Link

Link is the main character and protagonist of the . Like the titular Princess Zelda, he has appeared across many incarnations throughout the series, which, depending on the game, depicted as an ordinary boy or young man, who becomes a legendary hero by saving the world, generally Hyrule, through incredible feats of courage and bravery. He is most often the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, a sign of his being chosen by the Golden Goddesses. As an adventurous swordsman, Link is almost always seen dressed in a green tunic/hat and wielding a sword and shield, usually the Master Sword and Hylian Shield, and has exceptional fighting talents surpassing other proficient sword-wielding fighters such as the Gerudo and even Ganondorf, alongside speed rivaling that of the Sheikah (although not all incarnations are the same in skill level and some have different abilities). He is also skilled at stealth, as an archer, and using magic (though not to the same degree as Ganon or Zelda, who themselves bear the Triforce of Power and Wisdom, respectively) Specific incarnations of Link may be distinguished by titles such as the iconic Hero of Time in and the Hero of Winds in . All incarnations of Link in the long-running series possess the spirit of the Legendary Hero and are thereby destined to fight evil, specifically his archnemesis Ganon, usually under Princess Zelda's orders, though some faced different antagonists such as Demise or Majora's Mask. He even has a dark reflection of himself which is rarely seen and fought in the series.
==Mainline appearances==
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In the original The Legend of Zelda, Hyrule is engulfed in chaos after an army of monsters led by Ganon invaded it and stole the Triforce of Power. In an attempt to prevent Ganon from acquiring the Triforce of Wisdom, Princess Zelda splits it and hides the eight fragments in secret dungeons throughout the land. Before the princess is kidnapped by Ganon, she commands her nursemaid, Impa, to find someone courageous enough to save the kingdom. While wandering the land, the old woman is surrounded by Ganon’s henchmen, though a young swordsman named Link appears and rescues her. After hearing Impa’s plea, he resolves to save Zelda and sets out to reassemble the scattered fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom, to become powerful enough to defeat Ganon. Link located the eight underground labyrinths, defeats several guardian monsters, and retrieves the Triforce fragments. With the restored Triforce of Wisdom, Link is able to infiltrate Ganon’s hideout and ultimately destroys him with the Silver Arrow. Link picks up the Triforce of Power from Ganon’s ashes for himself and returns both pieces of the Triforce to Princess Zelda, restoring peace to Hyrule. 
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In The Adventure of Link, set six years after , the now 16 year old Link notices a strange mark on the back of his left hand, resembling the crest of Hyrule. He seeks out Impa, who responds by taking Link to the North Castle, where a door has been magically sealed for generations. Impa places the back of Link's left hand on the door, and it opens, revealing a sleeping maiden inside. Impa tells Link that the maiden is the original Princess Zelda of Hyrule from long ago, and the origin of the "Legend of Zelda". Long ago, Zelda's brother, the Prince of Hyrule, had tried to force her into telling their recently deceased father's secrets concerning the last of the three golden treasures of his kingdom, the Triforce of Courage. Princess Zelda refused to reveal its location, and the Magician, who had accompanied the prince, tried to strike her down with a spell in anger. Zelda fell under a powerful sleeping spell, but the wizard was unable to control the wildly arcing magic and was killed by it. The prince, filled with remorse and unable to reverse the spell, had his sister placed in the castle tower, in the hope that she would one day be awakened. He decreed that princesses born to the royal family from that point on would be named Zelda, in remembrance of this tragedy. Impa says that the mark on Link's hand means that he is the hero chosen to awaken Zelda. She gives Link a chest containing six crystals and ancient writings that only a great future king of Hyrule can read. Link finds that he can read the document, even though he has never seen the language before; it indicates that the crystals must be set into statues within six palaces scattered all over Hyrule. This will open the way to the Great Palace, which contains the Triforce of Courage. Only the power of the combined Triforces can awaken the enchanted Zelda. Taking the crystals, Link sets out to restore them to their palaces. Meanwhile, although Link had defeated Ganon, the remnants of his army remain scattered across Hyrule. They plan to revive Ganon by killing Link and spilling his blood onto Ganon's ashes (as shown in the Game Over screen).
Ultimately, Link restores the crystals to the six palaces, defeating a strong guardian within each one to do so, and enters the Great Palace. After venturing deep inside, Link battles a flying creature known as the Thunderbird, followed by his own shadow, infamously known as Dark Link, guarding the third piece of Triforce. After defeating them both, Link then claims the Triforce of Courage and returns to Zelda. The three triangles unite into the collective Triforce, and Link's wish awakens Zelda.
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In A Link to the Past, Link lives with his uncle in a house near Hyrule Castle. During this time, the land of Hyrule was plagued by a sudden disaster, until the wizard Agahnim appeared at the court of the King of Hyrule and quelled the upheaval. Named chief adviser to the throne, he soon seized power from the king and kidnapped the seven Maidens, descendants of the Seven Wise Men (Sages) of long ago. The Maidens were taken to the castle tower and never seen again. One stormy night, Link is awakened by a telepathic message from Princess Zelda, who says that she is locked in the castle dungeon. 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 the dungeons under the castle. When he arrives, he finds his uncle mortally wounded. Link's uncle tells Link to rescue Princess Zelda from her prison, giving him his sword and shield. Link navigates the castle and rescues Zelda from her cell, and the two escape into a secret passage through the sewers that leads to the Sanctuary, where they meet the Loyal Sage. Link is informed by them that Agahnim intends to open the seal to the Dark World, a realm once sealed off long ago by the seven Sages when Ganon and his army of evil were banished into the Sacred Realm, which became the corrupted Dark World. The kidnapped Maidens were sent into the Dark World to open this seal, and Agahnim intended to do the same to Zelda, who is the final one. Link is told by the man that the only thing that can defeat Agahnim is the Master Sword, and the Sage tells him to seek the elder Sahasrahla to learn more.
Link finds the elder near the Eastern Palace. To prove that he is worthy to wield the Master Sword, Sahasrahla sends Link to find the three Pendants of Virtue, hidden in dungeons across Hyrule and guarded by mythical defenders. Sahasrahla becomes Link's mentor, offering him hints and advice at key stages of his journey. After retrieving the Pendants, Link takes them to the resting place of the Master Sword deep in the Lost Woods. As Link draws the sword from its pedestal, Princess Zelda telepathically calls him to the Sanctuary, informing him that soldiers of Hyrule Castle have arrived. Link arrives at the Sanctuary moments after the soldiers have vacated, where he learns from the dying Sage that Zelda has been taken back to Hyrule Castle. Link goes to rescue her but arrives too late; Agahnim sends Zelda to the Dark World which opens the seal. Link then faces Agahnim in battle and defeats him, but fails to kill him as Agahnim teleports Link to the Dark World as well.
To save Hyrule, Link is required to rescue the seven captive Maidens from dungeons scattered across the Dark World. Once the seven Maidens are freed, including Princess Zelda, they use their power to break the barrier around Ganon's Tower, where Link faces Agahnim again. Link defeats him a second time, killing him, and in a shocking turn of events, Ganon himself rises from Agahnim's dead body and flies away. Link chases after the pig-like beast, finally confronting him inside the Pyramid of Power at the center of the Dark World. After a battle resulting in Ganon's demise, Link touches the Triforce and with a wish, ultimately restores both the Dark World and Hyrule to their former state before Ganon intervened. This incarnation of Link has the title of Hero of Legend.
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In Link's Awakening, Link is seen aboard his ship after leaving Hyrule; however, he is soon caught in a deadly thunderstorm which results in the destruction of his ship. His unconscious body is later found by on a faraway island's shores. When he awakes, he discovers that he had miraculously been washed ashore on and makes preparations to leave it by first finding his missing . A mysterious then approaches Link and tells him about a sleeping being on , the , and that Link can only leave the once the has been awoken from its eternal slumber. To awaken the , Link had to embark on a long journey and go through many to retrieve the . 
Link is eventually instructed by the to go to the where he reads the and discovers the startling truth about . It is but a dream inside the mind of the which has been invaded by and who is unable to awaken. If the awakes, will disappear. Link had been pulled into the 's dream world and is now the only one who can awaken it. He eventually acquires all eight and defeats all of the , thus awakening the . As ultimately fades away, Link is forced out by a stream of water and awakens to find himself on a wooden board, back in the ocean where his ship was destroyed. When he looks up, he sees the flying overhead and smiles. It is unknown how Link returned back to Hyrule following this game's events.
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In Ocarina of Time, Link has been raised as one of the Kokiri, the children of Kokiri Forest. Unlike the other Kokiri, including his friend Saria, Link does not have a Fairy companion and is thus shunned by their self-proclaimed leader, Mido. Link has a nightmare involving a princess fleeing from a mysterious wicked man who then attacks him. The boy's life changes one day when the Great Deku Tree, the forest's guardian, sends Navi the Fairy to Link with instructions to bring him immediately. A curse has been cast on the Great Deku Tree, and he asks Link to break it. While Link is successful in defeating the monsters inside the Tree, the Great Deku Tree was doomed to die before Link started. He had been cursed by a man named Ganondorf, as revenge for not giving him the Kokiri's Emerald. He warns Link that this evil man seeks the Triforce, and fears a great calamity will befall Hyrule should he seize it. Before passing away, the Great Deku Tree directs Link to Hyrule Castle where he is to find Princess Zelda, who is the princess from his nightmare.
