Link (The Legend of Zelda)

Link
Legend of Zelda series character
File:E3 link art.jpg Link, seen here in some Twilight Princess artwork, is a courageous fighter who stars in The Legend of Zelda series games.
First game	The Legend of Zelda (1987)
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto

Link (リンク, Rinku) is the fictional protagonist in Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto. He first appeared in the 1986 video game The Legend of Zelda. Link was originally portrayed as a two dimensional sprite, but in later releases he is a computer-generated image (CGI). Besides the Zelda game series, Link has been featured in other video games, comic books and his own television show.

He is a young Hylian, whose age ranges from 10 to 18 in various incarnations, who journeys through the realm of Hyrule to defeat evil forces that continually range against it. Link is known to use swords of great magical power, especially the Master Sword to defeat the reaccurring source of his worlds evil, Ganon. He has been noted to be a great warrior though he is young, and has a close but un-romantic relationship with Princess Zelda whom he has continually rescued.

The character was incorporated into Nintendo's merchandising and has become one of Nintendo's flagship game franchises. Link's enduring popularity has led to many incarnations of the Legend of Zelda story and has sold over 47 million copies worldwide.

Appearances

Video games

File:Zelda 02.png

Links first appearance in The Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System released in 1986.

In The Legend of Zelda, Link’s character is not examined in detail. Described by the instruction booklet as a traveler who saved Princess Zelda’s elderly nursemaid Impa from monsters, he is mostly a generic hero character attempting to rescue Zelda (and her kingdom, Hyrule) from the evil wizard Ganon, who has stolen the Triforce of Power.

In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Link approaches his 16th birthday, Impa takes him to North Castle in Hyrule, alarmed by the sudden appearance of a Triforce crest on the boy’s left hand. She shows him the true heiress of Hyrule, an older incarnation of Princess Zelda, trapped out of time in an eternal sleep, lying on an altar in the castle. The old woman also tells Link the Legend of Zelda, an ancient tale about the division of the Triforce and the curse that was put upon the princess. Impa then gives Link six crystals, and a scroll written in an ancient Hylian tongue, which Link understands despite having never learned it. He reads that the mark on his hand is the sign that he was chosen to seek the third Triforce, Courage, in the Great Palace in the Valley of Death. Link then begins a quest to place a crystal in each of six palaces in Hyrule, so that he can later penetrate unhindered into the magically protected Great Palace, claim the Triforce of Courage, reunite the three pieces of the Triforce, and awaken Zelda. If Link dies in this game, the Game Over screen depicts the "Return of Gannon [sic]". It is implied that his followers will use the slain Link’s blood in a ritual to accomplish this resurrection.

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, centuries before the events of A Link to the Past, Ganon and his army of evil were banished into the Golden Land, the realm of the Triforce, by the Hylians, at the price of countless lives. The portal to this world was magically blocked by seven sages, and the lands behind that seal, which Hylians hoped would never be broken again, became known as the Dark World, as they were corrupted by Ganon’s malice. One day, when the Imprisoning War is all but forgotten, the land is plagued by sudden disaster, until the wizard Agahnim appears at the court of the king of Hyrule and quells the upheaval. Named chief advisor to the throne, he soon seizes power from the king and kidnaps six maidens, descendants of the wise men who had sealed the entrance of the Dark World. The maidens are taken to the castle tower, and never seen again. Agahnim then begins a dark ritual to break the seal on the Dark World and unleash Ganon’s fury upon Hyrule. Princess Zelda herself descends from the seventh sage, and manages to send out a telepathic call for help before being taken away. Link’s uncle heads for the royal castle first, but he is quickly dispatched. He leaves Link his sword and with his last breath imparts the sword-spin technique. The young hero then begins a journey to collect three magical Pendants of Virtue, and claim the Master Sword as his before facing Agahnim. Link then enters the Dark World to rescue the seven maidens trapped in their crystal prisons, and eventually slay Ganon himself. After completing this quest he is told by the entity known as the "Essence of the Triforce" that it will grant him any wish when he touches it. Link uses his wish to restore peace and prosperity to the land of Hyrule (and to restore certain characters who fell in the struggle against evil), and returns the Master Sword to its pedestal. After defeating Ganon, Link decides to travel the world, so he might be prepared if a threat like Ganon ever comes to Hyrule again. Returning to Hyrule, Link’s ship is caught in a storm and wrecked. He washes up on the shore of a mysterious island called Koholint. A girl named Marin, who strongly resembles Zelda, finds Link lying unconscious on the beach and brings him to her home. When he wakes, the young hero returns to the beach to retrieve his equipment. There he meets a strange talking owl who tells him that the only way he can escape Koholint Island is by awakening the “Wind Fish”, a giant creature slumbering in a colossal egg in the center of the island. To do so, Link must collect the legendary eight Sirens’ Instruments and play the Ballad of the Wind Fish. Link later discovers that the entire island of Koholint and its people were dreamed into existence by the Wind Fish itself. Before the end of his journey inside the Wind Fish’s egg, Link must fight the “Nightmares”, evil spirits which the owl says have recently plagued the dream realm.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has a mysterious and somewhat confusing plot and an atmosphere that is sometimes compared to Alice in Wonderland. The ending is purportedly equivocal, as it remains unclear how Link entered the Wind Fish’s dream, or whether Link himself dreamed the entire adventure. In the short ending sequence however, the island and its inhabitants fade away as Link awakens and sees the Wind Fish flying above him. This ambiguity is well illustrated by the Wind Fish’s last words before Link plays the Song of Awakening at the end of the game: “[…] Come Link… Let us awaken… Let us awaken… Together!”. This is considered to be reminiscent of the Red King in Through the Looking-Glass.

