Ads skipped

Nintendo Quietly Changed Zelda Lore about Kokiri...

3.2K views · Sep 15, 2026 · Entertainment

Zelda Explained

152 subscribers

Comments · 16

@louisewilson2044 · 10 days ago
I think Kokiri Forest works like  Neverland. Whilst the Kokiri children stay in forest they remain as children. If the Kokiri children leave the forest they grow into adults. Adults that the remaining Kokiri children in the forest wouldn't recognise as one of their own. I don't think it's necessary a lie that Kokiri children die if they leave the forest. It's just a matter of when. The Kokiri that left the forest before could have grown old and then died making the statement true.
19
@Neganium · 7 days ago
idk if it exists in other versions, but in the collector's disc version of the game, there's a gossip stone behind the great deku tree. when you talk to it wearing the mask of truth, it informs you of this basic rule of the kokiri, but also states the rumor that one kokiri left the forest, and is still alive. it's not clear what this is referring to, however; it could be talking about Link himself, since as far as any of the kokiri knew, he was one of them. also, important to note that it's likely that the kokiri are themselves likely descended from Skyward Sword's kikwi race. interestingly, the kikwi do not seem to have the restriction on aging that the kokiri do. similarly (tho admittedly I never got to play BOTW/TOTK and thus cannot confirm if there's any difference there in the korok race), the koroks of wind waker don't seem to be permanent children in and of themselves, tho some members- specifically Makar- can seem rather young and/or childlike. they're just... lively. and small. most of the kikwi are kind of like that, too, with the exception of the elder and the hermit that lives in that bigass tree in the woods that I think was once theorized to be connected to the eventual deku tree. also, very early material has Link being a member of the kokiri, like, officially. also, they could age; Link originally only had the "adult" (technically teen, but splitting hairs...) character model that went thru a number of changes before landing on the one we all know. we know from both early material from the time and a few beta leaks that kokiri received their fairies upon reaching adulthood, and that the start of the game was meant to see Link receiving his fairy, before some crap happens and he has to rescue the fairies of the forest from inside the deku tree or some such idr. basically he was very much meant to be an adult, and I think early screenshots showed some character models (like what would become the technically-unnamed Fado from OoT) of adult-looking kokiri; sporting mildly different appearances, but still very clearly the same design language. unrelated to anything, it's interesting how the name Fado was later properly reused specifically for a resident of ordon village in Twilight Princess. idk if there was meant to be a connection or just a nod of sorts. we never do find out what happens to them in that timeline...
2
@LifesBeach · 22 hours ago
Man I wonder if the remake will show Gannondorf entering the forest and cursing the tree.. doubt it but that would be so cool
@3X3NTR1K · 5 days ago
I'm reminded of the garden of eden, and the warning from god to Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit. The consequence there wasn't actually immediate death, it was mortality. The Kokiri weren't quite immortal but certainly ageless, and leaving the forest could have broken that connection. Or maybe they would simply be able to age while not in the forest and possibly get hurt while vulnerable, making the warning more of an overstated scary basis for a policy that keeps the children of the forest safe.
@Mari_Izu · 7 days ago
"Official" guides and artbook shouldn't count because they're licenced, not really made by Nintendo and people who writes them often put their headcanons in them.
1
@harukaze7388 · 6 days ago
in late beta material, in basically right before the final revision of the story, it shows that Mido would've left the forest and be the one to become the Sage of Shadow instead of course this kind of thing isn't canon by its nature, but does give a bit more insight of what kind of things the writers thought about and things of the world that wouldn't be seen normally. in this case, they did consider exploring a Kokiri leaving the forest on the other hand... it is the Shadow element of all things. we don't know just what would've happened to him in the seven years, but it wouldn't have been good, either due to being a Kokiri outside the forest or because of feeling regret for Link maybe he did become undead? but seeing the characters that do talk about it, I always thought it's more of a loose danger than an immediate doom. like how people entering the lost woods don't instantly become stalfos and skull kids, especially not if they actually know how to navigate it something similar is actually said of the Zora, which says they can't survive on dry land for very long  even though the one telling you this literally is standing on land
1