Tato stranka by vapadalo mnohem lepe v prohlizeci, ktery podporuje webove standardy, nicmene prohlizet ji muzete v jakemkoliv prohlizeci, nebo zarizeni s pristupem na Internet.
Wellcome to Xsoft Hyrule Field - If you looking for help with Zelda game, then start here.
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ZELDA SERIES CHARACTER GUIDE
by Adam Marx
=~=TABLE OF CONTENTS=~=
Introduction [INT]
Version History [VER]
Zelda Series Overview [SUM]
The Meat of the Guide [MEA]
Races Compendium [RAC]
Ladies' Man [LAD]
Thanks [THA]
Legal Garbage [LEG]
In Closing [INC]
Those numbers in [ ] are to allow you to quickly access the part of the guide
you want to view. Use your Ctrl+F function (on John Hodgemans, I'm not sure
what it is for Jason Longs) to jump to where you need to be. For example, if
you wanted to see the Billy Bob section, whose code was [BIL], you would
press Ctrl+F, then type in '[BIL]', then click 'Find Next' twice. Boom! There
you are! It saves on scrolling through the whole document to find what you
need.
=~=INTRODUCTION=~=
[INT]
The Legend of Zelda is my favourite video game series, bar none. I am a FAQs
author. It follows that I would want to write a Legend of Zelda FAQs.
Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who subscribes to this way of thinking.
Quite a few other people like Zelda, too. Plus, I don't think I could write a
very good walkthrough. These two factors combined mean that any walkthrough I
were to write just wouldn't be able to compete.
So in a way, I guess this guide is my way around that. Because I'm pro at
NPCs. I actually consider myself a walking encyclopaedia of the Zelda
universe - I'm a real 'ask me anything' kind of guy when we're talking Zelda.
That's not arrogance, it's just the truth >_>
So, inspired by various other Nintendo-franchise character and ending guides
(props to them), I composed this one. Snazzy, isn't it? Of course, I'm not
nearly as talented a writer as some of those genius authors, but I hope you
enjoy my work anyway.
The very first version of this guide contained 69 entries. Obviously, that is
far, far fewer than the number of characters in the series. But most of them
are just not important enough to merit lengthening the guide; if I actually
went over every single one, we'd have a document 1,000 gigs long, and it
would be mostly uninteresting and redundant.
Speaking of redundancy, some characters have been culled to keep the thing
from growing too long. But back to what I was saying, I viewed various
resources to find lists of characters. Characters were considered for
inclusion if they met one of the following criteria:
(1) It played a significant role in the storyline of at least one Zelda game
(2) It played multiple roles of moderate importance (storyline or otherwise)
(3) It intrigues me personally
As you can see, the basis for selection is painfully arbitrary. If you take a
look and you see that this guide lacks a character you believe should be
included, please let me know. By the same token, if there's somebody here who
really, really doesn't deserve to be, fire over an e-mail and I'll think
about getting rid of 'em.
That about wraps it up. I'm proud of myself; by my standards, that was a
pretty short intro. Onward, and enjoy.
=~=Version History=~=
[VER]
Version 1.0
11.13.06
The initial version of this guide; the state it was in when first posted on
GameFAQs.
Version 1.1
12.17.06
I'm never rushing another guide. Trying to get this one out left large gaps,
an inability to edit for errors before posting and some entertaining but
scandalous silliness, such as my having accidentally left the placeholder
'DATE GOES HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE' for the date index for Version 1.0. So
I've fixed most of those.
Created a few new character entries (Grog, Zephos and Cyclos, and some
characters from Tingle RPG), edited some others and created a whole new
section, the Races Compendium.
Some other information has been added as well, mostly little things.
Version 1.2
02.09.07
Finally added all the information for Twilight Princess, added some profiles
I neglected to put in from before, and fixed some errors.
=~=Zelda Series Overview=~=
[SUM]
Before we get to the character section itself, I thought I'd give you a brief
look at the Zelda series as a whole. New players might have trouble keeping
up, and returning ones might like a recap, so hopefully this section will
help you avoid confusion. If you're a seasoned Hyrulean veteran, you can feel
free to skip right over this section, or read it for posterity. It's probably
worth a skim.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind here. Mainly, there is NO one
definitive timeline for the Zelda series. Certainly, there was one published
on zelda.com, and you can devise innumerable fan timelines if you apply
certain rules to the universe (Kirby021591's is one of the best; check out
any of his Zelda walkthroughs to find it), but really, it's all guesswork.
Aonuma Eiji, the dude currently in charge of the Zelda franchise, has stated
he eventually intends to solidify the overarching story, but I'll believe it
when I see it. It's probably the most convenient to think of each game as
self-contained, except in instances where the events of one game explicitly
reference others (for example, Majora's Mask is irrefutably a direct sequel
to Ocarina of Time.)
I could say way more on the subject, but I'll contain myself.
The next issue is caused by the first. Many weapons, items and --characters-
recur from one game to the next. Sometimes it's possible they're the same
thing (for instance, how many Mirror Shields can there possibly be? one must
ask oneself) whereas others are physically different but functionally
identical items, like certain bows. Others, like the Hookshot, may just be
variations on the same design. It's impossible to know.
As for characters, many of them appear in multiple time periods. Some just
live a really long time (Impa, the Great Deku Tree, Jr), some apparently
time-travel (Tingle) and still others have no explanation for their presence
(Beedle, Zill.) Oh yeah, and of course some have alternate-universe, ancient
ancestor, or reincarnation versions.
Sifting through endless layers of ambiguity is fun, no?
The Legend of Zelda
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu
Nintendo Entertainment System
Released: 1986
Since there's no clear storyline, let's look at them one-by-one, in the order
that they happened in the real world. That means we kick-start the section
with the original Legend of Zelda. Being that it's the first one in the
series, it's hard to write about, because if you look at it from an industry
standpoint, everything's an innovation, and if you look at it from a series
standpoint, everything's a franchise standard. But look! I just took up a
whole paragraph talking about the paragraph itself! Well played, self.
*congratulates self*
I might as well say SOMETHING, though, so let's do a brief overview. Ganon,
evil pig lord and main villain of the series, possesses the Triforce of
Power, and seeks to earn the Triforce of Wisdom as well. (No Triforce of
Courage, that came later.) But Wisdom was held by Princess Zelda, and when he
tried to take it from her, she magically broke it into eight pieces and hid
the shards in a collection of dangerous catacombs throughout Hyrule. Zelda's
handmaiden apprised a lad named Link of the situation, and he took charge,
recovered the pieces after many harrowing adventures, and finally gained the
power to face Ganon head-on. In the process, he introduced many elements that
would later become Zelda staples, like the acquisition of tools, inevitable
confrontations with bosses and the magic number eight (in regards to the
number of dungeons a game contains, plus the final level.) Hmm...on second
though, I guess that wasn't so hard to write about, after all.
Zelda II: Link's Adventure
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Rinku no Bouken
Nintendo Entertainment System
Released: 1988
Man, I hate this game so much. I finally got a copy almost four years ago,
and I'm still stuck on the fourth level. If I wanted Castlevania-style
gameplay, I would play Castlevania. If you don't know what I'm talking about,
Zelda II is completely different from others in the series. Others have a
top-down or 3D perspective, but Zelda II has a top-down overworld view, then
switches to an action side-scroller for random battle and dungeon sequences.
This is because it wasn't an adventure game, but an action-RPG - and I myself
am skilled in neither of those genres. For me, this game is frickin' HARD
(while I laughed out loud when I read that someone had tried over twenty
times to beat Ganon in Ocarina of Time - I did it one try and only took about
ten hearts of damage, and I know that's a lot worse than some people. It all
depends on your personal skills, eh?) But on the bright side, Zelda II
(stupid, stupid title) introduced magic spells to Link's arsenal, some of
which are VERY cool, to say nothing of the exceptionally well-done finale.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Toraifousu
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Released: 1992
Ha ha, get it? A Link to the Past is the second of three Zelda games with
irritating English titles. It was renamed because Triforce of the Gods
sounded too religious. But let's move on, before my trend of failing to talk
about the game itself gets out of hand. Past is one of the games that many
consider to be the best in the series. The pak made the important
contribution of the Master Sword, which has stood long since - the first
Zelda had a Magical Sword, but who knows what the story is there. It's also
the longest to date: There was an introductory dungeon, then a set of three,
then a set of seven and THEN the final boss dungeon. But what really set it
apart was its Light World/Dark World feature. You see, the Golden Land was
originally a mirror image of Hyrule (the Light World), with numerous minor
differences. Ganon's evil transformed it into the Dark World. You eventually
gained the ability to travel between the two, and navigating the world
suddenly became insanely fun. Use the Rooster to fly to Death
Mountain...plumb the depths of the caves...come out on a ledge near a portal
to the Dark World...jump down a ways...use the Magic Mirror to return to the
Light World...then go left a ways and you're there at last. True story.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Yume wo Miru Shima
Gameboy
Released: 1993
By some interpretations, Link's Awakening is a direct sequel to A Link to the
Past. Either way, on a voyage to condition his body and mind in preparation
for possible future catastrophes, Link is shipwrecked and wakes up on
Koholint Island. I don't know what a Koholint is, but the Japanese title
seems to be 'island that is seeing a dream,' or Dreaming Island (I'm a
learner of Japanese.) Anyway, Koholint Island is quite an interesting place,
from the giant egg that sits on its tallest mountain to the village populated
entirely by talking animals. Link quested to enter the egg with the eight
Instruments of the Sirens, and find a way back home. I like this game a lot.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Toki no Okarina
Nintendo 64
Released: 1998
Probably the most popular Zelda title. I can see why, but...amazing graphics
aren't everything, people! (Shut up. They were stupendous at the time.) At
any rate, the level design is more than competent and the mix of old and new
is commendable. Ocarina of Time built on some of the core elements of A Link
to the Past, including its 3/5 dungeon dichotomy, the method by which the
Master Sword is gained, and the dual-world scheme - though in this case, it's
the present and future of the same world rather than two separate worlds, and
your ability to switch between the two is severely limited. Anyway, a fine
entry indeed.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Majora no Kamen
Nintendo 64
Released: 2000
Ocarina of Time was so well received, they decided to release a direct sequel
to it, utilising the same engine and resources. To me, that makes Ocarina so
much less special, but once I got into it (Majora's Mask takes a while to get
moving) I may have liked it even better. This one is set in a parallel
version of Hyrule, called Termina. They have a somewhat similar world. You'll
meet many of the same characters, this time with names, but Termina is more
tribal than civic. Oh yeah, and the game's main antagonist has set the moon
on a collision course that will obliterate the planet, plus Hyrule. The
three-day time limit can be reset again and again, but this also resets
events - all you'll keep is the items you've collected, which is enough. The
jury's out on this one; you'll find the three-day system either brilliant, or
annoying as hell.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Ko no Mi Daichi no Shou
Gameboy Colour
Released: 2001
During development, Oracle of Seasons and Ages were originally called
'gaiden,' meaning side-stories. That's not entirely inaccurate. You could
even go as far as to say they were just to keep players going between games,
though they are still excellent standalone adventures. Nut of the Mysterious
Tree: Chapter of Earth is the easier and less interesting of the two. This
one tracked Link as he used the Rod of Seasons, a magical device that he
could use to change the seasons at will, to deny General Onox his dream of
conquering Holodrum.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Ko no Mi Jikuu no Shou
Gameboy Colour
Released: 2001
Released concurrently with Oracle of Seasons, Nut of the Mysterious Tree:
Chapter of Time and Space is more puzzle-oriented, and probably the superior
game overall. We were a little squeamish when we found out they had been
handed out to Capcom, but it all turned out all right. Link gained the Harp
of Ages, another time-travelling instrument - as well as one that allowed
another dual-world system, this one being the present and 400 years in the
past. Link used it to fight the Sorceress Veran as she strove to conquer
Labrynna. The biggest feature of the Oracle games was that when you completed
one, you got a password. This password could be entered into the other game
when you started a new file, allowing you to start off with the Wooden Sword
(instead of looking for it) and an extra Heart Container. It also unlocked
additional content and many special items unavailable the first time through.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Yottsu no Tsurugi
Gameboy Advance
Released: 2002
When A Link to the Past was re-released for GBA, there was a smaller,
multiplayer-only game on the same pak. It introduced a new villain, Vaati,
and had the players attempt madcap challenges as they cooperated to complete
a level, but competed to collect the most Rupees. While it got even more fun
as more players were added, most people who bought the re-release probably
didn't have the hardware needed for Four Swords.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Kaze no Takuto
Nintendo GameCube
Released: 2003
Despite its obvious flaws, The Wind Waker is my favourite Zelda game. Some
people will blanch at that statement, but I love it, and I'm letting you
know, even though you don't need to. Except for the name...Waker is not
technically a word. (Neither is GameCube, of course...) Anyway, for some
reason which I won't spoil, Hyrule is underwater. As a result, your adventure
takes place mostly on the high seas, firing cannon, searching for sunken
treasure and exploring small islands in a cel-shaded, hyper-bouncy world that
really irked a lot of people. But if you wanted realism, boy, did you ever
pick the wrong series. Another area of complaint was that travelling across
the ocean was too boring. I thought it was neat, myself. Fortunately this
isn't a critical review, or we'd be here forever as I argued my case.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Yottsu no Tsurugi Purasu
Nintendo GameCube
Released: 2004
Not only did Four Swords+ expand on the original and bring it to a console,
it also offered the option of a single-player mode that didn't require a GBA
or the GCN-GBA cable. Pretty sweet. The story is quite similar, but the game
is much, much, much longer, and will probably take about 20 hours to complete
rather than an hour and a half. Each stage takes about twenty minutes, I'd
say. There's also a shallow yet intense battle mode.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Boushi
Gameboy Advance
Released: 2005
The title's Mysterious Hat is Ezlo, who...hmm, perhaps I'd best not talk
about his backstory here. Well, Ezlo finds Link in the forest, affixes to his
head, and gives him access to yet another dual-world system. This time, he
can go 'twixt the Hylian-sized world, and that of the inch-high Minish
people. From this unique vantage point, Hyrule doubles in size as you explore
huge dungeons stretching almost a metre in any direction. Truly vast, for a
Minish. This innovative use of the diminutive form gets a thumbs-up from me,
but like The Wind Waker, whose general style it follows, it is so short I
have to wonder if development was rushed.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Towairaito Purinsesu
Nintendo GameCube/Wii
Released: 2006
This game was a first in several ways: It was the first game to receive a
rating more dangerous than E (it got a T rating), for example, and it was the
first to be released on two consoles concurrently. I won't get into all the
reasons why the game irked me, because we'd be here for a year, but they are
definitely there. Despite this, the game is still really good. It marks a
return to the inexplicably popular realistic style, a much darker tone, a
heavier emphasis on storytelling, a Hyrule under siege by another plane of
existence, and a cool new mechanic in the guise of Link's ability to assume
wolf form.
=~=The Meat of the Guide=~=
[MEA]
Okay, we've finally arrived! This is the reason you came here. Below is a
list of every character profiled in this guide. There's quite a few of them,
eh?
To jump to a specific character, use the Find function, and type the first
two letters of their name with a space between them. So to find Mario's entry
(to be clear, Mario doesn't actually have an entry, this is just an example),
you would hit Ctrl+F, search for 'M A', and click Find. Teleport! *Twilight
Zone three-tone theme plays*
By the way, need I actually say that this guide contains huge spoilers for
basically every game in the series?
Agahnim
Agitha
Anju and Kafei
Biggoron
Bipin and Blossom
Blade Brothers
Bokoblin Boss
Bombers Gang
Carlov and Borlov
Carpenters
Composer Brothers
Daltus
Dampe
Dark Link
Darmani
Darunia
Deku Royal Family
Din, Nayru and Farore
Donkuru
Epona
Error
Ezlo
Fado
Fyer and Falbi
Ganon
General Onox
Goron Elder
Great Deku Tree
Great Fairy
Gustaf, Royal Spirit
Grog
Happy Mask Salesman
Helmaroc King
Hena
Hero's Spirit
Igos du Ikana
Ilia
Impa
Indigo-Gos
Ingo
Jabu-Jabu
Jalhalla, Protector of the Seal
Jovani
Kaepora Gaebora
Keaton
Kiki
King Moblin
King of Red Lions
King Zora
Know-it-All Brothers
Komali
Koume and Kotake
Laruto
Lenzo
Light Spirits
Link
Link's relatives
Madame MeowMeow
Majora's Mask
Makar
Maku Trees
Malon and Talon
Maple and Syrup
Master Stalfos
Marin and Tarin
Medli
Melari
Merman
Midna
Mido
Mikau
Nabooru
Navi
Nightmares
Old Man and Old Woman
Oocoo
Ordon Village Kids
Patch
Pierre and Bonooru
Pinguru
Postman
Queen Ambi
Quill
Rafton
Ralis
Ralph
Rauru
Renado
Richard
Ricky, Moosh and Dimitri
Rosa
Rupiiji
Ruto
Sahasrahla
Salvage Corp.
Saria
Skull Kid and Friends
Sorceress Veran
Sturgeon and Orca
Telma
Tetra's Crew
Tingle
Vaati
Valoo
Vasu
Wind Fish
Yeto and Yeta
Zant
Zelda
Zephos and Cyclos
Zunari
=============================================================================
A g a h n i m
Sorcerer-puppet
Race: Hylian
Appearances: A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Oracle of Seasons
Shortly before the beginning of A Link to the Past, perhaps a year, an
endless chain of catastrophic natural disasters befell Hyrule. Typhoons,
earthquakes and floods wracked the land, causing massive collateral damage
and killing many people. Their origin could not be discerned, and they were
so large even the best magicians failed to end the threat. The King of Hyrule
could only watch in despair as his kingdom was slowly worn down.
Just when it seemed Hyrule was ready to give out, a wizard from a faraway
land appeared and, with some effort, put a stop to everything that was
happening. He was greeted as a hero and the King gratefully took him on as
advisor. With his suggestions taken into account, Hyrule prospered once
again.
But in reality, well...Ganon is many things, but an idiot is not one of them.
After his first duel with Link, he was imprisoned in the Golden Land, where
had stayed for hundreds of years. All this time, he plotted a means of
escape, transforming it into the sinister Dark World over time. Agahnim
actually was a kind wizard to begin with, so how he got to be under Ganon's
dominion is unclear. At any rate, Ganon possesses the poor old man to use as
his puppet, then begins to exert his growing magical power on the Light
World. When the people of Hyrule are at their most desperate, he sends a
false saviour to them. Through Agahnim, Ganon is able to manipulate the Light
World to his ends. Agahnim begins sacrificing maidens late at night in Hyrule
Castle's tallest tower, in the hopes of breaking the barrier between the
worlds.
After Link collects the Pendants of Power, Courage, and Wisdom, he is able to
draw the Master Sword from its pedestal in the Lost Woods. When he re-
emerges, Agahnim has kidnapped Zelda from the Sanctuary, a place she thought
was safe and unknown to him. Link ascends Hyrule Castle and duels with
Agahnim. In this fight, Agahnim's main attack is to throw coloured balls of
magical energy at Link, but they can easily be deflect with the Master Sword.
The idea is to smack it back into Agahnim's body, damaging him with his own
magic. He also has a very powerful attack where he shoots lightning out of
his hands, but it's so predictable and easy to avoid (just head for one of
the room's corners) that it isn't much of a threat.
After he's beaten, he falls down dead, but Ganon uses the last of his
presence in the Light World to warp Link to the Dark World, where things are
looking bleak, both literally and figuratively. He reappears later in the
game, as the boss of the final dungeon, Ganon's Tower. Here, he gains the
ability to briefly become invisible, and some of his magical orb attacks
can't be deflected. He can also create two shadow clones of himself, which
can distract Link with potentially fatal consequences if he doesn't know
which ones are which, but their attacks pass right through him. Other than
that, his attack pattern is the same.
At the end of Link's Awakening, the final boss is a collection of foes from
previous games, and Agahnim is one of them. As with A Link to the Past, to
defeat him you have to deflect his only attack back at him. This form is
pathetically easy. Some people say that it's easier to deflect his attacks
with the Shovel rather than the Sword, which is not true.
Agahnim also made one final appearance in Oracle of Seasons as the mini-boss
of Level 3, Poison Moth's Lair. This one works a little differently. The room
starts off dark, with Agahnim and two clones. There are two torches in the
middle of the room, around which the three hover. Link must light the torches
with Ember Seeds from his Seed Satchel. Then he must quickly examine all
three assailants before the light goes out again. The one who casts a shadow
is the real Agahnim, and the only one who can be hurt, by repeatedly bashing
him with your sword. All three can damage Link, however, and it can be tricky
to get a hit in while trying to avoid attacks. It's never explained how what
was once a powerful figure became relegated to a forgettable mini-boss, but
I'd guess this incarnation was an invention of Ganon.
=============================================================================
A g i t h a
Probably doesn't deserve to be second on the list
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Agitha is a very strange little girl who loves bugs. Specifically, she's
looking for 24 golden members of the phylum arthropoda, which she asks Link
to seek out so that she can hold Agitha's Ball at her house, called Agitha's
Castle. She makes funny little noises, and the way she talks (in third
person, for one thing) and the way she acts have caused some to question her
sanity. She even sends Link a letter telling him about a fairly bizarre dream
she has. Also, she has a peeping tom.
=============================================================================
A n j u a n d K a f e i
Star-cross'd lovers
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Majora's Mask
The Skull Kid, under the influence of Majora's Mask, commits all manner of
deeds which he apparently views as mere mischief, but which are really quite
taxing on their recipients. As the game begins, Anju and Kafei are set to be
married in three days. However, the Skull Kid has transformed Kafei into a
child!
Kafei can't bear to show his face in this state, so he spends most of his
time hanging around the back room of the Curiosity Shop. He goes to great
lengths to ensure nobody finds out who he is. He arranges for the postman to
give a special signal when he delivers any mail to Kafei, and when the man-
boy does venture out, he wears a Keaton's Mask and refuses to talk to anyone.
Through the longest and most complicated side-quest in the game, you can
reunite them:
FIRST DAY
-The mayor, the Captain of the Guard and the chief carpenter are arguing in
the mayor's office. Talk to the mayor's wife, Madame Aroma. She'll give you
Kafei's Mask, which allows you to interrogate people as to whether or not
they've seen her son.
-Listen to Anju's and the postman's conversation at the Stock Pot Inn - Anju
is the innkeeper. The postman knows where Kafei is, but won't tell. He would
never sell out a friend, I guess.
-Talk to Anju. She'll screw up and give away somebody else's room to you.
Talk to her again to arrange a midnight meeting.
-At midnight, meet Anju in the Stock Pott Inn's kitchen. She'll ask you to
deliver a letter, even though she could have just done it herself with much
less effort. Put it in any mailbox.
SECOND DAY
-Witness the postman delivering the letter. Talk to Kafei in the Curiosity
Shop's back room. He'll give you the Pendant of Memories.
-Return a little later. The owner will be there now. He has the Keaton's Mask
and the Express Mail to Mama. Deliver the latter to Madame Aroma to receive
an empty Bottle. Alternately, give it the postman to get the Postman's Hat
later on.
-Sakon, a local malcontent, stole Kafei's Sun's Mask, which is basically an
engagement ring. (Sakon steals other junk too.) Break into his hideout in
Ikana Canyon, accidentally activate the security system, and work through it,
finally recovering the mask.
This marks the first and last time in Zelda history that players were able to
control someone other than Link. The focus shifted between Link fighting Deku
Babas on one half of the security system and Kafei solving block puzzles on
the other.
With this complete, Link went to see them in the Employees Only room of the
Stock Pot Inn. Kafei finally showed up, but not until the last hour before
the moon hit home. Kafei still looks like a child O_o but they marry each
other in a private and hasty ceremony in which they exchange the Sun's and
Moon's Masks, respectively. This forms the Couple's Mask, which they give to
Link.
This is truly one of the most emotional scenes in the series, I think. They
hold each other, crying, and say they will greet the coming morning,
together. This is kind of sad, because they know that the instant dawn
arrives, the moon will make planetfall and they'll both die.
It's even sadder if you make a mistake and are unable to recover the Sun's
Mask; if you screw up, you don't have another shot until you reset the three
day timer and do everything over. If this happens, Anju will still go to the
Employees Only room to wait for Kafei, but he doesn't show up, no matter how
long you wait. Anju dies alone in extreme grief. Depressing, isn't it?
But wait! For every side-quest you complete that yields a Happy Mask as its
reward, you get to watch an additional segment of the ending cutscene when
you beat the game. If you do manage to complete this complicated quest,
you'll see that Anju and Kafei later had a much more elaborate marriage
ceremony just outside the South Entrance, with many attendees and a white
dress and excessive confetti. Ah, it brings a smile to one's face, unless one
resents happy people. Or has no mouth.
Anju's poly is reused from Ocarina of Time. In that game, she was called the
Cucco Lady. She lived in Kakariko Village and raised Cuccos (if you aren't
aware, those are Zeldafied chickens) even though she was allergic to them.
She later bred a special Cucco she wasn't allergic to, and which played a
part in the Trading Game to get Biggoron's Sword.
=============================================================================
B i g g o r o n
Titanic swordsmith
Race: Goron
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
The Minish Cap
The Gorons are a people whose bodies appear to be made of solid rock. This
lack of carbon growth seems to have some very strange side effects, as
evidenced by dudes like the Goron Elder and Biggoron. They can apparently
live for a very long time...and at least a few of them don't stop growing for
quite some time. Biggoron is huge. Massive. Thirty stories tall, perhaps.
Despite his size, he is quite skilled with fine tools. He is one of the
finest weapon-makers in the whole series (though there aren't that many.)
He has a younger brother named Medigoron, who is noticeably smaller - but
still so big he takes up a whole room - and noticeably less skilled. He makes
Link a sword that takes seven years to make, called the Giant's Knife.
Unfortunately, though powerful, it was so large it took two hands to wield,
and was so fragile it broke after only a few strokes. Biggoron was suffering
from blindness after the eruption of Death Mountain, whose summit he was
right next to; if Link completed the Trading Game and got some rare eye-drops
for him, he offered to fix the sword. It took him three days to come up with
the most powerful sword in the game, the Biggoron's Sword, which he could
conceivably have used as a toothpick.
In Majora's Mask, the Gorons all live at Snowhead, where they are slowly
freezing to death. Biggoron was the only one who was unaffected, probably
because of his massive size. He guarded the entrance to Snowhead Temple,
refusing to let anyone in. However, Link put him to sleep with the Goron's
Lullaby and was able to enter. In this game, Medigoron has found something
he's good at: Making Powder Kegs. These are gigantic bombs that Link can only
handle safely in Darmani Form, and which he needs to gather several important
items.
In Oracle of Seasons, the Gorons again live in a snowy climate, and again not
by choice. The ravages of Onox having sunk the Temple of Seasons have forced
their home into winter. Unfortunately, Biggoron is too big to fit into their
cave home, so he has to sit outside and be cold. Part of the Trading Game
involves giving him a pot of soul-warming Lava Soup. In a linked game, he
again contributes the most powerful blade, the Biggoron's Sword.
Finally, you can talk to him in The Minish Cap after you've beaten the game
and allow him to eat your tasty shield - the Goron diet is exclusively rock
sirloin, remember. If you visit again after a while, he'll offer up the shiny
new Mirror Shield to replace the one he ate.
=============================================================================
B i p i n a n d B l o s s o m
New parents
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons and Ages
In both halves of the Oracle saga, Bipin and Blossom are a happy couple who
live in the main village, be it Horon Village or Lynna City. She's a
housewife, and he tends Gasha plants. They're both very excited about their
newborn son, to the point that Bipin runs back and forth around their house
like a psycho.
Over the course of a regular game and then a main-linked one, you can watch
their son grow. Over time, you will have various opportunities to influence
his career choice. Depending on how you handle these decisions, he can become
a swordsman like Link, an arborist like his father, a musician like Sokra, or
somebody with no purpose in life.
=============================================================================
B l a d e B r o t h e r s
Swordsman siblings
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Minish Cap
Hyrule Castle Town in The Minish Cap plays host to a sword duelling contest
every year. Some famous competitors include the likes of Link's uncle, the
King of Hyrule and Vaati himself. But at one point or another, each of the
so-called Blade Brothers won the contest, then departed on a journey of
enlightenment to hone their techniques to perfection.