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a young Link has been raised as one of the Kokiri, the “children of the forest”. Unlike the other Kokiri, Link does not have a fairy companion, and is thus shunned by their leader, Mido. Link’s life changes one day when the Great Deku Tree, the forest's guardian, sends Navi the fairy to Link with instructions to bring him immediately. A curse has been cast on the Deku Tree, and he asks Link to break it; while Link is successful in defeating the monsters inside the Tree, the Tree was doomed before Link started. Dying, the Deku Tree tells Link of the Triforce and directs Link to Hyrule Castle, where he encounters Princess Zelda. She sends him on a mission to collect three Spiritual Stones and save Hyrule. Once Link obtains the Stones, he travels to the Temple of Time and opens the Door of Time with the Stones and the Ocarina of Time. He then draws the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. This action imprisons Link in the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm for seven years, while Ganondorf takes control of Hyrule and seizes the Triforce of Power.

Seven years after drawing the sword from the pedestal, Link is awakened as the Hero of Time by Rauru, Sage of Light. Link finds that much time has passed, and he has grown up. He sets off on a quest to cleanse the land of Ganondorf’s evil by awakening the Sages, who can seal Ganondorf in what used to be the Sacred Realm. Returning to the Kokiri Forest, he finds that none of his friends have grown up, and most now no longer recognize him. After the player completes the first dungeon in this phase of the game, the Deku Tree's successor, the Deku Sprout, reveals the hidden story of Link's past to him. The Kokiri never grow up; the reason Link has grown, while his Kokiri friends have not, is that he is actually a Hylian, orphaned in the wars that raged before Hyrule was united. When Link was a baby, his mother fled with him to Kokiri Forest, and, mortally wounded, left him under the Deku Tree’s protection. He was brought up as one of the Kokiri, and knew no differently. Through the rest of the game, Link travels back and forth between the two time periods and his two ages using the Master Sword. At the end of the game, he is returned to his youth by Princess Zelda, and Navi leaves him.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask occurs after defeating Ganon(dorf) and being sent back in time to his childhood, Link leaves Hyrule to search for a lost friend (declared by the official manga to be his old fairy companion, Navi, which is a reasonable assumption in the game as well). While riding deep in the Lost Woods, he is ambushed by a Skull Kid who is possessed by an evil artifact, Majora’s Mask, and his horse, Epona, is stolen. Chasing the Skull Kid, Link falls into a crevasse and arrives in a country called Termina. He must save this land from the evil of Majora’s Mask, which has drawn the moon into a decaying orbit, causing it to crash into Termina’s capital city in just three days. Link uses the Ocarina of Time and the Song of Time, which sends him back in time and saves the game when he plays it, to relive these three days again and again in order to prevent the disaster. Along the way Link finds many magical masks of his own, a handful of which allow him to transform. Those masks can turn him into a rock-like Goron; a petite, plant-like Deku Scrub; a graceful aquatic Zora; or the Fierce Deity.

