ZELDA MASTER SWORD PUZZLE Breath Of The Wild GameStop exclusive retired oop RARE

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Seller: sidewaysstairsco ✉️ (1,180) 100%, Location: Santa Ana, California, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 204660656576 ZELDA MASTER SWORD PUZZLE Breath Of The Wild GameStop exclusive retired oop RARE. [209] In 2011, Empire said that "Link has grown into one of the world's most celebrated console heroes, and helped establish RPGs as an international gaming standard". (wikipedia.org). The story and setting was developed by Takashi Tezuka. Check out our store for more great new, vintage, and used items! FOR SALE: A retired and rare, GameStop exclusive 1000-piece puzzle 2018 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD "THE MASTER SWORD" JIGSAW PUZZLE DETAILS: The legendary sword that seals the darkness! Embark on a fantastical adventure with the 2018 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild "The Master Sword" 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle! Calling all fans of the iconic gaming franchise and puzzle enthusiasts - this exquisite puzzle brings the mystical world of Hyrule right to your fingertips. Featuring a captivating image of the legendary Master Sword from the celebrated Breath of the Wild installment, this puzzle is a true work of art. As a GameStop exclusive item, this puzzle holds a special place in the hearts of Zelda fans and has quickly become a rare and sought-after collector's item. With its retirement from production, the opportunity to own this piece of gaming history is becoming increasingly scarce. At a substantial size of 19.25" x 26.625" when completed, this 1000-piece puzzle offers a challenging yet rewarding experience for those who dare to piece together this masterpiece. Get lost in the intricacies of assembling each piece to unveil the awe-inspiring image of the Master Sword in all its glory. Crafted with precision and quality in mind, this jigsaw puzzle is a Nintendo-licensed product manufactured in the U.S. by the renowned USAopoly. Each piece is expertly designed to interlock seamlessly, ensuring a satisfying puzzle-solving experience and a final masterpiece worthy of display. If you're a devoted Zelda devotee then the 2018 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild "The Master Sword" 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle is a must-have addition to your collection. Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Hyrule and bring home this rare and cherished piece of Zelda memorabilia before it disappears into the realm of legend. Unleash your inner hero and conquer this puzzle masterpiece today! A GameStop exclusive! That's right, this awesome Breath of the Wild puzzle was made exclusively for GameStop. That means you couldn't get this rare piece anywhere else but GameStop, whether online or in-store. Limited supplies didn't last long and today "The Master Sword" GameStop exclusive jigsaw puzzle is a retired (out-of-print) and sought-after Zelda collectible. Dimensions: 19.25" x 26.625" CONDITION: New in shrink wrap with some storage wear. Some corner wear and shrink wrap has a couple of small rips. Please see photos. To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out. THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK. *ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SIDEWAYS STAIRS CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.* "The Master Sword(ALttP | OoT | OoS | OoA | FS | TWW | TP | SS | ALBW | BotW | NL | HWAoC)[1][2][3][4] is a recurring legendary sword in the The Legend of Zelda series, most known for being the weapon of the hero Link. Due to its long history, it has been referred to by many titles,[5][6][7][8][9] the two most notable being the Blade of Evil's Bane,(ALttP | OoT | TWW | TP)[10][11][12] and the Sword that Seals the Darkness. Overvieweditedit source The Master Sword was originally crafted by the Goddess Hylia as the Goddess Sword,[15] and was later forged into the Master Sword by the Goddess's chosen hero and its spirit, Fi, who bathed it in the three Sacred Flames located across the land that would become the Kingdom of Hyrule.[16] Din's Flame in particular imbued the sword with the Power to Repel Evil,[17][18] a power augmented after the Sword received the blessing of Zelda, which transformed the blade into the true Master Sword.[19][20] Although not always, it is the only weapon that can defeat Ganon in the games it appears in.[21] The Master Sword is often seen to choose or accept its master by its own will, always a hero who has gone through great trials that test his courage, wisdom and power to prove him worthy of wielding it. This may be the conscious choice of the sword's spirit, Fi, who sleeps eternally within the sword and only assists her heroic master.[22] When the Master Sword was originally introduced in artworks of A Link to the Past, the Sword's grip was red and its cross-guard yellow (in-game, both the grip and guard are red). However, in its pedestal, the Master Sword has a purple grip and blue guard. Its most conventional appearance was clearly defined in Ocarina of Time, with the purple grip and purple guard, though in subsequent games and the re-release of Ocarina of Time 3D, the purple has become more blue or indigo. In The Wind Waker, the grip and guard are royal blue as opposed to a deeper color. For the rest of the games, the Master Sword is merely a bastard sword with a narrow ricasso and a wide, shallow fuller that runs almost the entire length of the blade, although in some appearances it has no fuller at all. The Triforce can be seen engraved in the lower part of the blade and yellow gemstone is embedded in the cross guard. It is seen in The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword that the state of the gem and the cross guard are indicative of the sword's awakening and power. When Link acquires the unawakened Master Sword in The Wind Waker and the first form of the Master Sword in Skyward Sword, the gem in its cross guard is dark and the guard is retracted toward the grip. Once the Master Sword has been restored to its full power in both games, its cross guard regains its winged form and the gem its yellow color. Abilitieseditedit source The Master Sword's classic ability is the power to vanquish evil. Infused with the sacred flames provided by the Golden Goddesses and blessed with Hylia's power, the sword is effective even against evil ones possessing the Triforce. However, in order to keep the power to repel evil intact, two Sages, known as the Sage of Earth and the Sage of Wind, are in charge of praying to the gods and thus infuse the Master Sword with the gods' power (in case of The Wind Waker) [23] Should something happen to these Sages, the Master Sword will weaken and lose its might to combat evil. The sacred blade is also capable of destroying magical barriers[24][25] and breaking curses that involve powerful, dark magic.[26] In addition, it has the ability to lock away the remains of a demon.[27][28] The Master Sword can also unleash Skyward Strikes by channeling heavenly energy.[29] Even when low on power, the Master Sword can unleash Skyward Strikes through the use of lightning when it strikes the blade. Only a true hero that is "pure of heart and strong of body" is capable of wielding the sacred blade,[30][31] and as such, those with tainted hearts can't even touch this sword.[32][33] If a hero who is too young to bear the title that comes with the Master Sword withdraws this blade from its pedestal, the Master Sword will seal away the hero's soul and awaken him when the bearer comes of age to wield it, as seen in Ocarina of Time.[34][35] However, if someone that is weak attempts to draw the Master Sword from its pedestal, they will lose their life.[36] The Master Sword also acts as a key to gain entrance to the Temple of Light. If the Master Sword is retrieved from its pedestal in the Temple of Time, the portal to the Sacred Realm will open, eventually leading to the Triforce.[37] Additionally, the bearer of the sword can travel through time to some extent by simply thrusting the Master Sword into the Pedestal of Time.[38] The hero is able to travel backwards and forwards through the seven years of his life that were lost when he was kept in the Sacred Realm until he was old enough to hold the sword. When in the Twilight, the Master Sword itself can be infused with the power of the Sols from the Twilight Realm, allowing it to cut through the dark fog that exists in the realm.[39] Even in its final form, as seen in A Link to the Past and A Link between Worlds, that the Master Sword can be further improved by smithing or magical means. However, after its task is accomplished and the sword returned into its pedestal, it will revert back its original shape.[40] Appearanceseditedit source The Legend of Zeldaeditedit source The Master Sword does not appear in The Legend of Zelda, as the original game had the Magical Sword, its precursor. However, a sword closely resembling it can be seen on an artwork referring to The Legend of Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past — Nintendo Player's Guide by Nintendo of America.[41] A Link to the Pasteditedit source A Link to the Past is the Master Sword's debut in the Zelda series. It is the legendary blade that rests in the Lost Woods of northwestern Hyrule in a pedestal with ancient Hylian inscribed on it.[42] The ancient text says the hero with three symbols of virtue will wield it on cataclysm's eve, reading: "The Hero's triumph on Cataclysm's Eve wins three Symbols of Virtue. The Master Sword he will then retrieve, keeping the knights' line true."[43] In order to defeat the evil wizard Agahnim that has taken over Hyrule Castle, Link must obtain the Master Sword.[44] However, before the young hero can wield it, he must first acquire the three Pendants of Virtue that are scattered throughout the land.[45] After doing so, he retrieves the sacred blade from the Pedestal of Time within the Lost Woods. With it, he is able to destroy the electrical barrier that Agahnim had placed in the upper floor of Hyrule Castle. With the Master Sword in hand Link manages to defeat Agahnim twice in the game and, eventually, Ganon. With Hyrule safe from evil, Link places the Master Sword back in its pedestal.[46] The Master Sword is twice as powerful as the Fighter's Sword and has a longer reach.[citation needed] When at full health, the Master Sword will also fire a Sword Beam when swung. In A Link to the Past & Four Swords, the Master Sword can also break Signs.[verification needed] During the course of the game, Link can actually upgrade the Master Sword. Its first upgrade is the Tempered Sword, which is acquired when the Dwarven Swordsmith is reunited with his partner on the outskirts of Kakariko Village.[47] In the tempered shape, the Master Sword is two times stronger than its standard form, has a glowing orange blade and makes a deeper swing sound as opposed to the usual slash sound. Its second and last upgrade is the Golden Sword, acquired by giving the Master Sword or Tempered Sword to the Cursed Fairy in the Mysterious Pond of the Dark World within the Pyramid of Power. In the golden shape, the Master Sword is four times stronger than its standard form, killing almost any enemy in one hit, has a golden blade and green hilt, has the ability to break jars and skull jars (in the GBA remake), and also make a deeper swing sound than the tempered form. Moreover, Link can obtain the magic of the Bombos and Ether Medallion by holding the Master Sword up into the sky next to certain inscriptions around Hyrule.[48] Ocarina of Timeeditedit source Ten years after the Unification War in which a young Hero of Time is left an orphan in Kokiri Forest, he is sent out on a great quest to help him combat the Gerudo thief known as Ganondorf. To retrieve it from its pedestal, Link must collect the three Spiritual Stones, and play the "Song of Time" on the Ocarina of Time in front of the Door of Time to open the chamber where it is sealed.[49] Only the one worthy of the title of the Hero of Time can draw the Master Sword; however, since Link was too young to bear such a title, the sacred blade sealed his spirit away in the Chamber of Sages until he became old enough to be the Hero of Time, resulting 7 years have passed.[50] Additionally, because the Master Sword serves as a gateway between Hyrule and the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf was able to access the Temple of Light and steal the Triforce shortly after Link pulled the sword from its pedestal.[51] After clearing the Forest Temple, Link can travel back to his original time by placing the Master Sword in the Pedestal of Time.[52] This becomes necessary as the young hero journeys to awaken the remaining five Sages.[53] Similarly, he can travel seven years into the future by simply taking the sword from its pedestal. Eventually, the young hero confronts the King of Evil and is able to defeat him with the power of the Master Sword along with the help of the Seven Sages.[54] Princess Zelda feels guilt for the Hero of Time having lost his childhood just to save Hyrule and sends him back in time to relive the days he missed and thus creates a new history. Following this, Link returns the Master Sword to the Pedestal of Time and sealed the entrance to the Sacred Realm.[55] Ever since the Master Sword was pulled from the Pedestal of Time, it has become analogous with the legend of the Hero of Time.[56] Oracle of Seasonseditedit source The Master Sword in Oracle of Seasons The Master Sword makes a reappearance in Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, fittingly as the most powerful sword in the game. The only way to unlock the Master Sword is to have finished one of the games, and to have started a Linked Game on the opposite game. When a certain Secret in the game is found and told to Farore, she will upgrade the Noble Sword Link currently holds into the Master Sword. However, if Link still has the Wooden Sword, the Wooden Sword will become the Noble Sword, and the Master Sword will be found where the Noble Sword would have been. The Master Sword in these games is not the actual sword itself, but is simply the Noble Sword upgraded so its power is similar to that of the real Master Sword.[57] To get the Master Sword, Link must find the Old Woman in South Lynna who will tell the Clock Shop Secret. She instructs the player to dig around the Clock Shop located in Holodrum. The old man inside will ask the player to play a game wherein 12 beasts must be beaten within 30 seconds. If Link discovers the King Zora Secret after completing the Trading Quest, a Zora in Hero's Cave will reward him with the Master Sword. However, if Link has already completed the Trading Quest, then the legendary blade will be found resting in its pedestal in the Lost Woods of northwestern Holodrum. Oracle of Ageseditedit source If Link discovers the Clock Shop Secret after completing the Trading Quest, the legendary blade will be given to him by the Old Woman in South Lynna. However, if the Secret is discovered before the Trading Quest is complete, then Link will have to bring the Broken Sword that was given to him by the Old Zora who lives at the Coast of No Return to Patch on top of Restoration Wall for repairs. If the ceremony is successful, Patch will restore the Broken Sword. This will give Link an upgraded version of his sword, depending on what he had when the ceremony began. If Link had the Wooden Sword, Patch's restoration will give him the Noble Sword. If Link had the Noble Sword, the restoration will give him the Master Sword. To obtain the Master Sword if Patch repairs the Broken Sword into the Noble Sword, the player will need to use the Clock Shop Secret given to them by the Old Woman. By taking her secret back to Oracle of Seasons and obtaining the Master Sword in that game, they will get a new secret. This secret can be given to Farore in Oracle of Ages, and the player will then obtain the Master Sword. The Wind Wakereditedit source The non-awakened Master Sword from The Wind Waker The Master Sword is predominately referred to as the Blade of Evil's Bane in The Wind Waker's legends and lies in a hidden chamber in Hyrule Castle, deep beneath the waves of the Great Sea, once wielded by the Hero of Time.[12][58] With the Master Sword resting in the Pedestal of Time, the sacred blade serves as a key to seal away Ganondorf's magic, keeping Hyrule frozen in time and all those who inhabit it.[59] However, the Master Sword's use as a key to lock evil away is broken when a young Hero of Winds unknowingly draws the blade under the direction of the King of Red Lions.[59] In doing so, he unwittingly awakens Ganondorf's army from their ancient slumber and also allows Ganon to use his full magic again. Later, Link learns that since Ganon murdered the original Sages of Earth and Wind, Laruto and Fado respectively, the Master Sword's edge has dulled and its Power to Repel Evil has faded.[60] As such, Link must awaken the two new Sages in order to regain that lost power: his friends Medli and Makar.[61] It is then explained that those Sages are necessary in order to pray to the gods for the Master Sword and the Hero who wields it, to restore its edge, and to keep it glowing with the power to repel evil.[23] Stone ganon The Master Sword stuck in Ganon's forehead causes him to turn into stone When Link first draws the weakened Master Sword from its pedestal, its guard is curved into the blade rather than extending outward as it once did; moreover, the gem that rests at the base of the blade is black rather than gold, and the symbol of the Triforce is missing. As Link awakens the new Sages of Earth and Wind, the Sages return the power to repel evil to the blade: the guard's original position is recovered with the Earth Sage's prayers,[62] and the gem and the Triforce symbol are restored with the prayers of the Wind Sage.[63] When the sword is fully restored, it glows with the power to repel evil, allowing Link to shatter the magical barrier in Hyrule that impedes his path to Ganon's Tower.[25] After making his way to the top of the tower, Link, with the help of Princess Zelda, fights against Ganondorf using the Master Sword's power. To deal the final blow, the young hero thrusts the sacred blade into Ganondorf's forehead, which causes the King of Evil to completely turn into stone. Hyrule is then flooded by the wishes of the King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, leaving the Master Sword impaled in Ganon's skull as the forgotten kingdom is permanently destroyed by the massive waves. Twilight Princesseditedit source The Master Sword in Twilight Princess is located deep within the Faron Woods in the Sacred Grove, which are the ruins of the Temple of Time.[26] The blade is said to have once been held by the Legendary Hero.[18] When Link is permanently turned into a wolf by Zant's magic, Princess Zelda mentions that the Master Sword is the only relic that can break the curse placed on him.[26] Link then ventures to the Sacred Grove and draws the blade from its pedestal, allowing Link to return to his Hylian form.[64] Mastersword Master Sword in Twilight Princess The Master Sword in this game also allows Link access to other numerous hidden temples later in the game, such as the Temple of Time. When Link goes through the Door of Time in the Sacred Grove, he travels back to when the Temple of Time stood tall and before it fell into ruin. Here, Link can briefly thrust the Master Sword in the Pedestal of Time, making a set of staircases appear that lead to an unexplored area of the temple that serves as one of the game's dungeons. The sword's initial locations marks a link between A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time, as it resides in the temple's ruins, a place that is notably similar to the sword's resting place in A Link to the Past. Lightsword The Master Sword infused with the power of the Sols The sword is, in comparison with the shield and the overall height of Link, considerably bigger than in the other 3D releases. Regardless, the general design is consistent throughout them all. In the Palace of Twilight, Link fuses the Master Sword with the power of the Sols. This Light-Infused Master Sword enables Link to defeat most monsters of Twilight in a single blow. The sword is also capable of clearing away the Dark Fog that causes Link to revert back to wolf form.[39] This upgrade is only usable while in the Twilight Realm. Midna notes that the Sols' light being transferred to the Master Sword is the work of the gods of the Twilight Realm, and that they too are on Link's side.[65] In the final battle against Ganondorf, Link uses the Ending Blow to thrust the Master Sword into Ganondorf's chest, defeating him. During the ending credits, the sword is shown resting in its pedestal in the Sacred Grove. Skyward Swordeditedit source     See also: Goddess Sword and Fi In Skyward Sword, it is revealed that the Master Sword was originally known as the Goddess Sword, which rested in Skyloft, a floating island above the clouds. After sealing Demise, the goddess Hylia created Fi, an intelligent humanoid spirit who resides in the Sword, and gave it the purpose of assisting her chosen hero throughout his journey.[66] Eventually, in order to open the Gate of Time at the Sealed Grounds, Impa explains to Link that he must seek out the three Sacred Flames and purify the Sword into their heat.[67] Each time Link bathes the Goddess Sword in one of the flames, the Sword is empowered and is physically altered, with Din's Flame tempering the Goddess White Sword into the Master Sword and giving it the power to repel evil.[68][17] Although it is in the same incomplete state as in The Wind Waker, it holds a sacred force of "tremendous power" considered to be a divine power that was left by the gods of old, and it is also capable of activating the Gate of Time.[69] In the past, Link's Sword is then blessed by Zelda to become the True Master Sword.[19] Once blessed, it possesses the Light Force.[70] In the form of the True Master Sword, the damage dealt by a sword strike increases threefold, and the Skyward Strike charges much faster and is colored blue. The Sword's appearance also slightly changes, similar to The Wind Waker: the cross-guard extends outwards and turns into a brighter shade of purple, the blade takes on a slight bluish luster, and the gem and the Triforce symbol are restored. Additionally, if looked at closely when it is in a hilt, or placed in the pedestal in the post-battle cutscenes, the guard forms the shape of a blue Loftwing, with the gem as the beak, and gold detailing as the talons. The Master Sword is used to defeat Demise, whose "residual consciousness" is absorbed into the Master Sword and is sealed away before promising that an incarnation of his hatred would haunt those with the Spirit of the Hero and the blood of the Goddess.[28] Link then relinquishes the Sword into a pedestal in the Sealed Grounds and, thereafter, Fi enters the Master Sword to sleep forever.[22] A Link Between Worldseditedit source ALttP Book of Mudora Artwork 2 This article or section does not sufficiently cite its sources. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. The Master Sword in A Link Between Worlds is the same legendary blade from A Link to the Past, which is once again found inside of the Lost Woods. Much like in A Link to the Past, the Master Sword is obtained by collecting the three Pendants of Virtue. One of the Pendants is given to Link by Princess Zelda, and the others are found in the Tower of Hera and the House of Gales. The Master Sword is the only thing that has the power to break the Barrier surrounding Hyrule Castle, which is necessary for Link to face Yuga atop the Castle, and subsequently travel to Lorule for the first time. When obtained, it replaced the previously-used Forgotten Sword. The Master Sword can be upgraded twice by collecting pieces of Master Ore hidden throughout Lorule. By taking the Master Sword to the Blacksmith in Hyrule with two pieces of Master Ore, he will upgrade it to the Master Sword Lv2. The Master Sword Lv2 is twice as powerful as the standard Master Sword and has a tempered, red blade, making it almost identical to the Tempered Sword from A Link to the Past. When Link collects the remaining two pieces of Master Ore and takes them to the Blacksmith in Lorule, he will upgrade the sword again to the Master Sword Lv3. This final upgrade of the Master Sword is again twice as powerful, making it eight times as powerful as the Forgotten Sword. It also has a golden blade, making it almost identical to the Golden Sword from the A Link to the Past. Despite its increased strength, the Master Sword Lv2's Sword Beam does the same base amount of damage as the Master Sword. The StreetPass Shadow Links and Gramps, the elderly man in Kakariko Village, are able to wield the Master Sword Lv3. The former can be attributed to the Shadow Links being mere shades,[71][72] but no explanation is given as to why Gramps can wield the sword. Breath of the Wildeditedit source Hyrule Compendium Entry 10,000 years prior to the events of Breath of the Wild, a Hero wielded the Master Sword and sealed Calamity Ganon away within Hyrule Castle using the its power.[73][74] The Master Sword was also wielded by the Link one hundred years before he awoke from the Slumber of Restoration. During Link's first Recovered Memory, "Subdued Ceremony", the royal speech that Princess Zelda recites states that the Sword is bound to the Hero of Hyrule and always aided him whether "skyward bound", adrift in time, or steeped in the glowing embers of twilight."[75] In Link's third Recovered Memory, "Resolve and Grief", Zelda asks Link if he can hear the Master Sword speaking to him.[76] During Link's 17th Recovered Memory, "Zelda's Awakening", Link is greatly wounded and the Master Sword is in poor condition. After Zelda awakens her sealing power to save Link from a Guardian Stalker, Link collapses in exhaustion.[77] The Master Sword speaks to Zelda, informing her what she must do to save both Link and Hyrule Kingdom.[78] After putting Link in the Shrine of Resurrection for his one hundred year slumber,[79] Zelda takes the Master Sword to its Pedestal in Korok Forest, where she promises that Link will return for it.[80] After Link awakens 100 years later, the Master Sword still remains in the Korok Forest beyond the Lost Woods. During his journey, Link may come across several rumors pertaining to its location.[81][82][83] Upon reaching the Lost Woods, Link has to walk a certain path that leads to the Korok Forest. There, the Master Sword rests on its Pedestal. When Link approaches it, The Great Deku Tree will inform him that if a person who is deemed weak attempts to draw the Sword, they would surely lose their life.[84] Link must have at least 13 Hearts to be able to draw the blade from its resting slumber. The Master Sword has a base strength of 30 damage; however, its holy power is awakened in the presence of evil. While Link is inside a Dungeon, near Guardians, or in proximity to Malice, the blade glows with a blue aura. In this state, the Master Sword's power is doubled to 60. Unlike all other Weapons, it runs out of energy temporarily after a certain amount of uses instead of breaking. It is unusable in this state and will regain its energy after 10 minutes. While in the awakened state, the Master Sword's energy lasts much longer, enduring approximately 11,400 damage before needing to recharge. Also unlike most other weapons, the Master Sword cannot be thrown. Instead, it can fire a Sword Beam when the 'R' button is held and released if Link has full health. The Beam inflicts 10 damage on Enemies, and its range is increased by the total amount of Heart Containers that Link has obtained. Firing a Sword Beam will also slightly reduce the Master Sword's Durability. The Sword Beam appears and functions like the Sword Beam from Skyward Sword, with Link sending off a blue disc of energy from the Master Sword after charging it in the air. After completing the Trial of the Sword from The Master Trials DLC pack, the Master Sword will be awakened permanently, and using the Sword Beam will no longer affect its Durability.[85] Being made of metal, the Master Sword will attract Lightning if it is equipped during a Thunderstorm, and it will likewise conduct Electricity. Unlike other Weapons, however, it can not be knocked out of Link's hands or dropped. It also does not burn when exposed to Fire or a Scorching Climate. Tears of the Kingdomeditedit source     See also: Decayed Master Sword Sometime after the events of the previous game, the Master Sword was returned to its Pedestal in Korok Forest. It would eventually be retrieved by Link and Zelda before they ventured Beneath Hyrule Castle to investigate the source of the Gloom. The Great Deku Tree mentioned to the two of them that the sword was fully restored, implying it was not at full power during the previous game, and that it could be bathed with sacred power to strengthen it, potentially without limit. When Link and Zelda reach the Imprisoning Chamber and the mummy that is Ganondorf reawakens, Link attempts to use the Master Sword to block a Gloom attack targeted at Zelda. However, the Gloom instead mangles his arm and severely decays the Master Sword. When Link tries to block another tendril of Gloom, the sword shatters, with the tip of the blade flying towards and cutting Ganondorf. As Ganondorf begins to speak, he realizes that the sword he had just broken was the legendary sword that seals the darkness, expressing disappointment at having beaten his fated opponent so easily. As he causes Hyrule Castle to rise and Zelda to plummet down a deep chasm, Link tosses the sword aside in a futile effort to save her. When Link comes to in the Room of Awakening, the Decayed Master Sword is stuck in a nearby rock, with only the hilt and the badly decayed base of the blade intact. Link can pull it out with no problem, but in its current state it has a pitiable base strength of 1, cannot be used as a Fused Weapon, and will not recover energy when it runs out. At the end of the Temple of Time and his journey on The Great Sky Island, Link discovers a glowing yellow orb. The Decayed Master Sword chimes, instructing Link to place it in the glowing orb. The effect of Recall is then played out as the sword is sent back countless millennia, where Zelda awaits to retrieve it. The Decayed Master Sword communicates to Zelda that Link is safe and that it traveled back in time to find her and recover its strength. Now realizing why she was sent so far back in time, Zelda devises a plan to repair the Master Sword and render it able to stand against Ganondorf. Zelda and Mineru discuss the sword and all the Great Deku Tree told the former about strengthening it with sacred light, with Mineru realizing Zelda intends to undergo the forbidden act of draconification to strengthen the sword in her light, Mineru protests, before ultimately forcing herself to accept Zelda's determination to sacrifice everything to defeat Ganondorf. With the plan in place, Zelda and Mineru begin preparations to ensure Link would be sufficiently prepared to face the Demon King once more. Finally, with Mineru's spirit inside the Purah Pad and stowed inside a Steward Construct, the rest of the Sages having promised their descendants would awaken to support Link when the time comes, and the Great Sky Island containing everything Link needs to get him started on his journey, Zelda swallows her Secret Stone, takes the Decayed Master Sword, and transforms into the Light Dragon, which proceeds to roam the skies for countless millennia until it reaches the present day. Link may come across the corrupted Korok Forest during his journey and purge the Great Deku Tree of Gloom corruption, although Mineru will point Link to the Forest if he hasn't retrieved the sword when she gives him her vow. Link informs the tree that the Master Sword has disappeared. However, the Great Deku Tree senses the sword's presence, stating it appears to be in the sky, and moving at that.[86] Link can find the Master Sword embedded in a growth on the head of the Light Dragon. However, when he attempts to pull it, the Light Dragon, who has lost her previous identity as Zelda, reacts violently and attempts to shake him off. Link needs at least two full Stamina Wheels to hold on long enough for the Light Dragon to roar and climb above the clouds, where a golden sky awaits. The Light Dragon comes to a stop as the growth holding the Master Sword retracts, allowing Link to pull it out with no difficulty. The glowing sheen covering most of the sword peels away to reveal the restored blade, its inconsistent hue marking the severe damage it sustained, but otherwise fully restored and strong enough to stand against the Demon King. Alternatively, if Link hasn't recovered the sword by the final battle, when the Light Dragon intervenes to assist Link against the Demon Dragon, the same sequence will play, beginning from when the growth recedes, before the battle proper. The Master Sword in its restored state functions similarly to how it does in Breath of the Wild, including its ability to regenerate itself after "breaking". (represented by the trait, "Revitalized Sword of Legend".) with a few key differences. First of all, the damage output is still 30, but it's not shown on the weapons menu at all. It also retains a reawakened version that activates in the presence of Gloom-wielding enemies (i.e. most of the enemies in The Depths, Gloom Spawn), but due to the relative abundance, this only increases its damage by 15 compared to the previous game's 30. Additionally, like most other weapons in the game its durability has been reduced. Finally, it can be used as a base for a Fused Weapon, with a few limitations: the fused material doesn't increase durability, and the added damage isn't increased in the presence of Gloom enemies. The fused material also cannot be recovered by Pelison because the Master Sword cannot be taken out of Link's inventory; reflecting this, it will only appear on the blade while it is in use as a green apparition, and when not in use, glowing green runes appear on the blade to indicate a fusion. Gameplay-wise, the Master Sword as Link wields it during the intro of the game underneath Hyrule Castle has its own slot and stats. Using glitches, it is possible to acquire it in a normal save: its name and description both read "MsgNotFound", it has a base attack power of 30 (the same as the revitalized sword), and is unbreakable, although it cannot be fused with any material without further glitches. Discrepancieseditedit source Until the release of Skyward Sword, the origin of the Master Sword was never seen and only alluded to in what could be considered legends that were corrupted by oral tradition; mistranslations from Japanese have further clouded the facts. For instance, according to the English manual of A Link to the Past, after Ganon entered the Golden Land and obtained the Triforce, the people of Hyrule forged a Sword resistant to magic, which could even repulse powers granted by the Triforce.