History Franchise / TheLegendOfZelda

* AnachronismStew: The series absolutely ''explodes'' with this trope. While the core of the games is MedievalEuropeanFantasy, you still have [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime ranches]] and [[TwilightPrincess ghost towns stripped straight from the Old West]], [[BattleBoomerang boomerangs]], [[PhantomHourglass steamboats]], [[SpiritTracks trains, chancellors with 19th-century top hats]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening ca]][[MajorasMask me]][[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker ras]], and even [[LinksAwakening telephones]]. And that's just ''barely'' touching how {{egregious}} the anachronisms get in this franchise.
** [[TwilightPrincess "The Group"]] has a ''bazooka''. Fortunately, that's the most egregious of anything not-magic...except perhaps [[MajorasMask Goht]], the ''mechanical bull''.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages]]'' (GameBoyColor, 2001)

Around the time ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Link to the Past]]'' was released, three more games came out which... haven't made the canon: ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Link: The Faces of Evil]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda's Adventure]]'', the latter two of which are the only games in the franchise in which you play as Zelda throughout the game.

In addition to the main canon, there are also the three Satellaview games released only in Japan for the Satellaview add-on for the Super Famicom: ''BS Zelda no Densetsu'' (BS Legend of Zelda) and ''BS Zelda no Densetsu Inishie no Sekiban'' (BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets. BS Stands for Broadcast Satellaview) The former is a remake of the original ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda Legend of Zelda]]'' with SNES graphics but the Satellaview mascots (a boy in a baseball cap or a girl with red hair in a ponytail) are playable instead of Link. The latter uses the same characters but is based graphically on ''Link to the Past''. The character chosen appears in Hyrule and defends it while Link is away (during the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]''). The third is a full, normal, downloadable version of ''A Link to the Past''. The three Satellaview games were "broadcasted" during a one hour window on a weekly schedule and were designed to self-destruct after that hour was over (with the exception of the Alttp one). Because of this, you can no longer play them on the actual hardware and they can only be played on an emulator.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Link: The Faces of Evil]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda's Adventure]]'' for the [[{{PhilipsCD-i}} Philips CD-i]]
* [[GameAndWatch Game and Watch]]: Zelda: A condensed LCD version of the original adventure. Reappears in [[VideoGameRemake Game And Watch Gallery 4]], for the GBA
* ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda The Legend Of Zelda]]'' [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda cartoon]]
* ''[[ComicBook/TheLegendOfZelda The Legend Of Zelda]]'' [[ComicBook/TheLegendOfZelda comic book]] published by Valiant
* ''Manga/TheLegendOfZelda'' [[Manga/TheLegendOfZelda manga]]

* AnachronismStew: The series absolutely ''explodes'' with this trope. While the core of the games is MedievalEuropeanFantasy, you still have [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime ranches]] and [[TwilightPrincess ghost towns stripped straight from the Old West]], [[BattleBoomerang boomerangs]], [[PhantomHourglass steamboats]], [[SpiritTracks trains, chancellors with 19th-century top hats]], [[TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening ca]][[MajorasMask me]][[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker ras]], and even [[LinksAwakening telephones]]. And that's just ''barely'' touching how {{egregious}} the anachronisms get in this franchise.

* ChaoticEvil: [[TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora]], and anyone unlucky enough to wear its [[MaskOfPower mask]]. Skullkid-sans-mask was just a lonely kid who wanted friends to play with. Majora-Skullkid twisted this desire into playing gruesome, often lethal "games" with the population of Termina. When you actually fight Majora itself, it acts more like a PsychopathicManchild than anything else. Ganon wants to rule the world. Majora wanted to destroy it.

* TheHero: Link is often "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Hero]]" in a literal sense -- of [[TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Hyrule]], [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Time]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Winds]], or [[TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess chosen by the Gods]]. He may start out as an unassuming FarmBoy, but heroism is inevitably [[BecauseDestinySaysSo his destiny]].

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Magical Sword in the first game, the Level 2 Sword in ''LinksAwakening'', Biggoron's Sword in ''[[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', and the Great Fairy's Sword in ''MajorasMask''.

