Link

Link is the main protagonist of the video game series, The Legend of Zelda.

Skyward Sword
The Link in Skyward Sword is the tenth Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and currently the earliest incarnation of Link chronologically.

In Skyward Sword, Link has lived his entire life in an island above the clouds known as Skyloft. He is childhood friends with Zelda and they attend the Knight Academy together, where he is often bullied by Groose. After playing the role of the goddess's hero at the Wing Ceremony, Link and Zelda go for a flight together, when suddenly a twister pulls Zelda and her Loftwing below the clouds. After withdrawing the Goddess Sword from its pedestal and meeting Fi, Link sets out to The Surface to search for Zelda.

Eventually, Link catches up with Zelda and Impa at the Temple of Time, but their reunion is cut short when Ghirahim attacks the duo. In the frenetic action going on, Zelda gives Link the Goddess's Harp before Impa and her escape through the Gate of Time, with Impa destroying the gate so as to escape Ghirahim's grasp. After passing the three trials of the goddess, gaining spiritual growth, and transforming the Goddess Sword into the Master Sword, Link manages to activate a second Gate of Time and meets with Zelda, who explains that Link is the goddess's chosen hero before telling him that she, as Hylia's mortal reincarnation, must remain in a deep sleep to keep Demise imprisoned within his seal. She then informs Link that he must find and use the Triforce to destroy Demise so that she will be able to wake up in their own time.

Link sets out to the Sky Keep and obtains the Triforce, using its might to wish for the eradication of Demise. Despite this, Ghirahim kidnaps Zelda upon her awakening and takes her through the Gate of Time, where Demise is still sealed. Link, after defeating Ghirahim and Demise, seals the remains of the demon king in the Master Sword, but not before Demise warns him that it was not over, and that his hatred would be reborn as a being to pursue domination of the world, as well as those with the blood of the goddess and spirit of the hero, in a cycle without end. Zelda as well as the young hero return to their own time, where she mentions to Link that she wants to remain in the surface and watch over the Triforce. She asks what Link's intentions are for the future, and Link smiles at her, with the camera panning to show both his and Zelda's Loftwings flying back into the sky, implying that Link chose to stay with Zelda.

==== Minish Cap ==== The Link in The Minish Cap is the seventh Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the second Link chronologically.

In The Minish Cap, Link is the grandson of Smith, the blacksmith for Hyrule Town. He lives just outside the town with his grandfather, and goes to the Picori Festival with his childhood friend, Princess Zelda. During the award ceremony for the festival's sword tournament, the winner, Vaati, shatters the legendary Picori Blade and releases the monsters that had been sealed in the Bound Chest. Princess Zelda uses her power to send the monsters away, and despite Link's attempt to defend her, Vaati turns the princess to stone to prevent her from interfering with his plans. Afterward, the King of Hyrule sends Link to Minish Woods to find the Minish, in the hopes that they can reforge the broken Picori Blade so that it can be used against Vaati. As he travels though the woods, Link meets Ezlo, his companion throughout the game. Ezlo sits on Link's head throughout his adventure to defeat Vaati and restore Zelda. Aside from his frequent advice and sarcastic comments about Link's quest, Ezlo grants the hero the power to shrink down to Minish size.

====Four Swords ==== The Link in Four Swords is the fourth Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the third Link chronologically.

In Four Swords, when Link takes the Four Sword, he is divided into four different Links (Green, Blue, Red and Purple), each with their own style and personality. Working together, the Links must find 3 keys that lead to Princess Zelda, who was captured by Vaati the wind mage. Link travels with Princess Zelda to check on the Four Sword, an ancient blade said to seal Vaati, a powerful wind mage. As the two enter the Four Sword Sanctuary, Vaati breaks his seal, absconding with Zelda in order to make her his bride. As Link comes to, he is instructed by three Fairies to draw the Four Sword, which splits the hero into four copies of himself: one green, one red, one blue, and one purple. Together, the four Links journey across Hyrule to meet three Great Fairies, each of whom gives the Links a key necessary to enter Vaati's Palace. Inside, the four Links defeat Vaati after a fierce battle, sealing him inside the Four Sword once more. With Hyrule saved, the four heroes return the Four Sword to its pedestal, thus merging back into one being.

