The Hero of Time... Returns?

[Zeruda]

According to sharinganhero over at the IGN Boards, some information about Nintendo newest Zelda installment has been leaked through 2chan, a Japanese website that has managed to leak some very informative AND correct information about large titles in the past.

I found some supposedly leaked information on the next game on 2chan(popular japanese boards, many leaks from other high profile games have happened there way before they released, and turned out to be accurate, including Every Kingdom Hearts game, Metal Gear 4, Resident Evil 4 and 5, and every Square Enix RPG ever, I also heard rumors that they broke the story on WW a couple months before it released, but I never was there for that, so I wont include it with the rest.) I took the time to make this as readable as I could after using google translate to confirm that my japanese wasn't too bad. This could all be fake, but given 2chans successful track record, and the interesting things leaked, I figure it is worth posting here.


• The game will diverge from the established dungeon-field-dungeon gameplay style (confirmed by Aonuma)

• You can select whether you're right or left-handed, and Link will have the same handedness as you

• The basic mechanics and gameplay elements are done, and they're currently working on the story, dungeons and developing characters. Among them are an innkeeper in the town where Link lives and her young son, who looks up to him

• Steve(the mastersword girl) is not the master sword, and as of now there are no plans for Link to get the Master Sword in the game. Her name is Aderu (maybe Adelle, but I think might be Adella; Rough translation, can't be sure), and she's not your typical companion like Ezlo or Midna, in that she's rarely there with you. What you see in the piece of concept/promotional art isn't her real face (this isn't elaborated on)

• Link's main weapon is a sword with different unlockable abilities, which Aderu communicates with you through

• Horseback combat is back, with a more intelligent Epona that is better at avoiding obstacles

• The character models for Link, Epona, and the Gorons have all been modified and touched up, but they're the only ones, suggesting no Zelda or Ganon (or entirely new models for them, it is also possible they just weren't mentioned for whatever reason..)


This is where his claims get a little... sketchy.


• This Link is the Hero of Time (presumably grown up after MM, but he didn't say)

• There is time travel (again, he didn't delve into it)

• The game does NOT take place in Hyrule OR takes place in more than one world/land

Could this truly be the return of our beloved Hero of Time, who is possibly (if not probably) the most popular Link to date? If so, just what kind of man do you think he'd have become? If this game is to be a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (FINALLY OMG!), then how do you think he'd be? Remember, Princess Zelda allowed him to regain his lost time by returning him to his childhood... that's a second chance nobody ever has, so how do you think it'd have changed him? Or would it have changed him at all?

Would he be a more enlightened Link due to traveling through two different worlds? Would he be hardened, or would he still have that purity? Remember, this is only leaked information, and it's very possible that it's fake. Still, we might be seeing our Hero of Time once more!

[Sirognu]

Yeah I heard about this recently... to be honest, I'm pretty surprised about all of it. I think most Zelda fans agree that the Hero of Time is the most popular Link, what with him being the second adult Link seen in games (AoL Link was the first), and the first adult Link to be featured in a 3D Zelda, but I never thought Nintendo would hear their fans' cries for his return. So, yeah, that raises the question- what would he be like?

Like you said, nobody ever gets a second shot at life. That was probably the greatest gift Princess Zelda could ever have given him, so I'm sure that as he grew up, he'd come to understand just how important that gift was. I think he was still a little emotionally fragile after Ocarina of Time... I come to that conclusion because instead of just living his life like a normal kid, he instead still felt obligated to protect Hyrule, and so he went back to Princess Zelda to tell her about his adventure so that the same mistakes wouldn't be made. After he told her, though, he stuck around for a while. I think that he was pretty attached to her (really, he knows hardly anybody), and so he felt he had to rebuild that relationship. On top of that, he was emotionally attached to Navi-- so much that he went to search for her.

So... that's where the events of Majora's Mask come in. With everything that happened there, on top of everything that happened on his journey as the Hero of Time, you'd think that'd put a lot of strain on him, especially since he's a kid. I'm going to go ahead and assume that, if this new game features our Hero of Time all grown up, he's more than likely become a little hardened. No, I don't think he's going to be another Cloud or Squall from Final Fantasy, but since the game is supposed to be even darker than Twilight Princess, I really don't think they'd make him as innocent as before. He's grown up, he's been on various quests, and he's had a lot of time to be affected by his adventures.... positively or negatively, I'm not sure. Probably a bit of both.

I do hope some form of romance is implemented. There have been more and more hints at romance as the games have been released, and I think it'd be kind of weird if he didn't have feelings towards some girl, being an adult and all.

[KittyKat]

Now I'm also hearing though that the Master Sword will be in it... so I dunno what's true or isn't!!!

But omgosh I sooooososososo want OoT Link to come back! I LOOOOVE HIM! He's so hot hehehehe *bluuush* I think you're right Sirognu when you say that he might be all dark and broody.... but I hope not! I want him to be a pure, kind-hearted hero. I'm sure he'd be that way even if he was all "hardened" but I think I'd like him a lot better if he was a little happier... kinda like KENSHIN!

