Thinking At Max Volume has released a new theory video about the Master Sword and why it BREAKS in TotK! ua-cam.com/video/utlhSxXtKDY/v-deo.htmlsi=JVmoJvpnYUH8PQ-z
Keep in mind that Link nearly lost his life trying to defend Zelda in Botw. So one could argue that the Master Sword forces Link to retreat by “breaking” so that he doesn’t push himself too hard.
But Link nearly loses his life in every single Zelda game. If the Master Sword in Botw/TotK wanted Link to take it easy, wouldn't it make more sense for Fi to break her silence and say that? And doesn't breaking in the middle of life or death combat put Link in MORE danger?
This might just be optimistic thinking, but I have a feeling that the story of the Hero of the Wilds doesn't stop at TOTK. I kind of feel like the Master Sword is getting ready to undergo a metamorphoses- like Link did- to become just as strong as it used to be, if not stronger. While we might not get another sequel to BOTW and TOTK, I genuinely believe that the developers are leading to some climactic 3rd part of this story. It might be in a new game, new hyrule and father into the future, but there are just too many pieces of information that the games either reintroduce without explanation or ignore entirely. For example: the Master Sword is, as I believe it to be, a divine relic because of the Goddess Flames from Skyward Sword. I would propose that the Master Sword is somehow tied to the Triforce, more than it is tied to Link. By this point, the Triforce has been missing for millennia, with only the crests resonating. The Triforce hasn't been in danger for all that time, too. What's more, no one acknowledges- to my knowledge- that the Triforce even exists in BOTW or TOTK. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the most powerful relic created to assist those with the Spirit of the Hero to defend Hyrule, guardian land of the Triforce, to be weaker without the Triforce involved? So, if the Triforce isn't in danger, and no one knows about it, why should the Master Sword be as powerful as it needs to be? Calamity Ganon, while being a force to be reckoned with, was mindless. It was only after destruction. Ganondorf from TOTK was after the Zonai Secret Stones, and never acknowledged the Triforce. Thems be my thoughts.
@@brucesmith7481to be fair hyrules deities actually suck at planning. Keep in mind they forced a child link to remain in stasis when ganondorf took over to weild the sword, meanwhile in wind waker they didnt.
@@itsJoshWr/woooosh More often than not they're making a joke about how Nintendo didn't publish an official timeline until Skyward Sword, which is the first in the series. Hell, the "let's not try that again" punchline could work for the Golden Goddesses just as easily as Fi.
Up until BotW, it was my understanding that the Master Sword and the Hero are linked in such a way that the sword mirrors the courageous spirit of the Hero. Because Link was mortally wounded in BotW and required the Shrine of Resurrection to heal, the sword reflected that in the form of decay. It's my theory that because Link was beaten and later revived, the physical damage to his body was repaired but not the weakening of his courageous spirit. Due to this, the MS is physically restored but not to it's full power. That's why the sword runs out of energy and needs to recharge, the soul of the Hero is weakened and yet to be fully restored. For only the 2nd time in the canonical timeline, the Hero was defeated. That event is more significant than most people realize. I don't believe it is fear that weakens the Hero, because courage is the ability to face and overcome fear to move forward. I think Link is wracked with doubt and regret, preventing both himself and the sword from achieving their full power and potential. Then, in TotK, that doubt is redoubled when he is attacked by Ganon's gloom and nearly loses his right arm in one attack. The overwhelming thoughts of doubt that he must've experienced at that moment, I believe, is what caused the MS to shatter in the following attack. His courageous spirit had shattered. It was as if he were reliving his failure at the Blatchery Plains all over again. His initial defeat at Blatchery Plains set into motion a series of events that would physically and spiritually break him leading to the weakening and later shattering of the Master Sword.
Your theory would explain a lot about how the Master Sword works differently in every game, every Link is different from each other so if the Master Sword is linked to the Spirit of the Hero in the way you suggested then of course it would work differently in every game!
Let’s also note that in the final battle in tears of the kingdom, unlike in botw, the master sword has unlimited durability and the gloom that once shattered it to pieces will now bounce off the blade like baseballs just like in the old days
@@kristopher3623 True fear is one of the most powerful emotions a person can experience. So powerful, it can cause a person to act in a way that's contrary to their true nature. For Link, the very embodiment of courage, that fear could've been enough to completely shatter his courage in that moment, leading to doubt and regret. If the sword is in fact a reflection of Link's courageous spirit, that fear would lead to the shattering of the sword. Courage cannot exist in the absence of fear. That's why Link fell in the Blatchery Plains, only to revive and face Calamity Ganon 100 years later. That's why he failed again when facing Demon King Ganon and the sword shattered.
I’ve been assuming that the lore reason was that between being so ancient and Ganon shattering the Master Sword… a simple reforging wasn’t enough to restore Phi within the Master Sword to a healthy condition, that the Master Sword itself was dying of old age and failing to heal from wounds as they once did
I like to think the in lore reason the sword tires out is that we’re coming closer and closer to the “last” game in the timeline, as in, the last game to canonically occur, where we’ll see the last link and Zelda take on Demise once he, after thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, finally breaks Fi’s will down to the point he can escape.
I think Demise already did that’s why Ganondorf transformed into the demon king right after he got possession of the sacred tear because Demises spirit is slowly fusing with the hatered that lies deep within Ganondorf he’s using him to rebuild his spirit like Ganondorf used the calamity to break the seal that Rauru placed him in
worth noting she seems to learn from this. now younger links are simply tasked to prove themselves as bearers instead of being trapped in the Time Void bc shes worried about him
The reason why Ganondorf was able to break the Master Sword in TOTK could be due to the sword slowly losing it's power over the years as Zelda mentioned in the true ending of BOTW, this is also supported by the fact that if you look closely to the repaired Master Sword in TOTK all the restored section of the blade presents a slightly more shiny and bright tone of blue, similar to how it looked in SS meaning that Zelda poured so much power into the Master Sword that she left it as good as new.
I think Zelda meant her power had weakened so she couldn't hear it anymore not that the master swords power had weakened as she couldn't hear it until after she unlocked her power
The restored section of the Master Sword's blade looks different because Zelda repaired it with crystal from her light dragon form instead of the same type of metal.
I think there is an unexplored answer that connects all games and works thing all requirements, logic and powers the sword displayed. Remember what the deku tree says: the swords grows stronger and recovers itself by absorbing sacred energy overtime, meaning the power of the sword is bound to fluctuate between eras and available energy. Back in WW(wind waker) the sword was on its pedestal BUT it was also continualy holding a time seal on hyrule castle spending its energy, the lack of sages praying to the sword also eventually caught up to it not having a good intake of energy. In SS(skwyward sword) we literally that the sword on got its bright shine and ability to repel evil AFTER zelda gives her blessing (and energy) to the sword, before that, it was the same glowless dormant form we see in WW. Ocarina of time and a link to the past also have interesting lore points, we know that in aLttP medallions are able to enhance and expand the powers of the master sword, allowing it to change the weather, cause natural disasters and weaken enemies, and in OoT there was an unused feature of the sage medalions granting new powers to link and the master sword. These powers granted from other beings (sages, goddeses, sacred spots with special pedestals, the owners of the medalions and other minor deities) are basically what determine the power level and and capabilities of the sword, and lets not forget Fi, she is the basically the operating system of the sword and gives it a mind of its own, she can very much control the sword to test link throughout the ages and analyze the curren crisis to see what kinds of trials she must make him face, its not like fi cant talk to others and help set up ways for link to get the sword and make it stronger she literally does that both in TotK and SS. And this explains why the sword breaks and is more fragile, by the time of the botw era there are no sages, there are no prayers to the sword, its location is unkown, it appears and vanishes from time to time to fight calamity ganon but before wild era link finds it, the great deku tree is ultimately the only deity to be watching over it and passively bestowing it energy, its not enough to figh calamity ganon, much less ganondorf with a secret stone on top, the sword regenerates overtime and shoots beams but thats all it can do under those conditions, and its interesting how the trial of the sword also allows the sword to unlock itself further back to its best possible output of power as if the sheikah monks are basically giving their energy to the sword to enhance it and allow it to always be at its full powered state which is usually saved only against enemies it absolutely needs the most power to purify, because with the current state of the wild era, Fi cannot afford to consume more energy than that for prolonged periods of time.
This is what I believe, the sword is only powerful if you supply it sacred energy, but the sword had received no sacred energy for many centuries and this is what caused it to break
I think a mild case might be made for the Wind Waker master sword in that she had spent the past few centuries maintaining that time seal on Hyrule Castle, so it might have been weakened from that, hence needing prayers to restore her. Another theory could be that, as WW Link is hinted to just be some random kid who stepped up and NOT the Link from the usual reincarnation cycle, the sages were also needed to attune the sword to Link, but those are just theories.
I like both of those theories, though I feel like it was likely them needing to attune the sword to the unconnected link since the hero's spirit left that era. No one came to stop the ganon that lead to the flooding something that wouldn't have been needed if someone with the hero's spirit came to defeat ganon. With the two sets of sages praying to the goddess to basically keep the master sword's "edge" sharp against evil, since the triforce of courage was usually more than enough to do that for the sword but since it's been ages since a holder of said piece of the triforce been around they needed a secondary source.
well what if due to the WW link not being the original hero, it made it vulnerable to being destroyed once he was attuned to be allowed to use it and thus it lost its infinite durability at that point, and just all the wear and tear from the next 2 iterations of that timeline the master sword finally gave and broke by the time we start using it in BOTW and thats why its now breakable. or another theory could be that the original link never actually came back to that timeline at all so the link for WW when becoming attuned to the master sword and the events of that game ended up taking his place as the link that will reincarnate with ganon and zelda, but by doing so the sword lost its condition since it wasint ever granted to that link by hylia but by the sword itself and the sages, thus with in a sense like a contract being broken, its condition dont apply anymore since it wasint made by hylia to the new link in the cycle.
Oh that is true. It’s a good theory. PERSONALLY I thought it was about being trapped in the past. Gannon is trapped in the past, the king is trapped in the past. Everyone seems to be waiting for the hero of time and the land of OOT and not what’s next, talking about Wind Waker here.
I like the time spell theory, but I feel like there's a more obvious answer that is already semi-supported in game: The master sword *did* need the sages prayers. It's just that in TP, there were still sages alive whose prayers were likely providing the sword with power, while in windwaker we're shown they're dead (until we awaken new ones).
Hey, I have a question about the sages in gerudo desert botw. Doesn’t it say that there were 7 sages then a secret 8th? There are 7 in the second game if you don’t include Zelda, and one or two of the symbols on the places you put the orbs look like secret stones. Do y’all think this is a coincidence, or maybe just something we overlooked? Also, do you think that there is a reason for why in the beginning of the game we find that there is actually originally 8 stones, and since Zelda goes back in time it makes it nine? Where did the 9th one go, and might it play a role in a future game, or maybe something overlooked by Nintendo. Thanks for reading and tell me what you think.
There is a theory that the adult timeline has an imitation master sword, due to the master sword being taken back to the child timeline along with Link (There was only 1 copy of it between timelines in OOT). This would be why it can be wielded by the 12 year old hero of winds. This imitation master sword was effective, but its power decayed over time unless it was strengthened by the prayers of sages. This could be that master sword.