====Ocarina of Time ==== The Link in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask is the third Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the fourth Link chronologically.

In Ocarina of Time, a young Link has been raised as one of the Kokiri, the children of the forest. Unlike the other Kokiri, Link does not have a fairy companion and is thus shunned by their self-proclaimed leader, Mido. Link's life changes one day when the Great Deku Tree, the forest's guardian, sends Navi the fairy to Link with instructions to bring him immediately. A curse has been cast on the Deku Tree, and he asks Link to break it. While Link is successful in defeating the monsters inside the Tree, the Great Deku Tree was doomed to die before Link started. Before passing away, the Deku Tree tells Link of the Triforce and directs Link to Hyrule Castle where he encounters Princess Zelda.

Zelda sends Link on a mission to collect three Spiritual Stones and save Hyrule. Once Link obtains the Stones, he travels to the Temple of Time and opens the Door of Time with the Stones and the Ocarina of Time. He then draws the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. This action imprisons Link in the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm for seven years so his body can mature, while Ganondorf takes control of Hyrule and seizes the Triforce of Power. Seven years after drawing the sword from the pedestal, Link is awakened as the Hero of Time by Rauru, Sage of Light. He sets off on a quest to cleanse the land of Ganondorf's evil by awakening the Sages, who can seal Ganondorf in what used to be the Sacred Realm. Returning to the Kokiri Forest, he finds that none of his friends have grown up, and most now no longer recognize him.

After Link defeats the evil in the Forest Temple, the Deku Tree's successor, the Deku Sprout, reveals the hidden story of Link's past to him. The Kokiri never grow up. The reason Link has grown, while his Kokiri friends have not, is that he is actually a Hylian, orphaned in the wars that raged before Hyrule was united. When Link was a baby, his mother fled with him to Kokiri Forest, and, mortally wounded, left him under the Deku Tree's protection. He was brought up as one of the Kokiri and knew no differently. Through the rest of the game, Link travels back and forth between the two time periods using the Master Sword and the Ocarina of Time in order to awaken the Seven Sages and return peace of Hyrule. At the end of the game, Link climbs Ganon's Tower and engages Ganondorf in battle. After he has been defeated and sent to the Dark Realm, Link is returned to his youth by Princess Zelda, and Navi soon departs from him. He is last seen when he encounters Princess Zelda again in the Castle Courtyard to warn her about Ganondorf and the future events that would unfold. ===Decline Timeline === The Decline Timeline is the alternate timeline in which Link, the Hero of Time, despite his best efforts, was defeated by Ganondorf in the final battle. This turn of events created the timeline containing A Link to the Past, the Oracle series, Link's Awakening, A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda, and The Adventure of Link.

====A Link to the Past ==== The Link in A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages is the second Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the first Link chronologically in the Fallen Hero Timeline.

In A Link to the Past, Ganon and his army of evil were banished into the Sacred Realm, the realm of the Triforce, by the Hylians at the price of countless lives. The portal to this world was magically blocked by seven sages, and the lands behind that seal, which Hylians hoped would never be broken again, became known as the Dark World as they were corrupted by Ganon's malice. One day, when the Imprisoning War was all but forgotten, the land was plagued by sudden disaster, until the wizard Agahnim appeared at the court of the King of Hyrule and quelled the upheaval. Named chief adviser to the throne, he soon seized power from the king and kidnapped six Maidens, descendants of the sages who had sealed the entrance of the Dark World. The maidens were taken to the castle tower and never seen again. Agahnim then began a dark ritual to break the seal on the Dark World and unleash Ganon's fury upon Hyrule. At this time, Link lives with his uncle in a house near Hyrule Castle. One night, Link receives a telepathic message from Princess Zelda, herself descended from the seventh sage, before being taken away. Link awakens to find his uncle preparing to come to Zelda's aid, and is told to remain in his bed. After his uncle's departure, however, Link ignores his command and follows after him to Hyrule Castle. But Link's uncle was quickly dispatched and left Link his sword and with his last breath imparted the Spin Attack. The young hero rescues Zelda from the castle dungeons then begins a journey to collect three magical Pendants of Virtue, and claim the Master Sword as his own before finally facing Agahnim, and later, his alter ego Ganon.

