Now we come to one of the more influential Links. Possibly the most well-known these days, considering the popularity of Ocarina of Time among gamers and the subsequent callbacks in later games. The Hero of Time was given his name due to events that occurred during this first game, in which he was suspended in stasis for 7 years until he matured, and was then able to transport himself between this new future and his previous present.

This is a strange experience, I imagine, as subjectively for Link he is the same kid, suddenly in an adult body. He is able to switch back and forth, between eras and his own corresponding physical forms, while keeping a continuous subjective experience. Also, any people he meets in the adult era have experienced seven years of time while he has a major discontinuity. The adult Link represented in OoT is not a true adult emotionally. Through the events of the game though, Link grows from an innocent fairy child of the woods (adopted) to accepting his role as Hero. Still, at the end, it is brought home just how young he is when he must interact with the still childish Zelda.

In the seven years, Hyrule has been ruined and scoured by Ganondorf, the King of Evil. This terrifying wasteland future is erased at the end of the game, with Link the only one who remembers it. Now wonder he feels out of place in the new, peaceful world of the so-called Child Timeline, the only one he knows from his perspective. This theme carries through later references, so mind it. The end of the game has adult Zelda sending Link back to his home time, with the plan to collaborate with her unknowing child self to stop Ganondorf before he can execute his plan.

We need to clarify this a bit more. Three timelines are generated in the events of this game’s ending. The first, and most stupid, is the Decline timeline that results form Link dying in the final battle and Ganon triumphing. Never before has a Game Over scenario been canon! The second, the Child Timeline, is the one Link ends up with and is basically new events as Zelda’s final act sends you back to about 1/3rd of the way through the game to start a new history and erase the other events of the game, including Link’s initial stasis. The final, the Adult Timeline, is the one left over when adult Zelda sends Link back and the ruined Hyrule must continue with Ganon defeated and Link absent, and thus all the events of the game are contained in it, especially the other 2/3rds.

So, the Hero of Time, after OoT, only exists in the Child Timeline. Appropriately, he is a child at this point, but with some of the experience of an adult. This makes him a more capable warrior and Hero even while he still has to grow, and (presumably) even more so when he matures for real. Majora’s Mask is a direct follow-up to OoT. Link is seen to have retained the skills of his Adult form, but to be afflicted with loneliness after the departure of his fairy companion, Navi. He is roaming, on a fruitless journey to find her again when he stumbles on a twisted parallel world, Termina. He meets a new fairy friend, Tatl, and during the game must heal the souls of many people he meets. Perhaps in the process his own heart is eased? The dark character art here echoes the dark tone of the game, but ultimately both Link and the antagonist, Skull Kid, are redeemed and now face hopeful futures. That’s what I got out of it, anyway.

This is where things get interesting for Timey. The next definitely canon source to feature him is Twilight Princess, in which he is a decaying, cadaverous spirit, with a wounded eye and riven armour—this suggests a hard life full of danger and adventure. Full of regret from his life, the “Hero’s Shade” wishes to pass on his skills with the sword, which he lacked the chance to do during his living days (despite him having children—the Hero of Twilight is his descendant). He also feels disappointed and greatly burdened that his deeds in the Adult Timeline necessarily went unreported and unacknowledged. In fact he seems, perhaps, to have done no great deeds in Hyrule during his life in the Child Timeline.

So we have painted a picture of a Hero who feels disconnected, robbed of the glory of his deeds. What happened in all his years that he feels so regretful, that he could not find fulfillment? If his time in Termina was so meaningful, what dreary days did he face in Hyrule? With a realm in peace, no threats to face and no enemies to fight, a Hero must feel unwanted. Also, what happened to his eye? We’ll find out some more about Timey in Part 4.5.