A few people have noticed my blunder in the BOTW section. I definitely thought I'd said 2014 but clearly my brain had turned to mush by that time in the editing process! Such a silly boi.

Twilight Princess Link There's no way to be objective here, but I'll try to be as unbiased as possible. The added details and changes to the design were not only there to look cool, but every single one served a practical purpose, which is one of the huge goals for character design. Things like the little lacing on his hat to keep it in place, and his bandoleer dropping the weird tank-tread look and getting some padding where it's needed. The guard on only his sword arm isn't just there for some cool asymmetry, but it actually makes sense that it would be there, and only on that arm. Best of all, Link finally has visible armor under his tunic, which is the most practical thing ever, and adds some nice layering and color to the design. The tunic's collar is gone because it would just get in the way, and instead, the tunic is cut beautifully down the neck to resemble a medieval tabard, also a practical solution for something worn over armor. Combine all that with the earthy, yet striking color palette, the retention of every single element that makes Link's appearance iconic, some pretty tooling in the leather pieces and embroidery around the edges of his tunic befitting of a hero's garb, and POUCHES, and you have by far the best Link design.

Twilight Princess Link is my favorite, personally.

When I look at Twilight Princess Link, I think to myself, "Oh yeah, that's a hero." A tall and lean young man with chiseled features and a confident face that tells you not to mess with this guy. Second is definitely Breath of the Wild for all the same reasons. While I do love his redesign and thought it was a smart idea, I just still prefer the iconic green hat and tunic design. Plus, that chainmail TP Link has just emphasizes that this guy is ready for a fight. The thing that bothered me about adult Oot Link and some of the others was that their clothes, while still iconic and cool, seemed very flimsy and unfit for a dangerous adventure.

My favorite link design is actually how he appeared in mario kart 8. It hits every note, the chain mail from twighlight, the colors from skyward, toon links expressiveness, and the stature of adult link. He truly is the quintessential link and he just looks so great in that game

Twilight Princess Link is the coolest in my opinion, what a badass... I hope they bring back the dark and realistic style of twilight princess in the next game

10:14 Apparently Breath of The Wild was teased in 2004 . . . ILLUMINATI CONFIRMED

uh but do the older links shave their legs with the master sword? those legs are SMOOTH

My favorite design for Link is Twilight Princess Link

Everyone knows lonk is the best link

I understand the criticisms of Skyward Sword link, but I'm personally a big fan of his design. I'm not quite sure what it is about him that is so appealing to me, but I see why he isn't as appealing to others. He does look MUCH better in his art though, I will admit.

I think Link's best design has something to do with what you want from said design. Do you want an actual depiction of an adventurer ready for anything? Then TP design is the best, with the studded tunic, chain mail and metallic arm guards. Do you want a fun and cute design? WW does it best, but so does it Capcom's design on the Oracle games. You want an elf boy that looks like a magical creature that saves princesses and uses magic for his adventures? NES TLoZ Link has it the best. Do you want a heroic looking man that really gives off an aura of readiness to step up to evil? Both OoT and BoTW do the job fantastically. I think choosing a single overall best design is not only difficult, but it always comes down to opinion.

All incorrect, we all know the best is CDI and the cartoon show.

To me, Twilight Princess Link is the quintessential Link

Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword Links are my favorite designs

Twilight Princess may not had been my first Zelda (A Link to the Past was) but it was the first I fell in love with and for that reason it has shaped some of the things I look for in a Zelda game; Suffice to say, the darker, more realistic-- yet at the same time still stylised-- look of that game's Link is my bread and butter.

I love the Twilight Princess look because of all the little details and very grounded, earthy colours. Stuff like the chainmail, pouches and the guard on his arm. I'm always a fan of character designs that add all those little things that just make sense for the character! I think my idea design would be the Twilight Princess look with colouring similar to that of the Skyward Sword (offical art or in game) colouring. I also love the Link to the Past design and whenever I do fan art of it I always do an alternate version with pink hair as well as his "offical" design 😅

Honestly, Skyward Link is my favorite design right next to BoTW then WW. Its an unpopular opinion, I know but I liked how he looked. With his slightly baggy clothing, he looked a bit childish in contrast to the fierce expression he surprisingly makes in some points of the game and suddenly he's a badass though I have to agree Nintendo could have done better with his model but hey, silver linings. If Nintendo were to to a remake of SS, I hope they can make the fish lips less pronounced.

