link (the legend of zelda)

is the protagonist of Nintendo's video game franchise ''The Legend of Zelda''. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Link was introduced as the hero of the original 1986 ''The Legend of Zelda'' video game and has appeared in a total of 19 entries in the series, as well as a number of spin-offs. Common elements in the series include Link travelling through Hyrule whilst exploring dungeons, battling creatures and solving puzzles until he eventually defeats the series' primary antagonist, Ganon, and saves Princess Zelda.

Throughout ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, Link has made multiple appearances in a variety of incarnations. He has been rendered in both 2D and 3D form and has been traditionally depicted in his signature green cap and tunic carrying a sword and shield. Over the course of the series, he appears as a child or young adult of the Hylian race, which originates from the fictional kingdom of Hyrule. Within ''Zelda'' lore, Link is the soul of a legendary hero that throughout history is reincarnated within a seemingly ordinary boy or man when the need arises for a new warrior to defeat the forces of evil. To defeat Ganon, Link usually obtains the mystical Master Sword or a similar legendary weapon, which is obtained after completing various trials. Over the course of his journey, he also acquires other magical items, including musical instruments and other weaponry.

In addition to the main series, Link has appeared in other Nintendo media, including merchandise, comics and manga, and an animated television series. He is a prominent character in various spin-off games, including ''Hyrule Warriors'', ''Cadence of Hyrule'' and '' Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity''. He has appeared in entries of several other game franchises, including the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, ''SoulCalibur II'' and ''Mario Kart 8'', and has also been referenced in other games, such as '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''.

Alongside fellow Nintendo character Mario, Link is one of the most recognisable characters in the video game industry, with critics considering him to be a significant game character in popular culture. He has been positively received by critics and fans and is a popular character within the video game community. According to ''Guinness World Records'', Link is the most critically acclaimed videogame playable character and the most ubiquitous action-adventure video game character, surpassing Mario. He has been recognised by the ''Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition'' as the second best video game character of all time after Mario. Critics have also named him as one of the most influential video game characters of all time and one of Shigeru Miyamoto's most famous creations.

Concept and creation

Link's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, said that his concepts of ''The Legend of Zelda'' and Link were based on his childhood memories as well as books and movies he and video game designer Takashi Tezuka had enjoyed, notably J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Miyamoto tried to make people identify with Link and have the opportunity to be heroes like the character. Although at the end of some games, Link becomes vastly talented in physical skill and magical prowess, he usually starts off the game as a regular boy.

Link's sprite design was created by designer Takashi Tezuka. Shigeru Miyamoto stated in an interview with ''Gamekult'' that Takashi Tezuka used the Disney character Peter Pan as a source of inspiration when creating Link in order to make the character recognisable. Due to the limited capabilities of the technology at the time, Nintendo was only able to use three colours and the development team decided to choose green as Link's signature colour, as the game was mainly set within a forest environment. Link's sword and shield, long hat and ears were all created to make the character easily distinguishable.

On the origin of the name "Link", Miyamoto said that "Link's name comes from the fact that originally, the fragments of the Triforce were supposed to be electronic chips. The game was to be set in both the past and the future and as the main character would travel between both and be the link between them, they called him Link". However, he has also stated in the Nintendo book titled ''Hyrule Historia'' that the character is named Link because he, "connects people together" and that, "he was supposed to spread the scattered energy of the world through the ages".