At the Hyrule Castle garden, Link meets Princess Zelda. She believes that Ganondorf is seeking the Triforce. Zelda's description of Ganondorf matches that of the man who killed the Great Deku Tree, as well as the dark figure from Link's nightmare. Zelda asks Link to obtain the three Spiritual Stones so that he can enter the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce himself before Ganondorf reaches it, and ultimately save Hyrule. Link collects the other two stones: the first from Darunia, the leader of the Gorons, and the second from Ruto, the princess of the Zoras. Link returns to Hyrule Castle, where Ganondorf is pursuing Zelda and her caretaker Impa on horseback, as in his earlier nightmare. Link attempts to stop Ganondorf, who warns him not to interfere with his plans. After Ganondorf rides off, Link retrieves the Ocarina of Time that Princess Zelda had left behind for him. Inside the Temple of Time, Link uses the Ocarina of Time and the Spiritual Stones to open the Door of Time to the Sacred Realm. Through the door, Link finds the Master Sword, a legendary sword forged to destroy evil. As he pulls the Master Sword from its pedestal, Link is suddenly sealed away, and then Ganondorf appears and claims the Triforce for himself. Therefore, Link and Zelda's plan had failed. Seven years later, an older Link is awakened as the Hero of Time by Rauru, the Sage of Light. Rauru explains that Link's spirit was sealed in the Chamber of Sages for 7 years until he was old enough to wield the Master Sword and defeat Ganondorf, who is now the King of Evil. The six Sages can imprison Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm, but five of them are not yet aware of their identities as Sages. Link is returned to the Temple of Time; there he meets the mysterious Sheik, who guides him to the temples under Ganondorf's control. Link defeats the evil lurking in each temple, thus awakening his allies from childhood, Saria, Darunia, Princess Ruto, Impa and Nabooru, as the new Sages. Link also returns to the Kokiri Forest, where he finds that none of his friends there have grown up, and most now no longer recognize him. After awakening Saria as a Sage, Link also finds that the Deku Tree Sprout has sprouted as the successor to the Great Deku Tree. He reveals Link's hidden past and explains to him that he is not a Kokiri, but actually a Hylian, orphaned in the wars that raged before Hyrule was united. While in the Lost Woods, Fado also references the fact that Link is not a Kokiri by asking Link if he is going to become a Stalfos. When Link was a baby, his mother fled with him to Kokiri Forest and, mortally wounded, left him under the Deku Tree's protection. He was brought up as one of the Kokiri and knew no differently.
After the five Sages awaken, Sheik reveals himself to be Princess Zelda in disguise, and the seventh and final Sage, as their leader. She tells the Hero of Time that Ganondorf's heart was unbalanced, causing the Triforce to split into three pieces. Ganondorf acquired only the Triforce of Power, while Zelda and Link respectively received the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage. With the princess completely exposed, Ganondorf then kidnaps Zelda in a crystal and imprisons her in his castle known as Ganon's Castle where Hyrule Castle once stood. The other six Sages help Link enter the castle, where he fights to the Evil King's sanctum. There, Link frees Zelda and seemingly defeats Ganondorf, but he destroys the castle in an attempt to kill his foes. After the duo safely escapes the collapsing castle, Ganondorf emerges from the rubble and engages Link again. Using the Triforce of Power at its maximum power, he furiously transforms from his human form into a nearly invulnerable boar-like demon named Ganon, his true self, and immediately knocks the Master Sword from Link's hand. With Zelda's aid and the Triforce of Courage, the Hero of Time retrieves the Master Sword and finally defeats Ganon. The seven Sages then ultimately seal Ganondorf into the Dark Realm. The fierce battle now over, Princess Zelda, as a Sage, uses the Ocarina of Time to send Link back to his original time to live out his lost childhood (unknowingly creating new history), at which point Navi departs. He is last seen when he encounters Princess Zelda again in the Castle Courtyard to warn her about Ganondorf and the future events that would unfold had they not intervened correctly.
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Majora's Mask occurs shortly after Ganondorf's defeat when the Hero of Time is sent back to his childhood by Princess Zelda at the end of , and tells the princess about Ganondorf before he rises to power, beginning a different history in which Ganondorf never rose to power and eventually "executed". After leaving Hyrule and riding deep into a mysterious forest in search of Navi, he is suddenly ambushed by a Skull Kid who is possessed by the notorious , who steals Link's horse Epona and the magical Ocarina of Time. Chasing the Skull Kid, Link falls into a crevasse and arrives in a different, parallel world called Termina. He must save this land from the evil of Majora's Mask, which has drawn its ominous Moon into a decaying orbit, which will cause it to crash into Termina's capital city in three days, killing everyone, including himself. Link uses the Ocarina of Time (reclaimed early on) and the Song of Time, which sends him back in time when he plays it, to relive these three days again and again in order to prevent the disaster. Along the way, Link finds many magical masks of his own, a handful of which allow him to transform into various forms. Those masks can turn him into a rock-like Goron, a petite plant-like Deku Scrub, a graceful aquatic Zora, or the ferocious god-like Fierce Deity. He is aided by a tomboyish Fairy named Tatl, who joins him to help search for her younger brother Tael, who is with the Skull Kid.
Eventually, Link succeeds in freeing the Four Giants, enigmatic deities who can halt the Moon's descent, and confronts the Skull Kid. At this point, Majora, the evil entity residing inside Majora's Mask, abandons its now-useless host and retreats into the core of the Moon and possessed it. Link gave chase, and after a long and heated battle against the three incarnations of Majora, the entity is finally destroyed and the menacing Moon disappears. Upon returning the now lifeless mask to the Happy Mask Salesman, Link leaves his new friends and continues his original journey to find Navi once again, while the people of Termina once more celebrate the dawn of a new peaceful day. It is unknown whether or not he actually returned to Hyrule.
During the Hero of Time's life after , up until and after his death, Link lamented the fact that he was unfortunately never remembered as a great hero despite saving both Hyrule and Termina, and was unable to pass on his great skills and teachings to the next generation. In order to finally ease his traumatic regrets and finally pass on his masterful knowledge, he teaches the seven Hidden Skills to his descendant, the Link of , as the Hero's Spirit.
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In Oracle of Seasons, Link is summoned by the Triforce to save the land of Holodrum. Upon his arrival, he is cared for by a young girl named Din who takes him to meet the troupe of performers that she's a part of; however, soon after, General Onox appears and captures Din, revealing that she is actually the Oracle of Seasons who was just disguising herself as a dancer. The seasons soon begin to go out of control now that Din has been kidnapped, and it is up to Link to return Holodrum back to normal. With the help of the Rod of Seasons, Link acquires the eight Essences of Nature scattered all over the land in order to restore the Maku Tree's power and enter Onox's Castle. After the young hero defeats the evil menace and rescues the Oracle of Seasons, peace returns to Holodrum and the order of nature is back to its normal state.
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In Oracle of Ages, soon after , Link is again summoned by the Triforce to save the land of Labrynna. Upon landing, he hears a cry for help, and he soon finds that Impa, Zelda's caretaker, is being surrounded by monsters. Link easily scares them off, and Impa asks that he help her search for a woman named Nayru. After finding Nayru, it is revealed that Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows, possessed Impa in order to manipulate Link into leading her to Nayru, who turns out to be the Oracle of Ages. Veran quickly takes over Nayru's body, which she uses to alter events in the past to ruin the future. It is Link who, with the help of the Harp of Ages, travels through time in order to rescue the Oracle and restore the ages back to normal. After Link frees Nayru from Veran's possession, the Oracle of Ages teaches the young hero a song crucial to his quest in collecting the eight Essences of Time scattered over the land of Labrynna. Unfortunately, soon after, the Sorceress of Shadows possesses Ambi, the queen of Labrynna in the past, and takes refuge in the Black Tower. Link, with all the Essences in hand, heads over to the sinister tower to defeat Veran once and for all. After this adventure, Link sets sail to an unknown destination aboard a ship.
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In Four Swords, when Link takes the Four Sword, he is divided into four different Links (Green, Blue, Red and Purple), each with their own style and personality. Working together, the Links must find 3 keys that lead to Princess Zelda, who was captured by Vaati the wind mage. Link travels with Princess Zelda to check on the Four Sword, a legendary blade said to seal Vaati, a powerful wind mage. As the two enter the Four Sword Sanctuary, Vaati breaks his seal, absconding with Zelda in order to make her his bride. As Link comes to, he is instructed by three Fairies to draw the Four Sword, which splits the hero into four copies of himself: one green, one red, one blue, and one purple. Together, the four Links journey across Hyrule to meet three Great Fairies, each of whom gives the Links a key necessary to enter Vaati's Palace. Inside, the four Links defeat Vaati after a fierce battle, sealing him inside the Four Sword once more. With Hyrule saved, the four heroes return the Four Sword to its pedestal, thus merging back into one being.
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Taking place hundreds of years after the events of Ocarina of Time, in The Wind Waker, after the valleys of ancient Hyrule are flooded in a deluge, Ganondorf's power is mysteriously tamed for ages before his dark energy begins to be felt over the Great Sea. Link lives on Outset Island on the Great Sea, the region above Hyrule after it was flooded by the gods to prevent Ganondorf from conquering it. Link is given the green tunic and hat on his birthday to commemorate the Hero of Time, but an attack by the Helmaroc King in which his sister is kidnapped starts him on a whirlwind adventure. Link quickly sets sail and acquires the King of Red Lions in his quest to recover Aryll after she is kidnapped by the Helmaroc King and taken to the Forsaken Fortress. Instead of simply rescuing his younger sister whom he is close to, Link is drawn into a sequence of events that eventually puts the fate of all the islands of the Great Sea in his hands. Once again, Ganon has appeared with limited power. Link is pulled into the conflict between the island inhabitants and Ganondorf's increasing presence as he, with the help of the Wind Waker, races to recapture the ancient power of the Triforce and the Master Sword before Ganondorf's true power is realized.
