PH Parallels

So I noticed something on my recent play-through of Phantom Hourglass: There were a bunch of parallels in that game with nearly every other Zelda title released. In fact, I was able to pick out a parallel from every game to date. Sure, all the Zelda games have parallels with previously released titles, but in PH there almost seems to be something intentional about it. Let's take a look:

(Oh, and obviously SPOILER WARNINGS for PH.)

LoZ: We collect Heart Containers here instead of the usual Pieces of Heart. Likewise, there are no Empty Bottles; healing Potions come on their own. Drink the Potion and no more bottle, just like in the original Zelda. Also, Gleeok returns as a boss.

AoL: Both games have a Maze Island. Likewise, both games have a bridge that must be repaired in the early goings (this one's sort of a stretch, though).

LttP: In the Thieves' Hideout dungeon, Link found an imprisoned maiden, but when he escorted her into the light, she revealed her true form as the dungeon's boss, Blind the Thief. So in PH, when he comes to the aid of the Cubus sisters, he must lead them through perils, but in the end they're revealed as the villainous boss as well.

LA: The parallels here are big. In both games, Link starts out at sea, but a disaster leaves him washed up on a strange island. At the end of both games, Link awakens the spirit guardian of the realm, whose true form is a giant flying whale, who then transports Link out of this alternate world back to where he started at the time of the maritime disaster in the games' prologues where scarcely any time has passed. Then at the very end, he catches a glimpse of his closest companion from the game (Marin as a seagull in LA and Linebeck on his ship in PH).

OoT: Ciela and Navi are almost like twins. They're both sparkly light blue in color, have the same ethereal/non-bodily look, and Ciela carries the same sound effects from Navi in OoT ("Hey!" "Listen!"). Their personalities are essentially the same, Ciela being a selfless, do-gooding fairy, if somewhat pushy.

MM: Both games start with Link on a spiritual journey, but he's waylaid by an unfamiliar foe and drawn into an alternate dimension where there's impending doom on that new world (the moon falling on Termina in MM and the oceans being doomed to evil and desolation in PH). Likewise, the Ghost Ship is the personification of the villain's malice, which is always hovering within view of the fearful citizenry, much as Majora's moon was. In the same vein, both games introduced a brand new, unprecedented antagonist, Majora in MM and Bellum in PH, whom we'd never seen before and will likely star only in their particular game. The eyes on the end of Bellum's tentacles look almost exactly like the eyes on Majora's Mask as well.

OoS/A: Collecting Ship Parts is a lot like collecting the Magical Rings in the Oracle games. They're completely randomized in the same way; you open a chest and you never know which one you'll get. Likewise, some are rarer than others. If you get duplicates, you can pawn them off for Rupees at a dealer in the main town. Also, collecting enough of both eventually gives you extra benefits (higher stamina for your ship in PH and extra abilities/strength in Oracles), but only if they're equipped.

FS: The Rupee Like returns from the multiplayer FS game. Also, it's a bit of a stretch, but the Rupoors (black Rupees that actually deduct from your Rupee amount if touched) are vaguely reminiscent of Rupee Wraiths, which came from open chests and would steal Rupees from you.

WW: The links here are obvious. We have the same Link and Tetra, together with her pirates, from WW, on the Great Sea. The overworld is nothing but ocean and must be traversed by ship. Both games begin with a stylized backstory of a previous game (OoT in WW; WW in PH), and Link's older companion/mentor in both games is revealed to be a great king later (King of Red Lions = King of Hyrule in WW; Oshus = Ocean King in PH). The King of Red Lions ship makes a cameo appearance in PH, and both endings see Link and Tetra safely on board her pirate ship in the end. As a bonus, Beedle and Salvatore returned as well.

FSA: Both games featured a multiplayer Battle Mode completely separate from Adventure Mode, a mode that featured the different colored Links (red and blue) reminiscent of the Four Swords series.

