Link (The Legend of Zelda)/Synopsis

The story of the heroic knight known as Link from the Legend of Zelda series.

Skyward Sword
Link is the hero chosen by the goddess Hylia to perform a great task. A resident of Skyloft, he attends the Knight Academy, a boarding school for those wanting to become Knights of Skyloft. Like all denizens of The Sky, he owns his own Loftwing; in particular, he owns a rare Crimson Loftwing. At the beginning of the game, Link wears clothes similar to those worn by other residents of Skyloft. This incarnation of Link is the earliest known appearance of the character in the timeline, and due to the gameplay, which is designed for right-handed use, this Link is right-handed as well.

Link is close friends with Zelda, daughter of the academy Headmaster, Gaepora. A rival of Zelda's affections is Groose, who attempts to sabotage his chances of entering and completing the Wing Ceremony at the beginning of the game by kidnapping his Loftwing. He eventually regains his mount and recovers the Bird Statuette, earning him a moment alone with Zelda. After he receives her Sailcloth, the two embark on a flight together; however, they are attacked by a fell black tornado, and Zelda is taken away to a land below the clouds.

Link is thrown from his Loftwing, and a mysterious blue figure appears in his dreams. When he awakens, he finds Gaepora standing before him, wanting to know what happened to Zelda. After Gaepora leaves, he hears a voice outside his door. Seeing the mysterious figure in the hallway, Link follows her to the Statue of the Goddess, where she opens the door to a chamber found inside the statue. Here, he finds the Goddess Sword, and the figure reveals herself to be Fi, the spirit inhabiting the sword. Using the sword to open a path through the Cloud Barrier, Link begins his search for Zelda on The Surface.

Several times throughout his quest, he is confronted by Ghirahim, Demon Lord of the creatures inhabiting The Surface. Link eventually finds out that Zelda is on a journey of her own to purify her spirit, protected by the Sheikah Impa. Eventually, Zelda and Impa seek refuge within a Gate of Time to elude Ghirahim's grasp. An Old Woman reveals to Link that a second Gate of Time exists; however, to activate it, he must infuse the Goddess Sword with three Sacred Flames. For each Sacred Flame he gathers, the sword transforms, until it becomes the Master Sword.

With the Master Sword in hand, he activates the Gate of Time, where he is reunited with Zelda. She explains to him that she is a physical reincarnation of the goddess Hylia; she assumed a human form in order to combat Demise, the ancient Demon King whose beast-like form Link sealed away earlier with the help of a reformed Groose. The only way they can defeat the eternal Demise is to collect the Triforce and wish for his destruction. Link eventually recovers the Triforce, preventing Demise from re-emerging. However, Zelda is taken away by Ghirahim into the past, for there his master still exists.

Ghirahim is able to use her body to resurrect Demise; though Demise is ultimately defeated, the Demon King promises to return to plague their descendants in another form. Zelda, Link and Groose return to their own time, where the Old Woman is revealed to have been Impa all along. Groose returns to the sky, whereas Zelda and Link remain on The Surface.

Minish Cap
Link is the grandson of Smith, the blacksmith for Hyrule Town. He lives just outside the town with his grandfather, and goes to the Picori Festival with his childhood friend, Princess Zelda. During the award ceremony for the festival's sword tournament, the winner, Vaati, shatters the legendary Picori Blade and releases the monsters that had been sealed in the Bound Chest. Princess Zelda uses her power to send the monsters away, and despite Link's attempt to defend her, Vaati turns the princess to stone to prevent her from interfering with his plans.

Afterward, the King of Hyrule sends Link to Minish Woods to find the Minish, in the hopes that they can reforge the broken Picori Blade so that it can be used against Vaati, the Wind Mage. As he travels though the woods, Link meets the strange creature known as Ezlo, his companion throughout the rest of his journey who grants him the power to shrink down to Minish size which helps him find the Minish. Link met with the elder of Minish Village, who told him that in order to reforge the sacred Picori sword he would require the Four Elements, the embodiments of the sacred powers of earth, fire, water, and wind

During his adventure Link learned that Vaati was actually Minish, an apprentice of Ezlo, who was also a Minish. Ezlo had made a magical cap with the power to grant wishes, but Vaati had stolen it and used it to become a powerful sorcerer. He had transformed Ezlo into a hat himself, then proceeded to hunt down the Light Force.

Once he had gathered the Four Elements, he brought the Picori Blade — renamed the White Sword by a Minish sword-smith — to the Elemental Sanctuary hidden within the courtyard of Hyrule Castle. There he infused the White Sword with the Four Elements, fully restoring the sacred Picori blade into the Four Sword — a legendary blade with the power to split one warrior into four.

Meanwhile, Vaati had brainwashed King Daltus and shrouded Hyrule Castle in darkness. He had discovered that the sacred Light Force had actually been passed down through Hyrule’s princesses, and so he prepared to extract the Light Force from Princess Zelda. Link rushed to her rescue, and, after vanquishing Vaati, he used the Four Sword’s evil-banishing power to restore Princess Zelda and the rest of Vaati's victims within the castle.

Now that Vaati had fallen, the Mage's Cap could be used to restore Hyrule. Princess Zelda put on the cap and wished with all her heart that Vaati’s cruelty might be undone. With her righteous wish and the power of the Light Force that still dwells within her, many miracles happened as a result. With Vaati gone and Hyrule safe, Ezlo ventured back into the world of the Minish through the Minish Door, not to return until perhaps the next day, one hundred years later, when the doorway to their world would open once more but not before gifting Link with a real green hat similar to Ezlo's transformed state.

