Link

Link is the main protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series and one of Nintendo's flagship characters. A young but powerful, highly adventurous green-clad swordsman whose main objective is to protect the world from evil forces, usually the Kingdom of Hyrule, through incredible feats of courage and bravery, Link made his grand debut in the first game, The Legend of Zelda, and has been present in all subsequent titles since then (with the sole exception of the Japan-exclusive Satellaview games, although these are non-canonical). He is one of the three most important characters in the franchise, along with Princess Zelda and Ganon, the two being his close ally (if not love interest) and archenemy, respectively. Link is usually the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, a powerful symbol of his chosen status by the Golden Goddesses, as well as his exemplary bravery. Besides being a skilled warrior, he is famous for his elven-like appearance and for being habitually armed with the legendary Master Sword and Hylian Shield, his signature weapons since Ocarina of Time. Furthermore, as explicitly defined by being the bearer of the Master Sword or other sacred weapons like the Light Arrows, the Quadruple Sword, or the Magic Sword, in addition to restoring peace with the complete Triforce, as seen in A Link to the Past or A Link Between Worlds, Link also possesses a pure heart, similar to Zelda. Unlike most of Nintendo's other central protagonists, Link does not exist as a single individual within the franchise, but has appeared in many incarnations throughout the history of Hyrule, who, depending on the game, is depicted as an ordinary child or young man, much like the eponymous Princess Zelda. Specific incarnations of Link can be distinguished by titles such as the iconic Hero of Time in Ocarina of Time or the Hero of the Winds in The Wind Waker.

However, regardless of each version of the character, Link possesses the spirit of the Legendary Hero once chosen by the Goddess Hylia and, therefore, is always destined to fight evil, specifically his arch-enemy Ganon, usually under the orders of Princess Zelda (several games since The Wind Waker feature the princess herself helping him defeat the main villain, although she attempted to do so in Ocarina of Time). Despite this fundamental role, some main games have pitted Link against different main antagonists, such as Demise or Majora's Mask, and a few, like Link's Awakening, Majora's Mask, or Tri Force Heroes, didn't even include the hero facing Ganon or Zelda in their plot. Link even has an evil reflection of himself, rarely seen and fought in the series, especially in The Adventure of Link and Ocarina of Time. Link himself is also the mascot of the Zelda franchise, and due to his prolonged multi-million dollar success as one of Nintendo's flagship series (along with Mario and Pokémon) since February 21, 1986, he is widely known as one of the most recognizable and iconic video game characters of all time.

Link's appearance, like Princess Zelda and Ganon's, has varied throughout the long-running series. Generally, he is a young, handsome Hylian with blond hair, long pointed ears, and vivid blue eyes who wears green clothing, a floppy hat, and brown elf-like boots and gauntlets (though he doesn't always wear gloves). While his traditional outfit is typically green, it can be other colors like blue, red, violet, or even black, usually through defensive upgrades, splitting into four, or in the case of spin-off appearances, as an alternative palette swap. Due to the dangerous nature of his medieval adventures and his role in protecting Hyrule from evil, Link's most famous physical characteristic, similar to certain other Nintendo protagonists like Samus Aran or Pit (from Metroid and Kid Icarus, respectively), and being a swordsman, is that he is almost never unarmed, carrying weapons, specifically a Sword and a Shield, to fight or defend himself in combat. Furthermore, most incarnations carry a shoulder strap to carry the scabbard and shield (though this doesn't correspond to the actual use of scabbards, as they are worn at the hip). Link is usually a child, but some games portray him as a teenager or young adult. While not very muscular, Link is highly athletic due to his constant duty as Hyrule's main hero.

In the early games up to Ocarina of Time, Link was originally depicted with brown hair and dark sleeves on his clothing, and sometimes even simple black eyes as dots in the official artwork of the first installment, although his in-game sprites have shown him with different color tones or appearances due to the hardware limitations of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Game Boy.

Nintendo 64 titles since then have given the main protagonist his now standardized look, but some later 3D games like Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild depicted Link with more realistic details (Ocarina of Time, however, had given him unique blue earrings as an adult). Tri Force Heroes, Breath of the Wild, and its sequel Tears of the Kingdom, in particular, have allowed Link to wear many different outfits, although his standard attire for the latter is a cyan shirt without a hat similar to Princess Zelda's in the game, unlike what was seen in previous installments. For the former, these unique garments, known as Outfits, are often based on characters from previous games and even other Nintendo franchises, including Mario. Other games like The Wind Waker or Four Swords Adventures, which use cel-shaded graphics (which initially generated controversy), showed Link with a much more cartoonish appearance. In this case, his eyes are usually black instead of blue and, exceptionally compared to his "realistic" appearance, he is shown as significantly expressive.