Character incarnations

There have been several iterations of Link within ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. Each incarnation of Link bears a similar appearance and role as the hero within the various ''Zelda'' games, with nearly every game resetting the storyline. According to ''The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia'', Link is "not just one individual; he is the hero reborn to many homes, over the course of many lifetimes, chosen by the goddesses with a single purpose: to stand up and fight when evil descends upon Hyrule". Miyamoto explained: "For every ''Zelda'' game we tell a new story, but we actually have an enormous document that explains how the game relates to the others, and bind them together. But to be honest, they are not that important to us. We care more about developing the game system ... give the player new challenges for every chapter that is born". Although each version of Link is different to the next, an official chronology for the ''Zelda'' series was established by Nintendo, which spans thousands of years across the fictional history of Hyrule and includes three separate timelines. In celebration of ''The Legend of Zelda's'' 25th anniversary, Nintendo released (in December 2011, in Japan; in early 2013, in North America) an anthology, titled ''Hyrule Historia'', which details ''The Legend of Zelda'' fictional timeline. ''Hyrule Historia'' explains Link's repeated incarnations in the fictional timeline by stating that the name "Link" is a common name in Hyrule. '' The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword'', which was released in 2011, aimed to create an origin story, in which the antagonist Demise curses "the spirit of the hero" to be caught in an endless cycle of defeating evil.

Character design

Link's appearance has remained consistent over the course of ''The Legend of Zelda'' series but his character design has also evolved with each game release. In the original 1986 ''The Legend of Zelda'', he appears dressed in green in a simple 2D form viewed from a top-down perspective. This was followed by a taller version of the character seen from a side-scroll perspective in the 1987 video game titled ''The Adventure of Link''. With the release of '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' in 1998, Link appeared as a 3D character. Miyamoto said that the team started by creating a grown-up model followed by a child model, but realised that they could both be used in the game, "to tell the story of a boy growing up". Link's teenage appearance in ''Ocarina of Time'' was designed with the aim of making him more handsome and cooler than all previous forms of the hero. Nintendo illustrator Yusuke Nakano has stated that the design of Link in ''Ocarina of Time'' was based on a well-known American actor at the time of the game's development.

In 2002, Shigeru Miyamoto unveiled an anime-inspired design for Link at E3 2002, which had been created for '' The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker''. The "Toon Link" incarnation proved to be initially controversial and was not well received due to its childlike cartoonish style. Toon Link was originally created by graphic designer Yoshiki Haruhana as a way to evolve the series. Miyamoto commented in a 2003 interview: "Actually we never intended to create a shockwave, it's just we were trying to make something new". He said that after many experiments, the development team had decided that cel-shading was the best option for expressing a young, energetic boy. Toon Link would eventually carve his own identity into the franchise, appearing in multiple entries in the series and also being introduced as a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros''. Producer Eiji Aonuma explained that after the initial reaction to the new art style, gamers began to accept Toon Link, and commented, "so after ''Wind Waker'' we created ''Phantom Hourglass'' and ''Spirit Tracks'' with the new artwork style".

Following the public reaction to Toon Link, Nintendo chose to completely reverse the art style for '' The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'' in 2006. In this entry, Link was depicted in a more realistic style with a darker, grittier tone. Initially the artists planned to design Link in his mid-to-late twenties. Nintendo artists Yusuke Nakano and Satoru Takizawa discussed the design concept in the Nintendo book titled '' The Legend of Zelda: Art and Artifacts'', in which Nakano stated: "I wanted him to be a little bit older. The Link up till now had been in his teens, but for this one we were talking about making him around 25… maybe even 30. ... He would be well built… A skinny man with a pretty face wouldn't stand a chance against a large enemy, so we thought about making him quite sturdy". However, this idea was rejected, as the team expected that fans wanted to see Link as he appeared in ''Ocarina of Time''. The design team decided to make Link a teenager again, aged 16 years. Miyamoto explained: "So after ''Wind Waker'' we tried several different models and made varied versions of them. Ultimately we decided that in showing a teenage Link really the best style of expressing him would be something that's closer to our graphical style in ''Ocarina of Time''". Eiji Aonuma explained that the design team had looked at ways of expressing Link as an older teenager, saying, "the fact that we're seeing Link on horseback and swinging a sword, I think that's one more way in which Link has matured". In ''Twilight Princess'', a key aspect of Link's role is the ability to transform into a wolf. Aonuma explained that a wolf was chosen because the design team considered the animal to be the best representation of a hero and that this function was incorporated to give the adult version of Link limited human abilities, allowing him to mature over the course of the game.

