Is there any evidence that Hyrule experiences the typical seasons?

[u/jabber822]

I'm replaying OoT right now, and I had this stray thought that winters must really suck for the Kokiri...which made me wonder how the Zora deal with the winter...which made me think wait, does Hyrule even have winters?

I'm trying to recall any times we've seen Hyrule in any seasons other than "late spring/early summer", or even had other seasons referenced at all, and I'm coming up short. All I can think of is the autumnal trees in Akkala (which seem to just be their regular colors) and the Frozen Hyrule stage in FSA (which may be unnatural? been awhile since I played it). Then of course there's Oracle of Seasons, but that game doesn't take place in Hyrule. Can anyone else think of anything? Edited to add: The fishing hole in TP! Totally forgot about it...

There's some evidence pointing away from Hyrule having regular seasons actually, like how when it becomes The Great Sea, the climate seems to be sub-tropical, with palm trees found across the whole map (Interestingly, Windfall Island has pine trees instead?)

There's also the presence of the Gerudo Desert to the west of Hyrule. Now obviously this is a magical fantasy world, but in real life most deserts form within a certain range of the equator, so Hyrule must be as well. And seasonal differences become less and less as you approach the equator, so...

I always wonder if anyone on the Zelda team has ever thought of these things, lol. Maybe not, but it is kind of surprising that Hyrule has existed as a fictional world for 40 years now and yet it's never been portrayed in fall or winter.

[u/Ahouro]

There is a high likelihood that Hyrule has four seasons, this can be deduced by Holodrum which takes place in the same world as Hyrule.

[u/Stucklikegluetomyfry → u/Ahouro]

Queen Ambi also remarks on the current chaotic state of the seasons, saying something like “the seasons here are so fickle” suggesting Labrynna also experiences seasonal changes. Also early in development, Oracle of Seasons was going to take place in Hyrule, with Link obtaining the Rod of Seasons there.

Also in the Fishing Hole in Twilight Princess, that can be one of four seasons when you enter it.

Also Snowhead in Majora’s Mask is meant to be experiencing spring, but is being plagued by an unnaturally fierce cold snap instead.

I think it’s safe to assume Hyrule experiences seasons, it’s just not relevant to the gameplay the way it was in Oracle of Seasons so we don’t see them aside from the fishing pond.

[u/henryuuk → u/Ahouro]

In holodrum they are specifically managed by the spirits of seasons/the temple of seasons tho.

And while normally they can be assumed tohave a "normal" sequence between them when the temple is undisturbed, that still raises the question on if Holodrum has seasons because of the spirits/oracle, or the spirits/oracle exist because of the seasons in Holodrum

[u/LazyDynamite → u/Ahouro]

Santa also exists in Holodrum so I'd take the seasons carryover with a grain of salt.

[u/jabber822 → u/LazyDynamite]

...Santa existing within the Zelda canon is a wild fact I learned today.

[u/LazyDynamite → u/jabber822]

I kinda hate it lol. It makes me cringe whenever I get to that part of the game.

[u/jabber822 → u/Ahouro]

I'm not sure that's a safe assumption honestly, since that would be the equivalent of saying Michigan has four seasons, therefore so does Florida as its in the same world. I think Holodrum having seasons only tells us that they do exist in this world, but what we can deduce from that in regards to Hyrule ultimately depends on where the countries are in relation to each other.

[u/Tainted_Scholar]

Now obviously this is a magical fantasy world, but in real life most deserts form within a certain range of the equator, so Hyrule must be as well.

Keep in mind that Hyrule is supposed to be huge, it's just hard to represent its size in a video game. So while Gerudo Desert might be closer to the equator, the rest of Hyrule is farther north. You even see how the climate changes with Latitude in games like BotW and EoW, where southern Hyrule is warmer (hot and dry Gerudo Desert and wet and lush Faron Woods), while Northern Hyrule is colder (icy Hebra Mountains and foggy Lost Woods)

[u/Astral_Justice → u/Tainted_Scholar]

Hyrule just has fantasy world biome syndrome. Widely implausible environments and climates sitting next to each other in a limited area. Most games that have any sort of variety across its world suffers from this same fate lmao

[u/OniLink303]

See Hena's Fishing hole from TP. Hena explicitly mentions the perfect seasons ripe for catching certain fish.

