Old Games & Implied Lore (Featuring Link from the Devil May Cry Series)

nobodyhere

As time crawls on, it seems like people's memories of old games/game releases override memories of the originals. This causes people to stop thinking deeply about old games, and especially stop considering developer intentions. I think such behavior is unwise, as some old games have very interesting, substantive pieces of lore which are implied but not stated outright. I'll give an example of this through OOT/MM and Link's emotional dependence on Navi.
Before you get control of Link in OOT, Link meets Navi. Navi allows Link to focus in the most literal sense—reading signs, talking to people, fighting enemies, etc. When you get control of Link in MM (when Link has no fairy), Link can't target anything. Furthermore, right before the player controls Link in MM, Link is acting very strangely. His head is drooped, letting Epona lead the way; when he gets knocked over by Skull Kid, he just... lies there. I get it's a fall off a goal, but Link took way worse damage during OOT. There's no way that would have knocked him out.
My point is this—the hero of time seems to have a very real emotional dependence on Navi. This suggests an insecurity which utterly betrays Link's courageous persona. What do you guys think?
 

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The kind of details like your example are my favorite, where aspects of a character are expressed through gameplay instead of just visuals or text. When you get your fairy back in Majora's Mask you feel the same sense of relief from helplessness that Link does, not just in a narrative sense but mechanically too.

1st-gen 3D era (PS1, N64) is ripe for lore analysis. Due to how abstract the graphics can be, and developers still not having established a workflow for this new type of game. There are many odd and unusual details, some clearly unintentional but others we can't be certain about.

Some environmental details also from Ocarina of Time.
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tree.jpg


I wonder if developers back then could have predicted this kind of online discussion and "lore channels". nowadays it seems every other indie game is trying to make these kinds of implied lore a substantial part of their appeal.
 
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nobodyhere

The kind of details like your example are my favorite, where aspects of a character are expressed through gameplay instead of just visuals or text. When you get your fairy back in Majora's Mask you feel the same sense of relief from helplessness that Link does, not just in a narrative sense but mechanically too.

1st-gen 3D era (PS1, N64) is ripe for lore analysis. Due to how abstract the graphics can be, and developers still not having established a workflow for this new type of game. There are many odd and unusual details, some clearly unintentional but others we can't be certain about.

Some environmental details also from Ocarina of Time.
View attachment 31860View attachment 31861

I wonder if developers back then could have predicted this kind of online discussion and "lore channels". nowadays it seems every other indie game is trying to make these kinds of implied lore a substantial part of their appeal.
Unfortunately, I think "lore channels" can stifle adventurous theorycrafting. Large, very polished, advertiser friendly lore channels (Zeltik comes to mind) aren't particularly adventurous with their theory videos. You're not gonna hear a single original thought come out of those guys. Smaller channels are hit and miss, but when they hit, they hit GOOD. HalfBreadChaos is a personal favorite of mine.
 

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Unfortunately, I think "lore channels" can stifle adventurous theorycrafting. Large, very polished, advertiser friendly lore channels (Zeltik comes to mind) aren't particularly adventurous with their theory videos. You're not gonna hear a single original thought come out of those guys. Smaller channels are hit and miss, but when they hit, they hit GOOD. HalfBreadChaos is a personal favorite of mine.
By pure curiosity, what would you define as "adventurous Zelda theorycrafting" ?
 

nobodyhere

By pure curiosity, what would you define as "adventurous Zelda theorycrafting" ?
Sorry, I just realized how vague that is. By "adventurous", I mean a continuous stream of novel theories which have evidence stemming from various aspects of a game—not just the explicit narrative, but the aesthetics, mechanics, and tech behind the game.
 

manpaint

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Sorry, I just realized how vague that is. By "adventurous", I mean a continuous stream of novel theories which have evidence stemming from various aspects of a game—not just the explicit narrative, but the aesthetics, mechanics, and tech behind the game.
I see. That being said, I do think there is only so much things you can theorize out of a game. Zelda games have been covered to death already so it make sense that the theories we see on Youtube feel a bit same-y.
 

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