Chronologically, The Minish Cap is the prequel to Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures. Like the incarnation in Four Swords Adventures, this Link has almost the exact same character design as the Link from The Wind Waker, other than his hat. This game is speculated to be one of the earliest games in the timeline by some fans, as the introduction mentions a Hero of Men who is depicted like Link but with no hat. At the end of this game Link acquires a real green hat, as he only had Ezlo as a hat before. Ezlo then said that the hat suited him.

Four Swords
At the outset of the game, Link travels with Princess Zelda to check on the Four Sword, an ancient blade said to seal Vaati, a powerful wind mage. As the two enter the Four Sword Sanctuary, Vaati breaks his seal, absconding with Zelda in order to make her his bride. As Link comes to, he is instructed by three Fairies to draw the Four Sword, which splits the hero into four copies of himself: One green, one red, one blue, and one purple. Together, the four Links journey across Hyrule to meet three Great Fairies, each of whom gives the Links a key necessary to enter Vaati's Palace. Inside, the four Links defeat Vaati after a fierce battle, sealing him inside the Four Sword once more. With Hyrule saved, the four heroes return the Four Sword to its pedestal, thus merging back into one being.

Ocarina of Time
Link is born during the Hyrulean Civil War, and is left in Kokiri Forest by his dying mother in an attempt to spare him from the widespread violence. From then on, Link is fostered by the Great Deku Tree, who raises the Hylian child as a Kokiri so that he will fit in with his peers. However, as Link does not possess a Fairy like other Kokiri, he is always something of an outsider, especially in the eyes of Mido, the self-appointed "Boss of the Kokiri".

When Link is a child, the Gerudo King Ganondorf places a curse on the Great Deku Tree in retaliation for the guardian's refusal to hand over the Spiritual Stone of Forest. The Great Deku Tree sends the Fairy Navi to Link, who serves as the boy's Fairy companion for the duration of the game. With Navi's guidance, Link acquires a sword and shield and defeats Queen Gohma, a parasitic monster placed inside the Great Deku Tree by Ganondorf. Though he had destroyed the parasite, the damage has been done and the Great Deku Tree bestows the Spiritual Stone upon Link before his death, bequeathing the boy to travel to Hyrule Castle and speak with Princess Zelda. Upon exiting the forest, Link's childhood friend Saria gives him the Fairy Ocarina, with which he can play the various songs he learns on his journeys. Upon reaching Princess Zelda inside Hyrule Castle, the princess reveals that she has seen Link in her dreams and tells Link about Ganondorf's malicious plans to take over Hyrule by stealing the Tri-Force, and tasks Link with finding the Spiritual Stones of Fire and Water that are needed along with the Ocarina of Time to gain access to the Tri-Force so that they can get to the Tri-Force before Ganondorf.

Link retrieves the two remaining Spiritual Stones from their guardians, saving the Goron's and Zora's from calamites cursed upon them by Ganondorf in the process, and sets off for Hyrule Castle Town to place them in the Temple of Time. Just outside the town gate, he encounters Zelda and Impa as they flee from Ganondorf, who has seized Hyrule Castle. Zelda manages to toss Link the Ocarina of Time, which he uses in conjunction with the three Spiritual Stones and "Song of Time" to open the Door of Time, revealing the Master Sword, which he pulls from the Pedestal of Time. Upon doing so, however, Ganondorf appears and reveals he was suspicious of Link and so followed him and due to Link's actions he now has access to both the sacred Realm and the Tri-Force. Link is then sealed inside the Sacred Realm in a deep slumber for seven years, as due to his young age he is not judged capable of becoming the Hero of Time prophecied to save Hyrule.

Link awakens to find he is seventeen, having aged seven years in the safety of the Temple of Light inside the Sacred Realm, while Ganondorf has touched the Triforce and extended his reign over all of Hyrule. Rauru, the Sage of Light, informs Link of the conquest of Hyrule, and instructs him to find the other five sages in order to gain their power. Link returns to the Temple of Time, where he is greeted by a mysterious man named Sheik who tells Link of Ganondorf’s conquest over the last seven years, and of the legend of the Sages. He urges Link to awaken the five remaining Sages in the five temples mentioned in the legend, which are scattered throughout Hyrule. W ielding the blade of evil’s bane, Link sets out to break the curse on all of the sacred temples and awaken the Sages within.Link also discovers along his journey that he can use the Pedastle of Time to travel back and forth through time by returning the sword to the Pedastle to become a child and drawing it again to return to the future.

Link finds that in his abscence Ganondorf had unleashed great evils upon the land of Hyrule which has become a dark dangerous place to travel on foot but gains the faithful steed Epona after having befriended the horse back when she was a foal at Lon Lon Ranch

Link traverses five temples in order to rescue the sages and awaken the power within them. They are Saria, the Sage of Forest; Darunia, the Sage of Fire; Princess Ruto, the Sage of Water; Impa, the Sage of Shadow; and Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit. Link returns to the Temple of Time and encounters Sheik again who tells Link another legend of the Triforce as a scale that measures the three virtues ruled by the Goddesses, power, wisdom and courage. If the heart of someone who holds the sacred triangle carries all three of these forces in balance, that person will acquire the Triforce intact but if not then the Tri-Force will seperate into its three parts and that Gannondorf only received the Tri-Force of Power 7 years ago while the other pieces went to Link who gained the Tri-Force of Courage before Sheik sheds his disquise to reveal herself as Princess Zelda who had gained the Tri-Force of Wisdom and is the final sage.