In this game, Link never grows up in the traditional sense, but the dark power of the Fierce Deity’s Mask allows Link to assume a powerful adult form, “Fierce Deity Link”, also known by some fans as by the Japanese name “Oni-Link”. This form is easily his largest, standing at least twice as tall as adult Link in Ocarina of Time.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons The Triforce sends Link on a mission to another land, Holodrum, to stop the disruption of the seasons by the General of Darkness, Onox. While there, it is his duty to protect the Oracle of Seasons (in disguise as a dancer), named Din. After Onox takes her by force and the seasons are thrown into chaos, Link sets out to rescue her with the aid of the Rod of Seasons, a magical staff which allows Link to control the four seasons.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages Link awakens one day in another land, Labrynna, where he has been sent by the magic of the Triforce. Upon his arrival he is tricked by Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows, into opening the seal protecting the Oracle of Ages, a singer named Nayru. Veran, possessing Nayru’s body and time-traveling powers, goes back in time to change the past and command the present. Link rushes to follow them to the past and save Nayru using the power of the Harp of Ages, which, when played correctly, grants its user the ability to move back and forth through time. After exorcising Veran’s spirit from Nayru’s body, Link ascends her citadel to defeat the Spectre of Sorrow.

Even though Link has restored peace to Holodrum and Labrynna, Onox’s efforts have yielded the Flame of Destruction; Veran’s, the Flame of Sorrow; and by Twinrova's kidnapping of Zelda, the Flame of Despair. Twinrova plans to use these flames to sacrifice Zelda and revive Ganon. Link must first defeat Twinrova and save the kidnapped Zelda, then defeat the crazed, bestial Ganon produced by the botched attempt.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords For the first multiplayer Zelda game, Nintendo didn’t want to introduce new characters and have gamers arguing over who gets to be Link — so everyone gets to be Link.

In the beginning of the game, a Zelda (who is probably not Zelda from any of the other games) goes to the Sanctuary of the Four Sword with her friend Link to check on the seal containing the Wind Mage, Vaati. The seal has weakened, however, and Vaati emerges and kidnaps Zelda. Drawing the Four Sword from the pedestal where it had imprisoned Vaati, Link gets a splitting headache and passes out, awakening to find that the magical Four Sword has divided him into 2-4 identical Links (depending on the number of players). The first Link wears his traditional green outfit; the second, a red version; the third, blue; and the fourth purple. (In The Minish Cap, it is revealed that these colors reflect the four elements with which the sword is imbued.) The Links must cooperate to overcome obstacles, collect keys, and storm Vaati’s Palace so they can rescue Zelda and seal the mage away again.

File:Linkfromtlozww.jpg

Link as he appears in The Wind Waker. Though his appearance is largely similar to previous incarnations, the game style was criticized for being for children

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind WakerHundreds of years after Ocarina of Time, the Gods have flooded Hyrule. A new country has been formed, encompassing the islands of the Great Sea, which were once the highest mountaintops of Hyrule. The kingdom of old, lying dormant under the sea, is now a half-forgotten dream, barely surviving in ancient scrolls and dusty memories.

In the beginning of the game, Link’s younger sister Aryll is captured by the Helmaroc King (a giant masked bird), mistaken for someone else with golden hair and pointy ears. Link travels to all corners of the Great Sea to retrieve his sister and defeat the shadowy power in control of the bird. He finds his quest intertwines with another, and Link becomes, after many trials, the “Hero of Winds”. Using the Wind Waker, a magical conductor’s baton, he borrows the power of the gods to aid him in his quest. The wand’s user interface is similar to that used for the Ocarina of Time, but adds tempo as well as pitch to form tunes.

It is widely discussed what relation this Link has to the Hero of Time. Whether he is the hero reincarnated is uncertain, although Ganondorf comes to believe so (“Surely you are the Hero of Time reborn!”). He is also mistaken by the Deku Tree to be the Hero of Time returned to defeat Ganon. On the other hand, during a conversation with the water spirit Jabun, Link's talking boat, the King of Red Lions, states that he has no connection with the original Hero of Time. Link aids the pirate Tetra in finding her destiny as the Crown Princess of Hyrule, Zelda. The true heir to the Hyrulean royal family also aids him in his quest to awaken two sages and seal Ganondorf under the sea.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures Worried about the seal on Vaati, Zelda goes with six other mystical maidens to check on the Sanctuary of the Four Sword, and Link accompanies her. But something goes horribly wrong, and a dark shadowy copy of Link attacks. Link is forced to draw the Four Sword to fight Dark Link, but when he does, he once again splits into copies of himself, and Vaati escapes. The four Links have to battle their way through the countryside, collecting Force Gems, breaking barriers, and freeing Maidens, until they can ascend the Tower of Winds to the Realm of the Heavens and face Vaati in the Palace of Winds. Even then, it’s not over. The Links must escort Zelda safely down through the collapsing Tower of Winds and confront the dark force behind Dark Link and Vaati’s return: Ganon. Following Ganon’s defeat, the Four Sword is returned to its rightful resting place and the Four recombine into a single Link.

