Is Ain’t and Ought: The Golden Triumph Forks

From one man’s childhood frolics around and about Kyoto was born one of the great epics of video game history, the Legend of Zelda. It’s a simple tale: a travelling hero comes across a besieged land, learns of a sleeping princess guarded by fell beasts, and the greatest evil ever to walk the earth bars his path, armed with the power of the gods. The lore rarely presents depth, opting instead for a straightforward mythos. For sure, this series is no Lord of the Rings. Simple lore. Simple mythos. There’s no Eärendil in the background, no Beleriand ‘neath the waters, no Valinor waiting beyond the western sea. Legend of Zelda? Simple, simple, simple.

So why do Zelda fans always get it wrong?

Boggles my mind, that does. So, once and for all, I’m going to set the record straight. Here on out you’ll find an informed opinion, based mainly on objective fact with the occasional subjective delicacy thrown in for flavor.

That’s right. I deal in lead.

For now, sit back and allow me to explain exactly what the Triforce – that mystic relic that lies at the center of Hyrule’s lore – is, ain’t, and ought to be.

What It Is

1. The Collective Essence of Three Goddesses who created Hyrule – namely Din, Nayru, and Farore

That is to say, the Triforce is an impartial, somewhat-sentient entity born and consisting of sheer divine power. It exists for the benefit of Hyrule as the basis of the land’s providence – as guidance, from the goddesses, for intelligent life. As such, the Triforce is capable of rewriting reality itself: it grants the wishes of its beholder. A kind heart and a good soul would desire bounty for the land, and so Hyrule would prosper; a wicked heart and an evil soul would lust quite selfishly for power, and so would all suffer for one man’s benefit.

This has been proven time and again within the series: Ocarina of Time has Ganondorf corrupting the Sacred Realm, as does A Link to the Past. The latter has Link restoring Hyrule to peace and tranquility. The Wind Waker has King Daphnes drowning Ancient Hyrule for the benefit of all. So on and so forth.

That’s the easy part to remember.

2. Three Pieces for Three Avatars

One rather confusing aspect of the Triforce lies in its pieces. The relic is comprised of three golden triangles, each representing a respective goddess and her associated abstract: the top triangle stands for Din and Power, the bottom-left for Nayru and Wisdom, the bottom-right Farore and Courage.

For each goddess and abstract there would be an avatar, three people chosen by destiny. Should someone who does not hold all three aspects in balance in their heart – that is to say, does not regard power, widom, and courage equally – attain the Triforce, the relic will separate into three. Two of its pieces would find their way to those chosen by destiny; the third, the one force the finder most believes in, would be left with that person. Should one desire the full power of the Triforce at that point, the three triangles would have to be reunited.

3. A Means to an End

There’s a term known to anyone working in the film industry, and that term is MacGuffin. Put simply, a MacGuffin is an inconsequential object that drives the plot: it’s an excuse to portray the story. Perhaps the most famous example is the briefcase in Pulp Fiction; the entire plot revolves around the briefcase, but the briefcase itself isn’t important: we never even learn what’s in it. The point is that it gives Tarantino the opportunity to regale you with the stories of various characters and their development.

The Triforce is not a MacGuffin per se. The Triforce is more of a Plot Coupon.

On one hand, the Triforce is an excuse to pit a hero against a villain so that the world may be saved. On the other, you cash in the Triforce for world peace and plot resolution. If Ganondorf’s in the game, odds are he’s after the Triforce. If he’s not after the Triforce, odds are that the Hero needs the Triforce – or piece(s) thereof – to defeat him. At the very least, the mystic relic is floating around in the background somewhere.

Floating.

Mystically.

Background.

What It Ain’t

1. Judge, Jury, and Executioner

As A Link to the Past puts it, the Triforce cannot judge between good and evil: it merely grants wishes without regard for morality. Considering that certain entries in the series – A Link to the Past included – depict the Triforce as somewhat sentient, it’s odd that it’d play the impartial bastard. Then again, nowhere was it ever stated that the goddesses were benevolent.

The Triforce doesn’t pass judgment beyond deciding if your heart is in balance. Good or evil, you’re getting your wish, you dog, you.

2. Exploitable Artifact of Omnipotence

Obtaining and holding the Triforce does not make you God. In fact, so far it hasn’t even been clarified whether you can hold the Triforce for longer than the span of a single wish: in that regard, it’s more of a one-wish-per-use Dragonball artifact. Yet some fans – arguably, the younger crowd – seem to think otherwise. You see it everywhere: series discussions, fan fiction, video game hoaxes, etc. “Triforce > all, lolol1i12zngaegh.”