Princess Zelda reveals that the only way to defeat Gandondorf is to for the sages to seal him inside the Sacred Realm with herself sealing the door to the realm itself to keep him imprisoned. However Ganondorf captures Zelda  and spirits her away to his castle fortress. Aided by the power of the remaining sages, Link is able to enter Ganon's Castle and navigate its depths. He defeats both the King of Evil's Gerudo form and his monstrous Ganon transformation, alloqing the sages to seal him within the sacred realm but not before Ganon swears to return to menace Link and Zelda's descendants when the seal breaks. The princess then sends Link back in time to regain his lost seven years and Link is sent back to before the Great Deku Tree summoned him via Navi and started his adventure. Due to retaining knowledge of the future and the true threat Ganondorf poses, Link goes to Hyrule Castle to inform Princess Zelda so such a future never occurs.

Majora's Mask
Due to having been returned to a point in his childhood before he met Navi at the end of Ocarina of Time, Link goes on a journey to be reunited with his fairy companion. While traveling deep inside the Lost Woods, Link is ambushed by the Skull Kid and his two friends, the Fairy siblings Tatl and Tael. The Skull Kid makes off with Link's horse Epona and the Ocarina of Time, and in the subsequent chase, Link is transported into the parallel world of Termina, where the Skull Kid uses his magic to turn Link into a Deku Scrub. During this process, Tatl becomes separated from the Skull Kid and Tael due to harrasing Link, and forces Link to team up with her in order to find them. Link emerges from the caves inside Clock Town's clock tower where Link meets the mysterious Happy Mask Salesman, who agrees to return Link to his normal shape if Link returns Majora's Mask to him, an artifact of ancient power that was stolen by the Skull Kid and must do so within 3 days. At Midnight of the final day, Link finds Skull Kid at the top of the clock tower where he is using his powers to draw the Moon out of orbit and smash it into the Clock Tower to destroy not only Clock Town but all of Termina as well. Tael delivers an enigmatic warning to Tatl, to find four beings from the "swamp, mountain, ocean and canyon" before being hit aside by the Skull Kid. Link uses his Deku's Magic Bubble skill to make him drop his Ocarina and on picking it up Link remembers Princess Zelda playing him the Song of Time before left to find Navi and when Link plays it he is sent back to the dawn of the first day.

The Mask salesman teaches him the Song of Healing which returns Link to normal as well as providing him with a mask of his Deku self that he can use to transform back. Link then travels across Termina to the locations specified by Teal and go to the Southern Swamp first which they find poisoned due to the guardion having vanished. Link goes into the Woofall Temple and faces down the dark being Odolwa. Upon defeating his foe, Link and Tatl find themselves facing a sorrowful and powerful Giant. Tatl then surmises that the Giant was one of the "four" that Tael spoke of, as Link learns the "Oath to Order", a song that summons the giants when performed.

The two head to Snowhead Mountain to save the next Giant. While there, Link heals and takes on the soul of a Goron warrior who died trying to help his people, which enables him to free the Giant from the evil spirit of Snowhead. Link next requires a horse to get to the ocean, and finds that Epona has been found and taken in by the sisters Romani and Cremia at Romani Ranch. Link then heads to the cursed Great Bay, where the ocean is in disorder due to calamity at the Great Bay Temple. Link finds the near-dead body of a Zora guitarist who was fataly injured in an attempt to save Zora Eggs stolen from his bandmate Lulu, and manages to adopt his soul too. By finding the stolen Zora Eggs  in a fortress of pirates and a nest of sea snakes, the young hero manages to find the whereabouts of the third Giant and frees him. Link then ventures to Ikana Canyon, where he faces down the restless spirits of the dead, so that he can climb Stone Tower and save the last Giant.

He then ventures to the Clock Tower at the end of the Final Day, summoning the Four Giants with the "Oath to Order" to stop the Moon. Even though the Giants hold back the Moon, Majora's Mask leaves the Skull Kid, who passed out at the Giants' coming, and rises into the Moon. There, the Mask possesses the Moon and attempts to consume all of Termina. Link follows the Mask inside, finding a surreal field, in which there is a tree and five mask wearing children. If Link has all 20 masks, and beat each child's dungeon, he is rewarded with the feirce diety mask. After a long and heated battle, Majora is finally defeated and the moon returns to orbit.

Link learns that the Skull Kid and the Four Giants had once been friends until their duty to Termina caused them to abandon him and his resulting mischief throughout the land to regain their attention caused them to banish him, leading to resentment that Majora's Mask took advantage of when it possessed him. Link returns the now lifeless mask to the Happy Mask Salesman who disappears. Tatl, reunited with her brother and the Skull Kid then tells Link that he should get back to his original quest, and the two part ways as Link rides off into the forest on Epona to resume his journey to find Navi.

Twilight Princess
Link is a rancher in Ordon Village who is around 17 years old. He has a Triforce shaped birthmark on his hand, strongly implying that he currently possesses the Triforce of Courage, though possibly it is merely there as a mark of a Chosen Hero. 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 which the Royal Family ordered. As he prepares to leave, King Bulblin and his forces attack, knocking out Link and kidnapping his friends Ilia and Colin, along with the other children. After regaining consciousness, Link is drawn into the Faron Province, which has become blanketed with Twilight. The Twilight morphs Link into a wolf. He is imprisoned by Shadow Beasts, but escapes with the help of Midna.