In the Four Swords Adventures manga, the four Links had very different personalities, which sometimes led to arguments. They gave each other nicknames to tell themselves apart: Green (the “main” Link), Red (the childish optimist), Blue (short-tempered), and Vio (the dry-wit loner).

In The Minish Cap, Link is a young boy living with his grandfather, the Master Smith of Hyrule. Link is a childhood friend of Princess Zelda, and on the day of Hyrule’s yearly fair to celebrate the coming of the Picori, they go to join in the festivities. A mysterious stranger, Vaati, shows up and wins the sword-fighting competition; each year the victor of this tournament has the honor of touching the sacred Picori Blade. This sword was a gift to the Hylians from the tiny Picori and was used long ago by a legendary hero (probably a Link) to defeat the forces of darkness and seal them away in the Bound Chest.

At the ceremony, Vaati reveals his true nature; he breaks the Picori Blade off at the hilt, releasing all the malevolent spirits that had been imprisoned inside the chest. Princess Zelda is protected from the spirits by a mysterious golden aura emanating from her forehead. Vaati then remembers that the female descendants of Hyrule have “the power of light” in their blood; knowing she could cause him trouble with this power, he turns her to stone before looking in the chest. He had been hoping to find the legendary Light Force, but instead it is completely empty. The king of Hyrule, desperate to save his daughter, sends the young Link on a mission to seek help from the Picori, who are believed to reveal themselves only to children. With the help of a mysterious hat-like creature called Ezlo, Link traverses Hyrule to find four magical crystal elements and infuse the re-forged Picori Blade with their power so he can face Vaati. The re-forged sword is known as the White Sword until Link powers it up with all four elements; it then becomes the Four Sword.

In the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, scheduled for release in late 2006 for both Nintendo GameCube and Wii, Link is a 16-year-old rancher leading a fairly normal life until two of his friends, Colin and Ilia, are kidnapped by monsters. Link’s rescue mission leads him into the Twilight Realm, a dark place that changes him into a wolf. While in this form, he is aided and ridden on by Midna, an imp-like creature with a strange helmet on her head. In his attempt to save his friends, Link discovers an even greater evil that only he can stop.

Starting at age 16, Link will age throughout the game. Though it is yet kept under wraps exactly how this will be done, players will see Link as a child, as an adolescent, and as an adult.

Main article: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Phantom Hourglass is said to be aiming for a release in late 2006. It seems to revive the idea of a fairy companion as in Ocarina of Time. A sequel to The Wind Waker, it involves Link’s quest to reunite with Tetra after both are lost at sea in a mysterious fog.

Link is present in a number of games outside of the Legend of Zelda series. While varying in their regard within the gaming community, none of these games contributes anything to the series which would be considered LoZ canon.

Link: The Faces of Evil, released in 1993 for Philips’ CD-i system, is the only one of the three Zelda games for the CD-i system in which Link is the protagonist. At the beginning of the game Link is visited by a wizard who tells him that Ganon and his servants have seized the peaceful island of Koridai and captured Zelda. After being informed that only he can defeat Ganon, Link travels to Koridai to find the magical artifact known as the Book of Koridai. Using the Book, he defeats Ganon and frees Zelda.

Although it features Zelda characters, this game was not produced by Nintendo, with supervision from Nintendo, or even for a Nintendo system. It has earned disfavorable reviews, particularly from Zelda fans, who do not consider it part of the Zelda series.

There were two other Legend of Zelda games released for the CD-i; Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda’s Adventure. However, in both games Princess Zelda was the protagonist, as in both games the plot involves Link’s kidnapping.

