The Legend of Zelda, 1986All come from the game's respective Wikipedia page.
The Legend of Zelda, 1986The story of The Legend of Zelda is described in the instruction booklet and during the short prologue which plays after the title screen: A small kingdom in the land of Hyrule is engulfed by chaos when an army led by Ganon, the prince of darkness, invaded and stole the Triforce of Power, one part of a magical artifact which alone bestows great strength. In an attempt to prevent him from acquiring the Triforce of Wisdom, Princess Zelda splits it into eight fragments and hides them in secret underground dungeons. Before eventually being kidnapped by Ganon, she commands her nursemaid Impa to find someone courageous enough to save the kingdom. While wandering the land, the old woman is surrounded by Ganon's henchmen, when a young boy named Link appears and rescues her. Upon hearing Impa's plea, he resolves to save Zelda and sets out to reassemble the scattered fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom, with which Ganon can then be defeated.
During the course of the tale, Link locates and braves the eight underworld labyrinths, and beyond their defeated guardian monsters retrieves each fragment. With the completed Triforce of Wisdom, he is able to infiltrate Ganon's hideout in Death Mountain, confronting the prince of darkness and destroying him with the Silver Arrow. Obtaining the Triforce of Power from Ganon's ashes, Link returns it and the restored Triforce of Wisdom to the rescued Princess Zelda, and peace returns to Hyrule.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, 1987Six years after the events of The Legend of Zelda, the now-16-year-old Link notices a strange mark on the back of his left hand, exactly like the crest of Hyrule. He seeks out Impa, who takes him to the North Castle, where a door has been magically sealed for generations. Impa places the back of Link's left hand on the door, and it opens, revealing a sleeping maiden. Impa tells Link that the maiden is Zelda (not the Zelda from the first game), the princess of Hyrule from long ago, and the origin of the titular "Legend of Zelda". Zelda's brother tried to force her into telling their recently deceased father's secrets concerning the Triforce. Princess Zelda refused to reveal its location, and the prince's wizard friend, in anger, tried to strike her down with a spell. Zelda fell under a powerful sleeping spell, but the wizard was unable to control the wildly arcing magic and was killed by it. The prince, filled with remorse and unable to reverse the spell, had his sister placed in the castle tower, hoping she would one day be awakened. He decreed that princesses born to the royal family from that point on would be named Zelda, in remembrance of this tragedy.
Impa says that the mark on Link's hand means that he is the hero chosen to awaken Zelda. She gives Link a chest containing six crystals and ancient writings that only a great future king of Hyrule can read. Link finds that he can read the document, even though he has never seen the language before; it indicates that the crystals must be set into statues within six palaces scattered across Hyrule. This will open the way to the Great Palace, which contains the Triforce of Courage. Only the power of the combined Triforces can awaken Zelda. Taking the crystals, Link sets out to restore them to their palaces. Meanwhile, Ganon's followers seek to kill Link, as sprinkling his blood on Ganon's ashes will bring Ganon back to life.
Ultimately, Link restores the crystals to the six palaces and enters the Great Palace. After venturing deep inside, Link battles a flying creature known as Thunderbird, followed by his shadowy doppelgänger Dark Link. Link then claims the Triforce of Courage and returns to Zelda. The three triangles unite into the Triforce, and Link's wish awakens Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, 1991A Link to the Past is a distant prequel to the original The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and within the official chronology is the first game in the "Defeated Hero" timeline that connects to an alternate reality scenario that the Hero of Time does not succeed in Ocarina of Time. This results in Ganon being imprisoned in the Sacred Realm in his Dark Beast form out of desperation. Having successfully gathered all three pieces of the Triforce, Ganon's evil desires have transformed the realm into the Dark World.
At the beginning of the game, Link, the last descendant of the Knights of Hyrule, is living with his uncle. One night, he is awakened by a telepathic message from Princess Zelda, who says that she has been locked in Hyrule Castle's dungeon by a mysterious wizard, Agahnim. After his uncle leaves, however, Link follows him through the rainy night to the dungeons under Hyrule Castle. When he arrives, he finds his uncle mortally wounded, and is told to rescue Princess Zelda, receiving his sword and shield before dying soon after. Link navigates the castle and rescues Zelda from her cell, and the two escape through a secret passage into the sewers that leads to a sanctuary.
Link is told by the priest in the sanctuary that Agahnim, a wizard who has usurped the throne and bewitched the king's soldiers, is planning to break a seal made hundreds of years ago by the Seven Sages to imprison the dark wizard Ganon in the Dark World, which was known as the Sacred Realm before Ganon, then known as Ganondorf, invaded it, obtained the Triforce, and used its power to engulf the realm in darkness. Agahnim intends to break the seal by sending the descendants of the Seven Sages into the Dark World. The only thing that can defeat Agahnim is the Master Sword, a sword forged to fight evil that can only be wielded by the chosen hero. To prove that he is worthy to wield it, Link needs three magic pendants, representing the virtues of Courage, Wisdom and Power, hidden in dungeons guarded by mythical defenders. On his way to retrieve the first, he meets an elder, Sahasrahla, who becomes his mentor. After retrieving the pendants, Link takes them to the resting place of the Master Sword. As Link draws the sword from its pedestal, Zelda telepathically calls him to the Sanctuary, informing him that soldiers of Hyrule Castle have arrived. Link arrives at the Sanctuary moments after the soldiers have vacated, where he learns from the dying priest that Zelda has been taken to Hyrule Castle. Link goes to rescue her but arrives too late; Agahnim sends Zelda to the Dark World. Link then faces Agahnim in battle and defeats him, but he sends Link to the Dark World as well.
