Zelda

The original Zelda from Skyward Sword.
Zelda
Species	Hylian
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Voiced by	Jun Mizusawa (1998-present) Hikari Tachibana (2002, 2007) Megumi Toyoguchi (2011)
Debut	The Legend of Zelda

Zelda is one of the principal characters of the The Legend of Zelda series. She has normally inhabited the "damsel-in-distress" role, but she has played a wider variety of parts as the series has continued. In nearly every appearance, she is Princess Zelda of Hyrule. There are multiple Zeldas, and the strong similarities between them is explained by the fact that they are all part of the same royal bloodline, and women in the Royal Family are traditionally named Zelda. The beginning of the in-universe "Legend of Zelda" was shown in Skyward Sword, where Zelda was shown to be the moral reincarnation of the goddess Hylia. This is the first known Zelda incarnation and the only Zelda who is not royalty. Zelda is also associated with the Triforce of Wisdom.

Background

Skyward Sword

Hylia

Zelda originated in ancient times as the goddess Hylia. Hylia, also referred to as Her Grace, was empowered as a goddess by the Triforce, and the Three Golden Goddesses had entrusted it to her so that she would protect it from those who misused it. She ruled over the humans (who would later be known as the Hylians and the five great races of the land. Her ultimate test came when an army of monsters led by the vicious Demon King Demise emerged from a fissure in the earth and ravaged the land. Hylia sought to protect her people and the Triforce first, so she gathered all of the surviving humans and the Triforce onto a patch of land and used the Goddess's Harp to send the land skyward. There they would form the civilization known as Skyloft and continued to worship the goddess for generations to come, but not by name. The Triforce wound up hidden within the Sky Keep on the bottom of Skyloft's Isle of the Goddess, although it is unclear exactly who did the hiding and how, and its existence was forgotten by the people for the most part. Back on the surface, Hylia entered the battle once her people were safe. It was described as the harshest and most brutal of battles, but Hylia ultimately won and sealed Demise away long with his demonic hordes. She knew this was not the end, as Demise turned out to be too powerful for her to completely destroy, and she was weakened by her battle with the monster. She knew that Demise would break free from its seal over and over again until it regained the Triforce, so Hylia began setting new plans into motion to stop Demise.

Her first plan guiding a chosen hero to claim the Triforce so that this hero could use its power to destroy Demise. To aid and guide the hero, Hylia created the Master Sword and a spirit tied to the sword named Fi. Fi was created with various memories that were locked away so that the hero would only receive the messages when needed. The Master Sword was left in a hidden chamber of Skyloft's Isle of the Goddess, in its weaker form as the Goddess Sword. This was because Hylia set up a method by which the Goddess Sword would have to be empowered by three sacred flames (matching the three goddesses) to reach its full power as the Master Sword. By passing each trial, the hero would also unknowingly prove himself worthy of a piece of the Triforce. This was all to make sure that the hero had a strong enough spirit to use the Triforce. She also arranged for various other ways of helping the hero, such as setting up Goddess Cubes and Goddess Walls to provide minor aid, and she seemed to have a hand in hiding the stone tablets which created wholes in the cloud barrier allowing the hero to reach the surface.

Hylia's second plan involved her own form. She was no longer a match for Demise in her wounded state, and the Triforce could not be used by another while she was still empowered by it. This lead Hylia to abandon her divine form and transfer it into a human body. It seems that she foresaw that her reincarnation would be someone dear to the hero, as part of her plan was that her mortal form would be placed in danger to motivate the chosen hero into actually becoming the hero.

The Goddess Reborn

Hylia's soul was reborn in Skyloft hundreds of years later as Zelda. She was the daughter of Gaepora, the headmaster of the Skyloft's Knights Academy. She initially had no memory of her previous life and lived a blissful existence. Zelda was friends with one student, Link, since he was a child. She believed in his strengths, but she chastised him as he grew increasingly lazy. Their bond was still strong enough that when they were younger, Zelda became jealous of Link's bond with his Crimson Loftwing. Zelda also had to endure the antics of Groose, who had trouble being discreet about his obsessive crush on Zelda and picked on Link due to being jealous of their bond. Zelda would often stand up to Groose and try to get him to leave Link alone, but he usually had trouble seeing the point. Although she seemed content with life in Skyloft, she always loved hearing about the fabled surface world from her father and dreamed of what it would be like down there. Zelda began hearing what seemed to be a voice calling out for her and wondered if Link could too. Although she though it could be nothing, it intrigued her curiosity about the surface world, which she firmly believed existed.

