Hero of Time

The Hero of Time is the Link who appears in the two critically acclaimed Nintendo 64 games Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and later in Twilight Princess as the Hero's Spirit, and the name is specifically his legendary title.^[1] The young hero is bestowed this title upon awakening from his seven-year slumber after retrieving the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time.^[1] By traveling through time to awaken the Six Sages and stop the King of Evil Ganon from conquering Hyrule, Link's tale as the Hero of Time becomes a legend that is passed down through many generations, proving to be of great relevance to both the mythology in the franchise as well as the timeline in which the games take place.^[2] According to the official timeline of The Legend of Zelda series, the Links from Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, known as the Hero of Twilight and the Hero of Winds, respectively, are his successors, with the former being his descendant as well. The Hero of Time's predecessors are the incarnations from Skyward Sword, The Minish Cap and Four Swords, the former being the Legendary Hero himself. The Hero of Legend from A Link to the Past would be his potential successor if Ganon ultimately defeated the Hero of Time.

Biography

The Rise of the Hero of Time

Main article: Ocarina of Time

In the earliest days of his life, the Hero of Time grew up in the Kokiri Forest believing that he was a Kokiri, but in reality he was an orphaned Hylian, due to his dying mother left him under the guardianship of the Great Deku Tree as a baby during the Hyrulean Civil War. Because the Hero of Time was not a Kokiri despite being raised as such, Link did not possess a Fairy companion, which led to him being ostracized by the majority of the Kokiri tribe, with the exception of his close friend Saria and the Deku Tree. He himself had been plagued with ominous nightmares about a princess on horseback fleeing from a wicked man dressed in black. One day, the Hero of Time was bestowed with a blue female Fairy named Navi by the Great Deku Tree to help guide him on his grand quest to save Hyrule. At the beginning his adventure, Link managed to save the Great Deku Tree from a dangerous parasite inside and earning the Kokiri's Emerald, the first of three Spiritual Stones. But, despite Link's brave efforts, the Kokiri Forest guardian was already doomed by the man in black's curse and ultimately dies as a result after the Deku Tree tells his destiny to meet the princess of Hyrule, Princess Zelda, and save the land as the new chosen hero by the Golden Goddesses, in which he must leave the sacred forest.

In the land of Hyrule, with a little bit of help by a rancher girl named Malon, upon meeting Zelda inside the courtyard of Hyrule Castle (who also shares the dreams of the man in black and even had a vision of Link) for the first time, she tells Link the legends that speak of the Triforce, the omnipotent mythical Golden Power created by the three Goddesses said to reside in the Sacred Realm, which has the powerful ability to grant any wishes of whoever touches it, whether it is good or bad.^[3][4] Ganondorf, the King of the Gerudo tribe, aware of his advantage of the Triforce not being able to discriminate against evil, schemes to enter the Sacred Realm to claim the golden relic for himself, and thus rule the world.^[5][6]Although Zelda had told her father, the King of Hyrule, about her dark dreams and Ganondorf's likely betrayal, he doesn't believe the young princess' important warning. Link even sees the evil man through the window Zelda herself was looking at, swearing "allegiance" to the King (despite Ganondorf himself soon spotting him). With them being the only ones in the whole kingdom knowing the villain's plan, the duo agreed to stop him and save Hyrule with all their power. Just before leaving the castle and resumes his quest, Link met Zelda's attendant and personal bodyguard Impa, one of the last surviving members of the Sheikah tribe, who escorts him back to Hyrule Field safely.

However, with the unwitting assistance of a young courageous boy in green named Link and Hyrule's Princess Zelda, after the former collects the remaining Spiritual Stones - the Goron's Ruby and Zora's Sapphire, and meeting more new friends along the way such as Darunia and Princess Ruto after solving their troubles within Dodongo's Cavern and Jabu-Jabu's Belly, respectively, Ganondorf attacked Hyrule Castle, with the young princess escaping on horseback with Impa - exactly like in his earlier nightmare. But Zelda herself notices Link, and, in a desperate move, throws the Ocarina of Time toward him as she entrusts him to finish his duty of protecting the Sacred Realm. Link then meets Ganondorf in person, and although the boy boldly tries to challenge him by drawing his weapons, he was no match for the Gerudo King, as the villain knocks Link to the ground with a blast of magic energy, and then Ganondorf seemingly chases after Zelda and Impa again. After looking on in frustration, Link soon enters the Temple of Time to open the Door of Time using the Spiritual Stones, which inside lies the Master Sword, a legendary weapon with the power to repel evil. What the young hero or the princess of Hyrule does not know, however, was that Ganondorf had been secretly following the former as he entered the Temple, as he quickly realized Link has the Royal Family's Ocarina given by Zelda. When Link retrieves the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, he was sealed by the blade without warning, as he was too young of age to bear the title as the "Hero of Time". In addition, the Sacred Realm was opened as Link pulled the Master Sword, as it is also one of the keys to the secret place like the Ocarina of Time. Consequently, as the magical seal is beyond his control, he helplessly watches Ganondorf entering the Realm (before mocking the hero for letting him reach his ultimate goal), touches the Triforce, and expresses his vile wish to conquer Hyrule.^[7]

Although the King of Thieves was successful at reaching the Sacred Triangle thanks to his smart thinking and things are not going according to plan for Link and Zelda, their mission of stopping and defeating him did not entirely fail, however; Because Ganondorf's heart was not in balance due to his wickedness, the Triforce itself separated into three component parts upon being touched by the Gerudo leader, leaving him with only the blessing of the Golden Goddesses he believed to be the most important, the Triforce of Power (Din), and transforming the Sacred Realm into a corrupt world of evil.^[8][9] The remaining pieces are given to two special individuals chosen by destiny; Therefore, the Triforce of Wisdom was then bestowed upon Princess Zelda and the Triforce of Courage upon Link, respectively, granting themselves untold sources of mystical abilities by the essence of Nayru and Farore as well (although Zelda and Link themselves were not quite aware of their newfound crests until much later). Even though his strength became god-like by the one Triforce piece he ultimately acquired, Ganondorf was not satisfied with just Power alone and is determined to search and steal the other two from Zelda and Link in order to gain complete control of the world and truly become invincible.^[10] Link himself was then put into suspended animation within the Chamber of Sages for seven years until he matured enough to properly handle the Blade of Evil's Bane.^[1] Meanwhile, throughout this near-decade gap in time, with the young hero being absent and Hyrule Castle now defenseless, Ganondorf used the Triforce of Power to take over the kingdom, likely murdering the King of Hyrule in the process, and become its new king, transforming the entire world into a dark age and forcing Zelda into hiding as a member of the Sheikah named Sheik, patiently waiting for the hero's late return.^[11][12]

The Legend of the Hero of Time

Now a young adult, Link eventually awakens as the Hero of Time while Rauru, the Sage of Light, explains to him what had happened during his long sleep and he must prove himself worthy of his new title. Using the Master Sword and the Ocarina of Time plus instructions by Sheik, Link travels back and forth in time through the past and future, and across Hyrule to seek the Six Sages (most of which revealed to be his childhood friends), who were said to have the power to bind Ganondorf and return peace to Hyrule.^[2][13]In addition, they also grant the young man some of their own power in the form of Medallions. When all Sages are at last awakened after destroying various dangerous monsters within six different Temples, including Ganondorf's surrogate mother Twinrova and even his own evil shadow at one point, he returns back to the Temple of Time, where Sheik tells Link another legend about the meaning of the Triforce and why it split, who are the three bearers, and ultimately reveals himself using the Triforce of Wisdom to be Princess Zelda in disguise (who is also revealed to be the seventh Sage and their leader). The princess is pleased to see her invaluable partner in person after 7 years and tells Link her ultimate plan to seal Ganondorf to the Evil Realm, but she needs help from his exemplary courage, once more. She then gives him the powerful Light Arrows, as these special weapons of light can penetrate the Evil King's defenses. But their reunion was cut short when Ganondorf himself, who have been long waiting for such a time to come of Zelda fully exposing herself to Link, suddenly captures her in a magic crystal, and the Evil King tells his adversary to enter his castle, known as Ganon's Castle, where Hyrule's formerly stood, for a final showdown if he wishes to rescue the princess, laughing wickedly.

With the assistance of the Six Sages, Link was able to storm the stronghold via a colorful metallic bridge, dispel six powerful elemental barriers (possibly freeing the Sages themselves) with the Light Arrows, and challenge Ganondorf the Evil King at the inner sanctum once and for all. Upon reaching the throne room at the top of the tower where the powerful Gerudo warlock himself is waiting (confidently playing his theme song on a pipe organ in the process) and Princess Zelda held hostage above, all three of their respective Triforce pieces begin to resonate and attempt to become whole again, much to Link and Zelda's surprise. A one-on-one Dead Man's Volley duel between Link and Ganondorf engages soon after. But, the Evil King, despite his great strength, was gravely injured by Link, to the point he even vomits blood. In disbelief that he himself would be bested by the "kid" who is now the Hero of Time, with a burst of anger and frustration, Ganondorf obliterates the ceiling of the tower, though Link himself remains completely unscathed, likely from the Triforce of Courage protecting the hero from the powerful blast, before collapsing face down to the ground, apparently dead. Princess Zelda is now freed from her crystal prison.

But, then, as Zelda begins to feel pity about Ganondorf not being able to properly control the powers of the gods due to his evil heart, the tower suddenly begins to crumble, as Ganondorf himself intentionally uses his power to make his own castle collapse in order to kill his foes under the rubble. Link and Princess Zelda manage to escape and watch the entire keep falling before their very eyes. When the destruction is over, the duo believe they are finally victorious. However, a loud bang is heard, and they realize something was very wrong. As the Hero of Time defends the princess and bravely begins to investigate at what caused the noise, with no warning, a fiery barrier traps Zelda again, and then, Ganondorf, still alive, rises out of the ruins of his now-destroyed castle. Link aggressively draws the Master Sword toward him in a threatening display, daring his archenemy to challenge the hero again, since he just beat him before. Furious and filled with hatred for Link, Ganondorf takes the dare and unleashes the Triforce of Power to the fullest extent, transforming himself into a huge and vicious boar-like demon, which is none other than his true form - Ganon. Armed with two gigantic golden swords, the monster catches Link off-guard (due to his and Zelda's shock by the grotesque transformation) and temporarily knocks the Master Sword out of his hands, forcing the Hero of Time to fight the villain once more in a dramatic, intense battle to the death, more dangerous than anything he has ever faced before, as the fate of Hyrule is now at stake. Ganon himself is unimaginably powerful and his body appears to be indestructible due to the essence of the Goddess Din bestowed upon him, but, Link miraculously finds his Achilles' heel: the tail. With the full combined might of Link's raw skills, the Master Sword, Light Arrows, the Triforce of Courage, and the aid of the Seven Sages and Navi, the Hero of Time eventually manages to weaken Ganon, causing the deadly beast to collapse in pain and the fire barrier to disappear.