Could this really take place after MM though? There are so many unanswered questions that MM and TP raised. Like what happened to him after Termina? When was Ganon exiled- before or after Link grew up? There are lots more but I'm too excited to remember hehe!

[Sirognu]

Heh, I think any girl wanting the Hero of Time to return to the series is largely due to their crush on him. I don't think any girl has gone through Ocarina of Time and not fallen for the guy (lucky dog).

[Zeruda]

Heh, I think any girl wanting the Hero of Time to return to the series is largely due to their crush on him. I don't think any girl has gone through Ocarina of Time and not fallen for the guy (lucky dog).

lol, I really can't argue with that, Sirognu. I think the Hero of Time is still a more popular Link than Twilight Princess Link.

I agree with you on Link's personality. I do think that there needs to be some level of emotional development, especially since the Zelda series has come such a long way. They really can't use the graphics as an excuse for emotional limitations anymore, so I'm hoping that he won't just be a brick wall.

[FreezeFlame]

Found some more info.  A little dated, though.

* The development of the game began in Febraury 2006
* The development team is the largest ever used by Nintendo for the realization of a game
* The game will implement many ideas never met in a video game ever
* The use of the Wii Motion Plus will be a imprenscindibile component for the dynamics of the game
* The new Link will be much more mature, but the dark atmospheres of Twilight Princess will be left
* The Master Sword will play a key role in the history of the origin of the Legend, there is a reason if it not appear in the artwork
* At now is the only game that uses 100% of Wii hardware, at the same time the current power of Wii is not enough to achieve that result
* The appearance of Link will be renovated but not be completely unprecedented
* The plot will be the most articulate ever devised for an episode of Zelda
* may be the last chapter of the saga

[Klarithis]

Found some more info.  A little dated, though.

* The development of the game began in Febraury 2006
* The development team is the largest ever used by Nintendo for the realization of a game
* The game will implement many ideas never met in a video game ever
* The use of the Wii Motion Plus will be a imprenscindibile component for the dynamics of the game
* The new Link will be much more mature, but the dark atmospheres of Twilight Princess will be left
* The Master Sword will play a key role in the history of the origin of the Legend, there is a reason if it not appear in the artwork
* At now is the only game that uses 100% of Wii hardware, at the same time the current power of Wii is not enough to achieve that result
* The appearance of Link will be renovated but not be completely unprecedented
* The plot will be the most articulate ever devised for an episode of Zelda
* may be the last chapter of the saga

I wonder, what does it mean "uses 100% of Wii Hardware"? Does that meet the board, too? As for being the last chapter of the saga... probably. I've been hearing lately that it was supposed to be the last, but I think people misinterpreted that as the last game of the series. By last chapter of the saga, I think that means the Hero of Time's saga.

I also heard about the game being worked on since 2006.... I don't know if it's true or not, though.

I suppose I should add to the subject in question:
How do I think Link will be? I still think he'll be very much like he has been- having somewhat of a personality, but still part of the player. I really don't see them giving him visual or audible personality- probably just reactions and bits and pieces found in either the manual or guide. I do think his history will be a little sad, though. I think they'll probably stick him with the cliche hero-becomes-wanderer title... it's something that people accept, so it wouldn't be stretching it too far.

Like with TP, I think they'll try to focus more on the overworld than on Link or the other characters, so I don't see many deep relationships forming. I'm sure he'll get close to his sidekick as that has become a Zelda custom, and I'm sure they'll have a sad parting... only this time, he'll be able to handle it better because he's been through it so many times before.... if it's actually the Hero of Time this time around, that is.

[KittyKat]

I wondered the same thing too about the hardware! 100%.. what does that mean? Uses the Wii's capabilities to the max, or uses all the Wii's hardwares like the Wii Fit and Wii Motion Plus?

[Shadsie]

*Skims*

If this is true, I can see how it may have come about:

"Alright, we had all these cool references to the Ancient Hero in Twilight Princess, plus a lot of other stuff that happened that doesn't make sense in the light of the Hero of Time getting sent back in time.  Dudes! We've got plotholes!  Get the spackle!"

[Link]

The Hero of Time experienced the most traumatic aspects to date in the Zelda universe. In Ocarina of Time, he begins the adventure as a misfit of the Kokiri. As he advances through the game, he experiences the unadulterated world of Hyrule with no buffers for the first time as a sheltered child, bearing the burden of saving a largely unfamiliar world from the greatest evil imaginable. Link is arguably overexposed to trauma and otherwise disturbing images just in the first three major dungeons alone. I certainly think a face-to-face encounter with a ReDead would be a fairly life-altering experience for myself personally, even at my more advanced stage in life (Compared to his; I'm only 23).

