Plot Twist: Revali is such a cocky chicken because he thinks he's a direct descendant of the red loftwing. Little does he know he's a direct descendant of Groose's.

*World floods* Fish people: We need to become birds!

Honestly, if Zora can "devolve" into monsters in the Dead Hero Timeline, then majestic giant birds can evolve into bird people. I like!

One more evidence: The Rito's symbol in BotW is very similar to the Loftwing on the Hylian Shield.

Rito being evolved from zora and there still being zora at the same time is actually not a contradiction. You would get that if the zora split into two isolated populations and one population evolved into rito and the other population remained zora.

I like to think that Revali is a distant descendant of Groose's loftwing lol since they look fairly similar Also a great theory!

In actual evolution species branch off from each other like how the river Zora and the Sea Zora could end up drastically different.

Better sit down, here comes a hot take: Maybe, just maybe, Nintendo doesn't give a damn about continuity as much as fans think, and with BotW specifically, they didn't want to bother adhering to the timeline anymore, so they just took whatever races and other assets they liked from every timeline.

Rito could be descended from Zora without Zora going extinct, just sayin'

Did he just "If humans come from apes why are there still apes" but with Zora and Rito?

What if the wind tribe are just people who didn’t want to leave the sky’s in skyward sword?

Alternate theory: the people that stayed back in Skyloft became later on the wind tribe. Over the years, the wind tribe starts to become more bird like, eventually evolving into the Rito. Afterall, the windwaker rito need a dragon scale to actually grow wings. We never see any Rito in the other timelines because the wind tribe just stayed in skyloft or the sky temple. Maybe in windwaker the zora just went missing due to the abundance of water, and the rito became more their spiritual successors as sages, instead evolving from fish to bird.

Can I just say: I love Breath of the Wild’s art style so much!!

I'm glad that someone is *finally* making a video on this

Here's an idea for why there's not even a trace of a bird-like tribe in many of the other games: They live in places outside Hyrule like the Watarara from the Ocarina of Time manga.

This is like asking "why do monkeys and humans exist at the same" that's just how evolution works

*World Floods* Zora: OH SHIT WE GOTTA EVOLVE INTO BIRDS INSTEAD OF ADAPTING TO SALT WATER.

How I see it, it can be that the Loftwings splitted up into 2 groups: the Oocca from Twilight princess, and the Rito in Breath of the Wild. The Loftwings could've splitted into those 2 groups when some went back to the sky, while some stayed at the surface. EDIT: I was just thinking, if this evolution theory is true, what if Revali is one of the descendants of Link's Loftwings? Or could Teba be a descendant, or both?

Skyloft: Returns to the ground Loft wings: BRB gotta go evolve into bird people

If you think about Zeltik's theory on how BoTW and it's sequel take place in the child timeline, you could make a theory that some of the loftwings stayed in the sky and became the Uca and some of them became the Rito, just in time to show up before BoTW takes place

Honestly as interesting a theory as this one is, it seems more likely that Zoras from another Country or place like the "Great Bay" migrated or fleed to Hyrule, unchanged by the circumstances of an immense flood. As for the Rito an inevitable evolution of Zoras in the occurrence of a great flood elsewhere could be the cause through migration or other outside circumstances hense fourth bringing both Species to be found in Hyrule eventually in every timeline.

Why does Zora evolving into Rito mean *all* Zora did? I always figured *some* did, like in WW, I figured there were still Zora somewhere in the world, just the ones who stayed on that island evolved (which is pretty accurate towards real world closed of species). I mean, are you telling me the downfall timeline swamp thing Zora evolved *back* into the dainty lil fishfolk we see in BotW? I'm not saying the Loftwing-Rito connection is impossible, just saying evolution isn't mutually exclusive

Ok so hear me out: The fact that Ritos are descendants of the Zoras is a misconception. When Ritos were introduced in Wind Waker, they were already living at the same time as the zoras, the later having been wiped out by Ganon recently before you arrive to Greatfish Island (literally what Quill/KoRL tell you) Upon arrival at Greatfish Island KoRL says: "...We are too late. I knew we had precious little time, but I never suspected how little... A great water spirit named Jabun once lived here, but no sign of him remains... " Emphasis on the "little time" not "eons long enough for evolution to take place" Also, when Aonuma mentioned in an interview that "Ritos are the evolution of the Zoras" it was meant from an artistic/char design/gameplay point of view, not a lore perspective. The meaning has been made more ambiguous in the translation to english leading to the misconception. I don't get why people are so attached to this evolution idea. It has never been a thing and will never be one.

