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ZELDA SERIES CHARACTER GUIDE
by Adam Marx
=~=TABLE OF CONTENTS=~=
Introduction [INT]
Version History [VER]
Zelda Series Overview [SUM]
The Meat of the Guide [MEA]
Races Compendium [RAC]
Ladies' Man [LAD]
Thanks [THA]
Legal Garbage [LEG]
In Closing [INC]
Those numbers in [ ] are to allow you to quickly access the part of the guide
you want to view. Use your Ctrl+F function (on John Hodgemans, I'm not sure
what it is for Jason Longs) to jump to where you need to be. For example, if
you wanted to see the Billy Bob section, whose code was [BIL], you would
press Ctrl+F, then type in '[BIL]', then click 'Find Next' twice. Boom! There
you are! It saves on scrolling through the whole document to find what you
need.
=~=INTRODUCTION=~=
[INT]
The Legend of Zelda is my favourite video game series, bar none. I am a FAQs
author. It follows that I would want to write a Legend of Zelda FAQs.
Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who subscribes to this way of thinking.
Quite a few other people like Zelda, too. Plus, I don't think I could write a
very good walkthrough. These two factors combined mean that any walkthrough I
were to write just wouldn't be able to compete.
So in a way, I guess this guide is my way around that. Because I'm pro at
NPCs. I actually consider myself a walking encyclopaedia of the Zelda
universe - I'm a real 'ask me anything' kind of guy when we're talking Zelda.
That's not arrogance, it's just the truth >_>
So, inspired by various other Nintendo-franchise character and ending guides
(props to them), I composed this one. Snazzy, isn't it? Of course, I'm not
nearly as talented a writer as some of those genius authors, but I hope you
enjoy my work anyway.
The very first version of this guide contained 69 entries. Obviously, that is
far, far fewer than the number of characters in the series. But most of them
are just not important enough to merit lengthening the guide; if I actually
went over every single one, we'd have a document 1,000 gigs long, and it
would be mostly uninteresting and redundant.
Speaking of redundancy, some characters have been culled to keep the thing
from growing too long. But back to what I was saying, I viewed various
resources to find lists of characters. Characters were considered for
inclusion if they met one of the following criteria:
(1) It played a significant role in the storyline of at least one Zelda game
(2) It played multiple roles of moderate importance (storyline or otherwise)
(3) It intrigues me personally
As you can see, the basis for selection is painfully arbitrary. If you take a
look and you see that this guide lacks a character you believe should be
included, please let me know. By the same token, if there's somebody here who
really, really doesn't deserve to be, fire over an e-mail and I'll think
about getting rid of 'em.
That about wraps it up. I'm proud of myself; by my standards, that was a
pretty short intro. Onward, and enjoy.
=~=Version History=~=
[VER]
Version 1.0
11.13.06
The initial version of this guide; the state it was in when first posted on
GameFAQs.
Version 1.1
12.17.06
I'm never rushing another guide. Trying to get this one out left large gaps,
an inability to edit for errors before posting and some entertaining but
scandalous silliness, such as my having accidentally left the placeholder
'DATE GOES HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE' for the date index for Version 1.0. So
I've fixed most of those.
Created a few new character entries (Grog, Zephos and Cyclos, and some
characters from Tingle RPG), edited some others and created a whole new
section, the Races Compendium.
Some other information has been added as well, mostly little things.
Version 1.2
02.09.07
Finally added all the information for Twilight Princess, added some profiles
I neglected to put in from before, and fixed some errors.
=~=Zelda Series Overview=~=
[SUM]
Before we get to the character section itself, I thought I'd give you a brief
look at the Zelda series as a whole. New players might have trouble keeping
up, and returning ones might like a recap, so hopefully this section will
help you avoid confusion. If you're a seasoned Hyrulean veteran, you can feel
free to skip right over this section, or read it for posterity. It's probably
worth a skim.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind here. Mainly, there is NO one
definitive timeline for the Zelda series. Certainly, there was one published
on zelda.com, and you can devise innumerable fan timelines if you apply
certain rules to the universe (Kirby021591's is one of the best; check out
any of his Zelda walkthroughs to find it), but really, it's all guesswork.
Aonuma Eiji, the dude currently in charge of the Zelda franchise, has stated
he eventually intends to solidify the overarching story, but I'll believe it
when I see it. It's probably the most convenient to think of each game as
self-contained, except in instances where the events of one game explicitly
reference others (for example, Majora's Mask is irrefutably a direct sequel
to Ocarina of Time.)
I could say way more on the subject, but I'll contain myself.
The next issue is caused by the first. Many weapons, items and --characters-
recur from one game to the next. Sometimes it's possible they're the same
thing (for instance, how many Mirror Shields can there possibly be? one must
ask oneself) whereas others are physically different but functionally
identical items, like certain bows. Others, like the Hookshot, may just be
variations on the same design. It's impossible to know.
As for characters, many of them appear in multiple time periods. Some just
live a really long time (Impa, the Great Deku Tree, Jr), some apparently
time-travel (Tingle) and still others have no explanation for their presence
(Beedle, Zill.) Oh yeah, and of course some have alternate-universe, ancient
ancestor, or reincarnation versions.
Sifting through endless layers of ambiguity is fun, no?
The Legend of Zelda
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu
Nintendo Entertainment System
Released: 1986
Since there's no clear storyline, let's look at them one-by-one, in the order
that they happened in the real world. That means we kick-start the section
with the original Legend of Zelda. Being that it's the first one in the
series, it's hard to write about, because if you look at it from an industry
standpoint, everything's an innovation, and if you look at it from a series
standpoint, everything's a franchise standard. But look! I just took up a
whole paragraph talking about the paragraph itself! Well played, self.
*congratulates self*
I might as well say SOMETHING, though, so let's do a brief overview. Ganon,
evil pig lord and main villain of the series, possesses the Triforce of
Power, and seeks to earn the Triforce of Wisdom as well. (No Triforce of
Courage, that came later.) But Wisdom was held by Princess Zelda, and when he
tried to take it from her, she magically broke it into eight pieces and hid
the shards in a collection of dangerous catacombs throughout Hyrule. Zelda's
handmaiden apprised a lad named Link of the situation, and he took charge,
recovered the pieces after many harrowing adventures, and finally gained the
power to face Ganon head-on. In the process, he introduced many elements that
would later become Zelda staples, like the acquisition of tools, inevitable
confrontations with bosses and the magic number eight (in regards to the
number of dungeons a game contains, plus the final level.) Hmm...on second
though, I guess that wasn't so hard to write about, after all.
Zelda II: Link's Adventure
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Rinku no Bouken
Nintendo Entertainment System
Released: 1988
Man, I hate this game so much. I finally got a copy almost four years ago,
and I'm still stuck on the fourth level. If I wanted Castlevania-style
gameplay, I would play Castlevania. If you don't know what I'm talking about,
Zelda II is completely different from others in the series. Others have a
top-down or 3D perspective, but Zelda II has a top-down overworld view, then
switches to an action side-scroller for random battle and dungeon sequences.
This is because it wasn't an adventure game, but an action-RPG - and I myself
am skilled in neither of those genres. For me, this game is frickin' HARD
(while I laughed out loud when I read that someone had tried over twenty
times to beat Ganon in Ocarina of Time - I did it one try and only took about
ten hearts of damage, and I know that's a lot worse than some people. It all
depends on your personal skills, eh?) But on the bright side, Zelda II
(stupid, stupid title) introduced magic spells to Link's arsenal, some of
which are VERY cool, to say nothing of the exceptionally well-done finale.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Toraifousu
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Released: 1992
Ha ha, get it? A Link to the Past is the second of three Zelda games with
irritating English titles. It was renamed because Triforce of the Gods
sounded too religious. But let's move on, before my trend of failing to talk
about the game itself gets out of hand. Past is one of the games that many
consider to be the best in the series. The pak made the important
contribution of the Master Sword, which has stood long since - the first
Zelda had a Magical Sword, but who knows what the story is there. It's also
the longest to date: There was an introductory dungeon, then a set of three,
then a set of seven and THEN the final boss dungeon. But what really set it
apart was its Light World/Dark World feature. You see, the Golden Land was
originally a mirror image of Hyrule (the Light World), with numerous minor
differences. Ganon's evil transformed it into the Dark World. You eventually
gained the ability to travel between the two, and navigating the world
suddenly became insanely fun. Use the Rooster to fly to Death
Mountain...plumb the depths of the caves...come out on a ledge near a portal
to the Dark World...jump down a ways...use the Magic Mirror to return to the
Light World...then go left a ways and you're there at last. True story.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Yume wo Miru Shima
Gameboy
Released: 1993
By some interpretations, Link's Awakening is a direct sequel to A Link to the
Past. Either way, on a voyage to condition his body and mind in preparation
for possible future catastrophes, Link is shipwrecked and wakes up on
Koholint Island. I don't know what a Koholint is, but the Japanese title
seems to be 'island that is seeing a dream,' or Dreaming Island (I'm a
learner of Japanese.) Anyway, Koholint Island is quite an interesting place,
from the giant egg that sits on its tallest mountain to the village populated
entirely by talking animals. Link quested to enter the egg with the eight
Instruments of the Sirens, and find a way back home. I like this game a lot.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Toki no Okarina
Nintendo 64
Released: 1998
Probably the most popular Zelda title. I can see why, but...amazing graphics
aren't everything, people! (Shut up. They were stupendous at the time.) At
any rate, the level design is more than competent and the mix of old and new
is commendable. Ocarina of Time built on some of the core elements of A Link
to the Past, including its 3/5 dungeon dichotomy, the method by which the
Master Sword is gained, and the dual-world scheme - though in this case, it's
