Disclaimer: This article was written by a member of the Hidden Triforce team. The information, opinions, and beliefs displayed in this article belong to that of the author and do not represent the Hidden Triforce as a whole.
For so many gamers, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was a turning point in gaming; a game that really brought them into the imagination land that is 3D video games. Over the nearly 20 years the game has been released, gamers have tried to figure out all the game’s little secrets/hidden story elements. As a result of this, many theories and questions have surfaced about the game; it’s items, its characters, and it’s past.
Several questions circle this game’s prized possession itself; The Ocarina of Time. Where did this mysterious and powerful instrument come from? Why has the royal family been protecting it for all these years? How could this object have such power and importance to Hyrule? It’s the first thing many of us think of immediately after hearing “Zelda”, but we know so little about. Though it may never be known exactly where this powerful ocarina came from, the many games in the Zelda franchise help us to understand just what this instrument may be, and can help us come up with a logical, theory-based answer.
Let’s start from the beginning; Skyward Sword. In this game, we are introduced to a new form of technology, the Timeshift Stones. These can be found mainly in the Lanayru Desert, and have the property of manipulating time when interacted with. In their whole form, as large, fluorescent rocks, they can be seen with an eye-like symbol that strongly resembles the symbol of the Sheikah Tribe.The theory here is that the Ocarina of Time was created from these Timeshift Stones. Why? Simple answers state that they both have time bending powers or they are similar in color. However, with further research we can look even deeper than that.
The Royal Family is in power of Hyrule and they’ve come across many precious items that they must watch over, including the Ocarina. The Sheikah Tribe has been in charge of watching over the Royal Family since the Goddess Hylia. Like mentioned, the Timeshift Stones have a symbol almost identical to the one of the Sheikah Tribe. This would give the tribe, and Zelda , incentive to harvest these rocks to study the technology.The Sheikah Tribe is said to be intelligent, along with how far they’ve come technologically. It would only be fitting that the tribe would be able to figure out how to carve these rocks into an instrument; probably to help the Royal Family create something to bless with their power (likely a key for the Door of Time in OoT). Lastly, in Ocarina of Time, Zelda’s personal assistant, Impa, teaches Link “Zelda’s Lullaby “; a song she claims to have been passed down for generations in her tribe. Princess Zelda has a dream in OoT that Impa’s role in Link’s path was to teach him said song. Why would this be her destiny; why would her family write this song, or even know how to, if they weren’t closely connected to this instrument?
Let’s skip down the timeline a little bit to Majora’s Mask, the game that takes place just after Ocarina. This whole game focuses on the concept of time flow; and how Link is able to control it. This game resides in the Child Era where the sacred realm was kept safe; The only timeline where the Ocarina is kept with Link. This means the game directly after the game where Link receives the Ocarina of Time is made to show the power of time manipulation the Ocarina has. It would even make sense in this theory that the Ocarina would be able to heal with the Song of Healing, considering the same time line, in Twilight Princess, we see Princess Zelda herself give up her life force to save Midna.
The last piece of logical evidence that the Ocarina of Time was created using Timeshift Stones, is the Gate of Time in Skyward Sword, along with Princess Zelda freezing herself in time. The Gate of Time shows us in that time period, there was already studying and creations revolving around time travel. It is proven to us right here that Hylians are able to safely travel through time. Also, Link being frozen for seven years is no biggie compared to the amount of time Princess Zelda was frozen in Skyward Sword, so we know it is completely safe to freeze people in time, also done in OoT. How could they prove this and have TWO time traveling gates at this point in time? The only answer we can turn to are the Timeshift Stones.
Though knowing the truth about the Ocarina of Time maybe be truly impossible, all the evidence here points strictly to the Timeshift Stones and The Sheikah Tribe being responsible for the instrument. We can only assume they made the Ocarina as a key to the Door of Time, with the Timeshift Stones being the only technology only they had control of. Thank you for reading this theory and giving it a thought!
