Link

Link (Japanese: リンクRinku) (Hylian: ) is the protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series. He is almost always depicted as a young boy or teenager in green clothing who grows to become a hero.

A peculiarity of the character is that there are several different incarnations of Link throughout the entirety of the Legend of Zelda series, although they share a number of distinctive characteristics. The existence of multiple Links is made obvious on many occasions in the games; for example, the introduction sequences of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap refer to an ancient, legendary champion, identical in appearance to Link. Miyamoto confirmed that there were multiple Links in late 2003.

Attributes
Typically, Link is a courageous boy or young man—it is unlikely that his age ever exceeds 17 to 20 years at any point in the series. In the Legend of Zelda games, he usually leaves his home and relatives at an early age to pursue his destiny and fight Ganon, his archenemy, or other servants of evil. In almost all Legend of Zelda games, except for Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link is a child when he begins his quest. Link has no real sword training, with exception of The Wind Waker where he receives training from Orca, Twilight Princess, where he is trained by Rusl and the Hero's Shade, and "Minish Cap," where he trains under the Swiftblade brothers.

Link's adventures mostly take place in his native kingdom of Hyrule, although The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages are set in other locales. Link is closely associated with the Triforce of Courage and thus with the goddess Farore and her color, green. Recovering the Triforce of Courage is key in some Legend of Zelda games, such as Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and The Wind Waker.

The Legend of Zelda titles give few hints at Link's personality; ellipses ("..." and variations thereof) are invariably used to replace Link's speech with certain exceptions, but his actual words are almost never given. He speaks (or thinks) a few sentences in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and speaks his name in other games, but usually remains silent. Moreover, the top-down 2D view in many of the games is not well-suited to depict his facial expressions. However, he is described as humble and a defining trait of his character seems to be his bravery, an attribute consistent with his role as the rightful bearer of the Triforce of Courage. In The Adventure of Link, it is explicitly stated that the quest for the Triforce of Courage is to be a trial for whomever seeks it. Despite his young age, and the adversity that he has to face, Link rarely shows signs of fear or cowardice.

Appearance
Link invariably wears a green tunic and a cap, at least for a certain period of time during each game (he also wears different-colored clothes in some Legend of Zelda titles), although the shades of green vary. Link's Kokiri tunic in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is of a somewhat darker tone than his tunic as seen in The Wind Waker and The Minish Cap. This is probably partly due to the radically different artistic styles of the aforementioned games: the first two having near-realistic graphics, whereas the other two a more comic-inspired style.

Link's hair color changes throughout the series as well, ranging from brown in the first Legend of Zelda, pinkish in A Link to the Past, pale blonde in Ocarina of Time, and gold-blonde in The Wind Waker.

Link has pointed ears resembling some conceptions of elves. These are apparently a distinctive trait of the Hylian race, supposedly allowing them to hear messages from the gods.

Several games mention a Triforce mark on Link's left hand; the instruction booklet for The Adventure of Link reveals that this mark identifies him as the champion who will find the Triforce of Courage. There is also a segment in the clip shown in the beginning of Super Smash Bros. Melee showing three hands coming together, each bearing a white triforce. Twilight Princess is the first game to clearly depict the mark, however. Because the entire game is reversed for the Wii, it appears in that version on his right hand.

Equipment
Link uses various items throughout the Legend of Zelda series. Common items Link finds include the Hero's Bow, Hookshot, and bombs. Link often uses musical instruments that unlock strange powers, such as the Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, the instruments of the Wind Fish, and flute.

Link uses masks in many of the latest games. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask has 24 unique masks used for different tasks throughout the game, even transforming him into a Deku, Goron, or Zora.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has a sidequest involving selling different masks for the Happy Mask Salesman to earn the Mask of Truth.

Link also has numerous tunics, clothing, and armor. The Kokiri Tunic, Zora Tunic, and Goron Tunic are present in Ocarina of Time, each with different abilities. The Zora Armor and Magic Armor are in Twilight Princess.

Other items in the games include the Spinner, Ball and Chain, Power Glove, Shovel, and Fishing Rod.