the present and future of the same world rather than two separate worlds, and
your ability to switch between the two is severely limited. Anyway, a fine
entry indeed.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Majora no Kamen
Nintendo 64
Released: 2000
Ocarina of Time was so well received, they decided to release a direct sequel
to it, utilising the same engine and resources. To me, that makes Ocarina so
much less special, but once I got into it (Majora's Mask takes a while to get
moving) I may have liked it even better. This one is set in a parallel
version of Hyrule, called Termina. They have a somewhat similar world. You'll
meet many of the same characters, this time with names, but Termina is more
tribal than civic. Oh yeah, and the game's main antagonist has set the moon
on a collision course that will obliterate the planet, plus Hyrule. The
three-day time limit can be reset again and again, but this also resets
events - all you'll keep is the items you've collected, which is enough. The
jury's out on this one; you'll find the three-day system either brilliant, or
annoying as hell.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Ko no Mi Daichi no Shou
Gameboy Colour
Released: 2001
During development, Oracle of Seasons and Ages were originally called
'gaiden,' meaning side-stories. That's not entirely inaccurate. You could
even go as far as to say they were just to keep players going between games,
though they are still excellent standalone adventures. Nut of the Mysterious
Tree: Chapter of Earth is the easier and less interesting of the two. This
one tracked Link as he used the Rod of Seasons, a magical device that he
could use to change the seasons at will, to deny General Onox his dream of
conquering Holodrum.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Ko no Mi Jikuu no Shou
Gameboy Colour
Released: 2001
Released concurrently with Oracle of Seasons, Nut of the Mysterious Tree:
Chapter of Time and Space is more puzzle-oriented, and probably the superior
game overall. We were a little squeamish when we found out they had been
handed out to Capcom, but it all turned out all right. Link gained the Harp
of Ages, another time-travelling instrument - as well as one that allowed
another dual-world system, this one being the present and 400 years in the
past. Link used it to fight the Sorceress Veran as she strove to conquer
Labrynna. The biggest feature of the Oracle games was that when you completed
one, you got a password. This password could be entered into the other game
when you started a new file, allowing you to start off with the Wooden Sword
(instead of looking for it) and an extra Heart Container. It also unlocked
additional content and many special items unavailable the first time through.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Yottsu no Tsurugi
Gameboy Advance
Released: 2002
When A Link to the Past was re-released for GBA, there was a smaller,
multiplayer-only game on the same pak. It introduced a new villain, Vaati,
and had the players attempt madcap challenges as they cooperated to complete
a level, but competed to collect the most Rupees. While it got even more fun
as more players were added, most people who bought the re-release probably
didn't have the hardware needed for Four Swords.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Kaze no Takuto
Nintendo GameCube
Released: 2003
Despite its obvious flaws, The Wind Waker is my favourite Zelda game. Some
people will blanch at that statement, but I love it, and I'm letting you
know, even though you don't need to. Except for the name...Waker is not
technically a word. (Neither is GameCube, of course...) Anyway, for some
reason which I won't spoil, Hyrule is underwater. As a result, your adventure
takes place mostly on the high seas, firing cannon, searching for sunken
treasure and exploring small islands in a cel-shaded, hyper-bouncy world that
really irked a lot of people. But if you wanted realism, boy, did you ever
pick the wrong series. Another area of complaint was that travelling across
the ocean was too boring. I thought it was neat, myself. Fortunately this
isn't a critical review, or we'd be here forever as I argued my case.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Yottsu no Tsurugi Purasu
Nintendo GameCube
Released: 2004
Not only did Four Swords+ expand on the original and bring it to a console,
it also offered the option of a single-player mode that didn't require a GBA
or the GCN-GBA cable. Pretty sweet. The story is quite similar, but the game
is much, much, much longer, and will probably take about 20 hours to complete
rather than an hour and a half. Each stage takes about twenty minutes, I'd
say. There's also a shallow yet intense battle mode.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Boushi
Gameboy Advance
Released: 2005
The title's Mysterious Hat is Ezlo, who...hmm, perhaps I'd best not talk
about his backstory here. Well, Ezlo finds Link in the forest, affixes to his
head, and gives him access to yet another dual-world system. This time, he
can go 'twixt the Hylian-sized world, and that of the inch-high Minish
people. From this unique vantage point, Hyrule doubles in size as you explore
huge dungeons stretching almost a metre in any direction. Truly vast, for a
Minish. This innovative use of the diminutive form gets a thumbs-up from me,
but like The Wind Waker, whose general style it follows, it is so short I
have to wonder if development was rushed.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Towairaito Purinsesu
Nintendo GameCube/Wii
Released: 2006
This game was a first in several ways: It was the first game to receive a
rating more dangerous than E (it got a T rating), for example, and it was the
first to be released on two consoles concurrently. I won't get into all the
reasons why the game irked me, because we'd be here for a year, but they are
definitely there. Despite this, the game is still really good. It marks a
return to the inexplicably popular realistic style, a much darker tone, a
heavier emphasis on storytelling, a Hyrule under siege by another plane of
existence, and a cool new mechanic in the guise of Link's ability to assume
wolf form.
=~=The Meat of the Guide=~=
[MEA]
Okay, we've finally arrived! This is the reason you came here. Below is a
list of every character profiled in this guide. There's quite a few of them,
eh?
To jump to a specific character, use the Find function, and type the first
two letters of their name with a space between them. So to find Mario's entry
(to be clear, Mario doesn't actually have an entry, this is just an example),
you would hit Ctrl+F, search for 'M A', and click Find. Teleport! *Twilight
Zone three-tone theme plays*
By the way, need I actually say that this guide contains huge spoilers for
basically every game in the series?
Agahnim
Agitha
Anju and Kafei
Biggoron
Bipin and Blossom
Blade Brothers
Bokoblin Boss
Bombers Gang
Carlov and Borlov
Carpenters
Composer Brothers
Daltus
Dampe
Dark Link
Darmani
Darunia
Deku Royal Family
Din, Nayru and Farore
Donkuru
Epona
Error
Ezlo
Fado
Fyer and Falbi
Ganon
General Onox
Goron Elder
Great Deku Tree
Great Fairy
Gustaf, Royal Spirit
Grog
Happy Mask Salesman
Helmaroc King
Hena
Hero's Spirit
Igos du Ikana
Ilia
Impa
Indigo-Gos
Ingo
Jabu-Jabu
Jalhalla, Protector of the Seal
Jovani
Kaepora Gaebora
Keaton
Kiki
King Moblin
King of Red Lions
King Zora
Know-it-All Brothers
Komali
Koume and Kotake
Laruto
Lenzo
Light Spirits
Link
Link's relatives
Madame MeowMeow
Majora's Mask
Makar
Maku Trees
Malon and Talon
Maple and Syrup
Master Stalfos
Marin and Tarin
Medli
Melari
Merman
Midna
Mido
Mikau
Nabooru
Navi
Nightmares
Old Man and Old Woman
Oocoo
Ordon Village Kids
Patch
Pierre and Bonooru
Pinguru
Postman
Queen Ambi
Quill
Rafton
Ralis
Ralph
Rauru
Renado
Richard
Ricky, Moosh and Dimitri
Rosa
Rupiiji
Ruto
Sahasrahla
Salvage Corp.
Saria
Skull Kid and Friends
Sorceress Veran
Sturgeon and Orca
Telma
Tetra's Crew
Tingle
Vaati
Valoo
Vasu
Wind Fish
Yeto and Yeta
Zant
Zelda
Zephos and Cyclos
Zunari
=============================================================================
A g a h n i m
Sorcerer-puppet
Race: Hylian
Appearances: A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Oracle of Seasons
Shortly before the beginning of A Link to the Past, perhaps a year, an
endless chain of catastrophic natural disasters befell Hyrule. Typhoons,
earthquakes and floods wracked the land, causing massive collateral damage
and killing many people. Their origin could not be discerned, and they were
so large even the best magicians failed to end the threat. The King of Hyrule
could only watch in despair as his kingdom was slowly worn down.
Just when it seemed Hyrule was ready to give out, a wizard from a faraway
land appeared and, with some effort, put a stop to everything that was
happening. He was greeted as a hero and the King gratefully took him on as
advisor. With his suggestions taken into account, Hyrule prospered once
again.
But in reality, well...Ganon is many things, but an idiot is not one of them.
After his first duel with Link, he was imprisoned in the Golden Land, where
had stayed for hundreds of years. All this time, he plotted a means of
escape, transforming it into the sinister Dark World over time. Agahnim
actually was a kind wizard to begin with, so how he got to be under Ganon's
dominion is unclear. At any rate, Ganon possesses the poor old man to use as
his puppet, then begins to exert his growing magical power on the Light
World. When the people of Hyrule are at their most desperate, he sends a
false saviour to them. Through Agahnim, Ganon is able to manipulate the Light
World to his ends. Agahnim begins sacrificing maidens late at night in Hyrule
Castle's tallest tower, in the hopes of breaking the barrier between the
worlds.
After Link collects the Pendants of Power, Courage, and Wisdom, he is able to
draw the Master Sword from its pedestal in the Lost Woods. When he re-
emerges, Agahnim has kidnapped Zelda from the Sanctuary, a place she thought
was safe and unknown to him. Link ascends Hyrule Castle and duels with
Agahnim. In this fight, Agahnim's main attack is to throw coloured balls of
magical energy at Link, but they can easily be deflect with the Master Sword.
The idea is to smack it back into Agahnim's body, damaging him with his own
magic. He also has a very powerful attack where he shoots lightning out of
his hands, but it's so predictable and easy to avoid (just head for one of
the room's corners) that it isn't much of a threat.
After he's beaten, he falls down dead, but Ganon uses the last of his
presence in the Light World to warp Link to the Dark World, where things are
looking bleak, both literally and figuratively. He reappears later in the
game, as the boss of the final dungeon, Ganon's Tower. Here, he gains the
ability to briefly become invisible, and some of his magical orb attacks
can't be deflected. He can also create two shadow clones of himself, which
can distract Link with potentially fatal consequences if he doesn't know
which ones are which, but their attacks pass right through him. Other than
that, his attack pattern is the same.
At the end of Link's Awakening, the final boss is a collection of foes from
previous games, and Agahnim is one of them. As with A Link to the Past, to
defeat him you have to deflect his only attack back at him. This form is
pathetically easy. Some people say that it's easier to deflect his attacks
with the Shovel rather than the Sword, which is not true.