====Oracle of Seasons ==== In the Oracle of Seasons soon after A Link to the Past, Link is summoned by the Triforce to save the land of Holodrum. Upon his arrival, he is cared for by a young girl named Din who takes him to meet the troupe of performers that she's a part of; however, soon after, General Onox appears and captures Din, revealing that she is actually the Oracle of Seasons who was just disguising herself as a dancer. The seasons soon begin to go out of control now that Din has been kidnapped, and it is up to Link to return Holodrum back to normal. With the help of the Rod of Seasons, Link acquires the eight Essences of Nature scattered all over the land in order to restore the Maku Tree's power and enter Onox's Castle. After the young hero defeats the evil menace and rescues the Oracle of Seasons, peace returns to Holodrum and the order of nature is back to its normal state.

====Oracle of Ages ==== In Oracle of Ages, soon after Oracle of Seasons, Link is again summoned by the Triforce to save the land of Labrynna. Upon landing, he hears a cry for help, and he soon finds that Impa, Zelda's caretaker, is being surrounded by monsters. Link easily scares them off, and Impa asks that he help her search for a woman named Nayru. After finding Nayru, it is revealed that Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows, possessed Impa in order to manipulate Link into leading her to Nayru, who turns out to be the Oracle of Ages. Veran quickly takes over Nayru's body, which she uses to alter events in the past to ruin the future. It is Link who, with the help of the Harp of Ages, travels through time in order to rescue the Oracle and restore the ages back to normal. After Link frees Nayru from Veran's possession, the Oracle of Ages teaches the young hero a song crucial to his quest in collecting the eight Essences of Time scattered over the land of Labrynna. Unfortunately, soon after, the Sorceress of Shadows possesses Ambi, the queen of Labrynna in the past, and takes refuge in the Black Tower. Link, with all the Essences in hand, heads over to the sinister tower to defeat Veran once and for all. After this adventure, Link sets sail to an unknown destination aboard a ship.

====Link's Awakening ==== In Link's Awakening, taking place after Oracle of Ages, Link is seen aboard his ship after leaving the land of Labrynna; however, he is soon caught in a deadly thunderstorm which results in the destruction of his ship. His unconscious body is later found by Marin on a faraway island's shores. When he awakes, he discovers that he had miraculously been washed ashore on Koholint Island and makes preparations to leave the island by first finding his missing sword. A mysterious owl then approaches Link and explains to him about a sleeping being on the island, The Wind Fish, and that Link can only leave the island once The Wind Fish has been awoken from its eternal slumber. To awaken The Wind Fish, Link was forced to embark on a long journey and go through many dungeons to retrieve the Eight Instruments of the Sirens.

Link is eventually instructed by the owl to go to the Southern Face Shrine where he discoveries a startling truth about the island. Koholint Island is but a dream of The Wind Fish, whose dreams had been invaded by Nightmares and who is unable to awaken. If The Wind Fish awakes, the whole island shall disappear. Link had apparently been pulled into The Wind Fish's dream world and was now a part of it, and only he can awaken the dreamer. He eventually acquires all eight of the instruments and defeats all of the Nightmares, thus freeing The Wind Fish from their terror. Link is then named the hero of The Wind Fish's dream world by the owl before it disappears, and Link finally awakens The Wind Fish.As the island fades away, Link is forced out by a stream of water and awakens to find himself on a wooden board, back in the ocean. When he looks up, he sees The Wind Fish flying in the sky and smiles. It is unknown what happens to Link afterward, as he no longer has a ship.