Link (the adult version from Ocarina of Time) is one of eight characters available at the beginning of Nintendo’s 1999 fighting game, Super Smash Bros. No special information is disclosed about Link in this game. Link sports his traditional green Kokiri tunic (the player can also choose from a few alternate tunic colors inspired by Link’s Ocarina of Time tunics, including the red Goron Tunic and blue Zora Tunic, a purplish white color inspired by the effect of the Blue Ring from the original Legend of Zelda) and the Gameshark Tunic (black) representing Shadow Link. He also has some of his usual arsenal from the Legend of Zelda series at his disposal, including bombs, his boomerang and a hookshot.

Link is also one of the 14 playable characters available from the start in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the 2001 sequel to Super Smash Bros. In Melee, he has his bow in addition to the equipment he brought with him to the original Super Smash Bros. While his swordplay is formidable, Link is at his best when utilizing all his tools and weapons in conjunction with his bladework, rather akin to his motif in the LoZ series. Link is one of the most versatile and flexible close range fighters in the game, but in both games he suffers from somewhat poor jumping ability, and he is fairly slow on the attack. These disadvantages are balanced by his better-than-average smash attacks and high priority, while his poor jumping ability is often outweighed by the fact that he is a very heavy character, ensuring that Link rarely flies far from the level. In Melee, he is given the ability to use his hookshot to latch onto the ledge of the arena, giving him a slight edge should his jump not be enough. Link also has a neutral guard, when not moving, or if ducking down Link can repel many attacks without using the L or R buttons to protect himself by using his own shield (he brings it up when he ducks, although the shield can still block attacks while he is standing). With his shield Link can even repel a fully charged energy blast from Samus Aran.

Also playable in the game, as a secret unlockable character, is Young Link, the youthful Link from most of the games in the series. Modeled after the Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask version of the hero, Young Link is more agile but weaker than the older Link. His spin attack is markedly different; the older Link’s technique will send an opponent flying with the first hit, while Young Link’s will draw the other combatant in close for more hits. His weapons are also slightly altered: his hookshot has a shorter range, and his Kokiri Sword and bombs also inflict less damage than adult Link’s Master Sword and bombs, although the explosions have a larger radius and can hit an opponent multiple times. Young Link’s quiver is stocked with fire arrows rather than traditional arrows. Young Link also has a different standing animation, as a result, he will occasionally lower his shield, which he uses to block attacks while standing. He also jumps considerably higher than adult Link and is also one of the few characters who have the wall jumping ability. When Young Link is put to sleep by a Bellossom or Jigglypuff's Sing attack, rather than a snoring noise, he makes a strange whining noise, almost like he is having a nightmare. According to Young Link’s trophy description, he is considered to be the “true” Link. It is known that Mr. Miyamoto originally thought of Link as an adolescent child adventurer, rather than a young man portrayed in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.

On May 10 2006, at an after-hours press conference during E³, Link became one of the first confirmed fighters in the Wii installment of the franchise, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His appearance seems to be influenced by his character model from Twilight Princess. It is still unknown if Young Link will return in Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Further information: List of minor Soul Calibur characters (Link)

In the GameCube version of Namco’s Soul Calibur II, the adult-style Link is a playable fighter. Not much is revealed about the incarnation of Link in this game, but it is known that, after saving Hyrule from an evil wizard who was being controlled by a fragment of Soul Edge, he went on a quest to destroy the evil sword. Quickly pulling the Master Sword out of its pedestal, he set out to travel to this world to destroy Soul Edge, on a secret mission arranged by Princess Zelda. He left Hyrule to destroy Soul Edge, so that the evil blade would not bring harm to Hyrule or anyone else ever again.

Link is also notable in this game for being the only character with true projectile attacks (his trusty bow and arrow, boomerang, and bomb) - only Spawn, the Xbox exclusive character, can do the same. Link is also given a unique fighting style on par with any of the “regular” characters, and even has several moves from previous Legend of Zelda games, for instance, a dashing sword attack inspired by the A Link to the Past's Pegasus Boots, the Up-thrust and Down-thrust jumping attacks from The Adventure of Link, a backflip/jump sword attack nearly identical to attacks used in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, and the Spin Attack. He has a total of four costumes, although they differ only in tunic color (green, red, blue, and a very light lavender), which, as it happens, is more than any other standard character has in any version of the game. Besides his Master Sword and Hylian shield, Link is able to wield several weapons from his past, including the Cane of Byrna from A Link to the Past and the Magic Sword and Shield from The Legend of Zelda. Link’s ultimate weapon comes in the form of the Great Fairy’s Sword from Majora’s Mask, and his joke weapon is the Bug Catching Net from A Link to the Past.