Eventually, upon gaining the Master Sword and Triforce of Courage formerly beloing to the Hero of Time, the King of Red Lions sees fit to grant Link the title Hero of Winds in honor of his ongoing struggle with the forces of evil. In the final showdown, Link defeats Ganondorf for good, stabbing him in the head with the Master Sword and turning him into stone. The King of Hyrule's wish with the Triforce was to give Link and Princess Zelda (who is actually Tetra) a future, and at the end of the game they set out to find a new land to be the next kingdom after Hyrule, leading to the events of Phantom Hourglass.
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In Four Swords Adventures, Concerned that the seal which keeps Vaati in the Four Sword may be weakening, Zelda and the rest of the Seven Maidens summon Link and open the way to the shrine of the Four Sword to investigate. However, Zelda and the other maidens are captured and imprisoned by Shadow Link. Despite the fact that it will release Vaati, Link is forced to draw the Four Sword from its pedestal in order to split himself into four and have the strength to go and rescue the maidens. The Links save all seven of them and collect the four Royal Jewels, which they use to reveal the Tower of Winds. When he followed Shadow Link down to the Four Sword Sanctuary, he pulled the Four Sword splitting him into four like in the original Four Swords, but when he pulled the sword Vaati was released from the seal once again. After the Links saved Zelda and the maidens, got the four Royal Jewels from different heroes of Hyrule, and defeated Vaati, Zelda and the Links fought against the dark lord Ganon and, with the help of the Seven Maidens, seal him within the Four Sword and restored peace to Hyrule. The sword is then returned to its sanctuary and sealed there, and the Links are combined into one again. 
This incarnation of Link is given the title Hero of Light, due to the hero's courage and being the only one who can free Hyrule from darkness.
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In The Minish Cap, Link is the grandson of Smith, the blacksmith of Hyrule Town. They live just outside Hyrule Town in South Hyrule Field, and Link goes to the Picori Festival with his childhood friend, Princess Zelda. During the award ceremony for the Festival's sword-fighting tournament, the winner, Vaati, shatters the legendary Picori Blade and releases the monsters that had been sealed in the Bound Chest. Princess Zelda uses her power to send the monsters away, and despite Link's attempt to defend her, Vaati turns her to stone to prevent her from interfering with his plans. Afterward, the King Daltus sends Link to the Minish Woods to find the Minish, in the hopes that they can reforge the Broken Picori Blade so that it can be used against Vaati. As he travels through the Woods, Link meets Ezlo, who serves as his companion throughout his quest. Aside from his frequent advice and sarcastic comments, Ezlo grants Link the power to shrink down to Minish size. Link meets with the Gentari, the elder of the Minish Village, and is told that in order to reforge the sacred Picori Blade, he must acquire the Four Elements, the embodiment of the sacred powers of earth, fire, water and wind. After finding the Earth Element in Deepwood Shrine, Link is told to take the Broken Picori Blade to Melari, the elder of the Mountain Minish, in order to reforge the Picori Blade into the White Sword. Once Link gathers the Four Elements, he brings the White Sword to the Elemental Sanctuary hidden within the courtyard of Hyrule Castle. There, it is infused with the Elements one by one, fully restoring the sacred Four Sword, a legendary blade with the power to split one warrior into four. During Link's quest to find the Four Elements, Vaati impersonates King Daltus, using him as a disguise to search for the Light Force. After restoring the Four Sword to its full power, Link and Ezlo discover that the Light Force has been passed down through Hyrule's princesses, and actually resides within Princess Zelda herself. Vaati secretly follows them, and upon discovering the true hiding place of the Light Force, prepares to extract it from Princess Zelda. Link rushes to her rescue, vanquishes Vaati, and uses the power of the Four Sword to restore Princess Zelda. With Vaati defeated, the Mage's Cap is donned by Princess Zelda and used to restore Hyrule from the damage Vaati had caused. Due to her righteous wish and the power of the Light Force within her, many miracles happen as a result. With the land saved, Ezlo, whose curse had also been broken, leaves Link, returning back to the world of the Minish.
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In Twilight Princess, Link is a teenage youth who has been raised as a wrangler outside of Hyrule territory in Ordon Village. He is fascinated by swordsmanship and horse riding. His mentor, Rusl, requests that Link go in his place to deliver a sword he has made for the Royal Family of Hyrule. Before Link can go on this journey, his village is attacked by King Bulblin and his band of Bulblins, who carry off the village children. Pursuing them, Link encounters a wall of Twilight blocking the way. A Shadow Beast pulls him beyond the wall into the Twilight, where he is transformed into a wolf and imprisoned in Hyrule Castle's dungeon. Link is soon freed by an imp-like Twili being named Midna. She agrees to help him if he obeys her unconditionally. She guides him to Princess Zelda in the castle tower. Zelda explains that Zant, the King of Twilight, has stolen the light from three of the four Spirits of Light and conquered Hyrule. In order to save the kingdom, Link must first restore the Light Spirits by entering the Twilight-covered areas and, as a wolf, recover the Spirits' lost light. Accompanied by Midna, Link restores the light to the Light Spirit Faron and is returned to his Hylian form. During this time, Link also helps Midna locate the fragments of the Fused Shadow, relics containing powerful dark magic. In return, she helps Link find Ordon Village's kidnapped children. Once Link has restored the Light Spirits and found all of the Fused Shadow Fragments, they are suddenly ambushed by Zant. After he relieves Midna of the Fused Shadow fragments, she ridicules him for abusing his tribe's magic, but Zant responds that his power comes from another source as he uses it to turn Link back into a wolf. He then leaves Midna to die from the world's light forced upon her, prompting Link to bring her to Zelda to help her. Link learns that he needs the Master Sword to return to human form. Zelda sacrifices herself to heal Midna with her power before vanishing mysteriously. Moved by her sacrifice, Midna agrees to help Link find the Master Sword. After finding the legendary blade, Link is cleansed of the magic that kept him in wolf form, transforming it into the Shadow Crystal. Using this crystal, Link is able to switch between both forms at will.
Midna leads Link to the Mirror of Twilight located deep within the Gerudo Desert, the only known gateway between the Twilight Realm and Hyrule. However, they discover that the mirror is shattered. The ghostly Sages there explain that Zant tried to destroy it, but he was only able to shatter it into fragments; only the true ruler of the Twili can completely destroy the Mirror of Twilight. They also reveal that they used it a century ago to banish Ganondorf, the Gerudo leader who attempted to steal the Triforce, to the Twilight Realm when executing him failed. Assisted by an underground group called The Resistance, they meet in Castle Town, Link and Midna set out to retrieve the missing shards of the mirror, defeating those they infected. Once the portal is restored, Midna is revealed to be the true ruler of the Twilight Realm, usurped by Zant when he cursed her into her current form. Confronting Zant, Link and Midna learn that Zant's coup was made possible when he forged a pact with Ganondorf, who asked for Zant's assistance in conquering Hyrule. After Link defeats Zant, Midna recovers the Fused Shadows, but destroys Zant after learning that only Ganondorf's death can release her from her curse. Returning to Hyrule, Link and Midna find Ganondorf in Hyrule Castle, with a lifeless Zelda suspended above his head. Ganondorf fights Link by possessing Zelda's body and eventually by transforming into a beast, but Link defeats him and Midna is able to resurrect Zelda. Ganondorf then revives, and Midna teleports Link and Zelda outside the castle so she can hold him off with the Fused Shadow. However, as Hyrule Castle collapses, it is revealed that Ganondorf was victorious as he crushes Midna's helmet. Ganondorf engages Link on horseback, and, assisted by Zelda and the Light Spirits, Link eventually knocks Ganondorf off his horse and they duel on foot before Link strikes down Ganondorf and plunges the Master Sword into his chest. With Ganondorf dead, the Light Spirits not only bring Midna back to life, but restore her to her true form. After bidding farewell to Link and Zelda, Midna returns home before destroying the Mirror of Twilight with a tear to maintain balance between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. Near the end, as Hyrule Castle is rebuilt, Link leaves Ordon Village heading to parts unknown.
This incarnation of Link is given the title of Hero of Twilight.
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Link appears yet again in his youngest form in Phantom Hourglass. The events of this game takes place months after Ganondorf's defeat at the end of . The Hero of Winds was sailing with Tetra and her crew in search of the . When they find it, Tetra jumps aboard but is kidnapped, so Link goes after her but instead falls into the sea. Link is awakened on Mercay Island by a fairy, and they set out on a journey to find Tetra. Link and Ciela traverse the World of the Ocean King, rescuing the Spirits of the Ocean King and Tetra, and forging the Phantom Sword which can slay Bellum, the devil behind all this misfortune. At the end of the game, Oshus returns Link, Tetra, and Linebeck to their world, thanking them for their help.
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In Spirit Tracks, taking place many years after the Hero of Winds found the new Hyrule, Link is a child who lives with Niko in Aboda Village. He is an apprentice of a master engineer, named Alfonzo, who has helped him in order to become a Royal Engineer. When Zelda presents Link with a certificate for this achievement, she also gives him a letter, telling him to meet with her, to discuss her suspicions over the mysterious Chancellor Cole as well as the disappearing . When Link sneaks Zelda out of the Castle, they meet up with Alfonzo, who escorts them to the Tower of Spirits by train. However, as the Spirit Tracks begin to fade, they crash, and are then ambushed by the chancellor, who attacks the trio. Link and his master are knocked unconscious while Zelda's spirit is separated from her body, which is seized by Cole's apprentice, Byrne. Link awakes back in Hyrule Castle to discover that Zelda is now a ghost and that Link is the only person who can see her. After visiting Anjean in the Tower of Spirits, he agrees to help her in defeating Chancellor Cole and recover her body in the process.
