*silent film music* Today we're uncovering how the hackers can break into not only our phones, but national security systems- please listen to me they're trying to silence us, but we will not be silent we can't let the hackers win share this mess- *Audio cuts* our fate *Audio cuts* -pends on it *audio cuts* *silent film music* ooh, Hyrule Warriors is coming out let's do a Zelda video *intro music theme* Hello Internet, welcome to Game Theory the show that, quite honestly, ran a poll on Twitter about what the next episode should be, saw Zelda win in a landslide, knew a new game was coming out and decided that stopping our hacker overlords could wait another week. Seriously, look at the results of this Twitter poll. You only have yourselves to blame. So, I'm excited about Hyrule Warriors since it's probably the biggest thing to happen in the Zelda franchise since the game became a boat simulator with Wind Waker. It's a complete change of form for the series focusing on beat 'em up style action rather than adventure style questing and dungeon exploration it's a cool twist, breathing new life into one of gaming's oldest and most beloved characters and apparently not just breathing new life but injecting him with steroids because from what I have seen from the gameplay so far this new version of Link looks like a God of War cutting through waves of enemies like buttah. look at that! Look at that, it's like Chuck Norris and a tornado had a green-clad elf baby. (laughing) What the heck, that's the fire rod?! This thing?! Man, 16-bit graphics just don't do that item justice, I guess. needless to say, this Link is a Beast and even though it has been stated that the game falls outside of the timelines that Nintendo has set up around the series it got me thinking clearly not all chosen heroes are created equal so, in a battle royale, which incarnation of Link would prove to be the deadliest warrior? Today's episode plans on putting 'em to the test. In total, there have been soo many Links in this franchise, eleven"-ish" so far and each with a nifty little title there's the Chosen Hero, from Skyward Sword the Hero of the Minish, from Minish Cap (really creative title there guys) the Link from Four Swords whose name doesn't exist that I could find the Adult Hero of Time, in Ocarina the Child Hero of Time, from Ocarina and the Majora's Mask timeline (and that's why I said eleven"-ish", because it's the same guy, but split across two timelines) then, there's the Hero of Legend who spans Link to the Past, the Oracle games and Link's Awakening the New Hero of Hyrule, from A Link Between Worlds the Hero of Hyrule, no "new" in the title, from the original LoZ and LoZ 2 "the Linkening" and don't get me started on how the one coming before him is titled the New Hero of Hyrule when this Hero of Hyrule is after him, technically newer in a timeline sense, despite being from an earlier game Ugh, it's like they made up this timeline lore to tie together a bunch of games that were never meant to have a timeline at all. *crickets* yeah. the Hero of Twilight, from: use your best guess the Hero of Light, from Four Swords Adventures and, onto the last branch, with the Hero of Wind, from Wind Waker and Phantom Houglass and the Hero of ... trains, from Spirit Tracks it's a very specific category to be hero of planes and automobiles? sorry, you're out of luck until The Legend of Zelda: Enchanted Jetliner and that, my friends, is the full roster now, let's get to comparing off the bat, we're going to eliminate the Four Swords' Links because their true power comes from being able to divide into four separate Links and while that's well and good for them we want to measure who's, empirically, the single "strongest Link" and the way we do that is via some categories :D sure, there's some obvious ones like: strongest, smartest, most agile but we need to factor in each hero's mounts his arsenal, magic abilities, sword skills, marksmanship, underwater maneuverability ('cuz we all know how tough that can be for him sometimes) *dropping sound* *thud* and overall level of questing experience When it comes to pure natural strength, the Hero of Twilight is definitely your guy. Able to wrestle Gorons and carry around enormous balls of steel without any strength-enhancing items but then again, this is the Legend of Zelda series, where you're only as good as the strength of your gauntlets or power bracelet or handy glove. And while TP's hero had mad guns, he also didn't have the mad accessories to jack up his beefy biceps. And while the Hero of Hyrule could push rocks his own size, and the Hero of Legend could lift rocks *four times* his size, it was the Hero of Time who could hurl pillars 64 times his size halfway across the room using his Golden Gauntlets and with incredible technique to boot! Lifting with the knees, and not with the back. Point for you, sir. As for which member of the Green Team is the smartest, there are a few factors at play. Skyward Sword's Link is the only one shown to have a formal education, while other Links just focus on an individual trait, or get taught by a tree. But a formal education can only