Legend of legacies: The impact of Hyrule’s history in The Wind Waker — Part four: Link

Someone needs to be at the forefront of society, pioneering the future. Someone who acknowledges the past, especially in hopes of avoiding previous failures, but also moves ahead without letting that past dictate most steps taken. This person needs to have resolve, compassion, and, most importantly, courage. This is why Link was the only one who had what it took to forge a future and to do so while faced with opposition from centuries of tradition as well as an unrelenting evil.

(This is part four of my series about The Wind Waker and the effect history has on its story and characters. Click here to begin with part one.)

A reluctant successor

Link showed little interest in past events. Even on his birthday, Link could barely muster the energy to wake up from his nap in the observation tower. It’s only by the presence of his beloved sister Aryll that he began to show excitement for the day. She gave him a gift, her precious Telescope, and informed Link that their grandmother wanted to see him. These people, his family, were his reasons to finally find his pep. What he loved was the time he spent with them, not the day or the traditions surrounding it. This birthday marked him as being the same age as the Hero of Legend, and it was clear, thanks to his disdain for having to wear the Hero’s Clothes, that Link had no real attachment to the notion of ancient heroes. He didn’t even care to pick up a sword until the time came to defend someone.

His courage played a key part in the past’s lack of influence over him. He didn’t let history, the people who preceded him, or those who were considered to be the most powerful inhabitants of the world intimidate him.

Link’s thoughts dwelled on his family first and then the rest of the people living on the Great Sea. Whether it was his active pursuit or not, he saw the need to protect their futures. He was a hero at heart. So, when the Helmaroc King came to his home with trouble and left with Aryll, Link did not hesitate to set sail with Tetra and the pirates in hopes of rescuing her.

Later, after his defeat at the hands of the Helmaroc King, Link was introduced to his rescuer, the King of Red Lions. He showed an eagerness to help his new friend, but rescuing his sister remained his primary concern. He listened and accepted all of the important details the king told him, but Link was not as enamored with all the magic and legends as the King of Red Lions probably hoped he would be.

Link was often left dumbfounded by what he saw and heard during his adventure.

Link fulfilled his role as the hero admirably, though he did so without seeing it as a role. Controlling the Wind Waker, obtaining Din’s Pearl, and traveling to the Sacred Forest were all things he needed to do. When he met the Great Deku Tree, he was bewildered by his language, which marked a perfect analogy of his lack of understanding about the past. He also still had no interest in understanding it, but he was not antagonistic about it. He merely didn’t see the importance of enveloping his world in an era long gone.

A hero of focus and commitment

It was also amazing how Link never seemed curious about what he was facing. He only wanted to deal with the problem so he could move onto the next one. The Hero of Time would constantly consult Navi about what he was facing. Link could do the same with the King via the Gossip Stone, but rarely did. He only ever heeded the king’s advice for troubling puzzles. And exploration only seemed to entice him when he was out on the Great Sea. Out there he spoke with all of the natives, explored every island, and reaped the bounty of all the information that the Fishmen had to offer about the ocean. This was what Link sought: the freedom and promise of a new world.

Even when he did allow the weight of the past to bear down on him, it was only for the sake of his noble cause. After meeting with the spirits of Laruto and Fado, his goal became to help his friends Medli and Makar in their destined roles. Yes, he was trying to restore the Master Sword, but he was more than willing and able to take on the burden of also protecting the two new sages. The ghosts of the past, both literal and metaphorical, were helping the youth of today, and that was what mattered most to Link.

Once the Master Sword was restored to its full and true splendor, Link was given the mission of reassembling the Triforce of Courage. This task gave Link the chance to explore his world and once again prove himself worthy to the gods. When he presented the Triforce to the Goddesses, who in turn imbued him with its power, Link showed that he was a hero in his own right, not just some shadow of the Hero of Time. King Hyrule acknowledged this and bestowed Link with a title all his own: Hero of Winds. It was now time to face Ganondorf once again and finally break the chains of the past that held down the future.

Link’s storming of Ganon’s Tower and every danger he faced within all seemed to symbolize Link’s struggle to defeat the past. The tower itself was a symbol of Ganondorf’s persistent evil and would serve as the capital of his new kingdom. Many of Ganondorf’s previously defeated servants were also fought here, literally requiring Link to go back in time to defeat them again. Phantom Ganon returned as well. It is very possible that this the same Phantom Ganon the Hero of Time battled. He is the last of Ganondorf’s great minions, the last of the old forces. And Link annihilated him, utterly and definitely, just like everything else.

The tower almost seemed to stand as a testament to Ganondorf’s greatness. Link needed to find a way to tear this monument down, one piece at a time.

Securing peace, not fulfilling destiny

Confronting Ganondorf in the main chamber, Link showed little concern for the king’s anti-gods rhetoric. That’s not what he was there for. His goals, a rescued princess and a vanquished foe, were all that mattered. He would first need to dismantle Ganondorf’s puppet, but that was going to be a simple matter compared to the real deal.

For Ganondorf, history was repeating itself. For Link, Ganondorf would become a forgotten footnote in history.

Once the puppet was destroyed and Link climbed his way to the top of the tower, Ganondorf met him with a surprising amount of sincerity. He revealed so much about what motivated him and about what he dreamed of. Link’s only response was an indignant and confused look. Link did not care. Link was never going to care. Link only saw an evil man who was trying to destroy everything he loved and cast the world into ruin, which meant Link only had one course of action: destroy that evil man.

The battle did not initially go as Link planned, but with some help from King Hyrule, Ganondorf’s worst ambitions were shattered, and Link was given another chance to defeat his enemy, and to do so with Zelda by his side.

This was it, the showdown that would determine what kind of lives those living on the Great Sea would have. Hyrule had fallen. Now was the time for those who would lead the future to stop the one who wished to destroy it. And they did.

Accepting the past’s gift of a future

It was now time for the blessings of the past to carry Link into a bright future.

Ganondorf was dead, and now it was time to say farewell to King Hyrule. Until this point, Link showed no attachment to the past. He did not even desire to keep the Master Sword for himself. But, as the waters came down, and the Goddesses took Zelda and him up to the surface, Link couldn’t help but try to reach out for the king. Though he had never cared much about history, Link had learned, especially from the King Hyrule’s choices and Zelda’s heart, that it could not simply be ignored, and that there were certain aspects of it that he did not want to lose.

After they had returned to the surface, he and Tetra set out to explore the seas. The young hero was venturing forth into the new era, but he still had his ship, he still commanded the winds, and he still wore the green tunic. Link had accepted how important history was, but he still refused to cling to the entirety of the past — he chose to thrive by cherishing the good parts and the good memories.