First off, how long have you been playing Zelda?

Tony: My brothers and I played the original NES game religiously, to the point we weren’t allowed to play anymore until homework, chores, and/or some form of playing outside was done first. And I remember playing the next two or three of them, but eventually I kinda stopped. To me, nothing would ever top that first game. I know Sandeep also fell in love with the original game, and has been gaming a while, and I’m pretty sure he plays the current Wii version.

How did the idea come up to create this series? Was it a similar process to the one Neil used to enter Hyrule?

Tony: Funny…It was similar, in that booze was involved, but no autoerotic asphyxiation. Sandeep had gone out drinking with his roommate, who claimed he could beat the original Zelda game in 30 minutes. Sandeep called ‘b.s.’ and the two went home and drank more while he watched his buddy play the game. Sandeep started thinking how weird some things in that world would be, like the Old Man, and this elf hero, and so he wrote out the idea. The next morning he still thought it was funny, so he emailed me, and I loved it, and then we shot the damn thing. It wasn’t until Atom.com (Comedy Central) came along and optioned 5 more episodes that we actually had a series on our hands.

So far, the series seems to be mostly just based on the original Legend of Zelda. Do you have any plans to continue through other games in the series?

Tony: We would love to, if we had the time and budget, sure. But, this show is about Neil getting sucked into the original ‘Legend of Zelda’ game. So, we are trying to follow that game and world as best we can. While taking certain liberties of course.

Season 2 will be launching as soon as next week! Do you have any hints for us as to what will appear in it?

Tony: Well, we definitely open up the world even more than we did in season one. More characters and more trouble for Neil. Some of the favorites will return (Old Man, Fairy, Octoroks), and we think there are some fun surprises this season. Obviously, we’d like to incorporate everything from the game, but there just isn’t enough time and you have to keep Neil’s adventure moving forward. So, hopefully Zelda fans will get their fix and be happy with what we do. If not, they can blame Sandeep…

Apparently you guys are giving out prizes for people who see you at Comic-con. What do we have to do to get in on that?

Tony: You’d have to be going to the event in San Diego, for most of them. And I know that thing is sold out like crazy. If anyone is going though, check out this. But, we do have some other fun contests coming up that we will be updating and posting on our Facebook ‘Legend of Neil’ page. So, stay tuned.

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The Legend of Neil contains mature content, so if you are not comfortable with the language level of, say, South Park, you might want to give it a miss, but otherwise you can watch the first season here.

The musician brothers, Flat and Sharp, are the composers behind such magical songs as The Sun’s Song in Hyrule and The Song of Storms in Termina. But their musical prowess does not end there. There is much more to these siblings than meets the eye. The story of these two brothers, when in life, is quite interesting. There are many secrets to be revealed by hearing their tale.

The brothers in Hyrule and the ones in Termina are dead, as they only show themselves as poes. In Ocarina of Time they appear individually after Link reads each of their graves in Kakariko Village’s Graveyard.

After defeating them in combat they tell the story of their life and their death. This must be done before learning The Sun’s Song, as they will say nothing relevant after Link learns this song.

This is what the brothers have to say when spoke to separately:

• Sharp’s Speech
• Flat’s Speech

Those speeches give us a lot to think about. The pieces of text provide many leads to create valid theories on many of the subjects linked to the composer brothers. It is better to separate the quotes into smaller pieces while exploring each idea separately.

Origins

“I am one of the ghostly composer
brothers of Kakariko Village.
All the people in this village are
born to serve the Royal Family of Hyrule.
We brothers also served the Royal
Family.” – Sharp

Sharp says he and his brother are natives of Kakariko Village. While Link is a child, Kakariko Village seems to be a town in remodeling and is inhabited by very few people. It doesn’t seem that those persons are born to serve the Royal Family of Hyrule, as they never mention them and seem to be in servitude of no one. So why does he say that about them? Who Sharp may be referring to is to the previous inhabitants of Kakariko Village, the Sheikah.

Throughout the progression of the game we are told that Kakariko Village was founded by the Sheikah and therefore must have been their home. The inscriptions in one of the graves in the Kakariko Graveyard reads as follows:

“R.I.P.
Here lie the souls of those who
swore fealty to the Royal Family of Hyrule.
The Sheikah, guardians of the Royal Family
and founders of Kakariko, watch over
these spirits in their eternal slumber.”

There is also a quote from a villager that says Impa founded Kakariko Village some time ago.