Taking her opportunity, Princess Zelda uses her powers to hold Ganon down as she commands the hero to deliver the final blow, but her energy didn't last very long, however.^[14] The Master Sword then suddenly glows at its full power. Link, ready to put his archnemesis to sleep for good as he himself is filled with righteous hatred for the monster just as much as Ganon has for him, ultimately slashes the Demon King's face three times, then, in a rather nasty move, furiously thrusts the Master Sword straight into his mouth (with blood spilled yet again), resulting in Ganon, not killed by the seemingly lethal attack, somehow, gets back up roaring and flailing about in agony (likely due to the max-powered Triforce of Power making him able to survive in spite of the legendary blade's ability to vanquish evil). Nevertheless, as the villain is near-mortally wounded a second time, this gave Zelda and the Six Sages the chance they desperately needed to finally bind Ganon and throw him back into the void of the Evil Realm, thus ending the Evil King's seven year reign over Hyrule.^[15] Defeated at last by Link's hand, the King of Evil, reverted back to his human form with the Triforce of Power still in his hand, and in a fit of rage and complete shock, threatens the Hero of Time, Princess Zelda, and the Sages he will return one day to exterminate their descendants to make them all pay for his ultimate defeat and imprisonment once the seal is broken (foreshadowing the events of The Wind Waker).^[16]

With Hyrule now finally at peace, while saying their goodbyes (with the two apparently standing in Hyrule's atmosphere), Princess Zelda uses her power as a Sage with the Ocarina of Time and Triforce of Wisdom to send the Hero of Time back to his original age via seven years into the past, this time for good, in order to regain his lost childhood, as compensation for his heroic role of taking down Ganondorf, and, with guilt, claiming the tragedy that had befallen Hyrule was merely her own mistakes as a child and dragged Link into the ordeal.^[17] Through her instructions, the Master Sword is also left in the hero's wake, being returned to its pedestal in turn, sealing the Sacred Realm entirely and therefore closing the road between times. With this act by the princess in the future, the Hero of Time vanishes completely from this branch of Hyrule's history, leaving only his legend behind, as she unknowingly split the present timeline into two and thus created new history, called the Child and Adult Timeline - the latter being the actual universe where all of Ocarina of Time's events were unfolded, and Link is heading to the former, therefore marking the beginning of the Hero of Time's gradual downfall. With him being completely sent back to his childhood by Zelda, Link's Triforce of Courage in this particular timeline also shatters into multiple fragments and are scattered throughout the land, which would be found again one day by another Hero that would have need of its power at his own adventure.

The Hero of Time's Terrible Fate

Main article: Majora's Mask

Now back to his original time permanently, in the alternate Child Timeline, Link's trusted Fairy companion, Navi, with her mission completed, suddenly flies away and utterly leaves him without a word to spare. With the memory of his adventure still intact, the Hero of Time returns to the Hyrule Castle Courtyard, and warns Princess Zelda and the King of Hyrule about Ganondorf's conspiracy and what the "future" would unfold if the Gerudo King was not immediately stopped and arrested, in order to prevent the previous events from ever occurring again, as he's well-aware of their archenemy's coming assault, and using the Triforce of Courage remaining on his left hand as evidence.^[18] He gains the Royal Family's trust and stayed in the castle for a short while. After Link tells Zelda he must leave for a secret and personal journey, the princess entrusts Link with the Ocarina of Time, this time in person, and instructs him to head far away, to completely thwart Ganondorf from entering the Sacred Realm and have himself ultimately imprisoned (and eventually sentenced to death in the events of Twilight Princess) by the King. After saying goodbye (again), the young hero then departs from Hyrule, riding on his horse Epona with the magical Ocarina in hand to seek for his missing fairy friend. Upon Link's departure from the kingdom, however, the Triforce of Courage in this branch of the timeline, due to himself being separated from the "elements that made him a hero", ultimately vanishes from the Hero of Time's hand, therefore losing the great mystical powers bestowed upon him by the essence of the Goddess Farore.^[19]

No longer protected by the power of the Triforce and months later in the process, in a distant forest at the very outskirts of Hyrule, the Hero of Time was suddenly ambushed and stumbles into a parallel universe known as Termina, which was being threatened to be destroyed by its sinister Moon in three days, by the Skull Kid, under possession of a powerful evil entity called Majora's Mask. He was then instructed by the mysterious Happy Mask Saleman (who apparently knows him from Hyrule) to take the ancient mask from the Skull Kid as soon as possible, resulting in Link forced to put his search for Navi on hold and do another adventure within this strange Hyrule-like world, in which this quest to stop a second villain turned out be even darker than the last. With the aid of the Ocarina of Time to travel through time once again, special transforming Masks in the form of a Deku Scrub, Goron, and Zora (one includes becoming a giant), a new tomboyish Fairy partner named Tatl, and the Four Giants upon saving them from capture by the forces of evil within four Temples, Link overcomes many tough obstacles as well as helping various people across the land through their own troubles (earning over a dozen regular masks doing so) like he did before at Hyrule. He even regains a few of his older items such as the Lens of Truth, the magic Arrows, including Light, once more at one point. Very late in his second quest, the young Hero of Time also obtains a mysterious transformation mask resembling his adult self's face, which such rare item's dark powers are said to be just as dangerous as Majora's Mask itself. This particular strange mask is none other than the Fierce Deity's Mask, which would prove especially useful for Link in the final battle...

In the eventual final showdown against the mastermind behind Majora's Mask's evil (which took in three increasingly more powerful forms), taking place inside the Moon, Link easily defeats Majora in a harsh battle with the tremendous strength of his ferocious Fierce Deity form, ultimately destroying the wicked monster and the Moon itself, and saves Termina from its imminent destruction. The now-freed Skull Kid gave thanks and seemingly recognized Link as the one who taught him "that song" in the Lost Woods. The Happy Mask Salesman also appears with the now-powerless Majora's Mask in his possession, and bids Link farewell, but not before commenting that the young Hero of Time had made a large number of people happy and should return back to Hyrule. Soon after, he part ways with Tatl and leaves the land on Epona to resume his original quest of searching for Navi, though Link eventually notices a tree stump in a band of light in the very same place where he was originally ambushed, showing a drawing of himself, Skull Kid, Tatl, Tael, and the Four Giants waving, by the Skull Kid himself as a remembrance. However, as soon as Link left Termina and seemingly returns back to Hyrule, the universe itself ceases to exist due to Majora's ultimate defeat, causing the young hero's history of rescuing this place to erase entirely - just like in the end of his previous adventure in Hyrule after defeating Ganondorf. Consequently, the Hero of Time is once again back to square one, with no lasting evidence of himself saving either world. At this point, Link's future whereabouts and activities are unknown.

A Legendary Hero Who Never Was

Main article: Hero's Spirit

As time went on, despite he indeed rescued his homeland as well as Termina from certain doom and made a strong impact in the Adult Timeline that will forever live on, unfortunately, as the Hero of Time now lives in the Child Timeline - a completely different universe with his legendary title being non-existent and virtually all of his friends were lost, and he is unable to return back to the other where he belongs due to the Sacred Realm being completely sealed, thus forever trapped in this alternate dimension, Link continued to lament the fact that he was not remembered as a hero at all after he was returned to his original time against his will by Princess Zelda immediately after defeating Ganon in the events of Ocarina of Time - a questionable decision in spite of her good intentions - and his great heroic achievements were tragically unrecognized to the world even after warning the Royal Family and stopping Ganondorf entirely (and his act of getting the Gerudo warlock executed was in vain when the archvillain survived due to the Triforce of Power and then cast into the Twilight Realm). In addition, Link never found Navi after the events of Majora's Mask, a beloved friend who simply abandoned him without saying goodbye. When he eliminated Majora, an evil perhaps psychopathic demon about as dangerous as Ganon himself, although the Skull Kid did seem to recognize him, the Happy Mask Salesman and Tatl also never gave Link a proper thanks for his hard efforts due to themselves being focused on their own goals. Plus, Termina itself was an ill-fated world destined to disappear regardless of if he saved it or not, due to the fact that land was made from the Skull Kid's memories and Majora's Mask's power. In the end, with his two traumatic journeys apparently all for naught, Link, sadly, was never in relative peace, and is filled with complete regret of his actions for the rest of his life and remained isolated from the many hardships, ironically like how Zelda in the seven-year future felt about Hyrule falling under Ganondorf's rule due to her own actions.^[20]

The once great but now-disregarded hero eventually passes away at an unknown age. However, even after his death, the Hero of Time was unable to go to the afterlife because of the non-stop regrets that kept him tied to the world of the living, feeling that he was unable to pass on the lessons of his life to the younger generations. Therefore, Link remained restless, but his final wish would soon come. In order to finally ease his inner demons and at last pass on his long-lost masterful knowledge of the arts of the sword, the Hero of Time teaches seven powerful techniques known as the Hidden Skills to his descendant, the Link of Twilight Princess, known as the Hero of Twilight, in the form of a tall ghostly Stalfos-like swordsman and pale golden wolf known as the Hero's Spirit, taking place over a century after his time as the chosen hero by the Goddesses, in order to help this new Link become stronger to match his level and destroy Ganondorf for good as a worthy successor.^[20][21] After the Hero of Twilight learns all of the Hidden Skills, the Shade's regrets are finally eased, and the Hero of Time ultimately rests in peace into the afterlife.

In the distant future of this timeline, a new incarnation of Ganondorf rises and another new Link, multiplied into four, fights and defeats him as well as Vaati, in Four Swords Adventures. However, the legend of Hero of Time is once again forgotten.

A Doomed Legend

Main article: Great Flood

Meanwhile, back at the Adult Timeline, following Ganon's brutal defeat, Link's legend as the Hero of Time was fondly remembered and had passed for many generations during Hyrule's longtime peace. However, due to Princess Zelda's decision of permanently sending him back to his original time and unintentionally into the Child Timeline, the world was ultimately left without a hero, and over time, the powerful seal of Ganondorf by the Six Sages, thought to be forever in effect, eventually failed for unknown reasons, causing the Gerudo King to become free as his beast form. Now finally risen from the earth's ground, well-aware of his dreadful promise for revenge by eliminating their descendants for being defeated by Link and his long imprisonment in the corrupted Sacred Realm at the end of Ocarina of Time and the Triforce of Power was never lost, darkness began to cover Hyrule again. With Ganon ultimately returned, people began to pray that the Hero of Time would also return to once again save the land by traveling through time. But the legendary Hero never appeared at all, as Link himself as well as his trusted allies from his era were long gone to history at this point. Because of Hyrule's total defenseless state, the villain manages to completely take over the kingdom with even less difficulty than in the past events of Ocarina of Time, as he had no resistance whatsoever. By this time, the current King of Hyrule, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, although he managed to temporarily extract the Triforce of Power as well as splitting the Triforce of Wisdom into two fragments, the king was unable to stop Ganon. In so, he pleaded to the Goddesses via the full Triforce to flood Hyrule away with a worldwide torrential downpour (not before the gods themselves telling chosen people to flee into the mountaintops), sealing the kingdom and Ganon under what will become the Great Sea. The memory of the kingdom vanished, but the Hero of Time's legend survived the wind's breath.

As more time continues to pass, in the events of The Wind Waker, Ganon broke the seal once again (though now significantly weakened and reverted to his human form) to claim the Triforce yet again. On a faraway island, a customary tradition exists where young boys reaching the same age as the Hero of Time would wear a green tunic and hat and search for swords to honor his legend. One day, a completely new Link - the Hero of Winds, came of age and earns this clothing for his birthday, and began his own adventure where he would revive a few memories of the Hero of Time as his successor in this timeline and even destroy the King of Evil himself with the help of an unwitting descendant of Princess Zelda and King Daphnes himself as the King of Red Lions, by the unexpected kidnapping of his younger sister Aryll. In the distant future leading to Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, two swords, the Phantom Sword and Lokomo Sword, respectively, are forged to purposely resemble the Master Sword in homage of the Hero of Time's legendary usage of the sacred weapon.

The Tragic Defeat of a Great Hero

Main article: Fallen Hero Timeline

Despite Ocarina of Time's ending of the Hero of Time being triumphant over Ganon and this particular event is only possible during gameplay (as there is no unique cutscene or cinematic for it in-game), if the complete opposite were to occur in the Final Boss battle and Link tragically dies by the main antagonist's hand regardless of his human or beast forms, a third branch of the canon timeline would take place known as the Downfall Timeline. In this rather sad scenario, the Hero of Time fails his mission and Ganondorf is consequently completely successful at getting rid of his biggest obstacle to conquer Hyrule. With the King of Evil ultimately victorious, he then steals the Triforce of Courage from the now-dead Link's body and also takes Princess Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom, making himself obtain the completed Triforce and thus gaining the True Force at last. In spite of the seemingly hopeless situation, the Seven Sages all refuse to give up; As a last resort, similar to the true ending of the game, they each quickly use their combined power to seal Ganon away into the Evil Realm. Although Hyrule is now at peace for the moment, Zelda, the Six Sages, and Navi all mourn the loss of their great hero and beloved friend who had sacrificed himself to help save everyone in the land.