[87] The seven Sages searched for one worthy of wielding the Master Sword, but never found such a person, leaving them, with the aid of the knights of Hyrule, to seal away Ganon instead.[88] Although the mistranslated English manual states that the Master Sword was not created until after Ganon invaded the Golden Land, the Japanese manual states that it was forged long before the Imprisoning War.[89] The location of the blade was already forgotten by the time of the Imprisoning War, and no hero was found worthy of wielding it.[90] This notion that the Master Sword was forged to protect the Triforce is supported by the fact that Hylia (The first wielder of the Goddess Sword) was the Triforce's guardian. Both the English and Japanese manuals of A Link to the Past describe that the Master Sword was forged by the people of Hyrule, and not necessarily by the Ancient Sages. It isn't until Twilight Princess that Princess Zelda officially mentions that the Ancient Sages crafted the Master Sword.[26] Skyward Sword, which takes place at the beginning of the Zelda Timeline, reveals the complete origin of the Master Sword, revealing that it was forged into its well-known current form from being the Goddess Sword created by the goddess Hylia.[15][16][19] The ending of A Link to the Past claims that the Master Sword "sleeps again, forever" after Link places it back in its shrine in the Lost Woods, but A Link Between Worlds, set after this game, shows Link once again taking up the Master Sword (plus every later game has it seen again), indicating that this line was merely metaphorical. Other Appearanceseditedit source Ancient Stone Tabletseditedit source Ambiguously Canon Information In Ancient Stone Tablets, the Hero of Light can obtain the Master Sword from the Lost Woods during week 4. During previous weeks, a Soldier blocks the entrance to its resting place. The Master Sword is the most powerful Sword in the game. When at full health, it can shoot Sword Beams. During the ending of the game, the Hero of Light, alongside Princess Zelda and Aginah, return the Master Sword to its pedestal. A Link to the Past (Ishinomori)editedit source Non-Canon Information Master Sword (comic) The Master Sword in the comic In the A Link to the Past comic by Shotaro Ishinomori, Sahasrahla's Wife elaborates on part of the Master Sword's history: she tells of ancient scrolls that speak of the prosperous people who once inhabited the land of Hyrule. According to the scrolls, they made many powerful weapons, including the ultimate treasure, the Master Sword, crafted specifically to resist evil power and which now rests in the Lost Woods.[91] Link begins his quest to search for the Master Sword after Agahnim kidnaps Princess Zelda to cast the third and final incantation on her and thus break the seal that binds Ganon to the Dark World. Before Agahnim is able to take her away, Zelda reveals to Link that only the Master Sword can harm Agahnim.[92] The young hero eventually finds Sahasrahla, and although the old man is puzzled as to how someone so young like Link could be searching for the Master Sword,[93] he tells Link he must recover the Pendants of Virtue to claim the legendary weapon. After acquiring the three Pendants of Virtue, Link heads out to the Lost Woods and retrieves the legendary weapon out of its pedestal. Link, now confident with the power of the Master Sword, heads out to battle Agahnim atop Hyrule Castle. Sahasrahla contacts Link and tells him not to trust all his power in the Master Sword, for even the legendary blade cannot harm Agahnim's body.[94] Link attacks him anyway, but the Master Sword passes right through the evil wizard,[95] which causes him to turn around and paralyze Link by only looking at him.[96] Agahnim then casts Zelda into the Dark World, which causes for Link's rage towards Agahnim begins to channel through the Master Sword since the young hero and the legendary blade are as one.[97] Agahnim and Link begin to battle, and after Sahasrahla reveals to the young hero that the Master Sword was also forged to repel evil magic,[98] Link uses the sword to turn back Agahnim's magic against him and successfully defeat him.[99] Link also uses the Master Sword to battle against Ganon, which he uses to stun the King of Thieves while Zelda delivers the final blow with the Silver Arrow. With Hyrule now at peace, Link returns the Master Sword to its pedestal in the Lost Woods. The comic's final scene shows the Master Sword overgrown by foliage as it sleeps, waiting for a new bearer when disaster befalls Hyrule again.[100] Super Smash Bros.editedit source Non-Canon Information     See SmashWiki's article on Master Sword for more information. In Super Smash Bros., the Master Sword is Link's main weapon. Animal Foresteditedit source Non-Canon Information The Master Sword as it appeared in Ocarina of Time is a randomly unlockable item in the game's lottery, and is listed as a small furniture under Group B. Super Smash Bros. Meleeeditedit source Non-Canon Information The Master Sword reappears as Link's primary weapon in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It can also be obtained as a Trophy. #     Trophy     First Game / Move     Description     How to unlock 174     SSBM Master Sword Trophy Model Master Sword     Ocarina of TimeTriforce piece 11/98     The Master Sword varies a bit between titles in the Legend of Zelda series, but it's generally the most powerful blade that Link can carry. It's a magical weapon that can be wielded only by a true hero, and, as its name implies, it's the weapon of choice in decisive battles. At the end of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link returned it to its stone pedestal.     Random Soulcalibur IIeditedit source Non-Canon Information The Master Sword is one of Link's weapons in Soulcalibur II, and it can be used with either the Hylian Shield or the Mirror Shield. Since it is Link's most familiar sword, the Master Sword in conjunction with the Hylian Shield is considered to be Link's most balanced weapon.[101] Weapon     Cost     Attributes     In-game Description SCII Master Sword Model Master Sword & Hylian Shield     Free     Well-balanced     A magic sword and shield that have accompanied Link on many adventures and helped him repeatedly save the land of Hyrule. This journey is no less dire, and Link once again goes into battle equipped with these items, this time in another world. These are well-balanced arms for Link. SCII Master Sword and Mirror Shield Model Mirror Shield     2200 Gold     Hits taken are counters 33% of damage received is inflicted back onto opponent     A mirror-like shield found in the Spirit Temple. It is an amazing work of art, and there are few who would argue that it is not one of the finest shields in Hyrule. It is said that its surface reflects not only light but hostile intent as well. Super Smash Bros. Brawleditedit source Non-Canon Information The Master Sword is both Link's and Toon Link's main weapon in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Subspace Emissary shows a cutscene where Link pulls out the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time in the middle of a forest when he is first introduced. Nintendo Landeditedit source Non-Canon Information Battle Quest Prize Master Sword Monita says:     This legendary sword is imbued with awe-inspiring magical power and can only be wielded by the righteous. That means if you've been very naughty, you probably won't be able to use it. The Master Sword appears in Nintendo Land as well. It is one of the 200 prizes that can be won using the coins at the game on the top of the central tower located in the middle of the plaza. Upon touching the prize in the plaza using the touch screen or simply jumping into it, Monita will comment on it. Mario Kart 8 & Mario Kart 8 Deluxeeditedit source Non-Canon Information In Mario Kart 8 & Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Link uses the Master Sword as part of his tricks. The Master Sword also can be seen resting in a pedestal in Hyrule Castle on Hyrule Circuit. Touching the three crystals that appear before the Master Sword activates the dash panel ramp which allows drivers to go through and perform a trick. Hyrule Warriorseditedit source Non-Canon Information HW True Master Sword The True Power of the Master Sword being awoken in Hyrule Warriors The Master Sword, combined with the Hylian Shield, appears as one of Link's unlockable weapons in Hyrule Warriors. It is obtained by completing "The Sacred Sword" Scenario in Legend Mode. It performs similarly to Link's Hylian Sword moveset, although with a base attack power of 300, being much more powerful than most obtainable Swords. It also performs a wider and faster Spin Attack combo than the other Swords. After completing the "A War of Spirit" Scenario, Link can fire Sword Beams with certain combos at full health. It is of the Light element. Unlike other weapons, the Master Sword is one-of-a-kind and multiples cannot be obtained from weapon drops. In Hyrule Warriors it has one Skill known as Evil's Bane, which is unlocked after collecting all Level 1, 2 and 3 Weapons found in Scenarios in Legend Mode and in the Adventure Map in Adventure Mode and then accumulating 25,000 KOs with the Master Sword. In Hyrule Warriors Legends and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, it has two Skills, one being Evil's Bane, and the other being Exorcism. In Hyrule Warriors Legends and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, Evil's Bane is unlocked in the same manner as in Hyrule Warriors, but the KOs requirement is lowered to 10,000. In Hyrule Warriors Legends, Exorcism requires unlocking all of the Level 4 Weapons found in the Twilight Map and the Temina Map in Adventure Mode and then accumulating 25,000 KOs with the Master Sword while in Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, all Weapons, including the Multi-Element Weapons, must be collected but the KOs required is lowered to 15,000. The Evil's Bane Skill increases the Master Sword's base attack power by 200 and, in Hyrule Warriors, also unlocks the Legendary seal for other Warriors' weapons that have that Skill available. In Hyrule Warriors Legendsand Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, the Exorcism Skill unlocks the Legendary seal and also increases the Master Sword's base power by an additional 400 points, bringing the total to 900. Unlocking the Evil's Bane skill awards the "True Master Sword" Medal in Hyrule Warriors, while Exorcism does this in Hyrule Warriors Legendsand Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition. In the Legend Mode Scenarios, after obtaining the Sword, Link becomes cocky and overconfident in his abilities. In "A War of Spirit", while Link goes to face Cia at the Temple of Souls, she uses his overconfidence against him by using the darkness in his heart to create Dark Links to fight him repeatedly. With the aid of his allies, he is able to overcome these threats, and the bond shared between them awakens the True Power of the Master Sword. From that point, at full health, Link can fire Sword Beams with certain combos. After Link defeats Ganon in "Liberation of the Triforce", he returns the Master Sword to its pedestal at the Temple of the Sacred Sword to rest. My Nintendo Picross: Twilight Princesseditedit source Non-Canon Information MNPTP Master Sword Sprite The twenty-forth puzzle in the Picross series and the sixteenth puzzle in the Mega Picross series depict the Master Sword. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii Ueditedit source Non-Canon Information Like in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, both Link and Toon Link use the Master Sword. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimeditedit source Non-Canon Information The Master Sword is available exclusively in the Nintendo Switch version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It can be obtained from either scanning an amiibo related to The Legend of Zelda series,[102] or through finding it in a Treasure Chest near Paarthurnax at the Throat of the World.[103] Super Smash Bros. Ultimateeditedit source Non-Canon Information The Master Sword is used by both Link and Toon Link in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. When Link's damage is at 0%, he is capable of firing Sword Beams from the Master Sword by performing his Forward Smash attack. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityeditedit source Non-Canon Information In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the Master Sword is first seen in the Scenario, "Freeing Korok Forest", where Zelda, Link, Impa, the four Champion, and Hestu go to the pedestal, only to be blocked by Astor. Astor summons four Hollow to battle Link. Link is drawn near the Master Sword and pulls it out when his old sword breaks. Astor then engages in a fight against Link, summoning his Hollow. Once he is beaten, he admits how strong the Master Sword is. The Master Sword initially has an attack power of 51. Triviaeditedit source     In The Wind Waker, according to the original Japanese text, the Master Sword was only sealing Ganondorf's minions and not his magic, as can be observed in-game.[59][104]     The Master Sword is a signature symbol of The Legend of Zelda series, being displayed in title logos such as in A Link to the Past and appearing as Link's main weapon in other games like Soulcalibur II and the Super Smash Bros. games.     A weapon known as a Master Sword appears in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, released shortly after A Link to the Past. While it bears the same name and is a powerful weapon, it has a very different appearance to the weapon from The Legend of Zelda series. It also appears in the DS remake, and in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, where its appearance is closer to that of the Zelda blade. It also appears in Fire Emblem Heroes under the ownership of Reinhardt: Thunder's Sword, where it is called "Meisterschwert."     The Snake Killer from The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls is quite similar to the Master Sword. The Snake Killer was pulled from the ground in an area called the "Ice Cave", and was necessary to defeat the final boss, Delarin, who was a snake. An ancient tablet regarding the Snake Killer had this inscribed on it: "When thou seeth thy true friend, the golden sword shalt awaken." When the spring bell had rung, and Richard turned back into a human, the Snake Killer begins to glow, and Prince Sable uses the sword to slay Delarin.     At the end of Skyward Sword, because of the time travel involved, the Goddess Sword and Master Sword exist simultaneously. The Master Sword is within the Sealed Temple while the Goddess Sword is up in Skyloft.     A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds are the only games in which the Master Sword, already seemingly at its full power (as opposed to its powered-down appearances in The Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild), can be permanently upgraded to deal more damage.     In Four Swords Anniversary Edition, completing the Realm of Memories unlocks the Master Sword as Link's new sword. However, Link remains divided into four even after obtaining the sword, which implies that this sword is not the same as the true Master Sword, merely an upgrade of the conventional Four Sword. It is interesting to note that the Four Sword's original form, the Picori Blade, greatly resembled the Master Sword.     In the A Link to the Past manga by Akira Himekawa, it is said that the Master Sword was made by the Sages by instruction of the Gods.[105]     While the Master Sword is usually used in one hand, it is large enough to be used with two hands.     In Twilight Princess, the gem and round area above the grip of the Master Sword are engraved with boxlike symbols reminiscent of Hylian. In Twilight Princess HD, the symbols were removed from the gem, and the cross guard engravings were replaced with the Latin alphabet represented by equivalent characters from the Greek alphabet. The exceptions are 'j' and 'v', for which there are no Greek equivalents; other characters are used instead.     Although many Zelda games heavily suggest the Master Sword to be the ultimate weapon in their storyline and is normally required to defeat Ganon, in terms of actual gameplay, weapons stronger than the mighty sacred sword exist; The Biggoron's Sword, Silver Arrows, and Light Arrows are some known examples in the series to be more powerful than the Master Sword in raw strength. Plus, in A Link to the Past, it can be optionally upgraded to be more potent than it normally is.     Due to the time travel elements in Tears of the Kingdom, there are two Master Swords in existence at the same time in Hyrule -- the "original" Master Sword used by the past hero who sealed Calamity Ganon and then used by Link in Breath of the Wild, and the Revitalized Master Sword possessed by the Light Dragon. Both swords exist simultaneously until the Master Sword is sent back in time at the Temple of Time, at which point only one Master Sword exists in Hyrule." (zelda.fandom.com) "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the nineteenth main installment of The Legend of Zelda series. It was released simultaneously worldwide for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2017....Storyeditedit source Link awakens from a deep slumber and a mysterious voice guides him to discover what has become of the ruined country of Hyrule Kingdom.[9] Link leaves the Shrine of Resurrection and looks out at Hyrule on top of the Great Plateau. Link then meets an Old Man by a campfire. The Old Man promises Link his Paraglider, which is the only way to get down from the plateau. However, he first wants Spirit Orbs from nearby Shrines, in particular the Oman Au Shrine, Ja Baij Shrine, Owa Daim Shrine, and the Keh Namut Shrine. After Link gets the spirit orbs, the Old Man appears, then mysteriously disappears, telling Link to meet him in the Temple of Time. The Old Man reveals himself as the spirit of the deceased King of Hyrule, King Rhoam. Link learns from King Rhoam that 100 years prior, a great evil known as the Calamity Ganon rose up and laid waste to the kingdom and its people.[10] Unable to be defeated, it was sealed within Hyrule Castle, while the ruins of the land were ravaged by nature over time. Although trapped, the Calamity Ganon has grown in power, and Link must defeat it before it breaks free once more and destroys the world. The mysterious voice turns out to be Zelda, whom who is the daughter of King Rhoam. After escaping the confines of the plateau, Link is directed to meet the wise Sheikah elder Impa, and learn about the Guardians and Divine Beasts: 10,000 years prior these machines were created and successfully used by another Hero and another Princess to defeat the Calamity Ganon. But throughout the ages, knowledge about the ancient technology was lost until excavations in Hyrule Kingdom brought them to light once more, coinciding with the expected return of Calamity Ganon a hundred years ago. The Guardians were reactivated and four Champions were chosen to control the Divine Beasts: the Zora princess Mipha, the Goron warrior Daruk, the Gerudo chief Urbosa, and the Rito archer Revali. All the while, Zelda was unsuccessfully trying to gain access to her own prophesied powers, accompanied on her quests by her knight, the Hylian Champion Link. When the Calamity Ganon ultimately attacked, it devastated the Kingdom of Hyrule Kingdom by taking control of the ancient machines and turning them against the Hyruleans. As a last resort, Zelda was able to place the gravely wounded Link in the Shrine of Resurrection and use her awoken sealing powers to trap herself with Calamity Ganon in Hyrule Castle. As Link sets off on his quest to defeat Calamity Ganon, he is asked to investigate the fate of the Divine Beasts and their former Champions. His ultimate goal remains to reach the Calamity Ganon and free the trapped Zelda before the whole world is laid to waste. But with the entire Kingdom of Hyrule before him to explore, it is up to Link himself to decide how he wishes to fulfill his foretold role as the Hylian Champion, and to save Hyrule Kingdom. Gameplayeditedit source BotW Link Climbing Artwork Climbing is a central new ability for Link, allowing for the exploration of the game's vast version of Hyrule Open Worldeditedit source Breath of the Wild features a vast open world for Link to explore. Most of Hyrule Kingdom's scenery is accessible by walking, paragliding or climbing. While the game still includes barriers (such as weather effects, inhospitable environments or strong enemies), many of these can be overcome by using Food, effective weapons and armor or finding alternate routes. The world also includes an elaborate physics system which allows for creative interactions (e.g., cutting down a tree and using its trunk as a raft on a river, or setting grass ablaze and spreading the fire with wind gusts). Unlike many previous Zelda games, Breath of the Wild does not enforce a specific order in which quests or dungeons have to be solved, with the exception of completing the starting tasks on the Great Plateau. It is possible to challenge Ganon right after leaving the starting area, though the game does encourage exploration in order to solve Ancient Shrines (and thus gaining additional Hearts or Stamina), find useful and powerful equipment, and defeat the game's own version of dungeons, the Divine Beasts. Additionally, many of the game's puzzles can also be solved in various different ways, often rewarding Link for creative solutions. Controlseditedit source Link's controls in Breath of the Wild are reminiscent of previous 3D Zelda games. However, the game is the first to require manual jumps as opposed to auto-jumping over small gaps which was introduced with Ocarina of Time and a long-time staple of The Legend of Zelda series. Holding the Attack (Y) button will allow Link to perform a spin attack. Pressing Jump (X or B) and then Attack (Y) will result in a jump attack. Cookingeditedit source A feature introduced with Breath of the Wild is Cooking, which enables the creation of Food that recovers Hearts and bestows various effects on Link. Meals are cooked by broiling up to five edible Materials at cooking pots, such as meat, berries, fruits or herbs. Elixirs can be mixed by including monster parts in various recipes. Depending on chosen ingredients, Link's health will be replenished and/or he will receive effects such as Elemental Resistance, additional Stamina or Hearts, or buffs to his Defense, Attack, or Speed potency. Equipment & Durabilityeditedit source Link can equip a vast variety of different Equipment in Breath of the Wild, including Weapons, Bows and Arrows, Shields, and Armor, allowing for adaptation to the ever-changing environment of Hyrule and tactics used by different enemies. Notably, almost all Weapons, Bows, and Shields found in the game will break after a certain amount of hits. (Contrary to popular belief, the durability value of any weapon is not the number in the bottom right corner of the weapon icon.) This new Durability system often forces Link to use Equipment salvaged from enemies, even weak ones, instead of just wielding the best Sword available in the game. Equipment that has not been used at all, and thus has sustained no damage, is indicated by a sparkle on the top-right corner of its icon in the Inventory screen. An Equipment that is close to breaking will have a flashing red icon, and a brief notification will appear whenever it is taken out. Rune Abilitieseditedit source Main article: Rune Completing the initial four Ancient Shrines on the Great Plateau bestows Link with four Rune abilities: Magnesis, Stasis, Cryonis and Remote Bombs. These abilities allow Link to manipulate the environment by lifting magnetic objects, freezing objects (and later enemies) in time, creating blocks of ice on water surfaces, and summoning bombs. Other Runes, such as the Camera Rune, can also be found. Together with climbing and paragliding, these abilities are used throughout the rest of the game and (for the very most part) sufficient to solve puzzles and access most of Hyrule. As a consequence, the game does not feature traditional dungeon items that grant abilities to Link. Game Informationeditedit source Developmenteditedit source BotW Guardian Firing During E3 2014, a video introduced various gameplay elements of Breath of the Wild The Zelda HD Experience, a The Legend of Zelda tech demo of the Wii U, was shown at E3 2011. In June 2011, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that Nintendo is planning on creating an HD The Legend of Zelda title.[11] Development of Breath of the Wild started immediately after the development of Skyward Sword ended.[12] Breath of the Wild was officially announced in a Wii U Direct presentation on January 23, 2013. Eiji Aonuma stated that the game intended to challenge what was expected of The Legend of Zelda franchise, such as having to complete dungeons in a specific order. The game was already expected to have a long development time, so Nintendo released The Wind Waker HD for the Wii U to decrease the gap between releases.[13] During E3 2014, the first video of the game was shown, revealing Link riding a horse, in addition to a Guardian and Hyrule Field. During the Game Awards 2014, Miyamoto and Aonuma showcased another gameplay video. It demonstrated the scale of Hyrule, which was designed with the open world concept of the original The Legend of Zelda in mind.[14] It also showed the first use of the Paraglider, map features, as well as additional riding and fighting mechanics. Features to be used on the Wii U gamepad were also shown during these videos, which were later removed during development, when the game was ported to Nintendo Switch. BotW Happy New Year Artwork Leading up to the game's release, promotional images were released by Nintendo's various social media outlets The game's original release was intended for 2015, but as new ideas were implemented during development, the release date was pushed forward several times.[15] The final release window of the game was first revealed in financial documents released in March 2016, and later confirmed by Nintendo via Twitter.[16] During E3 2016, the game's first playable demo was made available for visitors. It featured the Great Plateau area and showed many new elements of the game, such as Perfect Dodging, the creation of Food by collecting Materials, the use of enemy Weapons, the return of the Stamina Gauge, new mini-Dungeons called Ancient Shrines and the Sheikah Slate. Nintendo revealed the final March release date of Breath of the Wild during the Nintendo Switch presentation in January 2017.[2] Shortly afterwards, on February 9, 2017, the game was completed after more than five years of development.[17] A sequel to Breath of the Wild was announced during the Nintendo Direct at E3 2019. Releaseeditedit source Breath of the Wild was released simultaneously worldwide for the Wii U and as a Nintendo Switch launch title on March 3, 2017.[2] The game was later released in Taiwan and South Korea on February 1, 2018, only for the Nintendo Switch.[18][19] The game is the last Nintendo-published title on the Wii U platform. A version of Breath of the Wild including the Expansion Pass was released in Japan on October 8, 2021....Timeline Placementeditedit source The plot of Breath of the Wild directly refers to events that take place 10,000 years and 100 years prior to the game's setting. Before the game's release, Eiji Aonuma revealed that Breath of the Wild takes place after Ocarina of Time.[25] In an interview following the game's release, Aonuma touched upon the idea that details of the history of Hyrule may have changed from previous games, similar to how real-world history books are often revised.[26] In an interview with the game's director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, he stated that Breath of the Wild takes place in the most recent age, long after the previous games.[27] In an interview with Jeuxvideo, Eiji Aonuma clarified that though Breath of the Wild does take place somewhere on the timeline, its exact placement has not been decided, as definitively placing it during development might limit their ability to further develop the story.[28] In a Famitsu magazine interview with Eiji Aonuma for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, Aonuma noted that Twilight Princess HD was the origin point for Breath of the Wild and that while playing Breath of the Wild players may have realizations about elements from Twilight Princess HD.[29] Many references and connections to previous games in the series can be found throughout Breath of the Wild. These include the presence of the Rito who evolved from the Zora in the Adult timeline, the history of the Zora, which tells the tale about the Sage Ruto who aided the hero in his fight against Ganon.[30] The "Subdued Ceremony" Recovered Memory shows a speech by Zelda which contains references to Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess,[31] as well as to A Link to the Past and The Wind Waker in Japanese and German.[32][33] Many locations are also named after characters and landmarks, such as Arbiter's Grounds, the Temple of Time, and Darunia Lake. The history section of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion includes an "Age of Myths", which refers to Ganondorf becoming Dark Beast Ganon, and his defeat and sealing by the hero and the princess,[34] eventually giving rise to the Calamity.[35] However it notes that due to such a long time having passed, and historical records having been destroyed during the Great Calamity it is impossible to tell which legends are historical fact and which are mere fairy tale.[36] Tears of the Kingdom would go on to reveal that at least part of this history was incorrect, as the Ganondorf who became the Calamity was sealed away by Rauru, not Link and Zelda. Amiibo Supporteditedit source File:BotW Series Guardian amiibo NA Box The Guardian amiibo Main article: amiibo (Rune) Breath of the Wild is compatible with all lines of amiibo figures, scannable by using the amiibo Rune ability, which can be activated via the game's options menu. All regular amiibo will grant random items and Materials, while most of The Legend of Zelda-related amiibo will summon treasure chests, containing rarer and sometimes exclusive items (like costumes or special weapons related to the respective games). Additionally, Epona and Wolf Link may be summoned into the game, using the Super Smash Bros. Link and the Wolf Link amiibo, respectively. A line of Breath of the Wild amiibo figures was also released on the same date as the game, making it the second mainline Zelda game (following Twilight Princess HD) with its own line of amiibo. The figures include two versions of Link, Zelda, a Bokoblin and a Guardian, all featuring their in-game design. This line continued with four amiibo released for The Champions' Ballad DLC; Mipha, Revali, Urbosa, and Daruk. Each amiibo is based on the character's artwork and unlocks a helm based on each Divine Beast." (zelda.fandom.com) "The Legend of Zelda[a] is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flagship, Vanpool, and Grezzo. The gameplay incorporates action-adventure and elements of action RPG games. The series centers on the various incarnations of Link, a courageous young man of the elf-like Hylian race, and Princess Zelda, a magical princess within the bloodline of the goddess Hylia, as they fight to save the magical land of Hyrule from Ganon, an evil warlord turned demon king, who is the principal antagonist of the series. Ganon wishes to use the Triforce, a sacred relic left behind by the three goddesses that created Hyrule, to remake the world in his own dark image. When gathered together, the power of the Triforce can grant any wish its user desires; however, if someone with a heart that does not possess a balance of the three virtues of Power, Courage, and Wisdom attempts to touch the Triforce, it will split into three triangles and bond with three people whose hearts embody the required virtue. Although their personalities and backstory differ from game to game, the incarnations of Link and Zelda often have many traits in common, such as Link often being left-handed and clad in green, and Zelda being associated with wisdom, light, and prophesy. While the conflict with Ganon serves as a backbone for the series, some games have featured other settings and antagonists, with Link traveling or being sent to these other lands in their time of need. Since the original Legend of Zelda was released in 1986, the series has expanded to include 20 entries on all of Nintendo's major game consoles, as well as a number of spin-offs. An American animated TV series based on the games aired in 1989 and individual manga adaptations commissioned by Nintendo have been produced in Japan since 1997. The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's most successful franchises; several of its entries are considered among the greatest video games of all time. Gameplay Rupees, the fictional currency in the series The Legend of Zelda games feature a mix of puzzles, action, adventure/battle gameplay, and exploration. These elements have remained constant throughout the series, but with refinements and additions featured in each new game. Later games in the series also include stealth gameplay, where the player must avoid enemies while proceeding through a level, as well as racing elements. Although the games can be beaten with a minimal amount of exploration and side quests, the player is frequently rewarded with helpful items or increased abilities for solving puzzles or exploring hidden areas. Some items are consistent and appear many times throughout the series (such as bombs and bomb flowers, which can be used both as weapons and to open blocked or hidden doorways; boomerangs, which can kill or paralyze enemies; keys for locked doors; magic swords, shields, and bows and arrows), while others are unique to a single game. Though the games contain role-playing elements (Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is the only one to include an experience system), they emphasize straightforward hack-and-slash-style combat over the strategic, turn-based or active time combat of series like Final Fantasy. The game's role-playing elements, however, have led to much debate over whether or not the Zelda games should be classified as action role-playing games, a genre on which the series has had a strong influence.