"Ok, so I wasn't originally gonna post on this. But I got bored and started typing my views on the topic any ways. Since I wasn't worried about posting I started going off in a totaly different direction, and although it kind of breaks from the topic by a lot, I some how managed to finally put into words what I always believed about Link in the Legend of Zelda! So feel free to tl;dr if you want. But after typing all this. I kind of have to post it, just tag it "One of Link64's Rants" and skip over it if you want. But I'm telling you! I'm am soooooo saving it any ways!

Alright, this is where it starts. This part is fairly relevant to the topic!

Well, I don't think the Hero's Shade and OOT Link have THAT many similarities! The idea of having your own aged version of the Master Sword as a spirtual symbol can make since. But he didn't have the Master Sword any time after OOT. And though the Mirror Shield in MM WAS round, lets face it! It was STEEL! Not exatly a "Crumblesome" material. And then you have to question the wolf symbolism, OOT Link had nothing to do with Wolves!
In all honesty the character's armor better resembles TP Link's Rupee armor anyways, not counting the helmet which is notably similar to the helmets of WW's Darknuts!

Now, it is true that children lost in the forest become SkullKids, adults become Stalfos, and even odder still in FourSwords Adventure it is claimed that people can become Deku Scrubs! But lets face it, for one reason or another (Triforce, rasied as a Kokiri, or just sheer luck) he has never had troubles traveling through the lost woods before! I can't imagine why he would now. Comicly on my own terms, (having seen Link's various cameos in various game series) I like to think the Hero of Time just kept exploring new lands and helping others long untill his own elderly death. (EG "Here lies Link")

That being said! There is no doubt in my mind that the Hero's Shade and TP Link are father-son, and minimal doubt that the two are both related to OOT Link, and every OTHER Link for that matter! But I still question the possibilites of the Hero's Shade being OOT Link.

This is kind of where I started going off topic by about a lot!

It was aLttP that pretty much described Link's family tree! Link, EVERY LINK! As well as their father's before them are all linked to, related to, decendent from, or staight up ARE a part of the Hyrulian Knights! The warriors born to protect the kingdom and it's royal family. (In a true Spartan's-decendent-of-Hercules style) It can be said that every great Hylian warrior in Hyrule is related to one another through one blood line or another. Much as how the Triforce of Wisdom is passed from Princess to Princess in the family, it could be said that so to does the Triforce of Courage and this blood line.
Of course, it was the old school Zelda games that revealed how leaving the kingdom "Seperates you from the elements that make you a hero" shattering the triforce into 8 convenient pieces. OOT Link left Hyrule loosing the ToC (Considering the split timeline theory, he may have never had it to begin with and another later hero had to come forth from the blood line, recieve it, and in the end break it) But for one reason or another, WW Link was decendent from the Hyrulian Knights, but not OOT Link directly (As the KoRL said to Jubun) and so it took a while for the wheels of fate to begin turning again and find the new hero to reassemble the ToC. (Or perhaps it could be that fate purposely waited that long!)

So basicly, long story short, I don't think the Hero's Shade is a Link (A Hero of Hyrule) but simply just a Knight! But though he is not a Link, the only real reason he is a Warrior Knight is BECAUSE he is related to the Hyrulian Knights and related to the other Links...and..wait.... hold on.... maybe a better way to put it is.....

K, by this point I'm just rephrasing what I just said, but there is so much more behind it! This is where I finally put into words, FOR THE FIRST TIME, what I feel about Link in tLoz! This is part is the reason why I posted this mess!

Fate created a Blood Line. A blood line perhaps all from one man, the ORIGINAL Link, the FIRST Hyrulian Hero! The one that protected the sages who first sealed the Sacred Realm from greedy hands. And whom first wielded that Blade of Evil's Bane when those sages first forged it! LONG before the Triforce was ever actually split! The men in this blood line, decendent from that man, were all natrual born fighters and were all recruited, not just by the King but by Fate itself, to protect the Kingdom. These men became the Hryulian Knights. Of course after years of war, upheaval, and various "re-establishments" of peace this blood line was scattered all through out the kingdom all through out the ages. But that didn't prevent the men of this blood line from protecting the kingdom any less!
The truly interesting thing about this blood line wasn't the fact that it's members were all great warriors, but that in a time of great need, when the kingdom was truly in peril, fate would pick one boy from this blood line, perhaps even fating him with this destiny before his own birth (Fate being omniscient and all) and naming him NOT a Warrior (A Hyrulian Knight), but instead a Hero (A "Link"). And so these heroic "Links" would go forth, never questioning their fate, and defeat whatever force dared threaten the kingdom. Using any and all weapons offered to them, mystical, legendary, or otherwise! With or with out the ToC!