get you so far when you're in a battle setting. You can also judge Link's street smarts off of the difficulty of the puzzles he has to overcome in the game. And a survey of online Zelda forums shows that most people agree Twilight Princess's puzzles were the most difficult citing both the ice block sliding challenge in Snowpeak Ruins and the statue puzzle before receiving the Master Sword as being THE most infuriating of the series. But, all the strength and smarts in the world don't matter if you move like a brick. Sure, every Link has a Hylian shield to defend against incoming attacks, but it'd be good to know which members of the Link horde can run circles around their opponent ...or run at all, as most just kind of trot around the map taking a leisurely stroll to save the kingdom. On this criteria Skyward Sword Link immediately jumps to mind as the one iteration able to run, flip, and lightly parkour but he gets winded pretty easily and is forced to drink wheatgrass to improve his stamina. Nah, if there's one thing that defines an unstoppable runner in this series it's the Pegasus Boots, which narrows down our candidate pool. But of those candidates, the Hero of Legend jumps to the top of the heap because, well, he's the one who's actually able to jump. Maybe not in his signature game, Link to the Past, but certainly with Roc's Feather in both Oracle games. Twilight Princess also rates pretty high in the agility category, because Link can turn into a wolf with really good jumping ability. Which is a nice segue to our next topic: animals. Let's talk mounts. Sure, there's the horse Epona, but not every Link has her. And some have very different mounts, like the Loftwings, the King of Red Lions, or a train. But while a boat has limited usefulness outside of water, and very rarely is Hyrule flooded and a train is limited by its tracks and is, well, just kinda lame, Epona and the Loftwings provide a pretty close match. But as illustrated in Skyward Sword, to operate the Loftwing effectively, you have to hang on with both hands, whereas Epona doesn't have that limitation. In fact, if the hero happens to be reincarnated as a trained ranch hand, you can ride while also shooting arrows, and swordfighting. As shown by the expert mounted warrior, the Hero of Twilight. and going one step further, he also happens to be the best marksman equipped with the sniper scope of Hyrule, the Hawkeye Goggles and not just with the traditional bow, but also a crossbow from his time spent in Link's Crossbow Training. So far, TP has been pretty OP, but what can really make or break a legendary hero is their item stash. (sarcastically) And for as cool and "super useful" as the Spinner is, Twilight Princess ain't winnin' any awards in this category. No, the award for best arsenal goes to... The Hero of Legend The Hero of Legend
A Link to the Past, The Hero of Legend
A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons The Hero of Legend
A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, and Link's Awakening. Come down and accept your prize! With so many quests under his belt, this guy is Hyrule's resident hoarder The Fire Rod, Ice Rod, Rod of Seasons, The Fire Rod, Ice Rod, Rod of Seasons, Rod Roddy, he's got more rods than you can shake a Deku Stick at-- except he doesn't have any of those. But what he DOES have is: THREE versions of the Hookshot (the Vanilla Version, Longshot Edition, and the Switch Hook), Pegasus Boots, Roc's Cape, Magnetic Gloves. Do you believe in magic in a Young Link's Heart Piece? He certainly does, possessing two magic canes, three magic medallions, a magic cape, a magic hammer, magic powder, and thirteen magic rings, of which he can use five. Even with all that magic, he's still not the strongest spellcaster, with the title going to the Hero of Hyrule from LOZ 1 and 2 for his ability to heal, summon thunder, and turn into a ferry... n-no, like an actual, like, healing fairy not- I mean- He is kind of like a fairy boy He's, he's more of an elf, really? But when it comes to items, no other Link comes close. in addition to items, spanning four
games also makes this Link the most experienced adventurer of the bunch in fact this guy is such a pro he goes
on whole quests in his sleep. Like this video if you get that inside
joke *whispering* It'll be our little secret. Seriously though 11 dungeons in Link to the Past,
nine in Oracle of Ages, another nine in Seasons, another nine in
Link's Awakening, plus mini dungeons? He's done more dungeon-crawling than a
typical character in Diablo Which brings us to the final two
categories: Underwater ability goes to *sarcastic laughing* No definitely not ol' Iron Boots over
there. it's a close call between our two
front-runners the Hero of Legend and the Hero of Twilight. The former can swim
very easily using the mermaid suit, and he's got his trusty seed shooter to use
under water, but he also has the uncanny ability to use his sword-- and not just
use his sword, but use it fast, literally hacking through the
competition. By contrast, Twilight Princess's Link has the Zora armor which
allows him to swim and breathe underwater, and though he may not have