[1] Miyamoto himself disagreed with the RPG label, but classified Zelda as "a real-time adventure game"; he said he was "not interested in systems where everything in the game is decided by stats and numbers" but what's "important to me is to preserve as much of that "live" feeling as possible" which he said "action games are better suited in conveying" to players.[2] The Legend of Zelda often includes nonlinear gameplay and varying environments in an explorable world, similar to this illustration. Every game in the main Zelda series has consisted of three principal areas: an overworld which connects all other areas, in which movement is multidirectional, allowing the player some degree of freedom of action; areas of interaction with other characters (merely caves or hidden rooms in the first game, but expanding to entire towns and cities in subsequent games) in which the player gains special items or advice, can purchase equipment or complete side quests; and dungeons, areas of labyrinthine layout, usually underground, comprising a wide range of difficult enemies, bosses, and items. Each dungeon usually has one major item inside, which can be essential for solving many of the puzzles within that dungeon and often plays a crucial role in defeating that dungeon's boss, as well as progressing through the game. In nearly every Zelda game, navigating a dungeon is aided by locating a map, which reveals its layout, and a magic compass, which reveals the location of significant and smaller items such as keys and equipment. In later games, the dungeon includes a special "big key" that will unlock the door to battle the dungeon's boss enemy and open the item chest. In most Zelda games, the player's HP or life meter is represented by a line of hearts, each heart typically representing two hit points. At the start of the game the player only has three hearts but players can increase their max hearts by finding heart-shaped crystals called "Heart Containers". Full heart containers are usually received at the end of dungeons and dropped by dungeon bosses. Smaller "Pieces of Heart" are awarded for completing side quests or found hidden around the game world in various places, and require a certain number (usually four) to form a full heart container. Health can be replenished by picking up hearts left by defeated enemies or destroyed objects, consuming items such as potions or food, or going to a Great Fairy Fountain to have the Great Fairy heal Link completely. Occasionally the player will find fairies hidden in specific locations; these fairies can either heal Link immediately or be kept in empty bottles, and will revive the player the next time they die. The games pioneered a number of features that were to become industry standards. The original Legend of Zelda was the first console game with a save function that enabled players to stop playing and then resume later. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time introduced a targeting system that let the player lock the camera on to enemy or friendly NPCs which simplified 3D combat. Inspiration Shigeru Miyamoto, series creator, was inspired by the hillsides, forests, and caves surrounding his childhood home in Sonobe, Japan. The Legend of Zelda was principally inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto's "explorations" as a young boy in the hillsides, forests, and caves surrounding his childhood home in Sonobe, Japan where he ventured into forests with secluded lakes, caves, and rural villages. According to Miyamoto, one of his most memorable experiences was the discovery of a cave entrance in the middle of the woods.[3] After some hesitation, he apprehensively entered the cave, and explored its depths with the aid of a lantern. Miyamoto has referred to the creation of the Zelda games as an attempt to bring to life a "miniature garden" for players to play with in each game of the series.[4] The story and setting was developed by Takashi Tezuka. Seeking to create a fairytale adventure game, Tezuka drew inspirations from fantasy books such as J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.[5][6][7] According to Keiji Terui, who wrote the backstory in the first game's manual, the location named Death Mountain was initially a working title for the legend of the Triforce which was written with inspirations from the battles of medieval Europe.[8][9] The Master Sword was introduced as Excalibur in the French version of A Link to the Past,[10][11] which is regarded as reminiscent to the legend of King Arthur.[12][7] Celtic mythology also inspired the name of Link's steed, Epona, based on the Celtic goddess of fertility.[13][14] Hearing of American novelist, socialite and painter Zelda Fitzgerald, Miyamoto thought the name sounded "pleasant and significant".[15] Paying tribute, he chose to name the princess after her, and titled it The Legend of Zelda. Link and the fairy were inspired by Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.[16][17] When making the series made the transition to 3D, the combat system of Ocarina of Time was based on the chanbara (samurai) style of Japanese sword fighting.[18] Audio Koji Kondo, the series's original composer Games in The Legend of Zelda series frequently feature in-game musical instruments, particularly in musical puzzles, which are widespread.[19] Often, instruments trigger game events: for example, the recorder in The Legend of Zelda can reveal secret areas, as well as warp Link to the Dungeon entrances. This warping with music feature has also been used in A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening. In Ocarina of Time, playing instruments is a core part of the game, with the player needing to play the instrument through the use of the game controller to succeed.[20] Ocarina of Time is "[one of the] first contemporary non-dance title[s] to feature music-making as part of its gameplay",[21] using music as a heuristic device and requiring the player to utilise songs to progress in the game[22] – a game mechanic that is also present in Majora's Mask.[23] "The Legend of Zelda Theme" is a recurring piece of music that was created for the first game of the franchise. The composer and sound director of the series, Koji Kondo, initially planned to use Maurice Ravel's Boléro as the game's title theme, but was forced to change it when he learned, late in the game's development cycle, that the copyright for the orchestral piece had not yet expired. As a result, Kondo wrote a new arrangement of the overworld theme within one day.[24] The "Zelda Theme" has topped ScrewAttack's "Top Ten Videogame Themes Ever" list.[25] Up until Breath of the Wild, the Legend of Zelda series avoided using voice acting in speaking roles, relying instead on written dialogue. Series producer Eiji Aonuma previously stated that as Link is entirely mute, having the other characters speak while Link remains silent "would be off-putting".[26] Instead of theme music for different locations, Breath of the Wild plays natural ambience around the player as main sounds, in addition to some minimalist piano music.[27] Plot Setting Main article: Universe of The Legend of Zelda Maps of Hyrule Map of Hyrule, as seen in Ocarina of Time (legend in French) Map of Hyrule, as seen in Breath of the Wild (legend in Spanish) The Legend of Zelda takes place predominantly in a medieval Western Europe-inspired fantasy world called Hyrule,[28][29] which has developed a deep history and wide geography over the series's many releases. Much of the backstory of the creation of Hyrule was revealed in the games A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and A Link Between Worlds. Hyrule's principal inhabitants are pointy-eared, elf-like humanoids called Hylians, which include the player character, Link, and the eponymous princess, Zelda. The fictional universe established by the Zelda games sets the stage for each adventure. Some games take place in different lands with their own back-stories. Hytopia is a connected kingdom,[30] Labrynna and Holodrum are different countries separate from the Kingdom of Hyrule, Termina and Lorule serve as parallel worlds,[31] and Koholint is an island far away from Hyrule that appears to be part of a dream.[32] Story The Triforce is represented as three conjoined golden triangles. According to the in-game backstories, the world of Hyrule was created by the three golden goddesses: Din, Farore, and Nayru.[33] Before departing, the goddesses left a sacred artifact called the Triforce, which could grant powers to the user. It physically manifests itself as three golden triangles in which each embodies one of the goddesses' virtues: Power, Courage, and Wisdom.[34] However, because the Triforce has no will of its own and it can not judge between good and evil, it will grant any wish indiscriminately.[35][36] Because of this, it was placed within an alternate world called the "Sacred Realm" or the "Golden Land" until one worthy of its power and has balanced virtues of Power, Wisdom, and Courage in their heart could obtain it, in its entirety. If a person is not of a balanced heart, the triforce part that the user mostly believes in will stay with that person and the remainder will seek out others. In order to master and control the triforce as a whole, the user must get the other parts found in other individuals and bring them together to reunite them. The Sacred Realm can itself be affected by the heart of those who enters it: those who are pure will make it a paradise, while those who are evil will transform it into a dark realm.[37] In Skyward Sword, the Triforce was sought by the Demon King Demise,[38] an eternal being that had conquered time itself.[39] After a long battle against the goddess Hylia, guardian of the Triforce, Demise was sealed away within her temple.[34][40] Hylia, placing the Hylians on a floating island (called Skyloft) in the sky to protect them, orchestrated a means to stop the demon from escaping: creating the Goddess Sword (later becoming the Master Sword) for her chosen hero[41] and discarding her divinity to be reborn among the people of Skyloft.[42] In time, Zelda and Link (the reborn Hylia and her predestined warrior) enacted the goddess's plan and Demise was destroyed, but he vowed that his rage would be reborn and forever plague those descended from Link and Zelda.[43] Following the establishment of Hyrule Kingdom, Demise's prophecy came to fruition in Ocarina of Time, when Ganondorf's attempt to get the Triforce scattered it with him gaining the Triforce of Power. The Triforce of Wisdom ended up with the Hylian princesses descended from Zelda, each named after her, while the Triforce of Courage is passed to a youth named Link across generations. While the Triforces of Power and Wisdom have been part of the series since the original The Legend of Zelda, it was only in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link that the Triforce of Courage was first introduced, being obtained by Link at the end of his quest. The Triforce, or even a piece of it, is not always distributed as a whole. Such as in The Wind Waker, Link must find all the pieces (called Triforce Shards) of the Triforce of Courage before he can return to Hyrule. Even in the original The Legend of Zelda, Zelda breaks her Triforce of Wisdom into 8 pieces for Link to find, before she was captured by Ganon. Fictional chronology The Legend of Zelda story chronology[44][45]     Skyward Sword     The Minish Cap     Four Swords     Ocarina of Time The Hero is Defeated     The Hero is Victorious Child Era     Adult Era     A Link to the Past     Link's Awakening     Oracle of Seasons & Ages     A Link Between Worlds     Tri Force Heroes     The Legend of Zelda     The Adventure of Link         Majora's Mask     Twilight Princess     Four Swords Adventures         The Wind Waker     Phantom Hourglass     Spirit Tracks     Breath of the Wild     Tears of the Kingdom The chronology of the Legend of Zelda series was a subject of much debate among fans until an official timeline was released within the Hyrule Historia collector's book, first released in Japan in December 2011.[46][47] Prior to its release, in a 2003 interview, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the existence of an internal document which connected all the games, with series producer Eiji Aonuma later revealing in 2010 the confidential nature of this document, which only himself, Miyamoto, and the director of each game had access to.[48][49] In-game content, marketing material, and developer statements once partially established a timeline of the released installments: the original The Legend of Zelda was followed by Zelda II: The Adventure of Link as a direct sequel, which takes place several years later;[50][51] A Link to the Past is a prequel to the previous two games,[52][53][54] and is followed by Link's Awakening;[55][56] Ocarina of Time is a prequel to A Link to the Past and takes the story many centuries back - according to character designer Satoru Takizawa, it was meant to implicitly tell the story of the Imprisoning War,[57][58] and was followed by Majora's Mask as a direct sequel, set a few months later;[59] Four Swords, upon its release, was considered the oldest tale in the series's chronology, predating Ocarina of Time;[60] The Wind Waker takes place in one of the parallel timelines that emerged from Ocarina of Time, more than a century later, in the "adult era";[61][62] Four Swords Adventures, upon its release, was considered to be a direct sequel to Four Swords, set sometime after its events;[60] The Minish Cap is a prequel to Four Swords, telling of the origins of villain Vaati and the creation of the Four Sword;[63] Twilight Princess takes place in another of the parallel timelines that emerged from Ocarina of Time, more than a century later, in the "child era";[61][62] Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to The Wind Waker,[64] and is followed by Spirit Tracks, which is set about a century later on a land far away from the setting of The Wind Waker.[65] Skyward Sword precedes The Minish Cap, telling the story of the creation of the Master Sword.[66][67] A Link Between Worlds takes place six generations after A Link to the Past, and features the Triforce being reunited, and Ganon being resurrected;[68] Tri Force Heroes is a direct sequel to A Link Between Worlds, which takes place several years later;[69][70] Breath of the Wild and its direct sequel, Tears of the Kingdom take place after all previous games in the series, without specifying a direct connection to any of the three timeline branches.[45] In the early 2000s, Nintendo of America released a timeline on the official website of the series as one of the possible interpretation of the events from all entries released up to that point, featuring a single protagonist named Link, the "Hero of Time" from its first adventure in Ocarina of Time. It was followed by Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, the original The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and finally Link's Awakening.[71] In 2011, series translator Daniel Owsen revelead that, at one point, his coworkers at Nintendo of America and him conceived another complete timeline and intended to make it available online, but the Japanese series developers rejected the idea so that the placement of each game would be kept open to the imagination of the players.[72] On December 21, 2011, to celebrate 25th anniversary of the series, the Hyrule Historia art book was published by Shogakukan, which contained an official timeline of the fictional chronology of the series up to that point.[46] This timeline subsequently posits that following Ocarina of Time, it splits into three alternate routes: in one, Link fails to defeat Ganon, leading into the Imprisoning War and A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Link's Awakening (A Link Between Worlds and Tri Force Heroes were released after the timeline), The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link. In the second and third, Link is successful, leading to a timeline split between his childhood (when Zelda sends him back in time so he can use the wisdom he has gained to warn Zelda in the past of the horrifying fate of Hyrule) and adulthood (where the Zelda from the future lives on to try and rebuild the kingdom). His childhood continues with Majora's Mask, followed by Twilight Princess and Four Swords Adventures. The timeline from his adult life continues into Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.[46] In 2018, Nintendo revealed Breath of the Wild's timeline placement after all previous games in the series, without specifying a connection to any of the three timeline branches. Aonuma and Breath of the Wild director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, justified the vague placement with the previous idea of keeping it open to players' imaginations.[45] Nintendo also moved Link's Awakening to take place before Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.[45] In 2020, Nintendo released Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and marketed the game as a prequel to Breath of the Wild, being set 100 years before,[73] but the events of Age of Calamity diverged from the backstory established in Breath of the Wild, creating an alternate timeline separate from it.[74] Characters Main article: Characters of The Legend of Zelda Link Main article: Link (The Legend of Zelda) The central protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series, Link is the name of various young male Hylians who characteristically wear a green tunic and a pointed cap, and are the bearers of the Triforce of Courage. In most games, the player can give Link a different name before the start of the adventure, and he will be referred by that given name throughout by the non-player characters (NPCs). In Link's Awakening, if the player steals from the shop, characters would later refer to him as "Thief". Miyamoto said in a 2002 interview that he named the protagonist "Link" because the character is/was supposed to be the "link" between the player and the game world that he (Miyamoto) had created. The various Links each have a special title, such as "Hero of Time", "Hero of the Winds" or "Hero chosen by the gods". Like many silent protagonists in video games, Link does not speak, only producing grunts, yells, or similar sounds. Despite the player not seeing the dialogue, it is referenced second-hand by in-game characters, showing that he is not, in fact, mute. Link is shown as a silent protagonist so that the audience is able to have their own thoughts as to how their Link would answer the characters instead of him having scripted responses. Princess Zelda Main article: Princess Zelda Princess Zelda is the princess of Hyrule and the guardian of the Triforce of Wisdom. Her name is present in many of her female ancestors and descendants. While most games require Link to save Zelda from Ganon, she sometimes plays a supporting role in battle, using magical powers and weapons such as Light Arrows to aid Link. With the exception of the CD-i games, she was not playable in the main series until Spirit Tracks, where she becomes a spirit and can possess a Phantom Knight that can be controlled by the player. Zelda appears under various other aliases and alter egos, including Sheik (in Ocarina of Time) and Tetra (in The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass). In Skyward Sword, it is revealed that the Zelda of that game is a reincarnation of the goddess Hylia, whose power flows through the royal bloodline. The name "Zelda" derives from the American novelist Zelda Fitzgerald.[75] Ganon Main article: Ganon Ganon, also known as Ganondorf in his humanoid form, is the main antagonist and the final boss in the majority of The Legend of Zelda games. In the series, Ganondorf is the leader of a race of desert brigands called the Gerudo, which consists entirely of female warriors save for one man born every one hundred years. He is significantly taller than other human NPCs, but his looks vary between games, often taking the form of a monstrous anthropomorphic boar. His specific motives vary from game to game, but most often his plans include him kidnapping Princess Zelda and planning to achieve domination of Hyrule and presumably the world beyond it. To this end, he seeks the Triforce, a powerful magical relic. He often possesses a portion of the Triforce called the Triforce of Power, which gives him great strength. However, it is often not enough to accomplish his ends, leading him to hunt the remaining Triforce pieces. Unlike Link, Zelda, and most other recurring characters, he is actually the same person in every game, with the exception of Four Swords Adventures, where he is a reincarnation of the original. In each game the battles with him are different and he fights using different styles. The game Skyward Sword indicates that Ganon is a reincarnation of an evil deity known as Demise....2013–present: Open-world emphasis In 2013, Nintendo released A Link Between Worlds for the Nintendo 3DS, a sequel to A Link to the Past.[112][113] Progression is more open-ended than previous titles, with the possibility of completing many of the game's dungeons in any order. Certain dungeon obstacles require the use of rented or purchased items. Tri Force Heroes, a cooperative multiplayer game, was released for the 3DS in October 2015.[114] It features the same Link as A Link Between Worlds but lacks open-world gameplay. An in-game screenshot of the protagonist Link, paragliding across a vast world. Breath of the Wild, released in 2017 for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch, returned the series to fully open-world and nonlinear gameplay. While Nintendo had showcased a Wii U demo reel at E3 2011 that depicted Link fighting a monster in HD[115] and the first original HD Zelda game was scheduled for a 2015 release, it was delayed.[116] The title was finally revealed at E3 2016 as Breath of the Wild, and the game was released on March 3, 2017, as the last Nintendo-published game for the Wii U and a launch title for the Nintendo Switch.[117][118] Similar to the original The Legend of Zelda, players are given little instruction and can explore the world freely. The world is designed to encourage exploration and experimentation and the main story quest can be completed in a nonlinear fashion. A Breath of the Wild sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, was released on the Switch on May 12, 2023.[119][120] New to Tears of the Kingdom are the battery-powered Zonai devices, which the player can use for combat, propulsion, exploration, and more. The game also features the new abilities to fuse materials together, ascend through ceilings, reverse objects' movement through time, and autobuild structures. ...The Legend of Zelda series has received outstanding levels of acclaim from critics and the public. Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have each received a perfect 10/10 score by British Edge magazine.[208] All four plus Wind Waker also received a 40/40 score (10/10 by four reviewers) by Japanese Famitsu magazine,[209][210] making Zelda one of the few series with multiple perfect scores. Ocarina of Time was even listed by Guinness World Records as the highest-rated video game in history, citing its Metacritic score of 99 out of 100.[211] Computer and Video Games awarded The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess a score of 10/10.[212][213] A Link to the Past has won Gold Award from Electronic Gaming Monthly. In Nintendo Power's Top 200 countdown in 2004, Ocarina of Time took first place, and seven other Zelda games placed in the top 40.[214] Twilight Princess was named Game of the Year by X-Play, GameTrailers, 1UP, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Spacey Awards, Game Informer, GameSpy, Nintendo Power, IGN, and many other websites. The editors of review aggregator websites GameRankings, IGN and Metacritic have all given Ocarina of Time their highest aggregate scores.[215] Game Informer has awarded The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, A Link Between Worlds and Breath of the Wild with scores of 10/10. Phantom Hourglass was named DS Game of the Year by IGN and GameSpy.[216][217] Airing in December 2011, Spike TV's annual Video Game Awards gave the series the first ever "Hall of Fame Award", which Miyamoto accepted in person.[218] Ocarina of Time and its use of melodic themes to identify different game regions has been called a reverse of Richard Wagner's use of leitmotifs to identify characters and themes.[219] Ocarina of Time was so well received that sales increased for real ocarinas.[220] IGN praised the music of Majora's Mask for its brilliance despite its heavy use of MIDI. It has been ranked the seventh-greatest game by Electronic Gaming Monthly, whereas Ocarina of Time was ranked eighth.[221][222] The series won GameFAQs Best Series Ever competition.[223] As of September 2023, The Legend of Zelda franchise has sold over 150.83 million copies,[n 9] with the original The Legend of Zelda being the fourth best-selling NES game of all time.[226][227] The series was ranked as the 64th top game (collectively) by Next Generation in 1996.[228] In 1999, Next Generation listed the Zelda series as number 1 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that Zelda series had always more gameplay and innovations than most other titles in their series.[229] According to British film magazine Empire, with "the most vividly-realised world and the most varied game-play of any game on any console, Zelda is a solid bet for the best game series ever".[230] The Legend of Zelda franchise has garnered the most Game of the Year nominations in the history of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' D.I.C.E. Awards with eight (Ocarina of Time,[231] Majora's Mask,[232] The Wind Waker,[233] Twilight Princess,[234] Skyward Sword,[235] A Link Between Worlds,[236] Breath of the Wild,[237] and Tears of the Kingdom[238]); two of them, Ocarina of Time[231] and Breath of the Wild,[239] would go on to win the top honor during their respective awards ceremonies. Legacy Multiple members of the game industry have expressed how Zelda games have impacted them, including Rockstar Games founder and Grand Theft Auto director, Dan Houser, who said that Zelda and Mario games on Nintendo 64 greatly influenced them in developing Grand Theft Auto series, as well in other 3D games in general.[240] Rockstar founder and Grand Theft Auto director Sam Houser also cited the influence of Zelda, describing Grand Theft Auto III as "Zelda meets Goodfellas".[241] Ōkami director Hideki Kamiya (Capcom, PlatinumGames) said that he has been influenced by The Legend of Zelda series in developing the game, citing A Link to the Past as his favorite game of all time.[242] Soul Reaver and Uncharted director, Amy Hennig (Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog), cited Zelda as inspiration for the Legacy of Kain series, noting A Link to the Past's influence on Blood Omen and Ocarina of Time's influence on Soul Reaver.[243] Soul Reaver and Uncharted creator, Richard Lemarchand (Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog), also cited A Link to the Past's approach to combining gameplay with storytelling as inspiration for Soul Reaver.[244] Wing Commander and Star Citizen director, Chris Roberts (Origin Systems and Cloud Imperium Games), cited Zelda as an influence on his action role-playing game, Times of Lore.[245] Dark Souls series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki named A Link To The Past as one of his favorite role-playing video games.[246] Miyazaki also described The Legend of Zelda as a sort of textbook for 3D action games.[247] Ico director Fumito Ueda cited Zelda as an influence on Shadow of the Colossus.[248] Peter Molyneux (Lionhead Studios and Microsoft Studios) stated that the Twilight Princess is one of his favorite games and an influence for the Fable series.[249] Darksiders director David Adams (Vigil Games) cited Zelda as an influence on his work.[250] Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed director Raphael Lacoste cited The Wind Waker as an influence on Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.[251] CD Projekt Red cited the Zelda series as an influence on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.[252] Majora's Mask served as the primary influence on Alex Hall's web series Ben Drowned.[253] Final Fantasy and The 3rd Birthday director Hajime Tabata cited Ocarina of Time as inspiration for the open world of Final Fantasy XV.[254] Cross-overs The Legend of Zelda series has crossed over into other Nintendo and third-party video games, most prominently in the Super Smash Bros. series of fighting games published by Nintendo. Link appears as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64, the first entry in the series, and is part of the roster in all subsequent releases in the series as well. Zelda (who is able to transform into Sheik as well), Ganondorf, and Young Link (the child version of Link from Ocarina of Time) were added to the player roster for Super Smash Bros. Melee, and appeared in all subsequent releases except for "Young Link" (who is later replaced by "Toon Link" from The Wind Waker, in subsequent releases Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U). Both Young Link and Toon Link appear in the fifth installment, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Other elements from the series, such as locations and items, are also included throughout the Smash Bros. series. Outside of the series, Nintendo allowed for the use of Link as a playable character exclusively in the GameCube release of Namco's fighting game Soulcalibur II.[255]     Link, using a design based on Skyward Sword, appears as a playable character in Mario Kart 8 via downloadable content (DLC), along with a "Hyrule Circuit" racetrack themed on The Legend of Zelda series.[256] The first pack is named after the series. In a post-launch update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Link and his vehicle received alternate styles based on Breath of the Wild.[257]     In the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World, a DLC stage based on The Legend of Zelda series was released in March 2014, named "The Legend of Zelda Zone". It was built around the core gameplay mechanics of Sonic Lost World, with some elements from the Zelda series, including a heart-based vitality meter, rupee collection, and a miniature dungeon to explore.[258] In other media Main article: List of The Legend of Zelda media TV series See also: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! § Format A 13-episode American animated TV series, adapted by DiC and distributed by Viacom Enterprises, aired in 1989.[259] The animated Zelda shorts were broadcast each Friday, instead of the usual Super Mario Bros. cartoon which was aired during the rest of the week.[260][261] The series loosely follows the two NES Zelda games (the original The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link), mixing settings and characters from those games with original creations.[262] The show's older incarnations of both Link and Zelda appeared in various episodes of Captain N: The Game Master during its second season.[263] A live-action television series had been in development around 2015, as reported from an anonymous Netflix employee to The Wall Street Journal. The program was a joint effort between Netflix and Nintendo, and was said to be aimed as a family-friendly version of Game of Thrones.[264] Further details of this series went sparse until 2021 when Adam Conover gave an interview regarding his College Humor period. There, the College Humor team had been planning a skit that would have combined Star Fox with Fantastic Mr. Fox and had even had talked to Miyamoto on the project. Conover said that they were told about a month into the project that Nintendo had requested they stop all work on the project as a result of the leak related to the live-action Zelda show; Nintendo, already protective of its IP, had pulled many external projects including the live-action show.