I know where you got that idea. It was from *Bandit* and I saw that video too. It is a great theory let's just see where it goes from here... - Worthy229 🥷🌹
In ALttP, the Master Sword can be upgraded to be more powerful and it's not an imitation. I think it's less likely that there's a fake sword floating around and more likely that the power of the sword waxes and wanes throughout time. It's my understanding that the Master Sword shares a powerful connection to the spirit of the hero. If the sword is at rest for centuries or even millennia between hero's appearing to claim it, that could explain why the power of the sword is different for each hero that wields it. Also, since it's connected to the hero and each hero is different, that could explain the difference in power as well. Add to that, that Hylia is widely considered the Goddess of Time, and it's her blessing that gives the sword it's sealing power, that's another possible explanation as to why the sword's power fluctuates. The sword is what connects Hylia to the hero.
Actually, the Master Sword was always a fragile piece of junk. The Original Sword link used was made of wood and he found it in a cave from an old man. This old man Miyamoto. Ocarina of Time introduced the Stick which broke in 1 hit. Reggie went to Miyamoto and said, "hey this is a great idea. Let's make every Sword break I'm 1 hit" Miyamoto loved the idea and every game after they weakened the sword more and more until the Stick was the Master Sword. They have the same damage properties after all. BotW is just a remake of Bottom of the Well, obviously the Stick sharing properties of the Master Sword, it translates that BotW and TotK would also break. Honestly anyone half paying attention would have noticed this. -slides glasses up'
The closest thing I can think of to the master sword in BOTW and TOTK is well Anduril from LOTR that sword was also forged close to the beginning of the world and granted mysterious abilities, and remains a powerful legendary blade passed down through Elendil’s line until it does finally break in the battle with Sauron. BUT!!! It only breaks once it’s rightful master Elendil dies in the battle. And well Link did kinda fall in battle against Calamity Ganon and at that point we do also see it pretty damaged, and then by the time BOTW starts it’s kinda debatable if Link has actually fully recovered or not. So maybe just like Anduril the master sword needs to be completely reforged.
Couldn't it be presumed that in Twilight Princess, the Sages of Earth and Wind are still alive and remain as they were from their time pre-TP, the same way all the Sages are seen in that game? If Ganondorf doesn't get the chance to kill off all the Sages sans Water, then the Sages of Earth and Wind should be just fine and contributing to powering the Master Sword without it ever needing to be brought to Link's attention. The case for A Link to the Past probably deserves some more looking into it, but I did want to point the TP thing out.
My guess for a link to the past is that maybe not enough time has passed for the sword to be effected. depends on how the sword works. Does it work where if the prayers stop, it loses its power immediately, or does it lose power over time. If it's the former, then ignore what I'm about to say. If it's the latter, then it's possible that not enough time has passed between the last time the maidens prayed to it and their capture in the beginning of the game to really effect the Master sword.
With Wind Waker's Earth and Wind Sages in mind, I think it's likely that the Master Sword was just missing a vital enchantment or enhancement. It's also possible that the sword is tied into Link's health/vitality. both times it broke, he was injured enough to slip into a coma or nearly die.
This could also tie in to why Link needed a certain amount of life force to pull the Master Sword again in BotW. His wounds from the battle that nearly killed him may have been imprinted in the blade, forcing him to essentially relive those wounds in order to restore his connection to it.
There is speculation that the Master Sword in Wind Waker is a facsimile of the true Master Sword, hence why it needed constant prayer to be powered up.
@@kingdaniel3519 - Yeah, I'm not sure how that works in a lore standpoint. But the Fallen Hero timeline seems to be the only time the sword is physically upgraded this way, rather than being further blessed against evil.
@@kingdaniel3519 - Ah. I guess I was thinking of A Link Between Worlds where you literally find Master Ore in Lorule and have the blacksmith upgrade the Master Sword twice. First to red and then to gold.
I think it's just one of those video game contrivances that only impact gameplay but isn't part of the story. A good example of this is Kingdom Hearts. In gameplay Sora can pull off these insane moves and combos against scores of enemies both big and small. But when you watch him fight in cutscenes, he just does basic weapon swings and gets brushed aside in one or two hits. This is why the Master Sword breaks in gameplay, for the sake of balance. But in the story it's still this all powerful blade even if it does have a Gloom infested setback.
That's a good way to look at it. I remember thinking to myself during the final boss of KH2 when Sora was slicing buildings in half, "man, I can't imagine how this kid could ever lose with feats like this" and then KH3 comes around and showed me how it's done.
@@GossipGeist Then again Kingdom Hearts is the standard bearer for power resetting the main character. Next to Metroid and God of War. And now Zelda apparently.
That explanation while it makes sense, contradicts itself. When link gets the restored master sword from the light dragon, the blade supposedly has been infused with holy light for 10000 years, yet, its as fragile as it was in breath of the wild, *before* the awakening (trial of the sword)
While I understand Zelda has always been gameplay first, story second, I still think it's so unsatisfying for the Master Sword to work the way it does in TotK en BotW. It's just a 30 damage weapon in both games (being weaker than a Royal Broadsword, a fairly common weapon). It does upgrade to 60 damage in BotW with the Trial Of The Sword, but then in TotK it's back to 30 again. Sure, it can go up to 85 damage with a Lynel horn (wich is admittedly really good), but it's just so fragile. I get that it breaks after some time, but it shouldn't break as quikly as it does. It also has this weird glitch that the first time you fuze something to it, the durability increases as it should, but once the blade has broken, it will never increase the durability again. This led me to just not using it at all because I felt like all my other weapons were better. I think the Master Sword should remain a really good weapon, one of the best you can get, but have it so that you still have reason to use other weapons because they have some unique attributes (wich they kinda did in TotK with the modifiers like Water Warior and Improved Flurry Rush), rather than make the master sword just kinda average. I feel like they knew the Master Sword was underwhelming too, because they hide the damage value. TLDR: despite the good reasoning, the Master Sword should still get a durability and damage buff, because it just feels underwhelming and the encouragement of using other weapons should be done by making them unique rather than making the master sword a mediocre weapon.
I'm extremely glad that you've been able to pick up on the extra effort I've been putting into my recent videos to improve the way I make them, It's very reassuring to hear this, thank you! I'll hopefully keep getting better and better at it from here onward and there's still plenty of videos about everything Zelda that I can't wait to put together!
I like to believe the Master Sword in the Windwaker required the sages prayers to stay powered up is because that timeline lost the original spirit of the hero. Link got sent back in time to grow up in the child time line so the version of the sword left behind in the adult time line either lost it's purpose and weakened as a result or the simple absence of the original hero was the cause as perhaps the sword's power is linked to the spirit of the hero in a more complicated manner that isn't simply due to the sword choosing the hero. It might be an inherit property and not so much a will of the Sword that allows it to be wielded by the hero. Hence why it requires "assistance" from sages in the Windwaker timeline to stay powered up. Perhaps it was the power of the Hero himself that originally powered it and with his absence it requires external help like the sages to make it work like it used to. As for it's weakness in the Breath of the Wild era...well that's simple. The sword is simply ancient now. 10,000 years have passed and it appears the march of time is finallly taken it's toll on the sword. If Tears of the Kingdom is anything to go by, even 10k years ago it seems the era the sword was born to was already considered myth and legend by that time so it's even older then that by then! Long enough to have been forgotten about by the then of Zonai and Hyrule royalty that refounded Hyrule. They seemed unaware of the the Sword or it's power until Zelda did a little time travel shananigins to let them know.
One thing to notice is that the hero of the winds is Formally trained His teacher was a former swords master. Unlike Hero of The Time Never had any formal training when he was Kid. But The hero of the winds Was already trained When we look at the master's sword.. Every time it regains a fraction of its Power he seems to struggle..But Thanks to the journey Of gradually giving the master a sword stronger.The hero of the winds was gradually getting Stronger. In terms of combat who is stronger the hero of the winds or Hero of Time Link when he was aged to 16/17? Based The Three Outcomes Ocarnia of time Link Beat Ganondorf with 66% Chance of Victory. And the timeline were linked lost Ganondorf Defeated and Murdered Link and He Took His and Zelda triforce.. And he became the Demon king For the first time but this time enhanced with the whole triforce. In Wind waker..Link By himself stood in no chance And even with Tetra s help It was a struggle , it was only because Of The Hyrule King Wish Is what gave link and Tetra Plot Armor To defeat Ganondorf. As a result windwaker link is more powerful than Kid Ocirina of time Link and Slightly weaker then Teen Orcarina of time Link.. While Wind waker link is Worthy of The Master Sword he Stand No Chance against Ganondorf with Aid. Even The hero of time Fought Ganon..Ganon Was simply restrained and far too powerful to be Killed.. The only thing the hero of time accomplished was weakening Ganon enough to Be Sealed away By Zelda and The Sages
I do like it when the games have you "upgrade" the Master Sword to keep it relevant. "Link to the Past" had you "Temper" the sword [Red Form] and even allowed for further upgrading [Gold Form] by having the fat Great Fairy empower it further. This is something I though would have been really nice to have in BotW or TotK. TotK does a "Lore" upgrade to fix the sword, but mechanically it is no more powerful than it was in the previous game.
Writing head-canon at this point, but in BotW Link pushes the blade to its absolute limits 100 years before. Arguably, this much use in such a short amount of time could explain the weakness of the blade when you receive it in the present day. It explains why Ganondorf is able to destroy the blade so easily too. The part that irritated me was that according to TotK the Master Sword needs to bathe in sacred light to store power, and that is why the sword was fixed in BotW's present. If that's the case, during the events of TotK the Master Sword bathes in sacred light for 10,000 years, so why does it break just as quickly as when it had 100 years? When I first played the game, I thought that the sword was going to be unbreakable, and only the fused item would break. I was so disappointed when it shattered. The part of TotK that made me happy though is that they made it so the Master Sword is completely unbreakable during the final boss fight, it made it so much cooler to be taking on the ultimate evil with the unfused Sword of Evil's Bane
TBH, being indestructible in the final fight is probably what they meant. First try against Ganondorf, it breaks. Second try, the Master Sword wont break while fighting Ganondorf.
Mabey canonically the master sword just works the same as it did in the final battel and doesn't break but it just has to when you play the game because it wouldn't work with the durability system
I believe its just wear and tear. Human bodies can heal, same with the master sword, but over time our ability to heal is reduced due to age. Its probably just the same thing. If you ask a 20 year old person to do physical labor, they will probably get more done than a 70 year old.
I don't think the Master Sword was meant to be all-powerful or unbreakable. In ALttP, it can be strengthened twice. In OoT, it is outclassed by Biggoron's Sword. In TWW, we see it after it has lost its power. Its importance lies mostly in its power to repel evil and to create seals against demons.
I like that idea. It's not the best as a sword, because it's job isn't to be the best as a sword. It's not unbreaking or sharp enough to cut steel. It's an alright sword, better than most but not uniquely amazing. It's purpose is to be a sealing weapon, and it accomplishes that amazingly.
I appreciate the video game explanation. Sometimes I'm not sure about all thr focus on disjointed lore in Zelda theories. I feel this line of thought opens doors to a new kind of Zelda theory I haven't seen much or at all: how evrything in a game lines up with themes. The other thought I like is that they are all local legends of Hylians all over using their own geography but a shared set of cultural values and symbols.
