All Links EXPLAINED in The Legend of Zelda (1986 - 2023)

[@BanditGames]

Which Link is your favorite? Mine is the Hero of Time, hands down

[@xandoryuu555]

Same bro!

[@gymbro_jb_13]

Hero of Twilight, easy!

[@Bonnielikescats]

Hero of Legend

[@heyvista]

i agree i love hero of time but i also love link from og zelda or zelda a link to the past

[@turtle_queen]

Genuinely, the hero of Hyrule(OG baby)

[@SterbiusMcGurbius]

Imagine being up in heaven talking with your ancestors: "Yeah, I'm the Hero of Time", "I'm the Hero of Twilight". And then you say "I'm the Hero of Trains" 😭

[@Kaiserin]

Underrated comment tbh

[@funkyfunkobunko]

Bro literally

[@Thor-Orion]

Say that shit loud and proud! "I'm the hero of *(*quietly*)running* trains!"

[@Gaiju97]

Hehe the hero of Choo choo

[@Trianull]

I prefer calling him the Hero of Spirits

[@reformedorthodoxmunmanquara]

My favorite Link is the Hero Of Winds. He’s a funny kid who makes funny faces and he’s also just really cool in the fact that no divine entity had any sort of plans for him. He just happened to be a really brave kid which is badass

[@gregovaromoreno6318]

I agree with you. Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda game. BUT, Wind Waker Link is my favorite Link

[@argentumoculisgrimm9619]

In terms of lore, OOT link is the best simply because of his sacrifice. A kid faced with nearly impossible odds similar to Wind waker, however unlike WW link, OOT link sacrifices basically everything in both of his timelines. The saddest timelines in the history LOZ. The most epic is SS link cause well I mean cmon, the guy is literally the reason LOZ exist. One of the few to wield the full power of the triforce as well. The best in terms of literally the “best”? The hero of legend. Man is an immortal mortal who slayed A maximum power Ganon that wielded the full power of the triforce. Man also had the master sword fucking squared so that was OP in itself; Was likely a better warlock than Ganondorf; lastly, he could be volleyed by the USS Montana and LIVE.

[@SlashCraftJack]

Actually, the Hero of Winds is likely a descendant to the "Hero of Four" due to the shield bestowed upon him from his grandma, supposedly belonging to an ancient hero. The same shield was depicted being welded by the 1st 4-Sword Hero as well as "The Hero Of Man" depicted in a stained glass painting in Minish Cap, who's hero also had the same shield.

[@lemau8458]

It's because Link possesses the Triforce of Courage.

[@DaBrozek]

WW is my favorite game and has the best game

[@TJDious]

Skyloft Knights are mostly more of a security force but they do need to be trained to take down threats like Oktoroks and Beedle.

[@ethanasmus4017]

From my experience this comment is 100% accurate.

[@ericolens3]

Beedle wouldn't hurt a beetle.

[@lidlove123]

@@ericolens3 no, but he would hurt a skyloftian

[@brendensmith5452]

Ohhh yes

[@alexcrazy1492]

You cannot take down beetle He is all powerful

[@FatefulMedia3383]

Intro and quiz ends at 2:12 2:14 Hero of the sky 3:33 Hero of the Minish 4:09 Hero of four 4:41 Hero of time 6:01 Hero of Twilight 7:35 Hero of Winds 9:39 Hero of Trains 11:24 Hero of Hyrule 12:51 The next Hero of Hyrule 13:47 The original Hero 14:55 Hero of the Wilds

[@bloodblues85]

If you hook all the Link's together barrel-of-monkeys style, you can actually craft a chain of Links. Perfect for when you're cruising dark alleyways and you forgot your iron knuckles at home.

[@CorraThaxton]

So a link chain, if you will.

[@Abegilr_Dragonrider]

Yeah, Iron Knuckles. As long they remember to bring their axes we're good.

[@knowledgeseeker4614]

Besides Ocarina Link, my favorites were Twilight and Skyward Links.

[@kyguy3242]

The Hero of the Sky isn't the reincarnation of the first hero. He IS the first hero, because time travel. The game heavily supports this. But it seems every Link after HoS is a reincarnation of the hero's spirit.

[@hylianro]

Except toon link

[@kyguy3242]

@@hylianro Idk, he might still be a reincarnation of the hero even if he isn't blood related. But you're right, the game does seem to suggest he's in no way connected.

[@thetrulyuniqueotsutsukigod9582]

Pretty sure that’s impossible. The first hero helped Hylia fight demise, which was hundreds of years before The Hero of the Sky. However if your referring to him being the first in the cycle of reincarnations, your correct.

[@rayoup11]

The first hero was around with the actual Hylia and not Zelda

[@kyguy3242]

@@thetrulyuniqueotsutsukigod9582 Yeah, but in the game, Link goes back in time to that exact point and defeats demise. There's no other hero around, just the hero of the sky, so it was him all along, and he definitely had help from Hylia. Skyward Sword makes it pretty clear that there's a Bootstrap paradox going on. It doesn't really work too well because Link is supposed to actually defeat Demise for good, not just imprison him, when he goes into the past at the end of the game. But I think the writers just overlooked that flaw in their depiction of time travel.

[@matthewc4024]

I usually refer to Spirit Tracks Link as The Hero of Spirits! Love all the names you made up for them though.

[@Giose]

Hero of spirits sounds so cool!

[@believingisyourmagic8934]

Was about to comment that, it fits so well!

[@derrickdaniels3955]

OMG I just commented that!

[@thewindwakinghero7423]

The hero of the locomo

[@corruptedteka]

@@spritsfal5088 He does meet and help and is helped by a lot of spirits on his journey ! Heck I mean literally Zelda is all ghostly in his game.

