Outset Island, the start of every adventure on the Great Sea, is home to a slew of interesting and unique characters. This small island is where Link and his sister Aryll spent their entire lives before the events of Wind Waker, so it’s easy to see that it’s a very tightly knit community where everyone knows each other pretty well. Most of the residents are very pleasant and friendly, but there’s always an exception. Many players will remember being barked at by an old man atop one of the houses who teaches the player how to use the L-Targeting. That cranky old man is Sturgeon, brother to the swordsman Orca as well as a retired swordsman himself.
Sturgeon sits on the second floor of his shared home with his brother Orca, shouting at Link when he walks by. Optionally, Link can enter the second floor of the building via the ladder next to the entrace to Orca’s room and enter Sturgeon’s room. There isn’t any requirement to ever go here in the game, but new players can chat with him for some bonus tutorials on basic mechanics in case they want to prepare extra for the coming trials in the game. For most players, this is the extent of Sturgeon’s presence in the game and there isn’t really many other times he is relevant. However, there’s actually a bit more to him that you can find out by digging a little deeper.
For starters, if Link is so bold as to roll into Orca’s wall several times in a row, Sturgeon will bang on the walls, angrily demanding that Orca stop making such a racket with his training. It would seem that arguing over noise levels is a pretty common occurrence for the old men’s household. However, if you speak to Orca about the Knight’s Crest in his room, he’ll request Link bring ten back for a reward, and also mention that he and his brother attempted to sail the seas in search of the Knight’s Crest in their youth but were unsuccessful, only ever procuring a single one. By taking a look at Sturgeon’s figurine description, you can find the information that Sturgeon was also a very skilled swordsman, just like his brother, in his youth!
It remains unknown for what reason Sturgeon developed such a distaste for swordplay after growing old. Perhaps his frustration with being unable to find the Knight’s Crests simply wore him down, and turned him into the bitter old man that he is today. It’s also possible he simply grew out of the adventuring type, turning to books instead to spend his days on. In any case, Sturgeon is one of my personal favorite residents of Outset Island as he stood out to me so much when I first played Wind Waker as a child. I distinctly remember repeatedly bashing into Orca’s walls just because I thought it was so funny that Sturgeon would get so mad about it. I especially enjoy him now, as I can appreciate both his interesting backstory, and his silly crash out moments.