Later, Link delivers Light back to the Faron Province, with the help of Midna, and awakens as the Chosen Hero, now donning Link's trademark green clothing. Link and Midna venture to collect the Fused Shadows, which can be used to defeat Zant, the king of the Twilight Realm, who covered Hyrule in Twilight, and also defeated the true power behind Zant: Ganondorf, shortly thereafter. Afterwards, he and Zelda witnessed Midna's departure to the Twilight Realm, as well as her destruction of the Twilit Mirror in order to ensure the tragedy never repeated itself. It is said in the Twilight Princess manual that this Link later becomes chief of Ordon village, but this was never seen in the game itself. This Link is often referred to by fans as the "Hero of Light" because of his acts to restore the Light to Hyrule; however, there are those who refer to him instead as the "Hero of Twilight". Both are fan made titles that do not appear in any official material, although his true title in this game is "Hero Chosen by the Gods".

Throughout his adventure, he was trained by the Hero's Shade in the combat styles of the hero. After his training was complete, the Shade addresses him as his child, hinting that Link in this game may be his descendant or spiritual successor. According to Hyrule Historia, the Hero's Shade is a manifestation of the Hero of Time's regrets.

Four Swords Adventures
The Link in this game may or may not be different from the Link seen in Four Swords. Link is friends with Princess Zelda. Concerned that the seal which keeps Vaati in the Four Sword may be weakening, Zelda and the rest of the Seven Maidens summon Link and open the way to the shrine of the Four Sword to investigate. However, Zelda and the other maidens are captured and imprisoned by Shadow Link. Despite the fact that it will release Vaati, Link is forced to draw the Four Sword from its pedestal in order to split himself into four and have the strength to go and rescue the maidens. The Links save all seven of them and collect the four Royal Jewels, which they use to reveal the Tower of Winds. Climbing the tower, the Links reach the Realm of the Heavens, where they defeat the Shadow Links and reclaims the Dark Mirror from which they were created. After another furious battle, the Links defeat Vaati, not sealing him as before, but apparently slaying the wind mage for good. Afterward, Ganon, the true mastermind behind all the events, attacks Zelda and the Links personally. The final battle ensues; the Links are able to defeat Ganon, and with the help of the Seven Maidens, seal him within the Four Sword. The sword is then returned to its sanctuary and sealed there, and the Links are combined into one again.

Wind Waker
This Link lives on Outset Island on the Great Sea and is celebrating his birthday Link and it is customary on the island for one to receive the Hero's Clothes to honor the legendary Hero of Time when they reach the age the Hero was during his quest. Shortly after this, Link sees a giant bird fly over the island, carrying a young girl in its talons. A pirate ship is pursuing the bird, firing at it with a cannon. One of the projectiles causes the bird to drop the girl, who lands in a tree in the forest atop the island. Link grabs a sword and rushes off to find the girl who he Link learns is named Tetra, and that she is the captain of that band of pirates. The Helmaroc King captures Link's sister Aryll, mistaking her for Tetra, prompting Link to travel with the Pirates to the Forsaken Fortress. Link initially fails to rescue Aryll after running into a mysterious man at the fortress and is launched into the sea but is rescued by a talking boat named the King of Red Lions who reveals that the mysterious man was actually Ganondorf who had broken free of his seal in the Sacred Realm and can only be defeated by a great power that Link must earn through trials whch are to gather the pearls of the goddesses.

First, the King gives Link an ancient Cunductor's baton called the Wind Waker which he can use to control the wind and better navigate the sea before they venture to Dragon Roost Island, in search of Din's Pearl. There they help the young prince Komali complete his right of passage by getting a scale from the dragon Valoo who they save from Gothma that had nearly caused the dragon to loose control and afterwards Prince Komali gives Din's Pearl to Link. Link then sets out for Forest Haven, home of the Koroks and the Great Deku Tree, and is gifted Farore's pearl after saving a Korok named Makar from the Forbidden Woods. Link and the King of Red Lions set sail for Greatfish Isle to obtain Nayru's Pearl from the Water Spirit Jabun though they find the island ravaged and Jabun having moved to a blocked cave at Outlet Island that Tetra's Pirates were unable to break. Link goes to Windfall island and sneaks onto the pirates ship to steal bombs from the pirates that he uses to break open the cave and meet Jabun who gives him the final pearl.

Link proceeds to place the Goddess Pearls on their respective statues on the Triangle Islands, which causes the Tower of the Gods to rise from the depths of the Great Sea. Link scales the Tower of the Gods and defeats its guardian Gohdan, who opens a portal to the roof of the tower where Link finds a giant bell on the roof and rings it, revealing a golden portal on the waves in front of the tower. Link and the King enter it and travel beneath the waves to find a castle suspended in time. Link explores the castle and finds the Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane capable of banishing Ganondorf. Link pulls the sword out of its pedestal, which restores the flow of time to the castle.

Link returns to the Forsaken Fortress and defeats the Helmaroc King while Tetra and her crew rescue Aryll. Link confronts Ganondorf, but the Master Sword proves to be useless against him as it is revealed to have lost its power as the blade of evil's bane as well as having sealed Ganondorf's magic though the seal was broken when Link drew the sword. Tetra intervenes, but Ganondorf overpowers her as well, and his Triforce of Power resonates. He realizes that Tetra is in fact Princess Zelda, and recognizes Tetra's necklace as a fragment of the Triforce of Wisdom. Quill and Prince Komali (who grew his wings) swoop in and save Link and Tetra before Valoo engulfs Ganondorf's tower in flames.