One year, Zelda and Link both had parts to play in the Wing Ceremony. Zelda was to play the part of the goddess and would participate in the ceremony with the winner of the race. An outfit of the goddess was prepared for the part, and she also knitted the sailcloth needed for it herself. The last part was the Goddess's Harp itself. Link was one of the contenders and would become an upperclassman if he won, so this caused Zelda to try to push him to work harder on winning the race. She had her Loftwing wake him up to keep him from oversleeping and also teased him by pushing him off the edge of Skyloft so that he would be forced into riding his Loftwing. However, one day Link's Loftwing failed to arrive, so Zelda leaped down and caught him with her own. She then helped Link to search for his missing Loftwing, and they were able to convince Gaepora to hold off the ceremony in the meantime. Link was able to find it and won the ceremony. Zelda gave Link the sailcloth and pushed him off the edge of the goddess statue for the last part of the ceremony, in which he used the sailcloth as a parachute. They then rode off together on Link's Loftwing. At this moment, Zelda was ready to confess something to Link, but a giant tornado arrived and whisked Zelda away.

Zelda wound up landing safely on the surface in the Sealed Grounds. A mysterious old woman was waiting and gave her shelter within the Sealed Temple. Zelda had been brought to the surface by the magic of Ghirahim, who wanted to use her in a ceremony to revive Demise. The old woman began to tell Zelda about her destiny and the truth behind her past. Zelda's next task was to unlock her memories to help in the battle against Demise in her own way. To do this, she had to purify herself in the waters of two different springs and offer prayers to the goddess statue. Zelda managed to navigate the Faron Province and reached Skyview Spring at the end of the dangerous Skyview Temple by herself. Her next destination was the Earth Sping at the end of the Earth Temple. She made her way up the dangerous Eldin Volcano, but she was captured by Ghirahim's forces right outside the Earth Temple. Zelda was held captive within a chamber of the temple to await Ghirahim's arrival. She was saved by the sudden arrival of a young Sheikah warrior named Impa. Impa brought her to the Earth Spring, where she performed her next ritual. Link managed to reach them just as they were leaving for a portal. Impa warned Zelda not to waste time talking to Link, so they disappeared through the portal. This may have been the time at which Zeld began feeling guilty about the way her plans at Hylia were manipulating Link's attachment to Zelda.

With most of Zelda's memories of her life as Hylia returning do to the rituals, Zelda was ready to pass through the Gate of Time to go to the past for their next task. Impa acted as Zelda's guardian and guided her through the Lanayru Region to the Temple of Time, which held the only working Gate of Time. Not only was Link able to catch up to them near the Gate, but Ghirahim also broke through in a last-ditch effort to capture Zelda. Link wound up distracting Ghirahim so that Zelda and Impa could both go through the Gate into the past. Before she left, Zelda gave the Goddess's Harp to Link. This was because Link would need it for his trials to strengthen the Goddess Sword so that he could activate the Sealed Temple's Gate of Time and perform the trials to earn the Triforce. Impa destroyed the Temple of Time's Gate after they passed through in order to prevent Ghirahim from following. They made their way to the Temple of Hylia, the past version of the Sealed Temple, where they were safe before they started the next part of the plan. Link eventually activated the Gate and met Zelda in the temple's back room. Zelda explained everything about her life as Hylia and the threat posed by Demise. She also informed Link of his next goal, which was to find the Triforce.