A Link Between Worlds
The Link in A Link Between Worlds is the eleventh Link in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the second Link chronologically in the Fallen Hero Timeline.

In A Link Between Worlds, Link appears to be in an unknown realm with a familiar character. He almost engages in battle when suddenly Gulley comes into Link's room and wakes him up from his sleep. He says that his papa, the Blacksmith, says that Link was lazy and will never be a blacksmith if he keeps it up. Link follows Gulley to the Blacksmith's house. When he gets there, he sees the Hylian captain leaves the Blacksmith's home, but forgets his sword. Link decides to deliver it back. A hylian soldier tells Link that the captain was at the Sanctuary. He meets Seres and Dampé. When he gets there, Seres goes in the building to fetch the captain. The door immediately shuts as soon she walks in. Dampé tells Link about a secret passage to the Sanctuary. After the path, a mysterious man appears, trapping Seres in a painting. Link attempts to attack the man, who revealed himself as Yuga, but fails when Yuga hid as a painting. Yuga then kicks the unconscious lad and walks away with Seres. After that, Link wakes up in his room and meets a person named Ravio, and tells him about Yuga. Ravio tells Link to go to Princess Zelda and gives him a bracelet. Zelda tells Link to see after giving the Pendant of Courage Sahasrahla, who tells him to go to the Eastern Palace, where Osfala, a decedent of the Seven Sages, is. He finds out that Yuga turned Osfala into a painting, similar to Seres. He then traps Link to a painting in rage of defeat. With the help of Ravio's Bracelet, Link escapes the painting, and now has the ability to become a painting. This time, however, Yuga takes control of Hyrule Castle. He meets Sahasrahla again, who this time gives the future hero the same task the A Link to the Past Link had to get the Master Sword in order to access the castle. After the task, Link finds the Master Sword and enters the castle. Soon, he finds Yuga with Zelda's painting. Yuga runs off and enters a mysterious portal with the power to become a drawing. He finds Yuga in the otherside of the portal, who revives Ganon with the power of the Sages. He merges with Ganon, making an evil monster. A mysterious girl, Princess Hilda, a dark counterpart to Zelda, imprisons Yuga/Ganon and explains that Link is in Lorule, a dark counterpart of Hyrule. He tells the hero to rescue the sages. After rescuing the sages, they give Link the Triforce of Courage. He goes to Lorule Castle, and witnesses Hilda steal Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom in order to restore her kingdom. She summons Yuga to steal Link's Triforce, but Link defeats him. Hilda explains that Lorule's Triforce was destroyed to stop wars, but caused the kingdom to crumble. Ravio suddenly appears, revealing himself to be Hilda's servant and Link's Lorulean counterpart. He tells Hilda to not steal Hyrule's Triforce, and in response, she agrees and takes the Hyrulean duo to the Lorulean Sacred Realm, which holds a gate to Hyrule. Ravio thanks Link for showing him courage as he leaves. Zelda and Link find the Triforce at home, and wish for Lorule's Triforce to be revived. Hilda and Ravio then thank them for helping them. At the end of the credits, Link returns the Master Sword into its pedestal.

====The Legend of Zelda ==== The Link in The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link is the first Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the third Link chronologically in the Fallen Hero Timeline.

In the original The Legend of Zelda, Link is a young swordsman who is asked after rescuing Impa, the royal nursemaid, to save Hyrule and Princess Zelda from the evil Prince of Darkness, Ganon, who is seeking out the shards of the Triforce of Wisdom. Link collects the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom and enters Ganon's lair in Death Mountain. He defeats Ganon with a Silver Arrow, secures the Triforce of Power, and saves the princess from Ganon's clutches.

====Link's Adventure ==== In the sequel Adventure of Link, set six years after The Legend of Zelda, Link is now sixteen years old. Although Link has defeated Ganon, the remnants of Ganon's army are still scattered across Hyrule. They plan to revive Ganon by spilling the blood of his murderer, Link, onto his ashes. Impa finds a Triforce mark on Link's hand as he approaches his sixteenth birthday, and explains that he is the hero chosen to awaken an ancient Princess Zelda from a potent sleeping curse by seeking out the Triforce of Courage. This time, Link places a crystal in each of Hyrule's six palaces, ultimately destroys Dark Link and receives the Triforce of Courage in the Great Palace, and awakens Princess Zelda.