MC: In both games, Link and Zelda (yes, Tetra is technically Zelda in PH) start out as already close friends, but she's captured in the early goings. Link sets out with the original intention to rescue her but soon finds himself fighting on behalf of the entire kingdom. When Link finally does find Zelda/Tetra, she's been turned to stone and only by defeating the game's antagonist is she restored. There's also a link between Ezlo and Oshus, both of whom are forced by the villain to inhabit lesser, more humiliating forms (the Minish elder turned into a hat, and the mighty Ocean King having to take on a human guise); both return to their former glory in the end after the downfall of the final boss.

TP: TP gave us a prolonged, multi-phase series of final battles with the game's main antagonist, Ganondorf. Ganon's beast form stampeded madly around the arena, as did Bellum's squid-like beast form; it also took the special powers of your companion helper (Midna's giant hand in TP; Ciela's Phantom Sphere in PH) to open up the boss's vulnerability. These battles were followed by a mobile battle (on horseback in TP; in Linebeck's ship in PH) against a mobile version of the final boss (Ganondorf on horseback; Bellum possessing the Ghost Ship). After this came a swordfight to the death, and in PH Bellum possessed Linebeck, which was reminiscent of Ganon possessing Zelda in TP. In both cases, Link had to fight against his possessed friend in order to free him/her from the villain's grip.

So, there you have it, parallels from every Zelda game to date. Admittedly, some of them are a stretch. But there's enough cumulative value in this to see that Nintendo was in all likelihood doing all these recalls on purpose. What was their purpose? Now if I were some great theorizer like Erimgard, Hylian Dan, or Lexxi, perhaps I could put some sort of synthesis together. (And maybe one of you can supply an overarching purpose. ) Then again, it may be for no other reason than fanservice, Easter eggs, or eye candy. I just thought they were fun to find. (Also, another interesting thing to consider is that, despite all these parallels and throwbacks, PH still remained a distinctively unique game, thanks to features like a meta-dungeon in the Temple of the Ocean King (for better or for worse) and DS touch-style controls.)

What other parallels can you find?

Wow, that does seem like too much to be a coincidence. Trying to think of some parallels right now, though.

Wow. Clever spotting Roorew i can't think of any parallels, but that's an awful lot of coincidences, don'tcha think?

dude, nice, i wouldnt of ever found anything like that? or for the parrels, thye could just be a way for the Zelda team remembering the old days

Oox, MC, and FS are all a bit of a stretch like you mentioned, but other than that, a lot of these parallels are very interesting

Originally Posted by Rew

What other parallels can you find?

Force Gems in FSA and PH.

Originally Posted by smallville boy

Force Gems in FSA and PH.

Haha, thanks smallville boy (and everyone else)! I actually thought of the Force Gems a couple hours later, after I'd already posted this.

Someone on another forum also mentioned the similarities between how you have to assimilate yourself among the Gorons in both OoA and PH, both involving a mini-game (the Goron Dance in OoA; the Goron Quiz in PH). Likewise, Gleeok also appeared as a boss in OoS, giving us another PH parallel with that game.

Well, the only thing I can think of is that both MM and PH have a timepiece that's hard to miss. PH has the hourglass(duh), while MM has the Clock Tower. But that's a big stretch.

The Triforce is seen in the Temple of the Ocean King a lot of times, and that is a reference to everything. Also, Ciela, Leaf, and Nari represent Courage, Power, and Wisdom, which is like OoT and WW.

I found some parallels....

Between PH and ST XD

TEEKAY IS A WEENER!


Ahem. Anyway, I just thought of a couple more parallels:

Ilia and Ciela. In the early goings of their respective conflicts, both lose their memory. Later, toward the end of the game, Link undergoes various travails that helps them regain their lost memories. In both cases, these regained memories prove to be crucial in Link's quest.

The other parallel is Goron racing, present in MM as an actual race between Gorons, and in PH as a kind of time trial as he (or rather, Link's Goron buddy) collect all the gems en route to the finish line.

Another one! The player can control the little Goron (I can't remember his name) in the Goron Temple in PH in a similar way that Link could control Medli and Makar in the Earth and Wind Temples in WW. (The Dominion Rod in TP is a similar parallel, but it's much weaker since the statues are not sentient beings like a Goron, Rito, or Korok.)

I just thought of a new one.

TP and PH both have a guide that transforms into their true form at the end of the game. TP has Midna, while PH has Oshus.