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Kakariko Village is a fictional village in the ''Legend of Zelda'' series. It first appeared in , but it has since reappeared in , , and remakes thereof. It may have been inspired by various towns in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and in turn may have served as the inspiration for such future towns of the series - Mabe Village, Clock Town, Lynna City, Horon Village, Windfall Island, Hyrule Town, and various minor villages (i.e. Symmetry City). Kakariko Village's geographical and historical situation seems to change in each game, and so many fans assert that these villages are not the same, but merely share the same name. However, it retains some signature characteristics throughout all of its appearances. Its background music is always a calm melody, all the roofs of the houses are familiarly colored red, and Cuccos roam the town.
A Link to the Past In A Link to the Past, protagonist Link first visits Kakariko Village, which is west of Hyrule Castle, north of the Desert of Mystery, south of the Lost Woods, and southwest of Death Mountain Foothills, on the advice of the monk working at the Sanctuary. Hoping to meet with reputed sage Sahasrahla, Link can inquire about the local celebrity throughout the village, though guards are stationed all around (or in the vicinity) to capture Link, accused of abducting Princess Zelda. Sahasrahla's presumed wife, however, informs Link that the wise elder has left for the region around Eastern Palace. Exploring the village anyway is still profitable; many side quests are tied into the village. Later in the game, Link takes the Book of Mudora from the library to the south, though Link is not required to return to the village after clearing the Desert Palace until much later in the game - before Misery Mire. This is because Link must awaken the bird trapped within the weather vane in the village by playing the Flute (which is given to him by the son of a villager in the Haunted Grove section of the Dark World). Once this bird is awakened, Link can use the Flute to warp about the Light World. Kakariko Village is the fourth of the eight warp sites. As stated before, Kakariko Village is south of Lost Woods, which is notorious for the thieves who reside there, and so it's not surprising that one thief, Blind, had a permanent residence in the village. By the time Link sees it, it has been abandoned, though treasures can still be found within. Blind turns out to be boss of the fourth Dark World dungeon, Blind's Hideout (notably, Blind's allegiance to Ganon seems to imply that the Lost Woods thieves are related to the Gerudo, though this is not the case in later games). Blind's Hideout is called "Thieves' Town" in the GBA . The Dark World equivalent of Kakariko Village is the Village of Outcasts, overrun with thieves, gambling establishments, and Moblins. The weather vane has been replaced by a demon statue, and several trees now talk. One shop begins selling Good Bees (called Golden Bees in the remake) if Link shows the merchant there one from the ice cave in northeastern Lake Hylia (Light World). The Good/Golden Bee could be unleashed to attack enemies on the screen. Ocarina of Time Kakariko Village of Ocarina of Time is radically different from the village of A Link to the Past. Now located direclty at the foot of the Death Mountain, quite distant from the Lost Woods and the Haunted Wasteland (the Ocarina of Time equivalent of the Desert of Mystery), Kakariko Village seems to have been founded recently. Villagers there recall that Impa, Zelda's nursemaid, opened the formerly Sheikah-exclusive village to the poor commoners of Hyrule (presumably not rich enough to live in the Market outside Hyrule Castle). Dominating the landscape is a windmill, which is used to draw water up from the Well of Three Features (Dark! Narrow! Scary!), the source of water for the villagers. Sheikah legend tells that Impa sealed a great evil in the Bottom of the Well. Later, when Link learns the Song of Storms as an adult, playing it can overwork the windmill, making it draw up all the water and in effect dry up the well. Another legend tells that a wise man with an eye that could see the truth lived where the well is located now; thus, playing the Song of Storms opens up the well for exploration as a child to find this Lens of Truth. In Link's adulthood, the great evil imprisoned in the Well of Three Features escapes, setting fire to the village and beating Link and Sheik considerably before retreating into the Shadow Temple, the entrance to which is found in the Graveyard adjoined to the village. Impa then goes off to imprison the great evil again, but seemingly fails. Link must rescue her by defeating this great evil, which turns out to be an invisible "Phantom Shadow Beast," Bongo Bongo. Link uses the Lens of Truth to see the monster and slash its vulnerable eye. In defeating the monster, Link rescues and awakens Impa as the Sage of the Shadow Temple. During the seven-year period of turmoil in Hyrule between Link's drawing of the Master Sword and his awakening, many residents of the Market fled to the village to escape persecution. Although not in the game itself, the ReDead trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee states that no residents of the Market died. Talon, the previous proprietor of Lon Lon Ranch, also runs off to Kakariko Village when Ingo kicks him out. Four Swords Adventures Kakariko Village was the setting of a level in FSA, too. The village was overrun by thieves, and the four Links were required to capture them in order to advance north of the city to a place where they could summon rain, thus quelling the fire (parallel to OoT's fire?) started by arsonist Shadow Link. This time, Kakariko Village had no prominent features, but was a collection of houses with few residents within. A stream outside the city led the Links to fight a Big Dark Stalfos, and in so doing recover the Green Royal Jewel. The numerous thieves in the city is obviously a nod to A Link to the Past's Village of Outcasts, and the Cucco population in the village may relate to the Cucco-tracking challenge in the Ocarina of Time rendering of Kakariko Village. We may also attribute the excessive thief problem to the village's new location - directly within the Lost Woods. Some fans have suggested the Lost Woods merely expanded in support of the "One Village Theory." A similar retraction of the woods, or placing OoT on the timeline before FSA, may account for the distance between Kakariko Village and the Lost Woods in OoT. | ||||||||
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