Riruto

RIRUTO

I don’t even know how to describe this one. Basically in 1994, a writer was hired to write a manga set in the world of Zelda, but he decided to set it a generation after Link and Zelda and Ganon’s whole adventure, with completely original characters on a completely original adventure that our main trio only cameo in. The main character of these is a young boy who stumbles across the Master Sword while climbing around a mountain with his friends.

This boy is Riruto, whose childhood friend Kalin is kidnapped as part of a plan to resurrect Ganon, leading to Riruto being killed trying to rescue her, after which he is trained by Link in the spirit world on how to wield the Master Sword.

As a fighter, I imagine Riruto will be similar to Link, but with faster, brasher attacks that have a bit more force behind them. His moveset will be similar to Manga Link’s but with a few more things specific to his manga.

Likelihood rating: Non-game

Character Sheet: Riruto

RIRUTO

Alright, so we did have one more semi-big character list in us. Let's get into it! This is all characters I could pull out originating from the Legend of Zelda manga, or were given just enough of a boost by the manga to make it into our rankings. They are:

1. Maple

2. Jolene

3. Ricky

4. Captain Stalfos

5. Manga Link

6. Riruto

7. Manga Zelda

8. Raska

9. Tou

10. Ghanti

11. Gonza

12. Kala

13. Captain Arjuna

14. Sir Raven

15. Biri

16. Com

17. Gump

18. Shemlon

19. Rouro

20. Ganon's Minion

21. Ganon's Heart

22. Ganos

23. Haggis

Next up, we'll cover a Zelda manga protagonist created by someone who really wanted to write Dragon Ball. Riruto is a young boy living in Hyrule a generation after the events of the first game and Link and Zelda have passed away. He stumbles upon the Master Sword in the mountains and draws it, discovering that he is its new wielder. (Technically, in current Zelda lore, I think that would make him a new Link, but this was before all that was established, so . . .).

Riruto mainly learned all of his techniques when he was briefly killed and went to the spirit world to learn from King Ka--I mean, Link. He has the Master Sword and can use it to fire sword beams (very kamehameha-style sword beams), perform spin attack, shoot lightning, and create cyclones. He also has a shield and power bracelet, which he uses to lift a giant pot, and he can grapple and backflip.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Cyclone

Riruto will summon a cyclone from his sword and blast a strong wind across the stage, blowing any nearby opponents backwards.

Side B: Lightning Blade

He will charge up lightning on his sword and stab forward, striking and stunning his opponents in the immediate vicinity while also firing off some discharge.

Up B: Spin Attack

Just like Link's aerial spin attack, Riruto will charge up and spin, gaining himself some lift in the process.

Down B: Power Bracelet

Riruto will gain strength from the power bracelet, hefting a giant pot over his head and smashing it down in front of himself.

Final Smash: Sword Beam

Seeing as the sword beam is a bit more of a super attack in this version of things, we will do it that way. Riruto will charge up his sword with all of his might, Link's spirit appearing behind him and gripping the sword too, and then fire off a beam at full power.

Entrance: A fairy will rise from a pile of stones and Riruto will dig himself out of it.

Taunts: Up, Riruto will heft the Master Sword skyward. Side, he and Kala will grab each other's hands and dance around each other. Down, he will place the Master Sword back in its pedestal.

Thanks for reading! Next up, the manga version of Zelda.

Oath of Riruto

OATH OF RIRUTO

Oath of Riruto is a Legend of Zelda manga. Technically. It stars a bunch of characters who are not Link or Zelda, and is set a generation after the events of the first game, with Link, Zelda, and Ganon only really having minor cameos within it. As ghosts. And it was written by Furusawa Junya and Munesue Jin, who clearly wanted to be writing Dragon Ball, but were writing Legend of Zelda for some reason instead. (All that aside, I actually had a lot of fun with this thing and you should totally check it out.)