As time pass leading to the Era of Light and Dark, the doorway to the Sacred Realm opened again, causing an event known as the Imprisoning War, where people battled to claim the Triforce but never returned. An army of Ganon's minions came forth. The King of Hyrule of this era commands the Seven Wise Men to seal the gate, which they were successful, though many Knights of Hyrule were wiped out, leaving the kingdom impoverished. Eventually, a dark wizard named Agahnim brainwashed Hyrule's soldiers, killed the King, and made six of the seven descendants of the Seven Wise Men, the Maidens, disappear into the Dark World, to weaken the seal of Ganon. The last Maiden is a new Princess Zelda, and she uses telepathy to call out to the incarnation of Link of this point of time, the Hero of Legend, to begin his own adventure. This is where the events of A Link to the Past takes place. Much like in the Child Timeline, the legend of the Hero of Time in the Downfall branch where the games A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons/Ages, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, Echoes of Wisdom, The Legend of Zelda, and The Adventure of Link all occur in this order, is completely lost.

Legacy

The legend of the Hero of Time becomes of great significance in the development of the Zelda Timeline and the mythology in The Legend of Zelda series, and therefore this incarnation of Link is likely the most important in the long-running franchise. His climactic battle against Ganondorf marked the point in which the timeline split into three different branches: the Downfall, Child and Adult Timeline. Princess Zelda's plan with Link to save Hyrule by retrieving the Triforce before the archvillain resulted in the King of Evil ultimately obtaining the Triforce of Power,^[22] leading eventually, in one continuity, to Link's tragic defeat by Ganon's hand and the formation of the Downfall Timeline.^[23] In the alternate continuity where Link succeeds in defeating Ganon as seen in the ending of Ocarina of Time, the princess sends the Hero of Time back to his original time, creating two timelines; the Child Timeline and the Adult Timeline. In the latter of the two, the Triforce of Courage is shattered and the Link in the Adult Timeline vanishes from existence due to the time paradox, resulting in Hyrule eventually being flooded since there was no hero whatsoever to defeat Ganon once the Seven Sages' seal broke.^[24] In the former, the Hero of Time becomes filled with regret by not being remembered as the legendary hero that saved Hyrule from Ganon or Termina from Majora's Mask, eventually leading him to linger on as the Hero's Spirit in the Era of Twilight.^[20]

Although Hyrule was flooded in the Adult Timeline and the memory of the kingdom vanished, the legend of the Hero of Time transcended through time. In Outset Island, it became a custom to clothe boys in green once they came of age.^[25][26] A statue depicting the Hero of Time is also prominently displayed in the sunken Hyrule Castle, demonstrating how meaningful the legend of the brave boy clothed in green was to the citizens of Hyrule. When the Hero of Winds, the Link from The Wind Waker, defeats Puppet Ganon, Ganondorf compared this particular hero with the Hero of Time, his predecessor, who had defeated him hundreds of years ago, claiming he is that Link reborn.^[27]

Relationships

In his childhood, aside from Navi the Fairy who is summoned by the Great Deku Tree to be his partner, the Hero of Time establishes the relationships of certain individuals that will come to his benefit in his adult years, after pulling the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. Link is the one to establish his beneficial and plot-necessary relationship with Saria, and Mido's dislike for him can be attributed to this in addition to the Great Deku Tree's favor for him over anyone else, namely Mido himself.^[28] The young hero also strikes up a friendship with Princess Zelda, and indirectly with Impa as well, while conversing with her about Ganondorf and the fate of her kingdom in the Hyrule Castle courtyard, after vanquishing the parasite from the Great Deku Tree. In helping Darunia reopen the Dodongo's Cavern (who calls him his Sworn Brother), and saving Princess Ruto from the depths of the stomach of Lord Jabu-Jabu (who claims she is engaged with him after giving the Zora's Sapphire), Link had, unbeknownst to him, met and aided almost all of the future Sages who would, in turn, ultimately help him in his quest to save Hyrule from the Evil King Ganondorf in the young hero's adult years.^[29][30] Even after returning to his childhood for the second time to enter the Spirit Temple, he continues this by befriending Nabooru by agreeing to aid her in overthrowing Ganondorf. He is also the one that forms the initial bond with Epona and Malon. In addition, he also met and befriended the scarecrows Bonooru and Pierre, which the latter would aid him controlling the flow of time in Termina. The Skull Kid, once freed from Majora's Mask, remembers Link as the one who taught him Saria's Song. Although Link did befriend Tatl, her tomboyish behavior has made the hero's relationship with the Fairy rocky (although she eventually admits she admires him deep inside). He had never directly spoken to Tatl's brother Tael, however.

Personality

Like with most other versions of Link in the franchise, as the character in general is known as a "silent protagonist", although he displays distinctive vocals of grunts and screams, the Hero of Time is not seen speaking or emoting to a large degree in the games where he is playable, although the optional texts the player can choose when talking to certain characters implies Link is not necessarily mute. He is a benevolent, intelligent, highly brave, honest, calm, and selfless individual with a humble heart. However, the Hero of Time himself infamously appears very serious or stoic (especially as an adult) in the original N64 versions of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, a few spin-off games, and some official artwork, and rarely smiles (though the 3DS remakes shows him a bit more relaxed), making him the first to do so, as the incarnations from Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild are similar (primarily because their designs are influenced by this Link). Despite his rather quiet, "just business" behavior in his in-game appearances, some media such as the Akira Himekawa manga series depict him in the polar opposite manner not unlike other incarnations of the character, acting rather cheerful or expressive. Twilight Princess and Hyrule Historia serve as the only real look into his thoughts and feelings. Like every versions of Link, the Hero of Time is also shown to be very helpful and caring to others throughout his journeys in both Hyrule and Termina, even if it wasn't related to his main quest, willing to sacrifice his own personal deeds no matter the outcome.

As the Hero's Shade, where he does actually speak (likely due to the fact he's no longer controlled by the player), he is shown to be much sterner and blunt, telling his descendant, the Link from Twilight Princess, that the latter's current skill level dishonors their bloodline upon first meeting him, regardless of him already possessing the Triforce of Courage like the Hero of Time himself once did. The Hero's Spirit also reflected on his former time as a hero, saying that the path to becoming a true hero is a long one, and that while he himself accepted the tough life as such, the former Hero of Time regretted that he couldn't pass on the lessons he had learned. As he trained the Hero of Twilight in his long-lost arts of the sword, the Shade reminded the latter that he must continue to improve his skill and courage himself so that he could become the savior Hyrule needed to defeat Ganondorf, as he saw his former self fully reflected in his descendant. Once the Hero of Twilight mastered all of the Hidden Skills, the ex-legendary hero proudly told his student/successor that he now knew all of what it took to be a true hero, even addressing him as his "son", and could now march forth with his vision unclouded at last. Even as a specter, the Hero of Time continued to aid the land of Hyrule and its people with the best of his ability just like when he was alive.

Fighting skills

The Hero of Time, like all other incarnations of Link due to himself possessing the spirit of the Legendary Hero, is a character with incredible levels of courage destined to destroy evil, and he is almost always seen with a sword and shield in hand, normally the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield as a child or the Master Sword and Hylian Shield as an adult (though he has various other related weapons such as the Biggoron's Sword or Mirror Shield). As with the Links in the older games of The Legend of Zelda series, the Hero of Time is born as a fearless fighter with no apparent teacher and only experience in battle serving as his lessons, but ultimately is an expert. As heavily suggested by his aforementioned "serious" personality and explained in the Zelda Encyclopedia, even at a young age, due to Link's endless training as an elite swordsman, archer, and magic user, as well as possessing the Triforce of Courage which augments his abilities to vast proportions by the essence of Farore, the Hero of Time already displayed an immense amount of bravery, discipline, stealth, and skill that only grew further when he became an adult and reached professional levels as the Hero's Spirit, proving himself a master warrior identical to the Knights of Hyrule and even impressing the Gerudo, whom themselves are feared fighters in their own right (and the only other male they considered remarkable being their king, Ganondorf, whom Link himself defeated). Likewise, Impa and Sheik, themselves Sheikah, also find Link's natural fighting talents worthy of attention. Although the Hero of Time did ultimately lose the sacred Triforce piece in Majora's Mask due to an unfortunate sequence of events, his raw skills did not decrease whatsoever, but actually continues to improve, as can be observed in-game by himself being more acrobatic and able to frontflip or somersault over ledges, as opposed to a normal jump in the previous N64 title.

The Hero of Time is capable of destroying dangerous enemies with ease such as the Dinolfos, Stalfos, the Poe Sisters, Dead Hand, Gerudo Thieves/Pirates, the Garo Master, Gomess, the deadly Iron Knuckles, and even the ancient undead king of the Ikana Kingdom, Igos du Ikana. In addition, stronger foes known to potentially destroy Hyrule or Termina such as Phantom Ganon, Volvagia, Bongo Bongo, Twinrova, or Goht are also slayed by Link's hand. He is so proficient that not only he himself defeated the two extremely powerful demons responsible for all of his troubles in a duel - Ganon and Majora (the latter which he actually killed), but also himself as a shadow, indicating excellent capabilities of combat adaptation, strength, speed, and great knowledge of the art of the sword. Outside of being a sword fighter, Link uses a wide variety of items such as his signature Ocarina of Time, the Fairy Slingshot, Hookshot, elemental magic Arrows by his Bow, his transformation masks, and many more such as the Megaton Hammer, Zora Tunic, or Naryu's Love to overcome many obstacles in his adventures. He is also comfortable at sneaking around heavily guarded locations, as seen in Hyrule Castle Courtyard, Gerudo's Fortress and Pirates' Fortress, with the Stone Mask adding extra help to his benefit for the latter. Interestingly, unlike other incarnations of Link where the hero gains an increase of defensive power through special clothing or rare items (such as the Red Ring in The Legend of Zelda), the Hero of Time obtains it through the magical powers of the Great Fairy of Courage in both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Finally, his villainous Fierce Deity's Mask item serves as his weapon of last resort. Although not used in combat, his Silver and especially Golden Gauntlets also grants Link superhuman strength.

In Twilight Princess, as the Hero's Shade, as demonstrated from his teachings of the Hidden Skills, some of the Hero of Time's advanced techniques are so dangerous to the point that if his descendant were to learn them, they pose an immediate risk to his life, as seen with the Helm Splitter and Mortal Draw. He can also create afterimages and shoot Sword Beams from his blade. Being a specter, he does not feel any pain had the Hero of Twilight perform those special moves onto him even with the Master Sword, suggesting himself to be immortal (plus the sacred blade was designed to destroy evil while the former Link is obviously not).

In his spin-off appearances such as the Super Smash Bros. series, Hyrule Warriors, as well as SoulCalibur II, alongside the traditional Spin Attack, Jump Attack, Hookshot, Bow, Boomerang, and Bombs, the Hero of Time, in either his Young or Adult age, can perform unique moves not featured in Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask such as swift kicks (although he technically can do this as Zora Link), the Dash Attack, Jump Thrust, Down Thrust, throws, and even the Triforce Slash. Some attacks in the latter game include Link twisting opponents' arms, shoving his foe's back with his shield before stomping on his/her shoulder, violently tackling one into a forward roll or firing an Arrow with his Bow towards one's leg, indicating a more brutal fighting style than in a typical 3D Zelda game and even Smash Bros..

