Link is the hero and primary playable character of the The Legend of Zelda series. There is more than one Link who shows up across Hyrule's history, but all of them are similar. All of them are heroic young Hylians who dress in green and have nearly identical physical appearances. Each of them bears a sword in his left hand and a shield in the other in addition to whole arsenal of various weapons. Each Link rises from obscurity to beat back evil as it rises, with his greatest nemesis being the Demon King Ganon. The connection between these Links is uncertain, but Skyward Sword serves as the new foundation for the legend of the hero and implies nearly every Link may be a reincarnation of a previous one who bears the "spirit of the hero".

Background

	Link's design in Skyward Sword.
Link
Species	Hylian
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Relatives	A Link to the Past; Uncle; The Wind Waker; Grandma ; Aryll (sister); The Minish Cap; Smith (grandpa)
Voiced by	Fujiko Takimoto (Young Link) (1998-2002); Nobuyuki Hiyama (1998-2001); Sachi Matsumoto (Toon Link) (2002-2008); Akira Sasanuma (2005-present); Yuuki Kodaira (Toon Link) (2009)
Debut	The Legend of Zelda

The official order of the Zelda games remains in debate, although the order is known for most of the game set early in Hyrule's history. These games are listed in chronological order, while the remaining unsorted games are listed in release date order (except for some smaller groups of games with a known order)

Skyward Sword

Link was a young citizen of Skyloft who studied at its Knight's Academy as an underclassmen. He was friends with some of his peers such as his classmate Fledge as well as the upperclassmen Pipit and Karane. Out of his friends, Link was the closest to Zelda, whom he had known since childhood. Her father, the headmaster Gaepora, also took a liking to Link. Link also had to contend with the bullying tactics of Groose, who was jealous of Link's bond with Zelda, and Groose was always joind by by his lackeys Cawlin and Strich, although they were relatively more cordial to Link. Link was considered to be a promising student ever since he formed a special bond with a rare Crimson Loftwing as his personal Loftwing, and they were close enough to make Zelda jealous. Link was implied to be somewhat lazy, as he began practicing less while sleeping and daydreaming more, much to Zelda's chagrin. At least some of this could be attributed to the mysterious prophetic dreams that Link experienced with increasing frequency in which an apparition (which Link would later know as Fi) appeared before him and began to warn him of his destiny.

Link on his Crimson Loftwing.

The day eventually came for Link to compete in the Wing Ceremony. His opponents were Groose, Crawlin and Strich, and the winner would receive a promotion to the upper class and could participate in the ceremony with Zelda. Groose and his friends tried to sabotage Link by abducting Link's Loftwing and imprisoning it within a pen, but Link was able to track the bird down and rescue it with a training sword borrowed from Eagrun. Gaepora ensured that the ceremony was delayed until Link was ready to race. Link managed to win the Wing Ceremony and received a homemade sailcloth from Zelda as a prize. Link and Zelda then rode together on Link's Loftwing, but just as Zelda was about to confess something to Link, they were attacked by a sudden tornado which whisked Zelda way. Link's attempt at pursuit failed, and he passed out. He awoke later that night in Skyloft, under Gaepora's care. Link was advised to stay in bed, but the apparition of Fi appeared and lured him to a shrine hidden within the Statue of the Goddess that was known as the Chamber of the Sword. Fi identified herself and explained that her role was to help Link with the burden and responsibility that had been thrust upon him as the goddess's chosen hero. His great destiny would begin when he drew the Goddess Sword from its altar. Fi urged him to do this by telling him that Zelda was indeed still alive and that she had her own great destiny to fulfill. Following Fi's instructions, Link drew the Goddess Sword and raised it skyward, and from this point on Fi agreed to call him master. Gaepora witnessed this and commended Link, while confessing that he suspected Link and Zelda could have been the ones spoken of in legend. He began to talk about some of Skyloft's secret legends to Link, but Fi corrected him with more accurate information. Fi managed to give him an Emerald Tablet, which opened a hole in the cloud barrier leading down to the Faron Province. Before Link left Skyloft, Gaepora made sure that he received the clothes he had earned for completing the Wing Ceremony. These knighthood clothes consisted of the classic green tunic and cap. Kaepora noted that despite his apprehensions about the color, Link seemed to be born to wear it.

Link landed on the surface at the Sealed Grounds, where he met a mysterious old woman. She told Link that Zelda had already passed through and warned him that some dark force was looking to warp their fates. Link proceeded to explore the Faron Province in hopes of catching up to Zelda. After helping the Kikwi tribe, he entered the Skyview Temple to meet her. He instead was attacked by the Demon Lord Ghirahim and was barely able to fend him off. Ghirahim was actually holding back his true power and claimed that Link's survival was only due to his sword. Regardless, Ghirahim had accomplished his actual goal in fighting Link, which was to hold him off until Zelda had departed so that they could not meet. After Ghirahim left, Link reached the Skyview Spring and saw that Zelda was indeed gone, but he did find the Earth Tablet which allowed him access to the Eldin Province through another hole in the the cloud barrier. Link navigated those mountains to try to find Zelda before she did her second purification ritual at the Earth Temple, and along the way he helped to save the local Mogmas from the invading Bokoblins. At several points, he spotted a mysterious Sheikah woman named Impa who urged him to hurry in finding Zelda, as she had been captured by the enemy. Link made his way to the Earth Temple, but he found that Zelda had already been broken free by the Sheikah, and Link was instead left to deal with a monster summoned by the furious Ghirahim. Link managed to reach the Earth Spring just as Zelda and Impa were leaving through a portal after Zelda had finished her purification ritual. Impa forbade Link from meeting directly with Zelda, as the Sheikah was disappointed in him and considered him to be too incompetent due to his failure to keep Zelda safe. Impa had to save Zelda from Ghirahim's minions instead. She told Link that he could only be useful to Zelda if he "summoned a shred of courage" and faced the trials laid out for him. After they left, Link and Fi received an Amber Tablet, which opened the path to Lanayru Province, where Fi predicted that Zelda would be passing through a gate into a distant world. Link soon made his way to Lanayru and explored the desert with the aid of the timeshift stones, which transformed certain areas into the lush paradises that they were centuries ago. Link's pursuit took him to the Temple of Time, but the entrance was barred by rubble, so he instead had to make his way around through the Lanayru Mining Facility. He reached the Temple just as Zelda and Impa were preparing to pass through the Gate of Time. The reunion was swiftly halted by Ghirahim's sudden entrance. Impa was ready to fight, but she was quickly wounded, and Link stepped up to distract him instead so that Impa could escape with Zelda. Before they left, Zelda entrusted Link with the Goddess's Harp, and Impa suggested that he meet with the old woman at the Sealed Temple. Impa had to destroy the Gate behind them to prevent anyone from following them. Ghirahim was enraged by this setback and decided to retreat.

