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This Hero was proposed and approved by Heroes Wiki's Pure Good Proposals Thread. Any act of removing this hero from the category without a Removal Proposal shall be considered vandalism (or a "villainous" attempt to demonize said character) and the user will have a high chance of being | ||
| “ | Link... You are the light—our light—that must shine upon Hyrule once again. Now, go... | „ |
| ~ Zelda after awakening Link in Breath of the Wild. |
| “ | Ganondorf: Thousands of years will pass in the blink of an eye. You only delay the inevitable. Rauru: You're wrong. Years from now, someone will appear with the sword that seals the darkness. A swordsman with the power to defeat you—Link. Remember...this name. Ganondorf: Link... Interesting... I look forward...to meet...ing...him... |
„ |
| ~ Rauru warns Ganondorf that Link will rise to defeat him. |
Link, also known as the Hero of the Wild, is the main protagonist of the Era of the Wilds saga within Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda franchise.
He is chronologically the latest known incarnation of Link, where he serves as one of the Champions of Hyrule, destined to battle against the ancient evil known as Calamity Ganon. Upon finding himself reawaken in the world with vague collections of his memories, he sets out on a journey once more to restore peace to Hyrule and destroy the Calamity that plagues it.
Years later, he would take on the true source of the Calamity: a Gerudo tyrant named Ganondorf.
He is voiced by Kengo Takanashi, who also voiced Link in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
Personality[]
Much like his past incarnations, Link is a man of few words who possesses a sense of courage and selflessness, worthy enough to be seen and acknowledged as a Champion of Hyrule. As Zelda's appointed knight, he also possesses a sense of duty for him to fulfill by ensuring her safety and maintains a professional demeanour when serving the royal family of Hyrule. In the beginning, he was seen by Zelda as being a very quiet and stoic individual with a cold presence to him, but after being close friends with him, Link was able to show a side of himself to her that was warmer and comforting.
Even after losing much of his memories, Link has shown from time to time that he is a co-operative individual that is willing to take on any challenges thrown at him. He has proven from time and time that he is an extremely determined individual that will do whatever it takes to protect his kingdom from the evil forces of Ganon. Because of the burdens that he faces, he feels that it is necessary keep his own thoughts to himself and to remain strong at all times, hence he chooses to be silent most of the time.
Despite his stoic demeanor, he can at times be a bit humorous as some of his dialogue exchanges feature him coming up with snarky remarks and puns. He also expresses lively enjoyment in the most basic activities such as cooking and is mentioned by Zelda to be a glutton, even chowing down on Goron food (which are made of rocks). In the Japanese localizations of Breath of the Wild, Link actually jots down his thoughts and feelings in the adventure log tab, showing that he enjoys obtaining new things and is somewhat of a perfectionist, aiming to get an even better record at the sand seal race minigame, expressing happiness at decorating his house as well. The Japanese localizations also reveal that the reason the recipes of certain foods are written in their correlated side quests is because Link actually wants to cook the food in said quests himself later on.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Magic: Link is able to utilize various magic spells effectively to help him in his quest. These are mostly accomplished via the Sheikah Slate or using magic weapons and tools.
- Martial Arts: Much like his predecessors in the past, Link possesses incredible combat skills in various ranges, from swordsmanship, archery and spear proficiency, unmatched by anyone. He is able to defeat highly skilled swordsmen like Ganondorf in combination with his strength and agility. In Breath of the Wild if he focuses, he's able to see as if time slowed down.
- Weapon Mastery: Link can utilize any weapon he comes across and use mundane tools (like soup ladles or farming hoes) or common objects (like tree branches) as makeshift weapons.
- Equestrian: He is a skilled rider who can tame and ride any animal that can conceivably be used as a steed, including the undead Stalhorses. Powerful steeds like Zelda's Golden Horse and the Giant White Stallion trust him and allow him to ride them,
- Limited Chronokinesis: Link is able to slow down time around him, dealing powerful, quick blows in fractions of a second using his Flurry Rush and Bullet Time. While this may just be Link's perception of the world around him, Teba says that time seems to slow when Link uses this ability, meaning that Link could slow time down slightly during combat.
- Mipha's Grace+: Originally Mipha's Grace, it is the restorative power born from Champion Mipha, the Zora Princess, which is given to him by Mipha's spirit after defeating Waterblight Ganon and reclaiming Divine Beast Vah Ruta. If Link runs out of hearts, he will be automatically resurrected with full health, along with gaining five temporary bonus hearts. This can only be activated one time, and also is the only ability from the Champions to activate automatically. It takes 27 minutes to recharge, but after completing "EX Champion Mipha's Song", it is upgraded to Mipha's Grace+, with the recharge time being shortened to eight minutes.
