Princess Zelda

Princess of Hyrule

Princess Zelda of Hyrule. She is one of, if not the most important character of the Legend of Zelda series, which is also why the series is named after her. She made her first appearance in the original The Legend of Zelda, and has appeared in as good as every entry to the series after that. She is also chosen by destiny to be the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom, which is the main reason why she plays such an integral role in the legends of Hyrule.

[Throughout the history] of Hyrule, there have been several incarnations of the Princess. The "first" is generally considered to be the one who was seen in Ocarina of Time, where we got to see her both as a child and as a nearly grown up woman.

The Legend of Zelda

Zelda is the princess of Hyrule and is kidnapped by Ganon in this game. She breaks the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces before being imprisoned, forcing Link to hunt down the pieces and reunite the Triforce of Wisdom before confronting Ganon and rescuing Zelda.

The Adventure of Link

In Adventure of Link, a more complicated origin of Zelda is revealed. The slain Ganon's minions are ravaging Hyrule and a mysterious tattoo has appeared on Link's hand. Impa, Zelda's handmaid, explains the true Legend of Zelda to Link. Well before the events of The Legend of Zelda game, Hyrule was a prosperous land ruled by a king who had two children, an unnamed Prince and Princess Zelda. However, a evil wizard came to the Prince and told him that the path to true power lay with the Triforce. The Prince gives into the wizard's whispers and seeks the Triforce. When the wizard tells the Prince that Zelda knows the location of the mystical object, the Prince demands that Zelda turn the information over to him. Zelda refuses and, in a rage, the wizard puts Zelda into a deep sleep, but dies from the magical backlash. Overcome with grief, the Prince seals his sleeping sister in the North Palace and orders that all female descendants of the Hylian monarchy are to be named Zelda. In the game itself, Link must recover seven crystals to open the gates of the North Palace. There Link fights Dark Link, recovering the Triforce of Courage, and awakening the sleeping Zelda. It is not clear whether or not any of the Zeldas in the games are the "true" Zelda or if they are simply the duplicates of the sleeping princess. Because it is not known when Zelda was put to sleep, the answer may never be known.

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask

As the first Zelda in the official timeline, it could be assumed that this was the first princess of Hyrule to be named Zelda. In this episode of the series, Zelda is seen as a child and as an adult. In her adult life, Zelda is held captive by Ganondorf, but uses magic passed down to her through Impa to escape from time to time to aid Link in his quest. When helping Link, Zelda disguises herself as Sheik, and makes sure that he never discovers her true identity until the time is right.

When Zelda finally does reveal her self it is made clear that Ganondorf has been aware of her escape the entire time, and has for a second time in the game tricked Zelda and Link into doing part of his dirty work for him. Ganondorf then recaptures Zelda deliberately to drive Link in to a fight to the death.

In the game’s conclusion, Zelda shows her wisdom explaining to Link that they must return to their childhood, and that no one will ever know of their trials to save Hyrule. It is not known how long Zelda and Link stay together before the Hero of Time leaves for his quest taking place throughout Majora's Mask, by Zelda makes a single reappearance in Majora's Mask when Link has a flash back on retrieving the Ocarina of Time. the events of the flash back show their last meeting..

Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages

In the Oracle Saga, Zelda and Link are presneted as childhood friends, similar to their relationship in Minish Cap and the Four Swords series. This is one of few appearnces for Zelda in which she never appears as a fully grown adult.

The Wind Waker

Wind Waker presents Zelda in a secret identity, Tetra, a female pirate who leads a small group of thieves. Tetra, however, is even unaware herself of being part of the Royale bloodline, and this is a first for the Zelda series.

Tetra is also much more of a tomboy that other Zelda characters, taking on challenges head on, this is similar to the role of Sheik although it si a given that tetra is not quite as aware of the grand size of her situation although it is hinted at that she regularly with holds information from Link.

Tetra's Zelda is also one of only two Zelda's who choose to fight along Link at some point in the game. Tetra is also a developed form of the Latin word meaning 'four', similar to the word Tetris. This could hint at tetra being part of the fourth event in the Zelda timeline.

Four Swords Series

Zelda and Link appear here as childhood friends, and it can be said that Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures are in fact the same story retold on different consoles. The childhood aspect of their relationship could mean that these are the events that take place between Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask for the Link (Hero of Time) and Zelda fro Ocarina. It is already stated that Minish Cap and Four Swords are closely related in the timeline as the Four Sword makes a strong appearance in Minsh Cap. It can be assumed that these two stories share the same Zelda, as well as Link.

Twilight Princess

Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that Princess Zelda was named after Zelda Fitzgerald, Scott Fitzgerald's wife (citation needed).

The Many Princesses Named Zelda

As mentioned above, there have been more than one Princess named Zelda throughout the history of Hyrule, and not even all of them have appeared in the games to this date. All of them generally have the same appearance of a beautiful young girl/woman with red or blond hair and blue eyes.

When Princess Zelda IV (at least to our best knowledge) was put in a deep coma by a wizard in the prologue for Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, her brother the Prince of Hyrule, who was partly to blame for her comatose, decided that in honor of his sister every princess born in to the Royal Family of Hyrule should be named Zelda.

The different princesses who have appeared in the games are Princess Zelda who appeared in Ocarina of Time, generally considered the first, then later the Princess Zelda who appeared in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, most often considered the second, and then the third who appeared in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It is not definite, but the fourth Princess Zelda is generally considered the one awakened by Link in The Adventure of Link, and then the fifth is the one seen in the original The Legend of Zelda.

Zelda's Alter Egos

Sheik

In Ocarina of Time Link met up with a mysterious member of the Sheikah Tribe, fittingly called Sheik. This person taught Link a multitude of different songs and gave him tips on how to proceed in his quest. At the end of the game, Sheik revealed himself to be none other than Princess Zelda in a disguise. During the seven years Link had been asleep while maturing to become ready to fight Ganondorf, Zelda had gone underground and taken the disguise as Sheik so that Ganondorf would not find her in his search for the two remaining pieces of the Triforce, one which was held by Princess Zelda herself.

Tetra

Born in to a society of pirates on the Great Sea, with the realms of Hyrule flooded under endless amounts of water, Tetra, a captain of the Pirates was completely unaware of her being a part of the Royal Family of Hyrule's bloodline. When this was revealed to her by King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, she was just as surprised as Link to find out that she was indeed Princess Zelda of Hyrule, and also the one destined to be the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom.

While she was said to be the Twilight Princess in the game of the same name, she is not. That title goes to Midna, which you find out later in the game.

Starred In

• The Legend of Zelda

• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Only seen once in a flashback.

• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons - In the linked game.

• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords

• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Non-Zelda Games:

• Super Smash Bros Melee