Swiftblade - He now runs Swiftblade's Dojo in the southwest part of town,
where he teaches worthy students the basics of sword combat via his patented
method of instruction, the Swiftblade Possession Technique. I didn't really
think of this until later on, but the fact that he actually has the magical
ability to possess someone's body is quite remarkable, elsewhere seen only in
exceptional magicians (e.g. Ganon possessing Agahnim.) He claims to have
invented it, but all the other Blade Brothers use it as well, so it's
unlikely.
Anyway, he teaches the Spin Attack, the Dash Attack, the Rock Breaker and the
Down Thrust. All of these should be familiar to fans, especially the Spin
Attack. The Dash Attack is simply a charge while using the Pegasus Boots, the
Rock Breaker opens up the world by allowing Link to smash rocks with his
sword, and the Down Thrust allows him to do a stabbing hip-drop once he's
jumped into the air.
Grimblade - He hangs out under Hyrule Castle. If Link finds him, he teaches
the Sword Beam.
Waveblade - This Lake Hylia denizen teaches the Peril Beam, a move new to
Zelda. This one is kind of the opposite of the Sword Beam, in that you can
use it when you have one heart or less (instead of full hearts.)
Greyblade - If Link can find him on Death Mountain, he teaches the patently
useless Roll Attack, which allows Link to strike powerfully with his sword if
he slashes as he rises out of a normal roll.
Swiftblade the First - By the time Link meets him in Castor Wilds, he's a
ghost, but he has a very useful technique. Normally, the Spin Attack is one
revolution, but the Great Spin Attack allows for several. In a couple of
other games, there was a similar move called the Hurricane Spin Attack. Maybe
it's the same attack but with a name change, like how the Whirling Blade
Attack became simply the Spin Attack.
Greatblade - He holed up in North Hyrule Field to dedicate himself to
improving the Great Spin Attack, giving it even more revolutions per
execution.
Scarblade - Found in Castor Wilds, he improves the speed at which a Spin
Attack is charged.
Splitblade - When Link steps on certain panels, he can create copies of
himself in order to solve puzzles. Some of these involve combat, so
Splitblade, hiding in Veil Falls, improves the speed at which the Split Gauge
fills.
=============================================================================
B o k o b l i n B o s s
Silent antagonist
Race: Bokoblin
Appearance: Twilight Princess
This guy is actually pretty cool. Bokoblins in this game are much greener and
more orcish than their contemporaries, and this guy is the biggest,
strongest, fattest one of all. He's a skilled boar-rider, he carries a giant
axe, his eyes glow orange, and he has two wickedly curved horns on his
helmet. Link first encounters him in Kakariko Village, when he taunts Link by
hoisting Colin onto a pole and riding around with him waving high in the air.
Link quickly mounts Epona and gives chase, hacking past his cronies and
eventually forcing the nameless boss into combat. This essentially amounts to
a jousting match set on Eldin Bridge. When Link wins, the boss seemingly
falls to his death and Colin is rescued. But wait! Part of guarding Telma's
wagon on its path from Castle Town to Kakariko involves jousting against the
guy again, though this time it's slightly harder - and he's missing a horn,
because it broke off when he fell.
He's once again sent plummeting to his apparent doom, but reappears when Link
storms their base camp in the Gerudo Desert. This time, they skirmish on
foot. They have one final showdown in Hyrule Castle. He introduces himself
with the first words he's spoken all game, 'I have come to play.' When Link
bests him one final time, he sees the light and switches sides. He's also
fought for whichever side seems to be the strongest - he has nothing against
Link, war and pillaging are just a way of life for him. He concedes a Small
Key that Link needs to progress. Now why would Ganondorf entrust such an
important item to an agent whose loyalties are so shaky?
We see him one last time in the end credits, riding merrily across Hyrule
Field with his buddies.
=============================================================================
B o m b e r s G a n g
Elitist kindergartners
Race: Hylians
Appearance: Majora's Mask
The Bombers are a gang of rowdy little kids in Majora's Mask. Four of the
five members wear blue berets; Jim, their leader, distinguishes himself by
wearing a red one. When Link first approaches them, he's in Deku Scrub form,
so they refuse to let him join the gang. However, he agrees to a game of hide
and seek where the Bombers hide all over Clock Town. When he succeeds (before
dawn of the Second Day, or else he loses) Jim gives him the password to their
'secret hideout.' They're cheaters, too; they run away when Link finds them.
Their hideout is really an underground tunnel that travels beneath the walls
of the town and up into the Astral Observatory, where Professor Shikashi can
be found gazing up at the stars at night. During the day, you can zoom in on
the top of the Clock Tower to cause a Moon's Tear to fall to the ground
outside the Observatory, which not only plays a part in your first three-day
runthrough but also kicks off that game's Trading Game. In Ocarina,
Shikashi's poly was some old guy who lived in Kakariko. Bonooru the Scarecrow
can be found here, where he indirectly teaches the Inverted Song of Time and
Song of Double Time.
The Bombers also give Link the Bombers' Notebook, since they all have a copy.
It's used to keep track of all the people they have helped out in the past,
or whose troubles they are currently attempting to solve. Mostly, it's used
for the player to keep track of the schedules of the multitudinous NPCs who
will, at some point or another, give Link a Happy Mask (and also a handful
who never will.)
The Bombers had a pseudorenaissance in The Wind Waker, where a gang called
the Killer Bees hung out in the village square of Windfall Island. They were
Ivan, the leader, Jin, the advisor, Jan, the thug, and Jun-Roberto, the
scheming, would-be usurper. They play a minor role in the story, terrorize
their teacher, and follow Link around whenever he's in the vicinity. LEAVE ME
ALONE, KILLER BEES!
=============================================================================
C a r l o v a n d B o r l o v
Figure-loving brothers
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Wind Waker
The Minish Cap
Only Carlov appeared in The Wind Waker. Forest Haven, located in the
southeast of the Great Sea, is composed of one large island and several
smaller ones. One of the smaller ones is accessible by standing in your boat,
using a Hyoi Pear to take control of a seagull, and flying up to hit a switch
near the top of the main island; this drops a ladder that gives you access to
a vertical door that opens by a spinny wheel, like you might see on top of a
submarine.
Inside is the Nintendo Gallery, though the only displays are of characters
and creatures from The Wind Waker. If Link obtains the Deluxe Pictograph -
which is an entire side-quest of its own - he can take colour photos, which
he can then present to Carlov. If it's taken with the subject in the middle,
is well balanced, and isn't too blurry, he will spend the next three days
sculpting a fabulously detailed figurine of whatever the subject was. All
figurines he makes will be put on display in one of several rooms in the
Nintendo Gallery. There are 133 figurines, so getting them all is quite a
feat, and one that doesn't serve any purpose, so completing it is more a
matter of pride, like collecting all 120 Stars in Super Mario 64.
Strangely, if you present Carlov with a picture of himself, he doesn't
recognize the subject, and will marvel at his own fashionable (?) hairstyle
and waxen skin. ...But each figurine comes with a description, and Carlov's
figurine's description references him by name, but was clearly not written by
Carlov. Umm...
Carlov serves a similar role in The Minish Cap, but his place is much easier
to access - it's in town, and Link can enter it easily once he's grabbed a
certain dungeon item. This time, however, you collect figurines by random
lottery, though you can only get figurines whose real-life models you've
already come into contact with. There are 136 of these.
Carlov's younger brother Borlov, who looks exactly like him, has opened a
shop in The Minish Cap (though he wasn't anywhere in Waker.) This is sort of
a retread of Old Man's money making game from the first Zelda, though he
doesn't sell his product very well, dissuading you from attempting it several
times throughout its explanation.
=============================================================================
C a r p e n t e r s
Lumberjacks' raison d'etre
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
The Minish Cap
For minor characters, they sure got a lot of exposure. Characters who debuted
in Ocarina of Time have all the luck.
We've got Mutoh, Ichiro, Jiro, Sabooru and Shiro.
Speaking of Ocarina, their activity in that game vary depending on which
timeframe you're in. As child Link, Kakariko Village is still under
construction, and you can see them working on a few buildings. By the time
you're an adult, they're complete; they all become houses, I believe.
By the time you're in adult form, the bridge connecting Gerudo Valley to
Hyrule Field has been smashed to splinters. The carpenters were contracted to
repair it, but made the mistake of camping out on the edge of Gerudo's
Fortress. Even Jim Caruk knows better than to bother the neighbours. This
prompted the Gerudo to capture them and toss them in various cells throughout
the fortress, gathered by the orange-clad Gerudo elites. The foreman, Mutoh,
asked Link to rescue them, after which they were able to rebuild the bridge.
In Majora's Mask, they spent most of their time in South Clock Town, crawling
around the scaffolding and hitting things with their hammers. (That's what
the weird tap-tap-tap-tap-tap noise is. It took me a few minutes to figure
that one out.) They are in the midst of an argument with the Town Watch,
whose captain maintain that it is smartest to flee. In the end, the other
carpenters take off, and the Foreman is left standing in front of the Clock
Tower yelling defiantly at the Moon. He fully believes that everything will
be fine when it impacts.
They are once again slacking off in Oracle of Ages' prelude to Level 4, Skull
Dungeon. Link finds the Foreman and he explains that his workers haven't
shown up. Link has to search them out and lay down the law. The terrain will
be different depending on whether he has Ricky, Moosh or Dimitri as his
animal partner. After he puts them all back, Link is able to extend a bridge
that leads to Symmetry City.
No such disciplinary problems exist in The Minish Cap, where they do whatever
their boss tells them. They complain about it a lot, though. Their main
purpose is to block off parts of the world with refuse for the first part of
the game, blocking off areas the game's developers didn't want Link to visit
too early. They slowly clear it away, build two houses in Hyrule Castle Town,
and then vanish.
=============================================================================
C o m p o s e r B r o t h e r s
Ghostly musicians
Race: Poes
Appearance: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
The Composer Brothers are a little confusing. Based on Ocarina of Time, one
would expect them to be Hylians, but Majora's Mask shows them to be Poes.
Hmm.
Anyway, in Ocarina of Time they are only mentioned when you find the notes
for the Sun's Song. They mention that they, the Composer Brothers, wrote it.
Anna Bare has this to say:
"I haven't played Ocarina of Time in a while, but I was almost certain that
you can "fight" the Composer Brothers, Flat and Sharp. I can't remember if
you have to be young or old Link (I think young), but if you go to the
Graveyard in Kakariko and examine each of the two gravestones on both sides
of the big grave (the one you blow up), the Brother is summoned and you can
"fight" him."
I'm currently unable to verify that, but it's possible they're just ordinary
Poes. Joao Paulo Hoppe confirms that they do indeed exist, and that when
defeated they talk about their lives and the Sun's Song. The Platinum Knight
says something similar. Well, I guess that's settled.
They show up physically in Majora's Mask, at the top of Ikana Canyon. We
learn here that their names are Flat and Sharp, which, if you don't know, are
two kinds of musical notes (hitting F-sharp when the composition calls for F-
flat is a major performance blunder that will cost you much respect, or so
children's shows would have me believe.) Sharp has tried to restore Ikana,
the dead kingdom, to its former splendour, but has inadvertently made it even
worse than before. As a result of his deal with Skull Kid, not only have the
dead risen, but his brother Flat has been imprisoned. In the process, Sharp
has also been corrupted. Flat is still fundamentally good, whereas Sharp
tries to kill Link and stands a good shot at it. However, a quick rendition
of the Song of Healing soothes his confused, battered soul. The brothers
teach Link the quest-critical Song of Storms before departing for the next
world.
=============================================================================
D a l t u s
One King of Hyrule
Race: Hylian
Appearances: The Minish Cap
The Minish Cap-era King of Hyrule. He is quite tall and obese, and he wears a
long red robe, and he's rendered in the GBA's version of cel-shading, and
thus he bears a striking resemblance to Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. He
reportedly was a great swordsman in his youth, and fought to a draw with
Link's uncle Smith one year at the Picori Festival. He's become a huge wimp
since then, since the most initiative he takes when his own daughter is
kidnapped is to tell his guards to look for her and assign Link a few special
missions that will hopefully lead to her recovery.
He apparently does a not-bad job at ruling Hyrule, however, as his subjects
seem pretty happy. Minister Potho, who looks like a flea, assist him in this
endeavour. Mayor Hagen takes care of Hyrule Castle Town itself.
=============================================================================
D a m p e
Insert lame joke about 'digging' graves
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
The Minish Cap
The Kakariko Village Graveyard is located just behind the village itself.
This is the final resting place of all Kakariko and Hyrule Castle Town
citizens. Those who swore fealty to the Hylian Royal Family long ago get
special lots. Towards the very back, with a headstone that's taller than you
are, is the Royal Tomb. Link can enter the tomb and wander around in it, and
for some reason a song written by the Composer Brothers is down there. In
adult form, Link will be harassed by Poes. A little kid wanders around,
because he likes it there, but complains that nobody thinks he's scary
because he's too cute.
Dampe is the gravekeeper.
He's an ugly, short, hunched-over guy who looks like he was hit in the side
of the face with a sledgehammer. He always wears black robes, and he carries
around a shovel and lantern.
If Link knocks on his door during the daytime, he'll get yelled at - Dampe is
working the graveyard shift, after all (true historical term), and he needs
his beauty sleep. At night, though, he runs the Heart-Pounding Grave-digging
Tour, where he'll follow Link around the cemetery and dig wherever he tells
him to, for 10 Rupees each time. Good luck will yield some nice prizes, like
a Heart Piece.
Seven years later, he's died. The little kid takes over and Dampe gets his
own tomb. If Link finds it, he can enter and meet Dampe's ghost. Dampe had a
cool springy toy when he was alive, and he'll give it to Link if he can keep
up with him as he speeds through the adjacent tombs, dropping fire from his
lantern. The toy is actually the Hookshot, probably the coolest item in video
game history, no exaggerations. It shoots a pointed wedge with a chain
attached, allowing Link to cross gaps, hit stuff from afar, grab hard-to-
reach items and attack enemies. It got screwed over in The Wind Waker,
though. If Link keeps up in a second, harder race, he'll get a Piece of
Heart.
He plays a similar roll in Majora's Mask as groundskeeper of Ikana Graveyard,
but his attendance is inverted. The Stalchildren come out at night, and they
scare the crap out of him, so he can be found only during the day. If Link
wears the Captain's Hat, which makes him look like the leader of the
Stalchildren, he'll cry that they've started coming out in the daytime too,
and run away screaming.
He once again reprises his role in The Minish Cap, where he tends Royal
Valley. All he does is give Link a key and help him reach the end of the
segment, but at least this time he isn't afraid of something that comes with
the job.
============================================================================
D a r k L i n k
Amorphous inner evil
Race: Shadows
Appearances: The Adventure of Link
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Four Swords Adventures
Any way you slice it, Dark Link (in any of his several forms) is a
fascinating character. After all, our boy Link is a paragon of courage and
benevolence, and Dark Link is basically him - on the polar opposite end of
the morality spectrum. His origins and motivations are a mystery, but it's
endless fun to speculate.
I've listed all of these together in the same profile, under the name of Dark
Link because that's probably the version most players will be most familiar
with. But that does not mean they're the same character by any means. They
could be, I guess, but I would tend to think of them as separate. Not that it
really makes a difference one way or another.
He made his debut as Link's Shadow, the last boss in The Adventure of Link.
In that game, one had to traverse the frustratingly difficult Great Palace,
square off with the Thunderbird and then take on Link's Shadow without rest.
Shadow Link was a palette swap of Link...except the new palette was entirely
black. Yup, he was just a silhouette. Except for magic, he could do
everything Link could, which meant he could both jump and use his sword. He
had the two special sword techniques (the Downward and Upward Thrusts) and,
once he got going, he attacked relentlessly. There was potential for a long
and tough fight, but players could exploit the relatively simple behaviour
pattern for a very quick and easy one. They simply had to jump, which would
cause Link's Shadow to lower his shield. They would then slash on the way
down, smacking him in the noggin. Shadow Link would be knocked back, and the
process would be repeated as necessary. Still, he was a pretty original boss
character for the time.
His first appearance as Dark Link was in Ocarina of Time as the Water Temple
mini-boss. The fight took place in a huge room that housed an ankle-deep
lake. Link's shadow was clearly visible in the reflection of the water. When
he ran over the centre island's pool of water, however, it mysteriously
vanished. Link then saw the locked door, turned around, and found Dark Link
waiting on the island. This fight involved a considerably better set of
actions; for one thing, Dark Link had the ability to spring up and disappear
at will, and easily evaded Link's stabs. This battle was fairly non-linear in
regards to how Dark Link could be defeated, and I've seen a number of
different strategies. A few of the more popular ones are straight
swordfighting, Spin Attacks, the Megaton Hammer and Din's Fire. When Dark
Link went down, the illusion disappeared and the room was just an ordinary,
closed-in Water Temple chamber. The prize was the Longshot (well, actually it
was a Small Key unlocking the room beyond, which contained the Longshot.)
I'm not sure this next one counts, but arguably a form of Dark Link appeared
as Fierce Deity Link (Kiishin Rinku) in Majora's Mask. At the end of his
quest, Link was transported to the inside of the moon, where he found a tree
with four kids prancing around it. They each wore the mask of one of the
game's four dungeon bosses. If Link had collected all 20 Happy Masks, he
could trade them to partake in each child's mini-dungeon. If he completed
them all before talking to Majora's Mask, the spirit would notice that Link
had no masks and give him the Fierce Deity's Mask so they could play 'good
guys and bad guys.' Link was the bad guy. The Fierce Deity was apparently a
demon whom the early Termina Hylians sealed in a mask. When Link dons the
mask, he takes on a form much like his adult one from Ocarina of Time, but
with armour, a whitish-blue colour scheme, eyes without pupils, and a really
big, double-helixish sword that shot fireballs, even after he'd taken damage.
Beating Majora's Mask was a snap as the Fierce Deity. (By the way, the reason
he's here is because of the whole 'dark spirit' thing.)
The Adventure of Link had Link's Shadow, so Four Swords Adventures turned
that around and gave us Shadow Link. An apparition created by Vaati, Shadow
Link tricked Link into drawing the Four Sword and being sundered. After that,
he caused mayhem throughout Hyrule, and produced at least three copies of
himself. Setting fires and harassing civilians, he showed up twice each
stage, where whoever smacked him could snag 100 Force Gems. He was also a
boss for several stages - these battles were usually waged on both the Light
World TV screen and the Dark World GBA screen. He would eventually take on a
colour, and only the corresponding Link could damage him in this state.
Oh, and I guess it's worth mentioning that he appears in Super Smash Bros
Melee, in Event Match 18: Link's Adventure. Here, he's basically a Level 9
Link, but coloured black instead of textured. Defeating him isn't much
trouble, unless you suck at Smash, but it's a cool idea anyway.
=============================================================================
D a r m a n i
Stalwart defender
Race: Goron
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Gorons are accustomed to living in warm, dry climates, like underground or
inside a volcano. Termina, like it's other-dimension counterpart Hyrule, was
bathed in perpetual spring. So when Skull Kid started his takeover and froze
over Snowhead Mountain, the Gorons were in for quite a shock. The direct
cause of all this could be addressed if one were to travel to defeat Goht. As
the Gorons' only warrior Darmani attempted just this, and was killed in the
process.
The Gorons built a shrine to remember him, but his spirit couldn't move on
because he knew his people were suffering. Link is able to see Darmani's
ghost using the Lens of Truth, and follows him to the shrine. His ghost is
dark grey and has no pupils. Notably, one can see a large gash running from
his upper-left chest to lower-right belly. Link plays the Song of Healing for
him and we watch his first moments in the afterlife as he goes to meet his
dead comrades - he's scared as hell, but he doesn't shy away and instead
boldly meets the next life (though he screams.) Link gets the Goron Mask,
allowing him to assume Darmani's form.
In this form, Link can throw his weight around, attack with a powerful three-
part fiery punching combo, roll around like the Hot Rodder Goron (and
others), and play songs on the Goron Bongos.
=============================================================================
D a r u n i a
Jovial dancer
Race: Goron
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
The Goron leader is called the Big Brother Goron. Now I'm sure Darunia is a
good administrator and all, but he has quite a cold personality. When the
Dodongos chase the Gorons out of Dodongo Cavern, their main source of food,
they begin to starve. Man, if it's not one thing it's another with the
Gorons, eh? Anyway, Darunia locks himself into his room and refuses to accept
visitors until Link plays Zelda's Lullaby in front of his door, and even then
he only admits him because he thinks he's a royal messenger. Stupid Hylians,
always abandoning the Gorons in their times of need.
He perks up when he hears Saria's Song, though, and does quite an energetic
dance. He then gives Link the Goron's Bracelet, an item so huge Link wears it
around his upper arm, which lets him pick Bomb Flowers safely. When Link
vanquishes King Dodongo and the Gorons are able to return and get their much-
needed, tasty rock sirloin, he gives Link the Goron's Ruby, the Spiritual
Stone of Fire.
Later on, when Volvagia is eating the Gorons and imprisoning those he plans
to eat later, Darunia enters the Fire Temple and tries to fight Volvagia.
(Darmani has a similar encounter in Majora's Mask, except Darunia survives.)
He fails, of course, but asks Link to give it a try in his stead. When he
Link does kill Volvagia and rid Death Mountain of its fiery ring (which
temporarily replaces the smoky one), Darunia awakens as the Sage of Fire and
stays at the Fire Temple to protect it and pray to the gods for Link's
success.
In the seven years Link spends in suspended animation, Darunia somehow
produces a son and names him after Link, in honour of the Sworn Brother bond
they share.
=============================================================================
D e k u R o y a l F a m i l y
Wooden monarchs
Race: Deku Scrubs
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Deku Scrubs have been consistently showing up as a variant of Octoroks since
Ocarina of Time, but only a handful have had real character, and only the
Deku Royal Family is worth mentioning. Unlike most of the major characters in
Majora's Mask, they have no Ocarina of Time counterparts.
They reside in Deku Palace, which is accessible only by ferry since the
surrounding waters are poisonous. It is guarded by a number of patrolling,
three-leaved Scrubs who will throw you out if they find you someplace you
shouldn't be.
The Deku King rules the Scrubs of Termina, but he seems to be a little
corrupt; he spends all three days punishing a monkey accused of kidnapping
his daughter, even though the only proof he has is a single eyewitness. He
has a number of pointy leaves for hair, carries a flowery sceptre, and
inexplicably has a giant red bulb growing out of his back. Uh...
The princess has, in actuality, been kidnapped by Skull Kid. She's being held
by Odolwa in Woodfall Temple, and Link rescues her when he defeats the Mayan
warrior. Somehow, she's able to shrink herself small enough to fit inside an
empty Bottle, by which method Link transports her safely back to the arms of
her father. She smacks him for being stupid, too. She's a little more
detailed than an ordinary scrub, and she has a ponytail made out of a whip of
leaves accented with pink flowers. The monkey accused of kidnapping her is
actually her best friend, Kiki.
They are both attended by their uppity English butler, who has two bushes
growing out of his head and a moustache made from pointed leaves. If Link is
able to keep up with him in a race, much like with Dampe in Ocarina, he wins
the Mask of Scents. He also has a son who has been frozen into a still tree,
and he cries at his feet in the closing cutscene. Oddly, this is Link
Terminian counterpart - the Deku Scrub he can transform into has no name, but
is clearly the Deku Butler's Son! In fact, after winning the race he mentions
how much Link looks like his son, pretty much proving this theory.
=============================================================================
D i n, N a y r u a n d F a r o r e
Creation story lynchpins
Race: Goddesses, or Hylians
Appearances: A Link to the Past
Ocarina of Time
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
The Wind Waker
The Minish Cap
Din, Nayru and Farore are, first and foremost, the legendary Three Goddesses
who figure into Hyrule's creation story. They were briefly mentioned in the
instruction manual of A Link to the Past, but they weren't even given names.
They were much expanded upon in several Ocarina of Time cutscenes and other
media, so I'll summarise their contribution to the world here:
To begin with, the place Hyrule would occupy was a swirling mass of
raw...well...what do you call something that doesn't exist yet? Anyway, the
Three Goddesses descended upon whatever this was and sought to bring order
and life to it.
Din - Goddess of Power. Created and shaped the land.
Nayru - Goddess of Wisdom. Created science, wizardry and the arts.
Farore - Goddess of Courage. Created living things.
On the spot where they flew back to their angelic perches, they left a
physical symbol of their action. This way, their creations might learn from
them. It was three golden triangles, called the Triforce. Sounding familiar?
Not only did it exist physically, each piece of it was imprinted on a
particular person and his or her infinite reincarnations throughout the
years. But the Triforce has such a complex history, it could have its OWN
guide, so I won't dig any deeper.
I could go into a hell of a lot more detail, of course, but everything else I
could tell you is not really of interest to the average reader. There are
plenty of other easily accessible resources if you'd like to learn more about
the Three Goddesses.
What's interesting to me is that the Triforce of Power, the one Ganon has, is
often portrayed as the 'best' of the three. Meanwhile, Link's, the Triforce
of Courage, tends to be positioned as subordinate to the other two. This
could have something to do with the order in which the Goddesses are
mentioned - Power, Wisdom, Courage. I don't know. This is highly debatable, I
just find it to be an interesting interpretation.
They appeared as Hylians in the Oracle saga. Din was the eponymous Oracle of
Seasons, masquerading as a dancer in a troupe of performers. She was
kidnapped by Onox and thrown into a crystal. Nayru was the Oracle of Ages,
and a talented musician, but Veran possessed her body. Farore played a much
lesser role as the Oracle of Secrets found on the first floor of the Maku
Tree. Several times, Link received a secret in one game that had to be
brought to Farore in the other game. Doing so gave him upgraded equipment.
The goddesses are once again unnamed in The Wind Waker, but I might as well
mention them here. When the seal on Ganondorf's Golden Realm prison started
to weaken, the goddesses drowned Hyrule so that he would never escape. He
still somehow found a way out, however, so it was all for nought. The point
is, they're the reason Hyrule is underwater and The Wind Waker takes place on
the ocean.
Their Hylian versions reappeared in The Minish Cap. They shared a room at the
inn until Link performed a two-for-one act of good citizenship: He found Ingo
two tenants, and he found two of the ladies houses to live in. Only two,
though, and it was smartest to pick Din and Nayru (see? Farore once again
gets the shaft.) When Link talked to them in their new homes, they were so
pleased they presented him with a special artefact that would temporarily up
either his attack power, his defensive abilities, or both (but that last one
entailed a much lower bonus.)
Din is represented by red, Nayru is represented by blue, and Farore is
represented by green.
=============================================================================
D o n k u r u
Tingle's best friend
Race: Dog
Appearances: Mogitate Chinkuru no Barairo Rupiirando
I hate dogs. Donkuru is a character from Tingle's Japanese-only RPG, Mogitate
Tingle. And he's a dog. When Tingle gets his new duds at the beginning of the
game, Donkuru dresses to match his owner. I don't believe he has any kind of
practical in-game purpose, but then, does any part of that game have a
purpose, really? Does video gaming in general have a purpose? Does life?
=============================================================================
E p o n a
Link's trusty steed
Race: Purebred horse
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
Four Swords Adventures
The Minish
Twilight Princess
Link first met Epona as a child in Ocarina of Time, where he saw her at Lon
Lon Ranch. She would run away from him whenever he approached, afraid of him.
Malon, however, sung her a lullaby every night, which Link quickly learned to
play on the Ocarina. After he played Epona's Song, the pony trusted him a
little more.
When he became an adult and learned that Ingo had taken over Lon Lon Ranch,
he found that he was horribly mistreating the animals. He had people pay to
ride the horses around their enclosure, which looked a little like an
equestrian course. Ingo recognized some natural horsemanship abilities in
Link and had him a race around the outside of the enclosure with 50 Rupees on
the line. When Link won, he had a second race with Epona's ownership as the
prize. (Winning either of the races with one of the stock mares is
impossible; Ingo's ride is just too fast.) He then tried to lock Link in, but
Epona's amazing jumping abilities allowed her to clear the ranch walls with
ease. Ingo realised at the last moment that Link had been riding Epona, the
best of the bunch. He was quite jealous, because she threw HIM every time he
climbed into the saddle. After this, Link was able to summon her whenever he
was on Hyrule Field by playing Epona's Song.
At the beginning of Majora's Mask, Link is riding through Kokiri Forest
looking for Navi when Skull Kid ambushes him. He steals Epona and rides off
into a portal. Link finds she's been taken to Romani Ranch, and he can't
rescue her until almost halfway through the game. Skull Kid has blocked off
Milk Road with a rock, and the assigned worker takes two days to clear it;
Link must blow it up with a Powder Keg to clear it on the first day, from
which point he can take steps to liberate Epona. Oddly, he wasn't able to
ride her in child form in Ocarina, but in Majora's Mask this was the only
form he could ride her in. Of course, in the latter game she's still a pony,
which is kind of interesting.