Link also briefly appears (cameos) in the following games:

• Tetris (NES) — Link appears after winning a B-type game of level at least 9 and height at least 1.
• F-1 Race (GB) — Link appears cheering before Course 5.
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) — Link appears sleeping in a bed at one of the Inns. Talking to him will trigger the “secret passage sound” heard in most of the Zelda games.
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest (SNES/GBA) — In the Super Nintendo version, Link would appear in spot three on Cranky Kong’s podium of heroes only if the player got a very small number of “DK Coins” throughout the game. In the Game Boy Advance version, he always appears on the podium, in spot two (or three, if the player got enough DK Coins to surpass him.)
• Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! (SNES) — One of the items available at Bazaar Bear’s general store is a seashell. If allowed, Bazaar will tell the player about a young boy named Link who came in earlier and inquired about it. This is an obvious reference to Link’s search for seashells in Link’s Awakening. Bazaar even mentions how Link tried to pay for it with Rupees.
• Mario Golf (N64/GBC) — in the N64 version, Link’s name is in the scoreboards between matches; in the Game Boy version, one of the courses is called Link’s Club (and the Triforce is the logo).
• Picross NP Vol.5 (SFC) — One of the pictures to draw is Link, inspired by his Ocarina of Time appearance.
• WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (GBA) — Microgame inspired in the original Zelda.
• WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$ (GCN) — Microgame inspired in the original Zelda.
• WarioWare: Twisted! (GBA) — Microgame inspired by the original Zelda.
• WarioWare: Touched! (NDS) — Two microgames, one inspired by the original Zelda, and other by Zelda II.
• Shining Soul 2 (GBA) — The Master Sword can only be wielded by Warrior and Ninja classes. The appearance is also identical.
• Final Fantasy Tactics Advance — The Master sword makes an appearance and is available for purchase. The description alludes to Link.
• Final Fantasy — Link’s name appears on a tombstone in Elfheim. (In the North American NES version, the tombstone is Erdrick’s).
• In many Kirby games, when Kirby obtains the “sword” power-up, he also gains a green cap similar to Link’s, and is able to shoot sword beams when he has a full life-bar. He also wears the hat in the Super Smash Bros. games, after “absorbing” Link or Young Link.
• World of Warcraft — A gnome NPC named Linken makes an appearance in the MMORPG World of Warcraft. He is dressed similarly to Link and gives players quests that, once completed, give the player “Linken’s Boomerang” and “Linken’s Sword of Mastery”. Two of the quests in the chain are called “It’s a Secret to Everybody” and “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone”, both quotes from The Legend of Zelda. The player also receives a photograph of Linken standing with a female gnome that looks remarkably similar to Princess Zelda.
• Tetris DS — Zelda-themed course in Mission mode. Link also slashes Tetriminoes on the title screen.

All Zelda cameo's in The Legend of Zelda series - References in other games

Other media

Although information is only considered series canon if it comes from the games or instruction booklets (where there is conflict, the games themselves are the accepted source), or occasionally other Nintendo materials, there are a number of other officially licensed Zelda stories. It is interesting to note the inclusion of fairy companions for Link (Spryte and Epheremelda) in several creations which predate Ocarina of Time. While there is no way of knowing whether these inspired Navi (& Tatl), the aspect of the crush on Link present in these cases is evidently absent in the games. Stories from several Zelda games have also been converted to manga format in Japan. These official publications greatly expand parts of each game’s backstory. See The Legend of Zelda series manga. The Legend of Zelda (TV series) Link, as voiced by Jonathan Potts, was featured in a set of cartoons which aired from 1989-1990 as a part of DiC’s The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Based loosely on the first game, the series presented Link as a rude, lovesick teenager, an image many find at odds with his silent persona from the video games. Constantly pursuing Zelda and pursued by the fairy princess Spryte, this Link was known to beg kisses from Zelda, and, famously, to burst out “Well excuuuuuse me, Princess!” when fed up with Zelda’s attitude, very different from his polite and respectful attitude in the original games.

