Master Sword

The Master Sword, often referred to as the Blade of Evil's Bane, is a recurring sword in the The Legend of Zelda series. This legendary blade was crafted by the Ancient Sages, blessed with the the power to vanquish beings of evil. It is directly related to the legend of the Hero of Time. The Master Sword has become one of the iconic items in the The Legend of Zelda series, often making cameo appearances in non-The Legend of Zelda games.

History
At one point in the ancient land of Hyrule, the Ancient Sages forged a sword to repel evil, since they knew evil ones could abuse the Triforce. Made centuries before becoming Link's most beloved weapon, the Master Sword will not allow itself to be held by just anyone. Only those that are pure of heart and strong of body may lay their hands on the Master Sword. It was imbued with the power to repel evil, causing its blade to sparkle with a mystical light and its signature yellow gem embedded into the hilt to shine brightly.

After its creation by the Ancient Sages, the Master Sword was embedded into an enchanted pedestal, the Pedestal of Time, and the great Temple of Time was built around it, ending with the sword and pedestal both being sealed inside a private chamber of their own behind a mighty stone barrier, the Door of Time. Only one worthy of the title of "Hero" could pull the sword from the Pedestal of Time and unlock the sword's true power. For many ages, the Master Sword lay hidden behind the Door of Time, awaiting the time when the Hero of Time spoken of in prophecy would come to claim it.

Design
The Master Sword is a double-edged longsword with no fuller, and either a purple, gold or blue hilt, depending on the game. The hilt has a noticeably large cross-guard in relation to the pommel, and interestingly, it is somewhat reminiscent to the seal of the royal family. The blade has a large ricasso, although Link is never portrayed using the ricasso in any of the games. The Triforce is engraved on the blade. Embedded in the cross-guard is what appears to be a yellow gemstone.

The yellow gem appears to be the source of the blade's power. The state of the gem and hilt seems to be a good indication of this power: in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, when the player first acquires the Master Sword, the gem in its center is small and gray and the hilt guard is locked upward, indicating that its power had to be reawakened.

In most games Link receives the Master Sword from within a stone pedestal reminiscent of Arthurian legend. This is to reinforce the "legend" motif of the games attaching it with real world myth and folklore. This device involves the player in the world of the game and makes it seem more like traditional folklore.

Abilities
More than mere steel, the Master Sword holds the power to repel those aligned with evil and to banish Twilight. The magic of the Master Sword seems to prevent it from ever being physically damaged. It weathered centuries in the elements as the Temple of Time fell into ruin and eventually collapsed, leaving only the Master Sword and the Pedestal of Time, both seemingly protected from the tear of time, to remain in the Sacred Grove when the Links of Twilight Princess and A Link to the Past would find the blade and wield it in the same manner as their ancestor, the blade's first master, the Hero of Time.

Additionally, the Master Sword sometimes holds the power to unleash a mighty beam to smite enemies. This only works in A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages, and Oracle of Seasons when Link's health is full. It also has the power to release the power of the Bombos, Ether and Quake Medallions seen in A Link to the Past. It also seemingly protects its user from evil auras, telekinesis, curses, and transformations. After obtaining the Master Sword in Twilight Princess, Link will no longer be involuntarily transformed into his wolf form (and can now actively control said transformations) except under the influence of the dark fog within the Palace of Twilight and Zant does not or, more likely, cannot use his telekinetic abilities against Link when he confronts him for the final time.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Master Sword rests in the Lost Woods of northwestern Hyrule in a pedestal with ancient Hylian inscribed on it. The ancient text says the hero with three symbols of virtue will wield it on cataclysm's eve. However, this is likely relating the story of the sword's first master, the Hero of Time (who was the Legendary Hero at the time of the Great Cataclysm in Ocarina of Time), who triumphed over many enemies on the very eve of the Great Cataclysm and won the three Spiritual Stones, the necessary keys to open the way to the Master Sword. This would mean that the "three symbols of virtue" were the three Spiritual Stones, giving credence to the possibility that the stones may have been transformed into the Pendants of Virtue at some point following the Imprisoning War and retained their role as necessary keys needed to unlock the Master Sword from its resting place.

