The Legend of Zelda saga is best known for its green hero of few words (and many screams): let’s get to know the legendary Link better
Now that the month of April is at the end of the line, we are just under two weeks away from the arrival of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomin which we will return to take on the role of hero of the legendary Link. But what defines such a brave warrior, in a saga that owes its name to the princess to be saved? It will be the name, aimed exclusively at outlining its role as avatar as such (“link” as a connection, link)? Maybe it’s the Master Sword, wielded mostly in the left hand? Or is it the Triforce of Courage symbol on the back of the hand? In reality, the search for a single distinctive trait leaves some time.
It’s easy to forget, but the protagonist is (almost) never the same, unique individual of the previous games. Many are his (re)incarnations of him, lived lives and even outfits. The one constant is his role as the chosen one, to stand against the evil that periodically threatens the kingdom of Hyrule. He can be a matter of a second. Or rather, an act of heroism with which a banal Hylia becomes the savior of the world. Often it is necessary to mature and face the ritual tests, but the indomitable spirit of a true hero leads even the humblest individual to sacrifice himself in the name of the common good. He symbolizes the courage in each of us.
Unified Timeline: Weapon Student Reborn as a Blacksmith Apprentice – Zelda: Road to Tears of the Kingdom (Part 5: Link, the Hero)
The genesis of Link sees him as a simple student in a school of weapons on the celestial island called Oltrenuvola (Skyward Sword), and Zelda’s childhood friend before he became a hero (below). Ironically, the girl plays the goddess Hylia (of which she is the reincarnation) in the Baptism of Flight ceremony in that school year. Chosen by the goddess, the boy forges the first Supreme Sword under the guidance of Faih, the spirit that dwells within it. During the year he wears the knight’s uniform, the first chronological version of the classic green suit (worn by everyone, including the bully Bado). After Mortipher’s exile, he is believed to have settled on the surface. In Zeldian canon, he is the only right-handed Link.
The first reincarnation of Link is also one of the few descendants of the original hero not to immediately wear the iconic hat (The Minish Cap). Again he is childhood friends with Zelda, currently before the namesake rulers in her dynasty, but was born as a blacksmith’s apprentice. Dwelling on his blond hair is Egeyo, a Minish turned into a hat. This Link is the first to wield a Four Sword, in order to face Vaati and save the girl. Only at the end of the journey does Egeyo give the young man a replica of the legendary hood, the future symbol of the hero himself.
Unified Timeline: Splitting of Legendary Hylia and Entire Timeline – Zelda: Road to Tears of the Kingdom (Part 5: Link, the Hero)
Years after the events of The Minish Cap, another Zelda returns to the pedestal where the Four Sword (Four Swords). Unfortunately, the fears of the girl were founded: the seal with which the wizard of the winds Vaati was locked up has given way. The kidnapping of the princess leads Link to wield the weapon and thus split into four, to face evil as a team. The suits of the other three, in terms of gameplay, only serve to clarify the progress of the games for the players. However the manga adaptation of Four Swords, edited by Akira Himekawa, the personalities also split. “Green” is determined and tenacious, “Blue” is the aggressive hotheaded one, “Red” is naïve and optimistic, and “Vio” is the calm and controlled one (below).
The hero is reborn during the civil war between the peoples of Hyrule. His mother takes him to the safety of the Kokiri forest, and the new Link grows up convinced that he belongs to it (Ocarina of Time). As foretold by the Great Deku Tree (before Ganondorf eliminated him), this little boy is destined for great things. Party with the fairy Navi, the young man becomes the Hero of Time, bearer of the Triforce of Courage. After seven years of sleep, he faces Ganon wielding the Master Sword. There are many Kokiri to wear his own clothes, as well as many are the outcomes of this battle for the salvation of Hyrule…
Timeline of Defeat: Heir of the Royal Knights on the Road – Zelda: Road to Tears of the Kingdom (Part 5: Link, the Hero)
The Hero of Time has lost. The sages exile Ganon, and generations follow one another. A descendant of the royal knights of Hyrule lives with his uncle for years, only to find him dying in the dungeons of the princess’s castle following a telepathic message from the latter (A Link to the Past). From that moment, the hero’s journey sees him take up the Master Sword and then face and defeat Ganon. After the final battle, Link makes a wish, and the Triforce, granting it, puts the declining kingdom of Hyrule back in order. So the hero decides to go on a personal training journey.
This same hero, while traveling at sea, finds himself in the midst of a furious storm. The vessel gives way and he finds himself shipwrecked on Koholint Island (below) (Link’s Awakening). His new adventure leads him to discover the secret of the atoll when he wakes up the legendary Windfish: the dream world in which the game is set is the result of the creature’s mind. Despite this, the hero fulfills his duty and returns to the real world, clinging to the remains of the raft. Completionists are rewarded more generously though: a vision of Marin in the clear sky, suggesting that at least Link’s rescuer is real.
