The Legend of Zelda series manga

Manga based on The Legend of Zelda series have been published in Japan with the consent of Nintendo. Manga are essentially the Japanese version of comics (sometimes called komikku コミック) and print cartoons. They have received very high praise in The Legend of Zelda fanbase for conveying the story of the games in a decent manner as well as adding or explaining elements of the story. Some of these story elements go against the established storylines in the games and are considered non-canon

Previously, the manga was only available in English through certain unofficial websites devoted to the series that offer translated versions done by fans. However, Simon & Schuster revealed through their online store they will begin publishing the manga series in North America in October 2008. The June 2008 issue of Nintendo Power confirmed this by indicating the Ocarina of Time manga will be the first to be released.

Ocarina of Time
Also known as Zelda no Densetsu in Japan; Released in 1998, it is an interesting adaptation of the video game. There are two parts to this manga: こども編 (Child Saga) and おとな編 (Adult Saga). The protagonist is Link either as a child or an adult (こどもリンク or おとなリンク, respectively) and during the course of the book he is on a quest to stop Ganondorf (ガノンドロフ) from taking over Hyrule (ハイラル). Princess Zelda (ゼルダ姫) helps him in his quest. The book more-or-less follows the same plot as the game; however there are a few differences in plot from the game. There are six chapters in the first book, and nine in the second. Some of the added information in the manga is added to explain certain points; for example, in the manga pierced ears is a traditional rite of Sheikah passage, although this is not included in the game. For the English version Volume 1 was released on October 7, 2008, while Volume 2 was released on December 2, 2008.
 * ISBN 4091496016 (Volume 1)
 * ISBN 4091496024 (Volume 2)