- Daruk's Protection+: Originally Daruk's Protection, it is the protective power containing the perfect defense originating from Champion Daruk, the Goron Hero, which is given to him by Daruk's spirit after defeating Fireblight Ganon and reclaiming Divine Beast Vah Rudania. As long as the ZL button is held, a shield will materialize and protect Link from three hits in total. It takes 18 minutes to recharge, but after completing "EX Champion Daruk's Song", it is upgraded to Daruk's Protection+, with the recharge time being shortened to six minutes.
- Urbosa's Fury+: Originally Urbosa's Fury, it is a destructive power born from Champion Urbosa, the Gerudo Warrior, which is given to him by Urbosa's spirit after defeating Thunderblight Ganon and reclaiming Divine Beast Vah Naboris. Link is granted three powered up spin attacks which will deal 150 damage and stun any enemy caught in the radius of the attack. The radius of Link's spin attack is also enlarged. It requires 20 real-world minutes to recharge, but after completing "EX Champion Urbosa's Song", it is upgraded to Urbosa's Fury+, which has a recharge time of 4 minutes.
- Revali's Gale+: Originally Revali's Gale, it is the blusterous power born from Champion Revali, the Rito Warrior, which is given to him by Revali´s spirit after defeating Windblight Ganon and reclaiming Divine Beast Vah Medoh. By charging Link´s jump by pressing and holding the X button, an updraft will be created for Link to launch him upward, and the updraft can also be reused until it disappears. It has a recharge time of six minutes, but after completing ¨EX Champion Revali´s Song¨, it is upgraded to Revali´s Gale+, with the recharge time being shortened to two minutes.
- Ultrahand: A power granted by Rauru's right arm, which Link obtained after his was destroyed by Ganondorf's Gloom. It allows Link to freely pick up and move any object, as well as stick them together to create structures or, when incorporating Zonai machinery, machinations from a simple cart to even an advanced aircraft. Link can also control several of these machines with the right Zonai tech inside.
- Fuse: A power granted by Rauru's right arm. Using this ability, Link can fuse certain objects to his gear such as Fire Fruits and boulders, making them stronger as well as granting new abilities. For example, arrows with Keese Eyeballs fused to them will automatically seek out the nearest target, while shields with explosive barrels fused to them will detonate upon contact with an enemy attack.
- Ascend: A power granted by Rauru's right arm. By entering a portal of mysterious, turquoise liquid, Link can temporarily become incorporeal and phase through solid matter, arriving at the top of whatever platform he phased through.
- Recall: A power granted by Rauru's right arm. It allows Link to send objects to the location it previously was as if it was reversing time for itself. This ability is unbelievably powerful when Link channels the power of a master of temporal magic, such as Rauru, Sonia, and/or Zelda; at the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom he channels Zelda's power to send the broken Master Sword 10,000 years into the past, and at the end of the story, uses it to reverse Zelda's transformation. Most of the time, however, he can only reverse time for about 30 seconds at most.
- Autobuid: A power granted by Rauru's right arm. This allows Link to save and automatically build a copy of anything he made before using the Ultrahand ability, although making such a copy requires some materials to use.
- Vow of Tulin, Sage of Wind: Summons Tulin's avatar; the avatar fights by Link's side and can summon a powerful gust of wind that can blow objects or enemies over and allows Link to fly farther using his glider.
- Vow of Riju, Sage of Lightning: Summons Riju's avatar; the avatar fights by Link's side and can create an aura of electrical energy that, when struck by one of Link's arrows, calls down a lightning storm upon enemies.
- Vow of Yunobo, Sage of Fire: Summons Yunobo's avatar; the avatar fights by Link's side and can charge towards enemies like a rolling boulder, dealing Fire damage and breaking through any breakable stone he hits.
- Vow of Sidon, Sage of Water: Summons Sidon's avatar; the avatar fights by Link's side and can cover Link with a veil of water that can block on enemy attack (regardless of how strong the attack is) or for one of Link's attacks, deals Water-damage in a wide arc.
- Vow of Mineru, Sage of Spirit: Calls forth the construct that serves as Mineru's physical body. The construct fights by Link's side, and Link can use the Fuse ability to attach any fusable weapon to its arms, plus ride on the construct's back during battle.
- Earthquake: A fighting technique learned by infiltrating the Yiga Clan, he an strike the ground with his bare fist, causing a tremor than can knock enemies down.
Equipment[]
- Paraglider: Link carries with him a portable, collapsable hang-glider that he can use to transverse short distances through the skies of Hyrule.
- Sheikah Slate: At the very beginning of all of his journeys, Link is given the Sheikah Slate, which can be used to unlock Ancient Shrines, utilize Ancient Technology in any single way, and activate the Divine Beasts. which allows him to access the eight runes:
- Magnesis: Allows Link to manipulate metal objects and use them to damage enemies.
- Remote Bomb+: Allows Link to summon spherical or cubical bombs that can be remotely detonated. The damage of the explosions is increased after they are upgraded using three Ancient Shafts.
