Although it was a bit muffled at last year’s awards thanks to other brilliant games, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom presented players with a sequel worthy of the 2017 Game of the Year, Breath of Nature. It brought more narrative and plot compared to the first game, although still leaves one question unanswered: who is the Ancient Hero?
Many characters from the first title are seen again in TOTKand appear to have grown significantly since the first game, such as Gerudo Chief Riju and scientist Purah. Interestingly, Link looks pretty much the same despite the time jump, save for a new magical arm, and has to watch as many of his friends surpass him, but when it comes to the Ancient Hero, players still don’t know their true identity.
Who is the former BOTW hero?
TOTK doesn’t touch on this much
TOTKZelda’s time travel takes Zelda back to the time of Hyrule’s founding, where she meets the last Zonai and Hyrule’s first queen, Sonia. Strangely, this is not the period mentioned in BOTHwhich spends a good amount of time explaining the technology of the Ancient Sheikah, the Divine Beasts, and the Mythical Age hero who first faced Calamity Ganon 10,000 years ago. Instead of going here, Zelda returns even earlier, and this ends up giving the player more questions than answers about the Ancient Hero who first fought Calamity Ganon.
Tears of the Kingdom gives players a look at what the Ancient Hero would have looked like, and his art often seen in BOTH doesn’t seem to represent him very well. Link can receive the Aspect of the Ancient Hero in the Temple of Time after completing each Sanctuary of Light, thus allowing him to assume the form of the ancient hero. At first sight, the Ancient Hero does not look like a Hylian, although he appears to have pointy elf ears many Hylians are known.
Although it is known that Rauru and Mineru were the last of the Zonai, It is possible that the Ancient Hero is somehow linked to this ancient race based on the bestial parts of his appearance. It’s likely he’s some sort of hybrid with some Zonai blood, but that would also mean he had royal blood as well. Perhaps he was the brother of the then-ruler when he took up arms against Calamity Ganon, or perhaps he was the ruler himself, leading his forces from the front.
The many theories about who the ancient hero could be
There is not enough material to have a definitive answer
There aren’t many definitive answers about the Ancient Hero. It is known that he fought at the head of a large army, leading the Guardians and powerful Divine Beasts against Calamity Ganonmeaning he was probably some kind of knight beforehand and didn’t just randomly show up to do the job. He also wields the Master Sword, something only Link and his many iterations have done in many Legend of Zelda previous titles, and he could have had the Triforce of Courage as well.
There’s a good chance that the Ancient Hero was a past version of Link who didn’t happen to be Hylian. He wielded the Master Sword and defeated a form of Ganontwo things that many iterations of Link do. Just because he’s not blonde, doesn’t have green clothes, and doesn’t play a game just for himself doesn’t mean he can’t be a Link. He started the trend of not wearing green anymore, as the blue tunic BOTH Link’s outfit is inspired by the Ancient Hero’s tapestry.
The theory that he is a form of Link is even more supported by Kass playing Epona’s Song in a stableand he tells current Link that his teacher believed the song was used by the Ancient Hero to summon his horse. This would make his horse Epona, the name Link often chooses for his steed. If he were a form of Link, this Ancient Hero would perhaps be Zelda’s only relative, as his partially Zonai appearance implies that he has the royal blood of King Rauru and could perhaps be the Princess’s ancestor.
The former hero could return for a possible third game
Nintendo could end this series with a trilogy
Without more concrete evidence, there is no true answer to who the Ancient Hero could have been. With his red hair, he could even be Gerudo, and the only male born every hundred years, although if he were in his prime TOTK‘s Link, this is probably not the case. He could perhaps play a role in a possible sequel to TOTKshifting the focus of the fight against a form of Ganon once again, and giving players a look at Hyrule at its peak with all of the Sheikah’s advanced technology at their disposal.
With time travel being an established narrative tool in both TOTK and The Legend of Zelda as a whole (Ocarina of Time uses it more extensively), Link and Zelda could go to this moment in search of answers when a new evil emergesthanks to all the powerful technology of the time. If he is an iteration of Link, having two of them interact could be fun, although if he is silent like all the other Links, the two may have very little to say to each other.
Although some mysteries should be kept as is, it has been seven years since BOTH was released and the question of who the Ancient Hero was has yet to be answered. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gave players a look at an earlier form of Hyrule with Rauru and Sonia, but not the version that BOTH He spoke so intensely. It inspired and shaped the modern Hyrule that took on the blue-suited Calamity Ganon and the Sheikah Guardians, but there are more questions than answers about the era’s greatest hero.