Summary
Having started all the way back in 1986,The Legend of Zeldaseries has come a long way in those decades. Established from the very beginning has been the landmass of Hyrule, a mainstay of the series wherein most games take place. It’s an iconic place with as many interpretations as there are games.
Sometimes, Hyrule is given a more drastic makeover than just shuffling around some areas but turned into a whole new location entirely. From sunken kingdoms to a land before nations, Hyrule has seen many different versions, and we’re looking at them all to tell you which is the greatest.
This list is specifically discussing the different variations of Hyrule that exist across the series, rather than the different depictions of the landmass of Hyrule as it has been shown in various games.
8The World Of The Ocean King
This is a slightly tenuous one for reasons we’ll get into a few more sentences. The World of the Ocean King is the setting tothe DS-exclusive Phantom Hourglass, sequel to Wind Waker. In it, Link must save Tetra from Bellum with the help of Captain Linebeck and his trusty ship.
The reason this is tenuous is because the World of the Ocean King might not actually be Hyrule. It’s still the ocean, and contains many symbols of the Golden Goddess who blessed Hyrule, but it is also stated to be separate from The Great Sea, which is literally a flooded Hyrule. Take this one with a sea’s worth of salt. Nice place though.
7New Hyrule
Following on from the ambiguously Hyrulean World of the Ocean King, Spirit Tracks brings us to a new land entirely that subsequently becomes Hyrule. New Hyrule, to be precise since the original Hyrule has been flooded beneath the Great Sea. This was a land settled by Zelda and Link, and dubbed New Hyrule. Pretty straightforward.
Of course, evil never rests, and the game has you playing as a new rendition of Link that must stop Malladus from being resurrected. Being a new Hyrule, it bears little resemblance to earlier versions of Hyrule so it’s a brand new experience for everyone to enjoy.
6Lesser Hyrule
When The Legend of Zelda was introduced to the world in 1986, this was the first rendition of Hyrule that we got to see, and it has only been expanded upon since. That’s where the ‘lesser’ part comes from. It’s not a worse version of Hyrule,it’s just literally smaller.
While it must have seemed massive for the time, the Hyrule presented in the original Legend of Zelda is quite miniscule in regards to the greater landmass and is overall in ruins following Ganon’s domination of the land. Still, this early version of Hyrule, even in shambles, is a deeply memorable locale.
So small was this version of Hyrule that the entirety of it is presented as a small section of its sequel, The Adventure of Link.
5The Surface
History, despite never being the main focus of the games, is something that the Zelda fanbase has constantly clamored for. After decades of ignoring those calls, Nintendo launced Skyward Sword, the earliest point in the Zelda timeline that set everything in motion, and presented the earliest version of Hyrule as we know it.
In fact, this land was not even known as Hyrule, but more simple The Surface. It was a land with many denizens though little in terms of structured civilization. As such, it is untamed yet covered in primordial races and mystical phenomenon. Plenty of iconic locations are present, from Eldin Volcano to the Faron Woods, though seeing them pre-civilization is a tantalising experience.
4The Great Sea
tFlipping to the opposite end of the spectrum, Wind Waker offers us the opposite of a Hyrule pre-foundation, but one past the point of existence entirely. Aftera Great Flood destroys this kingdomto prevent the return of Ganondorf, only scant mountains remain as islands, and with the passage of time, most people forget than an old Hyrule even existed.
The Great Sea is a more somber version of Hyrule. One so drastically changed to the point of lacking any identifiable features, yet with the knowledge that this is indeed the Hyrule of old. Later in the game, you even visit the submerged Temple of Time to retrieve the Master Sword and see what scant buildings remain of this sunken kingdom.
3The Dark World
A Link To The Past was the first time the series introduced Hyrule in the more segmented regions that it became known for, as well as offering you the freedom to explore Hyrule in a more non-linear fashion. Yet a large scale Hyrule, even as detailed as this one was, had already been seen in The Adventure of Link. So how do you expand upon that?
With a mirrored version of it, of course. Entered through certain portals in the world, the Dark World was a malicious reflection of Hyrule, and all of its locations and people were twisted to show this. The Dark World was to the same scale as Hyrule as well, giving a world that was both massive and mirrored for you to explore simultaneously.
The Dark World is in lore said to be the Sacred realm corrupted by Ganon after he claimed the Triforce of Power.
2Lorule
At times, A Link Between Worlds is seen as the spiritual successor to A Link to the Past, in others a reboot, and to some a sequel. Regardless of your view, the world of Hyrule presented here is remarkably similar to that presented in A Link to the Past, and its version of the Dark World is no different.
The punnily-named Lorule is entered through cracks in the world of Hyrule, with Linktransforming into a paintingto enter them. Here, Lorule is not the malicious reflection of Hyrule, but another genuine land that became corrupted. To this end, the Triforce is returned to this land to allow it to return to its original splendor.
In Japan, A Link Between Worlds was literally called Triforce of the Gods 2, the Japanese title of A Link To The Past.
1Hyrule
How could it be anything else? While the land of Hyrule itself has been twisted and reformed, reinterpreted and reintroduced in many different forms, in plenty of different settings, none of them can hold a candle to the tried-and-true Hyrule that is most commonly seen in the series.
Be it the more grim version seen in Twilight Princess, the expansive plains of Breath of the Wild, or the rolling fields and connected corners of Ocarina of Time, the primary Hyrule always has its icons. Eldin Volcano peering from on high, Hyrule Field’s rolling hills, the quiet Kakariko Village. No matter how its presented, those bastions of familiarity make it feel like coming home.