"A lot of people would say Mario. If not, link would be next in line..." *pika-pika intensifies*

Honestly, I think TP Link is probably my favorite overall. I’m too attached to the green hat and tunic to be terribly fond of the BOTW design personally, I dig the chain mail, and SS link’s pants are too poofy for me.

I think my favorite designs are Toon Link and BotW Link. Is it bias because Wind Waker was my first Zelda game and Breath of the Wild is my favorite one? Is it because both of them are the most expressive in the series and that this reflects on how I feel towards their respective designs? Is it because both of them are fresh takes to the old Link design formula in some fashion? Is it because I love sky blue?

Quite literally the best Link design is Hyrule Warriors Link. That scarf and color palette look amazing

Gonna have to go with toon link just because it feels like he has the most emotion in his facial features.

Is it cause he’s green?!

my favorite design will always be the Hero of Time hands down he's link I like BOTW and TP but hands down my favorite is OOT

Kept expecting it to be mentioned how Link was based off Peter Pan, but it never came! Anyway, a cool detail with BotW Link are his sleeve things with the red and blue lines. It's similar to what Ganondorf wore in OoT, making me wonder if it's a Gerudo pattern. If so, it reflects how much Hyrule has changed and how all the races interact and trade more and such, to the point where the hero just casually wears Gerudo fabric as part of his outfit

Zelda (like Sonic and Pokemon) has always had great character designs through various artstyles to me but if I had to pick a design for Link, I'd go with the Twilight Princess one

Adult Oot Link is the best in my opinion. He looks so classic and adventurous. 1. OoT 2. TP 3. SS 4. WW 5. Botw ( both champion tunic and his green tunic suck) Breath of the would is an awesome game but I never caught the classic adventurous feeling for some reason, especially since they introduced technology to the game. It didn't feel so much like a Zelda game.

Wind waker is definitely my all-time favorite Zelda game

Can't take my nostalgia glasses off. Adult Link from Oot will always look the coolest to me. Even Botw's rendition of it is amazing

Windwaker on the switch would be the easiest buy of my life

Too much Nintendo, not enough Phillips. Unsubbed

I’m actually torn between three designs: Twilight Princess link, breath of the wild link and toon link. Toon link has the best facial animations overall, but something just feels off, and I think it’s just mainly the shield and the belt. Breath of the wild link really does show off the fact that’s it’s 10,000 years after the main events of the other games. The other games have become legends, and the green tunic is a myth of the past. This link is well-balanced and his pleasing blue is a great change. He’s a great design and there’s very little wrong with him. Twilight princess link might be my favourite design, but I don’t know. He has the best classic green tunic, the greatest shading and just looks great overall. I think it’s just mainly some of the few animations that are a little odd. One or two of the sword swings and some of the fish catching animations are weird, but he still just feels great. The cool way he puts his sword away and his great smiles in certain cutscenes really does get me. This is actually a well-made video! Keep it up!

Weirdly, my favorite Link design is Zelda 64 Beta 1997 design, it's like a great mix of Classic and the finalized look in OoT.

I'd definitely watch a video on the handheld designs of Link! Link from ALBW is probably my all time favorite design of Link and it'd be super interesting to see you analyze it.

I think nothing will ever top young link in oot for me. just because it was my first zelda game and its so classic

Also you skipped over the Hyrule Warriors Link, but that isn't a mainline Zelda game so I understand why. However his design is different enough from other Links that I thought it was worth mentioning. Perhaps you could do a video on Link designs outside of mainline games (Spin-Offs, the terrible CD-I Games, Cartoons, etc.)? Sort of like what you did with the Sonic video?

