Link

It has been requested that this article be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: Missing information on appearances from 2009-present.

Link
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom artwork
Universes	The Legend of Zelda
Debut	The Legend of Zelda (1986)
Appears in	Super Smash Bros. Super Smash Bros. Melee Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Console of origin	Family Computer / Nintendo Entertainment System
Species	Hylian
Gender	Male
Hair color	Blonde

“But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand... a young boy clothed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light.”

– The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Link is the main protagonist of the The Legend of Zelda franchise. He is almost always depicted as a young boy or a teenager in green clothing who grows to become a hero. Link is also a playable fighter in every game of the Super Smash Bros. series.

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 refers to an ancient, legendary champion, identical in appearance to Link. Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed this in late 2003.

Attributes

Artwork of adult Link wielding his sword and shield for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Typically, Link is a courageous boy or young man—it is unlikely that his age ever exceeds eighteen years at any point in the series. He is noted by the King of Red Lions to be suprisingly dull-witted in their first encounter. In most games in the series, he usually leaves his home and relatives at an early age to pursue his destiny and fight his arch-enemy, Ganon or other servants of evil. In almost all Legend of Zelda games (the exceptions being Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) Link is a child when he begins his quest. In certain games, Link has no experience in sword training by default, but in some games Link can receive sword training from certain characters.

Link's adventures mostly take place in his native kingdom of Hyrule, although there are exceptions. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker takes place in a flooded Hyrule. Link is closely associated with the Triforce of Courage and thus, with the goddess Farore and her color, green.

The Legend of Zelda titles give few hints at Link's personality; ellipses 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 some of the other games, but usually remains silent. Moreover, the top-down 2D view in several of The Legend of Zelda 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 Zelda II: 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.

Link was named as such by the developers because he is intended to be a "link to the player" as their avatar. Most The Legend of Zelda games allow the player to choose Link's name at the Name Registration screen.

Link is usually portrayed as left-handed, though the Wii version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is an exception because the game developers noticed that most players are right-handed, and would hold the Wii Remote in their right hand. Some games, such as Zelda II, depicts him holding the sword in separate hands when looking separate directions hinting he is ambidexterity, but this could be due to sprite mirroring.

Physical appearance

Link invariably wears a green tunic and cap for at least part of each game, although the shades of green vary. He also wears different-colored clothes in some The Legend of Zelda titles, such as the red Goron Tunic and the blue Zora Tunic, and has possessed several different pairs of boots, including the Iron Boots, Hover Boots, and Pegasus Boots.

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 (blond in all official game artwork), pale blond in Ocarina of Time, gold-blond in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and dirty blond in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Link has pointed ears; these are a distinctive trait of the Hylian race, supposedly allowing them to hear messages from the gods. The style of his vary however. Adult Link usually wears small blue and/or silver hoop earrings, which is the Hylian fashion.

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. This mark is also noticed by Nayru and Din in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons respectively. The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are the first games to clearly depict the mark, however. Because the entire Wii version of Twilight Princess had to be mirrored from left to right, it appears in that version on his right hand.

Abilities

Link unleashing a Magic Spin Attack on two Deku Babas, as seen in artwork for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

At the beginning of nearly every game, Link is just a regular child or young adult with no special skill. At the end of the game, however, Link becomes a full-fledged hero with many abilities. He is depicted throughout the series as very courageous and is in almost every game referred to as a hero.

Link grows to be an exceptional swordsman throughout each game, usually learning powerful sword techniques. In some games, however, his skill with a sword remains consistent. His skill with other weapons and items allows him to easily adapt and master each new tool he acquires. He often employs new weapons in his battles with new enemies just after getting them, almost always during a boss fight, giving him an advantage a lot of times in battle. Link shows himself to be an excellent marksman, what with his skill with a Bow, Boomerang, Hookshot, and other projectile weapons.

Link is also very agile, proven as he is able to perform back-flips and somersaults with ease to dodge his enemies' attacks at the very start of his adventures.

