Hero's Spirit
The Hero's Spirit,[2] also known as the Hero's Shade,[4] is a recurring character in The Legend of Zelda series. The Hero's Spirit is a skeletal specter who can assume the form of the White Wolf.
Biography
Twilight Princess
The Hero's Spirit is the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, filled with regrets from being unable to pass on the "lessons of his life to those who came after him" after he was sent back in time to his childhood. He also lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a hero.[1] In order to ease his regrets and finally pass on his knowledge, he teaches the seven Hidden Skills to his descendant, the Link from Twilight Princess.[5] In Hyrule, he appears as the White Wolf, who can be summoned by finding a Howling Stone, with the exception of the first time he is encountered, in which he appears to Link directly. Once a Howling Stone is found, the song has to be howled along with the Spirit. He then tells Link to take "sword in hand" and find him,[6] implying that Link should return to human form before searching for the Wolf. The White Wolf will then appear on Link's Map indicating his current location. When Link confronts the Wolf, it leaps through Link, transporting him into another world.[7] The Wolf then transforms into a ghostly knight, the Hero's Spirit, who then teaches Link one of the seven Hidden Skills.
The Hero's Spirit is mostly transparent save for his armor, which appears to be filled with a ghostly pale blue apparition, rather than flesh, with a seemingly decaying body and mostly skeletal face. He carries a rusting sword and shield and wears armor, which is covered with leaves in sections. He carries a scabbard belted to his waist. Similarly to his White Wolf form, his left eye glows red while his right eye is missing.
Other Appearances
My Nintendo Picross: Twilight Princess
The thirty-fifth puzzle in the Picross series and the twenty-sixth puzzle in the Mega Picross series depict the Hero's Spirit.
Trivia
- The Encyclopedia classifies the Hero's Spirit as a Stalfos, making him one of the few non-hostile examples in the series.[2] He is also unusual in that he is both a Stalfos and a noncorporeal spirit, similar to King Igos du Ikana and his Lackeys after they are destroyed, and in that he is not completely skeletal like Skull Kid, another Stal creature created in the Lost Woods.[8] The idea of the Hero of Time becoming a Stalfos was foreshadowed by Fado during Ocarina of Time and by developer Yoshiaki Koizumi.[9][10][11]
Nomenclature
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Gallery
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The Hero's Spirit preparing to fight from Twilight Princess
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The Hero's Spirit preparing to teach Link a Hidden Skill from Twilight Princess
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The Hero's Spirit's Sword from Twilight Princess
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Concept art of the Hero's Spirit from Twilight Princess
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 118
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 103
- ↑ "Some time ago, before the King of Hyrule unified this country, there was a fierce war in our world. One day, to escape from the fires of the war, a Hylian mother and her baby boy entered this forbidden forest. The mother was gravely injured... Her only choice was to entrust the child to the Deku Tree, the guardian spirit of the forest. The Deku Tree could sense that this was a child of destiny, whose fate would affect the entire world, so he took him into the forest. After the mother passed away, the baby was raised as a Kokiri. And now, finally, the day of destiny has come!" — Deku Tree Sprout (Ocarina of Time)
- ↑ Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 179
- ↑ "Although I accepted life as the hero, I could not convey the lessons of that life to those that came after. At last, I have eased my regrets." — Hero's Spirit (Twilight Princess)
- ↑ "Let teachings of old pass to you... Take sword in hand and find me." — Hero's Spirit (Twilight Princess)
- ↑ "In that case, return to your world and train yourself further. When you are prepared, come visit me again." — Hero's Spirit (Twilight Princess)
- ↑ "That guy isn't here anymore. Except for the Kokiri, people who come into the forest end up lost. They all become Stalfos. That's why he's not here anymore. Only his saw is left. Hee hee." — Fado (Ocarina of Time 3D)
- ↑ "Heh heh heh. Are you going to become one...too? Heh heh!" — Fado (Ocarina of Time 3D)
- ↑ "を言っています。「みーんなスタルフォス!」そうです、迷いの森に迷い込んだ人間は、みんなスタルフォスになって森の神殿に棲おようになってしまうのです。え?では、人間のリンクはどうしてならないかって?そうですね、コキリ族でもないし…どうしてなんでしょう?" — 64Dream - April 1999 , Internet Archive, retrieved May 14, 2024.