[265] Print media Valiant Comics released a short series of comics featuring characters and settings from the Zelda cartoon as part of their Nintendo Comics System line. Manga adaptations of many entries in the series, including A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Phantom Hourglass, and Twilight Princess have been produced under license from Nintendo, primarily written and drawn by Japanese artist duo Akira Himekawa. These adaptations do not strictly follow the plot of the games from which they are based and may contain additional story elements. A number of official books, novels, and gamebooks have been released based on the series as well. The earliest was Moblin's Magic Spear, published in 1989 by Western Publishing under their Golden Books Family Entertainment division and written by Jack C. Harris. It took place sometime during the first game. Two gamebooks were published as part of the Nintendo Adventure Books series by Archway, both of which were written by Matt Wayne. The first was The Crystal Trap (which focuses more on Zelda) and the second was The Shadow Prince. Both were released in 1992. A novel based on Ocarina of Time was released in 1999, written by Jason R. Rich and published by Sybex Inc. under their Pathways to Adventure series. Another two gamebooks were released as part of the You Decide on the Adventure series published by Scholastic. The first book was based on Oracle of Seasons and was released in 2001. The second, based on Oracle of Ages, was released in 2002. Both were written by Craig Wessel. In 2006, Scholastic released a novel as part of their Nintendo Heroes series, Link and the Portal of Doom. It was written by Tracey West and was set shortly after the events of Ocarina of Time. In 2011, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the series, an art book was published exclusively in Japan under the name Hyrule Historia by Shogakukan. It contains concept art from the series's conception to the release of Skyward Sword in 2011 and multiple essays about the production of the games, as well as an overarching timeline of the series. It also includes a prequel manga to Skyward Sword by Akira Himekawa. The book received an international release by publisher Dark Horse Comics on January 29, 2013;[266] it took the number one spot on Amazon's sales chart, taking the spot away from E. L. James's 50 Shades of Grey trilogy.[267] Dark Horse released The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts, a follow-up art book to Hyrule Historia containing additional artwork and interviews,[268][269] in North America and Europe in February 2017.[270] Music Taking place in Cologne, Germany, on September 23, 2010, the video game music concert Symphonic Legends focused on music from Nintendo and, among others, featured games such as The Legend of Zelda. Following an intermission, the second half of the concert was entirely dedicated to an expansive symphonic poem dedicated to the series. The 35-minute epic tells the story of Link's evolution from child to hero.[271][272] To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series in 2011, Nintendo commissioned an original symphony, The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses. The show was originally performed in the fall of 2011 in Los Angeles and consists of live performances of much of the music from the series.[273] It has since been scheduled for 18 shows so far throughout the United States and Canada.[273][274] Nintendo released a CD, The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD. Featuring eight tracks from live performances of the symphony, the CD is included alongside the special edition of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii. Nintendo later celebrated The Legend of Zelda's 30th anniversary with an album which was released in Japan in February 2017.[275] Merchandise The Legend of Zelda-themed Monopoly board game was released in the United States in September 2014.[276] A Clue board game in the style of The Legend of Zelda series was released in June 2017.[277] A UNO-styled The Legend of Zelda game was released in February 2018, exclusively at GameStop in North America.[278] A limited edition Zelda 25th anniversary 3DS was released on December 1, 2011, in Australia.[279] Film In 2007, Imagi Animation Studios, which had provided the animation for TMNT and Astro Boy, created a pitch reel for a computer-animated The Legend of Zelda film. Nintendo did not accept the studio's offer due to the memory of the failure of the 1993 live-action film adaptation of Super Mario Bros.[280] In 2013, Aonuma said that, if the development of a film began, the company would want to use the opportunity to embrace audience interaction in some capacity.[281][282] In June 2023, it was said that Nintendo was close to closing a deal with Illumination and Universal Pictures to produce a film adaptation of the franchise following the success of their film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie,[283] but Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri denied these reports later that month.[284] By November 2023, Nintendo was developing a live-action Legend of Zelda film with Sony Pictures, which will co-finance and distribute the project worldwide.[285] Wes Ball has been attached to direct the film, and Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad will be producing alongside Ball and his producing partner Joe Hartwick Jr. through their Oddball Entertainment company.[286] Although the casting had not been announced, Patricia Summersett, who had previously done voice work for Princess Zelda, said that she would like to reprise her role for the character.[287] Hunter Schafer has also expressed interest in playing Zelda." (wikipedia.org) "The Master Sword (マスターソード, Masutā Sōdo) is a fictional divine magic sword in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. It is also known as "The Blade of Evil's Bane", the "Sword of Resurrection", the "Sword that Seals the Darkness" and the "Sacred Sword". It was introduced in the 1991 action-adventure video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and has since appeared in most other games in the series. The sword is the signature weapon of Link, the series protagonist, and has become an integral part of the character's visual identity and also a core element of Zelda iconography. In the narrative of the series, it is a powerful, sacred weapon that Link repeatedly uses to defeat the main antagonist, Ganon and other forces of evil. Throughout the Zelda series, it is shown to have various magical powers, including the capability to repel evil, alter the flow of time, and emit light beams to attack surrounding enemies. In addition to The Legend of Zelda series, the Master Sword has also appeared in various other video games, media, and merchandise. These include Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 8, and Hyrule Warriors. It has been recreated in fan art, cosplay, and weaponry and has become a widely recognizable object in video gaming. Characteristics The Master Sword is a divine, magic sword and the signature weapon of Link, the hero of The Legend of Zelda series. It has become a defining aspect of Link's identity alongside the Hylian Shield and a prominent icon used to market the franchise.[1][2] The majority of The Legend of Zelda video games follow a similar story arc that involves Link embarking on a journey that eventually leads him to recovering the Master Sword. The blade is traditionally found in its stone pedestal and must be pulled from the pedestal by Link to retrieve it.[3] Although it is not always the strongest sword in Zelda games, the Master Sword is superior to other in-game weapons as it is the only weapon in most games that has the capability of defeating Ganon.[4] The Master Sword has been referred to by various names. In several games, it is named as the "Blade of Evil's Bane".[4] In Breath of the Wild, the Master Sword is described as "the legendary sword that seals the darkness".[5] It is also named the "Master Sword of Resurrection".[6] In Hyrule Warriors, it is called "The Sacred Sword".[7] In the mythology of the series, the Master Sword is a divine object. In Skyward Sword, it originates in the Goddess Sword, created by the goddess Hylia, and is inhabited by a humanoid spirit named Fi.[8] Over the course of the game, the Goddess Sword is transformed into the Master Sword, a powerful blade that has the magical ability to repel evil.[9] The design of the sword has evolved over the course of each Zelda title, but it has become identifiable by its purple and silver design. It is a one-handed longsword blade featuring a blue or purple hilt with green grip, purple spread-winged handguards and a yellow gem inlaid in the centre.[10] A defining feature of the sword is that it displays the Triforce, which is engraved on the blade just above the ricasso.[11] The sword possesses various magical abilities, such as generating fire attacks and lightning attacks in A Link to the Past. In Ocarina of Time, it acts as a seal that protects the Sacred Realm and the Triforce. It can also alter time by placing it in its pedestal to send Link back to his childhood or by removing it again to travel to the future.[9] In The Wind Waker, the sword blocks the powers of Ganondorf and freezes time around Hyrule Castle, so that removing the blade from its pedestal restores Ganondorf's minions. In Twilight Princess, Link uses it to open a path in time. In Skyward Sword, it can be pointed towards the sky to gather energy from the heavens and launch a light beam known as a Skyward Strike.[12] In A Link Between Worlds, the Master Sword is the only weapon that can break the magical barrier that is placed on Hyrule Castle.[9] In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, it emits light beams that deal high damage to surrounding enemies.[13] In Breath of the Wild its superior qualities are indicated by its high durability, as it is the only weapon that is unbreakable and must be recharged before being wielded again.[14] When in close proximity to enemies associated with Calamity Ganon, it glows blue and doubles its attack strength.[15] In Tears of the Kingdom, it possesses similar characteristics and emits higher powered attacks in proximity to enemies associated with Ganondorf.[16] Development Takashi Tezuka, the director of A Link to the Past credited screenwriter Kensuke Tanabe for conceiving the moment in the game when Link obtains the Master Sword. The scene established the mythological importance of the blade within the series as the only sword with the power to repel evil, but also emphasised its symbolic significance. Tezuka noted that in this moment the sword recognises Link as a hero. He explained that "our main aim was to show the birth of a hero in a scene fitting of The Legend Of Zelda, and overlap this with a sense of achievement for the player that they have been recognised as a hero after having overcome many challenges".[17] In 2011, Nintendo released Skyward Sword, which aimed to develop an early fictional history of Hyrule and create an origin story for the Master Sword. Producer Eiji Aonuma said that the premise was built around the game's motion controls: "This time, the theme is the sword which makes use of the Wii MotionPlus accessory..." The plot suffered from inconsistencies in the pre-existing timeline. Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi explained: "We settled on having the sky and surface world, and on top of that, it was going to tell the story of the creation of Hyrule, with the untold story of the origin of the Master Sword... So, looking back at the series so far, we began knitting together the various elements. And then all sorts of contradictions arose".[18] A television commercial for the game's release prominently featured the Master Sword to advertise the game's motion controls, which involved using the Wii MotionPlus to control the sword's movements on screen.[19] Appearances Artwork of the Master Sword in its pedestal in the Lost Woods First appearance of the Master Sword in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past The Legend of Zelda series In the original The Legend of Zelda (1986), a fantasy weapon appears without any defining features, but was the precursor for future iterations of the Master Sword.[10] It was not until 1991 that the Master Sword was introduced in the series with the release of A Link to the Past. The game involves Link setting out to rescue Princess Zelda by retrieving the blade from its pedestal in the Lost Woods and using it to defeat the main antagonists, the evil wizard Agahnim and finally, Ganon.[20] Link must obtain three pendants to prove himself worthy of claiming the sword.[21] The sword reappeared in Ocarina of Time, and was the first iteration of the longsword design in 3D.[10] As well as being the only weapon that is capable of defeating Ganon, it also acts as a seal to protect the Sacred Realm and the Triforce. In this iteration, it is located in the Temple of Time, locked behind the Door of Time. Link must collect three Spiritual Stones to open the Door of Time and claim the Master Sword from its pedestal. Due to his youth, the sword seals him in the Temple of Time for seven years until he is ready to be the Hero of Time. Link can then use the Master Sword to travel back to his childhood by placing it in the pedestal.[20] In The Wind Waker, Link finds the Master Sword inside the sunken Hyrule Castle. It is once again presented as the only sword capable of defeating Ganondorf. The sword blocks Ganondorf's magical powers and freezes time around the castle. When the blade is removed from its pedestal, it restores Ganondorf's minions and magic and it loses its power to repel evil. Once Link has replenished the Master Sword's power, he is able to destroy Ganondorf by plunging it into his forehead and turning him to stone.[9][22] When Link seeks out the Master Sword in Twilight Princess, it is located on its pedestal deep in the woods in the Sacred Grove within the ruined Temple of Time. Retrieving the sword is the only way to break the sorcerer Zant's magic, which has turned Link into a wolf. When he returns to the Sacred Grove later in the game, he uses the sword to open a path in time. The sword becomes more powerful when it is infused with the divine power of the Sols. As in previous games, the Master Sword is finally used to kill Ganondorf.[23][9] In Skyward Sword, the Master Sword plays a central role in Link's journey to defeat the main antagonist, Demon King Demise and prove himself as the hero. The plot charts the weapon's transition from the Goddess Sword, a weapon left by the goddess Hylia, into the Master Sword. Link uses three Sacred Flames to forge the Goddess Sword into the Master Sword and, after defeating Demon King Demise, seals him inside the sword by placing it in its pedestal.[24] In the finale, a humanoid spirit named Fi, who acts as Link's companion throughout the game, is placed in an eternal slumber within the Master Sword.[25] Link again retrieves the sword from its pedestal in the Lost Woods in A Link Between Worlds, after collecting three Pendants of Virtue and then rescues Seven Sages and Princess Zelda.[26] During the game, the Master Sword is upgraded by blacksmiths in Hyrule and Lorule after Link collects master ore from various locations, making it a more powerful weapon.[27] Throughout Breath of the Wild, Link can obtain the Master Sword once he is strong enough to pull it from its pedestal. It is located deep in the Lost Woods within Great Hyrule Forest.[28] In this game the sword is heavily damaged and covered in Malice[29] after being used in battle against Calamity Ganon 100 years before the events of the game.[1] After successfully retrieving the Master Sword and purchasing the DLC, the player is given the opportunity to tackle one of the end game challenges named "The Trial of the Sword", which is aimed at advanced players.[28] Upon successfully completing all of the levels, the Master Sword is permanently upgraded to its highest attack level.[30] In Tears of the Kingdom (2023), the sequel to Breath of the Wild, Link begins the game wielding the Master Sword, only for it to be shattered by Ganondorf's power. After he awakens on the Great Sky Island with the broken sword, he sends it back in time to Zelda, who time-traveled back to the era of Hyrule's founding. To defeat Ganondorf, Zelda chooses to consume a secret stone to transform into a dragon, allowing the Master Sword to regain its sacred energy over millennia. In the present day, Link finds Zelda in her draconified form and pulls the Master Sword from her skull.[31] Like other weapons in the game, the Master Sword can be fused with various materials to make it more powerful in combat.[32] Other media The Master Sword has made appearances in various other video games. Link appears with the Master Sword as a playable character in the original 1999 Super Smash Bros.[33] In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Link also appears as a playable character in eight different costumes that include the Master Sword and Hylian Shield.[34] The Master Sword has also made an appearance in Animal Crossing games and Soulcalibur II.[35][36] In Nintendo Land, players can wield the Master Sword as part of The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest.[37] Link makes a cameo appearance with the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield in Scribblenauts Unlimited.[38] In Bayonetta 2, Bayonetta is able to use the Master Sword after equipping Link's costume.[39] In the racing game Mario Kart 8, the Master Sword was introduced with Link in the first DLC.[40] It also makes an appearance in the Hyrule Circuit as a statue inside the castle.[41] It is also obtainable as gear alongside the Hylian Shield in the Nintendo Switch version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.[42] The Master Sword was also introduced in Super Mario Maker 2 with a Zelda update in 2019. The sword transforms Mario into Link and bestows a range of special abilities.[43] In the hack and slash video game Hyrule Warriors (2014), the Master Sword appears as a prominent weapon. Link can use it in battle alongside the Hylian Shield, and after completing certain tasks, the sword has the capability of emitting the sword beam.[23] In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020), Link is able to use the Master Sword throughout the game after defeating an antagonist named Astor and retrieving the blade from its pedestal. Once obtained, Link is able to level up the sword by fusing other weapons into it and add unique effects by equipping it with Seals. The fully maxed out Master Sword then unlocks an additional sword beam attack when Link is at full health.[44] The Master Sword has also been featured prominently in Zelda-related media, including books and other merchandise.[45][46] In popular culture In 2023, the Master Sword features in the lyrics of a single inspired by The Legend of Zelda series titled "Power of the Triforce" by British metal band DragonForce.[47] Merchandise The Master Sword has been merchandised across a wide variety of official Zelda products. It has been reproduced as a prop and toy replica.[48] It is prominently displayed on official clothing and used in themed products, such as a sword-shaped umbrella and candy.[49][50][51] In 2023, a Japanese toy manufacturer produced a model of the sword in the form of a logic puzzle.[52] A light-up decayed Master Sword was included as a prize in a lottery in Japan.[53] Various amiibo feature Link and Zelda wielding the Master Sword.[54][55] Reception A cosplayer dressed as Link holding the Master Sword A cosplayer dressed as Link holding the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield. These two components have become integral aspects of the character's identity. Since its introduction in The Legend of Zelda series, the Master Sword has become a recognisable object in video gaming. It has been recreated in the form of fan-made replicas and also used as a functioning weapon.[56][57][58] Critics have observed that the Master Sword and other Zelda plot elements have been heavily influenced by Celtic mythology. Cian Maher of Eurogamer drew comparisons between the Master Sword and a sword in Irish mythology called Claíomh Solais, also known as The Sword of Light. This sword was similar to Cú Chulainn's sword, known as Cruadín Catuchenn, one of the legendary god-killing weapons in Irish mythology. He noted the similarity of the heroes completing three tasks before obtaining the Sword of Light and that the weapon is capable of killing an enemy that is impossible to defeat, which resembles Link's quest and the Master Sword's capability of killing undefeated enemies like Ganon.[59] Aaron Greenbaum, writing for Den of Geek, commented on the contradictory origins of the sword within the series. He noted that the story of who forged the sword has been retconned since A Link to the Past, due to the "confusing" nature of The Legend of Zelda timeline and that Skyward Sword corrected this by introducing the idea that Link forges the sword, providing a "superior in-game explanation".[60] Nintendo Power described the Master Sword as one of the best weapons in gaming, citing that it is more than just a powerful sword, but also integral to Link's adventures and development as a character.[61] Writing for Paste, Khee Hoon Chan commented on the significance of the Master Sword in the narrative of the Zelda storyline: "There are few scenes in entertainment as iconic as the image of young Link pulling the Master Sword from its pedestal, a virtual, modern retelling of The Sword and the Stone. More than just a weapon, the Master Sword came to be a symbol of Link's destiny".[62] The Master Sword was ranked as one of the coolest swords in gaming by Ron Whitaker for The Escapist magazine, who commented, "the Master Sword doesn't look all that special. It's not that big, it doesn't have flames rising from it, and it doesn't look all that intimidating. But in the hands of the right person, it can save the world".[63] He also listed it as one of the most iconic video game weapons.[64] In a review of Skyward Sword, GamesRadar described the Master Sword as "the unspoken star of The Legend of Zelda", and praised the game for placing it directly in the hands of the player through the MotionPlus and making the sword a focal point of the game.[65] Jim Norman of Nintendo Life thought that obtaining the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom was a "series defining moment" due to the cinematic spectacle of pulling the sword from the Light Dragon's head and the tension involved in performing the act. He also noted that the sword's role as an integral part of the storyline means that finding its location provides a "special melancholic twist".[66] Matthew Byrd, writing for Den of Geek, considered the Master Sword to be "the most important weapon in gaming history", due to the way it is obtained in A Link to the Past. He opined that the moment when the player obtains the sword is significant because it provides the player with a sense of fulfilling their destiny, which had not been achieved by any previous piece of gear in gaming. He commented: "Few weapons in gaming history until that point had been treated with such reverence, and few felt so good to finally acquire".[67]IGN staff consider the Master Sword to be the greatest or most iconic video game weapon of all time,[68][69] and the act of pulling it out in Ocarina of Time the most unforgettable video game moment of all time.[70] Destin Legarie from IGN wrote: "This beautiful sword is an icon to gamers everywhere, as well as an instantly recognizable item of central importance in the Zelda franchise. Sure, there have been plenty of great weapons and items in The Legend of Zelda series, but only the Master Sword has endured since the days of A Link to the Past. Each story since the Super Nintendo entry has been crafted around Link's quest to obtain this legendary blade." (wikipedia.org) "The Legend of Zelda is a video game franchise created by Japanese video game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka and mainly developed and published by Nintendo. The universe of the Legend of Zelda series consists of various lands, the most predominant being Hyrule.[a] The franchise is set within a fantasy world reminiscent of medieval Europe which consists of several recurring locations, races and creatures. The most prominent race in the series are the Hylians, a humanoid race with elfin features identifiable by their long, pointed ears. The series' lore contains a creation myth, several fictional alphabets, the most prominent being Hylian, and a fictional universal currency, the rupee. Most games in The Legend of Zelda series follow a similar storyline, which involves the protagonist Link battling monsters to save Princess Zelda and defeat a villain, which is often the series' main antagonist, Ganon. Nintendo developed the series' lore into a timeline that spans thousands of years across its history. Hyrule was created as the original setting for The Legend of Zelda and has remained the main environment for successive games in the series. Inspired by dungeon crawlers, Miyamoto and Tezuka developed a high fantasy world in the form of a 2D map filled with monsters, puzzles and dungeons. Hyrule transitioned to a 3D environment with the development of Ocarina of Time. For Breath of the Wild, released in 2017, Nintendo developed Hyrule into a seamless open world. Since the launch of the original game, the series has been a commercial and critical success and introduced landmark innovations in world design that have influenced numerous developers in the video game industry. Overview See also: List of The Legend of Zelda media The Legend of Zelda series is set in a fantasy world that first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda, which was developed and published by Nintendo. The game introduced Hyrule as the series' primary setting and series protagonist Link, a Hylian boy or young man who is the player character.[1] The storyline of each game varies, but follows a common overarching plot that involves Link travelling through Hyrule to rescue Princess Zelda and save the world from evil, which is typically the series' main villain, Ganon. A recurring plot element in the games is Ganon's attempts to obtain the Triforce, a mystical artifact that will enable him to possess ultimate power.[2] Although Link and Zelda have similar appearances in each game, they are different characters who reappear whenever evil threatens the world. Skyward Sword was established as the beginning of the series' history and involves the antagonist Demise cursing the first incarnations of Link and Zelda so their descendants appear in an endless cycle to protect Hyrule from evil.[3][4] Hyrule Not to be confused with Camp Hyrule. Concept and design     "I went hiking and found a lake. It was quite a surprise for me to stumble upon it. When I traveled around the country without a map, trying to find my way, stumbling on amazing things as I went, I realized how it felt to go on an adventure like this". Shigeru Miyamoto, on his inspiration for The Legend of Zelda[5] Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto conceived the land of Hyrule as the setting for the original The Legend of Zelda, describing it as "a miniature garden that you can put into a drawer and revisit anytime you like".[6] He drew his inspiration from the Kyoto countryside that he had explored in his childhood and wanted to recreate the experience of adventure and discovery. Alongside writer Takashi Tezuka, Miyamoto created a fantasy world in the style of fantasy authors like Tolkien, which was viewed from a top-down perspective. It was populated with colourful characters, monsters and dungeons for the player to explore.[7] 2D world design Miyamoto and Tezuka started working on The Legend of Zelda during the development of Super Mario Bros.[8] Initially, the game did not feature an overworld. In Hyrule Historia, Miyamoto said that Nintendo aimed to develop a launch title for the Famicom Disk System. An early game was initially designed to make use of the Disk System's ability to rewrite data, allowing players to create dungeons and explore other players' creations. He explained: "We made a one-player game with dungeons under mountains that surrounded Death Mountain, but we couldn't shake that "I want to play above ground, too!" feeling, so we added forests and lakes, and eventually Hyrule Field".[9] The first specifications were drawn up on a whiteboard by Miyamoto and then copied onto a document on 1 February 1985. The document detailed early concepts for items and enemies that would later feature in the game, such as a compass, bows and arrows and a boomerang, and "Hakkai", an early name given to Ganon. This was developed into rough sketches for various items and enemies within the following two weeks. The name for the game had not yet been decided, so the title was simply labelled "Adventure". Long paper was used to create the first land map of Hyrule, which was developed by Tezuka and Miyamoto sitting side by side and drawing together.[10][11] Miyamoto said that the name "Hyrule" seemed like the perfect choice during a discussion to find a name for a high-fantasy region. In Japan, The Legend of Zelda game was released as The Hyrule Fantasy, which was almost chosen as the name for the entire franchise, but was dropped after the first game. Miyamoto said this could have been due to the name being too similar to Final Fantasy, which was released soon afterwards.[12][13] The original Hyrule map was designed to encourage exploration and discovery, requiring up to several hours to navigate. The map is nonlinear, so players are free to choose from several unmarked paths, with just a few areas being inaccessible at the start. Miyamoto was influenced by The Black Onyx and Ultima, two games that centre around fantasy dungeon crawling. The Zelda world was defined by its mazes, hidden rooms and treasures. The game's nine dungeons were designed to be difficult to locate, forcing players to uncover the secrets of the map with little help. In addition to its underworld, the Hyrule map consists of a large overworld created out of a grid structure that is much larger than can be displayed on a single screen.[14] It is 16 blocks wide and eight blocks high and comprises 128 areas. Miyamoto said that maps for the game were included in North America: "The maps included various hints, but to be honest, I thought it would be more enjoyable to play the game without any help. So we sealed the map, with a message reading 'You should only use the map and strategic tips as a last resort'". Players were required to begin their adventure in the centre of Hyrule and use instinct alone to find an old man inside a cave who gives Link a sword and declares, "It's dangerous to go alone!". While navigating Hyrule's overworld and its many dangerous enemies, players must eventually find the dungeons, which each feature various enemies, items and a boss.[15] The concept of a role-playing game was a new experience for players in the 1980s. The gameplay diverged from the fast-paced games typically found in arcades like Super Mario Bros, by offering players an open world to explore, puzzles to solve and a fantasy story that centres on a protagonist embarking on an adventure to save a princess from an evil villain and bring peace to Hyrule. The new game concept caused concern with Nintendo's management. In 2003, Miyamoto stated in an interview for Superplay magazine: "I remember that we were very nervous, because The Legend Of Zelda was our first game that forced the players to think about what they should do next. We were afraid that gamers would become bored and stressed by the new concept". During the testing phase, players complained about getting lost inside the game's dungeons, but rather than making the game more simplistic, Miyamoto decided to make it more challenging by removing Link's sword at the beginning of the game and forcing players to locate it. He wanted to encourage players to communicate with each other while solving the game's puzzles.[8] Transition to 3D Hyrule continued to evolve over the course of successive games. The transition from a 2D to 3D world occurred with the release of Ocarina of Time, due to the capabilities of the Nintendo 64, which gave players the opportunity to experience a more realistic game environment. The 3D world was also accompanied by an expanding fictional lore that laid the foundation for other games in the series within an official fictional timeline. The game's dungeons were each unique and connected to a specific area of Hyrule and its inhabitants. Several recurring races, such as the Gorons, Zora and Gerudo were introduced and given a distinct history and culture.[16] Hyrule Field, an expansive open grassy area, was positioned at the centre of Hyrule, acting as a hub that connects other areas to create the illusion of a vast world.[17] The game's time travel mechanic also introduced a dark version of Hyrule Kingdom, a land corrupted by Ganondorf's influence, with Hyrule Castle Town in ruins and Redead zombies as its inhabitants.[18] Due to concerns about the limitations of the Nintendo 64, Miyamoto initially conceived the game taking place within a central hub in the confines of Ganon's Castle, similar to Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64.[19] He described Ocarina of Time as a "huge project" due to the fact that it involved making the game environment from 3D polygons and was larger in scale than anything that he had previously worked on.[20] He said that he had approached the game by first focusing on what types of characters he wanted to include, rather than on the story or the game functions.[21] Ocarina of Time was designed with several innovations to help the player navigate the expansive 3D world and interact with the environment. The camera system was designed to integrate with the 3D world of Hyrule, giving the player a sense of perspective and tracking the movements of Link. The game's Z-targeting system was created to provide the player with a simple way to lock on and interact with objects, characters and enemies in the game world. The game also made use of context sensitive controls by using the A button for a range of interactions, such as mounting a horse or opening a treasure chest.[22] These features were landmarks for Nintendo and influenced 3D world development within the games industry.[23] During development, the staff spent less time on developing the dungeons. According to Miyamoto: "Instead of mapping your way through a maze, I think what's more important is a sense of dread, a sense of pressure, and of course an opportunity for finding secrets and solving puzzles—we should be pursuing an emotional immediacy, the sense that you are really there".