Epona cameos briefly at the beginning of Oracle of Seasons, where Link is
seen riding her towards the not-yet-sunken Temple of Seasons.
She played a part in Four Swords Adventures as well, where players could
briefly ride her by collecting a carrot item, extending their time by
collecting further carrots (which were usually arranged in a path for this
purpose.) They could trample each other and collect the Force Gems that the
stomped ones dropped. She was also the focus of Bucking Bronco, part of the
Tingle's Tower collection of minigames. This was a flat-out race that raged
on both screens.
Epona is basically a beast of burden in The Minish Cap. Her main purpose is
to haul shipments of Lon Lon Milk between the ranch and Hyrule Castle Town.
Her role was greatly expanded in Twilight Princess, though she was still
basically playing a bit part. She worked with Link at Ordon ranch, herding
goats, before being abducted by Bokoblins. Link later rescues her in Kakariko
Village. His childhood friend Ilia seems to be very fond of Epona, but the
noble beast still prefers her master. Late in the game, Ilia gives Link the
horse call; this allows him to summon Epona from just about anywhere, whereas
before he could only do this at specific points. In Twilight, Link's combat
options were greatly expanded on; no longer limited to the bow, he could
attack with the sword and various dungeon items, plus ram into enemies and
trample them under Epona's hooves.
When Link takes on his wolf form in Twilight, he can speak to animals. I
didn't expect it to work, Epona has this to say: 'Even though you change
shape, I still understand you. Link...Hurry up and return to your true
self...'
In all her appearances except her most recent, Link is invincible while
riding Epona.
She is named after Epona, the goddess of horses, donkeys and mules in Celtic
polytheism.
=============================================================================
E r r o r
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Race: Hylian
Appearances: The Adventure of Link
A blacksmith from Ruto Town who when first spoken to merely announces 'I am
Error.' A little later, another character references him, at which point his
dialogue changes to 'South of the Palace is a tunnel.' Uh...the only reason
he's here, actually, is because of the name.
=============================================================================
E z l o
Larger than life
Race: Minish
Appearances: The Minish Cap
The Minish are a race of inch-high people who live amongst the Hylia without
them ever knowing. There are several Minish settlements throughout Hyrule,
but they are by far most concentrated at Minish Village in the Minish Woods.
Ezlo was originally a great Minish wizard. One day, his apprentice, Vaati,
lusting for power, turned on him and transformed him into a hat.
In his normal form, he wears a blue robe, carries a staff and wears the red
hat typical of the Forest Minish. Transfigured, Ezlo is the spitting image of
Link's famous green cap, except that instead of a point it has his head and
birdlike beak. Uh...right. In this state, Ezlo can barely crawl, and is
easily attacked by local Octoroks. Link rescues him and he affixes to Link's
head, then directs him to Minish Village. Ezlo still retains some of his
magical ability in this form, enough to change size at will. Ezlo is the
lynchpin on which sits the focal gimmick of his game: Switching between the
tiny Minish size and the customary Hylian size.
Ezlo has two other functions, which are providing general advice and
billowing out to allow Link to glide on the wind. He kind of serves a similar
purpose to Tatl, in that he speaks at times you would expect Link to. His
dialogue is the best in the game, if that means anything.
At the end of the game, when he, Link and Zelda defeat Vaati, the Minish Door
closes. From his choice of words, it sounds like he is only able to go
between sizes when the Door is open. That would make sense, considering the
Minish Door being open is supposedly what allows the Hylians and Minish to
briefly mingle. Even if that's not the case, it's unlikely that we'll be
seeing Ezlo again, so give him a round of applause as he bids us adieu.
=============================================================================
F a d o
Androgynous sage
Race: Kokiri
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
The Wind Waker
Twilight Princess
Damn, is Fado ever irritating.
Fado first appeared in Kokiri Village. I remember seeing her as child Link.
As I recall, she was a girl with two bulbous blonde knobs of hair. Her fairy,
I believe, was blue. Actually, her very existence was fancruft: Only the most
dedicated fan of Ocarina of Time, who scoured every last resource delving far
deeper into the game than was necessary, would ever come across the evidence
stating her name. When spoken to, even later on in the game, she said
something inconsequential.
She was absent for some time, then reappeared in The Wind Waker. As a guy.
I don't know who screwed this one up. My money is on Nintendo of America's
localization department. But when I heard (?) Fado's name in Waker, I was
delighted, until I found out that somebody had horribly mangled the
character.
Not only is Fado a dude now, he's also a ghost because Ganondorf somehow
killed him while still inside the Golden Realm. His apparel has changed as
well, obviously, as he's donned pants and a short cap in place of boyshorts
(O_o she's ten) and a bare head. This Fado is also the Sage of Winds, and
Makar's ancient ancestor. I'm not sure how a creature originally associated
with the Forest became associated with the Winds, but it is notable that Link
in The Wind Waker is the Hero of Winds, and Link in Ocarina of Time grew up
among the Kokiri.
Hold on a moment - Brie Fusaro tells me that The Wind Waker Official Player's
Guide, Fado is actually referred to as a guy in one instance, and as a girl
in another. Ugh.
Anyway, Fado is also associated with the Wind God's Aria, the second half of
The Wind Waker's theme, and after being awakened at the Wind Temple he helps
power up the Master Sword so that it is strong enough to defeat Ganondorf.
It gets weirder. All ambiguity is thrown to the winds as Twilight Princess's
Fado is mostly definitely a guy. And a big, burly, goat-herding country
bumpkin of a guy at that. Supposedly, he helps Link run Ordon Ranch and takes
over when Link leaves on his quest to save Hyrule. Unfortunately, Fado is
terrible at farming and can't even control his own livestock. They have a
tendency to ignore him when he tries to bring them in for the night and
sometimes they escape when he's not looking, forcing Link to wrestle them to
the ground before they get away. All in all, not a whole lot of help, and an
individual who makes the whole Fado character even more hermaphroditic than
before.
=============================================================================
F y e r a n d F a l b I
Entrepreneurs
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication is a very sly business
venture located at Lake Hylia. Both are quite jolly, and Fyer appears to have
a wen. Both dress like carnies, or maybe clowns, which is sort of the point.
Fyer, a cannon enthusiast, fires Link out of his giant cannon for a mere 10
Rupees, which rockets him up to Falbi's high position near the Great Hylia
Bridge. From here, the participant can then pay Falbi 20 Rupees to grab a
Cucco and float slowly down to the water, hopefully to the Isle of Riches.
The Isle of Riches contains only one chest that gets refilled. From here, one
can return to Fyer's portion of the game by a log bridge from the Isle to his
shack. If you do well, you can earn 70 Rupees each run. Quite an original
mini-game, if you ask me.
Fyer twice helps advance your quest. Auru, one of Telma's boys, once saved
his life, and Auru calls him on that debt. Fyer agrees to help Link enter the
Desert Province, which in Twilight era is adjacent to the Lake, again by
firing him out of the cannon. Later on, Link finds an even bigger cannon that
can fire him up to the City in the Sky, which Fyer repairs at a cost of 300
Rupees.
=============================================================================
G a n o n
The physical manifestation of evil
Race: Gerudo
Appearances: The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link
A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
The Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
Twilight Princess
Hoo boy. Ganon(dorf) is one awesome villain. The fiend has risen again and
again to attempt to conquer Hyrule, whose inherent magical qualities are so
strong he would effectively rule all existence if he were to succeed.
Fortunately, it is his destiny to be perpetually thwarted. Ganon is the one
character whom we KNOW is the same guy again and again, even when he shows up
in games that take place hundreds of years apart. His longevity, apparently,
is part of the effects of the Triforce of Power.
This is also the cause of his appearance later in life; Triforce lore
dictates that if one possesses the Triforce of Power without the Triforce of
Wisdom, one will begin to morph and take on a pig-like form. Nintendo seems
to differentiate between these two by referring to him in 'human' form as
Ganondorf, and 'giant pig' form as Ganon. I list him as Ganon because he
makes way more appearances in giant pig form than human one. He's alternately
been called Mandrag Ganon (in A Link to the Past's manual; it supposedly
means Ganon of the Enchanted Thieves) and Ganondorf Dragmire (in Ocarina of
Time, which I assume is an invention of Nintendo of America as a variant on
Mandrag.)
He makes his debut in pig form, of course, and as a pretty lame final boss.
He had a sort of bluish hue, and would move invisibly around the boss
chamber, pausing periodically to toss fireballs at Link. After four hits from
the Magical Sword, he turned brown, at which point a single shot from the
Silver Bow and Arrow would reduce him to a pile of dust. On second thought,
that was pretty sophisticated for 8-bit. I can imagine how frustrating it was
to program. Story-wise, he was trying to get that all-important Triforce of
Wisdom from Zelda, who broke it and hid the pieces.
Being that he was dead, during Zelda II his minions tried to resurrect him
with the blood of the one who vanquished him. If Link lost all his lives, a
victorious chuckle sounded and Ganon's silhouette appeared on the Game Over
screen, because they had succeeded. That was the full extent of his
contributions. However, he made quite a resurgence for A Link to the Past,
wherein he brilliantly possessed Agahnim and used him as his pawn as he
schemed to escape the Dark World. Oddly, he didn't actually himself appear in
Ganon's Tower; instead, there was a second battle with Ganon assuming Agahnim
form. Defeated, Ganon transformed into a bat, crashed through the roof of the
Pyramid of Power, and showed his true form, which was basically an enhanced
version of his original appearance. He added a few new attacks to his
repertoire this time around, including collapsing parts of the floor, sending
off volleys of Fire Keese and, notably, throwing around a trident. That
trident also appeared when the Nightmares mimicked Ganon at the end of Link's
Awakening.
In the prequel adventure Ocarina of Time, he is actually seen several times.
Link glimpses him in his dream from the opening cinema, from the Hyrule
Castle courtyard when he sweet-talks Zelda's daddy, when the dream plays
itself out and he conquers Hyrule Castle Town, and in the final battle. Ganon
devises another brilliant scheme, as he desires the four keys that will
unlock the Door of Time which leads to the Triforce. Gathering them by force
proves to be impossible, but he leads Link on and allows him to gather them
for him. When Link opens the Door, Ganondorf jumps in and lays hands on the
Triforce. The Triforce, being an inanimate object, does not know good from
evil and only grants his wish of taking over Hyrule. There is just enough
resistance to stop him there for the time being, and Link spends the rest of
the game gaining enough power to fight back. Most other games depict him as a
power-hungry villain, but this time he's shown to be a genius scholar, and he
simply took it too far. Nice humanization.
Interestingly, his main attack in this incarnation was similar to Agahnim's:
He threw magical orbs which had to be deflected to shock him, at which point
he could be stunned with Light Arrows and finally damaged with the Master
Sword. When this form was over, there was a brief escape sequence, after
which he used the Triforce of Power to transform into the monstrous Ganon.
His tail was his only weak point, but he could be stunned by shooting him in
the head with Light Arrows. Link temporarily lost the Master Sword, the only
weapon that could do anything more than superficial damage to Ganon, but
Zelda grabbed it and was able to return it to him halfway through the fight.
When defeated, he reverted to Ganondorf form and promised vengeance. He
looked pissed, too. Oh, and Phantom Ganondorf was the boss of the Forest
Temple, which involved him flying out of portraits on horseback and the same
game of tennis Link played with Agahnim.
He also appeared in the Oracle saga, but I doubt very many people reached
him. To fight him, one had to beat either game, beat a password-linked game,
and defeat the ensuing Twinrova battle. No mean feat. Here, Ganon revealed
that he was orchestrating the actions of Onox and Veran from behind the
scenes. Defeating him was the same old song (but it's a different
meaning...sorry), except that he was now able to transport players to a
strange blue room in which the controls were reversed. He was quite thick-
skinned here, too, as only the Master Sword or Biggoron's Sword even
scratched him unless he was dealt a Spin Attack.
His next incarnation, in The Wind Waker, is my favourite. He is shown three
times. Once, his face isn't even shown, once, he tries to attack the good
guys from the top of Forsaken Fortress but is ambushed, and then he gets a
long cutscene before Link fights him. Here, he has mellowed over the hundreds
of years since his Ocarina defeat, and he is portrayed in a much more
sympathetic light. He's grown a wicked beard, and he's quite a philosophical
fellow. When he extracts Link's and Zelda's pieces of the Triforce, he is
very careful not to hurt them, whereas before he would probably have just
killed them.
He is also the coolest final boss in any video game, ever. Link and Zelda
tag-team as he attacks with dual swords. First, Link must parry Ganondorf's
attacks, rolling behind him to slash. Zelda jumps in at the same time
Ganondorf figures out how to block the parry attacks, and she takes up Link's
Hero's Bow and fires Light Arrows at Ganondorf, damaging him. After a bit,
Ganondorf gets annoyed and knocks her out, and Link is on his own until she
wakes. When she does, well, being a genius, Ganondorf's been working on how
he'll block her Light Arrows even as he fought. Zelda is no idiot, either,
and she formulates a desperate gambit and starts to fire at Link. Link
deflects her shots at Ganondorf using the Mirror Shield. Hasta la vista. (I
don't even know what that means.)
This game poses a few interesting things to look at. For one thing, Forsaken
Fortress is clearly Gerudo Fortress taken over by Moblins, so it's fitting
that Ganondorf would return to his old base of operations and retrofit it
with new-age contrivances. Next, the Three Goddesses first allowed him to be
sealed inside the Golden Land. This didn't work, so when the seal weakened
they drowned Hyrule to keep him locked in. Somehow, he still escaped! Now
that's a powerful villain. Lastly, in the ending cutscene, Link stabs him in
the head and loses the Master Sword in the process as Ganondorf's body turns
to stone. And yet he appears in later games. Dude.
The Wind Waker also had a Puppet Ganon as one of three bosses leading up to
Ganondorf himself. This one required Link to sever its marionette strings
with the Boomerang and then attack its weak tail. It was a more interesting
fight than it sounds.
His inclusion in Four Swords Adventures is a little cheap, in my opinion. He
shows up in the end with almost no indication of what's going to happen, in
the Palace of Winds no less, a place where he shouldn't even be. The only
thing noteworthy about that battle is the Four Swords twist on it, and the
fact that Zelda is mildly involved in it. It's pathetically easy, too.
Furthermore, I'm not entirely comfortable with the retcons this game
introduces. It states that Ganondorf was born and raised in a town of the
Zuna in the Desert of Doubt. The who in the where? Yeah. The Desert of Doubt
includes a colossal Pyramid that originally housed a giant trident, until
Ganon pilfered it and made it his signature weapon. So there's your new
origin story. I'm not even sure whether or not to trust it, considering the
game was made by Capcom.
I'm not actually sure he was originally intended to be in Twilight Princess,
but if not he was integrated very well, so I'm glad he did. It's a little
confusing, though. We see four nameless Sages ready to execute Ganondorf, who
has a crazy new hairstyle, in front of the Mirror of Twilight. He is wounded
badly, but with the Triforce of Power he escapes his bonds and kills one of
the Sages. This is cool, but when exactly did it take place? Oh well. He goes
into hiding for a while and starts to feed off the Twili's hatred for the
Hylians, regaining strength from this. Eventually he manipulates their self-
proclaimed king into helping him achieve his goals.
And I raved about Waker's final boss battle. Well, Twilight's is pretty cool
too, so it deserves a close look. It begins with Ganondorf possessing Zelda's
currently soulless body and attacking Link with it. This is quite cool
because he uses the sword we've seen Zelda holding in all the concept art. We
play that same old hit-the-ball-of-energy-back-at-Ganondorf thing, then he
transforms into Ganon. This is a unique version in that he's on all fours and
doesn't carry a weapon. After stunning him with an arrow and attacking the
place where the Sages wounded him (his weak spot), Link takes on his wolf
form and uses Midna's giant orange hand to wrestle him into submission, then
attack with his fangs. In the next phase, we're transported outside and
Ganondorf takes to horse as Link and Zelda fight him from Epona. Zelda fires
Light Arrows to stun him and Link runs up and slashes. After a few rounds of
this, Ganondorf draws the sword that wounded him so long ago - it's made of
pure light - and he and Link go toe-to-toe in a no-holds-barred sword battle.
He's almost as skilled here as in Waker. Eventually, Link drives the Master
Sword into his vulnerable wound, ending this epic four-stage struggle.
He's also a playable character in Super Smash Bros Melee, but there's not
much to say about that. He's one of the clone characters, meaning he shares
the moves of another character (in this case, Captain Falcon) but has some
different traits. He's pretty heavy and slow, but powerful. Last I checked,
he was Mid-Tier.
=============================================================================
G e n e r a l O n o x
Bombad general
Race: Uh...Iron Knuckle?
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons
Strangely, even though he is the ultimate boss your first time through Oracle
of Seasons, he really only plays a bit part. On the other hand, he does set a
great game in motion. Although Ganon, a supremely powerful magician, sets his
sights on Hyrule, Onox's goals are not so lofty. Instead, he's willing to
start with the smaller and relatively inconsequential Holodrum. Of course, we
later learn that Ganon is manipulating him from behind the scenes to further
his own ends.
Onox starts by capturing Din, the Oracle of Seasons, and setting her in a
giant crystal (much like Ganondorf did to Zelda in Ocarina of Time.) He then
sinks the Temple of Seasons into Subrosia, the subterranean land beneath
Holodrum, and disables its four towers. Without either of those two forces to
govern them, Holodrum's seasons spin wildly out of control, threatening to
rip the realm apart.
Luckily, Link recovers the Rod of Seasons and retrieves eight elements of
Gaia, then faces Onox head-on. To begin, Onox is covered in a heavy suit of
armour, greatly resembling an Iron Knuckle. He swings around a giant ball and
chain, much like a Ball and Chain Soldier. After being damage a little, he
has Din's crystal rotate around him as yet another layer of armour, but Link
bats it out of the way with the Rod of Seasons. Finally, he transforms into
an immense Chinese-ish dragon that spits fireballs and slaps Link around.
Link must jump onto his hands and then glide over to his head to hit the
jewel there with his sword. After a few hits to this jewel, Onox goes away
for good.
=============================================================================
G o r o n E l d e r
Geriatrock
Race: Goron
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
Twilight Princess
When Link climbs to Snowhead Mountain, he finds that Skull Kid has frozen it
over. The snowbound Gorons are unable search for food, but the Goron Elder
bravely crawls into the blizzard and tries to find some healthful rock
sirloin. He's unsuccessful, and moreover, his son pines for his father and
cries constantly. When the Elder finds out, he tries to teach Link the
Goron's Lullaby, but it's so cold he forgets half of it. His son teaches Link
the rest and promptly falls asleep.
He's notable for a couple of reasons, mainly that he teaches us a few things
about Goron biology. He's a hunchback: A huge mound of rock has doubled his
height. It weighs heavily on him, and he sometimes walks on all fours. He
also has huge lips, and he's one of a handful of Gorons to sport visible
hair. Secondly, he carries a pair of Goron Bongos, one of only two Gorons
seen to do so (though it's possible that they're a very common item, just
rarely used.)
He's a little zestier in Oracle of Ages, with a beard resembling Darunia's
and a lot of muscles. Not enough muscles, unfortunately, to break through a
cave-in that has cut him off from the rest of the tribe. Link travels to the
past, defeats the Great Moblin, and wins a Bomb Flower for his troubles.
(Strangely, unlike those in the 3D games it does not explode immediately
after picking.) He hands it off to the foreman who explodes it and frees the
Goron Elder, who is able to help Link enter the Crown Dungeon.
Twilight Princess's Gorons are presided over by Darbus, their leader, who
utilises the four Elders as his agents to help him get things done. When the
five entered the Goron Mines to try and destroy the evil that was seeping out
of them, Darbus was overpowered and the Elders were forced to flee, sealing
him in with the Fused Shadow and being forced to abandon hm there. Link
eventually confronts the Elders, respectively called Gor Coron, Gor Amoto,
Gor Ebizo, and Gor Liggs. By tracking them all down, he assembles what passes
for the dungeon's Boss Key, then proceeds to defeat the transformed Darbus
and liberated him from evil's clutches. Gor Coron is quite skilled at sumo
wrestling (didn't see that one coming), and just generally seems very
Japanese to me, for some reason. Gor Liggs is covered in purplish body paint.
The other two are just old. After Link completes the Goron Mines, Gor Liggs
and Gor Ebizo take to hanging out at the Kakariko Village Malo Mart, and
later play a part in opening the Castle Town branch.
=============================================================================
G r e a t D e k u T r e e
Tree of the Ancients
Race: Deku
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
The Wind Waker
The Great Deku Tree is known as the guardian of the Kokiri. Even as the other
six races warred among themselves, the Deku Tree shrouded them in the forest.
It is supposedly its (his?) power that keeps them from ever aging past ten.
It also guards the Kokiri's Emerald, the Spiritual Stone of Forest. Ganondorf
tried to steal it from him but was unable to take it by force. Instead, he
sent Queen Gohma, a giant armoured arachnid, to invade the tree, set herself
in its roots and kill it from within. She spawns many foul beasts and starts
to poison the tree. At the tree's behest, Link arms himself, enters the root
structure and slays Queen Gohma, but it's too late. The Great Deku Tree
realises that his suspicion was correct: Link is destined to save Hyrule. He
gives him the Spiritual Stone to help him on his quest, then dies.
As his last act, however, he plants a seed. This new Deku Tree grows just in
front of the previous one, and takes seven years to sprout; it does so just
as Link defeats Phantom Ganon in the Forest Temple. It then gives Link a
brief explanation of what has happened in his absence and further
instructions.
This same tree reappears a hundred years later in The Wind Waker, and he
looks much different than his father. The original looked like...like Merlin.
This one looks like Bob the plumber. His face is way closer to the ground,
and he's grown more upward rather than outward - possibly because of limited
horizontal space, due to him being inside a larger tree. That tree is quite
possibly the first Deku Tree, though that would have required
transplantation.
The new Deku Tree guards the Forest Haven, which is a combination of the
Kokiri Forest, Lost Woods and Great Deku Tree areas from Ocarina of Time,
split up into four tiny islands. The new tree protects the Koroks as its
predecessors protected the Kokiri. Despite its appearance, it is quite as
wise as the original (well, almost.) The Great Deku Tree is one of the few
creatures old enough to remember how to speak Ancient Hylian; when he sees
Link in his heroic outfit, he is reminded of the Hero of Time and spits out a
few text boxes of Hylian script before apologetically switching to Link's
language.
The Great Deku Tree serves to help Link keep up with Makar, an important part
of the story. He also figures into a side-quest: Worried that the forests are
dwindling, he sends eight Koroks out to some small islands to plant trees
that will eventually give birth (so to speak) to new woods, but they aren't
doing so well. Link must quickly transport mystical water from Forest Haven
to each of the trees, allowing them to begin to grow.
=============================================================================
G r e a t F a i r i e s
Demented sprite
Race: Fairies
Appearances: The Legend of Zelda
A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Four Swords
The Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
The Minish Cap
Twilight Princess
In other words, all games but the second.
Even though not one of them technically has a name, they serve a great enough
role in Link's quests that I saw fit to briefly detail them here.
Okay, rapid-fire. In the NES and Gameboy games, a Great Fairy would
completely restore Link's health. In A Link to the Past, Link would throw
various items into specific Fairy Fountains to have them upgraded. Ocarina of
Time's Great Fairies offered upgrades and magical attacks. In Majora's Mask,
collecting all 20 Stray Fairies in a dungeon would allow them to reform and
give him a special upgrade, one of which was a very special sword. The N64
ones are famous for screaming insanely when they appeared. In Four Swords,
they offered keys that allowed the party's quest to move forward. In The Wind
Waker, they mainly offered capacity upgrades (Rupees, Bombs etc.) and also
offered things like the Fire and Ice Arrows. In Four Swords Adventures, they
sometimes had to be rescued and escorted, and each of the maidens had the
ability to transform into a fairy, including Zelda. In the Minish Cap they
once again offered capacity upgrades. Lastly, in Twilight Princess they were
found in the Cave of Ordeals, and if Link completed the entire thing he could
visit their springs to fill a Bottle with Great Fairy Tears, which was
essentially Grandma's Homemade Soup with only one serving.
Whew.
=============================================================================
G u s t a f, R o y a l S p i r i t
Dead and kicking
Race: Hylian
Appearances: The Minish Cap
Gustaf reigned as King of Hyrule hundreds of years ago, but of course, he
died. He still wishes to maintain peace in his kingdom even from beyond the
grave, however, so he still does what he can to ensure its future. Link first
meets him after claiming the Water Element, then goes to meet him in the
Royal Crypt. Much like similar tombs, his was so complex it's its own mini-
dungeon. In life, he was very fond of the people of the Wind Tribe. The
Kinstone piece he gives Link allows him to enter Veil Falls and,
consequently, the Palace of Winds.
=============================================================================
G r o g
Get mediaeval
Race: Hylian, for a while
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
With a name like Grog, you'd think he'd be right at home sailing the bounding
main with Tetra's pirates, but on the contrary, he spends most of his time
moping in the Lost Woods. A parody that any individual dark or misanthropist
in nature would find insulting, Grog claims that 'everyone's disgusting' and
cuts himself off from society. He has a similar attitude in the sequel, when
he proves himself not particularly affected by the impending end of the
world, regretting only that he could not see his precious baby Cuccos become
full-grown cluckers (Link solves this by ordering a march that causes the
Cuccos' rapid maturation, earning himself the Bunny Hood.) Later on, he moves
to the Woods and becomes a Skull Kid, despite his sister's best efforts to
save him. That sister, if I recall correctly, is the Cucco Lady, and I think
his mother is Grandma from Grandma's Potion Shop. His father is Mutoh, the
foreman who's always yelling at the other carpenters (I know that last one
for sure; his father is definitely Mutoh.)
=============================================================================
H a p p y M a s k S a l e s m a n
Amazingly accurate timekeeper
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
Going only by the titular moniker of the Happy Mask Salesman, we have here
one of the weirder residents of the Zelda universe. From an early age, he was
fascinated with masks, especially those with magical properties. His
collection grew to be quite extensive, and he opened up a small shop from
which he sold his wares.
He was having trouble getting business, so he recruited Link as a trader.
Link borrowed masks for his own personal use and, when he encountered
individuals interested in buying, he sold them off on behalf of the shop,
keeping a modest finder's fee. He sold several masks like this, all of which
reappeared in the next instalment of the series. These actions also fed
Link's altruistic nature as they helped out their recipients with their
personal lives. The ultimate reward for this mini trading game was the Mask
of Truth, which had about three uses (two of which were pretty trivial.)
He got an interesting makeover for Majora's Mask, where he spent the entire
game waiting in the Clock Tower for Link to bring him Majora's Mask, which
Skull Kid had stolen from him. His poly was fundamentally the same, but he
added a giant pedlar's backpack festooned with odds, ends, cooking pans, and
masks. I expect most of you know this by now, but if you look closely you can
see a Mario mask pinned near his head. Close to it is an Elvis Presley one.
There's also one that some say is a Darth Maul mask, but if that was the
intent, it's a far cry from the original. The rest are random generica,
though one looks like it could easily have become the Stone Mask.
The Happy Mask Salesman is best known for his bizarre (I won't say psychotic,
because he clearly does not have psychosis per se) behaviour. He stands alone
in dank locations. He is obsessed with masks (identity confusion?) and
develops dangerous emotional attachments to some of them. He also slingshots
between emotions more quickly than a Vibe Island denizen, screaming at Link
one moment then smiling pleasantly the next. Also, he rarely opens his eyes.
He also has a shop in Lynna City, where he figures into Oracle of Ages'
Trading Game.
=============================================================================
H e l m a r o c K i n g
Winged monstrosity
Race: Helmarocs
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
In Arabian mythology, rocs are enormous birds who live on mountaintops. As I
recall, Sinbad the Sailor encountered one and stole an egg from its nest. I'm
not sure what happened after that, but I don't think it ended well for him.
This was how the Roc's Feather dungeon item came into being, but the Kargaroc
enemies first appeared in The Wind Waker. Though they could be somewhat
irritating to take out, they dropped golden feathers that were eventually
traded for a Heart Piece. Like the Helmasaurs, the Kargarocs have a
figurehead who is much larger and more powerful than themselves. (Helmasaur
King doesn't get a bio because he's a plain boss without any character.)