He followed Zelda and Impa's advice by making his way back to the Sealed Grounds next. He was surprised to be joined by Groose, who followed Link through the cloud barrier in hopes of finding Zelda. Link acted quickly to ensure that they both landed safely. Link and Groose wound up meeting the old woman together, and she began to tell Link some details about Zelda and Impa's situation, as well as Impa's name. She also instructed Link on how to play the Goddess's Harp and taught him the Ballad of the Goddesses before showing him the temple's Gate of Time. It was the last Gate in existence and Link's only hope of finding Zelda. Her explanations were interrupted as the seal as the bottom of the Sealed Grounds had given way to release a behemoth referred to only as The Imprisoned. Link was called upon to reseal the beast by driving the sealing spike back into its head until the beast remained sealed. Link succeeded in this, but the old woman knew that The Imprisoned would break free again, and they were only buying time. To open the Gate of Time, Link's sword needed to have its full power awakened. To do this, Link had to complete the trials of the hero and infuse his blade with three flames. The old woman's instructions first brought him to Skyloft, where he was able to unlock a path into the stormy Thunderhead. This contained an area known as the Isle of Songs, where he learned the song needed for the first flame, which was Farore's Courage. Link returned to Faron, where he used the song to unlock a path to Farore's Silent Realm. This was actually a trial of courage within his own mind. His spirit was kept separate from his body in a Spirit Vessel, and he completed the trial by collecting all fifteen Sacred Tears to strengthen his soul. He received the first sacred treasure, the Water Dragon's Scale upon completion of this trial. This treasure helped him to reach another area of Faron where he met the Water Dragon herself, Faron. Faron was reluctant to help Link until she passed his test by bringing her some sacred water from Skyview Temple, which helped to recover from an attack by Ghirahim. Faron proceeded to show Link to the first flame, which was within the Ancient Cistern. Link navigated this dungeon and defeated an automation known as Koloktos after Ghirahim corrupted it with dark energy. He then reached the room where Fi and the Goddess Sword were infused with a green flame that strengthened the sword. A Triforce mark than appeared on Link's hand, with Courage's mark glowing. Fi did not remark about the mark and instead pointed out their next destination. It was a return to the Isle of Songs, where Link learned Nayru's Wisdom. With this song, Link was able to access Nayru's Silent Realm from the Lanayru Desert to complete the trial of wisdom. Completion of this trial earned Link his next sacred treasure, the Clawshots. He used the Clawshots to access the Lanayru Sand Sea and used timeshift stones to navigate the area on a boat when it was a harbor in the past. Link worked with a robot known as Skipper to explore the area and eventually found Skipper's Sandship, which held Nayru's Flame. He managed to find the Flame after saving the ship from being sunk by the sudden attack of Tentalus. The blade was strengthened and infused with the flame's power, and a second Triforce mark matching Wisdom appeared on Link's hand.

Link's last destination in this leg of the quest was the Eldin Province, once he had learned Din's Power from the Isle of Songs. He found and completed the trial of power in Din's Sacred Realm to find the last sacred treasure, the Fireshield Earrings. Link was able to use these to enter the crater of Eldin Volcano and reached the Fire Sanctuary, which housed Din's Flame. Link had another fight with Ghirahim there. Ghirahim had learned the existence of another Gate of Time, but Link refused to tell him where it was. After Link was able to best Ghirahim again, he found the final flame, and it empowered the Goddess Sword with the power to repel evil. This awakened the Goddess Sword's true form as the Master Sword. Link also received the third and final part of his Triforce mark. He returned to the Sealed Grounds, ready to activate the Gate of Time. There was only one setback, as Link's preparations to use the sacred power triggered another escape attempt by The Imprisoned, and Link had to reseal it again. This time, however, he had the help of Groose and his new device, called the Groosenator. After the seal was back in place, Link used a Skyward Strike from the Master Sword to activate the Gate of Time. It took him to the past version of the temple, which was known as the Temple of Hylia. Impa and Zelda were both present. Zelda revealed that she was the reincarnation of the goddess Hylia, and that Link's destiny as the chosen hero was part of Hylia's plan to permanently destroyed the sealed evil, whose real name was Demise. She also explained the Triforce mark by telling Link that his trials were actually to prove himself as someone worthy of wielding the Triforce, and that the next stage of his quest would be to find the Triforce so that it could be used to destroy Demise. As for Zelda, she had to cut the reunion short as she chose to enter an eternal slumber within the Temple in order to ensure that the seal on Demise would remain strong. Link objected to this, but Zelda assured Link that she was still the same Zelda from Skyloft. She reminded Link of all the times she used to have to wake up the "sleepyhead" and asked Link to do the same for her once Demise was defeated. Zelda proceeded to encase herself within a crystal while Link looked on powerlessly.