Despite his extraordinary skills as a heroic character and indeed proved himself worthy of his title, however, the Hero of Time is not invincible; There are cases where he had been caught off-guard in both of the canon games where he is playable such as the evil spirit of Bongo Bongo escaping the well in a burning Kakariko Village knocking him down while attempting to protect Sheik in Ocarina of Time or the Skull Kid ambushing him in the Lost Woods with the help of Tatl and Tael in Majora's Mask, alongside official artwork of himself being caught by Morpha, as well as some media such as the Akira Himekawa manga series where he had been nearly beaten down by several antagonists at various points. In fact, as much of a legendary hero this incarnation of Link is, his own possible defeat would have dire consequences for Hyrule's fate, as explained in the Downfall Timeline if he were to be ultimately killed by Ganon.

Lore-wise, the Hero of Time is a highly skilled and experienced assassin, rivaling if not surpassing other particularly strong Links such as the Hero of the Sky, Hero of Legend or Hero of the Wild (from Skyward Sword, A Link to the Past/Link's Awakening and Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom, respectively) and he is even the mentor of the Hero of Twilight himself.

Other Appearances

Trivia

• In spite of his highly unfortunate story as a tragic hero, the Hero of Time is universally the most iconic Link in The Legend of Zelda series community, not only due to the breakthrough success of Ocarina of Time and its sequel or his major importance in the mythology and timelines according to Hyrule Historia, but also setting the standard for most future incarnations since, the praised voice performances of Fujiko Takamoto and Nobuyuki Hiyama for his child and adult self, respectively, and even having a unique, god-like transformation, effectively giving him his legendary status. Most fans have considered him as the one true incarnation of the main protagonist despite not being the first in chronological order unlike the Hero of the Sky from Skyward Sword.
• Game release-wise and chronologically among the franchise, the Hero of Time is the third and fourth incarnation of Link, respectively.
• The opening cutscene of The Wind Waker shows the Hero of Time defeating Ganon as a child, when he was in fact an adult in Ocarina of Time during the final battle. In the same scene, Link also fought him without a shield while Ganondorf battled only in his beast form, unarmed.
  • Notably, the adventure of the Hero of Time in the game's prologue seems to be not entirely based on the actual events of Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, as alongside the aforementioned differences, it too shows him riding Epona as a child in the Adult Timeline rather than the Child Timeline, as his legend was remembered there.
• Although the "Hero of Time" is technically his adult self, as explicitly explained in Ocarina of Time, entries including The Wind Waker and some media claimed Link's title as a child.
• As it is never explained by Nintendo what happened to the Hero of Time after the events of Majora's Mask and before becoming the Hero's Spirit in Twilight Princess, fans have created many unconfirmed theories about the character, such as Link being killed in battle during a very intense war as a knight at Hyrule in his adulthood or inside the Lost Woods while searching for Navi due to the decayed skeletal appearance wearing swordsman armor, as well as the loss of his Triforce of Courage.
  • Ironically, according to Hyrule Historia, it is possible that the Hero of Time was once a Hylian Knight himself.

• Unlike all other incarnations of Link in The Legend of Zelda series, the Hero of Time in Ocarina of Time, despite destiny ultimately separating them and none displayed direct affection (although it's heavily implied Princess Ruto attempted to kiss him upon rescuing her), shares a somewhat romantic relationship with four different female characters, three of which whom are also Sages: Princess Zelda, Saria, Princess Ruto, and Malon. Because of this, many fans strongly considered this particular Link to be a ladies' man or in a love triangle. Story-wise, however, he is technically engaged with Ruto, as the Zora princess vows the Hero of Time her husband when obtaining the Spiritual Stone of Water, as it is also called the "Zora's Engagement Ring", even though Link himself was not aware of being Princess Ruto's fiancé due to his important goal of helping Hyrule's princess, Zelda, and, more likely than not, the fact he was still at a young age.
  • In the Ocarina of Time manga, Kaepora Gaebora, the owl form of the Sage of Light, Rauru, indeed directly tells Link that he is popular with the ladies after meeting Saria, Zelda, and Malon, but not yet Ruto, in which the young hero's response was to hush up, implying he is relatively aware of his relationships. Earlier in the same manga, Zelda can be seen giving Link a kiss to his cheek after agreeing to stop Ganondorf.
  • Nabooru, the second-in-command of the Gerudo and Sage of Spirit, also shows interest in Link when she realizes how handsome he is as an adult, and regrets that she should've kept the promise of "something great" she said to him as a child.
  • Although never confirmed by Nintendo and despite his aforementioned possible marriage with Princess Ruto, some fans speculated that Malon may have ultimately won the Hero of Time's affections among the four girls in the events leading to becoming the Hero's Spirit well after Majora's Mask, due to the fact that her wish was to have a knight in shining armor wiping her feet one day according to a Gossip Stone in Ocarina of Time, as well as that Link himself could possibly be one according to Hyrule Historia. His descendant in the Child Timeline, the Link from Twilight Princess, initially a rancher like Malon, knows Epona's Song, the song she herself teaches the Hero of Time. This is however, likely just pure coincidence.
  • Even Navi has a slight fondness for Link, as according to Shigeru Miyamoto in an interview, she is jealous of Princess Zelda and feels something for the young hero. In the manga adaptation of Ocarina of Time, the Fairy tells Link she loves him before parting ways with him at its climax.
• Although the Hero of Time's Fierce Deity form by the Fierce Deity's Mask is not actually required to complete Majora's Mask, Link defeating Majora as such is stated to be canon according to Hyrule Historia.
• In addition to Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask and their remakes, as he is featured in Twilight Princess (as the Hero's Spirit), three games of the Super Smash Bros. series (original, Melee, and Ultimate), Hyrule Warriors (Young Link), the critically acclaimed 2002 Namco fighting game SoulCalibur II (as a guest star), and likely the SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo, as well as a cameo in The Wind Waker, the Hero of Time made more appearances than any other incarnation of Link.

  

• The Hero of Time is the only incarnation of Link to be hugged by another character other than Princess Zelda, based on the events of Majora's Mask. If Link were to help Cremia, the Terminan adult counterpart of Malon, deliver her rare Chateau Romani milk to the Milk Bar after protecting her from the Gorman Brothers' ambush during the night of the Second Day, and the Romani's Mask was already obtained, there is a 50/50 probability for himself to receive a Huge Rupee (even if the counter is full) or an affectionate hug from her as a reward.
  • As displays of direct affection are extremely rare in The Legend of Zelda series, the hug from Cremia in Majora's Mask is the second instance since the ending of The Adventure of Link where Link were to be embraced, and another would not be seen until the final battle of Spirit Tracks (although the linked Oracle game shows Zelda kissing Link in its ending upon defeating the incomplete Ganon).
  • It's often presumed by fans that the Hero of Time had never been hugged before in his life or at least is not used to it, as during this moment, Link can be seen simply standing with his arms hanging loosely. Also, in the events of Ocarina of Time, he was terrified when several Gorons attempted to hug him after obtaining the Spiritual Stone of Fire from Darunia (though this is may be comic relief), as well as he was orphaned by the Great Deku Tree as a baby.
  • Surprisingly, Cremia's heartwarming hug towards the Hero of Time was not originally planned for the game. According to Yoshiaki Kolzumi, he stated that it was actually made it out of an animation mistake during development. When Link's position was being set up, his face was too close and lodged into Cremia. But instead of removing it, the team immediately decided to rework the error and left it in the final game, saying this would have been every boys' dream, including himself.
• In the Ocarina of Time manga adaptation, the Hero of Time's blue earrings are a gift from Impa and are a rite of passage for young Sheikah men, in spite of Link himself not being a member of such people.
• Despite this title is the first to be properly established in the series for the main protagonist, the Hero of Time is the second incarnation of Link to have a "Hero" title to distinguish from others, while the first is the Hero of Legend from A Link to the Past. The next in order so far are Hero of Winds, Hero of Light, Hero of Twilight, Hero of the Sky, and Hero of the Wild, from The Wind Waker, Four Swords Adventures, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild, respectively.
  • Although The Legend of Zelda has Princess Zelda claim to Link as the "Hero of Hyrule", it is unlikely it was used as a title.
• According to Hyrule Historia, the Hero of Time's age is 10 as a child and 17 as an adult, though it 's debated in other sources. For example, the Link from The Wind Waker was given his Hero's Clothes upon reaching the same age as the Hero of Time when he first set out his Hyrule journey as a tradition, and his Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and amiibo state he is 12, thus suggesting Adult Link to be 19 as well. In SoulCalibur II, however, his age is depicted as "--" (unknown).
• The Hero of Time is the second incarnation of Link to have a known family member, after the Hero of Legend from A Link to the Past, due to the unfortunate death of his mother.
• In the Twilight Princess manga, as the Hero's Spirit, the Hero of Time's training for the Hero of Twilight is depicted more intensely than in the actual game and even has the two incarnations of Link briefly fighting Ganondorf simultaneously with Princess Zelda witnessing them. However, this event was ultimately an illusion.
• The Hero of Time's model in Ocarina of Time, although seen in official artwork, has the strap on his shoulder for carrying his scabbard and shield is missing, due to the graphical limitations of the Nintendo 64. It is also missing in the original Super Smash Bros. as well. Despite this, it is fixed in Majora's Mask via increased memory by the Expansion Pak, and in Ocarina of Time 3D.
  • On a similar note, the Hero's Clothes in The Wind Waker, which is supposedly a replica of the Hero of Time's outfit, also lacks the strap.
• If one looks closely in the introduction scene of Ocarina of Time, when Link is having his nightmare about Princess Zelda and Ganondorf, and Navi meeting him soon after, his eyes can be seen still open before he shivers and turns his head around. This is a developer oversight, and was fixed in the Nintendo 3DS remake.

• Although Link's exact height is unknown, when compared to the corrected measuring graph in the pool in the Lakeside Laboratory via the Iron Boots in Ocarina of Time 3D, the Hero of Time stands 1.7m (5'7") tall in height as an adult, which is around the average for a man. Interestingly, Princess Zelda (and Sheik) is slightly shorter than Link, but Impa, the Sage of Shadow and Zelda's attendant, stands taller than him. On the other hand, as a child, Link stands shorter than Zelda.
  • His Fierce Deity form in Majora's Mask is exceptionally tall, likely the same as Ganondorf, who himself measures 230cm (7'6¾") in Ocarina of Time according to Hyrule Historia.
  • Himself as the Hero's Spirit in Twilight Princess, due to his Stalfos-like ghost form, stands much taller than when he was alive.
  • The Hero of Time's appearances in other media usually depict Link of average size, but appears oddly short in SoulCalibur II.
• In the Ocarina of Time (Himekawa) manga, the Hero of Time was shown training with Impa as well as a Hylian Knight named Captain Orsen in its sequel. However, in the original games, unlike most other incarnations of Link, he is a self-taught fighter. Due to his constant increase in raw skills until his death, he even became an instructor in Twilight Princess as the Hero's Spirit - something no other Link in the long-running franchise had done.
• In the post-credits cutscene of Link meeting Princess Zelda in the Hyrule Castle Courtyard for the second time in Ocarina of Time and Ocarina of Time 3D, the Triforce of Courage can be seen resonating on his left hand.
• In Twilight Princess, one of the items the Hero of Twilight obtain in his adventure is the Hero's Bow and even some residents speak of an ancient hero of the past known in Hyrule. This implies the Hero of Time's actions throughout his life in the Child Timeline might not be completely forgotten.
• The statue of the Hero of Time seen in Hyrule Castle in The Wind Waker has somewhat of a resemblance to the Hero of Winds incarnation in that it depicts him wearing the same exact clothing and even has the Mirror Shield based on its appearance in-game (despite the N64 titles have much different designs).
• In the event Link is defeated in Ocarina of Time as an adult and the player consequently receives a Game Over, the Hero of Time can be heard saying "Yuck!" as he collapses, marking the first time in The Legend of Zelda series he speaks English words in a mainline game, before The Wind Waker's "Come on!" as widely believed.
• In the beta version of Ocarina of Time, the Hero of Time was originally going to summon Epona using a reed whistle. Although this was scrapped, said concept would be reused for the Horse Call in Twilight Princess.
  • Similarly, the running slash attack seen in that title was originally planned for Ocarina of Time but was cut for unknown reasons.
• As the Downfall Timeline branch of the Zelda Timeline is ultimately the possible result of Link defeated by Ganon, in spite of Ocarina of Time's actual ending of being the opposite, this would make the Hero of Time the only incarnation of Link to have canonically lost.