Zelda apologized for the way Link was manipulated by her plans, but she was ready to pay the price. She encased herself in a crystal and put herself into a deep slumber that would last thousands of years. This would strengthen the seal on Demise until Link could properly destroy it. Zelda assured Link that despite all of this, she was still his Zelda and Gaepora's daughter, and she asked the "sleepyhead" to wake her up when Demise's threat was over. Zelda then entered the sleep. In the present, Link was able to use the Triforce to destroy Demise, and it dropped the Isle of the Goddess into the Sealed Grounds. She greeted Link warmly and after she stumbled, they both laughed at Groose's emotional reaction. Their celebrations were cut short by the arrival of Ghirahim, who quickly snatched Zelda and took her through the Gate of Time back to the past, when Demise was still around. He proceeded to engage in a magical ceremony which drained Zelda's divine soul in order to restore Demise to its true form. Demise mocked the now-powerless Hylia for "lowering herself" to a mortal body and summoned a tornado that would throw her to her death. Groose was able to catch her and brought her back to safety at the Temple. Her soul had not yet been completely absorbed by Demise, so there was still a chance to destroy Demise and save Zelda. Link returned to the Temple victorious after finishing off Demise. Zelda was brought to tears out of joy.

There were still a few matters left before they returned to the present. First, Fi had a brief reunion with Zelda and acknowledged her preference to be called Zelda rather than Hylia. Fi was pleased to see that Zelda was safe, and with her mission complete, she had Link place the Master Sword within a pedestal so that she would enter her eternal sleep. Zelda was then ready to return to the present, but Impa reminded her that she would not join them, as Impa was originally from the past and had to stay there. She reminded Zelda that she should know that with the goddess's memories. Zelda tried to fight it and convince Impa to come with them. Impa remained adamant in following her duties. Zelda settled for giving Impa one of her bracelets, and Impa said that they would meet again one day. Zelda, Link and Groose then went through the Gate of Time to the present while Impa destroyed the Gate behind them. After returning to the present, the old woman displayed Zelda's bracelet to the reveal that she was actually Impa. They were overjoyed to see her, and Impa told Zelda that she was right about them meeting again. Their joy turned into sorrow when Impa passed away almost instantly in a cloud of golden light. They gathered at the Statue of the Goddess afterwards, where Zelda sang while Link played the Harp beneath the Triforce. They waved goodbye to Groose when he set off to parts unknown with Cawlin and Strich, and she was also reunited with Gaepora when he came down to the surface. Zelda was glad to be able to enjoy the surface world, and she decided to stay there so that she could continue to enjoy it and watch over the Triforce. The game ended after Zelda asked Link about his plans for the future.

The ending of the game also set up the primary struggle of the rest of the series. In his last words, Demise placed a curse on all those bearing the "blood of the goddess" (all incarnations of Zelda) and the "spirit of the hero" (the incarnations of Link). As long as people like them were around, an incarnation of Demise's undying hatred would appear to follow them and doom them to "wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness" for all of time. This foreshadows the coming of Ganon and explains the perpetual battles against him which always involve Link and Zelda.

Leader of the Seven Sages

In Ocarina of Time, Zelda was the young princess of Hyrule. Despite her youth, the child was fairly wise and elegant. She was also known for being a bit of a tomboy. Impa of the Sheikah Tribe was appointed as her loyal nurse and bodyguard. Zelda had prophetic dreams which warned her about the threat posed by Ganondorf. She believed that he was trying to find the way into the Sacred Realm to reach the Triforce. Her father the king dismissed her claims due to his trust in Ganondorf. Impa believed and supported her. Zelda first met Link when he sneaked into Hyrule Castle at the Deku Tree's request. Zelda related her apprehensions about Ganondorf to Link and came to believe that Link was the heroic figure from her dream. They hatched a scheme together so that they could use her Ocarina of Time and the three spiritual stones to get into the Sacred Realm before Ganondorf. Link set out to gather stones and was successful, but Ganondorf made his move in the meantime to try to steal the Ocarina. Impa and Zelda escaped on horseback, and Zelda tossed the Ocarina to Link as they passed him so that he could carry on the plan. The Ocarina had a telepathic message of sorts attached through which she taught Link the Song of Time, which was the song needed to enter the Sacred Realm. Link was being followed by Ganondorf, who reached the Triforce instead. His impure heart caused the Triforce to split, and Zelda received the Triforce of Wisdom.

Zelda's alter-ego, Sheik.