With a minimal amount of clues about the Triforce's location, Link began asking around Skyloft. He found out from Gaepora that the sky spirit Levias should know, but his instructor Owlan was uneasy about sending Link to Levias due to the way it had been behaving lately. Owlan chose to teach Link an advanced Loftwing technique known as the spiral charge. Once Link had mastered it, he was able to lure Levias out with a cauldron of pumpkin soup and quickly saw that Levias was being possessed by a parasite known as Bioclyte. Link used a combination of air combat and fighting on Levia's back to destroy the monster. Levias was grateful for Link's help and told him about the Song of the Hero, which would unlock the path to the Triforce. The song was split into four parts, and Levias knew one part, but he promised to teach it to Link only after he had learned the other three from the three dragons living on the surface. Link revisited each of the three provinces and went through arduous tasks to met all three of the great dragons and learn their parts of the song. Link and Groose also had another battle with The Imprisoned upon Link's return to the Faron Province. Link returned to the Thunderhead with the three pieces of song and learned the last piece from Levias. He then managed to play the full song at Skyloft to open one last portal to the Silent Realm. There, Link completed the Trial of the Goddess to prove himself as the hero of legend. He earned the Stone of Trials from this venture and placed it in the empty eye hole of a local bird statue, as the statue's other eye was the Stone's twin. This activated the statue and unlocked the Sky Keep, a temple hidden on the underside of Skyloft's Isle of the Goddess. Link entered the Sky Keep and cleared the last obstacles to find several rooms holding the individual Triforce pieces. Within each room, the piece was actually kept within a Silent Realm version that Link had to use his sword to access. Link was able to complete the Triforce and used his wish for Demises's destruction. This dropped the Isle of the Goddess to the surface, where it plugged in the pit where Demise was imprisoned as The Imprisoned. This seemed to be the end, and Zelda woke up from her slumber with her task no longer needed. Everything seemed to be going fine until Ghirahim revealed himself and quickly whisked Zelda away through the Gate of Time. He was going to use Zelda in his ritual to revive Demise in the past, when he was still alive.

Link entered the Gate of Time in pursuit and made his way to the bottom of the Sealed Grounds' pit while fighting off hordes of Bokoblins and Moblins. At the bottom, he finally faced Ghirahim in a final battle. Ghirahim no longer held back and showed his true power in battle. Link was able to defeat him again, but Ghirahim's ceremony had completed in the process. Zelda's soul was drained to revive Demise. Demise proceeded to turn Ghirahim into his true form as Demises's sword, and the Demon King then tried to toss Zelda to her death, but Groose was able to save her. Demise was impressed by Link's valor, as it had never known of a human that would stand up to it. Link displayed anger and determination to face Demise, and Demise agreed to battle Link within another realm. Demise retreated there and offered to wait for Link to come and face it. Link soon entered the other realm and engaged in the final battle with Demise, which ended with Link destroying the Demon King. Demise bound Link and Zelda to a curse in his dying breath. Although Demise was dying, its hate would live in and form an incarnation to hound those bearing "the spirit of the hero" and "the blood of the goddess" for all of eternity. They began to celebrate their victory, and Impa acknowledged Link's ability. However, Fi informed Link that the Master Sword had to be put away, with their function complete, and Fi had to enter an eternal sleep. Fi managed to let Link know that their adventures had given her some emotion feeling happiness. Link reluctantly placed the Master Sword within a pedestal in the Temple of Hylia, and Fi expressed hope that they would meet in another life. They also had to bid farewell to Impa, who stayed behind to continue her duties and destroyed the Gate of Time after they passed through it. Link, Zelda and Groose returned to the Sealed Temple present and found out that the old woman was Impa, shortly before she finally passed away in a flash of golden light.

Link and Zelda were last seen relaxing in the hands of the goddess statue, where Link played the Goddess's Harp while Zelda sang. They also waved farewell to Groose as he flew off with Cawlin and Strich to parts unknown. Zelda expressed her desire to remain on the surface and watch over the Triforce. The game ended with her asking Link what he intended to do next.

Demise's curse at the end of the game sets up the precedent for the rest of the series. Ganondorf (or possibly just his form as the Demon King Ganon) is implied to be the incarnation of Demise's hate, which is why he always emerges to cause trouble during times when a Link and Zelda are present. The term "spirit of the hero" also implies that Link is also reincarnated into the other successive Links (with the most likely exception of the Hero of Winds), although it could also refer to spirit as the determination which always drives the hero.

The Hero of Time

Ocarina of Time

During the fierce wars that engulfed Hyrule, a lone mother escaped into the Kokiri Forest with her newborn son, Link. As she lay dying, she begged the Deku Tree to protect her son. Sensing a noble fate for the boy, the Deku Tree agreed. Link was then raised in the Kokiri Forest as one of the mystical Kokiri children, unaware of his Hylian heritage. He formed a strong friendship with Saria the Kokiri girl, but he was teased by Mido and the other Kokiri for his lack of a fairy partner. Dark dreams haunted Link for some days throughout his childhood until he woke up one day to find he now had a fairy named Navi, who brought him to save the ill Deku Tree. Link entered the tree and used his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield to slay the evil within, but it was too late for the Deku Tree. Before he withered, the tree bestowed upon Link the Kokiri's Emerald, the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, and sent him to meet the Princess of Destiny in Hyrule Castle. After a heartfelt farewell with Saria, Link left the forest with his new companion Navi and began his grand adventure.

The Hero of Time.

Sneaking into Hyrule Castle, Link met Princess Zelda for the first time. Zelda saw Link as a hero from her prophetic dream who would destroy the darkness unleashed by Ganondorf. They plotted to stop Ganondorf by beating him to the Sacred Realm by finding the other two Spiritual Stones and then using the Ocarina of Time. Link traveled around Hyrule and learned the tricks of the adventuring trade as he helped the Gorons and Zoras with their problems to earn their respective Spiritual Stones. He returned too late, to behold Zelda fleeing Hyrule Castle on horseback with her nurse Impa while Ganondorf pursued. But before she disappeared, Zelda tossed Link the Ocarina of Time, which had a telepathic message imprinted on it that taught Link the Song of Time. He used this to open the Door of Time, only to find one more key to enter the Sacred Realm- he had to pull the legendary Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. He did so, but only the Hero of Time could wield it. Since he was too young, he was cast into hibernation for seven years and protected within the Temple of Light. In the meantime Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm and found the Triforce, but his impure heart caused it to split. Link received the Triforce of Courage without even knowing.

He awoke at the end of the seven year period and met Rauru, the wise sage who had watched over him in his sleep. After explaining the circumstances of Link's slumber, Rauru sent him and Navi out to find the five new sages so that Ganondorf could be defeated. Hyrule had become a dark and twisted land under Ganondorf's reign. Link's search for the sages brought him to familiar areas like the Kokiri Forest (where Link learned the truth of his past from the Deku Tree sapling) and reunited him with old friends such as Saria, Darunia and Princess Ruto, all of whom turned out to be sages. Link was also aided by his horse Epona and the mysterious Sheik, who told Link that the secret of traveling through time. Anytime Link returned the Master Sword to its pedestal, he'd be sent back in time to his child self. He needed to do some deeds in the past in order to progress in the future. As his adult self he found the last two sages, Impa and Nabooru. Then, at the Temple of Time, Sheik revealed himself to be Zelda in disguise, and told Link about his Triforce piece. She was almost immediately captured by Ganondorf, and leaving it up to Link to rescue her.

