Recently, while looking through the manga section of a Barnes & Noble book store, I stumbled upon the Legendary Edition of the Four Swords manga. The manga, officially released in 2009 in America, was separated into two volumes. However, the Legendary Edition released in 2017 includes both volumes in one book, some pages in color, and new character artwork and sketches by Akira Himekawa. Of course, I bought the book and ended up binge-reading the entire thing that evening with no regrets.
Memories came flooding back to me. It was 2007: I originally came across the Four Swords manga online and read through a fan translation of the Japanese version at the time. Needless to say, sixth grade me was obsessed. I was simply captivated by the characters and story this manga had to offer. My love was rekindled for the manga, and also for a certain purple-clad hero, who serves as the basis of inspiration for my username on Zelda Universe.
Vio Link is one of the main characters from the Four Swords manga. When Link pulls the Four Sword from its pedestal, he is split into three other versions of himself wearing different color tunics, Red, Blue, and Violet, totaling four Links altogether. Even though they are all fragments of the original Link, it would be all too confusing for them to all be named Link. So, to keep it simple, nicknames were given to match the color of each Link’s tunic.
Vio disapproves of his initial nickname, Violet, since he thought Violet sounded too much like a girl’s name; therefore, it was shortened to Vio. Apart from wearing different color tunics, the four Links have their own distinct personalities. Out of the band of heroes, Vio considers himself to be the calm and collected one. He is also the designated brain of the group, and is rarely seen without a book at his side. Though the Four Sword is his primary weapon of choice, Vio is also skilled at using the Bow in certain situations, befitting for the intelligent hero.
In the beginning, the four Links do not enjoy working alongside each other and tend to butt heads pretty often, due to the original (Green) Link’s stubborn nature. Vio has somewhat of a superiority complex due to his high intelligence, which causes him to look down on the other Links. He is witty and sarcastic at times, even referring to the others as “brainless idiots” at one point which upsets Blue the most. Vio enjoys provoking the pugnacious hero in blue, since it usually elicits an amusing reaction.
In chapter four, “Links Torn Apart,” the four become separated from one another on the way to Death Mountain. This results in each Link getting their own little character arc. While they each get the spotlight for some time, Vio has become a fan favorite for his part in the manga. Shortly after becoming separated from the others, he finds himself alone in a forest inhabited by fearsome monsters and Deku Scrubs pledging their allegiance to Ganon. Unbeknownst to Vio, there was someone else lurking in the shadows, watching him from a distance.
Shadow Link appears and corners Vio, but he has no interest in killing him. Shadow is more interested in recruiting Vio to the dark side with him. He tries to persuade and convince Vio in joining his side by flattering his intelligence, stressing that Vio is far superior to the other three Links. Vio’s fate is left on a cliffhanger, leaving the reader to wonder if he will betray his fellow Links to join Shadow. Surely, our hero wouldn’t fall into the clutches of darkness now would he?
When Green, Blue, and Red arrive at the top of Death Mountain, they see Vio with Shadow close by his side. It appears that our hero has betrayed us and has fallen into the hands of darkness! In Japanese culture and other media, the color purple is sometimes associated with villains who are explicitly evil, so readers with this knowledge may have predicted Vio’s betrayal ahead of time.
The other three Links (and I) were appalled and upset to see Vio’s betrayal, especially since he is my favorite Link of the bunch. Green challenges Vio to a duel, stating that he will not allow the Four Sword to be used to service the evil sorcerer, Vaati. With a snap of his fingers, Shadow summons a platform surrounded by a lake of lava for the two to battle it out. Things were really starting to heat up in the manga, no pun intended.
Green and Vio put on an epic performance of a battle, which, at first glance, ends in Green’s supposed death. Blue and Red rush over to their fallen comrade. Our main Link, Green, couldn’t possibly be dead now could he? Luckily, Green regains consciousness, and his fellow Links are relieved. Green realizes that Vio did not intend on killing him, and is merely putting on a show to befriend Shadow in order to gain his trust. Meanwhile, Shadow, believing that Green is dead, invites Vio inside the Fire Temple to have a drink of “evil root beer” in celebration.
Inside the tower, Shadow proposes the idea of overthrowing Vaati together with Vio. Shadow believes the two make a great pair and could be unstoppable together. Meanwhile, Vio has no intention of joining the dark forces; he is merely using Shadow as a source of intel for the other Links. Shadow, fully trusting Vio, reveals that the Dark Mirror is a limitless supply of dark power. Everything is going according to Vio’s plan, as Shadow just told him the key to defeating Vaati, as well as the evil power behind him: Ganon.
Vio knows the Dark Mirror must be destroyed as soon as possible, and believes that he can carry out this entire plan by himself. He is the intelligent hero, after all! Vio tries to destroy the Dark Mirror with a hammer but is interrupted by Tingle, who wandered into the castle looking for Force Gems. Shadow becomes incredibly suspicious that someone is attempting to destroy the mirror. Vio tries to pin the incident on Tingle, but Shadow uses the mirror to reveal the true suspect. Shadow is shocked and crestfallen that Vio, someone he saw as a close friend, betrayed his trust.
Shadow orders his Hinox henchmen to execute Vio immediately for being a traitor. Luckily, Green, Blue, and Red come to the rescue and save Vio from his demise. Vio ultimately reveals to Shadow that he never intended on joining the forces of darkness. Unlike Shadow, he is a hero that never strayed from his hopes and goals. The four Links use their Light Force from the Four Sword to cast Shadow away.
Now that Shadow is gone (for now at least), the four are finally reunited and, for the first time, are relieved to see each other again. Even the hot-headed Blue is happy to see Vio! Though Vio tries to be present in the joyous moment, he cannot help but feel some remorse for Shadow. After all, he was the only one to understand Shadow on a more personal level. He can’t help but wonder that Shadow might not be as bad as the others think.
After being apart for what felt like an eternity, the four Links are now closer than ever. They have each come to realize in their own way that working alone is not always the best solution. Sometimes, it is better to ask for help and support from others. Vio comes to admit that his intelligence does not justify his actions of working alone. Vio firmly believed he could take on Shadow without the help of the others. In Vio’s mind, the others would just hinder his plan and bring him down. His high level of intelligence made him believe that he was strong enough to outsmart Shadow by himself.
By joining the forces of evil, even if only to trick the enemy, Vio put himself and the other Links in danger. He didn’t expect his own plan to backfire on him so easily. Surely, Vio must have been embarrassed, seeing as how he, the intelligent hero of the group, was unsuccessful in the end. He takes a moment to push away his superiority complex and reflect on his actions. I’m proud of Vio, as it takes maturity to admit when you were wrong.