After Link and Zelda travel up to the Tower of Spirits to recover a Rail Map, a Phantom Knight attacks him, but Zelda charges at the Phantom just in time to take control of its body. After this, Link and Zelda begin their journey to restore the Tower of Spirits and the Spirit Tracks, traveling across the overworld using the Spirit Train that is granted to Link by Anjean. Whenever Link returns to the Spirit Tower to obtain another Rail Map, Princess Zelda possesses a Phantom's armor in order to aid the young hero. As the pair continues to travel, Link and Zelda establish a close friendship as the two get to know each other better.
Once Princess Zelda recovers her body from Malladus with the aid of Link, the two together face up against the Demon King, who has now taken over Chancellor Cole's body. Together, Link and Zelda deal the final blow on Malladus using the Lokomo Sword, and shortly after, Anjean and the rest of the Lokomos depart towards the heavens. As they leave, Anjean entrusts Princess Zelda to watch over the land, asking Link to help her as well. Link and Zelda are then seen holding hands as they witness the departure of the Lokomos. Unlike other instances where Link departs from the land after having saved it, the young hero stays in Hyrule to fulfill Anjean's request, where he continues to be either an engineer or a warrior, depending on which Link chose. This is witnessed when Princess Zelda gets up from her seat in her office and waves out the window after having heard either a train's whistle or the clanking of swords.
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In Skyward Sword, has lived his entire life on . He is childhood friends with Princess Zelda, and they attend the together, where he is bullied by rival student . He shares a divided room at the with . On his desk can be seen several tools along with an incomplete wood carving project, and on his bookshelf, two completed and painted projects of his and a , suggesting he practices wood carving as a hobby.
In the morning of the , is having a nightmare about . He is woken up in shock by 's that brought him a from . After waking up, prepares himself for the , an important part of the initiation of new knights of . After the ceremony, Link and Zelda go for a flight together on their Loftwings, when Zelda and her Loftwing are pulled below the clouds during a sudden and unusual storm. That night, Link is visited by Fi, a being sent by the goddess Hylia in order to help him search for Zelda on the Surface. Fi leads Link to the Goddess Sword, and the following day, he ventures to the Surface. On the Surface, Link meets an old woman in the Sealed Temple at the Sealed Grounds. This woman assures Link that Zelda is safe and has embarked on a quest of her own, and that he needs to continue to track her. While searching for Zelda, Link discovers that Zelda is also being followed by two other people: Impa, a servant of Hylia sent to protect Zelda on her quest; and Ghirahim, a self-proclaimed demon lord who claims responsibility for the storm that dragged Zelda to the Surface.
Eventually, Link finally catches up to Zelda with Impa at the ancient Temple of Time, but their reunion is cut short when Ghirahim finds and attacks the duo. Impa holds Ghirahim at bay as Zelda grants Link the Goddess's Harp. He then holds off Ghirahim in order for Zelda and Impa to escape through the Gate of Time, which Impa destroys as soon as she and Zelda are through. Back at the Sealed Temple, the old woman shows Link a similar portal that leads to the same place as the portal at the Temple of Time, and explains that Link needs to strengthen the Goddess Sword in order to use the portal. In order to strengthen the sword, Link must temper it in the Sacred Flames hidden in various places on the Surface. Before he can set out on his new quest, however, a giant beast known as The Imprisoned, which was sealed in a pit outside the temple, breaks its seal and begins to climb toward the temple. With great effort, Link stops it and reseals it before it can reach the temple, and then sets out in order to find the Sacred Flames. After passing the three trials of the goddess, gaining spiritual growth, and transforming the Goddess Sword into the Master Sword, Link returns to the portal in the Sealed Temple. Before he can use the portal, the Imprisoned breaks its seal again. Link reseals the creature again with the aid of Groose, who had followed Link to the Surface on his second visit to the Sealed Temple. Link then enters the second Gate of Time and reunites with Zelda, who explains that Link is the goddess's chosen hero, before telling him that she, as Hylia's mortal reincarnation, must remain in a deep sleep to keep the demon king Demise, the true form of the Imprisoned, sealed within his prison. She then informs Link that he must find and use the Triforce to destroy Demise so that she will be able to wake up in their own time.
Link sets out to the Sky Keep and obtains the Triforce, using its might to wish for the eradication of Demise. Zelda is finally released from her duty in the present, but shortly after, Ghirahim abducts her and transports her to the past, planning to resurrect Demise in that time period. Despite Link's attempts to stop him, Ghirahim sacrifices Zelda's soul to Demise, thus allowing Demise to break free of his seal. Link then challenges Demise, who is impressed with Link's courage, and thus accepts the challenge. Ultimately, Link defeats both Ghirahim and Demise, and seals the remains of the demon king in the Master Sword. But before being sealed, Demise casts a deadly curse and warns him that his hatred will be reborn as a being to pursue domination of the world, as well as those with the blood of the goddess and spirit of the hero, in a cycle without end. Back in the present, Princess Zelda decides to remain on the Surface, and wonders what Link plans to do. Link smiles, hinting that he, too, plans to stay on the Surface with Zelda and help her watch over the Triforce.
This incarnation is given the title of Hero of the Sky. He is also the Legendary Hero himself, as it is confirmed by Hyrule Historia to be the origin of every incarnation of Link.
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In A Link Between Worlds, Link dreams that he is in an unknown realm with a familiar character. He is about to engage in battle, but Gulley comes into Link's room and wakes him up from his sleep. In the Blacksmith's Forge, the Captain of the Guard comes to pick up the new sword that the Blacksmith forged for him. But he forgets it as he leaves, and Link is sent to return it to him. Shortly afterward, he encounters Yuga, who has transformed the Captain into a Painting on the Sanctuary's wall after he tried to defend Seres, the Priest's daughter. He then traps Seres herself in a Painting. Using the Forgotten Sword, Link attacks Yuga, but Yuga evades the attack by Wall Merging. Link crashes into the wall and is knocked unconscious. After this, Yuga leaves with Seres' Painting in hand. Link eventually wakes up in his house and meets a mysterious person named Ravio. After telling Ravio about Yuga, Link is instructed to go see Princess Zelda. Asking if he can stay in Link's house, Ravio gives him a strange bracelet in exchange. When Link meets Zelda, she gives him the Pendant of Courage and tells him to go meet Sahasrahla. Once Link does this, he is then told to find Osfala, who is in the Eastern Palace, and is a descendant of the Seven Sages. Sahasrahla worries that Yuga may go after him next. Link meets Osfala at the entrance to the Eastern Palace, but Osfala simply laughs off Link's warning about Yuga, telling the young hero that he is just as powerful as the Seven Sages were. He then leaves to confront Yuga. However, after traversing the Eastern Palace, Link runs into Yuga yet again, who turns Osfala into a Painting, just as he did Seres. Link battles Yuga, managing to best him with the help of the Bow he rented from Ravio. In a fit of rage, Yuga traps Link as a Painting and leaves. However, Link escapes with the help of Ravio's Bracelet and discovers he could now turn himself into a Painting and back at will with the bracelet. 
Meanwhile, having collected the Seven Sages, Yuga quickly takes over Hyrule Castle. Link meets Sahasrahla again, who instructs Link to obtain the Pendants of Courage, Wisdom, and Power. Only then will he be able to wield the Master Sword in order to access the castle. After completing this task, Link obtains the Master Sword and delves into the castle, where he finds Yuga with a Painting of Zelda. Yuga then escapes through a mysterious crack in the wall via his ability to Wall Merge. Link pursues Yuga to the other side, where Yuga has begun the process of reviving the evil Ganon, using the power of the Sages to do so. Once Ganon is resurrected, Yuga merges with the Demon King, becoming even more powerful, and is now Yuga Ganon. Link is saved by Princess Hilda and is told he is in the kingdom of Lorule - a counterpart of his own Hyrule. Link is then given a new task - to rescue and awaken the Seven Sages. Upon awakening all of the Sages, Link is granted the power of the Triforce of Courage. After Hilda's failed attempt to steal the Triforce from him to save her kingdom, Link faces off against Yuga Ganon and defeats him. Afterwards, Link and Zelda are taken to the Lorulean version of the Sacred Realm, through which they return home to their own Sacred Realm. There, they find Hyrule's Triforce and wish for the Lorulean Triforce to be restored. After the credits, Link returns the Master Sword to its pedestal like in some earlier games.
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In , Link passes through the kingdom of on his travels after certain, undisclosed events. He is the same hero from , and dresses differently to hide his heroic origins. While passing through Hytopia, however, he is spotted by an assistant of , who recognizes his traits of having pointed ears, long sideburns, and side-parted hair. According to a prophecy in the land, these are the traits characteristic of the fabled . Link learns that the kingdom's princess, Styla, has been cursed by a witch to wear an irremovable, tacky outfit. Her father, King Tuft, has sent an urgent request to kingdoms far and wide looking for heroes who match the description of the Tri Force Heroes, hoping that they can save his daughter and put a stop to the witch. Link is drafted into the kingdom's Witch-Hunting Brigade, and is paired with two other Links as they venture forth into the Drablands, the witch's domain. The other Links are of unclear origin.