Child Saga

 * 1) The Deku Tree's crisis
 * In Kokiri Forest, the only Kokiri without a fairy, Link, is outcast by their supposed leader, Mido, but also befriended by another, Saria. He dreams of one day exiting the forest. One night, a creature named Queen Gohma is unleashed inside the Kokiri's guardian, The Great Deku Tree...
 * 1) Link Sets Off
 * Link and Mido venture into the Great Deku Tree to fight Queen Gohma. They manage to defeat her, forcing her to regress to her original beetle-state. But despite it, the Great Deku Tree still dies, though he reveals to Link that he must stop the evil man responsible for this act from obtaining the Triforce...
 * 1) The Mysterious Triforce
 * On the Great Deku Tree's instructions, Link journeys to Hyrule in search of Princess Zelda. However, he gets in trouble over the matter of taking food without paying. A mysterious girl saves Link and offers to help him find Zelda if he spends a day playing with her, but the two part when a group of Gerudo mercenaries show up after the girl. Losing her in the chaos, Link eventually travels to Hyrule Castle on his own only to find out the girl he met was Zelda herself and the identity of the evil man who sent Gohma, Ganondorf...
 * 1) Search for the Spiritual Stone of Flame
 * Learning the location of the Goron's Ruby, Link sets off for Death Mountain. On the way, Link attracts a filly with his Ocarina which allows him to reach Death Mountain much faster. Once there however, the keeper of the ruby, Goron chief Darunia, refuses to part with the gem. That is unless Link defeats the Dodongo King that is preventing the Gorons from getting their food supply...
 * 1) Jabu Jabu's Stomach
 * Obtaining the Goron's Ruby, Link ends up at Lon Lon Ranch where the filly Epona lives. There he meets Malon and the giant owl Kaepora Gaebora, an old friend of the Great Deku Tree. The owl carries link to Zora's Domain where the final gem, the Zora's Sapphire, is; however, the holder of it, Princess Ruto, was swallowed by Lord Jabu-Jabu, the Zora's guardian deity whom she is in charge of caring for. Link gets swallowed as well and faces Barinade. After defeating the monster, it turns out Ruto was hiding because she had no interest in the arranged marriage her father set up...
 * 1) The Hero of Time is Born
 * With the three jewels, Link returns to Hyrule, which is now under attack by Ganondorf and his monsters. In the midst of the chaos, Zelda and Impa escape, but not before the princess throws the Ocarina of Time to Link. Ganondorf tries to take it from Link after easily defeating him, but he takes the ocarina Saria gave to Link by mistake. With the Ocarina, Link decides to get the Triforce himself before Ganondorf does. He finds the Master Sword and takes it out, only to be placed in suspended animation for seven years. As revealed to him by the Sage Rauru, while Link was suspended Ganondorf took the Triforce and plunged Hyrule into darkness. Link also learns of his true heritage as a Hylian. Now Link must wake the other five Sages to stop Ganondorf...
 * 1) The Legendary Master Sword
 * Emerging from the temple, Link saves a Hylian knight from a Stalfos, the same Stalfos who he tried to fight as a kid. He soon learns that Zelda has not been seen since the day Hyrule was attacked and that in Hyrule Castle's place is Ganon's Tower. Coping with the changes, Link begins his journey by heading towards the Forest temple. In Ganon's Tower, the remains of Stalfos reveal to Ganondorf that the Hero of Time has come. As a result, Ganondorf summons his shadow to kill Link...
 * 1) Forest Sage Saria
 * On his way to the Forest Temple, Link arrives at Kokiri Forest. Only that his childhood home is now in ruins. In the midst of it was Mido, who is doing his best to protect the forest. Though he is unaware that the one who saved him was Link, he blamed the hero for causing the attack on the Kokiri people and for Saria entering the Forest Temple. The two enter the Forest Temple, only to encounter Phantom Ganon, who has Saria trapped in a painting...
 * 1) a dear and Beloved Friend
 * At Death Mountain, Link tries to reason with the dragon that terrorizes the Goron, Volvagia. As it turns out, prior to Link looking for the Spiritual Stones, Link freed Volvagia while it was a hatchling and befriended him. But Ganondorf used his power to turn Volvagia into a blood thirsty monster, with Link forced to kill his old friend...
 * 1) Link Vs. Link
 * Arriving at Kakariko Village, Link is reunited with Epona. He also encounters Impa, who now protects the village. Under her guidance, Link tries to hone his swordsmanship. But things get worse when a new monster emerges, resembling Link...

Adult Saga

 * 1) The Dark Guide, Sheik
 * As punishment for being denied Epona as his horse, Ganondorf gives Mr. Ingo the death penalty. However, the Twinrova Sisters decide to use him to lure Link out to the open. When Link learns from Mr. Talon that Malon is being held hostage, he goes to Lon Lon Ranch to save her. But Ingo and a platoon of Gerudo are waiting for him in the midst of the fight. Sheik reveals that Zelda is somewhere in the Haunted Wasteland...
 * 1) The Haunted Wasteland
 * After helping Ruto in the Water Temple, Link heads off to the Haunted Wasteland. He is saved by Sheik during a desert storm, but when the Gerudo came for them Sheik knocks Link out. When Link comes to, he takes down the commanding Gerudo, Nabooru, and tries to escape the Gerudo Fortress. Sheik arrives and appears to want to fight Link. But it turns out he is here to help him. Furious at this betrayal, Koume and Kotake attack Sheik. When Link checks to see if Sheik is alright, he notices the Triforce crest on his hand...
 * 1) The Destined Reunion
 * With Nabooru's help, Link gets Sheik out of the Gerudo Fortress. Hiding out in the Spirit Temple, Link learns that Sheik is in fact Zelda in disguise. After Ganondorf took over, Zelda had Impa make her into a Sheikah, posing as a descendant of the exiled Sheikah to win Ganondorf's trust, even if it meant deceiving Link as well. It is also revealed that Ganondorf only obtained a third of the Triforce's power. The Twinrova sisters soon arrive to kill Link and take Zelda, but Nabooru gives Link the Mirror Shield she recently stole from the temple to kill the witches with their own magic. However, the victory is short as Ganondorf takes Zelda, the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom...
 * 1) Defeat Ganondorf!
 * After learning more about Ganondorf from Nabooru, Link takes her with him to save Zelda. But Ganon's Tower is unreachable until Nabooru 'awakens' as the 6th sage, combining her powers with the others to create a bridge to get Link into the castle. In there, Link learns that he possesses the Triforce of Courage as he fights and defeat Ganondorf.
 * 1) A Fresh Start
 * Link and Zelda escape the collapsing Ganon's Tower. While it seems to be the end, Ganondorf emerges. The raw hatred he has for Link causes the Triforce of Power to change him into a monster. It is a long and difficult battle, but Link defeats Ganon before the Sages use their powers to banish the monster into the Dark World. Zelda reveals that she is responsible for Ganondorf being able to take over. But as the final sage, Zelda sends Link back to his time, which is now devoid of Ganondorf's evil. There the new Deku tree sprouts, Mido waits for his friend, and like the game, Zelda turns around at her garden window to see Link walking forward, and the story ends with the two looking at each other in the same pose as in the game's frozen screen.

