Check out Wily's part of the collab here! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sLaInduozs-9gmg.html DON'T FORGET, ENTER THE LINK'S AWAKENING GIVEAWAY! (Ends Jan 31st, you still have time!!!!) t.co/5xR9lnaa4S?amp=1

*talks about characters that are fan favorites* *immediately cuts to Ghirahim absolutely boogie-ing around Zelda's unconscious body*

My man ends his sentences with commas

I really like the theory that Dark Link is a manifestation of the Hero's resentment towards Ganondorf, or emotional stress and turmoil that he might go through during his adventures. It really gives Link more personality and character to him, further fleshing him out.

I nearly lost it when the Spongebob reference was brought up. :D I immediately thought of it when I heard the word "Evil". Thank you, NBC.

Dr. Wily’s voice scared me. I wasn’t expecting this

8:25 Oh, that's freaky when his eyes turn red and he becomes more aggressive. Good stuff, Haha.

I honestly prefer Vortex's theory that Dark Link is Link's emotional damage rising to the surface for him to overcome.

I hope Dark Link returns in a later installment with some level of true sentience, it'd be nice to fight alongside him at some point, given he's forever in the shadow of the hero.

"Their actions speak a lot louder than words" *ghirahim boogying * Me: ahh...yes I see....

In the 22 Years of OoT, I NEVER knew that Link's reflection stopped at the tree. That is awesome!!

The manga gave Shadow Link a character arc.

Sheik says “Listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself.” That last part “Reflect upon yourself” made me suspicious that perhaps Sheik knew about the Dark Link fight and was giving Link a hint about the illusionary room. 🤔 Because when Navi just gives Link the advice of “Conquer yourself” he is, by fighting Dark Link, concurring the darkness within himself. Aka, reflecting upon himself. Also since before you even walk over the small island in the middle Link has a reflection, but once you do pass over the island his reflection is gone and he literally has to fight his own reflection. Do you understand what I’m getting at?

Dr.Wily... I understand you're trying. Just relax and be conversational, your audience appreciates your authenticity. Embrace that, sorry for the harsh words earlier.

HOLD ON A MINUTE! I can't be the only one that noticed how throughout all of the main Breath of the Wild trailers there was a major theme around the line "open your eyes". And now the first thing that we see in it's much darker squeal's trailer is Ganondorf, the (assumed) main antagonist of the game, opening his eyes towards our heroes Link and Zelda. Huh. Great parallel Nintendo!

Adventure of Link : Link's Shadow, a creation of the King of Hyrule and the finale challenge of the Great Palace, since the one who will retrieve the Triforce of Courage is expected to be King, he will have to be able to defeat itself. It is quite literally our Peter Pan-like Shadow. A Link to the Past GBA : Those Dark Links are not Evil per say, as seen by the Fat Fairy, the Pyramid was not quite a creation of Ganon and existed before him invading the Sacred Realm as a thief, before it became the Dark World. *"Actually, only true heroes can enter this palace.* *Actually, this palace is here precisely for heroes like you."* - Gatekeeper They are the Shadows of each of the four heroes created by the Four Sword's powers. It was waiting for a Hero to appear. Link's Awakening Switch : It seems to be an aspect of the Shadow Nightmare taking our form, it exists within an artificial dungeon tho, it's not even clear how we even enters it, they are just stone slabs. Ocarina of Time : The Dark Link of the Room of illusions, it starts as our reflection getting astray, at first it's not evil as long as we are not hostile against it, being hostile against your reflection is falling into self hatred, into your own Darkness. Staring into it on the other side might also cause it to gain more and more Darkness, looking deep within yourself. It's a reflection acting as a sponge to our own Darkness, the darkness of our heart. I don't think Ganon had anything to do with it, it was a trial of the Water Temple. I think the world we fight Demise and the Sacred Realm are the same thing, they are a mirror to our heart. This illusionary place acted as the same. Oracle of Ages : Veran is the Priestess of Darkness in the Japanese, she can assumes the form of a Dark Soul and possess the bodies of people. She used those pillars with eye symbol to produce those Dark Links, they are not sentient and copy Link, they are heartless so not really evil per say but made of Darkness. Four Swords Adventures : Created by the Evil in Ganon's heart with the Dark Mirror that was used to contain the Dark Tribe. They may be the remnants of Dark Tribe members trying to take form again in the world. Ganon gave them the shape of the Hero so to trick him. Twilight Princess : They are symbolic representations of the Interlopers who were consumed by their greed, controlled by their gigantic powers, they fell into their own Darkness in a way. Spirit Tracks : This "black Link" is the shadow of the Link of Phantom Hourglass, the TakeEmAll minigame seems to be set within an illusionary realm. The origin of these are uncertain ... might just be memories. A Link Between Worlds : Those are the Shadows of heroes from other realities, beyond Hyrule and Lorule. They are the reflections of those Heroes that we fight in yet another illusionary realm. Gramps might be involved with their creations and some theorize he might be an old Hero himself. Tri Force Heroes : The final guardians of the Den of Trials, made of the same cursing energy as the monsters fought previously. They were meant to oppose the Tri Force Heroes we are, a trial for the ultimate Outfit. They assume a similar role to ALTTP's ones. Breath of The Wild : "Shadows in mind" "monster born from Darkness" It seems that Kilton's research on monster led him to somehow see the same Dark Link as OOT's which should only exist in the Hero of Time's heart and mind, perhaps it somehow persisted in the Darkness...