To save Hyrule, Link must rescue the descendants of the Seven Sages from dungeons scattered across the Dark World, each guarded by one of Ganon's minions. Once the seven maidens are freed, they use their power to open the gate to Ganon's Tower, where Link faces Agahnim once more, who creates two ghostly specters each as powerful as he is. After Link defeats Agahnim for a second time, Ganon's spirit rises from his body, turns into a bat, and flies away. Link chases Ganon and confronts him inside the Pyramid of Power at the center of the Dark World. After a battle resulting in Ganon's demise, Link touches the Triforce and restores the Dark World and Hyrule to their previous state, brings his uncle and the priest back to life, restores Zelda's father, the true king, and returns the Master Sword back to its resting place.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, 1993After the events of A Link to the Past, the hero Link travels by ship to other countries to train for further threats. A storm destroys his boat at sea, and he washes ashore on Koholint Island, where he is taken to the house of Tarin by his daughter Marin. She is fascinated by Link and the outside world, and tells Link wishfully that, if she were a seagull, she would leave and travel across the sea. After Link recovers his sword, a mysterious owl tells him that he must wake the Wind Fish, Koholint's guardian, in order to return home. The Wind Fish lies dreaming in a giant egg on top of Mt. Tamaranch, and can only be awakened by the eight Instruments of the Sirens.
Link proceeds to explore a series of dungeons in order to recover the eight instruments. During his search for the sixth instrument, Link goes to the Ancient Ruins. There he finds a mural that details the reality of the island: that it is merely a dream world created by the Wind Fish. After this revelation, the owl tells Link that this is only a rumor, and only the Wind Fish knows for certain whether it is true. Throughout Koholint Island, nightmare creatures attempt to obstruct Link's quest for the instruments, as they wish to rule the Wind Fish's dreamworld.
After collecting all eight instruments from the eight dungeons across Koholint, Link climbs to the top of Mt. Tamaranch and plays the Ballad of the Wind Fish. This breaks open the egg in which the Wind Fish sleeps; Link enters and confronts the last evil being, a Nightmare that takes the form of Ganon and other enemies from Link's past. Its final transformation is "DethI", a cyclopean, dual-tentacled Shadow. After Link defeats DethI, the owl reveals itself to be the Wind Fish's spirit, and the Wind Fish confirms that Koholint is all his dream. When Link plays the Ballad of the Wind Fish again, he and the Wind Fish awaken; Koholint Island and all its inhabitants slowly disappear. Link finds himself lying on his ship's driftwood in the middle of the ocean, with the Wind Fish flying overhead. If the player did not lose any lives during the game, Marin is shown flying after the ending credits finish.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, 1998The fairy Navi awakens Link from a nightmare in which he witnesses a man in black armor pursuing a young girl on horseback. Navi brings Link to the Great Deku Tree, who is cursed and near death. The Deku Tree tells Link a "wicked man of the desert" cursed him and seeks to conquer the world, and that Link must stop him. Before dying, the Great Deku Tree gives Link the Spiritual Stone of the Forest and sends him to Hyrule Castle to speak with Hyrule's princess.
At the Hyrule Castle garden, Link meets Princess Zelda, who believes Ganondorf, the evil sorcerer Gerudo king, is seeking the Triforce, a holy relic that gives its holder godlike power. Zelda asks Link to obtain the three Spiritual Stones so he can enter the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce before Ganondorf reaches it. Link collects the other two stones: the first from Darunia, leader of the Gorons, and the second from Ruto, princess of the Zoras. Link returns to Hyrule Castle, where he sees Ganondorf chase Zelda and her caretaker Impa on horseback, like in his nightmare, and unsuccessfully attempts to stop him. Inside the Temple of Time, he uses the Ocarina of Time, a gift from Zelda, and the Spiritual Stones to open the door to the Sacred Realm. There he finds the Master Sword, but as he pulls it from its pedestal, Ganondorf, having snuck into the Temple after Link, appears and claims the Triforce.
Seven years later, an older Link awakens in the Sacred Realm and is met by Rauru, one of the seven Sages who protects the entrance to the Sacred Realm. Rauru explains that Link's spirit was sealed for seven years until he was old enough to wield the Master Sword and defeat Ganondorf, the sorcerer king of evil, who has now taken over Hyrule. The seven sages can imprison Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm, but five are unaware of their identities as sages. Link is returned to the Temple of Time, where he meets the mysterious Sheik, who guides him to free five temples from Ganondorf's control and allow each temple's sage to awaken. Link befriended all five sages as a child: his childhood friend Saria, the Sage of the Forest Temple; Darunia, the Sage of the Fire Temple; Ruto, the Sage of the Water Temple; Impa, the Sage of the Shadow Temple; and Nabooru, leader of the Gerudos in Ganondorf's absence, the Sage of the Spirit Temple. After the five sages awaken, Sheik reveals herself to be Zelda in disguise, and the seventh sage. She tells Link that Ganondorf's heart was unbalanced, causing the Triforce to split into three pieces. Ganondorf acquired only the Triforce of Power, while Zelda received the Triforce of Wisdom and Link the Triforce of Courage.
Ganondorf appears and kidnaps Zelda, imprisoning her in his castle. The other six sages help Link infiltrate the stronghold; Link frees Zelda after defeating Ganondorf, who destroys the castle in an attempt to kill Link and Zelda. After they escape the collapsing castle, Ganondorf emerges from the rubble and transforms into a boar-like beast named Ganon using the Triforce of Power, knocking the Master Sword from Link's hand; with Zelda's aid, Link retrieves the Master Sword and defeats Ganon. The seven sages seal Ganondorf in the Dark Realm; still holding the Triforce of Power, he vows to take revenge on their descendants. Zelda uses the Ocarina of Time to send Link back to his childhood. Navi departs and young Link meets Zelda in the castle garden once more, where he retains knowledge of Hyrule's fate, starting with Hyrule's decline.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, 2000Majora's Mask takes place a few months after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and begins with Link searching for his departed fairy, Navi. While riding through a forest in Hyrule on his horse Epona, Link is ambushed by a Skull Kid wearing a mysterious mask and his fairy friends Tatl and Tael, who steal both Epona and the Ocarina of Time. Link follows them down a dark cave and confronts the Skull Kid, who taunts him and casts a curse transforming him into a Deku Scrub. Tatl prevents Link from pursuing the Skull Kid as he escapes with Tael, resulting in Tatl being separated from her brother. Having no other choice, Tatl asks Link to find Tael who flew to the Clock Tower of the land of Termina; there, he meets the Happy Mask Salesman, who offers to help Link heal his curse in exchange for retrieving the mysterious mask from the Skull Kid, and tells Link he must also obtain the Ocarina of Time in three days.