* OurFairiesAreDifferent: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda In]] [[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink so]][[TheLegendOFZeldaALinkToThePast me]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening ti]][[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker tl]][[TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap es]], they're depicted as female {{winged humanoid}}s, [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime whi]][[TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask le]] [[TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess in]] [[TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass ot]][[TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks he]][[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword rs]], they're depicted as winged orbs of lights.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages / Seasons]]'': [[spoiler:The evil plans of the villains in both games were part of a plot to resurrect Ganon]].

** Type A's: [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda Princess Zelda in the Animated Adaptation]], [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Princess Ruto,]] [[TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Tatl,]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Tetra]], [[TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Midna]], and [[TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Linebeck]].
** Type B's: [[TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Ilia]], [[TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Ciela,]] and [[TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Princess Zelda]].

* [[GameAndWatch Game and Watch]]: Zelda: A condensed LCD version of the original adventure. Reappears in [[VideoGameRemake Game And watch Gallery 4]], for the GBA

* ArtificialGill: various items are required to swim underwater throughout the series.

Around the time ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Link to the Past]]'' was released, three more games came out which...haven't made the canon: ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Link: The Faces of Evil]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda's Adventure]]'', the latter two of which are the only games in the franchise in which you play as Zelda throughout the game.

* OurFairiesAreDifferent: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda In]] [[ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink so]][[TheLegendOFZeldaALinkToThePast me]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening ti]][[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker tl]][[TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap es]], they're depicted as female {{winged humanoid}}s, [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime whi]][[TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask le]] [[TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess in]] [[TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass ot]][[TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks he]][[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword rs]], they're depicted as winged orbs of lights.

* SequelDifficultySpike: ''[[ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink Adventure Of Link]]'', full stop. The first game was already a certain level of NintendoHard, but the second game took that and added PlatformHell and a hard-to-master combat system. ''MajorasMask'' may count as well, as it can be hard to keep track of everything that resets with each GroundhogDayLoop. (Though an in-game "appointment book" helps.)

* SkeletonKey: The first two Zelda games both had a key item that basically served as infinite keys for the remainder of the game. The sixth palace in ''TheAdventureOfLink'' couldn't be beaten without it.

** And Midna takes both dark skinned and redhead to BeyondTheImpossible levels, being a literally ebony-skinned imp with glowing orange hair.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Somehow, Zelda is [[hottip:usually:The two exceptions are ''Twilight Princess'', which one Player's Guide states that her coronation has been put off by Zant's rise, and the manual for ''SuperSmashBros'' Brawl, where her bio refers to her as the queen of Hyrule; and ''Skyward Sword'' which takes place before the founding of the Kingdom of Hyrule, so she's not royalty - yet - and at most referred to as "Her Grace" for . . . [[GodInHumanForm other reasons.]] ]] never referred to as ''Queen'' Zelda, even in the games without token cameos by parents.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Somehow, Zelda is [[hottip:usually:The two exceptions are ''Twilight Princess'', which one Player's Guide states that her coronation has been put off by Zant's rise, and the manual for ''SuperSmashBros'' Brawl, where her bio refers to her as the queen of Hyrule; and ''Skyward Sword'' which takes place before the founding of the Kingdom of Hyrule]] never referred to as ''Queen'' Zelda, even in the games without token cameos by parents.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Somehow, Zelda is [[hottip:usually:The two exceptions are ''Twilight Princess'', which [[AllThereInTheManual one Player's Guide states that]] her coronation has been put off by Zant's rise, and the manual for ''SuperSmashBros'' Brawl, where her bio refers to her as the queen of Hyrule.]] never referred to as ''Queen'' Zelda, even in the games without token cameos by parents.

* EverythingsCoolerWithLava: Any fire-base dungeon, especially volcano dungeons. Usually, you also have to fight burning bats and huge monsters that set themselves on fire.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda The Legend of Zelda]]'' ({{N|intendoEntertainmentSystem}}ES, 1986)
* ''[[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]'' ([[NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], 1987)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]'' ({{S|uperNintendoEntertainmentSystem}}NES, 1991; {{po|lishedPort}}rted for GameBoyAdvance, 2002)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening]]'' (GameBoy, 1993; {{Updated|Rerelease}} for GameBoyColor, 1998)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]'' ({{Nintendo 64}}, 1998; [[UpdatedRerelease updated]] as a PreOrderBonus for [[NintendoGameCube GameCube]], 2002; [[VideoGameRemake remade]] for Nintendo3DS, 2011)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]'' ({{Nintendo 64}}, 2000)

