ECONOMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ZELDA UNIVERSE

 

This subject, is something that has come to my mind for the last few weeks, re-playing some of the older games and the new releases of Cadence of Hyrule and of course Age of Calamity, I would like to get to the Economy of the countries in the Legend of Zelda Universe.

For scale we will use the maximum amount of Rupees our hero can hold in each and every game.

We will start from the first game that we actually have an established Hyrule Kingdom (so Skyward Sword is out), where the maximum amount of Hyrulean Rupees is 999, let’s call it 1.000 so it will be easier for us in the future references.

So in the Newly established Hyrule, 1.000 Rupees is a great amount of money, making the holder of them, as rich as they can get.

Some years later, in Ocarina of Time, the richest Hyrulean can hold 500 Rupees. This means that a person can carry half the amount of Rupees compared to the Minish Cap Hyrule.

So what does that mean?

It means that with the prosperity of Hyrule and the unification of the Kingdom under one banner, the economy of Hyrule has prospered too, with the Hyrulean Rupee worthing now double the worth it used to.

 

THE OTHER COUNTRIES

Now, let’s visit first the rest of the countries that co-exist with Hyrule.

Termina for example seems to have also the same max capacity for Rupee-holding (500) but their prosperity in the economy side seems to be a little bit better than Hyrule’s because they have invented the banking system. Nowhere else in the lands of Zelda universe we have seen a banking system. Also the Economic prosperity of Termina might come from the tourist events and trading with Hyrule.

Labrynna and Holodrum from the other side don’t seem to be as powerful as Hyrule and Termina. The maximum capacity of Rupee-holding in those games is 999 (1.000 to make it easier) which means that a Hyrulean Rupee (from OoT era) worths as two Labrynnian or Holodrumian Rupees.

Also there is a country, that seems to have a great inflation problem. The small kingdom of Hytopia. There the maximum capacity of Rupees that a civilian can hold is 99.999 (100.000 to make the math easier). This means that a Hyrulean Rupee (from OoT era) worths as much as 200 Hytopian Rupees.

 

HYRULE’S ECONOMICAL FUTURE

Now looking into the future of Hyrule in the Parallel timelines.

Looking into the damaged Hyrule of Twilight Princess and the Child Timeline, it seems that Hyrulean’s Rupee worth has dropped back to Minish Cap era levels, with the maximum capacity of Rupees that a person can hold being the 1.000 (I am not counting the HD version for that).

In the adult timeline, the Great Sea Rupee has weakened compared to its predecessor. The maximum amount a person can hold in Wind Waker’s Great Sea region is 5.000 (A Great Sea Rupee of that region worths 10 Hyrulean Rupees of OoT era) and in the Phantom Hourglass’ Great Sea region it’s 9.999 (10.000 to make the math easier) meaning that a Great Sea Rupee of that region worths 20 Hyrulean Rupees of OoT era.

Moving into the New Hyrule (Spirit Tracks), the Rupee is still weak, with the maximum amount a person can hold is 9.999 like the Great Sea Region of Phantom Hourglass.

Into the Fallen Timeline now, things are getting tricky. In a Link to the Past version of Hyrule, Rupee has dropped back to its first state, meaning that a person can hold 999 (1.000) Rupees as a maximum amount. Moving into A Link Between Worlds, Hyrulean Rupee worth gets dropped down x10, since a person can carry around 9.999 (10.000) Rupees.

And this is where things get tricky.

In the Original Legend of Zelda Hyrule, a person can hold around 255 Rupees… That means a Rupee worths double the amount of the OoT era Hyrulean Rupee right? Weeeeell no..

In the Original Legend of Zelda Hyrule Kingdom, isn’t a Kingdom anymore. Only some ruins remain around that area, making Rupees impossible to find. That makes a Rupee double its worth, not because it’s a part of a great economy, but because of the rarity to find one in the shadows of a Kingdom that used to be.

We are closing our reference with the latest version of Hyrule in the newly created unified timeline. Breath Of the Wild’s Hyrule. There, after Calamity stroke against the Kingdom, a maximum amount of Rupees a person can carry is… 999.999 (1.000.000 to make it easier) making this version of Hyrule, the poorest version the Kingdom has ever been.

 

Although all the above are just my theory of how the economy of Zelda Universe works. I didn’t look (for now) deeper than that, comparing prices of items and maybe I will in the future, but I would like your opinion about these stuff too.

 

TILL THE NEXT TIME, KEEP SAFE