===Child Timeline === The Child Timeline is the timeline that follows Link after being sent back to his original time after defeating Ganon in the Adult Timeline. He warns Princess Zelda about Ganon's actions in the Adult Timeline, which creates the timeline containing Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, and Four Swords Adventures.

====Majora's Mask ==== Majora's Mask occurs shortly after Ganondorf's defeat, when Link is sent back to his childhood at the end of Ocarina of Time, beginning a new history in which Ganondorf never rose to power. After leaving Hyrule and riding deep into a mysterious forest in search of Navi, he is ambushed by a Skull Kid who is possessed by Majora's Mask, who steals Link's horse Epona and the magical Ocarina of Time. Chasing the Skull Kid, Link falls into a crevasse and arrives in a world called Termina. He must save this land from the evil of Majora's Mask, which has drawn the moon into a decaying orbit, which will cause it to crash into Termina's capital city in three days. Link uses the Ocarina of Time (reclaimed early on) and the Song of Time, which sends him back in time when he plays it, to relive these three days again and again in order to prevent the disaster. Along the way, Link finds many magical masks of his own, a handful of which allow him to transform. Those masks can turn him into a rock-like Goron, a petite plant-like Deku Scrub, a graceful aquatic Zora, or the powerful Fierce Deity.

Eventually, Link succeeds in freeing the Four Giants, enigmatic deities who can halt the Moon's descent, and confronts the Skull Kid. At this point, Majora, the evil entity residing inside Majora's Mask, abandons its now useless host and retreats into the core of the Moon. Link give chase, and after a long and heated battle against the three incarnations of Majora, the entity is finally defeated and the menacing Moon disappears. Upon returning the now lifeless mask to the Happy Mask Salesman, Link leaves his new friends and continues his journey, while the people of Termina once more celebrate the dawn of a new day. It is unknown whether or not he returned to Hyrule.

During his life after Majora's Mask, up until and after his death, he lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a hero despite saving both Hyrule and Termina, and was unable to pass on his skills and teachings to the next generation. In order to ease his regrets and finally pass on his knowledge, he teaches the seven Hidden Skills to his descendant, the Link of Twilight Princess.

====Twilight Princess ==== The Link in Twilight Princess is the eighth Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the second Link chronologically in the Child Timeline branch.

In Twilight Princess, Link is a teenager who has been raised as a wrangler outside of Hyrule territory in Ordon Village. His friend, Rusl, requests that Link go in his place to deliver a sword he has made for the Hyrule Royal Family. Before Link can go on this journey, his village is attacked by King Bulblin. Link is knocked unconscious and all the children are kidnapped. When Link awakens, he wanders into a darkness and gets pulled into the Twilight Realm. Once in the Twilight Realm, rather than becoming a spirit like everyone else, he transforms into a wolf. He is captured until a creature of the Twilight, Midna, comes to his aid. She helps him escape and get back to the world of light, however Midna is only using Link to change the Twilight Realm (her home) back to normal, as she has no care for what happens to Link and the light world. Link must journey to save the children of Ordon Village and eventually save the entire land of Hyrule from the mysterious Twilight. Link, in searching for the Ordon children, saves the Spirits of Light, and becomes the Hero Chosen by the Gods. He then sets off with Midna to find the Fused Shadows and stop the main antagonist, Zant. After finding out that Zant was just a mere puppet of Ganondorf, the duo set off to defeat him and bring back peace to Hyrule. In the ending credits scene, Link - equipped with just his shield - rides away from Ordon Village, while his childhood friend, Ilia watches his departure.

This Link sometimes is given the fan nickname "Hero of Light," because his deeds involve restoring light to the land as well as the "Hero of Twilight" as he is spoken of in Twili prophecy as noted by Midna. Despite this nickname, this incarnation of Link is given the title "Hero Chosen by the Gods".