Link and Tatl enter Clock Town, in the middle of the Carnival of Time, set in three days. From a fairy, they learn that the Skull Kid is waiting at the top of the tower, which is only accessible during the eve of the carnival. As the two interact with the residents of Clock Town, they learn of the havoc that Skull Kid had wrought prior to their arrival. At midnight on the third day, the Clock Tower opens, which Link and Tatl ascend. At the top, they confront Skull Kid, and Tatl implores Skull Kid to return the mask, and Skull Kid use the mask's power to expedite the moon's collision with Termina while Tael hurriedly speaks a riddle to them: "Swamp. Mountain. Ocean. Canyon... hurry, the four who are there... bring them here!" Link manages to retrieve the Ocarina of Time and plays the Song of Time, a song Princess Zelda taught him before he left Hyrule. Link and Tatl are brought back through the first day. Meeting with the Happy Mask Salesman again, Link returns to his human form and seals his Deku curse into a mask which can turn him back into a Deku Scrub at will. The salesman then explains that the mask conceals an evil, apocalyptic power that was used by an ancient tribe in hexing rituals known as Majora. The troubles caused by the mask were so great, the ancient ones sealed the mask to prevent it from being misused. Link starts his quest by first going to Woodfall; on his way, Tatl explains that Skull Kid was lonely and they became friends, and he stole the Majora's Mask from the sleeping salesman. At Woodfall, Link becomes embroiled into a wrongful execution following the Deku princess' kidnapping after the lake got poisoned. Link manages to save the princess and lift the cursed lake and prevent the execution after saving a Giant, a being capable of stopping the moon's fall and learns that Skull Kid laid a curse on all the four regions without explanations.
On Snowhead, Link saves the Gorons from being frozen by a cursed winter with the power of the late legendary Darmani the Third. At the Great Bay, Link buries Mikau, a Zora which is the guitarist of the "Indigo Go", the music group for the Carnival. Link fulfills Mikau's last wish to save the Great Bay ocean, and help Lulu the singer to recover her voice she lost after giving birth to seven babies. Successful, they go to Ikana Canyon, where Link saves a family father and an army being cursed to live after being killed in an old war.
With all four curses lifted, Link confronts Skull Kid again at the top of the Clock Tower and summons the Four Giants, who halt the moon's descent. Majora's Mask reveals he manipulated the Skull Kid and flies up to possess the moon instead. With Tatl at his side, Link follows Majora's Mask to the inside of the moon; deeper into the moon, Link encounters Majora in its bestial form, and defeats it once and for all, returning the moon to its proper place in the sky. The Four Giants return to their sleep, and it's revealed that they were former friends of Skull Kid; they were sealed to prevent him from using Majora's power. The siblings fairies reunite with the newly liberated Skull Kid while The Happy Mask Salesman takes Majora's Mask, now purified of its evil power. Link then leaves Termina on Epona after saying goodbye to Tatl, now close friends, while the Carnival of Time has started. In the post-credits scene, Link leaves the forest, and a drawing on a tree stump of Link, Tatl, Tael, the Skull Kid, and the Four Giants is shown.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, 2001Seasons begins as the Triforce calls out to Link from within Hyrule Castle. Link approaches it, and is transported to a dark forest where he encounters a traveling group led by a dancer named Din. After Din welcomes Link to Holodrum, the sky becomes covered in black clouds. A voice from the clouds calls Din the Oracle of Seasons and refers to himself as Onox, General of Darkness. A funnel cloud drops from the sky, taking Din into its dark heights. As the tornado dissipates, the seasons of Holodrum fall into disarray and change rapidly.
Din's attendant, Impa, tells Link that they were headed for Hyrule; she instructs him to see the Maku Tree in Horon Village, the capital of Holodrum. Link finds a sword in a cave and makes his way to the tree. The Maku Tree tells Link he will need the eight Essences of Nature and gives him the Gnarled Key, which unlocks the dungeon holding the first Essence. Link retrieves the eight Essences from eight dungeons throughout Holodrum and Subrosia and brings them to the Maku Tree, who uses them to create a Huge Maku Seed, a sacred evil-cleansing seed that allows Link to enter Onox's castle. Link enters the castle, defeats Onox, and rescues Din, who tells him that he is now a true hero and must face a new trial soon. Twinrova, watching the scene remotely, states that the Flame of Destruction has been powered by the havoc Onox has wrought.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, 2001As with Seasons, the Triforce calls out to Link. Link is transported to a forest in the land of Labrynna, where he hears screaming. In a clearing, Link finds Impa, surrounded by monsters, but the monsters flee when they see Link. Impa then asks Link to help her find a singer in the forest.[19] The two find Nayru, a young blue-haired woman singing on a tree stump surrounded by forest creatures. A shadow emerges from Impa and reveals itself as Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows. Veran possesses Nayru, the Oracle of Ages; this disrupts the flow of time.
Link receives a sword from Impa and makes his way to the Maku Tree in Lynna City, the capital of Labrynna. Veran orders that the Maku Tree be killed; Link uses a time portal to travel to the past to prevent this. The Maku Tree tells Link he will need the eight Essences of Time to defeat Veran. Link sets out to retrieve the eight Essences, hidden in eight dungeons throughout Labrynna's past and present. After getting the sixth Essence, Link is told he can save Nayru. He invades Queen Ambi's castle and removes Veran's spirit from Nayru, but Veran then possesses Queen Ambi. Link gathers the remaining Essences and brings them to the Maku Tree, who uses them to create a Huge Maku Seed that allows Link to enter Veran's Black Tower. Link ascends the tower and defeats Veran, rescues Queen Ambi, and Nayru tells him that all has returned to normal. Twinrova, watching the scene remotely, states that Veran has lit the Flame of Sorrow.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords, 2002A Link to the Past
The intro to A Link to the Past reveals the back story of the game, showing that series antagonist Ganon was sealed away after his bid for the Triforce. However, the seal has grown weak, and a wizard named Agahnim has taken over the throne of Hyrule, and is kidnapping the seven descendants of the Sages who sealed away Ganon, which includes Princess Zelda. The game opens with series protagonist Link receiving a message from Zelda, telling him to come save her. Following his Uncle, he finds him near death, and is tasked by his Uncle to find and rescue Zelda, giving him his sword and shield before dying. After Link reaches the dungeons, he frees Zelda from her cage, and takes her through a hidden sewer into a Sanctuary, where she remains hidden. The man in the Sanctuary tells Link of Agahnim's plan to break the seal the Sages placed, requiring Link to obtain the Master Sword. Link travels across Hyrule, aided by a man named Sahasrahla, collecting three pendants from the three dungeons, using them to unseal the Master Sword in the Lost Woods. Link returns to Hyrule Castle with the Master Sword after Zelda is kidnapped. When he meets Agahnim, he finds that he is too late, as Agahnim teleports her away.