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The events of Breath of the Wild begin with Sir Link, a Knight of Hyrule, awakening from a deep sleep in the Shrine of Resurrection. He is guided by a mysterious voice to take the Sheikah Slate and embark to the outside world, told that he must "shine upon Hyrule once again." He then exits the Shrine and is free to explore Hyrule. Outside the Shrine, he finds an Old Man who later informs him that the Calamity Ganon was a source of many evils 100 years ago, until it was sealed in Hyrule Castle, which has been able to contain it for the past century. The Old Man also mentions that the Calamity Ganon is close to breaking free, giving Link the task to save Hyrule.
Link must choose to go to each of the four Ancient Shrines on the Great Plateau and acquire a Rune at each one that will grant him special abilities for the Sheikah Slate.
Link is afflicted by amnesia, as he is unable to remember anyone or anything from prior to his rest in the Shrine of Resurrection.
Link's Father was also a Knight of Hyrule, though his family was not nobility. It is rumored that his hometown may have been Hateno Village, and as he was from the countryside, his promotion to both Champion and the personal bodyguard of the princess made some nobles unhappy. According to Mipha's Diary, when Link was only four years old he traveled to Zora's Domain with a group of Hylians on order from King Rhoam. Even though he was so young, he was already an exceptional swordsman (like most other Links in past games). Mipha describes him as being curious and full of energy at this age, but also reckless. When he was twelve or thirteen years old, Link drew the Master Sword from its Pedestal, the location of which had long been a mystery.
By the time Link had become a young man, he was much quieter and outwardly colder than he used to be, though Mipha could tell that inside he was still the same kind person. The reason for Link maintaining silence through much of the game is explained in Zelda's Diary, which states that it is because, with so much at stake, he finds it necessary to be strong and silently bear his burdens, which caused him to stop showing outward emotions. After awakening from the Shrine of Resurrection without his memories, Link is much more expressive and lighthearted as he does not remember the burdens and expectations that made him stay silent in the past.
Apparently, he is something of a glutton, and greatly enjoys a good meal. According to Steen's grandfather, Link exclusively ate and trained with Swift Carrots a hundred years ago."You see, the thing about that swordsman is... He trained with swift carrots instead of a blade! He strengthened his body with a diet made entirely of swift carrots! And he tempered his soul with the sweet aroma of swift carrots too! That's what my grandfather always used to say, anyway..." — Steen (Breath of the Wild) At the very least, Link used the Master Sword a hundred years ago, making the other claims untrustworthy at best.
This incarnation of Link is given the title of Hero of the Wild."Well, this Link is technically a different person from the Link you fought before. This incarnation is known as the Hero of the Wild." — Palutena (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)
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Following the events of , Link and Princess Zelda help rebuild the kingdom of Hyrule from the devastating aftermath of The Great Calamity. A few years later, Link and Zelda explore the depths of Hyrule Castle, leading to major discovery’s about the events of the Imprisoning War, and the founding of Hyrule. After further exploration, the couple find the remains of a mummified Ganondorf, seemingly defeated with a mysterious object holding him in time. Link loses his right arm against the Gloom and the Master Sword shattered from his attack. As the Demon King awakens, the floor beneath Zelda collapses. Link dives to grab her but disappears from his view. He was later grabbed by the arm of King Rauru, and teleported away from the place.
Link awakens in a damp cavern. His right arm has been replaced the arm that saved him and the Master Sword, completely broken. Upon emerging, he finds himself on Great Sky Island—a grand, ruined island in the sky.
Upon reaching the Temple of Time at some form of pedestal, the Master Sword requested Link to place it on. There, it was sent back into a long, distant past where it was received by Zelda. Afterwards, Link received a telepathic voice from Zelda, where he "must find her." With no other options, Link dived from the Temple of Time and back to the surface of Hyrule. After returning to land, Link began on a grand quest across the Hyrule Kingdom to find Zelda, while uncovering a plot that threatens the world once more. After diving down to Hyrule, Link comes across Lookout Landing, A new town in Central Hyrule. After Arriving in Lookout Landing, Link speaks to Purah, who tells him to go to Hyrule Castle. After he goes the the Castle, he returns to Lookout Landing to find out that strange phenomena are happening in the various regions of Hyrule. The Rito of the Hebra region have been dealing with a massive blizzard raging above the skies of the Hebra Mountains. The Gerudo of the Gerudo region have been dealing with a "sand shroud" and unusual monsters called Gibdos. The Gorons of the Eldin region have become addicted to Marble Rock Roast, causing them to ignore their work and become lazy. The Zora of the Lanayru region have been dealing with sludge falling from the sky and polluting their water. Eventually, the Hero of the Wild defeats Ganondorf and saves the land once more.
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In Echoes of Wisdom, Link is a young swordsman from Suthorn Village. Some time before the beginning of the game, he and several other children were "stolen away" by a Rift. Amazingly, all of them returned, the first, and then only, time this had occurred. Though they all lost something as a result, including the ability to speak, only Link remembered being "stolen away" in the first place, and even to his own surprise, Link gained the ability to sense when Rifts formed, and so dedicated himself to fighting off the Dark Monsters that emerged from the Rifts, to prevent anyone else from being "stolen away" like he was.
One day, Link saved an old man named Lueburry from assault by a monster in the forest. The next day, Lueburry visited Link, learned the boy's story, revealed his own research into Might Crystals, and gifted Link the Sword of Might, which was more effective against the Dark Monsters. Over time, Lueburry would also give Link the Bow of Might and the Bombs of Might.
Eventually, Link would learn of Princess Zelda's abduction by a blue porcine monster, and would rush off to save her. While she returned safely, Link did not, having been pulled into yet another Rift. His equipment would be taken by "echoes" of himself, though Princess Zelda would defeat them and take his de-powered equipment for herself.
During Princess Zelda's own journey, Link traveled the Still World, though his goal, be it to escape or somehow resolve the crisis from inside the Still World, and objectives for accomplishing it were unknown. Eventually, Link arrived at Stilled Hyrule Castle just after Zelda did, eventually appearing to save her when a strange dark mass attacked her after she defeated a seemingly-revived Ganon. This would lead to Link being captured in Zelda's place, and brought to the Stilled Ancient Ruins.
Some time later, a fragment of the Prime Energy would make its way to Link, with Zelda and an Echo of herself arriving not long after, the former in pursuit of the latter, and both possessing the remaining two fragments. After the two battled, Echo Zelda would flee into Null's Body with its fragment of the Prime Energy while Zelda freed Link. Returning his weapons to him, Zelda would rely solely on the Echoes she'd recorded in the Tri Rod as the two fought their way through Null's Body and against Null itself. Reuniting the Prime Energy, they used its complete power to ultimately destroy Null.
After Tri bids them farewell and returns with their friends to the goddesses to slumber until needed again, Link and Zelda would be returned to Castle Town, where it is soon discovered that Link has regained his ability to speak, to everyone's shock.
Unlike all other games, Link is not the main protagonist of Echoes of Wisdom, as Princess Zelda takes his role for the player, a first for the franchise's core series.
==Spinoff appearances==
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In the Game & Watch game, Link's sweetheart - Princess Zelda - was kidnapped by the Eight Dragons in order to cause chaos in Hyrule, she is imprisoned in a magical cage that can only be opened with the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. Link journeys through the dungeon, defeats the dragons and saves Zelda.
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In , Link travels around the land of Hyrule shooting targets, enemies, and more in order to perfect his Crossbow skills. The game most likely takes place after the events of - where Link is presumably hunting down remaining monsters.http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/9xKcFNixgDWMPXx0DGu0_77F-6Hwbk2s In the game, Link has very little interaction with other characters.
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During , Hyrule experiences an age of peace, which consequently has left Link bored with no adventures to go on. Shortly after he complains about the fact, Gwonam arrives and informs him that Ganon has seized Koridai and that, according to a prophecy, he is the only one who can defeat him. Link asks Zelda for a kiss of luck before leaving, but is rejected. The young hero leaves with Gwonam to Koridai on his magic carpet. Once there, Link ventures on his quest to defeat the masters of the "Faces of Evil"; mountain peaks that bare resemblance to Ganon's minions who now control certain areas of Koridai. During his quest, Link and Gwonam learn that Zelda was kidnapped by Ganon and put under a sleeping spell during Link's absence. At the end of his quest, Link fulfills his destiny by defeating Ganon at his lair and trapping him in the Book of Koridai, an item Link found during his quest and the only thing that could defeat Ganon. Link wakes Zelda from her spell by ringing a gong, and exclaims that he just saved her, though she teasingly denies this. They are taken back to Hyrule by Gwonam, who proclaims Link as the Hero of Koridai. Link once again asks Zelda for a kiss, but is again rejected.
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Link plays a much smaller role in . The Royal Family is informed that the island of Gamelon has been seized by Ganon, and its ruler Duke Onkled has sent a request for urgent assistance. King Harkinian leaves to aid him, and Link is ordered to go to Gamelon if the King does not return in a month. He does so when the King winds up missing, but also disappears with no word back, forcing Zelda and Impa to leave for Gamelon. During their quest, they eventually learn through the Triforce of Wisdom that Link was involved in a terrible fight. However, his fate is ultimately left unknown. Zelda later learns from Lady Alma that she had met with Link, who had exchanged his Canteen for a kiss. After defeating Ganon and rescuing her father, Zelda wonders what had happened to Link. Lady Alma disregards his disappearance and Zelda smashes her mirror, causing Link to inexplicably reappear, implying that he was trapped inside. He has no recollection of what had happened to him.