The Legend of Zelda
Link is summoned by Impa to save Princess Zelda from the evil Prince of Darkness, Ganon, who is seeking out the shards of the Triforce of Wisdom. Link finds the pieces before he does, and in the end, destroys Ganon with a Silver Arrow and saves Zelda, who was captured.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Link in this game is the same as the Legend of Zelda Link. Though Ganon has been killed, his army of monsters remain active throughout Hyrule. They plan to revive Ganon by spilling the blood of his murderer, Link, onto his ashes. Impa finds a Triforce mark on Link's on his hand on his 16th birthday, and explains that he is the hero chosen to awaken an ancient Princess Zelda from her sleeping curse. Link collects the crystals throughout Hyrule's dungeons, and in the end, destroys Dark Link, receives the Triforce of Courage, and awakens Zelda.

A Link to the Past
This game is set far into the future of Ocarina of Time and features a new Link and Zelda (descendants from the Ancients), and The Seven Maidens descended from the Seven Sages of the Imprisoning War. The Maidens had to be rescued from the Seven Dark World Dungeons and, ultimately, from Ganon and Agahnim's clutches. This version of Link lives with his uncle, who dies at the beginning of the game after realizing that Link is Hyrule and Zelda's last hope and giving him the sword and shield. Link's Uncle's last words were: "Zelda is your...", which leads many to believe that the complete sentence would have read, "Zelda is your sister," therefore saying that Link and Zelda are related. But most people say that the full sentence would have read, "Zelda is your destiny." The Game Boy Advance remake rewrites this dialogue to explicitly say that it is Link's destiny to save Zelda.

Link's Awakening
Link's Awakening was the first game to take place outside of Hyrule and the main Triforce storyline. The Link that stars in this game is the same one from A Link to the Past. Link was shipwrecked on the island of Koholint after training abroad in other lands and is rescued by a girl named Marin. An owl tells Link the only way to get off the island is by waking the Wind Fish, a creature kept in eternal slumber by a curse, by the instruments of the Sirens. After he collects them, and defeats the Wind Fish's final Nightmare, (which takes form as Ganon and Agahnim, two figures from Link's past, therefore revealing to him his deepest fear, inevitable future, or both), he plays "Ballad of the Wind Fish" where he slumbers, and it is revealed the entire island is a dream by the Wind Fish. He and Link are then returned to the Waking World. It is not known if this adventure was real at all, for it may be merely a place Link visited in his dreams...

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
This is a different Link (possibly the first Link, as originally intended, although it has been hinted otherwise), but by the time the game is completed, he becomes the Hero of Time. He starts out as an orphaned Hylian whom the Great Deku Tree took in when his parents died. He was brought up as and believed himself to be a Kokiri until much later in the game. He meets Navi the fairy, and many other friends that help him. This Link had the ability to travel forward seven years (from age ten to seventeen) and backward seven years (from age seventeen to ten) using the Master Sword. Each Link is thought to be descended from this Hero.

Majora's Mask
This Link is the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time after Zelda returns him to his childhood. He is on a search for a "lost friend" (generally believed to be Navi who left him in the Temple of Time), which triggered the entire Majora's Mask adventure. Link had to save Termina by re-living the same three days over and over (restarting from the first day he arrived in Clock Town) so the moon would not destroy Termina (which was what would happen if the cycle was allowed to complete itself), by using the Ocarina of Time until he released the Four Giants from each of their prisons. He then had to play "Oath to Order" on the Ocarina to summon them at midnight of the third day. Once the Four Giants halted the moon, Link traveled inside with Tatl the fairy and defeated Majora's Mask, Majora's Incarnation, and Majora's Wrath and saved Termina on the "Dawn of a New Day."

Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
The two games open up pretty much the same way, with Link going to check on the Triforce (via different routes, however). The two games are also pretty similar plot-wise. Depending on which version you play, Link either meets Din the Dancer (In Oracle of Seasons), or Nayru the Singer (In Oracle of Ages), and becomes friends with her. Very early in the game, one of the Oracles is kidnapped by Onox, General of Darkness (In Oracle of Seasons), or Veran, Sorceress of Shadows (In Oracle of Ages). With either the Oracle of Seasons or the Oracle of Ages is kidnapped, the worlds of Holodrum (In Oracle of Seasons), or Labrynna (In Oracle of Ages), are thrown off of balance, either the seasons in Holodrum (In Oracle of Seasons) or the time flow in Labrynna (In Oracle of Ages). Link has the ability to change seasons in Holodrum with the Rod of Seasons and the ability to travel back and forward in time in Labrynna using the Harp of Ages.