They go back to the castle beneath the sea and reveals that they are in the kingdom of Hyrule, which was flooded by the goddesses after the events of Ocarina of Time to prevent Ganon's from getting his hands on the Tri-Force and destroying Hyrule while its people fled to the moutaintops which became islands. The King of Red Lions also reveals himself to be Hyrule's last king, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. Who restores the Triforce of Wisdon and reveals Tetra to be the heir to the royal family of Hyrule and her true identity as Princess Zelda. The King and Link return to the Great Sea to reawaken the Master Sword's true power by and reunite the Triforce of Courage—split when the Hero of Time was returned to the past. They discover Ganondorf had killed the sages of Wind and Earth to stop their prayers from restoring the Master Sword and so Link finds new sages to replace them in the form of Makar and Medli. Link is eventually successful and, after being deemed the Hero of Winds by the King, goes to rescue Zelda from Ganondorf after he kidnaps her. Ganondorf reforms the Tri-Force and wishes for Hyrule to be restored so that he can rule it though the king touches it first and wishes for Gannondorf and Hyrule to be buried underneath the ocean and wishes Link and Zelda to create a new kingdom. Link then defeats Ganondorf once and for all by stabbing him with the Master Sword and turning him to stone, leaving both him and the sword trapped underneath the ocean along with the King. With this quest complete, Link, Tetra, and her pirate crew set sail in search of a new land as per the King's last wish.

Although the game inspires speculation about Link's 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, who is in fact the King of Hyrule, when he tells the sea spirit Jabun that "[Link] appears to have no connection to the legendary one." After Link overcomes many hardships, the King of Red Lions names him the Hero of Winds, and Ganondorf declares Link to be the Hero of Time reborn.

Phantom Hourglass
This Link is the same Link from The Wind Waker. After the ending of The Wind Waker, Link and Tetra set off to find the land that would be the next Hyrule after the former kingdom had been completely destroyed. The game opens with Link and the pirates hunting down a Ghost Ship that has been abducting people from the nearby islands. After they find the Ghost Ship, Tetra is the first one to go on board to explore it but suddenly screams before the Ghost Ship begins moving away and Link makes a bold effort to save her, but is knocked out and falls into the sea. When he wakes up on a beach, he meets a Fairy named Ciela who takes him to her adoptive grandfather Oshu who agrees to help Link on his quest to rescue Tetra and Ceila joins Link on his quest. Link also takes Oshu's Sword for his own after Ceila informs him of where Oshu had stored it. They enlist the help of the reluctant Captain Linebeck and his ship after saving him from the Temple of the Ocean King; Linebeck only offers to help with the expectation of finding treasure along the way. Link discovers that to learn of the ghost ship's position, they must find the Spirits of Courage, Wisdom, and Power, using maps and clues hidden in the Temple of the Ocean King. However, to overcome the evil forces in the Temple, Link must make use of the Sands of Hours within the Phantom Hourglass and possessed by other creatures around the islands to prevent his life force from being drained. With the aid of the Hourglass, Link is able to locate and ally with the Spirits of Wisdom and Power easily, but the Spirit of Courage he finds looks exactly like Ciela and doesn't talk like the other spirits. Oshus explains that Ciela is actually the Spirit of Courage and she lost her memory when Bellum attacked her and this caused her to split into 2 entities who he combines back into one and reveals that he himself is the Ocean King. Oshus explains that he and Ciela had to take their present forms to hide from the life-eating monster Bellum, who is the cause of the ghost ship and other evil in the local area, and has taken residence at the very depths of the Temple. Link succeeds in his attempt to rescue Tetra with the help of the three Spirits, but finds Tetra is now a statue, a further effect of Bellum's life-draining power. Link is ready to continue but Linebeck initially refuses to help further having come up empty-handed for treasure so far, though agrees to continue once Oshus promises to grant Linebeck one wish after Link's quest is complete.

Link learns that the only way to defeat Bellum is to forge the Phantom Sword from three unique, pure metals around the local islands. After collecting the materials and forging the blade and taking it to Oshu who combines the blade with the Phantom Hourglass to form the Phantom Sword, Link descends to the bottom level of the Temple, and initially appears to defeat Bellum. Tetra is freed from the statue form and revived, but before the group can celebrate, Bellum reemerges from the ocean depths and takes Tetra again. In the ensuing battle of the S.S. Linebeck and the ghost ship, Linebeck's ship is lost, as well as Oshus, and Link and Tetra are captured. Linebeck reluctantly picks up the Phantom Sword and is able to free Link and Tetra, at the cost of his own freedom, but is able to give Link back the Phantom Sword before Bellum possesses Linebeck and turns him into a Phantom-like knight, but Link is ultimately able to vanquish Bellum and free Linebeck

The sand from the Phantom Hourglass is released into the sea. Oshus, now in his true form as the Ocean King, readies to depart with the Spirits, while Linebeck, surprising everyone, wishes not for treasure but just that he had his ship back. After everyone says their goodbyes, Link and Tetra find themselves back on the pirate ship, where it seems only minutes have passed for the rest of the crew and they insist that it was all a dream. However, Link still possesses the now-empty Hourglass, and spies Linebeck's ship on the horizon, knowing full well that he had not imagined the adventure.