[@Darksaviour]

Hero of Twilight is my personal favourite. His quest is personal as well and is just the definition of a hero. Also easily my favourite design.

[@AlecEburhard]

Same

[@Kitty255Again]

What I wanna know is how he manages to be so FUCKING ADORABLE in every game

[@SPFLDAngler]

Character designers and animators at Nintendo.

[@protojager]

Big Twink Energy.

[@Kitty255Again]

@@protojager thats what im sayin

[@silentvoice6737]

gay

[@RetroJack]

@@silentvoice6737 With comments like that, perhaps you should be more like your name.

[@jasonblack2477]

Hero of Twilight is absolutely goated. Charisma with midna is awesome. My sec choice would prob be Botw Link and then The hero of time

[@russellharrell2747]

Twilight Link learned sword techniques from the HoT himself, including the totally sick ending blow and mortal draw. Imagine using stuff like that in Majoras Mask or OoT.

[@jesterstyr4584]

The New Hero of Hyrule may not be a reincarnation of the Spirit of the Hero. It is heavily implied that the old man that runs the multi-player aspect of the game might be the OG Hero of Hyrule. When you reach max lvl in the multi-player, he is the final challenge. Fun fact about this seemingly random NPC: he is rumored to be seen walking around Kakariko village at night by using his fingers.

[@ssjgokuhan]

Because Hylia is the Goddess of Time, I think it's entirely possible that the spirit of the Hero could exist in all timelines despite what happened in OoT, so to me it's possible that the Hero of the Winds and his progeny carry the spirit of the Hero.

[@zziggsofficial1930]

The Hero of the Winds wasn't chosen by the Gods. He FORCED The Gods to choose him out of sheer will and determination to save his sister. Really badass for a 12 year old.

[@fadran11]

I was pretty sure that Link from ALttP, Awakening, and the Oracles was called the Hero of Legend while the OG Link was Hero of Hyrule. Not only does this give proper respect to Fallen Link #1, but makes things even *more* confusing by making the *new* Hero of Hyrule come *before* the OG: Hero of Hyrule.

[@angelmendez-rivera351]

I am pretty sure that aLttP, Awakening, Oracles, are all the same Link, the Hero of Legend.

[@jorgecorea7528]

I thought Link and Zelda were older in BotW because Zelda mentions that she's going to make a journey to the top of mount Lanyaru when she turns 17, and that's in a memory from before the calamity.

[@Donny-Jensen]

I have a theory that the hero of the minish is part of a alternate branch of the hero of the sky's descendants tree this could definitely be the case if Link and Zelda had to repopulate the surface I also think the links of the 2 four swords games and Wind waker are descendants of the hero of the minish because the small shield in minish cap might be the same shield That the hero of winds uses in wind waker as stated by the Hyrule encyclopedia and in wind waker Link's grandma specifically says that the shield is a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation.

[@troloinkto]

the previous link to the hero of the minish is also seen in the game, it's the one who teaches link the great spin attack, since he says that only the hero with the picori blace can perform it

[@Howitchewstofeel5gum]

Here, have some of these:...,,,, ::::;;;;

[@MHShah17]

I think that could make sense, it would fit with the Island's tradition of green clothes too, the hero of time's spirit was lost with time travel, but the Island remembered previous heros and the legends of courageous boys

[@theememe7161]

wait didn't spirit track Zelda also use the shield does that mean hero of the winds and tetra got together

[@Donny-Jensen]

@The E meme No I don't think the hero's shield appears in that game

[@jro4699]

It sometimes really gets confusing with all the links and which are the same and which aren't so i really like this video!

[@gregovaromoreno6318]

My favorite Link is Wind Waker Link. I think his quest is really personal (saving his sister) , he is the Link that has more personality (due to his facial expressions) and is the most badass (quoting Zelink, (I think) he made the goddesses chose him)

[@levifinn1916]

If you replay the wind waker, you can understand the speech between the king of red lions and jaabu, and they say that the hero of winds is not a descendent but carries the same will

[@mldnne4725]

I just fucking love that the Hero of the Wind is just a kid who actually didn't gave a fuck about saving the world but had to do it to save his sister

[@lprehan2367]

My favourite is actually Botw link, he slept 100 years and most people he loved and cared for died but he still fought on saving the kindgdom from ganon and ultimately saving Zelda after 100 years of her waiting. The story is so well written and scenes have so much emotion in them

[@patrickvickery6336]

In ocarina of time his mother is mentioned after you beat the forest temple you learn how link came to the forest village in the first place and why he was different to the others it says his dying mother left him as a baby with The Great Deku Tree

[@JoelBrewton]

Regarding the Hero of Winds not being connected to the Hero of Time, my head-canon has always been that "Link" isn't actually a person but a spirit of courage that awakens within the destined to rise up and save the world whenever a new form of Demise's curse arrives on the scene. So yes, the Hero of Winds may not be a descendant of the Hero of Time, but probably more of a reincarnation.

[@_itsmunah]

Regardless the hero’s spirit ceased to exist in the adult timeline. That’s why a hero never came so the goddesses flooded hyrule. WW link has zero connection to the hero of time or anyone else. The game is literally him “proving himself” to be the new hero. WW imo is just terrible and what’s even worse are the games that follow. WW did away with hyrule, the hero, the master sword and ganondorf. Basically everything that makes a Zelda game a Zelda game. Then left to find a new continent basically abandoning the lore and ultimately the curse which is the entire point of the franchise. No thanks. I’ll stick to the good and original lore of the series and keep pretending the adult timeline doesn’t exist in the same way nintendo has ignored that timeline for over a decade now.

