Sunday, March 30, 2014

Hyrule Castle Quick Facts

Capital of: Hyrule
Location: generally around the centre of the land of Hyrule (though this does change from game to game)
Population: unknown, though it seems to vary depending on the carrying capacity of the video game console each game (and subsequently slice Hyrulean of time) appears on. For a better calculation of population statistics in Hyrule check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Rl9Gz2ikQ
Mayor: Does not appear to have one. As it is the seat for the Hyrulean royal family, I believe they take care of the administration of the town (and of course the castle).
Origins of the name: The name Hyrule comes from the the name Hylia, which is the name of the Goddess left in charge of the protection of the world after the 3 creator Goddesses left back into the heavens. The main race of Hyrule (Hyruleans or Hylians) all supposedly have the magical blood of this goddess flowing through them. I could not find where the name Hyrule (ハイラル Hairaru, in Japanese) comes from, at least not in the real world.
Demographics: various creatures besides the Hylians, the ones most often around are, the Gorons (sumo wrestler like mountain dwelling creatures), the Zoras (aquatic humanoids) and the fairies (your traditional fantasy version).
Founded: sometime after the end of the events of the game The Skyward Sword. Or in real world history, by Shigeru Miyamoto when he and others at Nintendo created the first Legend of Zelda game in 1986.
Public transportation: your feet (or flippers or wings)
Significant sites or sights in Hyrule (in various games): The Temple of Time, Kakariko Village, The Lost Woods, Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, The Triforce Triangle and the Castle itself.
When I first heard of Hyrule: when I was around 7 and played the first Legend of Zelda game on my Nintendo.
Interesting facts about the Legend of Zelda games: The creator of the games Shigeru Miyamoto, who is considered the father of modern video games (the Mario games are also credited to him), says that the inspiration for the Legend of Zelda came from his time exploring the forest around his home in Sonobe (a town just North of Kyoto), Japan. On one of his many ventures into this wilderness he came upon a cave. He did not know where the cave would lead him, but after days of wondering about it he entered and explored it with a lantern. Almost every Zelda game I can think of has a least one part where Link must explore a cave, and he can only do so with the aid of an oil lantern (I get the feeling that Miyamoto had an electric lantern though). Miyamoto has also mentioned that Princess Zelda (for whom all the games are named) gets her name from Zelda Fitzgerald, because it was a name that Miyamoto found to be “pleasant and significant.”

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