Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Recently finished this for the first time. The plot doesn't make any sense to me. Firstly, why does Link have to be an adult to be the Hero of Time? Link isn't allowed the option to age naturally, but is instead put in stasis for seven years. As a result, though Link might have the physical body of an adult, Link's mind would be the same as it was seven years ago. What purpose does this serve? Were Link's arms simply not long enough to wield the master sword? Because of this coma, Link was unable to help the people of Hyrule. Why not simply have the Hero age naturally so that Link could contribute to trying to save as much of Hyrule as possible?

If Link can travel back in time, why can't Link gather the Sages in the past as a child, instead of letting Hyrule suffer needlessly for seven years? In ALttP, gathering the Sages when you do makes sense by the fact that Ganondorf kidnapped the seven maidens. In OoT, however, there's no need to wait for seven years, when Link can find the Sages as young Link. If the Sages needed time to awaken, then why not simply gather them in a safe location for the intervening years? What if one of the Sages had perished by accident in tha ttime? It's only when Link shows up again do the Sages spontaneously awaken. As a most basic example, Nabooru was kidnapped in the past -- why couldn't Link save her in the past instead of having her suffer for seven years?

I don't understand. What a mess.

wtf I hate ocarina of time now

multiverse theory

I legitimately want someone to explain this to me.

nice try arin

Nintendo comes up with mechanics first, then tweaks the story to serve them. Yes, maybe certain things may have made more sense, but that's not how this particular story unfolded.

As for why Link can't gather the sages in the past, they had not yet awakened as Sages (it's implied they die or otherwise transcend in some way to become sages), and Child Link is no match for Ganondorf.

>he didn't play it when he was a boy on the cusp of puberty, looking forward to becoming a man.

>As for why Link can't gather the sages in the past, they had not yet awakened as Sages (it's implied they die or otherwise transcend in some way to become sages), and Child Link is no match for Ganondorf.

Yet the Sages all conveniently awaken/transcend immediately after the seven year skip. Unless it's simply "a wizard did it", it seems that they were capable of awakening at any point. For example, did Ganondorf only just recently freeze the Zora? Did he only recently lock away the Goron? He certainly didn't put a curse on the forest recently, as that occurred seven years ago. There's no reason why the circumstances surrounding the Sages' awakening couldn't have happened in the past, especially if prompted by a young Link knowledgeable of the future.

Child Link is perfectly capable of handling extremely dangerous dungeons. What is it about having an adult body (but not an adult mind, presumably, since Link was essentially in a coma for seven years) that makes Link more of a match for Ganondorf?

>Firstly, why does Link have to be an adult to be the Hero of Time?

Young Link would get his ass handed to him by Ganondorf, and Nintendo wanted to different versions of Link so arbitrary seven year wait was added. Doesn't make up for any shittyness, but that's an explanation at least.

>Why not simply have the Hero age naturally so that Link could contribute to trying to save as much of Hyrule as possible?

Ganondorf would've killed or incapacitated Link, as he did with the Gorons/Zoras/etc. etc.

>If Link can travel back in time, why can't Link gather the Sages in the past as a child, instead of letting Hyrule suffer needlessly for seven years?

It's implied that Ganondorf wiped out the existing sages in an ambush when he entered the Sacred Realm, leaving only Rauru. That's why you're awakening new ones.

>As a most basic example, Nabooru was kidnapped in the past -- why couldn't Link save her in the past instead of having her suffer for seven years?

Too weak in the past, I guess.

Young Link can't wield the items needed to defeat Ganondorf, like the Master Sword and Light Arrows.

Ganondorf literally blasts him on his ass like nothing, and then goes on to get the Triforce of Power, no way in fuck is 10 year old Link going to last against that.

Yet Links of that same age or younger have wielded the Master Sword and Light Arrows in other games. Hell, look at Link from ALttP. Is Link from OoT especially weak or something like that?

And how does being in a coma for seven years alleviate that?

Link in ALttP is a teenager, Young Link in OoT is seven years old.

>Ganondorf would've killed or incapacitated Link, as he did with the Gorons/Zoras/etc. etc.

So why doesn't Ganondorf lift a finger in the adult timeline? Surely he would see when things change, arguably more so than if Link had remained a child in the immediate chaos.

No Link has been younger than OoT Child Link. Look at the character art for each game. Even WW Link was supposed to be 13 or so.

I thought it was 10, then 17

The Triforce is split still and he needs someone to get the Triforce of Courage back together.

WW Link is explicitly mentioned as being the same age as the hero of OoT during the outset of the hero's journey in the intro to WW. In other words WW Link is the same age as young Link from OoT.

Also, in Majora's Mask, doesn't Link wield the Light Arrows there?

Oh yeah, that's right. Seven year stasis, so ten years old.

They also started calling the Triforce the "Triumph Forks", it's likely the exact details of the legend of OoT Link have been distorted overtime.

But hey

Ganondorf is explicitly letting Link go about his business in hopes of luring out Princess Zelda and putting the full Triforce back together. He acts almost immediately when she reveals herself.