All humans originally had dark skin when they were in Africa. When some migrated to cloudy areas they lost pigmentation and hair grew straight for cover from the cold. These humans now exist, but so do humans with darker skin and tight coiley hair. Perhaps this is what happened with the Zoras and Ritos. They both stem from the same origin and live simultaneously based on climate. In anthropology we refer to this as clines.

When I was growing up playing Zelda, I used to wonder if there were some sort of continuity or if Nintendo doesn't care...they just wanna make great games It's like how the Simpsons is almost as old as the Zelda series & it's contradicted itself several times over the years

Hyrule Gamer: Fast forward to the next game, the Minish Cap, where we can find out a mysterious secret. *ad plays* Perfect timing.

I really like this idea. I always assumed the Rito from BOTW evolved from the fresh water Zora, that we've known of in previous games. The Zora found in BOTW are, likely, the salt water, more of a kin to Majora's Mask type of Zora.

My whole take on the Rito and Zora being together was that at some point in the the other timeline that a group of Zora split from the main group and underwent similar experience that the adult timeline went through and became Rito, enough time have passed for it to be possible.

I still like my theory where a group of Zora's mated with Loftwings.

My most favorite theory imo is that in Breath of the Wild, all timelines merged into one. An indication for that is the game Hyrule Warriors because in that game the three split timelines after the the Ocarina of Time event (Defeat of the Hero Timeline, Child Timeline and Adult Timeline) merged into one timeline. Link in Hyrule Warriors had a blue scarf which kind of resembled the champion's tunic from Breath of the Wild so it could be an indication that Breath of the Wild happens thousands of years after the Hyrule Warriors event. And because the timelines merged into one timeline the Zora and the Rito exist in the same universe

I feel like that there were once *two* Zora tribes and one of them was forced to evolve.

For adult timeline, after the flood receded, i wanna believe some Zorito as i call them, went back to the safer waters and de-volved back into original form, while others stayed among the skies and evolved farther bird features

Another thing to take into account when comparing the Rito from Botw and from ww is that in botw each of their large hand feathers acts as a finger, meaning that bones go through them which distinguish them from actual birds. Since the loftwings from skyward sword do not have this feather-finger thing, I believe that the Rito from Botw are a kind of human-bird crossbreed. This has evolutionary similarity to real life, as ancient homo erectus tribes which came into contact with homo sapien tribes were still compatible for reproduction, thus accounting for homo erectus DNA in some ethnicities today. While birds are very different from humans, there is the possibility that it wasn't the loftwings which crossbred with the Hylians, rather the wind tribe.

I'm really glad that you dedicated an entire video to this. More people should be talking about this theory, because it makes so much sense. Personally, I've believed that the BotW Rito are the descendants of the Loftwings ever since it was first revealed that the Rito and Zora would both appear in the same game. I think that the reason the Rito in Breath of the Wild and the Rito in Wind Waker are both called the "Rito" is because the word "rito" might mean "bird" in some form of the Hylian language.

In WW, the goddesses transformed the Zora into the Rito so they couldn't find the flooded Hyrule, and perhaps over time the Rito started reverting back into Zora again since they were only transformed to protect the lost kingdom of Hyrule. After WW there would no longer be a reason to keep the now Ritos away so eventually Ritos started birthing Zora children and then over time there were only Zoras. I like the idea of the Loftwings being the ancestors to BotW's Rito. Perhaps these Rito are also a product of the goddesses' intervention, but instead of transforming Zora into Rito, they transformed the Loftwings and sent them from wherever they went after SS and had them live in Hyrule as the new Rito.

I remember you discussing this idea during a stream! Glad to see the final product! :D AND HOLY CRAP! Did NOT see that shout out coming!!!

It's magic! HG I LOVE YOU

The wind tribe: upgrade The air nomads: pure perfection 👌

I have always wondered about this myself and am happy you made this video. Great video my guy

Another great video! Great job Hyrule gamer!

I expect that you're correct that the Loftwings evolved into the Rito of Breath of the Wild (they could have potentially even interbred with the Rito from Wind Waker). However, I've always thought that not every person in Skyloft would have necessarily moved to the surface; I expect that those who stayed above became the Wind Tribe (or some who came to the surface returned to the sky to become them), and those in the clouds eventually became the Oocco

Nintendo says that botw takes place after all timelines! Does anyone remember a couple years back Nintendo stating that botw has nothing to do with Wind Waker?

