Link: Difference between revisions

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{{quote2|But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand... a young boy clothed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light.|The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker}}

Link's adventures mostly take place in his native kingdom of [[Hyrule]], although there are exceptions. ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker]]'' takes place in [[Great Sea|a flooded Hyrule]]. Link is closely associated with the [[Triforce of Courage]] and thus, with the [[Deity|goddess]] [[Farore (goddess)|Farore]] and her color, green. Recovering the Triforce of Courage is key in some ''Legend of Zelda'' games, such as ''[[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker]]''.

The ''Legend of Zelda'' titles give few hints at Link's personality; ellipses are invariably used to replace Link's speech with certain exceptions, but his actual words are almost never given. He speaks (or thinks) a few sentences in ''Zelda II: The Adventure of Link'', and speaks his name in some of the other games, but usually remains silent. Moreover, the top-down 2D view in many of the games is not well-suited to depict his facial expressions. However, he is described as humble and a defining trait of his character seems to be his bravery, an attribute consistent with his role as the rightful bearer of the Triforce of Courage. In ''The Adventure of Link'', it is explicitly stated that the quest for the Triforce of Courage is to be a trial for whomever seeks it. Despite his young age, and the adversity that he has to face, Link rarely shows signs of fear or cowardice.

The developers gave Link the name "Link" as he was meant to be a "link to the player" as their avatar in the games. Most games in the series, however, give the player the option of changing Link's name at the [[Name Registration]] screen.

Link is usually portrayed as left handed. The only exception is the [[Wii]] version of ''Twilight Princess''. In the Gamecube version, Link is left handed, as he usually is, while in the Wii version he is right handed. This is because the game developers noticed that most players are right-handed, and would hold the Wiimote in their right hand. Some games, such as [[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link|Zelda II]], depicts him holding the sword in separate hands when looking separate directions hinting he is [[Wikipedia:Ambidexterity|ambidexterity]]. This may be due to sprite mirroring, however.

Link invariably wears a green tunic and cap for at least part of each game, although the shades of green vary. He also wears different-colored clothes in some ''Legend of Zelda'' titles, such as the red [[Goron Tunic]] and the blue [[Zora Tunic]], and has possessed several different pairs of boots, including the [[Iron Boots]], [[Hover Boots]], and [[Pegasus Boots]].

Link's hair color changes throughout the series as well, ranging from brown in the first ''Legend of Zelda'', pinkish in ''A Link to the Past'' (Though blond in all official art for the game), pale blond in ''Ocarina of Time'', gold-blond in ''The Wind Waker'', and dirty blond in ''Twilight Princess''.

[[File:M-spinattack.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Link unleashing a [[Magic Spin Attack]] on two [[Deku Baba]]s]]

Link grows to be an exceptional swordsman throughout each game, usually learning powerful sword techniques. In some games, however, his skill with a sword remains consistent. His skill with other weapons and items allows him to easily adapt and master each new tool he acquires. He often employs new weapons in his battles with new enemies just after getting them, almost always during a [[boss]] fight, giving him an advantage a lot of times in battle. Link shows himself to be an excellent marksman, what with his skill with a [[Bow]], [[Boomerang]], [[Hookshot]], and other projectile weapons.

In the boxing mini-game early on during ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons|Oracle of Seasons]]'', Link is shown to have at least some proficiency in hand-to-hand combat; also, in Twilight Princess, he is shown the art of [[Sumo]] wrestling by the mayor of Ordon Village; in all other games, Link is shown to be virtually defenseless without a sword or other weapon.

In some circumstances, Link can even use [[magic]] in the form of [[Spells]].

Link uses various items throughout the series. Common items Link finds in most games include the [[Master Sword]], [[Bow]] and [[Arrow]]s, the [[Hookshot]], and [[Bomb]]s. Link often uses musical instruments that unlock strange powers.

Link uses [[mask]]s in several games. ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]'' has 24 unique masks used for different tasks throughout the game, even transforming him into a [[Deku Mask|Deku Scrub]], [[Goron Mask|Goron]], or [[Zora Mask|Zora]].  ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]'' has a [[Happy Mask side quest]] side quest involving selling different masks for the [[Happy Mask Salesman]] to earn the [[Mask of Truth]].  

[[File:ZWLink2.png|right|100px|Artwork of Link as he appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'']]

Link is one of eight characters available at the beginning of Nintendo's 1999 fighting game, ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' No special information is disclosed about Link in this game. Link sports his traditional green [[Kokiri tunic]] (the player can also choose from a few alternate tunic colors inspired by Link's ''Ocarina of Time'' tunics, including red (Goron) and blue (Zora); a purplish white color inspired by the effect of the Blue Ring from the original ''The Legend of Zelda'' is also present). He also has some of his usual weaponry arsenal from ''The Legend of Zelda'' series at his disposal, including bombs, his boomerang and a longshot, and is presented in the ''Ocarina of Time'' style as an adult. He also uses his traditional [[spin attack]].

