HOW Did The Master Sword Become So WEAK? - Gossip Bytes!

"Needs to be a certain age, or height..." or have a strong enough... spirit... also thanks for the shoutout GG!

Keep in mind that Link nearly lost his life trying to defend Zelda in Botw. So one could argue that the Master Sword forces Link to retreat by “breaking” so that he doesn’t push himself too hard.

Fi during Wind Waker: looks at OoT's events and thinks "Yeah, let's NOT try sealing the hero away again.

pretty fucked up of fi to kidnap young link for five years like that

I’ve been assuming that the lore reason was that between being so ancient and Ganon shattering the Master Sword… a simple reforging wasn’t enough to restore Phi within the Master Sword to a healthy condition, that the Master Sword itself was dying of old age and failing to heal from wounds as they once did

I think a mild case might be made for the Wind Waker master sword in that she had spent the past few centuries maintaining that time seal on Hyrule Castle, so it might have been weakened from that, hence needing prayers to restore her. Another theory could be that, as WW Link is hinted to just be some random kid who stepped up and NOT the Link from the usual reincarnation cycle, the sages were also needed to attune the sword to Link, but those are just theories.

I think there is an unexplored answer that connects all games and works thing all requirements, logic and powers the sword displayed. Remember what the deku tree says: the swords grows stronger and recovers itself by absorbing sacred energy overtime, meaning the power of the sword is bound to fluctuate between eras and available energy. Back in WW(wind waker) the sword was on its pedestal BUT it was also continualy holding a time seal on hyrule castle spending its energy, the lack of sages praying to the sword also eventually caught up to it not having a good intake of energy. In SS(skwyward sword) we literally that the sword on got its bright shine and ability to repel evil AFTER zelda gives her blessing (and energy) to the sword, before that, it was the same glowless dormant form we see in WW. Ocarina of time and a link to the past also have interesting lore points, we know that in aLttP medallions are able to enhance and expand the powers of the master sword, allowing it to change the weather, cause natural disasters and weaken enemies, and in OoT there was an unused feature of the sage medalions granting new powers to link and the master sword. These powers granted from other beings (sages, goddeses, sacred spots with special pedestals, the owners of the medalions and other minor deities) are basically what determine the power level and and capabilities of the sword, and lets not forget Fi, she is the basically the operating system of the sword and gives it a mind of its own, she can very much control the sword to test link throughout the ages and analyze the curren crisis to see what kinds of trials she must make him face, its not like fi cant talk to others and help set up ways for link to get the sword and make it stronger she literally does that both in TotK and SS. And this explains why the sword breaks and is more fragile, by the time of the botw era there are no sages, there are no prayers to the sword, its location is unkown, it appears and vanishes from time to time to fight calamity ganon but before wild era link finds it, the great deku tree is ultimately the only deity to be watching over it and passively bestowing it energy, its not enough to figh calamity ganon, much less ganondorf with a secret stone on top, the sword regenerates overtime and shoots beams but thats all it can do under those conditions, and its interesting how the trial of the sword also allows the sword to unlock itself further back to its best possible output of power as if the sheikah monks are basically giving their energy to the sword to enhance it and allow it to always be at its full powered state which is usually saved only against enemies it absolutely needs the most power to purify, because with the current state of the wild era, Fi cannot afford to consume more energy than that for prolonged periods of time.

Up until BotW, it was my understanding that the Master Sword and the Hero are linked in such a way that the sword mirrors the courageous spirit of the Hero. Because Link was mortally wounded in BotW and required the Shrine of Resurrection to heal, the sword reflected that in the form of decay. It's my theory that because Link was beaten and later revived, the physical damage to his body was repaired but not the weakening of his courageous spirit. Due to this, the MS is physically restored but not to it's full power. That's why the sword runs out of energy and needs to recharge, the soul of the Hero is weakened and yet to be fully restored. For only the 2nd time in the canonical timeline, the Hero was defeated. That event is more significant than most people realize. I don't believe it is fear that weakens the Hero, because courage is the ability to face and overcome fear to move forward. I think Link is wracked with doubt and regret, preventing both himself and the sword from achieving their full power and potential. Then, in TotK, that doubt is redoubled when he is attacked by Ganon's gloom and nearly loses his right arm in one attack. The overwhelming thoughts of doubt that he must've experienced at that moment, I believe, is what caused the MS to shatter in the following attack. His courageous spirit had shattered. It was as if he were reliving his failure at the Blatchery Plains all over again. His initial defeat at Blatchery Plains set into motion a series of events that would physically and spiritually break him leading to the weakening and later shattering of the Master Sword.

Well, the Great Deku Tree kept the Master Sword hidden and also helped it regenerate. It breaks on trees out of pure respect for nature.

That amazing Christmas Story quote doesn’t go unnoticed

Couldn't it be presumed that in Twilight Princess, the Sages of Earth and Wind are still alive and remain as they were from their time pre-TP, the same way all the Sages are seen in that game? If Ganondorf doesn't get the chance to kill off all the Sages sans Water, then the Sages of Earth and Wind should be just fine and contributing to powering the Master Sword without it ever needing to be brought to Link's attention. The case for A Link to the Past probably deserves some more looking into it, but I did want to point the TP thing out.

There is a theory that the adult timeline has an imitation master sword, due to the master sword being taken back to the child timeline along with Link (There was only 1 copy of it between timelines in OOT). This would be why it can be wielded by the 12 year old hero of winds. This imitation master sword was effective, but its power decayed over time unless it was strengthened by the prayers of sages. This could be that master sword.

I like to think the in lore reason the sword tires out is that we’re coming closer and closer to the “last” game in the timeline, as in, the last game to canonically occur, where we’ll see the last link and Zelda take on Demise once he, after thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, finally breaks Fi’s will down to the point he can escape.

I Love The Little Jokes Here And There Lol Great Video Man

The closest thing I can think of to the master sword in BOTW and TOTK is well Anduril from LOTR that sword was also forged close to the beginning of the world and granted mysterious abilities, and remains a powerful legendary blade passed down through Elendil’s line until it does finally break in the battle with Sauron. BUT!!! It only breaks once it’s rightful master Elendil dies in the battle. And well Link did kinda fall in battle against Calamity Ganon and at that point we do also see it pretty damaged, and then by the time BOTW starts it’s kinda debatable if Link has actually fully recovered or not. So maybe just like Anduril the master sword needs to be completely reforged.

There has been a noticable rise in the quality of your videos lately, you are easily putting out some of the most interesting Zelda content post Totk.

With Wind Waker's Earth and Wind Sages in mind, I think it's likely that the Master Sword was just missing a vital enchantment or enhancement. It's also possible that the sword is tied into Link's health/vitality. both times it broke, he was injured enough to slip into a coma or nearly die.

Broo ! That editing ! It’s superb, really well done ! Amazing video! 😮

There is speculation that the Master Sword in Wind Waker is a facsimile of the true Master Sword, hence why it needed constant prayer to be powered up.

The frequent illiteration in this video was great