the use of his sword, he has the added benefit of water bombs. The ability to
use a sword underwater, though, trumps those bombs, so slight advantage Hero of
Legend finally, and perhaps most importantly, any
battle between Links is likely going to come down to a sword fight. Just look at
the matchups against Dark Link! So, as our final category, who is the
greatest sword-smith? And while the Hero of Hyrule learned some upward and
downward slashes, and Minish Cap Link does a whole training series with the
Blade Brothers and Tiger Scrolls, it's Twilight Princess that once again
takes the title by training with the Hero's Shade. Our elephant ranch hand
learns techniques that no other Link has ever been exposed to: the Mortal Draw, the
Helm Splitter, the Back Slice-- these are just a few of the highly advanced
maneuvers the Twilight Hero has at his disposal. And when your closest
competition is "Horizontal Swipe" or "Awkward Wiimote Stab" you basically got
your competition linked. So with all that being said, let's tally the results. Can we get a drum roll, please? ...it's not quite what I was expecting, but
ok, great. THE most powerful Link is... The Hero of
Time, child edition. What? I demand a recount! Where are the
hanging chads? Ok, dated references to the 2000 election aside, the surprise
winner of our little contest is the Young Hero of Time, and all thanks to one
game: Majora's Mask. If it was just left to
Ocarina of Time? Young Link gets a slingshot, a boomerang, some sticks and
nuts to play with... laaaame! And when you really look at it, in
Majora he just gets a Hookshot, a couple arrows, and a bunch of useless masks. But
it's not about quantity, it's about quality, and Child Link gets these, which
bestow him with the strength, speed, and defense of a Goron; the agility and
ability to fly of a Deku Scrub; and you can't become a better swimmer than a
Zora. He might not be the best with Epona, but he's certainly good! Spanning two games, and with time travel
experience to boot, he may not have the whole 38 dungeons under his belt, but he
does have years worth of experience. And if you're looking for great
swordsmanship, who taught the Hero of Twilight everything he knows? This guy. And who IS that guy? This guy... eventually. And sorry TP, but for as cool as that wolf
form is, you're not the only one to have it. Oh! And if you still don't
believe me, there's this-- the last Transformation Mask: the fierce Deity
Mask, equipping you with a sword twice as powerful as the Master Sword and with a
permanent magic beam! The youngest combatant in our little game also
happens to be the most powerful. Go figure. There's also a high
probability that he's dead, so I guess there's that. Meanwhile, I know we've given the Hero of
Trai-ha-hains... I can't even say it with a straight face... -The
Hero of Trains- a hard time today, but let's face it YOU are, quite literally,
the weakest Link. But hey, that's-- not the end, actually,
because I'd like to take this moment to answer one of the most frequent
questions I get in my inbox from you guys, and that's-- how I learned to edit when I
first started working on Game Theory. 'Cause I'll be honest, I started with ZERO experience. Have you seen those
early episodes?! Yikes! And seriously, it was some of the most
basic, fundamental things that were the hardest, because I didn't know... what I
didn't know. Sequence settings, matching frame rates, essential keyboard shortcuts? Well, to answer your question, I was
completely self-taught using online video courses. And while Youtube is fine
here or there, a lot of videos were either outdated or poorly explained. The
site I actually found most useful was lynda.com L-Y-N-D-A. It had tons of online
courses to teach me everything from the basics of photoshop to advanced after-effects. For me, the photoshop essentials, premiere pro essentials, and DSLR videos
were probably the three most important ones that I watched while I was building
my skill set. And Rider-- Rider's editing today's video, by the way-- you're in
college and they're using the same website, right? Uh, yes. Yes, they are. In fact, I'm such a big
fan, I'm thinking about paying it forward and becoming a teacher on the site, doing
an online video course dedicated to growing a Youtube channel. But that's a
project for a later day. Anyway, since this is something that I know a lot of
you have been looking for, I reached out and got a hold of the people at the site
to offer you a free trial. So if you click the link in the description or
type in lynda.com/matpat lynda.com/matpat, you can get seven day
free trial and watch to your heart's content! And for once, finally you international
theorists, I made sure that it can work for you too, so that should be even
better. So hop on there and go nuts. Binge watch
as many videos as you can, because it's free and, if you like it, great! You're following in my footsteps! I
know I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them. And with that, I think it's time to sign
off, so without further ado-- But hey! That's just a theory-- a game
theory! Thanks for watching.