I’d love it for TOTK made us recreate the legend and let us make a whole new master sword. Though that would’ve made a different plot but I could live with that
The reason is like you said. The Master Sword mirrors the hero. In BotW Link lost his memory and had to start over. The Master Sword lost its power and had to do the same. In TotK Link is corrupted and broken and the Master Sword followed suit. Link got a new arm with new powers from the Zonai and the Master Sword got a new blade with a new ability from the Zonai.
The master sword in the wind waker could actually not be the actual master sword itself but a copy of it, it’s possible that when princess zelda sended link back into the past, she sended Navi and the master sword along with him, by that it doesn’t exist in the adult timeline, also the sword breaking in Totk is just unoriginal
A fun little fact for ya since I knew this theory would be mentioned, this video was originally going to be about examining the "replica" Master Sword in the Wind Waker, but upon further inspection, visually, it seems like everything actually checks out, surprisingly enough. It looks like it's legit and not a fake. Here's why I think this: The Master Sword in Skyward Sword, before receiving the blessing of Hylia from Zelda that turns it into the True Master Sword, the triforce symbol on the blade is missing. The same thing is seen in the Wind Waker. Both blades lack the triforce engraving AND their winged guards are more reclusive in their incomplete states. What sealed the deal for me is when you obtain the fully powered True Master Sword, BOTH games literally say the title, "True Master Sword" AND both blades have a glowing triforce engraving on them! Incredible attention to detail from the Zelda team on this stuff. I do really love the idea of there being a fake Master Sword in the Adult Timeline though, lol.
@@GossipGeist there are three details you missed on the wind waker master sword first it has a blacksmiths mark on it all other master swords lack this second it has a tear drop shaped gem all other master swords have a diamond shaped gem or piece of gold third the wind waker master sword has a frog pommel enough said in conclusion the wind waker master sword is not a fake they tried to recreate it more evidence towards this is that in ocarina of time sheik tells link that the gate of time functions like a port with the master sword as the ship on a river of time which means that the master sword was lost with link
@@darkdagger5237 i suppose it does have some different looking features, the pommel is definitely a different shape but i would not call it a frog. i am not sure what you mean by "blacksmith's mark".
Hey GG, good video as always. There are two potential explanations for swords odd behavior in Wind Waker and Link to the Past. Simply put, they are new Master Swords. The history of Link to the Past establishes that the sword was created by Sages, and so it could be in the same event that lead to the hero's defeat of the downfall timeline, the Master Sword was destroyed. As such, later sages, notable a group of Hylians this time, recreated the sword with their power. As for Wind Waker, this one is more interesting. It was originally a theory of Bandit's that I've adopted, but basically, at the end of Ocarina, Zelda deleted it and the Spirit of the Hero from the Adult Timeline when sending Link back. The Triforce of Courage could also have been forfeit as a result, but fortunately, it stayed behind and shattered into the 8 pieces we see in the game. More important is that in the following years, a new Master Sword was created for the new Hero, and the Tower of the Gods was created as a means of recreating said hero. Finally, the payers of two extra sages are needed to explain the unusual function of the sword we see, turning Ganondorf to Stone. Let's talk on Discord about this more if you are interested.
Thanks Pixel! Yeah, I've been a big fan of the theory that the Master Sword in the Adult Timeline is a replica due to Zelda's actions at the end of OoT. In another comment thread under this video, I explained what my original intentions were with this video and some of the interesting stuff I found while looking into it. Pretty much, to sum it all up, the swords in Skyward Sword and the Wind Waker share a lot more in common than I thought, implying they're both still the same sword.
@@GossipGeist There might be some similarities, but the most fundamental part I feel is missing, the spirit of Fi. Hmm... I just had an idea regarding the fallen timeline now... Will need to think on it more.
your using the localized manual that version is way different from the japanese version which states that the sages searched for the master sword and found it it also I think states that the people of hyrule in some unspecified ancient era were ordered by the gods to forge a weapon to protect the triforce from evil in twilight princess they state that the master sword was forged by the ancient sages and in skyward sword link finishes forging the master sword there's also the sage medallions painted on the ceiling of the temple of hylia so with this information all three origins are true just different parts of the same story
Best explanation for anything in Zelda since it's the real answer to everything The writers have made it clear for better or worse that there really is no overall series lore, each game is made self contained without consideration for other games besides Easter eggs
It's an amazing idea having the sword shatter and need to be reforged, but without explanation it just feels random. Like they needed a reason to not have ganondorf instantly killed lol
I have a theory for why Wind Waker Link could use the Master Sword without having to be aged up. This has been my headcanon since before Fi was a thing, but her existence certainly helps. Basically, sealing the Hero of Time for 7 years so he'd be old enough WENT POORLY, it mainly just resulted in Ganondorf being unopposed for 7 years. With Skyward Sword in mind, maybe it made sense for Fi at the time to do that considering her template for what her master should be was only the Hero of the Skies. But after how badly this plan backfired in OoT, the next time Fi was faced with a similar situation, in Wind Waker, she just... decided to give it a shot. "You know what, that didn't work so great last time, might turn out even worse THIS time. Maybe the kid is not such a bad choice."
When you brought up that Malice and Gloom were likely reasons for weakening the Master Sword in those two games, the idea soon clicked on my head: Ganon/Ganondorf in those two games must have had constantly overcast their immensely powerful Veil of darkness over the entire kingdom of Hyrule that would more or less subdue the mystical holy powers of the Master Sword. This is can easily be explained when Ganondorf got released in beginning of Tears of the Kingdom, he unleashed and amplified his demonic power to make sure that the Master Sword would be ultimately crippled so much that the after-effects of his power even caused almost all other blades in the Kingdom to be decayed. Even though Link eventually got the Master Sword back from the Light Dragon in its healed and amplified state, the power of Ganondorf is still so intense that it would still cause the Sword to still be depleted after uses. And yet, the development of the powers between God and Demon got me to wonder that it's not only the Master Sword that's becoming incredible powerful when bathed in the holy powers, but also the Curse of Demon that's becoming powerful after every defeats as well as being sealed away. That must be the reason why many of villains in the games were able to break out of their prison. The growth of Master Sword throughout the whole series is basically part of mystical arm race that Hylia have engaged and enacted from the start to ensure that Curse of Demon would forever be defeated again and again.
Just like windwaker, I think the themes is a good way to explain the master sword's ever changing strength. Perhaps fi decided that botw and totk link needed to be more resourceful, and therefore limited the strength of the blade.
Hey GG, just discovered your channel and I'm liking what I hear so far. I don't know if you've covered this yet, but I have a theory I'm workshopping. I think there are three Hyrules. There's the Hyrule that started in Skyward Sword, obviously, and runs as a through-line in all the timelines but one. At the current "end" of the Adult timeline, Zelda (Tetra) and Link have gone off to found New Hyrule. But, not only have we not heard from them in forever, I'm also a believer in the combined timelines theory. I think the Hyrule we find in BotW / TotK is actually a re-colonization from New Hyrule, possibly after the massive calamity that the recent Famitsu interview mentioned. The survivors escaped to the old continent, not knowing that it was formerly Hyrule before they got there. Only after that did the Zonai show up to colonize the continent, and they quite probably named their new kingdom Hyrule as a show of partnership with the survivors of the kingdom of New Hyrule, who were there first. Then, after the events in the flashback portions of TotK, they eventually find the Triforce and the Master Sword that were previously at the bottom of the sea, and already know what they are thanks to Zelda. As always, it's just a theory; A CATCH PHRASE.
Hey, thanks for watching! I've made a two-part set of theory videos that dives into the possibility of what you just said. It's not exactly as you described, but it's pretty close! Look for Sidon in the thumbnail for part one, and Link wearing the Tunic of the Depths for part two!
@Gossip: you're a *Badass* for being able to *SAY* that without a *FEAR* of retribution... For that, I will be *GLADLY* tipping my *Zelda Cap* to you with some money in it so that you can continue to make the videos of your choosing in your *UNIQUELY WONDERFUL* way!!! ~ JonseyG 👲💖
Lmao, why thank you! I'll always be true to myself and put little jokes and stuff in my content that I enjoy, it's what keeps things fun and I wouldn't have it any other way! I very much appreciate your graciousness, Jonsey! You're 100% a Bonafide LEGEND!
@@GossipGeist Thank you very much Sir... Deku nuts, huh? I will *NEVER* be able to look at the *SCRUBS* in the *SAME* way ever again!!! Wait a minute... What do we *SPIT* out when we turn into a *SCRUB* ourselves???!! Oh, the *Humanity* !!! {Huge Laughter} ~ JonseyG 👲💖
What I always figured since first getting the Master Sword in BotW is that Fi is just plain exhausted with this cycle. That it might be time to stop following it and start find some way to end the timeless, circular curse of Demise for good. It's actually a concept I've been pretty curious about: What if even the *weapons **_themselves_* want this all to be over?
I propose a theory: when you use the Master Sword, you are borrowing Hylia's power. Hylia is a stingy Goddess and only infuses the blade with h enough of her power to accomplish the quest at hand.
I have heard a theory that suggests that the ceremony that we see in one of the memories from BOTW (the one in front of Hyrule castle, I forgot which one exactly) is actually the ceremony that's needed to give the master sword and the hero their power. But because Zelda both hadn't awakened her power at the time and also seemed to perform the ceremony incorrectly (holding a disdain towards Link and therefore being half-hearted with her words) there by causing the master sword to end up being so weak. It only regains it's true power when Zelda infuses it with her power when she's a dragon, similar to what should've happened during the ceremony.
I have a thought for the lore aspect. What if Fis power is tired to the heart of the hero? Like her power as the master sword is only as good as the hero wielding it? It would explain the various discrepancies including how Link in BOTW has broken memories and a broken line of life so her power is more limited because of that break and when Link is further "broken" by Ganondorf ie corruption attempt and loosing his arm it reflects in Fi and the Sword. She is a reflection of the hero.
Hmmmm… perhaps it’s as the great deku tree said, if not used for its intended purpose the sword will need to sleep, so in botw malice powers up the sword, giving way more durability, in TotK it powers up against gloom based enemies, and straight up unbreakable against phantom ganon and ganondorf
I like to believe that when the master sword was being fixed in botw it was being fixed by the sacred energy of the deku tree and that is maybe why the sword is weaker than usual. Also when it was fixed by the light dragon the sword has crap durability most likely becuase its useing more energy to avoid decay. Also in the ganondorf fight the sword is senseing so much gloom that energy is flowing through it like water, this explains why it is unbreakable during the ganondorf fight.
@@GossipGeist That's very *GOOD* to know because this one went way too *QUICK* and I'm sure that if you released one that would be an *HOUR* long, that probably *STILL* wouldn't be enough to *SATIATE* our hunger for your videos!!! ~ JonseyG 👲💖
The Hero of Winds never touched the Master Sword. That is a phony. The whole reason the Hero of Winds himself was not a reincarnated Spirit of the Hero is that the Hero took the Master Sword and himself back to the past, leaving this timeline bereft of both.
