The Law of Three

[Arcane 12]

I've been thinking... it's always three. Three main characters, each with one of three pieces, that came from three goddesses, that each represent one of three elements, each having a spell in OOT. This we all know. However, I've thought of another trio, the animals.

Courage - The wolf. In TP, Link (Courage) is protected from the Twilight via transformation to the "Divine Beast", the wolf. Also, the white wolf, or the Hero's Shade is rumored to be a past "Link Incarnate". Makes sense, right?

Wisdom - Birds, owl in paticular. In OOT, there's the owl that helps you, and in TP, the Royal Crest is the Triforce over a bird-esque design. Also, on your Hylian sheild, there's a bird on it.

Power - The boar. The fact that Ganon always takes the form of one is evidence enough.

Do you agree with this? Can you add to this? Have you noticed any other groups of three?

[Goron Merchant 1]

Link also turns into a rabbit in LttP. . .

And there are usually 3 beginning temples in each game.

LttP's 3 Light World Temples

OoT's Spiritual Stone Temples

TP's 3 Fused Shadow Temples

And that's all I can think of.

[ZuZu 10]

I agree with the ganon pig/boar thing, but link is not often a wolf (if you look at all the zelda games) nor does a wolf play a major part in a game, with the exception of TP. The owl does not feature in every game either.

[Knuckle 484]

In many Zelda games, Link has a bird or bird-like advice giver help him in the game. In Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Four Swords Addventures, it's an owl. In Wind Waker, it's the rito postman. That's five games right there, so that's got to count for something.

[ZuZu 10]

In many Zelda games, Link has a bird or bird-like advice giver help him in the game. In Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Four Swords Addventures, it's an owl. In Wind Waker, it's the rito postman. That's five games right there, so that's got to count for something.

Yes I know the owl is in a few games, i was trying to focus more on the wolf.

[Max 10]

Yeah, the wolf is a bit sketchy, but I think it's a good idea. If you could elaborate on that a bit, we could turn it into something of significance.

[Goron Merchant 1]

Courage is more like the forest in general.

[Arcane 12]

Hm... I admit, it's a bit sketchy.... it was just a thought though... I shall investigate more!

[Chef Nonsense 0]

This theory sounds vaguely like CO's three topic.

(though his topic is disproving three and saying nine. )

In my opinion,

three and nine are both intertwining into the plot...

Edited 9 Jun 2008 by Chef Nonsense (see edit history)

[Final Hyrule Finale 0]

Link also turns into a rabbit in LttP. . .

And there are usually 3 beginning temples in each game.

LttP's 3 Light World Temples

OoT's Spiritual Stone Temples

TP's 3 Fused Shadow Temples

And that's all I can think of.

don't forget wind waker's 3 pearls

[LDGM 0]

don't forget wind waker's 3 pearls

or phantom hourglas's 3 spirits and 3 precious metals.

[Final Hyrule Finale 0]

i think the reason for all the things of three are because of the sides of a triangle and there are three triangles in the tri-force and three sides

[Zeruda 1]

Eh, I don't know about the whole animals thing...

Owls are often portrayed as wise in many things. Take Owl from Winnie the Pooh or The Great Owl from The Secret of Nimh- they are both wise characters. In OoT/MM, I think the owl was just used because it's a cliche, much like the entire series' hero-saves-princess scheme. Other than that, birds aren't really associated with Wisdom in the games. However, the bird-character (or bird-like) is often the hero's mentor in many stories.

Wolves... courage? I really don't agree here. For one, the wolf has only appeared in TP, helping to make the game "darker". I mean, Link was a rabbit in ALttP, which reflected his heart- life's continuation with rebirth of Hyrule, self-sacrifice, vigilance, quietness, kindness, clear-sightedness, and gentleness. These were all characteristics of ALttP Link who didn't even have a piece of the Triforce. In TP, he was a wolf because it symbolized purity in a stained world; the wolf is often an evil character in stories, and Hyrule was taken over by Twilight (stained), but Link was a blue-eyed beast, the blue representing purity.

The boar doesn't represent power, it represents greed, just as it does in many stories. Ganon transforms into a boar because it reflects the greed and selfishness in his heart.

The set of three is everpresent in TLoZ, much like Final Fantasy games always reuse the name "Cid". There have been:

3 "pre-temples" (example: OoT/ALttP)

3 items to collect (example: spiritual stones, 3 pendants)

3 characters (Link, Zelda, Ganon/dorf)

3 hearts to start with

etc, etc.

[Negation 1]

So what do we know from this discussion? Nothing we didn't know before.

[Young Link Addict 67]

There is nothing of three's in MM that I can think of.

4 bosses, boss masks

24 masks. I don't see anything 3 in it.