Origins of the Hero of Hyrule? (NES Link)

[Masked Bastard]

So, ever since A Link to the Past, the various heroes of the series have always had a "home" or background which gets shaken up when they are called to travel beyond it. In A Link to the Past, Link disobediantly chases after his uncle one night after getting a collect call and ends up inheriting a sword and shield. In Minish Cap, Link lived with his grandpa/maybe some unrelated blacksmith all his life. In Ocarina of Time, the Kokiri and even an explanation of times before that.

The original "brunette" Link though is a bit of an enigma. If you're not familiar with the story, he basically appeared out of the blue to rescue Impa from monsters. After hearing her story about Zelda and the Triforce, Link resolves to help her and thus the game begins.

This bugs me kind of, not just because of the lack of information but actually because the information we *do* get raises even more questions. Who is this Link? Well, he is 10 years old in the first game (Hyrule Historia, manual artwork) and originates from outside Hyrule (Zelda II) Unlike other games, he has no "home" that we know of, or even family members. If they exist, then they likely also live outside of Hyrule (the comic goes with this, but it isn't canon.) At that age, it really makes him sound like a wandering orphan, trying to survive in the world.

Either that, or he's a lot like Shigeru Miyamoto and just wandered for fun. Even then though, Miyamoto's adventures did have a bit of a dark underscore: The big motivator for him to do it was that his family was too poor for much else. Not surprising really, when you consider that seven years before he was born, Grave of the Fireflies happened. So... assuming Link has similar origins, why doesn't he go back? Maybe hardship hit a little more recently for Link's homeland than it did Miyamoto's?

This is all just speculation though. Thoughts and ideas.

 

[HeroOfHyrule64]

Him, very interesting. I personally think he came from a relative (Grandma/Grandpa/Uncle) and just went wandering off with hopes of going on an adventure.

 

[VitaTempusN92]

This bugs me kind of, not just because of the lack of information but actually because the information we *do* get raises even more questions. Who is this Link? Well, he is 10 years old in the first game (Hyrule Historia, manual artwork) and originates from outside Hyrule (Zelda II) Unlike other games, he has no "home" that we know of, or even family members. If they exist, then they likely also live outside of Hyrule (the comic goes with this, but it isn't canon.) At that age, it really makes him sound like a wandering orphan, trying to survive in the world.

Um, didn't Miyamoto confirm that he's supposed to be 12?

Miyamoto: Link is a boy. In the first game, The Legend of Zelda, he was about 12 years old. In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, he was about 16, but I never wanted to make him just another cool hero. Until The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link was a playful and childish character.

Source: http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/zelda-ocarina-of-time/4/1

He was 12, not 10!

 

[Masked Bastard]

Actually Hyrule Historia makes a point that Zelda II was six years later and that he was 16 in it. So yes, he was 10.

 

[DekuNut]

Actually Hyrule Historia makes a point that Zelda II was six years later and that he was 16 in it. So yes, he was 10.

In all seriousness though, I'd think that, at that age, to be that good at fighting, he'd have to had been trained somewhere. Maybe my family or a militaristic government.

 

[Masked Bastard]

so... maybe he did have an uncle or a grandpa? (btw I think, them being the last descendants of the knights, it would be hilarious if Link's uncle was also named Link in Alttp BUT ANYWAYS)

He could have learned from family. Most artwork of the younger HoH almost seems to depict him more competantly than the elder. Then again though, there's also more "good" art of him than the elder (as opposed to the cutsie illustrations)

 

[VitaTempusN92]

Actually Hyrule Historia makes a point that Zelda II was six years later and that he was 16 in it. So yes, he was 10.

That's stupid cause Miyamoto said in that SAME year that HH released in Japan that Link was supposed to be TWELVE!!!! I like to go by what the MAIN creator of the series HIMSELF said in this case not what that stupid neutral Hyrule Historia piece of garbage says!

I'm sorry but Hyrule Historia is NOT perfect, it's known for it's rights and wrongs. There's a reason why so many people both love and hate it! Also, I think it's stupid how Nintendo first says that Link is 12 in TLoZ, then later in that SAME year, they release a book that says he was 10. That's ridiculous and a HUGE no no when it comes to talking about history and lore.

THIS is exactly WHY I prefer to go by my OWN take on the Zelda lore because at least I actually KNOW how to tell history in a way that will actually MAKE SENSE!

 

[Emmanuel]

I'd speculate that Link from LoZ might not be from Hyrule exactly, similar to how Link from Twilight Princess was from the Ordona Provice and not from "Hyrule proper." At least, this could be a possible explanation for why we never see Link's home on Hyrule's map. (On the other hand, we don't see any villages or towns either...)