Four Swords
The Link in this story is a different one from Four Swords Adventures. It is set after the Minish Cap and the story begins with Princess Zelda going to check on the seal on Vaati the Wind Mage. Zelda takes Link to the sanctuary. The seal on Vaati has weakened and Vaati has escaped. He kidnapps Zelda to make her his bride. Link sets out to save Zelda and restore the seal on Vaati by drawing the Four Sword to split into three other copies of himself. Together, the four Links work together and Vaati is ultimately defeated and sealed once more in the Four Sword.

The Wind Waker
This Link lives on Outset Island in the Great Sea, which is Hyrule after being flooded by the Gods. He is celebrating his twelfth birthday, which is customary on the island for receiving the Hero's Clothes to honor the Hero of Time of legend. Link ventures to the Forsaken Fortress to track down the Helmaroc King who abducted his sister, Aryll, with the help of Tetra the pirate.

After Ganondorf, who has somehow escaped from the waters of Hyrule, captures Link and has the King fling him out to sea, he meets the King of Red Lions, a talking sailboat. The King gives Link the Wind Waker, an ancient conducter's baton used to help the sages pray to the gods. Link collects the Pearls of the Goddesses to raise the Tower of the Gods out from under the Great Sea, where he defeats the great arbiter Gohdan to prove his courage to the gods, leading him into Hyrule to draw the Master Sword from a shrine in Hyrule Castle.

Link kills the Helmaroc King at the Forsaken Fortress, frees Aryll and other captives, and confronts Ganon, who reveals the power to repel evil has been drained from the Master Sword, and Link has given Ganon his power back by drawing the sword. He narrowly escapes with the help of the Rito, and travels back into Hyrule with Tetra. Tetra is revealed as the princess of the Royal Family by Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, king of Hyrule secretly operating the King of Red Lions all along, and stays in Hyrule.

Link awakens the Sages of the Master Sword Medli and Makar, therefore restoring power to the Master Sword, and collects the fragments of the Triforce of Courage left behind by the Hero of Time in Hyrule, becoming the Hero of Winds. Link eventually scales Ganon's Tower and kills the dark lord with the thrust of his sword through his skull, and sets off to find the new kingdom of Hyrule with Tetra after the King, along with the rest of Hyrule, drowned. This Link was later known as the Hero of Winds.

Four Swords Adventures
The Link in this game is different from the Four Swords Link, FSA takes place 100 years after the events of Four Swords. Link is friends with Princess Zelda. When Zelda and the Maidens go to the shrine of the Four Sword, Link is tricked into drawing the Four Sword from its pedestal, releasing Vaati, by Shadow Link. Link's soul is split into three other replicas of himself, and the four Links venture to save the maidens and Zelda, who were abducted and trapped in Crystals. In the end, Vaati is killed, and Ganon, who was the mastermind behind all the events, is sealed in the Four Sword by the Links.

The Minish Cap
In the opening prologue of this game, it is revealed that the Minish (called the Picori by the Hylians) forged a sword for the Hero of Men, a Hylian named Gustaf, to stop the long Triforce War. Gustaf wore a green tunic, but no hat. The Link in this game is hatless as well. Ezlo, The Minish Cap, catches a ride on Link's head throughout the adventure to defeat Vaati, the Wind Mage, and turn Ezlo normal again. Ezlo lets Link shrink down to Microscopic Minish size to traverse the land of Hyrule with a Minish eye. After Link defeates Vaati, normal Ezlo crowns him with his own hat. This game takes place long before Four Swords, and is probably the first chronologically in the timeline.

Twilight Princess
Link is a rancher in Ordon Village who is around 19 years old. He sports a Triforce shaped birthmark on his hand. One day, Rusl, the town blacksmith, requests Link to be his proxy for a trip to Hyrule to deliver the Ordon Sword and Ordon Shield the Royal Family ordered. As he prepared to leave, King Bulblin kidnaps Ilia and Colin, Link's friends, along with other children, and draws Link into the Faron Province, blanketed with Twilight. The Twilight morphes Link into a wolf.