Side stories

 * 1) Skull Kid and the Mask (2-parter): Taking place before Ocarina of Time, Link is making a mask for a Kokiri festival where he plays a prince. However, this mask is stolen, and Link goes to find out who is responsible. He and Saria end up in the Lost Woods, where they find the one who stole the mask, a Skull Kid that serves under the evil Bagu Tree who wishes to take the forest for himself.
 * 2) Rouro of the Watarara Tribe: Taking place after the Water Temple, Link is fishing at Lake Hylia when he fishes up a strange creature. The child is of the bird-like Watarara who come to Hyrule once a year. Link tries to help the Watarara child, Rouro, learn how to fly. The problem is that Rouro is stubborn and picks on Navi. When Ganondorf's monsters attack, Link does not have Navi to help him out...

Majora's Mask
Released in Japanese in 2000 and in English on February 3, 2009, it is an adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. It is one volume, and the last chapter includes the artist's speculation of where Majora's mask originated. According to the manga, which is a different story than that of the game itself, the mask itself was an ancient and dangerous artifact made from the armor of a legendary and evil beast named Majora that was danced to dying exhaustion by a being disguised as a human traveler. According to a legend devised "by the humans themselves", any who obtain the beast's armour gains hold of a great and terrible power. All who approached it, warriors, men and women alike, even with good intentions, were devoured without remorse. The early Terminian tribes used the mask in their cursed hexing rituals, but when the evils caused by the mask became too much to bear, they sealed it away in darkness forever... so they hoped.

As the mask of the devil, Majora's Mask gained its power from the evil desires that people had in their minds as they were devoured by the beast, or when they cast the hexes when the armor was made into the mask. As it passed from member to member in the tribe it accumulated its power until it was too much to control. The tribe died out, but the mask still rested in darkness. The Happy Mask Salesman went to great lengths to get it, but while travelling in the Lost Woods it was stolen by Skull Kid and his fairies, Tatl and Tael. When the Skull Kid wore it the evil essence trapped within possessed him, beckoning him to Termina, and making him cause harm amongst the townspeople, most notably interfering with the engagement of Anju to Kafei. The most serious problem caused by the mask was that the moon was torn out of its orbit, and was on a collision course with Termina's capital city. The moon would have exterminated all life in a cataclysm of fire had it not been for Link's intervention. With the power of the Fierce Deity's Mask, he destroyed Majora's Mask and saved Termina. The moon was destroyed after these events. As stated above, while Skull Kid was possessed, he wronged many of the people in Termina. In addition, he sealed his former friends, the Four Giants in the masks of evil deities and sealed them in the temples located in the four compass directions. Link had to free all of them in order to save Termina.