Agahnim also made one final appearance in Oracle of Seasons as the mini-boss
of Level 3, Poison Moth's Lair. This one works a little differently. The room
starts off dark, with Agahnim and two clones. There are two torches in the
middle of the room, around which the three hover. Link must light the torches
with Ember Seeds from his Seed Satchel. Then he must quickly examine all
three assailants before the light goes out again. The one who casts a shadow
is the real Agahnim, and the only one who can be hurt, by repeatedly bashing
him with your sword. All three can damage Link, however, and it can be tricky
to get a hit in while trying to avoid attacks. It's never explained how what
was once a powerful figure became relegated to a forgettable mini-boss, but
I'd guess this incarnation was an invention of Ganon.
=============================================================================
A g i t h a
Probably doesn't deserve to be second on the list
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Agitha is a very strange little girl who loves bugs. Specifically, she's
looking for 24 golden members of the phylum arthropoda, which she asks Link
to seek out so that she can hold Agitha's Ball at her house, called Agitha's
Castle. She makes funny little noises, and the way she talks (in third
person, for one thing) and the way she acts have caused some to question her
sanity. She even sends Link a letter telling him about a fairly bizarre dream
she has. Also, she has a peeping tom.
=============================================================================
A n j u a n d K a f e i
Star-cross'd lovers
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Majora's Mask
The Skull Kid, under the influence of Majora's Mask, commits all manner of
deeds which he apparently views as mere mischief, but which are really quite
taxing on their recipients. As the game begins, Anju and Kafei are set to be
married in three days. However, the Skull Kid has transformed Kafei into a
child!
Kafei can't bear to show his face in this state, so he spends most of his
time hanging around the back room of the Curiosity Shop. He goes to great
lengths to ensure nobody finds out who he is. He arranges for the postman to
give a special signal when he delivers any mail to Kafei, and when the man-
boy does venture out, he wears a Keaton's Mask and refuses to talk to anyone.
Through the longest and most complicated side-quest in the game, you can
reunite them:
FIRST DAY
-The mayor, the Captain of the Guard and the chief carpenter are arguing in
the mayor's office. Talk to the mayor's wife, Madame Aroma. She'll give you
Kafei's Mask, which allows you to interrogate people as to whether or not
they've seen her son.
-Listen to Anju's and the postman's conversation at the Stock Pot Inn - Anju
is the innkeeper. The postman knows where Kafei is, but won't tell. He would
never sell out a friend, I guess.
-Talk to Anju. She'll screw up and give away somebody else's room to you.
Talk to her again to arrange a midnight meeting.
-At midnight, meet Anju in the Stock Pott Inn's kitchen. She'll ask you to
deliver a letter, even though she could have just done it herself with much
less effort. Put it in any mailbox.
SECOND DAY
-Witness the postman delivering the letter. Talk to Kafei in the Curiosity
Shop's back room. He'll give you the Pendant of Memories.
-Return a little later. The owner will be there now. He has the Keaton's Mask
and the Express Mail to Mama. Deliver the latter to Madame Aroma to receive
an empty Bottle. Alternately, give it the postman to get the Postman's Hat
later on.
-Sakon, a local malcontent, stole Kafei's Sun's Mask, which is basically an
engagement ring. (Sakon steals other junk too.) Break into his hideout in
Ikana Canyon, accidentally activate the security system, and work through it,
finally recovering the mask.
This marks the first and last time in Zelda history that players were able to
control someone other than Link. The focus shifted between Link fighting Deku
Babas on one half of the security system and Kafei solving block puzzles on
the other.
With this complete, Link went to see them in the Employees Only room of the
Stock Pot Inn. Kafei finally showed up, but not until the last hour before
the moon hit home. Kafei still looks like a child O_o but they marry each
other in a private and hasty ceremony in which they exchange the Sun's and
Moon's Masks, respectively. This forms the Couple's Mask, which they give to
Link.
This is truly one of the most emotional scenes in the series, I think. They
hold each other, crying, and say they will greet the coming morning,
together. This is kind of sad, because they know that the instant dawn
arrives, the moon will make planetfall and they'll both die.
It's even sadder if you make a mistake and are unable to recover the Sun's
Mask; if you screw up, you don't have another shot until you reset the three
day timer and do everything over. If this happens, Anju will still go to the
Employees Only room to wait for Kafei, but he doesn't show up, no matter how
long you wait. Anju dies alone in extreme grief. Depressing, isn't it?
But wait! For every side-quest you complete that yields a Happy Mask as its
reward, you get to watch an additional segment of the ending cutscene when
you beat the game. If you do manage to complete this complicated quest,
you'll see that Anju and Kafei later had a much more elaborate marriage
ceremony just outside the South Entrance, with many attendees and a white
dress and excessive confetti. Ah, it brings a smile to one's face, unless one
resents happy people. Or has no mouth.
Anju's poly is reused from Ocarina of Time. In that game, she was called the
Cucco Lady. She lived in Kakariko Village and raised Cuccos (if you aren't
aware, those are Zeldafied chickens) even though she was allergic to them.
She later bred a special Cucco she wasn't allergic to, and which played a
part in the Trading Game to get Biggoron's Sword.
=============================================================================
B i g g o r o n
Titanic swordsmith
Race: Goron
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
The Minish Cap
The Gorons are a people whose bodies appear to be made of solid rock. This
lack of carbon growth seems to have some very strange side effects, as
evidenced by dudes like the Goron Elder and Biggoron. They can apparently
live for a very long time...and at least a few of them don't stop growing for
quite some time. Biggoron is huge. Massive. Thirty stories tall, perhaps.
Despite his size, he is quite skilled with fine tools. He is one of the
finest weapon-makers in the whole series (though there aren't that many.)
He has a younger brother named Medigoron, who is noticeably smaller - but
still so big he takes up a whole room - and noticeably less skilled. He makes
Link a sword that takes seven years to make, called the Giant's Knife.
Unfortunately, though powerful, it was so large it took two hands to wield,
and was so fragile it broke after only a few strokes. Biggoron was suffering
from blindness after the eruption of Death Mountain, whose summit he was
right next to; if Link completed the Trading Game and got some rare eye-drops
for him, he offered to fix the sword. It took him three days to come up with
the most powerful sword in the game, the Biggoron's Sword, which he could
conceivably have used as a toothpick.
In Majora's Mask, the Gorons all live at Snowhead, where they are slowly
freezing to death. Biggoron was the only one who was unaffected, probably
because of his massive size. He guarded the entrance to Snowhead Temple,
refusing to let anyone in. However, Link put him to sleep with the Goron's
Lullaby and was able to enter. In this game, Medigoron has found something
he's good at: Making Powder Kegs. These are gigantic bombs that Link can only
handle safely in Darmani Form, and which he needs to gather several important
items.
In Oracle of Seasons, the Gorons again live in a snowy climate, and again not
by choice. The ravages of Onox having sunk the Temple of Seasons have forced
their home into winter. Unfortunately, Biggoron is too big to fit into their
cave home, so he has to sit outside and be cold. Part of the Trading Game
involves giving him a pot of soul-warming Lava Soup. In a linked game, he
again contributes the most powerful blade, the Biggoron's Sword.
Finally, you can talk to him in The Minish Cap after you've beaten the game
and allow him to eat your tasty shield - the Goron diet is exclusively rock
sirloin, remember. If you visit again after a while, he'll offer up the shiny
new Mirror Shield to replace the one he ate.
=============================================================================
B i p i n a n d B l o s s o m
New parents
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons and Ages
In both halves of the Oracle saga, Bipin and Blossom are a happy couple who
live in the main village, be it Horon Village or Lynna City. She's a
housewife, and he tends Gasha plants. They're both very excited about their
newborn son, to the point that Bipin runs back and forth around their house
like a psycho.
Over the course of a regular game and then a main-linked one, you can watch
their son grow. Over time, you will have various opportunities to influence
his career choice. Depending on how you handle these decisions, he can become
a swordsman like Link, an arborist like his father, a musician like Sokra, or
somebody with no purpose in life.
=============================================================================
B l a d e B r o t h e r s
Swordsman siblings
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Minish Cap
Hyrule Castle Town in The Minish Cap plays host to a sword duelling contest
every year. Some famous competitors include the likes of Link's uncle, the
King of Hyrule and Vaati himself. But at one point or another, each of the
so-called Blade Brothers won the contest, then departed on a journey of
enlightenment to hone their techniques to perfection.
Swiftblade - He now runs Swiftblade's Dojo in the southwest part of town,
where he teaches worthy students the basics of sword combat via his patented
method of instruction, the Swiftblade Possession Technique. I didn't really
think of this until later on, but the fact that he actually has the magical
ability to possess someone's body is quite remarkable, elsewhere seen only in
exceptional magicians (e.g. Ganon possessing Agahnim.) He claims to have
invented it, but all the other Blade Brothers use it as well, so it's
unlikely.
Anyway, he teaches the Spin Attack, the Dash Attack, the Rock Breaker and the
Down Thrust. All of these should be familiar to fans, especially the Spin
Attack. The Dash Attack is simply a charge while using the Pegasus Boots, the
Rock Breaker opens up the world by allowing Link to smash rocks with his
sword, and the Down Thrust allows him to do a stabbing hip-drop once he's
jumped into the air.
Grimblade - He hangs out under Hyrule Castle. If Link finds him, he teaches
the Sword Beam.
Waveblade - This Lake Hylia denizen teaches the Peril Beam, a move new to
Zelda. This one is kind of the opposite of the Sword Beam, in that you can
use it when you have one heart or less (instead of full hearts.)
Greyblade - If Link can find him on Death Mountain, he teaches the patently
useless Roll Attack, which allows Link to strike powerfully with his sword if
he slashes as he rises out of a normal roll.
Swiftblade the First - By the time Link meets him in Castor Wilds, he's a
ghost, but he has a very useful technique. Normally, the Spin Attack is one
revolution, but the Great Spin Attack allows for several. In a couple of
other games, there was a similar move called the Hurricane Spin Attack. Maybe
it's the same attack but with a name change, like how the Whirling Blade
Attack became simply the Spin Attack.
Greatblade - He holed up in North Hyrule Field to dedicate himself to
improving the Great Spin Attack, giving it even more revolutions per
execution.