When Ganondorf emerges from the Golden Land and sets up shop atop the
Forsaken Fortress, he employs the Helmaroc King to do his bidding. Mainly, he
tasks it with locating and capturing Princess Zelda. He knows she's out there
somewhere, even if she doesn't. The Helmaroc King captures several girls who
*might* be Zelda, but as it turns out, none of them are. It eventually finds
Tetra, who really is Zelda, as captain of a merry band of pirates. The scurvy
knaves fight it off and are taken, in the course of the battle, to Outset
Island, where Link sees trouble and comes to Tetra's rescue. The Helmaroc
King swoops in once again and hauls of Aryll by accident, setting TWW in
motion.
They track the Helmaroc King back to Forsaken Fortress, but are thwarted
there. The Helmaroc King hurls Link into the ocean and leaves him for dead,
after which point he doesn't do anything for quite some time. He and Link
finally square off near the top of the Fortress, where he mostly swoops at
Link and tries to crush him. When he pecks, he gets his face stuck in the
stone, at which point he is vulnerable to strikes from the Skull Hammer.
He is also the boss of Death Mountain Trail in Four Swords Adventures.
=============================================================================
H e n a
Master fisherman
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
When Ocarina of Time was being developed, one of the lead programmers, Morita
Kazuaki, had a sort of 'secret project' - a fishing mini-game, the one we
found at Lake Hylia. This was a pretty cool place, so it made it into the
game! It was so popular, in fact, that Morita was assigned to create Hena's
Fishing Hole for Twilight Princess, which I actually like less, but whatever;
lure fishing from a canoe is neat. Anyway, Hena runs the inexpensive fishing
hole, which can be quite an interesting diversion, though a frustrating one
(I only ever caught one fish :( ).
She may be descended from Hyrule's most famous fisherman, the bald guy who
ran Ocarina's place (and the Curiosity Shop in Majora's Mask.) I find it kind
of funny that the photo is in black-and-white, because the Deluxe Pictograph
hadn't been invented yet. She also has a picture of herself with a lunker
(how vain of her). There's also one of her sister Iza, who runs the nearby
boat rental place, and her brother Coro, who sucks at fishing but is pro at
making lamp oil.
Like the fisherman from Ocarina, Hena gets mad if Link uses the Sinking Lure,
because it's unsporting. Unlike the fisherman from Ocarina, she lets him use
a different (but inferior) lure called the Frog Lure if he can beat eight
courses on the Rollgoal game. The Frog Lure requires skilled hands to use,
and so does Rollgoal, so I guess that's the connection there.
=============================================================================
H e r o ' s S p i r i t
Lycanthropic swordmaster
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
This ancient vestige of Hyrule's bygone golden age never introduces himself,
and there are few official resources to corroborate his name (except Nintendo
Power, a sometimes dubious source of information), but most people know him
as the Hero's Spirit, so we'll just call him that.
And what he does say about himself is allusory at best, but that just
enhances the mystical nature of the character. Ever since Majora's Mask's
Swordsman School, there have been a number of individuals willing to instruct
the player in the ways of Hyrulean combat. Hero's Spirit, the latest
implementation, is uniquely qualified in that he was actually around in
ancient times, when many actually studied the Way of the Hylian Blade with
great dedication. From the way he talks, he has truly mastered the sword and
has surely seen a fair few battles before he was transformed.
In fact, chew on this: He actually refers to Link as his successor. He most
likely just meant that it was now Link's responsibility to proliferate the
ancient sword arts, but in context, it almost sounds like Hero's
Spirit...HERO'S Spirit...is actually Link from Ocarina! Pretty out there,
you'd think, but is it really?
Anyway, he teaches seven techniques over the course of the game - paltry
compared to the Blade Brothers, but he's just one guy, plus every one of his
is cool and/or useful, which is more than they can say. They're also
progressive, meaning they grow in strength and animation quality as you go
on, and sometimes require mastery of a previous technique to perform (most
commonly the Shield Attack.) My favourite technique is the Mortal Draw, where
Link stands still without L-Targeting, sword sheathed. Then, at the last
second, before the opponent sees through his ruse, in one smooth motion he
draws it and fells them in a single stroke. If you like, he also spins it
around all fancy-like when he sheathes it.
To learn a technique, Link must locate one of the Howl Stones scattered
across Hyrule. In wolf form, Link must then howl out a specific tune, many of
which are from Ocarina of Time. When he does this, he will be transported
to...'another dimension,' I guess, which looks a lot like Hyrule in its
heyday. He and the Hero's Spirit, in the form of a glowing golden wolf, then
join together in a howling concerto. After that, a spot gets marked on his
map and Link must head over to that location, where he finds the wolf in the
flesh. The wolf then again transports them to another dimension, this one
very white with Hyrule Castle in the background. He assumes the form of a
skeletal, armoured soldier. After testing him on the previous technique, he
proceeds to drill Link on a new one. He tries to introduce them with as much
gravity as possible, but really, Link is in no danger >_<.
The final technique, the Great Spin Attack, is learned right outside the
castle barrier, so it may well be that Link learns it right before the final
showdown. When he has imparted all he knows, the Hero's Spirit departs this
world with no more than a fierce hope that Link will prevail.
=============================================================================
I g o s d u I k a n a
The king is dead
Race: Stalchild (Stalfos, maybe?)
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Long ago, Ikana was a flourishing kingdom in the east of Termina. But trouble
soon came to the utopia as war broke out between the natives of Ikana and the
Garo ninja, both of whom lived in Ikana Canyon. A bloody power struggle
ensued. Apparently, neither side was ever able to actually win. Its history
has turned Ikana into a residence of death and sorrowful memories. The only
living beings Link encounters there are Pam, her father, Sakon, and the
modern Garo, whose clan is still intact. Everyone else is a troubled spirit,
a Poe, or something of the like.
Remember the Composer Brothers, Sharp and Flat? When Sharp attempted to
restore Ikana, he inadvertently raised many of its dead former occupants.
Igos du Ikana returned to rule the Stalfos from the Ancient Castle of Ikana
(we can assume that it did not always have the 'Ancient' prefix.) Link is
forced to enter the castle and head for the Throne Room. Here, he must first
do battle with the king's royal bodyguards, then fight Igos du Ikana himself.
He attacks with a large sword, and sometimes detaches his head to spit
fireballs at Link. He is weakened after a few sword strikes, then finally
defeated when Link exploits the king's new vulnerability to sunlight (new
since he died, I mean.) Upon his victory, Link learns the Elegy of Emptiness,
a quest-critical Ocarina melody.
In life, he was good friends with Captain Keeta, who leads the Stalchildren
of Termina.
=============================================================================
I l i a
Malon wannabe
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Link's kinda tomboyish childhood friend and daughter of Mayor Bo, Ilia
harbours great fondness for both of them, as well as for Epona. But no matter
how hard she tries, Epona just plain likes Link better. She doesn't like it,
but she does recognize the bond that Link and Epona share, and as a parting
gift for his journey to Hyrule Castle, she makes him a charm that symbolises
the love between man and beast. However, she is quick to anger when Link
injures Epona slightly by recklessly jumping fences. She seizes the charger
and takes her to Ordon Spring, refusing to give her back. After some coaxing,
Link convinces Ilia to let go of the reins and let Epona take some risks once
in a while.
No sooner has he done this, however, than a portal opens above Ordon Spring
than a gang of Bokoblins storms the village, knocking out Link and abducting
Ilia and the village kids. Somehow, Ilia winds up pretty far away from where
they did - in her case, she finds refuge in the Hidden Village. Impaz,
wanting to leave because of the danger but unable to because of the relic she
must guard, is in a huge dilemma and is very, very worried, especially what
with the Twilight having descended on Lanayru Province. Ilia, ever the good
girl, gives her the charm she made for Link, and tells her how Link will come
and save them. Well, she's half-right, but not in quite the way she thought.
The next part of her story is a little foggy, but somehow she ends up miles
away in Hyrule Castle Town, all of her memories wiped by severe trauma - she
doesn't even know her own name. Telma the barmaid takes her under her wing,
letting her live at the bar for a while. When Link finds her there, Ilia
doesn't even recognize him, but Telma can see it in his eyes. As it turns
out, Prince Ralis could benefit from the healing hand of Renado in Kakariko
Village, and Ilia would be safer there, so they assemble in Telma's wagon and
Link must guard them from Bokoblin assaults as they cross two plains (going
the long route, because the town's east bridge is out). Thanks to Link, the
trio makes it to Kakariko safely.
Ilia spends the rest of the game here, but her amnesia (a really, really
overdone clich‚; I was disappointed by this development) remains. Toward's
the third-last dungeon, Link retraces Ilia's footsteps and gets the charm she
gave to Impaz, which causes a synapse to fire and restore Ilia's memories all
at once. The charm, by the way, is a nifty item that lets Link call Epona
from anywhere, instead of just from preset points.
Her father, Mayor Bo, is one of only two humans to have ever sumo wrestled a
Goron and come out on top. Both he and Link cheated, though: They used Bo's
Iron Boots. By the way, does anybody else think Bo's moustache makes him look
a little like a boar?
=============================================================================
I m p a
Royal handmaiden
Race: Sheikah
Appearances: The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link
Ocarina of Time
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Twilight Princess
Impa is supposed to be Zelda's nursemaid, handmaiden, teacher, bodyguard and
all-around loyal companion, but if you ask me, she doesn't do an especially
good job of it. She spends most of her time being injured and allowing
Zelda's capture. And she doesn't even bother to show up for her first two
appearances: She just phones it in, briefly summarizing the backstory. In
this capacity, she seems to be something of a chronicler of Hylian lore.
She's one of the few people who seem to be mildly aware of the Triforce, and
she knows all the secrets of the Hylian Royal Family.
She actually appears in Ocarina of Time, in the flesh. While other games have
her old and frail, practically crippled from her violent adventures, and
wearing a long red robe, Ocarina sees her youthful, energetic and garbed in
battle gear. This is interesting because it offers us our only chance to
observe a real live Sheikah. The Sheikah placed the Gossip Stones and were
responsible for many of the temples in Hyrule, but except for Impa they're a
no-show. They were the venerable stewards of the Royal Family in ancient
times (mostly during the period when all of Hyrule was at war with itself),
but since then their numbers have dwindled to just Impa. She's the last
surviving one. Maybe the Sheikah had seen through their intended purpose and
were no longer needed? Killing off an entire race because they have outlived
their usefulness seems a little harsh, but then again, the Three Goddesses
did drown an entire country to stop a single would-be dictator.
Anyway, Impa teaches Link Zelda's Lullaby early in the game - this is in fact
the tune that she used to play for Zelda to put her to sleep. When Ganondorf
assaults Hyrule Castle, Impa acts quickly and flees with Zelda on horseback.
For the next seven years, Hyrule is plunged into darkness. But Zelda doesn't
go down so easily. In hiding, she formulates a plan and tries to do it mostly
through manipulation, but she also acts directly. To that end, Impa teaches
her some of the Sheikah's secret arts and she takes on the guise of Sheik.
Everyone in Hyrule Castle takes cover in Kakariko Village. I don't think Impa
had a Ganondorf takeover in mind when she drew up the blueprints. When Link
beats the Shadow Temple, it turns out the last surviving Sheikah happens to
be the Sage of Shadow. Whew! What if it had been a different Sheikah...?
Oh, and in the Oracle games she is either possessed by Veran and used to
create catastrophe, or grievously wounded by a group of one-hit enemies,
depending on which game you're playing. Either way, she takes up residence in
a house just outside of town and helps Link recover that game's main item. In
a main-linked game, she also opens the way to the side-quest that ends in
Zelda's rescue.
A little old woman named Impaz appeared in Twilight Princess's Hidden
Village. They both have white hair, her name is clearly a derivative of Impa,
and and the Hidden Village is the abandoned but ancestral home of the
Sheikah, so perhaps she is Impa's distant descendant. Her only purpose is to
give Link a book written in Sky Writing that will let him reach the City in
the Sky.
=============================================================================
I n d i g o - G o s
Producers of slammin' tunes
Race: Zoras
Appearances: Majora's Mask
The Indigo-Gos are Zora Cape's five-man music sensation. Though musical
instruments and music themes have always played a huge role in Zelda, the
Indigo-Gos are its first and only band. Unfortunately, like the rest of
Termina's residents Skull Kid has been causing them huge problems, some of
them lethal. For one thing, they were booked to play at the Carnival of Time
in Clock Town, where locals celebrate the passing of another year with
festivities and prayer to the Four Giants. But the impending apocalypse has
seen their show cancelled.
Moreover, the evil that has invaded Great Bay Temple has turned their usually
pristine waters barely liveable. Naturally, everybody is a bit down. Once
Link rousts Gyoakku from the temple, however, they spend the rest of the
three-day time period playing in front of Zora Cape's giant shell. It's
pretty neat to see them all playing together.
Lulu (vocals) - Her mother was in the original Indigo-Gos, and Lulu's voice
may be even more beautiful. However, Lulu's eggs were stolen just before the
game began, sending her spiralling into worry and depression that has robbed
her of the ability to speak. What the Gerudo thieves planned to do with the
eggs, I do not know. As for the father, from a few casual references we can
infer that it's probably Mikau. When Lulu hears the New Waves Bossa Nova, she
sings it for a giant turtle disguised as an island, who braves the storm
surrounding Great Bay Temple in order to deliver Link to its doorstep. As the
wearer of a long, slinky blue dress, she is one of only a handful of Zora to
wear clothes. This is a little odd, considering her alternate-world
counterpart is Princess Ruto, who embraces the customary Zora nakedness.
Evan (keyboard) - As the band's moody frontman, he assumes most of the
responsibility for writing their songs. He gets quite offended when the other
members write songs without his input. But their best stuff comes from Lulu
and the guitar-playing duo, anyway. Almost uniquely, he has a number of
golden scales among the typical white and blue ones.
Mikau (guitar) - Mikau is so awesome, he gets his very own profile.
Japas (bass guitar) - Mikau's good friend, Japas backs him with a guitar
fashioned from a crustacean. The two frequently hold very successful 'jam
sessions' in Japas' room, where they come up with guitar patterns on the
spot. They later use these patterns in their songs, much to Evan's
consternation. Japas styles his fins in a punk-rock style.
Tijo (drums) - Substantially larger than the average Zora, Tijo plays a set
of puffer-fish drums. He seems to be the only band member with all the pieces
of the puzzle regarding their relationships with each other - he knows about
Mikau and Lulu's secret relationship, for instance. His body is of a
different phenotype than most Zora. My Grade 10 Science teacher enjoyed the
Genetics unit very much.
Toto - I might as well talk about him too while I'm at it. Toto is the
group's manager. He handles their bookings and appearances. He seems to be
relatively affluent and has made a lot of money from their success, meaning
he's made them a lot of money.
The Indigo-Gos are best known for their hit single 'The Ballad of the Wind
Fish.' That song is originally from Link's Awakening: Marin taught it to Link
so he could wake the Wind Fish and return home. Lulu wrote the New Wave Bossa
Nova, which, incidentally, revives her near-death (?) eggs and causes them to
hatch when they're all gathered together. Also, Japas, Evan and Tijo all have
solos on the guitar, organ and drums, respectively.
Indigo-gos is a portmanteau of indigo and go-go. Indigo is a shade of purple.
A go-go is a trend, as in 'Henshin a go-go, baby!'
=============================================================================
I n g o
Surly farmhand
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Ingo's appearance is modelled on Luigi from the Mario series of games, and
like Luigi to Talon's Mario, he is always playing second best. He spends his
days tending the horses and livestock at Lon Lon Ranch. Since Talon does
nothing but sit in his house all day long and play trivial mini-games with
visitors, Ingo is forced to do pretty much all the work there is to do. He
proves himself to be quite an excellent farmhand and a capable rider to boot,
but Talon doesn't give him nearly the respect he deserves, keeping him
downtrodden with barely enough of a wage to live on. This has left him
frustrated and bitter.
When Ganondorf takes over Hyrule, he kicks Talon out and gives Ingo control
of the ranch. He forces Malon to stay and work for him, under the threat that
he'll mistreat the horses if she tries to leave. He continues this for seven
years, whoring out the steeds to tourists for brief rides. When Link
liberated Epona, Talon stormed back and wrested control from Ingo. After a
time, the two actually became grudging friends.
In Ocarina, Ingo wore overalls and a green shirt (like Luigi), but he traded
it in for a fancy tunic and ruffled collar for his reappearance as Gorman in
Majora's Mask. This time he was the leader of a group of performers called
the Gorman Troupe, which chiefly included two sets of twins: Twin brother
jugglers, and twin sister dancers. They were scheduled to perform at the
Carnival of Time, but were cancelled due to the impending apocalypse. Oh, and
adding to the twin theme, Gorman had twin brothers, the Gorman Brothers.
(...) If Link saved Romani Ranch from the aliens on the first night, Cremia
would try to deliver Romani Milk on the second night. But the Gorman
Brothers, like they had the past few times, tried to steal the cargo, so Link
volunteered to fend them off as Cremia drove the milk wagon to town.
Ingo returned with his dignified appearance in a manner not at all having to
do with farming, this time as a money-grubbing landlord in The Minish Cap.
Link was the middleman between he and three sisters, two of whom became
tenants. The last one was out of luck for purposes of game balance.
=============================================================================
J a b u - J a b u
Aquatic deity
Race: Giant turtle
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
The Wind Waker
Jabu-Jabu is a giant green fish-turtle thing with a big blue gem stuck in his
forehead. The Goddesses appointed him as the lesser deity charged with the
overall safety and well being of the Zora race. So much for that. He never
says anything and the influence he chooses to exert is pretty limited. When
Ganondorf attacks, with warlock magic and a third of the Triforce at his
disposal, he easily overpowers Jabu-Jabu, who is never seen while Link is an
adult. The Zora are then unilaterally put on ice, and Zora's Cavern becomes
one big icebox. Their other sanctuary, Lake Hylia, becomes festering with
Tektites and is almost drained by Morpha, who has taken over the Water
Temple. Nice going, double-J.
Like the Great Deku Tree and Darunia, however, he also plays a key role in
helping Ganondorf take over Hyrule: The third dungeon is Jabu-Jabu's Belly, a
surreal cavern filled with organic contraptions, walls that bleed when struck
with the sword and an infestation of Bari and Biri (electrically charged
enemies that float through the air and look a little like jellyfish.) Link
must allow himself to be swallowed so he can venture into Jabu-Jabu's
digestive system and make contact with Princess Ruto, who eventually gives
him the final Spiritual Stone.
Like 90% of the polys from Ocarina, Jabu-Jabu's is reused for Majora's Mask.
Well, his face is. This time, he's not a deity, but he's still a giant turtle
- he's sleeping in the middle of Termina Bay next to Zora Cape, disguised as
an island. He even has palm trees growing out of his back. When Lulu recovers
her voice, she sings to wake the turtle, who then carries Link through a
terrible storm to Great Bay Temple, the third dungeon.
Jabu-Jabu's Belly was a pretty creative dungeon, so he reprised that role in
Oracle of Ages. Once again, the Zora worship him and he protects them. The
quest to enter Jabu-Jabu's Belly and vanquish the evil inside spans both the
Past and Present.
Now, in The Wind Waker, there's a character called Jabun. I'm not quite sure
what to make of him, but it is generally believed that Jabu-Jabu altered his
body and changed his name, becoming Jabun. A few things in that game are made
pretty clear, like the Zora having become the Rito, but Jabu-Jabu becoming
Jabun is sketchy. Okay, the names are similar, and they're both water
deities, and they both offer a blue quest item, AND Jabun is one of only a
handful of people to speak the ancient Hylian language (in other words, the
language spoken by the inhabitants of Ocarina of Time's Hyrule). Hmm, maybe I
am sure, after all.
=============================================================================
J a l h a l l a, P r o t e c t o r o f t h e S e a l
Obese ectoplasmmic entity
Race: Poe
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
Jalhalla guarded the Earth Temple's inner sanctuary, where Link needed to
deliver Medli in order to begin restoring power to the Master Sword. He was
very large, very fat, purple and masked. He is the compliment to the Wind
Temple's Molgera, Protector of the Seal, but he's also known as the Master
Poe. In fact, his very body is composed of two-dozen Poes of various colours,
though Jalhalla himself is a single entity.
In either of his incarnations, Jalhalla is susceptible to light being
directed at his mask. The FSA battle is barely worth mentioning, but the
Waker one is pretty interesting. Using the Mirror Shield to direct light onto
his mask stuns him. When Link lifts him with the Power Bracelet and bowls him
into the arena's spiked perimeter, he breaks into his component parts, which
must be quickly destroyed. He soon reforms and the process must be repeated;
he dies when the final Poe is destroyed.
Jalhalla reminds me a lot of Boolossus from Luigi's Mansion. Boolossus was a
big boss formed of 15 Boss. When Luigi lured him into one of the place's
unicorn statues, he would break into the Boos, who then had to be
individually vacuumed up with the Poltergust 3000. Both are ghosts comprised
of smaller ghosts, so I wonder if Jalhalla wasn't inspired by Boolossus.
I don't know if there's a connection, but _V_alhalla is the final resting
place of warriors in Norse mythology.
=============================================================================
J o v a n i
Stealing Midas' ideas
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
A short, fat little man who sold his soul for infinite wealth. This
backfired, however, because he himself was transformed into riches, and his
cat was turned into a gold figure that sat on top of his head. Since this
wasn't quite what he was hoping for, and he badly wants to see his
girlfriend, Jovani requests that Link track down the 20 scattered pieces of
his soul and return them to him. When he does, the curse only half-breaks;
Jovani can move around and his cat is returned to normal, but he is still
made of gold and his eyes are still rubies. He gives Link an empty bottle as
a reward and asks for all 60 pieces of his soul, after which he finally
returns to normal and reunites with his sweetheart.
=============================================================================
K a e p o r a G a e b o r a
Avian manipulator
Race: Owl
Appearances: Link's Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Four Swords Adventures
Kaepora Gaebora is a human-sized owl who periodically swoops in to offer Link
cryptic advice. There is an Owl character in Link's Awakening who hasn't been
confirmed to be Kaepora Gaebora specifically, but most fans treat the two as
one and the same (at the very least, KG was inspired by the Owl.) The first
time we saw him was when Link returned to the site of his shipwreck to
recover his sword, at which point the good owl laid out the general idea of
his quest. Throughout the game, he functioned as a plot device who arrived on
the scene at critical moments to explain what was going on and reveal a
little more of the mystery of Koholint Island. He may have been an agent of
the Wind Fish, and the manual mentions he might not have had pure intentions.
He performed a similar function in his three reprisals, letting Link in on
what's been going on while he's been at other locations. It is notable that
in Ocarina of Time, he did not even believe in the legend of the Hero of
Time, but by the time they met at the Spirit Temple (the last time), he'd
been convinced. He only appears when Link is a child, since Sheik takes over
after that, so his fate under Ganondorf's rule is a little ambiguous. Many
fans (I'm not really one of them, sorry guys) find his extended rambling
irritating and unnecessary, so he has gained great notoriety for being
annoying.
=============================================================================
K e a t o n
Ninetales' distant cousin
Race: Keaton
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
In Japanese folklore, foxes are creatures with magical ability. They are also
very long-lived, and they grow more powerful as they age. Every hundred years
they grow another tail, until they reach their maximum strength of nine
tales. This legend has appeared in quite a few video game forms, and the
Keaton is one of 'em. Keaton is a golden-furred fox who appears to those
wearing a Keaton's Mask, which serves three roles in the N64 games. In
Majora's Mask, once summoned the Keaton will have Link answer trivia
questions, the reward for which is a Piece of Heart or Rupees. Keatons are
said to be mischievous but incredibly wise animal spirits.
=============================================================================
K i k i
Bipedal warm-blooded mammal
Race: Monkey
Appearances: A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Kiki is a monkey who opened up new areas for Link, but only if he thought he
was going to get something out of it. Players were startled to find Kiki
tailing them when they emerged from the hedge maze. For a large sum of
Rupees, Kiki opened up the gates of the Dark Palace, being one of only a few
monkeys who knew the trick to it. Similarly, he opened the gates to Kanalet
Castle on Kohlint Island in exchange for a bundle of bananas.
=============================================================================
K i n g M o b l i n
Big bully
Race: Moblin
Appearances: Link's Awakening
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
King Moblin is another one of those 'ordinary enemies with extraordinary
superpowers, not to mention greater mass,' if we do not deem such a label too
unwieldy. He appeared only in the Game Boy games, mainly as someone who
terrorized the nearby population. He first swarmed over Mabe Village on
Koholint, instilling fear in the inhabitants and kidnapping Madame MeowMeow's
doggie, a Chain Chomp named BowWow. Link had to liberate BowWow from King
Moblin, who mostly had a charging attack, in order to enter the Bottle
Grotto. In the Oracle saga, where he was known as Great Moblin, he was less
lean, greener, and chucked oversized Bombs, which had to be tossed back to
damage him. In Seasons, he harassed and tolled people from Sunken City, while
in Ages he oppressed the Gorons and was responsible for their Elder being
buried in a rock slide.
=============================================================================
K i n g o f R e d L i o n s
Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule
Race: Hylian
Appearances: The Wind Waker
When the Three Goddesses drowned Hyrule, a sea formed over it and it was
frozen in time. All the occupants were either dead or suspended. But its
king, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, remained, awaiting the opportunity to rebirth
his homeland.
To facilitate his efforts, he took physical form above the waves, where he
would be able to exert just enough influence when the time came. Curiously,
he chose to do this in the wooden body of a red boat with a regal, bestial,
talking figurehead. When the Helmaroc King threw Link into the sea, King of
Red Lions rescued him and then drifted to Windfall Island. From here, he
directed Link as he sought to gather the Goddesses' Pearls.
The boat was quite modular, able to zip along by sail, fire a cannon, and
haul up treasure with the Grappling Hook. King of Red Lions was Link's only
way to cross the endless stretches of blue ocean between islands. He was also
this game's Navi, periodically offering gameplay hints via Tetra's pendant
(taking over from Tetra after Link's first visit to the Forsaken Fortress.)
He revealed his identity a little more than halfway through the game, when
Link and Tetra headed down to Hyrule so Daphnes could point out the fact that
she was Zelda without even knowing it. He is shown in the game's final
sequence, when the three combat Ganondorf (though he himself does not
actually partake in battle.) At the end, the water ceiling collapses on
Hyrule, sealing it forever. It's a little coy about the king's fate, but it
seems he drowned. Regardless, there is some poetry in his brave sacrifice of
self and kingdom in hopes for the future.
=============================================================================
K i n g Z o r a
Whole wheat, whole wheat
Race: Zora (betcha didn't see that one coming)
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Oracle of Ages
Most members of his species are lean and athletic, but King Zora is frankly
immense. He's three times Link's girth. How can those scrawny little legs
possibly support that much weight? I guess they can't, because he spends all
his time sitting on his proportionately massive throne, from which he governs
the Zora people. King Zora XVI seems to be relatively well liked by his
subjects, though without the blind adoration afforded Darunia by the Gorons.
His main purpose is to block off the way to Jabu-Jabu until Link finds Ruto's
letter-in-a-bottle, at which point he scooches over to let him pass. (He
again bars the way to Jabu-Jabu in Oracle of Ages, but in a political rather
than physical sense.) When Ganondorf takes over, he encases all of Zora's
Domain in ice, and many of its inhabitants in red ice. When Link thaws King
Zora using a bottle of Blue Fire, he explains the situation, directs Link to
the Water Temple, and gives him the Zora Tunic if he hasn't already bought
it.
King Zora isn't the first Zora sovereign in the Zelda series, though. In A
Link to the Past, a creature called Zora lived at origin of Zora's River.
Link could buy Zora's Flippers from him. Lots of Zora look really different
than the stock models, but Zora was just a really big Zola - I guess he was
to the Zora people what the Helmaroc King was to Helmarocs.
=============================================================================
K n o w - i t - A l l B r o t h e r s
Insufferable
Race: Kokiri
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
The Know-it-All Brothers have a very rare talent: Though very intelligent,
they all have the ability to explain things clearly and without patronizing
the listener. They hang out in their house near the Forest Training Ground,
waiting to explain some of the all-new mechanics to beginners.
