The Triforce

[Grimmyv]

Know if you go and make a 4th piece and make one BIG triangle, then some numbskull will come along after that and make 2 other BIG triangles made up of 8 more pieces, and then make ANOTHER big triforce that completes that triforce...please, lets not go down that road.

[Art1st4786]

Not necessarily.  If the center of the Triforce becomes whole, making it a solid triangle, it could still be called the Triforce since a triangle has three sides to it.  And don't forget that there were only two Triforce pieces when the series started.  Since they were both triangles, they got away with calling them Triforces--they were forces of magic in the shape of a triangle.

[Grimmyv]

yeah, and I remember when Zelda 2 came out (AoL) and all of the sudden there's a third triforce.  That was enough for me...in fact, it was almost too much.  At the time I wondered if they were going to keep making triforces for each game, but luckily they have stopped at 3 since then.

[bastian]

I don't mean to sound insulting . . . but I came up with the idea of a "fourth piece" when I was like eight. I called it the Triforce of Combinding (yes, "Combinding, not Combining. I was eight). That was back when I was determined that the Triforce of Wisdom was green and the Triforce of Power was red and the Triforce of Courage was Purple. Because that's what color they were in the cartoons.

There is no fourth piece. If there was, we would have heard something about it by now. It's called the Triforce because there are three (tri) forces which together create the whole wish-granting artifact.

There's a "hole in the middle" because there is supposed to be. Three solid triangles make  a central open space.

Besides, in all of the "creation of Hyrule and the Triforce" images we've seen (booklet art from ALttP, cutscene in OoT, cutscene in TP) we see that at its creation there are only three pieces.

Because it's the TRIforce.

[Erimgard]

^
It was still called the Triforce in the original LoZ though, and when that came out, there was only two pieces, so the name thing is debatable.

That said, time and time again in aLttP, OoT, WW, etc...we are told, and physically see, that three pieces form the complete Triforce.
-Zelda/Sheik in OoT states that having the three traits of the Triforce gives you the True Force to rule all.
-In aLttP both Ganon and Link wish on the Triforce, and their wishes are granted
-In Wind Waker, Daphnes wishes on the Triforce, and his wish is granted.
-The AoL backstory specifically states there are three kinds of Triforce

[bastian]

^

I've seen it mentioned elsewhere that "LoZ has only two pieces (Power and Wisdom) so "Triforce" only meant they were triangles and not that there were three of them."

The problem with that, though, is who KNOWS what Miyamoto had intended. AoL came out VERY quickly after LoZ . . . maybe he already knew about Courage at that point, and thus DID intend for there to be three pieces. We don't know.

But the fact remains that not once has there ever been mention of a fourth piece. And there are countless instances where we have seen the genesis of the Triforce and in it there are only the three pieces . . .

[Art1st4786]

AoL came out three years after LoZ, so anything can happen in three years.

And yeah, there hasn't been explicit mention of a fourth piece, but there's enough evidence for and against a fourth piece to make the fate of a fourth piece a bit uncertain.  We won't really know for sure until Nintendo actually says something for or against the argument, which may or may not happen, since they like to leave us in the dark about a lot of things.

That's something Miyamoto and Nintendo love for us to do with this series, though--come up with our own theories and debate them.  That's one of the true natures of the Zelda series.

[bastian]

AoL came out three years after LoZ, so anything can happen in three years.

Nope. LoZ came out on February 21, 1986 and AoL came out on January 14, 1987 . . . that would mean that they came up with and designed and finished the game in less than a year...

And yeah, there hasn't been explicit mention of a fourth piece, but there's enough evidence for and against a fourth piece to make the fate of a fourth piece a bit uncertain.

That's a fallacy. Simply because there is no evidence for something absurd to NOT exist doesn't mean that it probably does. That would be like me saying, "Well, there's no evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the world, but there's just as much proof it did as there is it didn't, so it probably did."

We won't really know for sure until Nintendo actually says something for or against the argument, which may or may not happen,

That's not going to happen. Because it will never occur to them to clarify something that is obvious already. There is no fourth piece. It would never occur to them that anyone would ever think there would be, so they will never state there is or isn't.

That's something Miyamoto and Nintendo love for us to do with this series, though--come up with our own theories and debate them.  That's one of the true natures of the Zelda series.

Um, again: what? I've never read anywhere that Miyamoto or Aounama "love" for us to come with theories. Neither of them have mentioned any such thing. It has NOTHING to do with the "true nature of the Zelda series" . . . No offense, but where do you get this garbage?

Again, it's CLEAR there are only three pieces. We see the birth of the Triforce in drawing in ALttP's instruction booklett. Three pieces. We see the birth of the Trifoce in OoT. Three pieces. We see the birth of the Triforce in TP. Three pieces.

It has three pieces.

[Art1st4786]

First off, thanks for clarifying the release dates for me.  It was pretty late when I made that post, so I got my dates mixed up as I was falling asleep at the computer x_x

Secondly, did you, by any chance, read the article that I posted on the first page of this thread?  If you did, you would have seen all of the evidence that I have listed there that can be for or against the existence of a fourth Triforce.

While I respect your opinion, though I may disagree with you on some points, I do not appreciate your rudeness.  I don't know if it was your intention or not, but that's how you came off as.  If you weren't trying to be rude, I apologize for accusing you of being as such. 

[bastian]

Nope, I wasn't being rude.

But it's irrational to continue this debate. A fourth Triforce piece is pure fanfic. It's just not possible. I saw your "evidence" and none of it is substantial. The most important evidence: the origin of the Triforce as seen in OoT shows only three pieces.

Case closed.

[Beh]

The most important evidence: the origin of the Triforce as seen in OoT shows only three pieces.

You trust a tree?

I agree with you, though.

[bastian]

Yes, I do trust the Deku Tree. It seems awfully ancient and awfully wise. My assumption is that it came into existence at the dawn of Hyrule's creation since it seems to know so much about it.

[Aurvandil]

Besides, in all of the "creation of Hyrule and the Triforce" images we've seen (booklet art from ALttP, cutscene in OoT, cutscene in TP) we see that at its creation there are only three pieces.

Because it's the TRIforce.

For me that's the most determining factor.

Anyway, the Triforce is based in an ancient japanese emblem with only three triangles:

[supdogq1]

well if the triforce has another part then how many triangles? brain teaser! hehe