After battling and defeating Agahnim, he takes Link into the Sacred Realm, which has been corrupted and transformed into the Dark World by Ganon. He is tasked with rescuing the seven Maidens who have been sealed away in crystals, as well as finding magical items called the Silver Arrows. Link eventually rescues Zelda, and uses the Maidens' power to break into Ganon's Tower. After fighting and defeating Agahnim for the second time, Ganon flies from Agahnim's corpse into the Pyramid of Power. Link follows, doing battle with him. He eventually defeats Ganon, and finds the Triforce. After the Triforce speaks to Link, Link uses it to wish for Hyrule to return to normal. Afterward, he returns the Master Sword to where he found it. If the player has completed Four Swords, they may find an alternate ending by beating a secret dungeon. This dungeon features four Dark Links, in reference to the four Links in the Four Swords game. After defeating them, an ending showing the inhabitants of the Dark World and the various bosses is shown.
Four Swords
Taking place before the events of Ocarina of Time, the prologue shows Link and Zelda approaching a sword in a pedestal, called the Four Sword. After Zelda explains its history and the creature sealed within it, the creature named Vaati breaks free, capturing Zelda to marry her. Link is encountered by three fairies who instruct Link to pull the Four Sword out. Link pulls the Four Sword out, inadvertently creating three copies of himself that fight alongside him. As the game begins, the four Links are tasked with finding four Great Fairies, who together will grant them access to Vaati's palace. After finding the four Great Fairies and entering the palace the Links battle Vaati. After Vaati is thoroughly weakened, he is trapped in the Four Sword. Zelda and Link return the Four Sword back in its pedestal.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, 2002While Link is celebrating his coming of age, a gigantic bird drops pirate captain Tetra into Outset Island's forest. Link rescues Tetra from monsters, but the bird carries off Link's sister Aryll. Tetra agrees to help Link find his sister, and they sail to the Forsaken Fortress, where the bird, the Helmaroc King, has been taking girls with long ears. Link finds Aryll and other kidnapped girls, but the Helmaroc King captures him and takes him to a man in black, who orders Link thrown into the sea.
Link is rescued at Windfall Island by a talking boat, the King of Red Lions, who explains that the bird's master is a returned Ganon. To defeat him, Link must find the Hero of Time's power, which requires the three Pearls of the Goddesses. Link finds Din's Pearl on Dragon Roost Island, home of the avian Rito and the dragon Valoo; Farore's Pearl in Forest Haven, home of the Great Deku Tree and the plant-like Koroks; and Nayru's Pearl with the water spirit Jabun on Outset Island. The King of Red Lions then takes Link to the Tower of the Gods, where he faces trials before descending beneath the ocean to a castle suspended in time. Here Link finds the Hero of Time's weapon, the Master Sword.
Link returns to the Forsaken Fortress. Tetra's crew arrive and rescue the girls, but Ganon easily overpowers Link and Tetra: the Master Sword has lost its power. Ganon recognizes Tetra's Triforce necklace and realizes she is the incarnation of Princess Zelda he is seeking. Link's Rito allies and Valoo save Link and Tetra from Ganon. The King of Red Lions brings the two back to the underwater realm, explaining it is the legendary kingdom of Hyrule, which the goddesses submerged long ago to contain Ganon while the people fled to the mountaintops. The King of Red Lions reveals himself to be Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, the last King of Hyrule, and Tetra is his heir, Zelda, keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom.
Tetra remains in the castle while Link and the King journey to the two sages who provided the Master Sword's power. They discover Ganon's forces murdered them both, so Link must awaken new sages: the Rito Medli and the Korok Makar. The sages restore the Master Sword, but the King learns that Ganon has abandoned the Forsaken Fortress and fears an attack. They then track down the eight shards of the missing Triforce of Courage, once kept by the Hero of Time, and the gods recognize Link as the Hero of Winds.
Link and the King return to Hyrule to discover that Ganon has captured Tetra. Link follows them to Ganon's tower, defeating Ganon's minions before Ganon overcomes him. Ganon joins Link's and Tetra's Triforce pieces with his own Triforce of Power, forming the complete Triforce, which will grant his wish to rule the world. Before he can act, the King of Hyrule appears and wishes that the Goddesses wash Ganon and Hyrule away. The King then grants Link and Tetra hope for their own future. Link and Tetra battle Ganon with the Master Sword and magical arrows as water pours around them; with the final blow, the Master Sword turns Ganon to stone. Link and Tetra rise to the surface as the King and Hyrule are submerged. After reuniting with their friends the heroes sail off to find a new land.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, 2004The game begins with the land of Hyrule in a state of fear because of strange happenings that have occurred recently. On a stormy night, Princess Zelda and the shrine maidens fear that the reason for these events is that Vaati's seal is weakening. She summons Link and brings him to the castle so he can protect her and the other maidens while they open the portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary. When they do, however, a shadowy figure appears, Shadow Link, who kidnaps the maidens of the Shrines and seals them inside their crystals. Link follows him to the mysterious sanctuary where the Four Sword lies in the pedestal, keeping the great evil sealed away. Link pulls the Four Sword out of its Pedestal, splitting into three clones of himself to destroy his doppelgänger. However, the seal that imprisoned the Sorcerer of Winds, Vaati, was broken and had released him from his prison once again, wreaking havoc on the once peaceful kingdom of Hyrule and bringing chaos and horror.
As Link and his clones wander the overworld of Hyrule Field on their quest to restore peace to Hyrule, they learn that the creation of Link's evil counterpart and the release of Vaati is only a small part in an insidious plot to conquer the kingdom of Hyrule. Things complicate as the dimension of the Dark World appears and people are being abducted throughout Hyrule. The four Links learn that the knights of Hyrule have mysteriously disappeared and evil versions of them have been creating havoc, allowing Hyrule castle to be taken over and monsters to appear throughout the land. The four Links agree that they will defeat Vaati, and rescue Zelda to restore peace to Hyrule.
