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Let’s start with the obvious. The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword is one of the most polarizing Zelda games ever released. It has this reputation for many reasons but we’re not here to talk about that. I just needed a way to open up this discussion. I’m giving fair warning right now. SPOILERS AHEAD! Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get right to the point. Fi. Throughout the game Fi is Link’s devoted companion. She is the personified essence of the legendary Goddess Sword. She was created for one purpose, to aid the Chosen Hero on his quest to cleanse the world of evil in it’s purest form, the Demon King Demise. While you work your way through the game she gives you statistics on your enemies, provides details on your current whereabouts, offers suggestions on where to go next, and most importantly informs you when your Wii Remote’s batteries are low.
Fi doing her job….. I guess?
By the end of the game Link successfully transforms the Goddess Sword into the True Master Sword, unlocking all of its significant power. Fi also develops a very close bond with Link himself. Being carried around on a handsome young mans back tends to have that affect on people. Once Link defeats Demise and gets cursed for eternity, its then time for him to say goodbye to his annoy…. er LOYAL companion by returning the Blade of Evil’s Bane back to its pedestal. Fi says one final emotional farewell then returns to the sword to sleep for all time, never to wake again. Or does she?
I very much think that she’s still in there. No longer does she take physical form but instead remains inside the blade silently guiding the fate of Hyrule. Don’t worry dear reader. I’m gonna back this up. Only one game has direct evidence of her continued consciousness, Breath of the Wild. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We gotta start earlier than that for potential evidence. So let’s take a look at the game that changed it all, Ocarina of Time.
The game opens with Link living in Kokiri Forest. A fairyless boy around the age of nine. One thing leads to another and he gets himself a fairy, meets the princess of Hyrule, braves the dangers of three dungeons, and returns to Hyrule Castle with three Spiritual Stones. He witnesses Princess Zelda and Impa riding to escape Ganondorf, Zelda tosses Link the Ocarina of Time, he collects it from the castle’s mote, and hurries off to the Temple of Time. He uses the stones to open the Door of Time and proceeds to pull the Master Sword out of the Pedestal of Time. Ok pause right there! Do you see it? No? Ok fine I’ll explain. After Link pulls the sword, he is sealed in the Chamber of Sages for seven years. But why? The obvious answer is he physically cannot wield the sword. Its too big and heavy. Fair enough. But let’s look at a quote from the sage Rauru himself. He said, “The Master Sword is a sacred blade which evil ones may never touch… Only one worthy of the title of “Hero of Time” can pull it from the Pedestal of Time…. However, you were too young to be the Hero of Time… Therefore, your spirit was sealed here for seven years. And now that you are old enough, the time has come for you to awaken as the Hero of Time!” That seems pretty clear. Link was to young like we just said. But what if we read between the lines? What if the last Hero to wield the Master Sword was around 16 to 17 years of age? Like Link from Skyward Sword. Maybe, just maybe, Fi did not recognize this younger incarnation of Link as the Link she knew so well and as a defensive measure, sealed his soul in the Chamber of Sages. By doing this, Fi inadvertently allowed Ganondorf to conquer Hyrule and spread his vile influence across the land. So Link wakes up and does his Hero thing for the rest of the game. Then we get to the end and Zelda makes a HUGE mistake. She sends Link back in time to relive his childhood. Seems innocent enough but this one choice splits the single continuity of Hyrule’s history into two separate universes. Basic quantum physics and stuff like that. So now we have two different universes. One where Link goes back in time one last…. uh… time before he ever pulled the Master Sword but retains all of his memories. The other where history continues and the Master Sword is returned to its pedestal once again and peace returns to the land for a time. So now we have to consider that in this second timeline, the Adult Timeline, Fi within the Master Sword learned that because of her decision to seal Link away, she herself allowed Ganondorf to rule Hyrule. Never again would she make that mistake.