What’s with the reporter style narration? Dude sounds like Trisha Takanawa from Family guy

If my memory serves in the manga of four swords adventure Shadow Link had his own personality and decided to help the heroes at the end

For the record "Yami no Shinden" can just as easily translate to Shadow Temple correctly. This is because the word 'yami' translates to dark or shadow, and depending on context or sentence usage can even have other translations such as 'opaque' as in impossible to see through, or shady (literally or figuratively). Japanese is a context-sensitive language.

Very intriguing. I've never stood still in the water temple to see Dark Link stand still, or faced him long enough to see him turn solid with red eyes. That makes it even creepier.

Really interesting theory!! I never really looked too far into the origins of his character, but you guys explained it perfectly!! Amazing job, as always!! 😄

I went to the comments after I heard Wily's voice. Damn guys, some of you go all in. The voice was irritating at first, yes. I propably won't watch much of his channel, yes. But give the guy a break lmao. It seems like that's just how he talks like he said here multiple times. It's kinda heartbreaking seeing all of the replies from him on some really harsh comments. Wily, keep doing what you're doing. It seems like you've got a following and that's awesome!

You should read the four swords manga, Shadow Link plays a large part in it and you get to find out a lot more about the character and his origins. He even sees character development throughout the story, it's also a good read and I would strongly recommend everyone to read all of the Zelda manga, they're actually amazing and really expand on the story.

Shadow / Dark Link... A dark magic duplicate clone of Link of the Hero. All ready to battle and challenge the hero.

I think of dark link being an embodiment of fear and hatred that is burried deep within link. I think of the dark link fights like the cave scene in the empire strikes back, where luke "kills" vader, only to see his face under the mask, because his greatest fear is tirning to the dark side.

Dark/Shadow Link is one of my favorite antagonists

There is still something to say about spirit tracks dark link ! He has his ph apparence, use of objects and music who seemed to indicate that you were facing a past version of yourself that you overcome !

I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos NBC. Thank you for expanding my knowledge on the greatest video game franchise ever.

I wish I could watch Dr.Wily’s videos. But I can’t. The cadence of his voice is just... too much. (Sorry for being a hater. I hate me too)

I wouldn't dismiss Spirit Tracks as a minigame, it might seem so, yes, but that lady has connections with some powerful forces. She has actual portals leading to some other realm, which suspiciously look like the Dark Realm. I think she's Malladus's (or Ganon's) minion or at least worked for him and wanted to send Link to his death. 7:05 Dark Link doesn't come from Ganondorf's magic imo. The mentioned characters said Ganon's curse caused the ice. He only placed Morpha there, but the room of illusions wasn't his doing. I think that the room was an inbuilt mechanic of the temple, used to test who came in, and the Dark Link was a shadow entity of the entering person, here Link. As you've noticed he doesn't attack you unless you attack him. If he was Ganondorf's creation, he would've attacked Link right away without letting you film him :P so he served as a test to conquer yourself, the same way it was done in AoL, in my eyes. Ganondorf's curse might've caused him to become more hostile, hence why he attacks after waiting for way too long, who knows, but he wasn't so from the start. So overall I think it's a shadow of the hero under dark influence :) 7:35 You made it sound as if the sages used Demise's power to seal off the sacred realm. Well yeah, the magic seems similar, but it doesn't need to mean it has the same source. It could be just a representation of how magic looks like in Hyrule. Good video nonetheless :)

I'm sure that Dark Link has many origins and is not a singular character though. It is always depicted as being manifested by someone or something else, except in the interloper scene. We know that Zant calls the Fused Shadow their "old magic" and we know that the interlopers created it, therefore making the Twili the Interlopers and formerly Hylian themselves. As such, Dark Link's appearance in that scene is nothing but symbolic of a person succumbing to their darkest impulses just as the Twili did. That said, I've felt that Ganondorf is now played out and the series needs a new major villain to take over - Dark Link would be an ideal choice. They could then make this 'character' more than just a metaphor and plot device.