Spirit Tracks
Link is originally an apprentice engineer, who becomes a hero by saving the land of New Hyrule from the evil of Malladus. Throughout his adventure, he works together with the spirit of Princess Zelda, who inhabits a Phantom form in certain situations. His appearance is similar to that of the Link from Phantom Hourglass, however, his voice is now similar to that of the younger Link from Ocarina of Time.

The game opens as Link, an apprentice railroad engineer, travels to the castle of Princess Zelda to attend a Graduation Ceremony, where the honor of Royal Engineer will be bestowed upon him by the princess herself. As she rewards Link for his service, she slips him a note, warning of the suspicious Chancellor Cole, and to take a hidden path and meet her in secret. She requests Link's help in investigating the mystery of the vanishing Spirit Tracks. Zelda is restricted to her quarters, but needs Link's help sneaking out of the castle to figure out why the Spirit Tracks are mysteriously disappearing all over the land. Zelda then presents Link with a change of clothing—the Recruit Uniform—which will help Link blend in and trick the similarly dressed guards.

After their success, the two finally make it out of the castle and bump into Alfonzo, Link's Master Engineer, who taught him how to become an engineer. As Alfonzo was once a soldier, he helps Zelda and Link escape on a train towards the Tower of Spirits. However, the tracks begin to vanish from underneath the vehicle. After a spectacular crash they are stopped halfway by Chancellor Cole and his second-in-command. The pair easily defeat Link and Alfonzo, and go on to murder Princess Zelda. Chancellor Cole then takes Zelda's lifeless body and uses it as a vessel in an attempt to revive Malladus.

When Link awakens, he finds himself in Hyrule Castle. Zelda's spirit floats in, and Zelda learns she is dead and that no one can see her but Link and a few Lokomos. Zelda then leads Link to a sword. After a bit of training she then directs Link to head to the Tower of Spirits where she might be brought back to life. To help Link, Princess Zelda's ghost inhabits a Phantom and aids Link in stopping Chancellor Cole and reviving herself.

A Link To The Past
Link lives with his uncle in a house near Hyrule Castle. One night, Link receives a telepathic message from Princess Zelda in his sleep; the princess claims to be locked in the dungeons of the castle. Link awakens to find his uncle preparing to come to Zelda's aid, and is told to remain in his bed. After his uncle's departure, however, Link ignores his command and follows after him to Hyrule Castle. Following further advice from Princess Zelda, Link finds a hidden entrance leading inside the castle; inside a passageway, he finds his uncle, who has been mortally injured in battle. In his final moments, Link's uncle asks Link to save Zelda from her prison, giving him a sword and shield, as well as teaching him the Spin Attack, before he passes. Link navigates the castle and rescues Zelda from her cell, and the two make their escape through a secret passage connecting the castle sewers to the Sanctuary.

The Loyal Sage residing in the Sanctuary tells Link of Agahnim, an evil wizard who has usurped the throne, and plans to break a seal made hundreds of years ago by Seven Wise Men. The seal was placed to imprison Ganon, King of Thieves, in the Dark World, which was once the Sacred Realm before Ganon invaded, obtained the legendary Triforce, and used its power to turn the realm into a land of darkness. Agahnim intends to break the seal by sending the Seven Maidens, the descendants of the Seven Wise Men who made the seal, into the Dark World, allowing Ganon to break free and complete his plan to rule both worlds. The only thing that can defeat Agahnim is the Master Sword, a sword forged to combat evil. To prove he is worthy of wielding it, Link needs the three Pendants of Virtue.

With the aid of Sahasrahla, elder of Kakariko Village, Link is able to retrieve all three pendants, and takes them to the resting place of the Master Sword and is able to draw it from its pedestal. Upon obtaining the blade, Sahasrahla contacts him and tells him to go to Hyrule Castle and use the sword's power to break the barrier placed around the castle tower that serves as Agahnim's stronghold. On the way to the castle, Link is contacted by Zelda again, who tells him that Hyrule Guards have attacked the Sanctuary. Link arrives at the Sanctuary moments after the soldiers have vacated, where he learns from the dying sage that Zelda has been taken to the Hyrule Castle Tower. Link goes to rescue her, but he arrives too late to stop Agahnim from sending Zelda to the Dark World. After Agahnim is defeated in the ensuing battle, he sends Link to the Dark World as well.

To stop Ganon and save Hyrule, Link must rescue the Seven Maidens from dungeons scattered across the Dark World. Once the Seven Maidens are freed, they use their power to break the barrier around Ganon's Tower, where Link faces Agahnim again. After the hero defeats Agahnim for a second time, Ganon rises up from Agahnim's body, turns into a bat, and flies away. Link chases him, finally confronting him inside the Pyramid in the Dark World. After a battle resulting in Ganon's demise, Link touches the Triforce, and wishes for Hyrule to be restored to its former state. With peace restored to the land and his uncle restored to life, Link returns the Master Sword to its resting place in the Lost Woods.

Oracles of Seasons and Ages
Link is already a hero at the beginning of these games, as he is the same Link from A Link to the Past according to Hyrule Historia. The two Oracle games begin very similarly, with Link traveling to the shrine of the Triforce. Inside, the sacred relic transports him to a world in desperate need of a hero: Holodrum in Oracle of Seasons and Labrynna in Oracle of Agees. Link befriends Din the dancer in the former and Nayru the singer in the former.