It is revealed that the true villain is Ganon, the King of Darkness; a male Gerudo who obtained his powers after stealing a powerful trident containing dark energy that was previously hidden away within a pyramid, and used it to seize control over substantial portions of Hyrule. In order to further his plans and distract Link from interfering in his bid for further power, Ganon stole the dark mirror, previously used to banish a dark tribe that invaded Hyrule years prior, and used it to create Shadow Link, who was eventually sent to kidnap the shrine maidens and trick Link into releasing Vaati. In order to gain as much power as possible and build up his army, Ganon sought to take control of the shrine maidens' power as well, relying on the strongest monstrosities in his army to siphon their energy, and began using Shadow Link to abduct the kingdom's residents and send them into the Dark World, where they would become part of his army. Vaati unknowingly furthered his plans by creating monsters to add to his army and drained energy from the landscape of the kingdom itself, gradually transforming it into a wasteland. It is revealed that the Knights of Hyrule were murdered by Ganon, who proceeded to trap their souls in the World of Darkness, where they became creatures of darkness.
The four Links save the shrine maidens, retrieve the Dark Mirror with the assistance of Princess Zelda, stopping Shadow Link from respawning once and for all. The four heroes head forth to the Palace of Winds and defeat Vaati, leading them into their final battle with Ganon. Trying to stop him from plunging the world into chaos, the four Links use the Power of the Shrine Maidens, including Zelda, to defeat Ganon, striking through him. After defeating Ganon, the four Links firmly seal him inside the Four Sword, bringing chaos and horror to an end. Peace returns to Hyrule, the souls of the knights are freed from their torment, and the people celebrate as all traces of evil that plagued Hyrule are vanquished. With Ganon defeated and sealed inside, Link returns the Four Sword that sealed darkness away back to its resting pedestal and the four Links become one again. After the battle, The Maidens of the Shrine use their powers and create a barrier, which is strong enough for the Four Sword to rest before the six maidens leave. Thus, Link's journey has ended and both he and Zelda leave the Sanctuary as Darkness fades away and Light endures in the Land of Hyrule, bringing peace and prosperity.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, 2004The Minish, who are also referred to as the Picori by Hylians, are a race of tiny creatures that bestowed a young boy with a green garment, a sword, and a shining golden light to drive back the darkness many years before the game is set. There are three types of Minish: Town, Forest, and Mountain.
The quest begins when Link is chosen by the king of Hyrule to seek the help of the Picori after Vaati, searching for the Light Force, had destroyed the Picori Blade, releasing evil monsters into Hyrule, and petrified Princess Zelda. Link was chosen because only children can see the Picori. Soon into the voyage he finds and rescues Ezlo, a strange being who is a living green cap with a bird-like head. Ezlo joins him, having Link wear him as he cannot move around as fast as Link can, and can allow Link to shrink to the size of the Minish. Although it is not revealed at first, he and Vaati are actually Minish (Picori)—Ezlo explains to Link that he is a renowned sage and craftsman and Vaati his apprentice, but Vaati became corrupted by the madness and hatred of men and took a magic hat that Ezlo had made for the people in Hyrule. The hat grants any wish made by the bearer, and Vaati had wished to become a powerful sorcerer. Vaati then turned his old master, who had tried to stop him, into his current hat form. With the help of Ezlo, Link retrieves the four elemental artifacts and brings them to the Elemental Sanctuary, which is also the gateway between Hyrule and the Picori homeland. There, he uses them to turn the Picori Blade, restored by the Picori, into the Four Sword, capable of defeating Vaati.
After Link restores the Four Sword, Vaati turns Hyrule Castle into Dark Hyrule Castle—the final dungeon in the game. Link fights Vaati just before he can drain Zelda of all of the Light Force hidden within her, which would have killed her in the process. Link defeats Vaati after engaging in a fight that consists of Vaati changing into monstrous forms. When Link and Zelda flee from the collapsing castle to the Elemental Sanctuary, they are once again confronted by Vaati, who changes form for the final battle of the game. After Vaati is defeated, Ezlo returns to his original form. He takes the recovered cap of wishes that he created and gives it to Zelda, and helps her combine the Light Force energy in her with the power of the cap, granting her a wish for the people that had been cursed by Vaati to be cured, the castle to be turned back to normal and the monsters that were released into Hyrule to no longer exist. The hat overflows with the power of life, disappearing after the wish is granted. Ezlo gives Link a new hat that looks like Ezlo's hat form and tells Link he enjoyed traveling with him, then goes into the Elemental Sanctuary to go back to the Minish world, just before the door to the Sanctuary closes.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, 2006The game begins with a youth named Link, who works as a ranch hand in Ordon Village. One day, Bulblins take away the village's children. Link pursues and encounters a wall of Twilight. A Twilight monster pulls him beyond the wall into the Twilight-shrouded forest, where he is transformed into a wolf and imprisoned. Link is soon freed by a creature named Midna, who offers to help him if he obeys her unconditionally. She guides him to Princess Zelda, who explains that Zant, the Sorcerer/Usurper King of the Twili, invaded Hyrule Castle and forced her to surrender. The kingdom became enveloped in Twilight, turning all its inhabitants besides Link and Zelda into invisible spirits. To save Hyrule, Link, aided by Midna, must first revive the Light Spirits by entering the Twilight-covered regions and recovering the Spirits' light from the Twilight beings that had stolen it. Once revitalized, each Spirit returns Link to his Hylian form and informs Link and Midna of the hidden location of a Fused Shadow, one of the fragments of a powerful relic that will have to be used to match Zant's power to defeat him. During this time, the ghost of a departed swordsman, the Hero’s Shade, also appears to provide swordsmanship training he had failed to pass on before his untimely death, as well as information regarding Link's destiny in Hyrule.