What about the CDI link? He is nowhere to be found.
Almost like he is...
The missing link.
I was worried he'd forgotten about Majora's mask when he claimed the Hero of Twilight was the best swimmer.
Also, Young Hero of Time had the bunny hood for more agility.
I get that Matt is relying on Hyrule Historia for his information, but why does he rely on it over what's in the games, especially given his "Why the Official Zelda Timeline is Wrong" video?
It ultimately doesn't alter the ultimate outcome of this video, but it would allow it to be more accurate. For example, the games say that Oracles Link can't be the same guy as ALttP/LA Link. LA Link has to be ALttP Link according to LA's back story. And ALttP/LA Link meets Zelda for the first time in ALttP. But Oracles Zelda and Impa both mention how they've never met Link before the events of the Oracles games. Impa even has to tell Zelda about Oracles Link for her to be able to recognize him when she meets him later.
I mean, unless there were actually two Zeldas alive during ALttP, and Impa was off taking care of one of them while the other was being kidnapped by Agahnim, then the ALttP/LA Link can't be the same guy as Oracles Link.
On an entirely different note, what about possession of the Triforce? Wouldn't Links that have the entire Triforce have an automatic advantage over those that don't? Could OoT/MM Link really beat ALttP/LA Link since the latter has the whole Triforce? I guess we could argue that Link managed to defeat Ganon when Ganon had the whole Triforce, but that may be because of the Master Sword's ability to negate evil magic (even if that evil magic comes from the Triforce).
So since the Triforce should automatically trump everything in the hands of a good guy, that means we should really be choosing between LoZ/AoL Link, ALttP/LA Link, Oracles Link (if you want to count acting on the command of the Triforce as possession of the Triforce), SS Link, and ALBW Link.
Matt seems to have forgotten the three mounts the Hero of Legend has access to...
Moosh, Ricky and Dimitri. Pretty sure a dodongo, flying bear and boxing kangaroo top a horse and a bird.
Why didn't twilight link win? The wolf outspeeds the Deku, TP can wrestle gorons, and TP is much more experienced than Young hero of time
I really liked this one
I'm curious, how does he get to the conclusion that Hero's Shade is one of the earleir Links? I've not played TP recently, but I can't find any other mention of it (well, nothing beyond wild speculation anyway) - not that I've done so much looking around.
I'm glad that the lack of majoras mask link throughout the whole video was just to have the "surprise" ending, since I thought he was getting thrown under the bus quite unfairly. Especially when he got to the agility/speed and water capability section.
I just posted this to the YouTube comments, so if anyone sees a double post, I'm sorry; I just feel like I'd get... 'better' opinions and arguments than on YouTube.
Here's my problem with this, and I don't know if anyone will agree:
Why are we using the transformations... at all? This is a fight between Links and not Link forms. Of course MM Link would win because there's no other Link in existence that rivals that power - if we count him using his masks. It's the same concept that (and people are going to hate me for this) Death Battle used for Superman VS Goku; Superman wins if we count all of the different variations of him, such as when Superman became (practically) God.
However, we're not looking at the strongest form of Link, and that's the issue I keep running over in my head; we don't have to include Wolf Link, we don't have to include the Masks, we don't have to include shrinking (Minish Cap, looking at you!) because this should be a strict contest of pure Links.
I don't know, am I crazy? I feel like I'm crazy.๏ปฟ