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TWWThe Wind WakerTWWHDThe Wind Waker HD

TheGreat Sea is a recurring location inThe Legend of Zelda series.^{(TWWThe Wind Waker)[1][name references needed]} InPhantom Hourglass, the Great Sea only makes an appearance during the introduction and ending sequences of the game.

In-game, the Great Sea is restricted to an area of 7x7 1000-unit squares, each containing an island of its own.

History and Mythology

Many years beforeThe Wind Waker begins, the land ofHyrule was flooded by theGods as a last resort to stopGanon's forces when theHero of Time did not return to destroy them. Its surviving people fled to the mountaintops and tried to restore their peaceful lives. These mountaintops became the many islands of The Great Sea. Many years passed, and the people forgot about the history of "Old" Hyrule, except as a bedtime story told to children, and in a coming-of-age ceremony for young boys.

The Great Sea is "illusory", and its waters from the heavens are different from Hyrule's native waters. Because of this, only monsters andFishmen are able to live in the Great Sea.^[2][3] It is because of these ethereal waters that theZora race had become theRito.^[4]

Governance

The majority of the islands in the Great Sea are actually uninhabited, meaning that no one governs them; neitherOutset Island norWindfall Island are governed officially, despite their dense population. OnlyDragon Roost Island (with aRito Chieftain and the Sky SpiritValoo),Forest Haven (with theGreat Deku Tree as the Earth Spirit), andGreatfish Isle (withJabun as the Sea Spirit) are known to have guardian deities. In addition, certain islands are owned by individual characters for private purposes.

Economy

Like in most lands in theZelda universe, and because of the fact that the Great Sea is born from Hyrule,Rupees are the means of currency, which is accepted in every inhabited island in the game. However, the economy is a bit more diverse than in the former land of Hyrule, given the different businesses run; for example,Traveling Merchants fuel trading sequences by selling their goods to travelers and also sending them to major shops and retails to give townspeople access to them. Auctions are run in Windfall Island every night, andBeedle's Shop Ship can be seen sailing around numerous islands as well.

Technology in the Great Sea

The weaponry in the Great Sea is more advanced than it was in Hyrule before its flood. Navigating across the waters areWarships capable of shooting at enemies from long distances. It's unknown whether these boats are piloted manually or work automatically (in the latter case, it would indeed prove how much advancement is shown in regards to technology in the Great Sea). Mounted in coral reefs and high platforms are cannons that can shoot bombs to distant enemies, and operate on their own.

Advanced tools and devices can be found as well, such as theTingle Tuner (which allows communication between the user andan assistant for various purposes), color-recordingPicto Boxes (used to take pictographs that become important forfigurine making), and pieces of ancient technology (as seen inTower of the Gods andWind Temple). Aside from this, it is unknown how much Hyrule had progressed in this aspect before being flooded, thus it is unknown how much was lost before the aforementioned divine intervention.

Geography

The Great Sea serves as theoverworld ofThe Wind Waker. Most of the islands in the Great Sea are quite small, with little intelligent life inhabiting them. The chief island is Windfall, which houses various shops and attractions, and has the only major human village, except for a small settlement on Outset Island, another important location. Aside from these islands, some of the more prominent ones in the Great Sea include:

• Dragon Roost Island, home of theRito tribe, where the Great Sea's main messenger company is located.
• Forest Haven, home of theKorok tribe, whose inhabitants are dedicated to traveling across the Great Sea to cultivate trees in order to create new forests.
• Forsaken Fortress, former home of a clan of pirates, and source of the evil present throughout the events ofThe Wind Waker.
• Greatfish Isle, formerly the home of numerous people and the Water Spirit Jabun, it is destroyed by Ganon at a point in the game.
• Tower of the Gods, hidden fortress said to wait for aHero to raise it from the Sea's depths.
• Headstone Island, which houses theEarth Temple where aSage prays to ensure the power of theMaster Sword to remain. It is located directly east of Outset.
• Gale Isle, which houses theWind Temple where aSage prays for the power of theMaster Sword to remain. It is located directly north of Windfall.

Among the remaining islands, abandonedtriangle-shaped isles, sacredseashell-shaped islands, giant reefs andarchipelagos adorn the vast territory of the Great Sea. Additionally, it is told byFishmen that other islands guard charts leading to the location ofsacred golden fragments referred to asTriumph Forks, as well as other legendary treasures (notably inFire Mountain,Ice Ring Isle andMother & Child Isles).

Population

There are many people in the Great Sea, but the main group isHylian. They live onWindfall Island andOutset Island, but some are also scattered around the Sea. TheRito live onDragon Roost Island with the Sky SpiritValoo, and theKoroks reside onForest Haven with theGreat Deku Tree.Gorons in this game are in the form ofTraveling Merchants. No signs of theKokiri or theZoras remain, as they gradually evolved into the aforementioned Korok and Rito, respectively. Also, a fish creature calledJabun, the aforementioned Water Spirit, is in this game, resemblingJabu-Jabu and theFishmen (the latter inhabiting the waters of the Sea). Finally, there is at least one group of pirates,Tetra's Pirate Crew, along with other seafarers, such as theSalvage Corp.

Enemies

A number of enemies are encountered solely or primarily on the Great Sea itself instead of inhabiting its islands:

• 

  Big Octo

• 

  Gyorg

• 

  Octorok

• 

  Seahat

• 

  Warship

Other Appearances

Trivia

• If Link decides to leave the Great Sea, the King of Red Lions prevents it by telling him that it is too dangerous and then turning around.^[5]

Nomenclature

Names in Other Regions
Language	Names
This table was generated from Zelda Wiki'stranslation data.

References

Islands inThe Wind Waker
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A B C D E F G Click on an island

• Locations in The Wind Waker
• Islands
• Great Sea
• Seas
• Locations
• Locations in The Wind Waker HD
• Locations in Phantom Hourglass

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