[@tomrees82]

Definitely a reincarnation of the Goddesses chosen hero, but could also even be a blood descendant of the Hero of the Four Sword.

[@angelmendez-rivera351]

@@_itsmunah *Regardless, the Hero's Spirit ceased to exist in the Adult Timeline. That's why a hero never came, so the goddesses flooded hyrule.* No, that does not follow logically. You are assuming that, since the Hero of Time disappeared from that timeline altogether, that the Spirit of the Hero also had to disappear as well. There is no evidence in any of the games suggesting this is how it works at all. Besides, as the timeline states, the Downfall-Adult timeline-split had to have happened before an adult Hero of Time faced Ganon. Otherwise, the Downfall timeline is not consistent with the events of Ocarina of Time. As such, the Spirit of the Hero would also not exist in the Child timeline either, if we go by your argument. But, it is implied in both the Downfall timeline and the Child timeline that the Spirit of the Hero exists. This means the Spirit of the Hero is not actually affected by time travel. It makes sense it would transcend time, since otherwise, its capabilities to reincarnate would be very limited, especially in light of the events of Skyward Sword. As for Hyrule being flooded: even if the Spirit of the Hero remained in Hyrule, there was no actual person the Spirit could possess that would fit the criteria needed. This is because no blood descendants of the Hero of Time remained in the timeline. Any reincarnation of the Spirit would have to instead be a descendant from the Hero of Swords, the Hero of the Minish, or even just the Hero of the Skies. It is probable the Link in the Wind Waker is one such descendant. I will ignore the rest of your comment, as it basically amounts to you throwing a childish temper tantrum about how much you hate the Wind Waker game, and I am not interested in having a discussion about that.

[@_itsmunah]

@@angelmendez-rivera351 you said there’s no evidence then proceeded to give a rebuttal with no evidence. The spirit of the hero resides in link. Therefore when you erase link (with the spirit) from a timeline it no longer exists in said timeline. The event of windwaker was the gods literally choosing a new hero. Zero evidence canonically that downfall happens to child link. The canon is link lost in the final battle. The spirit continues in the downfall. Link is sent back to the past. He holds the spirit of the hero therefore the spirit continues in the child timeline. The spirit/link was erased from the adult. There was NO HERO OR SPIRIT OF THE HERO OR BLOODLINE to stop ganondorf when his seal broke so the gods literally flooded hyrule lol. Then picked a new hero. I think windwaker is trash.. deal with it.

[@angelmendez-rivera351]

@@_itsmunah *you said there’s no evidence then proceeded to give a rebuttal with no evidence.* I did provide evidence. The only speculative claim in my comment is that the Hero of Winds is a descendant from a previous hero, but in a different bloodline branch than the Hero of Time's. I made it clear that was a possibility, though, I never stated it was canon. The rest of the stuff is canon. *The spirit of the hero resides in link. Therefore when you erase link (with the spirit) from a timeline it no longer exists in said timeline.* This does not follow logically. The Spirit of Hero is a distinct entity from Link himself, so even if the Spirit "resides" the Hero in some metaphysical way, they are not identical, so there is no reason why Link time traveling woukd actually have any effect on the Spirit. Another piece of evidence I forgot to mention is Demise's curse. We know that the Spirit of the Hero, by Hylia's decree, is intimately connected to her own bloodline. When combined with Demise's curse, the result is that, whenever a Zelda exists, so does a Link with the Spirit of the Hero. *The event of windwaker was the gods literally choosing a new hero.* Nope. Nowhere stated in game. Besides, this is contradicted by Skyward Sword, since we know that the Spirit of the Hero is defined originally by the blessing of Hylia, and is the hero she personally chose. The Triforce goddesses had nothing to do with it. *Zero evidence canonically that downfall happens to child link.* The evidence is the timeline itself, as stated in official sources. I know you disagree with official sources, but my response to that is "stop being a baby and grow up, no one cares that you disliked a game, it does not make the timeline non-canon." *The canon is Link lost in the final battle. The spirit continues in the downfall.* Yes, that is literally what I said. I can see literacy is not your strong suit. *Link is sent back to the past. He holds the spirit of the hero therefore the spirit continues in the child timeline.* No, you just said the Spirit continues down the Downfall timeline. No one in the Downfall timeline sent Link back the past. Adult Link went back to the past, after the Downfall-Adult split had happened, and you literally just stated the Spirit continues down the Downfall timeline. *There was NO HERO OR SPIRIT OF THE HERO OR BLOODLINE to stop ganondorf when his seal broke so the gods literally flooded hyrule lol.* You are right that there was no bloodline of the Hero of Time, but the idea that the Spirit disappeared is supported by no evidence at all, and is explicitly contradicted by Demise's curse, and by the Downfall-Adult timeline split. I am sorry this is too difficult for you to understand. *I think windwaker is trash.* I think your thinking is worth less than Hestu's gift. Deal with it.

[@seans602]

I choose to believe that despite being unrelated by blood, Windwaker Link is a kind of reincarnation of the Spirit of the Hero.

[@mmystixx3285]

hey i just wanted to say that you literally sparked my love for zelda again and am now playing the 3ds remakes of ocarina of time and majoras mask because i played the originals years before, thank you :)

[@AaronDC83]

I like the theory that the fallen timeline is the original timeline, and the adult timeline split was caused by LttP wishing on the Triforce at the end of the game to undo the damage caused by Ganon.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

I've always been fond of that idea as well. What most people tend to forget is that the Hero of Time didn't fall to Ganon, he fell to Ganondorf. It's noteworthy that when you enter Ganondorf's boss room your health and magic are automatically refilled, perhaps that could be seen as representative of the Hero of Light and Shadow's (which I could have sworn was his title) wish?