During his journey, Link also finds Ordon Village's children and assists the monkeys of Faron, the Gorons of Eldin, and the Zoras of Lanayru. After restoring the Light Spirits and obtaining the Fused Shadows, Link and Midna are ambushed by Zant, who takes away the fragments. Midna calls him out for abusing his tribe's magic, but Zant reveals that his power comes from another source, and he uses it to trap Link in his wolf state. Failing to persuade Midna into joining forces with him, Zant attempts to dispose of her by exposing her to the light of Lanayru's light spirit. Bringing a dying Midna to Zelda, Link learns from her that he needs the Master Sword to remove Zant's curse and she proceeds to sacrifice herself to heal Midna, vanishing mysteriously. Moved by Zelda's act of selflessness, Midna starts to care more about Link and the fate of his world.
After gaining the Master Sword, Link is cleansed of the curse that kept him in wolf form. Deep within the Gerudo Desert, Link and Midna search for the Mirror of Twilight, the only known gateway between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm, but discover that it is broken. The Sages there explain that Zant tried to destroy it, but only managed to shatter it into fragments; only the true ruler of the Twili can completely destroy the mirror. They also relate that they once used it to banish Ganondorf, the Gerudo leader who attempted to steal the Triforce, to the Twilight Realm after failing to execute him. Link and Midna set out to retrieve the missing shards of the mirror. Once it has been fully restored, the Sages reveal to Link that Midna is actually the true ruler of the Twili, usurped and cursed into her current form by Zant. Confronting Zant, Link and Midna learn that he forged a pact with Ganondorf, who asked for his assistance in subjugating Hyrule. After Link defeats Zant, Midna recovers the Fused Shadows and destroys Zant after learning that only Ganondorf's defeat can release her from her curse.
Returning to Hyrule, Link and Midna find Ganondorf in Hyrule Castle, with a lifeless Zelda suspended above him. Ganondorf fights Link by possessing Zelda and then transforming into a gigantic boar-like beast, but Link defeats him, and the power Midna received from Zelda is able to resuscitate her. Ganondorf revives, and Midna teleports Link and Zelda outside the castle so she can hold him off with the Fused Shadows. However, as Hyrule Castle collapses, Ganondorf emerges from it victorious, crushing the Fused Shadow piece that Midna wore on her head, and pursues Link on horseback. Assisted by Zelda and the Light Spirits, Link eventually knocks Ganondorf off his horse and duels him on foot before finishing him off with the Master Sword. With Ganondorf defeated, the Light Spirits revive Midna and restore her to her true form. After bidding farewell to Link and Zelda, Midna returns home and destroys the Mirror of Twilight, ultimately severing the link between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. As Hyrule Castle is rebuilt, Link leaves Ordon Village, heading to parts unknown.
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, 2007Taking place immediately after The Wind Waker, in which Link defeats Ganondorf who turns to stone and remains at the bottom of a now sealed away Hyrule, Link and Tetra travel over the flooded Hyrule called the Great Sea on board Tetra's pirate ship. Along the way, the pair discover the Ghost Ship and Tetra enters it; however, immediately after entering the Ghost Ship, she screams for help. While Link attempts to follow her, he slips and falls into the ocean. Washed ashore on an island, Link is awakened by Ciela, a fairy. Exploring the island, Link finds the Phantom Hourglass, filled with the Sands of Hours, and meets an old man named Oshus, who wants to help Link find the Ghost Ship and reunite with Tetra. To aid him in his quest, Link enlists the help of Captain Linebeck and his ship, the S.S. Linebeck, which Link, Ciela, and Linebeck use to visit islands across the Great Sea. While Linebeck was initially reluctant to team up with the two, Ciela makes mention of a huge treasure, prompting him to agree to help them.
After scouring the Great Sea, Link learns that he must use maps and clues hidden in the Temple of the Ocean King to find the Spirits of Courage, Wisdom, and Power, which in turn will help him locate the Ghost Ship. With the help of the Phantom Hourglass, Link finds the Spirits of Wisdom and Power. When Link finds that the Spirit of Courage looks exactly like Ciela, Oshus explains that she is in fact the spirit, after which she and her other half transform into her true form. Now in possession of the three Spirits, Link, along with Ciela and Oshus, locate the Ghost Ship and find Tetra on board, who has been turned to stone. While Link determines how to save Tetra, Oshus reveals that he is the Ocean King and that he and Ciela had to change their appearances to hide from Bellum, a life-eating monster that Link must destroy to save Tetra. Oshus also mentions that Bellum was the one who created the Ghost Ship and turned Tetra into a statue, and that he has taken residence deep in the Temple of the Ocean King. Linebeck quickly readies to abandon their quest; outraged at the lack of treasure to be found. However, his loyalties instantly return when Oshus promises the captain one wish in return for his continued aid.
To defeat Bellum, Link learns that he must forge the Phantom Sword from three unique, "pure" metals located on nearby islands; Crimsonine (Goron Island), Azurine (Isle of Frost) and Aquanine (Isle of Ruins). After collecting and using the metals to forge the Phantom Sword, Link descends to the bottom level of the Temple of the Ocean King to face Bellum. After intense fighting, Link appears to defeat Bellum, and Tetra is freed from stone. After Link and Tetra hurry back to the S.S. Linebeck to find Oshus, Bellum emerges and sinks the ship, capturing Tetra and knocking Link unconscious in the process. Linebeck finally shows some devotion when he fights off Bellum while Link wakes up. Then, Linebeck gets possessed by Bellum, forcing Link to fight him, eventually defeating Bellum for good, saving Tetra and Linebeck, and releasing the sand from the Phantom Hourglass back into the sea. Oshus, now in his true form as a white whale, readies to depart with the three spirits, while Linebeck, surprising everyone, wishes not for treasure but for his ship back, and Tetra and Link teleport back onto Tetra's pirate ship, where its crew tells them that only ten minutes had passed since the pair left the ship, insisting that their journey was a dream. However, Link still possesses the now-empty Phantom Hourglass, and sees Linebeck's ship on the horizon, knowing that his adventure was real.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, 2009Spirit Tracks takes place at the end of the "Adult Timeline" within the Zelda continuity: it takes place a century following the events of The Wind Waker and its direct sequel Phantom Hourglass. In the past, the Demon King Malladus engaged in an endless war with the Spirits, who eventually sealed him away using the Spirit Tracks, train lines stretching across the land, and the Tower of Spirits. A century prior to the game, new settlers arrived from the flooded land of Hyrule and made their home there, calling it "New Hyrule".