Now we must move on to the next game in the Adult Timeline, The Wind Waker. Link is again reincarnated as a young boy around the age of nine. His sister is kidnapped and he goes after her with some pirates. He fails to save her and meets the King of Red Lions, a talking boat. With his new boat friendo, he sails the sea to collect three pearls and finally unlocks the Tower of the Gods. After proving is worth as a Hero, he is granted access to the ancient land beneath the waves. As it turns out this land is Hyrule itself, sealed away by a great flood in an attempt to stop another conquest by Ganondorf. Link finds the Master Sword and pulls it from its stone…. with no problems whatsoever. As I see it, Fi learned from her mistake with the Hero of Time and instantly let this new and young Link to become her new master. So Link takes the sword and goes around completing dungeons yada, yada, yada and defeats Ganondorf once and for all turning him to stone and sealing him away beneath the waves. Thus ends the history of Hyrule, Land of the Gods. That’s the Adult Timeline. For all intents and purposes, Fi dies with Hyrule. So! Over to the Child Timelime!
Ganondorf turning to stone after the battle with Link. Notice the Master Sword skewering his brain.
Whew! Just two more games to go. I’m discounting the Downfall Timeline since Fi acts almost the same way as in The Wind Waker. Now we have Twilight Princess. And it’s here that we see the biggest change to every reincarnation of Link going forward. Each one is 16 or older. The same age as Skyward Sword era Link. And don’t forget that since Zelda in Ocarina of Time sent the Hero of Time back, he never pulled the Master Sword. Those games events technically never happened. So Fi has only ever known a Hero to be around the age of 16. So when this new Link finally gets around to pulling the legendary blade, Fi “accepts” him. Notice the wording there.
There! Midna’s exact words.
The definition of “accept” is to take or receive with approval or favor. In every other game, it is stated that the Master Sword “chooses” its wielders. The definition of “choose” is to pick out or select (someone or something) as being the best or most appropriate of two or more alternatives. See the difference? Fi didn’t CHOOSE this Link, she ACCEPTED him because he so closely resembled the Link she once knew. She might have even thought they were the same dude. She has been stuck in a piece of metal for several hundred years after all. I’m sure we all know how the rest goes. Moving on!
Breath of the Wild. *Sigh* What a great game. So much to talk about. But that’s not what we’re here for. We are here for two very important cutscenes. Back story first, like usual. Link has no memories and he’s over 100 years old. Good enough! So after Link gets his memories back he has the chance to recover the last one. The memory of his downfall. I have to use video links to get my point across here so bear with me. Here is a video of that memory. Play extra special attention to what happens at minute 1:36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrmyJWCabx8 There is absolutely no denying it. Zelda without a doubt heard a voice. Fi’s voice. Here’s a clip of Fi leaving the Master Sword in Skyward Sword. Ignore her creepy, demon speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_5DUnUC-jk That sound is identical to what Zelda heard. It’s anyone’s guess to what Fi actually said to her but I’m sure it was something along the lines of “Do not give up hope. He can still be saved.” I have one more clip to share with you guys. This one takes place after you finish the final Trial of the Sword in DLC pack one and unlock the true power of the Master Sword. Take a look. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV-Dm6mjmQ At minute 1:00, a very light piano rendition of Fi’s Theme plays and she makes her sound thingie. As Link hears her he closes his eyes, a look of complete calm and understanding on his face. What did she tell him? Did he say anything back? We may never know.
And there it is. Before the release of Breath of the Wild, all we had to go off of were theories and speculation. I’ll admit some of my arguments were stretching things. Those two cutscenes in Breath of the Wild give a strong case that I am, in fact, correct. Though it still has not been confirmed by Nintendo and may never be. But if you sit back and actually think about all these different events, you can’t help but start to wonder… maybe Fi is still alive and well. Slumbering inside the Master Sword awaiting the time when she will once again be with the one person she could ever call “friend.”
Fi saying farewell to Link at the end of Skyward Sword.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. Who knows if I’m right or not. I want to know what all of you think. Is Fi alive or is she not? Comment with your thoughts below. Until next time, this is Adam with The Hidden Triforce. See you later.