Another great thought provoking theory! I always get excited whenever you post your Zelda theories and I always like to hear what others think when it comes to certain aspects seen in Zelda. I know for that people have speculated the connection between the Loftwings an the Ooca, as well as the Wind Tribe shown in Minish Cap, but I never thought about there being a connection between the Wind Tribe and the BOTW Rito to be a thing.

This makes so much more sense than anything else I've EVER heard. (On this topic.) Well done.

I find a small issue with the theory about them not being able to evolve from the Zora in the child Wind Waker timeline. The Zora evolved into 2 forms, & is repeatedly supported in the game when sailing. You have the Rito evolution, but then there's the fish that can give you hints if you throw bait into the water near one jumping close to one of the islands.

Finally this video was very needed

Glad to see you made a video about this. Very nice!

I actually was thinking about this the other night while having trouble sleeping. What if the Zora in WW were told to go to the mountain tops by the king/goddesses to keep them alive and safe, where the goddesses intended to turn them into bird people, at least temporarily. What if the majority of them did and we're turned into humanoid bird people, and some didn't and thought that fish people would be fine in a sea, only to be turned into the fish that give link his maps as punishment for not listening? Then those rito, being more humanoid at that point, either die off, breed in with hylians and become human, or are returned to zora shape. And the map fish become either regular fish or earn their zora forms by helping ww link? The wind tribe could be a loftwing example of the same thing. Some of them became humanoid (the wind tribe) and died out for not listening to the goddesses, and the rest became the bird people we know as rito in botw. Or maybe the two types of rito bred together to become what we know now? after all, the rito and zora in botw DO seem to have the same physical proportions as the rito in ww don't they? long torso, long arms, tiny legs in comparison to the rest of them... they certainly seem like they came from the same base race don't they??

Well... the Zora and Rito existed at the same time in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, some Zora just chose not to be evolved.

Yes thanks for this video, i got very confused why these two the Rito and the Zora in the same game.

Weren’t those fish-like enemies in Hour Glass and Phantom Tracks technically an offshoot of the Ruto? The ones who jump up from the water, can shoot fire, and normally use a sword and wooden shield. Now yes, Hourglass is in a different world, but Phantom Tracks still is within the same world as Hyrule and did sport those enemies if memory serves me right.

Awesome Video HG!

The timeline literally ruins everything

Finally! An I've had this question for so long.

In WW it was stated that the Rito need one of Valoo's scales to "evolve" wings.(literally the exact wording used) If we take that at face value, it could mean that the first few Zora to become rito, were Zoras that somehow came into contact with Valoo. But I don't believe ALL Zora evolved but rather some went into hiding just like the Gorons. The only Gorons we ever see are the merchants who came from a faraway land. Anyways if Valoos scale is that effective then it's possible it can be used on other races as well (which might explain the postmans descendant we see) Now it's true we don't see Valoo in other timelines, but to be fair we don't see the deku tree or koroks/kokiri in other timelines either. It's also possible that the Zora we see are actually from termina. Also, wind wakers Rito could just as easily evolve into their more birdlike appearance, just like how Zora changed to include more color variations and head shapes, giving them a more fish like appearance than ever before as well.

This theory is so amazing! It makes so much sense! Love it for sure

So there are the loftwing rito, or the "lorito" and the zora rito, or "zorrito"... *laughs in Spanish*

BotW is a game in the merged timeline following Hyrule Warriors. Duh.

Watching after TOTK, I think we could be seeing one of the DLC delving deeper into what it means for Zelda to be the sage of time. In other continuities, other Zeldas had training. Usually by Impa. Mineru makes a point to say sages still have to develop their power. Zelda's path and growth in this incarnation is perhaps healing the timelines of possible damage. She wouldn't know about the original split, but she does know about her own impact. The memories do seem to hint that Queen Sonia had been giving her some training with time powers. Starting with her surprised by Sonia's nonchalant use of rewind on the teacup fastforward to Zelda & Sonia confronting the imposter together. We don't really get anything further expanding. The other sages regard her as the Sage of Time, and that was her role in the imprisoning war. But what exactly did that entail? Now that Impa has officially retired as chief of Kakariko, is this when she takes up a role as an advisor?

I feel blessed I found your channel. Thank you. ✨

I was gonna say what about the bird tribes in the ocarina of time manga but the manga isn’t canon TwT also they’re not called ritos in the manga they’re a different race, which is interesting and would love to see in a Zelda game.

Didn’t some of the Zora “mutate” into the Rito in Wind Waker? Edit: I didn’t watch the video yet

Amazing vid! I completely love this theory and I feel that there is a LOT of evidence to back it up. Could it also be like how we were evolved from like monkeys and apes (sorry if my terms are wrong) and we exist alongside them? Like maybe some zora evolved but some didn’t?

