Welcome to the next instalment of the "What If" series focused on one of my all-time favourites from the series, Dark Link. Took a while to get this one together and is a little longer than the last one, but I hope you enjoy it. For the crazy 'tin-foil' moment of the video, keep an eye out for Ezlo ;). Thanks to all the people who have shown an amazing level of support, it means a lot. Take care of yourselves and keep being amazing.
I subscribe to the re-unified timeline. Where all of the stories are pulling themselves back together making the hero, goddess, and demises spirit far more powerful as they where before the split. Most likely the curse or the triforce doing this, but as such, the Ganon we are about to meet has the combined knowledge of three timelines, so the use of dark link is more than likely something we should expect. . .if the Zelda team hasn't forgotten about him like they did with the promise "this will be the darkest Zelda game yet" and then scraping the horror aesthetic in the concept art from Breath of the wild. So, we will see.
@@darthazgorath9570 I think the Zelda Dev team’s decision regarding placement is brilliant from a fan engagement perspective, and I can see a lot of merit in your approach, and even ones others put forward for variations for the proper “fit”. Dark Link features in them all, making the character a staple. Familiar, yet extremely vague in other ways. I love the thought of an omniscient Ganon, brought an honest smile to my face, so thank you 😊. It’s also a great example of why I think I’m growing more in favour of no clear placement - it promotes these awesome ideas and I personally feel richer for it. Great comment!
@@gamesmiths given the sequel, and potential story issues brought on by the American dubbing (for no real reason) do you think that we should start a partition of some sort to get Nintendo america to fix lines like "he has given up on reincarnation" and the their personal diary entries while they still have the actors in studio and release it as free dlc for improve the story? I know that's a shift in topic, but it was one point you had brought up.
@@darthazgorath9570 I’ve got a huge respect for the development team and it takes a small army to build these epic titles. I’m all in favour of getting localisation right, and certainly there’s some lessons to take from BOTW and games prior where translation has missed the mark by a long way, and led to misinterpretation. My translation skills are poor, so trying to double check key story beats “just in case” you have it wrong compared to the intended meaning is troublesome. I’d like to think that the greater team working on the project would want to make sure that the narrative is sound as it acts like a piece of the Triforce along with Gameplay and Design and Art. I think a petition could really work, as long as it could be done in a respectful and humble manner with the objective being to demonstrate that we love this amazing world and its stories, and, if it is at all possible considering technical limitations that may exist, that rectification of key narrative would only benefit this piece of interactive art for the generations to come. A long winded reply, but I’m reflecting on a moment Hidemaro Fujibayashi mentions in his opener in Masterworks about wrapping with Zeldas voice actor and what he took away from that. I felt like he was genuinely learning since voice acting is still quite new to this series. My take was that there’s genuine care and passion from everyone - from Directors to actors and fans, so the right approach is a must in my very humble opinion.
@@gamesmiths I completely agree with this sentiment. It's just frustrating when key story details are changed, especially in a franchise which is finally taking that story and lore seriously given how it had been treated in the past creating the timeline debacle in the first place. Yet, buy no means would i ever suggest being disrespectful in any regard, especially knowing that it took hundreds of people trying their best to make this game work, let alone be as good as it was. Have you considered making a discord server?
Your insights regarding the similarities between botw and the descriptions of a fallen hyrule are super intriguing! I haven’t heard anybody comparing those before. Still haven’t finished the video lol, but had to pause bc that really stood out to me and has me thinking
Thank you, it really struck me how similar it felt. The way they also describe the fading connection to the Goddess Hylia and the relics of the past fit so well with the world we’ve been exploring in BOTW. While I know it’s not the case, the way the lore has evolved is like Nintendo had planned out events decades earlier. Thanks for watching, all the best!
I could really see a Dark Link enemy as a fixture in Tears of The Kingdom. Especially since Link’s arm has been corrupted, and he might have to face his own “shadow” and his failure as a hero
I certainly could see that in some way. From my understanding, Ocarina of Time started out in a similar vein before becoming the beast we all know and love so it wouldn’t be the craziest notion for The Adventure of Link to inspire elements of BOTW2
Not sure if anyone has noticed this, but in TotK trailer, but after Link comes into contact with ganon in the cave, he seems to begin taking on a likeness of him. Look at his hair, look at his clothes. Almost the same!