[24] Hyrule and its characters in Ocarina of Time were depicted in an art style that drifted towards Western fantasy, although Miyamoto said there was no intentional replication of cultural elements from one specific country.[25] Hyrule's fantasy characters were partially inspired by the American television series Twin Peaks.[19] In an interview, Takashi Tezuka said he had used the series as inspiration when creating Link's Awakening: "After that, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, all kinds of suspicious characters appeared".[26] Many assets and character models in the game were later reused for Majora's Mask, both for stylistic purposes and to save development time.[27] Open air concept Producer Eiji Aonuma approached Breath of the Wild by breaking the conventions of previous games.[28] He explained that in Ocarina of Time, the game world featured "routes" to help players navigate the 3D environment without getting lost, but that certain handholding and blockages had caused players to feel frustrated. By contrast, Breath of the Wild's Hyrule was designed to allow the player to explore a vast world in any way they liked.[29] Nintendo's senior product marketing manager Bill Trinen described the game as "open air": "I look at this game and I see a world that is fully integrated into the exploration and the adventure. It's not just a world that you're passing through. It's sort of a world that you're a part of".[30] The game world benefited from advancements in Nintendo hardware. Earlier games had been restricted by the available technology, creating the need to separate Hyrule into individual connecting areas, but the game world could now be experienced as a seamless environment. The concept of an "open air" environment began during work on The Wind Waker. Aonuma said that he wanted to remove the small connecting areas of The Wind Waker and replace them with open expanses, but the world ended up feeling smaller than he intended.[31]     "In Breath of the Wild, the fact that the world is supported by a coherent physics engine has a major effect on the possible actions. It sounds obvious, but for example, if you push down a rock, it's going to roll according to the slope. We wanted people to be able to feel things in a "realistic" way, to break or move around big objects in the game and believe they could have had the same feeling in real life. This physically lived experience is very important". Eiji Aonuma on realism in Breath of the Wild's game world[32] Breath of the Wild's open world was inspired by other video games. The game's director Hidemaro Fujibayashi named Minecraft and Terraria as his inspirations for "the sense of adventure, exploration and how it inspired curiosity". Aonuma also mentioned several other games that he had played, including The Witcher, Far Cry and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. He also cited Skyward Sword as the basis for many of the world's mechanics, such as the ability to climb and explore between areas. The development team began Breath of the Wild by working on a 2D prototype of Hyrule to test interactions between objects. This was developed into a complex physics and chemistry engine that would present a higher level of realism. The chemistry engine allowed for elements, such as fire, water and electricity to interact with each other and objects in the game world. This was designed to provide the player with a more interactive gameplay that was coined "chemical reaction play". Hyrule in Breath of the Wild was depicted using an art style that was based on the stylised visuals of The Wind Waker but developed into a more realistic, detailed style. The civilization of the Hylians was developed with a focus on their castle in the style of medieval Europe to return to the roots of the series,[33] while the ancient technological features of the Sheikah were inspired by the Jōmon period of Japanese history.[34] Fujibayashi stated that the layout of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild was inspired in part by his hometown of Kyoto: "I took a map of Kyoto and overlaid it on the game world, and I tried to imagine going to places that I know in Kyoto. I'd think 'It takes this much time to get from point A to point B, so how does that translate to the game?' And that's how we started mapping out the world in Breath of the Wild". The development team used landmarks in Kyoto as a way of comparing the distance between landmarks in the game world, which helped staff during the development of the game.[35] This measurement of distance allowed Hyrule to be scaled up to an enormous world that appears twelve times the size of its predecessor in Twilight Princess.[31] For Tears of the Kingdom, Aonuma used the same map of Hyrule as the one players experienced in Breath of the Wild to create a continuation of the same world.[36] Hyrule was extensively expanded, by introducing Sky Islands to the map to place emphasis on vertical gameplay.[37] In addition to its sky expansion, the game introduced the Depths, a vast pitch-black area beneath the surface of Hyrule.[38] Aonuma said the development team had learned lessons from Skyward Sword, where Link was restricted by the hardware to descend from particular points. He explained that the team had wanted to create the ability to "traverse a world that's not only horizontally connected in a single world, but vertically connected as well", noting the sense of freedom the player experiences by diving into that.[39] Depiction Flags of Hyrule from Breath of the Wild The Kingdom of Hyrule,[b] a medieval-based fantasy land,[40][41] is the main setting of the series, which first appeared in The Legend of Zelda. Many of its areas have appeared throughout the series, such as Hyrule Castle, the Lost Woods, Kakariko Village, Death Mountain and Lake Hylia. Hyrule was formed by three goddesses Din,[c] Farore,[d] and Nayru.[e] It is established in Ocarina of Time that Din created the physical geography of the realm, Nayru created the physical laws to govern it, and Farore created the races to uphold the law and the flora and fauna that inhabit the world.[42] After the goddesses had completed their tasks, they departed for the heavens, and left behind three golden triangles containing their power to govern all things; this relic became known as the Triforce.[43] Skyward Sword expanded on this history by detailing the rise of Demon King Demise and his dark forces, who attempt to take the Triforce and destroy the world. The goddess Hylia stays to protect the Triforce and leads an army of free people into battle to weaken Demise and seal him away from the world.[44] The realm was eventually named Hyrule after its dominant race, the Hylians, who established a kingdom across the land.[45] The kingdom is ruled by the Royal Family of Hyrule, into which the various incarnations of Princess Zelda are often born.[46] The Hylian alphabet is a cipher of either English or Japanese that first appears in A Link to the Past, where it is identified as "the ancient language of the Hylians" and is composed of symbols that Link must translate to progress.[47] In Japan, an explanation of the Hylian alphabet was written on the back of the instruction manual for The Wind Waker with a phonographic writing system, or syllabary, like the Japanese language.[48] Since its first appearance, five more Hylian scripts have been developed and deciphered: the Old Hylian Syllabary used in Ocarina of Time,[49] the Modern Hylian Syllabary used in The Wind Waker,[50] the Hylian Alphabet used in Skyward Sword,[19] the Hylian Alphabet used in A Link Between Worlds,[19] and the Hylian Alphabet used in Twilight Princess.[51] The first three are used for transcribing Japanese, while the latter three are used to transcribe English,[52] totaling six variations of written Hylian. Additional languages have subsequently appeared in the series. The language of the Gerudo was introduced in Ocarina of Time, a written and spoken language that is similar to Hylian and is written in elongated, wispy letters.[53] The Sheikah language was introduced in Breath of the Wild and consists of a complete alphabet of square-shaped symbols.[54] Players have deciphered these languages to translate numerous signs and inscriptions commonly found around Hyrule.[55] The universal currency of Hyrule is the rupee. Although it shares its name with the real-world currency, Miyamoto said in an interview that this was not intentional and that he chose the word because it seemed cute and sounded like "rubies".[56] Rupees resemble hexagonal crystals or gems and come in various colors that determine their value.[57] In the manual for the original game, the currency was called rubies,[58] but this was changed to rupees in later games.[56] Subsequent games introduced more colors and sizes for rupees, each denoting a specific value. Generally, green rupees have the least value, while gold and silver rupees have the most.[59] Hyrulean geography A map of Hyrule depicted in The Legend of Zelda Collector's Puzzle Although the geography of Hyrule varies from game to game, it typically features several recurring geographical landmarks, which appear in different locations relative to each other depending on the game.[60]     Death Mountain[f] is a large volcanic mountain located in northern Hyrule. It first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda and has appeared through the series up to Breath of the Wild. Twilight Princess reveals it is part of the Eldin Mountains, a mountain range in the Eldin Province. The main inhabitants of Death Mountain are the Gorons, a race of rock-eating golems that mine the mountains in search of food; the mountains are littered with caves as a result of their mining activities.[61]     Ganon's Castle[g] is Ganon's fortress, which has acted as the battleground between him and Link in several games. In Ocarina of Time, when Link travels to the future, it has been built in place of Hyrule Castle.[62]     Hyrule Castle[h] is the home of Hyrule's royal family, which first appeared in A Link to the Past. It is a symbol of the power of the Hyrulean monarchy and is frequently the main target of Hyrule's enemies, particularly Ganon. It is often a central area that Link visits during his quest.[63]     Kakariko Village[i] is a village that first appears in A Link to the Past and has since reappeared in Ocarina of Time, Four Swords Adventures, Twilight Princess, A Link Between Worlds, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Kakariko Village is often portrayed as a small, prosperous town that was originally founded by the Sheikah.[64] In Twilight Princess, Shadow Beasts have kidnapped most of the villagers, making the town resemble a ghost town. In Breath of the Wild, the village has survived the Great Calamity and is inhabited by the Sheikah.[65]     Lake Hylia[j] is the largest freshwater lake in Hyrule. It commonly features collectible items and dungeons. It is often where Link encounters members of the Zora race.[66]     The Lost Woods[k] is a large enchanted forest that appears in various games, starting with The Legend of Zelda. It is home to the Kokiri, Koroks and Fairies, and its maze-like structure leads travelers in circles unless they take the correct path through the forest. Rumors state that those who become lost are turned into Stalfos.[67] In several games, the Great Deku Tree and/or the Master Sword can be found in a shrine there.[68]     Spectacle Rock[l] is a location consisting of two large rock formations next to each other that resemble a pair of eyeglasses. It housed the final dungeon in the original game. It is usually associated with Death Mountain, but is located in the Gerudo Highlands in Breath of the Wild. Spectacle Rock also appears in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, and A Link Between Worlds.[69]     Temple of Time[m] is the temple that houses the Master Sword in several games.[70] It is also used to traverse time, most notably in Ocarina of Time, where it allows the player to travel between the past and future.[70] In some games, it serves as a dungeon.[71] Objects Triforce Main article: Triforce The Triforce is represented as three conjoined golden triangles. The Triforce,[n] also called the "Power of the Gods" and the "Golden Triangle", is a triangular sacred relic left behind by the three Golden Goddesses after they created Hyrule.[72] It is made up of three smaller triangles known as the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage. These embody the essences of their respective goddesses, and present a power struggle and balance of morality between the central characters, Ganon, Zelda and Link. The Triforce first appeared in the original game as a focal point of the plot, which involves Ganon stealing the Triforce of Power and Link searching for the scattered pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom to stop him and protect Hyrule from evil. The Triforce of Courage was introduced in The Adventure of Link as the third piece. When united, the Triforce allows one who touches it to make a wish that usually lasts until they die or the wish is fulfilled. If the one who finds it does not possess a balance of the three virtues it represents, the pieces split into its three components, and the finder is left with the one that represents the characteristic they value most.[73] Master Sword Main article: Master Sword The Master Sword,[o] also known as "The Blade of Evil's Bane", the "Sword of Resurrection", or the "sword that seals the darkness" is a divine, magic sword and Link's signature weapon. It is one of the few weapons capable of harming Ganon and acts as a key to the Sacred Realm. It was first introduced in A Link To The Past, it has the power to "repel evil", which enables it to overcome powerful dark magic and slay evil and demonic beings that cannot be harmed by conventional weaponry. Skyward Sword reveals that it was originally known as the Goddess Sword, which is inhabited by a sentient female spirit named Fi. Near the end of the game, the Goddess Sword transforms into the Master Sword after being infused with the Three Sacred Flames, with Fi's spirit form ceasing to be after the Master Sword absorbs Demise's remains.[74] The sword traditionally rests in a stone pedestal hidden in sacrosanct locations indigenous to Hyrule, such as the Temple of Time or the Lost Woods. Like the Sword in the Stone, the Master Sword can only be removed by someone who is worthy of wielding it.[75] Other lands and worlds Hyrule is the main recurring setting of The Legend of Zelda series, but several games are set outside Hyrule in other lands, realms and parallel worlds. The geographical relationship between Hyrule and these other worlds is not clearly defined.[76]     The Dark World[p] is a parallel world to Hyrule that appears in A Link to the Past. It is a darker version of Hyrule, which is referred to as the Light World.[77]     The Great Sea[q] is the setting of The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, formed after a deluge flooded Hyrule. Only a few mountaintops are still visible above the water, which form the islands and archipelagos of the Great Sea. Due to the relatively small size of these islands, the large expanses of ocean between each island require the player to use charts to navigate between them.[78]     Holodrum[r] is a land that Link travels to in Oracle of Seasons. He is found by Din, who is subsequently captured by the General of Darkness, Onox, causing the four seasons in Holodrum to fall into chaos. Holodrum is protected by a huge tree called a Maku Tree. Link eventually dispels the darkness using a Huge Maku Seed.[77]     Hytopia[s] is a kingdom that is the main setting of Tri Force Heroes. It is ruled by Princess Styla, who has been cursed to wear a drab jumpsuit.[79]     Koholint Island[t] is the setting of Link's Awakening,which Link washes ashore on after a storm. A giant egg sits atop its highest peak. To escape the island, Link must awaken the Wind Fish. He later discovers that waking the Wind Fish will cause the island to disappear, as it exists in its dreams. Link ultimately escapes the island by waking the Wind Fish but, as a result, it ceases to exist.[77]     Labrynna[u] is a land that appears in Oracle of Ages. In a similar storyline to that of Holodrum, the land of Labrynna is thrown into chaos after Nayru is possessed by the sorceress Veran, causing the flow of time to be disrupted.[77]     Lorule[v] is a parallel world to Hyrule that appears in A Link Between Worlds. It is similar to Hyrule in geography and is ruled by Princess Zelda's Lorulean counterpart, Princess Hilda. Like Hyrule, Lorule originally had its own Triforce, which was the source of various conflicts. However, the Royal Family of Lorule decided to destroy the Triforce in an attempt to put an end to conflict, only to bring calamity to their world as a result.[77]     New Hyrule[80] is a kingdom founded by Link and Tetra following the events of Phantom Hourglass which appears in Spirit Tracks. New Hyrule is home to the titular Spirit Tracks, magical train tracks created by the Spirits of Good, the guardian deities of the country. The Tracks connect the four sections of the continent and allow for travel by train between them.[81]     Skyloft[w] is a collection of large floating islands in Skyward Sword, which were created when the Goddess Hylia used the last of her power to raise what was left of the surviving Hylians along with a plot of land that was still free during the Great War with Demise. Below the clouds lies "the Surface".[82]     Termina[x] is a parallel world to Hyrule that serves as the main setting of Majora's Mask. Link enters it through a portal deep within the Lost Woods. The land and its citizens are very similar to that of Hyrule. Termina is split into four distinct regions, guarded by four giant deities: the swampy Woodfall, home of the Deku Scrubs, to the south; the icy Snowhead Mountains of the Gorons to the north; Great Bay, home of the Zora to the west; and the undead wastelands of Ikana Canyon to the east. Its capital, Clock Town, lies in the center.[77]     The Twilight Realm[y] is a parallel world to Hyrule that appears in Twilight Princess. It is a darker, shadowy place inhabited by the Twili. Its ruler Midna, was overthrown by antagonist Zant, who seeks to gain power over the Twilight Realm and transforms the Twili into Shadow Beasts. Link and Midna work together to cleanse the twilight from Hyrule and defeat Zant.[83][84]     The World of the Ocean King is the setting of Phantom Hourglass, which takes place after the events of The Wind Waker. Its world is similar to the Great Sea, with several islands located on the ocean.[77]     The Depths is the underworld of Tears of the Kingdom, which is a underworld scattered with ruins that mirrors the surface of Hyrule. Only connected to the surface by a handful of chasms spread across Hyrule, the Depths receives very little light, and is henceforth pitch-black until Link activates the many Lightroots all across this underworld. Characters Main article: Characters of The Legend of Zelda Despite most games in the series nominally taking place centuries apart, The Legend of Zelda often features many recurring characters. The silent protagonist Link and the princess Zelda are reincarnated in most Zelda games, while the antagonistic force Ganon, the final boss of most Zelda games, born from the primordial evil "Demise", repeatedly returns in a new form as well.[85] Other figures who reappear across the series include Zelda's caretaker Impa and the fairy-obsessed man Tingle.[86][87] In many Zelda games, Link obtains a horse named Epona.[88] Link is frequently accompanied by a companion in Zelda games, starting with Navi in The Ocarina of Time. Characters like Navi, Midna, and Fi serve a tutorial function in their respective games and comment on events as they transpire in the story.[89] The supporting cast of Breath of the Wild, featuring characters such as Mipha, Prince Sidon, and Urbosa, has proven to be popular among fans of the series.[90] Races "Hylian" redirects here. For the language, see § Hylian language. Since the release of the original game, the series has featured several races. Alongside the Hylian race, which established the land of Hyrule, there are various other prominent races, such as the Gorons, Gerudo, Rito and Zora.[91]     Ancient Robots are a prehistoric mechanical race that appear in Skyward Sword. Link encounters them in the third area of the game, Lanayru Desert. They were created by the Thunder Dragon Lanayru, but their land eventually became a barren desert while they rusted away. They can be revived using a Timeshift Stone to change the present to the past. Although the designers expressed concern about including advanced technology in Skyward Sword, they decided that they did not look out of place with a "softer" design to resemble ancient clay figures from Japanese history, more befitting of fantasy.[92]     Dragons are a recurring race that usually appear as benevolent guardians or powerful enemies. In Ocarina of Time, Link must slay Volvagia, a dragon boss in the Fire Temple.[93] In The Wind Waker, the Sky Spirit Valoo acts as the godlike dragon and the patron deity of the Rito tribe.[94] When Link arrives on Dragon Roost Island, he defeats the boss Gohma by damaging Valoo's tail.[95] In Twilight Princess, Link encounters the dragon Argorok, who is the boss of the City in the Sky.[96] In Skyward Sword, Link is aided the three dragons Faron, Eldin and Lanayru, which guard the three regions of the Surface.[97] In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the three dragons Dinraal,[z] Naydra,[aa] and Farosh[ab] can be found in several locations around Hyrule.[98] In Tears of the Kingdom, there is also a fourth dragon, the Light Dragon (白龍, Hakuryū), which is later revealed to be Zelda, who transformed after undergoing the process of draconification to restore the Master Sword.[99][100][101]     Fairies are magical creatures that appear as small, winged humanoids often obscured by light. They tend to be shy and can be found hiding in many places throughout Hyrule. They are often found at fairy fountains or fairy springs. In most games in the series, fairies will heal Link if he manages to catch one; he can also put them in empty bottles to have them heal him later. If Link dies while he has a bottled fairy in his possession, the fairy will automatically resurrect him. Great fairies are powerful, high ranking fairies that use their magic to enchant Link's items into more powerful versions.[102] In Ocarina of Time, the Kokiri form a symbiotic relationship with their guardian fairies, who act as companions and mentors. One of these is Navi, who serves as Link's sidekick and helps him learn about the world outside Kokiri Forest.[103]     The Gerudo[ac] are a race of human warrior-thieves indigenous to the Gerudo Desert, which bears their name.[104] Their physical traits include scarlet hair, aquiline noses,[105] gold or green eyes, round or pointed ears, and bronzed skin. Like the Amazons, the race consists entirely of women, apart from a single Gerudo male who is born every century. The male is lawfully crowned king of the tribe, [106] and even worshipped like a God king.[107] When there is no male present to be king, leadership is entrusted to female chiefs.[108] Ganondorf, the main antagonist of the series, is king of the Gerudo. The Gerudo appear as pirates in Majora's Mask, where they live in the ocean at Great Bay. In Breath of the Wild, they are traders and merchants. As men are not permitted in Gerudo Town, Link has to crossdress as a female to enter.[109]     The Gorons[ad] are a race of mountain-dwelling rock people who first appeared in Ocarina of Time. They have the ability to roll along the ground and have a round rock-like physical appearance. Goron culture revolves around brotherhood and strength, usually referring to each other and those they deem strong as "Brother" or "Big Brother". Gorons show high regard for individuals who display great strength and bravery and enjoy matching their strength with others in competition such as sumo wrestling and racing. They live in tribes headed by a patriarch, such as Darunia[ae] in Ocarina of Time. They mainly inhabit mountainous areas, such as Death Mountain, and are resistant to intense heat and lava. They also consume rocks and minerals, which they mine from the earth.[110]     Hylians[af] are an elf-like race of humans that make up the predominant population of Hyrule, in which they established an organized civilization resembling that of medieval Europe.[111][41] They were created as the first race of Hyrule by the goddess Hylia. They are born with magic-infused blood, said to be a gift from the goddesses that grants them psychic powers and magical skill. Their long pointed ears are said to allow them to hear messages sent by the gods.[112] Link and Princess Zelda are prominent Hylians. In Skyward Sword, Hylians live on the floating island of Skyloft and are accompanied by bird-like creatures called Loftwings. Hylians are a fairly diverse species, having variations in skin, hair and eye colour. Due to repeated attacks from enemies, such as Ganon, large Hylian armies exist to protect Hyrule.[113]     The Kokiri[ag] are a pixie-like race who inhabit the Kokiri Forest. They branched off from the Hylians because they wanted to live a more natural life as Hyrule continued to industrialize. They are shielded by the Great Deku Tree, who considers them to be his children, and each receives a small fairy that is their lifelong friend, guardian, and teacher. They do not age once they grow up into kids due to the Deku Tree's power. They are cautious and secretive, believing that they will die if they leave the forest.[114] Link was raised as a Kokiri in Ocarina of Time, but was not born to them, as his Hylian mother entrusted him to the Great Deku Tree when he was an infant.[115]     The Koroks[ah] are plant-like beings that first appeared in The Wind Waker. They are said to have been transformed from the Kokiri following the Great Flood.[116] They are small creatures with wood-like bodies and masks made from leaves. They are very light, which allows them to travel by using sprouts as propellers. They leave their home, the "Forest Haven", to plant seeds from the Great Deku Tree all over the world, and return once a year to hold a ceremony and obtain more seeds. In Breath of the Wild, Koroks can be found all over Hyrule and their seeds can be traded with Hestu, a large Korok, for weapon inventory slots. Koroks are difficult to find despite being numerous and are best protected in Korok Forest, a hidden location in the Lost Woods.[117]     The Oocca[ai] are a race of birds with long necks and human-like faces that appear in Twilight Princess. They live in the "City in the Sky",[aj][118] an airborne city that is the seventh dungeon in Twilight Princess. A female Oocca, Ooccoo[ak] can warp the player back to the entrance of the game's dungeons. Ooccoo's son, Ooccoo Jr,[al] warps the player to Ooccoo's location. In Twilight Princess, they are mentioned to be closer to the gods than the Hylians. Some in Hyrule theorize that the Oocca actually evolved into the Hylians, or that they created Hylians and a city in the sky for them to live in.[119] In Twilight Princess, Link reaches the City by launching himself out of an enormous cannon.[120] Ooccoo has also appeared in other Nintendo games, such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Hyrule Warriors.[121]     Minish, referred to in their native language as Picori,[am] are small humanoid sprites no bigger than a human thumb that live in secret. They are only visible to children and tend to live in forests, but also appear inside of buildings and holes in and around various spots of Hyrule.[122] There are three variations of the Minish, which can be distinguished by their attire: Forest Minish, Town Minish and Mountain Minish. They first appear in The Minish Cap. Most Minish are helpful, and like to hide valuable objects for others to find, although one Picori, Vaati[an] became evil after becoming obsessed with human nature.     The Rito[ao] are a race of raptor-like humanoids who debuted in The Wind Waker and evolved from the Zora. In The Wind Waker, they live on Dragon Roost Island, an island on the Great Sea, and have a tribal elder and elaborately dressed guards. They are initially flightless, as they are born without wings; throughout a young Rito's childhood, they are called a Fledgling. After a child reaches a certain age, they must visit their guardian, the Sky Spirit, Valoo, in a coming-of-age ceremony to receive one of his scales, which enables them to grow wings. Most Rito can fly for great distances and hover in place, but some struggle to fly for long periods of time. In Breath of the Wild, the Rito reside in the Hebra region in northwest Hyrule and tolerate cold climates. These Rito feature a much more prominent avian design that includes wings and are able to fly using updrafts. Prominent Rito characters include Revali, the Rito Champion, and Kass, a wandering minstrel who displays the Rito's appreciation of music through song.[123]     The Sheikah[ap] are ancient and mysterious ninja-like warriors commonly distinguished by their red eyes and white hair. The most prominent recurring representative of the Sheikah is Zelda's nursemaid and bodyguard Impa. They bear a physical resemblance to Hylians, but are a completely different race, having great technological prowess. Physically, they are extremely capable, able to run and jump better than other races. They are also some of the most potent magic-wielders in Hyrule. The Sheikah have a divinely ordained role to protect the Hyrule Royal Family. Their symbol, the Eye of the Sheikah, which is depicted as a single eye with three triangles above and a teardrop beneath, is commonly seen in the series, even in games where the Sheikah are not present. In Breath of the Wild, examples of the advanced technology created by the Sheikah can be found in the hidden structures around Hyrule and in the Sheikah Slate.[124]     Twili[aq] are a race that exist in the Twilight Realm and appear in Twilight Princess. The Twili come from a group referred to as the Interlopers, who used extraordinary magic to dominate a war between Hylians for the Triforce and the Sacred Realm. After seeing this, the Golden Goddesses ordered the Light Spirits to seal their magic in the Fused Shadow; the Interlopers were then banished to the Twilight Realm, a dark mirror world of Hyrule, where they adapted and evolved into the Twili. The most prominent members of their race are Midna[ar], the titular Twilight Princess, and Zant,[as] who overthrew her with Ganondorf's help to become king of the Twilight.[125]     The Zora[at] are a race of aquatic piscine humanoids that inhabit Zora's Domain or Lake Hylia. In the original game and Link to the Past, Zora were enemies that attacked Link from the water with projectiles, though the giant Zora King sells Link a pair of flippers in A Link to the Past, allowing him to swim and use the network of whirlpools that link far corners of Hyrule. By Ocarina of Time, their role in most stories had changed to a neutral or friendly race. Zora government is monarchical, either ruled by a king, such as King Dorephan or King Zora De Bon XVI, or queen, such as Queen Oren or Queen Rutela.[au] Two different branches exist: "River Zora" are more violent and can shoot fire, while "Sea Zora" are generally passive. Zora have extraordinarily long lifespans and lay eggs to reproduce. Zora eggs need to be kept in cold, clean water to develop healthily, and every egg from the same clutch must be kept together for them to hatch. Newborn Zora have the appearance of a tadpole.[126]     The Zonai are an ancient race that appear in Tears of the Kingdom. Initially referenced through various ruins in Breath of the Wild, they are established in Tears of the Kingdom as the tribe that originally founded Hyrule, with Rauru being the first king alongside his wife Sonia. In the game, Zonai technology is prominent across the land in the form of shrines, ruins, Constructs, and other Zonai devices. In the book Creating a Champion, the Zonai are described as magic users who worship the Triforce.[127] Enemies The appearance of some creatures varies across different titles of the series:     Armos[av] are animated statues built to guard ancient ruins that come to life and attack when disturbed. They have monstrous appearances and carry a sword and shield. If Link approaches, they will chase after him. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[128]     Bokoblins[aw] are a race of goblin-like creatures, that first appeared in The Wind Waker. Bokoblins come in a variety of colors. They often appear as standard enemies and wield boko sticks, machetes and clubs. Though their appearance varies from game to game, the one thing that remains consistent is they wear loincloths with a single skull. In Twilight Princess, they are less common and their role as standard enemies is largely taken over by the Bulblins. In Skyward Sword, Bokoblins are common monsters that serve the Demon Tribe, under Demon Lord Ghirahim and the Demon King Demise. The game also introduces Technoblins and Cursed Bokoblins, undead Bokoblins that can curse Link. In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Bokoblins are low-level, comical enemies that commonly appear across Hyrule living in camps.[129]     ChuChus[ax] are jelly-like creatures with squat, translucent bodies, stalk-eyes, and a smiling mouth. They mostly move by bouncing around. ChuChus appear in various colours and some possess specific abilities. Once they are defeated, they will drop ChuChu jelly, which can be used by Link as an ingredient and for upgrading armour.[130]     Darknuts[ay] are large armored knights armed with swords and shields. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda but are recurring foes that appear in Twilight Princess and other games.