[@Sam_T2000]

I don’t see why the “Spirit of the Hero” would have to be tied to Link’s actual lineage… the spirit of Ganondorf is able to be reincarnated without having any offspring in the Adult Timeline, so why couldn’t the Spirit of the Hero be present in _Wind Waker_ Link?

[@darthpaul99]

Yeah, that’s my personal canon, that they’re all basically reincarnations of the same guy whose spirit just gets reborn wherever. It doesn’t have to be within the same family bloodline or anything.

[@LordBackuro]

Another comment i read said that the wind waker and four swords hero might be from a different lineage of links family that was a different one from the hero of time link I assume that all the links in some way are just from different lineages that all are descendants from skyloft link and that whenever there is a need for the hero the spirit possesses a random child off of one of these multiple lineages of descendants. But Ganon i think is different from Link because Demise never had children (that we know of.) and a gerudo male might be just his most preferred form for some arbitrary reasons. OG Zelda too never had a descendant that wasn’t related to the Royals. Which to me sounds quite reasonable Cause i imagine Skyloft link and Zelda definitely had more children or their grandchildren had more than just 1 and didn’t just interbreed. The wind waker shield is one of the biggest indicators of this because it’s a "family heirloom".

[@Nova-gh5yr]

It being tied to lineage is really dumb We only have confirmation that the Hero of Time and Hero of Twilight are related (its also implied there Hero of Minish and Winds are related but no flat out confirmation I think). If it's true all Link's HAVE to he related then you'd have to exclude the fallen timeline as well since Link in oot would of died before having the chance to produce offspring. Idk some people are really insistent that the Hero of Winds is some anomaly in the timeline and that he isn't connected to the previous Hero's Spirit even though there is more evidence that he is which gets blatantly ignored. Like in the end of the game he is referred as THE hero (like if you look at the scene where he gets his title as hero of Winds there emphasis on this) and the hero of time reborn when previously everyone was just expecting the hero of time to time travel back to save them do to misconceptions and not fully understanding what the hero truly is.

[@crocodilerock4662]

The spirit of the hero isn’t necessarily tied to lineage, but the theory says that The Hero of Time took it *with* him when he left the adult timeline, so it was impossible for the spirit to claim another champion. That being said it *is* just a theory, There’s no reason why the spirit of the hero couldn’t feasibly just abandon link when he went back in time and stayed in the adult timeline. However, one of the biggest reasons People think the spirit of the hero abandoned the adult timeline is because the next time ganon broke free, a hero DIDNT rise up to stop him - which is kind of like the spirit of the hero’s whole thing. It’s what it does. But maybe it was just sleeping in? Lol

[@gabrielamarcus]

@@darthpaul99 This is my canon too

[@songoku9348]

My most favourite Links are ALTTP Link. Hero of Time, Skyward Sword Link and BOTW Link.

[@jive238]

The lack of blood relations between the hero of winds and spirits and any other link doesn't discount anything about the idea of a spirit of the hero, in fact it reinforced it. Link's heroics is not tied to a blood line or not necessarily his own, for as long as Zelda and her bloodline continues her champion will always come to her aid. Even if he dies without heirs he will be born again, even if zelda herself sent him to another timeline he will return to her side it just might take him a while to get back. Link can be descended from knights, blacksmiths, other heroes or no one special at all his lineage doesn't matter, in the trinity only zelda's blood matters as the goddess moves through her bloodline the hero spirit reincarnates when needed/able and the hate of the evil is eternal(until it isn't) that is to say ganon/dorf is mostly the same guy getting beat back by a different zelda and hero everytime he comes back, and if there's one thing ganon can do is come back. I think he only ever returns once by reincarnation but most times he's resurrected or didn't actually die in the first place.

[@belovedwarrior3192]

I always figured a mind, body, spirit connection with their reincarnations. Zelda is a blood relation to a previous Zelda, Ganondorf is more of a mental change (because some of the non-Ganon's had a similar mindset to him) and Link is a spiritual connection to the previous Links.

[@scifriskyxy]

2:39 I'd asume this link may have lost his parents due to an accident and its the reason he wants to become a knight to keep others from suffering a similar Fate as them which would be logical

[@excuse.me.princess]

11:09 ganondorf wasn’t sealed into the sacred realm because they were IN the sacred realm. it was a translation error. he was sealed into a place BEYOND the sacred realm. sry im a perfectionist but overall very informative video which cleared up a lot

[@hylianro]

8:30 small correction here, this is not a theory, it's actually confirmed in game that he isn't related to the Hero of Time and also does not carry the spirit of the hero, this is said by KoRL when he speaks with Jabun. Toon Link had to quite literally force himself to be the hero when he conquered the tower of the gods and found the piece of the triforce of courage (this is when he's dubbed hero of winds)

[@rosedowney12]

ive been a fan of the zelda franchise for a decade now, and your videos are some of my favorites to watch! spirit tracks was the first one i ever played so hearing you talk about the hero of trains really made me happy. 10/10, keep it up bandit!

[@turtle_queen]

Well, I'm excited to see what Chain of events can happen in the video now that I've clicked the Link!

[@The_Ganon]

Love the vid bandito 👍🏼

[@TheShadowDragon26]

Surprised you didn't mention the Links from the Hyrule Warriors games. I know they aren't canon to the mainline series, but they do have some cool stories in them.