- Stasis+: Allows Link to stop the time of a certain object, and then strike at them to build up potential energy and make them move. After being upgraded using three Ancient Cores, Link can now freeze enemies in time, but the duration of the effect is shortened.
- Cryonis: Allows Link to create a frozen block of ice on the surface of any body of water, including waterfalls and bottomless bogs, but they cannot be created on hot spring water in the Eldin region.
- Both Divine Beast Vah Ruta and Waterblight Ganon can use Cryonis, but their constructs can be destroyed by Link.
- Camera: Allows Link to take pictures and fill out the Hyrule Compendium. Available after completing the main quest "Locked Mementos."
- Amiibo: Allows Link to summon a treasure chest via scanning an Amiibo. Most Amiibo can only be used once per day.
- Master Cycle Zero: Exclusive to Breath of the Wild's second DLC The Champion's Ballad. This is available after defeating Monk Maz Koshia. Allows Link to summon the Master Cycle Zero as a mode of transportation, and he can refuel it via dropping any materials into its fuel tank located below the seat. It can be summoned almost anywhere, but not inside Ancient Shrines, or in both the Eldin region and the Gerudo region.
- Purah Pad: A device similar to the Sheikah Slate and possesses many of the same functions. Link obtains the Purah Pad at the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom and can be used access Skyview Towers found across Hyrule.
- Sensor: After the Purah Pad is upgraded, he can set the Purah Pad to detect Shrines or any item or creature detailed in the Hyrule Compendium. Once this feature is set, the feature will beep whenever the designated item is nearby and Link is facing the direction of the item.
- Teleportation: Link can use this feature of the Pad to transport himself to any location he has registered, including Zonai Shrines, Lightroots, and various other locations with Zonai and Sheikah significance. Zelda has been shown to be able to teleport two other people using the Pad this way, but it seems Link cannot do so.
- Travel Medallion: After upgrading the Pad, Link can set a beacon; the Pad can then be used to teleport to the beacon. By upgrading the Pad again, he can set two beacons, and upon the final upgrade, three.
- Hero's Path: After being upgraded, Link can use this feature to trace the path he has taken for the past 100 in-game hours.
- Camera: Allows Link to take pictures and fill out the Hyrule Compendium. Available during the main quest "Camera Work in the Depths."
Trivia[]
- In the Japanese version of the book The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Creating a Champion, it is stated that Link had a sister and a grandfather who served as a knight, though they never appeared in-game. However, this information was removed for the international release of the book.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild marked the first time Link doesn't wear his trademark green clothes and doesn't wear a cap at all. He instead wears a blue Champion's Tunic. A unique and iconic green cap and tunic still appear in the game as a reward for completing all 120 shrines in Breath of the Wild however, Link is never shown to wear this in any official art or cutscene unless the player equips it beforehand.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, provided some explanation to his perpetual silence; Link was once very talkative when he was younger, but once he acquired the Master Sword later on, he realized the heavy burden that he now has to bear in defeating Calamity Ganon as the lives of the people of Hyrule are at stake that he was reduced to a silent stoic knight who has to put up a strong front at all times. Mipha had close contact with him during his childhood prior to these events and was concerned about his current state.
- Additionally, it is also the first time that his silence had caused or escalated tension between him and two other characters in the game: Revali and temporarily Princess Zelda.
- Unlike Princess Zelda and Ganondorf, Link is the only one of the starring characters in the entire series who never underwent Draconification at any point in the game, which is due to him not being in possession of a Secret Stone for him to swallow, since it was the only way to become a mindless immortal dragon.
- It has been stated by the developer's that Link's androgynous appearance in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom was so that players of all genders could relate to him and feel more immersed in the game due to his gender-neutral appearance.
- That being said, Link's gender-neutral appearance is also a gag in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity as he is faced wearing the Gerudo outfit as the final opponent of the Ms. Vai Battle Pageant, a challenge in which all opponents since then have been female warriors such as Zelda, Mipha, and Urbosa. This implies that Link tricked the organizers of the challenge into believing he was a woman using his outfit, much like how he sneaks into Gerudo town wearing the same outfit in Breath of the Wild.
- He's the first physically disabled incarnation of Link. His corrupted right arm was amputated and replaced with King Rauru's.
- The Purah Pad that Link carries in Tears of the Kingdom is made to resemble the handheld Nintendo Switch when Link uses it to scan from a tower, the process even resembles plugging a Switch into a USB-C cable charging port.
- Conjecture and interpretation from fans aside, it has never been officially confirmed whether or not Link and Zelda are romantically involved; when questioned on the subject, Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi stated, "Link is still entrusted with the role of protecting Princess Zelda. Rather than having the developers explain the relationships between the characters, I think it is best for people to play the game for themselves and use their imaginations."