“A great woman, Impa, opened up
this village to us poor folk.” – Man in Kakariko Village

Impa opened up the village to the public but, judging by the inscription on the grave, when she did this there must have been more Sheikah besides her.

Sharp, by revealing he and his brother are from Kakariko Village and were born to serve the Royal Family of Hyrule, is saying that both he and Flat were Sheikah in life. The composer brothers also seem to be older than Impa, which suggests that they lived in the Sheikah-exclusive village before it was opened to everyone. There is an erroneous belief among Zelda fans that identifies the Sheikah as a race of warriors and combatants. Although this may be true with Impa, it does not mean it was true with the rest of the Sheikah. Impa tells Link this after he defeating Bongo Bongo in the Shadow Temple:

“We Sheikah have served the
royalty of Hyrule from generation
to generation as attendants.” – Impa

The Key Word here is attendants. This can mean anything from bodyguard to a scholar. After analyzing all of this, it is evident that the composer brothers were indeed Sheikah. We also confirm that the Sheikah tribe was not composed entirely of fighters and body guards.

Royalty and Mysticism

“We brothers also served the Royal
Family, and were assigned to
study the hereditary mystic
powers of the family.
Though we never could figure out
the power of the Triforce” – Flat

Flat says that he and his elder brother, Sharp, were assigned by the Royal Family to study the powers that are passed through their lineage. This hereditary mystical device can only be the Ocarina of Time.

The Ocarina of Time is a mystical treasure passed down from generation to generation within the Hylian Royal Family. After obtaining the Ocarina of Time in the waterway outside Castle Town, the item description reads as follows:

You found the Ocarina of Time!
This is the Royal Family’s hidden
treasure which Zelda left behind.
It glows with a mystical light…

Flat says he and his brother were assigned to study the “hereditary mystic powers of the family”.
The Ocarina of Time is a hereditary artifact that has remained in the Royal family for ages. It also holds “mystical” powers which are mentioned by both the item’s description and Flat. It is undeniable that the Ocarina of Time contains some sort of power as it acts as one of the keys to open the Door of Time.

Flat also mentions the Triforce, saying they were unable to figure out it’s power. The Ocarina of Time, along with all three of the Spiritual Stones, is the artifact needed to open the Door of Time. This is why they were studying the Ocarina of Time, to open the Door of Time and study the Triforce itself.

“Our names would be a part of
Hyrule’s history if we could
complete our research!
We kept our study extremely
secret until we completed it.” – Flat

The investigation was kept a secret as it involved the Triforce. The legend of the Triforce was a secret within the Royal Family. Princess Zelda says this when Link first meets her in Ocarina of Time.

“OK then, Link…
I’m going to tell you the secret of
the Sacred Realm that has been
passed down by the Royal Family
of Hyrule.” – Princess Zelda

Connecting the dots between the secrecy of the Triforce and the mysterious power of the Hylian Royalty should not be hard now. The Royal Family has not manifested any mystical powers by themselves after all, so it is safe to assume the composer brothers were studying the Ocarina of Time to unlock the secrets of the Triforce.

The Secret Song

The melody to turn day into night and night into day has the composer brothers as its author. In Majora’s Mask, their counterparts write the Song of Storms. This is not their only work, for another song may be attributed to them as well; a song known to control the flow of time in a similar way to The Sun’s Song. It is none other than the Song of Time.

“To tell the truth, each of us
was studying a different song, one
to summon the sun and another to
summon the moon.” – Flat

Here, Flat explains how, by summoning the Moon and the Sun, they created the Sun’s Song . The composer brothers have also proven to be able to manipulate time at will with one of their songs.

“we had almost completed our
study of controlling time with the
tones of ocarinas.
Uh, I mean…
Actually, we did complete
that study!” – Sharp

That phrase makes mention of controlling time. However, day and night are not mentioned nor hinted in there. It is true it may be a reference to the Sun’s Song as well, but the brothers never mention time when speaking of the Sun’s Song directly. The Sun’s Song was created uniting individual compositions together, but this quote refers to a song in which they might have worked on together: the Song of Time.

“Ye who owns 3 Spiritual Stones
Stand with the Ocarina of Time
And play the Song of Time
That is how the inscription reads.”

That is what the inscription at the Temple of Time’s altar reads. After reading this inscription, the brothers could have assumed that they must play a special melody tied to the flow of time. Once they composed the song, thereby unlocking the power of the Ocarina of Time, they might have named the song after the title in the inscription.