I know they probably felt like it would "break the game" if the Master Sword wasn't fragile, but I still think they could have done something like in BOTW when you finish Trial of the Sword instead of it just being more powerful and do more damage that it acts like the Master Sword we all know and love, or in TOTK they could have made it so that you can't get the Master Sword from dragon Zelda until the *spoiler alert* dragon battle and then it is back to it's full power and can't break. I feel like they should have leaned fully into weapon durability instead of having that and a recovering Master Sword, even if that means you don't get to use it for the majority of, or even really any of, the game. Anyways, here's to hoping that the next game respects the Master Sword more, and if they insist on weapon durability, they add the ability to fix them when they break instead of just losing them forever lol.
I belive that in wind waker the master sword needs prayers from sages to have sacred power because Fi is no longer in the sword. Let me explain: when zelda sent link to his childhood, the spirit of the hero was remove entirely from the adult timeline (he never reincarnate again in this timeline), after that happens, the triforce of courage splits in 8 and fi no longer sensing his master in the wolrd leave the sword forever, then she became the fairy queen, and I imagine that the royal family of hyrule ask to the sages for help to restore the sacred power of the blade. Good video by the way. P.S. Sorry if any of my sentences are not understood well, English is not my native language. Greetings from Argentina.
Oh your English is fine, don't worry about it! You have a pretty interesting theory regarding Fi here, I might look into it a little further. Thank you for sharing and enjoying the video!
@@GossipGeist thank you from answering me, the theory wasnt my idea. I had watch a looooooooot of zelda videos and I agree or disagree based on what I belive. I got the idea of fi being the fairy queen from a video from the spanish chanel rangugamer. In his video he talk about "toon link" being a random kid without any realtion with the spirit of the hero, using only his courage to to save his sister and after reuinite the triforce he actually becomes the hero of the adult timeline and enter in the reincarnation cycle. And in one part of the video he mentions that the master sword always have sacred power because is the hero sword, IT IS links sword, when link is "erased" from the timeline the sword lost the sacred power and then like I said before, fi without his master leaves the sword and became the fairy queen.
The lost of power by the Wind Waker's Master Sword could be attributed to the curse on Hyrule, and the layer of Goddess Water that lays on top of it. It has no connection to the sacred energy that I assume use to keep it charged. The Master Sword had to be imbued with goddess power previously in the timeline. I don't really see anything that has changed thus far.
You actually overlooked the fact that you can give the Master Sword in A Link to the Past to Mortal Blacksmiths and they use heat and Hammers to make the Blade twice as strong. This Shows that just like any other weapons the Master Sword is made of Materials that can be easily influenced by physics and chemical reactions. And Gloom had on the Master Sword the same effect as on every other material, it literally broke from Corrosion like with any usual acid. And the only metals to not being dissolved by Acid are mostly pure metals like Gold which are only rarely capable in making Chemical Bonds with other substances. And Zelda's Light basically gave the blade a new Alloy that made its material more pure to protect it from Gloom Corrosion But if you think back at tje Blacksmiths you realize that Ganondorf doesnt need Gloom to Break it, Ganondorf could simply try to shatter it with his mere strength, considering he punches so hard to Break Sonia's Spine instantly I totally can see him doing things like breaking metal appart - if the Master Sword wouldnt kill him before trying if he even touches it.
I like to think that Fi was as close to an artificial intelligence as it gets...a *growing sentient* AI that is; it gathers historical data from the chosen heroes to adapt to each specific circumstances. Hence why Wind Waker's child hero was able to wield it, and this is potentially why it decayed when BotW's hero was basically at the brink of death and the triforce itself (or its wielder) was at risk, kind of like telling him that he needed to retreat
There’s a theory that the Master Sword from Wind Waker is a fake replica due to OoT Zelda sending Link back to his childhood WITH the Master Sword causing the Adult Timeline to not just lose a Link but the Master Sword as well
Gotta say, after a late night of sleep deprivation from waiting for the midnight launch of TOTK, I laughed my ass off when I picked up the decayed Master Sword and was greeted with a depressing version of the “da da da da” jingle. 😂
I agree. Had they made the Master Sword super powerful, the whole story would've fallen apart. I do think it should've been the most powerful base weapon in the game. (If I remember correctly, there were a couple more powerful than it.) Knowing he had actually damaged the Master Sword gave Ganondorf an extra air of cockiness, I think.
Great video! Link is for sure a GigaChad! Also just wanted to point out that Fi is pronounced like you say the word high or how you would say Fi in WiFi.
There was video here on UA-cam that explained the lore reason for the master sword shattering. Ganondorfs gloom basically makes the impossible possible by breaking the divine law that governs reality. That's why gloom decayed all the metal weapons, it destroys the foundations of creation. Here is that video ua-cam.com/video/B8hgj6ETkK8/v-deo.htmlsi=m2BfwPOcQPSnQqa9
So what you mean is the next zelda will feature the ancienct hero and how and fi almost died against the calamity ganon with justifies the master sword being weak now
I think the idea of it running out of energy is just a retcon unfortunately. If they like remade OOT or ALttP and made them like BOTW theyd do the same dumb thing. It breaking in TotK is likely because of how Gloom is treated. Its specifically a substance that drains an object or persons vitality, and since the Master Sword is a living thing, it was effected. Thus in that scenario it's less that the MS is weak and more than Gloom is just way too OP.
In botw and totk the master sword should start at 60 damage, and every 5 hits decreases the damage of the sword by 1 until it reaches some low number like 5 or so, so it would still run low, but you can always use it, and have it so the player is encouraged to use other gear, but if they don’t, they could still use the master sword as a last resort when low
Dunno. I think there’s just 3-4 master swords in the world, probably 3 between the master craftsmen of the Piccori, the less so master craftsmen of the mortal races, and the sword crafted by the goddess, and that each of these at some point received a spirit. The goddess sword seems made by the goddess herself, the master sword mostly used being crafted by (presumably) the sheikah, and piccori unseen for some time.
My granddaughter is that fan theory about why it's so weak in the current games is. It is getting weaker with Time in one of the next few mainline games May involve having to fully reforge the master sword kind of like how you originally made it in skyward sword
The developers definitely wanted it to break for sure. Which just sucks. If we had to generate an in lore reason, magic is almost non existent in the now modern games. I assume The Deku Tree can only deliver so much sacred energy
I just always assumed that if a link dosent reincarnate fast enough the power in the sword starts to drain i mean like you cant expect something that powerful to not have a limit
I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone talking about that hylian statue in the depths. In the depths there's statues of each race depicting them as they were in the past, and all of then look relatively similar to their modern counterparts, except the Hylian one, which has almost like a bipedal dog look. Were Hylians once Zonai, did they evolve from them, did they interbreed? I think the reward for completing every shrine in totk is another hint towards this. I dunno. It just seems like such a big central mystery that I haven't seen anyone talk about yet.
I’m of the belief that the master sword needs maintenance, be it by prayers of the sages or reforging her to regain strength So in BotW and TotK, the rites and practices to keep up the sword in good shape are largely forgotten, and the sword is just left to repair herself, which probably weakens her if she’s constantly channeling power to stay in a usable condition. Also, supposedly in BotW’s past Link found the sword at a young age, I am 99% sure so the master sword was not of on the pedestal for a unknown period of time until Zelda took her back to Korok Forest, again left to slowly repair herself This leads to her shattering by Ganondorf and his (probably millennia long buildup of) gloom
The master sword in WW is a powerful replica that was built by sages since the og master sword was lost (if I remember correctly in the time split). Botw master sword only shows it’s true power against blights or pure “gloom” and has infinite energy im these fights. Fight calamity Gannon on master difficulty and you’ll see what I mean lol. Same goes for the final boss in Totk. It breaks at the beginning of totk because demon king Gannon is just straight up stronger then it. After it’s charged by the light dragon for 10k plus years it can clean house on even the most powerful enemy yet which is demon king Gannon. It’s not breaking in botw or totk when you use it, it’s “running out of energy” so the other 46 weapons you spent all game collecting don’t become completely obsolete. I would’ve been pissed if I unlocked 20 extra weapon slots just for them to become useless halfway through the game.
I feel like "the developers made it that way" defeats the entire premise of analysing zelda lore. we know going into it that they didnt plan this out in advanced, but we extrapolate and theorise about a connected and sometimes contradictory story that exists nonetheless. I think that's kind of a cop out to say "hey dont think too much about it" when there actually is potentially a satisfying lore answer. Fi is weakened in the Windwaker timeline either because of the absence of the soul of the hero or because of the corruption of the sacred realm (which is repaired in the other two timelines and not in windwaker) so the mastersword is weakened in that timeline, including BOTW/TOTK (lots of things suggest the recent games occur in the windwaker timeline like the presence of koroks, divine vehicles, unhealed sacred realm etc.) like it is true that the developers probably didn't intend a lot of what we speculate about but if we applied that logic to zelda lore especially it'd all be pointless
Thinking At Max Volume has released a new theory video about the Master Sword and why it BREAKS in TotK!
ua-cam.com/video/utlhSxXtKDY/v-deo.htmlsi=JVmoJvpnYUH8PQ-z
The Hero of Winds is the only Link I have seen to be able to jump as high as Mario
Keep in mind that Link nearly lost his life trying to defend Zelda in Botw. So one could argue that the Master Sword forces Link to retreat by “breaking” so that he doesn’t push himself too hard.
But Link nearly loses his life in every single Zelda game. If the Master Sword in Botw/TotK wanted Link to take it easy, wouldn't it make more sense for Fi to break her silence and say that? And doesn't breaking in the middle of life or death combat put Link in MORE danger?
This might just be optimistic thinking, but I have a feeling that the story of the Hero of the Wilds doesn't stop at TOTK. I kind of feel like the Master Sword is getting ready to undergo a metamorphoses- like Link did- to become just as strong as it used to be, if not stronger. While we might not get another sequel to BOTW and TOTK, I genuinely believe that the developers are leading to some climactic 3rd part of this story. It might be in a new game, new hyrule and father into the future, but there are just too many pieces of information that the games either reintroduce without explanation or ignore entirely. For example: the Master Sword is, as I believe it to be, a divine relic because of the Goddess Flames from Skyward Sword. I would propose that the Master Sword is somehow tied to the Triforce, more than it is tied to Link. By this point, the Triforce has been missing for millennia, with only the crests resonating. The Triforce hasn't been in danger for all that time, too. What's more, no one acknowledges- to my knowledge- that the Triforce even exists in BOTW or TOTK. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the most powerful relic created to assist those with the Spirit of the Hero to defend Hyrule, guardian land of the Triforce, to be weaker without the Triforce involved? So, if the Triforce isn't in danger, and no one knows about it, why should the Master Sword be as powerful as it needs to be? Calamity Ganon, while being a force to be reckoned with, was mindless. It was only after destruction. Ganondorf from TOTK was after the Zonai Secret Stones, and never acknowledged the Triforce. Thems be my thoughts.
Or it could be that the Master Sword’s livelihood is connected to its master’s.
@@brucesmith7481to be fair hyrules deities actually suck at planning. Keep in mind they forced a child link to remain in stasis when ganondorf took over to weild the sword, meanwhile in wind waker they didnt.
@@queilef88 There's an entire timeline where Link dies, so that's not a thing.
Fi during Wind Waker: looks at OoT's events and thinks "Yeah, let's NOT try sealing the hero away again.
that..makes sense
@@itsJoshWr/woooosh
More often than not they're making a joke about how Nintendo didn't publish an official timeline until Skyward Sword, which is the first in the series.