  

• Although sometimes falsely assumed as such by fans, the Hero of Time is not the first instance in the franchise to feature an older Link, as this debuted in The Adventure of Link. However, his appearance and notability in Ocarina of Time has become a trademark image of the character to many, despite the majority of the games in the longtime series depicted Link as a child.
• Surprisingly, during early development of Ocarina of Time, the Hero of Time were to begin his adventure in Hyrule already as an adult, as his child self was not originally planned.
• In A Link to the Past & Four Swords and The Minish Cap, the voice of the young Hero of Time can be heard for the respective Links during gameplay, despite them not being this incarnation in any way. This itself has met with confusion among fans.
• In Ocarina of Time 3D, the Hero of Time's fighting stance via Targeting is slightly altered from the original Nintendo 64 version, where Link can sometimes be seen twirling his sword in a nearly identical manner as his descendant in Twilight Princess. This only happens as an adult, however.
• The Hero of Time has the most transformations over any incarnation of Link - five.
• The Hero's Spirit being the Hero of Time himself has been met with controversy by fans of the series, especially ones who played the Nintendo 64 games, as the form in Twilight Princess shows this rather iconic Link in a horrific, sad, decayed state vaguely explained how he become such.

• Although the Hero of Time has no direct counterpart in Termina unlike his Sworn Brother Darunia (Darmani III) and supposed fiancée Princess Ruto (Lulu), Kafei in Majora's Mask is remarkably similar to Link in that he shares the same personality and animations as himself, and during a part of the Reuniting Kafei and Anju sidequest where they must acquire the Sun's Mask inside Sakon's Hideout, he can even be controlled by the player (a first for the series) and can also punch.
  • The Hero of Legend incarnation in A Link Between Worlds, however, would have a genuine counterpart in Lorule, known as Ravio. But in stark contrast to Kafei or Link himself, this character has a fearful personality rather than courageous. Coincidentally, he is associated with purple rather than green like the former.
• Link's actions by strictly following Zelda/Sheik's orders throughout Ocarina of Time's storyline solely to save Hyrule only to be permanently sent back to his childhood against his will at the end of the game has led some fans to believe the Hero of Time is simply a pawn of the princess of his era.
• The introduction of Majora's Mask explains a slightly different reason for the Hero of Time's departure as opposed to Hyrule Historia. Although he is indeed looking for Navi, the game says that Link is also fed up with the dangerous battles he experienced in his previous adventure in Ocarina of Time.
  • It should also be noted, as the N64 title was made well before the introduction of the official timeline in 2011, its plot says that in Hyrule, Link's legend was echoed by the Royal Family, which suggests that there is no evidence in-game that the timeline by Ocarina of Time's events had split into two and Link himself being in an alternate universe.
• With both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask combined, the Hero of Time has obtained a total of over 200 items (including reused), 9 Swords (two are Kokiri Sword variants), 5 Shields (two are different Mirror Shields), and accomplished 22 Dungeons (13 which are main). He also fought 163 different enemies including reused, 24 Mini-Bosses (excluding re-encounters), and 17 Bosses including Ganon and Majora's forms.
• The Hero of Time's encounter with his descendant in Twilight Princess as the Hero's Spirit marks the first time based on canon content where a Link directly speaks with another incarnation of himself.

• Although often considered to be the most climactic defeat of Ganon in the The Legend of Zelda series, some fans also viewed the Hero of Time's final blow in the Final Boss battle of Ocarina of Time as arguably the most violent scene in the entire franchise as well, due to the beast spewing red blood in the original v1.0/v.1.1 NTSC builds of the N64 game as well as himself stabbing the monster directly in the mouth (Ganondorf also pukes blood when defeated). Due to controversy, this has resulted in all subsequent versions (including PAL) and releases, including its remake, being censored by Nintendo with the blood changed to green and in Ocarina of Time 3D, the Master Sword instead hits Ganon in the forehead much like in some later games' final blows with the scared blade, to tone down the violence, as the game was in fact rated Everyone (E) by the ESRB and would not risk it being re-rated to Teen (T). The 3DS remake, however, has the Everyone 10+ (E10+) rating. No other Zelda game in the long-running series since Ocarina of Time features realistic colored blood.
  • Stained blood can also be seen in Bottom of the Well and Shadow Temple. It remains red even in later v.1.2 versions and the remake.
  • The Ocarina of Time manga also shows the finishing blow of Link striking Ganon on the forehead rather than in the mouth.
• Link's Hero's Shield and updated Kokiri Sword that replaced his Deku/Hylian Shield and older version of the sword in the events of Majora's Mask is possibly due to the Royal Family giving him adequate gear to help him on his second adventure.
• Darunia's son, in honor of his Sworn Brother for saving the Goron species during his youth, is named after the Hero of Time - Link.
  • Link also encounters another Goron sharing his name who has a reservation for the Stock Pot Inn in Majora's Mask.
• Despite not clearly evidenced in-game or his other appearances such as the Super Smash Bros. series or SoulCalibur II, many fans presumed Adult Link in Ocarina of Time as merely his child self in a grown-up body and vice versa in Majora's Mask. This is likely due to the fact that he was forced into a magical sleep for 7 years to become the Hero of Time upon pulling the Master Sword, and thus the experience of his growing life was skipped entirely.
  • In the Akira Himekawa manga adaptation for the former, however, this is strongly depicted, as Link was completely clueless about what happened to him between his sleep and awaken, and his behavior remained generally childish through the second part of the story. It should be noted, though, that the manga series are non-canonical.
• Perhaps humorously, due to Adult Link's realistic reaction when taking fall damage, some fans like to make fun of it by jokingly believing he said "Ay, sh**!", although he never actually said profane language.
• The close-up official artwork of Adult Link interestingly shows the Hero of Time equipped with the Master Sword, but without the Hylian Shield.
• Although the Hero of Time did not manage to kill Ganon in Ocarina of Time unlike Majora in its sequel, due to his archenemy surviving the otherwise fatal blow by the Master Sword thanks to the Triforce of Power and the main antagonist himself being at peak strength (as well as he doesn't have the Silver Arrows which are guaranteed to destroy him), he is still technically responsible for his death as Ganondorf in Twilight Princess; The finishing attack onto his open wound by his descendant, the Hero of Twilight, during the final battle (the Ending Blow) is actually one of the seven Hidden Skills learned by the Hero's Spirit.
• Similar to Epona, Link's model in Majora's Mask is slightly taller than how he appears in its prequel. This indicates the Hero of Time had gained a small growth between the games' events.

• Interestingly, in his crossover appearance in SoulCalibur II exclusively for the GameCube version, although not canon to either The Legend of Zelda or Soul series whatsoever, the Hero of Time's in-game story not only references his two adventures in Hyrule and Termina, but also A Link to the Past as well. In this game, Link pulled the Master Sword in the Lost Woods as opposed to the Temple of Time, and he had already rescued Hyrule from an evil magician (possibly Agahnim) before entering the Soul universe as he learns the controlling force behind the wizard was by a deadly evil entity sword called Soul Edge, where he must destroy it. When Link eventually succeeds in his quest and encounters the Soul Calibur, a powerful holy weapon similar to the Blade of Evil's Bane, therefore saving the world entirely, he quietly leaves to return back to Hyrule, like in the ending of Majora's Mask. Most of his available arsenal in SoulCalibur II are from the N64 games where he is playable such as the Biggoron's Sword or Great Fairy's Sword, but a few of such are also items predating Ocarina of Time, specifically the Magical Sword/Shield (named "Magic Sword" in-game), Cane of Byrna, and even the Bug Catching Net. He can even wield Soul Edge itself in the shape of his trademark Master Sword and Hylian Shield weapons. In addition, like in the Super Smash Bros. series, the Blue Ring tunic from the original The Legend of Zelda is also available as an alternate costume much like his Goron and Zora Tunics. Although Link himself is technically suitable for Soul Calibur, because he is pure of heart like the fighters Talim and Siegfried (the Soul series' main protagonist), the Hero of Time does not have an unlockable weapon based on it, likely due to the fact he already wields the Master Sword, rendering it unnecessary.
  • Coincidentally, the Hero of Time's child and adult voice actors, Fujiko Takamoto and Nobuyuki Hiyama, also voiced Taki and Siegfried/Nightmare, respectively, as well as Yoshimitsu for the latter, when set at the Japanese language. The game itself is also the last time of Hiyama himself reprising his role as Adult Link before his official retirement for voicing the character.
• Despite the Link from The Wind Waker, known as the Hero of Winds, is the Hero of Time's successor in the Adult Timeline and is possibly his descendant like the Hero of Twilight from Twilight Princess, this incarnation is said to be unrelated to the legendary hero in-game according to the King of Red Lions when speaking to Jabun, likely due to the fact centuries have passed since the events of Ocarina of Time and the Hero of Time himself was sent back to his original age into the Child Timeline by Princess Zelda in his era.

• Alongside being the most important Link in the mythology and official timelines, in terms of power-scaling, the Hero of Time is likely one of, if not the strongest incarnation of The Legend of Zelda series' main protagonist. In addition to possessing the traditional Master Sword, Triforce of Courage, Mirror Shield, Light Arrows, as well as having a large and unique arsenal of items other Links do not have such as the Lens of Truth, transformation masks, three magic spells with power of the Golden Goddesses themselves, etc., he himself defeated a prime Ganon while the King of Evil himself almost completely took over Hyrule for seven years, destroyed another powerful demon called Majora, and even fought/beaten his own shadow, each of which in a one-on-one fight with no assistance (despite Princess Zelda attempting to hold Ganon down just before the final blow). Physically, he is able to wield the two-handed weapons, such as Biggoron's Sword or Megaton Hammer, in one grip when equipped during cutscenes as well as in SoulCalibur II (the Breath of the Wild incarnation for example holds the former like a zweihänder giving its size) and can rival Ganondorf's Triforce of Power superhuman strength with the Golden Gauntlets. His skills in sword combat are so great, that as an immortal ghost, he is even the teacher of the Hero of Twilight to help his descendant defeat Ganondorf in Twilight Princess by showing him how to perform his own highly advanced techniques (Hidden Skills). Also, most notably, the mysterious Fierce Deity Link transformation by the Fierce Deity's Mask in Majora's Mask, a deadly form restricted only for boss battles, is widely believed to be the most unstoppable form of any Link possible among the franchise's community, as it is capable of destroying such foes very quickly, including Majora's Mask itself, due to its incredible raw power. The Fierce Deity can even slice the seemingly indestructible Moon in two with a single focused slash as seen in Hyrule Warriors.
  • Despite not being canon to the Zelda series, in SoulCalibur II, the Hero of Time also defeated Inferno, the fiery demonic being behind the extremely powerful Soul Edge - a cursed sword capable of devouring souls, after saving Hyrule from an unknown potent wizard.
  • In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is capable of performing the Triforce Slash as his Final Smash like his other incarnations in-game.
• In the Akira Himekawa manga adaptation of both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, Link can be heard saying minor profanities, often "Damn".
• Unique among other incarnations of Link and in a rather dark way, as seen in both of his adventures in Hyrule and Termina, the Hero of Time is capable of eating spirits. When he captures a Poe in a Bottle and then uses it, Link consumes the Poe Soul in the same manner as Milk or a Potion (which randomly recovers or depletes portions of his Life Energy). However, he cannot do this with the Big Poe variant.
• The Hero of Time's evil shadow doppelgänger, Dark Link, in Ocarina of Time, shares his voice, but is distorted and slowed down to give a demonic feel. Interestingly, he also appears under a dead tree, serving as a contrast to Link's youth surrounded by living green trees in Kokiri Forest.
  • In Super Smash Bros. Melee, if Link grows giant via a Super Mushroom, his own voice becomes identical to that of his dark counterpart.
• The Hero of Time is the only incarnation of Link to switch between ages within one mainline game - Ocarina of Time, although he was originally going to do this in Majora's Mask as well by a unique transforming Mask closely resembling his face but was scrapped during development and was replaced by the Fierce Deity's Mask to become Fierce Deity Link instead. Concept artwork of his adult self can be seen in the Hyrule Historia section of the latter game (see gallery).
• The files of Ocarina of Time contain one unused audio clip of the Hero of Time's grunts based on both his child and adult age stages. It is unknown what they were originally intended in conjunction of Link.