Link delivers Light back to the Faron Province, with the help of the imp Midna, and awakens as the Chosen Hero, now donning Link's trademark green clothing. Link and Midna venture to collect the Fused Shadows, which can be used to defeat Zant, the king of the Twilight Realm covering Hyrule in Twilight. Link is kept permanently in wolf form by Zant after delivering Light to the final province of Hyrule by a Shadow Crystal. He draws the Master Sword out of its pedestal in the ruins of the Temple of Time in the Sacred Grove, which purges him of the curse laid on him.

Link and Midna discover the Mirror of Twilight, which opens an entrance into the Twilight Realm, shattered by Zant. They reassemble the mirror after finding shards of the mirror in the Temple of Time, Snowpeak Ruins, and City in the Sky, and enter the Twilight Realm, killing Zant, and eventually defeating Ganondorf, who granted Zant his power. This Link was later known as the Hero of Twilight.

Phantom Hourglass
Link is the same as The Wind Waker. After the finale in The Wind Waker, Link and Tetra set off to find the land that would be the next Hyrule after the former kingdom had been completely destroyed. After being separated from Tetra, Link meets a fairy companion who helps him reunite with her.

Allies
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. At best they provide him with hints, maps or useful items. The main exceptions are the three animal companions appearing in Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons that Link uses as mounts, and the sages from The Wind Waker. There are too many NPCs who help Link in some way throughout the series to name them all here. Nevertheless, some can be considered particularly memorable, either because they occur in many Legend of Zelda games, or because they play a major role in the plot.

Fairies are common in Legend of Zelda games. In all titles, Link can find small fairies which help him by healing him fully before disappearing. In A Link to the Past, The Minish Cap and the 3D Legend of Zelda games, these can be captured in bottles and kept for later "use". Great Fairies are a somewhat rarer sight, and provide Link with items useful to his quest or upgrade his purses, bags or quiver so he can carry more bombs, arrows or Rupees. Ocarina of Time also introduced Navi as Link's fairy companion, and the fairy Tatl accompanies Link in his journey through the world of Termina, in Majora's Mask.

Tingle was introduced in Majora's Mask as a 35-year old man who wanted so much to be a fairy that he dressed up in green clothing and flew around, suspended on a giant balloon. When anyone popped his balloon, he would land and sell that person a map. Link got many of his Termina maps through Tingle. Tingle later appeared in Hyrule in Wind Waker, unaged after a thousand years. Imprisoned on Windfall Island, he offers Link his services in exchange for his freedom. He gives Link a Tingle Tuner, which directs Tingle and commands him to do certian things, like drop bombs on enemies. He also translates ancient maps for a (extremely high) price.

In Ocarina of Time, Link meets seven Sages during his adventure. It is speculated that these legendary figures are the Seven Wise Men / Sages mentioned in the prologue of A Link to the Past. They are also referenced in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in the form of stained glass windows in the Old Hyrule Castle.

In The Wind Waker, Link meets Medli, a winged young girl from the Rito tribe, living on Dragon Roost Island and Makar, a member of the Korok, a tribe led by the The Great Deku Tree. Medli plays the harp and Makar is a violinist. It is eventually revealed that they are both destined to become Earth and Wind sages, respectively, to replace Laruto (of the Zora) and Fado (of the Kokiri), who were killed by Ganon. To restore the power of the Master Sword, Link must help them reach the inside of the Earth and Wind temples so they can begin their prayers. Inside both temples, Link has to work in synergy with the aspiring sages and use their special abilities to trigger certain mechanisms. By playing the Command Melody, Link can take possession of their bodies and the player can directly control Makar or Medli; this is crucial in solving some of the temples' puzzles.

In Twilight Princess, Link is sprung from jail by a Twili called Midna who rides on him when in wolf form. Midna often reminds Link of what he must do next and, for the first half of the game, would taunt him. Midna also guides Link while in wolf form through difficult and out-of-reach terrain. As the story progresses, Minda aids in teleporting Link through the Twilight Portals as well the option to freely transform between his two forms.

In The Legend Of Zelda, There is an Old Man who gives Link the Wooden Sword, The White Sword, and the Master Sword. He also give Link various hints throughout the game.

Oracle series animals
In the two Oracle games, Link meets creatures that can carry him around and even attack enemies, which is a first in the series (Link's horse Epona in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask could only run them over).


 * Ricky is a talking, boxing kangaroo Link meets in Holodrum. When Link is in his pouch, he can jump with him over holes and defeat enemies using Ricky's punch. Ricky can shoot a Tornado from his fists if you hold the attack button down. Flashes similarly to Link when he charges his Sword.