Additionally, Link has proven to be very strong physically, as he is usually able to overpower larger enemies rather easily. He is also able to push solid stone blocks many times his own weight, often without any aid. In some games he uses special items, such as the Power Bracelet, the Power Glove, the Golden Gauntlets, and the Silver Gauntlets to help make him stronger.

Link has great proficiency with many instruments, learning how to use them just after getting them. Almost every game has Link using an instrument with incredible powers: like the Ocarina of Time and the Wind Waker.

In the boxing mini-game early during The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Link is shown to have at least some proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link is shown the art of Sumo wrestling by the mayor of Ordon Village. Link is otherwise shown to be virtually defenseless without a sword or other weapon.

In some circumstances, Link can even use magic in the form of Spells, namely in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

Equipment

Link uses various items throughout the series. Common items Link finds in most games include the Master Sword, Bow and Arrows, the Hookshot, and Bombs. Link often uses musical instruments that unlock strange powers.

Link uses masks in several 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 Scrub, Goron, or Zora. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has a Happy Mask side quest that involves selling different masks for the Happy Mask Salesman to earn the Mask of Truth.

Link also has numerous tunics, clothing, and armor such as the different tunics appearing in Ocarina of Time and the Zora and Magic Armors in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Allies

Link has fought alongside multiple allies. The first true side-kick of Link was Navi in Ocarina of Time. Tatl, King of Red Lions, Ezlo, Midna and Ciela played the same role as Navi in later games.

Controllable allies were first observed in Majora's Mask. in the Kafei and Anju side-quest, the player controls Kafei when he and Link breach Sakon's Hideout. This idea was explored more in The Wind Waker, where the player controls Medli and Makar in their respective temples.

Super Smash Bros. series

Artwork of Link as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee

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 The 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 longshot, and is presented in the Ocarina of Time style as an adult. He also uses his traditional spin attack.

Link as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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 Zelda 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 longshot to latch onto the ledge of the arena, giving him a slight edge should his jump not be enough. Link's graphics are based of Ocarina of Time but improved similar to the Space World Expo 2000's, a shot teaser showing Link and Ganondorf battling.

Link performing his Final Smash, the Triforce Slash, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

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 he has a hookshot rather than Adult Link's Longshot. As such, his hook range is shorter. 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, and can perform wall jumps, which Adult Link cannot.

The Twilight Princess version of Link was featured in the newest edition of the series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Link returns with essentially the same weaponry, except with the Clawshot instead of the hookshot and the Gale Boomerang instead of the regular boomerang. Young Link, in the guise of Toon Link is featured as well. His Final Smash is the Triforce Slash. The Triforce Slash entraps an enemy in a large Triforce shape, allowing Link to repeatedly slice at the enemy, and deliver a final blow. If there is another player directly behind the one in the Triforce Slash, they also take some damage. Oddly enough, in the Subspace Emissary, Link is seen pulling the Master Sword from its resting place, in the middle of an unnamed forest, along with a fairy, seemingly Navi, making for it to be confusing exactly which Link this is supposed to represent, if at all.

Appearances

The Legend of Zelda

Link is a hero summoned by Impa, the Royal caretaker, 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. Link's character and background is given little explanation in the game, and appears to be merely a generic fantasy hero during this incarnation.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Being a sequel set not long after the original game, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link features the same Link from that game. Although 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 hand on his sixteenth birthday, and explains that he is the hero chosen to awaken an ancient Princess Zelda from her sleeping curse. Link places six crystals in Hyrule's palaces, and in the end, destroys Dark Link, receives the Triforce of Courage, and awakens Princess Zelda.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

In the SNES version of A Link to the Past, Link's Uncle's dying words were: "Zelda is your...". This unfinished sentence led many to speculate on its cryptic meaning, until the Game Boy Advance remake, in which the Uncle's dialogue was rewritten to explicitly state that it is Link's destiny to save Zelda. Link goes on a journey when he receives a telepathic message from Princess Zelda, who says that she is locked in the dungeon of Hyrule Castle. As the message closes, Link finds his uncle ready for battle, telling Link to remain in bed. After his uncle leaves, however, Link ignores his uncle's command and follows him to Hyrule Castle. When he arrives, he finds his uncle seriously wounded. Link's uncle tells Link to rescue Princess Zelda from her prison, giving him a sword and shield. After his uncle dies, Link navigates the castle and rescues Zelda from her cell, and the two escape into a secret passage through the sewers that leads to a Sanctuary.