After infiltrating Ganon's Castle and scaling Ganon's Tower, Link fought his nemesis for the first time, first in the form of Ganondorf and then as the Demon King Ganon. Link's Master Sword and Light Arrows proved invaluable in the battle, and Zelda also provided some aid after she was rescued. Link managed to incapacitate Ganon long enough for Zelda and the other Sages to seal Ganon within the tainted Sacred Realm. Zelda then gave Link a solemn farewell as she used the Ocarina of Time to send him and Navi back in time, where he replaced the Master Sword and closed the door between the two times permanently. The Ocarina of Time ended with Link meeting with Zelda in the courtyard, and his hand still bore the mark of the Triforce of Courage.

Majora's Mask

Young Link in Majora's Mask

Sometime after this, the young Link left Hyrule on Epona with the Ocarina of Time after a farewell with Zelda on his own personal quest for a lost friend. He wound up in the parallel world of Termina, where he endeavored to save the doomed world from destruction by Majora's Mask, which had gripped a lonely Skull Kid with its dark powers. During this quest Link was accompanied by Tatl, the Skull Kid's former fairy, and used the power of magical masks to assume the forms of a Deku Scrub, Goron, Zora or even a Fierce Deity. Link was caught in a time loop where he could restart the three days leading up to Termina's destruction while saving most of his items by playing the Song of Time. Link not only freed the four great Giants from their sleep but also helped all of the troubled inhabitants of Termina to solve their problems which the corrupted Skull Kid have caused. After his adventure was done, Link and Epona continued their search for the lost friend.

It is also known from The Wind Waker's backstory that the Hero of Time had left Hyrule for good one day and, when he was "separated from the elements that made him a hero", the Triforce of Courage split into eight shards which scattered across Hyrule. Without the Hero of Time to save Hyrule when Ganon next attacked, Hyrule was flooded to become a Great Sea- but the kingdom still stood at the bottom of the ocean, preserved in an air bubble and frozen in time.

The Hero from Ordon

The Link of Twilight Princess had a humble upbringing in the Ordon Village, in a province located outside Hyrule. He was of high esteem in his village. He was admired by the children, especially Colin, and Link acted as the kids’ unofficial leader. He was also held in high regard by the adults of the village, who saw Link as a potential future mayor. Link himself worked as a ranch hand for Fado. One of his closest friends was a girl named Illia, although she often scolded him for carelessness whenever his horse, Epona, was injured. The town’s swordsman, Rusl, later gave Link a sword and invited Link to accompany him on his trip to Hyrule.

However, everything was turned upside down when the village was raided by Bulblins. They kidnapped all of Ordon’s children, including Illia and Colin. Link attempted to pursue the creatures, put he was pulled into the Twilight Realm that had taken over the Faron Forest. After entering the Twilight Realm, Link was transformed into a wolf. He was taken to the Twilight version of Hyrule Castle and imprisoned there until a shadowy imp named Midna helped him to escape. In his wolf form, Midna rode and instructed Link. She first brought him to Hyrule Castle to meet with Princess Zelda, who was being held in her room, as Hyrule Castle had been taken over by a fiend named Zant. Link learned of Zant’s plans to merge the worlds of light and Twilight, before Link and Midna had to leave.

Midna riding on Wolf Link.

Midna wanted to use Link in order to gather three Fused Shadows that she believed would allow her to defeat Zant. Midna convinced Link that he should help her by telling him it was the only way he could find and rescue his friends. Midna first sent Link back to Ordon in order to steal weapons for her- a sword and a shield. Link saw how his former friends recoiled and did not recognize him in his wolf form. After liberating the light spirit of Faron and driving the Twilight out of the forest, Link was restored to human form. But he would become a wolf again whenever he entered another province that had been overtaken by the Twilight until he restored that province’s light spirit. This pattern continued until all three of the light spirits had been saved.

In Kakariko Village, Link was reunited with most of the town’s children, except for Illia who was still missing. He eventually found her in Hyrule Castle Town, only to find that she had lost her memory. After gathering the third and final Fused Shadow, Zant appeared and waved aside the Fused Shadows, saying that he had a much stronger power source. Link attempted to protect Midna, but Zant struck Link with a curse that trapped him in his wolf form, and Zant proceeded to fatally wound Midna. Link quickly rushed Midna to Princess Zelda in the Hyrule Castle. Zelda found she could not restore Link to his normal form due to Zant’s evil magic, but she knew of something that could- the Master Sword. She told Link of its location, put all her magic into saving Midna and then vanished.

Link and Midna made their way to the Forest Sanctuary, and they found the Master Sword in the ruins of the Temple of Time. Link drew the Master Sword and was restored to his Hylian form. Midna kept a sample of the curse that had been used by Link, so that Link could use it to alternate between his Hylian and wolf forms at will. Link and Midna soon sought another method to defeat Zant, by gathering the four shards of the Mirror of Twilight. Link also was able to restore Illia’s memory, and they had their delayed reunion. She gave Link a present that she had been planning to give him when he was going to leave with Rusl- a horse call that Link could use to summon Epona whenever he needed her.

When the Mirror of Twilight was reassembled, Link and Midna used it to attack Zant’s stronghold, the Palace of Twilight. Midna encouraged Link by telling him that she once was the Twilight Princess before Zant cursed her, and that Link and Zelda’s selfless acts had inspired her to be less selfish. Link eventually defeated Zant after a huge battle, and he then sought the person whom had supplied Zant with power- Ganondorf, whom had taken up residence in Hyrule Castle.

Link and Midna soon confronted Ganondorf. He first possessed Zelda and used her as his puppet in battle. But Link was able to drive Ganondorf’s spirit out of Zelda’s body. Ganondorf proceeded to transform into the pig beast Ganon, but Link defeated this form with his wolf form. Ganon assumed a new and more powerful form, but Midna teleported Link and Zelda to safety while she took on Ganon herself. She failed, and for a while she was believed dead. However, it succeeded in turning Ganon back into his Gerudo form.