 

[Kingwobbly]

View attachment 36736

In all seriousness though, I'd think that, at that age, to be that good at fighting, he'd have to had been trained somewhere. Maybe my family or a militaristic government.

That good at fighting? He pokes octorok so with a wooden sword. He doesn't even know how to slash XD

That's stupid cause Miyamoto said in that SAME year that HH released in Japan that Link was supposed to be TWELVE!!!! I like to go by what the MAIN creator of the series HIMSELF said in this case not what that stupid neutral Hyrule Historia piece of garbage says!

I'm sorry but Hyrule Historia is NOT perfect, it's known for it's rights and wrongs. There's a reason why so many people both love and hate it! Also, I think it's stupid how Nintendo first says that Link is 12 in TLoZ, then later in that SAME year, they release a book that says he was 10. That's ridiculous and a HUGE no no when it comes to talking about history and lore.

THIS is exactly WHY I prefer to go by my OWN take on the Zelda lore because at least I actually KNOW how to tell history in a way that will actually MAKE SENSE!

Woah, chill out. It's just a game and it's just an age. Miyamoto said he was about twelve, not that it was absolutely vital that he was twelve. It's two fictional years, calm down.

 

[DekuNut]

That good at fighting? He pokes octorok so with a wooden sword. He doesn't even know how to slash XD

Yes, but he was also able to defeat Ganon. Magic sword or not (and I don't think you even use the sword in that battle) that's pretty good.
Also, use of a sword is one thing, but look at the number of different items he had to be able to use. The flute, the bow and arrow, the boomerang the bombs...

 

[PalaeoJoe]

That's stupid cause Miyamoto said in that SAME year that HH released in Japan that Link was supposed to be TWELVE!!!! I like to go by what the MAIN creator of the series HIMSELF said in this case not what that stupid neutral Hyrule Historia piece of garbage says!

I'm sorry but Hyrule Historia is NOT perfect, it's known for it's rights and wrongs. There's a reason why so many people both love and hate it! Also, I think it's stupid how Nintendo first says that Link is 12 in TLoZ, then later in that SAME year, they release a book that says he was 10. That's ridiculous and a HUGE no no when it comes to talking about history and lore.

THIS is exactly WHY I prefer to go by my OWN take on the Zelda lore because at least I actually KNOW how to tell history in a way that will actually MAKE SENSE!

I have the perfect solution to this problem! Let's average out the different ages of Link from the two different sources and see what we get.

10 + 12 = 22 ....then we just divide the sum of the two ages by the number of sources we are using.... 22 ÷ 2 = 11... done.

So there we have it, the official canon and age of Link in the original legend of Zelda is 11. Case Closed.

 

[Kingwobbly]

Yes, but he was also able to defeat Ganon. Magic sword or not (and I don't think you even use the sword in that battle) that's pretty good.
Also, use of a sword is one thing, but look at the number of different items he had to be able to use. The flute, the bow and arrow, the boomerang the bombs...

Ok, fair enough. Anyone who can throw a boomerang properly has mad skills have you ever tried it? It's Black magic.

 

[Retro Ganon]

When the series was in its infancy with LoZ/AoL and ALttP/LA, theorists relied on the magna for canonical insight. While the old comics are as canon as the infamous CD-I games, they provide the only theoretical "in-game" dialog that is absent from the original product. If you read into the page I linked, you will see the common theme reproduced with Link's origins as seen in futures titles. Whether you want to argue semantics with HH and game-manual crossovers, it makes no difference. I will point out that the comics were released around when information about the upcoming ALttP game was being advertized, thus the idea of Link having an 'origin' might have been inspired throughout the series whether in was magna or game.

 

[Masked Bastard]

Yes, but he was also able to defeat Ganon. Magic sword or not (and I don't think you even use the sword in that battle) that's pretty good.
Also, use of a sword is one thing, but look at the number of different items he had to be able to use. The flute, the bow and arrow, the boomerang the bombs...

I think that is the result of Link learning over the course of the game. He goes from poking things with a piece of wood to parrying, slashing, real fighting with the magic sword. The experience transforms him (and presuming it doesn't scar the child for life that means he's something special, like the Hero of Time was, venturing into Termina)

 

[TheRockinStallion]

View attachment 36736

In all seriousness though, I'd think that, at that age, to be that good at fighting, he'd have to had been trained somewhere. Maybe my family or a militaristic government.

In medieval times, many boys were taught how to swordfight from a very young age. However, in the case of the Zelda series, the way I like to look at it is that since Link is destined to be the hero, it's just something that comes naturally to him.