=============================================================================
K o m a l i
Snivelling bird prince
Race: Rito
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Komali offers the single greatest example of character development in the
entire Zelda series. All right, Zelda is not generally known for its intense,
character-driven plots (but rather for its epic storytelling), and
Ganondorf's a pretty good one too, but Komali definitely evolves as the story
goes on. When we first meet him, the Prince of the Rito is so agoraphobic he
never leaves his room unless he absolutely has to. He clings (figuratively
and literally) to his Din's Pearl, an object from his early childhood that
comforts him. He's dependent on it and unwilling to part with it. He's also
rather infatuated with Medli, the Great Valoo's attendant, but can't work up
the courage to tell her. Worst of all, though he could long ago have
confronted Valoo and earned a scale that would start his wings growing, he
has been too afraid to do so.
Seeing Link stride boldly into the volcano and defeat Gohma stirs something
inside him, however. He not only leaves his room, he gives up Din's Pearl so
Link can continue his quest. He then immediately gains his dragon scale and
learns to fly. When Link returns to Dragon Roost Island, he's looking for
Medli so he can give her a flower he picked, though it seems he never does
get to tell her his feelings. He seems a touch arrogant at this point, which
annoyed me. At the end of the game, he is part of the rescue party that hauls
up Link and Tetra when they appear on the surface of the Great Sea. He's gone
from being a snivelling wuss to an active ally - good job, Big N.
=============================================================================
K o u m e a n d K o t a k e
Senile surrogates
Race: Gerudo maybe
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Without the experimental magician twins, Hyrule would have been saved an
awful lot of trouble. When Ganondorf was born, they raised him as his
surrogate mothers, indoctrinating him with warped ideologies that would shape
his ambitions and, thus, the fate of Hyrule itself. The two are fairly
magically adept, but their power is limited in scope: They are skilled in
elemental magic - Koume (red) wields fire, while Kotake (blue) controls ice -
but to achieve great effects they tend to rely on sacrifices and elaborate
rituals. Perhaps to compensate for this limit, they are able to combine their
powers and become Twinrova, wherein they share a slightly less ugly body with
the powers of both fire and ice. The secret to defeating the duo is using the
Mirror Shield to reflect their magic, sending their own attacks right back at
them.
They might not have Ganondorf's genius, but they too do their fair share of
scheming. One of their smartest acts was to magically brainwash Nabooru, the
Sage of Spirit and leader of the resistance against Ganondorf, and imprison
her in Iron Knuckle armour. This essentially cut off the resistance movement
until Link was able to free her. What's more, they are behind all the trouble
caused in the Oracle saga. By unleashing General Onox and Sorceress Veran,
their intent was to light three mystical flames: The Flame of Sorrow, the
Flame of Destruction, and the Flame of Despair. They succeeded in lighting
two of the three but required Zelda to light the third. After much struggle
they eventually did, freeing (or maybe resurrecting) Ganon, which
unfortunately for them didn't last long.
Though the real-world versions fundamentally evil, their alternate-universe
counterparts in Termina are really just sweet old ladies. They run a joint
Potion shop in Southern Swamp, near the Woods of Mystery. Skull Kid beats up
Koume, but she returns to fighting form when Link brings her a Red Potion.
After that, she offers tours of the swamp in her boat.
=============================================================================
L a r u t o
Because you can never have too many Sages
Race: Zora
Appearance: The Wind Waker
Like Fado, the wise, motherly character was murdered by Ganondorf so she
could no longer pray at the Earth Temple, which weakened the Master Sword. As
such, she teaches Link the Earth God's Lyric, the first half of The Wind
Waker's theme. When he conducts it for Medli, she awakens as a Sage and
realises her destiny. I quite like Laruto for some reason, maybe because Zora
are cool. Just in case you're dense, I'll take this opportunity to point out
how similar her name is to that of Ruto, Princess of the Zora people and Sage
of Water in Ocarina of Time. Also, off the top of my head I can think of only
three Zora who wear clothes, and Laruto is one of them.
=============================================================================
L e n z o
Legendary pictographer
Race: Hylian
Appearance: The Wind Waker
Majora's Mask introduced us to the Pictograph, but The Wind Waker takes it to
new levels. To facilitate this, we have Lenzo, who lives on Windfall Island
and has dedicated his whole life to taking quality pictographs. He gives Link
his first pictograph machine, which can only take black-and-white
pictographs. A little later, Link can take on a somewhat lengthy side-quest
that ends with Lenzo shoving a fairy into his machine, creating the Deluxe
Pictograph, which is capable of taking colour exposures. Carlov will only be
inspired by a pictograph if it is in colour.
=============================================================================
L i g h t S p i r i t s
Baron Protectors
Race: Lesser Deities
Appearance: Twilight Princess
The patron deities of Twilight-era Hyrule, three of the spirits looked after
the main provinces, while the fourth watched over a prefecture just outside
of it. Each resides at a Spirit Spring, which restores Link's health when he
walks through it. They are Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru, after which
each of those provinces is named.
Notice each name is a derivative from the Three Goddesses - ORdona, FARon,
ElDIN, and LaNAYRU. Ordon is a goat, Faron is a monkey, Eldin is a boar, and
Lanayru is a fish. Zant reduced the latter three to mere shells when he
engulfed their respective regions in Twilight, but Link recovered their light
from the insects that were running around with it and in so doing restored
the spirits, allowing them to return light to their particular province.
=============================================================================
L i n k
Saviour of Hyrule
Race: Hylian
Appearances: All Zelda games
Here he is: The main man of the Zelda series. Link, in his numerous
incarnations, has continually wielded items and weapons of great power and
ingenuity, vanquished evil, played countless mini-games and, above all,
guarded Hyrule from whatever danger it might face. He's had various
companions and allies over the years, but operates largely alone, as a single
brave warrior standing against vastly greater odds. He's a very romantic hero
in that sense.
Let's talk about his signature garb. From day one, Link has worn his highly
identifiable green tunic. It has been a few colours; in Ocarina of Time,
differently coloured tunics had different magical properties, and in the Four
Swords series each player takes on a Link of varying tunic colours (including
a purple one for P4.) But most important is his headgear, a long green cap
that falls behind his head and ends in a point. Hmm - that was surprisingly
difficult to describe. Whatever, you know what it looks like. That cap is
like his calling card. In The Minish Cap, Ezlo just so happened to take that
form when he was transformed into a hat. Link is typically seen with a sword
and shield slung over his shoulders, as those are his preferred weapons in
combat. The Wind Waker marked the first time we saw Link without the
trappings of the green garb - he wore typical islander clothing for about two
minutes until he got the Hero's Clothes, or for the whole game in the Second
Quest. In Twilight Princess, he begins with a cool ranch-hand costume, but
quickly moves on.
Link is altruistic by nature. Many times, he has faced seemingly
insurmountable challenges that taxed him in every way, simply because he knew
it was the right thing to do. Furthermore, he takes time out of his
imperative quests so that he may stop and assist people in their personal
lives. He has repaired relationships, elevated struggling businesses, turned
people away from lives of crime, delivered medicine to the ill and injured,
restored old glories' confidence, comforted people in times of need,
befriended total strangers because they needed him to, saved a number of
people from being mugged by thieves or assaulted by monsters, and united at
least two couples. And that only scratches the surface. He does all this
without expecting any reward, and he often doesn't get one - and that's just
fine with him, because that's how he is.
His destiny is irrevocably intertwined with that of Ganondorf, Zelda, the
Triforce, and the Three Goddesses. Again and again he has been reincarnated
to combat evil, wielding the Triforce of Courage. Nearly every time Ganondorf
has tried to conquer Hyrule, which would give him near-infinite power, Link
has stopped him at the last minute. Zelda has sought him out time and again,
understanding what must be done. His work will never be done until all evil
has been purged from the land.
Link is a smart little dude, and quite good with his hands. He seems able to
instantly master any tool or items he finds, even if he's never seen one
before - the rhythms of Hookshots, Boomerangs, Bows, the reins of a horse,
Mole Mitts, and even musical instruments are all second nature to him. Though
he has, admittedly, had a few tutors, he seems almost supernaturally adept
with a sword, able to best exceptionally skilled swordsmen while having had
almost no formal training. He easily masters the Spin Attack, the hidden move
of the ancient Hylia, when only a handful of others have. This is clear
indication of his intelligence - through careful observation and deductive
critical thinking, he is able to solve dungeon puzzles that would confound
the most logical mathematician.
Yet despite this intelligence, Link never seems to speak. Or if he does, his
dialogue is assumed, as many characters seem to respond to his 'words' and he
is able to pass along information without banter. Obviously, this is a
holdover from early on in the video games industry when voice-overs weren't
yet standard. In one interview, Miyamoto mentioned that one of the main
reasons Link didn't have any dialogue in The Wind Waker despite the available
technology was that many people have imagined in their heads what his voice
would sound like, and he didn't want to spoil it for them. I think it has
more to do with one of the stated key concepts behind Zelda: When you play a
Zelda game, you don't play as Link, you actually _become_ Link, and giving
him overly much character would take away from that. (I think the developers
succeed at this goal.) Regardless, in more recent games Link has had a
collection of yells, squawks, grunts, and cries of pain to punctuate whatever
he's doing.
Another quirk is his left-handedness. In a world filled with right-handed
characters, Link is a lefty. Did you know that, on average, right-handers
live eight years longer than left-handers? Or something like that. Anyway,
maybe I'm evil for saying that his left-handedness is a *quirk*, but you know
what I mean. Actually, there's some evidence that he's ambidextrous, though I
prefer left-handed to ambi. Fun fact: In the first and second Zelda games,
Link held his sword in his right hand when facing to the right. Why swap?
Official answer: Death Mountain is to the north, so he keeps his shield
toward it to fend off its evil energies. Real-world answer: Lazy programmers
have less work to do when they simply flip the sprite rather than drawing a
whole new one.
Link appears as one of the initial eight characters in Super Smash Bros, and
both he and Young Link (from Ocarina; YL is unlockable) come on out for
Melee. Link is a sub-par character in both, unfortunately, and Young Link is
even worse. The fact is, Link is just way too slow and laggy, and Young Link
is too weak and light. They barely ever see serious competitive play, but
seem to show up an awful lot in casual games. When they do take to the field,
Link relies on his semi-powerful Smash attacks and the good mid-range game
that comes with his Bombs, Bow and Boomerang. Three Event Matches are
focussed on Link: One has Young Link pitted against the superior Link, and
another has Link against a black-coated Level 9 Link CPU. Triforce Gathering,
my favourite Event Match, has Link (player) and an idiotic Zelda on a team
against Ganondorf.
That's not his only fighting game appearance, however. Link was the GameCube-
exclusive character on Namco's Soul Calibre 2. His story here is non-canon to
both Zelda and Soul Calibre, and is kind of boring anyway. Opinions on his
power is mixed: I've heard both that he's the most broken character in the
game, and that he's the weakest. I know nothing about competitive SC so I
can't speak to that, but I will vouch that I do all right with him and that
he looks pretty damn cool when the SC aesthetic is applied to him. Every
character in SC has buyable weapons that horrendously unbalance the game, and
Link gets a little trip down memory lane with everything from the Magic Sword
to the Megaton Hammer to the Mirror Shield. At least the boys and girls at
Namco took the time to do their research. I must also say that the movies
associated with Link are pretty neat, especially his Weapon Demonstration -
that is some seriously sweet stuff imho! It's fun to see the sword techniques
that wouldn't make sense in an adventure game.
Link is so legendary, many have seen fit to give him a cameo in their games -
which is only fair, really, considering stuff like the Mario paintings in
houses and Yoshi portrait in Hyrule Castle. Thinking back, in the original
Final Fantasy there was a cemetery in Elfland, where Link's name appeared on
a headstone, but only in the Japanese version - due to licensing
restrictions, the text was changed to 'Here lies Erdrick,' as in the hero of
the Dragon Warrior series, for the NSCT version. I'm pretty sure he also
appeared as one of the characters playing an instrument in the credits of the
NES Tetris. He might also be in F-1 Race, but somehow I'm thinking he isn't
(a little help, anyone?) I'm not a big fan of World of WarCraft, but one
quest in that game involves a gnome named Linken, who is trying to recover
his Golden Flame or something - an obvious reference to the Triforce. At the
inn in Super Mario RPG, Link is seen resting up - after a while, he checks
out and Samus from Metroid takes his place. In Donkey Kong Country, Cranky
Kong rates DK at the end of the game based on his percentage of completion;
he is rated against three other heroes, and Rank C (C?? What kind of Zelda-
bashing bs is that!? ^_-) is Link. There's yet more! In the Kirby series, in
every title after Kirby's Adventure, when Kirby gained the Sword ability he
donned Link's hat (with a yellow bobble on the end) and wielded a
caricaturized version of the Master Sword, though I don't think it has ever
shot beams since there's a separate power for that (Beam, funnily enough, not
to mention Laser and others). Also, the boss Paint Roller will sometimes
sketch an image of the Triforce.
=============================================================================
L i n k ' s r e l a t i v e s
It's all about family
Race: Hylians
Appearances: A Link to the Past
Ocarina of Time
The Wind Waker
The Minish Cap
Link is generally portrayed as a free-rollicking dude without any family to
tie him down. That doesn't cheapen his intense loyalty, of course, since he
clearly values people like Saria. Anyway, a lot of fans assume that he and
Zelda get married, maybe in multiple incarnations, but this unlikely scenario
notwithstanding he actually has more rets than you might think.
Link's uncle - He was so irrelevant, the devs never even bothered to give him
a name. That's just as well. The moustachioed, blue-haired thug receives
Zelda's telepathic cry for help in the night. Taking up the family sword, he
strides forth and is promptly killed by Moblins. Link, who also got the
message, comes upon his uncle as he dies and receives the sword from him.
Uncster's famous last words were 'Zelda is your...' which a lot of people
took to be 'Zelda is your sister,' or any number of things, really. The
Japanese version tells us that it was actually supposed to be the somewhat
nonsensically phrased 'Zelda is your destiny,' but the last word got cut off
due to the size of the text box. He is revived at the end of the game as part
of Link's wish to the Triforce.
Link's mommy - Ocarina of Time's manual explains that Link's mom was attacked
and mortally wounded when he was only a few days old, but she managed to
stagger to the Great Deku Tree before dying. She pleaded with him to raise
Link among the Kokiri, which he did, knowing Link's destiny.
Aryll - As one of two relative characters in The Wind Waker, Aryll really
pisses a lot of people off. They ask, Why does Link suddenly have a sister?
OMG IT MAKES NO SENSE!!!1 Well, she's there, deal with it. She's also quite a
sweet little girl who looks a lot like Zelda, and gets kidnapped in the
beginning of the game because of it. This sets the story in motion. On Link's
first journey up the Forsaken Fortress, he almost rescues her but is captured
before he can. In the redux, Tetra's pirates appear and whisk her off to
safety, along with Mila and Maggie. The latter two return home to Windfall
Island but Aryll stays with the pirates for the duration of the game. They
even pay her for the work she does on the ship. At the end of the game, she
watches sadly as Link sails away from Outset Island forever.
Grandma - For some reason, Grandma creates less waves than Aryll. Whatever.
She is responsible for giving Link the Hero's Clothes, the family Hero's
Shield, and batch after batch of hearty soup that is not only free, but the
most powerful potion in any Zelda game: It completely replenishes Link's
health and magic, AND doubles his attack power until he's struck. That's
pretty awesome stuff. There's a very emotional scene when she looks sadly out
to sea at the retreating stern of the pirate ship as Link heads off for the
Forsaken Fortress. She becomes despondent and depressed when Link leaves, but
a fairy cheers her up. Her figurine says she enjoys playing the occasional
prank on Link.
Smith - Looking nothing like his the previous one, Link gets another uncle
for The Minish Cap. This one is kinda cool because he was an accomplished
swordsman in his youth, fighting to a draw with King Daltus at the Picori
Festival. He spends most of his time in his and Link's house, shaping steel
in the workshop.
=============================================================================
M a d a m e M e o w M e o w
Catlike dog-lover
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Link's Awakening
Madame MeowMeow is a resident of Mabe Village who keeps two small Chain
Chomps and one larger one in her backyard. The larger one is called BowWow,
and King Moblin kidnaps him when he raids Mabe while Link is in the Tail
Cave. Link rescues BowWow and returns him to Madame MeowMeow, who asks for
him to walk him - which works out nicely since the only way to enter Bottle
Grotto is to have BowWow eat the Goponga Flowers blocking its entrance.
=============================================================================
M a j o r a ' s M a s k
Sealed demon lying in wait
Race: Demon
Appearances: Majora's Mask
In ancient Termina, there was a monstrously evil entity known as Majora.
Majora was so powerful, it threatened to destroy the entire world. The most
powerful magicians of the time were able to contain it in a horned mask that
soon fell into legend. Majora's Mask was enshrined so that it would never
again endanger the land, but one day a travelling mask salesman found it and
added it to his collection. He knew its power but thought he could handle it.
Unfortunately, one day a frustrated Skull Kid stole it and put it on. Majora
promptly possessed Skull Kid and used him as its puppet. Though still not at
full power, Majora wrought havoc on the Terminians and, working with the
Skull Kid's ill intentions and granting his desire to cause everyone misery,
set the moon on a collision course with Clock Town that would wipe out the
whole land, not to mention its spawner, Hyrule. Link eventually confronted it
and expelled Majora's Mask from Skull Kid, who was proven to be just a
puppet. Majora fled to the moon and created five mask-wearing children. After
Link had played with the Odoruwa Child, the Goht Child, the Gyorg Child, and
the Twinmold Child, he finally spoke with the Majora Child, who was wearing
Majora's Mask. The Majora Child wanted to play, too, but instead of hide-and-
seek, like the rest of them, he wanted to play good guys and bad guys. He
gave Link the Fierce Deity's Mask so he could be the Bad Guy. In Kishin Link
form, the Hero of Hyrule did battle with the three-formed Majora's Mask and
defeated it with little trouble. Link returned Majora's Mask to the Happy
Mask Salesman, as he had promised, but the salesman mentioned that all power
had been drained from the mask and it had become just a piece of wood, though
one with an exceptional history. What happened to Majora...?
That's how I understand Majora's backstory, anyway. I had to piece some
things together without a lot of in-game clarity, but that's about as
accurate as it gets, I think.
=============================================================================
M a k a r
Rebellious runaway
Race: Korok
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Of all the Great Deku Tree's Koroks, Makar was always the most adventurous.
He was constantly running off and getting in trouble, and the other Koroks
had to bail him out. Makar was a talented musician on the violin (like his
ancestor, Fado) and was to be the centrepiece of the most important Korok
festival, but, while flying over the Forbidden Woods, was attacked by
Helmarocs and knocked into the lair of Kalle Demos. When Link reached the
Forest Haven, he was tasked with rescuing Makar. Later on, Makar is found
practicing for next year's festival, already working on a new song. When Link
plays the Wind God's Aria for him, he awakens as the new Sage of Winds and
accompanies Link to the Wind Temple. Here, Link can use the Command Melody to
control Makar for a while, using his ability to fly on petal props to hit
switches and whatnot. When Link defeats Molgera, Makar stays in the Wind
Temple's inner sanctum to pray to the gods, finally restoring the Master
Sword to full power.
=============================================================================
M a k u T r e e s
Obvious tributes
Race: Maku
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
The Maku Trees figure into the Oracle saga pretty heavily. After all, the
Japanese games are called 'Nut of the Mysterious Tree,' and said nut appears
in the logo. The purpose of this nut is to dispel the barrier blocking access
to the final boss; it grows larger and larger as Link recovers the Essences
of either Nature or Time, and falls to the ground when he gathers all eight.
Both of them open up paths as Link collects Essences, which lead to minor
rewards like Gasha Seeds. They are also both home to Farore, the Oracle of
Secrets. The Maku Trees are pretty obvious tributes to the Deku Tree from fan
favourite Ocarina of Time, in that both are wise, giant trees. All three have
fallen under a curse, too, and are near death when Link finds them. They're
far from carbon copies, however.
Oracle of Seasons' male Maku Tree mostly just sleeps, waking only when Link
pops his snot bubble. At this point he gives him a clue on where the next
dungeon is located before drifting off again. Ages' much livelier Maku Tree
is female and is seen in two forms: Her full-size present day one, and as a
mere sprout 400 years in the past. Link saves her from marauding Moblins in
the past, when she makes him promise to come back someday and marry her.
Okay, Link has been the object of infatuation for fish-girls, ectoplasmic
entities and enormous old women, but a tree is pretty out there. Ages' Maku
Tree is significantly younger and smaller, and even girlish at times.
=============================================================================
M a l o n a n d T a l o n
Just farmers
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Link's Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
Four Swords Adventures
The Minish Cap
These two characters get listed by name even though they find their origins
in two others. That's not really fair, is it? Then again, neither is
Nintendo's treatment of Marin and Tarin, though they technically never
existed.
Now here's an interesting paradox: All the things in Koholint Island are
references to something else, mostly to the first three Zelda games and the
Mario series. Yet Marin and Tarin's 'real-world' counterparts weren't
invented until the following game in the series. A little backwards.
Now that we've gotten severely off-track, let me further remind you that
Marin is actually a reference to Zelda. Weird. Metaphysical conundrums aside,
Marin is the one who finds Link unconscious on Toronbo Shores and drags him
off to her house in Mabe Village. Her father, Tarin, finds Link's shield and
gives it to him as he leaves - Tarin is referential to Mario, given the red
shirt and blue overalls, moustache, and love of mushrooms. Marin is musically
inclined and makes friends easily, even having some among monsters. Neither
Marin nor Tarin is static - both are constantly travelling around the island,
and both of them help Link out several times. Notably, there is a period
where Link finds Marin in Animal Village and she follows him around for a
while, ending in a beachfront 'date' of sorts. Here, Marin tells Link that
despite how much she loves Koholint, she would love to see life outside it -
she dreams of becoming a seagull and flying away forever. When you beat the
game, the 'The End' screen shows a seagull flapping around, implying that she
may really have gotten her wish - or if you beat it with zero deaths, you'll
see Marin with wings. Hmm.
They reappear right away, as owners and operators of Lon Lon Ranch, where
they raise Lon Lons, Cuccos, and horses. Child Link learns Epona's Song from
her, which he uses to good effect later on. Talon is quite lazy and does
almost no work, leading an increasingly disgruntled Ingo to eventually take
over the ranch with Ganondorf's help. He forces Malon to work there against
her will, threatening to mistreat the horses if she doesn't. When Link wins
Epona from Ingo, Talon is inspired to take back the ranch, but it's not all
conflict: Talon and Ingo become best friends and drinking buddies. At this
point, Malon also opens an obstacle course that Link and Epona can try. If
you look at Malon in first-person view at this time, you'll notice she's
blushing, leading me to believe she has quite a crush on him.
By the way, Talon and Ingo are allusions to Mario and Luigi from the Mario
Bros series of games. Both look a little like their counterparts in regards
to body type, shirt colour and moustache style, and both they and Malon wear
gold brooches that resemble the face of Bowser, the Mario Bros' arch-nemesis.
Since Malon appeared as both a child an adult in Ocarina, she had two polys,
both of which were reused for Majora's Mask. When Skull Kid kidnaps Epona at
the beginning of the game, she ends up at Romani Ranch. Romani is young
Malon, while Cremia is the older one. Cremia tends the cows and produces Milk
for the members-exclusive Milk Bar, owned by Mr Barten - that is, Termina's
version of Talon. Romani spends all of the First Day training with her bow
for that night's alien invasion, which she knows is coming tonight since it
comes on the same day every year. With Link's help, she might fend off the
aliens; otherwise, they accidentally abduct her along with the cows, then
spit her out, and she spends the duration of the next two days acting really,
really strung out.
Malon usually seems to be pretty good at what she does, but not so much in
Oracle of Seasons, where Link gives her a book about tending Cuccos so she
can learn. In return, she gives him the only thing she can think of, which is
a beauty product called a Lon Lon Egg. This is part of the trading game,
which Talon also figures into; late in the game Link finds him in a mountain
cave. He gives him, surprise, a Mushroom.
In the Hyrule Field level of Four Swords Adventures, the Links find Malon
under siege by Hyrule Castle soldiers and desperately trying to get back to
her house. They escort her through the hostile territory to a grateful Talon.
Both of them also have minor roles in The Minish Cap, but they are so
forgettable I can hardly remember what they're there for.
=============================================================================
M a p l e a n d S y r u p
Always two there are: A master, and an apprentice
Race: Hylians
Appearances: A Link to the Past
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Syrup is a wizened old hag who knows her magical art well and wastes most of
it making Potions. Maple is her teenage granddaughter who is supposedly
learning that art. Both wear the trappings of their trade (a pointy hat and
blue robes), but only Syrup ever does any work. Maple would much rather spend
her free time zooming around the countryside on her broom, colliding with
innocent bystanders. Both help Link gain items, however, be it a life-
restoring Potion or rare items like Rings. After their first few races, Maple
gains a vacuum to help her gather more loot faster.
=============================================================================
M a s t e r S t a l f o s
Bag of bones
Race: Stalfos
Appearances: Link's Awakening
Master Stalfos is the mini-boss of Catfish's Maw, really noteworthy only
because he does for Stalfos what the Helmasaur King did for Helmasaurs.
Furthermore, there have only been a few genuine sword-versus-sword duels in
the whole Zelda series, which is surprising, really, but Master Stalfos
claims one of them. Quite simply, all Link had to do was avoid his potent
sword strikes, hit him a few times with the sword, which would cause him to
temporarily crumble into a pile of bones, and then lay a Bomb on him. Link
battled him on four separate occasions in four separate rooms. After their
fourth showdown, Master Stalfos blew up for good and spat out the Hookshot.
=============================================================================
M e d l i
Fine feathered friend
Race: Rito
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Young Medli is just coming into her own as attendant to Valoo, the deity of
the Rito. Link encounters her early in the game; she is the key to the first
dungeon, in fact. At the beginning of the game, her wings aren't entirely
developed yet, so she needs Link to throw her up to a high ledge. (It took me
almost ten minutes to do this.) She becomes a much more accomplished flier
later on, able to flap around on her own for surprisingly long periods of
time, and even carry Link for short distances. When Link learns the Earth
God's Lyric from Laruto and plays it for Medli, she awakens as the Sage of
Earth. She and Link work together to conquer the Earth Temple. After Link
defeats Jalhalla, Medli stays in the inner sanctum to pray to the gods, the
act of which restores the Master Sword to half-strength. Medli is a motherly
figure to Komali, comforting him now that his actual mother is gone. Despite
her role as a mother figure, he is in love with her, though it seems he never
has the courage to say it. Medli, in turn, appears to have a crush on Link,
but never says it.
=============================================================================
M e l a r i
Whistle while you work
Race: Minish
Appearances: The Minish Cap
Melari and his seven apprentices collectively form the Mountain Minish.
Smithing is their whole lives. They are wholly devoted to their trade. Link
and Ezlo visit Melari's Mines, which is basically a depression in the ground
near the top of Mt Crenel, shortly before entering the Cave of Flames. They
make their home there in order to be closer, both physically and spiritually,
to the ore they mine and shape. Just prior to scaling Mt Crenel, the duo
recovered the mythical Picori Blade. Melari and two of his apprentices work
hard and re-forge the shattered blade into one piece. Unfortunately, though
Melari can repair the steel he is unable to fix its magical deficiencies, so
Link must look elsewhere. Melari and his apprentices constantly sing the
'Ting Tong Song' as they work.
=============================================================================
M e r m a n
ANOTHER talking fish
Race: Fish
Appearances: The Wind Waker
I don't believe this little guy's name is ever actually given, but one source
calls him Merman, so that's good enough for our profiling purposes. If you
have no idea what I'm talking about, Merman is the bluish little talking fish
who sort of resembles a flat-faced Aboriginal drawing of a salmon. Link and
King of Red Lions first encounter him at Dragon Roost Island. From here on
out, anytime Link gets his attention with some All-Purpose Bait he will fill
in another square of Link's Sea Chart and give him a little information about
the appropriate island.
There are a few interesting things of note about Merman. Most obviously, when
King of Red Lions first speaks with him he claims that he has 'paid off his
debt.' That tells us the two knew each other, and that Merman knows the truth
about Hyrule and whatnot. Whatever Daphnes did for Merman, it must have been
pretty small if he considers drawing in one square on some stranger's Sea
Chart having paid it off - or else Merman is cheap that way, or yet again
he's helping Link more than we realise. He also says that he 'can't go
fighting evil on an empty stomach,' implying that he is active in his
opposition of Ganondorf. Quite what influence he might exert is beyond me.
Finally, his comment at Rock Spire Island implies a past relationship with
Gillian, the barmaid at Windfall Island's tavern - moreover, Gillian's
figurine states that she used to have a boyfriend, but that info is TOP
SECRET!! So either Merman used to be a human, or Gillian is into fish. You be
the judge, I guess.
