Perhaps one of the coolest revelations of The Wind Waker is that the game takes place in Ocarina of Time’s post-apocalyptic future, and every island is just a mountain peak or broken piece of the Hyrule of old which sleeps at the bottom of the ocean. This means that several characters are callbacks to Ocarina of Time, one such character being the Water Spirit Jabun.
Jabun is likely a descendant of Lord Jabu-Jabu from Zora’s Domain, who is also considered a deity. But Jabun has some critical differences from his ancestor, namely the lantern on his forehead that is reminiscent of an angler fish. Since he is a deity, I like to believe that his lantern is used to guide those he worships, especially since he acts as a sort of guide to Link like the other deities in the game.
However, Jabun is quite different from the other deities in the game. At this point in the game, Link has met Valoo and the Great Deku Tree, who have aided him in his search for the Goddess Pearls, and so it is believed that the encounter with Jabun will be no different. Upon reaching Greatfish Isle, though, Link finds it is ransacked. Apparently, Ganondorf had sent his forces to try and kill the fish spirit to gain Nayru’s Pearl.
The atmosphere of the destroyed island and the perpetual storm at this part in the game is so ominous and such a departure from the otherwise bright and colorful Great Sea. It truly felt like Link’s journey was becoming quite dire, and the stakes never felt higher. It is almost like the storm was whipped into a frenzy after the Water Spirit was attacked.
Once Link locates Jabun, who had hidden himself on Outset Island, he breaks through the rock barricade he had made to hide himself and discovers that Jabun only speaks in ancient Hylian. But coincidentally, the King of Red Lions is fluent in this language.
Link and the player can only understand the King of Red Lions’ side of the conversation, but Jabun’s Hylian is actually translatable. In this dialogue, Jabun voices concerns over Link and how he apparently lacks a connection to his previous incarnation, Link from Ocarina of Time.
Link the Hero of Winds is perhaps one of the more unlikely heroes in the Zelda series. He is able to stand alongside his other incarnations in terms of skills and heroism, but he also stands apart from them in how he becomes a hero. While other Links seem to be born with a natural skill in swordplay and adventuring, Link from The Wind Waker lacks a lot of the luster of his other selves.
And based on Jabun’s dialogue, this Link might not even be a proper reincarnation of Link. He cannot see the same spark that the previous hero had. Given that this Link is the last hero of the original Hyrule in his timeline, Jabun might even be right to be wary of what is ostensibly a young child on a revenge mission.
Perhaps one of the coolest details of Jabun is that he actually reveals one of the biggest plot twists in the game: our companion, the King of Red Lions, is the former King of Hyrule, and he is searching for Princess Zelda. Because the player cannot understand Jabun, this spoiler goes unnoticed.
I love how Jabun can add so much fuel for theories with his limited screentime and supplement the story for those fans eager to translate Hylian. He is a remnant of the old Hyrule, speaking its language and even referencing specific heroes of the past. Despite his ties to the past though, he is able to help Link pilot Hyrule toward newer horizons.
