In one game in the Legend of Zelda series, Ocarina of Time, Hyrule Castle Town is always full of animals at night, and the reason why is never given in-game. Dogs roam the market after dark but are mysteriously absent during the day, leaving no trace of their presence. It may be a minor detail in Ocarina of Time, but it’s still a perplexing mystery that may stump even long-time Zelda players.
In Ocarina of Time, Link is tasked with saving Hyrule from the evil Ganondorf, who seeks the legendary Triforce in order to attain absolute power. He starts by gathering the four Spiritual Stones in order to open the gate to the Sacred Realm. There, he will take the Master Sword from its pedestal, which is arguably one of the best moments in Ocarina of Time. However, Ganondorf followed Link to the Sacred Realm, and attacks him in order to claim the Triforce’s power. Seven years later, he awakes as an adult and goes on a new quest to assemble the seven Sages. After saving Zelda from Ganondorf’s evil grasp, he defeats him, and the Sages seal Ganondorf in the Dark Realm. Upon which, he vows vengeance on Link and Zelda’s descendants, ensuring his reincarnation across the series’ timeline.
Hyrule Castle Town also appears in Zelda titles besides Ocarina of Time, such as Twilight Princess and – in a different form – Breath of the Wild. However, none of them have the same animal population that Ocarina of Time does. Twilight Princess only contains goats, and in a much smaller area than OoT. Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s Hyrule Castle was devastated along with Hyrule Castle Town during the Great Calamity, leaving the resulting Hyrule Castle Town Ruins almost devoid of wildlife. It’s strange that this location doesn’t appear in more Zelda games, but the fact that Ocarina of Time is the only one where dogs roam the street is even odder.
The Gameplay Reason For Zelda: Ocarina Of Time’s Dogs
The reason for Hyrule Castle Town’s stray dog population in Ocarina of Time may be simpler than it appears. Before Hyrule is put under Ganondorf’s thumb and Link becomes an adult, he can find a woman in Hyrule Castle Town called Mamamu Yan. She owns a dog named Richard, who runs away during the night. Mamamu Yan begs Link to find Richard for her and bring him home, and if he does so, she will reward him with a Piece of Heart the first time and a Blue Rupee each time afterwards. It’s semi-easy to miss these items in Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as Richard perishes some time during Link’s seven-year absence, which means that players cannot obtain this Heart Piece as Adult Link.
The practical explanation for Ocarina of Time‘s dog population is that it makes Richard harder to find. If he was the only dog in the market, then it would be painfully obvious that he was the one Link was searching for, and the quest would be too easy. It may seem like it still is, since Richard is the only white dog out of all of the brown dogs that inhabit the market, but all the dogs will follow Link if he comes near them, but only one at a time, which means that if he gets too close to one of the other dogs while Richard is following him, players will have to leave the area and come back. It may not compare to Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s worst dungeons, but having another dog run into the player while they’re trying to bring Richard back to Mamamu Yan is still rather frustrating.
The Dogs Of Ocarina of Time Could Be Staying Safe From Monsters
Just because there’s a practical explanation for Hyrule Castle Town’s dogs in Ocarina of Time doesn’t mean that there can’t be others that relate more to narrative concepts than gameplay. Another explanation is that the dogs stay in town due to all of the monsters that roam Hyrule Field at night. The drawbridge is kept shut specifically to keep the monsters out, making Hyrule Castle Town a safe area during the nighttime. The dogs may live in the fields and stay in the town overnight for their own protection, which makes sense. The Stalchildren and Peahats that inhabit Hyrule Field at night before Hyrule Castle’s destruction during the timeskip are formidable foes even for Link, who uses classic Zelda weapons such as the Boomerang and Deku Sticks, so stray dogs may not stand much of a chance against them.
Of course, if the dogs are staying in Hyrule Castle Town overnight to evade the monsters of Hyrule Field, this begs the question of if the townspeople let them in or if they sneak in. The drawbridge and the wall around the town do a good job of keeping out the monsters – and sometimes Link – but it’s possible that there are weak points that the dogs use to enter but are too small for other creatures. On the other hand, the citizens of Hyrule Castle Town letting them in on purpose and opening their town to the dogs to help keep them safe from monsters is a nice thought. It’s somewhat dampened, however, considering the fact that Ocarina of Time‘s Hyrule Castle Town gets destroyed at some point during the seven-year timeskip, leaving these dogs without a safe place to stay at night.
Ocarina Of Time’s Dogs Could Be Avoiding People During The Day
It’s somewhat strange that the dogs of Ocarina of Time‘s Hyrule Castle Town only appear at night. They’re not found in Hyrule Field during the day, which raises the question of where they all go once the sun comes up. It’s possible that they remain in the town, but hide in the parts that Link can’t access in order to avoid people. If they’re stray dogs, then this makes sense, as they would be wary of most humans and not want to be in the middle of a large, noisy crowd. The town guards could also be keeping them away from the crowded areas during the day for sanitary and safety reasons. Locking away Ocarina of Time‘s dogs from the market where people buy food is understandable if they’re wild animals who can carry diseases or parasites.
Since all of the dogs are seemingly only active at night, it’s also possible that they’re sleeping rather than hiding from people. Wild dogs are nocturnal, so it makes sense that the ones in Ocarina of Time would be awake during the night and sleep during the day. Being curled up somewhere to rest is perhaps the most likely explanation due to the dogs’ absence during daylight hours. Regardless, the dogs of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remain quite a mystery, as Nintendo has not commented on them and may never reveal their true purpose.