In games where Link is explicitly shown as the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, such as Ocarina of Time or The Wind Waker, unlike Princess Zelda and Ganon (as Ganondorf) whose respective pieces of Wisdom and Power are marked on their right hands, Link has his on his left hand.

Compared to the vast majority of characters in the series, Link is renowned for his strong sense of justice, but he prefers not to speak directly in the main games or most other media, even in the latest installments, communicating instead through grunts. Perhaps his most iconic personality trait, however, is that in combat, Link often lets out high-pitched cries like "Hyaaa!" when using advanced sword techniques (except in the early games). Outside of combat, the "realistic" incarnations like the Hero of Time or the Links from Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild are shown as rather stern or "stoic," smiling infrequently, compared to others, such as the Hero of Winds, who have a completely opposite spectrum of thoughts and emotions, and can even be seen laughing at times. Despite this, possessing the spirit of a hero and following the warrior's code, Link as a whole is humble, intelligent, extremely brave, honest, caring, and generally fearless when fighting against the forces of evil, including his arch-nemesis Ganon. Because of this, he maintains friendships with various characters such as Saria, Medli, Impa, Goron Link (in Ocarina of Time), Tetra, Mipha, Romani, Midna, Skull Kid, and more. In the case of The Wind Waker, he is also very close to his younger sister Aryll. Although not explicitly shown, Link has feelings for Princess Zelda and vice versa in most 3D games. On a similar note, Link himself is also friends with Mario, Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the Mario series, as seen in other media related to both iconic gaming giant franchises.

Link's age throughout The Legend of Zelda saga, unlike most other main Nintendo protagonists, is not entirely consistent and is often heavily debated, even in official sources, similar to Princess Zelda, who almost always shares the same age. Although technically a child character, some games since The Adventure of Link and especially Ocarina of Time presented the hero older than usual and even occasionally reaching adulthood. During an Iwata Asks for Ocarina of Time 3D, the franchise creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, stated that Link is around 12 years old, but here we will put him at 14-15.

As the main character of The Legend of Zelda franchise and the embodiment of the Legendary Hero, usually (but not always) chosen by Hylia and the Golden Goddesses to destroy the great evil that constantly threatens the Kingdom of Hyrule with the power of light and justice, as well as bearing the lineage of the Knights of Hyrule and possessing the Triforce of Courage – granting him the essence of the Goddess Farore which drastically increases his brute strength (it should be noted that not all main installments featured him utilizing or even obtaining the divine piece), Link, despite his young age, is iconic not only for his unparalleled courage but also for his exceptional natural talents in the martial art of swordsmanship, capable of surpassing other competent swordsmen like the Gerudo, and possesses speed and agility that rival those of the Sheikah, proving to be a fierce fighter and easily worthy of the attention of the Royal Family, especially Princess Zelda. The hero is formidable enough to stand firm against his invaluable ally Zelda, bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, and to fight and defeat many ferocious enemies that cause great terror in various lands at the climax of the games, such as Vaati, Onox, Veran, Majora, his own evil shadow known as Dark Link (possibly his most dangerous enemy), and even Demon Kings like Demise, Malladus, and of course, Ganon himself (often as Ganondorf), making Link one of the most powerful warriors, if not the most powerful, in all of Hyrule and probably other worlds. However, on some occasions he requires the help of Zelda or other allies such as the Sages, Navi, the Champions, etc., to help him complete dungeons or defeat said antagonists, especially his arch-enemy who is the possessor of the Triforce of Power. He has also appeared in other media such as the Super Smash Bros. series and SoulCalibur II.

Despite being completely non-canonical, Link is also able to fight and even defeat other Nintendo heroes and villains such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Kirby (an enemy directly based on this character is fought in Link's Awakening), Bowser, etc., as well as characters from Namco's Soul series such as Raphael Sorel, Nightmare, or Inferno.

