Hilda

Hilda
Species	Hylian
Hair color	Dark Purple
Eye color	Red
Base	Lorule
Voiced by	Kei Hayami
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

This article is about the Legend of Zelda character. For the female protagonist of Pokémon: Black and White Versions, see Hilbert/Hilda.

Hilda is the princess of Lorule who is featured as both a supporting character and antagonist in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. She is the Lorulean counterpart to Princess Zelda.

Background

Hilda was a young princess that ruled over the kingdom of Lorule. Her ancestors had destroyed their world's Triforce in an attempt to put an end to the bloody wars that were being fought for its power. However, that caused the kingdom to collapse into chaos, a chaos that still prevailed in Hilda's time. The people of Lorule were resentful of the royal family, and many of them became thieves or parts of monster-worshipping cults. The land itself also fell apart in some places, fragmenting the land of Lorule physically as well as metaphorically. Hilda was overwhelmed by the burden of ruling this kingdom and trying to save it from constant devastation. She had two known servants who helped her, Yuga and Ravio.

One day, Yuga discovered a fracture in a stone slab within Lorule's Sacred Realm. They found that the fissure was a gate to another world which contained a kingdom named Hyrule which still prospered due to the power of its Triforce. Yuga and Hilda conceived a plan to steal Hyrule's Triforce and use it to make Lorule prosper. Ravio was against this plan, but he could not bring himself to stand up against the others, so he instead disappeared from Lorule Castle shortly before the plan was set into motion. Regardless of his absence, Yuga was sent to Hyrule to use his magic to capture the kingdom's seven sages as well as Princess Zelda, who was the current bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. They were all brought back in the form of paintings, and Yuga used them in a ritual to summon Ganon, the King of Evil who held the Triforce of Power, and he merged with him. Link had followed Yuga into Lorule Castle. When Yuga Ganon attempted to attack Link, Hilda protected him and sent him out of the castle. She told Link that while she was holding Yuga Ganon at bay, he had to free the seven sages and fulfill his destiny as a hero. At this point, Hilda's conflict with Yuga Ganon was nothing more than a ruse; she was manipulating Link so that he could awaken the Triforce of Courage, the last piece of the Triforce that they needed.

Throughout Link's adventure in Lorule, Hilda communicated with him telepathically several times to tell him about the different areas where the sages' paintings were being kept and to warn him about the nature of Lorule. She also talked to Princess Zelda's paintings several times about Link's progress and the troubles faced by Lorule. Eventually, Link returned to Lorule Castle after unlocking the Triforce of Courage. That is when Hilda revealed her true plan to Link. She stole the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda's painting and summoned Yuga Ganon to take the Triforce of Courage from him. When Yuga Ganon initially was losing the battle, she asked him to give her the Triforce of Power in order to prevent their defeat. But Yuga Ganon chose this time to turn on Hilda, as he revealed that his true plan was to use the Triforce to remake Lorule in his own image. He turned Hilda into a painting and absorbed her into his being. Once Link finally destroyed Yuga Ganon, Hilda was restored to normal, if heavily weakened. She was still intent on not giving up, but then Ravio intervened and talked to Hilda. It turned out that he went to Hyrule and helped Link in his journey as a hero. He helped her to see the error in her ways, telling her that plans like this were the reason that their Triforce was destroyed to begin with, and that they should find another way to save their kingdom, without having to condemn another. Hilda ultimately relented and used the last of the magic left in Ravio's Bracelet to send Link and Zelda back to Hyrule with the Triforce, and the fissures between worlds were closed for good.

Soon afterwards, Hilda and Ravio witnessed the reformation of Lorule's Triforce in their Sacred Realm, due to a wish that Zelda and Link had made on Hyrule's Triforce. Hilda proceeded to thank both Zelda and Link for their efforts, and the sun shone upon Lorule once more.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Hilda appears as an Ace-rank Primary Spirit. When fought in a Spirit battle, Hilda's Spirit would possess Zelda and fight alongside Young Link (wearing a Bunny Hood, representing Ravio). During the battle, Nightmare would periodically appear and cover the field in darkness, most likely in reference to the dark atmosphere of Lorule.

Trivia

• Her name comes from a German word for "battle", and it was likely also chosen due to being similar to the name Zelda.
• Although Hilda does not appear in Hyrule Warriors, it is possible to unlock an alternate costume for Zelda bearing her color scheme.