Game Theory: Which Link Rules Them All?

[MatthewPatrick13]

Which Link Rules Them All?

With the release of Hyrule Warriors, I got to thinking...clearly not all Legendary Heroes are created equally. So across all the various reincarnations of Link in the Legend of Zelda series, which Link would be the best, the one to rule them all? We analyze their strength, smarts, stealth, experience, and equipment to find out which Link is the best Link!

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[Link Satonaka]

It's like they made up this timeline to tie together a bunch of games that were never meant to have a timeline at all

THANK YOU. We need more people saying this. Every time there's a Zelda discussion on an internet community, I get accused of not being a "true fan" because I don't like the Hyrule Historia retcon. Imposing new meaning onto old works that simply wasn't there- that disrespects and devalues the old works, in my opinion. Not to mention I find the idea of micromanaging details of what is supposed to be an imperfect retelling of a "legend" to be a very silly and pointless exercise.

Yes, Hyrule Historia was an interesting read. Yes I bought it. I don't consider it any more than canon theory (canon fan theory?). I don't appreciate the concept of "true Zelda fan" being defined as "s/he who blindly eats all that is said from people trying to sell merchandise".

The second paragraph here is a related statement I had previously written:
http://link-satonaka.tumblr.com/post/113039291929/thoughts-on-zelda-continuity-mini-review-of

I think the biggest part though, is that while I continue to love Zelda, I do so while ignoring several aspects of the plot I find stupid, and I find myself at odds with other fans of Zelda who have eaten up the Hyrule Historia as gospel truth. It?s an afterthought; a retcon. It unifies plots that were not intended nor written to be chronologically linked (a passing reference/homage to previous works is not an anchor from which you can link two stories), and trying to do so is to disrespect the previous works, imo. The Hyrule Historia was an interesting read but it really bothers me that they retconned a bunch of details in and now every Zelda thereafter goes out if its way to reinforce the retcon. Spelling out the whole reincarnation thing is a particularly lazy approach, too. I always enjoyed the concept of the Zeldas as an evolving *Legend*: one story branching into many different variations with each retelling- one single event has been told and retold so many times over the ages that many variations evolved in parallel and have grown to reference each other. I like to imagine that, as I play each Zelda, the ?Legend of Zelda? is a bona fide legend within the context of the world you?re in and you discover that there is some truth to the legend, but you never find anything as droll as the specific number of times the legend repeated itself and the exact order everything happened in so that any shred of mystery is smothered to death. The end of Skyward Sword really hammered home that every single story is linked by reincarnation and that these exact events are doomed to repeat themselves forever.. I just found this to be really fan servicey and it completely undermined any mysterious ?Legend?-ary feel Zelda once had. No actual Legend (Zelda included) holds up to undue scrutiny and it?s far better enjoyed without connecting every single dot. I?ve been told that I?m not a ?real Zelda fan? because of this statement before. So yeah, I agree with Yahztee; screw Zelda fans! /rant

edit- clarity

 

[Darth_Payn]

Jaysus, I can only wonder what a Nintendo official Mario timeline would look like.
First I heard of a train game with Link in it. Quite a surprise. Another one was the young Hero of Time eventually turning into the zombie sword trainer. Just thought of a funny dialogue between him and TP Link:
"Before we begin the training, do you have any questions?"
"Yeah, I got one: weren't you left-han-"
"Oh, shut up and let's do this already!"
Although, how often is it brought up how each Link looks like a previous Link, now that there IS a timeline?

 

[daxterx2005]

Jaysus, I can only wonder what a Nintendo official Mario timeline would look like.
First I heard of a train game with Link in it. Quite a surprise. Another one was the young Hero of Time eventually turning into the zombie sword trainer. Just thought of a funny dialogue between him and TP Link:
"Before we begin the training, do you have any questions?"
"Yeah, I got one: weren't you left-han-"
"Oh, shut up and let's do this already!"
Although, how often is it brought up how each Link looks like a previous Link, now that there IS a timeline?

Technically it was never said on camera that that was Hero of Time.
So two links (minus four swords Link) have never met one another.

 

[Hero of Lime]

"Before we begin the training, do you have any questions?"
"Yeah, I got one: weren't you left-han-"
"Oh, shut up and let's do this already!"

Both Link and the Hero's Shade are still left handed in the Gamecube version, which is considered the "canon" version due to some inconsistencies that the Wii version presents. It is a little hard to believe that in a few hundred years almost everyone would be left handed, while being right handed would be a rarity. Not to mention the weirdness of the Gerudo Desert magically appearing on the right side of Hyrule. Though Hyrule's geography throughout the entire series is pretty baffling anyway.

I just consider the Wii version to be an alternate universe where nothing is really different, unless it can be flipped.

OT: If I had to say which Link is the strongest, it would probably be Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask Link. While he may have had less adventures than A Link to the Past Link, he had access to more powerful tools. The Fierce Deity Mask alone makes him pretty OP, not to mention the crazy power he has over time itself with the Ocarina of Time.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

But... Who is the coolest most stylish Link?

 

[marioandsonic]

Well, considering I've played as Young Link in Hyrule Warriors, I think we can say this theory has been confirmed.

 

[aeroblaster]

It's like they made up this timeline to tie together a bunch of games that were never meant to have a timeline at all

THANK YOU. We need more people saying this. Every time there's a Zelda discussion on an internet community, I get accused of not being a "true fan" because I don't like the Hyrule Historia retcon.

Okay, no. Just no to all of that. What exactly did they retcon?

It was repeatedly said by Aonuma that there was an official master timeline document since 2010. It was released in 2011 as the Hyrule Historia. How is that "made up to tie together a bunch of games that were never meant to have a timeline at all"??? The makers of the game specifically stated they ARE meant to have a timeline.

It's basically your opinion against FACT.

And the bit about not being a "true zelda fan"... the only reason people say that is because the timeline is a huge INTEGRAL part of the Zelda series. To say there is no timeline and it's "just a retelling" is outrageous and you're ASKING to be called an untrue zelda fan just for saying that. Those who hang on to the notion that there is no timeline are either simply too dense to understand it or don't appreciate the zelda series enough to look into it.

 

[aeroblaster]

Accidental double post, might as well talk about the video.

I agree Majora's Mask Link is the most powerful Link, well done analysis. It was actually surprising me how many categories TP Link kept winning. I was sure it would be a close race against a bunch of Links, but he pretty much narrowed down the winner from 3 Links.

 

[Link Satonaka]

It was repeatedly said by Aonuma that there was an official master timeline document since 2010.

You do realize that most Zelda games were created long before 2010, right?