Japanese site updated! 10/14 (SPOILERS!)

Originally Posted by MagicBean

^ I think they would've appeared in the intro with all the other races if that was the case. They might be rebels and therefore not depicted, but I don't ecpect them to be in SS. This pisses me off because the Zoras > Gorons.

Isn't it said in OoT that the Zora's have a relation with the Royal Family? Maybe they live in the sky and therefore aren't a surface tribe.

Which would be interesting because their descendants, the Rito, are similar to birds.

Well there isn't a royal family in SS so I don't think we'll see them in Skyloft. They'd be like fish outta water

If the Royal Family is formed at the end of SS, then we may see the Zoras, but that's only if the Zora's ties to the Royal Family started at the birth of the monarchy. If the Zoras are shafted from SS I'll be pretty annoyed considering their significance to Hyrule and the Royal Family.

I still see no reason why the Parella couldn't be the ancestors of the Zora. Indeed, they share more resemblance with them than the Rito did. Their skin markings, for example, are quite similar to the N64 models.

That said, we probably won't see Zoras that look like the OoT/MM/WW/TP model in this game, which is a shame. In fact, even if the Parella are ancestral to the Zora, it's hard to imagine how this connection would be made explicit during the game. I think it is fundamentally more challenging to find/provide evidence of a link to a future group than a past one.

I don't understand how the Parella could prove to be worhty allies to the Royal Family. They're just small squid/seahorse things... They all look identical as well. I liked how we actually got some variety in Zoras in MM, but they went back to generic models in TP. Is it really that hard for them to make a race of Zoras that don't all look the same?

^Funnily enough, MM recycled nearly all its character models from OoT.

Originally Posted by nikohesus

^Funnily enough, MM recycled nearly all its character models from OoT.

True, but it actually had more unique ones than OoT. OoT only had King Zora and Princess Ruto as unique character models, but MM had some more, like the band members. I can't remember their names.

Nintendo knows Zoras are a fan favorite, but they seem to go out of their way not to use them. There was a Zelda Informer post about this the other day, but it could be there are valid story reasons that are tying Nintendo's hands on the matter.

Originally Posted by Common Knowledge

True, but it actually had more unique ones than OoT. OoT only had King Zora and Princess Ruto as unique character models, but MM had some more, like the band members. I can't remember their names.

You're thinking if the Indigo-Go's

The Indigo-Gos are the prime example, but even the (for some reason unloved?) Gorons got more variety (and DEM LIPS) beyond size, and even added the Deku as a legitimate race.

MM had a quite a few brand new character models. I don't think people realize that.

Originally Posted by Common Knowledge

MM had a quite a few brand new character models. I don't think people realize that.

I remember the daddy goron, the baby goron, the dekus, the mayor, kafei etc etc.

SS looks like it has variety. The mogmas have different hairstyles and body colors, same for the gorons and the Kikwis, and the Parella have different colored scales.

Originally Posted by nikohesus

SS looks like it has variety. The mogmas have different hairstyles and body colors, same for the gorons and the Kikwis, and the Parella have different colored scales.

Well, yeah, that's a first for Zelda as a whole.

Originally Posted by Common Knowledge

Well, yeah, that's a first for Zelda as a whole.

Weren't we just talking about MM's variety? Hold on I'm confused...

Originally Posted by nikohesus

Weren't we just talking about MM's variety? Hold on I'm confused...

Every individual character of a species having a defining characteristic?

No, that wasn't in MM, or any Zelda game, for that matter.

I was just arguing the notion that MM reused all OoT character models.

Originally Posted by Common Knowledge

Every individual character of a species having a defining characteristic?
I was just arguing the notion that MM reused all OoT character models.

Okay, understood.

Originally Posted by nikohesus

I remember the daddy goron, the baby goron, the dekus, the mayor, kafei etc etc.

SS looks like it has variety. The mogmas have different hairstyles and body colors, same for the gorons and the Kikwis, and the Parella have different colored scales.

The variety in the Skyloftians is really impressive. Every character stands out as a character with a story. No one looks generic.

On another note, the Kikwis have a really stupid design. I hate them.

Originally Posted by nikohesus

I remember the daddy goron, the baby goron, the dekus, the mayor, kafei etc etc.

SS looks like it has variety. The mogmas have different hairstyles and body colors, same for the gorons and the Kikwis, and the Parella have different colored scales.

We've seen one red Parella, all the rest are the same blue colour. It would've been nice if each Parella had it's own unique prong formation on top of its head. It's the little things like that which make a game truly special. Though I think they're doing something similar with the Mogmas as you said.


The Kikwi designs are kinda weird, but it's only their limbs and triangular noses that annoy me. I really dislike the look of the big Kikwi. How is it even possible to stand up on legs like that?!

Originally Posted by Grok

I still see no reason why the Parella couldn't be the ancestors of the Zora. Indeed, they share more resemblance with them than the Rito did. Their skin markings, for example, are quite similar to the N64 models.

What? No they don't. The only similarity is the fact that they live in water and therefore have an aquatic design. The Rito are Zora with feathers and clawed feet and beaks where their noses were. And of course the dolphin looking tails on the backs of their heads were replaced with feathers. The fins on Zora arms became the Rito wings.





The Parella look nothing like Zora in comparison with the Rito.

AND again, the Zora weren't depicted alongside the goddess, but the Lake Floria trailer says the Parella are one of the water dwelling people. There aren't any other water dwelling people next to the goddess in the intro. Lake Floria is also only in the "Faron Province" if we can call it that. We haven't even seen Lake Hylia or what would become "Zora's Domain" (which according to pretty much all the games is the main water source for Hyrule, which to me seems important.)

You don't think the Zora will be enemies do you? They certainly started out that way, and were in PH. Maybe we will come across them in a mountain stream/river/spring and we will have to fight them, and maybe they become friendly at some point, like the Gerudo in OoT. And kind of like how in MM we fight Deku Scrubs even though they aren't a hostile race altogether.

The link from the Parella to the Zora is closer than the link from the Zora to the Rito. For starters, Parella and Zora are actually amphibians. Sure they have a largely different skeletal structure but both are amphibious water dwellers.

That and it is less ridiculous than Zora turning into Rito (who on earth put forwards that idea anyway? They are so vastly different in many ways, they should have replaced Laruto with a Rito equivilant)

I suppose you're right. Initially, I didn't think the Rito resembled the Zora in any way, but the extensions from their arms do look fairly homologous. On the other hand, the Parella do look like they could be a "primitive" type of Zora, almost akin to a tadpole/frog sort of relationship.

I have nothing vested in either perspective; in fact, I'd prefer yours. I think it would be totally awesome if the Zora were evil. And I agree with you about the Lanayru province. I still think we're going to see Lake Hylia there.

On the other hand, I do get a "Zora's Domain" vibe from Lake Floria, and if you go by the OoT map, Zora's Domain is adjacent to the forest. In both TP and OoT, Lake Hylia is located near the desert, and I expect this to be the case in SS as well (the desert is obviously located in the province we haven't seen, I'm betting Lake Hylia is too).

That said, we can't read too much into the geography, because while there are general trends, there are some inconsistencies as well (ironically, the location of Zora's Domain being one of the most significant). I hope we the see the "Old Kakariko" from Twilight Princess. I read a compelling theory recently (I think it was by the Big One) that proposed that the Hidden Village is not the Kakariko from OoT, which would make sense given that the Kakariko in OoT was near Death Mountain.