If the inscription on the Pedestal of Time (the sword's pedestal) refers to the story of the Hero of Time, this would suggest that the Hero of Time was a descendant of the Knights of Hyrule ("keeping the Knights' line true") and lend credence to the possibility that the Link in A Link to the Past is a descendant of the Hero of Time since it is noted that the Link in A Link to the Past is the last of the Knights' bloodline and that the Hero of Time kept the Knights' line true at the time of the Great Cataclysm (when all the Knights of Hyrule were wiped out). It is the second sword acquired in the game, and the Tempered Sword and Golden Sword are more powerful versions of the Master Sword.

At the end of the game, it is stated that after Link placed the Master Sword back into the Pedestal of Time, it rested there for eternity, never to be used again. Time soon proved otherwise when the blade was again needed to banish evil.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The legendary blade resides in the Temple of Time. The blade is said to be legendary within the game, indicating that it has attained mythical status in the eyes of Hyrule's people. Before Link can obtain it, he must collect all of the three Spiritual Stones, and obtain the Ocarina of Time. This sword acts as a kind of key which allows Link to travel through time in addition to becoming his most important weapon. It also deals twice as much damage as the Kokiri Sword within the game. When he pulls the sword out of the Pedestal of Time, Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves, enters the Sacred Realm and takes the Triforce of Power. Link's mind is put into a seven year stasis until he is old and mature enough to take on Ganondorf, now the King of Evil. The Master Sword can be put back into the Pedestal of Time after Link clears the first temple, the Forest Temple, allowing Link to travel back in time to when he was a youth. At the end of the game, Link lays the Master Sword to rest and closes the Door of Time, and there the Master Sword remained, awaiting the time when it would once again be needed to battle evil in service to Hyrule.

Ocarina of Time elaborates on the sword's origins and is amongst the first games following A Link to the Past to do so. It is learned in this game that the Master Sword serves as the final key to opening the gateway to the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce resides. The sword's magic gives its wielder a great advantage when taking on enemies, and it especially comes in handy when battling enemies that do battle by means of dark magic, as seen in the battles with Phantom Ganon and Ganondorf himself, where the blade is shown to have the power to return dark magic to enemies in a version of Dead Man's Volley. The sword also possesses the ability to transport its wielder back and forth through time when restored to the Pedestal of Time, allowing Link to alter events in both times and to conquer trials in one time branch that he could not in the other.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
If the player creates a new Linked Game, Link can obtain the Master Sword by telling a certain secret between games. It deals twice as much damage as the Noble Sword. It is entirely blue, and is not necessary to complete the game.

It is possible that this Master Sword is not the same as the one that appears in other games. Unlike in other games, the Master Sword is not obtained from the Pedestal of Time.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Master Sword rests in a hidden chamber beneath Hyrule Castle, located deep beneath the waves of the Great Sea. When Hyrule was flooded at the climax of the Great Flood, the Master Sword and the Pedestal of Time are noted to have become the lock and key for a seal that would keep Hyrule and all still in it (primarily Ganondorf and his army) frozen in time and held in stasis at the bottom of the sea. Only when the sword is drawn again can the seal be broken and Hyrule reawakened. When Link draws the blade, he awakens Ganon's army from their ancient slumber and unknowingly releases Ganondorf's full power once again. Later Link learns that the Master Sword, after many years of being under the Great Sea, has lost its power to repel evil by Ganondorf's doing, and Link must awaken two Sages in order to regain that power.

