Our next Link is that initially-controversial redesign from Wind Waker, sometimes known as Toon Link (although this refers to the general design, which is reused in many future games, including some in the Child Timeline and the eras before the branch). The individual of the Hero of Winds though was the first in this style, with the big head and thick outline.
But this isn’t about art styles, it’s about people. Windy starts out as just some kid from a small island in the Great Sea. His humble beginnings include coincidentally being dressed in similar clothes to the Hero of Time, spoken of in legend (the clothes are standard in this society for boys his age to wear ceremonially). This causes a reaction in Ganondorf when he re-emerges, but he recognises that this boy is no hero.
And it’s true! Windy is, like I said, just a kid. No destiny, no magic bloodline. His story is the story of one who earns his destiny, who comes into the status of a hero from humble beginnings, (debatably) similar to Link in the original Zelda. He gains the power of the Triforce of Courage by literally dredging it up with a sea crane. It accepts him and then, he is the Hero.
His name derives from his extensive use of a power over the winds, which he is given by the old king of Hyrule (not the same one who wonders what’s for dinner). This power helps him cross the sea on his boat, which is also the king. Yep. He also is acquainted with two gods of the air (frogs on clouds).
Windy appears in a direct sequel to Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass on the DS. But first, there’s the Smash Bros problem again! “Toon Link” appears in Brawl, and at that point the style had been used on many Links. But this one is obviously based on the Wind Waker incarnation, judging by the items he uses. He has the Hero’s Shield design found in many Toon appearances. The Bow and Boomerang are a bit more distinct to WW. The giveaway is the Master Sword, which is rarer. Here, it is the fully restored version after both Sages Makar and Medli have prayed in their temples. This sword is left inside Ganondorf’s head at the conclusion of the game, so Windy must have been sourced from the last part of the game before this fight, probably while he was sailing all over the Sea looking for Triumph Forks. Again, he won’t remember these events. His stage is Tetra’s pirate ship, under bombardment from Bokoblin platforms.
Another intermediate step in the time between WW and PH is one of the rare Japan (and Korea)-only Zelda games: Navi Trackers. Originally known as Tetra’s Trackers, this is a third mode (along with the main Hyrulean Adventure and Shadow Battle modes) in the GCN-GBA connectivity-heavy game, Four Swords Adventures, that was never localised due to the large amount of voice acting and speech synthesising based on limited name inputs. It is apparently some sort of test by Tetra for Link to properly join her pirate crew, by finding her other crew members on various islands. As shown, it’s the only 3D representation of the Four Swords Link colours outside of Brawl (they seem to have similar personalities to their manga representations).
This fact makes it a problematic event, as we have to trace the history of the Four Sword. Traditionally it seals the Wind Sorcerer Vaati and has the power to split its wielder into 4 copies. Link must be using it here. But how? It resting place is in Hyrule, so either he retrieved it while under the sea on his way to the confrontation at Ganondorf’s Tower, or Tetra’s ancestor took it while the Hylians were fleeing the Flood and passed it to her. Either way, what happened to Vaati? Four Swords Adventures shows Vaati alive and well within the seal, hundreds of years in the future of the Child Timeline. Also, the remake of Link to the Past (in the Decline Timeline) features the Four Sword seemingly corrupted taking the form of four Dark/Shadow Links. This may be a manifestation of Vaati, which means he is defeated in two of the three timelines. In the Adult timeline, it would seem that the Hero of Winds is uniquely placed to deal with a Wind Sorcerer. However, we might have to assume that he perished in the Flood, which was after all intended to destroy the evils besieging Hyrule at the time. This frees up the Four Sword, no longer needed as a seal, to apparently be used for sport in a kind of treasure hunting game. It is then never seen again (in this timeline).
Although other Links borrow the art style, the same person of Windy appears in PH, as stated. This game is interesting in how similar the setting is to Link’s Awakening: a pocket universe created by an aquatic deity. The other cool thing though is that some of the inhabitants of said universe were able to migrate into the greater world upon resolution of the plot, which I’d like to think was possible in the former game as well, as it had some memorable characters (some of which in fact seem to appear in the Oracle games so there you go).
Anyway PH is about Tetra and Link (now presumably a full crew member) sailing off into unknown parts, to fulfil the King of Red Lions’ final wish for them to find a new land to call home, rather than the ephemeral existence most citizens of the Great Sea experience. They end up encountering the Ghost Ship from WW, and find themselves in the aforementioned World of the Ocean King.
The only other thing worth mentioning is the implied events following this, revealed through the next sequel, Spirit Tracks, set 100 years later. It takes place in a new land that has been christened New Hyrule, and so we see that Windy and Tetra did indeed find a new land they could live in, along with other Great Sea peeps and Ocean King peeps too. Tetra founds a new lineage of royalty, perhaps with Windy…?
Well, that’s all for him. I think the biggest thing to take away from Windy is that anyone can be a Hero. Also that he’s so damn cheerful all the time. It’s really nice to see the little guy with a smile on his huge head. And his impression of a cat in Wind Waker was really cute. Um. So yeah, he created a new legend in his own right.