Link's signature green outfit has evolved over the course of ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. At a Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Art Director Satoru Takizawa commented on the subtle changes made to Link's outfit for each game release. He said that for ''Twilight Princess'' he, "made the hat long, so it would flap in the wind and move around", but for the release of ''Skyward Sword'', he decided to make it more diminutive and give it less motion. The release of '' The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'' in 2017 broke the conventions of Link's design, notably the absence of his signature green outfit as a prominent feature. Takizawa explained that "as the graphic fidelity has increased it becomes more difficult to make that hat look cool". However, players can still acquire Link's green hat and tunic within the game. For ''Breath of the Wild'' nearly 100 designs were considered for Link to ensure that he remained a neutral character. Eiji Aonuma commented: "We thought that the iconic green tunic and hat had become expected, so we wanted to mix things up and update his look. Interestingly, though, nobody on the team said, 'Let's make him blue!' It just organically ended up that way".

Although Link is depicted as a male character, Eiji Aonuma stated that he wanted the character to be gender neutral. He said of Link's portrayal in ''Ocarina of Time'': "I wanted the player to think 'Maybe Link is a boy or a girl'. If you saw Link as a guy, he'd have more of a feminine touch. Or vice versa, if you related to Link as a girl, it was with more of a masculine aspect. I really wanted the designer to encompass more of a gender-neutral figure. So I've always thought that for either female or male players, I wanted them to be able to relate to Link". During the development of ''Twilight Princess'', he created a more masculine version of Link, but then later decided to return Link to a more gender neutral character. Regarding Link's character design in ''Breath of the Wild'', Aonuma commented that "as far as gender goes, Link is definitely a male, but I wanted to create a character where anybody would be able to relate to the character".

Portrayal

Since the first instance of voice acting in the series (in ''Ocarina of Time''), Link has been voiced by eight actors: Nobuyuki Hiyama in ''Ocarina of Time'' (as adult Link); Fujiko Takimoto in ''Ocarina of Time'' (as young Link), ''Majora's Mask'', '' A Link to the Past and Four Swords'' for the Game Boy Advance and ''Minish Cap''; Sachi Matsumoto in ''The Wind Waker''; Akira Sasanuma in ''Twilight Princess''; Yūki Kodaira in ''Spirit Tracks''; Takashi Ōhara in ''Skyward Sword''; Mitsuki Saiga in ''A Link Between Worlds'' and ''Link's Awakening'' (the 2019 version only); and Kengo Takanashi in ''Breath of the Wild''. In ''Tri Force Heroes'', Fujiko Takimoto, Sachi Matsumoto, Yūki Kodaira and Mitsuki Saiga all reprise their roles as Link, acting as alternate voices.

As no canonical game in ''The Legend of Zelda'' series to date has contained substantial spoken dialogue for Link, the part consists only of short phrases, grunts, battle cries, and other sounds. In ''The Wind Waker'', however, Link has been heard saying the phrase, "Come on!" Voice acting for the character has been deliberately limited to avoid contradicting players' individual interpretations of how Link could sound. Producer Eiji Aonuma stated that Link's silence is meant to avoid breaking the relationship between the player and the character that could result from adding dialogue with which the player does not agree. Link's character has been purposefully left open to interpretation to offer a blank slate for players to enter the game world and provide a more personal experience.

Characteristics

Link is a brave, skilled warrior and the hero of ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. Over the course of the series, he has appeared in a variety of ages and forms, ranging from child to young adult, and in ''Twilight Princess'', also appears in the form of a wolf. He displays the characteristic traits of the Hylian race, being of human form with elfin features, including pointed ears. Since the original 1986 ''The Legend of Zelda'' video game, he has been repeatedly depicted wearing his characteristic green cap and tunic. However, he has also appeared wearing other outfits, including a blue lobster shirt in ''The Wind Waker'' and his blue Champion's Tunic in ''Breath of the Wild''. Link is described in the original game's instruction manual as a "young lad" and a traveller and in later games, such as ''Breath of the Wild'', as a knight of Hyrule who is sworn to protect the kingdom and Princess Zelda. During gameplay, he carries a sword and a shield, but has also wielded a variety of other weapons, including bows, spears and axes.

