The Legend of Zelda is one of the most iconic video game series of all time. up there with Mario and Sonic, The Legend of Zelda is a riveting fantasy epic set in over a dozen games and every video game console Nintendo has made.
Originally released for the Famicom Disk System in 1987 as The Legend of Zelda: The Hyrule fantasy and later re-released in 1988 for the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System, The Legend of Zelda is a true classic. The sequels have crossed 35 years and seven platforms. And yet there are some things that fans widely and wholeheartedly believe that are wrong.
10 Despite the title, Zelda is not the hero
Although the series has been around for 35 years, it is not all the way unheard of for newcomers to assume that the titular Zelda is the hero of the series. In fact, the green-clad hero is Link. While this is known for the most part, Zelda is the princess who saves the hero.
Once a common misconception, this has become increasingly important over time. Link is known in the pantheon of Nintendo’s heroes. In addition, Zelda has blurred the line between hero and damsel herself several times, both in the short-lived 80s cartoon series and later in disguise as the hero Sheik who began in Ocarina of Time.
9 There’s some nightmare fuel in the series
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Despite the cuddly, kid-friendly graphics, the Zelda series has rarely shied away from endangering both protagonists and innocent bystanders. In addition to the villain, Ganon, who kidnaps princesses and often locks them in crystals or kills them outright, Link himself can be exposed to serious dangers.
The nightmarish aspects of the Zelda series go back to the first North American commercial. Featuring a Jerry Seinfeld-esque comedian responding to the names of the various creatures in the game in terrifyingly comical ways, the commercial was strange and off-putting, but ultimately it did little to dampen fan reaction to the game series.
8 Link’s age is uncertain
Because the character’s most iconic appearance is Ocarina of TimeWith time going back and forth between Link’s childhood and adulthood, fans often assume Link is an adult in most games. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
According to designer Shigeru Miyamoto, as an “adult,” Link is still an adolescent, the Hylian equivalent of 15-17 years. Japanese video games often place the responsibility of saving the world on characters who are the equivalent of their expected audience, and Link is, quite rightly, a teenager.
7 Link isn’t always left-handed
One of the most popular theories about The Legend of Zelda is that hero Link is always left-handed because his creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, is left-handed, a rarity in Japan. Although this is true in many Zelda titles, it’s not true for everyone.
In the Wii and WiiU titles Skyward Sword and Twilight PrincessLink is right-handed because the Wii Remote controls are naturally right-handed. Switch re-releases of the same games make him left-handed again. According to Miyamoto, Link is meant to be left-handed when playing in the Switch versions of these titles and right-handed when playing in the earlier versions.
6 Link’s hair isn’t always gold
Famous for his golden hair in the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 installments of the series and their reissues, Link has not always been the literal boy with the golden hair of the series. Instead, his hair shade ranged from brown in the original NES editions of the series to golden blonde in the SNES and N64 games.
In GameCube’s Wind Waker, Link is another cartoony golden blonde. Finally, in the Wii era, his hair changes to golden brown, a shade between real blond and real brown. This is hardly the absolute preference for the golden blonde expressed by fannish thinking, but still a sort of blonde.
5 The Triforce is not in every game
The Triforce is one of the most iconic parts of the Zelda series, as it is basically the logo for the franchise. However, it does not appear in every game.
While the Triforce is referenced in Ocarina of Timethe iconic Nintendo 64 edition of the franchise, it never actually is appears in that edition. This is a remarkable change from any other game in the franchise. While the Zelda series, set pieces have been used effectively, this is one that almost – but not quite – always appears.
4 Ganon and Ganondorf are the same person
The villain of the Zelda franchise, Ganon and Ganondorf, are almost – not quite but almost – the same person. With Ganon as a more beastly and monstrous version of the character, while Ganondorf is a man, who is ultimately defined as a Gerudo man, the two sides of the same coin.
Ganondorf as a villain, appears in almost every game of the series. The notable exception is Majora’s mask, the second Nintendo 64 incarnation of the game series. Of Majora’s mask by changing many of the franchise’s accepted set pieces, it was a good choice to change things up in that regard and have a different villain than the same old Ganon.
3 Link and Zelda never have a romance
Link and Zelda are one of the most popular shipping pairs in video games. However, with obvious romantic tension between the two, especially since Link is often tasked with saving Zelda from Ganondorf, they surprisingly never get together in the actual games.
Fans have written numerous fanfics based on a romantic combination of the two. However, there is very little textual evidence to support the idea that they would ever hook up. But fans being fans, that never even slowed them down.
2 There is no plan for the timeline
Fans have consistently tried to come up with a real reason for the twisted Zelda timeline. This has happened since it was announced that the third game, A link to the past for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, would take place several hundred years before the original The Legend of Zelda.
The truth is, the timeline has no plan. The writers just put the games wherever they want, and let the fans figure out the reason behind it later. Other than Skyward Sword as it is chronologically the earliest play, there is no rhyme or reason for it for now.
1 Zelda: Warrior Princess Is Real
While Zelda isn’t the main character of the series that bears her name, and has to be rescued in many games, she’s less of a helpless damsel than many think. First appears in a more assertive role in the 1989 Legend of Zelda cartoon in North America, Zelda has been a protagonist in more games over time.
A staple character in the Hyrule Warriors subseries and Super Smash Bros.Zelda is a dangerous warrior who is Link’s equal in every way as she may be. In particular the Hyrule Warriors incarnation of Zelda is a dangerous warrior with her rapier and magic.
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