• The Hero of Time, alongside Navi, has a pop culture appearance in the popular 1998 Cartoon Network superhero TV series The Powerpuff Girls, in the season three episode "Child Fearing", where the Mayor plays a Zelda game on his Nintendo 64. Based on the then-new Ocarina of Time, Link, without a shield, repeatedly runs directly into walls with Navi saying her infamous line "Hey!", before suddenly being crushed by a block and even kills the Fairy with a single horizontal slash with his sword (presumably the Kokiri Sword), in which both incidents has him taking three Hearts in damage, despite the latter not actually taking hits. Consequently, he gets a Game Over, in spite of having one Heart Container remaining.
• In addition to SoulCalibur II and their iconic role as the Hero of Time, Fujiko Takimoto is also known as the Japanese voice actress of Badtz-Maru and Cherry (Lloromannic) from Sanrio's Hello Kitty franchise, along with young Asuma Sarutobu from the Naruto series, while Nobuyuki Hiyama performed as Hiei from the YuYu Hakusho series, Gai Shishioh from King of Braves GaoGaiGar, among others.
• The Hero of Time's earliest appearance was possibly the Zelda 64 Spaceworld 1995 tech demo, where the demo was an early test of the N64's capabilities for a Zelda game. Although in 3D, Link's appearance is based on A Link to the Past rather than his final design in Ocarina of Time.
• Story-wise, despite Ganon being the Hero of Time's archnemesis and Majora another comparable foe for Link, his worst enemy is likely Dark Link, as this enigmatic enemy is equal to the hero's skills with almost no weaknesses.
• In The Legend of Zelda series' 30th anniversary artwork featuring all of the incarnations of Link released up to that point in 2016, the Hero of Time, specifically his adult self, is shown in the center, signifying his importance among the franchise.