Hell, the "let's not try that again" punchline could work for the Golden Goddesses just as easily as Fi.
But the WW don't have a hero to begin with... because Fi send him to the future and caused a creation of another timeline 😂
@@sarenarterius6217 Technically it was Zelda that did that. Fi was just the Key to Time.
Well, the Great Deku Tree kept the Master Sword hidden and also helped it regenerate.
It breaks on trees out of pure respect for nature.
Big brain theory. Genuinely believable, lol.
Mad respect for Fi
Up until BotW, it was my understanding that the Master Sword and the Hero are linked in such a way that the sword mirrors the courageous spirit of the Hero. Because Link was mortally wounded in BotW and required the Shrine of Resurrection to heal, the sword reflected that in the form of decay. It's my theory that because Link was beaten and later revived, the physical damage to his body was repaired but not the weakening of his courageous spirit. Due to this, the MS is physically restored but not to it's full power. That's why the sword runs out of energy and needs to recharge, the soul of the Hero is weakened and yet to be fully restored. For only the 2nd time in the canonical timeline, the Hero was defeated. That event is more significant than most people realize. I don't believe it is fear that weakens the Hero, because courage is the ability to face and overcome fear to move forward. I think Link is wracked with doubt and regret, preventing both himself and the sword from achieving their full power and potential.
Then, in TotK, that doubt is redoubled when he is attacked by Ganon's gloom and nearly loses his right arm in one attack. The overwhelming thoughts of doubt that he must've experienced at that moment, I believe, is what caused the MS to shatter in the following attack. His courageous spirit had shattered. It was as if he were reliving his failure at the Blatchery Plains all over again. His initial defeat at Blatchery Plains set into motion a series of events that would physically and spiritually break him leading to the weakening and later shattering of the Master Sword.
Your theory would explain a lot about how the Master Sword works differently in every game, every Link is different from each other so if the Master Sword is linked to the Spirit of the Hero in the way you suggested then of course it would work differently in every game!
Basically the mastersword is weak because link has ptsd from calamity ganon
@@kristopher3623 Broken down into it's simplest form, yes.
Let’s also note that in the final battle in tears of the kingdom, unlike in botw, the master sword has unlimited durability and the gloom that once shattered it to pieces will now bounce off the blade like baseballs just like in the old days
@@kristopher3623 True fear is one of the most powerful emotions a person can experience. So powerful, it can cause a person to act in a way that's contrary to their true nature. For Link, the very embodiment of courage, that fear could've been enough to completely shatter his courage in that moment, leading to doubt and regret. If the sword is in fact a reflection of Link's courageous spirit, that fear would lead to the shattering of the sword. Courage cannot exist in the absence of fear. That's why Link fell in the Blatchery Plains, only to revive and face Calamity Ganon 100 years later. That's why he failed again when facing Demon King Ganon and the sword shattered.
I’ve been assuming that the lore reason was that between being so ancient and Ganon shattering the Master Sword… a simple reforging wasn’t enough to restore Phi within the Master Sword to a healthy condition, that the Master Sword itself was dying of old age and failing to heal from wounds as they once did
Or maybe Link forgot to put the batteries in and it's running on reserve power.
Your explanation just made me think of Wolverine in Logan and I can't stop laughing about it
It* or she*(feels weird since it's a blade but, Phi) zelda refers to it as either, and it spoke to her. But not they.
I like to think the in lore reason the sword tires out is that we’re coming closer and closer to the “last” game in the timeline, as in, the last game to canonically occur, where we’ll see the last link and Zelda take on Demise once he, after thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, finally breaks Fi’s will down to the point he can escape.
I think Demise already did that’s why Ganondorf transformed into the demon king right after he got possession of the sacred tear because Demises spirit is slowly fusing with the hatered that lies deep within Ganondorf he’s using him to rebuild his spirit like Ganondorf used the calamity to break the seal that Rauru placed him in
pretty fucked up of fi to kidnap young link for five years like that
💀
why didn't Fi just wait for him to come back later?
if she hadnt ganon woulda whooped him expeditiously
worth noting she seems to learn from this. now younger links are simply tasked to prove themselves as bearers instead of being trapped in the Time Void bc shes worried about him
@@aricheec7722 either she learned her lesson or toon link wasn't her type
The reason why Ganondorf was able to break the Master Sword in TOTK could be due to the sword slowly losing it's power over the years as Zelda mentioned in the true ending of BOTW, this is also supported by the fact that if you look closely to the repaired Master Sword in TOTK all the restored section of the blade presents a slightly more shiny and bright tone of blue, similar to how it looked in SS meaning that Zelda poured so much power into the Master Sword that she left it as good as new.
I think Zelda meant her power had weakened so she couldn't hear it anymore not that the master swords power had weakened as she couldn't hear it until after she unlocked her power
And it still has the same stats… WHY?!
The restored section of the Master Sword's blade looks different because Zelda repaired it with crystal from her light dragon form instead of the same type of metal.
I think there is an unexplored answer that connects all games and works thing all requirements, logic and powers the sword displayed.
Remember what the deku tree says: the swords grows stronger and recovers itself by absorbing sacred energy overtime, meaning the power of the sword is bound to fluctuate between eras and available energy.
Back in WW(wind waker) the sword was on its pedestal BUT it was also continualy holding a time seal on hyrule castle spending its energy, the lack of sages praying to the sword also eventually caught up to it not having a good intake of energy.
In SS(skwyward sword) we literally that the sword on got its bright shine and ability to repel evil AFTER zelda gives her blessing (and energy) to the sword, before that, it was the same glowless dormant form we see in WW.
Ocarina of time and a link to the past also have interesting lore points, we know that in aLttP medallions are able to enhance and expand the powers of the master sword, allowing it to change the weather, cause natural disasters and weaken enemies, and in OoT there was an unused feature of the sage medalions granting new powers to link and the master sword.
These powers granted from other beings (sages, goddeses, sacred spots with special pedestals, the owners of the medalions and other minor deities) are basically what determine the power level and and capabilities of the sword, and lets not forget Fi, she is the basically the operating system of the sword and gives it a mind of its own, she can very much control the sword to test link throughout the ages and analyze the curren crisis to see what kinds of trials she must make him face, its not like fi cant talk to others and help set up ways for link to get the sword and make it stronger she literally does that both in TotK and SS.
And this explains why the sword breaks and is more fragile, by the time of the botw era there are no sages, there are no prayers to the sword, its location is unkown, it appears and vanishes from time to time to fight calamity ganon but before wild era link finds it, the great deku tree is ultimately the only deity to be watching over it and passively bestowing it energy, its not enough to figh calamity ganon, much less ganondorf with a secret stone on top, the sword regenerates overtime and shoots beams but thats all it can do under those conditions, and its interesting how the trial of the sword also allows the sword to unlock itself further back to its best possible output of power as if the sheikah monks are basically giving their energy to the sword to enhance it and allow it to always be at its full powered state which is usually saved only against enemies it absolutely needs the most power to purify, because with the current state of the wild era, Fi cannot afford to consume more energy than that for prolonged periods of time.
This is what I believe, the sword is only powerful if you supply it sacred energy, but the sword had received no sacred energy for many centuries and this is what caused it to break
I think a mild case might be made for the Wind Waker master sword in that she had spent the past few centuries maintaining that time seal on Hyrule Castle, so it might have been weakened from that, hence needing prayers to restore her. Another theory could be that, as WW Link is hinted to just be some random kid who stepped up and NOT the Link from the usual reincarnation cycle, the sages were also needed to attune the sword to Link, but those are just theories.
I like both of those theories, though I feel like it was likely them needing to attune the sword to the unconnected link since the hero's spirit left that era. No one came to stop the ganon that lead to the flooding something that wouldn't have been needed if someone with the hero's spirit came to defeat ganon. With the two sets of sages praying to the goddess to basically keep the master sword's "edge" sharp against evil, since the triforce of courage was usually more than enough to do that for the sword but since it's been ages since a holder of said piece of the triforce been around they needed a secondary source.
well what if due to the WW link not being the original hero, it made it vulnerable to being destroyed once he was attuned to be allowed to use it and thus it lost its infinite durability at that point, and just all the wear and tear from the next 2 iterations of that timeline the master sword finally gave and broke by the time we start using it in BOTW and thats why its now breakable.
or another theory could be that the original link never actually came back to that timeline at all so the link for WW when becoming attuned to the master sword and the events of that game ended up taking his place as the link that will reincarnate with ganon and zelda, but by doing so the sword lost its condition since it wasint ever granted to that link by hylia but by the sword itself and the sages, thus with in a sense like a contract being broken, its condition dont apply anymore since it wasint made by hylia to the new link in the cycle.
Oh that is true. It’s a good theory. PERSONALLY I thought it was about being trapped in the past. Gannon is trapped in the past, the king is trapped in the past. Everyone seems to be waiting for the hero of time and the land of OOT and not what’s next, talking about Wind Waker here.
@@Abionx Those bastards voided the warranty and now we're stuck with a crappy sword we can't replace 😂
I like the time spell theory, but I feel like there's a more obvious answer that is already semi-supported in game:
The master sword *did* need the sages prayers. It's just that in TP, there were still sages alive whose prayers were likely providing the sword with power, while in windwaker we're shown they're dead (until we awaken new ones).
"Needs to be a certain age, or height..." or have a strong enough... spirit...
also thanks for the shoutout GG!
Hey, you earned it with a great video like that! Always glad to give a shoutout.
Hey, I have a question about the sages in gerudo desert botw. Doesn’t it say that there were 7 sages then a secret 8th? There are 7 in the second game if you don’t include Zelda, and one or two of the symbols on the places you put the orbs look like secret stones. Do y’all think this is a coincidence, or maybe just something we overlooked? Also, do you think that there is a reason for why in the beginning of the game we find that there is actually originally 8 stones, and since Zelda goes back in time it makes it nine? Where did the 9th one go, and might it play a role in a future game, or maybe something overlooked by Nintendo. Thanks for reading and tell me what you think.
There is a theory that the adult timeline has an imitation master sword, due to the master sword being taken back to the child timeline along with Link (There was only 1 copy of it between timelines in OOT). This would be why it can be wielded by the 12 year old hero of winds. This imitation master sword was effective, but its power decayed over time unless it was strengthened by the prayers of sages. This could be that master sword.
I know where you got that idea. It was from *Bandit* and I saw that video too. It is a great theory let's just see where it goes from here... - Worthy229 🥷🌹
Without the original divine blade, the people of Hyrule were forced to create their own Master Sword to seal away evil should it rise again.
In ALttP, the Master Sword can be upgraded to be more powerful and it's not an imitation. I think it's less likely that there's a fake sword floating around and more likely that the power of the sword waxes and wanes throughout time.
It's my understanding that the Master Sword shares a powerful connection to the spirit of the hero. If the sword is at rest for centuries or even millennia between hero's appearing to claim it, that could explain why the power of the sword is different for each hero that wields it. Also, since it's connected to the hero and each hero is different, that could explain the difference in power as well.
Add to that, that Hylia is widely considered the Goddess of Time, and it's her blessing that gives the sword it's sealing power, that's another possible explanation as to why the sword's power fluctuates. The sword is what connects Hylia to the hero.
Actually, the Master Sword was always a fragile piece of junk. The Original Sword link used was made of wood and he found it in a cave from an old man. This old man Miyamoto.