"Once you make it past the tree, your reflection suddenly dissapears". Damn! Never noticed that xD

I never knew dark Link got more opaque and then got red eyes if you did nothing! I was always confused as to where the image of the black red-eyed dark Link came from because before now I had only seen the translucent eyeless version, but now it finally makes sense!

My god I cannot stand when this guy is featured in videos. That voice makes it so hard to focus. @.@

"Shadow Link's Dark origin" (Meanwhile in an alternate dimension) "Dark Link's Shadow origin"

I love how they establish these dark characters from previously established characters and new ones. I hope they explore how demise got his sword ghirihim. Maybe the gods created many goddesses in many universes maybe they knew about demise’s curse and created many versions of hyrule to see who can defeat his evil.

1:41 Nooooo! Not that guy with the accent ...

I love you nintendo black crisis! Thanks for working with me ;)

This guys constant frying is infuriating

It's also possible that the illusory room in Ocarina of Time was part of the temple itself, which is why Navi says "conquer yourself", like it's part of the rituals. When that dark link turns opaque, that's the curse taking control of it, rather than it having been created by the curse in the first place.

I like to think that dark link has a awareness of self and probably views link as someone who is doing bad even if what link is really doing is good. He probably sees everything in an opposite view.

I never noticed the reflection disappears when you pass the tree.

whO iN thE helL iS thaT seconD voicE

This is why I love theorizing Zelda lore just asking one question leads down a massive rabbit hole

I've always considered OoT's Dark Link as some sort of trial created by the zoras themselves. I mean, there are a lot of clues. The symbolism of the temple is cleansing, water as a purifier. Also, the room in which you fight him is a literal reflection: two identical doors, the water reflecting the white -roof- and of course, a reflection of yourself. Finally, Navi's description of Dark Link is not alarming, she only tells us to conquer ourselves instead of pointing danger or freaking out because of the shadow, the description is vague enough to make me think that maybe she already knew about it. Oh, and the shadow getting more and more opaque as the fight goes on may be related to what you said about Ganondorf's influence within the temple, maybe the trial wasn't meant to be perilous. It's one of my favorite locations in the Zelda universe so yeah, I've put a lot of thought to what that room means.

Wow. I didn't know all that about dark link in the water temple. I always thought he was aggressive but he was only reacting to what I was doing! Mind blown. I also didn't know that about his health or that he grows darker and get red eyes. Is that in the original release or was that added to the 3ds version? Great video. I'm a huge fan so while I enjoy your videos i wouldn't say i learn much about zelda lore but i definitely learned something today.

Always loved Shadow Link. Was the best Mini Boss in my opinion! Edit: Spelling

oh hell yeah i've been waiting for this theory

You pumped out a video and a live stream in the span of one day What a madlad

This episode was Dark! Well done! ;) Also HI Spongeb- oh boy.

Hey NintendoBlackCrisis! Can you do a theory on who said “Help us, please” in the trailer to botw 2?

Ahh the spooky yet satasfying sound of the twilight realm in the background that sounds like the start up sound of a certain console

God, what's with that guy's cadence? It's almost as bad as the Burger King foot lettuce guy.

4:54 I think that in that obstacle it is for whoever is worthy to get the triforce of courage they need to fight the dark side of themselves. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The featured guy sounds like he's commentating a horse race. You gotta relaaaaaaaaaax bro.

The twilight realm music was the perfect backdrop to the topic of Dark Link

The bad thing about the dark Links created by Veran, the sorceress of shadow, they can't attack, they just copy you but in opposite direction.

I can’t watch this now since I’m baking cookie

I noticed something you know ganondorfs head piece and calaminty ganons head has the same head piece I don’t know if it’s a coincidence they both have a circle center with lines going to it

The way they explain the battle of dark link in ocarina of time reminds me of the episode in infinity train called the chrome car

I've never played four swords however I have read the manga and tbh Shadow Link is amazing! Idk how accurate the manga is to the game but he's super amazing :)

VIDEO IDEA: If this has already been covered, I apologize. I know you’ve talked many times about the possibility of time travel in BOTW2 in your videos. But what if, the Hero and Princess we see on the tapestry from 10,000 years ago are our current Link and Zelda but they just haven’t gone back in time yet. I know this isn’t how time travel worked with the timeline split, but you never know with these guys.

to me in ocrina of time dark link was supposed to be a trial for the hero, since water is often associated with spirituality, calm mind etc... when dark link appear the hero isn't supposed to fight it, but do nothing, "accept" it, like you have to accept yourself in real life, after a while of doing nothing the reflection of the hero would dissapear and the hero would be rewarded, but with ganondorf's curse, instead of dissapearing the reflection become more and more evil, until it stop mimicking the hero but attacking on it's own

I love how interactive the zelda yt is

I know it isn't canon, but I like the take on Shadow Link in the Four Swords manga, with full sentience and personal motivations

Sounds like Dr Willy has been working to improve his voice, it's less singy and less nasal. Great! I hope he keeps improving it.