Oath of Riruto stars Riruto, a young boy growing up in Hyrule a generation after the events of the first game, and who grew up on stories of the great hero Link and his battle with Ganon. One day, he comes upon the Master Sword high in the mountains, and is able to draw it from its pedestal just like Link. He then gets killed by a group trying to free Ganon, and finds himself in the spirit world where he is trained by Link to use the sword and then restored to life (not unlike a certain Goku and King Kai arc). Riruto can wield the sword, shoot lightning from it, perform a spin attack, create a cyclone with it, and fire a sword beam. He also has a shield, the power bracelet, a giant pot, and can grapple and perform a backflip.

He grew up with childhood friend named Kalin, who is the inheritor of Zelda the way he is Link's, but is sadly mostly a damsel in distress for most of the story, only giving off a strong energy aura toward the end. Along his journey, he also picks up three companions: Gonza, a thief who tries to steal his sword (totally not Yamcha); Kala, a girl with a shapeshifting ferret; and Cho, a fat but strong guy (totally not Yajirobe). Gonza wields a sword, throwing daggers, and bombs, tries to crush Riruto with a rock, and dashes really fast. Kala's ferret can change into a giant worm or a dragon, and she herself can punch, and perform a pile driver. Cho is mostly just a companion to Kala, assisting her with a rope he can control and a power bracelet.

Our main villains are a group of four working to resurrect Ganon: Nabat, Haggis, Glasgow, and Hoody. Or at least, they were, until Haggis got power hungry, betrayed his companions, and absorbed Ganon's power into himself, making himself the most Dragon Ball Dragon Ball villain I've ever seen. Glasgow and Hoody go out pretty quick, murdered by Haggis, while Nabat summons a lightning storm in the process of the resurrection. Haggis, on the other hand, rides a steed, wears a protection amulet, can punch, flick really hard, fire arrows from a bow, perform a head bash, strike with the wind, kick, call down a lightning strike, fire a kamehame--excuse me, energy blast, move at lightning speed, and create an energy shield.

It's so Dragon Ball, but I still loved it so much. Anyway, here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Manga Link: slingshot, sword, shield, bow, boomerang, bombs, magic wand, Watto, become a fairy, healing magic, thunder, fly on shield, raft, Link to the Past-related stuff

Riruto: sword, lightning sword, spin attack, cyclone sword, sword beam, shield, power bracelet, giant pot, grapple, backflip

Zelda: club, rope, sword, flute, spells, transform, sea monster, magic

Kalin: energy aura

Biri: sword, torches, pitchforks, battering rams

Raska: palm thrust, knee, jab, two-palm strike, shield thrust, throwing spikes

Captain Arjuna: Hylian Soldier moveset

Gonza: sword, throwing daggers, bombs, rock, dash

Kala: ferret, worm, dragon, punch, pile driver

Cho: rope, power bracelet

Maple: broom, create cushions, lift things, summon demon, false monsters, crystal ball

Ricky: leap, tornado punch, multi-jabs, tuck into pouch, ski, flying bear

Ghanti: sword, dagger, silver arrows, wolf, monster, apple

Sir Raven: sword, horse, fishing, fish hook lockpick, mystery seeds, axe, peashooter

Marin

Link's Uncle: sword

Kanika

Tou: same as Raska

Couscous: spells, claw, bite

Birina

Gump: trained Link, sword, training staff, flip

Shemlon: forge, enchant swords, sword, reflect

Rouro: fly, peck, flyswatter, bag, storm

Jolene: ship's cannons, twin swords, lunge, block, Linebeck-related moves

Pirate Captain: dagger, sword, hook

Ganon/Ganon's Minion: burn, magic blast, disappear, fly, shock, storm, teleport, shapeshift, Ganon's hand

Agahnim

Nabat: lightning storm

Haggis: steed, protection amulet, punch, flick, bow, head bash, wind strike, kick, lightning strike, energy blast, lightning speed, energy shield.

Stages:

Ganon's Statue

Spirit World Training Arena

Thanks for reading! If you thought that one was out there, it's not even close to the weirdest Zelda manga out there. Do you wanna know what is? You can find out tomorrow.