Talk:Dark Link

I believe that Dark Link is just a spirit of the Water Temple and since its found in the waters reflection, it must be able to take any form of it's choosing, including Link. Bongo Bongo might have something to do with it, but most of it is that it's probably the waters ability to reflect and that its just the spirit of the temple, maybe a guardian of sorts.

Template...
Could somebody please fix this page and add a real character template to it? --Jase 07:39, 7 October 2007 (EDT)

Mistake?
Hello, I'm German and I think he is called "Doppelgänger" and not "Doppelganger". I know in the English language "ä" isn't used but it doesn't make any sense with an "a", does it? Sirius 21:02, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I agree, it does have an accent. A doppelgänger or fetch is the ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation.

In the vernacular, "Doppelgänger" has come to refer (as in German) to any double or look-alike of a person—most commonly an "evil twin". The literal translation of the German word is "doublewalker", meaning someone who is acting (e.g. walking) the same way as another person. The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection. They are generally regarded as harbingers of bad luck. In some traditions, a doppelgänger seen by a person's friends or relatives portends illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelgänger is an omen of death. - From Wikipedia. --AmrasCalmacil 14:21, 22 February 2008 (EST)

In German a "Doppelgänger" needn't to be bad. It's just a person who looks like a other one. Like a clone or something. Sirius 21:02, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Appearence in the Minish Cap?
There appears to be a secret in the Minish Cap were after using a bottle given by Din, Nayru or Faore in the Café, turn the pot upside down and wait for the effects of the bottle to wear off and after they do the character turns into a Link with a reddish brown tunic, red eyes, and grey skin. This has happened for me several times. --AmrasCalmacil 14:18, 22 February 2008 (EST)


 * I recently got (and beat) minish cap. I know its been a little while since this was posted, but could you please discribe this in more detail, I don't understand exactly what you mean by turn the pot upside down. Do you just turn the pot upside down or do you do something after that?--Magnus orion 22:22, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * It's a glitch and I wouldn't call it DarkLink as much as I'd call it Zombie Link. Use any of the Charms in the Cafe. Link's tunic will be orange, his skin a greyer color and his eyes will be red. Leave the Cafe while the charm's still in effect and it will be normal again.Axiomist 03:36, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

I've never seen him in the Minish Cap. The only appearances Dark/Shadow Link has ever made in teh series was in AoL, OoT, TP, and FSA. I also never heard of him in OoA, but I have been wrong before. Shadow Link &#39;98 17:09, 6 January 2009 (UTC)User:Shadow Link '98 6 Jan 2009

have you played oracle of ages? Don Lark Kiin 14:31, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

Cult of Ganon?
I'd like to know more about that. See, I always thought that the Great Palace was under a seal so that the ToC would be safe. I assumed this particular ShadowLink was a guardian, that if the Prince went in, he'd fight a shadow form of himself.Axiomist 23:04, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok, I have no idea how to do the [citation needed] tag. :P. Seriously I suspect the cult of ganon thing is fan fic. I remember an old man in the room just before the lights went out. I give it the benefit of a doubt tho.Axiomist 04:57, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Very strange...
In the Japanese version he is named "Doupleganger" which is very weird, I think Capcom helped name him that since in Devil May Cry 3 (a game by Capcom, I might add) the 7th boss is named "Doupleganger" and he copies the appearence of Dante and his attacks and he is also very dark, pretty strange if you ask me.

A doupleganger (maybe there is no English word for it but 'Doppelgänger' ist German and means 'Double Walker' in English) is just a person who looks exactly like an other person. I think the idea of a 'bad side' in yourselfe isn't new. Think of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. He has got a doupleganger, too but he has nothing to do with The Legend of Zelda Sirius 22:16, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

That's all I need to know.


 * Cap... Capcom?? What would they have to do with anything? Devil May Cry 3 was made AGES after Zelda II.
 * Anyway, while I know that Wikipedia isn't an official source or anything, it was the easiest way for me to find his Japanese name (next to no Japanese fan sites cover Zelda II, and forget the official Nintendo site covering it, especially not in-depth enough to give this name). The Japanese Wikipedia doesn't make it terribly clear what they're using for his name. All of the character / enemy entries are organized as such:
 * Name
 * Description
 * Dark Link's is as follows:
 * Last Boss
 * Link's shadow. blahblahblah
 * So if they're using "Link's Shadow" as his name or simply stating that "this is the last boss with no name. He is Link's shadow", I don't know. Just thought that I'd present this. 22:36, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
 * P.S. Oh, yeah, the point I was trying to make was that I saw "Dopplegänger" nowhere on there. Yup. 22:37, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

not dark link
i deleted the alttp/fs section becuze they arent dark links. just wanted to give the heads up.Dragonstetraforce 20:32, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Name
I just thought of something. Is there a case where he is ever canonically called "Dark Link"? The only situation I can think of is in Four Swords Adventures where he is called "Shadow Link". Bye the way, I'm not sure what Zelda.com says, but we can't trust them anyway. Over half of their stuff is fanon anyway. 00:50, October 31, 2008 (UTC)