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In , Link was captured by Ganon in the land of Tolemac. He had been traveling with a guide from the swamp of Vendoss, but they were soon found and outnumbered by Ganon's spies, resulting in Link's capture and his guide injured. The wizard Gaspra summons Zelda to defeat Ganon and rescue Link. Zelda eventually reaches and defeats Ganon after finding all seven of the stolen Celestial Signs, rescuing Link and bringing peace back to Hyrule and Tolemac. Link is only seen during the game's ending, holding hands with Zelda at the Vision Henge.
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Prior to the events of , a hero in green had appeared and sealed away an evil entity in order to restore the Triforce's balance, which had been disrupted by the evil. The hero split the evil soul into four parts and banished each one to a different area.
During the events of , Link is a young, but powerful, knight in training. Due to his previous incarnation's close connections with the princesses of Hyrule, Cia falls under the influence of the sealed evil and becomes corrupt out of her envy. After Cia's forces attack Hyrule Castle, Link sets out on a journey to save Hyrule and its princess from the forces of darkness. This Link appears to be based on the incarnation from Skyward Sword.
Link has the most styles out of any character with five. His default is Hylian Sword which has him equipped with a sword and shield. The Magic Rod has longer range and great crowd control, but trades it in for lower defensive capabilities. His third weapon, the Gauntlets, grants him super strength in order to wield huge, heavy objects such as the Ball and Chain or even the giant pillars from . They also allow him to dig into the earth and fire electrical bursts along the ground. His fourth and final weapon is the Great Fairy, where is not Link who fights, but instead the Great Fairy who carries the young hero around in a Bottle. It is a very powerful style, having huge area of effect attacks and easy to exploit. The Master Sword is considered its own style and has a powered up version of the Spin Slash. The Master Quest DLC pack also gives Link a new type of weapon, his horse Epona.
Once he gets the Hero's Tunic, he also gets pauldrons, a chain mail under the tunic, and a blue scarf with the Royal Crest. His , , and incarnations come with the Courage Set. A Dark Link costume also becomes available by purchasing the Hero of Hyrule Pack. By purchasing the Master Quest Pack, Link's purple tunic becomes available as one of the unlockable costumes in the Master Quest Adventure Mode Map.
The Hero of Time incarnation based on Majora's Mask is also available as a separate downloadable character, by purchasing the Majora's Mask pack. He attacks using a bigger version of the Kokiri Sword, and can wear the Fierce Deity's Mask to perform certain powerful attacks.
==Appearances in other media==
===The Legend of Zelda television series===
In , Link's appearance is similar to the official artwork of the original game: a green hat with a lighter green (sometimes yellow) stripe around the brow, and a green tunic with a brown belt, accompanied underneath it with a brown, long-sleeved shirt and brown pants. Interestingly, even though Link's hair and eyes are black in the first two aired episodes of the series, the third episode, "The White Knight", showed Link's hair and eyes as brown, which would remain until the last episode. Jonathan Potts serves as the voice actor for Link.
Living in North Castle with Princess Zelda and King Harkinian, Link is in charge of protecting the Triforce of Wisdom from falling into Ganon's hands. However, he dislikes his new lifestyle, claiming that it is boring and would rather be off fighting monsters and roaming the world. The only positive thing, he says, is that he gets to be in company of Princess Zelda, who usually dislikes Link's overall personality. Despite this, it is revealed in "The Missing Link" that she loves the young hero anyway but would rather keep it a secret to prevent it from going into Link's head. Link is persistent at any rate in trying to get Zelda to kiss him, and asks for a reward any time the young hero saves her. Any time that seems like Zelda is about to kiss him, they are always interrupted by Spryte, Ganon's minions or even Link's own clumsiness ruining the moment, leaving the young hero frustrated. Link's motives for rescuing Zelda are not always a kiss, however, as he seems to genuinely care for her and would do anything to save her, which seems to be his weakness. Even so, he will take any chance to impress Princess Zelda or even to make her jealous.
For the most part, like in the games, Link is depicted as a capable swordsman and a quick thinker, although he is often shown to be a rather arrogant warrior as well, something that displeases Zelda the most. Because of this, he sometimes underestimates the situation he is and ends up in more trouble than he predicts: in "The Moblins are Revolting", Link mocks Ganon for not being able to fight back since he is inside an indestructible bubble and decides to throw him around for a bit, which results in the bubble bursting and ruining Zelda's chances to retrieve the Triforce of Power. He is also characterized for his somewhat childish nature, trying to avoid any responsibilities that do not have to do with fighting Ganon: in "Cold Spells", he decides to fake being sick so that he will not have to do chores around the castle. 
The cartoon series establishes that Link's entire inventory is actually shrunk inside his magic pouch around his belt: when Link is fighting a dragon, he pulls a miniaturized shield from the pouch, which then grows to normal size. Link always carries his sword, the Crissword, to fire Sword Beams at Ganon and his minions and thus send them back into the Evil Jar. The young hero only wields his Magical Shield in four episodes, which he just uses for a brief time during battles. He also often fights alongside Zelda, who proves to be invaluable and even saves the young hero several times throughout the show.
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Link makes four episode appearances in . Unlike his depiction in The Legend of Zelda TV Series, he is now portrayed as an older, more mature Link who is no longer obsessed with trying to steal a kiss from Princess Zelda. His hair is longer, and his tunic is also slightly different to accommodate to his older look, but it still retains the same overall style. Jonathan Potts reprises his role as Link's voice actor in this television show.
Link lives with Princess Zelda in North Castle, still protecting the Triforce and the kingdom of Hyrule from evil even after Ganon's fall. He is Kevin's favorite video game hero, and although the two of them get along very well when Kevin first meets Link in "Quest for the Potion of Power", Link begins to become jealous of Kevin's fighting abilities as the heroes travel to the Parapa Palace since Kevin's skills are making Link look like a clumsy swordsman. When the hero of Hyrule is fighting Horsehead inside the palace, he shamefully loses his sword against the foe, and just as he's about to get hit by Horsehead, Kevin rushes in and saves Link from the deadly blow, leaving Kevin to finish off the monster. The young hero, feeling humiliated, then begins to act competitive against Kevin, refusing to receive instructions from him on how to defeat an Iron Knuckle. It isn't until Zelda gets taken by the Iron Knuckle that he and Kevin sort out their differences, learning to work together instead of against each other. From then on, Link becomes much more friendlier with Kevin, always willing to help Kevin whenever the need arises.
=== (Valiant Comics)===
In the , Link's appearance is also heavily based on the artwork of the first Zelda game: the young hero has long, reddish hair with brown eyes and a large, round nose. He was born in Calatia, where he lived with his parents Arn and Medilia. Due to his thirst for adventure and talent for swordplay, Link departs from Calatia in search for excitement, where he eventually stumbles into Impa and helps Zelda save the kingdom of Hyrule from Ganon's forces. After accomplishing a daring quest, the Triforce of Courage displayed itself in Link's heart. From then on, he begins to live in North Palace with the princess and King Harkinian, protecting both Zelda and the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon's clutches. Despite not living in Calatia anymore, he is still loyal to his homeland and would do anything to protect its people and its queen, even if it means not being able to protect the Princess of Hyrule.
Link is a skillful swordsman who is considered to be a formidable opponent, even if his moves are said to be predictable by some. Although a great part of Link's strength comes from the Triforce of Courage, he is still capable of fighting and defeating other imposing foes, such as Shadow Link. Just like in The Legend of Zelda TV Series, Link can be seen trying to steal a kiss from Zelda any time the chance arises, but they always seem to get interrupted by Ganon's minions or Zelda changing her mind. Unlike the TV Series, however, the comic makes it clear that Link and Zelda love each other, as they both plainly state it to one another several times throughout their adventures. Furthermore, in "Assault", Zelda is even willing to give up the Triforce of Wisdom to Ganon in exchange for Link's life, while the young hero is always ready to do anything to protect the princess from danger, despite Zelda insisting in accompanying him in his many adventures in the Underworld.
Despite being the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, Link at one point in the comics gets corrupted by the Triforce of Power after he manages to take it from Ganon's lair. The young hero, blindly wanting more power, demands that Zelda turn over the Triforce of Wisdom to him, even going as far as firing a magic spell at the princess. Because Link has misused the power of the Triforce, the Triforce of Courage leaves his heart and goes to Zelda to protect her from Link's malevolence. It is not until the princess shows him how his lust of power has corrupted him that Link realizes he is becoming like Ganon and what the price of that power is. By choosing to throw away the Triforce of Power in order to keep his soul, Link once again proves to be worthy of being the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, which restores his life after nearly dying in Zelda's arms.
===Nintendo Adventure Books===
In the Nintendo Adventure Books series, Link is portrayed as an outgoing, brave, playful, and even sometimes arrogant young warrior. Despite his young age, he is still recognized as being the best swordsman in all of Hyrule and even has the Triforce of Courage buried deep in his heart. Link is also best friends with Zelda, and he seems to enjoy annoying her whenever the chance arises, although the princess also does not miss the opportunity to poke fun at the young hero. Whenever in need of advice, Link seeks Impa, the castle's nursemaid, who often reminds him to not act rashly and to think things through, somewhat serving as his mentor and even giving him items which might help the young hero along his adventure. 
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In the first book of the series, , Link and Princess Zelda are running inside the Midoro Palace trying to escape from Ganon's grap. However, the evil wizard finds them and eventually encases Link in a Crystal. Ganon explains that since he cannot obtain the Triforce of Courage and Wisdom from Link and Zelda respectively, he used a Magic Scroll which cast a spell to encase both pieces of the Triforce, including the Triforce of Courage encased in Link's heart. Zelda is now forced to seek the three items dictated in the Fairy's Scroll that will help free Link from the Crystal, but she has just 24 hours before the young hero gets trapped inside the crystal forever.