During the following seven years that Link spent in stasis within the Sacred Realm, Zelda went missing from the public eye. She had in fact disguised herself as Sheik, a descendant of the Sheikah, in order to hide from Ganondorf. Sheik began to appear to Link when he woke and told him about some of the things that had changed while he was asleep. She continually aided Link by watching his progress and teaching him songs that, when played on the Ocarina of Time, would allow him to return to the Temples of the Sages at his leisure. Sheik played these songs on a special harp that seemed to be the Harp of the Goddesses. She took a slightly more active stance when she saw Kakariko Village burning and helped to defend her former nursemaid's town, but she was quickly knocked aside by Bongo Bongo as it escaped from its seal.

When Link had awoken all of the sages and returned to the Temple of Time, Sheik met him there and told him about the Triforce. Link did not know that he had the Triforce of Courage until she told him, and she then revealed her own identity as Zelda, the seventh sage and the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. She also gave Link the Light Arrows, but Ganondorf was somehow watching and captured her only moments later within a crystal prison. She was rescued at Ganon's Tower after Link defeated Ganondorf, and they escaped the collapsing tower together. After Ganondorf turned into Ganon, he created a fiery barrier that locked him in a battle with Link. Link was separated from the Master Sword by this barrier, but Zelda was soon able to send the Master Sword over the barrier to him. Once Link had incapacitated Ganondorf, Zelda lead the six sages in sealing Ganondorf away within the Evil Realm. Ganondorf swore revenge on Link and Zelda's descendents as he was pulled in. Zelda and Link wound up in some other unidentified plane of existence (which has been noted to be identical to the realm where Link fights Demise in Skyward Sword), where Zelda thanked Link for his efforts and also apologized to him, as she took responsibility for how awry the plans they had made as children had gone. To make up for it, she played Zelda's Lullaby on the Ocarina of Time, which sent Link back in time so that he could actually experience and live through his childhood.

According to Eiji Aonuma, it was that moment which split the Zelda timeline into two different timelines. In the "adult" timeline, Zelda had sent Link back to the other timeline and remained to help rebuild Hyrule. Link's return to his childhood years prompted the "childhood" years, where he returned the Master Sword and closed the Door of Time. The last image of the game was of him visiting Zelda, with her presence implying that Link had arrived at a time prior to Ganondorf chasing Zelda from the castle. They then had a talk which set a vague series of events into place that lead to the backstory of Twilight Princess. In this instance, it was the ancient sages instead of Link and Zelda who dealt with Ganondorf.

In Majora's Mask, Zelda was seen once in a flashback that Link experienced when he retrieved the Ocarina of Time. She had given him the Ocarina when he left Hyrule to search for the missing Navi and taught him the Song of Time. Zelda hoped that the Goddess of Time would watch over him.

Twilight Princess

The Princess Zelda of Twilight Princess appeared to be ruling over Hyrule, with no sight or mentioning of a king. She had led the forces of Hyrule in defending Hyrule Castle from Zant and his invaders from the Twilight Realm. But Zelda ultimately surrendered to Zant, when he made her choose between a surrender and the death of her people. Zelda was confined to her room in Hyrule Castle, but she was able to make an alliance with mysterious Twilight imp Midna.

Midna later introduced Zelda to Link, a young farm boy whom had been trapped in the form of a wolf. Link later returned to her with Midna, who was dying of a curse inflicted by Zant. Under Midna's wishes, Zelda instructed Link on how to find the Master Sword, which reverse his transformation into a wolf. However, Zelda felt pity for Midna and began to realize just what she really was (the princess of the Twilight Realm). So Zelda put her power into curing Midna and disappeared.

Zelda under control by Ganon.

Zelda was not seen again until near the end of the game. She was unconscious and on display in the throne room of Hyrule Castle, which was being inhabited by Ganondorf. When Link and Midna arrived, Ganondorf possessed her, making her into Ganon's Puppet: Princess Zelda. This possessed Zelda used three basic attacks: swooping down with sword in hand, tossing dark magic blasts and summoning a triangle-shaped field of energy. To defeat her, Link had to reflect her dark magic blasts back at her (in the same vein as Aganhim). Ganondorf's spirit was then forced out of Zelda's body. Midna caught Zelda's body and rested it in the throne. Zelda was then restored to life as light flowed to her from Midna's body.

