Take it Home, Sheik!
By Ice
We are now in the final few weeks before the release of Zelda 64, properly titled as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And because so much is known already, yet so little, I find myself pondering over one of the biggest mysteries of the game: a mystery Nintendo has had the decency to keep their mouth shut over. This mystery is, in fact, about Sheik: The Mysterious Harpist.
Now, over the past few months, we have had considerable info released on the game. And one of those little information "slips" was of the existence of Sheik, then known as the Mysterious Harpist. Many theories surfaced soon after that, and I am going to address those theories for the final time, since the game is so near completion.
The first and most obvious theory was that Sheik was an enemy, like some sort of boss character, in the game. However, official art from Nintendo showed Sheik fighting by Link's side, and in the various screen shots that we have of him, Sheik shows no sign of going against Link or even attacking him or plotting against him.
This fact, however, leads into a more recent theory. Perhaps Sheik is acting as Link's friend, and then he will turn on him later in the game? This is a very interesting and suggestive theory, but I find it to be highly unlikely. We have no information on this, however, so no one can be certain yet. This is still a possibility.
Then there is the theory that Sheik is actually Princess Zelda in disguise. Maybe she's hiding from Ganon? However, Sheik's body appears to be very masculine, but Zelda and Impa are both very skilled in magic, so really, this is still a possibility. But, knowing how Nintendo operates, I would rule this out completely.
Then came the very interesting theory formed by Jarrod Virani. The thought that perhaps The Mysterious Harper was a Link from the future, or maybe past. There are several editorials on this site discussing the matter, so I won't go into mush detail here. The fast that The Mysterious Harpist has a name (Sheik), and that merging two Links in one story would really confuse people, I would say that this is out of the question.
So, then, who IS Sheik? What is he/she? It looks like Nintendo has kept it's secret well. Which I am very thankful for. Zelda 64 is just a few measly weeks away from its release. Then, Sheik's story will be told. Then, this editorial will serve no purpose. Or will it? Years from now, it will be interesting to go back and look upon what we thought of this strange and mysterious character.
Staff Comments:
Dixon says: Well, here we are, late 1999, looking back at an old editorial, and Ice was right, it was fun to take a look at the old theories. Who would have thought that the theory Ice dismissed more than any other would be the one that was right? =)
Now we get to wonder what sort of mysterious characters will appear before Zelda: Gaiden, and what sort of theories will surround them. Interesting, to say the least...