Thirteen episodes were produced before the cancellation of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. The complete series was released October 18, 2005 on a three disc deluxe DVD set. A slightly altered version of this Link (and Zelda) appeared in a few episodes during the second season of Captain N: The Game Master. Featuring characters and settings from the TV series and added material from the second game, this fleetingly entertaining comic by Valiant only ran for four issues. Additionally, a few stories were included in a larger, 2-issue “Nintendo Comics System” title, which also had Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Punch-Out!!, and Captain N. While largely forgotten and ignored, this is actually the source of some persistent fanon beliefs. Created as a serial comic for Nintendo Power magazine by acclaimed manga author Shotaro Ishinomori, and later collected in graphic novel form, this told an alternate version of the events from A Link to the Past. Though Link starts out a hapless, bumbling kid, caught up in something bigger than he ever imagined, he displays great courage and ultimately proves himself a determined and competent adventurer. Interestingly, he also has a fairy guide and companion, Epheremelda, long before this concept was introduced to the series. This telling portrays Link’s parents as Knights of Hyrule, lost to the Dark World. It also includes an original character, Roam, a descendant of the Knights of Hyrule who fought in the Imprisoning War. (Roam bears a striking resemblance to 002, a character from Ishinomori’s first successful creation, Cyborg 009, whose real name, coincidentally, was Jet Link.) At the end of the story, Zelda has become Queen, and Link is head of the Royal Guard and the Knights of Hyrule. This success is bittersweet, as their duties keep them apart, even though they were once so close, sharing an adventure and even coming together in dreams.

Characteristics

According to the official Zelda.com Encyclopedia, Link is "humble", but also possessed legendary bravery, an attribute consistent with his role as the rightful bearer of the Triforce of Courage. The character is known in later Zelda games as The Hero of Time in his Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask incarnation and as The Hero of Winds in The Wind Waker, as his heroic example has saved countless lives from evil. In the video games he is presented as being a stoic and polite young man, and in the television series as a whiny and love sick teenager. He is the rightful bearer of the Master Sword, a powerful and magical sword he wields to defeat the forces of evil. Link does show rare moments of overzealous boldness, such as when he twice attempts to confront Ganon in Windwaker ill equipped to defeat him. Also, he inadvertantly helped Ganon find the Triforce in Ocarina of Time, forcing Link to undue the damage he had caused. Link is essentially a lone adventurer. Although Zelda games feature more interaction with friendly or neutral non-player characters (NPCs) than some adventure games, such as the Metroid series, these characters rarely take an active part in Link’s quest.

Links physical appearance is as a young human boy, though his is not a human. He is renounded for his fighting skill, such as his incredible boomerang accuracy. It is unlikely that his age ever exceeds 19 years at any point in the series, though apparently, in most games he is closer to the age of 10 or 12. Every Link wears a green tunic, an undershirt (usually white, brown, or green), and a long, floppy green cap, at least for part of each adventure, (not counting the bonus "Second Quest" of The Wind Waker) although the shades of green vary. It is also a common sight to see him wearing light-colored tights (usually white or tan), although he has appeared bare-legged in other games. Link’s hair color is usually a dark blond but was originally a brown colour. Link has long pointed ears resembling some conceptions of elves. These are apparently a distinctive trait of the Hylian race (and their descendants) which supposedly allows them to hear messages from the gods. Older Links usually wear small silver hoop earrings, as is the Hylian fashion. However, in episode 4 of the Adult Saga in the official Ocarina of Time manga series, "Link Vs. Link", Impa is seen giving a Link his earrings, describing it as a "rite of passage for young Sheikah men". He also bears a Triforce mark his left hand, marking him as the one who will find the Triforce of Courage. He is also well known for making use of a variety of weapons and items, such as bombs, hookshot, boomerang, bow and arrow, , and pegasusboots that make him run extremely fast. He also is extremely physically fit, being able to perform flips, and very skilled, knowing how to perform magic and play an ocarina. Link is left-handed, although this detail has changed over time, with his sword hand being different between games. A Nintendo Gallery figurine description in The Wind Waker states that Link favors his left hand, and the Adventure of Link instruction booklet describes Link setting off “with a magical sword in his left hand and a magical shield in his right”. In the Super Nintendo release, he alternates hands, but this is due to sprite mirroring. Starting with The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Link holds his sword in his left hand and his shield in his right, no matter what direction he is facing. This occurs in the left and right-looking sprites. In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, however, Link returns to alternately holding his weapon in the right or the left hand, depending on his orientation. At the beginning of the Four Swords Plus (Four Swords Adventures) manga, Link is referred to as the “left-handed hero” after defeating pirates that were raiding a Hylian town. However, in the animated TV series, Link is right-handed. In the Wii version of Twilight Princess, Link, always classically left-handed, will be right-handed. Because of this, the maps in the Wii version have also been mirrored. Interestingly, in the GameCube version Link will remain left-handed..