[@jonahaldrich4292]

The “first” hero to kill demise was the same link from skyward sword. They went back in time. It’s very confusing, but that is what makes sense for the “first” link.

[@Mortlock2204]

The Hero of Legend - Link to the Past is far and away the most powerful of them all and the only Link in the line who manages to actually *kill* Ganon where all the others could only seal him away. I really hope to see some sort of cameo with this Link in Tears of the Kingdom - even if its only a simply lore mention. He had the largest Arsenal of tools and weapons, The only Link to have a Perfect Master Sword (Golden), Silver Arrows (Which normally is something only Zelda has and has to pass onto him), And he succeeds in killing the Fully-Powered Ganon who had the complete Tri-Force and was basically a full blown God; While on His very own turf, mind you.

[@nate4636]

Me who’s only really played Breath of The Wild: “There’s multiple Links??”

[@Chaos89P]

My headcanon regarding the Spirit of the Hero in the Adult Timeline is that it also gets "shattered" and reforms when the Triforce of Courage lays itself in the Hero of Winds's hand. Ganondorf does call him "the Hero reborn" or something like that.

[@JarvNation]

Great video Jordan. It's hard to find good video essays on Lore.

[@Skew0443]

Just an idea, what if you were to try and make a theory on the hero mentioned in the prologue of Minish Cap, the “Hero of Men”, whom the picori/minish came to first and bestowed the Picori Blade/Four Sword unto? I dont know if there even is enough information to do a full fledged theory, but its just a suggestion of something to look into.

[@noahanimations9859]

Since the release of tears of the kingdom. I think we can confirm that the hero of the wilds is the oldest incarnation of link in terms of physical age with him being most likely in his 20’s

[@crescent_sun482]

the oldest incarnation of what now 🤨

[@noahanimations9859]

@@crescent_sun482 sorry, typo

[@davidburnett5049]

There really is only one Link. He just reincarnates. Like the Dragon in Wheel of Time.

[@theonlybilge]

3:50 the right boy in the wrong place can make all the diff er ence _pause_ in the world, mister Linkman.

[@niernocturne]

skyloft knights function as security, patrol, defence, and in case of fall accidents :) also since the manga was referenced a couple times, think it should be safe to say that sky link did have a father in that side of the ‘canon’ - he passes away but link did have a relationship with him prior .

[@quagsiremcgee1647]

I'm thinking that the spirit of the hero is less of a blood line and more of a heroic vibe that people who where green and break pots have.

[@Kden21]

Hero of the Winds is even more badass now that there is proof that no divine entity chose him to take down Ganon, he just did it after saving his sister and gaining the respect of a talking boat that turns out is the king of Hyrule 🤝

[@memesarekeem]

3:14 I thought Skyward Sword Link was the one who started the whole never-ending battle between light and dark after Demise cursed him? I thought he was the first "hero," and the "spirit of the hero" simply refers to the traits a hero would possess?

[@AlexandraStubbs]

My all time favorite Link is Skyward Sword Link. As well as Sky Zelda, everyone is cute in their own way. Great video as always Bandit, looking at all the other Links is so very interesting. Like the different ideas they tried with Link, some more successful then others.

[@Mystic-40]

its funny everyone i know calls him the 'hero of trains' when it sounds 100x more cool to call him the 'hero of spirits' sounds way better and makes more sense right?

[@kenjishishimaru6114]

In my headcanon regarding the 'spirit of the hero', I think the main factor that goes into making all incarnations of Link "Link" is courage itself. The spirit of the hero transcends time itself, so it should stand to reason that even if Hyrule falls into ruin, a young man with boundless courage like no other will eventually come and fulfill their role alongside the descendants of Goddess Hylia. Being a direct blood descendant isn't the deciding factor, as most Links are unrelated to each other (unless confirmed otherwise), and neither is reincarnation since The Hero's Shade exists as a separate incarnation of the hero altogether from his successor. So in my opinion, I think it's the trait of merely having the courageous spirit that defines the hero of a specific era. Also think about it from a meta perspective: Most heroes in the series CAN have their names changed (even if the canon name will always be "Link"). So under those specific contexts, anyone can be the chosen hero. The only games where you can't change Link's name are Four Swords Adventures and Breath of the Wild. I think in the former's case, it was originally meant to be a direct sequel to Four Swords before the official timeline retconned that, so they kept the name to establish 'continuity'. The Hero of the Wild, however, is much more of a character in his own right with an established history as a defender of the kingdom prior to the Great Calamity (which is ironic when you consider his name was lost to time apart from those that knew him before or were informed of his importance in the lives of Hyrule's denizens). So it only makes sense for him to bear the name "Link" and have it be an immutable aspect of this specific hero. On a related note, I think the line Princess Zelda says before the final battle against Beast Ganon, "You need not remember courage, for it is never forgotten." gives narrative credence to the notion that the 'spirit of the hero' is a transcendent metaphysical force beyond blood and reincarnation. Agree or disagree? Lemme know~

[@nworder4life]

The way I see it, all the links look similar( a few exceptions) because the same spirit or soul of the first Link is within them. See we know that Skyward Sword Zelda and Link became a couple and populated the surface and made the royal family of Hyrule. So I look at it like this, BECAUSE of Demises curse a new Zelda that represents Hylia(by means of her bloodline) will always be in danger and so Hylia's chosen knight will always appear in a new Link to protect her, protect his loved ones descendant. Now of course every Link has their own wills,memories and life experiences . They don't have any knowledge of SS Link or awareness he's within them but he is and he gives them his natural talents but the most important thing he gives them is..The Master Sword. From Skyward Sword(not a direct quote) "The master sword has at last achieved it's ultimate form, the blade has been imbued with the mythical power to drive back demons and *only Link may wield it* " In other words, every Link that gets the master sword is being seen by Fi as her master. The very first Master and the only Master she can serve. Also look at how some Links end up with some Zelda's, it's a representation of the love SS LInk and Zelda had, it's like poetry or history repeating itself.