Little is known about how Link became such a skilled swordsman that only a few, like Ganondorf or Gramps, can match him, as the early installments presented him without a master (implying that certain incarnations were self-taught), but some later games feature the protagonist being taught by an individual who knows the art of the sword (like Orca or, ironically, himself as a restless spirit), and the fact that Link is a descendant of the Hylian Knights (or, in the case of Breath of the Wild, actually is) is a significant contributing factor. In combat, although in the original The Legend of Zelda Link only performed a basic forward thrust with his sword, every subsequent game in the series since The Adventure of Link has the hero capable of performing many complex techniques that not only help him defeat powerful enemies but also solve certain puzzles. These characteristic moves include Spin Attack, Jump Attack, Jump Thrust, Down Thrust, Dash Attack, Parry Attack, Ending Blow, Flurry Rush, etc. He also begins to manually defend himself with his shield starting from Ocarina of Time. In rare instances and other media, Link can also perform punches and kicks. The hero is even capable of running at superhuman speeds (when equipped with the Pegasus Boots). While appearing to be the same in the overall game across all media, it should be noted that, like Princess Zelda, not all incarnations of Link are equal in skill level throughout the story, as some are more trained and/or more competent than others and possess different abilities. However, as seen in all games, each version of the character is strong enough to kill a demon or similar monsters on their own, which is very evident during boss battles.

Similar to Ganon, Link also has several different forms he can use to his advantage, such as a Deku Scrub, Goron, Zora, Wolf, Rabbit (though this leaves him defenseless), and even a Deity.

Beyond sword fighting, Link is also known for carrying a massive arsenal of items that invaluablely aid him in his adventures and solving most puzzles, no matter how big or small. How he actually stores his inventory in the main series is unknown, as the game mechanics only allow the player to manually select them, although the The Legend of Zelda television series showed that Link's items inside a magic bag could magically shrink to a tiny scale and then grow back to normal when used. While these varied greatly from game to game, like his sword and shield, some common ones that accompanied the hero in the vast majority of installments and other media include the Bow, Bomb, and Boomerang, making these three strongly associated with the character. Most other games also feature unique items that serve as key factors in Link's success in stopping threats in addition to his trademark Master Sword, such as the Silver Arrows, Light Arrows, Mirror Shield, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, Quadruple Sword, Transformation Masks, Power Bracelets, and many more. Link is also an expert archer, rider, musician, and is skilled in stealth.

While not a master of this technique like Princess Zelda or Ganon, who instead focus on swordsmanship, Link is an advanced user of magic. In games that utilize the Magic Meter, he can channel energy into his sword to perform a powered-up version of his Spin Attack (like the Great/Hurricane Spin), fire elemental arrows such as Fire and Ice Arrows, use magic spells like Din's Fire, or unleash Sword Bolts and similar attacks like the Earthquake Medallion on his enemies. Other media, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, have shown Link using the Triforce of Courage to trap opponents in a void that closely resembles the complete Triforce before delivering swift sword cuts and then launching them with a powerful blow that shatters it, known as the Triforce Slash (which is his Final Smash since Brawl). With all the aforementioned feats, Link is one of the strongest playable protagonists in Nintendo history, alongside characters like Mario or Kirby. However, despite his incredible combat abilities and playability, an expert player can quickly defeat Ganon or other main antagonists. Both the endings of the main games and spin-offs almost always show the protagonist's victory. Link is not at all invincible in terms of the story; on several occasions, during his numerous adventures, he was caught off guard or even nearly defeated, such as when Ganondorf easily knocked down the Hero of Winds twice in The Wind Waker. Furthermore, official sources like Hyrule Historia, the Zelda Encyclopedia, as well as other media within the franchise (such as comics, manga adaptations, etc.) have depicted Link's final battles against Ganon, regardless of the villain's human or animal form, as fiercely challenging.

and therefore, a difficult outcome for either character (similar to Mario with Bowser in the Mario series). In fact, one specific incarnation, as explained in the Chronology of the Fall, has a possible canonical defeat at the hands of the series' main antagonist.

Other central heroes controllable by the player, such as the avatar characters of BS-X in the Japan-exclusive Satellaview titles, BS The Legend of Zelda / Ancient Stone Tablets, the Warriors in the Hyrule Warriors games, or, in the case of Echoes of Wisdom, Princess Zelda herself, seem to have similar abilities to Link and generally share the same role.