====Four Swords Adventures ==== The Link in Four Swords Adventures is the sixth Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the third Link chronologically in the Child Timeline branch.

Concerned that the seal which keeps Vaati in the Four Sword may be weakening, Zelda and the rest of the Seven Maidens summon Link and open the way to the shrine of the Four Sword to investigate. However, Zelda and the other maidens are captured and imprisoned by Shadow Link. Despite the fact that it will release Vaati, Link is forced to draw the Four Sword from its pedestal in order to split himself into four and have the strength to go and rescue the maidens. The Links save all seven of them and collect the four Royal Jewels, which they use to reveal the Tower of Winds. When he followed Shadow Link down to the Four Sword Sanctuary, he pulled the Four Sword splitting him into four like in the original Four Swords, but when he pulled the sword Vaati was released from the seal once again. After the Links saved Zelda and the maidens, got the four Royal Jewels from different heroes of Hyrule, and defeated Vaati, Zelda and the Links fought against the dark lord Ganon and, with the help of the Seven Maidens, seal him within the Four Sword and restored peace to Hyrule. The sword is then returned to its sanctuary and sealed there, and the Links are combined into one again.

This incarnation of Link is given the title "Hero of Light", due to the hero's courage and being the only one who can free Hyrule from darkness.

===Adult Timeline === The Adult Timeline is the timeline that follows Link being sent to the Child Timeline after the Hero of Time defeats Ganon in the final battle. Ganondorf is sealed within the Sacred Realm by the Seven Sages but, with Link sent back in time, the world is left without a Hero. This turn of events created the timeline containing The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.

====Wind Waker/Wind Waker HD ==== The Link in The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass is the fifth Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the first Link chronologically in the Adult Timeline branch. Link appeared similar to the Four Swords and The Minish Cap incarnation with blonde hair, dark eyes and an infantile face.

After the valleys of ancient Hyrule are flooded in a deluge, Ganondorf's power is mysteriously tamed for ages before his dark energy begins to be felt over the Great Sea. Link lives on Outset Island on the Great Sea, the region above Hyrule after it was flooded by the gods to prevent Ganondorf from conquering it. Link is given the green tunic and hat on his birthday to commemorate the Hero of Time, but an attack by the Helmaroc King in which his sister is kidnapped starts him on a whirlwind adventure. Link quickly sets sail and acquires the King of Red Lions in his quest to recover Aryll after she is kidnapped by the Helmaroc King and taken to the Forsaken Fortress. Instead of simply rescuing his sister, Link is drawn into a sequence of events that eventually puts the fate of all the islands of the Great Sea in his hands. Once again, Ganon has appeared with limited power. Link is pulled into the conflict between the island inhabitants and Ganondorf's increasing presence as he, with the help of the Wind Waker, races to recapture the ancient power of the Triforce and the Master Sword before Ganondorf's true power is realized.

Eventually the King of Red Lions sees fit to grant Link the title Hero of Winds in honor of his ongoing struggle with the forces of evil. In the final showdown Link defeats Ganondorf for good, stabbing him in the head with the Master Sword. The King of Hyrule's wish with the Triforce was to give Link and Princess Zelda a future, and at the end of the game they set out to find a new land to be the next kingdom after Hyrule.

====Phantom Hourglass ==== The events of Phantom Hourglass takes place months after Ganon's defeat at the end of The Wind Waker. Link is a child sailing with Tetra and her crew in search of the Ghost Ship. When they find it, Tetra jumps aboard but is kidnapped, so Link goes after her but instead falls into the sea. Link is awakened on Mercay Island by a fairy, and they set out on a journey to find Tetra. Link and Ciela traverse the World of the Ocean King, rescuing the Spirits of the Ocean King and Tetra, and forging the Phantom Sword which can slay Bellum, the devil behind all this misfortune. At the end of the game, Oshus returns Link, Tetra, and Linebeck to their world, thanking them for their help.