[@gwilkes5325]

@@nworder4life I think their appearance is all purely coincidental

[@nworder4life]

@@gwilkes5325 Maybe 🤔

[@AHylianWarrior]

The "spirit of the hero" stuff only exists in the English subtitling, likely to avoid backlash from angry religious people who don't like the thought of reincarnation. The original Japanese makes it clear it's the same Link and that it's his soul, his "tenshii" or 魂 . If it meant your type of "spirit" it would've been 精神 or "seishin" in the text, but it's not. The English localisation kinda screws lore things up and it's not a particularly uncommon thing either, almost like it's trying to soften the series up by making it "suitable for everyone"

[@belovedwarrior3192]

There are also several games that suggest a possible relationship with Zelda. So it could be possible that Zelda is the one that is related to a previous Link.

[@RiseeRee]

The Hero of Men? That’s probably a Link too.

[@FukuritaMariko]

Wish there was a Zelda game where you actually meet descendants of many heroes of the past and would help the current hero in some form

[@FlamingoshootsMC]

So avatar 😭

[@Valtsu_1]

I didnt know that i needed this video, but i love it, like your videos always!

[@Wanten-the-stormtrooper]

Do you think we could ever have an "All Ganon forms/Ganons explained" video? You hypothesis that every Ganon other than the one from the Downfall Timeline are in fact different entities has kinda intrigued me...

[@Idk71568]

I think you should have looked at the creating a champion book a bit to look at the hero of wilds lineage.

[@Marlotix]

Here's my take on the Hero of Winds' connection to the Hero of Time, having read over the text of King Daphnes, Jabun, and the Great Deku Tree a bunch of times and tried to make sense of it: He _is_ a reincarnation of the Hero of Time but _isn't_ related to him by blood. King Daphnes was specifically looking for the Hero of Time, if not a descendant of him. He nor Jabun ever said anything about looking for someone containing the spirit of the hero. They simply just don't know that the Hero of Winds is a reincarnation of the Hero of Time. When Daphnes says that Link "has no connection to the legendary one", he's speaking only of blood (as he never knew the Hero of Time left that timeline) and does not know this Link is a reincarnation. Ganondorf even suggests he's "the Hero of Time, reborn." You said that Spirit Tracks' Link only helps confirm the fact they're not a reincarnation but I see it as the opposite. How could we have _two_ Links, especially within the span of only 100 years, that happen to show up when the world needs them most but aren't at all related to the spirit of the hero? Also, unrelated, but the Zelda Encyclopedia says the Link from the Oracle games is not the same one from A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, which only further adds to the myriad of contradictions and retcons regarding that Link's identity...

[@maisaramos1054]

I had thought of that too when I tried to parse that part. At first, I didn't see much sense, because as Links were reincarnations, it didn't make sense to me that they were reincarnations, but not having the hero's spirit either. So initially I thought it would be kind of a plot hole with the current story, as wind waker was released before skyward and all the story that it has these days, so I thought it could be something like this, like this as I noticed other inconsistencies in some games I saw. But after I stopped to think a little more and analyze the speech better, I thought that he could be saying that meaning that Link had no connection with the hero of time, in this case, it would not be someone close to him or, what I thought most, that he himself would not be the hero of time (in this case, that same hero of time who saved Hyrule a long time ago and disappeared). And I saw that he could very well be talking about it (him not being the hero of time who saved Hyrule before the flood happened) after I had saved my save in a new save after finishing the game, because the lines that were spoken in an ancient language were translated, and in that part where the king in the form of a boat talks to Jabun, Jabun says something more or less if he had met the hero of time and he says no, so Jabun says more or less something saying why would he be there if not for the hero of time (probably thinking he could be the hero of time because of the outfit) and the king says he had nothing to do with the hero of time (not sure if I'm saying the lines correctly, but if I'm not mistaken, it would be something like this, as little as I remember, because it's been a long time since I've played this game).

[@maisaramos1054]

And seeing that their conversation, they were talking about the hero of the time in question, the one from the past, seeming like they were looking for him, from the way Jabun had spoken, so I started to think that that answer he gave Jabun, it was to say that that boy, in this case, Link, was not the one they were looking for, since, by the looks of it, they were looking for the hero of time who saved Hyrule a long time ago, and because a lot of time had passed, probably they believed that the hero has already ceased to exist and that Link was just any boy and not the hero of time, so much so that if you look closely, when Jabun talks about the hero of time, he probably thought he was the hero of time, probably because of the green clothes he wore, as the hero of time wore one like it. And you see that you can see that when you see that the Deku tree also confused Link by thinking he was the time hero of the past, that time hero told in legend, who traveled through time. I only came to think of it after analyzing this shit properly.

[@maisaramos1054]

It was bad that I sent two separate comments, but the translator couldn't leave them both in the same place, so I had to separate and translate them by parts (and the translation of my second comment was crap, in English it's normal and in the translation, by for some reason, the comment was shortened).

[@Dan55888]

I am a fan of the "Hero of thevWind" was just an unrelated character who picks up spiritually only by collecting the Triforce of Courage that was also named after the legend of the original hero removed from time

[@Neutra77]

I'm a bit iffy on the Winds Link not being an actual reincarnation. That would indicate that the Spirit of the Hero has presence, and a singular existence, across timelines, which is a much bigger can of worms than just saying Time Link left, but the Triforce of Courage couldn't leave the timeline with him, so it just broke, until Winds, the new incarnation for this timeline, put it back together.

