As we revisit old memories, and old posts, from down the years, I came across an account chronicling several unpleasant encounters I had with the chickens (AKA cuccos) inhabiting The Legend of Zelda games. To seasoned, Hylian veterans such as myself (and no doubt you, too, dear reader), it’s common knowledge that the chickens in this series are not to be trifled with. If you happen to have the poor sense to pick on one of these unassuming birdies, it, and all of its fowl siblings, will swarm you. And if you’re lucky, they’ll merely ruin your day. If you’re unlucky, they’ll end it. Prematurely and permanently. (At least, they would if you couldn’t just, y’know, respawn.) But to be fair, cuccos’ unsavory reputation is, frankly, entirely undeserved, as they only attack if you started it. So rather than badmouthing these chickens for merely acting in self-defense, it’s about time we delved into some poultry positivity!
First of all, if you just leave the dang chickens alone, they’re actually quite timid animals. Cuccos will panic if you pick them up, flapping and crowing as loose feathers fly about like an avian maelstrom. Even once you release them, they continue to cluck and fuss over the heinous travesty that was just committed against them. Clearly, they don’t enjoy picking fights, so you really oughtta feel ashamed of yourself for picking on them!
But before you now dismiss cuccos as meek and cowardly, allow me to remind you of how very useful they are. Because if you hold a cucco over your head and jump from somewhere high, their frantically flapping wings will actually allow you to glide safely down. Or even to new places you couldn’t reach before! Don’t tell me that’s not impressive! You can’t even complete Ocarina of Time without using a cucco to get you through Zora’s River as young Link. And I bet no one’s ever even stopped to thank this chicken for being indirectly responsible for Ganondorf’s defeat. (Of course, don’t attempt this with real chickens. I’ve tried. It doesn’t work the same…ouch…)
Chickens also make great companions. Why, in OoT, there are actually a few chickens Link can temporarily take care of (it mainly just sits in his bottomless pockets, but still…) One such chicken hatches from the Weird Egg that Malon gives you and can be used to wake up her unreliable father, Talon, who’s sleeping outside of Hyrule Castle. (The thing hatches as a fully grown adult within roughly 15 minutes! A miraculous chicken if there ever was one!) There’s also the Pocket Cucco (a miniature chicken) and a special blue chicken named Cojiro. Now Cojiro is a loyal chicken indeed, as he belongs to the Cucco Lady’s brother and will crow when you’re in his vicinity, clearly sensing the presence of its master and friend. Now that’s a strong bond indeed!
Another strange detail worth mentioning takes place in Majora’s Mask. In this game, cuccos can be found on Romani Ranch and are looked after by the same brother from OoT. These are just little chicks, though, the first time I can recall that we’ve ever seen them in adorable baby form (as again, in OoT, they seem to hatch straight into adults!). But if you’d like to turn them all into the fluffy adult cuccos we all know and love (that’s right, you love them, and you just didn’t know it), just don the Bremen Mask. Marching about with this mask on causes Link to play a little song as the little cuccos line up to follow him. Once you’ve gathered them all up, they’ll start turning into adults, one after another!
As a special, honorable mention, Talon also keeps a bunch of cuccos on hand inside his house for an impromptu minigame where you need to find the three so-called Super Cuccos out of the bunch. I think the guy’s just crazy, but you never know. Maybe there really is some latent superpower these chickens possess, and we just haven’t seen it yet… Sure, perhaps Malon just has a dopey father…or there truly is a breed of extraordinary chickens, and with a little bit of training, they could be taught to keep all of Hyrule, nay, the world at large, safe from Ganon and his lackeys! Because, think about it for a second…
Link beats Ganon. Chickens beat Link. So…I think the implications are pretty clear. Don’t you?
Seriously, though, cuccos have almost become as much a symbol of Zelda as the hookshot or the Hylian Shield. At least, for me anyway. You see, as I’ve gotten older, nostalgia aging my love for The Legend of Zelda games like fine, fine wine, I’ve grown especially fond of the old cucco noises from the N64 era of games. What the chickens sound like in other Zelda games, I don’t even remember. But clearly, it’s not particularly iconic. But the sounds they make in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, well, it’s become so memorable for me, I actually find the sound strangely comforting. Rather than sounding like a typical cluck, the cuccos of Kakariko Village or Lon Lon (or Romani) Ranch make a soothing cackle that almost resembles a friendly laugh. At this point, I associate this sound with my childhood as much as any other, more iconic, sound effect from this era. Because, as we’ve already established…
Cuccos are actually pretty extraordinary birds. They can allow you to fly…sort of. They are loyal friends and come in all sorts of varieties, such as blue, mini, and super. They can grow up insanely fast, either coming straight out of the egg as adults or poofing into a grown chicken thanks to a mere song. And they are…
Cold.
Blooded.
Killers.
But only to those who deserve it. But to the pure of heart, and to the wise, cuccos are a memorable addition to The Legend of Zelda franchise, with their friendly little cackles reminding me of simpler times. Give these little guys your respect. And a wide berth. Not just because they might kill you. And not because, if they can easily dispatch the Hero of Time himself, they can likely massacre anything and anyone in their chicken-y path. But because they are as much a part of Zelda as they are, presumably, quite tasty. (As if I’d be brave enough to find out…)
Banner image from Unsplash user: Thomas Iversen