The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches in just a few months, providing long-time fans with a rather unique entry in the beloved series. Unlike prior entries in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild featured a version of Link that was widely recognized as the Hero of Hyrule from the start. During his 100-year sleep of restoration, Link's legend surely grew, and the hero's eventual victory would provide a significant amount of inspiration throughout Hyrule. This unique foundation creates the perfect opportunity for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to canonize a character from the Hyrule Warriors series, Linkle, albeit with a slightly different origin.
Much of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been kept a secret by Nintendo, with very little revealed about the game's story, characters, and timeline. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild included major connections to prior titles, such as the Temple of Time and the Goddess Hylia, so fans hope to find even more connections in Tears of the Kingdom. The unique nature of the title's connection to other entries also provides an opportunity for spin-off characters, like Linkle, to make a natural debut.
Linkle Fits Perfectly into the World of Tears of the Kingdom
Linkle made her debut in Hyrule Warriors: Legends for the Nintendo 3DS. A shepherd from a small village, Linkle believed herself to be the reincarnated Hero of Hyrule. After Hyrule Castle was attacked, Linkle donned a green outfit similar to Link's and set off to save the kingdom. However, Linkle was terrible at directions and got lost at nearly every turn. She eventually found her way to the Castle and helped the other heroes defend against waves of monsters near the game's climax.
Given The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's unique story and characterization of Link, Linkle could naturally appear as an imitator or admirer of the Hero of Hyrule. As a young woman from one of the many small villages throughout the game's open world, Linkle's heroic aspirations could stem directly from Link's actions in Breath of the Wild. The character could appear throughout the many locations of Tears of the Kingdom, utterly lost, yet slowly making her way toward Hyrule Castle.
The case could also be made for a direct adaptation of Linkle's backstory from Hyrule Warriors, as the character was likely born during Link's 100-year sleep. She very well could believe herself to be a reincarnation of Link, after his defeat by Calamity Ganon. After the events of Breath of the Wild prove her belief to be false, she could set out to find her own adventure during the events of Tears for the Kingdom. Both options for the character's involvement would fit naturally into the story, and Linkle's inclusion could be an important one, should Tears of the Kingdom prove to be as dark as early trailers are making it seem.
Linkle Could Provide Levity to an Otherwise Dark Zelda Title
If The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's recent trailers are any indication, fans are in for one of the series' darkest titles yet. That means moments of levity will likely be scarce over the course of the title's narrative. Linkle provides a great opportunity to sneak some structured levity in at incremental points of Link's journey. Linkle can simply appear in various towns or settlements so that players can check in and hear how her journey towards Hyrule Castle is going.
There's no telling what Link's story arc will entail in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. With so much secrecy surrounding the title, there are very few things of which fans can be sure, but Tears of the Kingdom will seemingly continue building connections to prior characters and locations in the Legend of Zelda timeline. Linkle is just one of many characters who could make a big appearance in the title.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is scheduled to release on May 12, 2023 for Nintendo Switch.