- "White Wolf" redirects here. For the recurring enemy in The Legend of Zelda series, see White Wolfos.
The Hero's Spirit[5], also known as the Hero’s Shade, is a character appearing in Twilight Princess. He is a mysterious skeletal specter who can assume the form of the White Wolf, with a personal goal to teach Link his own seven special sword techniques to make the young hero become a more skillful combatant.[6][note 1]
Biography[]
Twilight Princess[]
Although appearing to be a mere ghostly Stalfos in knightly armor, the Hero's Spirit is actually the Hero of Time - the Link from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, in the form of such due to his death and is restless, filled with serious regrets from being unable to pass on the "lessons of his life to those who came after him" after he was sent back in time to his childhood by the Princess Zelda of his time. He also lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a legendary hero.[9] In order to ease his regrets and finally pass on his long-lost masterful knowledge of the arts of the sword, the Hero's Spirit teaches the highly advanced seven Hidden Skills to his descendant, Link, the Hero of Twilight from Twilight Princess.[10]The seven techniques, in respective order, are the Ending Blow, Shield Attack (Parry), Back Slice, Helm Splitter, Mortal Draw, Jump Strike, and Great Spin. In Hyrule, he appears as the White Wolf, similar to the Hero of Twilight's wolf form, who can be summoned by finding a Howling Stone, with the exception of the first time he is encountered, in which he appears to Link directly. Once a Howling Stone is found, the song has to be howled along with the Spirit. He then tells Link to take "sword in hand" and find him,[11] implying that Link should return to human form before searching for the Wolf. The White Wolf will then appear on Link's Map indicating his current location. When Link confronts the Wolf, it leaps through Link, transporting him into another world.[12] The White Wolf then transforms into a tall ghostly knight, the Hero's Spirit, who then teaches Link one of the seven Hidden Skills, which would ultimately prove handy in order to defeat powerful foes and Ganondorf.
The Hero's Spirit is mostly transparent save for his armor, which appears to be filled with a ghostly pale blue apparition, rather than flesh, with a seemingly decaying body and mostly skeletal face. He carries a rusting sword and shield and wears armor, which is covered with leaves in sections. He carries a scabbard belted to his waist. Similarly to his White Wolf form, his left eye glows red while his right eye is missing.
Other Appearances[]
My Nintendo Picross: Twilight Princess[]
The thirty-fifth puzzle in the Picross series and the twenty-sixth puzzle in the Mega Picross series depict the Hero's Spirit.
Trivia[]
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The Hero's Shade being a decayed Stalfos/golden wolf-like ghost of the legendary Hero of Time has met with outrage among fans
- Although the Hero's Shade was not directly revealed as the Hero of Time in-game, Hyrule Historia confirmed it as such in its release.
- The Hero's Spirit being the Hero of Time is not without controversy, as the character is this rather iconic Link in a sad, horrific state.
- As he is indeed the Hero of Time, the voice of Nobuyuki Hiyama can be faintly heard as the Hero's Shade teaches the Link from Twilight Princess the Hidden Skills (though the actor is uncredited). In addition, his fighting stance is similar to how he did in the Nintendo 64 games via Z-Targeting.
- In the Japanese version, the Hero's Spirit, alongside Golden Wolf, is also known as the Skeleton Warrior.
- The Hero's Shade missing his right eye as seen in both his forms implies a serious injury the Hero of Time once took in the past before his death.
- Oddly, his profile icon in My Nintendo Picross: Twilight Princess shows both the Shade's eyes open.
- The Hero's Spirit talking to Link in Twilight Princess marks the first time in The Legend of Zelda series where two different incarnations of the main protagonist meet in a mainline game as well as the Link himself being able to fully speak conversations on his own rather than being mostly silent.
- The second case of Link meeting himself in the series is the hero from Twilight Princess, in his wolf form, can be summoned to the Hero of the Wild incarnation in Breath of the Wild via amiibo.
- In his White Wolf form, when he howls with the Link of Twilight Princess in his own wolf form, he can be heard singing the "Prelude of Light", "Requiem of Spirit", and even "Song of Healing", three songs from the Hero of Time's adventures via the Ocarina of Time.