 * Moosh is a blue, flying polar bear which Link can ride to fly over a short distance. If the jump Button is held down when he's at his peak in the air, Moosh will float in the air, float, and then butt stomp. Moosh flashes similarly to Link when he charges his Sword.


 * Dimitri is a Dodongo, a dinosaur-like creature that Link can use as a mount, both on the ground and on water. Goes much faster in water, and can also eat some enemies, such as Moblins.

Kafei
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Link assists Kafei (who has been transformed into a child) throughout the game in finding the Sun Mask that Sakon stole from him, which was to be involved in his marriage with Anju. When the player reaches Sakon's Hideout, he must negotiate a plethora of traps and monsters in order to reach the Sun Mask before the time runs out. During this time the player is briefly able to control Kafei directly. When Kafei is seen delivering his mail, he is always wearing a Keaton Mask.

Epona
Epona is Link's horse that apears in few games such as Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask.

Other appearances
Link has appeared in many other non-Legend of Zelda games, as a playable character, an ally or an enemy.

Super Smash Bros series
Link 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 red (Goron) and blue (Zora); a purplish white color inspired by the effect of the Blue Ring from the original Legend of Zelda is also present). He also has some of his usual weaponry arsenal from the Legend of Zelda series at his disposal, including bombs, his boomerang and a hook shot, and is presented in the Ocarina of Time style as an adult.

Link is also a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the 2001 sequel to Super Smash Bros. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, he comes equipped with 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 alongside his fighting skill, rather akin to his motif in the LoZ series. This makes Link one of the most versatile and flexible close range fighters in the game, although in both games he suffers from somewhat poor jumping ability. In Melee however, 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.

The game also introduces Young Link, the younger version of Link from most of the games in the series, as a secret unlockable character. He is more agile but weaker than the older Link, and his hookshot has a shorter range. His Kokiri Sword and bombs also inflict less damage than adult Link's Master Sword and bombs. Young Link's quiver is stocked with fire arrows rather than traditional arrows. He also jumps considerably higher than Adult Link. According to Young Link's trophy description, he is said to be the "true" Link. It is known that Miyamoto originally considered Link to be an adolescent child adventurer as opposed to his form as a young man. The Twilight Princess version of Link will be in the newest edition of the series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Soul Calibur 2
Appearing in the GameCube version of Soul Calibur 2, Link is shown as a playable fighter in his adult age. Not much is known about the story, but it is known that Link, after saving Hyrule from an evil wizard (possibly the evil shopkeeper from Link's Awakening) that was being controlled by a fragment of Soul Edge, goes on a quest to destroy the evil sword. Quickly pulling the Master Sword out of its pedestal, he embarked on a secret journey, a journey which Zelda knew nothing about. He left Hyrule to destroy Soul Edge, so that the evil blade would not bring harm to Hyrule or anyone else ever again.

The GameCube version of Soul Calibur 2 is said to have been more popular than its PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts; many believe that this is due to Link's presence, since the GameCube is not the most popular current generation console among gamers. Link was also notable in this game for being the only character with true projectile attacks (his trusty bow and arrow, boomerang, and bomb) - only Spawn, an Xbox exclusive character, could do the same. Link was also given a unique fighting style on par with any of the "regular" characters, and even had 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 upper and under cut jumping attacks from The Adventure of Link, and a backflip/jump sword attack nearly identical to attacks used in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. As in the Super Smash Bros. series, he had a total of four costumes, although they differed only in color (green, red, blue, and a very light blue), which as it happened was more than any other character had in any version of the game.

Minor cameos

 * Final Fantasy I - Link's name appears on a tombstone in Elfland. In the original NES translation and the European Origins versions, the tombstone is Erdrick's from Dragon Warrior, but all other versions use the original name.


 * In many Kirby games, when Kirby obtains the "Sword" ability, he also gains a green cap identical to Link's.


 * 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". The player also recieves a photograph of Linken standing with a female gnome that looks remarkably similar to Princess Zelda.


 * Final Fantasy Tactics Advance- The player can obtain a sword known as the Master Sword, which is identical to Link's Master Sword.


 * Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - Link can be found sound asleep inside Rose Town's inn.


 * Shining Soul II - The Master Sword is one of the weapons the player can use.