 * ISBN 4091496032

Chapters

 * 1) Skull Kid and the Evil Mask
 * After defeating Ganondorf, Link soon went on a journey to find Navi. While taking a break, both the Ocarina of Time Zelda entrusted to him and Epona were abducted by a Skull Kid and his two fairies. Link pursued them down a hole, only that Skull Kid has a nasty surprise for him...
 * 1) Deku Scrub Link
 * Turned into a Deku Scrub by Skull Kid, Link and the left-behind Tatl went to Clock Town. There Link saw familiar faces and ran into trouble, being a Deku Scrub. He was saved by Anju who revealed he was in Termina and that a rumor had spread that in three days, the moon would crash into Clock Town because of an evil Imp. Realizing the imp is Skull Kid, Link and Tatl confront him on top of the clock tower...
 * 1) The Happy Mask Salesman
 * Retrieving the Ocarina of Time back from Skull Kid, Link managed to reverse time. He ended up in the clock tower, three days prior and restored to his human-self with a Deku Scrub mask. The Happy Mask Salesman arrived, asking Link to help him get Majora's mask back from Skull Kid. Link accepts and heads out into Termina for another adventure...
 * 1) Odolwa, the Marsh god
 * Arriving at the Marshland, Link fell victim to the poison that polluted the waters. Saved by monkeys, they pleaded with Link to save the Deku Scrub Princess, who was abducted by the monster responsible for the poison. Arriving at the Deku Scrub palace as a Deku Scrub, he tries to reason with the king who was wrongfully accusing others. Things got worse when the monster responsible for taking the Princess, Odolwa, appears. Link saved the princess and defeated Odolwa, whose mask shattered into a giant...
 * 1) The Monster at Snowhead
 * Link heads toward the Snowhead Mountains, where he encountered the frozen remains of a Goron named Darmani, who fell in battle against the Masked Machine Goht. After Link plays the song of healing for his spirit, Darmani gives Link his spirit in the form of the Goron Mask. His final words were for Link to carry out his final mission to destroy Goht and teach a Goron child the lullaby he promised...
 * 1) Great Bay
 * Arriving at the Great Bay, Link encountered Mikau of the IndiGo-Gos who were attacked by Gerudo pirates who stole the Zora Egg. Near death, Mikau's spirit was sealed inside of the Zora Mask so Link could use it to retrieve the egg. But the fight caused the gem to react and summon the Giant Turtle from its slumber. He guided Link and Lulu to where the Masked Fish Gyorg dwelled. Defeating Gyorg, Link then fulfilled Mikau's final wish...
 * 1) Anju & Kafei
 * After defeating Twinmold, Link learns that the four giants are the protectors of Termina who will offer their services to him when the time is right. Returning to Clock Town, he encounters a strange boy wearing a Keaton Mask with a letter for Anju from Kafei. After learning of a relation between the giants and Skull Kid, Link and Tatl tracked down the masked boy, who was Kafei himself. He bumped into Skull Kid and was turned into a child for unintentionally insulting him. Kafei joins Link in tracking down Skull Kid...
 * 1) Stop the Moon!!
 * Link and Kafei head toward the clock tower as the carnival is about to begin. The moon descends minute by minute as Skull Kid enjoys the anguish of Kafei of being a child and unable to show his face to Anju. But Anju arrived and was informed of Kafei's situation (thanks to Tatl), willing to accept Kafei no matter what form he's in. This annoyed Skull Kid just as the Four Giants arrive to stop the moon. But Skull Kid is suddenly in pain...
 * 1) Fierce Deity Link
 * It soon was revealed that Skull Kid was friends with the four giants. But when they went their separate ways, Skull Kid was devastated. His sadness was exploited by Majora's Mask, who no longer needed Skull Kid as it removed itself from him and tried to kill his ex-host. But Link stopped that. Majora's Mask offered a new game, giving Link the Fierce Deity's Mask. Despite everyone's warnings, Link put the mask on and became a frightening warrior. Once on the moon, he defeated Majora's Mask in its many forms. The Happy Mask Salesman pops up to take back the seemingly powerless mask, but Link destroyed it to ensure no one would fall victim to Majora's power ever again. After the wedding and Skull Kid learning the giants still consider him their friend, Link was reunited with Epona as they return to Hyrule to resume their search for Navi...
 * Original Side Story: Reveals the origin of Majora's Mask.