[131]     Deku[az] are wooden plant-like creatures introduced in Ocarina of Time that appear mostly in the overworld and dungeons. Deku are small creatures that have leaves sprouting out from their heads, red glowing eyes and tube-like mouths that can shoot Deku Nuts. They can fly by using large leaves to glide, and some can use the leaves on their head to fly indefinitely after taking off from a Deku Flower. There are four types of Deku depicted in the series: Deku Scrubs, Mad Scrubs, Business Scrubs, and Royal Scrubs.[132]     Floormasters[ba] and Wallmasters are ghostly manifestations of giant hands that drag adventurers back to the entrance of a dungeon. Floormasters split up into smaller versions when the original is attacked. Wallmasters first appeared in The Legend of Zelda while Floormasters first appeared in Ocarina of Time. Floormasters also appear in The Wind Waker and The Minish Cap.[133]     Gibdos[bb] are undead creatures wrapped like mummies. They resemble ReDeads in regards to their slow and zombie-like movement; in some games, setting a Gibdo's bandages alight will reveal a Stalfos or a ReDead underneath. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[134]     Gohma[bc] are recurring boss monsters which typically resemble giant arthropods with a single eye. The eye serves as their weak point. The original Gohma first appeared in The Legend of Zelda game.[135]     Guardians are large mechanical foes that can blast enemies with a powerful laser from their single eye. They appear in Breath of the Wild. Guardian Stalkers roam Hyrule by moving on their mechanical legs, whilst Guardian Skywatchers use propellers for locomotion. Producer Eiji Aonuma said that they were based on the octoroks that appear in the original game.[136]     Hinox[bd] are a recurring enemy and sub-boss in the Legend of Zelda series. The Hinox's single eye is its most vulnerable place, dealing the most damage to it when hit.[137] They are cyclops-like ogres and have appeared in A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Four Swords Adventures, Phantom Hourglass, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, Breath of the Wild, and most recently Tears of the Kingdom. In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Hinoxs can be either red, blue or black, depending on their strength. They are the largest monster found within the game and will uproot nearby trees to use as weapons against the player if provoked. Stalnox are skeletal versions of Hinox that appear in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.[138]     Keese[be] are bat monsters that often lurk in dark places such as caves, waiting to dive bomb unwary travelers attempting to bite off chunks of flesh. Some Keese have the ability to pick up elements they fly through and there are fire, ice, cursed, and electric variants. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[128]     Like Likes[bf] are yellowish cylindrical monsters that can suck in creatures as large as humans and consume items they carry. They are known for swallowing the shields and tunics that Link uses. Like Likes dissolve into a puddle when killed, leaving the stolen items. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[128][133]     Lizalfos[bg] are swift and cunning anthropomorphic lizards that often attack in pairs and can parry and dodge oncoming attacks. They first appeared in The Adventure of Link. In Breath of the Wild, Lizalfos can throw weapons and dash toward their target.[139]     Lynels[bh] are large, strong centaur-like creatures with a head of a lion and horns that first appeared in The Legend of Zelda. This creature has multiple variations including red, blue, white, and silver, with each color denoting the Lynel's strength. In Breath of the Wild, Lynels are extremely powerful foes that are resistant to attacks.[140]     Moblins[bi] are orc-like monsters that serve as Ganon's footsoldiers. In The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link, Moblins resembled bulldogs, but are pig-like in more recent games.[141] They commonly wield spears, swords, bows, or occasionally massive clubs. They are one of the most common enemies in the games and are considered "mighty", but also "dumb".[142][143] They are described as greedy, self-possessed creatures, and the major antagonist will commonly use them as mercenaries or summoned monsters.[144]     Octoroks[bj] are octopus monsters that have appeared in almost every Legend of Zelda game (except for Twilight Princess). Octoroks produce rocks within their body that they can fire from their snout via compressed air with the force of a musket shot. Some species of Octorok are land-dwelling while others are mostly aquatic. Big Octos are a very large ocean-dwelling breed sometimes known to attack ships. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[128]     Poes[bk] are lantern-carrying ghosts formed from concentrated hatred toward the living that freely roam graveyards and other haunted locales. They always carry their signature lanterns. In some editions, they can go invisible when Link is doing a certain action or in a certain form. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[134]     ReDeads[bl] are undead creatures resembling zombies with dark brown skin and flat mask-like faces that can paralyze enemies with a scream, and cling to them to drain health away.[145] They first appeared in Ocarina of Time.     Skulltulas[bm] are giant spiders, named for the bony plate in the shape of a human skull that forms their carapace. They are most commonly found in dark places, such as forests, caves, and dungeons but can also sometimes be found in towns at night. Skulltulas and Giant Skulltulas hang from ceiling surfaces, suspended by a strand of silk waiting to drop on unwary prey.[134]     Stalfos[bn] are animated skeletons mostly from the remains of dead warriors who still have a strong will to fight, and serve evil powers such as Ganon or Vaati. In Ocarina of Time, by using the Mask of Truth, the player learns from a Gossip Stone that humans that get lost while in the Lost Woods will become Stalfos.[67] They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[128]     Tektites[bo] are cyclopean four-legged insectoid creatures who use their powerful legs to leap upon and attack prey. Blue Tektites can walk on water, and both Blue and Red Tektites can jump up cliffs. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[128]     Wizzrobes[bp] are magician-like creatures that wear wizard robes and often use fire and ice magic. They first appeared in The Legend of Zelda.[128] Breath of the Wild introduced elemental Wizzrobes, who use various magical rods to summon elemental attacks, elemental enemies and even change the weather accordingly. The regular types are the Fire, Electric and Ice Wizzrobes, but each has a more powerful variant. These are known as Meteo and Thunder Wizzrobes, and Blizzrobes respectively.[146] Reception In their January 2010 issue, Nintendo Power listed Hyrule as one of the greatest Nintendo locations, citing the vast number of areas to explore, as well as referencing players' first experiences with the Lost Woods and Death Mountain as highlights of the players' adventures.[147] Steve Watts of GameSpot praised the original game world, commenting that although it is minimalist, it, "conveys the feeling of going on a grand adventure through the wilderness, and the lack of hand-holding that would come to define later Zelda games makes the world feel that much more expansive and mysterious".[148] Yannick LeJacq for Kotaku commented that "Hyrule is one of the most iconic settings in the history of video games. The Legend of Zelda players have been poring over it in one way or another for almost 30 years now".[149] Polygon's Jeremy Parish remarked on the impact that Hyrule and its centrepiece Hyrule Field had on gamers in Ocarina of Time. He commented: "Open game worlds existed before Ocarina of Time. And in truth, Ocarina's rendition of Hyrule isn't even really all that open. But the game explored the relationship between its environments, the camera's 3D perspective and Link's place in it all to create a realm that felt far more like a real location than the game worlds that had come before it".[150] Destructoid also noted Hyrule's impact in Ocarina of Time, saying "there was nothing else like it before 1998" and continued: "The awesome thing about Hyrule is that I can honestly see a place like it existing in our world. It's not just some fantasy, flashy place like you'd find in the Star Wars universe. It's meant to look like the real world, and Miyamoto achieved that goal in a way no one would have expected without actually seeing it first".[151] The open world of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild has received praise for its design. Noelle Warner of Destructoid ranked all of the settlements in Breath of the Wild and chose Tarrey Town as the favourite location, because players must build it from the ground up, making it one of the longest side quests in the game.[152] Kate Gray, writing for The Guardian, was impressed by the beauty and large scale of the game world, noting that "the greens of the open plains contrast with the dark black of Death Mountain, which is streaked with orange lava on the distant horizon". She also commented on the "range of quiet, clever techniques designed to help players navigate the environment".[153] Andrew Webster of The Verge responded positively to the grandness of the game's massive open world: "The scale could have been daunting, but the joy of discovery and the satisfaction that comes from finding your own way make it inviting instead".[154] Senior editor Caty McCarthy of USgamer ranked the in-game map of A Link to the Past as the best video game map, describing it as "perfect" world design in terms of the way it integrates with the gameplay.[155] IGN ranked Hyrule as the sixth greatest game world, commenting that "few game worlds manage to leave as indelible an impression on the collective gaming subconscious as Zelda has. For that alone it ranks up there as one of the best, most fully realized worlds in all of gaming".[156] In 2021, Evan Narcisse of Kotaku listed Hyrule as one of the richest sci-fi and fantasy worlds in video games.[157] Influence and legacy Since the release of the original The Legend of Zelda game, critics have commented on the influence and legacy of The Legend of Zelda universe on the gaming industry. Ozzie Mejia of Shacknews highlighted the importance of the original The Legend of Zelda: "Before the open worlds of a World of Warcraft, a Grand Theft Auto, or a Skyrim, there was the intimidating land of Hyrule. The Legend of Zelda has done more than shape the series as it's known today. It is known for influencing many of today's best games and its formula has inspired many of today's most recognizable game developers, both in the mainstream and indie space".[158] Liz Finnegan for The Escapist commented on the original game's influence on the RPG genre, particularly its nonlinear open world, and opined that "Zelda's design inspired countless other titles to adopt the action-adventure-exploration hybrid with a top-down perspective and expansive, cohesive overworld. These games have long since been informally dubbed "Zelda clones".[159] Christian Donlan of Eurogamer noted the similarity and influence that Hyrule had on Dark Souls, comparing both kingdoms: "In the original Legend of Zelda, however, Hyrule feels, well, a bit more like Lordran - a place of scarred earth and wasteland, parched and rugged and filled with horrible creatures that erupt from the sands or move in staggering hops".[160] The original game was a phenomenal commercial success for Nintendo, selling over 6.5 million copies, and has been described by many critics as one of the greatest video games of all time.[161] USGamer's Nadia Oxford commented on the significance of Ocarina of Time and considered it to be "a genius work of game design". She said that "it brought the traditionally top-down series into a fully 3D realm while successfully preserving the heart and soul of previous Zelda games. Its "Z-targeting" mechanic refined the clumsy auto-targeting systems that made 3D console games of the day feel inferior to 3D action games on the PC. Finally, it presented a story about healing a broken world".[162] Heather Alexandra, writing for Kotaku, remarked on the impact of the game's release: "There have been countless open world games since 1998, but Ocarina of Time was the moment when the concept of massive, interconnected worlds began to really crystalize".[163] Keza MacDonald of The Guardian also commented on the influence of Ocarina of Time, noting that it was one of the first real 3D adventures and that it "remains eminently playable today because so many of the things it invented became standard for any 3D game that came after it".[164] Tom Power of Gamesradar opined that the game is often considered to be the greatest video game due to its technological innovations: "The problems Nintendo solved back then have been influential across gaming genres and, whilst public acknowledgment of this influence is thin on the ground, it's difficult not to view Ocarina of Time as one of the fathers of modern gaming".[165] In the months following the release of Breath of the Wild in 2017, many video game developers were influenced by its open world design. Alx Preston, creator of Hyper Light Drifter, remarked that "the sense of freedom and experimentation is incredibly inspiring". Adam Saltsman, creator of Canabalt, commented on the consistency of the game environment and the player's ability to experiment. Vlambeer's Rami Ismail said that "no game has done verticality as well as BotW".[166] Sam Byford of The Verge commented on the impact of Breath of the Wild's open world on the video game industry, describing it as a "revolutionary approach to open-world game design". He cited several other subsequent game worlds that bear similarities to Breath of the Wild, including Genshin Impact, Immortals Fenyx Rising and Horizon Forbidden West.[167] Both the miHoYo development team of Genshin Impact and Sam Barlow, creator of Telling Lies have cited Breath of the Wild as a significant source of inspiration.[168][169] Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki also said that he was influenced by Breath of the Wild's open world.[170] Upon its release, Breath of the Wild achieved critical acclaim and was the biggest commercial success of the franchise and one of the best-selling video games, selling 29 million copies on the Nintendo Switch as of December 2022[171] and over 1.6 million copies on the Wii U." (wikipedia.org) "Link is the main character and protagonist of the The Legend of Zelda series. He has appeared across many incarnations throughout the series, usually depicted as an ordinary boy or young man who becomes a legendary hero by saving the world through feats of courage. He is often the holder of the Triforce of Courage, a sign of his being chosen by the Golden Goddesses. Link is typically seen wielding a sword and shield, most often the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. Specific incarnations of Link may be distinguished by titles such as the Hero of Time in Ocarina of Time and the Hero of Winds in The Wind Waker. All incarnations of Link possess the spirit of the hero and are thereby destined to fight evil. ...Breath of the Wild BotW Link Artwork The events of Breath of the Wild begin with Sir Link,[133][134][135] a Knight of Hyrule, awakening from a deep sleep in the Shrine of Resurrection. He is guided by a mysterious voice to take the Sheikah Slate and embark to the outside world, told that he must "shine upon Hyrule once again."[136] He then exits the Shrine and is free to explore Hyrule. Outside the Shrine, he finds an Old Man who later informs him that the Calamity Ganon was a source of many evils 100 years ago, until it was sealed in Hyrule Castle, which has been able to contain it for the past century. The Old Man also mentions that the Calamity Ganon is close to breaking free, giving Link the task to save Hyrule.[137] Link must choose to go to each of the four Ancient Shrines on the Great Plateau and acquire a Rune at each one that will grant him special abilities for the Sheikah Slate. Link is afflicted by amnesia, as he is unable to remember anyone or anything from prior to his rest in the Shrine of Resurrection.[138] Link's Father was also a Knight of Hyrule,[103] though his family was not nobility.[139] It is rumored that his hometown may have been Hateno Village, and as he was from the countryside, his promotion to both Champion and the personal bodyguard of the princess made some nobles unhappy.[140] According to Mipha's Diary, when Link was only four years old he traveled to Zora's Domain with a group of Hylians on order from King Rhoam. Even though he was so young, he was already an exceptional swordsman. Mipha describes him as being curious and full of energy at this age, but also reckless.[141] When he was twelve or thirteen years old, Link drew the Master Sword from its Pedestal, the location of which had long been a mystery.[142] By the time Link had become a teenager, he was much quieter and outwardly colder than he used to be, though Mipha could tell that inside he was still the same kind person.[143] The reason for Link maintaining silence through much of the game is explained in Zelda's Diary, which states that it is because, with so much at stake, he finds it necessary to be strong and silently bear his burdens, which caused him to stop showing outward emotions.[144] After awakening from the Shrine of Resurrection without his memories, Link is much more expressive and lighthearted as he does not remember the burdens and expectations that made him stay silent in the past.[145] Apparently, he is something of a glutton, and greatly enjoys a good meal.[146] According to Steen's grandfather, Link exclusively ate and trained with Swift Carrots a hundred years ago.[147] At the very least, Link used the Master Sword a hundred years ago[142], making the other claims untrustworthy at best. This incarnation of Link is given the title of "Hero of the Wild"." (wikipedia.org) "A jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaicked pieces, each of which typically has a portion of a picture. When assembled, the puzzle pieces produce a complete picture. In the 18th century, jigsaw puzzles were created by painting a picture on a flat, rectangular piece of wood, then cutting it into small pieces. The name "jigsaw" derives from the tools used to cut the images into pieces—variably identified as jigsaws, fretsaws or scroll saws. Assisted by Jason Hinds, John Spilsbury, a London cartographer and engraver, is credited with commercialising jigsaw puzzles around 1760. His design took world maps, and cut out the individual nations in order for them to be reassembled by students as a geographical teaching aid.[1] They have since come to be made primarily of interlocking cardboard pieces, incorporating a variety of images and designs. Jigsaw puzzles have been used in research studies to study cognitive abilities such as mental rotation visuospatial ability in young children. Typical images on jigsaw puzzles include scenes from nature, buildings, and repetitive designs—castles and mountains are common, as well as other traditional subjects. However, any picture can be used. Artisan puzzle-makers and companies using technologies for one-off and small print-run puzzles utilize a wide range of subject matter, including optical illusions, unusual art, and personal photographs. In addition to traditional flat, two-dimensional puzzles, three-dimensional puzzles have entered large-scale production, including spherical puzzles and architectural recreations. A range of jigsaw puzzle accessories, including boards, cases, frames, and roll-up mats, have become available to assist jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts. While most assembled puzzles are disassembled for reuse, they can also be attached to a backing with adhesive and displayed as art. Competitive Jigsaw Puzzling has grown in popularity in recent years, with both regional and national competitions held in many countries, and annual World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships held from 2019. John Spilsbury is believed to have produced the first jigsaw puzzle around 1760, using a marquetry saw.[1] Early puzzles, known as dissections, were produced by mounting maps on sheets of hardwood and cutting along national boundaries, creating a puzzle useful for teaching geography.[1] Royal governess Lady Charlotte Finch used such "dissected maps" to teach the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte.[4][5] Cardboard jigsaw puzzles appeared in the late 1800s, but were slow to replace wooden ones because manufacturers felt that cardboard puzzles would be perceived as low-quality, and because profit margins on wooden jigsaws were larger. The name "jigsaw" came to be associated with the puzzle around 1880 when fretsaws became the tool of choice for cutting the shapes.[1] Along with fretsaws, jigsaws and scroll saws have also been noted as tools used to cut jigsaw puzzles into pieces.[6] The term "jigsaw puzzle" dates back to 1906.[6] Wooden jigsaw pieces, cut by hand Jigsaw puzzles soared in popularity during the Great Depression, as they provided a cheap, long-lasting, recyclable form of entertainment.[1][7] It was around this time that jigsaws evolved to become more complex and appealing to adults.[1] They were also given away in product promotions and used in advertising, with customers completing an image of the promoted product. Sales of wooden puzzles fell after World War II as improved wages led to price increases, while improvements in manufacturing processes made paperboard jigsaws more attractive. Demand for jigsaw puzzles saw a surge, comparable to that of the Great Depression, during the COVID-19 pandemic's stay-at-home orders. Modern construction Paperboard jigsaw pieces Most modern jigsaw puzzles are made of paperboard as they are easier and cheaper to mass-produce. An enlarged photograph or printed reproduction of a painting or other two-dimensional artwork is glued to cardboard, which is then fed into a press. The press forces a set of hardened steel blades of the desired pattern, called a puzzle die, through the board until fully cut. The puzzle die is a flat board, often made from plywood, with slots cut or burned in the same shape as the knives that are used. The knives are set into the slots and covered in a compressible material, typically foam rubber, which ejects the cut puzzle pieces. The cutting process is similar to making shaped cookies with a cookie cutter. However, the forces involved are tremendously greater: A typical 1000-piece puzzle requires upwards of 700 tons of force to push the die through the board. Beginning in the 1930s, jigsaw puzzles were cut using large hydraulic presses that now cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The precise cuts gave a snug fit, but the cost limited jigsaw puzzle production to large corporations. Recent roller-press methods achieve the same results at a lower cost.[citation needed] New technology has also enabled laser-cutting of wooden or acrylic jigsaw puzzles. The advantage is that the puzzle can be custom-cut to any size or shape, with any number or average size of pieces. Many museums have laser-cut acrylic puzzles made of some of their art so visiting children can assemble puzzles of the images on display. Acrylic pieces are very durable, waterproof, and can withstand continued use without the image degrading. Also, because the print and cut patterns are computer-based, missing pieces can easily be remade. By the early 1960s, Tower Press was the world's largest jigsaw puzzle maker; it was acquired by Waddingtons in 1969.[10] Numerous smaller-scale puzzle makers work in artisanal styles, handcrafting and handcutting their creations....Jigsaw puzzles come in a variety of sizes. Among those marketed to adults, 300-, 500- and 750-piece puzzles are considered "smaller". More sophisticated, but still common, puzzles come in sizes of 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, and 5,000 pieces. Jigsaw puzzles geared towards children typically have many fewer pieces and are typically much larger. For very young children, puzzles with as few as 4 to 9 large pieces (so as not to be a choking hazard) are standard. They are usually made of wood or plastic for durability and can be cleaned without damage. The most common layout for a thousand-piece puzzle is 38 pieces by 27 pieces, for an actual total of 1,026 pieces. Most 500-piece puzzles are 27 pieces by 19 pieces, for a total of 513 pieces. A few puzzles are double-sided so they can be solved from either side—adding complexity, as the enthusiast must determine if they are looking at the right side of each piece. "Family puzzles" of 100–550 pieces use an assortment of small, medium and large pieces, with each size going in one direction or towards the middle of the puzzle. This allows a family of different skill levels and hand sizes to work on the puzzle together. Companies like Springbok, Cobble Hill, Ceaco, Buffalo Games and Suns Out make this type of specialty puzzle. Ravensburger, on the other hand, formerly made this type of puzzle from 2000 until 2008. There are also three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles. Many are made of wood or styrofoam and require the puzzle to be solved in a particular order, as some pieces will not fit if others are already in place. One type of 3-D jigsaw puzzle is a puzzle globe, often made of plastic. Like 2-D puzzles, the assembled pieces form a single layer, but the final form is three-dimensional. Most globe puzzles have designs representing spherical shapes such as the Earth, the Moon, and historical globes of the Earth. Also common are puzzle boxes, simple three-dimensional puzzles with a small drawer or box in the center for storage. Jigsaw puzzles can vary significantly in price depending on their complexity, number of pieces, and brand. In the US, children's puzzles can start around $5, while larger ones can be closer to $50. The most expensive puzzle to date was sold for $US27,000 in 2005 at a charity auction for The Golden Retriever Foundation.[15] Puzzle pieces A "whimsy" piece in a wooden jigsaw puzzle A 3D jigsaw puzzle Many puzzles are termed "fully interlocking", which means that adjacent pieces are connected so that they stay attached when one is turned. Sometimes the connection is tight enough to pick up a solved part by holding one piece. Some fully interlocking puzzles have pieces of a similar shape, with rounded tabs (interjambs) on opposite ends and corresponding indentations—called blanks—on the other two sides to receive the tabs. Other fully interlocking puzzles may have tabs and blanks variously arranged on each piece; but they usually have four sides, and the numbers of tabs and blanks thus add up to four. Uniformly shaped fully interlocking puzzles, sometimes called "Japanese Style", are the most difficult because the differences in the pieces' shapes are most subtle.[citation needed] Most jigsaw puzzles are square, rectangular or round, with edge pieces with one straight or smoothly curved side, plus four corner pieces (if the puzzle is square or rectangular). However, some puzzles have edge, and corner pieces cut like the rest, with no straight sides, making it more challenging to identify them. Other puzzles utilize more complex edge pieces to form unique shapes when assembled, such as profiles of animals. The pieces of spherical jigsaw, like immersive panorama jigsaw, can be triangular-shaped, according to the rules of tessellation of the geoid primitive. Designer Yuu Asaka created "Jigsaw Puzzle 29". Instead of four corner pieces, it has five. The puzzle is made from pale blue acrylic without a picture.[16] It was awarded the Jury Honorable Mention of 2018 Puzzle Design Competition.[17] Because many puzzlers had solved it easily, he created "Jigsaw Puzzle 19" which composed only with corner pieces as revenge.[18] It was made with transparent green acrylic pieces without a picture.[19] World records The world's largest-sized jigsaw puzzle measured 5,428.8 m2 (58,435 sq ft) with 21,600 pieces, each measuring a Guinness World Records maximum size of 50 cm by 50 cm. It was assembled on 3 November 2002 by 777 people at the former Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.[20] The Guinness record of CYM Group in 2011 with 551,232 pieces The jigsaw with the greatest number of pieces had 551,232 pieces and measured 14.85 × 23.20 m (48 ft 8.64 in × 76 ft 1.38 in). It was assembled on 25 September 2011 at Phú Thọ Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, by students of the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City. It is listed by the Guinness World Records for the "Largest Jigsaw Puzzle – most pieces", and was divided into 3,132 sections each containing 176 pieces, which were assembled individually and then connected to compose the full puzzle....Research studies Studies have shown that the ability to solve jigsaw puzzles develops during early childhood. During this time there is significant development in cognitive abilities such as mental rotation and visuospatial ability, which can be used to solve a puzzle. Throughout life those abilities can continue to develop. In 2021, researchers conducted a study during which a group of children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old were asked to complete three different types of jigsaw puzzles. Each child was given a normal jigsaw puzzle with a picture on it, another with normal shaped pieces but without an image on it and finally a puzzle with an image on it but all the pieces were shaped the same. They were shown the completed versions then asked to reassemble them. The children were given three minutes to complete each puzzle; half of the group was given a guide picture while the other half was not. The results revealed that 4 and 5 year olds were able to complete all three puzzles within the allotted time, meanwhile most 3-year-olds were able to complete the normal jigsaw puzzle and the puzzle of normal shaped pieces without an image on it but struggled more with the puzzle that had an image but all the pieces were shaped the same. With all of the children the fastest completion time was with the normal puzzle and the slowest was with the puzzle with an image and same shaped pieces; there were also fewer errors in with the children that had a guide.[23] The cognitive development between the different ages can be seen in their completion times and how many errors were made. The older children were able to complete the puzzles with fewer errors because their mental rotation abilities, which is the ability to rotate an object in your mind to see it from a different perspective, are further developed than they are for younger children who are more likely to resort to trial and error. The difference in the visuospatial abilities between boys and girls were studied in 2017 using jigsaw puzzles. A second-grade class was asked to complete three different puzzles, the first was a neutral one of a horse, second was a male-oriented one of a tractor, and the third was a female-oriented one of the character Bambi. The Bambi puzzle had the fastest completion time with all the children which is believed to be caused by their previous experience, and because it was finished the fastest with all of the children researchers do not believe there is a connection between the puzzles' targeted audience and the sex of the children. Overall the girls in the class were faster, and made fewer errors.[24] Society The logo of Wikipedia is a globe made out of jigsaw pieces. The incomplete sphere symbolizes the room to add new knowledge.[25] In the logo of the Colombian Office of the Attorney General appears a jigsaw puzzle piece in the foreground. They named it "The Key Piece": "The piece of a puzzle is the proper symbol to visually represent the Office of the Attorney General because it includes the concepts of search, solution and answers that the entity pursues through the investigative activity."[26] Art and entertainment The central antagonist in the Saw film franchise is nicknamed Jigsaw,[27] due to his practice of cutting the shape of a puzzle piece from the remains of his victims. In the 1933 Laurel and Hardy short Me and My Pal, several characters attempt to complete a large jigsaw puzzle.[28] Lost in Translation is a poem about a child putting together a jigsaw puzzle, as well as an interpretive puzzle itself. Life: A User's Manual, Georges Perec's most famous novel, tells as pieces of a puzzle a story about a jigsaw puzzle maker. Jigsaw Puzzle (song), sometimes spelled "Jig-Saw Puzzle" is a song by the rock and roll band The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet. In ‘‘Citizen Kane‘’ Susan Alexander Kane (Dorothy Comingore) is reduced to spending her days completing jigsaws after the failure of her operatic career. After Kane’s death when ‘’Xanadu’’ is emptied, hundreds of jigsaw puzzles are discovered in the cellar. Rhett And Link Do A Rainy Day Jigsaw Puzzle is a short video by self-described “internetainers” (portmanteau of “Internet” and “entertainers”) Rhett & Link which portrays the frustration of discovering a puzzle piece is missing. Mental health According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, doing jigsaw puzzles is one of many activities that can help keep the brain active and may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.[29] An "autism awareness" ribbon, featuring red, blue, and yellow jigsaw pieces Jigsaw puzzle pieces were first used as a symbol for autism in 1963 by the United Kingdom's National Autistic Society.[30] The organization chose jigsaw pieces for their logo to represent the "puzzling" nature of autism and the inability to "fit in" due to social differences, and also because jigsaw pieces were recognizable and otherwise unused.