Link is told by a man in the sanctuary that Agahnim, a wizard who has usurped the throne, is planning to break a seal made hundreds of years ago by the Seven Sages. The seal was placed to imprison a dark wizard named Ganon in the Dark World, which was once the Sacred Realm before Ganon invaded, obtained the legendary Triforce and used its power to turn the realm into a land of darkness. Agahnim intends to break the seal by sending the descendants of the Seven Sages who made the seal into the Dark World. The only thing that can defeat him is the Master Sword, a sword forged to combat evil. To prove that he is worthy to wield it, Link needs three magic Pendants of Virtue. After retrieving the pendants, Link takes them to the resting place of the Master Sword. After Link has drawn the sword from its pedestal, Zelda telepathically calls him to the Sanctuary, informing him that Hyrule Guards have arrived. Link arrives at the Sanctuary moments after the soldiers have vacated, where he learns from the dying man that Zelda has been taken to Hyrule Castle. Link goes to rescue her but arrives too late; Agahnim sends Zelda to the Dark World. Link then defeats Agahnim in battle but is subsequently also sent to the Dark World.

To save Hyrule, Link is required to rescue the Seven Maidens, descendants of the Seven Sages, from dungeons scattered across the Dark World. Once the seven maidens are freed, they use their power to break the barrier around Ganon's Tower, where Link faces Agahnim again. After Link battles Agahnim for a second time, Ganon rises up from Agahnim's body, turns into a bat, and flies away. Link chases him, finally confronting him inside the Pyramid of Power in the Dark World. After a battle resulting in Ganon's demise, Link touches the Triforce and restores Hyrule to how it was before Ganon intervened.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening takes place outside the storyline of the first three games. Link was traveling across the ocean in a ship when a storm catches him. When he wakes up he is in a strange isle. He is found by a young girl named Marin. Link must first retrieve his shield and sword, for later investigation the island. An Owl tells Link about the dangers of the isle, and tells Link to search for the eight Instruments of the Sirens in each temple to wake up the Wind Fish, the deity of the island.

The Link that stars in this game may be the same Link from A Link to the Past, or the Oracle series, as in the latter he is seen leaving on a ship similar to the one he begins on in Link's Awakening.

Link has can jump on his own if he has the Roc's Feather equipped, a first for any The Legend of Zelda title.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Artwork of Link as an adult for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is confirmed by Miyamoto to be the first game canonically in the series, making that game's incarnation the first Link and arguably the most famous one of all due to his status as the legendary Hero of Time.

Link was born during the Hyrulean Civil War, and was left in the Kokiri Forest by his mother, so that he could avoid the violence. From that point onwards, he was raised by the Great Deku Tree. Though he was actually a Hylian, he was raised as a Kokiri, so that he would fit in with his peers. However, unlike the other Kokiri, he didn't have a fairy, and for that reason, he was ridiculed by some of the other Kokiri, Mido in particular. When Link is between the ages of nine and twelve, Ganondorf places a curse on the Great Deku Tree, and the Great Deku Tree sends Link a fairy, called Navi. Link gets the Deku Shield and the Kokiri Sword, and defeats Queen Gohma, who was part of the curse. After that, the Great Deku Tree bestows Link the spiritual stone upon his death. Saria gives Link the Fairy Ocarina, with which he can play songs important to the gameplay. Link travels to Hyrule Castle, where he meets Princess Zelda. Zelda tells Link about Ganondorf's malicious plans, and sends Link to find the other Spiritual Stones.