The first family of Link’s known to gamers was an unnamed uncle who meets a grisly fate shortly after the beginning of A Link to the Past. Taking up his sword and shield, Link sets out to avenge the brave man and complete his mission: rescuing Princess Zelda, and all of Hyrule, from Ganon. If Link is successful, his uncle is shown to have miraculously recovered (presumably part of Link’s wish, as granted by the Triforce). Mentioned but not seen, the mother of Link from Ocarina of Time was mortally wounded while fleeing the ravages of a fierce war with her baby. Desperate, she entrusted her child to the Great Deku Tree — who sensed the child’s destiny — to live and grow as a Kokiri. Link’s grandmother has struggled to raise her grandchildren in the unexplained absence of their parents. On his birthday at the beginning of The Wind Waker, she gives Link a lovingly made new outfit which resembles the legendary Hero’s, the sign that he has come of age. She also makes him a most delicious and beneficial soup. The Wind Waker also introduces the first relative in the series to have a name, his sister. Aryll lends Link her prized telescope on his birthday, not realizing it will lead them both into an adventure where she will be kidnapped by a monstrous bird and held prisoner on a forsaken rock far to the North. After she is rescued, she continues to lend him moral support while he quests to stop the dark forces threatening to swallow the remains of humanity who eke out a living on the Great Sea. In The Minish Cap Link lives with his grandfather, Hyrule’s Master Smith and a friend of the king. When Zelda is cursed by the evil mage Vaati, the Smith recommends sending Link to seek out the legendary Picori and beg their assistance. Princess Zelda: Link and Zelda’s relationship. Zelda herself often aids Link in his quest to defeat evil. For example, in Ocarina of Time, she guides Link through his adventures and provides him with hints, sometimes disguised as Sheik. In The Wind Waker, as the pirate captain Tetra, she helps Link free his sister from Ganondorf’s grasp. In both games, Zelda is by Link’s side helping him during the final confrontation with the “King of Evil” (Ganon). In Majora's Mask, to finish the Kafei/Anju sidequest and reunite the two lovers, Link must sneak into the thief Sakon's hideout and retrieve the Sun's Mask. He does this with Kafei, and to get through the mini-dungeon, the player must alternate control between Link and Kafei to solve simple puzzles. This is the only time in the series that a character other than Link is controlled by the user directly. In The Wind Waker, both the Earth and Wind temples require Link to team up with other characters. Link must travel to the two temples to slay the evil creatures that have taken residence in each temple, and reinstate the sages to restore the power of the Master Sword. In this case, Link is joined by the new sages of these temples, Medli for the Earth Temple and Makar for the Wind Temple. Once Link awakens each sage to their destiny by conducting them on their instruments with the specific theme of their temple, they accompany him to their temple and aid him in its completion. Both sages, when conducted by Link, can open otherwise impassible barriers. Medli can use her harp as a mirror akin to Link's Mirror Shield, fly, and let Link float in a manner reminiscent of the Cuccoos in Ocarina of Time. Makar can also fly, and plant trees, which allow Link to access areas with his hookshot. Link is able to make simple commands to both characters, and can possess them with the Command Song. Ocarina of Time also introduced Navi as Link’s fairy companion and guide, and the fairy Tatl accompanies Link in his journey through the world of Termina in Majora’s Mask.

Conception and creation

Shiguru Miyamoto has stated that "For every Zelda game we tell a new story, but we actually have an enormous document that explains how the game relates to the others, and bind them together. But to be honest, they are not that important to us. We care more about developing the game system... give the player new challenges for every chapter that is born."

Actor portrayal

In the 3D games, beginning with Ocarina of Time, Link has been voiced by three actors; Nobuyuki Hiyama for adult Link, Fujiko Takimoto for young Link and Sachi Matsumoto as Link in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, but because no Zelda game to date contains substantial spoken dialog, the part merely consists of short phrases, grunts, battle cries, and other sounds. This also means that it is unnecessary to replace these actors with English-speakers. However, it should be noted that in The Wind Waker, Link has been heard saying the phrase, "Come on!" when the player calls upon a special statue native to the Tower of the Gods dungeon or Medli or Makar in their respective dungeons. Some game clips from Twilight Princess show us that Link's voice is deeper than in Ocarina of Time, possibly suggesting a new voice actor.