Hi Stephan - love this comment and I feel there’s a deeper connection there for sure, great pickup. In more recent theories I’m building a case that riffs of this idea as I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Thanks for sharing this comment - brilliant 💚💫
This has got to be the most underrated channel on TH-cam. You always put so much time and effort into your videos. And your takes are unique. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much - recording audio for a video as we speak, it’s 3am, and most sane people are asleep. That comment means more than you know right now. Keep being amazing because you made my day 💫💚
It is the amazing people like you that inspire and motivate my work. Your kindness is appreciated and I’m hoping to keep making it worth your valuable time. Have a good one my friend, and thank you for the perfect cure to a very long work day - good people!
Dark Link was always there in your frustration when defeated and deep inside your hatred for the Clorox in their seeds dark Link breathe and lives so long as there is a link in Hyrule
very entertaining my friend, got a sub from me. keep up the TH-cam grind, and I'm sure the algorithm will bless you. I'll definitely be watching your next Zelda Theory!
i can’t help but draw a parallel between the mirror, the sword, and the matagama and the mirror of twilight, the mastersword, and whatever the tears symbolize in TOTK.
True nothing is a guarantee but I get mad dark world vibes and the fact that armour set is left out of creating a champion is might suspicious. That and I think it will be a twist no one expects but everyone wants and the fight will be epic.
Thanks Samuel, I havent finished it yet, so I can only gather what you mean there, but never say never, we don't know what the DLC might hold yet but maybe I'm just overly optimistic 😉🌟💚
Very nice. I feel like if anything else, you gave us a very well thought out story. Its people like you who made nintendo have to make sense of the senseless.
In age of Calamity there's a Link made out of Malice and I think that's the Dark Link for these games. Maybe in Tears of The Kingdom we will see him show up again as a proper boss fight, considering malice is going to be a bigger thing there.
One thing to note is that mirrors may have been left out from a development standpoint. Creating a functional mirror for the game would have taken a significant chunk of time, so there being no mirrors may be related to that instead. That being said, it is very strange that the only mirrors at all are in Zelda's room. If they chose not to include mirrors from a development standpoint, why would any mirrors appear at all? If there's one thing I've realized, it's that BotW was VERY well thought out in how the small details were handled.
That’s an excellent point and something I considered - reflective surfaces to any degree are another consideration and draw on a game already pushing some massive feats of fidelity and texturing in a huge open world, especially considering it was set to run on the Wii U as well. But the details, as you pointed out, are what got me. I feel like this comment perfectly encapsulates my thought process and I really look forward to more insights from you on future videos. Thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts, it was greatly appreciated
I agree - that would be awesome. I don’t know why but I have this picture of a beefed up Navi in a mortal kombat type voiceover saying “Conquer yourself” instead of “finish him”. Seriously though, if the Devs are wanting a mini boss type other than the Blights, you’d be hard pressed to find a better option for a challenging fight. Great comment!
"Before you know it, darkness is upon you in all its magnificent shade and bewilderment," is a RAW line that should be on every therapist's wall in cross-stitch or motivational poster form.
Princess Midna from The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is talking to Princess Zelda through the hand Magic Mirror just like The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past in Dark World through hand Mirrior to travel and the Moon Pearl to keep his original form but in this case it would be Princess Midna True Form in the game and it will be used for Breath of the Wild 2 and the legend of Zelda 2 the game inspired and the Dark Link aka Shadow Link is back for The Breath of the Wild 2.
Correct - the shape is that of the Magatama and is exactly the same as the tear shape. The inference in this video predicted the influence of the Imperial Regalia before TOTK third trailer
Yep can totally see that myself. Latest correlation is also with the ancient eye symbol too - what weird for me, and I’ve joked about this in a post a while back is that the face of this creature looks eerily similar to the rooftops in Kakariko Village. Full tin hat theory time there, but that’s one odd looking coincidence! 💫💚
We need more of Dark Sonic Dark Shadow Dark Silver Dark Spyro Dark Rayman and Dark Link in their videogames so bad. What's the point of them if all they ever get is a mini boss fight? Why not make them the main boss or hidden main antagonist?
I love this comment. Straight up and in there. I can definitely see your point, but the uncanny ties to prior games, lore and events are perfectly placed to challenge that notion. Calling all of that “Era of myth and legend” was genius. “Yeh; maybe it happened or maybe it didn’t. Maybe it kinda did but different to how you remember”. As a long time Marvel fan, you grow wary of reality changing reboots after retcons and convenient plot twists flip the script soon after. Either way, I’m hooked
@@gamesmiths I agree with that, I should have said soft reboot. They went back to the concepts of the first game and pushed new ideas into the mix. Everything has happened before, and everything will happen again.