Link retrieves the two remaining Spiritual Stones, and sets off for Hyrule Castle Town to place them in the Temple of Time. Before entering the town, Zelda gives him the Ocarina of Time while she is being chased by Ganondorf. Link returns the stones to the Temple of Time, and the Master Sword is revealed to him. However, after pulling the Master Sword from its pedestal, Link is frozen in time for seven years, since the sword did not consider him old enough to carry the title of the Hero of Time. During these seven years, Ganondorf takes over Hyrule. Upon awakening, Link is an adult between sixteen and nineteen years old. Rauru, the Sage of Light, informs him of Hyrule's takeover, and instructs him to find the other sages: Saria, the Sage of Forest, Darunia, the Sage of Fire, Princess Ruto, the Sage of Water, Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit, and Impa, the Sage of Shadow. Link gathers the remaining sages, and enters Ganon's Castle. He defeats Ganondorf, in both his Gerudo form and in his Moblin-like Ganon form, and frees Hyrule. Zelda then sends Link back in time to before the events of the game occurred. Thus creating a split in the timeline, the events leading to Ganon's defeat in this game leading to the events of The Wind Waker, and in the past, where Ganondorf's plot is uncovered before the events began due to Link's knowledge of the future, leading to the events of Twilight Princess.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Artwork of Link for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

This is the same Link from Ocarina 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). 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, causing the Moon to disappear and saving Termina on the "Dawn of a New Day". Navi, on the other hand, had never been found.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Ages

This incarnation is already a hero at the beginning of the game, leading to speculation that he is either the Hero of Time or the Link from A Link to the Past. The two games begin very similarly, with Link going to the shrine of the Triforce. Depending on which game, Link either meets Din the Dancer (in Oracle of Seasons), or Nayru the Singer (in Oracle of Ages), and becomes friends with either of them.

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. After finishing both games, he had to foil a plot by Twinrova to revive Ganon using Zelda as a sacrifice. After ending their plans, he sets sail to an unknown destination, which may be concluded in Link's Awakening

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords

At the outset of the game, Link travels with Princess Zelda to check on the seal placed on Vaati, a powerful wind mage. The seal on Vaati has weakened and Vaati escapes. He kidnaps 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 Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Link with the Wind Waker, as seen in artwork for The Legend of Zelda: 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 11th birthday, which is customary on the island for receiving the Hero's Clothes to honor the Hero of Time legend. (Interesting to note is this has sparked rumors that the timelines may know of each other, as the Adult Link timeline would only know of The Hero of Time as an adult and not the age of the child.) Link ventures to the Forsaken Fortress to track down the Helmaroc King who abducted his sister, Aryll, with the help of Tetra the pirate. Link initially fails to rescue Aryll, then, Link is rescued by the King of Red Lions who helps him in his quest to save his sister. Although the game inspires speculation about his possible relation to the Hero of Time (Namely, his family shield which was 'rumored to be used by the Hero himself', this theory is discouraged by the King of Red Lions, the King of Hyrule, who tells the sea spirit Jabun that 'He appears to have no connection to the ancient one.' Although Ganondorf says that he is the reincarnation of the Hero of Time.) After a large number of hardships, the King of Red Lions names him the Hero of the Winds.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Link and his three copies in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

The Link of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures 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. Link saves all seven of them, collects four Royal Jewels, climbs the Tower of Winds and defeats Shadow Link and the Dark Mirror in the heavens. 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. This Link and his replicas have almost the exact same character design as the Wind Waker Link, even though otherwise the game is not cel-shaded.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Link and Ezlo in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Link is the grandson of Smith, the blacksmith for Hyrule Town. He lives just outside the town with his grandfather. After Vaati shatters the Picori Blade, Link is sent to Minish Woods to find the Minish. There he finds Ezlo, his companion throughout the game. Like the incarnation in The Legend of Zelda: Like the incarnation in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, this Link has almost the exact same character design as Wind Waker Link, other than his hat.

In the game itself, Ezlo sits on Link's head throughout his adventure to defeat Vaati and restore Zelda from her petrified state, a result of Vaati's precaution of her inherent power. After advancing toward the blade and wiping out a group of Castle Guards assigned to protect the blade, Zelda intervenes. As Vaati prepares to attack, Link notices Zelda is in danger, so he runs in front of her and raises his Small Shield (Which Zelda had won for him a few moments earlier). During these events, Vaati attacks the duo with a petrification curse, blowing Link away (Knocking him out in the process, but protected from the petrification effects, thanks to his shield) and turning Zelda to stone. Besides often giving Link useful advice about his quest, Ezlo also grants Link the power to shrink down to Minish size (With the use of a pedestal) to traverse the land of Hyrule with a Minish eye.

