Niko

A younger Niko in The Wind Waker.
Niko
Species	Human
Hair color	Brown (later gray)
Eye color	Green
Voiced by	Unknown
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Niko is a member of Tetra's pirate crew appearing in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, and is the only character from those games to be shown to still be alive as an old man in Spirit Tracks.

Background

Niko was at the bottom rung of the pirate crew and performed a variety of odd jobs, such as laundry (which he detested). He was childish and merry, always seeking respect, and his figurine entry indicated that he showed signs of having what it took to move up in the pirate crew. In The Wind Waker, he is glad to finally have someone beneath him when Link joins the crew and has him undergo an initiation test, with a Spoils Bag as the reward. However, he was nervous after Link actually passed the test since it seemed he was not supposed to give away the Spoils Bag.

When Link returned later in the game, Niko was excited to see that he was still alive and challenged him to a more difficult version of the previous challenge that not even he had completed, betting the bombs that the pirates had just bought against Link. However, Link was able to pass the test to Niko's pure shock and claimed the bombs. At the end of the game, the entire pirate crew is seen welcoming Tetra and Link back, and then setting off for new lands.

Niko then appears in the opening of Phantom Hourglass, where it was shown that he tinkered with the ability to tell stories using accompanying paper cutouts. For the duration of his appearance, he retold the story of The Wind Waker, although Link would up sleeping through it. He and other pirates had a minimal presence in the game, appearing only in the opening and the ending.

Tetra eventually founded a new kingdom that also became known as Hyrule. Niko spent most of his time traveling and wanted to collect stamps, although he did not have anything to hold them in. About a century later, he had retired to a small home in Adoba Village during the time of Spirit Tracks, which was filled with items from his pirating days, including some mementos from the Link that he knew. By some bizarre chance, his roommate wound up being the next Link, and Niko did not notice the resemblance until later on.

An elderly Niko.

When he was first seen in the game's opening, Niko was shown as still being fond of telling stories through paper cut-outs, in this case telling the story of the kingdom's foundation. This Link had also slept through his story, leading Niko to chastise him because he got to see his work for free, describing his stories as the only proof of his existence and as an old man's final creation. When Link returned to the village later on, Niko gave him a stamp book and entrusted him with collecting stamps from the various stamp stations for him. He gave Link the Shield of Antiquity (a shield originally belonging to Niko's old friend, the Hero of Winds Link) after ten stamps, a set of Engineer's Clothes after fifteen stamps and a scroll containing the Great Spin after all 20 stamps.

During the ending credits, Niko was seen telling a new story through his paper cut-outs to several children about the adventures that Link had gone through in the game.

Trivia

• According to his figurine entry in The Wind Waker, his least favorite thing is Gonzo's underpants.
• In Hyrule Warriors, both Toon Link and Tetra could obtain clothes based on Niko's outfit.