Oracle of Seasons/Ages
Based on The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, it spans 2 volumes. The Oracle of Seasons manga was released in English on April 7, 2009, while the Oracle of Ages manga will be released in English on June 2, 2009.


 * ISBN 4091496040 (Oracle of Seasons)
 * ISBN 4091496059 (Oracle of Ages)

Four Swords
Based on The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, it spans 2 volumes and 12 chapters. Included in volume two is an omake. The English version of the manga will be released on August 4, 2009.


 * ISBN 4091496067 (Volume 1)
 * ISBN 4091496075 (Volume 2)

Triforce of the Gods
A manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, published in 2005, following the release of the Game Boy Advance port. In its telling, Agahnim is revealed as a friend of Link's father. Agahnim took to magic and learned how to break the Seal of the Sages, being recruited to Ganon's services. When confronted by his friend, Agahnim sent him and his wife into the Dark World.


 * Original Characters
 * Ganty: A thief whose troupe were killed by Hylian Knights. She befriended Link until she learned he was a descendant of the knights, but in time she learned the man who raised her was a Hylian Knight too, as she originated from Hyrule as a descendant of the Hylian Knights herself, carrying an arrowhead, part of the Silver Arrow. She took on the form of a fox in the Dark World and was turned into Trinexx by Agahnim to fight Link. She helped in the final battle against Ganon. She is in love with Link and is jealous of Zelda for being close to him.


 * ISBN 4091496083

The Minish Cap


Written by Akira Himekawa and published in early 2006 in Japan. The story begins with the legend of the Picori. Then it shows Princess Zelda going to visit her childhood friend, Link. She asks him to accompany her to the Picori festival. They go together and watch the martial arts tournament.


 * ISBN 4091401163

Phantom Hourglass
Coming soon.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Link's Logbook
This manga is not an adaptation of The Wind Waker, but instead parodies certain scenarios in the game.

Dreaming Island

 * Volume 1
 * ISBN 978-4-87025-524-1
 * Release date: May 1994


 * Volume 2
 * ISBN 978-4-87025-524-1
 * Release date: September 1994

Triforce of the Gods

 * Original Characters
 * Raska: Link's childhood friend, a martial artist
 * Tou: Raska's father. Also a martial artist


 * Volume 1
 * ISBN 978-4-87025-541-8
 * Release date: May 1995


 * Volume 2
 * ISBN 978-4-87025-552-4
 * Release date: November 1995


 * Volume 3
 * ISBN 978-4-87025-559-3
 * Release date: April 1996

4 Koma Manga and novels
Some 4 Koma manga (published Shiseisha) and 5 novels (published futabusha).

Yu Mishasawa

 * Legend of Zelda
 * ISBN 4880636274
 * Release date: September 1989


 * Adventure of Link
 * ISBN 4796601910
 * Release date: August 1991

A Link to the Past by Shotaro Ishinomori
It was created as a serial comic for Nintendo Power magazine by the 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. This telling portrays Link's parents as Knights of Hyrule, lost to the Dark World.
 * ISBN 4091740111 (Japanese edition)
 * ASIN B0006QBMJ6 (English edition)


 * Original characters
 * Epheremelda: Link's fairy guide and companion who has a crush on Link.
 * Roam: A descendant of the Knights of Hyrule who fought in the imprisoning war. A master of archery, he is intent on killing Ganon by finding the Silver Arrows. Roam can turn himself into a hawk-like monster (his basic design was modeled after Jet Link/002 from Ishinomori's first successful creation, Cyborg 009).