This game is also sometimes considered to be the first game in the series by fans as the introduction mentioned a Hero of Men - not a Hero of Time. A picture depicted the hero in green clothing, but with no hat.

At the end of this game Link acquires the real green hat, as he only had Ezlo as a hat before. Ezlo then said that the hat suited him.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Link in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link is a rancher in Ordon Village who is around 17 years old. He sports a Triforce shaped birthmark on his hand, physical evidence that he possesses the Triforce of Courage from his ancestor of Ocarina of Time, the Hero of Time. One day, Rusl, the town's only warrior and swordsmith, 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 morphs Link into a wolf.

Link delivers Light back to the Faron Province, with the help of 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 who covered Hyrule in Twilight.

This Link is often referred to by fans as the Hero of Light because of his acts to restore the Light to Hyrule; however, there are those who refer to him instead as the Hero of Twilight.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Link is the same Link as in The Wind Waker. After the ending 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 Tetra is captured by the Ghost Ship, Link meets a fairy companion who helps him reunite with her. He also meets Linebeck, who helps him by letting him use his ship. He has a new sword, Oshus's Sword, which Oshus lets him have.

Link finds three spirits which allow him to find the Ghost Ship, where Tetra is being held. He saves her, but finds she is made of stone, due to her life force being drained.To do this, Link had to defeat Bellum, an evil being inhabiting the Temple of the Ocean King. But to defeat him, he needed the Phantom Sword, a sword made of the three Pure Metals. After finding these metals, Zauz forges the Phantom Sword and Oshus creates the handle out of the Phantom Hourglass. With the Phantom Sword in hand, Link defeated Bellum and restored peace. At the end it is revealed that the world they explored was another world, so Link and Tetra were sent back.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Link is seen as the hero, an apprentice engineer, and driver of the Train. Along with that, he also controls what seems to be a Phantom Guardian. His image reflects that of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

In other media

The Legend of Zelda television series

In The Legend of Zelda television series, Link is depicted as a traveling adventurer who settles in Hyrule Castle and takes the "job" of guarding the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon. He is a brave yet boisterous warrior who loves to twirl his sword in one hand before, during and after battles.

His relationship with Zelda is very similar to that of "Moonlighting" characters Dave Addison and Maddie Hayes; he makes his affections for Zelda very clear and frequently tries to get her to kiss him. Mostly, Zelda spurns him, leading him to utter his trademark line, "Excuuuuuse me, Princess!"

He is right-handed in the cartoon, despite most Link characters in the games being left-handed.

Link was voiced by Jonathan Potts in the cartoon.

A slightly altered version of this Link appeared in four episodes of Captain N: The Game Master.

The Legend of Zelda comics

Following a storyline similar to the TV series, this comic only ran for four issues. In the comic, Link is said to have come from the western land of Calatia, and this is the only land he shows more loyalty to than Hyrule. In one issue, when Zelda accuses Calatia's Queen Seline of stealing the Triforce and forces Link to choose between Seline and herself, Link stands by his queen.

Other crossovers

Soulcalibur II

Link as he appears in Soulcalibur II

Appearing in the GameCube version of Soulcalibur II (in his Ocarina Of Time adult appearance), 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 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 Soulcalibur II 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 sixth generation console among most 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 purple), which as it happened was more than any other character had in any version of the game. Fortunately, due to having a balanced moveset, he is considered a mid-tier character by the tournament community.