Scarblade - Found in Castor Wilds, he improves the speed at which a Spin
Attack is charged.
Splitblade - When Link steps on certain panels, he can create copies of
himself in order to solve puzzles. Some of these involve combat, so
Splitblade, hiding in Veil Falls, improves the speed at which the Split Gauge
fills.
=============================================================================
B o k o b l i n B o s s
Silent antagonist
Race: Bokoblin
Appearance: Twilight Princess
This guy is actually pretty cool. Bokoblins in this game are much greener and
more orcish than their contemporaries, and this guy is the biggest,
strongest, fattest one of all. He's a skilled boar-rider, he carries a giant
axe, his eyes glow orange, and he has two wickedly curved horns on his
helmet. Link first encounters him in Kakariko Village, when he taunts Link by
hoisting Colin onto a pole and riding around with him waving high in the air.
Link quickly mounts Epona and gives chase, hacking past his cronies and
eventually forcing the nameless boss into combat. This essentially amounts to
a jousting match set on Eldin Bridge. When Link wins, the boss seemingly
falls to his death and Colin is rescued. But wait! Part of guarding Telma's
wagon on its path from Castle Town to Kakariko involves jousting against the
guy again, though this time it's slightly harder - and he's missing a horn,
because it broke off when he fell.
He's once again sent plummeting to his apparent doom, but reappears when Link
storms their base camp in the Gerudo Desert. This time, they skirmish on
foot. They have one final showdown in Hyrule Castle. He introduces himself
with the first words he's spoken all game, 'I have come to play.' When Link
bests him one final time, he sees the light and switches sides. He's also
fought for whichever side seems to be the strongest - he has nothing against
Link, war and pillaging are just a way of life for him. He concedes a Small
Key that Link needs to progress. Now why would Ganondorf entrust such an
important item to an agent whose loyalties are so shaky?
We see him one last time in the end credits, riding merrily across Hyrule
Field with his buddies.
=============================================================================
B o m b e r s G a n g
Elitist kindergartners
Race: Hylians
Appearance: Majora's Mask
The Bombers are a gang of rowdy little kids in Majora's Mask. Four of the
five members wear blue berets; Jim, their leader, distinguishes himself by
wearing a red one. When Link first approaches them, he's in Deku Scrub form,
so they refuse to let him join the gang. However, he agrees to a game of hide
and seek where the Bombers hide all over Clock Town. When he succeeds (before
dawn of the Second Day, or else he loses) Jim gives him the password to their
'secret hideout.' They're cheaters, too; they run away when Link finds them.
Their hideout is really an underground tunnel that travels beneath the walls
of the town and up into the Astral Observatory, where Professor Shikashi can
be found gazing up at the stars at night. During the day, you can zoom in on
the top of the Clock Tower to cause a Moon's Tear to fall to the ground
outside the Observatory, which not only plays a part in your first three-day
runthrough but also kicks off that game's Trading Game. In Ocarina,
Shikashi's poly was some old guy who lived in Kakariko. Bonooru the Scarecrow
can be found here, where he indirectly teaches the Inverted Song of Time and
Song of Double Time.
The Bombers also give Link the Bombers' Notebook, since they all have a copy.
It's used to keep track of all the people they have helped out in the past,
or whose troubles they are currently attempting to solve. Mostly, it's used
for the player to keep track of the schedules of the multitudinous NPCs who
will, at some point or another, give Link a Happy Mask (and also a handful
who never will.)
The Bombers had a pseudorenaissance in The Wind Waker, where a gang called
the Killer Bees hung out in the village square of Windfall Island. They were
Ivan, the leader, Jin, the advisor, Jan, the thug, and Jun-Roberto, the
scheming, would-be usurper. They play a minor role in the story, terrorize
their teacher, and follow Link around whenever he's in the vicinity. LEAVE ME
ALONE, KILLER BEES!
=============================================================================
C a r l o v a n d B o r l o v
Figure-loving brothers
Race: Hylians
Appearances: The Wind Waker
The Minish Cap
Only Carlov appeared in The Wind Waker. Forest Haven, located in the
southeast of the Great Sea, is composed of one large island and several
smaller ones. One of the smaller ones is accessible by standing in your boat,
using a Hyoi Pear to take control of a seagull, and flying up to hit a switch
near the top of the main island; this drops a ladder that gives you access to
a vertical door that opens by a spinny wheel, like you might see on top of a
submarine.
Inside is the Nintendo Gallery, though the only displays are of characters
and creatures from The Wind Waker. If Link obtains the Deluxe Pictograph -
which is an entire side-quest of its own - he can take colour photos, which
he can then present to Carlov. If it's taken with the subject in the middle,
is well balanced, and isn't too blurry, he will spend the next three days
sculpting a fabulously detailed figurine of whatever the subject was. All
figurines he makes will be put on display in one of several rooms in the
Nintendo Gallery. There are 133 figurines, so getting them all is quite a
feat, and one that doesn't serve any purpose, so completing it is more a
matter of pride, like collecting all 120 Stars in Super Mario 64.
Strangely, if you present Carlov with a picture of himself, he doesn't
recognize the subject, and will marvel at his own fashionable (?) hairstyle
and waxen skin. ...But each figurine comes with a description, and Carlov's
figurine's description references him by name, but was clearly not written by
Carlov. Umm...
Carlov serves a similar role in The Minish Cap, but his place is much easier
to access - it's in town, and Link can enter it easily once he's grabbed a
certain dungeon item. This time, however, you collect figurines by random
lottery, though you can only get figurines whose real-life models you've
already come into contact with. There are 136 of these.
Carlov's younger brother Borlov, who looks exactly like him, has opened a
shop in The Minish Cap (though he wasn't anywhere in Waker.) This is sort of
a retread of Old Man's money making game from the first Zelda, though he
doesn't sell his product very well, dissuading you from attempting it several
times throughout its explanation.
=============================================================================
C a r p e n t e r s
Lumberjacks' raison d'etre
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
The Minish Cap
For minor characters, they sure got a lot of exposure. Characters who debuted
in Ocarina of Time have all the luck.
We've got Mutoh, Ichiro, Jiro, Sabooru and Shiro.
Speaking of Ocarina, their activity in that game vary depending on which
timeframe you're in. As child Link, Kakariko Village is still under
construction, and you can see them working on a few buildings. By the time
you're an adult, they're complete; they all become houses, I believe.
By the time you're in adult form, the bridge connecting Gerudo Valley to
Hyrule Field has been smashed to splinters. The carpenters were contracted to
repair it, but made the mistake of camping out on the edge of Gerudo's
Fortress. Even Jim Caruk knows better than to bother the neighbours. This
prompted the Gerudo to capture them and toss them in various cells throughout
the fortress, gathered by the orange-clad Gerudo elites. The foreman, Mutoh,
asked Link to rescue them, after which they were able to rebuild the bridge.
In Majora's Mask, they spent most of their time in South Clock Town, crawling
around the scaffolding and hitting things with their hammers. (That's what
the weird tap-tap-tap-tap-tap noise is. It took me a few minutes to figure
that one out.) They are in the midst of an argument with the Town Watch,
whose captain maintain that it is smartest to flee. In the end, the other
carpenters take off, and the Foreman is left standing in front of the Clock
Tower yelling defiantly at the Moon. He fully believes that everything will
be fine when it impacts.
They are once again slacking off in Oracle of Ages' prelude to Level 4, Skull
Dungeon. Link finds the Foreman and he explains that his workers haven't
shown up. Link has to search them out and lay down the law. The terrain will
be different depending on whether he has Ricky, Moosh or Dimitri as his
animal partner. After he puts them all back, Link is able to extend a bridge
that leads to Symmetry City.
No such disciplinary problems exist in The Minish Cap, where they do whatever
their boss tells them. They complain about it a lot, though. Their main
purpose is to block off parts of the world with refuse for the first part of
the game, blocking off areas the game's developers didn't want Link to visit
too early. They slowly clear it away, build two houses in Hyrule Castle Town,
and then vanish.
=============================================================================
C o m p o s e r B r o t h e r s
Ghostly musicians
Race: Poes
Appearance: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
The Composer Brothers are a little confusing. Based on Ocarina of Time, one
would expect them to be Hylians, but Majora's Mask shows them to be Poes.
Hmm.
Anyway, in Ocarina of Time they are only mentioned when you find the notes
for the Sun's Song. They mention that they, the Composer Brothers, wrote it.
Anna Bare has this to say:
"I haven't played Ocarina of Time in a while, but I was almost certain that
you can "fight" the Composer Brothers, Flat and Sharp. I can't remember if
you have to be young or old Link (I think young), but if you go to the
Graveyard in Kakariko and examine each of the two gravestones on both sides
of the big grave (the one you blow up), the Brother is summoned and you can
"fight" him."
I'm currently unable to verify that, but it's possible they're just ordinary
Poes. Joao Paulo Hoppe confirms that they do indeed exist, and that when
defeated they talk about their lives and the Sun's Song. The Platinum Knight
says something similar. Well, I guess that's settled.
They show up physically in Majora's Mask, at the top of Ikana Canyon. We
learn here that their names are Flat and Sharp, which, if you don't know, are
two kinds of musical notes (hitting F-sharp when the composition calls for F-
flat is a major performance blunder that will cost you much respect, or so
children's shows would have me believe.) Sharp has tried to restore Ikana,
the dead kingdom, to its former splendour, but has inadvertently made it even
worse than before. As a result of his deal with Skull Kid, not only have the
dead risen, but his brother Flat has been imprisoned. In the process, Sharp
has also been corrupted. Flat is still fundamentally good, whereas Sharp
tries to kill Link and stands a good shot at it. However, a quick rendition
of the Song of Healing soothes his confused, battered soul. The brothers
teach Link the quest-critical Song of Storms before departing for the next
world.