I actually liked the skyward sword art design, because it made the game look alot more colorful, unlike its previous installment in which link was darker and more mature looking, dont get me wrong I love the twilight princess look alot, its actually my favorite look out of all of them, next to breath of the wild

I personally like OOT and MM Link's design the most.

I like the Ocarina of time link, but I'm biased. As everyone has pointed out, each design was done to reflect the world around it, making it more organic. Would be weird to have twilight link in wind waker. But at the end, it just points out to which link represents YOU the best, childhood memories and all. They all represent the essence "Link" at the end of the day, it's not like one of those is literally "Duke nukem" or out of character. I would like to point out the disagreement on the Skyward Sword art style, it's gorgeous! The world itself reflects amazingly the idea of discovering a forgotten but new land, the genesis of Hyrule. Granted, link look different in key aspects but it reflects a teenager soul, the idea of discovering new experiences. I may be looking too much into it, but SS link is the most expressive one, it broke my heart when I saw him almost cry for Zelda.

How dare you dis my boi hero of the sky

I grew up with OoT on my old N64 and have played every LoZ released up to BOTW. I have loved every Link design they came out with each new game because it all presented a fresh take on the representation of Link. However, I also did grow up with superheroes/comics, anime/manga, etc. and I've always geared toward the more serious, "true" heroic look. And design-wise TP Link takes it for me. TP Link just looks like he's built for battle and the guy you can trust to win. Of course there's other reasoning of why but that'd be too long of a comment.

Best Pokemon Trainer Designs? I know they're all different characters, but it would be an interesting video! And you got a new subscriber!

Best Samus design maybe?

5:49, " the remakes of ocarina of time and majoras mask on the 3ds both look fantastic and are much easier on the eyes" of course, that is assuming you turn off 3d

My personal favourite link designs have always been Toon Link and the Classic look for Link

I actually liked his orange pants in skward sword

link’s always had a softer, kinder personality in the games he DOES have characterization in (loyal grandson and brother in wind waker, soft-hearted farmboy in twilight princess, etc.), so his androgynous appearance in BOTW feels like a really good direction to go with his design, and I hope future designs keep that element. i always felt offput by Ocarina’s adult link, and i think it’s because the art bulks him up... a lot. uncomfortably so. even though TP link’s design was edgy and dark, he was still an average-framed person with softer features. ocarina link’s buff build, despite his brighter outfit, is just plain uncomfortable. idk where i was going with this but yeah

As much as I hate to admit this, but OOT design is the most memorable, simply because it was the first time everyone saw link in 3D, so by default makes it the best character design. I personally don't have any favorite, I like all of them in link's case, cuz each design is a representation of its own, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, it may be only me but BOTW design doesn't click, there is something missing, like I said it may just be me.

Skyward Sword hands down, though it would be cool if his tunic were a bit brighter and more vibrant in-game.

I still can't get over the fact that Link is five-foot-four.

I agree, I love the design of Link from the latest installation and the art style is absolutely beautiful.

You hit the nail on the head with Breath of the Wild and Wind Waker for me also i did enjoy twilight princess on the wii :) thoes 3 are my favourate.

I know you probably won't do another character from the same franchise so soon, but could you eventually get around to doing Ganondorf? That character has quite a bit of controversy on which is technically the best design.

I’ve gotta say, The Windwaker is my favorite art style

LOVED this video! I think a design video on Zelda would be very interesting, as she’s had even more visual changes than Link and has had different roles across the series.