Eventually, Princess Zelda finds the Magic Honey, the Handprint, and the Magnifying Glass and uses them to shatter the Crystal. With Link now free, the young duo head off to find the Spear, which is the only weapon that can defeat Ganon. Link, with the help of Zelda's friend Greenbeard, obtains the Spear and uses it to defeat Ganon once and for all.
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In , Link and Zelda meet a strange knight known as Sir Charles from the kingdom of Moria. Although the princess and the King of Hyrule are all quick to trust Charles, Link gets suspicious of his actions from the moment he meets the knight from Moria. After the King of Hyrule decides to show the Triforce of Wisdom to Charles and dubs him a Knight of the Triforce, Link, outraged at the king's decision, goes to Impa for advice and suggests that the young hero go to the Water Town of Saria and retrieve the Mirror of Truth, which will show Charles's true identity.
After Link finds the Mirror of Truth in the Wiseapple Farm of Saria Town, he returns to North Castle only to find that the King has chosen Charles, and not Link, to deliver the Triforce of Wisdom to the Fifth Castle of Ancient Hyrule to keep it away from Ganon's grasp. The young hero furiously reminds the king of all the brave deeds he has done and claims that Charles can't be trusted because he is evil. With the Mirror of Truth in his power, Link holds it up to Charles only to reveal that Charles is actually Ganon in disguise. The false knight quickly takes the Triforce of Wisdom and rushes off to the woods, where Link follows him and promptly defeats Charles by striking Charles's Necklace, which was the true source of Ganon's power. Link safely returns to the castle with the Triforce of Wisdom, and the king decides to celebrate in honor of Link having saved the kingdom once again.
=== (Ishinomori)===
In the , Link starts out as a simple, bumbling kid who gradually grows more confident about his abilities and succeeds in rescuing Princess Zelda with the help of the friends he makes along his adventure. Like in the game, Link is a descendant of the Knights of Hyrule; because Link's parents stumbled into the Dark World, he was adopted by his uncle, who shielded him from the intrigues of the Royal Family. In the comic, Link and Zelda have a close bond with one another, as they share a dream together where Zelda comforts the young hero and heals his wounds while searching for the Pendants of Virtue.
At the beginning of the comic, Link is awoken as he is contacted telepathically by Princess Zelda, who asks him to save her from Hyrule Castle's prison. Sneaking into the castle, Link witnesses his uncle's defeat against Agahnim and as such passes on his Sword and Shield to the young hero. Before passing out, Link's Uncle explains that after the young hero rescues Zelda and the people in the Dark World, he might be able to meet his parents. Although Link is successful in rescuing the princess, Agahnim finds her once they reach the Sanctuary. As he kidnaps her, Zelda explains to Link that the Master Sword is the only weapon that can defeat the evil wizard. Knowing this, Link begins his search for the two remaining Pendants of Virtue to wield the Master Sword after Sahasrahla grants him the Pendant of Courage. Link eventually finds the rest of the Pendants with Sahasrahla's guidance and travels to the Lost Woods, where the Master Sword selects him as its bearer. Although the young hero makes it to Hyrule Castle before Agahnim casts his final incantation on the princess, he is unable to defeat the wizard and Zelda is transported to the Dark World. With the help of Sahasrahla, Link kills Agahnim by deflecting his own magic, but Agahnim, with his final breath, manages to transport Link into the Dark World.
Instead of turning into a rabbit when he stumbles into the Dark World like in the game, Link momentarily turns into a beast before suppressing his negative emotions and managing to stay in his human form. He then resumes his search for the princess, and befriends Epheremelda the Fairy after rescuing her from monsters. Helping Link out as a guide, Link and his fairy companion successfully free two Maidens from their crystals, with one of them revealing to Link that Zelda is imprisoned inside . Link, with the help of Roam, shows up and aids the young hero in defeating the monster in Turtle Rock. With Zelda now saved, the trio head to , where Ganon rises from the defeated body of an Agahnim specter. Link stuns the beast with the Master Sword, allowing Zelda to fire a Silver Arrow from Roam's crossbow and defeat Ganon. The Triforce rises from Ganon's body and asks Link to touch it with one wish in his heart as its new master. The Triforce transports them back to the now-peaceful Hyrule, where Link sees a vision of his father, mother and uncle, who congratulate him on his difficult victory. The newly-crowned Queen Zelda appoints Link as the Master of the Knights of Hyrule, and the two of them, now being kept apart by their duties, share one last moment in the Lost Woods before Zelda gallops away on her horse.
=== (Himekawa)===
:See Hylia's Chosen Hero
Other than the Link in , this Link is the earliest chronologically.
This Link is the chosen hero of Hylia and aids her in her battle with Demise by reforging the Master Sword, eventually dying from wounds he sustained in battle. He is reincarnated as the Link of hundreds of years later.
==Other appearances==
Link is also featured in some media outside of The Legend of Zelda, most famously the Super Smash Bros. series, SoulCalibur II, and Mario Kart 8. He has also made several cameo appearances in various games and other media.
==Other Heroes of Hyrule==
Besides the iterations of Link that appear in the games, the backstory to some of the games feature additional unnamed heroes of Hyrule who have a similar appearance to Link.
===The Hero of Men, from the ===
The back story of , tells of the . In the , the Hero of Men, a hero clad in green clothes but lacking Link's traditional green hat, arose to fight the demons attacking the world. This is depicted in a series of stained glass windows beneath the Elemental Sanctuary. One of the stained glass windows depicts the Hero of Men receiving the Picori Blade and the Light Force from the Minish, while in the other, it shows the hero confronting the monsters that were attacking Hyrule.
===The Hero of the Four Sword===
The back story of describes how prior to the events of the game, Vaati attacked Hyrule kidnapping young girls. The knights of Hyrule fought bravely against Vaati, but could not defeat him. A lone traveling boy appeared wielding the Four Sword. The boy's sword split his body into four and they defeated Vaati and sealed him away into the Four Sword. After defeating Vaati, the boy vanished into the forest, leaving behind his sword. The people of Hyrule built the Four Sword Sanctuary protect the Four Sword and its seal on Vaati.
According to , this hero is known as the Hero of the Four Sword and is not the same hero who appears in or , but is another hero who appears in between the two games. describes him as someone about whom little is known, but he is possibly a descendant of the hero who previously defeated Vaati in .
===The Hero from 10,000 Years Before ===
10,000 years before the events of , an incarnation of the Hero branding the Master Sword, united with the Princess of that era, the four Divine Beasts and numerous Guardians to seal Calamity Ganon away beneath Hyrule Castle. This legend is told in the prologue and retold to Link separately by Impa and Kass. This version of the Hero is never seen directly, but appears in artistic form on an ancient tapestry design. The artwork depicts him with green eyes, fiery red hair and wearing a light blue Champion's Tunic like the one his successor wears in the distant future. In Tears of the Kingdom, this incarnation is given the title of Ancient Hero, whose armor can be worn as a single piece known as the Ancient Hero's Aspect. When Link talks to Impa while wearing the Ancient Hero's Aspect, she will notice the striking resemblance between Link and the Ancient Hero's depiction on the tapestry, suggesting that the Ancient Hero was likely one of the Zonai.
===The Hero of Light===
In , a game for the Satellaview, the avatar characters of the BS-X replace Link as the central heroes (though they still resemble him), who could be male or female depending on the player's settings, and become known as the Hero of Light. Six years after the events of and during Link's absence, Hyrule's long peace comes to a sudden end as Princess Zelda suffers from reoccurring dreams of evil to come. She and Aginah then witness a flash of light in the forest and upon arriving to investigate, find an unconscious youth and bring them to rest at Sahasrahla's old hideaway. Zelda senses that the youth may be endowed with the power of courage, and believes that they may be the Hero of Light. 
The young hero was then given the task to locate several stone tablets and eventually learns that though Link had defeated Ganon previously in the last game, his spirit had lived on through his malice. Ganon had learned of and coveted the power of the Hero of Light, and had subsequently managed to summon the hero into Hyrule, hoping to obtain the hero's power to be fully reborn. Once Ganon was defeated, the Hero of Light returned the Master Sword they had used to its pedestal and returned to where they had come from in a flash of light.
==Age==
Link's age throughout the The Legend of Zelda franchise is not consistent and often heavily debated, similar to Princess Zelda. During an Iwata Asks for , Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Link is about 12 in ; however, according to , Link is 10. As stated in The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, , and by Shigeru Miyamoto during the Iwata Asks for , Link is 16 in , which therefore he is 10 in the original The Legend of Zelda.
In the same Iwata Asks, Miyamoto stated that in , Link is 9 as a child and 16 as an adult; However, states that he is 10 as a child. According to the Link amiibo description, he is 17 as an adult.
At the start of , Link is given the Hero's Clothes to wear on his birthday, which are to be worn by the boys of Outset Island upon reaching the same age as the Hero of Time when he set out on his journey. Taking into account the age of the Hero of Time revealed in the Iwata Asks interview, the Hero of Winds would be around 9 years old when he sets out on his journey; however, , Zelda Box, , the Toon Link Trophy in , and the description for the Toon Link amiibo all state he is 12 years old (therefore suggesting Adult Link in Ocarina of Time to be 19).
In an interview with Club Nintendo in 2005, Eiji Aonuma stated that Link is 17 years old in ; however, in an interview with Nintendo Dream the following year, he instead said Link is 16 years old. and Enterplay's Trading Card for Link both refer to him as 17 years old."Link is a 17-year-old wrangler from Ordon Woods, a quiet village in the far corner of Hyrule." (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Trading Cards (Enterplay), Card 1)
According to , Link from is 17 and a half years old.