The fact that they were studying the Ocarina of Time and wanted to reach the Triforce solidifies the idea of their creating the Song of Time. Somehow, they must have found out that the power of the Ocarina of Time can be triggered with a melody, and thus they composed this melody.

“We would have been famous, if
that hateful Ganondorf had not
tried to steal our results.
We could never let him reap the
fruits of our research!
That’s why we gave our lives to
protect the secret.” – Sharp

The composer brothers kept the melody a secret, showing it only to the people they served, the Royal Family. Ganondorf in his desire to reach the Sacred Realm attempted to steal the Song of Time. He was already collecting the keys to open the Door of Time as we know he visited the Great Deku Tree, the Gorons and the Zora for their spiritual stones. It is logical to believe he was after the Song of Time as well. The Sun’s Song would do him no good, so we know he wasn’t after that. The fact that Ganondorf wanted to steal their song which controlled time gives deeper evidence as to the composer of the Song of Time. Why else would Ganondorf, while still undercover, go through the trouble of killing the composer brothers if he wasn’t after something? Yes, he most certainly wanted the Song of Time.

Sharp and Flat, the Great Composer Brothers, held many more secrets than met the eye. They seem to be the composers of the only song from Ocarina of Time without a clear author: the Song of Time. Thus another mystery may be solved today, but perhaps one day we will put together the much larger puzzle that is Zelda.

Nikola Tesla’s birthday was July 10th, and Google turned their logo into a Tesla Coil to celebrate. But, embedded deep withing the image is a hidden Triforce – and this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this coming from Google. Click below to see the image.

Innocent from afar...

...but look closely, see the Triforce?

Drumroll, please…

Coming in second place is Jessi! Jessi will be claiming the four volumes of Zelda manga. Jessi’s photo was reminiscent of Lon Lon Ranch – most likely because it looks to be a real ranch!

And in first place, the lucky winner of the X-Rocker II chair is… Catch! Catch, you truly are the luckiest of the lucky entrants in this contest. Making up Chase’s entry was a beautiful picture of his own Zelda pendant ocarina.

Entry Gallery + Closing Comments

The whole staff got to enjoy some great photos from everyone, but there were a few that just stood out. After sifting through the entries, we’ve selected eight more photos that we feel best represented the mission of the contest – to find something that represents or reminds of Zelda in real life.

Before we get to the gallery, there was one photo that stood out among the rest. Be Brad’s photo of a certain rock formation struck us as both incredible and slightly creepy. The mountain looks just like Ganondorf’s head! (Wind Waker version, of course.)

Yeah, he's looking right at you. And he's angry.

The rest of the photos are below in the gallery – you can look at them at your own leisure. We want to thank everyone for entering and making this contest a success. And remember, there can only be more events like this if we can raise enough money to pull it off, so get your butt over to The Bank of Hyrule and put a drop in the bucket so we can hold another contest!

We’ll hold the next contest when The Bank has $250 inside. We’re only at $22 right now, though, so it looks like we’ll need a bit more to hold the next contest!

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Previous Poll: Who is the mysterious girl in the Zelda Wii poster?

Zelda Universe’s Wind Waker maps have long been in need of a touch-up, and I’m happy to say that Joe’s map is exactly what ZU’s Wind Waker section needed. Please have a look at the map, which I’ve dubbed the Ultimate Sea Chart, by clicking here. And thanks, Joe, for making it!

As a result of this map, I’ve also gotten rid of ZU’s old maps. For those of you who are nostalgic about them, I deeply apologize… but their time had come. They’re still lingering around the server, though, just in case. The following pages in The Wind Waker section of ZU have had their maps deleted and replaced with a note to look at the new Ultimate Sea Chart:

• TWW Maps page
• TWW Triforce Quest guide
• TWW Treasure Charts guide
• TWW Heart Pieces guide
• TWW Great Fairies page
• TWW Big Octos guide

The eye symbol has appeared in several occasions in different games. There is no general consensus given by any of the games that explains this image in detail, leading to speculations and mystery. Many fans wrongly make an impulsive connection towards the Sheikah when they see an eye emblem. Although the Sheikah emblem does contain an eye, it does not mean every eye image is connected to them as well.

These eye symbols normally appear as an emblem to evil beings. Not only this, but it also seems to represent dark magical powers aside from being an evil icon in the series. But why an eye? There are some historical and cultural facts which the developers may have thought of when assigning this symbol.