In Holodrum, he is found soon after his arrival by Din who takes care of him until he awakens and invites him to dance with her and her troupe of performers though the General of Darkness Onox attacks and abducts Din, revealing she's actually the oracle of seasons and that one of the members is Impa, Zelda's caretaker, and was bringing her to Hyrule for safety because if anything were to happen to her then the seasons would go out of control. Using the season-changing powers of the Rod of Seasons, Link travels through Holodrum to gather the essences of Nature to restore the Maku's tree's power in order to gain access to Onux's Castle and save Din. Upon the defeat of Onox and the freeing Din, peace returns to Holodrum as nature returns to normal.

In Labrynna, Link is again sent by the Triforce to a new land in need of a hero and encounters Impa being attacked by monsters and saves her and they they go to meet Nayru, the oracle of Ages, though Impa turns out to be possessed by the Sorceress of Shadow, Veran who proceeds to possess Nayru and uses her powers to alter the past in order to ruin the future. To stop her Link must travel back and forth in time via the Harp of Ages to ssave Nayru as well as the rest of the land after Veran possesses the queen of the Labrynna in the past, Ambi and takes refuge in the Black Tower, a large tower Veran had constructed. After collecting all of the Essences of Time, Link storms the tower and frees Queen Ambi and defeats Vera once and for all.

After completing one game, starting a linked game using a password from the first, and completing it, a secret final quest can be accessed in which it is revealed that Koume and Kotake were behind the exploits of both Veran and Onox, planning to use their evil actions as a catalyst to revive Ganon using a spell that required the lightning of the flames of Destruction and Sorrow which were lit by Onox and Veran respectfully. To light the final flame, the flame of Dispair, they plan to sacrifice Princess Zelda who is currently in either Holodrom or Labrynna to congratulate Link for saving the Oracles. After Zelda is kidnapped by the witches Link goes and saves her, the witches choose to sacrifice themselves to ressurect Ganon though due to the alteration of the ritual Ganon is ressurected as a mindless beast that is defeated by Link. Now that Labrynna and Holodrom and truly save once more, Link sets sail to an unknown destination.

Link's Awakening
Link's Awakening is the first game to take place outside of Hyrule and the main storyline involving the Triforce and Ganon. Link is traveling aboard a ship, across the ocean toward destinations unknown, when a fierce storm sets in, leaving him shipwrecked. The hero awakens in the house of his rescuer, a young girl named Marin, whom he initially mistakes for Princess Zelda. Marin explains to Link that he has been marooned on Koholint Island. Link is given his shield by Marin's father, Tarin, and proceeds to retrieve his sword from the beach where he washed ashore. An owl then appears, telling Link about the dangers of the isle and instructing him to search for the eight Instruments of the Sirens, which will allow Link to wake the enigmatic Wind Fish and leave the island. The instruments are contained in the island's eight dungeons and are guarded by Nightmares, evil beings who seek to prevent the awakening of the Wind Fish.

On his quest to retrieve the instruments, Link explores the entire island, through forest, desert, and mountains, receiving aid from the Owl along the way. Furthermore, Marin joins Link in his quest for a time, and they develop an implied romantic relationship. In an eastern shrine, Link uncovers a mural on which is written the truth of Koholint Island: the island and all its inhabitants are but a dream of the Wind Fish, and should it be awakened, they will cease to exist. To continue the Wind Fish's slumber and thus establish control over Koholint Island indefinitely, the Nightmares begin attempting to dissuade Link from awakening the deity by telling him that since he, too, is in the dream, he will also be erased from existence if the Wind Fish wakes.

After collecting all eight Instruments of the Sirens, Link stands before the Wind Fish's Egg on Mt. Tamaranch, and plays the "Ballad of the Wind Fish", which he had learned from Marin, on his Ocarina. Inside the egg, Link does battle with the many forms of DethI, the leader of the Nightmares. Upon defeating his foe, Link is thanked by the Owl and greeted by the Wind Fish, who bids him plays the "Ballad of the Wind Fish" once more. Doing so ends the dream of Koholint, causing the island and all its inhabitants to disappear. Link awakens clinging to a piece of his wrecked ship in the middle of the ocean, and smiles as he sees the Wind Fish fly overhead.

Hyrule Historia states the Link in this adventure is the same Link from A Link to the Past and the Oracle series. While the Japanese website for Link's Awakening states that it is the sequel to A Link to the Past, in the ending of the Oracle games Link is seen leaving on a ship similar to the one he begins on in Link's Awakening, making this a possible retcon of the timeline, or it's possible that the Oracle games take place between "A Link to the Past" and "Link's Awakening". The manual of Link's Awakening states that Link had recently defeated Ganon, though this occurs in many games, including both A Link to the Past and a linked Oracle game.

A Link Between Worlds
Link is a Blacksmith's apprentice who experiences frequent nightmares, which often cause him to be late for work. In his dreams, he sees Princess Zelda being snatched away by a pig-shaped creature. He is asked to deliver the Forgotten Sword to the Captain, who is at the Sanctuary visiting the Priest and Seres. As Link approaches the Sanctuary, however, the doors slam shut and Seres screams in terror. He gains entry through a secret passage and encounters Yuga, who has turned the Captain into a drawing on the wall and transformed Seres, revealed to be a Sage, into a portrait before escaping after Link is knocked unconcious.