Hey Dr Wily, I don’t mind your voice at all, I find your cadence interesting ❤️

The antagonist of Mega Man helping a fan of Zelda? Boy, I’m in for a wild ride.

Thank you for this vid soo much

I would’ve enjoyed this video more but that wily dude.. geez

I appreciate that spongebob reference 😂

Personally in ocarina of time I think shadow link isn’t evil, but the temple testing link to see if he’s worthy, to see if he can as Navi states “face himself” and come out victorious

Every Villain Is Lemons

tip for the "annoying voice" guy i recommend trying a regular voice, like when you're talking to family or friends instead of trying to convince someone to buy your anti-acne cream lol

Link is based on Peter Pan. Remember Peter Pan had a mischievous shadow.

I continue to want to take the Dark Links and weave them into a coherent story where they are either the character himself, or a product of his actions, spawned from the Hero of Twilight showing the scary side of the Triforce of Courage as he bends his will towards finding a way to get to the woman he loves.

I know y’all don’t like wily’s voice but you don’t have to comment about it. Most people doesn’t go to someone and say “I hate your voice” Wily, your voice is beautiful.

When ur so early that nobody disliked the vid (I didn’t dislike I liked)

Yes great video on the origins

I always thought shadow/dark link are the embodiments of the fear that each link has. It is a literally face your demons to become the hero situation with it fighting the most fearful or most headed to be tested, most notably the hero of time who was terrified of a lot of things of which one was the fact that he was hurled forward in time.

We neeeeed a Dark Link game.

Everyone who's saying Dr Wily's voice is annoying needs to shut up, his voice is perfectly fine and he's a really great theorist in the Zelda community

You are blessed to be able to play Four Swords Adventures with 4 players,i have never in my life seen that *bows before you*

I literally thought that link looses his evil slowly throughout his adventures but it doesn't simply vanish into nothingness, Ganondorf takes it, shapes it and empowers it! Alternatively Dark Link comes from a timeline where Link has Joined Ganondorf, this is unlikely due to how easily he gets defeated and how little he matters.

Honestly, i had to click off at 2 minutes in. I just couldnt with that "voice". Its not his voice exactly, but how he talks and drags out words. Kinda bummed since i was looking forward to this video, that i now cannot watch.

I haaaate the voice of the other guy damnnnnn

i dont know if anyone has ever come up with this but links attire is based on peter pan and peter pan also had his struggles with his own shadow

I like how the book variant of 4 swords paints dark link as a being who simply wants to exist without ties to the dark mirror (the mirror gets shattered at some point in the book and causes dark link to die)

I don't wanna be an hater. But to be completely honest, Wily's voice is absolutely unbearable to me. Pls don't do vids with him anymore or atleast indicate in the title of the video that he voiced parts of the content. Thanks.

Why do people hate Dr. Wily? he's really cool.

This is yet another great video

Fun thought, what if you used something like the Dark Mirror on some one who was already blatantly dark or evil? Would they have a weak clone as the source would retain it's own darkness/evil , a source of strong clones to do their dirty work reflecting a strong source, or would it invert the good/evil and create a light/good clone?

Leave Dr Wily alone, his accent isn't even that bad.

Imagine having a day too day conversation with Dr. Wily? I don't think you'd make it to the end of the day before you rip your ears off. Sorry. Let me rephrase that. "I dooon't thiiiiiIIIIInk you'd maaaaake iiiiiit to theeeee ennnnnnd ooooof thhheeee daaaay befoooooee you riiiip your eaaaaaaarrrrrrrsssssss offffffff.

This is very interesting. The Zelda universe has many puzzling mysteries.

wily's words speak louder than his actions

Oh my god Dr. Wily’s voice was like a jackhammer at my eardrums!😖

This starts to make sense. I wonder if Tingle had anything to do with Dark Link? Also can you unban me *please*? I have been waiting for awhile

The vocal fry is strong with this one

Ok video thats been in my watch later for months