=============================================================================
D a l t u s
One King of Hyrule
Race: Hylian
Appearances: The Minish Cap
The Minish Cap-era King of Hyrule. He is quite tall and obese, and he wears a
long red robe, and he's rendered in the GBA's version of cel-shading, and
thus he bears a striking resemblance to Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. He
reportedly was a great swordsman in his youth, and fought to a draw with
Link's uncle Smith one year at the Picori Festival. He's become a huge wimp
since then, since the most initiative he takes when his own daughter is
kidnapped is to tell his guards to look for her and assign Link a few special
missions that will hopefully lead to her recovery.
He apparently does a not-bad job at ruling Hyrule, however, as his subjects
seem pretty happy. Minister Potho, who looks like a flea, assist him in this
endeavour. Mayor Hagen takes care of Hyrule Castle Town itself.
=============================================================================
D a m p e
Insert lame joke about 'digging' graves
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
The Minish Cap
The Kakariko Village Graveyard is located just behind the village itself.
This is the final resting place of all Kakariko and Hyrule Castle Town
citizens. Those who swore fealty to the Hylian Royal Family long ago get
special lots. Towards the very back, with a headstone that's taller than you
are, is the Royal Tomb. Link can enter the tomb and wander around in it, and
for some reason a song written by the Composer Brothers is down there. In
adult form, Link will be harassed by Poes. A little kid wanders around,
because he likes it there, but complains that nobody thinks he's scary
because he's too cute.
Dampe is the gravekeeper.
He's an ugly, short, hunched-over guy who looks like he was hit in the side
of the face with a sledgehammer. He always wears black robes, and he carries
around a shovel and lantern.
If Link knocks on his door during the daytime, he'll get yelled at - Dampe is
working the graveyard shift, after all (true historical term), and he needs
his beauty sleep. At night, though, he runs the Heart-Pounding Grave-digging
Tour, where he'll follow Link around the cemetery and dig wherever he tells
him to, for 10 Rupees each time. Good luck will yield some nice prizes, like
a Heart Piece.
Seven years later, he's died. The little kid takes over and Dampe gets his
own tomb. If Link finds it, he can enter and meet Dampe's ghost. Dampe had a
cool springy toy when he was alive, and he'll give it to Link if he can keep
up with him as he speeds through the adjacent tombs, dropping fire from his
lantern. The toy is actually the Hookshot, probably the coolest item in video
game history, no exaggerations. It shoots a pointed wedge with a chain
attached, allowing Link to cross gaps, hit stuff from afar, grab hard-to-
reach items and attack enemies. It got screwed over in The Wind Waker,
though. If Link keeps up in a second, harder race, he'll get a Piece of
Heart.
He plays a similar roll in Majora's Mask as groundskeeper of Ikana Graveyard,
but his attendance is inverted. The Stalchildren come out at night, and they
scare the crap out of him, so he can be found only during the day. If Link
wears the Captain's Hat, which makes him look like the leader of the
Stalchildren, he'll cry that they've started coming out in the daytime too,
and run away screaming.
He once again reprises his role in The Minish Cap, where he tends Royal
Valley. All he does is give Link a key and help him reach the end of the
segment, but at least this time he isn't afraid of something that comes with
the job.
============================================================================
D a r k L i n k
Amorphous inner evil
Race: Shadows
Appearances: The Adventure of Link
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Four Swords Adventures
Any way you slice it, Dark Link (in any of his several forms) is a
fascinating character. After all, our boy Link is a paragon of courage and
benevolence, and Dark Link is basically him - on the polar opposite end of
the morality spectrum. His origins and motivations are a mystery, but it's
endless fun to speculate.
I've listed all of these together in the same profile, under the name of Dark
Link because that's probably the version most players will be most familiar
with. But that does not mean they're the same character by any means. They
could be, I guess, but I would tend to think of them as separate. Not that it
really makes a difference one way or another.
He made his debut as Link's Shadow, the last boss in The Adventure of Link.
In that game, one had to traverse the frustratingly difficult Great Palace,
square off with the Thunderbird and then take on Link's Shadow without rest.
Shadow Link was a palette swap of Link...except the new palette was entirely
black. Yup, he was just a silhouette. Except for magic, he could do
everything Link could, which meant he could both jump and use his sword. He
had the two special sword techniques (the Downward and Upward Thrusts) and,
once he got going, he attacked relentlessly. There was potential for a long
and tough fight, but players could exploit the relatively simple behaviour
pattern for a very quick and easy one. They simply had to jump, which would
cause Link's Shadow to lower his shield. They would then slash on the way
down, smacking him in the noggin. Shadow Link would be knocked back, and the
process would be repeated as necessary. Still, he was a pretty original boss
character for the time.
His first appearance as Dark Link was in Ocarina of Time as the Water Temple
mini-boss. The fight took place in a huge room that housed an ankle-deep
lake. Link's shadow was clearly visible in the reflection of the water. When
he ran over the centre island's pool of water, however, it mysteriously
vanished. Link then saw the locked door, turned around, and found Dark Link
waiting on the island. This fight involved a considerably better set of
actions; for one thing, Dark Link had the ability to spring up and disappear
at will, and easily evaded Link's stabs. This battle was fairly non-linear in
regards to how Dark Link could be defeated, and I've seen a number of
different strategies. A few of the more popular ones are straight
swordfighting, Spin Attacks, the Megaton Hammer and Din's Fire. When Dark
Link went down, the illusion disappeared and the room was just an ordinary,
closed-in Water Temple chamber. The prize was the Longshot (well, actually it
was a Small Key unlocking the room beyond, which contained the Longshot.)
I'm not sure this next one counts, but arguably a form of Dark Link appeared
as Fierce Deity Link (Kiishin Rinku) in Majora's Mask. At the end of his
quest, Link was transported to the inside of the moon, where he found a tree
with four kids prancing around it. They each wore the mask of one of the
game's four dungeon bosses. If Link had collected all 20 Happy Masks, he
could trade them to partake in each child's mini-dungeon. If he completed
them all before talking to Majora's Mask, the spirit would notice that Link
had no masks and give him the Fierce Deity's Mask so they could play 'good
guys and bad guys.' Link was the bad guy. The Fierce Deity was apparently a
demon whom the early Termina Hylians sealed in a mask. When Link dons the
mask, he takes on a form much like his adult one from Ocarina of Time, but
with armour, a whitish-blue colour scheme, eyes without pupils, and a really
big, double-helixish sword that shot fireballs, even after he'd taken damage.
Beating Majora's Mask was a snap as the Fierce Deity. (By the way, the reason
he's here is because of the whole 'dark spirit' thing.)
The Adventure of Link had Link's Shadow, so Four Swords Adventures turned
that around and gave us Shadow Link. An apparition created by Vaati, Shadow
Link tricked Link into drawing the Four Sword and being sundered. After that,
he caused mayhem throughout Hyrule, and produced at least three copies of
himself. Setting fires and harassing civilians, he showed up twice each
stage, where whoever smacked him could snag 100 Force Gems. He was also a
boss for several stages - these battles were usually waged on both the Light
World TV screen and the Dark World GBA screen. He would eventually take on a
colour, and only the corresponding Link could damage him in this state.
Oh, and I guess it's worth mentioning that he appears in Super Smash Bros
Melee, in Event Match 18: Link's Adventure. Here, he's basically a Level 9
Link, but coloured black instead of textured. Defeating him isn't much
trouble, unless you suck at Smash, but it's a cool idea anyway.
=============================================================================
D a r m a n i
Stalwart defender
Race: Goron
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Gorons are accustomed to living in warm, dry climates, like underground or
inside a volcano. Termina, like it's other-dimension counterpart Hyrule, was
bathed in perpetual spring. So when Skull Kid started his takeover and froze
over Snowhead Mountain, the Gorons were in for quite a shock. The direct
cause of all this could be addressed if one were to travel to defeat Goht. As
the Gorons' only warrior Darmani attempted just this, and was killed in the
process.
The Gorons built a shrine to remember him, but his spirit couldn't move on
because he knew his people were suffering. Link is able to see Darmani's
ghost using the Lens of Truth, and follows him to the shrine. His ghost is
dark grey and has no pupils. Notably, one can see a large gash running from
his upper-left chest to lower-right belly. Link plays the Song of Healing for
him and we watch his first moments in the afterlife as he goes to meet his
dead comrades - he's scared as hell, but he doesn't shy away and instead
boldly meets the next life (though he screams.) Link gets the Goron Mask,
allowing him to assume Darmani's form.
In this form, Link can throw his weight around, attack with a powerful three-
part fiery punching combo, roll around like the Hot Rodder Goron (and
others), and play songs on the Goron Bongos.
=============================================================================
D a r u n i a
Jovial dancer
Race: Goron
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
The Goron leader is called the Big Brother Goron. Now I'm sure Darunia is a
good administrator and all, but he has quite a cold personality. When the
Dodongos chase the Gorons out of Dodongo Cavern, their main source of food,
they begin to starve. Man, if it's not one thing it's another with the
Gorons, eh? Anyway, Darunia locks himself into his room and refuses to accept
visitors until Link plays Zelda's Lullaby in front of his door, and even then
he only admits him because he thinks he's a royal messenger. Stupid Hylians,
always abandoning the Gorons in their times of need.
He perks up when he hears Saria's Song, though, and does quite an energetic
dance. He then gives Link the Goron's Bracelet, an item so huge Link wears it
around his upper arm, which lets him pick Bomb Flowers safely. When Link
vanquishes King Dodongo and the Gorons are able to return and get their much-
needed, tasty rock sirloin, he gives Link the Goron's Ruby, the Spiritual
Stone of Fire.
Later on, when Volvagia is eating the Gorons and imprisoning those he plans
to eat later, Darunia enters the Fire Temple and tries to fight Volvagia.
(Darmani has a similar encounter in Majora's Mask, except Darunia survives.)
He fails, of course, but asks Link to give it a try in his stead. When he
Link does kill Volvagia and rid Death Mountain of its fiery ring (which
temporarily replaces the smoky one), Darunia awakens as the Sage of Fire and
stays at the Fire Temple to protect it and pray to the gods for Link's
success.
In the seven years Link spends in suspended animation, Darunia somehow
produces a son and names him after Link, in honour of the Sworn Brother bond
they share.