You made my day! Thank you for being so thoughtful and taking the time to share that - means a lot. Working on the next one which I’m so excited about and I hope you will enjoy just as much when it’s complete. Have a great day 👍
Thanks so much. Really appreciate it and definitely trying to keep up a standard. After a day of trying to script a theory, only to destroy it and start again, that helps a lot to get motivated on the rewrite. Timely, thoughtful and appreciated more than you know 👍
Welcome to the next instalment of the "What If" series focused on one of my all-time favourites from the series, Dark Link.
Took a while to get this one together and is a little longer than the last one, but I hope you enjoy it.
For the crazy 'tin-foil' moment of the video, keep an eye out for Ezlo ;).
Thanks to all the people who have shown an amazing level of support, it means a lot.
Take care of yourselves and keep being amazing.
I subscribe to the re-unified timeline. Where all of the stories are pulling themselves back together making the hero, goddess, and demises spirit far more powerful as they where before the split. Most likely the curse or the triforce doing this, but as such, the Ganon we are about to meet has the combined knowledge of three timelines, so the use of dark link is more than likely something we should expect. . .if the Zelda team hasn't forgotten about him like they did with the promise "this will be the darkest Zelda game yet" and then scraping the horror aesthetic in the concept art from Breath of the wild. So, we will see.
@@darthazgorath9570 I think the Zelda Dev team’s decision regarding placement is brilliant from a fan engagement perspective, and I can see a lot of merit in your approach, and even ones others put forward for variations for the proper “fit”. Dark Link features in them all, making the character a staple. Familiar, yet extremely vague in other ways. I love the thought of an omniscient Ganon, brought an honest smile to my face, so thank you 😊. It’s also a great example of why I think I’m growing more in favour of no clear placement - it promotes these awesome ideas and I personally feel richer for it. Great comment!
@@gamesmiths given the sequel, and potential story issues brought on by the American dubbing (for no real reason) do you think that we should start a partition of some sort to get Nintendo america to fix lines like "he has given up on reincarnation" and the their personal diary entries while they still have the actors in studio and release it as free dlc for improve the story?
I know that's a shift in topic, but it was one point you had brought up.
@@darthazgorath9570 I’ve got a huge respect for the development team and it takes a small army to build these epic titles. I’m all in favour of getting localisation right, and certainly there’s some lessons to take from BOTW and games prior where translation has missed the mark by a long way, and led to misinterpretation. My translation skills are poor, so trying to double check key story beats “just in case” you have it wrong compared to the intended meaning is troublesome. I’d like to think that the greater team working on the project would want to make sure that the narrative is sound as it acts like a piece of the Triforce along with Gameplay and Design and Art. I think a petition could really work, as long as it could be done in a respectful and humble manner with the objective being to demonstrate that we love this amazing world and its stories, and, if it is at all possible considering technical limitations that may exist, that rectification of key narrative would only benefit this piece of interactive art for the generations to come. A long winded reply, but I’m reflecting on a moment Hidemaro Fujibayashi mentions in his opener in Masterworks about wrapping with Zeldas voice actor and what he took away from that. I felt like he was genuinely learning since voice acting is still quite new to this series. My take was that there’s genuine care and passion from everyone - from Directors to actors and fans, so the right approach is a must in my very humble opinion.
@@gamesmiths I completely agree with this sentiment. It's just frustrating when key story details are changed, especially in a franchise which is finally taking that story and lore seriously given how it had been treated in the past creating the timeline debacle in the first place. Yet, buy no means would i ever suggest being disrespectful in any regard, especially knowing that it took hundreds of people trying their best to make this game work, let alone be as good as it was.
Have you considered making a discord server?
Your insights regarding the similarities between botw and the descriptions of a fallen hyrule are super intriguing! I haven’t heard anybody comparing those before. Still haven’t finished the video lol, but had to pause bc that really stood out to me and has me thinking
Thank you, it really struck me how similar it felt. The way they also describe the fading connection to the Goddess Hylia and the relics of the past fit so well with the world we’ve been exploring in BOTW. While I know it’s not the case, the way the lore has evolved is like Nintendo had planned out events decades earlier. Thanks for watching, all the best!
I could really see a Dark Link enemy as a fixture in Tears of The Kingdom. Especially since Link’s arm has been corrupted, and he might have to face his own “shadow” and his failure as a hero
Oooh Dark but I Looove this! You’ve got my vote 💚💫
What if they are making a beautiful and redemptive Zelda II homage?
I certainly could see that in some way. From my understanding, Ocarina of Time started out in a similar vein before becoming the beast we all know and love so it wouldn’t be the craziest notion for The Adventure of Link to inspire elements of BOTW2
Not sure if anyone has noticed this, but in TotK trailer, but after Link comes into contact with ganon in the cave, he seems to begin taking on a likeness of him. Look at his hair, look at his clothes. Almost the same!