Afterwards, Midna teleported Link and Zelda to safety while she held off Ganon. Zelda than called on the power of the four light spirits and humbly asked Link to lend them the remainder of his power. Link and Zelda rode together atop Epona in battle with Ganondorf. Zelda fired light arrows to stun Ganondorf while Link attacked him with his sword. Zelda was separated from Link during the final phase of his battle with Ganondorf, however. After Ganondorf was killed, Link and Zelda saw Midna (whom had been restored to true form) off to the Twilight Realm. Zelda told Midna that light and darkness needed each other to exist, and said she believed that the goddesses had left behind the Mirror of Twilight because it was their will that they should meet. However, as Midna entered the Twilight Realm, she destroyed the Mirror with her tear and shut off the gates between the worlds of light and twilight forever.

Tetra

Main Article: Tetra

Spirit Tracks

In Spirit Tracks, Zelda was the granddaughter of Tetra who seemed to rule over Hyrule with the aid of Chancellor Cole. Cole seemed overprotective in how he oversaw Zelda and never allowed her to travel alone, but she remained suspicious of him. She also possessed a family heirloom, the Spirit Flute, which Tetra had used to play her to sleep when she was young. Zelda also had bonds with her Teacher as well as the former castle guard Alfonzo.

During Spirit Tracks, Zelda was alarmed by the disappearance of the kingdom's Spirit Tracks. However, she did not trust Cole and wanted to investigate on her own. To help her, she secretly slipped the young engineer Link a note while giving him his engineering certificate (in a graduation ceremony that Cole found superfluous) asking him to sneak up to her room and meet with her. Zelda explained that she wanted to investigate the Tower of Spirits and gave Link the uniform of a recruit so that he could help her sneak out of the castle and to his train. There she met Link's master, Alfonzo, who was glad to help her.

However, the tracks disappeared beneath the train while they were en route to the Tower of Spirits, at which point Cole and his cohort Byrne attacked them. Cole revealed that his true intentions were to awaken Malladus, the Demon King who was bound by the Spirit Tracks, and used a magic spell to separate Zelda's spirit from her body, which Cole and Byrne then took with them. Zelda's ghost than drifted through Hyrule Castle in search of someone who could help her, but no one could see or hear her until she saw Link, who was the only person who could see and hear her at first. They decided to travel to the Tower by foot and work together to save Zelda's body, as well as the entirety of Hyrule.

At the Tower of Spirits, they met Tetra's old friend, the Lokomo Anjean, who told them that Cole's plan was to revive Malladus in Zelda's body, which horrified and disgusted Zelda, and motivated her to want her body back as soon as possible. However, the Tower had been fragmented by Cole's wrong-doing. So Link went on a quest with Zelda's ghost to guide him to restore both the Spirit Tracks and the Tower of Spirits. Zelda was also able to help Link more directly when they explored the Tower of Spirits, as there Zelda was able to possess the patrolling Phantoms in order to help Link solve the many puzzles of the Tower.

After the Tower was completely restored, they scaled it to the top floor and battled Byrne together. They defeated him, but were distracted by basking in their victory, which caused him to escape. They then made their way to the roof too late, just in time to see Cole reviving Malladus in Zelda's body. After the Malladus-possessed Zelda betrayed and severely wounded Byrne, Cole and Malladus escaped on the demon train. Link and Zelda's ghost regrouped in the spirit train with Anjean and the unconscious Byrne, where it was decided that Link would travel to the Sand Temple to find the Bow of Light. Zelda decided to let Byrne live, hoping to "have words" with him afterwards (said while she was punching at the air). After Link found the Bow of Light, Link and Zelda explored the Tower together once more to find the Compass of Light in a hidden area.

Once they were fully prepared, they entered the Dark Realm and began the final battles with Malladus. After stalling the Demon Train, Zelda decided that she and Link would take on Malladus alone, due to Anjean and the repentant Byrne still being injured. Anjean summoned a new Phantom for her to possess, and they then made their way long the top of the train towards the Malladus-possessed Zelda while Cole attempted to distract her by summoning ghost rats and attempting to take control of the Phantom body. Eventually Zelda reached her body and held it in place while Link fired a Light Arrow that successfully expelled Malladus from Zelda's body. They were then all deposited back in Hyrule.