Ocarina of Time introduced the Stick which broke in 1 hit. Reggie went to Miyamoto and said, "hey this is a great idea. Let's make every Sword break I'm 1 hit"
Miyamoto loved the idea and every game after they weakened the sword more and more until the Stick was the Master Sword. They have the same damage properties after all.
BotW is just a remake of Bottom of the Well, obviously the Stick sharing properties of the Master Sword, it translates that BotW and TotK would also break.
Honestly anyone half paying attention would have noticed this.
-slides glasses up'
Nintendo Ninjas are on their way now. You just spilled some beans that were never meant to be spilled. RIP
@@GossipGeist lol
The closest thing I can think of to the master sword in BOTW and TOTK is well Anduril from LOTR that sword was also forged close to the beginning of the world and granted mysterious abilities, and remains a powerful legendary blade passed down through Elendil’s line until it does finally break in the battle with Sauron. BUT!!! It only breaks once it’s rightful master Elendil dies in the battle. And well Link did kinda fall in battle against Calamity Ganon and at that point we do also see it pretty damaged, and then by the time BOTW starts it’s kinda debatable if Link has actually fully recovered or not. So maybe just like Anduril the master sword needs to be completely reforged.
Couldn't it be presumed that in Twilight Princess, the Sages of Earth and Wind are still alive and remain as they were from their time pre-TP, the same way all the Sages are seen in that game? If Ganondorf doesn't get the chance to kill off all the Sages sans Water, then the Sages of Earth and Wind should be just fine and contributing to powering the Master Sword without it ever needing to be brought to Link's attention. The case for A Link to the Past probably deserves some more looking into it, but I did want to point the TP thing out.
My guess for a link to the past is that maybe not enough time has passed for the sword to be effected.
depends on how the sword works. Does it work where if the prayers stop, it loses its power immediately, or does it lose power over time.
If it's the former, then ignore what I'm about to say.
If it's the latter, then it's possible that not enough time has passed between the last time the maidens prayed to it and their capture in the beginning of the game to really effect the Master sword.
That amazing Christmas Story quote doesn’t go unnoticed
"It must be Italian!"
With Wind Waker's Earth and Wind Sages in mind, I think it's likely that the Master Sword was just missing a vital enchantment or enhancement.
It's also possible that the sword is tied into Link's health/vitality.
both times it broke, he was injured enough to slip into a coma or nearly die.
This could also tie in to why Link needed a certain amount of life force to pull the Master Sword again in BotW. His wounds from the battle that nearly killed him may have been imprinted in the blade, forcing him to essentially relive those wounds in order to restore his connection to it.
There is speculation that the Master Sword in Wind Waker is a facsimile of the true Master Sword, hence why it needed constant prayer to be powered up.
How would you explain the MS being upgraded in ALttP?
@@kingdaniel3519 - Yeah, I'm not sure how that works in a lore standpoint. But the Fallen Hero timeline seems to be the only time the sword is physically upgraded this way, rather than being further blessed against evil.
@@SoulOfJustice1994 That's not entirely accurate. It also gets blessed by a fairy to get the golden tempered sword.
@@kingdaniel3519 - Ah. I guess I was thinking of A Link Between Worlds where you literally find Master Ore in Lorule and have the blacksmith upgrade the Master Sword twice. First to red and then to gold.
I think it's just one of those video game contrivances that only impact gameplay but isn't part of the story. A good example of this is Kingdom Hearts. In gameplay Sora can pull off these insane moves and combos against scores of enemies both big and small. But when you watch him fight in cutscenes, he just does basic weapon swings and gets brushed aside in one or two hits. This is why the Master Sword breaks in gameplay, for the sake of balance. But in the story it's still this all powerful blade even if it does have a Gloom infested setback.
That's a good way to look at it. I remember thinking to myself during the final boss of KH2 when Sora was slicing buildings in half, "man, I can't imagine how this kid could ever lose with feats like this" and then KH3 comes around and showed me how it's done.
@@GossipGeist Then again Kingdom Hearts is the standard bearer for power resetting the main character. Next to Metroid and God of War. And now Zelda apparently.
That explanation while it makes sense, contradicts itself. When link gets the restored master sword from the light dragon, the blade supposedly has been infused with holy light for 10000 years, yet, its as fragile as it was in breath of the wild, *before* the awakening (trial of the sword)
Only that is unbreakable when going against gloom enemies.
While I understand Zelda has always been gameplay first, story second, I still think it's so unsatisfying for the Master Sword to work the way it does in TotK en BotW. It's just a 30 damage weapon in both games (being weaker than a Royal Broadsword, a fairly common weapon). It does upgrade to 60 damage in BotW with the Trial Of The Sword, but then in TotK it's back to 30 again. Sure, it can go up to 85 damage with a Lynel horn (wich is admittedly really good), but it's just so fragile.
I get that it breaks after some time, but it shouldn't break as quikly as it does. It also has this weird glitch that the first time you fuze something to it, the durability increases as it should, but once the blade has broken, it will never increase the durability again. This led me to just not using it at all because I felt like all my other weapons were better.
I think the Master Sword should remain a really good weapon, one of the best you can get, but have it so that you still have reason to use other weapons because they have some unique attributes (wich they kinda did in TotK with the modifiers like Water Warior and Improved Flurry Rush), rather than make the master sword just kinda average. I feel like they knew the Master Sword was underwhelming too, because they hide the damage value.
TLDR: despite the good reasoning, the Master Sword should still get a durability and damage buff, because it just feels underwhelming and the encouragement of using other weapons should be done by making them unique rather than making the master sword a mediocre weapon.
Can i point out that it isnt even 30 in totk? It got a 25% nerf, even though its meant to have been bathed in sacred power for 10k years.
There has been a noticable rise in the quality of your videos lately, you are easily putting out some of the most interesting Zelda content post Totk.
I'm extremely glad that you've been able to pick up on the extra effort I've been putting into my recent videos to improve the way I make them, It's very reassuring to hear this, thank you! I'll hopefully keep getting better and better at it from here onward and there's still plenty of videos about everything Zelda that I can't wait to put together!
I like to believe the Master Sword in the Windwaker required the sages prayers to stay powered up is because that timeline lost the original spirit of the hero. Link got sent back in time to grow up in the child time line so the version of the sword left behind in the adult time line either lost it's purpose and weakened as a result or the simple absence of the original hero was the cause as perhaps the sword's power is linked to the spirit of the hero in a more complicated manner that isn't simply due to the sword choosing the hero. It might be an inherit property and not so much a will of the Sword that allows it to be wielded by the hero.
Hence why it requires "assistance" from sages in the Windwaker timeline to stay powered up. Perhaps it was the power of the Hero himself that originally powered it and with his absence it requires external help like the sages to make it work like it used to.
As for it's weakness in the Breath of the Wild era...well that's simple. The sword is simply ancient now. 10,000 years have passed and it appears the march of time is finallly taken it's toll on the sword. If Tears of the Kingdom is anything to go by, even 10k years ago it seems the era the sword was born to was already considered myth and legend by that time so it's even older then that by then! Long enough to have been forgotten about by the then of Zonai and Hyrule royalty that refounded Hyrule. They seemed unaware of the the Sword or it's power until Zelda did a little time travel shananigins to let them know.
In my mind, the Master Sword always had to recharge and be repaired from time to time. We just never see it in game until BotW.
One thing to notice is that the hero of the winds is Formally trained His teacher was a former swords master.
Unlike Hero of The Time Never had any formal training when he was Kid. But The hero of the winds Was already trained
When we look at the master's sword.. Every time it regains a fraction of its Power he seems to struggle..But Thanks to the journey Of gradually giving the master a sword stronger.The hero of the winds was gradually getting Stronger.
In terms of combat who is stronger the hero of the winds or Hero of Time Link when he was aged to 16/17?
Based The Three Outcomes Ocarnia of time Link Beat Ganondorf with 66% Chance of Victory. And the timeline were linked lost Ganondorf Defeated and Murdered Link and He Took His and Zelda triforce.. And he became the Demon king For the first time but this time enhanced with the whole triforce.
In Wind waker..Link By himself stood in no chance And even with Tetra s help It was a struggle , it was only because Of The Hyrule King Wish Is what gave link and Tetra Plot Armor To defeat Ganondorf.
As a result windwaker link is more powerful than Kid Ocirina of time Link and Slightly weaker then Teen Orcarina of time Link..
While Wind waker link is Worthy of The Master Sword he Stand No Chance against Ganondorf with Aid.
Even The hero of time Fought Ganon..Ganon Was simply restrained and far too powerful to be Killed.. The only thing the hero of time accomplished was weakening Ganon enough to Be Sealed away By Zelda and The Sages
I do like it when the games have you "upgrade" the Master Sword to keep it relevant. "Link to the Past" had you "Temper" the sword [Red Form] and even allowed for further upgrading [Gold Form] by having the fat Great Fairy empower it further. This is something I though would have been really nice to have in BotW or TotK. TotK does a "Lore" upgrade to fix the sword, but mechanically it is no more powerful than it was in the previous game.
I Love The Little Jokes Here And There Lol
Great Video Man
Thank you! I hope you had a good time, lol.
Imagine making a game mechanic that breaks the master sword only for players to ignore it entirely because they want to fight Ganondorf with a stick…
Its dangerous to go alone. Use the stick. Just a plain wooden stick plus attack buff food.
They had the opportunity to make a similar story with the sages and the sages of WW, beating the 4 dungeons restore the true power of the master sword
@Gossip: I think the other message says it all, but I just wanted to say *THANK YOU* for making such a *WONDERFUL* video!!!
~ JonseyG 👲💖🤜🤛
Broo ! That editing ! It’s superb, really well done ! Amazing video! 😮
Thank you very much Simon! I had a great time making this one, so I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Writing head-canon at this point, but in BotW Link pushes the blade to its absolute limits 100 years before. Arguably, this much use in such a short amount of time could explain the weakness of the blade when you receive it in the present day. It explains why Ganondorf is able to destroy the blade so easily too.
The part that irritated me was that according to TotK the Master Sword needs to bathe in sacred light to store power, and that is why the sword was fixed in BotW's present. If that's the case, during the events of TotK the Master Sword bathes in sacred light for 10,000 years, so why does it break just as quickly as when it had 100 years? When I first played the game, I thought that the sword was going to be unbreakable, and only the fused item would break. I was so disappointed when it shattered.
The part of TotK that made me happy though is that they made it so the Master Sword is completely unbreakable during the final boss fight, it made it so much cooler to be taking on the ultimate evil with the unfused Sword of Evil's Bane
TBH, being indestructible in the final fight is probably what they meant.
First try against Ganondorf, it breaks.
Second try, the Master Sword wont break while fighting Ganondorf.
@@chaos4654 Yeah probably. It's also important to remember that it has been localised and may not match the developers original intent
Mabey canonically the master sword just works the same as it did in the final battel and doesn't break but it just has to when you play the game because it wouldn't work with the durability system
I believe its just wear and tear. Human bodies can heal, same with the master sword, but over time our ability to heal is reduced due to age.
Its probably just the same thing. If you ask a 20 year old person to do physical labor, they will probably get more done than a 70 year old.