[@troloinkto]

yeah, he wasn't just a random child, it was the king the one who didn't had plans for him, but it's impossible that a random child is identical to all the thousands of heroes before him, it was just that the only ones who knew about a hero were expecting someone else to come back through time

[@gwilkes5325]

​@@troloinkto It's not impossible tho, the whole series happens over thousands and thousands of years, maybe millions (idk) also, there weren't thousands of links before him

[@troloinkto]

@@gwilkes5325 that would be worse, to have a perpetually middle aged world, all due to the monarchy, but getting back into link, we haven't had any sort of zora or goron hero, it's always the destiny pulling the strings to make a hero be born when needed, it wouldn't make sense that every link is almost identical for no reason

[@gwilkes5325]

@@troloinkto wdym?

[@gwilkes5325]

@@troloinkto a lot of people look the same, who’s to say that there can’t be someone with blue eyes, and blonde hair every 10000 years?

[@Smoky_Crow]

*All the Links meet up and start showing off to one another* Hero of Wild: *Starts climbing wall*

[@UltimateTobi]

Awesome video. Now the same for every antagonist and every Zelda. 😋

[@Maikigai]

11:20 I just love when fans question the creators. Please go on.

[@Giose]

Honestly, I like to think each Link is a reincarnation of the previous hero, sort of like a soul coming back to keep Hyrule safe. I know there are many things that sort of disprove this, like Wind Waker Link and the Hero's Shade. My own headcanon for those are: - WW: A part of Link's soul/Spirit stayed in that timeline, probably because of the triforce (I haven't played the game, so this doesn't really have much evidence or anything, it's just a thought) - Hero's Shade: He was the hero of time after all, so what we see is probably some sort of time travel / anomaly. It could also be because either part of his soul just stayed behind out of regret, or because he's the "spirit" of the previous Link, rather than the soul itself. I know this doesn't really make much sense, but i like to think of Link as this hero who will always come back, rather than just being different avatars for the spirit of the hero. Besides that, SS implies that only Link can wield the Master Sword, which kinda makes me think it's always him

[@AHylianWarrior]

I go with the split soul theory too, since it's the only one that makes sense after they uhh fixed the lore in Skyward Sword with it being the same soul. It's likely his soul was fractured and only came back together fully in BotW (which explains why he's so powerful). The Hero's Shade would've been a fractured piece of soul that rejoined with the larger fracture that is TP Link which is why you slowly get learn the moves from nothing

[@Andy-to8yr]

ok but the groose theme at the begginning truly sells this video i already love you sir XD

[@gregtom3272]

and while a lot of people represent the time line split by hero of time , hero of wind and hero of twilight which is a nice touch , but i think that hero of hyrule from a link to the past should be included in that as he is stared at a game that is right after ocarina of time , and he is the most impacful and amazing link , who did FOUR journeys , fought ganon dorf WITH OUT the triforce , had OVER POWERED MAGIC ITEMS like those medalions from a link of the past which might give that specific mast that you get at the end of majora's mask a run for its money , along with his arsenal being filled with magic items , this link means business , and spoilers , that old man from a link between worlds might be him being much older , like hero shade being hero of time in twilight princess but an older spirit , also sorry for this long comment , some times i can't resist talk about zelda lore in cases like watching this very good video

[@timothyhayes2963]

The thing about the hero of winds can be confirmed by playing a second time around where link gains the ability to understand that whale.

[@liamruiz3196]

Something strange about Wind Waker Link is that despite apparently not being related to the hero’s spirit, he can perform the same moves that the Hero’s Shade and Twilight Princess Link perform in said game, which can only be done by someone from their bloodline. What’s even stranger is that the shield that he wields is a family shield passed down through generations. Now what I’m about to theorize is really strange, but what if Link actually had a child with Malon before he defeated Ganon and got sent back in time? A lost bloodline, essentially. That could make sense given how both Links from Wind Waker and Twilight Princess can perform the same techniques from both games and how The King of Red Lions assumed Wind Waker Link didn’t have a connection to the hero of time.. And one more thing. The houses on Outset Island have the emblem of the triforce, also implying a sort of connection.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

A theory runs that the Hero of the Winds is a descendant of the Hero of the Minish due to the family shield that is passed down and that branch of the family may only be tangentially related to the "Knights' Line".

[@SPFLDAngler]

The symbol of the triforce is part of the crest of Hylia. It’s a popular and historically significant object for Hylians, which the people in Wind Waker are descendants of.

[@sledgen.]

Soon we’ll have “lore of the mini games” xD It was still a great video though. Feels good when you find something that works and exploit the heck out of it 👍

[@justanantico6327]

I’m shocked you left out the “Hero of the Multiverse” from the first Hyrule Warriors. Seriously, the entire existence of Warriors kinda explains how much is referenced in Breath of the Wild, like being skyward bound, deep in embers of twilight, battles with Lynels that only exist in the Fallen Timeline. Like, people think it’s just a spin-off, but honestly, it kinda puts everything within Breath of the Wild into place.

[@yang6642]

Hyrule Warriors isn’t canon

[@justanantico6327]

Haha, that's what you think. and no, I won't provide any more of an argument

[@yang6642]

@@justanantico6327 Nope, not what I think, it’s what I know.

[@miluspider2894]

The Zelda 1 link is the hero of hyrule and a link to the past link is the hero of legend (I honestly don’t know why the new hero of hyrule is called “new” even though he’s the first)

[@nb-yi1yf]

I'm trying to remember, it's been so long since I've played the game, was there another non-playable hero referred to at the start of the minish cap in the opening of the story?

