Daily Debate: What is the Most Unethical Thing Link Has Done?
Posted on February 12 2024 by Nick Miller
Link has always been the hero of the tale. He’s the chosen hero of the Goddess, the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, the bane of Demise, and a hero of legend. He’s a force for good who repeatedly saves Hyrule and stops the bad guy in his tracks. He can do no wrong, right?
Well, every now and then our hero finds himself in some unsavory business. Link has spied on the innocent residents of Windfall Island for Lenzo, the photographer in The Wind Waker. He’s destroyed pottery in private residencies. He’s joined bands of thieves and even stolen from the shop in Mabe Village from Link’s Awakening. What is perhaps his most dastardly deed, however, is when he used time-travel to scam the Clock Town Bank in Majora’s Mask. Let me explain.
The Clock Town Bank tracks its accounts by stamping its members with special ink. This stamp presumably carries an identifying mark as well as their account balance. Each time a member visits, the stamp is updated to mark their new balance. This system works out pretty good for the bank, so long as one of their members isn’t a time-traveler.
You see, Link will store the Rupees he collects on his journey in the bank. He gets stamped with his account balance and then he returns to the past. Time is reversed and every Rupee Link collected is returned to its proper chest. So, Link keeps his stamp but the bank doesn’t keep the Rupees. Link is racking up his account balance via time-travel while the bank gains nothing. This means that when Link returns to withdraw Rupees from the bank, the stamped balance does not accurately reflect the Rupees that Link actually has in the bank at that time. He is effectively robbing the Clock Town Bank blind!
Considering Link also uses similar means to cheat the Clock Town Lottery, and then store those funds in the bank, I think it’s safe to say that Link is nothing less than a time traveling thief.
So, what do you think is the most unethical thing Link has done? Do the ends often justify the means? Do you allow your own morality to dictate Link’s actions when given the choice? Are there any particular games where Link is more righteous than others? Tell us all about it in the comments.
Nick is a writer for Zelda Dungeon and a longtime fan of the Zelda franchise. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, archery, skateboarding, and some good ol’ fashioned family time. He’s an advocate for physical media and an avid video game collector. His favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time, though Breath of the Wild and the Link’s Awakening remake are close contenders.