No. Just… no. Quit making shit up.

You find it. It makes your desires come true and grants your wishes, or it splits into pieces and you get a third of its power. Then it skedaddles.

At any point during this process, a sword through your gut is still a sword through your gut.

You will die.

Unless you wish for invulnerability.

See Ganondorf – Twilight Princess – for reference.

3. Three Pieces of Four

It ain’t nine pieces of eight, either.

…moving on.

The “Tetraforce” …sorry, nearly puked there. Ahem. The “Tetraforce” was a rather famous conspiracy theory among Zelda fans quite a while back. The theory goes like this: “see that Hylian Shield from Ocarina of Time? See that upside-down triangle? Gasp! There’s a fourth Triforce piece on that shield! Naturally, there must be a fourth Triforce piece that we don’t know about! It fits into that middle space in the Triforce! IT ALL MAKES SENSE!”

…no, you dipshits. Yes we see it, yes we see it, no there’s not, not really no, so what that’s geometry for you, and – again – no.

For all you fans out there: that fourth piece on the shield is the Triforce of Courage (disclaimer: most likely). That depiction – with a large red bird-like creature holding the piece in its clutches – is a reference to how the Thunderbird guarded the Palace holding the Triforce of Courage. That whole shield is a reference to The Adventure of Link.

You want to know how we know this to be the case? Because:

A. It makes sense without a shitload of extrapolation.

B. After this Tetraforce theory made its rounds, Nintendo struck that “fourth” Triforce piece from every depiction of the shield following Ocarina of Time. Guess what was left? Yes, that’s right. The bird.

Thunderbird, bitches.

What It Ought

1. Weapon of War for the Chosen Land

So we’ve got Hyrule, a small kingdom, centered in a land blessed with the most powerful object in all creation – and they don’t use it against other nations? What? Whaaaaat?

Granted, there is some mention in A Link to the Past of an escalating war over the Triforce – but that’s a civil war. I’m talking downright nasty genocidal “we’ll be taking over the world starting with your small, puny countries kthnxbai” war. While this would be more fitting for a Final Fantasy game, let’s face it: it’d still be badass, and would make a great setting for a Zelda game. That leads us to point 2…

2. Divine Wrath Waged on the Innocent

The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess established that, though the goddesses are not necessarily benevolent or malevolent, they do look out for their children. In the former, they answered the prayers of a whole nation and drowned Hyrule to stop Ganondorf. In the latter’s backstory, they punished, by proxy, the dark interlopers – a group of sorcerers – for breaching the sanctity of the Golden Land.

So if the goddesses can take action for the benefit of Hyrule, why not the Triforce itself? The answer: no particular reason. In fact, it can. See the Oracle games’ intro, which had the Triforce bestowing quests to the hero.

That brings me to my proposition: the Triforce as an antagonist. Note, I’m not suggesting that the Triforce be or become evil, but that it come into conflict with the protagonist. Games featuring the Triforce have always sided it with the protagonists. Let’s fight the damn thing for once. Give us a challenge in the face of adversity: pit us against the essence of the gods. Put us in the shoes of some foreigner fighting Hyrule for his country. Something.

Do something different, damn it.

3. Driving Force Behind It All

For the most part, the Triforce is a static element. Other than occasionally granting wishes, speaking, and turning Ganon into a giant pig, it doesn’t really do anything, which is a bloody shame. The Triforce could qualify as a character in its own right – taking action, moving the plot along, contributing to various dynamics – yet that potential has yet to be tapped into (‘cept by Capcom: again, Oracles). There are a lot of ways to go with this – I’ve listed a few examples – yet Nintendo insists on reusing this particular aspect of the lore in exactly the same way every time it features. If Zelda is the Princess to be Saved and Ganondorf is the Villain to be Defeated, the Triforce is the Answer to our Problems. That’s rather generic; I’m sure they can come up with better.

The Triforce should be more than just a MacGuffin or Plot Coupon, more than a Collectable, more than a Genie. The Triforce should be a character.

If you’ve been paying any attention to these Oughts, you’ll have noticed by now: I’m dying for a game based on the Great War, that conflict over the Triforce mentioned in both A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. But that’s just me. Regardless of what I want, there’s opportunity enough with the Triforce, story-wise, to do some crazy shit.