Link's signature weapon is the Master Sword, a powerful magic sword that has the ability to repel evil. He is also often depicted holding the Hylian Shield. These two components have become integral aspects of the character's identity. Each game in the series follows a similar story arc in which Link must take a journey that eventually leads him to recover the Master Sword, which makes him stronger in gameplay and enables him to defeat the series' main antagonist, Ganon.

Throughout each game, Link is able to obtain various items during his adventures, which the player can then use in gameplay. Many of these objects possess magical properties that bestow specific abilities on Link, such as a magic cape that makes Link invisible when he wears it, or potions that replenish his health. Others have various practical purposes, such as the hookshot, which enables Link to pull items towards him, and bombs for detonation. In addition, Link has used various musical instruments on his travels, most notably, the Ocarina of Time, which when played is used for teleportation. In ''Breath of the Wild'', Link's key tool is the Sheikah Slate, a handheld tablet featuring various runes that enable him to manipulate the game world.

In ''Zelda'' lore, Link is the reincarnated soul of a hero, chosen by the goddess Hylia to protect the kingdom of Hyrule from Ganon and save Princess Zelda whenever the need arises. As the goddess' chosen hero, he is also the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, one of the three components that together combine to form the Triforce, a sacred artefact and symbol of power. In several ''Zelda'' games, Link's main objective is to recover the fragments of the Triforce in order to defeat Ganon. Link's character is always depicted as a fearless hero and a "symbol of courage" who is willing to protect Hyrule for the sake of others.

Relationships

Link's relationships with the other main characters has been a defining aspect of the series. Within the fictional lore, Ganon, Zelda and Link represent three pieces of the Triforce, with Ganon representing Power, Zelda representing Wisdom and Link representing Courage. This trinity transcends the fictional timeline and dictates that the three characters are destined to be forever reincarnated in an endless battle for good and evil. Link's battle with Ganon established a fictional chronology that spans across the entire series and branches into three separate timelines. The three timelines originate at the end of ''Ocarina of Time'' when the timeline splits according to whether Link successfully defeats Ganon ("The Hero is Victorious") or fails to stop him (the "Fallen Hero" timeline). The official fictional chronology was revealed in ''Hyrule Historia'', with ''Skyward Sword'' presented as the first game in the timeline. ''Skyward Sword'' establishes that the three main characters are destined to be connected in an endless cycle after the antagonist Demise curses Link and Zelda.

Link's relationship with Zelda has been a core aspect of the series but has also been the subject of speculation. Throughout the games, the storylines have suggested the possibility of a romantic relationship between the two, but this has remained ambiguous. With each game release, the nature of their relationship has varied and Link has also been presented with other possible love interests. A romantic relationship between Link and Zelda is particularly evident in ''Skyward Sword'' and was also emphasised in an official "romance trailer" for the game. Eiji Aonuma commented on this relationship in an interview with ''Game Informer'': "As far as the love story goes, it wasn't that we wanted to create a romance between Link and Zelda as much as we wanted the player to feel like this is a person who's very important to me, who I need to find. We used that hint of a romance between the two to tug at the heartstrings". In ''Breath of the Wild'', the relationship between Link and Zelda is more complex and follows a story arc that begins with resentment and ends in a close bond with each willing to give their life for the other.

Appearances and evolution

''The Legend of Zelda'' series

Link has appeared as the protagonist of ''The Legend of Zelda'' series for over three decades. In addition to appearing in every video game in ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, he has also appeared as a major character in various spin-off games. Although the plot in each ''Zelda'' game varies, most center around Link defeating Ganon with the Master Sword and rescuing Princess Zelda. During gameplay, Link must navigate through various dungeons, defeat monsters and solve puzzles before reaching the end of the game.