[[File:Link (Super Smash Bros. Brawl).png|160px|left|Link as he appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'']]

[[File:LinkSSBB7.jpg|right|thumb|Link performing his Final Smash, the Triforce Slash.]]

The Twilight Princess version of Link was featured in the newest edition of the series, ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''. Link returns with essentially the same weaponry, except with the [[Clawshot]] instead of the hookshot and the [[Gale Boomerang]] instead of the regular boomerang. Young Link, in the guise of [[Toon Link]] is featured as well. His Final Smash is the Triforce Slash. The Triforce Slash entraps an enemy in a large Triforce shape, allowing Link to repeatedly slice at the enemy, and deliver a final blow. If there is another player directly behind the one in the Triforce Slash, she/he will also take some damage. Oddly enough, in the Subspace Emissary, Link is seen pulling the Master Sword from its resting place, in the middle of an unnamed forest, along with a fairy, seemingly Navi, making for it to be confusing exactly which Link this is supposed to represent, if at all.

 

[[File:Link Normal - Item2.gif|right|Link as he appears in ''The Legend of Zelda'']]

[[File:Downthrust_(The_Adventure_of_Link).gif|right|Link as he appears in ''Zelda II'']]

Being a sequel set not long after the original game, ''[[The Adventure of Link]]'' features the same Link from that game. Although Ganon has been killed, his army of monsters remain active throughout Hyrule. They plan to revive Ganon by spilling the blood of his murderer, Link, onto his ashes. Impa finds a Triforce mark on Link's hand on his sixteenth birthday, and explains that he is the hero chosen to awaken an ancient [[Princess Zelda]] from her sleeping curse. Link places six crystals in Hyrule's palaces, and in the end, destroys [[Dark Link]], receives the [[Triforce of Courage]], and awakens Princess Zelda.

[[File:Link (A Link to the Past).gif|right|Link as he appears in ''A Link to the Past'']]

In the SNES version of ''A Link to the Past'', Link's Uncle's dying words were: "Zelda is your...". This unfinished sentence led many to speculate on its cryptic meaning. It was believed that the sentence should have been "Zelda is your ''sister''", though this was not confirmed until the [[Game Boy Advance]] remake, in which the Uncle's dialogue was rewritten to explicitly state that it is Link's destiny to save Zelda. Link goes on a journey when he receives a telepathic message from Princess Zelda, who says that she is locked in the dungeon of [[Hyrule Castle]]. As the message closes, Link finds his uncle ready for battle, telling Link to remain in bed. After his uncle leaves, however, Link ignores [[Link's Uncle|his uncle]]'s command and follows him to Hyrule Castle. When he arrives, he finds his uncle seriously wounded. Link's uncle tells Link to rescue Princess Zelda from her prison, giving him a sword and shield. After his uncle dies, Link navigates the castle and rescues Zelda from her cell, and the two escape into a secret passage through the sewers that leads to a [[Sanctuary]].

''Link's Awakening'' is the first game to take place outside of Hyrule and the main Triforce-Ganon storyline. Link was traveling across the ocean in a ship when a storm catches him. When he wakes up he is in a strange [[Koholint Island|isle]]. He is found by a young girl named [[Marin]]. Link must first retrieve his shield and sword, for later investigation the island. An [[Owl]] tells Link about the dangers of the isle, and tells Link to search for the eight [[Instruments of the Sirens]] in each temple to wake up the [[Wind Fish]], the deity of the island.

In this game, Link has the ability to jump on his own with the help of the [[Roc's Feather]], a first for a top-view perspective Zelda.

[[File:Link Artwork 1 (Ocarina of Time).png|thumb|Artwork of Link as an adult in ''[[Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Ocarina of Time]]'']]

Link was born during the [[Hyrulean Civil War]], and was left in the [[Kokiri Forest]] by his mother, so that he could avoid the violence. From that point onwards, he was raised by the [[Great Deku Tree]]. Though he was actually a [[Hylian]], he was raised as a [[Kokiri]], so that he would fit in with his peers. However, unlike the other Kokiri, he didn't have a [[fairy]], and for that reason, he was ridiculed by some of the other Kokiri, [[Mido (character)|Mido]] in particular. When Link is between the ages of nine and twelve, [[Ganondorf]] places a curse on the Great Deku Tree, and the Great Deku Tree sends Link a fairy, called [[Navi]]. Link gets the [[Deku Shield]] and the [[Kokiri Sword]], and defeats [[Queen Gohma]], who was part of the curse. After that, the Great Deku Tree bestows Link the spiritual stone upon his death. [[Saria (sage)|Saria]] gives Link the [[Fairy Ocarina]], with which he can play songs important to the gameplay. Link travels to [[Hyrule Castle]], where he meets [[Princess Zelda]]. Zelda tells Link about Ganondorf's malicious plans, and sends Link to find the other Spiritual Stones.