Due to the , Link is chronologically over 100 years old in , although the Slumber appears to have allowed him to retain a young biological age - in fact, he is refused service at the Noble Canteen in Gerudo Town because of this. He is however allowed to climb , which requires one to be at least 17 years old to climb. Link is said to be a similar age to Princess Zelda. One of the reveals Zelda turned 17 a century prior, making Link technically somewhere around 117 years old.
==List of appearances==
===Mainline games===
===Spin-offs and other media===
===Crossovers===
Super Mario-kun
==Trivia==
*Being the main protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series, Link has been widely described by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest or most iconic video game characters of all time.
*Shigeru Miyamoto has claimed that Link's green tunic and hat were inspired by Disney's version of Peter Pan. Himself having a Fairy companion in some games such as Navi is also a reference to the character Tinker Bell. This also applies to Dark Link being based on Peter Pan's shadow.
* In the original The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, or any other 2D-based game of the series, whenever Link faces east, he swings his as if he was right-handed and holding his Shield on his left, due to Link's sprite being flipped horizontally; this also happens when Link performs a while facing east, spinning the opposite direction to what he normally would.
* Despite most games featuring the older Link depicts him supposedly as an adult at around 17 years of age, he is not technically such by real-life standards but rather just short, as most countries' legal age of adulthood - including Japan, is 18, making him still an adolescent.
* In , for unknown reasons, Link's hair appears as pink; in official art for the game, it is a light brown. It is possibly due to the graphical limitations of the Super NES.
** On a similar note, Link's Awakening, , and depicted Link with dark hair during standard gameplay, and with blond hair during cutscenes such as the opening and endings of the game (and in the case of , the photoshoot events), due to a limited color palette of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color.
** In The Legend of Zelda, the hardware limitations of the NES resulted in Link's eyes being the same palette as his tunic (alongside certain characters, items, and even enemies). Therefore, if equipped with the Blue or Red Ring, they will also appear a whitish blue or red, respectively.
*Despite The Legend of Zelda series' setting being in a medieval fantasy, Link is capable of driving high-tech vehicles. As seen in Breath of the Wild as well as Mario Kart 8 he can ride the Master Cycle Zero and Master Cycle, respectively, which are based on a motorcycle, and in Spirit Tracks he can operate the Spirit Train, which is a locomotive. This, however, was met with controversy.
*Although his official height is unknown, using the in the pool in the and comparing to the corrected measuring graph in Ocarina of Time 3D, Link stands 1.7 m (5'7") tall as an adult in , which is about the average height of a man. Other incarnations of the older Link appear around the same size.
**Although technically a transformation, Fierce Deity Link in Majora's Mask and Majora's Mask 3D is the tallest version of the hero throughout the series. He appears to be the same height as Ganondorf, making himself one of the largest humanoid characters.
**On the other hand, Link as a child in the 3D titles has slightly varied, but appears usually the same as other younger characters.
*Due to Link's handsome appearance and sometimes his heroic actions, some games and other media within the franchise have at least one female character having a love interest in him, usually Princess Zelda. However, in the Nintendo 64 title Ocarina of Time, the Hero of Time has a notable number - five (Zelda, Princess Ruto, Saria, Malon, and possibly Nabooru), which caused many fans to strongly consider this particular incarnation of Link to be a ladies' man or in a love triangle.
**A few games, specifically The Adventure of Link, Majora's Mask, the linked Oracle game, and Spirit Tracks depicted Link taking direct affection. All of those cases were from Zelda, except for Majora's Mask, which was given by Cremia.
**Despite this, although Link is widely known to have a pure heart, in the core series, the hero having a romantic relationship with the female characters often appears to be unintentional, as Link rarely displays such interest in return even with Zelda, a stark contrast to Mario towards Princess Peach from the Super Mario franchise.
*Early screenshots of show Link with an item in what appears to be a of his face. This has led many to believe that the adult version of himself from the game's prequel was originally planned to be in the game through a transformation; however, the Link is not present in the final version (though it is still in the game's code) and was likely replaced by the . Concept art for Adult Link also appears in the book, with the explanation that his inclusion may have been a prototype for the extremely powerful form; Fierce Deity Link's model and animations are based on Link wielding the as an adult in and even shares the same voice by Nobuyuki Hiyama.
*Link's crossover appearance in the 2002 Namco game Soul Calibur II (exclusively on the GameCube release and features the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time) marks the first, and so far only, time the character appears in a true fighting game, unlike the Super Smash Bros. series. It is also the only game where Link is featured in a non-Nintendo title.
*Although Link normally has blue eyes like Princess Zelda, his cel-shaded appearance in games such as The Wind Waker depict him with black eyes.
*Due to the iconic, possibly misnomer name of the franchise, The Legend of Zelda, some newcomer fans and rarely longtime ones have erroneously mistaken Princess Zelda as the main hero of the series rather than Link or Link's name being Zelda. Ironically, Echoes of Wisdom has the princess herself officially being the main protagonist in a mainline game for the first time since the debut of one of Nintendo's flagship series in 1986.
* In the German and Italian versions of The Minish Cap, Smith is Link's uncle rather than his grandfather.
* Among the many incarnations of Link throughout The Legend of Zelda series, the Hero of Time is by far the most popular among the franchise's community, due to this hero's legendary status by the critical success of Ocarina of Time and its sequel, as well as his high importance in the Zelda Timelines and mythology according to Hyrule Historia, despite having one of the most sorrowful stories. He is even mentioned in The Wind Waker and is seen in Twilight Princess in the form of a ghostly Stalfos and golden wolf known as the Hero's Spirit. In addition, in either his Young or Adult form, he makes an appearance in any video game media more than every other incarnation of Link yet.
* As Link is specifically designed to be a "silent protagonist", similar to Mario from the Super Mario franchise, he only displays distinctive grunt and yell vocalizations and therefore seemingly doesn't talk. However, he is not necessarily mute, as in the rare exception seen in The Wind Waker, he says "Come on!" to Medli, Makar, and the statues in the Tower of the Gods when they must follow him. In addition, in the 3D games, when speaking to certain characters, the optional texts the player can choose implies Link does actually talk if required. The Hero's Spirit, confirmed to be the Link from Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask, does fully speak.
** In The Adventure of Link, Link appears to speak when he finds the in , saying "I found a mirror under the table." Link also appears to speak while inspecting the fireplace in the town of , saying "Looks like I can get in the fireplace." In Breath of the Wild, he speaks when examining the cooked fish around the in , commenting, "These grilled fish look really good. I wonder if they were caught locally...". This also occurs when he looks at Paya's diary, saying, "Must be Paya's diary. Must not look... Must not look... Must not look...". Furthermore, in the Japanese version of Breath of the Wild, the is written entirely from 's perspective. In the ending of Echoes of Wisdom, he appears to regain his ability to speak.
** In other media of the franchise, such as the comics, cartoons, etc., Link speaks in full sentences like other characters.
*Since the Hero's Spirit in is in fact the Hero of Time, this makes this title the first game to feature a Link having proper conversations on his own as opposed to simple responses chosen by the player or utterances during gameplay, as well as having two Links meet in canon content that are of different eras.
**The second instance of the latter is when from can summon the hero from in wolf form to aid him on his adventure.
*Although Link is normally left-handed or possibly ambidextrous, the ones featured in , , and Tears of the Kingdom are the only incarnations that are right-handed.
**Link also appears as right-handed in the Wii version of , in 's , and in in . This is due, however, to the gameplay being mirrored and therefore not actually so.
**While the Link from is right-handed, his appearance in Mario Kart 8 is shown as left-handed, as he holds the with his left hand when doing a trick. The same goes for Link.
*Though most characters in the series named "Link" are the main protagonist, there are a few exceptions, such as Sera's pet Cat from , Abe and Rose's pet Pig in and a Goron named Link in and .
*Although most games of The Legend of Zelda series suggest Link to be a descendant of the Knights of Hyrule or is possibly such, as for example Hyrule Historia stated the Hero of Time could be one, Breath of the Wild is the first title where he is explicitly confirmed to be a Hylain Knight, as the Hero of the Wild goes by the title "Sir Link".
*Hyrule Historia suggests the possibility that each "Link" may have all had different names, a reference to how Link can be named anything in the games by the player.
**The exception to this is Breath of the Wild's Link, who is explicitly named as such and whose name cannot be customized by the player.
*Although Link is canonically male, early press releases for , in particular the 1986 Shonen Captain Magazine, depicted the character as a female, causing some fans to mistaken Link as such gender to this day.Random: Artwork In Retro Japanese Magazine Depicts Link As A Female | Nintendo Life
**Ironically, exactly three decades later in 2016, a female doppelganger of Link in Hyrule Warriors Legends named Linkle exists, whose playable Warrior was originally planned to be the hero's younger sister, but was rejected by Eiji Aonuma, as he does not want her to conflict with Aryll, the sibling of the Hero of Winds incarnation from The Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass. Unlike Link, however, her main weaponry are two Crossbows rather than a sword and shield, and she does not wear a green hat (but still has similar clothing).
==Nomenclature==
According to the series' creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Link's name comes from the fact that, during development of , he was the link between the past and the future, which was the original setting for the game. Miyamoto has also stated that Link is named after the fact that he connects people together.
According to the series' director Eiji Aonuma, Link is named after that fact that he links the player to the game.
==Gallery==
==See Also==
*Link's Transformations
*Links
*Young Link
*Toon Link
*Link's Partners
*Hero of Time
==External links==
*Link on the MarioWiki
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Category:Male characters
Category:Characters in Echoes of Wisdom