Breath of the Wild Not Link in Zelda Wii U? "No One Explicitly Said That That Was Link"

[Mercedes]

That trailer for the new Legend of Zelda for the Wii U sure looked great, didn’t it? But what was up with Link? He wasn’t wearing his iconic green tunic or hat. Why did Link look so weird?

“No one explicitly said that that was Link.”

That’s what Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma told me when I asked him about Link’s, or whoever it is’, new appearance during an interview at Nintendo’s E3 booth. He said this with a smile and a laugh. Could the bow-wielding hero we just saw not be Link, the star of every game in the series history?

Earlier in the interview, Aonuma told me that he was always looking for ways to shake up the series conventions. We saw this in the recent A Link Between Worlds for the 3DS, which let you explore dungeons in any order you wanted while renting items from a store. But a Zelda game without Link as the main hero? That would be a huge blow to tradition.

So, who is that? The outfit actually looks like the same one Link wore in the beginning of The Wind Waker. Aonuma himself smiled when I brought up this connection. Could this new entry be tied to that universe? Of course, that doesn’t explain why this wouldn’t be Link. Maybe it’s a child of a Link we already played as, like the one from Wind Waker or Skyward Sword. Let the speculation begin.

VentureBeat, via NeoGAF

So Aonuma is suggesting that perhaps that isn't Link? I've seen some minor divide on the character's appearance in that Wii U Zelda teaser trailer. But is Aonuma just being a bit of a tease with this comment, maybe referencing it's place in a new timeline where that isn't the Link we've played before, article mentions he smiled when the interviewer commented the outfit looked a lot like Wind Waker's starting one, or does he actually mean this hero isn't any Link incarnation? It sure looks like him, but...

WEIRD!!!

 

[LinkIsCool]

A Zelda game without Link? That would be awkward. Not saying the game will suck, but without Link it doesn't really feel like a Zelda game.

Also, one rumor, and that's all it is, is that the person in the trailer is Link's brother and Link dies so his brother takes over. Sounds kinda wacky. Other people also think it's a wacky theory.

Anyways, I really hope we see Link.

If it does take place in the Adult Timeline, maybe that is TWW Link's sisters daughter?

I really hope they didn't get rid of Link.

 

[Mercedes]

Also, one rumor, and that's all it is, is that the person in the trailer is Link's brother and Link dies so his brother takes over. Sounds kinda wacky. Other people also think it's a wacky theory.

I don't think it's wacky, I just think it sounds a little bit cliché. And I don't think Nintendo would be blunt about Link dying in a Zelda game, I doubt that would be a plot-point they'd put in so blatantly into the family-friendly game.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Taking things with a grain of salt for now, it could be Link or it could be someone completely different but sort of looks like Link. However, Link, the character, is just the hero we play as when you think about it. Most of the time he's a different incarnation anyway, so when it comes down to it, all of this doesn't really make that much difference. As long as this character somewhat resembles Link, and acts as a hero, then he might as well be Link in my eyes because that's exactly what Link fundamentally is.

The only thing it would interfere in, or slightly alter, is Zelda lore. Having a different hero would have to make some kind of sense for me to accept or tolerate it. Link is tied to the Triforce and this balance of three that's going on, for that connection to break would be odd, unless there is no Triforce or a Demon King present of course. Saying that though, a prequel to The Wind Waker actually doesn't seem that far fetched, but yeah all speculation at the moment.

 

[Reaca]

I've seen rumors that this character may be the Hero of Men that was mentioned in The Minish Cap.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Apparently a lot of people think zelda U is the infamous valley of the flood game that was a fake... I hope this is not true.

 

[VitaTempusN92]

All I got to for now is that this mysterious Link-like character is either Gustaf (the Hero of Men), an ancestor or descendant of ST Link, or a Hero of Hyrule from Ancient times before SS. What do you people think?

 

[Snow Queen]

It could be someone training under Link or something. Who knows. We don't know enough yet to know for sure.

 

[Wolf Sage]

It's Link.

 

[CynicalSquid]

Lonk confirmed.

 

[EternalNocturne]

The way I see it, he's either Gustaf or Link. I really don't see why they would go through the trouble of designing a character who looks so much like Link only to reveal that he isn't. A lot of people already think Link is named Zelda; making a character who isn't Link look remarkably similar to Link just complicates things even more.

If I was designing a game and I'd want a different main character, there's no way I'd design him to look exactly like the past main character. The point of making a different main character is for him to be different, right?

 

[Fig]

There's already a lot of theories coming about "Link" in Zelda U. From what I've heard, this could be Link and Mr. Aonuma is just playing with us, this a new character or maybe a new design for Zelda, or this is the "lovechild" that people have been waiting for. Do note I am saying this but I've heard/seen this from fans who truly believe in ZeLink, nothing wrong with that, but man that's a lot of emphasis in that aspect.

Personally I believe this could be Link or this could somehow be a new design for Zelda. It could be either one and hopefully we will find out in later days as Mr. Aonuma is either playing with us or could really be another part of his plan to make the Zelda franchise not as traditional as previous installments. Also I found this just a few minutes ago:

It appears that many fans are already noticing certain aspects of the game and now people are wondering just where does take place in the timeline, considering that each split timeline had a distinct characteristic that was usually only found in each respective portion in the timeline. I personally believe that this will take place sometime before the split occurs and maybe even after Skyward Sword yet before Minish Cap.

Another interesting theory is that this is actually Zelda. Here's why:

Spoiler

It’s Zelda herself. Nintendo made it a point to hint that the character in the trailer wasn’t Link, and for every reveal of Zelda featuring Link as the protagonist, it always features him wielding The Master Sword and Hylian Shield. It’s only fitting that for a game featuring Zelda herself, they’d feature her signature weapons: a bow and magical arrows. It’s her weapon of choice in every single game where she has to fight. She uses them in Smash, she uses them in the upcoming Hyrule Warriors, she uses them in Wind Waker in the final battle against Ganon, etc.

Discuss!
The first arrows she fires are fire arrows:

But then, she switches to this:

And, those could be ice arrows, but I’m 99% sure they’re light arrows instead, and the trailer ends there because Nintendo doesn’t want to give away the effect of the arrows hitting and making it too obvious that it’s Zelda.
zblaster has also pointed out that she’s wielding the bow and arrow like a right-handed person. Link is left handed, and only right-handed in TP and SS because of the controls. Even if the game supported the Wii Mote, it would be pointless to show off right-handed wielding because the main control would still have to be based on the gamepad (not everyone has a Wii Mote, but every Wii U owner has a gamepad). She’s wielding that bow and arrow exactly how she wields it in every other game: right-handed. It’s not a super solid theory, but something to consider.

Original post can be found here.

A very interesting theory nonetheless. Hopefully we get more word on Zelda U sometime soon or during E3.

 

[A Link In Time]

Remember all the crazy fan theories about that one image when Skyward Sword was first revealed? Most of them turned out to be false. This is likely the case again. Link's garb also resembles that which he wore at the start of TWW making me believe it is him.

 

[Dimooshky]

Aonuma is such a cheeky troll, I bet he loves watching all these theories pop up

 

[DJ Twitch]

>New outfit
>weird
Yeah right.

But yeah, I think he's just playing games. When he says not exactly Link, he means that this one will be different. Link fans, don't worry.