Geography of Hyrule

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The opinions on this page are those of the Mariner. Do not use any of this unless you get permission from him.


Last Update
6 - 10 - 01



One slight problem with the storyline concept seems to be the geography of Hyrule. The landscape is different each time, so how can there be a true storyline? Well, I wouldn't let something so trivial stop me, so I made it work. Yes, it's a bit of a stretch. But that's necessary, seeing as I doubt Miyamato thought this out beforehand. Yet, surprisingly, it all works out very well. Just take a look.

First of all, let's knock out half of the games. Although I have not played either of the two Oracle games, I have heard they do not take place in Hyrule. I'm going to go on that assumption until I read enough about them. Next is MM. Well, that takes place in a parallel universe, so that's obviously taken care of. And Koholint island doesn't even exist, so we can ignore that one too. Four down, four to go. Now, look at the area south of Death Mountain range in AoL. Note the graveyard on the left, the central lake, the two forests, and the two rocks up near the top. Remind you of anyplace? Yep, that's the same area as in LoZ. Although it isn't canon, the NES Game Atlas confirms this. So we know how the first two games are connected, so we only need to connect AoL, LttP, and OoT.


Now, let's use Kakariko as the focus point. In other words, let's assume Kakariko stays in the same spot in both games. Now let's cheat. Swing the LttP map about 45 degrees counterclockwise. Death Mountain Range is now directly north of Kakariko, just like in OoT. Now look at my map to see how wonderful everything works out.

Notice how Lake Hylia is in the same place as the Zora fountain. Thus, the lake works out. Also, the swampy area in LttP is in the path to the Zora's domain. This was already watery, so that makes sense. The desert is on Hyrule Field. This is a bit of a stretch, but Hyrule was going through a famine at this time. A field turning to desert is possible. Death Mountain, of course, is in the same place. The castle is in a new place, but it was destroyed at the end of OoT, was it not? Is it not conceivable that they would build a new castle elsewhere instead of clearing up the rubble? However, the old castle town is very close to the LttP lost woods. So close, in fact, that it could even be on the edge... Remember that the Temple of Time was on the easternmost part of castle town. Also, remember that the open area where the Master Sword lay was rectangular, roughly the same dimensions as the Temple of Time (and it was on a hexagonal dais as well). Coincidence? Probably, but I disagree. The Master Sword lay in the same place it always has- within the ruins of the Temple of Time.

Now, the next part is trickier. AoL and OoT/ LttP have almost nothing in common. There are no landmarks that are the same, except for Death Mountain. Kakariko town doesn't exist. There are no ruins of towns at the foot of Death Mountain. There are no Lake Hylias, the Lost Woods are not in the same places, and everything is messed up. Thus, they must be separate places. I cannot in any way fit these games together. However, they can't be too far. We know OoT/LttP can't take place in East Hyrule, as it is an island. But West Hyrule is a part of a continent, blocked off by a large mountain range. It is entirely conceivable that the OoT/LttP maps are to the West of AoL Hyrule. The only thing to wonder about is why they kept moving eastward. Of course, there was no true castle in AoL (the story says Impa took him to the North Castle, which leads one to believe it's not Hyrule Castle). So perhaps they are also to the east of AoL as well, and the game simply didn't go there. Good enough for me.

And so, here is the final map. The actual picture is from OoT, obviously, and the drawn in map is LttP. The area directly east of it is LoZ, which is of course the southern portion of AoL. Koholint was just a dream, Termina is an alternate universe, and I haven't a clue where Oracle takes place, as I have yet to research (and play) the game. This is the best interpretation I can give until GC Zelda comes out and messes it up again.
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