I don't think the Master Sword was meant to be all-powerful or unbreakable. In ALttP, it can be strengthened twice. In OoT, it is outclassed by Biggoron's Sword. In TWW, we see it after it has lost its power. Its importance lies mostly in its power to repel evil and to create seals against demons.
I like that idea. It's not the best as a sword, because it's job isn't to be the best as a sword. It's not unbreaking or sharp enough to cut steel. It's an alright sword, better than most but not uniquely amazing.
It's purpose is to be a sealing weapon, and it accomplishes that amazingly.
I appreciate the video game explanation. Sometimes I'm not sure about all thr focus on disjointed lore in Zelda theories. I feel this line of thought opens doors to a new kind of Zelda theory I haven't seen much or at all: how evrything in a game lines up with themes.
The other thought I like is that they are all local legends of Hylians all over using their own geography but a shared set of cultural values and symbols.
I’d love it for TOTK made us recreate the legend and let us make a whole new master sword. Though that would’ve made a different plot but I could live with that
Man the editing here is top notch, so smooth and professional!
Thank you!
The reason is like you said. The Master Sword mirrors the hero. In BotW Link lost his memory and had to start over. The Master Sword lost its power and had to do the same. In TotK Link is corrupted and broken and the Master Sword followed suit. Link got a new arm with new powers from the Zonai and the Master Sword got a new blade with a new ability from the Zonai.
The master sword in the wind waker could actually not be the actual master sword itself but a copy of it, it’s possible that when princess zelda sended link back into the past, she sended Navi and the master sword along with him, by that it doesn’t exist in the adult timeline, also the sword breaking in Totk is just unoriginal
A fun little fact for ya since I knew this theory would be mentioned, this video was originally going to be about examining the "replica" Master Sword in the Wind Waker, but upon further inspection, visually, it seems like everything actually checks out, surprisingly enough.
It looks like it's legit and not a fake.
Here's why I think this:
The Master Sword in Skyward Sword, before receiving the blessing of Hylia from Zelda that turns it into the True Master Sword, the triforce symbol on the blade is missing. The same thing is seen in the Wind Waker. Both blades lack the triforce engraving AND their winged guards are more reclusive in their incomplete states. What sealed the deal for me is when you obtain the fully powered True Master Sword, BOTH games literally say the title, "True Master Sword" AND both blades have a glowing triforce engraving on them!
Incredible attention to detail from the Zelda team on this stuff. I do really love the idea of there being a fake Master Sword in the Adult Timeline though, lol.
@@GossipGeist there are three details you missed on the wind waker master sword first it has a blacksmiths mark on it all other master swords lack this second it has a tear drop shaped gem all other master swords have a diamond shaped gem or piece of gold third the wind waker master sword has a frog pommel enough said
in conclusion the wind waker master sword is not a fake they tried to recreate it more evidence towards this is that in ocarina of time sheik tells link that the gate of time functions like a port with the master sword as the ship on a river of time which means that the master sword was lost with link
@@darkdagger5237 i suppose it does have some different looking features, the pommel is definitely a different shape but i would not call it a frog. i am not sure what you mean by "blacksmith's mark".
@@elio7610 its the mark on the hand guard blacksmiths would mark their creations their mark to show that they made it
Hey GG, good video as always.
There are two potential explanations for swords odd behavior in Wind Waker and Link to the Past.
Simply put, they are new Master Swords. The history of Link to the Past establishes that the sword was created by Sages, and so it could be in the same event that lead to the hero's defeat of the downfall timeline, the Master Sword was destroyed. As such, later sages, notable a group of Hylians this time, recreated the sword with their power.
As for Wind Waker, this one is more interesting. It was originally a theory of Bandit's that I've adopted, but basically, at the end of Ocarina, Zelda deleted it and the Spirit of the Hero from the Adult Timeline when sending Link back. The Triforce of Courage could also have been forfeit as a result, but fortunately, it stayed behind and shattered into the 8 pieces we see in the game. More important is that in the following years, a new Master Sword was created for the new Hero, and the Tower of the Gods was created as a means of recreating said hero. Finally, the payers of two extra sages are needed to explain the unusual function of the sword we see, turning Ganondorf to Stone.
Let's talk on Discord about this more if you are interested.
Thanks Pixel! Yeah, I've been a big fan of the theory that the Master Sword in the Adult Timeline is a replica due to Zelda's actions at the end of OoT. In another comment thread under this video, I explained what my original intentions were with this video and some of the interesting stuff I found while looking into it. Pretty much, to sum it all up, the swords in Skyward Sword and the Wind Waker share a lot more in common than I thought, implying they're both still the same sword.
@@GossipGeist There might be some similarities, but the most fundamental part I feel is missing, the spirit of Fi.
Hmm... I just had an idea regarding the fallen timeline now... Will need to think on it more.
your using the localized manual that version is way different from the japanese version which states that the sages searched for the master sword and found it it also I think states that the people of hyrule in some unspecified ancient era were ordered by the gods to forge a weapon to protect the triforce from evil
in twilight princess they state that the master sword was forged by the ancient sages and in skyward sword link finishes forging the master sword there's also the sage medallions painted on the ceiling of the temple of hylia so with this information all three origins are true just different parts of the same story
Gossip dropping da video
The master sword can still become insanely strong in totk, against Ganon or Phantom Ganon, it deals 60 damage and is unbreakable
Best explanation for anything in Zelda since it's the real answer to everything
The writers have made it clear for better or worse that there really is no overall series lore, each game is made self contained without consideration for other games besides Easter eggs
It's an amazing idea having the sword shatter and need to be reforged, but without explanation it just feels random.
Like they needed a reason to not have ganondorf instantly killed lol
I have a theory for why Wind Waker Link could use the Master Sword without having to be aged up. This has been my headcanon since before Fi was a thing, but her existence certainly helps.
Basically, sealing the Hero of Time for 7 years so he'd be old enough WENT POORLY, it mainly just resulted in Ganondorf being unopposed for 7 years. With Skyward Sword in mind, maybe it made sense for Fi at the time to do that considering her template for what her master should be was only the Hero of the Skies. But after how badly this plan backfired in OoT, the next time Fi was faced with a similar situation, in Wind Waker, she just... decided to give it a shot. "You know what, that didn't work so great last time, might turn out even worse THIS time. Maybe the kid is not such a bad choice."
I loved the Ocarina of Time puns lol
When you brought up that Malice and Gloom were likely reasons for weakening the Master Sword in those two games, the idea soon clicked on my head:
Ganon/Ganondorf in those two games must have had constantly overcast their immensely powerful Veil of darkness over the entire kingdom of Hyrule that would more or less subdue the mystical holy powers of the Master Sword. This is can easily be explained when Ganondorf got released in beginning of Tears of the Kingdom, he unleashed and amplified his demonic power to make sure that the Master Sword would be ultimately crippled so much that the after-effects of his power even caused almost all other blades in the Kingdom to be decayed. Even though Link eventually got the Master Sword back from the Light Dragon in its healed and amplified state, the power of Ganondorf is still so intense that it would still cause the Sword to still be depleted after uses.
And yet, the development of the powers between God and Demon got me to wonder that it's not only the Master Sword that's becoming incredible powerful when bathed in the holy powers, but also the Curse of Demon that's becoming powerful after every defeats as well as being sealed away. That must be the reason why many of villains in the games were able to break out of their prison. The growth of Master Sword throughout the whole series is basically part of mystical arm race that Hylia have engaged and enacted from the start to ensure that Curse of Demon would forever be defeated again and again.
Just like windwaker, I think the themes is a good way to explain the master sword's ever changing strength. Perhaps fi decided that botw and totk link needed to be more resourceful, and therefore limited the strength of the blade.
the theory that i have been waiting for since 2017❤
Hey GG, just discovered your channel and I'm liking what I hear so far. I don't know if you've covered this yet, but I have a theory I'm workshopping. I think there are three Hyrules.
There's the Hyrule that started in Skyward Sword, obviously, and runs as a through-line in all the timelines but one. At the current "end" of the Adult timeline, Zelda (Tetra) and Link have gone off to found New Hyrule.
But, not only have we not heard from them in forever, I'm also a believer in the combined timelines theory. I think the Hyrule we find in BotW / TotK is actually a re-colonization from New Hyrule, possibly after the massive calamity that the recent Famitsu interview mentioned. The survivors escaped to the old continent, not knowing that it was formerly Hyrule before they got there. Only after that did the Zonai show up to colonize the continent, and they quite probably named their new kingdom Hyrule as a show of partnership with the survivors of the kingdom of New Hyrule, who were there first. Then, after the events in the flashback portions of TotK, they eventually find the Triforce and the Master Sword that were previously at the bottom of the sea, and already know what they are thanks to Zelda.
As always, it's just a theory; A CATCH PHRASE.
Hey, thanks for watching! I've made a two-part set of theory videos that dives into the possibility of what you just said. It's not exactly as you described, but it's pretty close! Look for Sidon in the thumbnail for part one, and Link wearing the Tunic of the Depths for part two!
The frequent illiteration in this video was great
That Fallout 3 reference was unexpected but utterly perfect, lol
I like to believe after link proved himself to the gods they told Fi to suck it up and let him use the sword
@Gossip: you're a *Badass* for being able to *SAY* that without a *FEAR* of retribution... For that, I will be *GLADLY* tipping my *Zelda Cap* to you with some money in it so that you can continue to make the videos of your choosing in your *UNIQUELY WONDERFUL* way!!! ~ JonseyG 👲💖
Lmao, why thank you! I'll always be true to myself and put little jokes and stuff in my content that I enjoy, it's what keeps things fun and I wouldn't have it any other way! I very much appreciate your graciousness, Jonsey! You're 100% a Bonafide LEGEND!
@@GossipGeist Thank you very much Sir... Deku nuts, huh? I will *NEVER* be able to look at the *SCRUBS* in the *SAME* way ever again!!! Wait a minute... What do we *SPIT* out when we turn into a *SCRUB* ourselves???!! Oh, the *Humanity* !!! {Huge Laughter} ~ JonseyG 👲💖
@@EchosOfWhiterun_5555DocOfStyleI can't believe that you just wrote that!!!
- Viscen 🥷🌹
What I always figured since first getting the Master Sword in BotW is that Fi is just plain exhausted with this cycle. That it might be time to stop following it and start find some way to end the timeless, circular curse of Demise for good. It's actually a concept I've been pretty curious about: What if even the *weapons **_themselves_* want this all to be over?
I propose a theory: when you use the Master Sword, you are borrowing Hylia's power.
Hylia is a stingy Goddess and only infuses the blade with h enough of her power to accomplish the quest at hand.
I have heard a theory that suggests that the ceremony that we see in one of the memories from BOTW (the one in front of Hyrule castle, I forgot which one exactly) is actually the ceremony that's needed to give the master sword and the hero their power. But because Zelda both hadn't awakened her power at the time and also seemed to perform the ceremony incorrectly (holding a disdain towards Link and therefore being half-hearted with her words) there by causing the master sword to end up being so weak. It only regains it's true power when Zelda infuses it with her power when she's a dragon, similar to what should've happened during the ceremony.
I have a thought for the lore aspect. What if Fis power is tired to the heart of the hero? Like her power as the master sword is only as good as the hero wielding it? It would explain the various discrepancies including how Link in BOTW has broken memories and a broken line of life so her power is more limited because of that break and when Link is further "broken" by Ganondorf ie corruption attempt and loosing his arm it reflects in Fi and the Sword. She is a reflection of the hero.
