The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out in 1998 on the Nintendo 64. It was acclaimed, and still is by many, as the best game of the series. It featured everything you wanted in a game: a good story, great characters, some awesome mechanics, impressive dungeons, and a beautiful soundtrack.

However, the game was supposed to be a lot bigger than it ended up being. There were so many rumors about what was supposed to be in the game but were never found: finding the Triforce, a temple of air and a temple or earth — even an expansion was even planned at some point. Yet, none of these things happened because the cartridge couldn't hold all the data for what the creators had in mind. Thus plot holes were left behind as the remnants of what could have been there.

However, there are also other plot holes that probably would have been present with the game being as complete as Nintendo first wanted it to be. These narrative holes ended up being found by the players, bringing to the world a plethora of fan theories to fill these empty parts of the story.

Though Ocarina of Time offers an incredible narrative, there are many details that either don't add, or are absent, or could have made the game even better if they would have been exploited a little. This is what we are going to look into today, as I present you with 15 major plot holes in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

15 Link's Parents

Ocarina of Time gives the player very little information concerning the Hero of Time's parents. What we know, is that Link’s nameless and injured mother fled from Castle Town with her infant son in her arms. All she managed to do before passing away was to present her baby to the Great Deku Tree, disclosing his identity at the same time.

And this is all we know.

Truth is, I've always wondered who Link's parents really were. If you look into the Triforce's story, it is said that those who receive a piece of Triforce have got to be part of the Royal Family of Hyrule. Unless you touch the Triforce, in the Sacred Realm.

Link receives the Triforce. This means that he's part of the Royal Family of Hyrule. Maybe he is Zelda's cousin? So, would one of Link's parents be the uncle/aunt of Princess Zelda?

14 Why Is The Temple Of Time Not A Dungeon?

In terms of plot holes, this is one of the biggest of the game. The Temple of Time is, by far, the most important landmark of the entire kingdom. It holds the Master Sword, which is the key to the Sacred Realm.

Yet, other items that are important enough, but never as nearly important as the Master Sword and the access to the Sacred Realm, are hidden in labyrinth-like dungeons (like the grappling hook in the Water Temple). We do know that the Temple of Time was supposed to be a dungeon, but ended up being ditched because there wasn't enough space on the cartridge.

13 Dark Link: Where Does He Come From?

Dark Link has been present since the beginning of the Zelda series, with his first appearance in the Adventure of Link, as the final boss. It is believed that Dark Link is the evil reflection of Link, and to prove his worth as a Hero, and the purity of his soul, he must defeat the Evil within himself.

So really, does Dark Link exist? Most will believe that he's been sent by Ganondorf to shed Link's blood. But what if he's not sent by the Evil Lord, but is a fight that Link has with his own self? After all, Dark Link does appear inside a room of illusion, with mirror-like water and surroundings. Can we really be sure that this fight happens for real, or is it a way to show that the protagonist has conquered his evil side in order to be the Hero that Hyrule need?

12 Why Is Ganondorf Allowed To Go Into Hyrule's Castle And Meet The King?

A terrible war ruined Castle Town and killed people in Hyrule was led by non-other than our favorite Evil Lord, Ganondorf. Ten years later or so, who do we see meeting with Zelda's dad (the king of Hyrule), Ganondorf. Now, it is very likely that the King was also the one on the Throne when that terrible war mentioned earlier occurred, since it happened about ten years before the game.

This being clear: why is Ganondorf allowed in Hyrule's Castle? That guy created a war, attacked the people of Hyrule, and killed quite a few of them, and you receive him in your court? What is wrong with Zelda's dad? This, obviously, does not make sense. Not even in Game of Thrones, woul you see a monarch receiving such an enemy in his court seemingly unescorted. This is a big fail.

11 Ganondorf And The Gerudos

That is something that has gotten on my nerves many times before: how come a matriarchal society which is constituted at 99% by women have a man as their King? The Gerudos are a strong, fierce and proud population of the Desert, who are known to be thieves. They apparently have a single male baby every hundred years or so, and this baby becomes King. Usually, the government represents its people. However, in the Gerudo's case, it's the absolute opposite.

Also, the Gerudos are good thieves, remember? Yet, they always seem to guard empty rooms... What does that tell you? Someone is taking what they steal from them. Given the fact that Ganondorf is known to be power-lusty and as evil as possible, I think it would be safe to assume that he's basically using his whole people to do his dirty deeds. But then again, we'll never know.

10 Zelda's Gender

Sheik is a tough-as-nails character who appears to be a small-framed, and effeminate man. That character is enigmatic, and is beautifully designed by Nintendo. The player, and Link as well, are drawn to him. However, we are shocked when he reveals that he's, in fact, Princess Zelda in disguise.

Something bothered me about this for so long: Zelda is so much more interesting as Sheik than she is as "herself."

My impression is that Zelda is at least non-binary. When Sheik returns to being Zelda, it’s almost as if she's playing a role and being bad at it. Frankly, the character having such a dramatic change in personality doesn't make sense. Either this is a gaping plothole or just miserable writing.

9 Link's Adolescence

Boy falls asleep at 10-11 years old. He wakes up, he's 17-18. Now, this is a recipe for drama. Adolescence is a very important moment for a person. It defines their identity, their personality, and it changes the body to define one's biological gender more clearly.

Now, imagine skipping all these changes and waking up one morning with a child's mind into a grown person's body? Link skips his adolescence, and this might explain why he seems so oblivious to the numerous times he's being flirted with, for example. The plot hole here is in the way Nintendo does not address the psychological issue of Link's childish mind into his adult body. It's a big plot hole, as this is very likely to create a great psychological distress in the protagonist. Had this been addressed, Link wouldn’t seem like such an empty shell.