The story opens with Link going through his final exam and graduation ceremony as an Engineer, who both drives trains across the land and serves the royal family currently headed by Princess Zelda. The ceremony is disparaged by Zelda's chancellor Cole as the tracks are vanishing from the land. Zelda contacts Link and he helps her leave the castle to investigate the disappearing Spirit Tracks. When the tracks to the tower vanish mid-journey, Cole, revealing himself as a demon in service to Malladus, steals Zelda's body for Malladus to use as his host. Zelda is trapped as a spirit, and with Link's help reaches the now-fragmented Tower of Spirits. Inside they receive advice from Anjean, one of the Lokomos people who serve the Spirits, that they must restore the Spirit Tracks and Tower of Spirits. Zelda ends up accompanying Link, using her ability to possess some enemy suits of armour to directly aid Link. With the help of the Lokomos, Link and Zelda restore the Spirit Tracks and most of the Tower of Spirits. Byrne eventually ambushes Link in the Tower, with Anjean revealing Bryne to be a rogue Lokomo before teleporting Link and Zelda away and battling Bryne herself.
After fully restoring the Tower and the Spirit Tracks, Link and Zelda return to the Tower, but are too late to prevent Malladus possessing Zelda's body. Malladus betrays Bryne and escapes with Cole to the Dark Realm. Anjean and a now-reformed Byrne direct the two to find two artifacts they will need to find and defeat Cole and Malladus: the Compass and Bow of Light. After retrieving both, Anjean gives Link the Lokomo Sword and joins Link and Zelda as they head for the Dark Realm where Cole and Malladus await. In the Dark Realm, Link and Zelda successfully banish Malladus from Zelda's body, and Bryne sacrifices himself to give Zelda the time to return to her body. Malladus then possesses Cole, but Cole's body is unable to contain Malladus' spirit for long, and Malladus vows to destroy the world before vanishing. Link and the restored Zelda work together to defeat Malladus with Zelda's magic, the Bow of Light and the Lokomo Sword, destroying Malladus and Cole. With Malladus no longer a threat, Anjean, Bryne's spirit, and the other Lokomos return to the Spirits' realm. Depending on how he answered a question from Zelda concerning his future, Link either remains an engineer, becomes a royal guard, or his future remains unknown.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, 2011Skyward Sword takes place at the beginning of the Zelda continuity: according to legend, three ancient Goddesses bestowed a great wish-granting power: the Triforce. The Demon King Demise, a deity who had conquered time itself, laid waste to much of the land seeking to take the Triforce. The Goddess Hylia gathered the survivors and sent them into the sky, allowing her to launch a full-scale offensive against Demise. She was victorious, but the land was severely damaged. Uncounted years later, the outcrop is known as Skyloft, and its people believe the "Surface" below the clouds is a myth.
In the present, knight-in-training Link passes his final exam despite attempted interference by his class rival Groose, who considers himself a romantic rival for Link's childhood friend Zelda. After passing the exam and on a celebratory flight together, Zelda is whisked away below the clouds by a dark tornado. After recovering back on Skyloft, Link is led into the island's statue of Hylia to the Goddess Sword by Fi, the spirit of the sword who resides within it. Link draws the sword, showing himself to be the prophesied hero who will finally destroy Demise. Opening a way through the clouds to the Surface, Link is guided by Fi to the Sealed Temple, where he meets an old woman who tells him to track Zelda: this leads Link across the regions of Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, and the Lanayru Desert. While he catches up with Zelda, he is prevented from returning her to Skyloft by Impa, a young woman guarding and guiding Zelda. Link also encounters Ghirahim, a self-proclaimed Demon Lord working towards freeing Demise. At the Temple of Time in the Lanayru Desert, Link defends Zelda and Impa from Ghirahim, giving the two time to depart through a Time Gate into the past which Impa destroys as they pass through.
Returning to the Sealed Temple, Link is followed by Groose and the two end up on the Surface together. Link then has to defeat the Imprisoned, a monstrous form of Demise attempting to reach the Sealed Temple, after the old woman shows him a second dormant Time Gate. With the Imprisoned defeated, Link sets out to strengthen the Goddess Sword by passing trials set by the ancient Goddesses and using their gifts to find Sacred Flames to purify and strengthen the blade so the Time Gate can be awakened. Returning to find the Imprisoned attempting to break free, Link reseals it with help from Groose. Activating the Time Gate and traveling to the past, he finds Zelda and learns that she is the mortal reincarnation of Hylia; Hylia could not kill Demise and was too weakened from their battle to fend him off again, so she created the Goddess Sword and reincarnated as a mortal to find someone who would fulfill her duty by using the Triforce to wish Demise's destruction, as only mortals can use the artifact. Zelda then seals herself inside a crystal to strengthen Demise's seal, granting her power to the Goddess Sword and upgrading it into the Master Sword.
Link locates the Triforce on Skyloft and uses it to destroy Demise. With Demise dead, Zelda is freed, but Ghirahim arrives and kidnaps Zelda: though Demise is dead in the present, Ghirahim intends to use Zelda as a sacrifice to resurrect him in the past. Link pursues Ghirahim into the past and fights through his army. He then defeats Ghirahim, who turns out to be the spirit of Demise's sword but is unable to prevent Zelda from being used to reincarnate Demise's humanoid form. Groose guards Zelda's body while Link challenges Demise: Link triumphs and absorbs Demise's essence into the sword, but Demise curses Link and Zelda's descendants to be haunted by his reincarnated rage. To complete the sword's seal, Link drives it into a pedestal in the Sealed Temple, with Fi accepting eternal slumber as a result. Groose, Link and Zelda return to their time while Impa remains behind and destroys the Time Gate, as she is a person of that time and must watch over the Master Sword. In the present, the old woman greets them one last time before she dies and vanishes, revealing that she was Impa. The game ends with the Surface now freely accessible to the residents of Skyloft, while Zelda decides to remain on the Surface to watch over the Triforce; she and Link together establish the kingdom of Hyrule.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, 2013Link, the apprentice of a blacksmith, goes to deliver a sword to a captain at Hyrule Castle, only to encounter a mysterious figure named Yuga, who transforms a descendant of one of the Seven Sages, Seres, into a painting. After being knocked out during the fight, a merchant named Ravio finds Link and gives him a bracelet in exchange for him being allowed to stay in his home; he tells him to report what had happened to Princess Zelda. After going to Hyrule Castle, Zelda gives Link the Pendant of Courage and instructs him to seek out the pendants of Power and Wisdom to gain the power of the Master Sword. Along the way, Link encounters Yuga again and is turned into a painting, but Ravio's bracelet protects Link from Yuga's spell and gives him the ability to merge with walls and move around as a painting. After finding the other pendants and obtaining the Master Sword, Link returns to Hyrule Castle where he witnesses Yuga transform Zelda into a painting. Link pursues Yuga through a dimensional crack, arriving in the twisted, decayed kingdom of Lorule. There, Yuga uses Zelda and the descendants of the Seven Sages, who he had trapped inside paintings, to revive and fuse with Ganon, obtaining the Triforce of Power in the process. Just then, Link is assisted by Lorule's ruler Princess Hilda, who traps Yuga in magic bonds.