Now, it's only natrual that, when split, the Triforce would pick a member of this mighty blood line to entrust it's courageous third too. And of course, like the blood itself, the triforce passes from father to son. And considering the fact that more often than not the different Heroes of Hyrule are not just generations but instead whole eras apart, it is safe to say you don't have to be a "Link" to simply have and carry the ToC. Fate has made it to where you only have to be a decendent of the Hyrulian Knights. It would appear instead, that USING the Triforce is the only privilege entitled to those who carry the name "Link".
Infact, in that sense, it could be said that there really was no hero named Link. It could be that every Link is just another boy with in the blood line, each one with a different name! BUT when we play the games, we get a retelling of the legend, where names are hard to remember. So, any member of the blood line who stepped forth to save the kingdom, with or with out the ToC, is then named Link to represent his heroic stature! If any member of the bloodline can hold the ToC, it could very well be that Link is the name given to the namelss heros that appeared in the land's time of need. But as a fans, we'll forgo that theory and assume that fate picks a lad to be named Link and there by be destined to save the kingdom, with or with our the ToC.

But then that brings up the question of what exactly does the ToC do? Its powers have never been as prevelent as the other two! My belief is that (Since no Link as ever died in his quest canicly speaking) one could say it's the power of being the GOOD guy! Essentially, you always end up winning in the long run!
Or perhaps it's something more along the lines of "The bigger you are, the stronger I am" (Link's motto I'm telling ya!) I've always found smaller bosses to be more trouble than the more larger, more epic, more STRAIGHT FORWARD ones. (I have examples if needed, bigger bosses are always easier and less deadly. At least for me!) Either way, one thing we do know is that unlike the blood which always stays with you, the Triforce's flaw (Or fail-safe! As the case may be) is that it absolutely MUST stay in Hryule. Less it breaks into pieces awaiting Fate to pick a NEW Link in the blood line to find it!

Wow! I don't even know! Some of you may have already known this, or thought of it and decided it wasn't correct! It may even already be one of many theories you've heard and isn't all that important to you! But this is what I believe about the "Links" of Hyrule and I'm just glad to be able to finally put it into words! Sadly my rant isn't done there. I had one last futile attempt to bring it back down to the ORIGINAL topic!

So! Long story even further shortened!

Do you have to have the Triforce to be a Hero? No!
But do you have to be a Hero to have the Triforce? Still no! You need only be a part of the Knight's blood line.

So as odd as it sounds, it would appear having the ToC doesn't make you a hero, but instead, as a hero, it is just another item you alone can use against the forces of evil!
(And as I'm digressing)
Do you have to be a Hero to be a Hyrulian Knight? No!
But do you have to be a Hyrulian Knight to be a Link? It looks like it!

Hmmmm...so it would appear fate built in quite a few redundencies to prevent the Triforce of courage from falling into evil hands!
But what does this have to do with the original post?

Well! With PURE logic alone (look above to see logic) we can safely assume that the Hero's Shade was a mighty Warrior apart of the blood line of the Hyrulian Knights and therefore decendent from or related to one of many possible already existing Links. Though for all we know, he could very well HAVE been a Hero (or "Link") but I some how doubt that greatly, more greatly doubting any chance of him being The Hero of Time! Furthermore we can assume he did infact have the Triforce, most likely born with it as his son, TP Link, was. If not, as a warrior (Knight) or hero (Link), he collected the eight pieces after a previous Link left Hyrule causing them to split. And if he had no great force to battle, Hero's Shade could accomplish this with out need of being a Fated Hero.

But that's about all we can assume. And even then, I could still be completely wrong about it all!

Well! There you go! In all honesty (Directing this to PyroBomber) I have a tendency to rant any ways (Just ask any of the admins or mods) but this FAR exceeds what I've ever done before. So please don't get annoyed with me, it will never be this bad again! Promise!"