Link was introduced on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the original 1986 game release ''The Legend of Zelda''. Due to the limited hardware of the era, Link was rendered as a simple 8-bit 2D character within a flat environment viewed from a top-down perspective. In the opening introduction, he meets an old man who offers him a sword and declares "It's dangerous to go alone!" Link is described as a "young lad" who saves Princess Zelda's elderly nursemaid Impa from Ganon's henchmen. Link assumes the role of the hero and must rescue Princess Zelda and the kingdom of Hyrule from the evil wizard Ganon, who has stolen the Triforce of Power. During the game, the player controls Link as he explores 128 areas of Hyrule. Nine dungeons each contain a special item that gives Link the ability to defeat that dungeon's boss; he must defeat them all before fighting Ganon.

''In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link'' (1987), Link reappeared on the NES with some minor changes to his design but still as a basic 8-bit 2D character. He is depicted as a slightly taller character sprite wearing a green outfit similar to his previous appearance. The game differs from the previous title in that it switches between a top-down perspective and a side-scroll perspective. The storyline involves Link going on a quest to place a crystal in each of six castles in Hyrule so that he can later break the magically protected Great Palace, defeat his doppelgänger Dark Link (also known as Shadow Link), claim the Triforce of Courage, reunite the three pieces of the Triforce, and awaken sleeping Zelda. The Dark Link incarnation would later reappear in ''Ocarina of Time'', ''The Oracle of Ages'', ''Twilight Princess'', and various other games.

'' The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past'' (1991) recreated Link in a 16-bit colour palette for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It presents the character with the unusual characteristic of pink hair, diverging from the traditional blond or light brown hair seen in other releases. Link's sprite was also designed to appear more expressive, as he was given an animated hat and a face that turns red when attempting to pull objects. The game introduced Link's Master Sword with an early design that would evolve over subsequent games. In contrast to the in-game sprite, the game manual depicts Link as a tall blond character. The story describes Link trying to intercept the wizard Agahnim before he breaks the seal on the Dark World and unleashes Ganon's fury upon Hyrule. To stop him, Link collects three magical Pendants of Virtue and claims the Master Sword, then ventures into the Dark World to rescue the Seven Sages, after which he is able to defeat Agahnim and Ganon.

'' The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening'' was released in 1993 for the Game Boy, making it the first handheld title in the series. Link appeared in monochrome until the DX port brought the game to the Game Boy Color. The storyline takes place on a mysterious island called Koholint after Link is washed ashore. The game involves collecting eight musical instruments from eight dungeons in order to wake the sleeping Wind Fish, which is imprisoned inside an enormous egg. Various concepts were introduced to gameplay, including jumping and side-scrolling. Link appears in the 2019 remake '' The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening'' for the Nintendo Switch in 3D form.

'' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' (1998) was released for the Nintendo 64 (N64) and is the first 3D game in the ''Zelda'' series. It was a landmark game in terms of the detail and quality of the graphics and the influence it had on later video games. The game was the first to include Link's horse Epona. Link appears in two forms, as a younger and older version of the same character wearing his green tunic. The game is one of a few in the series that presents Link as a child, carrying the Hylian Shield and a slingshot for a weapon. The plot involves Link travelling between the present and the future by using the titular Ocarina of Time in order to stop Ganondorf's takeover of Hyrule. As a result, Link comes to be known as the "Hero of Time" and is successful in stopping Ganondorf both in the present and in the future. Link is accompanied by the fairy Navi, who gives him hints about enemies and his surroundings. In 2011, Link also appeared in '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D'', a remake of the original 1998 game for the Nintendo 3DS.