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaVideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords]]'' (the multiplayer mode for the ''Link to the Past'' remake; GameBoyAdvance, 2002; [[VideoGameRemake remade]] for [[NintendoDS DSiWare]], 2011)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker]]'' ([[NintendoGameCube GameCube]], 2002)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaVideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures]]'' ([[NintendoGameCube GameCube]], 2004)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap]]'' (GameBoyAdvance, 2004)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]'' ([[NintendoGameCube GameCube]] and {{Wii}}, 2006)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass]]'' (NintendoDS, 2007)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks]]'' (NintendoDS, 2009)
* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'' ({{Wii}}, 2011)

* {{Badass}}: Link in general. {{Badass Adorable}} in his "Toon" incarnations from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'', ''PhantomHourglass'', ''SpiritTracks'', ''TheMinishCap'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures''.
** Young Link from ''OcarinaOfTime'' and ''MajorasMask'' is also a BadassAdorable.

** ''MajorasMask'': Tatl.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'': Whichever maiden you've just rescued, who takes the form of an actual fairy.
** ''TheMinishCap'': Ezlo.
** ''TwilightPrincess'': Midna.
** ''PhantomHourglass'': Ciela, Leaf, Neri and Linebeck.
** ''SpiritTracks'': Zelda.
** ''SkywardSword'': Fi.

* {{Interquel}}: According to ''[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]'', the ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle]]'' games and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' are set between ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkTothePast A Link to the Past]]'' and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda the original game]], while ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' is this to ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' and ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaVideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]''.

* NoExportForYou: ''Tetra's Trackers'' from the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures''.

* TheReveal: Ever since ''ALinkToThePast'', almost every game has had at least one of these, ranging from "oh, that's pretty interesting" to '''"HOLY ****, DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!"'''
** ''ALinkToThePast'': [[spoiler:Agahnim is actually Ganon's alter ego]].
** ''LinksAwakening'': [[spoiler:The whole game is the product of the Wind Fish dreaming; defeating the Nightmares will result in the Wind Fish waking and, thus, the disappearance of Koholint Island]].

** ''[[MajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' : [[spoiler: Skull Kid was the "human" puppet of the titular mask.]]
** ''OracleOfAges'' / ''OracleOfSeasons'': [[spoiler:The evil plans of the villains in both games were part of a plot to resurrect Ganon]].

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'': [[spoiler:Ganon had been manipulating Vaati behind the scenes]].
** ''TheMinishCap'': [[spoiler:Ezlo was Vaati's mentor before Vaati turned him into a hat, and the Light Force is within Princess Zelda]].
** ''TwilightPrincess'': [[spoiler:Ganondorf gave Zant his powers, and Midna is the Twilight Princess]].
** ''PhantomHourglass'': [[spoiler:Oshus is the Ocean King]].
** ''SpiritTracks'': [[spoiler:Byrne used to be a Lokomo]].
** ''SkywardSword'': [[spoiler:Zelda herself is the goddess Hylia in human form, [[BigBad Ghirahim]] is essentially the EvilCounterpart to Fi, [[BiggerBad Demise]] creates Ganon as the manifestation of his own hatred, and the Old Woman at the Sealed Temple is actually Impa.]]

* SuddenlyVoiced: Tetra and her crew in ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZccQ4_Bb0 Navi Trackers]]'', a puzzle game mode in the Japanese version of ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaVideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]''. Needless to say, they speak in Japanese.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords]]'' (the multiplayer mode for the ''Link to the Past'' remake; GameBoyAdvance, 2002; [[VideoGameRemake remade]] for [[NintendoDS DSiWare]], 2011)

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures]]'' ([[NintendoGameCube GameCube]], 2004)

* {{Badass}}: Link in general. {{Badass Adorable}} in his "Toon" incarnations from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'', ''PhantomHourglass'', ''SpiritTracks'', ''TheMinishCap'', ''FourSwords'', and ''FourSwordsAdventures''.

** ''FourSwordsAdventures'': Whichever maiden you've just rescued, who takes the form of an actual fairy.

* {{Interquel}}: According to ''[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]'', the ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle]]'' games and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' are set between ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkTothePast A Link to the Past]]'' and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda the original game]], while ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' is this to ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' and ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]''.