 * Ocarina of Time, in the Water Temple. Navi calls him "Dark Link". --Felicia&#39;s Champion 01:52, 31 October 2008 (UTC)


 * One instance of "Dark Link". One of "Shadow Link". Which one is right, or more canonical? I'm thinking Dark Link. 02:03, October 31, 2008 (UTC)


 * Dark Link. Hell, Shadow Link doesn't sound nearly as impressive. Dark Link has the advantage of sounding cool and being canonical. He is far and wide known to the world as "Dark Link". I've never heard him referred to as "Shadow Link" before... --Felicia&#39;s Champion 02:09, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Shadow Link is more like the younger version of Link, while Dark Link is the adult version, if that helps any. Shadow Link '98

Another Theory on Dark Link's Existance
I noticed that one of the theories stated that the goddesses pulled dark link from link so that he could wield the master sword. I have a similar theory which relates to the shadow crystal in twilight princess. When link touched the master sword in wolf form it forced the shadow crystal from him, causing him to transform back into a human. Well, I believe that links dark side is forced out of him when he touches the master sword (in other words he still had an evil side when he first grabbed the master sword) and either it seeked to destroy link on it's own, or Gannondorf took an opportunity to create another minion and gave it a form so that it could fight link. Superinsomniac 03:59, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Could it be possible that Dark Link is the Terminian equivalent to Link. But Link being a "Hero" Or a chosen one of some sort, since there can only be one Hero of Men or Hero of Time. That Dark Link was the opposite of The Hero of Time.

Knil94 22:06, 1 March 2009 (UTC)Knil94Knil94 22:06, 1 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Dark Link was conceived before the idea of Termina ever came around, so I doubt it's what the creators had/have in mind for him. From an in-universe standpoint, Termina is just one of an unknown number of other worlds and realms parallel to Hyrule, and there's nothing suggesting me came from that one in particular. Jimbo Jambo 20:30, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

ALttP/FS
Well, if we're NOT going to call the extra boss in ALttP/FS 'Dark Links', that leaves us a VERY good question: just what the heck ARE they?

Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the section on that boss fight was just removed and is currently not covered ANYWHERE ELSE in the wiki. Dinosaur bob 20:44, 9 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Well, I had a quick look through the recent edits and couldn't see any Four Swords information being removed? Part of the problem with FS is that it's so hard to play, being multiplayer only and requiring multiple consoles (people even seem to have a hard time getting it to run on emulators!), so information from the game is pretty patchy.
 * Also, welcome back from an impressively long absence ;) 21:46, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I WAS gone too long, wasn't I? Unfortunately, the removal took place about as long ago
 * as my departure- look up a ways back here in the talk page and you'll find a section
 * from way back in September of 2008 entitled 'not dark link'- dragonstetraforce removed the
 * info, saying only, 'i deleted the alttp/fs section becuze they arent dark links. just wanted
 * to give the heads up.'
 * So either that slipped through and no one's noticed since, or I just haven't found that
 * boss's new article. Dinosaur bob 22:25, 9 June 2009 (UTC)