Link then lent his power to Zelda in the final battle with Ganondorf. Link and Zelda rode together on Epona’s back into combat with Ganondorf. Zelda fired Light Arrows to stun Ganondorf so that Link could slash him with the Master Sword. Afterwards, Ganondorf used a magical barrier to trap Link in one-on-one combat with him. Link was able to not only defeat Ganondorf but impale him on the Master Sword.

Following Ganondorf’s death, Link met with Midna, whom had been restored to her original form. Link and Zelda later saw Midna off when she returned to the Twilight Realm, but she destroyed the Mirror of Twilight as well in order to prevent anymore clashing between the two realms. With his adventure complete, Link returned the Master Sword to its resting place and rode Epona back to Ordon Village.

The Hero of Winds

The Wind Waker

The Link who surfaced in The Wind Waker was a young boy who lived with his loving grandmother and younger sister named Aryll. He had a pleasant upbringing on Outset Island, until the day when he turned the same age the Hero of Time did when he started his quest. As was customary on the island, Link was given a green tunic like the Hero's. On that very day he met with Tetra and her pirates, who had been chased there by the Helmaroc King. Confusing her with Tetra, the bird swiped Link's sister. Link wanted to help Tetra find her, and he proved her worth by earning a sword from Orca after some practice sessions and being given a shield by his grandmother. On the ship, he was initiated into the crew by the scheming Niko. Link infiltrated the Helmaroc King's coop at the Forsaken Fortress after the pirates brought him there, but he was easily beaten and taken to meet Ganondorf- who thought nothing of the boy and had him flung into the horizon.

Link during The Wind Waker

That could have been the end for that Link if not for the King of Red Lions, a mysterious talking boat, which brought Link safely to the nearest island. The King of Red Lions offered him advice as well as transportation across the Great Sea. He also granted Link an instrument called the Wind Waker, which he used to manipulate the winds. First Link needed to gather three pearls from Dragon Roost Island, the Forbidden Woods and Greatfish Isle. Link earned the first two after clearing through dungeons, but when they traveled to Greatfish Isle, it had been destroyed by Ganondorf. After a tip from Tetra, Link found Jabun the water spirit hiding in a cave near Outset Island. Link had little time for reunions as he got the last pearl from Jabun. He used them all to make the Tower of the Gods rise from the ocean. After passing its test of courage and proving himself to be a true hero, Link was granted access into ancient Hyrule and had become the Hero of Winds. Link then pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal to unfreeze time in Hyrule and used his new weapon to save Aryll from the Forsaken Fortress. But the blade had gone dull over the ages without the prayers of the Sages to power it, and so Link was easily beaten by Ganondorf. Tetra tried to help, but ultimately it was Valoo and Komali who rescued them both.

The King of Red Lions had Link and Tetra brought to Hyrule, where he revealed himself to be Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule- an ancient king of Hyrule. And he also revealed Tetra to be a descendant of Princess Zelda. Link was amazed at this information. Daphnes still accompanied Link as the King of Red Lions while Zelda stayed behind in Hyrule Castle. Link then had to find two new Sages to help power his Master Sword after guiding them to their proper altars in their respective temples. With Makar and Medli's efforts, the sword was restored to its original sharpness, leaving behind only one errand: he had to fish around the Great Sea and gather the shards of the Triforce of Courage, after gathering the Triforce charts and paying Tingle to decipher them for him. Once it was united, Link broke the barrier leading to Ganon's Tower and battled Ganondorf once more while ancient Hyrule flooded around them after Daphnes used the wish on the Trifoce. Ganondorf was finally beaten when Link lodged the Master Sword in Ganondorf's head, turning him into stone. Link and Zelda were teleported to the surface of the Great Sea by Daphnes, who sadly chose to stay behind and go down with Hyrule. Link and Zelda, who had gotten back into her Tetra guise, later set out to find a new Hyrule.

Navitrackers

Link also competed against three of Tetra's pirates who dressed similar to him in Navitrackers.

Phantom Hourglass

Sometime after Link and Zelda set off on their journey, Tetra began investigating a mysterious Ghost Ship that was terrorizing the seas, as she believed that it was a fraud set up by pirates and wanted to prove them wrong. Link had spent most of the time aboard the ship napping while Niko told tales of his previous adventure, but Link was once more drawn into an active adventure after Tetra leaped onto the Ghost Ship and was abducted as the ship sped away. Link attempted to board the ship and rescue her, but he fell overboard and wound up being washed up on the shore of Mercay Island.

There Link met the mysterious old hermit, Oshus, and his fairy friend Ciela accompanied him. After Link proved his worth, Oshus told Link that he could find the Ghost Ship by rescuing the three spirits that had been hidden on several islands. But he needed a method of transportation across the islands first, since he no longer had the King of Red Lions and was separated from Tetra's pirates. Link sought the adventurous sailor Linebeck and found him when he saved him from a trap in the Temple of the Ocean King. He found that Linebeck was eager to find treasure but too cowardly to do the work himself, so Linebeck wound up doing little more for Link than piloting his steamboat.

Link traveled across three islands and united the three spirits. To do this he often revisited the Temple of the Ocean King and found the Phantom Hourglass, which prevented the temple from draining his life force depending on how many Sands of Time he had. He later found that the third spirit they found was actually a piece of Ciela, who was the true third spirit. With Ciela united, they had all three spirits and were ready to hunt down the Ghost Ship. Link succeeded in defeating the ghosts of the Ghost Ship, only to find Tetra had been turned to stone. Oshus arrived at this point and explained that he was the Ocean King, but his power had been drained by Bellum, a monster whom had taken up residence in the Temple of the Ocean King. Tetra's life force had been drained as well, but Oshus promised that he could restore her if Link could defeat Bellum and free Oshus's lost power.

In order to defeat Bellum, Link needed to have Zauz forge a Phantom Sword for him. But Zauz did not have the materials necessary for the complex weapon, so Link had to gather three pure metals. After exploring more sectors of the ocean, Link was able to gather Crimsonine, Azurine and Aquarine. With all three elements combined, Zauz was able to forge him his Phantom Sword. All he needed was a handle for the blade, and this was provided by Oshus, who made the handle from the Sands of Time. With this new weapon, Link was finally able to make his way to the Temple of the Ocean King, where he found Bellum. During the battle, Ciela's full memory was awakened, and she found herself to be the Spirit of Courage and Time. With her newfound power, she formed Phantom Spheres that Link could use to freeze time, and with this ability he was able to defeat Bellum.

