In almost every Legend of Zelda game there is at least one graveyard. From the revolutionary NES classic to A Link Between Worlds. Some are more hidden and others are perfectly visible. What’s more, in most cases these are places of obligatory passage, which has many readings. What is truly unique is that Link’s grave, the protagonist of the saga, is not in any of them: to be able to visit it you have to play the first Final Fantasy. Technically, almost any of the versions. And it has its reason.
First things first: it is worth remembering that Link’s character is not the same in each The Legend of Zelda game, so -removing specific exceptions- they are descendants or heirs of the spirit of the original Hyrule hero , and despite their pointy ears, none of them are immortal elves but all Links are Hylians. At this point it goes without saying that not even the kingdom of Hyrule exists in the worlds of the saga. Final Fantasy nor are there Hylians in their games. At least, that they are alive.
With this clear, it is time to address the real question: what has been lost to the chosen one of the triforce in the Square Enix role-playing saga? Well, let’s say his bones are gone in the Elfheim cemetery, but technically in the West he was the second to occupy that coffin. Things get complicated, so it’s best to find a location. In the literal sense.
How to find Link’s grave in Final Fantasy
Located in the southwestern area of the Kingdom of Cornelia, the city of Elfheim (or Elfland) is considered the home of the elves of the world of the first Final Fantasy. If we go to her cemetery we will find exactly three tombs and when reading the epitaph of the one furthest to the left, as we enter, the phrase is clearly read ‘Here lies Link’ (‘Here Lies Link’) in the Famicom game, which we can see on this side of the planet from the versions for WonderSwan, GBA, PSP, iOS and, of course, in the recent Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster.
This is not a coincidence, but a direct reference to the Link of The Legend of Zelda and it is assumed that it was done for the double whammy of having an appearance similar to that of the elves of Final Fantasywith his green tunic and blonde hair.
Sprite of an Elfheim elf in the first NES/Famicom Final Fantasy
Bringing back each company’s key games is not something new: Squaresoft later published the game on MSX2, re-released it in 1994 with several fixes in a package along w ith the sequel and, as we mentioned, since then we have seen versions of the same game for systems ranging from the first PlayStation to current systems.
Link’s tomb in Elfheim in the PC version of Final Fantasy Pixel Remastered
Curiously, despite being a Nintendo character, the name of the tomb will not be changed in subsequent revisions for PSP and other systems. Of course, they put the patch on before the wound and in none of the cases is there any allusion to the saga. The Legend of Zelda.
For all intents and purposes, that tomb is a full-fledged Easter Egg that, as we mentioned, was already present in the version for Famicom (the Japanese NES) and that will be softened in a later game: in Final Fantasy Origins the epitaph was changed to ‘May Link rest in peace‘. However, it doesn’t end here.
Link’s Tomb in the Japanese version for Game Boy Advance, the return of the saga to Nintendo consoles
There was one exception that only appeared in one game: the American copies of the first Final Fantasy. If we go to the same tomb of Link using a Western NES and through the cartridge of the first Final Fantasy released in America we will see that the original epitaph of the first English translation is ‘Here lies Erdrick, 837 – 866. Rest In Peace‘. Who is this Erdrick guy? Well, possibly no Japanese knows it. At least by that name.
How a hero drawn by Akira Toriyama ended his days in Final Fantasy… and Hyrule
One year before the release of Final Fantasy, and coinciding with Link’s first adventure, an RPG saga will appear in Japan that will change everything: Dragon Quest. That wonderfully fused the fantasy elements, the video game mechanics that worked so well on platforms like PCs and were crowned by the imagination of Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, who drew its worlds, its monsters and its heroes. More specifically, the name Erdrick referred to on the tombstone of the American NES.
From here it is time to make an extra observation: in Dragon Quest We name the hero, more or less like Link in The Legend of Zeldabut technically the protagonists of the first three games are given the title Erdrick (in Japan they are known as Loto or Roto) so the original trilogy is known as the Erdrick trilogy
Returning to the mysterious tombstones of Final Fantasy, that of ‘Here lies Erdrick‘ It was not a tribute to the character, as was the case with the Nintendo adventurer, but a reference to the heroes of Dragon Quest, and at the same time, a blatant jab at Squaresoft’s rival RPG saga. However, there’s still one more twist left in this story: Erdrick’s name is also written on a tomb in Hyrule. To be fair, the literal translation is ‘Here lies Lotus’.
Tomb of the Dragon Quest hero in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
The same year that the first Final Fantasy The game Zelda II: The Adventure of Link will also be released in Japan and for the Famicom Disk System. As we mentioned, in most games in the series there is a cemetery, and in Saria Town we can find a tombstone dedicated to the hero of Dragon Quest which, in this case, did not reach the West with the translation of the game and was omitted from the NES versions.
Although we have talked about tombstones and cemeteries, life is cycles and takes many turns. That is why it is so curious to see how a decade later Squaresoft ended up taking the saga Final Fantasy to PlayStation to later merge with Enix to create Square Enix and, already in 2018, we saw how Link, the hero of Dragon Quest and Cloud himself openly exchange sword blows in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on Switch. Adding, already, to a Sonic who – it must be said – also received darts from the Big N in his games. But that’s another story.
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