Spirit Tracks
The Link in Spirit Tracks is the ninth Link appearing in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the second Link chronologically in the Adult Timeline branch.

In Spirit Tracks, taking place many years after the Hero of Winds found the new Hyrule, Link is a child who lives with Niko in Aboda Village. He is an apprentice of a master engineer, named Alfonzo, who has helped him in order to become a Royal Engineer. When Zelda presents Link with a certificate for this achievement, she also gives him a letter, telling him to meet with her, to discuss her suspicions over the mysterious Chancellor Cole as well as the disappearing Spirit Tracks. When Link sneaks Zelda out of the castle, they meet up with Alfonzo, who escorts them to the Tower of Spirits by train. However, as the Spirit Tracks begin to fade, they crash, and are then ambushed by the chancellor, who attacks the trio. Link and his master are knocked unconscious while Zelda's spirit is separated from her body, which is seized by Cole's apprentice, Byrne. Link awakes back in Hyrule Castle to discover that Zelda is now a ghost and that Link is the only person who can see her. After visiting Anjean in the Tower of Spirits, he agrees to help her in defeating Chancellor Cole and recover her body in the process.

After Link and Zelda travel up to the Tower of Spirits to recover a Rail Map, a Phantom Knight attacks him, but Zelda charges at the Phantom just in time to take control of its body. After this, Link and Zelda begin their journey to restore the Tower of Spirits and the Spirit Tracks, traveling across the overworld using the Spirit Train that is granted to Link by Anjean. Whenever Link returns to the Spirit Tower to obtain another Rail Map, Princess Zelda possesses a Phantom's armor in order to aid the young hero. As the pair continues to travel, Link and Zelda establish a close friendship as the two get to know each other better.

Once Princess Zelda recovers her body from Malladus with the aid of Link, the two together face up against the Demon King, who has now taken over Chancellor Cole's body. Together, Link and Zelda deal the final blow on Malladus using the Lokomo Sword, and shortly after, Anjean and the rest of the Lokomos depart towards the heavens. As they leave, Anjean entrusts Princess Zelda to watch over the land, asking Link to help her as well. Link and Zelda are then seen holding hands as they witness the departure of the Lokomos. Unlike other instances where Link departs from the land after having saved it, the young hero stays in Hyrule to fulfill Anjean's request, where he continues to be either an engineer or a warrior, depending on which Link chose. This is witnessed when Princess Zelda gets up from her seat in her office and waves out the window after having heard either a train's whistle or the clanking of swords.

Super Smash Bros.
Link has been one of the 12 playable characters that have appeared in all four Super Smash Bros. games, first appearing as one of the eight playable characters available at the beginning of Super Smash Bros. Here, he is depicted in his adult form from Ocarina of Time, wearing his traditional Kokiri tunic. He also has some of his usual arsenal from the Legend of Zelda series at his disposal, including bombs, his boomerang, and a hookshot. His Super Smash Bros. appearance marks the default look for Link in the rest of the fighting series, with him bearing the Master Sword and Hylian Shield as his default weapons and sporting the green tunic as the standard color of tunic. His home stage is Hyrule Castle.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Link returns as one of the 14 playable characters available from the start in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the 2001 sequel to Super Smash Bros. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, he has his bow in addition to the equipment he brought with him to the original Super Smash Bros. Also playable in the game as a secret unlockable character, is Young Link, the youthful Link from most of the games in the series. Modeled after the Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask version of the hero, Young Link is more agile but weaker than the older Link. He has some of the same weaponry and moves as his adult counterpart, although they are usually accompanied with a few changes, like his hookshot and boomerang having a shorter reach. Adult Link's stage is the Temple, while Young Link's is Great Bay.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
On May 10, 2006, at an after-hours press conference during the E³, Link became one of the first confirmed fighters in the Wii installment of the franchise, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Unlike the previous games of the series, Link appears as depicted in the GameCube Twilight Princess, rather than Ocarina of Time. The Master Sword he has in Brawl is much shorter than the one in Twilight Princess. Link's Final Smash move is known as the Triforce Slash. It slashes an enemy mercilessly with the power of the Triforce. In this game, "Young Link" does not return to the brawl, but rather, Toon Link takes on his role. This Link first appeared in The Wind Waker and has appeared in this form in several games since. Although he is different in many ways, the two Links are surprisingly similar and also have the same Final Smash. The Bridge of Eldin serves as the stage of the adult Link.