8 Why Ganondorf Didn't Kill Link When He Was Put To Sleep?

If that is not the biggest plot hole of the game, I don't know what is. When Link opens the Door of Time and gets the Master Sword from its pedestal, Ganondorf follows him and enters the Sacred Realm. That's when Link is put to sleep for seven years, and when Ganondorf gets ahold of the Triforce of Power.

At that point, Ganondorf knew very well that Link was the Hero of Time, and his nemesis. So the question is: why didn't he kill the sleeping Hero in the Sacred Realm while he could? Was it some disturbed and sick game Ganondorf wanted to play with Link once he'd be back? Was Ganondorf so drunk with power that he felt unreachable by Link? Answering these questions would have added depth to the game. However, Nintendo never realized their mistake concerning this storyline, making it a huge plot hole.

7 Gore In The Shadow Temple: Slaughter Of The Sheikahs

"Shadow Temple... Here is gathered Hyrule's bloody history of greed and hatred..."

This quote made the hairs on my arms raise each and every time I read it on the screen, as I played and replayed Ocarina of Time over the years. We've come to know that the Kakariko village used to belong to the Sheikahs people, and that the only remaining Sheikah - Impa - now serves the Royal Family of Hyrule.

The Shadow Temple is a gore fest. It's filled with ReDeads and other undeads, torture devices, and bloody things. It's almost like this was the Temple of the Sheikahs, and when the Hylians took over, they exterminated most of them, and kept a few ones as slaves... It would have been amazing if the creators of the game would have taken a little more time to delve into the darkness of this temple and its history.

6 Gerudo Generations Make No Sense

As I've mentioned earlier in this list, the Gerudos are a very different population in Hyrule. When they have a King, we assume he's the prime maker of babies for his entire people. But what about the rest of the time? The answer might be in the game, for once. Before heading to the Spirit Temple, Link has got to discover the Gerudo Fortress, and that requires of him to save a bunch of carpenters who wanted to have fun with the Gerudos. It turned out to be a bad idea.

What the game doesn't tell, but what a bunch of players assumed, was that these men were in for more than what they bargained for. They were about to serve as baby-making machines for the Gerudos, but Link saved them before they would meet their terrible fate… Or maybe this is just another plot hole.

5 What's The Story Of The Master Sword?

The Master Sword is the most important item in the game, probably even more than the Ocarina of Time, as it opens the door to the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce is hidden. We understand it's a very important piece of lore, as it is hidden behind the Door of Time, which can only be opened by the Ocarina of Time, once the three stones are placed upon their pedestal... It seems to me that it's awfully complicated to get to that sword that has no backstory whatsoever!

Why does the Master Sword "smite" evil? How does it recognize what is evil? How was it forged? Why is it tied so tightly to the Sacred Realm? Why does it can only be wielded by the Hero of Time? The game does not answer to these questions. We are left to wonder what is the Master Sword?

4 What Happened To Malon During Those 7 Years?

We meet the happy ginger-haired farmer girl when Link is still a child in the Ocarina of Time's timeline. The next time we see her, is when Link is an adult, and things changed for her.

First, her father gets expelled from his own ranch, and has to live like a homeless man. It's his employee, Ingo, who actually kicked him out. But to add insult to the injury, he kept Malon with him, enslaving the young girl to the ranch, making her work 'round the clock.

But if Malon had only worked all these years, it wouldn't be too bad. However, we know that Ocarina of Time is a dark game, and that has got some players consider this period of her life a major omission from the game's plot. Clearly, if you use your imagination, it's obviousl Malon would be relatively scarred following years of being captured.

3 How And Why Do ReDeads Come Back To Life?

There are a lot of creatures in Ocarina of Time who are out to get and kill you. But the ReDeads are a different breed. They are found in dark places, which are often associated with graves. They wear a wooden mask. The places where the player meets them, and the wooden mask they wear seem to indicate that Hyrule has precise burial rites. However, the player receives no further information concerning this.

This brings us to the how and why they come back to life? Hyrule seems to have a culture surrounding magical masks (not as much as in Termina, though). This said, are the burial masks meant to bring back ReDeads to life eventually? Do Hylians believe in reincarnation and perform rites to bring their deads back to life? Sadly, we cannot tell because this is a plot hole.

2 Where Do The Other Populations Of Hyrule Come From?

Who was in Hyrule first, the Hylians, or the other people? In Ocarina of Time, there are plenty of other races than your traditional white-elf guys. May they be rock-eating Gorons, fish-like Zoras, or never-aging Kokiris, or if they are part of Hyrule just as much as Link's own people, the Hylians.

The land of Hyrule seems filled with history. However, this history fails to mention why these other nations are living in the kingdom. Did they arrive after the Hylians and decided to become part of the Golden Kingdom? Did the Hylians conquer them? If we compare them to what the Sheikahs had to endure, at the very least, they are much luckier. Yet, their history seems to be of little importance to the dominating Hylian race. Is Ocarina of Time somewhat about colonialism? We will probably never know.

1 Grog, The Creepy Guy With A Tragic Life

Many NPCs in the Zelda series have a sad life, or sadder death. The games are often dark, even if they do look otherwise. However, one NPC whose fate seems more terrible than the others is Grog. When you meet him the first time, at night, when Link is still a child, he says that people, and his parents, are disgusting. You won't see him again until much later, when Link is an adult. You find Grog in the Kokiri Forest, sleeping on the ground, and he gives Link some magical mushroom before disappearing and getting lost in the woods, eventually becoming a Stalfos.

What was going on with Grog? Was he a tragic figure of what happens to kids who are abused? We know that a lot of them never completely heal from these treatments, often leading to substance abuse, depression, and much worse. It's a brutal notion.