by either the Sheikah or the Triforce of Courage itself
It's amazing how well this theory fits without any definitive evidence
I like this game, it's fun and easy to replay without a huge time commitment.
WE NEED WIND WAKER AND TWILIGHT PRINCESS FOR SWITCH!!!
totally AGREE
My hopes for these games on switch waver from time to time, but hopefully we’ll get them someday.
It’s too late into the switch lifetime for that, it would have to be the next console.
%100
We'll probably get a gamecube emulator at some point, so it will happen at some point. But I am hoping for the hd remakes.
I always do a little happy dance when i see a new Zeltik video on my feed 😂🎉
Great video!! Subscribed 💘
6:42 "Ten years at least!"
Huh. You know I never really thought about the ghost until this video. And it is as said, that would make this Ganondorf one of the most ruthless incarnations he's ever had.🤔 And also real good point of my I love your theory videos more than other people.
I love all your theory videos! I love how your theories can be supported through the game's assets in a believable way.
I don't know if it's just me, but your videos don't fill the screen in theater mode or fullscreen mode. There's a thick black border around it, making it look awkwardly small in the center of the screen.
Also, I think the figure in the front of the ghost ship is the same person in the creepy painting hanging above the chest inside the ship. They both have the exact same nose.
So long ago I played ww once, forgot the ghost ship. But yeah, it all makes sense. Thx for this video.
Nice a new Zeltik video!
I love it when you upload new videos
An interesting idea could zeltik come up with an original idea for a Zelda game, come up with a theme and story and pitch it to Nintendo.
Thanks for keeping Zelda theories alive!
Persoanlly, I don’t think Ganon would have slaughtered the Gerudo. I think it’s more likely he sent them out to hunt for the troforce which they found a shard of/chart leading to, but then were all lost in a storm of kind, or taken out by other pirates on the seas causing them to haunt it.
Man, Nintendo was in another state when they came up with Wind Waker. What an inspired and polished game. It's bonkers that the game is 22 years old 😮
i yearn for more of the mysterious ghost ship
This video makes me want to go play it BUT ITS NOT ON SWITCH 🙃
Kinda disappointed you didn't mention the ghost ship appearances in the handhelds... The one in OoA is so enticing when you first find it, and super a rewarding experience when you can actually ~get~ to it.
Very astute connections. I think I'll buy this theory. 😃
i hope we‘ll get some totk master work videos soon
This vid is perfect!
“Features this figure head… Donald trump”
amazing theory!
I would have never thought of that, Zeltik!!! Now, if that was Gerudo pirates, that could mean other Gerudo pirates could have been at different seas. And if that is true, then there could be Gerudo in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom at the end of the adult timeline. Amazing video!!!! 👍👍👍👍😁😁😁😁👏👏😀
Has there been a Zelda theory video explaining the Helmaroc?
Thanks for making this, Zeltik! I love the lore dives, especially for the older Zelda games!
I always like the creepy places in the Zelda series from haunted places to undead monster infested places it just has the correct feeling of dread and horror in what is usually a E for everyone game series it is even better when there is a mystery to it instead of yeah it happened because of the villain of the story did it
Thankfully not all gerudo perished. Phantom hourglass shows that few are still alive. Maybe a small group left the Hyrule area and are living far away in the open sea
what song is 3:11 it sounds so familiar but i cant put my finger on it.
Sky view temple- Skyward Sword. It’s your ptsd from being in that dungeon because of the webs and flying beetle 🪲
3:30 No, that creepy smile is in the HD version as well. I should know, it's the only version of WW I've played so far.
The smile isn't, but the painting is.
@@WCircuit7224 No I distinctly remember that smile and the way it changed as Link approached. I even walked in and out of the area on purpose to watch it change back and forth.
I generally love this theory, however there's only one detail I think got missed. Jolene the Pirate from Phantom Hourglass. She, along with her sister that pretends to be a mermaid, bear a striking resemblance to the Gerudo as well. Given that we see Gerudo taking more Hylian traits by the time of BotW, we know that their dominant traits aren't the be-all-end-all. I think it's quite likely other Gerudo survived, sailed past distant oceans, and eventually began to intermingle with other peoples to survive. In mamy ways, much like the Kokiri and Zora, the Gerudo still survive through their descendants, no matter how much they've changed.
One thing Nintendo can do well, and that is make something not so scary and turn it into something scary. Be it the bottom of a well, a graveyard, a temple that housed torture for the imprisoned, spider house, or some ghost ship.
Have you ever explored the connections of Zelda 1 and Wind Waker's Triforce pieces. Because they both share the same quest of collecting fragments in both games, having being broken into multiple pieces. Not once have I ever seen something discuss how the Triforce can be easily broken into fragments, or just outright destroyed like in Lorule in A Link Between Worlds, and what kind of power it takes to be able to break it into fragments or outright destroyed in the first place. We pretty much assume it's made of gold, because that's the color it takes on. Gold is a malleable and can be broken down, but seeing as it's a powerful magical artefact, it would have to be much stronger material than gold, since it never decays or rusts, no matter how long of a time its been, but is able to be physically damaged where it can be broken into multiple pieces, a magical artefact would need divine protection of some sort so nothing, or almost nothing can destroy it, and the fact that it represents balance, it's also known as the Hojo clan's symbol in Japanese culture which belongs to a Japanese Samurai family between 1203 and 1333 who held political power for a time in Japan.
It’s a compelling theory with the gerudo except the only game that shows them as pirates is MM. and MM and WW are on separate time lines. It’s a fascinating theory but one that’s hard to grasp without explaining what happened between the end of MM and the relationship between TP and WW.
It would make perfect sense if when the the gods flooded hyrule the gerudo left Nabooru to her sage duty and the gerudo decedents became pirates over in the now great sea. The only way I can see the gerudo theory working is if you disregard the child timeline.
This is one of the best theories I heard in al long while. Your thoughts you are telling us sound like it could be canon. I love it!