Hi Stephan - love this comment and I feel there’s a deeper connection there for sure, great pickup. In more recent theories I’m building a case that riffs of this idea as I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Thanks for sharing this comment - brilliant 💚💫
As a old school zelda player from 87. Well done sub earned
Thanks, much appreciated
You really deserve more subscribers, great video!
Wow thank you so much, hope you have a great day
This has got to be the most underrated channel on TH-cam. You always put so much time and effort into your videos. And your takes are unique. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much - recording audio for a video as we speak, it’s 3am, and most sane people are asleep. That comment means more than you know right now. Keep being amazing because you made my day 💫💚
Why is this so underrated? This is amazingly put together, very good job! I’m subbing just because how good this was:)
It is the amazing people like you that inspire and motivate my work. Your kindness is appreciated and I’m hoping to keep making it worth your valuable time. Have a good one my friend, and thank you for the perfect cure to a very long work day - good people!
Dark Link was always there in your frustration when defeated and deep inside your hatred for the Clorox in their seeds dark Link breathe and lives so long as there is a link in Hyrule
True true - never far away 😉
very entertaining my friend, got a sub from me. keep up the TH-cam grind, and I'm sure the algorithm will bless you. I'll definitely be watching your next Zelda Theory!
Glad to hear and thanks for watching. Have a good one 👍
I would love this idea like maybe near the hardest last boss fight
Especially considering the movesets - could you imagine a Dark Link going in for a Flurry Rush...Brutal!
i can’t help but draw a parallel between the mirror, the sword, and the matagama and the mirror of twilight, the mastersword, and whatever the tears symbolize in TOTK.
OMG - I made the same connection and is part of the video I released this morning. Definitely on the same page with this one 💫💖
Your videos are amazingly well thought out and underrated, i cant wait for the next.
Thank you kindly. Looking forward to sharing them with you
I hope they do resurrect Dark Link. Not including the 2D battles how many times have we fought him?
Short answer - not enough! Completely agree - it would be very interesting dealing an enemy who can flurry rush back
Dark link is a GIGA CHAD!
That opening line was spot on 👍
😊
I want Dark Link to return. Better yet, to return in ToTK. Maybe in the form of malice?
That sounds amazing! Love that idea - I’m down 💚💫
Im not sure if Dark Link is Coming Back But I Will Be on The Lookout
True nothing is a guarantee but I get mad dark world vibes and the fact that armour set is left out of creating a champion is might suspicious. That and I think it will be a twist no one expects but everyone wants and the fight will be epic.
Just finished the game, I wish that you had been right man. Would've been cool if he were more than armor.
Thanks Samuel, I havent finished it yet, so I can only gather what you mean there, but never say never, we don't know what the DLC might hold yet but maybe I'm just overly optimistic 😉🌟💚
This video is TOOOOO GOOD
Thanks so much. I love your icon - that Link is intense - you have a talent
Quality 👌
Thank you. Have a great day!
Very nice. I feel like if anything else, you gave us a very well thought out story. Its people like you who made nintendo have to make sense of the senseless.
That’s really kind of you, thanks so much. This one was a real passion project and comments like that make it worthwhile. All the very best to you 😊
Who else is going to help resurrect Ganon ?
Bang on 💫
SPOILERS. well at least we got Phantom Ganon back.
Take the win perhaps 🤔 fair call mate 💚💫
@@gamesmiths I bet Phantom Ganons gonna be confused when link shows up wearing his outfit.
😂😂😂
This video aged like… idk I haven’t finished the game yet
Me either Burandit so I’ll guess we’ll find out once we do, but appreciate the comment mate
In age of Calamity there's a Link made out of Malice and I think that's the Dark Link for these games. Maybe in Tears of The Kingdom we will see him show up again as a proper boss fight, considering malice is going to be a bigger thing there.
That’s a really interesting take and could be really cool to see - you might be onto something here
Mal-Link would be an awesome as heck bossfight
One thing to note is that mirrors may have been left out from a development standpoint. Creating a functional mirror for the game would have taken a significant chunk of time, so there being no mirrors may be related to that instead.
That being said, it is very strange that the only mirrors at all are in Zelda's room. If they chose not to include mirrors from a development standpoint, why would any mirrors appear at all? If there's one thing I've realized, it's that BotW was VERY well thought out in how the small details were handled.
That’s an excellent point and something I considered - reflective surfaces to any degree are another consideration and draw on a game already pushing some massive feats of fidelity and texturing in a huge open world, especially considering it was set to run on the Wii U as well. But the details, as you pointed out, are what got me. I feel like this comment perfectly encapsulates my thought process and I really look forward to more insights from you on future videos. Thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts, it was greatly appreciated
this is way too high quality to only have 380 subs. you earned yourself another one
Very much appreciated 😊
I like how well written and well extrapolated the ideas were in this vid.
