Would You Rather: Edition VIII

Hello and welcome back to Would You Rather! I hope you all had fantastic celebrations this holiday season and that you all repeatedly stuffed yourselves with delicious kitchen confections. Last week we talked about the races, and hopefully you still feel comfortable with your bets after opening all your gifts. If you missed out or would like to change your mind, you can find last week’s edition here. Keeping with the underlying theme of this season, I think it’s time we discussed something a tad more serious and thought provoking. A mark of a hero is his/her giving nature and willingness to sacrifice a normal, happy life for one filled with sorrow and struggles. However, some folks would be more willing to choose the life of the hero, or are more able to see the value in it, than others. Hit the jump to check out this week’s awesome match up!

At the start of all our beloved Zelda games there is a Link who fits into one of two molds: either he is the Hero incarnate, and is destined to save the land, the princess and the sacred realm, or he is a nobody; a seemingly random boy who is given no real encouragement by those with authority and must prove himself to be the Hero incarnate, or simply emulate the great hero of legend right down to the style of boots. This is a gross difference in the origins of our heroes, and challenges conceptions about the nature of people, the source of goodwill and more. In all cases, as far as we know or can tell, Link is isolated in some way, being a lone traveler, an orphan or social outcast (most of the time more than one of these). The reason for Link’s choice to take on the role of the Hero is slightly different in each game, despite the fact that the goals are essentially the same.

I would like to discuss the differences and implications behind being the stranger or lone traveler and the child of destiny. One might be better than the other, and one might be easier to deal with than the other. It is a topic that should stir some self-evaluation inside you to see what kind of person you are, and what Link’s lives would mean for you. Would you rather be the unknown hero that nobody knows and must prove your worth to the world, or be the hero of destiny, given a path you cannot stray from, with a prophecy foretelling your victory?

Unknown Hero v. Hero of Destiny 

Below I have provided a brief list of games wherein Link is represented by each type of hero, as well as attributes of each hero. Think about the games, what you were told and by whom, if you felt that Link was given an option, and most importantly, why Link agrees to his quests and keeps trudging on despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Unknown Hero

Games include The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Majora’s Mask and The Wind Waker.

• No strong attachment or understanding regarding the kingdom you have, for some reason, volunteered to save. Like Frodo, you agree because there is no one else, despite what others perceive as a minuscule chance for success.
• Could be a traveler passing through or just a little boy on his birthday.
• Life is suddenly suspended as you find yourself sucked into a journey you do not fully grasp, with new jobs all the time and a growing list of people you feel obligated to assist.
• Nobody knows who you are, so help does not come from obvious places, and you are likely to meet with indignation when you explain your predicaments and mission.
• There is a certain satisfaction in proving all the naysayers wrong, but having to defeat a semi-immortal demon king in order to gain respect seems a little excessive.
• You may or may not be thanked after your quest is finished, and in some cases may simply be asked to go your own way and leave the freshly-saved kingdom to its own celebrations, which you probably weren’t invited to.

Hero of Destiny

Games include Ocarina of Time, Oracle of Seasons, Skyward Sword and A Link Between Worlds.

• Life is suddenly turned on its head as you are told you are the sole savior of the entire kingdom and that you must drop everything, including your identity, to shove off toward unknown lands and dangers. Like Harry Potter, you have been a part of the story all along, though you did not know it. Now you are charged with fulfilling a prophecy, combatting evil, and more without really knowing your own history and the all important why concerning your fate.
• Everyone you meet is excited to hear about your quest, but with each new encounter the pressure to succeed only grows.
• Although people are more willing to help you, you still have to prove your worth to everyone before they will cough up the item(s) that you need.
• Evil knows you are coming and goes out of its way to taunt, insult and chide you during your quest. Namely among these actions is the delegation of disposing of you to multiple henchmen that you continually have to defeat to prove a point. Face me yourself you coward!
• Link’s quests for peace are often long and tiring. But he is duty-bound to complete his journey regardless of his own feelings. He cannot return home without finishing his task and any implication toward abandoning it would be met with serious shame and dismay.
• Having everybody know who you are does not guarantee gratitude at the end. As we see sometimes, time is involved and people will not remember or never know about your quest. Other times you will be forced or need to leave the realm you have saved. Saving the kingdom time and again doesn’t even get you a lousy “thank you.”

Neither heroic life sounds like a party with cupcakes, but each has an important mission. Could you give up your personal travels, perhaps a search for yourself, in order to embark on a quest for a nation you were unfamiliar with? Could you give up the life you’ve always known and accept the role of the Hero with no warning, being pushed down a dangerous path where there was none before? It’s a complicated question and not easy to answer. Some of us may not even believe those who told us we were special and destined for greatness. Honestly it would seem ridiculous in our modern time, but we have unlimited examples of people in modern, pre-modern and post-modern times who are presented with exactly that information.

Let us know in the comments which kind of hero you think you would most likely be able to handle being, or which you would rather be. Both journey’s generally start with a loss, or are preceded by loss, so if you would rather not be a hero at all, that’s okay too. In any case, let us know and give us some reasons down below!