This was a very well-made video! A lot of good points were made, cheers to you mate for such quality content! As for what I believe to be the best Link design, I'd have to go with Twilight Princess. Now, the first Zelda game I EVER played was Ocarina Of Time (which I still play even to this day, despite finishing it a plethora of times). OoT has a special place in my heart and childhood memories. When I think of Zelda, I think of Ocarina of Time. Seeing Link become an adult was just so insanely cool to me, and going from being a brave child to a kick-ass adult who can actually hold the Hylian Shield (teehee), was just super fun to me. It gave me a different type of gameplay from what I experienced in the original Smash 64 game (which was the first time I even knew Link became an adult). I'll always love Ocarina of time, as well as the design choices for both young and adult Link, but here's why I prefer Twilight Princess: When I was I think 7 or 8 years old, I would frequent a game/movie rental place called "Family Video" that was just down the street from me. One day I saw there was a Zelda game: "Twilight Princess" it read. Link looked much more detailed in the cover art, and that to me seemed really frickin' cool. In-game, it just feels fun to play as this character with this design. He has this outfit that just screams "ADVENTURE" to me. And, as I said previously, Adult Link was always a kick-ass character idea to me, and being that way from the get-go in a 3D Zelda game was soooo cool to me. He looks like my definitive version of Link. When I saw his Twilight design in SSBB, I was filled with excitement. I couldn't wait to see what the next version of Link would look like (aside from Toon Link, who I'm perfectly okay with -- it's a refreshing design!). But then... we got Skyward Sword. Now, I'm not going to judge it gameplay-wise, because I've never played it. I've heard nothing but bad things about it, but I suppose I should save my bias towards not playing it until I give it a go for myself. However, I always hated the design for Link in that game. And it made me appreciate the Twilight version more. This was a staple in the franchise where, in my opinion, Link looked his very best. As for Breath of The Wild, that comes close, but the Champion's Tunic was so strange to me and very different -- which is great and all, I don't mind it, but Link to me will always be the hero clad in green, ready to kick ass at any given moment. And that's why I think Twilight Princess Link is the best design and personally my favorite! :)

Excellent as always mate and I expect nothing less from you! Wish my production values were as high quality as yours! Keep up the great work!

Although Breath of the wild Link is really cool I also like Toon Link the most. He is the most expressive Link in my opinion and I also like the simple design.

I dont like the champion's tunic too much. Design-wise it's fine, but it just doesnt represent the rest of the series and I find it a little disheartening that it is becoming the image of the series (just look at skyrim and smash bros). I'm probably alone on that, but I cant shake the feeling of betrayal.

Kinda annoyed that it seemed like he didn't count the handhelds. I know he said it at the beginning, but considering they're some of the most iconic games in the series, they should've been given a running with the others. Games like Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, and the Oracle games definitely should've been considered.

Twilight Princess link is by far the sexiest link!

Such an underrated channel! I love this channel

What a great new type of Zelda video. This was refreshing as I had start to run out of viewing Zelda theory videos and had begun to ask how many more until they've been exhausted. This is a fantastic topic to discuss. I fought really hard to give an answer without clear bias of first being introduced to the series with OoT however I believe it is important to weigh this bias as your true feeling comes from the first game or picture you encountered as a child/teen/adult. Without much analysis, my intuition goes with Child Link in OoT as my all time favorite, granted there are many close seconds. I'll only leave it at that. Thanks again for the video and time and effort you put into it. I hope videos such as these never cease to end.

Ugh, *CDI link* is the best...

Twilight princess is best adult link. Wind Waker best toon link, and A link between worlds best 2d Link

Great video man, really well put together and reasoned out. And thanks for having me on too! 😀

I've never played it but Twilight Princess Link is definitely my favorite. I remember growing up and seeing glimpses of it and hearing about the game and I always thought it was so cool as a kid. I played other Zelda games like Link's Awakening and Minish Cap, but Twilight Princess just seemed like the "big kid's" game to me and it was almost mystical. Like the dark big boy Zelda game where you could swing the sword with the remote in real life that you'd hear about in passing from your older brother's friends. I'm looking forward to playing the game eventually but I never got a Wii or Wii U so we'll see lol. Hopefully it comes to switch or something, I'd rather not have to emulate it. I'm familiar with the criticisms of the game at this point but it would be fun to try to play it from the perspective of young me. So yeah, the Link from that game is tied with those feelings of awe as a child so I like it. Nice and cool/grown up looking. He also just feels like the definitive Link to me, the natural progression of the character design from a more objective stand point as well if you ask me. And like other people have said, it was the most practical. Like look at that chain mail. TP Link is built up from all the previous designs, and BOTW Link is a fresh take on the concept. And toon Link is the perfect simplistic version. So those are my three favorite Links in order: TP, BOTW, WW

You will not convince me any Link looks better than Toon Link, with Hero of the Wild Link being second.