That means a lot, thank you so much. Hope you have an awesome day
We need a dark Link trial as a main quest
I agree - that would be awesome. I don’t know why but I have this picture of a beefed up Navi in a mortal kombat type voiceover saying “Conquer yourself” instead of “finish him”. Seriously though, if the Devs are wanting a mini boss type other than the Blights, you’d be hard pressed to find a better option for a challenging fight. Great comment!
"Before you know it, darkness is upon you in all its magnificent shade and bewilderment," is a RAW line that should be on every therapist's wall in cross-stitch or motivational poster form.
That feeling when someone gets you 💫
Princess Midna from The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is talking to Princess Zelda through the hand Magic Mirror just like The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past in Dark World through hand Mirrior to travel and the Moon Pearl to keep his original form but in this case it would be Princess Midna True Form in the game and it will be used for Breath of the Wild 2 and the legend of Zelda 2 the game inspired and the Dark Link aka Shadow Link is back for The Breath of the Wild 2.
Love your take on it and wonderful comment. Thanks so watching
At 30:28 does the jewel look like the seven symbols we see surrounding the new unknown figure in the TotK trailer?
Correct - the shape is that of the Magatama and is exactly the same as the tear shape. The inference in this video predicted the influence of the Imperial Regalia before TOTK third trailer
What if you fail in TOTK and become dark Link.
That sounds crazy good for another timeline split 💫💚
bro, ngl, I found your channel today, and Jesus Christ this is so underrated, damn, I wish I found this soone, congrats
Thanks - I’m happy to keep it Loki 😉
Well normally I noticed Nintendo gets the smallest ideas from previous claims and then blows them up as a main quest
A great call-out and I tend to agree with you 💚💫
Anyone else see the Yiga symbol in the green frog like thing at 26:16? The "hands" look like the upside down eye with 3 lines under it.
Yep can totally see that myself. Latest correlation is also with the ancient eye symbol too - what weird for me, and I’ve joked about this in a post a while back is that the face of this creature looks eerily similar to the rooftops in Kakariko Village. Full tin hat theory time there, but that’s one odd looking coincidence! 💫💚
@@gamesmiths interesting. I'll have to take a look next time I play.
This was a well made video, nice job!
Thanks Wanda - glad you liked it and appreciate the feedback
Btw Heart My Comment and Respond if Dark Link is Coming Back or Not
Dark Link never left 😉💚💫
@@gamesmiths ohhh in Breath of The Wild he is in Zelda Breath of the wild
Woah this is so thought provoking. I hope this gets more views.
Glad you enjoyed the video. All the very best and have an amazing day
We need more of Dark Sonic Dark Shadow Dark Silver Dark Spyro Dark Rayman and Dark Link in their videogames so bad.
What's the point of them if all they ever get is a mini boss fight? Why not make them the main boss or hidden main antagonist?
I’m with you - I think there could be a really good story there with an antihero version as the main player 💫💚
@@gamesmiths
Yeah especially The Dark Versions of Shadow Sonic Silver Spyro Rayman and Link being demon clones or shadow versions of them too.
Botw was essentially a full reboot of the series.
I love this comment. Straight up and in there. I can definitely see your point, but the uncanny ties to prior games, lore and events are perfectly placed to challenge that notion. Calling all of that “Era of myth and legend” was genius. “Yeh; maybe it happened or maybe it didn’t. Maybe it kinda did but different to how you remember”. As a long time Marvel fan, you grow wary of reality changing reboots after retcons and convenient plot twists flip the script soon after. Either way, I’m hooked
@@gamesmiths I agree with that, I should have said soft reboot. They went back to the concepts of the first game and pushed new ideas into the mix. Everything has happened before, and everything will happen again.
@@chrisj320ac3 well said. Love it
Your videos always captivate me. I love watching these videos. I just wanted to let you know that you are doing great work !
You made my day! Thank you for being so thoughtful and taking the time to share that - means a lot. Working on the next one which I’m so excited about and I hope you will enjoy just as much when it’s complete. Have a great day 👍
Ur latest 2 videos have been amazing and so engaging keep making videos like this
Thanks so much. Really appreciate it and definitely trying to keep up a standard. After a day of trying to script a theory, only to destroy it and start again, that helps a lot to get motivated on the rewrite. Timely, thoughtful and appreciated more than you know 👍
@@gamesmiths take ur time, no rush, I’ll defo be an active sub 👌🏻
@@izSH4DY appreciate it