 * OK, thanks, I've added that section back in as it was. Hopefully someone who's actually played FS can flesh it out a little :) 12:52, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Dark Link Theories = Overthought BS
Honestly all these Dark Link theories are ridiculous, and I don't think they should be here. There is no mystery to Dark Link and it's more of a monster than a character. Seriously in two games it's outright shown to simply be a reflection turned into a creature (Ocarina of Time and Four Swords Adventures). You outright SEE them created by Veran, and the remaining two primary instances feature beings in charge of the area. Thunderbird appears right before the Dark Link in Adventure of Link, and the Take 'Em All On challenge is owned by that woman who also gathered several hundred other monsters into that building, including bosses. Malladus also has his strong presence throughout that game. There are very simple, obvious explanations for the Dark Link creature in every single game it's appeared, and that should be acknowledged better than these ridiculously complex theories that are completely unnecessary.Meganerd18 01:16, 13 April 2011 (EDT)
 * OK, buddy, relax and read well: Some theories are less likely to be true than others, but each one of them has its shares of reputation among fans, so just because you don't believe in one, doesn't mean you have the right to talk with offenses here and there. Save your own, personal theories for a forum, OK? -- 02:29, 13 April 2011 (EDT)
 * Actually I kinda agree with Meganerd18, because I always felt ridiculous the idea of telling the origin of Dark Link, as if he's the same trough the games, while we know for sure that Link isn't the same! So in Adventure of Link you're not fighting your shadow, but the shadow of another hero, that happened to be dressed the same way? Anyway the section is quite short, so I don't see any problem for now.--Kombatgod 04:46, 13 April 2011 (EDT)
 * You can consult the wiki staff in regards of the theories, or go to a forum and propose a theory on your own. Again, Meganerd18 has no excuse to cuss and act with rudeness.-- 19:07, 13 April 2011 (EDT)
 * I didn't cuss once. Actually to go along with this train of thought, Dark Link should be removed from 'Major Enemies'. It's a recurring boss yes, but so is Gohma, King Dodongo and Gleeok. It's only once played an outright antagonistic role, and that was solely as a henchman. It has never been given any dialogue, never had any major role in the story (save FSA), and is really never treated as anything other than a powerful monster. Having a whole theories section for a recurring miniboss... I mean why not just throw up theories about the intricate nature of Gohma in that it's actually Link mom twisted into a giant monster. I'm saying that for a factual source to include theories with little support from the games, and not acknowledging that fact, is ridiculous.Meganerd18 06:47, 15 April 2011 (EDT)
 * Well, I also think that the theories should be removed, but he IS a 'Major Enemy'. He is the final boss of AoL, and I think that should be recognized.SilverArcher 07:28, 15 April 2011 (EDT)
 * To both posits, I disagree. While Dark Link may seem to be a very blatant and understandable entry into the Zelda franchise, it is not only one of the most hotly debated forum topics in the community, but also a very popular character/boss/mini-boss that many fans site as a franchise favorite. Zelda Wiki has a vehement policy in regards to theories - if they are not supported by the community (i.e. the forums, Mastermind sites, etc.) then they deserve no place on the page - all theory listed here has seen much discussion in the community, and because ZW is the "community's wiki", we have them in the article as such. Of course there are going to be those users who see theory as preposterous, however, there is a majority that looks to them in building timelines and as evidence for their theorizing claims. As for the "Major Enemies" template, Dark Link is more deserving of a spot in the template than Bellum, Malladus, Nightmare, Onox, Veran, and Agahnim - all of those bosses appear in only one title. Not only is Dark Link the final boss of The Adventure of Link, he appears as a side character in five other titles - I would definitely call that a "Major Enemy". Thanks for putting this up for discussion before doing anything to the page, Meganerd18! :) 10:54, 15 April 2011 (EDT)
 * No Dark Link is not more deserving of that spot. He is not a character (or as much a character as Gohma), he has no dialogue, he is not an antagonist (yes he's the final boss of Adventure of Link, but not only was that game a mess, the labyrinths were stated as tests left by the King, ergo Dark Link is simply the final test). Once again he's barely any different to Gohma, who has appeared in more games and had more significant roles than Dark Link (only had one has Shadow Link in FSA). Gohma may not have dialogue, but it is actually more of an antagonist than Dark Link. The Dark Link monster is simply that; a monster used for an easy mini-boss. Take the Link sprite/model, black it out, instant boss. Ergo there is no reason Dark Link should be listed as a major antagonist, and as the person below me said there's no reason for the theories either as they have no evidence.Meganerd18 19:34, 29 January 2012 (EST)

The "Man of Mystery" section basically reads out as "One theory says... while another says... and yet another sees it as..." There is not a single reference or supporting piece of evidence. A theory looks at the available data and tries to explain it. Even our policies say "Theories are to be reputable,  show evidence to support them  and have a reasonable amount of support or acceptance within the community." It is speculation at best and fan fiction at worst. But I do think he should stay as a major enemy. He is recurring and plays a large role in FSA and is the final boss in AOL. 08:56, 17 April 2011 (EDT)

Theories
I had to just remove that whole section, after looking at it. Not only is none of it point to any in-game evidence, but...well, it directly contradicts the games. I don't see how it's reasonable to allow theory "x" when the game or the game's authors explicitly say that it's patent nonsense. If I somehow missed something where onuma or Miyamoto say "oh yeah, Dark Link was totally made by the gods to mirror Link", well, here's a record of the section for archival purposes.KrytenKoro 00:07, 30 January 2012 (EST)

Dark Link's origins are wholly unknown, but there are many speculations. Some suggest that Dark Link is the ghost of a past warrior that is related to Link. Others believe in a sort of dead-man-switch technique, Dark Link was created by Ganon himself as insurance, should he fall to Link's blade (as he did in The Legend of Zelda, hence Dark Link's appearance in The Adventure of Link).