Hilda instructs Link to find and rescue the Seven Sages, who have been scattered across Lorule, to gain the Triforce of Courage. With help from Ravio, Link accomplishes this and returns to Lorule Castle, where he discovers Hilda taking the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda. Hilda reveals that Lorule fell into ruin after her ancestors destroyed their Triforce. Deciding that she needed Hyrule's Triforce to restore her kingdom to its former glory, she arranged the events of the game so Link would bring it to her. Hilda attempts to use Yuga to obtain the Triforce of Courage from Link, but Yuga betrays her and turns her into a painting, stealing the Triforce of Wisdom for himself. With Zelda's help, Link destroys Yuga and restores Zelda and Hilda from their paintings. As Hilda feels bitter over her loss, Ravio, revealed to be Link's counterpart, convinces her that stealing Hyrule's Triforce isn't the right way to save Lorule, having secretly sought out Link to help her see the light. After Link and Zelda return to Hyrule, they use their Triforce to restore Lorule's Triforce and bring Lorule back to its full glory. With his quest completed, Link returns the Master Sword to its resting place once more.
The Legend of Zelda:Tri Force Heroes, 2015Tri Force Heroes takes place in Hytopia, a kingdom whose citizens are obsessed with fashion. Princess Styla holds a great power over Hytopia until a witch known as "The Lady" curses her, forcing an unremovable brown jumpsuit upon her. King Tuft, Hytopia's ruler and Styla's father, is devastated by the curse and sends out a call for a hero who can lift it. While many answer the call, the king believes the true hero is one who fulfills a prophecy that tells of three heroes coming together to form a totem pole. This hero is revealed to be Link, the same hero who saved Hyrule and Lorule in A Link Between Worlds. He and two teammates travel to the Drablands, where they master dungeons by solving puzzles and defeating enemies. After doing so, the three vanquish The Lady, allowing them to lift the princess' curse. Link, King Tuft, Princess Styla, and the people of Hytopia celebrate the heroes' success.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 2017Breath of the Wild takes place at the end of the Zelda timeline in the kingdom of Hyrule. 10,000 years before the beginning of the game, the ancient Sheikah race had developed Hyrule into an advanced civilization, protected by four enormous animalistic machines called the Divine Beasts and an army of autonomous weapons called Guardians. When the evil Calamity Ganon appeared and threatened Hyrule, four great warriors were given the title of Champion, and each piloted one of the Divine Beasts to weaken Ganon while the princess with the blood of the goddess and her appointed knight fought and defeated him by sealing him away.
10,000 years later, the kingdom of Hyrule had since regressed to a medieval state. Reading their ancestors' prophecies, the Hylians recognized the signs of Ganon's return and excavated surrounding areas to uncover the Divine Beasts and Guardians. During this time, Princess Zelda trained vigorously to awaken the sealing magic needed to defeat Ganon while trying to maintain her personal research. In the meantime, a knight was appointed to protect her, that being Link, who was chosen due to his ability to wield the Master Sword, also known as the Sword that Seals the Darkness. The champions of Hyrule's races — Daruk, warrior of the mountainous Goron; Mipha, princess of the aquatic Zora; Revali, archer of the birdlike Rito; and Urbosa, chief of the desert-dwelling Gerudo — assembled to pilot the Divine Beasts (Vah Rudania, Vah Ruta, Vah Medoh, and Vah Naboris, respectively) while the current Zelda and Link battled Ganon. However, Ganon possessed the Guardians and Divine Beasts, turning them against Hyrule. King Rhoam and the Champions were killed, the castle town was destroyed, and Link was gravely wounded while defending the Hyrulean Army's only remaining base, Fort Hateno. Zelda took Link to safety for him to heal, hid the Master Sword in the Lost Woods under protection from the Great Deku Tree, and used her magic to seal herself and Ganon in Hyrule Castle. This cataclysmic tragedy came to be known through the ages as the Great Calamity.
100 years after being placed in a healing chamber in the Shrine of Resurrection, an amnesiac Link awakens in a now-ravaged Hyrule. He meets an old man, who reveals himself as the lingering spirit of King Rhoam. Rhoam explains that Ganon, sealed in Hyrule Castle, has grown strong; he pleads for Link to defeat Ganon before he breaks free and destroys the world.
Link travels across Hyrule, returning to locations from his past and regaining his memories. With the help of the Hyrulean races, he boards the four Divine Beasts and purges them of Ganon's monsters, releasing the spirits of Hyrule's former champions and allowing them to pilot the Divine Beasts once again. After obtaining the Master Sword from the Lost Woods, Link enters Hyrule Castle and defeats Ganon with the help of the Divine Beasts and Zelda's Bow of Light. Zelda seals Ganon away, restoring peace and allowing the spirits of King Rhoam and the champions to depart to the afterlife. Sensing their presence, Link and Zelda smile fondly.
If players have found all 13 memories in the quest "Captured Memories", they unlock a secret ending in which Zelda realizes that Hyrule must be rebuilt and that she and Link must begin the process themselves. As Link and Zelda survey Hyrule and embark to rebuild their world, the princess confides that she may no longer possess any supernatural power, yet still she has happily come to terms with it.