After the true power of the Master Sword is restored, Link can break the magical barrier in Flooded Hyrule and reach Ganon's Tower. Link then battles Ganondorf atop his tower down in Hyrule, leagues beneath the waves of the Great Sea. After a long and hard fought battle, Link thrusts the Master Sword into the forehead of Ganondorf, who turns to stone, leaving the sword stuck in his forehead. Hyrule is then completely destroyed by the waters of the Great Sea at the wish of King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, and Link and Zelda are sent to the surface under the protection of the Triforce's magic. The Master Sword is last seen still stuck in Ganondorf's head and left at the bottom of the Great Sea, presumably ending its existence in what is now known by most fans as the Adult Timeline. However, this is not proven fact.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Master Sword still sleeps in the Temple of Time where the Hero of Time had left it. However, the temple is in ruins and the area grew over the Sacred Grove. This marks a cross between Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past, as the sword is shown to still reside within what was the Temple of Time as it had been in Ocarina of Time, but also resting deep in the heart of the Lost Woods in the Sacred Grove, as it was in A Link to the Past. After Zant curses Link forcing him to remain as a wolf, Princess Zelda explains that only the Master Sword would be able to cleave the evil that cloaked him. Upon drawing the Master Sword, Link changes back into a Hylian. If Link puts on the Hawkeye and looks closely at the pedestal, he can see some small Hylian writing that reads, "Master Sword Master Sword."

After Link returns to the Temple of Time, he strikes the Pedestal of Time with the sword to unblock the Door of Time, which had been installed at some point as the main door to the Temple of Time. Going through the Door of Time, Link found himself back in the Temple of Time as it had stood in the days of the Hero of Time, his ancestor. Stabbing the Pedestal of Time with the Master Sword once more revealed a hidden staircase that went through a magical window behind the Pedestal of Time and revealed the dungeon portion of the Temple of Time.

Later in the game, after Link beats Phantom Zant, escapes from the Zant's Hands, and returns the Sols to their proper place, the power of the Sols merge with the Master Sword, making it able to cut through Twilight and complete the dungeon. In the final battle, Link uses the Ending Blow to impale Ganondorf. After Ganondorf's defeat, peace reigns once again, and the Master Sword is put back into the Pedestal of Time during the ending credits, mirroring the end of Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past when the Hero of Time laid the blade to rest, awaiting the time when it would again be needed to battle evil.

Zelda Wii
Fans speculate that the Blue Figure shown in the concept artwork at right may be an incarnated version of the Master Sword. This theory may have originated because of Link’s obvious lack of a weapon in the picture as well as similarities in appearance between the Blue Figure and Master Sword. Both the Blue Figure and the Master Sword are a silvery-blue color, and the Blue Figure's cape falls in folds, similar to how the hilt guard of the Master Sword looks itself. The figure's hair ends in a tip or point, resembling the end of the sword blade. In very small detail, one can see that the stockings under the Blue Figure's skirt resemble the criss-cross pattern on the hilt of the Master Sword handle, and the horizontal stripes on the bottom of the short skirt are similar to the end of the thinner part of the sword's hilt. Both the Master Sword and the Blue Figure have a jewel embedded into them. Mr. Miyamoto himself has also hinted in an IGN interview that Link is missing a sword in the picture.

Animal Crossing series
In the Animal Crossing series, the Master Sword appears as a furniture item. When touched, it plays the 4-bar tune when Link collects a new item.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
The Master Sword appears as an equippable weapon in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It is the most powerful weapon of the Greatsword class.

Kirby series
It is commonly thought that the green cap and blue sword that kirby receives after swallowing a sword enemy are a reference to Link and the Master Sword. Kirby also wields a sword simply called "Master" in a battle against Meta Knight. In Kirby Super Star, when Kirby's health is full, the sword shoots out a beam like the Master Sword in A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons.

Shining Soul 2
The Master Sword appears as an equippable weapon in Shining Soul 2.

Soulcalibur II
The Master Sword, along with the Hylian Shield, appears as Link's standard weapon in the GameCube version of Soulcalibur II. In the game it is Link's most balanced weapon.

Super Smash Bros. series
In the Super Smash Bros. series of games, Link wields the Master Sword in battle. A trophy depicting the Master Sword can also be won in the Adventure Mode of Super Smash Bros. Melee.