Nomenclature

Gallery

• 
  As a child
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  Playing the Ocarina of Time
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  With Navi
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  Drawing the Fairy Slingshot
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  Battle stance
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  Ocarina of Time 3D child artwork
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  As an adult
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  Walking
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  Running
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  Jumping
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  Forward roll
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  Crouch blocking with Hylian Shield
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  Battle stance
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  Battle stance
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  Horizontal slash
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  Vertical slash
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  Sword thrust
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  Spin Attack
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  Performing a Spin Attack
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  Jump Attack
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  Jump Attack
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  Carrying a Bomb
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  Throwing a Bomb
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  Drawing the Fairy Bow
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  Climbing a block
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  Pushing a block
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  Climbing a ladder
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  Hanging on a ledge
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  Opening a Treasure Chest
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  Swimming underwater
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  On Epona ready for battle
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  With Epona
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  Playing the Ocarina of Time
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  Playing the Ocarina of Time
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  Holding the Razor Sword
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  Holding the Goron Mask
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  With Tatl
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  Riding Epona
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  Jump Attack
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  Charging for an attack
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  As Deku Link
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  As Goron Link
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  As Zora Link
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  As Fierce Deity Link
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  Majora's Mask 3D artwork of Link and Tatl with the Deku and Zora Masks
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  Majora's Mask 3D artwork of Deku Link playing the Deku Pipes
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  Majora's Mask 3D artwork Goron Link playing the Goron Drums
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  Majora's Mask 3D artwork of Zora Link playing the Zora Guitar
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  Link entering the Great Deku Tree
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  Vs. Queen Gohma, the Boss monster of the Great Deku Tree
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  Link meets his archenemy Ganondorf for the first time
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  Link pulling the Master Sword out of its pedestal to become the Hero of Time
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  Vs. Volvagia, the Boss of the Fire Temple
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  Vs. Morpha, the Boss of the Water Temple
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  Link destroying two Deku Babas with a Spin Attack
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  The Hero of Time, with Sheik fighting against a multitude of Ganondorf's minions
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  The Hero of Time and the King of Evil in a one-on-one fight to the death
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  Artwork of Majora's Mask, featuring the Hero of Time on Epona, in various forms alongside the Skull Kid
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  Artwork of Majora's Mask, with Link on Epona, Tatl, and several characters in the background
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  Majora's Mask artwork of The Hero of Time, with Tatl, in Clock Town looking up to the Moon above
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  Majora's Mask 3D artwork of Fierce Deity Link, with the four Moon Children and Majora's Incarnation in the background
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  Early illustration of Ocarina of Time's main cast alongside the Hero of Time
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  Artwork of Ocarina of Time 3D, with Link riding Epona across Hyrule Field
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  Ocarina of Time 3D artwork of Link and Sheik playing music together
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  OoT3D cover of Link and Ganondorf fighting
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  MM3D artwork featuring the Hero of Time (holding the Mask of Truth) with many other characters including his various transformation
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  Child Link concept art
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  Adult Link concept art
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  Adult Link concept art
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  Adult Link concept art
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  Adult Link concept art, with an early design of Ganon
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  Concept art of the Hero of Time in both age stages
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  Adult Link face concept art
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  Adult Link facial expressions concept art
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  Adult Link concept art
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  Early sketch
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  Concept art of Link with Navi
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  Child Link, Majora's Mask sketch
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  Adult Link concept art, for Majora's Mask
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  Adult Link's concept sketch, for Majora's Mask
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  Adult Link OoT concept model render
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  Sketch of Link entering the Great Deku Tree
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  Early artwork of Link fighting a group of monsters with Sheik
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  Sketch of Link vs. Ganondorf
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  Early sketch of the Hero of Time and the main cast of Ocarina of Time
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  Concept artwork of Link, his transformations, and Skull Kid of Majora's Mask
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  Ocarina of Time Child Link model with Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield
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  Ocarina of Time Adult Link model with Master Sword and Hylian Shield
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  Adult Link checking his Hylian Shield
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  Wearing the Goron Tunic
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  Wearing the Zora Tunic
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  Majora's Mask Child Link model
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  Ocarina of Time 3D Child Link model
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  Ocarina of Time Child Link model, carrying a Bomb
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  Adult Link Ocarina of Time 3D model, standing
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  Adult Link Ocarina of Time 3D model, running
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  Adult Link Ocarina of Time 3D model, battle stance
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  Adult Link Ocarina of Time 3D model, attacking
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  OoT3D Adult Link defending with the Hylian Shield
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  OoT3D Adult Link playing the Ocarina of Time
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  Majora's Mask 3D Child Link model
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  The Hero of Time's child and adult models together in Ocarina of Time
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  Link transforming into Deku Link in Majora's Mask
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  Deku Link Majora's Mask in-game model
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  Majora's Mask 3D Deku Link model
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  Link transforming into Goron Link from Majora's Mask
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  Goron Link Majora's Mask in-game model
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  Majora's Mask 3D Goron Link model
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  Link transforming into Zora Link in Majora's Mask
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  Zora Link Majora's Mask in-game model
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  Majora's Mask 3D Zora Link model
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  Child Link defending with the Deku Shield in Ocarina of Time
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  Child Link performing a Spin Attack in Majora's Mask
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  Playing the Ocarina of Time in Majora's Mask
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  Child Link at Hyrule Field, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link blowing a whistle in the beta version of Ocarina of Time
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  Link performing the Beam Attack from an early build of Ocarina of TIme
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  Link facing a few Octoroks in an early build of Ocarina of Time
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  Adult Link, with Navi, as he appears in an earlier build of OoT
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  The Hero of Time's earliest appearance, from the Zelda 64 1995 SpaceWorld demo
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  Early Adult Link design for Ocarina of Time
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  Link finding the complete Triforce in the beta version of Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time fighting a Stalfos in the beta version of Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time fishing in the Fishing Hole in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time's rare smile while catching a fish in Ocarina of Time
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  Link riding Epona in an earlier build of Ocarina of Time
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  Adult Link swimming underwater in Ocarina of Time
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  Link horse racing against Ingo from Ocarina of Time 3D
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  Child Link riding Epona in Majora's Mask
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  Link meeting Navi in Ocarina of Time 3D
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  Link listening to the Great Deku Tree about his destiny to meet Princess Zelda, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link running away in fear from Darunia's Gorons attempting to hug the young hero, from Ocarina of Time
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  Link encounters Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time 3D
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  Child Link watches Ganondorf in frustration as he was unable to beat him, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link placing the three Spiritual Stones in order to open the Door of Time, in Ocarina of Time
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  Child Link attempting to pull the Master Sword out of its pedestal in Ocarina of Time 3D
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  The young hero has grown-up and awakens as the Hero of Time, after being sealed for 7 years, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link returns the Master Sword back to its pedestal, reversing time back seven years to the past, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time meeting Darunia's son Link (Goron) in Ocarina of Time
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  A Flare Dancer struck by the Hero of Time's Jump Attack in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time breaking a Giant's Knife
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  Link carrying the powerful Biggoron's Sword
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  Link fighting against a Wolfos via Z-Targeting at the Forest Temple, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link walking through the twisted corridors of the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time
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  Link fighting Phantom Ganon, the Boss of the Forest Temple, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time being warned by Sheik to step back in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time pushing a mirror in the Spirit Temple, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link meeting Nabooru, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link playing the Prelude of Light with Shelk in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time being told by Sheik he is the Triforce of Courage's possessor
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  Link arriving at Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time using the Rainbow Bridge to enter Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time
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  Link facing an Iron Knuckle alongside a Blade Trap at the entrance of Ganon's Castle (Master Quest}
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  A large pillar of granite being lifted by the Hero of Time via the Golden Gauntlets within Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time
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  Link inside the inner sanctum of Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time running up the staircase in the tower section of Ganon's Castle, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Triforce of Courage resonates on the Hero of Time's left hand, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link's in-game final battle with Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time watches the walls around him crumble under Ganondorf's rage
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  Ganondorf seemingly defeated by the Hero of Time, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link, Zelda, and Navi escaping Ganon's Castle as it is collapsing, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time and Princess Zelda standing before the destroyed Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time
• 
  The Hero of Time defending Princess Zelda from danger upon hearing the ominous noise from Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time
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  An annoyed Hero of Time watches his Master Sword being knocked away by Ganon, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time standing face-to-face against his archnemesis, Ganon, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time's Final Boss showdown in Hyrule, where he must fight Ganon in a climactic duel, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Master Sword glowing with Power to Repel Evil in the Hero of Time's hand, In Ocarina of Time
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  Ganon brutally defeated by the Hero of Time with a violent blow, in Ocarina of Time
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  Another view of Ganon's defeat immediately after the Hero of Time stabs him in the beast's mouth in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time's infamous finishing blow onto Ganon in Ocarina of Time
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  Child Link with the Triforce of Courage in his hand during the ending cutscene of Ocarina of Time
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  An annoyed Link meets the Skull Kid, Tatl, and Tael, after the former steals his Ocarina of Time, in Majora's Mask
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  The Skull Kid steals Epona from Link, in Majora's Mask
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  Link caught off-guard by the Skull Kid, Tatl, and Tael's presence, in Majora's Mask
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  The young Hero of Time cursed by the Skull Kid to transform into a Deku Shrub, in Majora's Mask
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  Link violently picked up by the Happy Mask Salesman in Majora's Mask 3D
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  A beta screenshot of Majora's Mask featuring the scrapped Link Mask
• 
  Link and Tatl sees a drawing of the Skull Kid in Majora's Mask
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  Link meeting a Keaton in Majora's Mask
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  The Hero of Time performing a Jump Attack on a Green Chuchu in Majora's Mask
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  Link dancing with the Rosa Sisters in Majora's Mask
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  Link with Pierre the Scarecrow in Majora's Mask
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  Link helping Cremia delivering her special milk to the Milk Bar, in Majora's Mask
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  The Hero of Time paying his grieving respects toward the fallen Mikau, in Majora's Mask
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  Link, in all of his Mask forms, playing Ballad of the Wind Fish at the Milk Bar, in Majora's Mask
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  The Hero of Time using the Mirror Shield to reflect light into a Sun Switch in Majora's Mask
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  Link facing a Floormaster in the Ikana Castle in Majora's Mask
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  Link meets his semi-counterpart Kafei
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  Link falling into an abyss of time as he returns back to the First Day using the Song of Time, in Majora's Mask
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  Link watching the Majora's Mask detaching from the Skull Kid before heading to the Moon in Majora's Mask
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  Link giving the Giant's Mask to a Moon Child in Majora's Mask
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  The Hero of Time's Final Boss showdown in Termina, where he must destroy the evil entity behind Majora's Mask, in Majora's Mask
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  Fierce Deity Link easily damaging Majora's Wrath in Majora's Mask
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  Link's map icon in Majora's Mask
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  As Dark Link
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  Dark Link's model in Ocarina of Time 3D
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  Dark Link attacking in Ocarina of Time 3D
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  The Hero of Time facing his evil mirror image in a brutal duel inside the Water Temple, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link vs. Dark Link in Ocarina of Time 3D
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  Close-up artwork of the Hero of Time's ultimate form, the Fierce Deity
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  Link transforming into Fierce Deity Link, a highly powerful form, in Majora's Mask
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  Fierce Deity Link in-game model in Majora's Mask
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  Fierce Deity Link Majora's Mask 3D model
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  Fierce Deity Link in Clock Town, in Majora's Mask
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  Fierce Deity Link firing a Sword Beam in Majora's Mask
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  Fierce Deity Link performing a Spin Attack, in Majora's Mask
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  The Ganondorf-like size of Fierce Deity Link compared to Adult Princess Zelda in a modified gameplay of Ocarina of Time
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  The young Hero of Time compared to all of his Mask transformations in Majora's Mask
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  The Hero of Time defeated, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time fails to stop the Moon from crashing Termina, in Majora's Mask 3D
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  Saria congratulating Link for finally having a Fairy companion, in Ocarina of Time
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  With Saria, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link and Saria in Ocarina of Time 3D
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  The Hero of Time listening to young Princess Zelda about Ganondorf's plan, in Ocarina of Time
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  A proud Princess Zelda takes the Ocarina from Link, who now saved Hyrule, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time being permanently sent into the Child Timeline by Princess Zelda, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link's flashback of Princess Zelda in Majora's Mask, moments before departing Hyrule
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  The Hero of Time and Princess Zelda's model renders in Majora's Mask
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  A young smitten Princess Ruto almost kisses the young Hero of Time after rescuing her, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Zora princess swims toward Link to reward him with her "engagement ring" (Zora's Sapphire), in Ocarina of Time
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  Young Princess Ruto excitedly requesting the Hero of Time's marriage proposal upon seeing the Zora Mask, in Ocarina of Time
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  Adult Link meets an equally grown Princess Ruto in the Chamber of Sages, in Ocarina of Time
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  The Hero of Time being praised by his fiancée, Princess Ruto, in Ocarina of Time
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  Link talks to adult Malon in an earlier build of Ocarina of Time
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  Cremia giving the young Hero of Time a much deserved hug after helping her deliver her Chateau Romani, in Majora's Mask
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  As the Hero's Spirit
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  Hero's Shade model from Twilight Princess
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  Performing a battle stance as the Hero's Shade in Twilight Princess
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  The former Hero of Time (right) teaches his descendant, the Link of Twilight Princess, the Hidden Skills, in Twilight Princess HD
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  The Hero's Spirit disappointed at his descendant's skill level, in Twilight Princess HD
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  The Hero's Spirit training the Hero of Twilight in Twilight Princess HD
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  The Hero's Shade demonstrating the Helm Splitter, narrowly missing the The Hero of Twilight's head, in Twilight
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  The Hero's Spirit teaching the lethal Mortal Draw, in Twilight Princess
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  The Hero's Spirit shooting an energy ball at his descendant in Twilight Princess
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  The Hero's Spirit multiplying himself into three afterimages in Twilight Princess HD
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  The Hero of Time as the Shade finally eased of his inner demons in Twilight Princess HD
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  Hero's Spirit icon in My Nintendo Picross: Twilight Princess
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  Hero's Spirit's white wolf form, in Twilight Princess
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  Hero's Spirit white wolf in-game model in Twilight Princess