Hmmmm… perhaps it’s as the great deku tree said, if not used for its intended purpose the sword will need to sleep, so in botw malice powers up the sword, giving way more durability, in TotK it powers up against gloom based enemies, and straight up unbreakable against phantom ganon and ganondorf
I like to believe that when the master sword was being fixed in botw it was being fixed by the sacred energy of the deku tree and that is maybe why the sword is weaker than usual. Also when it was fixed by the light dragon the sword has crap durability most likely becuase its useing more energy to avoid decay. Also in the ganondorf fight the sword is senseing so much gloom that energy is flowing through it like water, this explains why it is unbreakable during the ganondorf fight.
When’s the next full vid?
Oh it's cooking.
@@GossipGeist That's very *GOOD* to know because this one went way too *QUICK* and I'm sure that if you released one that would be an *HOUR* long, that probably *STILL* wouldn't be enough to *SATIATE* our hunger for your videos!!! ~ JonseyG 👲💖
The Hero of Winds never touched the Master Sword. That is a phony. The whole reason the Hero of Winds himself was not a reincarnated Spirit of the Hero is that the Hero took the Master Sword and himself back to the past, leaving this timeline bereft of both.
I wish Nintendo would fix the sword.
Real!
I know they probably felt like it would "break the game" if the Master Sword wasn't fragile, but I still think they could have done something like in BOTW when you finish Trial of the Sword instead of it just being more powerful and do more damage that it acts like the Master Sword we all know and love, or in TOTK they could have made it so that you can't get the Master Sword from dragon Zelda until the *spoiler alert* dragon battle and then it is back to it's full power and can't break. I feel like they should have leaned fully into weapon durability instead of having that and a recovering Master Sword, even if that means you don't get to use it for the majority of, or even really any of, the game. Anyways, here's to hoping that the next game respects the Master Sword more, and if they insist on weapon durability, they add the ability to fix them when they break instead of just losing them forever lol.
I belive that in wind waker the master sword needs prayers from sages to have sacred power because Fi is no longer in the sword. Let me explain: when zelda sent link to his childhood, the spirit of the hero was remove entirely from the adult timeline (he never reincarnate again in this timeline), after that happens, the triforce of courage splits in 8 and fi no longer sensing his master in the wolrd leave the sword forever, then she became the fairy queen, and I imagine that the royal family of hyrule ask to the sages for help to restore the sacred power of the blade.
Good video by the way.
P.S. Sorry if any of my sentences are not understood well, English is not my native language. Greetings from Argentina.
Oh your English is fine, don't worry about it! You have a pretty interesting theory regarding Fi here, I might look into it a little further. Thank you for sharing and enjoying the video!
@@GossipGeist thank you from answering me, the theory wasnt my idea. I had watch a looooooooot of zelda videos and I agree or disagree based on what I belive. I got the idea of fi being the fairy queen from a video from the spanish chanel rangugamer. In his video he talk about "toon link" being a random kid without any realtion with the spirit of the hero, using only his courage to to save his sister and after reuinite the triforce he actually becomes the hero of the adult timeline and enter in the reincarnation cycle. And in one part of the video he mentions that the master sword always have sacred power because is the hero sword, IT IS links sword, when link is "erased" from the timeline the sword lost the sacred power and then like I said before, fi without his master leaves the sword and became the fairy queen.
The lost of power by the Wind Waker's Master Sword could be attributed to the curse on Hyrule, and the layer of Goddess Water that lays on top of it. It has no connection to the sacred energy that I assume use to keep it charged. The Master Sword had to be imbued with goddess power previously in the timeline. I don't really see anything that has changed thus far.
You actually overlooked the fact that you can give the Master Sword in A Link to the Past to Mortal Blacksmiths and they use heat and Hammers to make the Blade twice as strong.
This Shows that just like any other weapons the Master Sword is made of Materials that can be easily influenced by physics and chemical reactions. And Gloom had on the Master Sword the same effect as on every other material, it literally broke from Corrosion like with any usual acid.
And the only metals to not being dissolved by Acid are mostly pure metals like Gold which are only rarely capable in making Chemical Bonds with other substances.
And Zelda's Light basically gave the blade a new Alloy that made its material more pure to protect it from Gloom Corrosion
But if you think back at tje Blacksmiths you realize that Ganondorf doesnt need Gloom to Break it, Ganondorf could simply try to shatter it with his mere strength, considering he punches so hard to Break Sonia's Spine instantly I totally can see him doing things like breaking metal appart - if the Master Sword wouldnt kill him before trying if he even touches it.
Nintendo didn’t care, it broke because it looked cool that’s all
I like to think that Fi was as close to an artificial intelligence as it gets...a *growing sentient* AI that is; it gathers historical data from the chosen heroes to adapt to each specific circumstances.
Hence why Wind Waker's child hero was able to wield it, and this is potentially why it decayed when BotW's hero was basically at the brink of death and the triforce itself (or its wielder) was at risk, kind of like telling him that he needed to retreat
There’s a theory that the Master Sword from Wind Waker is a fake replica due to OoT Zelda sending Link back to his childhood WITH the Master Sword causing the Adult Timeline to not just lose a Link but the Master Sword as well
Gameplay looks so clean!
Gotta say, after a late night of sleep deprivation from waiting for the midnight launch of TOTK, I laughed my ass off when I picked up the decayed Master Sword and was greeted with a depressing version of the “da da da da” jingle. 😂
I agree. Had they made the Master Sword super powerful, the whole story would've fallen apart. I do think it should've been the most powerful base weapon in the game. (If I remember correctly, there were a couple more powerful than it.) Knowing he had actually damaged the Master Sword gave Ganondorf an extra air of cockiness, I think.
the real answer is: they just started over a new storyline and the old games are now only references for their new lore.
Perhaps. I wouldn't even be against this. All they gotta do is just come out and say it and I'll be head over heels.
Great video! Link is for sure a GigaChad! Also just wanted to point out that Fi is pronounced like you say the word high or how you would say Fi in WiFi.
There was video here on UA-cam that explained the lore reason for the master sword shattering. Ganondorfs gloom basically makes the impossible possible by breaking the divine law that governs reality. That's why gloom decayed all the metal weapons, it destroys the foundations of creation.
Here is that video
ua-cam.com/video/B8hgj6ETkK8/v-deo.htmlsi=m2BfwPOcQPSnQqa9
So what you mean is the next zelda will feature the ancienct hero and how and fi almost died against the calamity ganon with justifies the master sword being weak now
I think the idea of it running out of energy is just a retcon unfortunately. If they like remade OOT or ALttP and made them like BOTW theyd do the same dumb thing. It breaking in TotK is likely because of how Gloom is treated. Its specifically a substance that drains an object or persons vitality, and since the Master Sword is a living thing, it was effected. Thus in that scenario it's less that the MS is weak and more than Gloom is just way too OP.
In botw and totk the master sword should start at 60 damage, and every 5 hits decreases the damage of the sword by 1 until it reaches some low number like 5 or so, so it would still run low, but you can always use it, and have it so the player is encouraged to use other gear, but if they don’t, they could still use the master sword as a last resort when low
Dunno. I think there’s just 3-4 master swords in the world, probably 3 between the master craftsmen of the Piccori, the less so master craftsmen of the mortal races, and the sword crafted by the goddess, and that each of these at some point received a spirit. The goddess sword seems made by the goddess herself, the master sword mostly used being crafted by (presumably) the sheikah, and piccori unseen for some time.
Link to the past and Link between worlds, you need to upgrade it twice to get it to full power.
And you need the 3 medallions to pull it.
My granddaughter is that fan theory about why it's so weak in the current games is. It is getting weaker with Time in one of the next few mainline games May involve having to fully reforge the master sword kind of like how you originally made it in skyward sword
Likely because it is an evil destroying sword as in ie if there is no evil being destroyed by it, it will slowly run out of energy.
The developers definitely wanted it to break for sure. Which just sucks.
If we had to generate an in lore reason, magic is almost non existent in the now modern games. I assume The Deku Tree can only deliver so much sacred energy
I just always assumed that if a link dosent reincarnate fast enough the power in the sword starts to drain i mean like you cant expect something that powerful to not have a limit
The hero of Winds is able to jump like 8 meters with his own strength alone, a feat no other Link has been able to replicate
Great video. Subbed and will watch more.
Awesome, thank you!
This theory should just be canon
I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone talking about that hylian statue in the depths. In the depths there's statues of each race depicting them as they were in the past, and all of then look relatively similar to their modern counterparts, except the Hylian one, which has almost like a bipedal dog look. Were Hylians once Zonai, did they evolve from them, did they interbreed? I think the reward for completing every shrine in totk is another hint towards this. I dunno. It just seems like such a big central mystery that I haven't seen anyone talk about yet.
It runs out of energy when used repeatedly and needs to recharge to regain said energy.
Wonder if we’ll ever see the upgraded versions of the master sword again?
5:00 - No *seen* Prayers needed.
I’m of the belief that the master sword needs maintenance, be it by prayers of the sages or reforging her to regain strength
So in BotW and TotK, the rites and practices to keep up the sword in good shape are largely forgotten, and the sword is just left to repair herself, which probably weakens her if she’s constantly channeling power to stay in a usable condition.
Also, supposedly in BotW’s past Link found the sword at a young age, I am 99% sure so the master sword was not of on the pedestal for a unknown period of time until Zelda took her back to Korok Forest, again left to slowly repair herself
This leads to her shattering by Ganondorf and his (probably millennia long buildup of) gloom
The master sword in WW is a powerful replica that was built by sages since the og master sword was lost (if I remember correctly in the time split). Botw master sword only shows it’s true power against blights or pure “gloom” and has infinite energy im these fights. Fight calamity Gannon on master difficulty and you’ll see what I mean lol. Same goes for the final boss in Totk. It breaks at the beginning of totk because demon king Gannon is just straight up stronger then it. After it’s charged by the light dragon for 10k plus years it can clean house on even the most powerful enemy yet which is demon king Gannon. It’s not breaking in botw or totk when you use it, it’s “running out of energy” so the other 46 weapons you spent all game collecting don’t become completely obsolete. I would’ve been pissed if I unlocked 20 extra weapon slots just for them to become useless halfway through the game.
4:24 he’s actually 16 the games graphics just make him look a lot younger
I feel like "the developers made it that way" defeats the entire premise of analysing zelda lore.
we know going into it that they didnt plan this out in advanced, but we extrapolate and theorise about a connected and sometimes contradictory story that exists nonetheless. I think that's kind of a cop out to say "hey dont think too much about it" when there actually is potentially a satisfying lore answer.
Fi is weakened in the Windwaker timeline either because of the absence of the soul of the hero or because of the corruption of the sacred realm (which is repaired in the other two timelines and not in windwaker) so the mastersword is weakened in that timeline, including BOTW/TOTK (lots of things suggest the recent games occur in the windwaker timeline like the presence of koroks, divine vehicles, unhealed sacred realm etc.)
like it is true that the developers probably didn't intend a lot of what we speculate about but if we applied that logic to zelda lore especially it'd all be pointless
Excellent video
Thank you Florian! Glad to hear you enjoyed it, you're the man!
Gamepoint stand wise it's also the developers don't want us cheesing the game with its op power