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So, what exactly do you mean by Link's "reincarnation?"

YIGAhim

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That's not what reincarnation means.... Reincarnation posits that a survivng aspect of an individual such as consciousness, the spirit or the soul, is reborn into a new vessel in the next life. This means that The Spirit of The Hero is SS Link's soul or spirit, it is the essence of SS Link which survives his biological death, this also means that the Zelda Universe proves mind-body dualism is in effect, as SS Link can only be reincarnated if there were a metaphysical component to his existence, ergo, The Spirit of The Hero, which Demise talks about.

I don't take the literal meaning of reincarnation, though. I take it more figuratively
 
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I don't take the literal meaning of reincarnation, though. I take it more figuratively

Well, once again, you can't take reincarnation figuratively, it's meant to be literal. Furthemore, the Light Spirit Faron in Twilight Princess reveals to TP Link after the Triforce of Courage appears on the back of his hand, that the spirit of the hero lay dormant within TP Link's veins, now, spirit of the hero wasn't used in exact context but Faron spoke of the ancient hero's power dwelling within TP Link. This would undoubtedly be referring to SS Link, as OoT Link and TP Link are a century apart, a hundred years is a long time, but one would hardly consider that ancient. This also means that the spirit of the hero is literal, and thus reincarnation in this instance, must also be literal. It cannot be figurative, what you refer to as reincarnation is merely happenstance. For instance, it just so happened that WW Link proved himself worthy to wield the Master Sword even though he had no connection to the Chosen Hero. However, he possessed similar qualities to the spirit of the hero, SS Link's essence.
 

YIGAhim

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Well, once again, you can't take reincarnation figuratively, it's meant to be literal. Furthemore, the Light Spirit Faron in Twilight Princess reveals to TP Link after the Triforce of Courage appears on the back of his hand, that the spirit of the hero lay dormant within TP Link's veins, now, spirit of the hero wasn't used in exact context but Faron spoke of the ancient hero's power dwelling within TP Link. This would undoubtedly be referring to SS Link, as OoT Link and TP Link are a century apart, a hundred years is a long time, but one would hardly consider that ancient. This also means that the spirit of the hero is literal, and thus reincarnation in this instance, must also be literal. It cannot be figurative, what you refer to as reincarnation is merely happenstance. For instance, it just so happened that WW Link proved himself worthy to wield the Master Sword even though he had no connection to the Chosen Hero. However, he possessed similar qualities to the spirit of the hero, SS Link's essence.
"A Spirit Like that of The Hero's" is how I take it. The hero's shade and TP Link can't both have SS Link's Spirit, and I still feel as though it can be taken figuratively
 
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"A Spirit Like that of The Hero's" is how I take it. The hero's shade and TP Link can't both have SS Link's Spirit, and I still feel as though it can be taken figuratively

Fair enough, however, I must correct you in one detail, The Hero's Shade is not a physical presence of OoT Link, who is deceased, but rather a manifestation of OoT Link's regrets from not being remembered as The Hero of Time. This was confirmed in Hyrule Historia. So, only TP Link would be SS Link reincarnated.
 

YIGAhim

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Fair enough, however, I must correct you in one detail, The Hero's Shade is not a physical presence of OoT Link, who is deceased, but rather a manifestation of OoT Link's regrets from not being remembered as The Hero of Time. This was confirmed in Hyrule Historia. So, only TP Link would be SS Link reincarnated.
(Might be going off topic a little here, but I had an aha moment)

So The Hero Shade is a manifestation of OoT Link's regrets about not becoming famous? So, to make up for it, that is why he trains Link in TP? Makes sense.
 
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(Might be going off topic a little here, but I had an aha moment)

So The Hero Shade is a manifestation of OoT Link's regrets about not becoming famous? So, to make up for it, that is why he trains Link in TP? Makes sense.