Zelda attempted to re-enter her body, but found herself unable to do so at first, and Malladus than attempted to repossess the body until Byrne sacrificed himself holding off Malladus. Calling out to Tetra to find the sacred power within her body, Zelda was then finally able to enter her body again. Link and Zelda then teamed up together against Malladus, who was able to temporarily assume his original form. Zelda had Link protect her while she charged up energy, and afterwards they performed a duet together with Zelda singing while Link played the Spirit Flute. Fully prepared for the final battle, Zelda then wielded the Bow of Light while Link distracted Malladus from attacking her. She fired Light Arrows at Malladus's back which stunned him so that Link could attack him. She then came over to help Link deliver the final blow.

Together they shoved the Lokomo Sword into Malladus's forehead, seemingly destroying the demon for good. Anjean than reached them and showed that Byrne still existed as a spirit. At this point Anjean and the other Lokomos became spirits as well, ascending to the heavens as Link and Zelda had proven worthy of protecting the land without the guidance of the spirits. Zelda watched sadly while holding Link's hand. She then returned to Hyrule Castle, and in the final scene she was seen looking out the window excitedly depending on whether Link decided to become an engineer or a warrior (a choice made before the final battle) after hearing him either driving his train or fighting outside, and if Link had responded uncertainly about his future job, Zelda would simply be seen going over paperwork without any sign of Link.

Other Zeldas

Note: The remainder of the entry will be written chronologically by the release date of the games and under the assumption that there is a different Zelda in every game, with the exception of FSA and FS, and the Oracles games. AoL is placed before LoZ under the assumption that it's backstory (not the game itself) comes before LoZ, despite the Zelda Collection disc's attempts to make it look otherwise. The Four Sword series is ordered TMC-FS-FSA.

Early Games

In the backstory of The Adventure of Link, the King of Hyrule from long ago had hidden the Triforce of Courage away, and passed only the Triforces of Wisdom and Power on to his son before he died. The prince and his magician suspected his sister, Zelda, of knowing where the Triforce of Courage was. When Zelda wouldn't tell them where the Triforce was, the magician put her into an eternal sleep. The prince left her in the North Castle in hopes that she would wake up some day, in a room that only the nursemaid and her descendants would know how to open. It was decreed that all princesses of Hyrule would be named Zelda in honor or her.

Another Princess Zelda arose when Ganon reclaimed the Triforce of Power for himself in The Legend of Zelda. Zelda took the Triforce of Wisdom and broke it into eight pieces, then left them guarded in several dungeons where Ganon's minions wouldn't be able to reach them. She sent Impa to find someone with courage and was imprisoned by Ganon as a consequence. Impa found Link, who collected the Triforce of Wisdom, defeated Ganon, and rescued Zelda.

On Link's sixteenth birthday, Impa took him to the North Castle, where he found the Zelda from long ago. Link ventured to defeat the Thunderbird and reclaim the Triforce of Courage, united it with the Triforces of Wisdom and Power, and used it to awake Zelda from her slumber. They presumably fell in love.

In A Link to the Past, Princess Zelda was attacked by the wizard Agahnim, who had planned to imprison the seven descendants of the sages and send them to the Dark World to fuel Ganon's power. She sent a telepathic call to Link and his uncle for help, but Link arrived too late to save her. She was hidden away within Turtle Rock, where Link later came to her rescue.

Oracle Games

In Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Zelda doesn't appear until midway through the second game that was played. If Oracle of Seasons was played first, Zelda is being held captive by Vire in the Black Tower during Oracle of Ages, and Link must save her ala Jumpman in Donkey Kong. If Oracle of Ages was played first, Zelda is held captive by the Great Moblin in Spool Swamp during Oracle of Seasons. Here Link only has to fend off a few Moblins to save her.

Either way, Zelda was captured by Twinrova in a plot to sacrifice her so as to bring Ganon back. Link came to her rescue, but Twinrova sacrificed themselves instead and Ganon returned, though not as strong as he could have been. Link once more fended him off and he and Zelda escaped.