I think Breath of the Wild Link is good, but his tunic should’ve been green and he should’ve had a hat. Or at the very least, just have a green tunic and no hat. My favorite color is green, so I’m a little biased in that sense. Twilight Princess Link is my favorite, it’s the most iconic one now, and Nintendo still uses the design today. Wind Waker was my first Zelda game, but it was almost Twilight Princess that was my first. I prefer the more realistic aesthetic in Twilight Princess, and I hope we get another game with that style, maybe even more realistic.

Skyward Sword for me, he showed so much emotion and the amazing narrative made great use of his ability to emote.

I'd definitely like to see a handheld edition of this! Any time I get to see people talking about the Oracle games is a good time for me

My favorite designs are the Oracle of Ages/Seasons games and the Twilight Princess games. I was introduced to Twilight Princess as my first Zelda game and it was always better than OOT

Man now i almost feel bad that my favorite is skyward sword

Hmm, one other thing... As a Zelda fan game maker, I have seen Link to the Past's palettes. They are a complete mess. I can completely believe that LttP Link's pink hair is a reflection of poor palette management. LttP was a launch title, and thus was both rushed and improvised. Nintendo had not yet figured out how to efficiently ration the much larger palettes at their disposal, and as such, much of the color diversity was squandered. Later SNES games like Chrono Trigger used the same hardware to MUCH greater effect, even in cases when they were bound to the same color depth limitations.

Considering the year each game came out, I'd say that they're honestly all incredible. Personal favourites would be child Link from MM (5:25) and BOTW Link (13:36) Toon Link is definitely great, it just falls in a category of Zeldas that I don't enjoy, along with Skyward Sword (being very linear and quite goofy/cartoony overall)

I’d love to see a new wind waker sequel or even remake on the switch it could look absolutely breathtaking

Love it!

DUDE! YOUR CHANNEL IS AMAZING! The quality is amazing and editing is so professional. You deserve wayyyyy more subs than you have. Keepi up the good work!

Honestly, besides Breath of the Wild, Windwaker Link is the only one that has aged really well. A Link to the Past has aged fine, too, but the others? Oof. The artwork is consistently decent, though. Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess Links have the best official art despite me not caring for their in game models at all.

This is just my opinion, and have nothing against others opinions. I was vary disappointed with the blue tunic in BotW. It didn't feel like a tunic, but more like a t-shirt. So the first thing i had to do, was finish every shrine, in order to get the true green Tunic of the Wild. But even with the green tunic, the design wasn't what i hoped for. The sleeves were way too short and the leggings felt like really short underwear.. So i changed to OoT's style. TP's design had like a "pale empty ghostly" feel, whether it was the ingame clothes, or the box art skin, i wasn't a big fan of it. Toon Link's tunic feels way too simple, but Link himself looks great. My favorite Link style is OoT/MM Link, I just really like his simple style, and that his sideburns aren't too long, but most importantly, because they're the games that stuck with me to this day, and to me, his voice actor is the best. And SS Link coming as a close second, because he has lots of colors that worked well together. White undershirt, a light brown hazelnut pants, vibrant green tunic, brown blue cutoff gauntlets. To me, Link doesn't feel (isn't) like the hero, if he doesn't have the classic, green hero's tunic. And btw, the Switch t-shirt dlc, really takes away from the immersion imo. So i'll never open that chest. Edit: My favorite shields are: #1: OoT's later mirror shield. Not the original. Because the later version's more about the game, than anything else. #2: OoT's hylian shield #3: WW's mirror shiled. Honorable mention: the Goddess Shield from SS.

