Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda franchise largely centers around different incarnations of the three Wielders of the Triforce: Ganondorf, who represents the Triforce of Power; Zelda, who represents the Triforce of Wisdom; and Link, who represents the Triforce of Courage. While the expansive Zelda timeline indicates every version features similarities due to a cosmic cycle of recurrence, ultimately each Ganon, Zelda, and Link are different to fit their games. That being said, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Link is a particularly big departure from the rest.
This is fitting given Breath of the Wild earned much of its acclaim by bucking the series' increasing focus on linear dungeon progression and narratives in favor of an expansive, open-world Hyrule that lets players explore as much – or as little – as possible. The development team wanted to harken back to its roots with regards to gameplay, but it also created a wholly unique take on the Zelda mythos. Seeing how longtime silent protagonist Link changes in Breath of the Wild compared to previous ventures is one way to see how the 2017 Switch launch title stands out as a whole.
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Booting up 1986's The Legend of Zelda on NES presents an in-game narrative that's simple to comprehend. A text crawl that appears if players wait on the title screen says Ganon stole the Triforce of Power, but before he could capture Princess Zelda she scatters the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces across the land. Link, who is just a young swordsman according to the game's manual, saves Zelda's nursemaid Impa and is sent to gather the Triforce pieces. Without the manual's context, all players know is Link enters a cave, receives a sword because "it's dangerous to go alone," and embarks on a quest to save the kingdom.
Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link continues the story of this incarnation when he must stop Ganon's resurrection. However, from there, most every mainline title presents a new backstory that tends to follow one overarching theme: Link is a typically unassuming boy or young man living a life of peace who must embark on a journey to fulfill a destiny thrust upon him. It's a textbook Hero's Journey, the monomyth as defined by Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. The hero begins in a place of comfort, answers the call to adventure, and over the course of his journey becomes a new, stronger person.
The games are not quite as much a textbook example as films like Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope, primarily because of the conventions of video game interactivity and Link being a silent protagonist whom the player can project themselves onto. Still, just about every Link in a major title prior to Breath of the Wild fits the same mold.
For instance: A Link to the Past's hero is a young boy who ventures out into the night to find his uncle slain, and picks up his mantle. The Wind Waker's hero only sets out with the pirate gang led by Tetra to save his sister Aryll after she's captured by the Helmaroc King. Twilight Princess' hero is a farmhand who sets off to save kidnapped members of his village, only to be inflicted with a curse.
Every game deals with the idea of Link's predestined battle against evil, though some lean into it more than others. Ocarina of Time's hero is a young boy raised in Kokiri Forest who struggles to fit in before it is revealed he's an outsider who is sent off on a quest by his guardian, the Great Deku Tree. This all ultimately comes back around to Skyward Sword, the earliest point in the Zelda timeline, where these destinies and much of the iconography of the series is established. However, even in that adventure Link begins as little more than a student thrust into adventure because his childhood friend Zelda is captured by Ghirahim.
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Breath of the Wild's incarnation of Link is not merely a commoner who finds himself pulled into adventure. Rather, its prequel Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity presents Link as a soldier in King Rhoam's army. He shares this backstory with the Link from Koei Tecmo's other hack-and-slash Zelda title Hyrule Warriors, but considering that game isn't part of the main canon there's reason to distance it from other versions of Link.
While Age of Calamity's story diverges from Breath of the Wild's history because of time travel shenanigans, Link's early arc is generally the same. Link's ability to wield the Master Sword is discovered, and he is appointed to be Zelda's personal bodyguard; joining the circle of Champions made up by members of Hyrule's major races. Though Link is childhood friends with the Zora Princess Mipha, it takes more work for him to become close with other Champions like Revali and with Zelda herself.
Zelda is unable to awaken her powers before the Great Calamity, despite being comforted by a growing rapport with Link, and in the war that ensues he is gravely wounded. The four Champions all die trying to defend the Divine Beasts from extensions of the Calamity known as Blight Ganons, and Link is put into stasis so he can recover. When Link awakens 100 years later, his journey is just as much about recovering his memories as it is helping the scattered peoples of a ruined Hyrule deal with the dark influence of Ganon – being held at bay by Zelda's divine powers.
In many ways, Breath of the Wild Link getting this backstory loses some of the appeal that comes with the character's typical everyman status. He was a soldier from the outset, and much of his journey is coming into the fold of a destiny he's long accustomed to. It's different than others who are thrust into adventure, like Minish Cap's Link being the royal blacksmith's grandson. But this also doesn't make a huge difference given Breath of the Wild's conceit of letting Link freely explore Hyrule, getting as little or as much of that lore as players desire.
With Breath of the Wild 2 in development, it will be interesting to see how this Link's adventure continues. However, even more interesting will be the next mainline Legend of Zelda adventure, as it will be up to Nintendo whether Link continues to explore new personalities or goes back to being the well-trod, archetypical hero.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now on Nintendo Switch.
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