Timeline of Defeat: Holodrum, Labrynna and Lorule – Zelda: Road to Tears of the Kingdom (Part 5: Link, the Hero)
The hero of the previous two adventures experiences as many in a very short period of time. Upon reaching Hyrule Castle, an unexpected contact with the Triforce leads him to two realms where his help is most essential. The kingdom of Holodrum is threatened by the General of Darkness, the evil Onox, who kidnaps the dancer Din to wreak havoc (Oracle of Seasons). The land of Labrynna is at the mercy of the Shadow Priestess, the wicked Veran, despite Nayru’s attempts to keep the course of time stable (Oracle of Ages, under). Onox and Veran are actually helping Koume and Kotake resurrect Ganon.
The incomplete ritual brings him back to the living without a shred of reason, and maybe that’s also why Link defeats him without too many problems. Nothing else is known about the hero of A Link to the Past, but another emerges later as a blacksmith’s apprentice. Visited by a refugee from the dark dimension of Lorule, the latter gives Link a bracelet (A Link Between Worlds). Lavio’s gift allows the hero to enter the walls and, through magical cracks, travel to Lorule, where he restores peace. He then sets off on a new journey, disguising his eyes (similar to a counterpart of him in another timeline, without his knowledge) and changing clothes.
Timeline of Defeat: The Kingdom of Hytopia and the Last Adventure in Ruined Hyrule – Zelda: Road to Tears of the Kingdom (Part 5: Link the Hero)
The hero’s destination is the kingdom of Hytopia, a fashionable place where clothing is the basis of social relations. The Zelda-like Princess Frills is cursed by Lady Nonstille with a skintight body suit that is impossible to remove (Tri Force Heroes). The father musters every possible hero (below), so the one from A Link Between Worlds joins forces with his twins and, with the powers conferred by the clothes of the designer Madame Constille, put an end to the evil sister’s curse. Unfortunately, the fact that a Link exists and entertains so far away from Hyrule presents many problems.
Hyrule is in its worst shape ever, and is almost entirely desolate (The Legend of Zelda, NES). Fortunately for the world, the Triforce of Wisdom is well hidden and the last hope for the kingdom lies in the fact that the resurrected Ganon has not yet laid his hands on it. A wanderer in green retrieves the fragments of the Triforce and defeats Ganon with them. Some time later, the hero turns sixteen and the Triforce mark appears on the back of his hand (The Adventure of Link). His second journey sees him solve the mystery of the Grand Palace and awaken Princess Zelda from her slumber, closing (for now) the age of decline.
Timeline of the Triumphant Child: The Realm of Termina, the Twilight Realm and the Return of Vaati – Zelda: Road to Tears of the Kingdom (Part 5: Link, the Hero)
Let’s return to the events of Ocarina of Time and rewrite its ending – the hero won. Link returns to his own time with the Triforce of Courage, and together with a very young Zelda exposes Ganondorf’s treachery to the crown. Searching for the fairy Navi, he leaves the forest and ends up in the distorted world called Termina (Majora’s Mask). With the help of the fairy Taya, he manages to save this parallel dimension from an atrocious apocalypse, but of his feat (except for an engraving of the lost child after the abandonment of the demonic mask on the stumps in the woods, below) no evidence remains . The Hero of Time, after his natural death, looks for a successor to whom to hand down the techniques of him as a spirit.
Some time later, a farmer from Villaggio Tauro cultivates two particular hobbies: fencing and horse riding (Twilight Princess). The Spirit of the Hero gives him the Triforce of Courage, but he soon finds himself transformed into a wolf by a spell. Joining forces with the Twilight Realm’s princess, Midna, the new Link gains possession of the Master Sword and ends a reborn Ganondorf’s reign of terror. Following his feat, he returns to Villaggio Tauro with the local children and the civilian clothes with which he began his journey. His descendant again wields the Four Sword to defeat Vaati and Ganon once and for all (Four Swords Adventures).
Timeline of the Absent Hero: The Great Sea, King Mar and New Hyrule – Zelda: Road to Tears of the Kingdom (Part 5: Link, the Hero)
Let’s go back one last time: the Hero of Time has won. Returning to his time, he abandons Ganondorf’s ravaged Hyrule. Upon Ganon’s return, the goddesses’ only option is to resort to a universal flood. On Primula Island, a boy in blue receives the fabled green suit as a birthday present (The Wind Waker). Boarded by King Drakar (below), he embarks on an adventure to bring his younger sister Aril safely back to their grandmother. He obtains the Triforce of Courage at the bottom of the sea, where he faces a wiser Ganondorf and, victorious, is awarded the title of “Hero of the Winds”.
Leaving with Dazel’s crew, the budding pirate looks for a new kingdom until he ends up in the territory of the King Mar (Phantom Hourglass). After exploring the ruler’s sanctuary, Link and the fairy Sciela manage to rescue Dazel from the ghost vessel in which she disappeared. The…