Cool video man! I personally think its just that some of the Zora evolved into rito and some stayed as zora. It's like the Darwin thing with the two groups of the same species of birds that when living in separate regions, evolved differently from eachother. Also u could explain not seeing the Zora in wind waker by the fact that they could have been living somewhere underwater that you couldn't explore in game. But they say breath of the wild is probably in its own timeline anyway. IDK. But that's my theory on it! 😁 I actually never played skyward sword :( but ur loft wing theory makes a lot of sense

It’s totally possible that some zora went on land and evolved to rito and some Zora stayed in the water. I mean, chimps and humans live side by side, despite us evolving from them.

Personally I always thought that when the three timelines re-merged, elements of all three timelines merged together, which would explain why they both exist in the same era (timey-wimey stuff). It would also explain why elements of all three timelines are remembered and referenced in BotW, if the timelines slowly merged in a way that all the sentinient beings weren’t aware. Which would potentially be why no one realises some past events that are referenced conflict with each other.

Another thing that sorta supports this is the owl in ocarina of time, the loftwings might have started their evolution but been stunted or delayed by the timeline split ending with the eventual Rito tribe in breath of the wild if you think about it the owl can speak is a large bird an watched over link through his journey as if send by the goddess Hylia.. it might be a stretch but there is a smidge of a connection I feel.

Awesome Video Bro!

*Cough* downfall zoras did evolve

For first time I’m one of the first :3

I would like make two points, both from Majora's Mask. #1- The Zora have underwater cities in the ocean already and they have gills so they could live there indefinitely. #2- I always fought that The Rito where the unnamed fifth race from Majora's Mask, there are several statues of Men with bird's faces, mind you they were in a ruined state so.

That make sense dude. Keep up with the Wonderful Theory :D

Some Zora evolved into Rito and some didn’t, so they now live side by side, it’s kinda that simple

1st

You guys are on fire. Love it here!!

In breath of the wild there’s a little girl that asks you to make a barrel lift using octorok balloons, she references the loft wings, and the forgotten temple has carvings of the loftwings on its walls

How are you

Hoi

I had not even considered Minish Cap’s Wind Tribe’s relation to the Loftwings and Skyloft! Great point! It’s easy to miss these potential connections since the games are so spread out. Very astute!

Great video, but just a quick correction: there are carvings of loftwings on the architecture found in Botw; they can be found on the walls of the Forgotten Temple and, at least I'm pretty sure, in the Lanaryu Promenade as well.

I’m good

Couple of points on this overall theory. First the idea on your previous video about Loftwings turning into the Occa could be very true still, as their home would very much be the remains of Skyloft. Now expanding on the first point you had a theory that the wind tribe of minish cap could have been an evolutionary point for the Loftwings as well but that would be extremely unlikely from a lore stand point, and more likely the source of the "human" features of the Occa as a hybrid race between Loftwings and Hylians. Second Zora and Rito could very likely exist alongside each other during Wind Waker, as there are two types of Zora, River Zora and Ocean Zora. While the evolutionary model doesn't make as much sense the Ocean Zora could have turned into the Fishmen of Wind Waker while River Zora turned into Rito. Third Point point ties back into the first Occa were quasi-humanoids in a chicken version of a mermaid, and thus could have been early stages of the transition for pure bird, of the Loftwings to the humanoid Rito, for the majority of possible Rito out there while some even if we never see them could be more "human" in features as decedents of the Wind Waker Rito among that side of the timeline split. Though this all assumes BotW is just an inevitable conclusion of the timelines to that chronological point in history making it so BotW has three separate worlds for the timeline split, instead of the stable cascade of the three timelines to merge back together.

My personal headcanon for the timeline, is that the Calamity that takes place 10,000 years before breath of the wild and which the sheikah had to build the Divine Beast , was caused by demise trying to avoid his ultimate defeat by pulling all 3 versions of himself at the point of their defeats in the different timelines. Back together as one. Making him whole oh, and granting him the powers and abilities of the three various timeline gannon's. However doing so also forced the timelines themselves to merge into one, causing a great calamity when locations people and items from all three merged into one reality. This explains why we have lynels from the hero's downfall alongside the Rito from Wind Waker. And why locations from all three timelines are all over the place but scattered and out of place in breath of the Wild. Forcing the three goddesses to intervene to keep the world from being completely destroyed by merging it the rest of the way into what we see today. That's just my personal headcanon but it would make sense considering how things from different timeline splits all seem to be in the same game. Plus it explains why the Calamity was so disastrous and why they had to go over the top with gigantic Guardian beasts and an army of Guardian robots in order to fight Ganon, he was just that powerful that it required that much of an effort after merging with all three of his selves.