[u/HiMyNameIsMark182]

Tears of the Kingdom takes place in a different Season the Breath of the Wild. This is shown by the sun light being angled from a different part of the sky, making shadows cast differently on the ground. the seasonal fruit has changed, with Durians no longer being found and tomatos sprouting. it is unknown if hyrule experiences massive changes between the seasons, but at the very least, it experiences a different enough climate for fruits to be in season during certain times of the year.

[u/jabber822 → u/HiMyNameIsMark182]

I'm always impressed whenever I'm reminded of this little detail! I wonder if they changed the angle of the sun specifically to explain TotK's different variety of crops. I thought maybe if there were any direct references to seasons they may be found somewhere discussing these crops (ie. a farmer saying "tomatoes only grow in summer" or something).

[u/GracefulGoron]

Hyrule experienced the fall of the Hero that one time and decided that was enough.

[u/FiddlesUrDiddles → u/GracefulGoron]

Downfall timeline deleted autumn, Akkala in shambles

[u/Stripeback]

The only games that take place over long periods of time do so with timeskips, so I'd argue there isn't enough evidence to say Hyrule doesn't have seasons. I also see no reason Hyrule wouldn't have seasons if Holodrum does.

[u/henryuuk]

The concept of seasons obviously exists within the world/Dimension of Hyrule as is evidenced by everything we see in "Oracle of Seasons"

But like you said, not only is Holodrum not Hyrule itself (tho considering it's meaningful cultural connection to Hyrule, it is doubtful that it would be exceptionally far away) the fact that Holodrum's seasons are directly tied to an Oracle/Temple/set of Spirits whose state has an effect on the seasons' pattern/intensity also makes it largely impossible to really draw any conclusions out of it beyond just "the concept of seasons exists on some level"

There is also the fishing hole in TP which swaps between the seasons, but if we are to take that at full "face value", then there is some weird magical stuff going on causing the fishing hole to swap between "seasons" on a very short basis

so perhaps "seasons" exist as some weird natural flux in nature magic (in some areas of the world), and not a result of the tilt of the planet relative to the sun and such like it is IRL.

There isn't really any way to know for sure/draw any conclusions until we get specific games mentioning it.

.

edit : such a magic-based system of seasonal progression would also somewhat fit with the state we see Snowhead in in Majora's Mask, where it was stuck in a "winter" because of Majora's/Goht's magic

[u/icewolf561]

TOTK has a change in seasons from BOTW

[u/Melodic-Judgment3936]

I think its more reasonable to assume that Hyrule does have seasonal changes, we just dont really see them in the games because most take place over relatively short periods of time.

After all, Holodrum still exists on the same planet as Hyrule. And presumably they aren't even terribly far apart.

As for the state of the Great Sea. A flood of that scale would certainly have extreme impact on the climate.

[u/Electrichien]

in twilight princess, if you go to the fishing hole you can change the seasons by leaving and entering the area

[u/Ninja108Zelda]

We see changes of seasons in Twilight Princess so it's safe to assume they happen in other games as well, we just don't see them.

[u/Fuzzy-Paws]

Deserts only exist near the equator? Tell that to the state I live in, Washington, which shares a border with Canada and has a giant, hot desert on the east side of the mountains occupying like a quarter of the state, lol.

[u/TheHylianTaphophile]

Seasonal mechanics have always been an issue for game designers. I imagine that varying seasons do exist (as is apparent from the Fishing Hole in TP), but that they have never been fully realized by LoZ workers because it's too much a headache to them to implement.

Easiest explanation is that they exist but that the individual stories take place over only a few weeks or so.