Pretty much, OoT Link serves as the mentor for TP Link in this regard, TP Link becoming known as The Hero Chosen by The Gods or as fans like to call him, Hero of Light or Hero of Twilight, is OoT Link's way of making sure his successor achieves the recognition that he didn't receive. Though, TP Link wouldn't have needed extensive training, as the reincarnation theory would prove each incarnation of Link to have a natural affinity for the sword.
 

Alita the Pun

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reincarnated isn't the word to use, it's Awakened. unlike Ganon, link isn't reincarnated from death. whenever a great evil enters Hyrule, a hero rises up, or awakens, to face it. I believe that in the case of the hero's shade, this was the manifestation of the Hero of Time. the Hero of Twilight was not ready to take on Ganon. he had not been trained he was powerful, yes, but at his roots he's still a farm boy. just like fairies helped the Hero of Time learn abilities to destroy ganon, the Hero's Shade is tasked with helping The Hero of Twilight prepare for the battle against Ganon. obviously link needed training in ALTTP because he went all over the place in search of training. like Koholint and such.
 
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reincarnated isn't the word to use, it's Awakened. unlike Ganon, link isn't reincarnated from death. whenever a great evil enters Hyrule, a hero rises up, or awakens, to face it. I believe that in the case of the hero's shade, this was the manifestation of the Hero of Time. the Hero of Twilight was not ready to take on Ganon. he had not been trained he was powerful, yes, but at his roots he's still a farm boy. just like fairies helped the Hero of Time learn abilities to destroy ganon, the Hero's Shade is tasked with helping The Hero of Twilight prepare for the battle against Ganon. obviously link needed training in ALTTP because he went all over the place in search of training. like Koholint and such.

I wouldn't say so, I believe it's reincarnation, I believe that every Link which proceeds SS Link contains an essence of SS Link, The Spirit of The Hero. So, SS Link is merely reborn when the time calls for it, but you might say it's awakened, but Skyward Sword pays special attention to destiny and reincarnation, so we can't ignore that. Demsie was very specific about his curse to future incarnations. Spirit of The Hero could only be referring to SS Link, and blood of the goddess must refer to Zelda and her bloodline. So, I believe that Spirit of The Hero is SS Link's soul, or rather, what makes him, him and that is a metaphysical component to his existence which survives physical death.
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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Pretty much, OoT Link serves as the mentor for TP Link in this regard, TP Link becoming known as The Hero Chosen by The Gods or as fans like to call him, Hero of Light or Hero of Twilight, is OoT Link's way of making sure his successor achieves the recognition that he didn't receive. Though, TP Link wouldn't have needed extensive training, as the reincarnation theory would prove each incarnation of Link to have a natural affinity for the sword.
It's possible that even with the natural talent with swordplay that each incarnation of the hero has, they can still improve. The Hero's Shade was simply trying to pass on the knowledge of a lifetime this way TP Link wouldn't have to spend a lifetime just getting caught back up to the level of skill the Hero of Time was at before he died.
 
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It's possible that even with the natural talent with swordplay that each incarnation of the hero has, they can still improve. The Hero's Shade was simply trying to pass on the knowledge of a lifetime this way TP Link wouldn't have to spend a lifetime just getting caught back up to the level of skill the Hero of Time was at before he died.