Cameos

• In Final Fantasy, Link's name appears on a tombstone in Elfland. In the original NES translation and the European Origins versions, the tombstone is Erdrick, 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.
• In World of Warcraft, a gnome NPC named Linken makes an appearance. He is dressed similarly to Link and gives players a series of quests titled "It's a Secret to Everybody!" and "Its Dangerous to go Alone" (both are quotes from The Legend of Zelda). Once completed, give the player "Linken's Boomerang" and "Linken's Sword of Mastery". The player also receives a photograph of Linken standing with a female gnome that looks remarkably similar to Princess Zelda.
• In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, the player can obtain a sword known as the Master Sword, which is identical to Link's Master Sword.
• In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Link can be found sound asleep inside Rose Town's inn. If Mario tries to talk to him, the 'puzzle-solved' theme plays.
• In Shining Soul II - The Master Sword is one of the weapons the player can use.
• In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Link is ranked third place in Cranky's Video Game Heroes. Diddy Kong must have at least 20 Cranky's Video Game Hero Coins to take over his rank instead.
• In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, at Bazaar's General Store, if Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong ask about Kastle KAOS without paying, Bazaar mentions that a cheeky boy called Link also asked about the castle.
• In F1 Race, at the end of course 5, Link is waiting at the finish line.
• In the NES version of Tetris after completing a B-type gaming at level nine or higher the screen will show many Nintendo characters playing instruments including Link and his recorder.
• In Tetris DS there is a game mode dedicated to Link, and it also features a picture of him.
• In Animal Crossing: Wild World, there is a conversation where someone in town tells the player they have been to a land where a guy in green clothes shoots stuff from the air with a magical boomerang.
• In Golden Sun: The Lost Age there is an unused sprite based on Link, but it is only available through a cheating device.

Popularity

The character Link has been overall well received by critics and fans. In the 1988 and 1989 Nintendo Power Awards given by Nintendo Power magazine, readers voted him as the best character. He was voted by readers as the number one and three "Best Hero" in the 1993 and 1994 Nintendo Power Awards, respectively. In 2005, Link and his creator were awarded stars on the "Walk of Game." Game Informer magazine listed Link as the number one "Hero of 2006."

Link has appeared multiple times in the annual "Character Battle" contests on the popular gaming website GameFAQs, in which players vote for their favorite video game characters, and he is the only character to have won more than once. Also, in one of IGN.com's 2007 "Hero Showdowns," Link was voted the favorite hero. Link has lived up to every Zelda fan's expectation.

Trivia

• It is known that Shigeru Miyamoto originally intended Link to be an adolescent child adventurer as opposed to his form as a young man.
• Oddly enough, equipment that slows him down while in use does not do so when not in use, even though Link is technically still carrying it. No matter how much equipment he carries, it never affects his speed or agility. For example, he sinks in water only when he wears his Iron Boots on his feet. They don't make him sink when in his "pocket." Link's pocket is one of the so called, "magical" devices he gains in the first Zelda episode, but it doesn't show Link obtaining the bag himself. It allows him to manipulate the object he is stowing into his pocket and make it feel lightweight and shrink it down into a miniature size.
• Each Hero (Link) uses a green tunic not only because it represents the goddess Farore who brought life to Hyrule, but because the original Hero, the Hero of Time, wore it as the clothing of his adopted race, the Kokiri, who were renowned for their green clothing befitting life in the forest; the Hero of Time's legend was so great that his successors carried on wearing his traditional garb in homage to his legacy. In some games, such as A Link to the Past, Link can obtain different colored, more powerful clothing, such as the blue tunic.
• It is known that the creator of The Legend of Zelda Shigeru Miyamoto had once intended Link's name to originally be Chris or Christo after his godfather. Later it was changed through a board and staff meeting. That is why in few early games opening certain menus would replace the word "Hearts" with a "CHR" or "CHRI". It is also rumored that in the game The Adventure of Link that at about the middle point of the game, if Link walked into a void in a corner where a tree was half-stuck in a mountain that link would enter a broken conversation where a chat would appear with the words "My Christo it's dangerous." The game crashes shortly after this message appears as Link can not make any actions.

Disclaimer

This page uses content from Zeldapedia. The original article was at Link. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with SSB Universes Wiki, the text of Zeldapedia from before June 19, 2009 is usable under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Link. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with SSB Universes Wiki, the text of Wikipedia from before July 15, 2009 is usable under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.