Tetra was then restored to life by Oshus with his restored power, but he found that his power had not fully returned. At this point Bellum returned and snatched away Tetra, then possessed the Ghost Ship. Link and Linebeck then chased the Ghost Ship down in their boat and engaged it in a naval battle. The Ghost Ship was destroyed. After entering the ship's wreckage, however, Link was briefly separated from the Phantom Sword and knocked out. At this point Linebeck attempted to wield the Phantom Sword in a selfless attack on Bellum, but Bellum was able to overwhelm and possess him. With help from Ciela, Link was able to free Linebeck and at the same time destroyed Bellum for good.

Oshus was returned to his true form and said that they were actually in a different world, so he sent Link and Tetra back to their own world. Link and Tetra woke up on the dock of the Ghost Ship, which was somehow repaired but now devoid of evil spirits, and were next to Tetra's pirate ship again. The pirates claimed they had been gone for ten minutes and that the whole adventure must have been a dream. However, Link found that it was not a dream when he saw that he still had the Phantom Hourglass and could see Linebeck's ship in the distance.

His future is largely unknown, although Spirit Tracks showed that Tetra was eventually successful in founding a new Hyrule. Link presumably played some role in the kingdom's foundation, and seemed to have been the inspiration for the uniforms of the castle guards (although it could also be the influence of the Hero of Time's legend, or some sort of combination). Niko also wound up owning his old shield, which he would give to that game's Link after collecting 15 of the stamps.

Spirit Tracks

This Link was a young apprentice engineer living in Adoba Village with an elderly Niko, who would often regale him with tales of the new Hyrule's history. He learned under the legendary former swordsman Alfonzo. Link and Alfonzo traveled to Hyrule Castle for Link's graduation ceremony, where Princess Zelda would grant Link his official engineering certificate. The ceremony went according to plan aside from Chancellor Cole's scoffing at its uselessness. However, he found that Zelda had secretly slipped her note bidding him to secretly meet her in her room. He traveled there and found that she was growing suspicious of the spirit tracks that were disappearing throughout Hyrule, and she wanted Link to help her investigate the Tower of Spirits because she did not trust Chancellor Cole, and he did not allow Zelda to leave the castle alone. She gave him the uniform of a recruit to the army (which was the typical Link clothes) so that he could sneak her out of the castle. He then brought her to his train, where Alfonzo was convinced to take them to the Tower of Spirits. But the spirit tracks disappeared beneath the train as it traveled, leaving them stranded in a field. They were then attacked by Cole and his minion Byrne, who proceeded to defeat Alfonzo and capture Zelda's body after separating her soul from it. Link was left there unconscious.

Awaking in Hyrule Castle, he found that Alfonzo was too injured to help them. However, he met with Princess Zelda's ghost and found that he was the only one who could see and communicate with her, at least at first. They decided to make their way to the Tower of Spirits by foot to work towards retrieving Zelda's body so that she could live again. She also entrusted him with the Spirit Flute, a prized family heirloom that was connected to the spirit tracks. At the Tower, they met with the Lokomo Anjean, who told them that Cole had split the Tower of Spirits apart and caused most of the spirit tracks to vanish so that he could awaken the Demon King Malladus. Anjean was able to give them a spirit train for use in navigating Hyrule and instructed them on how they could restore the spirit tracks and foil Cole's plans. First they had to explore the accessible segment of the Tower to find a rail map while avoiding Phantoms, and while in the tower Zelda was able to directly help Link for a change by possessing Phantoms. The rail maps opened up new areas of one of the four realms, where Link would have to find the realm's corresponding sanctuary. Once he found the sanctuary and its Lokomo inhabitant, he would be able to play the Spirit Flute in conjunction with the Lokomo's instrument to make a Lokomo song that would restore more spirit tracks that led to the realm's temple. After conquering the temple, it would activate some type of Force Gem pedestal that would restore more tracks as well as restoring part of the Tower. Link and Zelda's ghost could then explore the new area of the Tower to repeat the cycle again.

This cycle worked for the first four temples. At one point Byrne confronted them in the Tower and attempted to stop them, but Anjean stayed behind to fend him off. After all four temples were completed, and the Tower of Spirits was whole again, they worked their way towards the top. Link and Zelda (possessing a Phantom) then had to work together to defeat Byrne. They basked in their victory afterwards, although this caused Byrne to escape. They then made their way to the roof and found that they had revived too late, as Malladus was revived in Zelda's body. Cole escaped with the Malladus-possessed Zelda aboard the Demon Train, leaving Link and Zelda's ghost to return to the spirit train with Anjean and an unconscious Byrne, whom had been badly injured after being betrayed by Malladus. Anjean told them that they would need the Bow of Light to succeed in defeating Malladus and send them to the Sand Temple in the lone unexplored realm. Navigating the tricky temple, Link was finally able to discover the Bow. After returning to the train, they found that the next problem would be finding the Demon Train. However, Byrne revealed that he had hidden the Compass of Light, which they could use to find the Demon Train in the Dark Realm, within a hidden portion of the Tower of Spirits. So Link and Zelda's ghost returned to the Tower one last time, finding the hidden section and recovering the Compass. At this point, Anjean entrusted Link with the Lokomo Sword for the coming battle. They then used the Compass to find a portal to the Dark Realm, where they eventually did battle with the Demon Train.

After stopping the Demon Train, Link and Zelda decided that they would take on Malladus alone, urging Anjean and Byrne to stay behind due to their injuries. So Link and Zelda (possessing a new Phantom) made their way along the roof of the wrecked Demon Train, avoiding Cole's attacks as they approached the Zelda-possessed Malladus. Link was able to use the Light Arrow to free Zelda's body, at which point the Demon Train was destroyed and they were returned to a field back in Hyrule. There, Zelda was finally able to regain her body after Byrne sacrificed himself to hold off Malladus, while Malladus was able to temporarily assume his true form to battle Link and Zelda. Link then protected Zelda while she charged her energy, and then he used the Spirit Flute while she sang for one more duet, which prepared them for the final battle. Link distracted Malladus while Zelda attacked him with Light Arrows, which eventually stunned him, at which point Link was able to attack his head.