Right, but my thinking is that with the reincarnation theory, every future Link is SS Link reincarnated, ergo, Spirit of The Hero and so, tempered through centuries of experiences. There is natural and fluid skill in swordsmanship because it has become second nature. However, I do agree with you because in each lifetime, SS Link's essence grows more and more skilled. It would explain why TP Link is such a great archer/sharpshooter because of the reincarnation theory, with TP Link being SS Link reincarnate, there is previous experience to using a bow and arrow. It's also why he's a competent horseman, and is familiar with the clawshots, and so on and so forth. Even if we were to say, "Oh, the Zelda canon doesn't really prove that Link is SS Link reincarnated.", there is still the matter of natural affinity for the sword, and instant mastery of the weapons he touches as though he has used them many times before. It's a fascinating topic, and is clearly subject to interpretation, some might say that Spirit of The Hero is a distinct entity on its own separate from SS Link, and is essentionally Hero Incarnate, and others may say the Triforce of Courage enables Link to master any weapon he holds and keeps him safe in battles. I still subscribe to the reincarnation theory though.
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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Right, but my thinking is that with the reincarnation theory, every future Link is SS Link reincarnated, ergo, Spirit of The Hero and so, tempered through centuries of experiences. There is natural and fluid skill in swordsmanship because it has become second nature. However, I do agree with you because in each lifetime, SS Link's essence grows more and more skilled. It would explain why TP Link is such a great archer/sharpshooter because of the reincarnation theory, with TP Link being SS Link reincarnate, there is previous experience to using a bow and arrow. It's also why he's a competent horseman, and is familiar with the clawshots, and so on and so forth. Even if we were to say, "Oh, the Zelda canon doesn't really prove that Link is SS Link reincarnated.", there is still the matter of natural affinity for the sword, and instant mastery of the weapons he touches as though he has used them many times before. It's a fascinating topic, and is clearly subject to interpretation, some might say that Spirit of The Hero is a distinct entity on its own separate from SS Link, and is essentionally Hero Incarnate, and others may say the Triforce of Courage enables Link to master any weapon he holds and keeps him safe in battles. I still subscribe to the reincarnation theory though.
We can even go slightly futher with the reincarnation theory. SS Link had a bond with the Crimson Loftwing. A similar bond exists between Link and Epona in OoT, MM, and TP. Perhaps Epona is a reincarnation of the Crimson Loftwing? Overall reincarnation theory would be very profound. It seems even other characters, such as Tingle, and The Running Man, are reincarnated as well.
 
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We can even go slightly futher with the reincarnation theory. SS Link had a bond with the Crimson Loftwing. A similar bond exists between Link and Epona in OoT, MM, and TP. Perhaps Epona is a reincarnation of the Crimson Loftwing? Overall reincarnation theory would be very profound. It seems even other characters, such as Tingle, and The Running Man, are reincarnated as well.

That's certainly feasible but it would take lots of research to find proof of that as a whole. Of course, the very premise that Link is a product of reincarnation and Zelda as well, certainly proves mind-body dualism is in effect in the Zelda Universe, and so Link's Crimson Loftwing could have been reincarnated into Epona, there's no real contradiction which says that reincarnation only works across a singular form, SS Link could be reincarnated as a Hylian woman, but Hylia prophecied a young boy, so I don't feel that's credible.
 

Alita the Pun

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I wouldn't say so, I believe it's reincarnation, I believe that every Link which proceeds SS Link contains an essence of SS Link, The Spirit of The Hero. So, SS Link is merely reborn when the time calls for it, but you might say it's awakened, but Skyward Sword pays special attention to destiny and reincarnation, so we can't ignore that. Demsie was very specific about his curse to future incarnations. Spirit of The Hero could only be referring to SS Link, and blood of the goddess must refer to Zelda and her bloodline. So, I believe that Spirit of The Hero is SS Link's soul, or rather, what makes him, him and that is a metaphysical component to his existence which survives physical death.
the spirit of the Hero must be awakened.
the blood of the Goddess is passed down
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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the spirit of the Hero must be awakened.
the blood of the Goddess is passed down
Ah, I see what you are bringing up. In The Wind Waker Link had to undergo trails in order to really weild the Triforce of Courage. In OoT, after gathering the Spiritual Stones and opening the Door of Time, he proved he was truly courageous, so when the Triforce split he recieved the Triforce of Courage on that account. It's more like he must prove his courage in some games in order to house the Triforce of Courage. But the Hero's Spirit would operate differently. It would move from each incarnation upon their physical death, and then seek out a new host to reincarnate as upon birth.
 

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