Four Swords

In The Minish Cap, Zelda was turned into stone by Vaati so as to prevent her from halting his search for the light of the Picori. Later on, Vaati realized that Zelda was the one who possessed the power (apparently it was passed down all the ladies of the royal family) and planned to extract it from her, killing her in the process. Link came to her rescue just in time and defeated Vaati, then used the power of the Picori Blade (now the Four Sword) to unpetrify her. When Hyrule Castle started to collapse, they made their way to the realm of the Picori, but were prevented by Vaati. After defeating him a final time, Ezlo gave the Minish Cap to Zelda and they combined their powers to restore Hyrule to its former glory.

Vaati reemerged at some point and was sealed within the Four Sword, which was enshrined and left in the care of Princess Zelda and six other maidens. In The Four Swords, Vaati escaped and captured Zelda, but Link used the Four Sword to rescue her and imprison Vaati again.

In Hyrulian Adventure, Zelda and the six maidens were kidnapped by Shadow Link and scattered throughout Hyrule. Link took up the Four Sword again (freeing Vaati), then rescued them one by one (Zelda being held in the Tower of Winds). Zelda came to Link's rescue during his battle with the Shadow Links by removing the Dark Mirror, which was spawning the Shadow Links at a rapid rate. When Vaati was defeated, Zelda led Link back down through the Tower of Winds, but they were attacked by Ganon. Using their magic, Zelda and the maidens trapped Ganon in the Four Sword.

Other Roles

Video Games

• Zelda appeared in the three Zelda games for the CD-i. In the first, Link: Faces of Evil, she was again captured by Ganon and eventually rescued by Link. The follow-up sequels, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure featured Zelda as a playable character for the first time rescuing Link from Ganon.
• Zelda appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In Melee she uses the magic spells that the three goddesses had given Link in OoT. She has three unlockable trophies in Melee, while in Brawl she has five. Her Brawl trophies are one normal trophy, one depicting her Final Smash and trophies for Robed Zelda (from Twilight Princess), Zelda's Wind Waker appearance and Tetra. There are also stickers of Zelda as seen in A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, as a child in Ocarina of Time and The Minish Cap, as Tetra from The Wind Waker and as Sheik from Ocarina of Time.
  • Zelda is also able to transform into her alter-ego, Sheik, in both Melee and Brawl (since Sheik was not in Twilight Princess, Sheik's design in Brawl was based on unused designs when Sheik was considered for Twilight Princess). Sheik each earn three trophies in Melee and two in Brawl.
  • A text dump of Super Smash Bros. Brawl lists two new fighters as Toon Zelda and Toon Sheik, though neither made the final cut of the game. These were most likely intended to be a cel-shaded clone of Zelda (as seen in The Wind Waker), though whether Toon Sheik would be Tetra or a new Sheik design is unknown.
  • Within Brawl's "The Subspace Emissary", Zelda was first seen with Princess Peach watching over the battle between Mario and Kirby in the Mid-Air Stadium. Afterwards, both were captured and held in cages by Petey Piranha. Kirby freed one, with the other being turned into a trophy and captured by Wario, which was later taken by King Dedede until Bowser took it from him. The princess Kirby did rescue accompanied him until she was turned into a trophy by Bowser, and the shadow bugs then formed a shadow clone of the princess that was soon defeated in battle. The two princesses were held aboard the Halberd until rescued by Meta Knight, Lucario and Solid Snake, who first had to defeat shadow clones of both princesses. Zelda then turned into Sheik and with Peach they fought their way to the deck of the Halberd during an aerial battle between the Halberd and Fox McCloud's Arwing. After one of Arwing's lasers went off close to Peach, Sheik defensively jumped onto the Arwing and tore Fox from the cockpit. After landing on the Halberd's deck, the two nearly broke into combat until Peach instantly resolved the combat by offering tea. The three then returned to combat when the massive Duon attacked them. After this, they all joined with the game's main party for the final battles in Subspace. If Link and Zelda were saved from trophy form, they then chose to revive Ganondorf from his own trophy form so that he could help them in the final battles.

