Kakariko Village (カカリコ村 Kakariko-mura) is one of the main settlements in Hyrule, second only to Hyrule Castle Town. It has appeared in several The Legend of Zelda games, first appearing in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Kakariko is said to have been founded by Impa and was the home of the Sheikah who serve the Hyrule Royal Family. The graveyard by the village is said to be the final resting place of members of the Royal Family and deceased Zora leaders.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
In 'A Link to the Past, Kakariko Village is the largest settlement in the game. Here there are several merchants, as well as characters with vital information for Link. Kakariko is the home of Sahasrahla, the famed elder, and his family, and it is with the intention to find him that Link comes to the village. Upon arriving in Kakariko, Link discovers that he has been blamed for the abduction of Princess Zelda, and that some villagers who believe him to be guilty will summon soldiers to arrest him. Others are more sympathetic, and the family of Sahasrahla will provide him with clues as to his whereabouts. Kakariko Village has a number of businesses, including a blacksmith, a shop, a bottle merchant, a fortune teller, and an inn.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Kakariko, as seen in Ocarina of Time.
In Ocarina of Time, Kakariko Village is the main settlement of Hyrule outside of the Castle Town, and is a location where Link is faced with several challenges. The town is an entrance to a number of locations, such as the Shadow Temple, the Well, the Graveyard, and the Death Mountain Trail.
The small town also contains many buildings of interest, including a potion shop, a shooting gallery (still under construction in the earlier time period,) and a weapon store. Through various actions, Link will obtain numerous items from this town, including the Lens of Truth, a bottle, a Hylian Shield, and several Ocarina Songs, such as the Song of Storms and Nocturne of Shadows. The House of Skulltula is also here, where Link will be rewarded based on how many Gold Skultulas he has killed.
Little is known about the early history of Kakariko Village. It was originally a Sheikah village while those people lasted, and the village graveyard is where the Royal Family laid their dead. Impa, the last Sheikah, opened the village to the poor and needy, though she vanished shortly after Ganondorf began his reign of evil. Her house is almost a monument.
Four Swords Adventures
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, the village was overrun by thieves, and the four Links were required to capture them in order to advance north of the city to a place where they could summon rain, thus quelling the fire started by arsonist Shadow Link. This time, Kakariko Village had no prominent features, but was a collection of houses with few residents within. A stream outside the city led the Links to fight a Big Dark Stalfos, and in so doing recover the Green Royal Jewel. The numerous thieves in the city is obviously a nod to A Link to the Past's Village of Outcasts, and the Cucco population in the village may relate to the Cucco-tracking challenge in the Ocarina of Time rendering of Kakariko Village. We may also attribute the excessive thief problem to the village's new location - directly within the Lost Woods. Some fans have suggested the Lost Woods merely expanded in support of the "One Village Theory". A similar retraction of the woods, or placing OoT on the timeline before FSA, may account for the distance between Kakariko Village and the Lost Woods in OoT.
'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Kakariko Village
Kakariko In Twilight Princess with Death Mountain In The Back
Kakariko Village plays a large role in Twilight Princess. After leaving the Faron Woods, Link travels to Kakariko Village which, at the time, is covered in twilight. After restoring light to the land, many features of the village that appeared in previous games are noticed, such as a graveyard and the nearby Death Mountain. Many of the houses in the village were destroyed by Shadow Beasts and most of the original residents were killed as confirmed by Barnes, the village's bomb maker.
Kakariko Village is where much of the storyline of the game unfolds and where many items for the game can be bought and found, such as bombs, a Hylian Shield and the Zora Armor.
Hidden Village
Another area in Twilight Princess, called the Hidden Village, bears resemblance to Kakariko in Ocarina of Time. In fact, a sign on the outskirts reads "Welcome to Old Kakariko" in Hylian. The sole inhabitant of the town, Impaz, is believed to be one of the only Sheikahs left, Renado being the other, which is strengthened by Impaz's claim that she was named after the creator of her village, suggested to be Impa from Ocarina of Time.
This theory, however, loses strength when one considers that the actual Kakariko Village in that game shares several similarities with the one from Ocarina of Time, especially its proximity to Death Mountain and the presence of a graveyard.