[31] Puzzle pieces have since been incorporated into the logos and promotional materials of many organizations, including the Autism Society of America and Autism Speaks. Proponents of the autism rights movement oppose the jigsaw puzzle iconography, stating that metaphors such as "puzzling" and "incomplete" are harmful to autistic people. Critics of the puzzle piece symbol instead advocate for a gold-colored or red infinity symbol representing diversity.[32] In 2017, the journal Autism concluded that the use of the jigsaw puzzle evoked negative public perception towards autistic individuals. They removed the puzzle piece from their cover in February 2018." (wikipedia.org) "A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle. There are different genres of puzzles, such as crossword puzzles, word-search puzzles, number puzzles, relational puzzles, and logic puzzles. The academic study of puzzles is called enigmatology. Puzzles are often created to be a form of entertainment but they can also arise from serious mathematical or logical problems. In such cases, their solution may be a significant contribution to mathematical research.[1] Etymology The Oxford English Dictionary dates the word puzzle (as a verb) to the end of the 16th century. Its earliest use documented in the OED was in a book titled The Voyage of Robert Dudley...to the West Indies, 1594–95, narrated by Capt. Wyatt, by himself, and by Abram Kendall, master (published circa 1595). The word later came to be used as a noun, first as an abstract noun meaning 'the state or condition of being puzzled', and later developing the meaning of 'a perplexing problem'. The OED's earliest clear citation in the sense of 'a toy that tests the player's ingenuity' is from Sir Walter Scott's 1814 novel Waverley, referring to a toy known as a "reel in a bottle".[2] The etymology of the verb puzzle is described by OED as "unknown"; unproven hypotheses regarding its origin include an Old English verb puslian meaning 'pick out', and a derivation of the verb pose....Solutions of puzzles often require the recognition of patterns and the adherence to a particular kind of ordering. People with a high level of inductive reasoning aptitude may be better at solving such puzzles than others. But puzzles based upon inquiry and discovery may be solved more easily by those with good deduction skills. Deductive reasoning improves with practice. Mathematical puzzles often involve BODMAS. BODMAS is an acronym and it stands for Bracket, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction. In certain regions, PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction) is the synonym of BODMAS. It explains the order of operations to solve an expression. Some mathematical puzzles require Top to Bottom convention to avoid the ambiguity in the order of operations. It is an elegantly simple idea that relies, as sudoku does, on the requirement that numbers appear only once starting from top to bottom as coming along....History of jigsaw and other puzzles Main article: Jigsaw puzzle Jigsaw puzzles are perhaps the most popular form of puzzle. Jigsaw puzzles were invented around 1760, when John Spilsbury, a British engraver and cartographer, mounted a map on a sheet of wood, which he then sawed around the outline of each individual country on the map. He then used the resulting pieces as an aid for the teaching of geography.[5] After becoming popular among the public, this kind of teaching aid remained the primary use of jigsaw puzzles until about 1820.[6] The largest puzzle (40,320 pieces) is made by German game company Ravensburger.[7] The smallest puzzle ever made was created at LaserZentrum Hannover. It is only five square millimeters, the size of a sand grain. The puzzles that were first documented are riddles. In Europe, Greek mythology produced riddles like the riddle of the Sphinx. Many riddles were produced during the Middle Ages, as well.[8] By the early 20th century, magazines and newspapers found that they could increase their readership by publishing puzzle contests, beginning with crosswords and in modern days sudoku." (wikipedia.org) "Nintendo was founded in 1889 as Nintendo Koppai[c] by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade hanafuda playing cards. After venturing into various lines of business during the 1960s and acquiring a legal status as a public company, Nintendo distributed its first console, the Color TV-Game, in 1977. It gained international recognition with the release of Donkey Kong in 1981 and the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Mario Bros. in 1985. Since then, Nintendo has produced some of the most successful consoles in the video game industry, such as the Game Boy, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Nintendo DS, the Wii, and the Switch. It has created numerous major franchises, including Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Fire Emblem, Kirby, Star Fox, Pokémon, Super Smash Bros., Animal Crossing, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Splatoon, and Nintendo's mascot, Mario, is internationally recognized. The company has sold more than 5.592 billion video games and over 836 million hardware units globally, as of March 2023. Nintendo has multiple subsidiaries in Japan and abroad, in addition to business partners such as HAL Laboratory, Intelligent Systems, Game Freak, and The Pokémon Company. Nintendo and its staff have received awards including Emmy Awards for Technology & Engineering, Game Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, and British Academy Games Awards. It is one of the wealthiest and most valuable companies in the Japanese market....2017–present: Nintendo Switch and expansion to other media Further information: History of Nintendo Switch In "TV mode", with the Joy-Con attached to a grip and the main unit docked In "Handheld mode", with the Joy-Con attached to its sides Nintendo Switch, a hybrid video game console, released in 2017 The Wii U's successor in the eighth generation of video game consoles, the Nintendo Switch, was released in March 2017. The Switch features a hybrid design as a home and handheld console, Joy-Con controllers that each contain an accelerometer and gyroscope, and the simultaneous wireless networking of up to eight consoles.[174] To expand its library, Nintendo entered alliances with several third-party and independent developers;[175][176] by February 2019, more than 1,800 Switch games had been released.[177] Worldwide sales of the Switch exceeded 55 million units by March 2020.[178] In April 2018, the Nintendo Labo line was released, consisting of cardboard accessories that interact with the Switch and the Joy-Con controllers.[179] More than one million units of the Nintendo Labo Variety Kit were sold in its first year on the market.[180] Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, opened in 2021 In 2018, Shuntaro Furukawa replaced Kimishima as company president,[181] and in 2019, Doug Bowser succeeded Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé.[182] In April 2019, Nintendo formed an alliance with Tencent to distribute the Nintendo Switch in China starting in December.[183] The theme park area Super Nintendo World opened at Universal Studios Japan in 2021.[184][185] Nintendo's Tokyo branch office, located in the 8th floor, since 2020 In early 2020, Plan See Do, a hotel and restaurant development company, announced that it would refurbish the former Nintendo headquarters from the 1930s as a hotel, with plans to add 20 guest rooms, a restaurant, bar, and gym. The building is owned by Yamauchi Co., Ltd., an asset management company of Nintendo's founding family.[186] The hotel later opened in April 2022, with 18 guest rooms, and named Marufukuro in a homage to Nintendo's previous name - Marufuku.[187][188][189] In April 2020, Reuters reported that ValueAct Capital had acquired over 2.6 million shares in Nintendo stock worth US$1.1 billion over the course of a year, giving them an overall stake of 2% in Nintendo.[190] Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays in the production and distribution of some of Nintendo's products, the situation "had limited impact on business results"; in May 2020, Nintendo reported a 75% increase in income compared to the previous fiscal year, mainly contributed by the Nintendo Switch Online service.[191] The year saw some changes to the company's management: outside director Naoki Mizutani retired from the board, and was replaced by Asa Shinkawa; and Yoshiaki Koizumi was promoted to senior executive officer, maintaining its role as deputy general manager of Nintendo EPD.[191] By August, Nintendo was named the richest company in Japan.[192] In June 2021, the company announced plans to convert its former Uji Ogura plant, where it had manufactured playing and hanafuda cards, into a museum tentatively named "Nintendo Gallery", targeted to open by March 2024.[193][194] In the following year, historic remains of a Yayoi period village were discovered in the construction site.[195] Nintendo co-produced an animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie alongside Universal Pictures and Illumination, with Miyamoto and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri acting as producers.[196][197] In 2021, Furukawa indicated Nintendo's plan to create more animated projects based on their work outside the Mario film,[198] and by 29 June, Meledandri joined the board of directors as a non-executive outside director.[199][200] According to Furukawa, the company's expansion toward animated production is to keep "[the] business [of producing video games] thriving and growing", realizing the "need to create opportunities where even people who do not normally play on video game systems can come into contact with Nintendo characters". That day, Miyamoto said that "[Meledandri] really came to understand the Nintendo point of view" and that "asking for [his] input, as an expert with many years of experience in Hollywood, will be of great help to" Nintendo's transition into film production.[201] Later, in July 2022, Nintendo acquired Dynamo Pictures, a Japanese CG company founded by Hiroshi Hirokawa on 18 March 2011. Dynamo had worked with Nintendo on digital shorts in the 2010s, including for the Pikmin series, and Nintendo said that Dynamo would continue their goal of expanding into animation. Following the completion of the acquisition in October 2022, Nintendo renamed Dynamo as Nintendo Pictures.[202][203] In February 2022, Nintendo announced the acquisition of SRD Co., Ltd. (Systems Research and Development) after 40 years, a major contributor of Nintendo's first-party games such as Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda until the 1990s, and then support studio since.[204] In May 2022, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had purchased a 5% stake in Nintendo,[205] and by January 2023, its stake in the company had increased to 6.07%.[206] It was raised to 7.08% by February 2023, and in the same week by 8.26%, making it the biggest external investor.[207][208] In early 2023, the Super Nintendo World theme park area in Universal Studios Hollywood opened.[209] The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released on 5 April 2023, and has grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide, setting box-office records for the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film, the highest-grossing film based on a video game and the 15th-highest-grossing film of all-time....Nintendo of America Nintendo of America headquarters in Redmond, Washington Nintendo founded its North American subsidiary in 1980 as Nintendo of America (NoA). Hiroshi Yamauchi appointed his son-in-law Minoru Arakawa as president, who in turn hired his own wife and Yamauchi's daughter Yoko Yamauchi as the first employee. The Arakawa family moved from Vancouver, British Columbia to select an office in Manhattan, New York, due to its central status in American commerce. Both from extremely affluent families, their goals were set more by prestige than money. The seed capital and product inventory were supplied by the parent corporation in Japan, with a launch goal of entering the existing $8 billion-per-year coin-op arcade video game market and the largest entertainment industry in the US, which had already outclassed movies and television combined. During the couple's arcade research excursions, NoA hired gamer youths to work in the filthy, hot, ratty warehouse in New Jersey in order to receive and service game hardware from Japan.[223] In late 1980, NoA contracted the Seattle-based arcade sales and distribution company Far East Video, consisting solely of experienced arcade salespeople Ron Judy and Al Stone. The two had already built a decent reputation and a distribution network, founded specifically for the independent import and sales of games from Nintendo because the Japanese company had for years been the under-represented maverick in America. Now as direct associates to the new NoA, they told Arakawa they could always clear all Nintendo inventory if Nintendo produced better games. Far East Video took NoA's contract for a fixed per-unit commission on the exclusive American distributorship of Nintendo games, to be settled by their Seattle-based lawyer, Howard Lincoln.[223] Based on favorable test arcade sites in Seattle, Arakawa wagered most of NoA's modest finances on a huge order of 3,000 Radar Scope cabinets. He panicked when the game failed in the fickle market upon its arrival from its four-month boat ride from Japan. Far East Video was already in financial trouble due to declining sales and Ron Judy borrowed his aunt's life savings of $50,000, while still hoping Nintendo would develop its first Pac-Man-sized hit. Arakawa regretted founding the Nintendo subsidiary, with the distressed Yoko trapped between her arguing husband and father.[224] Amid financial threat, Nintendo of America relocated from Manhattan to the Seattle metro to remove major stressors: the frenetic New York and New Jersey lifestyle and commute, and the extra weeks or months on the shipping route from Japan as was suffered by the Radar Scope disaster. With the Seattle harbor being the US's closest to Japan at only nine days by boat, and having a lumber production market for arcade cabinets, Arakawa's real estate scouts found a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) warehouse for rent containing three offices—one for Arakawa and one for Judy and Stone.[225] This warehouse in the Tukwila suburb was owned by Mario Segale after whom the Mario character would be named, and was initially managed by former Far East Video employee Don James.[226] After one month, James recruited his college friend Howard Phillips as assistant, who soon took over as warehouse manager.[227][228][229][230][231][232] The company remained at fewer than 10 employees for some time, handling sales, marketing, advertising, distribution, and limited manufacturing[233]: 160  of arcade cabinets and Game & Watch handheld units, all sourced and shipped from Nintendo. Arakawa was still panicked over NoA's ongoing financial crisis. With the parent company having no new game ideas, he had been repeatedly pleading for Yamauchi to reassign some top talent away from existing Japanese products to develop something for America—especially to redeem the massive dead stock of Radar Scope cabinets. Since all of Nintendo's key engineers and programmers were busy, and with NoA representing only a tiny fraction of the parent's overall business, Yamauchi allowed only the assignment of Gunpei Yokoi's young assistant who had no background in engineering, Shigeru Miyamoto.[234] Further information on the fortuitous conversion: Radar Scope and Donkey Kong NoA's staff—except the sole young gamer Howard Phillips—were uniformly revolted at the sight of the freshman developer Miyamoto's debut game, which they had imported in the form of emergency conversion kits for the overstock of Radar Scope cabinets.[226] The kits transformed the cabinets into NoA's massive windfall gain of $280 million from Miyamoto's smash hit Donkey Kong in 1981–1983 alone.[235][236] They sold 4,000 new arcade units each month in America, making the 24-year-old Phillips "the largest volume shipping manager for the entire Port of Seattle".[231] Arakawa used these profits to buy 27 acres (11 ha) of land in Redmond in July 1982[237] and to perform the $50 million launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985 which revitalized the entire video game industry from its devastating 1983 crash.[238][239] A second warehouse in Redmond was soon secured, and managed by Don James. The company stayed at around 20 employees for some years. Further information: History of the Nintendo Entertainment System and Howard Phillips (consultant) The organization was reshaped nationwide in the following decades, and those core sales and marketing business functions are now directed by the office in Redwood City, California. The company's distribution centers are Nintendo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nintendo North Bend in North Bend, Washington. As of 2007, the 380,000-square-foot (35,000 m2) Nintendo North Bend facility processes more than 20,000 orders a day to Nintendo customers, which include retail stores that sell Nintendo products in addition to consumers who shop Nintendo's website.[240] Nintendo of America operates two retail stores in the United States: Nintendo New York on Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, which is open to the public; and Nintendo Redmond, co-located at NoA headquarters in Redmond, Washington, which is open only to Nintendo employees and invited guests. Nintendo of America's Canadian branch, Nintendo of Canada, is based in Vancouver, British Columbia with a distribution center in Toronto.[241] Nintendo Treehouse is NoA's localization team, composed of around 80 staff who are responsible for translating text from Japanese to English, creating videos and marketing plans, and quality assurance.[242] Nintendo of America announced in October 2021 that it will be closing its offices in Redwood City, California and Toronto and merging their operations with their Redmond and Vancouver offices....Marketing Main article: Nintendo marketing Nintendo of America has engaged in several high-profile marketing campaigns to define and position its brand. One of its earliest and most enduring slogans was "Now you're playing with power!", used first to promote its Nintendo Entertainment System.[266] It modified the slogan to include "SUPER power" for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and "PORTABLE power" for the Game Boy.[267] Its 1994 "Play It Loud!" campaign played upon teenage rebellion and fostered an edgy reputation.[268] During the Nintendo 64 era, the slogan was "Get N or get out".[267] During the GameCube era, the "Who Are You?" suggested a link between the games and the players' identities.[269] The company promoted its Nintendo DS handheld with the tagline "Touching is Good".[270] For the Wii, they used the "Wii would like to play" slogan to promote the console with the people who tried the games including Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario.[271] The Nintendo 3DS used the slogan "Take a look inside".[272] The Wii U used the slogan "How U will play next".[273] The Nintendo Switch uses the slogan "Switch and Play" in North America, and "Play anywhere, anytime, with anyone" elsewhere.[274] Trademark During the peak of Nintendo's success in the video game industry in the 1990s, its name was ubiquitously used to refer to any video game console, regardless of the manufacturer. To prevent its trademark from becoming generic, Nintendo pushed the term "game console", and succeeded in preserving its trademark.[275][276] Logos Used since the 1960s, Nintendo's most recognizable logo is the racetrack shape, especially the red-colored wordmark typically displayed on a white background, primarily used in the Western markets from 1985 to 2006. In Japan, a monochromatic version that lacks a colored background is on Nintendo's own Famicom, Super Famicom, Nintendo 64, GameCube, and handheld console packaging and marketing. Since 2006, in conjunction with the launch of the Wii, Nintendo changed its logo to a gray variant that lacks a colored background inside the wordmark, making it transparent. Nintendo's official, corporate logo remains this variation.[277][failed verification] For consumer products and marketing, a white variant on a red background has been used since 2016, and has been in full effect since the launch of the Nintendo Switch in 2017. " (wikipedia.org) "GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer.[1] The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide.[2] As of 28 January 2023, the company operates 4,413 stores including 2,949 in the United States, 216 in Canada, 419 in Australia and 829 in Europe under the GameStop, EB Games, EB Games Australia, Micromania-Zing, ThinkGeek and Zing Pop Culture brands.[1][3] The company was founded in Dallas in 1984 as Babbage's, and took on its current name in 1999. The company's performance declined during the mid-to-late 2010s due to the shift of video game sales to online shopping and failed investments by GameStop in smartphone retail. In 2021, after retail investors on Reddit noticed that the short interest exceeded 100%, the company's stock price skyrocketed from $17.25 to over US$500 per share. According to the SEC report, this volatility was only in part due to the shorts covering their positions, but mostly thanks to the massive buying power of retail investors. The company received significant media attention during January and February 2021 due to the volatility of its stock price in the GameStop short squeeze. The company is now ranked 577th on the Fortune 500.[3] GameStop also owns and publishes the video game magazine Game Informer. During their initial transformation into an e-commerce business, Gamestop launched an NFT platform; where they offer users the ability to buy or sell digital goods in various web3 games online[4] (Note: The Gamestop wallet has shutdown development as of November 1st, 2023. The marketplace now works exclusively with MetaMask or WalletConnect). ...Decline (2016–2021) A shuttered and graffitied GameStop store in Jamaica, Queens in 2017 Changes in market conditions The market for physical game media has been in a state of decline due to downloadable games on services such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Nintendo eShop, and Steam.[62][63] This has resulted in a decline in sales at GameStop. In 2017, GameStop reported a 16.4% drop in sales for the 2016 holiday season, but expressed optimism in its non-physical gaming businesses.[64][65] In February 2017, it was revealed that GameStop enforced, on all of its retail employees, a program known as Circle of Life. The policy itself was made to ensure that each employee would allow a certain percentage of their sales to pre-orders, rewards cards, used games, or have a customer trade in a game.[66] Upon revelation of the policy, many current and former GameStop employees revealed stories of how the policy has led to them lying to customers. Many more claimed that the policy had led to poor working conditions and emotional distress.[67] Later that month, GameStop reformed the program to solely focus on the store as a whole instead of the previous individual employee basis, though still maintaining a heavy emphasis on the individuals' performance to maintain strong store metrics." (wikipedia.org) "Link[c] is a character and the protagonist of Nintendo's video game franchise The Legend of Zelda. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Link was introduced as the hero of the original The Legend of Zelda video game in 1986 and has appeared in a total of 20 entries in the series, as well as a number of spin-offs. Common elements in the series include Link travelling through Hyrule whilst exploring dungeons, battling creatures, and solving puzzles until he eventually defeats the series' primary antagonist, Ganon, and saves Princess Zelda. Throughout the series, Link has made multiple appearances in a variety of incarnations, but has been traditionally depicted in his signature green cap and tunic wielding a sword and shield. He has appeared as both a child and young adult of the elf-like Hylian race. Within Zelda mythology, Link is the soul of a legendary hero that throughout history is reincarnated within a seemingly ordinary boy or young man whenever evil arises. To defeat Ganon, Link usually obtains the mystical Master Sword or a similar legendary weapon obtained after completing many trials. In addition to the main series, Link has appeared in other Nintendo media, including merchandise, comics and manga, and an animated television series. He is a prominent character in various spin-off games, including Hyrule Warriors, Cadence of Hyrule and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. He has appeared in several other game franchises, including the Super Smash Bros. series, SoulCalibur II and Mario Kart 8, and has also been referenced in other games, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Alongside fellow Nintendo character Mario, Link is one of the most recognisable characters in the video game industry. He has been instrumental in the establishment of the role-playing video game genre as the protagonist of the series, which has influenced numerous other video games with its concepts of open world and nonlinear gameplay. According to Guinness World Records, Link is the most critically acclaimed video game playable character and the most ubiquitous action-adventure video game character. He was recognised by the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition as the second best video game character after Mario. Critics have named him as one of the greatest and most influential video game characters of all time. Concept and creation Shigeru Miyamoto standing on a stage holding replicas of Link's sword and shield Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Link, holding replicas of the character's signature sword and shield at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2004 Characterisation Link's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, said that his concept of The Legend of Zelda was based on his childhood memories as well as books and movies that he and video game designer Takashi Tezuka had enjoyed, notably J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Miyamoto wanted people to have the opportunity to be heroes and created Link as a normal boy, with "a destiny to fight great evil".[1] On the origin of the character's name, Miyamoto said: "Link's name comes from the fact that originally, the fragments of the Triforce were supposed to be electronic chips. The game was to be set in both the past and the future and as the main character would travel between both and be the link between them, they called him Link". In the Nintendo book Hyrule Historia he said that the character is named Link because he, "connects people together" and, "he was supposed to spread the scattered energy of the world through the ages".[2] Link is the playable character who appears in every instalment of The Legend of Zelda series. Although there are many iterations of Link, each with a similar role and appearance, they are not the same individual. The series spans thousands of years in Hyrule's history across The Legend of Zelda fictional timeline, so that each version of the character is a different Link, sometimes being a descendant of earlier incarnations or a spiritual reincarnation. In some games, such as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, the same version appears in both, continuing that character's individual story. Skyward Sword, which was released in 2011, explained Link's incarnations by creating an origin story, in which the antagonist Demise curses the hero to be caught in an endless cycle of defeating evil in the form of Ganon.[3] As no canonical game in The Legend of Zelda series to date has contained substantial spoken dialogue for Link, he is mostly a silent protagonist, but not a mute character. His voice acting consists only of grunts, battle cries, and other sounds, although in The Wind Waker, he can be heard saying, "Come on!" Despite lacking spoken dialogue, Link interacts with other characters through visual responses, such as nodding or shaking his head, reactions from side characters, or game text that expresses his dialogue. Series producer, Eiji Aonuma explained that a core aspect of Link's design is that players need to relate to him and put themselves in his shoes, while still playing as themselves. Link is silent to allow the player to interpret how he sounds, make decisions for the character and become the hero.[4] Character design Link's character design has been consistent, but it has evolved across the series. His sprite design was created by Tezuka. In an interview with Gamekult, Miyamoto said that Tezuka used the Disney character Peter Pan as a source of inspiration when creating Link in order to make the character recognisable.[5] Due to the limited capabilities of the technology at the time, the development team was only able to use three colours and chose green as Link's signature colour, as the first game was mainly set within a forest environment. Link's sword and shield, long hat and ears were all created to make the character easily distinguishable.[6] For Ocarina of Time, Miyamoto said that the team started by designing a grown-up model followed by a child model, but realised that both could be used in the game, "to tell the story of a boy growing up".[7] Link's teenage appearance in Ocarina of Time was designed with the aim of making him more handsome, influenced by developer Yoshiaki Koizumi's wife declaring, "all of Nintendo's characters have funny noses; don't you have any handsome ones?"[8] Nintendo illustrator Yusuke Nakano said that Link's design in Ocarina of Time was based on a well-known American actor at the time of the game's development.[9] Prior to The Wind Waker a cartoon version of Link was created by graphic designer Yoshiki Haruhana as a way to evolve the series, which was well received by the development team. According to designer Satoru Takizawa, this oversized anime-inspired design with huge eyes offered a richer variety of expression and provided a better way of representing the puzzles and mechanisms than a more photorealistic design.[10] After many experiments, the development team had decided that cel-shading was the best option for expressing a young, energetic boy.[11] Although the team loved the idea of basing the next Zelda game on a cartoon Link, Aonuma held off presenting it to Miyamoto until later in the game's development. When he did view it, Miyamoto reportedly cringed, believing that the game would not sell, but the team insisted that there was not enough time to develop a realistic art style.[12] Toon Link eventually carved his own identity into the franchise by appearing in multiple entries in the series and being introduced as a playable character in Super Smash Bros.[13] Aonuma said that despite some initial outrage, gamers began to accept Toon Link, so Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks were created with a similar artwork style.[14] Following the response to The Wind Waker, Nintendo reversed the art style for Twilight Princess in 2006, by depicting Link in a more realistic style with a darker, grittier tone.[15] Nakano and Takizawa stated in The Legend of Zelda: Art and Artifacts that they had planned to design him aged mid-to-late twenties and that he would be well built, but this was rejected because the team expected that fans wanted to see Link as he appeared in Ocarina of Time.[16] Aonuma explained that the design team wanted to express Link as an older teenager: "The fact that we're seeing Link on horseback and swinging a sword, I think that's one more way in which Link has matured".[11] In Twilight Princess, Link has the ability to transform into a wolf. Aonuma said that the design team considered the animal to be the best representation of a hero and that this function gave the adult version of Link limited human abilities, allowing him to mature over the course of the game.[17] Artwork of Link dressed in a blue tunic and shooting an arrow The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild broke the conventions of Link's design by replacing his signature green hat and tunic. Link's signature green tunic and cap have evolved over the course of the series. At a Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Takizawa described the subtle changes made to Link's outfit. For Twilight Princess he, "made the hat long, so it would flap in the wind and move around", but for Skyward Sword, he made it more diminutive and gave it less motion. The release of Breath of the Wild in 2017 broke the conventions of Link's design, notably by the absence of his signature green outfit. Takizawa explained that "as the graphic fidelity has increased it becomes more difficult to make that hat look cool".[18] For Breath of the Wild nearly 100 designs were considered to ensure that Link remained a neutral character. Aonuma commented: "We thought that the iconic green tunic and hat had become expected, so we wanted to mix things up and update his look. Interestingly, though, nobody on the team said, 'Let's make him blue!' It just organically ended up that way".[19] Link's physical features have also evolved, influenced by trends in masculinity. His handsomeness has been defined by soft, androgynous facial features, a sharp nose and a slight build. His hair has been inspired by the fashion of the era, beginning with a mullet in the 1980s, then followed by blond curtain bangs and pierced ears in the 1990s, moving to choppy, layered side-swept bangs by the release of Twilight Princess. His look was updated in Breath of the Wild to include a ponytail and a wide variety of outfits.[8] Although Link is a male character, Aonuma said that he wanted him to be gender neutral in Ocarina of Time: "I wanted the player to think 'Maybe Link is a boy or a girl'. If you saw Link as a guy, he'd have more of a feminine touch. Or vice versa, if you related to Link as a girl, it was with more of a masculine aspect". For Twilight Princess, he created a more masculine Link, but later decided to return him to a more gender neutral character. He said that Link is definitely male in Breath of the Wild, but wanted to create a character to which anyone could relate.