Link awakens in his house once more, this time with a strange person in a rabbit hood greeting him and introducing himself as the merchant Ravio. After learning what happened to Link and asking permission to stay in his house a while, Ravio gifts him with an old, musty bracelet and suggests Link report the happenings to Princess Zelda so something can be done about it. At the gate, Impa, Princess Zelda's attendant, allows Link entry into the castle as she announces Link's arrival to the Princess. Princess Zelda quickly recognizes Link from her dreams, and gives him the Pendant of Courage - and tasks him with finding the elder of Kakariko Village, Sahasrahla. Upon meeting him in his home, he urges Link to warn his student Osfala of Yuga at the Eastern Palace, since he is also a descendent of the Seven Sages. Link finds him at the entrance, but Osfala is sure of himself and does not view Yuga as a problem, leading him to be turned into a painting before Link's very eyes. After Link manages to get the upper hand in their battle, Yuga furiously turns him into a painting as well. Leaving him there, Ravio's Bracelet lights up and frees Link, granting him the ability to merge into walls freely.

Yuga puts up a barrier around Hyrule Castle and is informed by Sahasrahla that the Master Sword can break the barrier and tasks him with finding the Pendant of Courage and Pendant of Wisdom. After obtaining all three Pendants of Virtue, Link ventures deep into the Lost Woods and pulls the Master Sword from its pedestal and proceeds to break the barrier and confront Yuga on the highest tower of the castle. Yuga turns Zelda into a painting as well and flees through a crack in the wall with Link following him and ending up in Lorule, a dimension opposite to Hyrule that is on the verge of ruin and Yuga's homeland. Yuga revives Ganon with the paintings and fuses with him to obtain his Triforce of Power. Becoming a beast, Link is almost doomed until Princess Hilda appears and imprisons Yuga. She tells Link he must save the Seven Sages if he wishes to save their worlds from Yuga's threat. When all Seven Sages are saved, Link is gifted with the Triforce of Courage. He returns to Lorule Castle to confront Yuga, only to have Princess Hilda betray him, shortly after explaining Lorule's history of how it too once had a Triforce, but was destroyed to end the conflicts over it. While it was done with good intentions, it had terrible consequences on the state of their world. Wanting Hyrule's Triforce in order to save Lorule, Hilda takes Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom, and is ready to take Link's Triforce of Courage as well. Yuga betrays Hilda and takes the Triforce of Wisdom from her, now having two pieces. Planning to take Link's to remake Lorule in his image, they have one final battle and Yuga is defeated.

Zelda is freed, but Hilda is still desperate to save her kingdom. Ravio shows up and reveals himself to be Link's Lorulean counterpart who unlike Link was a coward at heart and so went to Hyrule to find a hero to stop Yuga and Hilda's schemes. He explains to Hilda that this sort of chaos is exactly what led to their Triforce being destroyed in the first place. Realizing the error of her ways, Hilda sends Link and Zelda home through Lorule's version of the Sacred Realm.

Returning home, Link and Zelda find themselves in Hyrule's Sacred Realm, with the whole Triforce up ahead. They both touch it, with the wish for Lorule's Triforce to be restored after all the choas they had seen and due to the recreation of the Lorule Tri-Force, Lorule is saved.

The Legend of Zelda
Link is a hero summoned by Impa, the royal nursemaid, to save Princess Zelda from the evil Prince of Darkness, Gannon, who is seeking out the shards of the Triforce of Wisdom. Link finds the pieces before Gannon does, and in the end, destroys the villain with a Silver Arrow, saving Zelda. Link's character and background are given little explanation in the game, although the prologue describes him as "burning with a sense of justice."

The Adventure of Link
Being a sequel set not long after the original game, The Adventure of Link features the same Link as The Legend of Zelda. Link is now fifteen years old, approaching his sixteenth birthday. Although Ganon has been killed, his army of monsters remains active throughout Hyrule. They plan to revive Ganon by spilling the blood of his murderer, Link, onto his ashes. Link is disturbed find a Triforce mark on his hand as he approaches his sixteenth birthday, and Impa explains that he is the hero chosen to awaken an ancient Princess Zelda from her sleeping curse that had been put on her by her jealous brother who had been blinded by his obsession with the power of the Triforce to the point that he had a magician threaten his sister for the whereabouts of the missing Triforce of Courage and the end result was that the magician cursed her into deep unending slumber and the guilty prince made it law that all females of the royal family be named after her while placing his sister in a hidden room within the palace only known of by the Sheikah Tribe in the hopes that one day she could be saved. To awaken the original Princess Zelda Link must find the long lost Triforce of Courage and reuniting it with the Triforce of Power and Triforce of Courage. Impa reveals that the father of the prince and princess had been rumered to have hidden the Triforce of Courage in the Great Palace which is protected by a mysterious force that can only be removed by placing a crystal in each of Hyrule's six palaces. Link braves the palaces and successfully places the crystals and gains entry to the Great Palace and faces his final challange in the form of a dark reflection of himself, Dark Link and prevails and receives the Triforce of Courage. Link returns to the Northern Palace and reunites the pieces of the Triforce and awakens Princess Zelda who calls Link a true hero for his deeds in protecting Hyrule before sharing a kiss.

Breath Of The Wild (Yet Unknown timeline)
Link wakes up in the shrine of resurrection by a mysterious female voice. Link has been asleep for 100 years and ventures out from the shrine, he later get to learn that there was a great apocalyptic event in Hyrule caused by Ganon (who has been returned as Calamity Ganon) and that Link must free all the 4 divine beasts that has been corrupted by Ganon in order to save hyrule since the seal on Ganon has begun to weaken.