Still other theorists subscribe to theories that state that Dark Link was created out of Link's "heroism" or "goodness": because Link is the hero that he is, Dark Link arose to complete Link's dark side. Because of this, it is a widely-accepted theory that Dark Link is the force that balances Link, and possibly even the spark that keeps him alive. With that in mind, many also believe that Dark Link cannot truly be defeated because this might also result in Link's death. Yet another theory is that, since Link must be pure in order to touch the Master Sword, the gods extracted his dark side from his soul, leaving only his light; his dark side is Dark Link, whose ultimate wish is to reunite himself to his holy counterpart. And finally, popular theories link Dark Link to the Triforce; there are even some who go as far as to say that Dark Link embodies a "fourth piece" of the Triforce and exists to balance out the powers of the goddesses in Hyrule or as an "anti-manifestation" of such powers.

However there is no evidence to support any of these speculations and it seems more likely that Dark Link is simply a powerful spell cast by Ganondorf, Thunderbird in The Adventure of Link, and Malladus in Spirit Tracks.


 * The game's authors called it 'patent nonsense'? I support the removal (was my idea in fact), but I'm curious about that statement. I didn't know the issue had been addressed by Nintendo. Meganerd18 05:45, 3 February 2012 (EST)
 * I apologize, I misspoke badly. What I was trying to say was that the explanations for Dark Link from the game's authors make these theories patent nonsense...and I flubbed the hell up. No, the authors have not addressed these theories in any way that I know of, and I should have phrased that much more carefully. Sorry sorry sorry.KrytenKoro 10:04, 3 February 2012 (EST)
 * Not sure the authors made any explanations so much as the origins of the thing are pretty clearly implied as is that this 'Man of Mystery' stuff is completely unnecessary. Like in Ocarina of Time if you pay attention as you cross the room you see Link's reflection vanish once you pass the tree, hence why Dark Link is in the Water Temple. Honestly, and I know this is moving out of the real of wiki and into forum bitching, the only reason Dark Link is popular is because fangirls think it's a dark emo version of Link, and fanboys think it's a badass dark alter-ego. The reality is, as I've stated many times before, it's nothing but another monster. Which is also my reason for saying it should be removed from 'Major Enemies', because it's NOT a major enemy. There are other bosses with multiple appearances and they're not on it, so there's no reason Dark Link should be.Meganerd18 05:11, 14 February 2012 (EST)

Meganerd, no disrespect intended, but does YOUR shadow stand up and fight you when you walk across a room? I think there has to be some sort of further explanation, I believe that at least OoT's Dark Link is Link's shadow, but something must have happened to make it the way it is. Nare 13:14, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

Navi's comment
Should we add Navi's comment to this. It would probably be pointless since she says nothing of value, but I don't know the rules of adding a characters comments so correct me if i'm wrong. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Person777 14:17 (CDT), 3 July 2012
 * I don't see why we can't add Navi's comment. Even if an in-game guide's comment has little value (i.e. Tingle's comments on ReDeads in Wind Waker), it's still a legitimate comment...--Shiningpikablu252 15:42, 3 July 2012 (EDT)
 * Good, but I don't know how to add it, soooo... Well, I won't be any help here. So, if someone sees this and knows how to add it they might want to do it. --Person777 13:02, 4 July 2012 (EDT)
 * Done and done. Just look at what I did and you can do it in future if you spot anything missing, it's dead easy! Navi's template seems too big for such tiny comments, though... I might adjust it. 20:36, 4 July 2012 (EDT)