=============================================================================
D e k u R o y a l F a m i l y
Wooden monarchs
Race: Deku Scrubs
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Deku Scrubs have been consistently showing up as a variant of Octoroks since
Ocarina of Time, but only a handful have had real character, and only the
Deku Royal Family is worth mentioning. Unlike most of the major characters in
Majora's Mask, they have no Ocarina of Time counterparts.
They reside in Deku Palace, which is accessible only by ferry since the
surrounding waters are poisonous. It is guarded by a number of patrolling,
three-leaved Scrubs who will throw you out if they find you someplace you
shouldn't be.
The Deku King rules the Scrubs of Termina, but he seems to be a little
corrupt; he spends all three days punishing a monkey accused of kidnapping
his daughter, even though the only proof he has is a single eyewitness. He
has a number of pointy leaves for hair, carries a flowery sceptre, and
inexplicably has a giant red bulb growing out of his back. Uh...
The princess has, in actuality, been kidnapped by Skull Kid. She's being held
by Odolwa in Woodfall Temple, and Link rescues her when he defeats the Mayan
warrior. Somehow, she's able to shrink herself small enough to fit inside an
empty Bottle, by which method Link transports her safely back to the arms of
her father. She smacks him for being stupid, too. She's a little more
detailed than an ordinary scrub, and she has a ponytail made out of a whip of
leaves accented with pink flowers. The monkey accused of kidnapping her is
actually her best friend, Kiki.
They are both attended by their uppity English butler, who has two bushes
growing out of his head and a moustache made from pointed leaves. If Link is
able to keep up with him in a race, much like with Dampe in Ocarina, he wins
the Mask of Scents. He also has a son who has been frozen into a still tree,
and he cries at his feet in the closing cutscene. Oddly, this is Link
Terminian counterpart - the Deku Scrub he can transform into has no name, but
is clearly the Deku Butler's Son! In fact, after winning the race he mentions
how much Link looks like his son, pretty much proving this theory.
=============================================================================
D i n, N a y r u a n d F a r o r e
Creation story lynchpins
Race: Goddesses, or Hylians
Appearances: A Link to the Past
Ocarina of Time
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
The Wind Waker
The Minish Cap
Din, Nayru and Farore are, first and foremost, the legendary Three Goddesses
who figure into Hyrule's creation story. They were briefly mentioned in the
instruction manual of A Link to the Past, but they weren't even given names.
They were much expanded upon in several Ocarina of Time cutscenes and other
media, so I'll summarise their contribution to the world here:
To begin with, the place Hyrule would occupy was a swirling mass of
raw...well...what do you call something that doesn't exist yet? Anyway, the
Three Goddesses descended upon whatever this was and sought to bring order
and life to it.
Din - Goddess of Power. Created and shaped the land.
Nayru - Goddess of Wisdom. Created science, wizardry and the arts.
Farore - Goddess of Courage. Created living things.
On the spot where they flew back to their angelic perches, they left a
physical symbol of their action. This way, their creations might learn from
them. It was three golden triangles, called the Triforce. Sounding familiar?
Not only did it exist physically, each piece of it was imprinted on a
particular person and his or her infinite reincarnations throughout the
years. But the Triforce has such a complex history, it could have its OWN
guide, so I won't dig any deeper.
I could go into a hell of a lot more detail, of course, but everything else I
could tell you is not really of interest to the average reader. There are
plenty of other easily accessible resources if you'd like to learn more about
the Three Goddesses.
What's interesting to me is that the Triforce of Power, the one Ganon has, is
often portrayed as the 'best' of the three. Meanwhile, Link's, the Triforce
of Courage, tends to be positioned as subordinate to the other two. This
could have something to do with the order in which the Goddesses are
mentioned - Power, Wisdom, Courage. I don't know. This is highly debatable, I
just find it to be an interesting interpretation.
They appeared as Hylians in the Oracle saga. Din was the eponymous Oracle of
Seasons, masquerading as a dancer in a troupe of performers. She was
kidnapped by Onox and thrown into a crystal. Nayru was the Oracle of Ages,
and a talented musician, but Veran possessed her body. Farore played a much
lesser role as the Oracle of Secrets found on the first floor of the Maku
Tree. Several times, Link received a secret in one game that had to be
brought to Farore in the other game. Doing so gave him upgraded equipment.
The goddesses are once again unnamed in The Wind Waker, but I might as well
mention them here. When the seal on Ganondorf's Golden Realm prison started
to weaken, the goddesses drowned Hyrule so that he would never escape. He
still somehow found a way out, however, so it was all for nought. The point
is, they're the reason Hyrule is underwater and The Wind Waker takes place on
the ocean.
Their Hylian versions reappeared in The Minish Cap. They shared a room at the
inn until Link performed a two-for-one act of good citizenship: He found Ingo
two tenants, and he found two of the ladies houses to live in. Only two,
though, and it was smartest to pick Din and Nayru (see? Farore once again
gets the shaft.) When Link talked to them in their new homes, they were so
pleased they presented him with a special artefact that would temporarily up
either his attack power, his defensive abilities, or both (but that last one
entailed a much lower bonus.)
Din is represented by red, Nayru is represented by blue, and Farore is
represented by green.
=============================================================================
D o n k u r u
Tingle's best friend
Race: Dog
Appearances: Mogitate Chinkuru no Barairo Rupiirando
I hate dogs. Donkuru is a character from Tingle's Japanese-only RPG, Mogitate
Tingle. And he's a dog. When Tingle gets his new duds at the beginning of the
game, Donkuru dresses to match his owner. I don't believe he has any kind of
practical in-game purpose, but then, does any part of that game have a
purpose, really? Does video gaming in general have a purpose? Does life?
=============================================================================
E p o n a
Link's trusty steed
Race: Purebred horse
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
Four Swords Adventures
The Minish
Twilight Princess
Link first met Epona as a child in Ocarina of Time, where he saw her at Lon
Lon Ranch. She would run away from him whenever he approached, afraid of him.
Malon, however, sung her a lullaby every night, which Link quickly learned to
play on the Ocarina. After he played Epona's Song, the pony trusted him a
little more.
When he became an adult and learned that Ingo had taken over Lon Lon Ranch,
he found that he was horribly mistreating the animals. He had people pay to
ride the horses around their enclosure, which looked a little like an
equestrian course. Ingo recognized some natural horsemanship abilities in
Link and had him a race around the outside of the enclosure with 50 Rupees on
the line. When Link won, he had a second race with Epona's ownership as the
prize. (Winning either of the races with one of the stock mares is
impossible; Ingo's ride is just too fast.) He then tried to lock Link in, but
Epona's amazing jumping abilities allowed her to clear the ranch walls with
ease. Ingo realised at the last moment that Link had been riding Epona, the
best of the bunch. He was quite jealous, because she threw HIM every time he
climbed into the saddle. After this, Link was able to summon her whenever he
was on Hyrule Field by playing Epona's Song.
At the beginning of Majora's Mask, Link is riding through Kokiri Forest
looking for Navi when Skull Kid ambushes him. He steals Epona and rides off
into a portal. Link finds she's been taken to Romani Ranch, and he can't
rescue her until almost halfway through the game. Skull Kid has blocked off
Milk Road with a rock, and the assigned worker takes two days to clear it;
Link must blow it up with a Powder Keg to clear it on the first day, from
which point he can take steps to liberate Epona. Oddly, he wasn't able to
ride her in child form in Ocarina, but in Majora's Mask this was the only
form he could ride her in. Of course, in the latter game she's still a pony,
which is kind of interesting.
Epona cameos briefly at the beginning of Oracle of Seasons, where Link is
seen riding her towards the not-yet-sunken Temple of Seasons.
She played a part in Four Swords Adventures as well, where players could
briefly ride her by collecting a carrot item, extending their time by
collecting further carrots (which were usually arranged in a path for this
purpose.) They could trample each other and collect the Force Gems that the
stomped ones dropped. She was also the focus of Bucking Bronco, part of the
Tingle's Tower collection of minigames. This was a flat-out race that raged
on both screens.
Epona is basically a beast of burden in The Minish Cap. Her main purpose is
to haul shipments of Lon Lon Milk between the ranch and Hyrule Castle Town.
Her role was greatly expanded in Twilight Princess, though she was still
basically playing a bit part. She worked with Link at Ordon ranch, herding
goats, before being abducted by Bokoblins. Link later rescues her in Kakariko
Village. His childhood friend Ilia seems to be very fond of Epona, but the
noble beast still prefers her master. Late in the game, Ilia gives Link the
horse call; this allows him to summon Epona from just about anywhere, whereas
before he could only do this at specific points. In Twilight, Link's combat
options were greatly expanded on; no longer limited to the bow, he could
attack with the sword and various dungeon items, plus ram into enemies and
trample them under Epona's hooves.
When Link takes on his wolf form in Twilight, he can speak to animals. I
didn't expect it to work, Epona has this to say: 'Even though you change
shape, I still understand you. Link...Hurry up and return to your true
self...'
In all her appearances except her most recent, Link is invincible while
riding Epona.
She is named after Epona, the goddess of horses, donkeys and mules in Celtic
polytheism.
=============================================================================
E r r o r
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Race: Hylian
Appearances: The Adventure of Link
A blacksmith from Ruto Town who when first spoken to merely announces 'I am
Error.' A little later, another character references him, at which point his
dialogue changes to 'South of the Palace is a tunnel.' Uh...the only reason
he's here, actually, is because of the name.
=============================================================================
E z l o
Larger than life
Race: Minish
Appearances: The Minish Cap
The Minish are a race of inch-high people who live amongst the Hylia without
them ever knowing. There are several Minish settlements throughout Hyrule,
but they are by far most concentrated at Minish Village in the Minish Woods.
Ezlo was originally a great Minish wizard. One day, his apprentice, Vaati,
lusting for power, turned on him and transformed him into a hat.
In his normal form, he wears a blue robe, carries a staff and wears the red
hat typical of the Forest Minish. Transfigured, Ezlo is the spitting image of
Link's famous green cap, except that instead of a point it has his head and
birdlike beak. Uh...right. In this state, Ezlo can barely crawl, and is
easily attacked by local Octoroks. Link rescues him and he affixes to Link's
head, then directs him to Minish Village. Ezlo still retains some of his
magical ability in this form, enough to change size at will. Ezlo is the
lynchpin on which sits the focal gimmick of his game: Switching between the
tiny Minish size and the customary Hylian size.