Origin of the “Evil Eye”

Many worldly cultures hold a superstitious ideal called the ” evil eye”. The evil eye is a belief that the envy elicited by the good luck of fortunate people may result in their misfortune. The perception of the nature of the phenomenon, its causes, and possible protective measures, varies between different cultures.

In some forms, it is the belief that some people can bestow a curse on victims by the malevolent gaze of their magical eye. Some cultures report afflictions with bad luck; others believe the evil eye can cause disease, wasting away, and even death. Some cultures even hold that the evil eye is an involuntary jinx cast unintentionally by people unlucky enough to be cursed with the power to bestow it by their gaze.

The amount of literary and archaeological evidence attests to the belief in the evil eye in the eastern Mediterranean for more than a millennium starting with Hesiod, Callimachus, Plato, Diodorus Siculus, Theocritus, Plutarch, Heliodorus, Pliny the Elder, and Aulus Gellius.

The origin of the belief can only be guessed, but it can be traced back to the earliest of human records and the references in Deuteronomy indicate that the evil eye was known in the Hebraic world.There are also speculations that claim Socrates possessed the evil eye and that his disciples and admirers were fascinated by Socrates’ insistently glaring eyes. His followers were called Blepedaimones, which translates into demon look, not because they were possessors and transmitters of the evil eye, but because they were suspected of being under the hypnotic and dangerous spell of Socrates.

In the Greco-Roman period a scientific explanation of the evil eye was common. Plutarch’s scientific explanation stated that the eyes were the chief, if not sole, source of the deadly rays that were supposed to spring up like poisoned darts from the inner recesses of a person possessing the evil eye

The belief in the evil eye during antiquity varied from different regions and periods. Belief in the evil eye is strongest in the Middle East, East and West Africa, South Asia, Central Asia and Europe, especially the Mediterranean region; it has also spread to other areas, including northern Europe.

All of this ultimately indicates that the “evil eye” is a form of evil magic and thus a symbol depicting it is probably in reference to it. This phenomenon was mostly believed in Europe and Asia, around the times of the middle ages. This coincides with the era in which the Legend of Zelda games take place.

All of the hexing and witchcraft mentioned above is commonly used by the evil beings who bear the eye symbol in many of the games.

“Evil Eye” in the Series

Agahnim

When Hyrule became plagued by an onslaught of terrible misfortunes , the King of Hyrule offered a reward to anyone who could put an end to these disasters. A mysterious stranger named Agahnim came and put an end to these troubles with a previously unknown magic.

Agahnim is the first one in the series to be seem with the eye symbol, which can be clearly seen in his robe. He brainwashed the entire castle guard and made the seven wise men disappear into the dark world. Eye symbols can be seen throughout the corrupted Hyrule Castle as well.

Vaati

Vaati was fascinated by the evil that could come from the heart of man. When his master, Ezlo, fashioned a powerful magical cap as a gift for the humans, one that could make one’s wishes come true. Vaati stole the cap, transformed into a sorcerer and cursed his master into the shape of a living cap, so that he would not stop him.

Vaati, when in his demon form, develops an “evil eye” that is seen in the symbols. Vaati is a sorcerer who can use powerful magic and employ powerful curses such as Turing Princess Zelda into stone. Again the evil eye appears when depicting evil magical powers and curses.

Veran

Veran is the Sorceress of Shadows and has the ability to possess anybody she wishes to. She possesses the oracle Nayru, in order to reach the past and alter to her liking.

As usual where there are dark powers, there is the evil eye. An eye symbol can be seen in her gown.

Fused Shadow

The pieces of Fused Shadows hold the magical power used by the Dark Interlopers who sought entry to the Sacred Realm to claim the Triforce. The enormous power of the Interlopers was sealed away within the Fused Shadow by the Gods.

The picture above is of the back of Midna’s helmet, which is a piece of the Fused Shadow. As always, the evil eye is there when referring to evil magic.

What we can draw from all of this is that the eye symbol does have a connection with evil and a stronger connection with the dark arts. Every time the evil eye appears, evil is the subject at hand. Although the eye symbol is usually portrayed as malevolent in the series, there is one specific type of eye that is just the opposite of that, the Sheikah eye.

The Sheikah Eye

Taking what the game tells us about the Sheikah, they are not evil at all. They are the people who serve the Royal Family of Hyrule and are considered as a tribe of good. But following the logic we have developed until now you may think they must be evil as they use the eye symbol.That is not entirely true. They do use the eye emblem but this one has a distinctive trait, a tear. This eye is different in both it’s design and background. Here we have the Sheikah eye:

That distinctive tear is what separates it from the evil eye. This is the emblem of the “shadows fol” of Hyrule. There is a reason it is an eye with a tear, we must explore the annals of history once more.

