Age requirement changed?

In Oot, Link was just a boy, and when he pulled the Master Sword out of the Pedestal, he was too young to be the Hero. So, his spirit was sealed for 7 years, and then he was old enough.

If he was too young to be the Hero, then shouldn't have WW Link be too young?

The legend shown in WW stated that a boy in green clothing defeated the evil. The term "boy" was also used by Ganondorf when Link defeated his first form in Oot. It might be possible that the term "boy" was taken literally and was thought to be as young as the Link in WW.

My point is that the age requirement shouldn't have changed, even if the legend passed down was talking about a boy. So, WW Link technically should have been too young to pull out the Master Sword and be the Hero. Apparently not though. Then again, there was really no Sacred Realm or Sages, so maybe this rule did not apply.

However, maybe this requirement was only for the Hero of Time?

The last sentence pretty much sums it up
The Links of Wind Waker and aLttP faced a different task than OoT Link did.

True. I guess that goes the same for the Triforce, anyone can get it at any age.

Who says Toon Link isn't 17 as well?

He looks toon-ish after all

He would be much more respected if he was 17, and he would have a deeper voice.

Originally Posted by SixaxiS

Who says Toon Link isn't 17 as well?

He looks toon-ish after all

I don't think so. His voice sounds like a child, he looks like a child, and adults look like adults in the game.

Like 13th said, he would have a deeper voice

It's simple. Nintendo wanted it to be toony, and a 17 year old isnt as toony as a 12 year old (my guess of toon link's age.)

Note that when he pulled the sword in WW it wasn't fully active. Perhaps the seal only occurs when pulling the sword from the pedestal, and since it wasn't magically charged yet, the seal could not occur.

I believe that there was only a age requirement for the Hero of Time.
The game said that OOT Link was too young to be the Hero of Time.
But WW Link is the Hero of Winds, so there's probably no age requirement to be the Hero of Winds.

It's only for the Hero of Time. Link in LttP was a kid, as well.

Originally Posted by 13th

He would be much more respected if he was 17, and he would have a deeper voice.

i cant believe no'one picked up on this joke.lawlz.

Just because of the way its responded to doesn't imply stupidity or obviviousness, good sir.

Originally Posted by Midna666

I believe that there was only a age requirement for the Hero of Time.
The game said that OOT Link was too young to be the Hero of Time.
But WW Link is the Hero of Winds, so there's probably no age requirement to be the Hero of Winds.

That could be the answer.

Wait a minute, yes WW Link was the Hero of Winds, but the Master Sword is still the Master Sword. The Hero of Time is the one who wields the Master Sword, which is Link from Oot. WW and TP Link drew the Master Sword, and their titles were not the Hero of Time. Could that be because Time was not really involved in those two games. Yes Hyrule was frozen until WW Link pulled out the sword, yet, shouldn't the title still apply? Even if Time was not involved, that shouldn't change. How is that explained?

Personally I think it's more the case that in OoT, they wanted a more drastic change in Link, so that there actually was a notable difference. A few years wouldn't bring too many changes and there would likely not be any items that could be age-specific.

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't think that just because Link was 17 (?), that that was the minimum age he had to be to be the Hero of Time. I suppose, storywise, the fact that it was 7 years was intended to seem symbolic, so that the minimum age requirement could be overlooked.

Is it still impossible to introduce the idea to this forum that anything exists in a Zelda game for any other reason than pure story? Seriously, what do you expect them to do? Make Link age to adulthood and repeat the same plot device in every game? The Hero of Time's quest required him to be an adult, so it was necessary for him to wait a few years before he was ready to be the Hero of Time. That's not the case for any other Link.

TWW Link is 12, this has been confirmed through multiple official sources. OoT Link's age was never confirmed, though.

The difference between 10 and 12 can be pretty significant. The HoWeven seemed much more mature then the adult HoT. And there was nobody to seal Link off, the King of Hyrule couldn't do it, and the sages were nowhere to be found.

Of course, it's probably just a case of gameplay over story.

He was already the hero of time in a past life, remember?

Originally Posted by Seen

He was already the hero of time in a past life, remember?

But he wasn't.
The Hero of Time can't be reincarnated because the Hero of Time never died. Not in Wind Waker's reality, anyways.

Originally Posted by KikasPet Itachi

i cant believe no'one picked up on this joke.lawlz.

I'm sorry, what? Can you explain this joke to me. I guess i just don't get it...

The dual Link/time period thing was conceived in order to explore GAMEPLAY ideas of controlling Link in two different time periods and ages. Gameplay before story. Then they came up with a plot reason to explain it. There's nothing else to it, and it was only relevant to that one Link who wasn't ready to be the Hero of Time. So many of the details used around here become meaningless when you realise they have nothing to do with the timeline.