Link retrieves the two remaining Spiritual Stones, and sets off for [[Hyrule Castle Town (Ocarina of Time)|Hyrule Castle Town]] to place them in the [[Temple of Time (Ocarina of Time)|Temple of Time]]. Before entering the town, Zelda gives him the [[Ocarina of Time]] while she is being chased by Ganondorf. Link returns the stones to the Temple of Time, and the [[Master Sword]] is revealed to him. However, after pulling the Master Sword from its pedestal, Link is frozen in time for seven years, since the sword did not consider him old enough to carry the title of the Hero of Time. During these seven years, Ganondorf takes over [[Hyrule]]. Upon awakening, Link is an adult between sixteen and nineteen years old. [[Rauru (sage)|Rauru]], the Sage of Light, informs him of Hyrule's takeover, and instructs him to find the other sages: [[Saria (sage) | Saria]], the Sage of Forest, [[Darunia (sage)|Darunia]], the Sage of Fire, [[Princess Ruto]], the Sage of Water, [[Nabooru (sage)|Nabooru]], the Sage of Spirit, and [[Impa]], the Sage of Shadow. Link gathers the remaining sages, and enters [[Ganon's Castle]]. He defeats Ganondorf, in both his [[Gerudo]] form and in his [[Moblin]]-like [[Ganon]] form, and frees Hyrule. Zelda then sends Link back in time to before the events of the game occurred. Thus creating a split in the timeline, the events leading to Ganon's defeat in this game leading to the events of ''The Wind Waker'', and in the past, where Ganondorf's plot is uncovered before the events began due to Link's knowledge of the future, leading to the events of ''Twilight Princess''.

[[File:Link and the Razor Sword.png|thumb|left|130px|Artwork of Link from ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]'']]

Link has the ability to change seasons in [[Holodrum]] with the [[Rod of Seasons]] and the ability to travel back and forward in time in [[Labrynna]] using the [[Harp of Ages]]. After finishing both games, he had to foil a plot by [[Twinrova (Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons)|Twinrova]] to revive [[Ganon]] using Zelda as a sacrifice. After ending their plans, he sets sail to an unknown destination, which may be concluded in [[Link's Awakening]]

[[File:Link Wind Waker 1.png|left|thumb|Link with the [[Wind Waker]]]]

This Link lives on [[Outset Island]] in the [[Great Sea]], which is Hyrule after being flooded by the Gods. He is celebrating his 11th birthday, which is customary on the island for receiving the [[Hero's Clothes]] to honor the Hero of Time legend. (Interesting to note is this has sparked rumors that the timelines may know of each other, as the Adult Link timeline would only know of The Hero of Time as an adult and not the age of the child.) Link ventures to the [[Forsaken Fortress]] to track down the [[Helmaroc King (The Wind Waker)|Helmaroc King]] who abducted his sister, [[Aryll]], with the help of [[Tetra]] the pirate. Link initially fails to rescue Aryll, then, Link is rescued by the [[King of Red Lions]] who helps him in his quest to save his sister. Although the game inspires speculation about his possible relation to the Hero of Time (Namely, his family shield which was 'rumored to be used by the Hero himself', this theory is discouraged by the King of Red Lions, the King of Hyrule, who tells the sea spirit Jabun that 'He appears to have no connection to the ancient one.' Although Ganondorf says that he is the reincarnation of the Hero of Time.) After a large number of hardships, the King of Red Lions names him the '''Hero of the Winds'''.

[[File:Z11 01 big.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Link and his three copies]]

The Link in this game may or may not be different from the ''Four Swords'' Link. Link is friends with [[Princess Zelda]]. When Zelda and the [[Seven Maidens|maidens]] go to the shrine of the Four Sword, Link is tricked into drawing the Four Sword from its pedestal, releasing Vaati, by [[Shadow Link]]. Link's soul is split into three other replicas of himself, and the four Links venture to save the maidens and Zelda, who were abducted and trapped in [[Crystal]]s. Link saves all seven of them, collects four Royal [[Jewel]]s, climbs the [[Tower of Winds]] and defeats Shadow Link and the [[Dark Mirror]] in the heavens. In the end, Vaati is killed, and [[Ganondorf|Ganon]], who was the mastermind behind all the events, is sealed in the Four Sword by the Links. This Link and his replicas have almost the exact same character design as the Wind Waker Link, even though otherwise the game is not cel-shaded.

