*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.