* NoExportForYou: ''Tetra's Trackers'' from the Japanese version of ''FourSwordsAdventures''.

** ''FourSwordsAdventures'': [[spoiler:Ganon had been manipulating Vaati behind the scenes]].

* SuddenlyVoiced: Tetra and her crew in ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZccQ4_Bb0 Navi Trackers]]'', a puzzle game mode in the Japanese version of ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]''. Needless to say, they speak in Japanese.

* EightPointEight: Indirectly, because of the score ''Twilight Princess'' received in a Gamespot review.[[invoked]]
* AmericansHateTingle[[invoked]]
* BossSubtitles
* DarkWorld: Used in several of the games.
* DeathMountain
* GannonBanned: Well, somebody forgot to spell-check the main opening of the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda original game]]. [[invoked]]
* HeartContainer
* HijackedByGanon
* IFightForTheStrongestSide
* TheLostWoods
* SpinAttack
* UrbanLegendOfZelda: [[JustForPun More for the pun]], but the series does have numerous examples.
* WallMaster
* WellExcuseMePrincess: Link's catchphrase in the cartoon.

** Princess Zelda as well. Yeah, she gets kidnapped repeatedly but the girl has shown she is a decent archer, knows a bit of magic, has some Sheikah training in ''Ocarina of Time'' and is willing to fight with a sword in ''Twilight Princess''. Even in ''SpiritTracks'', as an AnimatedArmour, when you attack her too much, she'll go berseck on Link, and even safe zones can't protect him from her wrath!

** Princess Zelda as well. Yeah, she gets kidnapped repeatedly but the girl has shown she is a decent archer, knows a bit of magic, has some Sheikah training in ''Ocarina of Time'' and is willing to fight with a sword in ''Twilight Princess''. Even in ''SpiritTTracks'', as an AnimatedArmour, when you attack her too much, she'll go berseck on Link, and even safe zones can't protect him from her wrath!

** Princess Zelda as well. Yeah, she gets kidnapped repeatedly but the girl has shown she is a decent archer, knows a bit of magic, has some Sheikah training in ''Ocarina of Time'' and is willing to fight with a sword in ''Twilight Princess''.

** Vaati could curse beings, turn people into stone, corrupt an area and use various magical attacks.

** The Sattelaview games for the Super Fmicom: the first being a remake of Zelda 1 (with different map layouts), and the second being a TimedMission in the ''ALinkToThePast'' engine, where your hero (not Link, who's caught in Windfish Island) must collect the 8 stone tablets to seal Ganon again, after his seal weakened.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap]]'' (GameBoyAdvance, 2004)

* ''TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords'' (the multiplayer mode for the ''Link to the Past'' remake; GameBoyAdvance, 2002; [[VideoGameRemake remade]] for [[NintendoDS DSiWare]], 2011)

* ''TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'' ([[NintendoGameCube GameCube]], 2004)

In addition to the main canon, there are also the three Satellaview games released only in Japan for the Satellaview add-on for the Super Famicom: ''BS Zelda no Densetsu'' (BS Legend of Zelda) and ''BS Zelda no Densetsu Inishie no Sekiban'' (BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets. BS Stands for Broadcast Satellaview) The former is a remake of the original ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda Legend of Zelda]]'' with SNES graphics but the Satellaview mascots (a boy in a baseball cap or a girl with red hair in a ponytail) are playable instead of Link. The latter uses the same characters but is based graphically on ''Link to the Past''. The character chosen appears in Hyrule and defends it while Link is away (during the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]''). The third is an alternate version of ''A Link to the Past'', though details of this one are scarce. The three Satellaview games were "broadcasted" during a one hour window on a weekly schedule and were designed to self-destruct after that hour was over. Because of this, you can no longer play them on the actual hardware and they can only be played on an emulator.

!!!This page is about the ''The Legend of Zelda'' series as a whole. If you were directed here from a link discussing a specific game in the series (likely the original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'', as it shares the series' name), please correct the link to point to the correct page dealing with that specific game or story universe.

* and a game made by Retro Studios at some point

* {{Reincarnation}}: In ''Spirit Tracks'', the Lokomo AscendToAHigherPlane at the end of the game and say return in a new form without memories of their previous life. In ''Skyward Sword'', [[spoiler:the goddess Hylia is reborn as that game's Zelda.]]