Although it was somewhat drowned out at the awards last year thanks to other brilliant games, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom presented players with a worthy sequel to 2017's Game of the Year, Breath of the Wild. It brought more storytelling and plot compared to the first game, although it still leaves one unanswered question: who is the Ancient Hero?

Many characters from the first title are seen again in TOTK, and seem to have grown significantly from the first game, such as the Gerudo Chief Riju and the scientist Purah. Curiously, Link seems to look largely the same despite the time skip, except for a new magical arm, and has to watch on while a lot of his friends outgrow him, but when it comes to the Ancient Hero, players are still at a loss as to their true identity.

Who Is The Ancient Hero From BOTW?

TOTK Doesn't Touch On This Too Much

TOTK's time travel takes Zelda back to the time of Hyrule's founding, with her meeting the last of the Zonai and the first queen of Hyrule, Sonia. Strangely, this isn't the period talked about in BOTW, which spends a decent amount of time explaining the Ancient Sheikah technology, Divine Beasts, and the hero from the Mythic Era that first faced Calamity Ganon 10,000 years ago. Instead of going here, Zelda goes back even earlier, and this ends up giving the player more questions than answers about the Ancient Hero who first battled Calamity Ganon.

Both BOTW and TOTK are part of the Era of the Wilds, with this Link being called the Hero of the Wild. These two games are separate from the rest of the Zelda timeline.

Tears of the Kingdom does give players a look at what the Ancient Hero would have looked like, and the artwork of him often seen in BOTW doesn't seem to represent him very well. Link can receive the Ancient Hero's Aspect at the Temple of Time after completing every Shrine of Light, thus allowing him to take the hero of old's form. At first glance, the Ancient Hero doesn't look Hylian, although he does seem to have the pointed, elf-like ears many Hylians are known for.

Although it is known that Rauru and Mineru were the last of the Zonai, it is possible that the Ancient Hero is somehow linked to this ancient race based on the bestial parts of his appearance. It's likely that he is a hybrid of sorts with some Zonai blood, but that would also mean that he had royal blood as well. Perhaps he was a sibling of the then-ruler when he took up arms against Calamity Ganon, or perhaps he was the ruler himself, leading his forces from the front.

The Many Theories About Who The Ancient Hero Could Be

There Isn't Enough Material To Have A Definitive Answer

There aren't many definitive answers about the Ancient Hero. It is known that he fought at the head of a great army, leading the Guardians and powerful Divine Beasts against Calamity Ganon, meaning that he was likely a knight of some sort beforehand and didn't just randomly turn up to get the job done. He also wields the Master Sword, something that only Link and his many iterations have done in the many Legend of Zelda titles before, and he could have had the Triforce of Courage as well.

There is a decent chance that the Ancient Hero was a past iteration of Link, who just so happened to not be Hylian. He wielded the Master Sword, and he defeated a form of Ganon, both things that many Link iterations are known to do. Just because he isn't blonde, doesn't have a green outfit, and doesn't get a game to himself, doesn't mean he can't be a Link. He did start the trend of not wearing green anymore, since the blue tunic BOTW Link wears is inspired by the tapestry of the Ancient Hero.

The Ancient Hero is shown wearing blue in the tapestry in BOTW, but the Ancient Hero's Aspect doesn't have the hero wearing blue.

The theory that he is a form of Link is further ed by Kass playing Epona's Song at a stable, and he tells the current Link that his teacher believed the song was used by the Ancient Hero to summon his horse. This would make his horse Epona, which is a name that is often chosen by Link for his steed. If he was a form of Link, this Ancient Hero would perhaps be the only one related to Zelda, since his partially Zonai appearance implies that he has the royal blood of King Rauru and could perhaps be the Princess' ancestor.

The Ancient Hero Could Return For A Potential Third Game

Nintendo Could Round Off This Series With A Trilogy

Without more concrete evidence, there is no true answer to whom the Ancient Hero could have been. With his red hair, he could have even been Gerudo, and the one male born every one hundred years, although if he's the height of TOTK's Link, this is likely not the case. He could perhaps play a part in a potential sequel to TOTK, shifting the focus away from fighting a form of Ganon yet again, and give players a look at Hyrule at its peak with all the advanced Sheikah technology at their disposal.

With time travel being an established narrative tool in both TOTK and The Legend of Zelda as a whole (Ocarina of Time uses it the most extensively), Link and Zelda could go to this time looking for answers when a new evil arises, thanks to all the powerful technology of the time. If he is an iteration of Link, having two of them interact with one another could be fun, although if he is silent like all the other Links, then perhaps the two would have very little to say to one another.

While some mysteries should be kept as is, it has been seven years since BOTW was released and the question of whom the Ancient Hero was has yet to be answered. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom did give players a look at an earlier form of Hyrule with Rauru and Sonia, but not the version that BOTW talked about so heavily. It inspired and shaped the modern Hyrule that faced Calamity Ganon with the blue garbs and Sheikah Guardians, yet there are more questions than answers about the greatest hero of that time.