=============================================================================
M i d o
Boss of the Kokiri
Race: Kokiri
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Mido would have us believe that he is much more important than he actually
is. Mido calls himself the Boss of the Kokiri, and he really is one of the
most competent, but nobody really recognizes him by that title. Link spent
much of his early years being bullied by Mido, mostly because the latter was
jealous of his friendship with Saria, whom Mido apparently has a crush on.
Mido is one of the largest Kokiri and has no scruples about throwing his
weight around; despite orders from the Great Deku Tree himself, Mido won't
even let Link meet with the deity at first. Later, when Link returns to
Kokiri Forest in adult form, Mido doesn't even recognize him until he plays
Saria's Song. In the ending credits, when the Kokiri leave the forest, Mido
is the first who dares to venture beyond that boundary into the unknown.
=============================================================================
M i d n a
Eponymous awesomeness
Race: Twili
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Midna is the deposed leader of the Twili and one of the coolest characters to
come around in a long while. When the game's title was first announced, many
of us followed this logic: Hyrule...Twilight Realm...Zelda, Princess of
Hyrule...Zelda must be the Twilight Princess! (It's the first game since the
original that's actually referenced Zelda herself!) Others looked at the logo
and inferred that its similarity to Midna's hat must mean SHE was the
Twilight Princess. The latter group was correct.
Since the basic controls and concepts of the game come long before anything
else, it's my guess that Midna was a mechanic long before she became a
character. After all, there are certain things wolf-form Link simply can't do
on his own, like open doors or scope out narrow ledges. Plus, we need an ally
for this game.
Midna fits all these roles like a glove that's the right size. She has a
little stub of cell-shaded hair protruding from under her helmet, which she
can form into a giant hand that manipulates objects and tracks targets. Midna
is also this game's Navi, though she doesn't offer help with enemies;
instead, she mostly instructs Link on where to go next, although she does
reprise Navi's function of helping the player with puzzles that would take
them time to figure out on their own.
And of course, she plays a vital part in the story. Much as the natural races
of Hyrule have their own individuals destined to affect its historical
landscape, so too do the Twili have a single rightful ruler. The Twili lost
their previous king due to his own greed. As it turns out, Midna is the one
destined to take over the reigns and continue with her people on their road
to prosperity, but she kind of fails to pick up the slack. Zant declares
himself the Twili's new ruler and tries to gain her support. Failing that, he
transfigures her and kicks her out.
In her natural form, Midna is a grey-skinned, long-haired, beautiful woman.
When Zant transforms her, she becomes a grey-skinned, long-haired, 'decrepit
little imp,' to use her words.
Crippled but hardly out of commission, Midna goes into hiding and searches
for a way to reclaim her throne. She finds it when Link is hauled into the
Twilight Realm and is transformed into a wolf by its power. The light world
may know him as the Hero of Hyrule, but the Twilight Realm has a similar
legend, one which states a sacred beast will rescue their world from the
brink of destruction. She follows the shadow beast who captures Link and then
springs him from his cell. After they have a brief meeting with Zelda, Midna
is able to convince Link that he needs her help to save his world.
They forge an alliance and set to work. Midna's primary goal is to seek out
the ancient Fused Shadows. She wields the most powerful magics of her people,
but these relics will increase her power expontentially. This works out well,
because recovering the Fused Shadows requires restoring light to the three
provinces of Hyrule that have so far fallen under Twilight.
When they finally gather all three, Zant swoops in on them and tosses them
aside, wondering how they could possibly have hoped to defeat him with such
pitiful, withered magic. He returns twilight to Lanayru province and taunts
the duo for a while, then dispels it, exposing Midna's physical body to
direct light. Before, she had only taken immaterial shape in the light world
by commandeering Link's shadow for brief periods, but now she was actually
being struck by sunbeams. Her condition deteriorates quickly and Link, stuck
as a wolf, struggles to restore her.
He finds Zelda who, despite Midna's protests, seemingly sacrifices her own
life to keep Midna alive by transferring her life force to her. And because
Zelda is from the light world, this allows Midna to take from in the light
unharmed. With newfound control over his wolf form and a new goal, Link
tracks down the four shards of the Mirror of Twilight under Midna's
instruction.
Midna explains that the Mirror of Twilight is the single link the Goddesses
left between the light world and their realm of exile, the Twilight.
Furthermore, only the rightful ruler of the Twili can destroy it; since Zant
was only able to break it into pieces, he is undisbutably NOT the true king.
Anyway, they use this portal to disappear into the nether, where they storm
the Palace of Twilight. Paradoxically, Link is able to use the palace's own
power to turn the Master Sword into the Light Sword, which easily vanquishes
Twilight denizens. After a skirmish with Zant, Midna reclaims the Fused
Shadows and kills him, though he is quickly reborn thanks to Ganondorf's
powers.
So, I guess it's time to go after Ganondorf then. After the Twilight dropped
from Lanayru Province, a huge magical pyramid was erected around Hyrule
Castle. With her new powers, Midna transforms into a giant spider-thing and
shatters it. They climb to the top and square off with Ganondorf, who posses
Zelda's body. After forcing him out of it, Zelda's soul exits Midna and
returns to its rightful body. Following this, Midna helps Link figure out how
to beat Ganon transformed, and then teleports the two Hylians out of the
Castle as it crumbles. She then attempts to kill Ganondorf once and for all,
but is overcome. Even against the incredible Fused Shadows, Ganondorf comes
out on top.
But after Link finishes him off, he finds Midna still alive, and returned to
the body she was born in. Their quest was long and they've grown close, but
it's time for her to return to the Twilight Realm to guide her people. They
say they'll see each other again...but at the last minute, Midna takes one of
her own shed tears and propels it at the Mirror, wiping it off the face of
the earth. Light and darkness will never meet again. This move caught me
totally off-guard and so I found it rather striking. We'll miss you, Midna.
Midna's voice is pretty damn awesome. She has TONS AND TONS of dialogue. It's
sort of random in that she says different things when the same text appears,
and of course there is no rhyme or rhythm to it - it's just a bunch of funny
sounds her VA made up, probably on the spot. It's still quite awesome though,
and manages to convey a definite sense of foreigness. Speaking of her VA,
does anybody know the lady's name?
Another one of the coolest things about Midna is her drive. Not only is she
sassy as she single-mindedly strives to strike down Zant, but she is one of
the only egotistical, self-serving characters to receive a prominent role.
She's quite honest about it too: She explains on numerous occasions that she
doesn't care about the light world and is only looking after the interests of
her own. Yet still there is some character development, as she slowly grows
fond of the Hyruleans and comes to realise that the darkness and the light
unknowingly depend on each other. Also, in the beginning she has a decidedly
negative opinion of Zelda ruling a nation, but in time she grows to
understand that Zelda is really doing the best she can, and is deserving of
her respect.
Whoever came up with Midna certainly has mine.
=============================================================================
M i k a u
Avid partier
Race: Zora
Appearances: Majora's Mask
In addition to being one of the Zora's most proficient warriors, Mikau is a
rocking guitar player and plays lead gat on the Indigo-Gos. Apparently, he is
romantically and physically involved with Lulu. Yes, I said it. Despite being
a skilled swimmer, even for a Zora, Mikau was never able to beat the Beaver
Brothers at their game, though Link later beat them in Mikau's form. Lean and
athletic, Mikau sports numerous tattoos on his body, perhaps uniquely among
the Zora.
Mikau stupidly tries to swim in the murky waters of Zora Cape, and ends up
dying because of it. A flock of seagulls (I walk along the avenue) flaps over
him, and since seagulls are seen as fundamentally in The Wind Waker, they're
probably seeing him off to the afterlife, or maybe trying to convince him to
cling to life. Either way, they point Link to him, and he pushes Mikau
ashore. Mikau then explains the plight of the Zora with a rousing and
humorous guitar solo. Link plays the Song of Healing and gets the Zora's Mask
from him. After that, Mikau's grave can be seen on the beach - his guitar is
sticking out of the sand, marking the spot where he drew his last breath.
Of the five forms Link can assume in Majora's Mask, Mikau's is by far the
most fun - Kishin Link can bite me. As Mikau, I spent a great deal of time
zooming around watery areas at what seemed like super-speed. Swimming as a
Zora is simply awesome, my lacklustre description of it notwithstanding.
Mikau can also stand and walk along the bottom of a watery area, like a
built-in combination Iron Boots and Zora Tunic. In battle, Mikau can slash
with the fins on his forearms or throw them like boomerangs. Lastly, his most
potent attack is a bioelectric vortex that kills any waterlogged enemy it
comes into contact with. Very cool.
I leave you with this thought: Do you have any idea how cool it would be to
combine Mikau's form with The Wind Waker's world?
=============================================================================
M i l a a n d M a g g i e
The rich get poorer
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Mila and Maggie are two of the three girls that the Helmaroc King kidnaps in
its search for Princess Zelda. Apparently, giant birds make horrible
detectives, because none of the candidates he brings home remotely resembles
Zelda. Mila is probably the one nearer the mark, being blonde-haired and
regally clothed. Maggie, by contrast, has hair of deep red and literally
dresses in rags - not even close.
Link first encounters them when he climbs the Forsaken Fortress, but before
he can free them and Aryll he is captured by the Helmaroc King and thrown
into the sea. King of Red Lions rescues him and takes him to Windfall Island,
where he meets the girls' fathers. Maggie's father fretted constantly about
her and harassed Link about saving her every time he stepped within two
thousand metres of him. Mila's father, by contrast, worries mostly about his
vase collection.
Here's the difference between them, though. Mila's father promises Tetra's
pirates all his wealth, every last bit of it, if they can rescue Mila. They
follow up, and the two families switch roles. (I guess the money somehow got
back to Maggie.) Maggie and her dad dress elaborately, while Mila and her
father are now the ones in rags. Mila's dad has no regrets, because his
little girl is back. But Maggie's dad doesn't even care about her anymore,
only wealth and all the trappings thereof. Power tends to corrupt, and money
corrupts absolutely.
During her detainment, Maggie started up a relationship with one of the
Moblins in the Forsaken Fortress. His name was Moe, but he didn't share her
feelings; he wanted to eat her, which she took as a metaphor for their love.
She also becomes quite introspective, even writing poetry. Mila, on the other
hand, had to work to support the family, so she became Zunari's assistant.
But she also turned to a life of crime - she started picking the lock on
Zunari's safe and looting the contents every night. Link set her away from
this path and instead she found a second job, on another island.
=============================================================================
N a b o o r u
Scantily clad desert woman
Race: Gerudo
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Although Ganondorf is the first Gerudo male born in a hundred years and
therefore has a birthright to the sovereignty of the Gerudo race, Nabooru
does not recognize him as King. She sees past the fa‡ade he puts on for
others and knows that he is actually evil, and she covertly opposes him at
every turn. When Link enters the Spirit Temple as a child, he finds her
looking for the Silver Gauntlets in her latest endeavour against the King of
Evil. But as Link noticed when he visited as an adult, only a child can fit
through the small space that leads to them, so she promises him a reward if
he can find them. When he does, however, Nabooru is captured by Koume and
Kotake. That about puts an end to the resistance movement for the time being.
She doesn't reappear until the end of the adult portion of the Spirit Temple,
which culminates in a confrontation between Link and the twins. The two had
imprisoned Nabooru in a suit of Iron Knuckle armour and force her to battle
Link. She is released from the brainwashing spell when Link wins. When Link
beats Twinrova, Koume and Kotake's combined form, Nabooru awakens as the Sage
of Spirit and adds her power to Link's.
=============================================================================
N a v i
Pixellated pixie
Race: Fairy
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Navi is not so much a character as she is a brilliantly executed mechanic,
but she has just enough spunk for me to include her here. Link was the only
Kokiri without a guardian fairy - until the opening movie, when the Great
Deku Tree finally sends Navi to be his. It's implied there's something
special about Navi, that she is held in high regard among fairies, or
something. Not only does she have a subtle but definite personality, she's
also really smart, helping Link out with all manner of contraptions he finds
in dungeons and occasionally speaking with other characters. She also points
out significant interactive objects by flying to them and glowing green, and
Z-targeting would be impossible without her (as demonstrated in the final
battle with Ganondorf.)
At the end of the game, Navi flies away through the stained-glass window of
the Temple of Time. We have still never learned why - it's quite possible
that with evil gone from the land for the time being, she was no longer
needed. It's a little sad that she left without saying goodbye, but think
what would have happened if she hadn't. Link would never have ventured into
the Lost Woods to look for her. Skull Kid would never have run off with
Epona. Link wouldn't have followed him through the portal into Termina, and
there would have been no one to stop the moon from falling. Hyrule would have
been wiped out, and by extension, probably a lot more as well. So really,
abandoning Link after all they'd been through was the best decision she could
have made.
=============================================================================
N i g h t m a r e s
In your dreams
Race: Nightmares
Appearances: Link's Awakening
The Nightmares were eight entities who plagued the Wind Fish's sleep, causing
all kinds of destruction on Koholint Island. They also each guarded one of
the Instruments of the Sirens, which Link had to collect to wake the Wind
Fish, meaning each one was the boss of a dungeon. A few of them were based on
bosses from previous games. They are, in order:
Moldorm
Genie
Slime Eyes
Angler Fish
Slime Eel
Fa‡ade
Evil Eagle
Hot Head
When Link collected all the instruments by defeating the Nightmares, he
entered Mt Tamaranch and did battle with their leader, Dethl. Dethl had a
similarly referential nature in his forms:
Giant Gel
Agahnim's Shadow
Moldorm
Ganon's Shadow
Lanmola
Dethl
After Dethl fell, the game was over. Why do the Nightmares get a profile when
all it really amounts to is a list? Why, because they're an essential part of
the plot.
=============================================================================
O l d M a n a n d O l d W o m a n
Old people
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Legend of Zelda
The first Zelda only had a handful of characters. Link was one, obviously, as
were Ganon and Zelda, who didn't show up until the end. Impa only appeared in
the instruction manual. So what else is there? One Moblin who hides out in a
cave, and these two old people.
Their relationship to each other is unclear, but it is obvious that they know
each other since Old Man gives Link a Letter for Old Woman to read. This
Letter allows Link to buy Red and Blue Potions from Old Woman (which work a
little differently from their modern-day counterparts.) Old Man, on the other
hand, appears in caves and dungeons to offer advice. Here are a few pearls of
wisdom:
Dodongo dislikes smoke
10th enemy has the Bomb
Did you visit Old Man at top of waterfall yet?
If you attacked the Old Man with your sword, the torches beside him would
start shooting at you. There was a similar Old Man character in Oracle of
Seasons, which took a lot of its inspiration and characters from the original
game, but he just wasn't the same as our good friend. There's also a guy
called Old Man Ulrira in Link's Awakening who dispenses advice over the
telephone, since he's very shy in person. His wife cheerily sweeps the steps
in front of their house, unless you use the Select Glitch, in which case she
attacks you with a sword.
=============================================================================
O o c o o
C-Button item
Race: Ooca
Appearances: Twilight Princess
This unfortunately named, funny little creature has the interesting
distinction of being both a character and an item. I still think of them as
C-Button items, a holdover from the N64 games, even though they're now set to
X or Y. Link encounters her in dungeons one through seven. In the first five,
she's searching for a way to return to her hometown, the City in the Sky.
Since she and Link are both on the side of good, she decides to travel with
him and lend him the reasonably useful ability of returning to a dungeon's
entrance. After the first dungeon, she even sends him a letter to let him
know that she'll be out and about.
As it turns out, the key to returning to the City is the Dominion Rod, which
Link finds in the Temple of Time. Oocoo and her son Jr are there to witness
the Dominion Rod's total loss of power upon being removed from the Temple.
Complaining that all that work was for nothing, Oocoo runs off. However, Link
restores the Rod and prepares a giant cannon to fire himself skywards to the
final shard of the Mirror of Twilight, and at the last minute Oocoo and Jr
appear from out of nowhere and jump in too. Having returned to her home,
Oocoo isn't about to leave, so Link is on his own for the last two dungeons.
Thanks for nothing, Oocoo, but at least this story had a happy ending.
=============================================================================
O r d o n V i l l a g e K i d s
Caught in the crossfire
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Twilight Princess
All four of these kids are present at Ordon Village when the game begins, but
are abducted when the Bokoblins come to town. We catch up with them later at
Kakariko Village, where they are in serious trouble. Even after we liberate
Eldin Province, they remain in Kakariko, though the credits show their
caravan heading home.
Colin - Like Komali before him, Colin goes from being a snivelling wuss to a
brave and ambitious hero-in-the-making. But despite an intense desire to
fulfill the instructions of his father, Rusl, to be strong, he was nothing
more than a weakling coward. As a result, the other village kids picked on
him constantly. But after witnessing Link save Talo from the Faron Woods,
Colin begins to understand what he meant. He's abducted along with the other
kids and taken to Kakariko Village. A little later, when the Bokoblins rush
down the narrow road, we see him demonstrate his newfound will to act. As
Beth is frozen by fear and about to be trampled under the hooves of the
boss's boar, Colin runs out and shoves her out of danger. He is captured
instead, but Link manages to rescue him. He becomes steadily bolder from that
point on, and in the end credits we even see him with a sword and shield on
his back!
Beth - Apparently one of the richer kids in town, as she was the only one of
them with enough cash to buy a Slingshot. She is meanspirited to start, but
mellows out after Colin saves her life. It seems she actually likes him, you
know, THAT way. She also idolizes Link throughout his quest, wowed even by
extremely simple demonstrations of his swordplay.
Talo - Talo asks Link if he can borrow his Wooden Sword to show Beth and Malo
what he can really do, but this turns out to not be such a great plan. He
runs off into the forest to fight monkeys and is quickly abducted by them.
Link pursues and rescue him. The only other thing he does is drop his sword
when the kids are taken to Kakariko Gorge, allowing Link to track them in
wolf form by the scent he leaves on it.
Malo - Though baby-faced and weird-lookin', Malo is possibly the most
important and most mature of the kids. He is surprisingly worldly for his
age, and when Kakariko Village begins to rebuild, he takes over an unmanned
shop and opens Malo Mart. He isn't the best businessman in the world,
however; for one thing, he tells you his products are a waste of money.
Eventually, Malo is able to orchestrate the repair of Hyrule Castle Town's
east bridge, opening a second branch there, which has smokin' discounts that
are awesome. Both locations also begin playing some really cool music.
=============================================================================
P a t c h
Top-notch repairman
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons
Patch is an oldish guy who lives at the top of Restoration Hill to the west
of Symmetry City in the Past. Link brings him Symmetry City's broken Tuni
Nut, because the city will collapse on itself without it. Patch's method
involves something called the Restoration Ceremony, better known as the Crazy
Cart game. As Patch chants the words, the Tuni Nut is placed on a mine cart
that goes rollicking around the place. Once it reaches a certain point, it
will crash if Link isn't standing on the switch that diverts the tracks.
While this is going on, Link must also smack four Helmet Beetles into a pit.
Um...if someone can please explain the science behind this ritual to me, I'd
be much obliged. Later, Patch also repairs the Broken Sword.
=============================================================================
P i e r r e a n d B o n o o r u
Singing scarecrows
Race: Scarecrows
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Link finds Bonooru at Lake Hylia as a child. Bonooru, a great lover of song
and dance, asks Link to perform something he's written himself. Whatever Link
plays becomes the Scarecrow's Song.
As an adult, Link will occasionally see Pierre's pointed hat poking out of
the ground, and if he doesn't, Navi will likely point it out with her glowing
green effects. If Link plays the Scarecrow's Song at such times, Pierre will
recognize the tune, pop out of the ground and erect a Hookshot target,
opening up secret areas. This is essential to completing certain side-quests.
They both play minor roles in Majora's Mask, teaching Link the Inverted Song
of Time and the Song of Double Time.
=============================================================================
P i n k u r u
Pink Tingle
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Mogitate Chinkuru no Barairo Rupii Rando
Another Mogitate Tingle character, the mannish Pinkuru dresses even more
oddly than Tingle: She wears a similar hat, a bikini top, and fishnet pants.
She also has a rose tattoo on her left upper arm, which fits with the game's
title. Pinkuru appears on Tingle's computer in his home and offers advice on
where to go next.
=============================================================================
P o s t m a n
A very serious civil servant
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
The Minish Cap
Twilight Princess
The Postman has had two incarnations. The first, strangely, is less
noteworthy than the second. He first appeared on the scene as the Running
Man, a guy who waddled around Hyrule Castle Town and, later, Gerudo Valley,
and even later, Hyrule Field. Always running, the Running Man was. Link sold
him the Bunny Hood, which made him even faster, as part of the Happy Mask
Shop mini-trading game.
His running animation was put to good use when it was recycled for Majora's
Mask. This time, he ran around Clock Town delivering mail on a route and
schedule he had timed to the second, and he got very aggravated when
interruptions threw off his flawless timing. He was also one of three people
(counting Link) who knew the whereabouts of Kafei, and played a part in
reuniting him with Anju.
In his other two appearances, he delivers mail. This is useful, but there's
not much to say about it.
Yes, an inconsequential character, indeed.
=============================================================================
Q u e e n A m b i
Ancient tyrant
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Oracle of Ages
Ambi is the ancient Queen of Labrynna, seen only in the Past. Though she was
originally kind and warm, she has turned ruthless and cold in more recent
times. She's not really to blame, though, considering Veran has taken control
of her body and is using her influence to further her scheme. Ambi has
recently commissioned Ambi's Tower, a giant stone monolith which Lynna City
residents have started calling the Black Tower due to its obviously evil
undertones. Ambi's body plays a part in a couple of boss battles, but Veran
soon moves on to possess Nayru instead. In the end, Ambi returns to her old
self and rules Labrynna with a kind and guiding hand for many years. As it
turns out, Ralph is her direct descendant, many generations removed.
=============================================================================
Q u i l l
Winged postman of the sea
Race: Rito
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Courageous and compassionate, Quill helps Link out several times on his
quest. He not only convinces the pirates to take Link with them, he also
vouches for his good character to the Rito chieftain. The chieftain believes
Quill on principle, because he holds him in high regard. Quill is quite wise
for his age, but is completely baffled by watercraft, as his winged form has
never been aboard one. He is also part of the rescue party consisting of
himself, Komali and Valoo that whisks Link and Tetra away from the Forsaken
Fortress when they confront Ganondorf at its wooden summit.
=============================================================================
R a f t o n
Fashioner of rafts
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Oracle of Ages
Rafton has spent much time and effort trying to create raft, but he needs a
rope that won't decay in water. In the Past, an old man named Cheval is
working on just such a thing, and the rope is located in his Present-day
tomb. Link brings it to Rafton in the Present, and as a reward he gets to be
the first one to ride the new Raft, which takes him to Crescent Island and
Moonlit Grotto.
=============================================================================
R a l i s
Zora sovereign
Race: Zora
Appearances: Twilight Princess
By the time Twilight-era Hyrule rolls around, the King of the Zoras has died.
When Zant stormed Lanayru Province, he executed the queen, Rutela, as an
example to her people. Ralis was the next in line to be ruler, but he found
himself passed out in Castle Town, far away from home. Telma did her best to
care for him, but the town's no-account doctor knew little of Zora biology
and so refused to help. They needed an expert. They needed...Renado, in
Kakariko Village! At the behest of Rutela's spirit, Link travelled to the bar
and, once apprised of the situation, agreed to escort Telma, Ralis and Ilia
to the village, and after a harrowing adventure against a horde of Bokoblin
boar-riders, they arrived. Ralis spent some time recovering and then gave
Link the Zora Armour (what used to be called the Zora Tunic) so he could
enter Lakebed Temple. He spent the rest of the game recovering, then returned
to Zora's Domain as the new ruler of his people.
=============================================================================
R a l p h
Nayru's childhood friend
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Oracle of Ages
Ralph is known for his quick temper and headstrong nature. One of those
present at the jamboree when Veran possessed Nayru, he put his life on the
line to try and rescue her. He spends most of the game living in the Past,
working to restore Labrynna to its correct state of affairs. When Ralph saw
that Nayru was in danger, he immediately whipped out a sword, and in so
doing, earned my respect. You just don't see enough Zelda characters who can
handle themselves around weapons.
=============================================================================
R a u r u
Sage of Light
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Rauru was the man who originally built the Temple of Time to house the Master
Sword, and also the one who devised the locking mechanism to the Sacred
Realm: The Door of Time would only open when the three Spiritual Stones and
the Ocarina of Time were gathered together. Beyond the Door was the Master
Sword, which could only be drawn and wielded by someone of a pure heart. In
this way, Rauru thought he had sealed off the Triforce from evildoers, though
Ganondorf found a workaround. When Link awoke from his seven-year sleep Rauru
was the first to greet him, and was the first of the Sages to provide Link
with the appropriate medallion. Though not the strongest of the Sages or
their destined leader (that's Zelda), he helped coordinate the actions of the
other five.
=============================================================================
R e n a d o
Community leader
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
As shaman of Kakariko Village, Renado is basically its mayor. He leads the
community in its day-to-day activities, acts as spiritual advisor and is the
local doctor. He has some history with Telma the barmaid, and even though he
says he can't stand her, they're really in love. Renado, do-gooder that he
is, heals Prince Ralis and helps Ilia recover her memory.
=============================================================================
R i c h a r d
Imported hero
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Link's Awakening
Richard was not originally a Zelda character. He hails from a game called
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru ('For Frogs the Bell Tolls'), which was the
starting point for the Link's Awakening game engine. The game centred around
a peculiar battle system and the ability to transform into a frog or snake as
the Prince of Sable raced against his childhood rival Richard to see who
would be the first to rescue Princess Chiramisu.
Considering the highly referential nature of Link's Awakening, it's not
especially surprising that Richard shows up on Koholint. He once lived in
Kanalet Castle, which was supposedly the home of the kings of Koholint long
ago, but his rebellious servants became aggravated and kicked him out.
Richard moved a little ways off and built a small house. Richard's Villa was
filled with frogs and played a remixed version of the Kane wa Naru title
theme. He is not particularly upset about being kicked out, but he does yearn
for his five precious Golden Leaves. Link enters the castle and returns them
to Richard, receiving the Slime Key for his troubles.
=============================================================================
R i c k y, M o o s h a n d D i m i t r i
Animal friends
Race: Animals
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Link's Awakening featured a village inhabited by a plethora of talking
animals, and I guess Link's so-called 'animal partners' are an extension of
that idea. All three are friendly talking animals with a unique attack, a
unique method of travel, mild importance to the story, and the ability to
reach areas Link can't get to on his own. Any time before the third dungeon
in either game, Link has a few opportunities to collect a Strange Flute. He
can only ever find one, and the method by which he finds it determines which
animal partner he will have for the duration of the game. Link can play the
Strange Flute at any time in the overworld to summon his buddy, hop on and
take advantage of their talents.
Ricky - A kangaroo who has lost his boxing gloves. Despite pronoun use that
suggests he is male, he has a pouch. Ricky can play Punch-Out!! Or charge up
a long-distance whirlwind attack. He can also hop up high ledges.
Moosh - A huge blue bear with tiny angel wings that are somehow strong enough
to carry him long distances. Moosh is terribly afraid of water, however, so
he flatly refuses to fly over it. He's also perpetually hungry and afraid of
ghosts. His attack is a ground-pound.
Dimitri - This Dodongo defies convention by not only being friendly, but by
loving swimming. He's the coolest of the three, and his ability to travel
quickly over water is the most useful, but his close-range biting attack
leaves something to be desired.
=============================================================================
R o s a
The only female of her race
Race: Subrosian
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons
Rosa is easily identifiable by her red robes (most Subrosians wear green) and
the big pink bow she wears on her head. Link enters Subrosia for the first
time by following her into a portal. Later, she loses her bow, but like the
do-gooder he is, Link finds it and returns it. They go on a brief date, which
advances the game a little and indirectly leads to the Rod of Seasons
regaining another function (Summer, if I remember correctly).
=============================================================================
R u p i i j i
Some old guy
Race: I think Hylian
Appearances: Mogitate Chinkuru no Barairo Rupiirando
Rupiiji kick-starts Mogitate Tingle by offering Tingle the chance to enter a
paradisial realm of happiness and sunshine. Tingle, bored by his middle-aged
life, is more than eager to take on this fascinating new challenge. To help
him accomplish what would otherwise be an impossible quest, Rupiiji gives
Tingle a magical Rupee-collecting suit and outfits him with various pieces of
equipment. The suit may even give Tingle limited powers of time travel, since
he appears in several eras, but that's probably just me being silly. Anyway,
you'll be interested to know Rupiiji's head is actually shaped like a Rupee,
and what's more, his name means Old Man Rupee (ha ha, or perhaps Uncle
Rupee.)
