[Discussion] Easter Egg vs. Canon

[the_Predator]

Ok guys, enough sleeping! I'm done with school and my front page project is advancing rapidly. So here is something to wake us all up.

I got the idea for this when writing the response in the "Symbols in the Arbiters Ground" thread. A discussion started there questioning the validity of the legend of the fairy and the picture of the OoT fisherman in TP.

And here are you guys. I would really like o hear your opinions on the common things that are referred to as "Easter Eggs" in the LoZ series. I'm sure there is a lot more besides the 2 mentioned but I cannot really think of any right now so feel free to add something in.

My personal opinion would go as far as to think that those things have absolutely nothing significant to the timeline. We must remember that LoZ is still a game made for other people, not just those who theorize and not everything has to have a significance in the timeline. There is also the fact that many of the things we discuss hasn't really been thought of by the developers (Most probably) like the identity of the skull kid etc.

So... thoughts?

[Uncle Meat]

I recall reading some developer statements about these little details that we call Easter Eggs. The bottom line was that most of them are something the developers wanted to put in just for the fun of it. I would imagine that people who had worked on a previous Zelda game like to make little insignificant references to their earlier work when they make a new game.

For example in the Minish Cap we have the three oracles - an obvious connection to the Oracle games. But what the casual player might miss is the subtle references capcom makes to their third "lost" Oracle game (yes, this is my favourite subject ). In TMC you can find a house for two of the oracles. The other house has a red roof (obviously for Din) and the other has a blue one (for Nayru). Also on the spine of one of the books in the Library it reads (in hylian) "The Mystical Seed" which is a definite reference to the Mystical Seed Trilogy, which the Oracle Trilogy was called before they dropped the third game. The book is also green if I'm not mistaken.

The real issue about Easter Eggs is that many don't agree on which ones should be considered canon and which ones should not. For example many consider the Master Sword in the Oracles a non-canonical bonus, but there will always be those who insist that it's an indication that the games should be placed before ALttP because of it's infamous line "The Master Sword sleeps again... Forever!"

[Sentient]

I think it's simply a matter of discerning which easter eggs were placed in the games as simple references or for fun, and which ones may have some significance about them. Personally, I believe that if there are many easter eggs that nod towards one or two games more than others, then those are easter eggs worth taking into consideration, hence why I believe the "Triumph Forks" reference in TMC to be good enough to use as evidence.

[king of termina]

Easter eggs like the real life easter egs are small abnormalities(purple with yellow dotted eggs?) that shouldn't exist. but even abnormaltities can be concluded as evidence for several theories just like easter eggs can be real eggs.

in short and normal explantaion: easter eggs can be used as proof.

work, work, work. Study, study, study...

[the_Predator]

Ok so everything said by now puts up another question: Which easter eggs can be considered to be "real" and which not?

Also I noticed a lot of people taking SC2 into account. From my personal viewpoint that is simply ridiculous. That would also mean that we have to take SSB/M/B into account too, no? But it seems every other source dried out completely...

[king of termina]

as far as I know, Soul Calibur 2 has a story behind it, where SSBM has not. this is the one and only reason I think.