Link returned in 2000 with the release of '' The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'' on the N64. It reused character and scenery models from ''Ocarina of Time'' but added some surreal effects and colours to create a darker entry than its predecessors. The game includes four main dungeons and various side quests. In the storyline, Link appears as a child and must save the land of Termina from the evil of Majora's Mask, which has drawn the moon into a decaying orbit, threatening to crash into Termina's primary town, Clock Town, in three days. Link uses the Ocarina of Time to play the Song of Time, which allows him to repeatedly travel back in time to relive those three days until he successfully prevents the disaster. During the game, Link finds various magical masks that transform him into a Goron, Deku Scrub, or Zora. In the final boss battle with Majora, Link is transformed into Fierce Deity Link, a dark, adult version of himself with white eyes, before finally reverting to his child form. In 2015 '' The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ''revisited the game for the Nintendo 3DS.

''The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons'' and ''Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages'' are a pair of interconnected games released in 2001 for the Game Boy Color. The two games were outsourced to a developer named Flagship and were originally designed as a trio, but the plan proved to be too complicated. Like ''Link's Awakening'', Link is controlled from a top-down perspective within a flat 2D game world. The two games are interlinked, with completion of one game unlocking secrets within the other. The plot involves Link being sent on a mission to the foreign lands of Holodrum and Labrynna in order to stop the disruption of the seasons by the General of Darkness, Onox, and the disruption of time by the Sorceress of Shadows, Veran. Link's key tools for uncovering areas and fighting his enemies are the Rod of Seasons and his magic harp.

In 2002, Nintendo published '' The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords'' on the Game Boy Advance''. Four Swords'' was an original title packaged together with the rereleased entry ''A Link to the Past''. Diverging from the traditional single-player approach, ''Four Swords'' was based on cooperative gameplay, allowing four players to interact together by connecting four Game Boy Advance systems. In ''Four Swords'', four Links of different colours appear, each of which is controlled by a different player. The four versions of Link must then work together to complete the game's challenges.

'' The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker'' was released in 2002 on the GameCube. It marked a radical change for the series and depicted Link and the game environment in a cute childlike graphical style. Link was depicted as a preteen cartoon character with a large head and huge eyes. In the storyline, Link's younger sister Aryll is kidnapped, and he embarks on a voyage to rescue her. He joins a pirate crew and travels the vast ocean to explore the many islands that are dotted around the map to encounter characters and uncover dungeons. Link's key tool is the titular Wind Waker, a magical baton that enables him to manipulate the breeze as he crosses the Great Sea. A sequel to ''The Wind Waker'' was planned but was later abandoned in favor of ''Twilight Princess''. Nintendo artist Satoru Takizawa explained the reason for the cancellation was that "Wind Waker 2 would have taken place in a more land-based setting, rather than on the sea, so that we could have Link gallop across the land on a horse. But Link's proportions in ''Wind Waker'' weren’t very well suited for riding on horseback; he was too short, and an adult version of Toon Link did not seem appropriate either." In 2013 '' The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD'' revisited Link's voyage across the Great Sea on the Wii U.

'' The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures'', which was published for the GameCube in 2004, again reinterpreted traditional ''Zelda'' gameplay with a multiplayer approach. The plot centres on Link being split into four versions of himself by the Four Sword, resulting in four Links of different colours. He must embark on a quest that involves rescuing seven princesses from an evil sorcerer. The game depicts the Links in a 16-bit top-down perspective and involves each player controlling one of the four Links to explore the game world and defeat enemies in order to complete each level.

The release of '' The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap'' in 2004 on the Game Boy Advance returned the series to a single-player format. Link appears as a child viewed from a top-down perspective and is tasked with saving his friend Princess Zelda. After a mysterious stranger arrives at a festival celebrating the coming of the Picori, he destroys the sacred Picori Blade and turns Zelda to stone. During the game, Link is accompanied by a magical talking cap named Ezlo, who helps him on his quest and teaches him to shrink to the size of the Minish.

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