Eventually, Link was able to shove his sword into Malladus's forehead with the aid of Zelda, destroying the monster. With the crisis finally over, Link and Zelda held hands as they watched the spirits of Anjean, Byrne and the other Lokomos ascend to the heavens. Afterwards, depending on the player's choice, Link either continues his life as an engineer, becomes a warrior or takes on some unknown occupation.

The Saga of The Four Swords

The following games are listed only because the order they take place in is known. Their exact place in the Zelda timeline is unknown.

Very little is known about the Link who is spoken of in The Minish Cap's backstory. When Hyrule was covered in darkness this child used the Picori Blade and light force granted by the Minish to repel the evil and save Hyrule.

In The Minish Cap, a young, capless Link is childhood friends with Princess Zelda due to the good relations between King Daltus and Smith, Link's grandfather. When Vaati shatters the Picori Blade and turns Zelda into stone, it is left up to Link to repair the sword and defeat Vaati. He is accompanied in his quest for the four Minish elements by Ezlo, a Minish wizard who had been transformed into a bird-like hat by Vaati's curse. Ezlo rides on Link's head and uses his spells to shrink Link down to Minish size near great sources of Minish magic, which proved an invaluable ability in the adventure. The Picori Blade was restored and became the Four Sword, Vaati was destroyed, Zelda was freed, and Ezlo was restored to normal. As he left for the Minish world, he gave Link a special gift: his own green cap.

Link in four colors.

The Four Sword found its way into the hands of a traveling Link during the backstory for The Four Swords. This Link came upon Hyrule during his travels and battled the maiden-snatching Vaati, ultimately sealing him within the Four Sword itself. The Four Sword was enshrined to prevent Vaati's escape.

During The Four Swords Zelda took her childhood friend Link to check on the seal holding Vaati within the Four Sword, only to be kidnapped by the escaped Vaati. Link used the Four Sword to beat and seal Vaati once again. Link was later forced to pull the Four Sword out and free Vaati in order to battle the Shadow Link, setting off another epic quest in Hyrulian Adventure which involved not only Vaati but Ganon. The Links rescued Zelda and the six maidens and this time sealed Ganon within the Four Sword.

Other Appearances

Video Games

Link appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, where his appearance was inspired by Ocarina of Time, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where his design had been based off of Twilight Princess. In Melee there are three trophies of Link, while Brawl has two trophies (one being his normal trophy while the second shows his Final Smash). Brawl also contains a Wolf Link trophy and stickers of Link from The Legend of Zelda, "A Link to the Past, Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, with Epona from Ocarina of Time, as Wolf Link with Midna in Twilight Princess, with the King of Red Lions from The Wind Waker, with pigs from The Wind Waker and with a Goron Mask from Majora's Mask. There are also additional stickers of Link in Deku, Goron and Fierce Deity forms from Majora's Mask.
- Young Link also appears as an unlockable playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, based on the Link's child form appearing in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Young Link is unlocked by playing 500 Vs. Mode matches or by beating Classic Mode with ten different characters. Young Link has three unlockable trophies.
- Toon Link appears as an unlockable playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a replacement for Young Link. This is the cel-shaded Link as seen in The Wind Waker, and so most of his moves are derived from the game. He is unlocked by playing 400 brawls, beating Classic Mode after completing "The Subspace Emissary" or by meeting him in "The Subspace Emissary". Toon Link is not part of the main story of "The Subspace Emissary" and can only be reached through a door that appears in The Forest after the game is completed. This door takes the player to the Pirate Ship level, where Toon Link attacks the player, seeing him as an intruder. There are three different trophies of Toon Link that can be found - one normal one, one of his Final Smash and one showing him in his normal clothes from The Wind Waker.
- Within "The Subspace Emissary", Link is first seen within The Forest drawing the Master Sword from its pedestal (accompanied by Navi). However, minions of the Subspace Army then attack, which leads Link to team up with Yoshi (who was napping nearby) in fighting them off. Afterwards, either Link and Yoshi fight a shadow clone of Princess Peach or Mario and Pit fight a shadow clone of Zelda. Either way, it results in either Mario or Link seeing the shadow clone of the princess they knew dissipating, leading him to think that was the real princess and that the other was the enemy. This leads to a battle between Mario and Link, but the misunderstanding is cleared after the battle when the four team up to pursue King Dedede, aided by Kirby. They do not succeed in finding the captured princesses, but they do unite with the main group to travel into Subspace to fight Tabuu. If Link and Zelda were freed from trophy form by Kirby, they then decided to restore Ganondorf so that he could help them in the final battles.
Link is playable in Soul Calibur II, in which most of his weapons (even the Magical Sword) can be purchased, equipped and used in battle. His backstory says that, after saving Hyrule from an evil magician controlled by the Soul Edge at Zelda's request, he traveled into another world to destroy the Soul Edge itself. In his ending, after sealing the evil away, he returns to the world of Hyrule by playing some sort of song on his ocarina.
Link was the hero of the unlicensed game, Link: The Faces of Evil, a Philips CD-i game. He also appeared as a major character in Zelda: Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure. For more information, see Nintendo Games on Philips CD-i.