Me: No one mentions the Royal Crest having a Loftwing on it! HG: *suddenly mentions it as the only thing about loftwing since* I give you props good sir. Not only did you read my mind FROM THE PAST IN A CURRENT VIDEO, but you also mentioned that very thing that no one else did.

YES! In my version of this theory, there are two groups of humans after Skyward Sword: those who settled on the surface and founded Hyrule, and those who returned to (or stayed in) the sky. The latter become the wind tribe, and then eventually the Oocca. In the adult timeline the Zora evolve into Rito with Valoo’s help, but after the ocean drains out leading to BotW they don’t need their wings, and stop getting scales from Valoo, and evolve back into Zora. Meanwhile the loftwings become the more bird like Rito. In any other timeline it’s the same but without the Zora evolving.

Super happy you brought Up the wind tribe from the minish cap I feel like a lot of details and lore from minish cap just get thrown off the cliff a lot. like how the legendary sword from it just disappeared. In BOTW though I always though the zora looked a bit like the sharks from Wind waker.

Great video HG.

In the Latin Spanish version of BotW, when Link remembers Revali and the scene is played, instead of just saying "I forgot you have no way of making it to that Divine Beast on your own" he adds "Want a ride?" Obviously with the sarcastic tune in his voice, but that could be another reference of the Rito's past in Hyrule's history...

I feel like its worth mentioning that the loftwings are referenced on the lanayru promenade on the walls and/or pillars of the ruins...

I always just assumed this to be true, but you bring up some good points i never even thought about.

Crispy theory and that intro never gets old I know why I don't I like the sound of the twilight portals.

7:07 There is a Rito-like creature in the downfall timeline, and Fokka Knights of the Great Palace in Zelda 2.

Breath of the Wild references Skyward Sword with the ballon girl Shamae at the Woodland Stable, who 'dreams of an island in the sky where people used to ride around on big birds' and says that these stories have faded into legend over time.

Awesome video! Good points. I have a different theory I think you should go over, it’s that ganondorf was in control of calamity Ganon this whole time, even while he is in his sealed state he has control of his malice via telepathy. If you take a close look at the botw 2 trailer you’ll notice that our ganondorf is wearing a headpiece and on the headpiece is a red jewel, the very same “jewel” is on the Calamity Ganons head in the same relative spot. If you’re interested lol

Ok, since we got the first glimpses of the Rito in BotW, I thought that they may be descendants of the Loftwings and not the Zora. I wrote a huge essay about it over on my Amino page. Also, there ARE other Ritos in the Zelda timeline. The owl in Links Awakening has to be a Rito and kaepora gaebora (rauru) also takes the form of a Rito - he even has a lot of similarities to the Rito elder in BotW. I believe that when Valoo gave the Zora wings to survive the flood, he named them Rito because they became similar to an already existing tribe and when the floods receded, valoo stoped their forced evolution and they reverted back. Just because you don’t see a tribe EVERYWHERE in the game doesn’t mean they don’t exist in the world. Take the sheikah for example. Every past Zelda game said that Impa was the last Sheikah but lo and behold, there she was in the next game claiming to be the last. But they’re the shadow clan. They WANT you to think they don’t exist so they can work in the shadows without anyone noticing them. You see the sheikah eye on various individuals in TP but they don’t claim to be sheikah but we can suspect that they are. They only came out in the open in BotW and stoped being a shadow clan because the royal family and hyrule 10,000 years ago became afraid of their power and magic which also caused the sheikah/ yiga split. So yes, I believe the Rito descend from the loftwings but have definitely, always existed in the Zelda world and have no genealogical link to the Zora at all.

Gasp! You found my comment on the video where you talked about "what ever happen to the birds from that game" I remember 🧐

The Timeline that explains both creatures exist together is games in the Downfall Timeline: Adventures of Link and Oracles of Ages. LoZ 2 had bird-like warriors that appeared as enemies and Orcale of Ages had the sea/OOT Zoras.

It would also make sense just before the split time lines, since the first individual you meet on Hyrule Field at Ocarina of Time is a talking Owl, very similar to the leader of the Rito in Breath of the Wild.

I like this Theory it is very possible another possible theory is what if they both originated from the same species but one is an offshoot tribe that went off and develop in their own way

What about the bird people in the sky in Twilight Princess ? They exist with the zoras too.