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  The Hero of Time as the White Wolf howling from Twilight Princess HD
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  The Hero of Time's legend art in The Wind Waker's intro
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  The Hero of Time fighting and defeating Ganon with the power of the Master Sword and Triforce of Courage, in the intro of The Wind Waker
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  The Hero of Time, on Epona, departs Hyrule, before Ganon breaks from his seal hundreds of years later in The Wind Waker
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  The Hero of Time's attacking pose in the opening cutscene of The Wind Waker
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  Link from the 2000 SpaceWorld tech demo
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  Link fighting Ganondorf from the 2000 SpaceWorld tech demo
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  Link dueling Ganondorf from the SpaceWorld 2000 tech demo
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  Artwork from Super Smash Bros.
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  Artwork of Link attacking from Super Smash Bros.
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  Link in the intro cutscene of Super Smash Bros.
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  Standard model render in Super Smash Bros.
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  Fighting Polygon model render in Super Smash Bros.
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  The Hero of Time playing the Ocarina of Time in a nighttime Hyrule Field, as seen in the intro cutscene of Super Smash Bros.
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  The Hero of Time performing his taunt in Super Smash Bros.
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  Link's character icon in Super Smash Bros.
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  Stock icon in Super Smash Bros.
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  Link in the intro cutscene of Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Young Link preparing to shoot a Fire Arrow in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Adult Link drawing his Bow in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Young Link performing a Jump Thrust in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Adult Link attacks with a Down Thrust in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Young Link throwing the Boomerang in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Adult Link firing the Hookshot in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Adult Link performing the Spin Attack in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Adult Link throws a Bomb at Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Link facing Dark Link in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Adult Link fighting his shadow self in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Young Link in one of his victory poses in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Adult Link in one of his victory poses in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Young Link black tunic SSBM render
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  Adult Link black tunic SSBM render
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  Young Link stock icon in Super Smash Bros, Melee
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  Adult Link stock icon in Super Smash Bros. Melee
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  Ocarina of Time manga (Himekawa)
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  Ocarina of Time manga
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  Majora's Mask manga (Himekawa)
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  OoT manga
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  MM/ALttP manga
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  Child Link sitting in a field with all three Spirtiual Stones in the OoT manga
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  Link and Saria in the OoT manga
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  Link discovers his close friend Saria is the Sage of Forest, in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  Link shy from Princess Zelda in OoT manga
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  Young Princess Zelda kissing Link after he agrees to help defeat Ganondorf, in the OoT manga
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  Child Link sees his soon-fiancée Princess Ruto in danger in front of Barinade, in the OoT manga
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  Young Link meeting Princess Ruto for the first time in the OoT manga
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  Link defeats Barinade and rescues Ruto, in the OoT manga
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  Link becomes engaged with Ruto in the OoT manga
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  Adult Link and Princess Ruto swimming together in the Water Temple, in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  Link and Ruto fighting against Morpha in the OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time discovers his fiancee Ruto is the Sage of Water, in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  Link meeting Malon for the first time in the OoT manga
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  Link protecting Malon in the OoT manga
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  Link with Malon and Ingo in the OoT manga
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  Kaepora Gaebora teasing the young Hero of Time for having multiple girlfriends after meeting Saria, Zelda, and Malon (but not yet Ruto) in the OoT manga
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  The young Hero of Time celebrating with Darunia in the OoT manga
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  Child Link meets his archenemy Ganondorf for the first time in the OoT manga
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  Young Link attempts to defeat Ganondorf but proves no match for the Evil King, in the OoT manga
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  Link pulling the Master Sword in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  The Hero of Time awakens in the OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time learns his destiny, from the OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time ready for battle, in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  Link fighting Big Deku Babas in OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time reunites with Impa after seven years, in the OoT manga
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  Link encounters Dark Link in the OoT manga
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  Link challenged by his shadow self in the OoT manga
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  Link vs. Dark Link, in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  Impa giving the Hero of Time his blue earrings as a gift, in the OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time killing Volvagia with a single slash to the neck, in the OoT manga
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  Link encounters Koume and Kotake in Fortune Teller disguises in the OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time defending himself against a brainwashed Nabooru, in the OoT manga
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  Link and Shelk working together to defeat Twinrova, in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  Princess Zelda reuniting with the Hero of Time in the OoT manga
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  Nabooru telling the Hero of Time who and what Ganondorf is, in the OoT manga
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  Link and Nabooru joining forces to stop Ganondorf at his Castle, in the OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time discovers Nabooru is the final Sage before entering Ganon's Castle, in the OoT manga
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  Link crossing the Rainbow Bridge to enter Ganon's Castle in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  The Hero of Time running through the inner staircase of Ganon's Castle, in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  The Hero of Time arriving before Ganondorf's throne room in the OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time's Triforce of Courage resonating alongside Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom, in the OoT manga
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  Ganondorf being challenged by the Hero of Time before the final showdown, in the OoT manga
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  Link dodges Ganondorf's magic attack, in the OoT manga
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  Ganondorf punches at Link but misses, in the OoT manga
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  The Hero of Time and Ganondorf clashing with their swords in the Ocarina of Time manga
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  Ganondorf injures Link with his magic, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Hero of Time cleverly deflects Ganondorf's finishing attack with a Spin Attack, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Hero of Time finishes Ganondorf with a mighty slash in the OoT manga
• 
  A wounded Ganondorf in disbelief by his defeat by the Hero of Time, in the OoT manga
• 
  Ganondorf seemingly defeated by the Hero of Time, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Hero of Time and Princess Zelda escaping the collapsing Ganon's Castle with moments to spare, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Hero of Time and Zelda believing they achieved victory upon the destruction of Ganon's Castle, in the OoT manga
• 
  Link and Zelda in shock as Ganondorf furiously rises and transforms into Ganon via the Triforce of Power, in the Ocarina of Time manga
• 
  The Hero of Time faces the vicious Demon King Ganon, in the Ocarina of Time manga
• 
  Ganon violently knocks the Hero of Time down as he tries to fight back, in the OoT manga
• 
  Princess Zelda and Navi take their opportunity to help the Hero of Time get back into action, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Hero of Time gets back up to resume fighting Ganon, in the OoT manga
• 
  Link discovers Ganon's weakness - his tail, upon slashing it, in the Ocarina of Time manga
• 
  The Hero of Time powerfully tackles Ganon down to the ground before jumping high into the air, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Hero of Time delivers a powerful Jump Attack onto Ganon's face and body, in the OoT manga
• 
  With Ganon weakened, Princess Zelda tells the Hero of Time to deliver the final blow, in the Ocarina of Time manga
• 
  The Hero of Time ultimately defeats Ganon by thrusting the Master Sword onto the beast's forehead, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Seven Sages begin to seal Ganon to the Evil Realm upon Link defeating the monster, in the OoT manga
• 
  With Hyrule at peace, Zelda tells the Hero of Time they must part ways, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Hero of Time tries to prevent Princess Zelda from sending him back to his childhood, in the OoT manga
• 
  The Hero of Time accepting his fate for Zelda, in the Ocarina of Time manga
• 
  The Hero of Time sent into the Child Timeline before Navi says goodbye, in the Ocarina of Time manga
• 
  Child Link returns to the Castle Courtyard to meet Princess Zelda at the end of his Hyrule adventure, in the OoT manga
• 
  Ocarina of Time manga artwork, with Zelda and Navi
• 
  Ocarina of Time manga artwork
• 
  Ocarina of Time manga artwork
• 
  Link ambushed by Skull Kid in the Majora's Mask manga
• 
  Skull Kid transforming Link into Deku Link in the Majora's Mask manga
• 
  Link angrily captures Tatl for her hostile behavior in the Majora's Mask manga
• 
  The Hero of Time reluctantly agrees to help the Happy Mask Salesman recover the Majora's Mask, in the MM manga
• 
  Link defeating Odolwa with a Spin Attack in the Majora's Mask manga
• 
  A flashback memory of the Hero of Time fighting Ganondorf in the Majora's Mask manga
• 
  The Hero of Time looks up to the sinister Moon at Snowhead, in the MM manga
• 
  Link learns how Kafei turned into his age by the Skull Kid in the MM manga
• 
  Link defending himself against Majora's Mask in the MM manga
• 
  Majora's Mask gives Link the Fierce Deity's Mask for a game of "tag", in the MM manga
• 
  Link decides to "play" with Majora's Mask and ultimately puts on the Fierce Deity's Mask, in the MM manga
• 
  The Hero of Time transforms into the ferocious Fierce Deity Link, before going after Majora for the final showdown, in the Majora's Mask manga
• 
  Link as Fierce Deity Link in the Majora's Mask manga
• 
  Fierce Deity Link destorying Boss Remains with one slash in the MM manga
• 
  Fierce Deity Link fighting against Majora's Mask and Incarnation forms, in the MM manga
• 
  The Hero of Time dueling against Majora's Incarnation in the MM manga
• 
  Fierce Deity Link easily overpowering Majora in the Majora's Mask manga
• 
  The Hero of Time as the Fierce Deity delivers the final blow against Majora's Wrath in the MM manga
• 
  Majora ultimately killed by the Hero of Time before the Happy Mask Salesman tries to sneak around, in the MM manga
• 
  Fierce Deity Link trying to slash the powerless Majora's Mask in half while threatening the Happy Mask Salesman to leave, in the MM manga
• 
  Accomplishing his mission of destroying Majora, the Hero of Time returns to normal upon removing the Fierce Deity Mask
• 
  The Hero of Time says goodbye to Skull Kid and Tatl as he prepares to leave Termina, in the MM manga
• 
  The Hero of Time seeming returning back to Hyrule at the end of his Termina adventure, in the MM manga
• 
  Majora's Mask manga artwork
• 
  Majora's Mask manga artwork, with Kafei and Anju
• 
  Link (top) on the Gamecube box art of Soul Calibur II
• 
  Soul Calibur II render
• 
  Artwork of Link's fighting pose in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Artwork of Link attacking in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Artwork of Link in an alternate fighting pose in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Official artwork of Link in Soul Calibur II with several main characters
• 
  Official artwork of Link in Soul Calibur II with a few main characters
• 
  Link's character icon in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link's Goron Tunic icon in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link's Zora Tunic icon in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link's Blue Ring Tunic icon in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Multiple angles of Link in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Standard model render in Soul Calibur II
• 
  In the Goron Tunic in Soul Calibur II
• 
  In the Zora Tunic in Soul Calibur II
• 
  In the Blue Ring tunic in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Performing a forward thrust in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link in a battle stance in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link's normal fighting pose in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Using the Bow in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Using the Boomerang in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Using the Bomb in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Performing the Jump Attack in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Executing the Dash Attack in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Executing a Spin Attack in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Performing a Jump Thrust in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Executing a Down Thrust in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link wielding the Magical Sword in SoulCalibur II
• 
  Front view of Link in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link in his alternate Goron Tunic costume in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link fighting Mitsurugi in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link vs. Sophita in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link fighting Maxi with a Jump Attack in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link fighting against Nightmare in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link performing the Arm Buster on Raphael in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link preparing to battle against Inferno in Soul Calibur II
• 
  The Hero of Time's Final Boss showdown in Soul Calibur II, where he must destroy Inferno
• 
  Inferno exploding due to his ultimate defeat by Link's hand, in Soul Calibur II
• 
  The Soul Calibur sword landing near the Hero of Time after killing Inferno
• 
  Link holding the Biggoron's Sword with only one hand, in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link in a mirror match in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Young Link in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Young Link preparing to shoot a Fire Arrow in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Young Link throwing the Boomerang in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Young Link with a Fairy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Young Link drinking Lon Lon Milk in Super Smash Bros, Ultimate
• 
  Young Link executing his Final Smash, Triforce Slash on Mario in SSBU
• 
  Young Link in the Dark Link costume performing a Down Thrust in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Young Link standard render in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Young Link's Dark Link alternate costume in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Stock icon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Dark Young Link stock icon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Young Link's standard outfit in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link with the Kokiri Sword in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link attack render in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link portrait in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link portrait in Hyrule Warriors, with Navi
• 
  Young Link portrait in Hyrule Warriors, with Navi
• 
  Young Link protrait in Hyrule Warriors, with Navi
• 
  Dark Young Link portrait in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link as Fierce Deity Link in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link head Adventure Mode icon in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link Adventure Mode icon in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link playing the Ocarina of Time next to Ganondorf in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link performing the winged boots attack in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link transforming into Fierce Deity Link in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Fierce Deity Link in his more powerful Vengeful state in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Fierce Deity Link performing his Focus Attack towards the Skull Kid and Moon in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Fierce Deity slicing the Moon in half with his Focus Attack in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  The full animation of the Hero of Time destroying the Moon as the Fierce Deity in Hyrule Warriors
• 
  Young Link in his victory pose from Hyrule Warriors
• 
  The young Hero of Time pulling the Master Sword in a Warioware game
• 
  Link meeting Navi and the Great Deku Tree in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link defeating Queen Gohma in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link learns about the Triforce and Ganondorf in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link meeting Princess Zelda before encountering Ganondorf in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Child Link defeated by Ganondorf in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link pulling the Master Sword in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link awakens as the Hero of Time in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Princess Zelda being captured in front of the Hero of Time in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link's, Princess Zelda's, and Ganondorf's respective Triforce pieces resonating in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link battles Ganondorf, in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link and Ganondorf fighting, simultaneously delivering hits, in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Ganondorf and Link injured from their sword blows in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link wounded in his mortal duel against Ganondorf, in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link rejoicing with Princess Zelda after Ganondorf's defeat in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link, filled with dark regrets, transforming into the Hero's Spirit in the Ocarina of Time 3D comic
• 
  Link riding Epona across Hyrule Field in the Ocarina of Time 3D opening screen
• 
  The censored version of the Hero of Time's finishing blow onto Ganon, in Ocarina of Time 3D
• 
  The full animation of the Hero of Time defeating Ganon in Ocarina of Time 3D
• 
  The planned but cut Link Mask in Majora's Mask
• 
  Link's House in Ocarina of Time
• 
  A drawing of Link fighting a monster on his house in Ocarina of Time
• 
  Adult Link's height next to Impa's
• 
  The Hero of Time in an unused waiting position with the Fairy Bow
• 
  The Hero of Time in an unused defensive position with the Biggoron's Sword
• 
  Link fighting against an Arwing from the Star Fox series, in Ocarina of Time
• 
  Nintendo Power comic
• 
  Link as a baby orphaned to the Great Deku Tree by his mother in the Nintendo Power comic
• 
  Link talking to Princess Zelda in the Nintendo Power comic
• 
  Child Link lands a high-five with his adult self, with Saria, in the Nintendo Power comic
• 
  Link in a special volume based on Majora's Mask 3D in Link's Hijinks
• 
  Link in a special volume based on Majora's Mask 3D in Link's Hijinks
• 
  Akira Himekawa artwork
• 
  Akira Himekawa artwork
• 
  2016 Akira Himekawa artwork
• 
  Akira Himekawa artwork
• 
  Akira Himekawa artwork, with the Hero of Time meeting his Adult Timeline successor, the Hero of Winds
• 
  Akira Himekawa artwork
• 
  Christmas Akira Himekawa artwork
• 
  Shigeru Miyamoto's signature and drawing of the Hero of Time from the 1998 Nintendo Power
• 
  The Hero of Time drawing his Bow in the OoT Nintendo Power offical strategy guide
• 
  The Hero of Time in the special edition Ocarina of Time Prima official strategy guide
• 
  The Hero of Time in the Brady Games Ocarina of Time strategy guide
• 
  The Hero of Time on the Versus Books Ocarina of Time strategy guide
• 
  Link on the Majora's Mask Prima official strategy guide
• 
  The Hero of Time on the Brady Games Majora's Mask strategy guide
• 
  The Hero of Time on the Versus Books Majora's Mask strategy guide
• 
  The Hero of Time in a Japanese commercial for Soul Calibur II
• 
  The Hero of Time's wallpaper in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Artwork of the Hero of Time with the main cast of Soul Calibur II
• 
  Artwork of the Hero of Time's silhouette from Soul Cailbur II
• 
  The Hero of Time's collectible history image in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link's collectible history image wearing the Zora Tunic in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Link's collectible history image wearing the Blue Ring Tunic in Soul Calibur II
• 
  Nintendo Power ad of Soul Calibur II featuring the Hero of Time
• 
  The Soul Edge (Complete) weapon, an unusual dark weapon the Hero of Time can use in SoulCalibur II, resembling his Master Sword/Hylian Shield
• 
  Nintendo 64 bundle featuring the Hero of Time
• 
  The Hero of Time in the Collector's Edition Majora's Mask N64 cartridge
• 
  Official merchandise
• 
  Official merchandise
• 
  Official merchandise
• 
  Official merchandise, as Dark Link
• 
  Official merchandise
• 
  Official merchandise
• 
  Ocarina of Time amiibo
• 
  Majora's Mask amiibo
• 
  Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo
• 
  Official merchandise, with Tatl and drinking a Red Potion
• 
  Official merchandise, wearing Majora's Mask
• 
  Official merchandise, holding the Mask of Truth
• 
  Official merchandise
• 
  Official merchandise
• 
  Official merchandise, as Fierce Deity Link
• 
  Official merchandise, wearing the Zora Tunic
• 
  Ocarina of Time original soundtrack cover, featuring the Hero of Time
• 
  Majora's Mask original soundtrack cover, featuring the Hero of Time
• 
  Ocarina of Time 3D original soundtrack cover, featuring the Hero of Time fighting Ganondorf
• 
  Majora's Mask 3D original soundtrack cover, featuring the Hero of Time's Goron, Zora, and Deku forms
• 
  Ocarina of Time 17th anniversary (2015) artwork
• 
  Special artwork of Majora's Mask
• 
  Series 25th anniversary (2011) artwork
• 
  Series 25th anniversary artwork
• 
  Deku Link series 25th anniversary artwork
• 
  Fierce Deity Link series 25th anniversary artwork
• 
  Series 30th anniversary (2016) artwork
• 
  The Bad Ending of the Hero of Time's adventure if defeated by Ganon
• 
  The Hero of Time's ending screen in Super Smash Bros.
• 
  The ending of the Hero of Time's adventure in Soul Calibur II
• 
  The ending of the Hero of Time's adventure in Hyrule in Ocarina of Time
• 
  The ending of the Hero of Time's adventure in Termina in Majora's Mask

See Also

• Young Link
• Deku Link
• Goron Link
• Zora Link
• Fierce Deity Link
• Hero's Spirit

References