Alcohol in Skyward Sword?

[gillnavisingh]

In the Bazarr section of Skyloft, there's a (I use the term lightly) foodcourt where two patrons sit at the table - one tall, one short.
If you sit in front of any person in Skyward Sword, it opens up some flavor text.

I was messing around, killing time. So I sat down next to the skinny customer and this is what he said (I'm paraphrasing, please forgive me):

"I hear your on a grand adventure, Link! How about I buy us a drink and we have a chat about it, hm?"

I had the option to say, "Maybe Later" or "Thanks!" so I obviously agreed.
The screen wiped to black, and the Background music continued to play as I heard Link gulp something down before letting out his usual sigh of satisfaction.

The screed wiped to the Bazarr again, and the guy who bought me a drink then gave me a general hint on getting around the overworld quickly.
Link still controlled well, and didn't seem to be intoxicated or anything, but if it wasn't alcohol, then why screen wipe?

Now, while I've seen people drinking at Milk Bars (Romani's - Majora's Mask), and I'm assuming that some places sell liquor (Telma's Place - Twilight Princess). I've never actually seen Link drink at those places. (Okay, Milk is fine, but is Chateau Romani REALLY something for a child to drink?)

The North American rating board (ESRB) makes note of the Toilet effects in the academy, and the usual "Swish-Swoosh, Poof-Dead" effects of combat.
Not that I'm complaining - I think Link deserves a glass of brandy everytime he has to saaaaaaaaaaave the world... I'm just surprised no one caught it.

Spoiler

That, and the fact that you can see Gaebora taking a bath while crawling through an air duct, ala Twin Snakes, where Snake sees Akina taking a dump.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

I think this sort of very subtle skirting around issues of adulthood or adolescence, like alcohol and sex has actually been around for quite a while in gaming. Even back in the days of pixilated gaming, these things which are such a fundamental part of the human experience are themes that show up again and again. Because they've always been viewed as adult subjects, and because games like Zelda have always been designed for a wide range of audiences (age wise), they show up like this in ways that an adult can understand, and a child won't notice even happened. I for one happen to like it.

 

[Lilani]

From what you described it sounds possible, I don't have the game so I can't test it out. If it is true though, I'm surprised the ESRB didn't catch it. They put "Use of Alcohol" in the rating for Kingdom Hearts II because they reproduced that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean when Barbossa is a skeleton and he pours wine down his throat so it runs down his bones.