Link

Link's design in Twilight Princess.
Link
Species	Human
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Relatives	Variable
Debut	The Legend of Zelda

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 look alike. 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- whether it be the pig demon Ganon, the wind mage Vaati or the twisted mask that is Majora. The following are the accounts of all Link's adventures.

Background

The Hero of Time

The official order of the Zelda games remains in debate. The Hero of Time's story is listed first because it is generally considered to be first in the Zelda series chronologically.

During the fierce wars that engulfed Hyrule, a lone mother escaped into the Kokiri Forest with her 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 in "The Ocarina 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 travelled 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 recieved the Triforce of Courage and was completely unaware.

Link had entered the Temple of Time a child and left a man. He awoke and met Rauru, the wise sage who had watched over him in his sleep. Rauru sent him and Navi out to find the five new sages so that Ganondorf may 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 like 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 travelling 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 that he had a piece of the Triforce all along. But then she was captured by Ganondorf, and it was up to Link rescue her.

After infiltrating Ganon's Castle and scaling Ganon's Tower Link fought his nemesis for the first time for the last time- first in the form of Ganondorf and then as the monstrous Ganon. Link's Master Sword and Light Arrows proved invaluable in the battle. Link defeated Ganon long enough for the freed 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 worlds for now. The Ocarina of Time (game) ended with Link meeting with Zelda in the courtyard with the Triforce of Courage in his possession.

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 during Majora's Mask, where he strived 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 "seperated 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 of Winds

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 pleasent 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. Link infilitrated 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.

That may have been the end for that Link if it weren't for the King of Red Lions, a mysterious talking boat. 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 now had to find two new Sages to help power his Master Sword. With Makar and Medli, 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. Once it was united, Link broke the barrier leading to Ganon's Tower and battled Ganondorf once more while ancient Hyrule flooded around them. 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.

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

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's 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.

The Four Sword found its way into the hands of a travelling 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 "Four Swords 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 Links

The rest of these games are listed in release order rather than implied timeline.

When a young boy named Link heard that Princess Zelda was in the clutches of Ganon in The Legend of Zelda, Zelda's nursemaid Impa sent him to unite the shards of the Triforce of Wisdom, which he must use to invade Ganon's Death Mountain lair. Link braved eight deadly dungeons for each shard of the Triforce of Wisdom and then entered the Death Mountain lair. There he managed to slay Ganon after battling him courageously and retrieved the Triforce of Power. Link, the hero of Hyrule, was thanked by the freed Princess Zelda.

Near his sixteenth birthday a mysterious birthmark in the shape of the Triforce appeared on the back of Link's left hand. This was the result of an enchantment placed by an ancient king, and it meant that he was worthy to use the full Triforce, as Impa explained. Impa told Link to find the last piece of the Triforce, the Triforce of Courage, and use the Triforce to awaken the first generation Princess Zelda. But the Triforce of Courage was hidden within Death Valley, which could only be reached by placing crystals in six statues hidden within different temples which were protected by guardian deities. So Link set out with the crystals in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and unlocked the path to Death Valley while avoding Ganon's minions, who hoped to revive Ganon by sacrificing Link. After fighting one of his greatest battles with the monstrous Thunderbird and then his own Shadow, Link finally united the Triforce and woke the princess.

In A Link to the Past Link lived with his uncle in a peaceful existence. One stormy night Princess Zelda telepathically contacted Link with a plea for help. A dark wizard name Aganhim who had gained control over Hyrule Castle was sacrificing the maiden descendents of the seven sages in order to break the seal on the Dark World. Zelda was the only one left, so Link journeyed into the castle and rescued her. But he needed the Master Sword before he could stop Aganhim, so he journeyed across Hyrule to gather the three pendants of Courage, Power and Wisdom. He used the pendants to pull the Master Sword from the Lost Woods. But in the meantime Zelda had been captured and sacrificed into the Dark World. And after he fought Aganhim, Link was sent there too. Now he ventured to save Zelda and the other six maidens who had been distributed to Ganon's monster lieutenants across the Dark World. Each told him more about Ganon, the villain pulling Aganhim's strings. Link proved himself to be the Hero of Cataclysm's Eve by defeating Ganon in the Pyramid of Power and used the Triforce to restore peace to Hyrule.

After defeating Ganon and fulfilling the Hyrulian prophecy of the ancient Hero, Link went on a quest of enlightenment. But on his way back to Hyrule, he was shipwrecked by a squall which trapped him in the dreams of the Wind Fish during Link's Awakening. Link did not find out until long into his quest that he had been trapped in the Wind Fish's dream, and all he knew was that waking the Wind Fish was the only way to leave Koholint Island and get back to Hyrule. So he gathered magical instruments from the eight dungeons, which he used to open the Wind Fish's egg. After battling DethI, the source of the Wind Fish's nightmares, he found his chance to awaken the Wind Fish. Even though doing so meant losing all the dear yet imaginary friends he had made on the island, especially a girl named Marin, Link had to wake up the Wind Fish and himself if he ever hoped to return to Hyrule. Link woke up in the middle of the ocean and watched the Wind Fish fly off.

One day Link entered Hyrule Castle and found the three pieces of the Triforce, which spoke to him and whisked him away on a pair of quests in Holodrum and Labrynna, where he rescued the Oracles of Seasons and Ages from Onox the General of Darkness and Veran the Sorceress of Shadows, respectfully, during the "Oracle" games. In these lands he manipulated seasons and travelled through time with magical items. Afterwards he embarked in one more battle to save Princess Zelda from Twinrova- and he wound up fighting a freshly revived Ganon. Afterwards Link had some moments of fun and peace with all the friends he had made throughout his adventure before leaving in a boat on some new journey.

Trivia

• Link appears as a playable character in both "Super Smash Bros." and "Super Smash Bros. Melee". Child Link also is playable in "Super Smash Bros. Melee". Each of them has three trophies.
• 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 travelled into another world to destroy the Soul Edge itself.
• Another version of Link who was rude and obnoxious appeared in thirteen Zelda cartoons that ran with the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, and that Link also appeared on the Captain N animated series. He was voiced by Jonathan Potts in all these appearances.