Ezlo has two other functions, which are providing general advice and
billowing out to allow Link to glide on the wind. He kind of serves a similar
purpose to Tatl, in that he speaks at times you would expect Link to. His
dialogue is the best in the game, if that means anything.
At the end of the game, when he, Link and Zelda defeat Vaati, the Minish Door
closes. From his choice of words, it sounds like he is only able to go
between sizes when the Door is open. That would make sense, considering the
Minish Door being open is supposedly what allows the Hylians and Minish to
briefly mingle. Even if that's not the case, it's unlikely that we'll be
seeing Ezlo again, so give him a round of applause as he bids us adieu.
=============================================================================
F a d o
Androgynous sage
Race: Kokiri
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
The Wind Waker
Twilight Princess
Damn, is Fado ever irritating.
Fado first appeared in Kokiri Village. I remember seeing her as child Link.
As I recall, she was a girl with two bulbous blonde knobs of hair. Her fairy,
I believe, was blue. Actually, her very existence was fancruft: Only the most
dedicated fan of Ocarina of Time, who scoured every last resource delving far
deeper into the game than was necessary, would ever come across the evidence
stating her name. When spoken to, even later on in the game, she said
something inconsequential.
She was absent for some time, then reappeared in The Wind Waker. As a guy.
I don't know who screwed this one up. My money is on Nintendo of America's
localization department. But when I heard (?) Fado's name in Waker, I was
delighted, until I found out that somebody had horribly mangled the
character.
Not only is Fado a dude now, he's also a ghost because Ganondorf somehow
killed him while still inside the Golden Realm. His apparel has changed as
well, obviously, as he's donned pants and a short cap in place of boyshorts
(O_o she's ten) and a bare head. This Fado is also the Sage of Winds, and
Makar's ancient ancestor. I'm not sure how a creature originally associated
with the Forest became associated with the Winds, but it is notable that Link
in The Wind Waker is the Hero of Winds, and Link in Ocarina of Time grew up
among the Kokiri.
Hold on a moment - Brie Fusaro tells me that The Wind Waker Official Player's
Guide, Fado is actually referred to as a guy in one instance, and as a girl
in another. Ugh.
Anyway, Fado is also associated with the Wind God's Aria, the second half of
The Wind Waker's theme, and after being awakened at the Wind Temple he helps
power up the Master Sword so that it is strong enough to defeat Ganondorf.
It gets weirder. All ambiguity is thrown to the winds as Twilight Princess's
Fado is mostly definitely a guy. And a big, burly, goat-herding country
bumpkin of a guy at that. Supposedly, he helps Link run Ordon Ranch and takes
over when Link leaves on his quest to save Hyrule. Unfortunately, Fado is
terrible at farming and can't even control his own livestock. They have a
tendency to ignore him when he tries to bring them in for the night and
sometimes they escape when he's not looking, forcing Link to wrestle them to
the ground before they get away. All in all, not a whole lot of help, and an
individual who makes the whole Fado character even more hermaphroditic than
before.
=============================================================================
F y e r a n d F a l b I
Entrepreneurs
Race: Hylians
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication is a very sly business
venture located at Lake Hylia. Both are quite jolly, and Fyer appears to have
a wen. Both dress like carnies, or maybe clowns, which is sort of the point.
Fyer, a cannon enthusiast, fires Link out of his giant cannon for a mere 10
Rupees, which rockets him up to Falbi's high position near the Great Hylia
Bridge. From here, the participant can then pay Falbi 20 Rupees to grab a
Cucco and float slowly down to the water, hopefully to the Isle of Riches.
The Isle of Riches contains only one chest that gets refilled. From here, one
can return to Fyer's portion of the game by a log bridge from the Isle to his
shack. If you do well, you can earn 70 Rupees each run. Quite an original
mini-game, if you ask me.
Fyer twice helps advance your quest. Auru, one of Telma's boys, once saved
his life, and Auru calls him on that debt. Fyer agrees to help Link enter the
Desert Province, which in Twilight era is adjacent to the Lake, again by
firing him out of the cannon. Later on, Link finds an even bigger cannon that
can fire him up to the City in the Sky, which Fyer repairs at a cost of 300
Rupees.
=============================================================================
G a n o n
The physical manifestation of evil
Race: Gerudo
Appearances: The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link
A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
The Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
Twilight Princess
Hoo boy. Ganon(dorf) is one awesome villain. The fiend has risen again and
again to attempt to conquer Hyrule, whose inherent magical qualities are so
strong he would effectively rule all existence if he were to succeed.
Fortunately, it is his destiny to be perpetually thwarted. Ganon is the one
character whom we KNOW is the same guy again and again, even when he shows up
in games that take place hundreds of years apart. His longevity, apparently,
is part of the effects of the Triforce of Power.
This is also the cause of his appearance later in life; Triforce lore
dictates that if one possesses the Triforce of Power without the Triforce of
Wisdom, one will begin to morph and take on a pig-like form. Nintendo seems
to differentiate between these two by referring to him in 'human' form as
Ganondorf, and 'giant pig' form as Ganon. I list him as Ganon because he
makes way more appearances in giant pig form than human one. He's alternately
been called Mandrag Ganon (in A Link to the Past's manual; it supposedly
means Ganon of the Enchanted Thieves) and Ganondorf Dragmire (in Ocarina of
Time, which I assume is an invention of Nintendo of America as a variant on
Mandrag.)
He makes his debut in pig form, of course, and as a pretty lame final boss.
He had a sort of bluish hue, and would move invisibly around the boss
chamber, pausing periodically to toss fireballs at Link. After four hits from
the Magical Sword, he turned brown, at which point a single shot from the
Silver Bow and Arrow would reduce him to a pile of dust. On second thought,
that was pretty sophisticated for 8-bit. I can imagine how frustrating it was
to program. Story-wise, he was trying to get that all-important Triforce of
Wisdom from Zelda, who broke it and hid the pieces.
Being that he was dead, during Zelda II his minions tried to resurrect him
with the blood of the one who vanquished him. If Link lost all his lives, a
victorious chuckle sounded and Ganon's silhouette appeared on the Game Over
screen, because they had succeeded. That was the full extent of his
contributions. However, he made quite a resurgence for A Link to the Past,
wherein he brilliantly possessed Agahnim and used him as his pawn as he
schemed to escape the Dark World. Oddly, he didn't actually himself appear in
Ganon's Tower; instead, there was a second battle with Ganon assuming Agahnim
form. Defeated, Ganon transformed into a bat, crashed through the roof of the
Pyramid of Power, and showed his true form, which was basically an enhanced
version of his original appearance. He added a few new attacks to his
repertoire this time around, including collapsing parts of the floor, sending
off volleys of Fire Keese and, notably, throwing around a trident. That
trident also appeared when the Nightmares mimicked Ganon at the end of Link's
Awakening.
In the prequel adventure Ocarina of Time, he is actually seen several times.
Link glimpses him in his dream from the opening cinema, from the Hyrule
Castle courtyard when he sweet-talks Zelda's daddy, when the dream plays
itself out and he conquers Hyrule Castle Town, and in the final battle. Ganon
devises another brilliant scheme, as he desires the four keys that will
unlock the Door of Time which leads to the Triforce. Gathering them by force
proves to be impossible, but he leads Link on and allows him to gather them
for him. When Link opens the Door, Ganondorf jumps in and lays hands on the
Triforce. The Triforce, being an inanimate object, does not know good from
evil and only grants his wish of taking over Hyrule. There is just enough
resistance to stop him there for the time being, and Link spends the rest of
the game gaining enough power to fight back. Most other games depict him as a
power-hungry villain, but this time he's shown to be a genius scholar, and he
simply took it too far. Nice humanization.
Interestingly, his main attack in this incarnation was similar to Agahnim's:
He threw magical orbs which had to be deflected to shock him, at which point
he could be stunned with Light Arrows and finally damaged with the Master
Sword. When this form was over, there was a brief escape sequence, after
which he used the Triforce of Power to transform into the monstrous Ganon.
His tail was his only weak point, but he could be stunned by shooting him in
the head with Light Arrows. Link temporarily lost the Master Sword, the only
weapon that could do anything more than superficial damage to Ganon, but
Zelda grabbed it and was able to return it to him halfway through the fight.
When defeated, he reverted to Ganondorf form and promised vengeance. He
looked pissed, too. Oh, and Phantom Ganondorf was the boss of the Forest
Temple, which involved him flying out of portraits on horseback and the same
game of tennis Link played with Agahnim.
He also appeared in the Oracle saga, but I doubt very many people reached
him. To fight him, one had to beat either game, beat a password-linked game,
and defeat the ensuing Twinrova battle. No mean feat. Here, Ganon revealed
that he was orchestrating the actions of Onox and Veran from behind the
scenes. Defeating him was the same old song (but it's a different
meaning...sorry), except that he was now able to transport players to a
strange blue room in which the controls were reversed. He was quite thick-
skinned here, too, as only the Master Sword or Biggoron's Sword even
scratched him unless he was dealt a Spin Attack.
His next incarnation, in The Wind Waker, is my favourite. He is shown three
times. Once, his face isn't even shown, once, he tries to attack the good
guys from the top of Forsaken Fortress but is ambushed, and then he gets a
long cutscene before Link fights him. Here, he has mellowed over the hundreds
of years since his Ocarina defeat, and he is portrayed in a much more
sympathetic light. He's grown a wicked beard, and he's quite a philosophical
fellow. When he extracts Link's and Zelda's pieces of the Triforce, he is
very careful not to hurt them, whereas before he would probably have just
killed them.
