Niko

Niko is a recurring character in the Legend of Zelda series. He is a member of Tetra's Pirates.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Niko is the lowest crew member on Tetra's Pirate Ship. Link meets him on his first trip to the Forsaken Fortress. He gives Link a challenge when he comes downstairs. Upon completing the challenge, Niko reluctantly gives Link the Spoils Bag. He looks to Link almost as a brother and another low swabbie of the Pirate Ship.

The second time, Link meets Niko at Windfall Island after crawling through a hole in the top of Cannon's Bomb Shop and learning the password. After telling the password to Niko, Link is given another challenge. As a reward for completing it, Niko gives Link Bombs.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Niko introduces the game as the narrator in the prologue of the game. He shows his more cowardly nature in the game at the mention of ghosts and the Ghost Ship.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Niko appears as an elderly man, who again narrates the game's prologue as part of an annual show he performs known as Spirits and Demons...at War! Since the game takes place a hundred years after the events of Phantom Hourglass, this would make Niko's age over a hundred years. He resides in Aboda Village and lives in the same house as Link. After seeing Link wearing his green tunic, he remarks that Link looks like an old friend of his, which is an obvious allusion to the Hero of Winds. He also plays a part in a side quest involving the Stamp Book. The side quest involves Link obtaining 20 stamps from Stamp Stations to fill the Stamp Book. If you fill it with 10, 15, and 20 stamps you will receive the Shield of Antiquity, Engineer's Clothes, and the Swordsman's Scroll respectively.

Possible Ancestry
Some fans speculate that Niko could possibly be descended from the Royal Family of Hyrule. He is a close friend of Tetra, a proven descendant of Princess Zelda. He also closely resembles a man from a painting of the Royal Family, found in Hyrule Castle in The Wind Waker. Also, many of the other members of the Royal Family resemble other members of Tetra's Pirates, and both groups include seven members each. It is possible that at the time of the Great Flood, everything that the Royal Family had was destroyed. Having nowhere to go, they may have built a ship and became pirates.