Other Media

Link was the main character in the 13-episode run of Zelda cartoons that ran as alternate segments on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Here Link was portrayed as a young, obnoxious youth who frequently would state "Well excuuuse me, princess!" whenever he was turned down by Zelda. He was voiced by Jonathan Potts. He also made a few cameo appearances on the Captain N show.
Link was also featured in the Valiant comics "Legend of Zelda", which was based primarily on the cartoon series while adding elements from Zelda II. Link was portrayed somewhat more seriously and protected the Triforce of Courage in addition to his duties protecting Zelda and her Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon. It also explored Link's background by showing him as hailing from the land of Calatia, and his parents (named Arn and Medila) appear. It lasted only five issues and one issue of Nintendo Comics System.
Link has been featured in various manga adaptations of Zelda games over the years, including three different adaptations of A Link to the Past. The first manga adaptation was a The Legend of Zelda manga in 1989, followed by one of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in 1990, both made by Yu Mishasawa. In this continuity, Link was a half-elf who was secretly the son of a hero named Rune and the former (deceased) Princess Zelda. He was brought up by an old man he called Grandpa as well as Impa and eventually became friends with Zelda, although he was somewhat cowardly and teased for being a half-elf. Link was mostly forced into the journey to reunite the Triforce of Wisdom by Zelda after she coerced him into confronting Ganon. However, Link gained bravery in his quest and reunited the Triforce of Wisdom with the help of his aunt, Kana (although he remained unaware of his heritage) and used his father's White Sword to slay Ganon afterwards.
The first of the three A Link to the Past adaptations was Shotaro Ishinomori's comic version that was published in Nintendo Power in 1992. In this version, his parents were Knights of Hyrule who were sent into the Dark World, and he was raised by his uncle until he was killed by Aganhim. In this version he instead begins to transform into a wolf in the Dark World (a possible influence on Twilight Princesss) until he rejects his inner darkness. His allies in this version included the fairy Epheremelda, the master archer Roam who also acted as a rival, and a Zora. Link and Zelda defeat Ganon together, and afterwards Link becomes the protector of the Triforce. Link and Zelda's relationship reaches a bittersweet conclusion due to their new duties giving them little time to see each other and it had only been "in their dreams" with the psychic link they shared in the battle against Ganon that they had been close.
Link was featured in Ataru Cagiva's Link's Awakening manga in 1994. This made only several alterations to the plot. One was yet another fairy sidekick, this time named Felicia and provided by the owl. Additionally, Link and Marin's relationship is given much more emphasis, and after Link finds out the truth about Koholint Island there is a plotline where Link attempts to reject his destiny as the waker of the Wind Fish and leave Koholint on a raft with Marin, but they are unable to escape the island and Link eventually learns to embrace his destiny and finish his quest.
Link was then featured in Cagiva's adaptation of A Link to the Past in 1995.
In 1998, he starred in Akira Himekawa's adaptation of Ocarina of Time. This follows a somewhat abbreviated version of Ocarina of Time's story. His background was also explored a bit, with it being said that he was born into the guardian house of Hyrule, and that his father was a knight who was slain in battle. This manga also includes several bonus chapters: a two-part Young Link story showing Link meeting the Skull Kid at an annual Kokiri Festival prior to the main story's events, and an extra Adult Link story which shows him helping the Lake Hylia Laboratory's professor with his research and meeting a member of the birdlike Watara species.
Link then appeared in the 2000 adaptation of Majora's Mask. This version also for the most part remained loyal to the original version of Link's quest and also specified that Link was searching for Navi.
Link also appeared in the interconnected adaptations of Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages written from 2001 to 2002 by Himekawa. In this depiction, Link was born with a Triforce crest and descended from a family of Hyrule Knights and was raised by his grandparents after the death of his parents. He comes across the Triforce while hiding from soldiers after getting into a fight prior to the annual swordsman contest. In Oracle of Seasons he seeks only the Rod of Seasons instead of the eight Essences and is awakened to hear the voices of nature's spirits, including the young Cucco chick Pyoko who acts similar to a fairy companion. His companions on this quest are Ricky and Maple. In the Oracle of Ages manga, Link teams up with his ancestor Raven as well as Ralph, and together they defeat Veran followed by Ganon. After returning to his grandparents house, it is shown he has changed history and inspired his own name.
In the 2004 manga adaptation of Four Swords Adventures, Link was shown as a member of Hyrule's knights with his father, but one that preferred to work alone. After being split into four, however, each has a different personality and slowly learn about teamwork as the series progresses. At one point the four are split apart, at which point Purple begins working with Shadow Link but only to learn more about him, Vaati and Ganon and ultimately betrays him. At the end Shadow Link gives his life to allow Vaati to be destroyed, but lives on as Link's actual shadow after Link becomes whole again.
In 2005, Himekawa's adaptation of A Link to the Past, the third and so far final adaptation of that game, was released. Link was shown to work as a farmer in an apple orchard. Link in the 1992 comic, Link's parents had been trapped into the Dark World and Link's father was a great knight, but this version further expands on the background by having Link's father being a former friend of Aganhim until he turned evil. In this version of the quest he is accompanied by the thief Ganty, who betrays him after learning of his heritage due to thinking Hyrulean knights killed her parents, but later it is revealed that Ganty is another survivor of the knights' family, and she fires the Silver Arrow that finishes Ganon. Afterwards Link opens up "the Hero's Apple Orchard".
Link was featured in the 2006 manga adaptation of The Minish Cap, which followed an abbreviations version of the game's story with only minor additions and alterations, such as showing Link training at a dojo in the beginning but being considered too young and inexperienced by his master to compete in Hyrule's swordfighting tournament. In 2009, he starred in a Phantom Hourglass manga that similarly followed the original storyline.

Canceled Appearances

Link was at one point planned to have a cameo appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga as one of the partons of the Starbeans Cafe, according to unused text from the game. He would give the Triforce, which was changed to the Great Force in the final version. Link did not speak in this appearance, but the cashier's dialogue pokes fun at the conventions of the Zelda series by calling Link the "Hero of... what is it, now?".

Trivia

Link is the official name for the character, but his name can be chosen by the player at the beginning of each game. Miyamoto and other developers prefer Link to be more of an avatar for the player to relate with rather than giving him an actual, distinct personality. Miyamoto has actually stated that he himself prefers Link as a playful and childlike character as opposed to his more serious depictions [1].
Link is left-handed in all appearances except for the Wii version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, where he was made right-handed in order to improve gameplay with the Wii remote. The Master Quest of Ocarina of Time 3D also flips Hyrule and Link's swordfighting hand as a way to increase the difficulty.
The age of Link in various games is one point of confusion, especially once it became apparent that there are multiple Links. The only age for Link given in-game is that the from the first two games is 16 at the beginning of The Adventure of Link. Miyamoto has also stated that Link is around 12 in the first original Zelda, and that in Ocarina of Time he changes between being 9 and 16 years old while traveling through time.



Link's design in Skyward Sword.
Link
Species	Hylian
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Relatives	A Link to the Past Uncle The Wind Waker Grandma Aryll (sister) The Minish Cap Smith (grandpa)
Voiced by	Fujiko Takimoto (Young Link) (1998-2002) Nobuyuki Hiyama (1998-2001) Sachi Matsumoto (Toon Link) (2002-2008) Akira Sasanuma (2005-present) Yuuki Kodaira (Toon Link) (2009)
Debut	The Legend of Zelda

Link

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