[@lukedavies3654]

Yes he fought the monsters with the original picori blade and that’s all we know

[@hatti...]

The hero of men I think

[@nb-yi1yf]

Knew there was one, thought that might have been the name too. Thanks folks

[@fatalwaffle1715]

Awesome video bro!

[@Shane-lh7px]

I think the three Links with the four sword (part of the four sword trilogy) are actually the same Link, it's the timeline that is a little messed up. If you know what the Lorulean Historian Timeline is this theory would make sense

[@VisionVelocity8]

Small potatoes indeed... btw so did Din and Nayru swallow some secret rocks too?

[@locochoify]

In my headcanon, "Tri Force Heroes" and "Four Swords" happen around the "same time" from their respective timelines, when the convergence of the three began.

[@locochoify]

And nice video! Is kind of sad to think that pretty much all Links have become orphans at a young age. :((

[@_itsmunah]

There’s no convergence

[@blueskygames6899]

In ToTK, ToT makes a crying face.

[@RicPendragon]

WOOO! Off the top of my head I guessed 11-12, because I couldn't remember if the Four Swords Link was the Minish Cap Link. Edit Side Note: Link's Uncle doesn't die in Link to the Past (Unless Link uses the Wish from the Triforce to revive him?) as he's seen alive in the end credits

[@alexanderackerman3807]

Considering the king was a skeleton in the prologue and okay in the ending I think the triforce revived him

[@RicPendragon]

@@alexanderackerman3807 that's a good point actually! Totally forgot about the King! Maybe the Triforce wish was to undo any damage caused by Ganon's actions

[@nickhunter9673]

Sooo next Link is gonna be the "Hero of Tears"?! I hope we can give him an emo haircut!

[@virginiaholman7327]

My headcanon as to why Link doesn't usually have parents: his connection to the Triforce of Courage and thus Goddess Farore (who is essentially the Goddess of Life), means that Farore just re-creates him whenever he's needed.

[@girgrumpyorange1873]

I feel like that's a mostly solid theory, but didn't Din, Farore, and Nayru leave after creating the world? The only goddess they left behind to watch over it all was Hylia, no? I may be mistaken, in which case I apologize. Like I originally said; I actually really do like this idea.

[@erubianwarlord8208]

new headcanon? what if the mother of each link is Farore herself taking mortal forms initially to try and circumvent the impending disasters that Nayru foresaw but after the like 4th time just goes to hell with it and has a night out on the town every few decades to refresh the defenses

[@Giose]

@@girgrumpyorange1873 Yeah, they leave the world. I saw a cool theory once that said that Link, Zelda and Ganondorf/Demise are "the godessess avatars in a game of chess" or smth like that. Like, because they can't return to Hyrule for X reason, they use the 3 characters in order to fulfill their will It doesn't really have much evidence, and i think some games just straight up debunk it, but it's a neat concept

[@Duriel123]

Good to see you upload again😊

[@malkcheese69]

I love Skyward Sword Link so much, maybe it is just the art style of the game, I don’t know lol.

[@doctorgamer011]

My favorite video game character of all time! Awesome video! 😁

[@feywinterfox9630]

OMG BANDITGAMES! If you read this, THANK YOU! No one ever talks about the fact that by the end of Adventures of Link, there are totally TWO Princess Zeldas at the very end!

[@tomdilly3230]

You forgot the best Link of them all: Ravio

[@thomashaas7222]

I love twilight link he's a pretty cool guy who doesn't afraid of anything.

[@Lumberjack_king]

Never forget the hero mentioned in the minish cap “the hero of men” drove the monsters into hiding

[@DarkGaia92305]

Correction, Twilight Princess link’s father is unknown on who he is. It could be OOT link, or it could be some random hyrule warrior with a random name, it’s strictly unknown

[@yang6642]

Not OOT Link, TP takes place over a century after OOT

[@jessea9744]

That minish cap ost you played unlocked old memories. Almost brings me to tears. Lol

[@Gamer1288]

12:53 Considering that Gramps was implied to be the OG Hero of Hyrule that makes sense. Can't reincarnate if you are still alive after all.

[@gamergirl5098]

Hey bandit!!!! Sadly, I have missed the last few streams. I be been busy with stuff lol. But I’m glad to see you posting a vid! Always love the Zelda theory’s ahhahah. Have a great rest of your day 😎🤩👍

[@BioAlpha5]

8:45 and did you know that Colin is the equivalent of WW Link in TP? i made a video bout it ngl. TL;DR is TP and WW take place at the same time in two separate timelines. that's why there's similarities between the two (and of course... dev reasons like engine being the same) lol Great video man! loving these!

[@Ninjaananas]

I cannot wait for all Beedles explained.

[@LilPiguana]

“THEEE biggest and most blue eyes” He can see everything. There’s no escaping this mans large ass eyes

[@theconfusedcrow]

Hero of Winds parents are just on vacation and hear that Bandit said that they’re out of the picture permanently.

[@Muhammad-lq7fu]

Me : I don't like history lessons Also me: watches entire the legend of zelda history

[@spiderflash1273]

I could’ve sworn that the Link from LttP, Awakening and the Oracle games was the “hero of legend,” and the “hero of hyrule” was the one found in the original two nes games. I might just be hallucinating that, though, I don’t know if that was ever outright stated by anyone in Nintendo or not.

[@Exile_Sky]

What I got from this video. "The most dangerous kind of person to be in all of Zelda Lore is Link's parents."