In the Subspace Emissary story mode from Brawl, Link appears in a forest where he finds the Master Sword and teams up with Yoshi upon being attacked by the Subspace Army. Depending on which princess was saved, Link will either confront a mind-controlled Peach or confront Mario and Pit after seeing Zelda supposedly defeated by the plumber. They later team up and track down King Dedede to try and rescue the trophies stolen by him. Eventually, upon reaching Subspace, Link and Zelda are both present when meeting Tabuu but are both defeated by Tabuu's Off Waves. If Link and Zelda were rescued during Kirby and King Dedede's exploration of Subspace, a cutscene will show them both agreeing to revive Ganondorf, at which point they show him where their common target is. Link helps the other heroes throughout the rest of the story as they try to reach Tabuu inside the Great Maze to defeat him.

In all three games, Link can choose different color tunics. In the original Super Smash Bros., only the Green, Red, Blue, and Blue Ring tunic from the original The Legend of Zelda are available; however, in Melee, the Black Tunic was added, and the Golden Tunic debuted in Brawl.

Link retains the same moves for most of the series, which are usually iconic weapons he has used throughout the Zelda series. The Hookshot serves as Link's grab move and also as a tether recovery in both Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, though not in Brawl, where it has been replaced by the Clawshot. While the boomerang from Ocarina of Time appears in the series' first two games, the Gale Boomerang appears instead in Brawl, replacing Link's standard Boomerang from Melee. The bow is the young hero's neutral special move, and the more the bow is charged, the farther the arrow will travel. Lastly, the Spin Attack makes a return as one of Link's most powerful moves and as his recovery move when used in the air.

Super Smash Bros. 4
Link will appear in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. 4.

Soul Calibur II
Link is a playable "guest character" in the GameCube version of Soulcalibur II. His appearance is taken from his adult incarnation from Ocarina of Time. Though he is voiced by Hiyama, he does not have a deep voice (as Adult Link does in Ocarina of Time), he now has a timbre relative to that of a tenor (similar to that of Zora Link, without modification). His voice is the same exact tone as Nightmare in the Japanese voicing of the game, as well as the seiyū voice of Siegfried Schtauffen in the entire Soul Edge and Soulcalibur series. Expectedly, Link's voice remains unchanged regardless of what language voice setting it is set to. Shigeru Miyamoto did not see a problem with Link appearing in what some had thought to be a "violent fighting game" since he had already been established as a fighter in the Super Smash Bros. games.

Not much is revealed about this incarnation of Link, but it is known that after saving Hyrule from an evil wizard who was being controlled by a fragment of Soul Edge, he went on a secret quest to destroy the evil sword. Quickly pulling the Master Sword out of its pedestal, he set out to travel to this world to destroy Soul Edge with his trusty Ocarina of Time and Hylian Shield. Eventually, he successfully seals away the evil within the Soul Edge, saving his homeland and quietly leaving the world he had come upon, leaving only a faint echo of his Ocarina.

In Soulcalibur II, Link is the only character with a ranged attack (aside from Necrid, the guest character for the Xbox version Spawn and Cervantes) and the only guest character to have his own theme and more than three costumes--the same colors that were his Super Smash Bros. costumes. His weapons are a number of weapons from the Zelda games, ranging from the Razor Sword to the Magical Sword and even the Bug Catching Net. In addition, Link's fighting style retains many of his signature moves from past games in the Zelda and Super Smash Bros. series. Some of these moves include the Spin Attack, the Jump Attack, the Down Thrust, the Up Thrust, and the Dash Attack.