Possibly split Shadow Link?
I've noticed that Four Swords Adventures is the only game where this enemy is called Shadow Link, and even in Japan he's only called Shadow Link in this one game. I think it's important to note that Shadow Link not only has his own name, but also his own back story (with possible relation to Ganondorf?), while the other Dark Links seem more generic. He also plays a HUGE role in the manga, which unfortunately isn't really covered on this page at the moment, but I can add it sometime (it could take up a whole page on it's own, really). Shadow Link also has quite a different voice (much higher pitched than Link, rather than lower) and even a slightly different appearance (his eyes never glow like all the other Dark Links aside from Zelda II do), so I think he's meant to be a different entity with his own personality. Him being separate from the regular Dark Link may also explain the Hyrule Historia quote a bit better. Thoughts? 21:52, 2 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Hmmm...that's interesting, I never thought about it that way. He does behave differently than Dark Link (instead of merely mirroring Link's attacks). What about the AoL Shadow Link, though? Will he stay in this page or get his own page too? If Shadow Link ends up splitting, that is. :P --Dany36 22:26, 2 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Very good point, he's known officially as... Link's Shadow in English and in Japan, I think (spelled quite differently to Shadow Link in Japan, too). This is still different from both names. He has a more minor role... but he also appears in Melee and Brawl, I forget, what did they call him? I'll have to check... those battles were based on the Zelda II style shadow, so could be important. Hm, in Brawl he was called Dark Link in both versions, and Melee just says "dark side" while the Japanese one mentions "shadow". I think there's a case to potentially keep that one on the same page since Brawl makes no distinction, but split Shadow Link since he is never called Dark Link and has his own unique origin relating to both Ganondorf and the Dark Mirror (and is essentially a "character" in his own right rather than just a boss fight). 23:47, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * A very good point which I support. Shadow Link has always been very different from Dark Link. As for the AoL one, I'd say keep that here since he had a more minor role anyway. He may have been the "last boss" but he had such a minimal story part. 00:14, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Merge with Shadow Link again
Now that ALBW has been released and Shadow Link is just as generic as most Dark Links I really don't see the point of having two different articles for what I think is honestly the same character.

Also, what's up with the soundtrack section? Shouldn't that be a sidebar thing? Dekler (talk) 04:48, 10 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Just because ALBW exists doesn't mean FSA suddenly doesn't. They have a different name in both Japanese and English versions to Dark Link, ergo they are not the same thing. I know it's pedantic and all, but that's kind of the point of a wiki. You may believe them to be the same, but that's not for you (or me) to judge. If they had intended them to be the same, why not name them the same?
 * Shadow Link also has a specific backstory in Hyrule Historia, while Dark Link seems more "generic". While the Shadow Links in ALBW are "generic", that doesn't negate FSA and Hyrule Historia. They are also arguably closer to the Shadow Links from Shadow Battle, in that they represent players. Also, it's fairly "non-canon" since it sorta breaks the fourth wall, anyway. I don't think ALBW suddenly proves they are the same thing.
 * I'm kind of against the whole "well they might be named differently but they're clearly the same" logic that goes around, because that leads to numerous misconceptions, such as that Geru in Zelda II are Lizalfos, and that Zazak in ALttP and ALBW are Daira. They look similar, they even act similar, but that doesn't mean they're the same being. If the creators named them differently we kind of have to just go with what they say, unless it can be proved that they have officially changed the name of both entities. In OoT3D, Dark Link is still called Dark Link, and in SSBB, Link's alternate outfit was called Dark Link on the official website. Both were post-FSA, so they have not stopped using the term Dark Link recently.
 * As a side note, this page is already bloated as it is, not sure it helps anyone by merging anything. Those are my thoughts, anyway. 16:03, 10 January 2014 (UTC)
 * While normally I would agree with you, the way canon forces us just to write the leads of both these articles (and Link's Shadow) makes it painful to do so. As far as genericism goes, we have the Dark Links in ALttP that are clearly linked to the FSA beings, we have the manga Shadow Link who is clearly a unique being, and then we have the various Dark Links through the ages that have no indication of being the same being.
 * I think this is a situation much like the Lamp/Flame Lantern, Flippers/Zora's Flippers, etc.: the same basic topic that has been rebranded for flavor in different games. That doesn't necessarily mean that the versions with the same Japanese name are "more linked to each other", or that the versions with different names are meant to be interpreted as "more different", and most importantly, it doesn't necessarily mean that keeping separate pages provides a more accurate picture of the "evolution of the idea" for the reader.
 * Again, normally I would be super pedantic about this and agree with keeping them separate, but in this case, it just feels like it would be more enlightening to the reader to cover all three of these entities on one page, length be damned.KrytenKoro (talk) 05:10, 4 March 2014 (UTC)