[20] Portrayal Link has been voiced by eight actors in the series and also voiced in other games: Nobuyuki Hiyama in Ocarina of Time as adult Link, Majora's Mask as Fierce Deity Link, Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee and Soulcalibur II,[21] Fujiko Takimoto in Ocarina of Time as young Link, Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past and Four Swords, and as Young Link in Hyrule Warriors, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,[22] Sachi Matsumoto in The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, Four Swords Adventures and as Toon Link in Hyrule Warriors, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,[23] Akira Sasanuma in Twilight Princess, Super Smash Bros. Brawl[24] and Link's Crossbow Training,[25] Yūki Kodaira in Spirit Tracks,[26] Takashi Ōhara in Skyward Sword,[27] Mitsuki Saiga in A Link Between Worlds and Link's Awakening (2019),[28] and Kengo Takanashi in Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Tears of the Kingdom.[29] Link was voiced by Yuki Kaji in Hyrule Warriors.[30] In Cadence of Hyrule, he was voiced by Caitlyn Bairstow.[31] In the cutscenes of the CD-i titles Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, he was voiced by Jeffrey Rath.[32] On television, Link was voiced by Jonathan Potts in both The Legend of Zelda animated series and Captain N: The Game Master.[33] Characteristics Link is the "Hero of Hyrule", the archetypal hero and protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series. Whenever a great malevolence threatens the Kingdom of Hyrule, typically in the form of Ganon, Link is the counterpart who is destined to fight that evil and restore peace to the people of Hyrule. He begins each game as either a child or young adult who is often lazy and unprepared for battle, but develops his skills and experience over the course of the game as the player upgrades his weapons and health. His story varies from game to game, but typically involves a similar thread of solving dungeon puzzles, saving Princess Zelda and defeating Ganon or some other evil.[34] He displays the characteristic traits of the Hylian race, being of humanoid form with elfin features, including pointed ears. Since the first The Legend of Zelda video game, he has been repeatedly depicted wearing his characteristic green cap and tunic and typically wields a sword and shield.[35] Link's age varies across the series, starting the first game at ten years old and its sequel at 16. In Ocarina of Time, he is initially aged nine and is aged up to 16 after the game's time shift. In The Wind Waker, Toon Link is 12, whereas in Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild, Link is aged 16 or 17 years old.[36] In the mythology of the series, Link is the reincarnated soul of a hero, chosen by the goddess Hylia to protect the kingdom of Hyrule from Ganon and save Princess Zelda whenever the need arises.[37] He is also the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, one of the three components that combine to form the Triforce, a sacred artefact and symbol of power.[38] The Triforce of Courage symbolises the essence of Link, specifically the courage and curiosity of the player setting out on the adventure.[39] In several Zelda games, Link's main objective is to recover the fragments of the Triforce in order to defeat Ganon.[40] Although Link can carry an arsenal of weapons, including bows, boomerangs and magic rods,[41] his signature weapon is the Master Sword, a powerful magic sword with the ability to repel evil.[42] Throughout each game, Link is able to obtain various items during his adventures, which the player can then use in gameplay. Many of these objects possess magical properties that bestow specific abilities on Link, such as a magic cape that makes Link invisible when he wears it, or potions that replenish his health. Others have various practical purposes, such as the hookshot, which enables Link to pull items towards him, and bombs for detonating walls. Link has used various musical instruments on his travels, most notably, the Ocarina of Time, which when played is used for teleportation.[43] In Breath of the Wild, Link's key tool is the Sheikah Slate, a handheld tablet featuring various runes that enable him to manipulate the game world.[44] A similar device named the Purah Pad provides Link with a multitude of functions, including a camera, map and telescope, in Tears of the Kingdom.[45] Relationships Link's relationships with the other two main characters have been a defining aspect of the series. Ganon, Zelda and Link embody the three pieces of the Triforce, with Ganon representing Power, Zelda representing Wisdom and Link representing Courage. This trinity dictates the enduring relationships of the three characters who are repeatedly reincarnated across the series in an endless battle for good and evil.[39] The nature of Zelda and Link's relationship has been the subject of speculation and remains ambiguous. A romantic relationship was particularly emphasised in an official "romance trailer" for Skyward Sword. In an interview with Game Informer, Aonuma said, "we wanted the player to feel like this is a person who's very important to me, who I need to find. We used that hint of a romance between the two to tug at the heartstrings".[46] Appearances See also: List of The Legend of Zelda media § Video games The following is a list of times in which Link has appeared, sorted by video game release date. The Legend of Zelda series An overhead view of a young boy in a green tunic battling creatures Link's first appearance in 2D form in The Legend of Zelda on the NES (1986) Link made his debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in The Legend of Zelda (1986) as an 8-bit 2D character within a flat environment viewed from a top-down perspective.[15] He was depicted as a short, stubby character with brown hair wearing a green cap and tunic.[47] During the game, he meets an old man who offers him a sword and declares "It's dangerous to go alone!". Link must rescue Princess Zelda and the kingdom of Hyrule from the evil wizard Ganon, who has stolen the Triforce of Power. He explores 128 areas of Hyrule and nine dungeons, which contain special items that help him to defeat each dungeon boss; he must defeat them all before fighting Ganon.[48] Link's second outing, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987), depicted him as a slightly taller 2D sprite wearing a similar green outfit. In the production art, his outfit was largely the same, but he wore brown trousers and longer hair. His shield was decorated with a cross, but this was removed in the games that followed.[49] The game switches between top-down exploration and side-scrolling action sequences.[50] Link's combat capability evolved with the ability to stab up and down with his sword while jumping. Experience points gained by defeating enemies enable his health and attack power to be levelled up. A series of magic spells also grant him special abilities, such as extra defence.[47] To complete the adventure, Link must defeat his doppelgänger Dark Link to awaken sleeping Zelda.[51] A Link to the Past (1991) recreated Link in a 16-bit colour palette for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, with the unusual characteristic of pink hair.[49] By contrast, the game manual depicts Link as a tall blond character. Link's sprite was designed to appear more expressive, by featuring an animated hat and a face that turns red when pulling objects.[49] The game reverted to a top-down perspective and features items that upgrade Link's moves with extra abilities such as running and swimming.[47] It introduced several recurring elements, including the hookshot and the Master Sword. Link's combat abilities were developed to be more complex, giving him the ability to move diagonally, swing his sword in an arc and perform a spin attack that enables multi-directional attacks.[52] His heart containers, which featured in the first game, were broken into pieces, necessitating the player to locate them and upgrade his health in smaller increments.[53] The first handheld title in the series, Link's Awakening (1993) on the Game Boy, introduced Link in monochrome until the DX port brought the game to the Game Boy Color.[54] It takes place on Koholint Island after Link is washed ashore and features a combination of mostly top-down adventuring and some side-scrolling action sequences. It was the first overhead game in which Link's move set includes the ability to jump. Link is depicted in an anime art style in the game's cutscenes.[47] The game involves collecting eight musical instruments from eight dungeons to wake the sleeping Wind Fish.[55] A screenshot of Link in 3D form standing in a field in Hyrule The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the first game in the series to render Link in 3D and extensively expanded on his range of movements. Ocarina of Time (1998), which was released for the Nintendo 64 (N64), was the first 3D game in the Zelda series. Link was depicted with blonde hair and his horse Epona was introduced as a mode of transport.[56] The plot's time shifts allow the player to control Link first as a child and later as a young adult. His green outfit reflects his role in the story as a Kokiri and his shield was updated to display the crest of the kingdom of Hyrule.[49] His abilities were extensively developed to perform a variety of movements, including a swipe, stab, roll, dodge and dive. The game's Z-targeting system enables him to lock on to enemies and circle around them in combat.[47] Through a built-in autojump function, he can also jump from a ledge.[57] During his adventure, he is accompanied by the fairy Navi, who gives him hints about enemies and his surroundings.[58] Link returned on the N64 with the release of Majora's Mask (2000). Appearing again as a child, he must save the land of Termina from the evil of Majora's Mask, which has drawn the moon into a decaying orbit, threatening to crash into Termina's Clock Town in three days. Link uses the Ocarina of Time to play the Song of Time, which allows him to repeatedly travel back in time to relive the three days until he successfully prevents the disaster. During the game, Link finds various magical masks that transform him into a Goron, Deku Scrub, or Zora, which each grant him special abilities such as gliding, swimming underwater and rolling.[59] In the final boss battle with Majora, Link is transformed into Fierce Deity Link, a dark, adult version of himself with white eyes, before finally reverting to his child form.[60] In Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, a pair of interconnected games released in 2001 for the Game Boy Color, Link is controlled from a top-down perspective within a flat 2D game world.[61] The two games involve Link being sent on a mission to the foreign lands of Holodrum and Labrynna in order to stop the disruption of the seasons by the General of Darkness, Onox, and the disruption of time by the Sorceress of Shadows, Veran. Link's key tools for uncovering areas and fighting his enemies are the Rod of Seasons and his magic harp.[62] In 2002, Nintendo published A Link to the Past & Four Swords on the Game Boy Advance. Four Swords was an original title packaged together with the rereleased entry A Link to the Past. Diverging from the traditional single-player approach, Four Swords was based on cooperative gameplay, allowing four players to interact together by connecting four Game Boy Advance systems.[63] In Four Swords, four Links of different colours appear, each of which is controlled by a different player. The four versions of Link must then work together to complete the game's challenges.[64] The Wind Waker, which was released in 2002 on the GameCube, depicted Link and the game world in a cute childlike graphical style. He appears as a preteen cartoon character with a large head and huge eyes.[65] His facial expressions communicate a range of emotions.[47] The game involves exploring the islands that are dotted around the map to encounter characters and uncover dungeons.[66] Link's key tool is the titular Wind Waker, a magical baton that enables him to manipulate the breeze as he crosses the Great Sea.[67] Nintendo artist Satoru Takizawa explained that the game's sequel was abandoned due to being set on land and Toon Link's proportions not being suitable for horseback riding.[68] Four Swords Adventures, which was published for the GameCube in 2004, again reinterpreted traditional Zelda gameplay with a multiplayer approach. The plot centres on Link being split into four versions of himself by the Four Sword, resulting in four Links of different colours. He must embark on a quest that involves rescuing seven princesses from an evil sorcerer. The game depicts the Links in a 16-bit top-down perspective and involves each player controlling one of the four Links to explore the game world and defeat enemies in order to complete each level.[69] The release of The Minish Cap in 2004 on the Game Boy Advance returned the series to a single-player format. Link appears as a child viewed from a top-down perspective and is tasked with saving his friend Princess Zelda. After a mysterious stranger arrives at a festival celebrating the coming of the Picori, he destroys the sacred Picori Blade and turns Zelda to stone. During the game, Link is accompanied by a magical talking cap named Ezlo, who helps him on his quest and teaches him to shrink to the size of the Minish.[70] Twilight Princess (2006) was released on the GameCube and Wii and offers a darker adventure to previous entries in the series. The game features a more detailed depiction of a teenage Link who appears ready for battle wearing chainmail beneath his tunic. In the early part of the game, he becomes trapped in the Twilight, which transforms him into a wolf.[49] Throughout the game, he is aided by Midna, an imp-like creature, who rides on his back and helps him on his quest. The game uses a variety of animal abilities for progression, such as the ability to follow scents.[71] Twilight Princess aimed to provide a stark contrast to the cartoonish style of The Wind Waker, presenting a game world drained of colour and a story with a more mature tone.[72] A direct sequel to The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS. It follows Link as he embarks on a journey to save his friend Tetra. The game was designed to appeal to a wider audience, with 3D cel-shaded graphics and a light-hearted tone.[73] It takes inspiration form the style and tone of The Wind Waker, with Toon Link displaying various humorous expressions.[74] The game made use of the console's touchscreen functionality, which enabled the player to control Link using a stylus instead of the traditional button controls.[75] Following on from Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks (2009) reintroduced Toon Link to the Nintendo DS. The game is a sequel to its predecessor and has a similar format but replaces sailing by boat with travelling by train. Link must explore four main map pieces, return the power of the spirit tracks using the Spirit Flute, and navigate the Spirit Tower, the main labyrinth hub, aided by the spirit of Zelda.[76] The gameplay also incorporates the mechanic of controlling both Link and Zelda in a series of cooperative puzzles and boss battles.[77] Skyward Sword was released in 2011 on the Wii and made use of the Wii MotionPlus to swipe Link's sword, control a mechanical beetle, and ride his loftwing through the skies.[78] The plot involves a romantic relationship between Link and Zelda. Beginning in Skyloft, a land floating above the clouds, Link is forced to descend to the surface after Zelda is kidnapped and then travels between the two lands wielding the Goddess Sword, a magical sword that holds a spirit named Fi, who acts as his guide. During his journey, Link imbues the Goddess Sword with three sacred flames and reforges it into the Master Sword.[79] The game introduced Link's stamina meter for climbing surfaces and sprinting, and the ability to craft materials to make new items.[47] A Link Between Worlds was released in 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS and is a sequel to A Link to the Past. The plot revolves around a sorcerer named Yuga who has the ability to merge into walls and turn people into paintings. Link must foil his plan to revive Ganon. The storyline is set within the same world as A Link to the Past and was designed with a similar art style. Players are able to explore the two separate worlds of Hyrule and Lorule, which are reminiscent of the contrasting worlds of light and dark in A Link to the Past. The game introduced the ability for Link to turn into a painting, allowing him to walk along walls and switch between the two worlds.[80] Tri Force Heroes (2015) was the second original Zelda entry for the Nintendo 3DS and a departure from the series' tradition, with a focus on a three-player cooperative campaign. Link appears alongside two companions that can be stacked to reach high places, solve puzzles and defeat tall enemies.[81] The storyline revolves around the theme of fashion and is set in the realm of Hytopia, where a witch has cursed Princess Styla to wear an ugly brown body suit. As a result, the Hytopian king calls for adventurers to break the curse. The gameplay departs from the usual Zelda open-world structure and involves completing dungeons and collecting materials to fashion outfits that provide specific abilities.[82] Breath of the Wild was released on the Nintendo Switch and Wii U in 2017 and reinvented the franchise by creating a massive open world for Link to explore. He has the ability to climb most surfaces, jump from structures and soar across the sky using a paraglider. He was designed to interact with the environment, collect materials for cooking and react to cold and heat.[83] The complex nature of the environment also determined that his preexisting autojump functionality had to be developed into the ability to jump manually.[84] The game introduced significant changes to his design, notably the absence of his signature green outfit. The player can instead dress Link in a variety of outfits and more emphasis is placed on using a bow as a prominent weapon.[85] Link appears in Tears of the Kingdom,[86] a direct sequel to the previous game released in 2023, which is set in the same version of Hyrule.[87] Link loses his right arm after being attacked by a substance called Gloom and is saved by the spirit Rauru who grafts his own arm onto Link.[88] This new arm plays a major role as the source of his abilities.[89] It was designed to distinguish him from previous iterations, as the theme of "hands" was chosen as a key recurring aspect of the game for creating items as well as cooperating with other characters.[90] Link's abilities include the Recall ability, which rewinds an object's movement, the Fuse ability, which merges objects to create new weapons, the Ultrahand ability, which enables the construction of vehicles, and the Ascend ability, which enables Link to ascend through ceilings.[91] In the main quest line, Link also obtains Autobuild, which gives the ability to rebuild vehicles automatically without needing to manually build with Ultrahand.[92] Spin-off games In 1989, Link appeared in Zelda, which was released in the Game & Watch series of handheld electronic games. The unit features a multi-screen liquid-crystal display (LCD). The lower display renders Link fighting against dungeon monsters, while the upper display features the inventory.[93] The gameplay is simpler than the NES game and replaces Ganon with eight dragons that kidnap Zelda. After battling through a dungeon, Link must defeat a dragon on the upper screen to receive a piece of the Triforce, before freeing Zelda with the eight recovered Triforce pieces.[94] In the same year, The Legend of Zelda Game Watch was released, which was part of the LCD wristwatch product line licensed to and developed by Nelsonic Industries. In addition to its timekeeping function, the unit features gameplay based on the original The Legend of Zelda game but without a storyline. It features Link adventuring through eight dungeons comprising four rooms in each.[95] He also appears in Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (Barcode Battler II), which was released by Epoch Co. in 1992 in Japan but not in North America. It was developed for the Barcode Battler II console and involves swiping cards to unlock various characters from A Link to the Past.[96] Link appears in Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure, The Legend of Zelda CD-i games published by Philips Interactive Media for its Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-i) players. While the games were licensed by Nintendo to use official Zelda characters, they were not produced or supervised by Nintendo.[97] As well as being critically panned, none of these games are recognized by Nintendo as part of the series' official chronology.[98] Unlike the main series, Link has the ability to speak. His personality mirrors his animated series counterpart in which he yearns for adventure and repeatedly attempts to get a kiss from Zelda.[99] Nintendo released a shooting video game in 2007 for the Wii titled Link's Crossbow Training. It is set within the Zelda universe and features Link as a playable character holding a crossbow. The game revisits the world of Twilight Princess and features the same landmarks and enemies. It involves the use of the Wii remote and nunchuck to create a light gun, which targets enemies with an onscreen reticule.[100] In the 2014 hack and slash video game Hyrule Warriors another incarnation appears as a Hyrulian soldier-in-training who helps to lead the campaign against the forces of evil.[101] Young Link from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask also appears in the game as a playable character via downloadable content,[102] while Toon Link from The Wind Waker appears as a playable character in Hyrule Warriors Legends, the Nintendo 3DS port of Warriors.[103] Link is also a playable character in the 2019 Nintendo Switch rhythm game Cadence of Hyrule, a crossover between Crypt of the NecroDancer and The Legend of Zelda series.[104] Players can choose to play as either Link or Zelda and both are required at the end of the game. Link can perform a spin attack and carries a shield, while Zelda uses an ethereal block and a fireball.[105] In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which acts as a prequel to Breath of the Wild and exists within the same game world, Link is accompanied by a roster of characters to fight alongside on the battlefield. The game progresses in the form of various missions that level up Link and his allies.[106] Other game series Among SNES games, Link makes a cameo in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest where he is ranked against the player next to Mario and Yoshi.[107] Alongside Samus Aran, he makes a cameo in Super Mario RPG, where they are seen sleeping in separate beds at an inn.[108] Link can be also be found at the start of a challenge course in F1 Race.[109] He is a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series and has appeared in every title since the first Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64.[110] In 2008, Toon Link from The Wind Waker appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. He was also introduced in 2014 in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.[111] Link later returned in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch in various incarnations, including green tunic Link, blue tunic Link from Breath of the Wild, Toon Link and Young Link.[112][113][114] In the GameCube version of Namco's Soulcalibur II, Link is a guest character.[115] Miyamoto did not see a problem with Link appearing in a violent game, as he had already been established as a fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series.[116] As part of the styling of a Zelda-themed game mode, he is featured in the 2006 puzzle video game Tetris DS.[117] In Scribblenauts Unlimited, many Zelda series characters are summonable in the Wii U version, including Link.[118] He is referenced by an archer dressed in green in The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, a mini game in the 2012 party game Nintendo Land, which involves archery and sword fighting in a cloth style.[119] His costume appears alongside that of Samus in Dynasty Warriors VS for the Nintendo 3DS.[120] Link appears in Sonic Lost World as part of "The Legend of Zelda Zone", where he rides his signature Crimson Loftwing and Sonic wears his green cap and tunic.[121] In the 2013 compilation game NES Remix, players can play remixed portions of NES games, including playing as Link in a level of Donkey Kong.[122] The Skyward Sword incarnation of Link was introduced as a playable character in Mario Kart 8 riding a motorcycle.[123] In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, his Breath of the Wild incarnation also appears.[124] He is referenced in 2015 downloadable content for Monster Hunter 4 with armor resembling his tunic, Monster Hunter Generations DLC and also Monster Hunter Stories.[125][126] Incarnations of Link from The Legend of Zelda, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess and Tri Force Heroes also appear as "Mystery Mushroom" costumes in Super Mario Maker.[127][128][129] In 2016, Link appeared in a 3DS game titled My Nintendo Picross - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, a picture-puzzle game made available through the My Nintendo rewards program.[130] The Master Sword and Hylian Shield appear alongside Link's Champion's Tunic from Breath of the Wild as Amiibo-unlocked content in the Nintendo Switch version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.[131] In 2019, Link was added as a playable character in the 2.0.0 update to Super Mario Maker 2, which features the Master Sword power-up changing the Mario characters into Link.[132] Television series From 1989 to 1990, The Legend of Zelda animated series aired as a part of DIC's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Thirteen episodes were produced before the cancellation of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Based loosely on the first game, the series presents Link as a rude, lovesick teenager. The plot revolves around him living in Hyrule Castle and being recruited to protect the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon while accompanied by a fairy princess named Spryte. He persistently attempts to kiss Zelda and repeatedly exclaims "Well excuse me, Princess!" when tired with her attitude, a catchphrase that has since become a common gamers' in-joke.[133][134] With little input from Nintendo, the writers were given the freedom to develop the series. As Link's first voice actor, Potts pictured him as a, "youthful, goofy teenage boy who acts before he thinks".[135] A similar version of Link and Zelda appear during the second season of Captain N: The Game Master.[136] The storyline involves a character named Kevin being sucked into a TV and entering a game world. He helps Link and Zelda to stop Ganon from reviving to protect the Triforce.[137] Throughout 2013 and 2014, Link appeared in a series of comedic shorts titled The Legend of Zelda: The Misadventures of Link. The series made its debut on Nintendo Video, a video on demand service for the Nintendo 3DS. The series was based on The Wind Waker HD and aimed to present Link "in a new and hysterical light".[138] Comics and manga Main article: The Legend of Zelda (manga) Following the release of the original game, Wanpaku Comics released a manga book in Japan in September 1986 titled "The Hyrule Fantasy". It follows the basic plot of the game with some additions, including Link and Zelda communicating telepathically.[139] Link appeared in manga-style novels published by Futabasha, including The Legend of Zelda: The Mirage Castle, which was published in Japanese in 1986.[140] A similar book titled The Legend of Zelda: The Triforce of the Gods was released in 1992 with a storyline based on A Link to the Past.[141] In the early 1990s, Valiant Comics published a serial comic based on The Legend of Zelda series.[142] The comic series lasted for only five issues, with a sixth story published as part of the Nintendo Comics System. In this incarnation, Link's appearance was based on the original video game, giving him red hair, instead of his typical blonde or brown hair. The storyline reflects The Legend of Zelda animated television series, which was being aired around the same time. Link and Zelda's relationship is depicted as amorous, with Link attempting to get a kiss from Zelda and Zelda returning Link's affections.[143] A manga adaptation of A Link to the Past was created by Ataru Cagiva in 1995 with the Japanese title Triforce of the Gods.[144] A serial comic was created for Nintendo Power magazine by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It was published in 1992 and later collected in graphic novel form in 1993. The plot is an alternate version of the storyline from A Link to the Past. Several other manga adaptations have been published by Viz Media based on the Zelda video games, including Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past and The Minish Cap, which were illustrated by Akira Himekawa.[145] The Japanese artist duo also wrote the long-running Twilight Princess manga, which began as a Japanese serialisation in 2016 followed by an English translation in 2017 and has been released as a series of volumes.[146] Nintendo published Link's Hijinks, a translated web comic by Saitaro Komatsu on its Play Nintendo website. The comic had originally appeared in the Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro Comic.[147] Gamebooks Nintendo published several gamebooks based on The Legend of Zelda series. As part of the Nintendo Adventure Book series, which was similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books, two books were published in 1992 titled The Crystal Trap and The Shadow Prince. In The Crystal Trap, the storyline involves Zelda saving Link from the trap, while in The Shadow Prince, Link must save Zelda with the help of a character named Charles. In 2001, two books based on Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages were published by Scholastic, which were written by Craig Wessel and feature Link in a storyline based on the video games.[148] Merchandise Since 2014, various amiibo of Link have been released in a variety of incarnations. Three amiibo for the Super Smash Bros. series of Link, Toon Link and Young Link were released in 2014, 2015 and 2019. Various incarnations have been created as amiibo for the Zelda series, including Wolf Link and Midna, 8-bit Link, Ocarina of Time Link, Toon Link from The Wind Waker, incarnations from Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess and Link's Awakening, archer and rider figures from Breath of the Wild and the incarnation from Tears of the Kingdom.[149] Guinness World Records reported that as of 1 February 2018, Link is the most prolific Nintendo character released as an amiibo.[150] In addition to appearing on branded merchandise, his image has been reproduced in the form of figurines, plush toys and action figures....Influence and legacy A metal star engraved with Link's name and The Legend of Zelda game title Link's star at the Walk of Game in the Metreon, San Francisco As the mascot of The Legend of Zelda series, Link has become a widely recognisable character in pop culture.[201] Damien McFerran of Nintendo Life remarked that the enigmatic nature of his character leaves him open to interpretation and makes him "one of the most drawn and imitated video game icons".[202] In 2011, readers of the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Link as the second best video game character of all time, behind Mario.[203] Since the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in December 2018, he holds the Guinness World Record as the most ubiquitous action-adventure video game character, having appeared in 40 unique video games, not including rereleases and HD remasters.[204] On 26 October 2018, Guinness World Records named Link as the most critically acclaimed videogame playable character, as he has appeared in six unique entries in GameRankings.com's list of the top 100 all-time best reviewed videogames, with Nintendo's Super Mario and Konami's Solid Snake being his closest competitors.[205] Critics widely consider Link's adventures to be influential on the video game industry.[206] The original The Legend of Zelda video game influenced the evolution of the action role-playing video game genre, being an early example of open world design and nonlinear gameplay. The series has inspired numerous other game titles to adopt a similar action-adventure gameplay and open world exploration, with these games being commonly referred to as "Zelda clones".[207][208] In 2005, Link was awarded a star on the Walk of Game along with his creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, noting that "the series has produced the most popular role-playing game titles in history".[209] In 2011, Empire said that "Link has grown into one of the world's most celebrated console heroes, and helped establish RPGs as an international gaming standard".[154] In 2017, Time named Link as one of the most influential video game characters of all time commenting: "Link embodies the selfless hero on a transformative journey, a storytelling trope we've seen in countless titles from Mass Effect's Commander Shepard to Halo's Master Chief"." (wikipedia.org)
  • Condition: New
  • Brand: USAopoly
  • Type: Jigsaw Puzzle
  • Character: Link - The Legend of Zelda
  • Video Game Series: The Legend of Zelda
  • Model: Breath of the Wild - The Master Sword
  • Year Manufactured: 2018
  • Features: Retired, Rare, GameStop Exclusive
  • Video Game Name: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

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