- Despite any incarnation of the main protagonist within the franchise technically can die upon receiving a Game Over, the Hero's Spirit - the Hero of Time, is the first and so far only time where a dead Link is canon.
- Although only the first Hidden Skill, the Ending Blow, is required to complete Twilight Princess, if Link manages to learn all of the seven by the Shade, the Hero's Spirit will acknowledge the Hero of Twilight as his worthy successor (even calling him his "son") and tells him he has what it takes to be a true hero.
- Because the Ending Blow technique is the actual move used to ultimately defeat Ganondorf during the Final Boss battle, this would make the Hero of Time indirectly responsible for the villain's death, unlike what he experienced at the end of Ocarina of Time (as Ganon survived the brutal finishing blow via stabbed in the mouth with the Master Sword in that game).
- If one looks closely, when the Hero's Spirit teaches Link the seven Hidden Skills, a scabbard can be briefly seen on his hip. It appears to be a worn-down version of the Master Sword's.
- Due to his appearance as a ghost in swordsman armor with leaves on him, fans have speculated that the Hero of Time possibly died in a very intense war in Hyrule as a Hylian Knight or turned into an actual Stalfos while searching for Navi in the Lost Woods.
- Ironically, according to Hyrule Historia, he was possibly such a knight in his life.
Nomenclature[]
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Language | Name | Meaning | |
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Japanese | 骸骨の戦士 (Gaikotsu no Senshi) 金色の狼 (Kin'iro no Ōkami) 勇者の亡霊 (Yūsha no Bōrei) |
Skeleton Warrior Golden Wolf Hero's Spirit |
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FrenchEU | Esprit du héros Loup Doré |
Hero's spirit Golden Wolf |
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German | Goldener Wolf | Golden Wolf |
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Italian | Eroe Lupo dorato |
Hero Golden wolf |
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SpanishEU | El Espíritu del Héroe Lobo Dorado |
The Spirit of the Hero Golden Wolf |
Gallery[]
The Heros Spirit teaching the Helm Splitter from Twilight Princess HD
The Hero's Shade teaching the Mortal Draw from Twilight Princess
Notes
- ↑ The White Wolf is also known as the Golden Wolf both in-game and in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess — The Official Nintendo Player's Guide by Nintendo Power, as well as the Spirit Wolf in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess — PRIMA Official Game Guide by Prima Games.[7][8] However, as these names contradict its name in Encyclopedia, they are not considered canon.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 118
- ↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 103
- ↑ "Some time ago, before the King of Hyrule unified this country, there was a fierce war in our world. One day, to escape from the fires of the war, a Hylian mother and her baby boy entered this forbidden forest. The mother was gravely injured... Her only choice was to entrust the child to the Deku Tree, the guardian spirit of the forest. The Deku Tree could sense that this was a child of destiny, whose fate would affect the entire world, so he took him into the forest. After the mother passed away, the baby was raised as a Kokiri. And now, finally, the day of destiny has come!" — Deku Tree Sprout (Ocarina of Time)
- ↑ The spirit of Link’s ancestor, the Hero of Time, teaches him his secrets. Ever since returning to the Child Era, the swordsman has lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a hero. This is the reason he passes down the proof of his courage and his secret techniques to the Link of this era, addressing him as “son.” — Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 118
- ↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 276
- ↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 277
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess — The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 192
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess — PRIMA Official Game Guide, Prima Games, pg. 447
- ↑ The spirit of Link’s ancestor, the Hero of Time, teaches him his secrets. Ever since returning to the Child Era, the swordsman has lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a hero. This is the reason he passes down the proof of his courage and his secret techniques to the Link of this era, addressing him as “son.” — Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 118
- ↑ "Although I accepted life as the hero, I could not convey the lessons of that life to those that came after. At last, I have eased my regrets." — Hero's Spirit (Twilight Princess)
- ↑ "Let teachings of old pass to you... Take sword in hand and find me." — Hero's Spirit (Twilight Princess)
- ↑ "In that case, return to your world and train yourself further. When you are prepared, come visit me again." — Hero's Spirit (Twilight Princess)