=============================================================================
R u t o
Pluckiness defined
Race: Zora
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Princess Ruto's main job is as attendant to Jabu-Jabu, the Zora deity. She
would often enter Jabu-Jabu's belly and wander around inside him, knowing
that it was not particularly dangerous for her. She was imperilled, however,
when the monster known as Barinade and his various underlings invaded Jabu-
Jabu's body on Ganondorf's orders. Searching for her Spiritual Stone of
Water, which Jabu-Jabu had incidentally swallowed when being fed, Ruto
accidentally fell through a permeable membrane and became hopelessly lost.
Luckily, Link was seeking her out, as he knew she had the Spiritual Stone and
was trying to collect them.
After he found Ruto, she followed him around and let him carry her on his
shoulders. They worked together to escape Jabu-Jabu's Belly, with Ruto
performing such roles as keeping switches depressed so that Link could
proceed. (She has other uses, too, which exploit her invincibility - namely
you can throw her at Biri to pop them. She is not particularly impressed with
such behaviour.) Eventually, Link is able to defeat Barinade.
Ruto lets him choose his reward, and he picks the Zora's Sapphire. This is an
item of special significance to Ruto because it was given to her by her dead
mother. She received it with instructions to give it to the man she intended
to marry - and Link is pretty cute, so she happily hands over the Zora's
Engagement Ring.
After Ganondorf's takeover, all of Zora's Domain is covered under ice, and
its inhabitants with it. Sheik finds Ruto under the ice and frees her, but is
unable to do the same for her people. Ruto is regretful on this point but
starts to work against Ganondorf, and ends up encountering Link in the Water
Temple. Ruto is pretty angry that Link has been out of touch, but she sets
their differences aside so they can conquer the Water Temple together.
Actually, Ruto doesn't do a whole lot, but she does help somewhat. After Link
beats Morpha, Ruto awakens as the Sage of Water.
She reluctantly points out that Sages can never marry, and so she must break
the vows she and Link made so long ago. Harsh. Then again, Link probably
isn't too bummed.
=============================================================================
S a h a s r a h l a
Old Man's successor
Race: Hylian
Appearance: A Link to the Past
Sahrashla is every bit the wise elder, sporting a long white beard and
spouting nonsense no one can understand. He originally lived in Kakariko
Village but smartly skipped town when the Hyrule Castle Guards set up shop.
Link finds him living as a recluse near the Eastern Palace. He explains the
ancient history of the Master Sword, the story of the Seven Wise Men (that
is, the Seven Sages from Ocarina of Time, only two of whom were actually men)
and Link's new quest: To find the Pendants of Courage, Wisdom and Power. He
provides the Pegasus Boots after Link acquires the first of the three.
Skilled in telepathy, Sahrahla psychically contacts Link several times
throughout the game. He also provides a little advice when Link touches a
Triforce tile. After Ganon is ousted, Sahrahla returns home and everybody
parties.
Saharahla's name comes from Nintendo of America's ever-terrible Romanization.
His Japanese name, Sahasurara, refers to Sahasrara, the highest chakra in the
Hindu Tantric tradition.
=============================================================================
S a l v a g e C o r p.
Undersea scavengers
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Salvage Corp. is cool because they're one of a number of groups that actually
travel around the sea, like Link, Beedle, or Fishman. Their craft seems to be
a submarine, but is apparently not submersible. The three men spend their
days trolling the ocean floor for treasure, searching for that one big haul
that will set them on the free and easy for the rest of their lives. When
Link talks to them, they give him various Sea Charts that they think they
don't need, but if they're strapped for cash maybe they should be holding
onto them. Towards the end of the game, they start searching for the golden
Triumph Forks, but without the Triforce Charts it's safe to say they never
had a hope of finding them.
=============================================================================
S a r i a
Link's childhood friend
Race: Kokiri
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Link was always disliked and picked on for not having a fairy of his own.
Saria was the one Kokiri who never teased him. Like Medli to Komali, she was
both a love interest and a mother figure to him. She was also quite brave,
brazenly entering the dangerous Lost Woods and exploring them thoroughly. Her
favourite place is the Sacred Forest Meadow, right outside the Forest Temple.
Saria has what is said to be the most touching moment in any Zelda game: The
time when Link must leave the forest behind, and that means Saria, too. She
wordlessly gives him her favourite Fairy Ocarina, then runs off, crying. I
wasn't that affected by it, but perhaps I am just cold and heartless.
She teaches him Saria's Song, which sounds suspiciously like the Lost Woods
theme, so that he can play it for Darunia and cheer him up. When Link takes
his seven-year hiatus, Saria is captured and imprisoned in the Forest Temple
by Phantom Ganon and the 'Little Women' Poe Sisters. When Link rescues her,
she awakens as the Sage of Forest and gives him the Forest Medallion.
=============================================================================
S k u l l K i d a n d F r i e n d s
Forest imp and his fairy companions
Race: Skull Kid and fairies
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Skull Kid - Skull Kids were minor enemies from the Lost Woods in Ocarina of
Time. Actually, enemies is a bad word, since they were only a nuisance as an
adult and outright helpful as a child. Legend dictates that Hylian children
or Kokiri who get lost in the Lost Woods turn into Skull Kids. There is one
particular Skull Kid in the Lost Woods who befriends Link when he gives him
the Skull Mask as part of the mask-trading game; possibly, this is the same
Skull Kid from Majora's Mask.
At any rate, Skull Kid lived in Clock Town and Termina Field long before Link
got there. No one liked him because he was always playing pranks on everyone
and making mischief. He became very sad because he badly wanted friends, but
no one even wanted to be seen talking to him. One day, however, he met Tatl
and Tael, and they all got on quite well. He also soon met and befriended the
Four Giants, the patron deities of Termina who resided in its cardinal
directions and protected it from harm. However, he was still angry with
society, and in an act of rebellion he stole Majora's Mask from the Happy
Mask Salesman. The mask quickly took over, transforming his mischievous
nature into patent malevolence. He causes a great deal of pain for everyone
in the land, imprisons the Four Giants, and, worst of all, sets the moon on a
collision course that would destroy everything. Now we're all wishing we'd
never shunned him.
We spy Skull Kid a couple of times around Clock Town, but we mostly see him
in Termina's final moments as he waits for all to be obliterated. Link is
eventually able to play the Oath to Order, stopping the moon's descent and
forcing Majora's Mask off Skull Kid. In the closing credits, we see that
everyone has come around and realised Skull Kid is an okay guy after all.
Tatl - Tatl serves as this game's version of Navi, pointing things out,
providing information and facilitating Z-Targeting. There are a few key
differences, however. First and foremost, Tatl has way more dialogue and a
lot more character. Whereas I described Navi as spunky, Tatl is sassy. She
also serves as Link's voice many times throughout the game, even having full
conversations with certain individuals.
She is also significantly younger than Navi and not quite as smart. She has a
lot of good ideas, but her knowledge of enemies is sub-par, to say the least.
'Just...hit it with your sword or something!' indeed. Her means of getting
your attention is also more subdued, and, some would say, less annoying - she
merely dings instead of yelling 'Hey!' 'Listen!' 'He-LOOOoo!' 'Watch out!' or
'Ploom!' As Navi is a pun on the word navigation, Tatl and Tael form the word
tattle-tale. Plus, Tatl herself 'tattles' on enemies, in the same way that
Goombella uses her Tattle attack in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year-Door.
Tael - Tael is a dark purple character to his older sister's blinding white.
While Tatl agrees to work with Link to restore the proper state of affairs,
Tael sticks with Skull Kid, sycophantically following him around everywhere
he goes. I'll let you guess which one of the fairies made the better choice.
=============================================================================
S o r c e r e s s V e r a n
Never actually casts even one spell
Race: Hylian? Possibly demon...
Appearances: Oracle of Ages
Ganondorf has always coveted Hyrule, because if he ever got it fully under
his control, he would effectively have the whole universe in his grasp. Veran
had similar dreams of domination but, being a much less powerful magician,
confined herself to the comparatively inconsequential Labrynna, a land well
known for its long and storied history. In particular, it is remembered for a
critical turning point 400 years ago, when it really began to prosper and
grow.
As Din was the steward of Holodrum, Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, assumed a
similar role in Labrynna. Veran planned out exactly how to use Nayru's time-
travelling abilities to wreak havoc on the land, and used her own powers of
possession to do it. After first possessing Impa and using this form to trick
Link into allowing her access to Nayru, she quickly took control of Nayru and
used this position to travel 400 years into the past, to that time of looming
prosperity. Acting quickly, Veran began making alterations to that time, and,
now in the body of Ambi, Queen of Labrynna, she forces the people to fortify
her newfound position and stands poised to take over.
Unfortunately for Veran, she has the likes of Nayru (now released; Veran can
possess only one individual at a time), Ralph, Impa, and Link working against
her, not to mention every ally of theirs, such as the monkeys, the Great
Fairies, etc. With such odds against her, only her trickery could save her,
which she employed to great effect...but not enough. She encountered Link
several times as she strove to take over completely, and was defeated each
time. In the end, even as True Veran, her ultimate form, she was unable to
overcome the Hero of Hyrule, and the timeline was set right.
Link found out later on that she was really working as an agent of Koume and
Kotake, the Gerudo sisters hellbent on reviving their surrogate son, but
luckily he was able to overcome that difficulty as well, so it's all good.
=============================================================================
S t u r g e o n a n d O r c a
Super Sword Bros
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Wind Waker
You might not think it by looking at them, but in their younger days Sturgeon
and Orca sailed the bounding main together on a quest to gather Knight's
Crests. Their goal of gathering ten such items took them many years of hard
work and long hours of careful sword practise. They honed their skills
against each other and then tested them against increasingly stronger
monsters.
In the end, Orca was injured so badly that he was no longer able to fight
properly with a sword. They had accomplished their dream, though, so the two
returned to their home of Outset Island and built a house together. Sturgeon
took the top floor while Orca stayed on the bottom. It is of questionable
wisdom that the less-fit brother is required to climb a ladder to enter his
home, but there you have it.
After coming home, Sturgeon married and had a daughter named Sue-Belle. He
soon became a widower, however. His daughter had moved to Windfall Island but
returned to live with her father, worried about his ailing health. Sturgeon
has an abnormally high IQ and a very large head. He has words of wisdom
posted on his walls, and he is quite happy to impart a little knowledge to
Link if he asks. Sturgeon greatly enjoys standing on his balcony and looking
out to sea, which calms his addled nerves. Alas, he is frequently interrupted
by Orca's body slamming the wall downstairs, which often ends up shattering
priceless vases.
Orca can no longer fight with a sword, but he still maintains his daily
training with a spear. He once wielded a giant sword that he now keeps on his
wall, so you know he must have been good - and he is quite willing to take
Link on as his pupil. Every sword technique Link can learn comes from Orca.
When Link collects ten Knight's Crests, he cries tears of unbridled joy. Late
in the game, Link can challenge Orca to a sparring match in which he must hit
Orca 999 times before Orca hits him 3 times. If he wins, Orca will say that
Link has surpassed him and will call him Master from then on.
When you win, he has this to say: 'My arms are sore! Is your left index
finger not sore?' After twenty minutes of L-Targeting, you bet it was. I
laughed out loud when that happened.
=============================================================================
T e l m a
Busty barmaid
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
This kind, middle-aged lady runs Telma's Bar in South Castle Town. Link
doesn't go there for the food or even the booze, though. In reality, the bar
is really just a front for a secret resistance movement opposing the evil
influence that has spread across Hyrule. There's even a secret underground
passage between the bar and the Hyrule Castle sewers. The number of active
members is quite small, but they do their best.
Telma - Telma runs the movement; I guess you could say she acts as controller
for the operatives. She also takes in Ilia when she finds her stumbling
around in an amnesiac state. She also briefly cares for Prince Ralis when he
collapses in front of her bar. When Link escorts Ralis and Ilia to Kakariko,
Telma drives the wagon, keeping her cool even under pressure.
Auru - Auru studies the desert from the safe distance of Lake Hylia. When
Link confronts him, we find out he's an old friend of Falbi, who agrees to
fire Link into the desert from his special cannon. This allows him to enter
the ancient prison, the Arbiter's Grounds.
Ashei - A young woman who is a good friend to the Zora people, Ashei
investigates when a yeti starts rampaging through their territory. She helps
Link figure out that he needs to learn the Reekfish scent, allowing him
access to Snowpeak Ruins.
Rusl - Link's sword instructor from Ordon Village, husband of Uli and father
of Colin. He takes a beating when the Bokoblin gang raids the village, but
begins scouring Hyrule for the children as soon as he's recovered. We don't
see him again until much later, when he summons a Golden Cucco to help us
reach the Temple of Time.
Shad - A seriously devoted scholar who studies the ancient Sky People (or as
we know them, the Ooca.) He is responsible for us restoring power to the
Dominion Rod and thus finding the giant cannon necessary to get us to the
City in the Sky.
These four finally show up all in the same place - Telma's Bar, at their
usual spot - towards the end, and halfway through the Hyrule Castle dungeon
they save us the trouble of what would have been a moderately difficult
fight.
Unbeknownst to Telma, her cat Louise is also a member of the movement.
=============================================================================
T e t r a ' s C r e w
Scurvy sea dogs
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Tetra and her pirates sail all across the Great Sea in search of treasure,
romance, and adventure. Every crewmember is assigned a specific task and
perfects it. Together, the crew works like a somewhat well oiled machine.
Tetra - Technically the captain, the pirates address her as Miss. Their last
Miss, Tetra's mother, died young, which is how Tetra became Miss at only
twelve. Though not aware of her true identity until later, Tetra still knows
much of the lore of Hyrule, and she searches constantly for the shards of the
Triforce. Her mother left her a magical gem that she gave Link to communicate
with him, temporarily functioning as that game's Navi; King of Red Lions took
over after the Forsaken Fortress mission, able to use it since he too is of
the Hylian Royal Family.
Gonzo - A big burly guy who says his favourite thing is Miss Tetra, Gonzo is
her second-in-command and takes over for her when she's not around. He's the
one with the green shirt and tattoo. He is responsible for keeping the crew
coordinated.
Senza - Or maybe that's Senza's job, in addition to negotiating. He's the one
with the beard and copious chest hair. His persuasive skills are said to be
unmatched, and he is the crew's mild-mannered, de facto diplomat.
Nudge - The guy wearing the purple shirt, Nudge is the strongest of the
pirates and the one who understands Tetra the best. He operates the ship's
cannon (cannon, in the plural.)
Zuko - The telescope-toting lookout spends most of his time in the Crow's
Nest, shouting out what he sees to whoever's on bridge. Unfortunately, they
have a hard time understanding him, to their occasional detriment.
Mako - Resembling Professor Ouyama from the Mario series, Mako is a walking
encyclopaedia. He always carries around a thick Book of Stuff, in which he
actually hides a knife. He's quite deceptive, unstoppable when mad and has
sharp eyesight due to his glasses.
Niko - As the youngest and newest member of the crew, Niko gets stuck with
all the jobs nobody else wants to do, much to his chagrin. Still, he shows
pirate potential if he can curb his reckless nature. He runs a rope-swinging
game below decks.
=============================================================================
T i n g l e
General annoyance
Race: Hylian, despite his best efforts
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
The Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
The Minish Cap
To be honest, I'm having trouble figuring out what to say about Tingle. I
probably shouldn't spend any more time on him than I have to, considering
that so many people hate him on principle. I guess I can tell you that he's a
35-year-old man who is obsessed with collecting Rupees and lives under the
belief that he is a fairy. He wears an odd green suit and is tiny. His
father, the guy who runs the Pictograph Contest in Southern Swamp, really
wishes he would act his age. You will also note that though he originated in
a parallel universe, he has hopped the gap to 'real' Hyrule, and has
transcended time by appearing in games that are hundreds of years apart from
one another (though neither of these last two traits are unique to Tingle,
because all Zelda stories are more or less self-contained, except the direct
sequels.)
In Majora's Mask, he is often found drawing maps from a high vantage point -
by which I mean he inflates a big red balloon, affixes it to his back, and
floats high into the air, waiting for someone to knock him down so he can
sell his wares. This was where he introduced his magic words: 'Tingle!
Tingle! Kooloo-limpah!' If you hadn't heard of Tingle before you read this
FAQ, I am amazed that you are still reading this profile.
In the Oracle saga, he again waited for people to knock him down, at which
point he would offer up a Quest Item or a map of some sort. He played a more
active role in The Wind Waker, when Link, after rescuing him from the
Windfall Island Prison, could use the Tingle Tuner to summon him. A second
player (or, if you're like me, the first one) could then control Tingle via a
GBA and GCN-GBA Link Cable. This had a few interesting uses, all of which
cost Rupees, such as dropping Tingle Bombs with tactical precision, hovering
with the Tingle Balloon, buying Potions at a buy-anywhere store or offering
vague hints. The Tingle Tuner was the only way to collect the five statues of
Tingle in various poses, which served no real purpose. Located near the
centre of the Great Sea was Tingle Island, a small island with a tall totem-
pole tower, with Tingle's head as the top totem. Here, he forced Ankle and
David Jr to do slave labour for him, keeping Tingle Tower in its constant
spinning motion. Tingle's most important task was to decipher the Triforce
Charts for outrageous amounts of Rupees.
He is much less helpful in Four Swords Adventures. Since Force Gems replaced
Rupees from the original FS, he's now collecting those, too. The Links
encounter Tingle trapped under a rock under a bridge. After that, any time
they spend too long in one area, a horde of Tingles will swoop in, scoop up
all the unclaimed Force Gems, and even steal a bunch from those unlucky
enough not to find cover.
Lastly, in The Minish Cap he and his three partners in crime wait at the tops
of ledges to fuse Kinstones with Link. Fusing enough Kinstones with all of
them enough times will open up the way to excellent prizes, like the Magic
Boomerang.
Tingle also appeared in his own RPG, Mogitate Chinkuru no Bairairo Rupiirando
- that is, Freshly Picked Tingle's Rose-Coloured Rupee Land by most
translations. Unfortunately, because it has yet to be released on western
shores I don't know much about it other than what everybody else knows: It
was a nutty game that explored Tingle's origins. Progression, boss battles
and even incidental combats were resolved in a mini-game style. The entire
quest revolved around Tingle's search for Rupees; while Link could hold an
impressive 10,000 in The Wind Waker, Tingle's wallet was even bigger. Rupees
were the lifeblood of the game in more ways than one; not only did Tingle die
if he ran out, but everything - everything - revolved around accruing or
spending Rupees.
=============================================================================
V a a t i
Sorcerer of Winds
Race: Minish
Appearances: Four Swords
Four Swords Adventures
The Minish Cap
Next to music and time, winds is the most commonly used theme of the Zelda
series. There's even an entire major enemy thereof. That's Vaati, and he's a
pretty interesting character.
He started out, so long ago, as one of the Minish, tiny creatures who
migrated to Hyrule from elsewhere and now assist the Hylians in their daily
lives. One of the Minish's greatest sages was called Ezlo, and Vaati was his
apprentice. A quick study, Vaati soon learned almost everything Ezlo knew,
and soon started research of his own. Over time, he learned some of the lore
of the Light Force, and the infinite power it offered to anyone who could
find it. He turned on his master, transforming him into a hat, and took
Hylian form.
The prize for winning the sword-fighting competition at the Picori Festival
was to touch an ancient treasure from Hyrule's past, a great honour. It was a
treasure chest sealed with a blade, but instead of just laying hands on it,
Vaati opened it. This unleashed all manner of lesser monsters on Hyrule, but
Vaati didn't find what he was looking for. He turned Princess Zelda to stone,
rightly fearing her lineage, and proceeded to incapacitate most of those who
could oppose him.
He later turned Zelda back to normal, realising that he needed to sacrifice
her to gain the Light Force that had been stored in her body. He had made
several other critical miscalculations, however, the greatest of which was to
let Link live. The two did battle, and though Vaati used what Light Force he
had been able to extract to transform himself, Link and the power of the Four
Sword vanquished him.
Vaati later appeared in the two multiplayer Zelda games, FS and FSA. In both
instances, the players were required to work together to defeat him,
attacking in tandem and with colour-appropriate responses. And in both
instances, he once again stressed out Zelda, but by kidnapping in these cases
(just to keep life fresh, I guess.) It's uncertain if Vaati will return in
the future, but it's a good bet, especially if that Four Swords DS ever
materialises.
=============================================================================
V a l o o
Sky Spirit
Race: Dragon
Appearances: The Wind Waker
The patron deity of the Rito tribe, Valoo is a giant red dragon who protects
Dragon Roost Island from its peak. He speaks only in Hylian, one of a handful
of characters who know the language, so only his attendant Medli has any clue
what he's saying. When Link first comes to the island, Valoo is acting
violently due to Gohma torturing his tail. He becomes much more light-hearted
after that. When Link and Tetra travel to the top of Forsaken Fortress and
confront Ganondorf, it's Valoo, Komali and Quill who whisk them to safety.
It's possible that Valoo is actually Volvagia, the boss from Ocarina of
Time's Fire Temple. I really, really doubt that, but there is some evidence
to support it, such as that they both have names that start with V (and Jabu-
Jabu changed his name to the somewhat dissimilar Jabun), both are dragons,
both live on Death Mountain, and Valoo's ability to speak Hylian suggests he
comes from the Ocarina era. On the other hand, Volvagia died. Plus, he was
evil, while Valoo is benevolent.
=============================================================================
V a s u
Ringmaster
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
The Oracle saga features magical rings that Link can wear for various
effects, like slowly increasing his hearts automatically, decreasing the
damage taken from spikes or giving him a powerful punching attack. However,
he can only carry a limited number, and they all have to be appraised before
they can be used, so Vasu steps into this role. The Indian stereotype
facilitates all the services associated with rings, and his two pet snakes
can even transfer rings from one game to another.
=============================================================================
W i n d F i s h
Space whale
Race: Wind Fish
Appearances: Link's Awakening
The Wind Fish is in name only, for it is neither.
Both official and in-game art depict the Wind Fish as a huge (there are way
too few synonyms for 'big') whale with swan wings. Its physical appearance
isn't very important, though, because Link doesn't actually encounter it
until the end of the game. In fact, his entire quest revolves around
collecting the eight Instruments of the Sirens so he can climb Mt Tamaranch
and play the Ballad of the Wind Fish, cracking open the spotted egg in which
the creature supposedly slumbers.
Around the sixth dungeon, it becomes clear that Koholint Island is not real.
It's only a dream, but I don't believe it's the Wind Fish's dream so much as
it's a dream that it and Link are dreaming together. Either way, waking the
Wind Fish wakes them both, ending the illusion. Link, floating on his raft in
the middle of the ocean, looks skywards and sees the Wind Fish soaring off
into the distance. And that's all we ever learn about it.
=============================================================================
Y e t o a n d Y e t a
Abominable
Race: Yeti, and, I think, Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Yeto is definitely a yeti. A sentient, mild-mannered yeti, but a yeti
nonetheless. Yeta is a little more of a puzzler. She appears human, although
her arms are strapped to her sides because of her sweater, and the Zoras call
her a 'girl,' and there is some talk like maybe their love would be frowned
upon in some circles. All of this suggests to me that she is actually a
Hylian, despite her being married to a yeti and propensity for poor grammar.
Either way, the couple make their home in the ancient ruins of the Snowpeak
Province mansion. It's no more than stomping grounds to them, but to Link,
it's the tricky-to-traverse fifth dungeon. When he arrives on the scene, Yeta
is sick, which is why Yeto has been raiding Zora's River for soup
ingredients; he means no harm. When Link tracks him down and explains that
he's looking for a mirror shard, Yeto says to follow him to his house, which
he does - by snowboarding down the hill on a frozen leaf. Quite original.
When they arrive, Yeta says the mirror is locked behind a door which requires
a key. She tries to remember where it is, but at first can only remember the
locations of stored-away soup ingredients. Eventually she remembers the
location of the key, and Link grabs it just in time to see her freshly
revitalized after a dose of Yeto's soup. She leads him to the tower where the
mirror shard is kept, but as she's about to hand it over, the evil power of
the Mirror of Twilight overcomes her and she becomes Blizzetta, showcasing
just how dangerous the thing's sway really is. The windows crash open, a
blizzard begins to rage inside the room, and she starts to assault our hero
with icy spikes of DEATH. Luckily, Link is able to defeat her using his new
Ball and Chain. Yeto enters and the two share a romantic moment as Link takes
the shard and gets outta there. He can return later for further snowboarding
runs, one of which is somewhat frustrating but yields a Heart Piece.
=============================================================================
Z a n t
Augustus Caesar
Race: Twili
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Zant is a bit of an odd duck, to say the least. He writhes and twists
uncontrollably when he speaks on an issue he's passionate about, he wears a
weird-looking metal helmet with bulbous eyes and tendrils where his mouth
should be, and he is prone to making an incredibly irritating noise that
somehow still manages to be creepy. And when he takes his helmet off, he
looks a little like an insect. You will also note that he wears clothes,
unlike most Twili, and in fact they somewhat resemble Gerudo apparel.
Coincidence?
Unlikely. In fact, the 'too-long sleeves with tassles' motif seems to have
been borrowed directly from Ganondorf. Zant studied up on his race's ancient
history and as he saw it, his people were unjustly imprisoned in the grim
Twilight Realm, and he wanted to take over. With this ancestral right stuck
in his mind, he genuinely believed himself to be the true ruler of the Twili.
Unfortunately for him, they saw his greed and rejected him as king, tossing
him out. He desperately looked to the heavens for divine intervention, but
what he got was Ganondorf, which is almost as good but not good enough. But
not knowing this, he saw the effigy of Dorfy's floating head and immediately
deitified him.
Recognizing in Zant an opportunity to reclaim his previous status, Ganondorf
lent him some of his power. Zant eschewed his race's old magic in favour of
this much more powerful one, and he set it to good use, transforming Midna,
the actual destined ruler of the Twili, into a twisted, near-powerless imp.
Transforming (robots in disguise) many Twili into his own mindless soldiers,
he marched on Hyrule Castle and overran the outnumbered, overpowered
defences. He confronted Princess Zelda and gave her a choice: Surrender or
die. Since it wasn't just her own life at stake, but that of her people as
well, Zelda let her sword fall and Zant engulfed about 60% of Hyrule in
Twlight. He also tried to destroy the Mirror of Twilight, the only link the
Goddesses left between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm, but as a false king, he
could not - only Midna could.
Realising he needed Midna on his side, he tried to lure her over, but she
refused. In fact, she was working with Link to reclaim her proverbial crown.
Ganondorf's magic easily overpowered the Fused Shadows she'd intended to use
against him, but thanks to the guerrilla efforts of Link and Midna, Zant
quickly found himself backed into a corner. They finally confronted him in
the Palace of Twilight.
A quick note here - the nature of this fight makes me wonder if Zant was
supposed to be the final boss. Ganondorf's appearance feels just slightly
tacked-on. The length of the Palace suggests a final dungeon setting (notice
Hyrule Castle is very short, too), and furthermore, Zant revisits a number of
boss and mini-boss rooms from earlier in the game. It would be not a bad
recap. So possibly the team was getting short on time and was going to do a 7
+ 1 dungeon format instead of the traditional 8 + 1, but added Ganondorf in
when they found out they'd have another year to perfect the game.
Once they defeat Zant, Midna seizes the three Fused Shadows he stole from her
and then uses them against him. Ancient, withered magic? The hand that comes
out of Midna's hat (which is apparently her hair) plunges into Zant's chest
and he swells up and pops like an overinflated balloon. He is instantly
reincarnated, though, citing Ganondorf's protection as his source of
immortality - as long as Ganondorf lives, he will reincarnate Zant again and
again! So much for that. Link defeats Ganondorf almost immediately afterward,
and with his last breath, the arch-villain remotely snaps Zant's neck.
=============================================================================
Z e l d a
Princess of Hyrule
Race: Hylian
Appearances: All Zelda games
You may not believe me when I tell you that Zelda appears in all games whose
titles contain her name. Some even say she hardly ever appears in the series.
If you think so, think harder. Due to sheer laziness, instead of actually
describing the character, I am going to systematically demonstrate that she
has, in fact, appeared in every Zelda game. Empiricism has its advantages.