Other Media

• Zelda appeared as a main character in the 13-episode Legend of Zelda cartoon series, where she frequently had to be rescued by Link and would often refuse his attempts to kiss her, prompting his catchphrase of "Well excuuuse me, princess!", and she had the role of protecting the Triforce of Wisdom from being stolen by Ganon. This is also the first time Zelda is shown as being skilled with a bow, and her costume reflected her more active physical role in the series. Her father, King Harkinian, also appeared. Link and Zelda also appeared in an episode that crossed over with Captain N: The Game Master.
• Zelda appeared in the Valient comics Legend of Zelda comics, which mixed elements of the cartoon series with stuff that was introduced in Zelda II and was shown in a somewhat more serious light.
• The manga adaptation to The Legend of Zelda established the "Zelda lineage" as the caretakers of the Triforce, and the backstory showed the previous blue-haired Princess Zelda (XVI) as the holder of the Triforce of Power, until Ganon killed her to claim it. However, the young Princess Zelda XVII, her daughter, was able to repel him with the Triforce of Wisdom that her mother had passed down. This Zelda grows into a rebellious, tomboyish princess who convinces the cowardly Link to accompany her in investigating Ganon's return. She actually battles Ganon briefly, but she is defeated and captured, at which point she scatters the Triforce of Wisdom so Link could find it. She remains in a slumber until Link slays Ganon and awakens her, at which point she is glad both to see that Link had rescued her and that her mother's Triforce was free. Although neither of the two find out, it is shown within this story that Link and Zelda are actually half-siblings due to the previous princess's taboo affair with the elf hero Rune.
• Zelda appears in the 1992 comic adaptation of A Link to the Past, which expands on her relationship with Link in a tragic light. They communicate primarily over telepathy to defeat Ganon. Zelda becomes queen afterwards, while Link becomes guardian of the Triforce. Their duties force them to be distant after they used to be so close, with Zelda reflecting on the irony that they were at their closest when fighting Ganon, and that she would never forget when they were together in their dreams.
• Zelda appeared throughout the manga adaptation of Ocarina of Time which expanded on her game role. She was shown as a tomboy and met Link in Hyrule Castle Town in her first appearance. Her transformation to Sheik was also expanded upon and involved hypnotism performed by Impa to truly make her like a different person. She teams up with Link in the Gerudo Valley, and it is here where her true identity is revealed and she is captured by Ganondorf in this continuity.
• Zelda makes a few appearances in the Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages manga, but does not play a prominent role due to Twinrova attempting to sacrifice her being cut. She also appeared in the 2005 manga adaptation of A Link to the Past and the The Minish Cap adaptation, with mostly identical roles as in the original games.
• Zelda appears in the Four Swords Adventures adaptation, where she is shown to bond with Shadow Link while being held captive by Vaati.

Trivia

• She is named after Zelda Fitzgerald (novelist and wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald), as Shigeru Miyamoto liked her name.
• Princess Zelda seems to be more a title than a person's name, considering that Tetra had to change her identity when she found out that she was a descendant of the first Zelda. The same is true for the prince in Adventure of Link having all royal daughters be named Zelda. It may be linked to the revelation in Skyward Sword that the original Zelda was reborn from the goddess Hylia.
• Over the years, there have so far been two instances of a titular "Legend of Zelda", and both instances have involved original Zeldas. The backstory for Zelda II was referred to by Impa as the Legend of Zelda. The other instance is Skyward Sword, where developers referred to it as the true Legend of Zelda due to the revelations about Zelda in the game. However, the phrase is never used within the actual game aside from a joking reference when Groose refers to their adventures as the Legend of Groose.
• According to Masahiro Sakurai on the official Brawl website, Sheik's appearance in Brawl was based on concept designs for Twilight Princess, indicating that Sheik was originally intended to make an appearance in the game at some point.
• A picture in Hyrule Castle in The Wind Waker shows that one of the Zeldas had a group of stewards very similar in appearance to Tetra's pirate crew.
• The Zelda in Spirit Tracks is shown to have an acute fear of mice, and even when possessing a Phantom will freeze up when a rat is near.