Princess Zelda

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Character
Name: Zelda; Sheik; Tetra
Occupation: Princess of Hyrule; Pirate captain (WW, PH)
Relationships: Link (friend, champion, love interest); Ganondorf (mortal enemy); Midna (friend, ally)
Fandom: The Legend of Zelda; Super Smash Bros.
Other:
Various incarnations of Princess Zelda throughout The Legend of Zelda series. Right to left: (top row) Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda, Hyrule Warriors; (second row) "Toon" Zelda, Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures; (third row) Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, A Link to the Past; (bottom) Skyward Sword. | art by 0niwanoki
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Zelda is the titular character in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series. She appears in several incarnations throughout the series, generally as the princess of Hyrule's royal family, an ally of the protagonist Link, and the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom.[1]

Canon

Zelda appears in a supporting character in nearly all The Legend of Zelda media, and has appeared as a playable fighter in every installment of Super Smash Bros. from Melee onward. However, despite being the Zelda series' titular character, Zelda herself notably does not appear in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening or The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Perhaps more than any other recurring character in the series, Zelda has shown the most variety between her various incarnations—from the classic proper princess archetype of earlier games, to the mysterious warrior-poet Sheik in Ocarina of Time (1998), to the rough-and-tumble pirate captain Tetra in The Wind Waker (2002), to the would-be Queen in Twilight Princess (2006).

Zelda appeared in the three spin-off CD-i Philips games, two of which featured her as the playable protagonist.

Reception and popularity

Zelda is widely considered an iconic character by the gaming community.

In 2009, Zelda was voted the third greatest female character in the games on Nintendo systems by the Official Nintendo Magazine.[2] In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Princess Zelda as the 31st-top video game character of all time.[3]

Many fans have expressed desire—ranging from wistful to heated—for Zelda to take on a more active, action-oriented role in the series. Although Zelda appeared as the playable protagonist in two of the spin-off CD-i games, these games have been largely ignored by both Nintendo and the fanbase due to their infamously poor reputation. Some fans argue that insisting on Zelda in a warrior role is discounting her established character and importance by forcing her into a "Strong Female Character" role.

Before the release of Hyrule Warriors, a popular rumor spread that the new incarnation of Zelda would be a queen rather than a princess. Some were disappointed when that turned out not to be the case.

Fanon and tropes

Many fic writers and fan artists may enjoy reimagining Zelda in a more action-oriented role. This may manifest in role reversal AUs in which she is the heroic adventurer, and Link is the prince in need of rescue; more often, they team up on adventures together.

Zelda's Ocarina of Time alter ego, Sheik, is sometimes treated as a separate male character distinct from Zelda, and Link/Sheik may be portrayed as a separate m/m pairing.

Shipping

Link/Zelda (ZeLink) is inarguably Zelda's juggernaut pairing, likely because their relationship is the most significant and recurring of any of their relationships depicted throughout The Legend of Zelda media. Pairings between Link and Zelda's various alter egos—such as Sheik (Sheik/Link), Tetra (TeLink), and Hylia (HyLink)—may be treated to some degree as distinct from ZeLink.

In a sample of 990 The Legend of Zelda stories published to FanFiction.Net between 13 October 2013 and 13 November 2019, Zelda was overwhelmingly listed in the site's pairing filter with Link (88%), distantly followed by Ganondorf (4%), Midna (2%), and several other characters—Dark Link, Impa, Vaati, Princess Hilda, Ghirahim, Mipha, and Volga—each at around 1%.[4]

Other pairings, such as Zelda/Samus[5] and Zelda/Peach, are moderately popular within the Super Smash Bros. fandom.

Notable Pairings

Example fan works

Fan art

Example Gallery

Additional fanart

Fan fiction

  • "Doubt"WBM by Airplane (2010) - Her only identity is as the latest version of the Princess. She should be fair. She should be wise. She should be exactly like her predecessor. (Modern Hyrule)

Zines and other collaborative projects

Cosplay

Links

Archives and Communities

Web shrines

Resources

References

  1. ^ Wikipedia. Princess Zelda. (Accessed November 2020.)
  2. ^ Official Nintendo Magazine. "Leading Ladies". 12 September 2009. (Archived 15 June 2012.)
  3. ^ Marchiafava, Jeff. "Guinness Names Top 50 Video Game Characters Of All Time" published to Game Informer on 16 February 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  4. ^ phantomstatistician. Zelda's FanFiction Shipping Chart 2013*-Present posted to Tumblr on 13 November 2019. (Accessed November 2020.)
  5. ^ phantomstatistician. Samus' FanFiction Shipping Chart 2013*-Present posted to Tumblr on 7 January 2019.
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