 

[[File:Normal linkstabbing.jpg|thumb|left|190px|Link and [[Ezlo]]]]

Link is the grandson of [[Smith]], the blacksmith for [[Hyrule Town]]. He lives just outside the town with his grandfather. After [[Vaati]] shatters the Picori Blade, Link is sent to [[Minish Woods]] to find the [[Minish]]. There he finds [[Ezlo]], his companion throughout the game.

In the game itself, [[Ezlo]] sits on Link's head throughout his adventure to defeat [[Vaati]] and restore Zelda from her petrified state , a result of Vaati's precaution of her inherent [[Triforce#Light Force|power]]-After advancing toward the blade and wiping out a group of Castle Guards assigned to protect the blade, Zelda intervenes. As Vaati prepares to attack, Link notices Zelda is in danger, so he runs in front of her and raises his [[Small Shield]] (Which Zelda had won for him a few moments earlier). During these events, Vaati attacks the duo with a petrification curse, blowing Link away (Knocking him out in the process, but protected from the petrification effects, thanks to his shield) and turning Zelda to stone. Besides often giving Link useful advice about his quest, Ezlo also grants Link the power to shrink down to Minish size (With the use of a pedestal) to traverse the land of Hyrule with a Minish eye.

 

Chronologically, ''The Minish Cap'' is the prequel to ''Four Swords'' and ''Four Swords Adventure''. Like the incarnation in Four Swords Adventures, this Link has almost the exact same character design as Wind Waker Link, other than his hat.

Link is a rancher in [[Ordon Village]] who is around 17 years old. He sports a Triforce shaped birthmark on his hand, physical evidence that he possesses the [[Triforce of Courage]] from his ancestor of ''Ocarina of Time'', the Hero of Time. One day, [[Rusl]], the town's only warrior and swordsmith, requests Link to be his proxy for a trip to [[Hyrule]] to deliver the [[Ordon Sword]] and [[Ordon Shield]] the [[Royal Family]] ordered. As he prepared to leave, [[King Bulblin]] kidnaps [[Ilia]] and [[Colin]], Link's friends, along with other children, and draws Link into the [[Faron Province]], blanketed with [[Twilight]]. The Twilight morphs Link into a wolf.

 

[[File:The Legend of Zelda cartoon logo.png|left]]

A set of ''Zelda'' cartoons aired on Fridays from [[wikipedia:1989|1989]]-[[wikipedia:1990|1990]] as a part of [[wikipedia:DiC|DiC]]'s ''[[wikipedia:Super Mario Bros. television series|The Super Mario Bros. Super Show]]''. The series loosely followed the NES ''Zelda'' games, mixing settings and characters from those games with original creations.

 

Link is depicted as a traveling adventurer who settles in [[Hyrule Castle]] and takes the "job" of guarding the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon. He is a brave yet boisterous warrior who loves to twirl his sword in one hand before, during and after battles.

A slightly altered version of this Link appeared in four episodes of ''[[wikipedia:Captain N: The Game Master|Captain N: The Game Master]]''.

[[File:Link SCII 3.jpg|thumb|Link as he appears in ''[[Soulcalibur II]]'']]

The GameCube version of SCII is said to have been more popular than its PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts; many believe that this is due to Link's presence, since the GameCube is not the most popular [[wikipedia:History of video game consoles (sixth generation)|sixth generation]] console among most gamers. Link was also notable in this game for being the only character with true projectile attacks (his trusty bow and arrow, boomerang, and bomb) - only Spawn, an Xbox exclusive character, could do the same. Link was also given a unique fighting style on par with any of the "regular" characters, and even had several moves from previous Legend of Zelda games, for instance, a dashing sword attack inspired by the A Link to the Past's Pegasus Boots, the upper and under cut jumping attacks from The Adventure of Link, and a backflip/jump sword attack nearly identical to attacks used in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. As in the Super Smash Bros. series, he had a total of four costumes, although they differed only in color (green, red, blue, and purple), which as it happened was more than any other character had in any version of the game. Fortunately, due to having a balanced moveset, he is considered a mid-tier character by the tournament community.

*In ''[[Final Fantasy]]'', Link's name appears on a tombstone in [[finalfantasy:Elfland|Elfland]]. In the original NES translation and the European Origins versions, the tombstone is Erdrick, from ''Dragon Warrior'', but all other versions use the original name.