In the first two games, her appearances were admittedly brief, but there. In
the first game she appeared, sleeping, after Link had defeated Ganon. Link
woke her and all was well. She can be seen every time you boot up the game in
Zelda II, in an eternal slumber. She finally wakes at the end, and she
presumably gives Link a kiss (the curtain falls, so we don't know for sure.)
If you missed her in A Link to the Past, you have never played that game. It
is her telepathic plea that wakes Link in the night and sets the game in
motion. He eventually rescues her and brings her to the Sanctuary, from where
she is later captured. He finally liberates her, permanently, by defeating
Ganon.
Link's Awakening had Marin, Link's dream-world interpretation of Zelda.
She had an extensive role in Ocarina of Time, appearing in the opening movie,
the second stage of Link's quest and then, later, as Sheik. She does a whole
lot more as Sheik than she's ever done as Zelda, exerting what little
influence she can in her opposition of Ganondorf. Sheik's act of revealing
herself to be Zelda in disguise is one of the series' most critical plot
moments, so I hope I didn't spoil it for you just now. She even plays a role
in the final boss battle, by first leading Link out of the crumbling tower
and then returning the Master Sword to him when it's knocked out of his
hands. She also holds Ganon down so Link can deal the final blow. Like Link,
she bears several titles throughout the series; she's the Sage of Time in
this game.
She had nothing but a cameo in Majora's Mask, but it counts. Link remembers
how Zelda taught him the Song of Time. That song is integral to MM.
In the Oracle saga, players would only get to see her if they completed one
game and started a password-linked game. In the linked game, Impa sent Link
on a necessary but very brief quest to rescue Zelda, essentially by playing
Donkey Kong.
Her role was pretty lame in Four Swords. In a nod to Princess Peach, she gets
kidnapped at the beginning of the game and is rescued in its finale.
Ah, but The Wind Waker! Now that game had her as the sassiest, most badass
character in the entire franchise. She led a merry band of pirates who
looted, pillaged, and were all-around good guys, all this at the age of
twelve. She was awesome, even filling Navi's role for a short time. A little
more than halfway through the game, she learned her true identity as Princess
Zelda, bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, and had to be hidden beneath the
waves to keep her from Ganondorf. Despite that, she did end up doing some
heavy lifting in the final boss battle, which I describe in great detail in
Ganondorf's profile.
In Four Swords Adventures, she doesn't do a whole lot other than get captured
by Vaati (again) and get rescued later on. Admittedly, she is the leader of a
bunch of maidens, and she also demonstrates the rather interesting ability to
turn into a fairy (as do all the maidens in that game.)
Incidentally, Tetra was going to be part of an FSA multiplayer mode called
Tetra's Trackers. Western press mistakenly referred to it as a separate game
headed to our shores, but it was cut from the NSCT version, likely because
the glut of Japanese dialogue (!) would have to have been re-recorded, which
is expensive. The mini-game featured the four Links in a race around smallish
arenas trying to collect stamps. Actually, it was one Link and three coloured
Shadow Links, all four of whom were player-controlled. That was the game's
explanation for having them compete (to prove which one is the genuine Link).
Next up is The Minish Cap. Instead of being kidnapped, she gets turned into
stone, and remains that way until Vaati revives her so he can steal the Light
Force from her. Now that's interesting - the Triforce, the Light Force in
this game, originally resided within Zelda. Once Ganondorf fractured it, she
got only the Triforce of Wisdom. He, naturally, got the Triforce of Power,
and then Link...I guess because he was the legendary hero, that's why he got
Courage. Kind of interesting, eh?
Finally, we come to Twilight Princess. Zelda reveals herself within the first
hour or so of play, wearing black robes of mourning (side note - these robes
have the symbol of the Sheikah on them. Now why is that?) You see, she's
mourning Hyrule - it has all been turned to Twilight under Zant's wretched
influence, and it's basically her fault, because she chose surrender over
death. This was the best decision in the long run. When Midna is near death,
Zelda appears to actually sacrifice her own life to keep the Twilight
Princess from slipping beyond the mortal coil. Though her body disappears,
Ganondorf somehow recovers it and possesses it in the final battle. Upon her
(well, Ganondorf's) defeat, her soul leaves Midna's body and returns to her
own. That's the first stage of the battle - Zelda takes a nap in the second,
exhausted after her possession. BUT THEN! I guess the idea of Zelda fighting
was as popular with the developers as it was with me, because in the third
stage of the fight, Link and Zelda both mount Epona; Zelda shoots Light
Arrows to stun Ganondorf so Link can attack with the Master Sword. She is
separated from him for the last round, unfortunately, so she sits that one
out, but it was still really cool to see her strut her stuff again!
So there you have it. Zelda is in every Zelda.
=============================================================================
Z e p h o s a n d C y c l o s
Good-natured squabblers
Race: Lesser deities
Appearances: The Wind Waker
According to Zelda mythology, the hierarchy of great beings works a little
like this:
-The Three Goddesses - Din, Nayru and Farore, the creators of Hyrule and its
satellites and the ultimate answer of the Zelda universe. Whether or not
there's an even greater being or beings above them in unknown
-Light Bringers - Slightly less powerful than the Three Goddesses
-Lesser Gods (kamigami) - The gods referred to in A Link to the Past and The
Wind Waker
-Patron deities - Those who look after a particular group, e.g. the Great
Deku Tree or Jabun
-Great Fairies - They even have their own profile, you figure it out
-Lesser deities - Barely even deities, but still a hundred times more
powerful than mortals
Zephos and Cyclos fit into that last category. (Ganondorf, by the way, is
neither a mortal nor a great being.) Now, with that unnecessarily lengthy
introduction, I shall go on to say merely that the two are Wind Deities, and
some of the only deities that you can actually meet, physically, in person.
Zephos, whose name is derived from the word zephyr, meets Link directly after
the Dragon Roost Cavern. Cyclos, whose name is derived from the word cyclone,
meets Link shortly after the Tower of the Gods, on the way to the Forsaken
Fortress, and teaches Link the quick-warp Ballad of Gales.
This profile looks terribly disorganized, doesn't it?
=============================================================================
Z u n a r i
Politically incorrect
Race: Hylian
Appearances: The Wind Waker
For some reason, Zunari wears an Inuit parka despite the Great Sea's
temperate climate. Supposedly, he came from somewhere cold, but then wouldn't
he shed the parka, since by comparison Windfall Island would seem even
hotter? Either way, Zunari is crucial since he sells 'that' to Link. 'That'
turns out to be a sail for King of Red Lions, without which the boat scarcely
crawls across the water. Zunari dreams of making it big in business, and with
Link's help he accomplishes his goal. He not only holds nightly auctions in
Maggie's house, which garner him huge amounts of money, but also runs a
highly successful stall filled with all kinds of touristy knick-knacks.
=~=Races Compendium=~=
[RAC]
Unless your powers of observation need serious work, you probably noticed
that every character has a line denoting its race. This is because the Zelda
universe is filled with all manner of fantastic races, with distinct
morphology and culture. If you spent much of the guide wondering why Hylians
aren't just called humans or what exactly a Deku is, this section will
explain it all for you.
=============================================================================
Hylians
We kick-start the section with the most important and prolific race, the
Hylians. They have appeared in every single Zelda title to date, as you can
imagine. The Hylians are generally considered the 'master race' of Hyrule,
those destined to carry out the will of the Goddesses and preside over the
other races.
Not only do they prove this by being vested with responsibilities the other
races would be unable to shoulder, but the Hylians are mainly distinguished
from real-world humans by their pointed, elfin ears, which allow them to hear
telepathic communiques from the gods. Hylians are apparently the only people
other than Twili able to directly perform magic. Otherwise, they are
basically humanoid, ranging from the effete to the hardy.
Hylians are basically divided between blue-collar, life-sustaining work and
administration. More or less all farming is performed by Hylians, and they
are quite cosmopolitan in their trade agreements (they are on especially good
terms with the Gorons), making theirs some of the richest people. They are
also responsible for having standardised the Rupee, the basic unit of
currency across all games.
Hylian settlements are among the largest going. Most live in large,
concentrated townships like Kakariko Village and Hyrule Castle Town. Often
encircled by high stone walls to defend the inhabitants from bandits and wild
animals, these settlements are teeming nuclei of commerce and government.
Local business includes hotels, cafes, bakeries, restaurants and utility and
equipment shops, but the bulk of small business owners focus on entertainment
through mini-games.
Hylian society is hierarchical in nature; everyone knows where he or she
stands. Hyrule's Royal Family rules the entire race with a just but iron
hand. Sages, those individuals who maintain and operate Hylian places of
worship, are also well respected. Civic government figures, namely the mayor,
are directly below them, followed by community leaders such as
schoolteachers. Significant landowners are next sequentially, followed by
merchants, scholars and farmers. Peddlers, salesman, marketers and drifters
are at the bottom of the list and generally looked down upon.
In addition to being their administrators, the Hylia are also the nation's
peacekeeping force, operating mainly through the Royal Guard, a corps of
pike-armed infantrymen who stand guard at critical junctures like crossroads
and city gates. Their main task, however, is to protect the Royal Family. The
Guard also employs several smaller units, including an archery division.
Hylians are the only troops capable of performing the Spin Attack
(alternately called the Whirling Blade Attack or Spinning Sword Technique), a
devastating series of blows that can give them the edge in combat; however,
without exceptional natural ability this technique takes years of dedication
to learn, so it is not especially common.
Hylians are often considered the most cultured of the six Cradle Races, and
indeed any who appear on the Hylian Sea.
In addition to proper Hylians, we occasionally see round-eared humans who
have no special attributes, though they are more or less culturally and
functionally the same. They tend to appear in the more 'modern' games (The
Wind Waker, Twilight Princess), suggesting the Hylian race slowly dwindled
over the years.
=============================================================================
Sheikah
If Hylians are the master race of Hyrule, Sheikah are the servant race.
Ocarina of Time explicitly states that their only raison d'etre was to be the
bodyguards and agents of the Royal Family. In their heyday, they were the
main link between the surface-dwellers and the Ooca, and lived in a place
called the Hidden Village. Sometime before Ocarina begins, the Sheikah were
all but wiped out, as they dwindled to just one member: Impa. The fact that
Impa appears in a number of games and is evidently the same person suggests
that they are extraordinarily long-lived, suiting their roles as durable
labourers.
They are biologically identical to Hylians, though despite their pointed ears
they seem unable to hear the messages of the gods (with the exception of
sages, an exception shared by all other races.) In fact, a Sheikah could
probably pass himself off as a Hylian and live among Hylians, and perhaps
there are some who did (or do...and we've even seen them in-game, we just
don't know about them.) For their livelihood and shelter, and indeed most
other things, they are wholly dependant on their masters. It is a mutualistic
relationship, though, as they more than pay them back in obedience and
service.
Though it sounds like they're slaves, it seems most Sheikah accept and even
enjoy their work. They are (were) in the unique position of knowing for sure
that they were living the destiny assigned them by the Goddesses.
=============================================================================
Gorons
Without a doubt, with the demise of the Sheikah race the Gorons are the
Hylians' greatest allies. Not only are they fierce and brutal warriors, they
also provide many of the goods that are essential to Hylian life: With their
smithing skills they shape steel and other metals into essential items
(including Hylian swords), and they are the only people capable of tending
the Goron Special Crop (Bomb Flowers, which can be cultured into less
volatile and greatly needed Bombs). But their greatest contribution is in
mining ore and other materials. Their physiology allows Gorons to mine
deeper, faster, and more efficiently than Hylians can, not to mention much
more safely.
Compared to Hylians, Gorons are huge in terms of both height and girth, and
they are immensely strong and hardy. Their bodies seem to be composed of
solid rock, the same rock in which they make their homes. This rock continues
to grow through a Goron's life; it seems there is no limit to the size a
Goron can grow, and when they die they often become mountains themselves. One
of the defining features of the Goron race is the ability to curl into a ball
and roll, achieving exceptional speeds.
Gorons typically carve their cities out of the bellies of mountains; Ocarina
even saw them living in the bowels of an active volcano. The N64 games seem
to suggest a tendency towards the cylindrical when designing their
settlements.
Gorons are usually ruled by either a Big Brother or a Goron Elder. These
leaders are treated with near-reverential respect, and their wisdom is
trusted unquestioningly. Though one might think that a headstrong people who
think with their stomachs would naturally be quite uncouth in their dealings
with outsiders, they usually welcome newcomers with open arms, and they spend
much effort on diplomacy. The symbol of Goron sovereignty is a three-pronged
design that resembles a pawprint; this is a tattoo-like engraving that all
Gorons naturally have imprinted on their right upper arm.
=============================================================================
Zora
The fishlike, aquatic Zora are comparatively highbrowed and uppity compared
to the other races, though they still recognize their subordination to the
Hylian Royal Family. They are not generally credited as warriors, though
their fins can clearly be used for combat, and their ability when submerged
to generate a bioelectric shield of DEATH around their bodies gives them
unmatched mastery of their domain (their inimitable strength as swimmers
helps too, of course.) They are also good fishermen. One interesting trait is
that Zora women produce seven eggs at a time, which must be kept together in
order to hatch. Early on in life, Zora greatly resemble tadpoles.
Zora towns typically have a lot of water in them, as one might expect;
sometimes they are evenly divided between aquatic and earthbound sections.
Generally their settlements are composed of walled, roofed structures that
contain a number of sub-structures. The Zora people are ruled by the King
Zora, but their patron deity (in most games) and ultimate liege is Jabu-Jabu.
Female Zora also have the fascinating ability to launch fireballs from their
gullets. This assault is considered vulgar and distasteful, however, and is
never used by respectable ladies. That said, a sufficiently rebellious (and
likely teenage, ha ha) female Zora may leave mainstream society to dwell in
rivers and take pot shots at passers-by. Fish-girls who do this are known as
Zolas (with an L.)
The distinction of the R/L thing, by the way, was Nintendo of America's way
of covering up a terrible translation inconsistency. The other way to do it
was to call friendly Zoras, Sea Zoras, and hostile Zolas, River Zoras. (This
nomenclature began in Oracle of Ages, the only game so far to feature both
Sea and River Zoras.)
=============================================================================
Gerudo
The Gerudo are a race of desert-dwelling thieves and plunderers who keep to
themselves but are a fearsome force individually or en masse. They are also
entirely female, with just one male member born every hundred years.
Reproductive conundrums aside, Gerudo are almost indistinguishable from
Hylians; only their dark skin, unilaterally bright red hair, and parachute
pants set them apart.
Actually, their style of clothing is indicative of status. The majority of
Gerudo - those employed as stock thieves and guards - are purple-clad with
long hair. The elite soldiers, those who fight with twin scimitars rather
than spears, have red outfits complete with veils. Civilians wear white and
have short hair. And the leaders of a particular cell, they're dressed like
the elites, but they too have veils. Their awesomeness is almost unparalleled
in the Zelda universe. However, they are not the ultimate authority; that
would lie with Ganondorf, the sole male. He employs various captains and
seconds-in-command, and they too wield some power.
The Gerudo live in near-complete isolation from the rest of the world. Almost
the only time they have contact with other races is to steal things from
them. Other than that, they stay in the desert - we've seen a few variations
on that. My least favourite is a handful of nomadic tents - of course,
obviously there are a few of these in Ocarina as well, we just don't see them
- though moving them to the waterfront doesn't make a lot of sense. Nah, I
think we'll always think of Gerudo Fortress as their home. Maybe it's best
they stay there anyway, considering their taciturn and deceitful natures
could move detrimental to greater society. (Do I sound like a politician?)
=============================================================================
Kokiri
Rounding out the six Cradle Races of Hyrule are the most boring of all, the
Kokiri. Cradle Races is a name I made up, by the way, so nobody call them
that unless you want people to laugh at you. :) Anyway, the forest folk are
physically incapable of maturation; they'll stay children forever. As a
result, they are susceptible to outside assailants. This is why the Great
Deku Tree protects them, though this only ends up working for so long.
Considering they only ever had contact with outsiders twice, they do not have
much outside commerce coming to their treehouse village. It is said, however,
that Kokiri who lose their way in the Lost Woods become Stalchildren, and we
see Stalchildren elsewhere, so that's a possibility. On the other hand, we've
also heard that Stalchildren are just adolescent Stalfos, and that Kokiri
will die if they leave the forest (the first kind of conflicts with the other
theories, and the second is proven untrue in Ocarina's ending.) The most
interesting thing about the Kokiri is that each is assigned a guardian fairy
to follow them around everywhere, acting as their teachers and protectors.
That's actually kind of neat.
=============================================================================
Rito
First of all, in order to understand the Rito you have to understand that the
Great Sea - the setting of Waker - sits on top of a waterlogged Hyrule,
because the gods drowned it to seal away an increasingly powerful Ganondorf.
This caused a cataclysm for most of the races, causing several to die out and
others to become shadows of their former selves. Others adapted to their new
conditions.
This is what happened to the Zora. Though the Big N doesn't explicitly say
the Zora became the Rito, believing anything else is kind of foolish. But
stepping back for a minute, the Zora are fish-people, whereas the Rito are
bird-people. Wouldn't the Zora be ideally suited for a mainly aquatic
environment? You might think so, but there are a couple of theories
explaining the change which we won't get into. Instead, please just accept
that they can turn their arms into bird's wings at will. Beyond that, they're
pretty much Hylians.
But while they may have evolved from the Zora, they've taken a cue from the
now near-extinct Gorons and live in Death Mountain - that is, Dragon Roost
Island. (Their dwelling is pretty cylindrical, too, mimicking the N64 Goron
cities.) Here they make their living mainly as the Great Sea postal service,
and are ruled by a Chieftain. They also have a lesser deity to look after
them: Valoo the dragon takes over from Jabu-Jabu. Like their ancient
ancestors, the Rito tend to keep away from the 'lesser' races; elitism never
fully disappears.
=============================================================================
Koroks
In much the same way as the Rito are derived from the Zora, the Koroks are
derived from the Kokiri. The Kokiri have morphed drastically from the forest
sprites prior, becoming almost Deku-like in their appearance, though with
leaves for faces. They still have a Deku Tree to look after them. Like the
Rito, they too have adapted to life on the high seas by developing powers of
flight, though the Koroks accomplish this with mechanical rotors that grow
out of their heads.
Most of the Kokiri Woods and Lost Woods have been flooded, forming the Forest
Haven, complete with Forbidden Woods. The Kokiri proved that the Lost Woods
were a perfectly fine hangout for those familiar with them, and the Koroks
once followed that sentiment as well; this is evident by a smattering of
infrastructure, including gondolas, leaf-boats and giant fans, all of which
the Koroks used to get around. But then dangerous creatures invaded and
forced them out, so now it is far too dangerous for a Korok to venture in.
In what is becoming a theme, the Koroks cut themselves off from other races,
preferring to stay with the Deku Tree and hide when strangers come. However,
late in the game they do head out to try and cultivate small trees to begin
rebuilding the dwindling forests.
=============================================================================
Twili
The Twili descended from a race who wielded a powerful but evil magic for
dark ends. As they had done before with Ganondorf, the Three Goddesses sealed
away the increasingly dangerous people by banishing them to a realm of
shadows and unhappiness. The so-called Twilight Realm was really quite
serene, but they were jealous of those they had tried to overthrow, and over
time, they became demonic, vicious monsters, a condition spurred on by their
self-proclaimed king. After Zant's and Ganondorf's downfall, those Twili who
were inherently good return to humanoid form. Midna returned to rule them,
probably for the majority of eternity.
=============================================================================
Deku
The Deku, individuals of whom are known as Deku Scrubs, are a race of beings
who bear a strong resemblance to sentient plants, especially trees and
flowers. They have tiny orange eyes, wooden yet supple bodies, leafy
appendages, and some features that resemble clothing. There are a number of
Deku castes: Regular Deku Scrubs, Mad Scrubs, small guard Scrubs, Business
Scrubs, fat Scrubs, female Scrubs, and the largest and strongest of Scrubs.
Rather than accepting the Rupee, most Deku societies prefer a simple
bartering system. Business Scrubs sometimes do trade with Hylian merchants,
offering items found only in the forest: Deku Sticks, Seeds and Nuts. Deku
usually have no clear leader, and act without any uniform society, but in
Majora's Mask they actually have a king complete with Palace. This was a
terribly inefficient form of government.
=============================================================================
Subrosians
The actual appearance of a Subrosian is impossible to know since they always
wear fully-body robes that obscure their entire bodies, including the face.
All that we can tell is that they are short and composed of two basic
sections, those being head and body, and that both sections are somewhat
round. Subrosians live in an eponymous subterranean environment directly
below Oracle of Seasons' Holodrum. The Tower of Seasons fell into it one day
and remained a permanent fixture for some time. It is also dotted with many
lava pools, dangerous for most but soothing for Subrosians. Subrosians prefer
not to deal with other races, even eschewing the Rupee for their own
currency, Ore Chunks. Subrosians are fairly good dancers.
There are a few Subrosians in Mogitate Chinkuru, though I'm not sure there's
an explanation for them. They mostly figure into side-quests, and they reveal
a penchant for knowing all the uses of a barrel.
=============================================================================
Tokays
Tokays are short, green reptilian creatures. They have angular heads, gangly
limbs, catlike eyes, and spirals instead of belly buttons. The clawed,
orange-crested creatures are very strong swimmers, though probably not as
much so as the Zora. Tokays live in the caves of Crescent Island, a small
isle off the coast of Oracle of Ages' Labrynna, and as such have no contact
with other races. Instead, they have developed a simple barter economy.
=============================================================================
Zuna
The second race of dune-dwellers in the Zelda series, the Zuna are a bunch of
green-skinned, turban-wearing dudes who have a small village in a Desert of
Doubt oasis. In their heyday, their civilization was almost Egyptian in that
they built massive pyramids and other such structures. They were probably
responsible for creating the trident that Ganondorf is often seen to wield,
and is sometimes said he grew up among the Zuna (seriously, guys...) Again,
whereas the Gerudo style of dress seems more Mid-Eastern, the Zuna garb is
made in a much more Egyptian fashion, with ankle-length robes. And unlike the
Gerudo, the Zuna do not feel the need to constantly carry around swords
(unless they keep them hidden under all those robes, of course.) Hmm...for a
race that only appeared in one game and which annoys me a great deal, I
certainly found a lot to say about them.
=============================================================================
Minish
The Minish are extremely tiny beings, on average less than two centimetres
tall. This tiny size has allowed them to go unnoticed among the Hylians, and
they often live among them or help them out in small ways. The Minish give us
an explanation for why valuable currency can be easily found in patches of
grass and under rocks: The Minish put it there, because they love to see the
delighted expressions on the faces of Hylians who find them. The hat and
pants of a Minish indicate whether it is a Town Minish (blue hat and
clothing), Forest Minish (red hat, green clothing) or Mountain Minish (blue
hat, red clothing.) The Minish, appearing only in The Minish Cap, are
concentrated in Hyrule Castle Town, the Minish Woods (the Lost Woods of other
games), and Mt Crenel. They are quite skilled in trades. The leaders of each
settlement is a wise old Minish Sage. Sadly, because they are generally
undetectable and the Minish Door that allows pure-hearted Hylian children to
see them opens but once every hundred years, by the time the game begins they
have faded into mere legends as the Picori (or Piccoli, if Bill Trinen and
co. hadn't screwed up yet another one.) Fortunately, Link's exploits put an
end to that, eh?
=============================================================================
Ooca
Since A Link to the Past, it has been understood that the Hylians are the
chosen race of the gods. Well, as it turns out, long ago there was a race
even closer to the gods, and they're still very much alive! The Oocca, as
they are called, may even have been responsible for the creation of the
Hylians, though that's a little hard to believe because they seem to be an
inferior race: They greatly resemble Cuccos. In fact, they have really
strange, bare heads, oblong bodies, and stunted wings, all of which lead me
to conclude their power is greatly exaggerated, they know something I don't,
or they have degenerated over the centuries. They live in a city that floats
in the sky, called City in the Sky, which is a dungeon for our purposes.
Other than the fact that it remains hanging in the air by a bunch of
propellers (is it mobile, I wonder?) and can only be reached by being fired
out of a giant cannon, it's kind of unimpressive. Still, the very idea that
these little birds with their stick legs and their funny symbols are actually
superior to our pointy-eared message-receivers, well, that right there is a
significant and thought-provoking contribution unto itself.
=~=Ladies' Man=~=
[LAD]
Some guys have all the luck. Link is just insanely attractive, I guess.
Welcome to a section with no practical purpose whatsoever, a list of all the
girls who have had a crush on Link, or been in love with him.
-Zelda
-Medli
-Ruto
-Nabooru
-Deku Princess (Majora's Mask)
-Mrs Marie (The Wind Waker)
-Clock Town's Treasure Chest Game front desk girl (Majora's Mask)
-The Maku Tree (Oracle of Ages)
-Lulu (Majora's Mask)
-Saria (Ocarina of Time)
-Malon (Ocarina of Time)
-Navi (Ocarina of Time)
-Ilia (Twilight Princess)
-Midna (Twilight Princess)
-Rosa (Oracle of Seasons)
And that's if we preclude the ones who MIGHT like him that way. And even if
we do that, the list is still incomplete! Life's not fair.
=~=Thanks=~=
[THA]
No one person could ever compile a guide without missing a few things.
Besides, it's really the readers who count, isn't it? What follows, in order
of my receiving the message, gives proper credit to all the individuals who
contributed to this guide in some way, be it with corrections, suggestions or
bits and piece of information.
Anna Bare - pointed out the Composer Brothers' actual appearance in Ocarina
brelen brelen - a few small things here and there
Joao Paulo Hoppe - more on the Composer Brothers, corrected Dampe's fee
The Platinum Knight - more on the Composer Brothers
Brie Fusaro - a note on Fado's official gender (nothing official >_<)
=~=Legal Garbage=~=
[LEG]
I'll get the important stuff out of the way first. The Legend of Zelda, all
associated games and all affiliated characters, places, et cetera are copyright
Nintendo of Japan, and Nintendo of America. They belong to it and are its
exclusive intellectual property. This document is not a challenge to that
right, merely the expression of a fan.
That said, all original content is mine - copyright Adam Marx. It may not be
reproduced or distributed by any mode, except for personal, private use. Except
for brief quotes, I will not tolerate the plagiarism of this guide. Said quotes
will only be tolerated if they are relatively unmodified ('...' and '[ ]' for
clarification is fine) and full credit is given to me.
Currently, only GameFAQs has the right to display this guide in any medium. No
other publication, online, printed, or in any other form, may display it. If
you see it on any other website, please contact me (see below.)
If you are found to be in violation of the above regarding GameFAQs'
exclusivity or plagiarism of my work, you will be asked at minimum to remove my
guide from your publication, and may be required to pay some sum of money,
including any royalties earned, among other things.
While I'm at it, the mildly cool graphic at the top of the guide is (c) Adam
Marx. You may not use it for your guide, though why you would want to I have no
idea. Okay, well, you can use something similar for your guide, since it took
me like five minutes to make.
I'll wrap up with the Contact Information. Questions, comments, praise,
criticisms, suggestions, and especially corrections and more are all welcomed.
If I get a lot of questions, perhaps I'll even start an FAQs section. Actually,
anything having to do with this guide or Zelda in general is fun to get.
If you do wish to contact me, you can do so by e-mail:
Roth/enb (a/t) oc/is (d/ot) ne/t
This, too, has been disfigured beyond recognition. This is simply to stop spam
programs from latching onto my address and sending me even more schmut than I
get already. When you type in the e-mail, ignore the slashes and of course make
it all lower-case. Furthermore, (at) and (dot) are just for show. Type @ where
it says (at) and . where it says (dot). This is just another method of crowd
control, sorry.
Make sure you be very clear in your subject or you'll be blocked. I need 'Zelda
character guide' or something similar to ensure I even open it, and even then
it might still get deleted. Sorry, but I share an e-mail account with people
who are very very worried about viruses, it's not my fault.
=~=In Closing=~=
[INC]
Well, I hope you enjoyed my Zelda Series Character Guide. This guide did get
rushed so I could get it out before Twilight Princess hit and a deluge of
guides overwhelmed this one, so it was pretty fatiguing. As an added side
effect, the hurried nature of the work may have taken you on a roller coaster
ride in terms of writing quality, but I hope I at least kept it up to a
moderately decent standard. Yes, moderately decent, something we can all
aspire to.
Well, there's always new content I could add; I'm always kicking around ideas
for expanding my work, and there's certainly a lot of profiles I could have
done and a few more possible sections that show potential.
Whatever happens, you can rest assured I will try to keep up with the new
releases and endeavour to chronicle the new generations of genius characters
that the Big N comes up with.
~Adam
EOF
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