The ancient Egyptians believed in something they called ” The Eye of Horus”. The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and royal power from deities, in this case from Horus or Ra. This is the Eye of Horus:

There are several details that help link the Sheikah eye’s background to the Eye of Horus. I write this to try and understand the depth behind the creation of the Sheikah eye by the designers.

Tear

Although it may not seem like it, the Eye of Horus is confirmed by the Egyptians themselves to have a tear. The teardrop is the vertical marking under the Eye of Horus. This offers a clear link between both eyes as the Sheikah eye is distinguished by having the teardrop.

Guardian

The Eye of Horus “was intended to protect the king in the afterlife” and to ward off evil. Although the Sheikah don’t protect the Royal Family in death, they do guard them in life, but they definitively ward off evil the same way the Eye of Horus does. A connection can definitively be made here, although not as clear as before.

Foresight

The right eye of Horus represents a Peregrine Falcon’s eye, which is a kind of absolute vigilance. The same can be said about the Sheikah. They Guard and watch the Royal Family from an extended viewpoint, which is a reference to the Lense of Truth. It can be said that the Sheikah have Peregrine Falcon’s view as well, as they utilize Gossip stones and any other means in order to have an information network and have a wider view of everything in the kingdom of Hyrule. They also seem to be the makers of the Howling Stones in Twilight Princess, which are scattered all over Hyrule.

The Sheikah eye can be seen in many different locations. In The Wind Waker there is a Sheikah symbol in the boat atop Forsaken Fortress.The Egyptians painted the Eye of Horus on their ships for good luck, there may a reference there as well.

There is also a Sheikah eye on the back of Princess Zelda’s cloak in Twilight Princess.

All of these eyes scattered throughout the lands on each of the games indicate that the Sheikah are always vigilant and are aware of many things. Who knows if they are truly extinct or simply in hiding.

Artifacts

Many Egyptian artifacts have the Eye of Horus in them. The same goes for all of the Sheikah artifacts. Both use their respective eye as a label or symbolization. Here are some of these artifacts:

The Sheikah eye and The Eye of Horus seem to have a lot in common. It is a very real possibility that the developers based the Sheikah emblem from the Egyptian symbol, Eye of Horus. It has also been proven how different the evil eye and the Sheikah eye from each other. One is representative of evil and one represents good.

There is another possibility as to their backgrounds. This idea is one that they both share equally. It is the concept of the “third eye”.

Third Eye

The third eye (also known as the inner eye) is a mystical and esoteric concept referring in part to the ajna (brow) chakra in certain Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. It is also spoken of as the gate that leads within to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness. The third eye is often associated with visions, clairvoyance, precognition, and out-of-body experiences.

All of these abilities have been mentioned above. Visions and clairvoyance are a common theme with the Sheikah eye. The lens of truth is a prime example of this. The evil eye can also be attributed with these abilities. Veran is able to posses other beings, which is an out-of-body experience as described above. Agahnim is also able to brainwash others into doing his bidding.

The concept of the Third Eye can also be used to explain the reason behind the eye symbols in the series. It doesn’t involve magic as the others do, but it focuses on psychic behavior as exerted by many characters seen with the eye symbol.

Symbolism is a hard thing to interpret, specially if no concrete confirmations are made. That is the case with the eye symbol in the Zelda universe. Whether you wish to interpret it as an evil eye, the Eye of Horus or the Third Eye is completely up to you. Nothing can be done apart from informed guesses. The secrets of the eye symbol seem to have been uncovered for the most part, its iconization throughout the series will always have a mystic sensation nonetheless.

Be sure to log in and voice your opinion!

Source: Amazon.co.jp

Nintendo of America responded with an auto-response email, saying that “there isn’t a true frame of reference or time line possible for the series”. This means that nobody took the time to read anything ocarinahero10 said, and just had a bot scan his mail words like “timeline” and send a generic response back to him.

While Nintendo of America claims there can’t be a timeline, Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma (the creator of Zelda and the man currently in charge of the series, respectively) say there is. When Twilight Princess was released, Aonuma stated that Twilight Princess goes after Ocarina of Time in the “Child Timeline” while Wind Waker also goes after Ocarina of Time, but in the “Adult Timeline”.

The moral of the story is: don’t trust Nintendo of America, they never know what they’re talking about.

Source: Destructoid

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