I know it wasn’t in the video but my personal favorite is Hyrule Warriors Link, though in the main line I’d have to go with Twilight Princess

13 year old me didn't really like the design in Wind Waker, but I'm 16 now, and I've really grown to like the style, even having my own secondary art style referencing it.

Great video, you really deserve more subscribers

10:14 holy crap botw was in development for 13 years? damn

Lonk, hands down!

Twilight Proncess is my favourite. Probably because that is the first Zelda game I ever really played. I played OOT and WW after that. + I generally like darker tones and mature artsyles over lighter tones, so yeah. But Toon Link from Wind Waker is simply the best, after almost 20 years still rockin' his look. That is an amazing achievement.

My favorite has always been Twilight Princess, because the small details give off the aura of an adventurer: the gauntlets, the small stitches, and the chainmail among many.

So I am giving my opinion, but I hope it's everything but a personal opinion. So nintendo likes to makes link as an dynamic identity right? So as there are different types of shading and Link experiences different storylines I think he deserves a definite style for how we see Link *even* if the styles are different. So how do we describe Link? As link is the courageous one (compared to the other 2, wisdom and power), I think the style should also be indifferent from other Link characters. What if we set link apart from character and only look at the color (and form) scheme? I would say that the green and brown clothing and beige/ocher hair relates to naturalistic bright simplicity. Like a *good* (green/good) natural optimist So to summarize Link as a corageous natural optimist and looking at the list at 11:44, I would say the grown-up OoT Link and Skyward Sword Link, would be very close to it. They both look corageous, teenage-like and classic. Why I choose 2, is because you can see the diversity in art-style that also shows the mind-sets of the zelda producers. They need to be paid and they also need to bee honored. Nintendo, I hope the Zelda franchise is going to promote the switch even though the creativity as a storyline top is already reached. If there are going to be different zelda titles (that kinda fits the 4 timelines). Therefor I'd like to predict Link would get a different hat or gets a turquoise tonic or something based on a storyline. Link characters that are based on the storyline are ones from The minish cap and Breath of the wild. I think it would be really wild to give Link a turquoise tunic, but also logical since the original cloth in BotW is blue.

I agree with your opinion, for me the best art styles are or Wind Waker or Breath of the Wild, but I think maybe BotW's better. Maybe is not as iconic as the Toon Aesthetic of WW, but in my opinion is the best amalgamy of the Zelda art styles. It haves realistic art style similar to OoT or TP, with the Cell Shaded scheme that make it look gorgeous as Wind Waker's. Also, in my opinion, Link with the Champion Tunic is my favorite Link design.

The blue clothes from BOTW surprised me at first but it eventually became my favorite design

saw you on reddit, keep it up bro, i subbed

Great choices too, I would definitely agree. I have such a fondness for Ocarina Link simply because it was the first I’d ever played, but I’ve spent so much more time with WW and BOTW Link and a lot of that is to do with how appealing the designs are.

Best Kirby design? While small changes were made, I think they make a difference. And since all characters are simplistic, you can go over Kirby, Metsknight, and Dedede (prob the biggest offender)

Toon link was the first version of link I was introduced to in 2008 as a 5 year old, and I fell for the design INSTANTLY... especially with how it had this traditional ancient design

Oracle of Seasons/Ages Link was always my favorite design for the character, personally.

Lonk is where it's at

I'm the last subscriber who can say I watched before you even hit 1k lol. This is great stuff, keep it up!

Growing up with my first Zelda game, A Link to the Past, I always found the official game guide gorgeous, and to me, Katsuya Terada's promotional art for that game will always be the "definitive" art style for the game. Too bad more people aren't familiar with it, because it ties the art design of ALttP to the later 3D styles, though I think it's the most visually striking depiction of the character/world.

I didn't notice Link's tunic changed color to blue before because it looked so natural to me, it really went well with his blue eyes, and I think the first time we see this tunic was in flashback with Zelda(?) that also wore blue, and it got in my brain that if Zelda was good on blue, Link was too