It gets worse for him when he succeeds at wielding the Master Sword. His body is sealed within the temple for seven years, so he ultimately skips the most important years in a young adult's development. By today's standards, the 17 year old from OoT would probably be a stark raving lunatic, perhaps reminiscent of the late Michael Jackson. At the very least, it would be impossible for him to have any real social skills: Those don't develop out of thin air, of course (And certain individuals develop almost none at all).

The sinisterly twisted world of his adult life is a thousand-fold more terrifying than the one he escaped as a child. Many of the friends he actually made during the adventure are lost as an adult. His best friend Saria sadly bids farewell to exist as an incorporeal sage, understandably never to see Link again. Link is confronted with death, destruction, and hopelessness at every turn, and he has just about only the mental capacity of his ten-year old self to contend with.

Even after the adventure is complete, considering the horrors he's endured to confront Ganondorf, Link bids farewell to Zelda, and Navi leaves him. He's vaulted back into childhood, cursed with the vivid memories of an adulthood that "technically" never (Or doesn't) happen.

Now it gets good.

He leaves to search for his friend, and what happens? He stumbles into Termina, which is perhaps one of the most twisted and contorted existences I can remember witnessing. The Hero of Time relives the lunar Apocalypse perhaps hundreds of times. I would think Link would have considered that every time he went back to Day 1 and ultimately saved himself from experiencing death, the fate of those left behind would be same. That's a scale of death and destruction unfathomable to most modern day military leaders.

Due to the impossible circumstances regarding his life, it would be folly to attempt to relate to the Hero of Time and predict what he would grow into after the experiences of two deeply dramatic games. All I can say for certain is that he probably won't be the little boy that Navi found sleeping in the tree house anymore.

[Sirognu]

The Hero of Time experienced the most traumatic aspects to date in the Zelda universe. In Ocarina of Time, he begins the adventure as a misfit of the Kokiri. As he advances through the game, he experiences the unadulterated world of Hyrule with no buffers for the first time as a sheltered child, bearing the burden of saving a largely unfamiliar world from the greatest evil imaginable. Link is arguably overexposed to trauma and otherwise disturbing images just in the first three major dungeons alone. I certainly think a face-to-face encounter with a ReDead would be a fairly life-altering experience for myself personally, even at my more advanced stage in life (Compared to his; I'm only 23).

It gets worse for him when he succeeds at wielding the Master Sword. His body is sealed within the temple for seven years, so he ultimately skips the most important years in a young adult's development. By today's standards, the 17 year old from OoT would probably be a stark raving lunatic, perhaps reminiscent of the late Michael Jackson. At the very least, it would be impossible for him to have any real social skills: Those don't develop out of thin air, of course (And certain individuals develop almost none at all).

The sinisterly twisted world of his adult life is a thousand-fold more terrifying than the one he escaped as a child. Many of the friends he actually made during the adventure are lost as an adult. His best friend Saria sadly bids farewell to exist as an incorporeal sage, understandably never to see Link again. Link is confronted with death, destruction, and hopelessness at every turn, and he has just about only the mental capacity of his ten-year old self to contend with.

Even after the adventure is complete, considering the horrors he's endured to confront Ganondorf, Link bids farewell to Zelda, and Navi leaves him. He's vaulted back into childhood, cursed with the vivid memories of an adulthood that "technically" never (Or doesn't) happen.

Now it gets good.

He leaves to search for his friend, and what happens? He stumbles into Termina, which is perhaps one of the most twisted and contorted existences I can remember witnessing. The Hero of Time relives the lunar Apocalypse perhaps hundreds of times. I would think Link would have considered that every time he went back to Day 1 and ultimately saved himself from experiencing death, the fate of those left behind would be same. That's a scale of death and destruction unfathomable to most modern day military leaders.

Due to the impossible circumstances regarding his life, it would be folly to attempt to relate to the Hero of Time and predict what he would grow into after the experiences of two deeply dramatic games. All I can say for certain is that he probably won't be the little boy that Navi found sleeping in the tree house anymore.

That's pretty deep, dude. You really point out how devastating it all was to him.

[FreezeFlame]

If this topic is still on the subject of the new Zelda game, here's some more info:

-Link will be replacing the bow and arrow with a crossbow.
-Game is all but finished. Putting on final touches.
-There will be a playable demo at E3.
-Time travel does occur and it happens through the use of a new blade. (not the Master Sword)
-Link’s hometown is much bigger than in previous titles.
-There will be several “Majora’s Mask” esque sidequests.
-Character interaction will be more involving than in any previous title.
-The dungeon field dungeon method is changed, and one of the changes confirms a straight dungeon to dungeon portion of the -game.
-The current name of the girl in the picture is Adelle.
-Combat is extremely fluent and innovative. No previous Wii title can give you a good example of it’s unique style.
-The game relies heavily on sword combat versus other items.
-There will be less items, but they will be used more frequently.
-There will be another main weapon added for an alternative combat style.
-The game will feature significant portions of flight.