There have been many threads started about the Hero's Shade, but I have yet to see one that takes this approach. If this has been posted before, I am sorry. I haven't been around very long.
In Hyrule Historia, it is said that the Hero's Shade is the spirit of the Hero of Time. It does say that it is Link from the Ocarina of Time (OoT:Link), but it is almost insulting to him at the same time. Disregarding that book, my theory is that Link from Skyward Sword (SS:Link) is also the Hero of Time, and thus the Hero's Shade is the spirit of SS:Link and not OoT:Link.
OoT:Link has long been heralded as the Hero of Time. This is undisputed fact. He draws the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time in the Temple of Time. When he plays the Song of Time on the Ocarina of Time, he is offering a prayer to the Goddess of Time. Link is able to defeat Ganon by traveling through time—sort of.
Initially, OoT:Link never travels through time. He simply sleeps for seven years. Ganondorf is still active during this time; Link just isn't mature enough to wield the Master Sword. Later on, Link does travel backward through time. But he is not going backward through time so much as he is rewinding it. If he were really traveling through time, he would maintain his age. Presumably, if he traveled 100 years in the future or 15 years in the past, he would cease to exist. His age matches the number of years passed, which means that he isn't really traveling through time. He's only fiddling with the dial on the clock, setting it forward or backward by seven years.
Now then, compare that with SS:Link. This Link travels through the Door of Time to go back a millennia. He remains the same age throughout, meaning he is literally traveling through time—not simply rewinding or fast-forwarding it. Also, he manipulates time in limited regions using the Timeshift Stones (supposedly the material of the Ocarina of Time). Finally, he saves the Goddess of Time from a thousand-year slumber and multiple attacks from The Imprisoned.
So, while SS:Link is never referred to as the Hero of Time, I think he definitely qualifies.
Now that we have established that, we can ask whether the Hero's Shade is OoT:Link (the popular opinion) or SS:Link. Referring to Hyrule Historia, it does identify the Hero of Time as OoT:Link.
I'm not a huge fan of Hyrule Historia for other reasons, so while this is going against the published ideas of the creators, bear with me as I break away into speculation. First, I don't think OoT:Link is the kind of person to get upset if he is forgotten as a hero. Besides, consider what heroic things he did after rewinding time to the Child Era. He convinced the King of Hyrule that Ganondorf was wicked when Princess Zelda couldn't. He saved the entire world of Termina from utter ruin in three days. And supposedly he marries Malon and founds Ordon Village. He does all these things, and he is not remembered as a hero?? But even if he does slip into obscurity, a big ego is antithetical to Link. It seems silly and almost pathetic that the Hero of Time would be so desperate for recognition that he must teach his descendant his sword techniques to prove to somebody that he was a hero.
And on that note, if OoT:Link is the Hero's Shade, then where did he learn all of the attacks that he teaches to TP:Link? I know that this has been discussed many times before, but let's compare again.
*SS:Link can do this and catch enemies off guard, but it's not a one-hit KO.
Neither SS:Link nor OoT:Link know all of these techniques, but OoT:Link knows none of them. SS:Link uses three (possibly four) of them. Again, he is the more likely candidate to be the Hero's Shade.
I want to point out the obvious that this is merely speculation. I know that the Hero's Spirit is *officially* OoT:Link, but there are a lot of other things in Hyrule Historia that are official too but don't make a lot of sense. Going against Nintendo's stated position, I believe that SS:Link is a much stronger candidate for the Hero's Shade and the moniker "Hero of Time."
In Hyrule Historia, it is said that the Hero's Shade is the spirit of the Hero of Time. It does say that it is Link from the Ocarina of Time (OoT:Link), but it is almost insulting to him at the same time. Disregarding that book, my theory is that Link from Skyward Sword (SS:Link) is also the Hero of Time, and thus the Hero's Shade is the spirit of SS:Link and not OoT:Link.
OoT:Link has long been heralded as the Hero of Time. This is undisputed fact. He draws the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time in the Temple of Time. When he plays the Song of Time on the Ocarina of Time, he is offering a prayer to the Goddess of Time. Link is able to defeat Ganon by traveling through time—sort of.
Initially, OoT:Link never travels through time. He simply sleeps for seven years. Ganondorf is still active during this time; Link just isn't mature enough to wield the Master Sword. Later on, Link does travel backward through time. But he is not going backward through time so much as he is rewinding it. If he were really traveling through time, he would maintain his age. Presumably, if he traveled 100 years in the future or 15 years in the past, he would cease to exist. His age matches the number of years passed, which means that he isn't really traveling through time. He's only fiddling with the dial on the clock, setting it forward or backward by seven years.
Now then, compare that with SS:Link. This Link travels through the Door of Time to go back a millennia. He remains the same age throughout, meaning he is literally traveling through time—not simply rewinding or fast-forwarding it. Also, he manipulates time in limited regions using the Timeshift Stones (supposedly the material of the Ocarina of Time). Finally, he saves the Goddess of Time from a thousand-year slumber and multiple attacks from The Imprisoned.
OoT:Link | SS:Link |
Rewinds/Fast-fowards seven years | Travels through a thousand years |
Plays ocarina made of a Timeshift Stone | Manipulates fields of time using Timeshift Stones |
Prays to the Goddess of Time for help | Saves the Goddess of Time |
So, while SS:Link is never referred to as the Hero of Time, I think he definitely qualifies.
Now that we have established that, we can ask whether the Hero's Shade is OoT:Link (the popular opinion) or SS:Link. Referring to Hyrule Historia, it does identify the Hero of Time as OoT:Link.
Hyrule Historia said:The ghost of his ancestor, the Hero of Time, teaches him secrets. Ever since returning to the child era, the Hero of Time had felt regret that he could not be remembered as a hero. Therefore, he addresses Link as his son and passes down the proof of courage and his secrets.
I'm not a huge fan of Hyrule Historia for other reasons, so while this is going against the published ideas of the creators, bear with me as I break away into speculation. First, I don't think OoT:Link is the kind of person to get upset if he is forgotten as a hero. Besides, consider what heroic things he did after rewinding time to the Child Era. He convinced the King of Hyrule that Ganondorf was wicked when Princess Zelda couldn't. He saved the entire world of Termina from utter ruin in three days. And supposedly he marries Malon and founds Ordon Village. He does all these things, and he is not remembered as a hero?? But even if he does slip into obscurity, a big ego is antithetical to Link. It seems silly and almost pathetic that the Hero of Time would be so desperate for recognition that he must teach his descendant his sword techniques to prove to somebody that he was a hero.
And on that note, if OoT:Link is the Hero's Shade, then where did he learn all of the attacks that he teaches to TP:Link? I know that this has been discussed many times before, but let's compare again.
SS:Link | OoT:Link | |
Ending Blow | ☑ | ☒ |
Shield Attack | ☑ | ☒ |
Back Slice | ☑ | ☒ |
Helm Splitter | ☒ | ☒ |
Mortal Draw | ☑* | ☒ |
Jump Strike | ☒ | ☒ |
Great Spin | ☒ | ☒ |
Neither SS:Link nor OoT:Link know all of these techniques, but OoT:Link knows none of them. SS:Link uses three (possibly four) of them. Again, he is the more likely candidate to be the Hero's Shade.
I want to point out the obvious that this is merely speculation. I know that the Hero's Spirit is *officially* OoT:Link, but there are a lot of other things in Hyrule Historia that are official too but don't make a lot of sense. Going against Nintendo's stated position, I believe that SS:Link is a much stronger candidate for the Hero's Shade and the moniker "Hero of Time."