He is also the coolest final boss in any video game, ever. Link and Zelda
tag-team as he attacks with dual swords. First, Link must parry Ganondorf's
attacks, rolling behind him to slash. Zelda jumps in at the same time
Ganondorf figures out how to block the parry attacks, and she takes up Link's
Hero's Bow and fires Light Arrows at Ganondorf, damaging him. After a bit,
Ganondorf gets annoyed and knocks her out, and Link is on his own until she
wakes. When she does, well, being a genius, Ganondorf's been working on how
he'll block her Light Arrows even as he fought. Zelda is no idiot, either,
and she formulates a desperate gambit and starts to fire at Link. Link
deflects her shots at Ganondorf using the Mirror Shield. Hasta la vista. (I
don't even know what that means.)
This game poses a few interesting things to look at. For one thing, Forsaken
Fortress is clearly Gerudo Fortress taken over by Moblins, so it's fitting
that Ganondorf would return to his old base of operations and retrofit it
with new-age contrivances. Next, the Three Goddesses first allowed him to be
sealed inside the Golden Land. This didn't work, so when the seal weakened
they drowned Hyrule to keep him locked in. Somehow, he still escaped! Now
that's a powerful villain. Lastly, in the ending cutscene, Link stabs him in
the head and loses the Master Sword in the process as Ganondorf's body turns
to stone. And yet he appears in later games. Dude.
The Wind Waker also had a Puppet Ganon as one of three bosses leading up to
Ganondorf himself. This one required Link to sever its marionette strings
with the Boomerang and then attack its weak tail. It was a more interesting
fight than it sounds.
His inclusion in Four Swords Adventures is a little cheap, in my opinion. He
shows up in the end with almost no indication of what's going to happen, in
the Palace of Winds no less, a place where he shouldn't even be. The only
thing noteworthy about that battle is the Four Swords twist on it, and the
fact that Zelda is mildly involved in it. It's pathetically easy, too.
Furthermore, I'm not entirely comfortable with the retcons this game
introduces. It states that Ganondorf was born and raised in a town of the
Zuna in the Desert of Doubt. The who in the where? Yeah. The Desert of Doubt
includes a colossal Pyramid that originally housed a giant trident, until
Ganon pilfered it and made it his signature weapon. So there's your new
origin story. I'm not even sure whether or not to trust it, considering the
game was made by Capcom.
I'm not actually sure he was originally intended to be in Twilight Princess,
but if not he was integrated very well, so I'm glad he did. It's a little
confusing, though. We see four nameless Sages ready to execute Ganondorf, who
has a crazy new hairstyle, in front of the Mirror of Twilight. He is wounded
badly, but with the Triforce of Power he escapes his bonds and kills one of
the Sages. This is cool, but when exactly did it take place? Oh well. He goes
into hiding for a while and starts to feed off the Twili's hatred for the
Hylians, regaining strength from this. Eventually he manipulates their self-
proclaimed king into helping him achieve his goals.
And I raved about Waker's final boss battle. Well, Twilight's is pretty cool
too, so it deserves a close look. It begins with Ganondorf possessing Zelda's
currently soulless body and attacking Link with it. This is quite cool
because he uses the sword we've seen Zelda holding in all the concept art. We
play that same old hit-the-ball-of-energy-back-at-Ganondorf thing, then he
transforms into Ganon. This is a unique version in that he's on all fours and
doesn't carry a weapon. After stunning him with an arrow and attacking the
place where the Sages wounded him (his weak spot), Link takes on his wolf
form and uses Midna's giant orange hand to wrestle him into submission, then
attack with his fangs. In the next phase, we're transported outside and
Ganondorf takes to horse as Link and Zelda fight him from Epona. Zelda fires
Light Arrows to stun him and Link runs up and slashes. After a few rounds of
this, Ganondorf draws the sword that wounded him so long ago - it's made of
pure light - and he and Link go toe-to-toe in a no-holds-barred sword battle.
He's almost as skilled here as in Waker. Eventually, Link drives the Master
Sword into his vulnerable wound, ending this epic four-stage struggle.
He's also a playable character in Super Smash Bros Melee, but there's not
much to say about that. He's one of the clone characters, meaning he shares
the moves of another character (in this case, Captain Falcon) but has some
different traits. He's pretty heavy and slow, but powerful. Last I checked,
he was Mid-Tier.
=============================================================================
G e n e r a l O n o x
Bombad general
Race: Uh...Iron Knuckle?
Appearances: Oracle of Seasons
Strangely, even though he is the ultimate boss your first time through Oracle
of Seasons, he really only plays a bit part. On the other hand, he does set a
great game in motion. Although Ganon, a supremely powerful magician, sets his
sights on Hyrule, Onox's goals are not so lofty. Instead, he's willing to
start with the smaller and relatively inconsequential Holodrum. Of course, we
later learn that Ganon is manipulating him from behind the scenes to further
his own ends.
Onox starts by capturing Din, the Oracle of Seasons, and setting her in a
giant crystal (much like Ganondorf did to Zelda in Ocarina of Time.) He then
sinks the Temple of Seasons into Subrosia, the subterranean land beneath
Holodrum, and disables its four towers. Without either of those two forces to
govern them, Holodrum's seasons spin wildly out of control, threatening to
rip the realm apart.
Luckily, Link recovers the Rod of Seasons and retrieves eight elements of
Gaia, then faces Onox head-on. To begin, Onox is covered in a heavy suit of
armour, greatly resembling an Iron Knuckle. He swings around a giant ball and
chain, much like a Ball and Chain Soldier. After being damage a little, he
has Din's crystal rotate around him as yet another layer of armour, but Link
bats it out of the way with the Rod of Seasons. Finally, he transforms into
an immense Chinese-ish dragon that spits fireballs and slaps Link around.
Link must jump onto his hands and then glide over to his head to hit the
jewel there with his sword. After a few hits to this jewel, Onox goes away
for good.
=============================================================================
G o r o n E l d e r
Geriatrock
Race: Goron
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
Twilight Princess
When Link climbs to Snowhead Mountain, he finds that Skull Kid has frozen it
over. The snowbound Gorons are unable search for food, but the Goron Elder
bravely crawls into the blizzard and tries to find some healthful rock
sirloin. He's unsuccessful, and moreover, his son pines for his father and
cries constantly. When the Elder finds out, he tries to teach Link the
Goron's Lullaby, but it's so cold he forgets half of it. His son teaches Link
the rest and promptly falls asleep.
He's notable for a couple of reasons, mainly that he teaches us a few things
about Goron biology. He's a hunchback: A huge mound of rock has doubled his
height. It weighs heavily on him, and he sometimes walks on all fours. He
also has huge lips, and he's one of a handful of Gorons to sport visible
hair. Secondly, he carries a pair of Goron Bongos, one of only two Gorons
seen to do so (though it's possible that they're a very common item, just
rarely used.)
He's a little zestier in Oracle of Ages, with a beard resembling Darunia's
and a lot of muscles. Not enough muscles, unfortunately, to break through a
cave-in that has cut him off from the rest of the tribe. Link travels to the
past, defeats the Great Moblin, and wins a Bomb Flower for his troubles.
(Strangely, unlike those in the 3D games it does not explode immediately
after picking.) He hands it off to the foreman who explodes it and frees the
Goron Elder, who is able to help Link enter the Crown Dungeon.
Twilight Princess's Gorons are presided over by Darbus, their leader, who
utilises the four Elders as his agents to help him get things done. When the
five entered the Goron Mines to try and destroy the evil that was seeping out
of them, Darbus was overpowered and the Elders were forced to flee, sealing
him in with the Fused Shadow and being forced to abandon hm there. Link
eventually confronts the Elders, respectively called Gor Coron, Gor Amoto,
Gor Ebizo, and Gor Liggs. By tracking them all down, he assembles what passes
for the dungeon's Boss Key, then proceeds to defeat the transformed Darbus
and liberated him from evil's clutches. Gor Coron is quite skilled at sumo
wrestling (didn't see that one coming), and just generally seems very
Japanese to me, for some reason. Gor Liggs is covered in purplish body paint.
The other two are just old. After Link completes the Goron Mines, Gor Liggs
and Gor Ebizo take to hanging out at the Kakariko Village Malo Mart, and
later play a part in opening the Castle Town branch.
=============================================================================
G r e a t D e k u T r e e
Tree of the Ancients
Race: Deku
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
The Wind Waker
The Great Deku Tree is known as the guardian of the Kokiri. Even as the other
six races warred among themselves, the Deku Tree shrouded them in the forest.
It is supposedly its (his?) power that keeps them from ever aging past ten.
It also guards the Kokiri's Emerald, the Spiritual Stone of Forest. Ganondorf
tried to steal it from him but was unable to take it by force. Instead, he
sent Queen Gohma, a giant armoured arachnid, to invade the tree, set herself
in its roots and kill it from within. She spawns many foul beasts and starts
to poison the tree. At the tree's behest, Link arms himself, enters the root
structure and slays Queen Gohma, but it's too late. The Great Deku Tree
realises that his suspicion was correct: Link is destined to save Hyrule. He
gives him the Spiritual Stone to help him on his quest, then dies.
As his last act, however, he plants a seed. This new Deku Tree grows just in
front of the previous one, and takes seven years to sprout; it does so just
as Link defeats Phantom Ganon in the Forest Temple. It then gives Link a
brief explanation of what has happened in his absence and further
instructions.
This same tree reappears a hundred years later in The Wind Waker, and he
looks much different than his father. The original looked like...like Merlin.
This one looks like Bob the plumber. His face is way closer to the ground,
and he's grown more upward rather than outward - possibly because of limited
horizontal space, due to him being inside a larger tree. That tree is quite
possibly the first Deku Tree, though that would have required
transplantation.
The new Deku Tree guards the Forest Haven, which is a combination of the
Kokiri Forest, Lost Woods and Great Deku Tree areas from Ocarina of Time,
split up into four tiny islands. The new tree protects the Koroks as its
predecessors protected the Kokiri. Despite its appearance, it is quite as
wise as the original (well, almost.) The Great Deku Tree is one of the few
creatures old enough to remember how to speak Ancient Hylian; when he sees
Link in his heroic outfit, he is reminded of the Hero of Time and spits out a
few text boxes of Hylian script before apologetically switching to Link's
language.
The Great Deku Tree serves to help Link keep up with Makar, an important part
of the story. He also figures into a side-quest: Worried that the forests are
dwindling, he sends eight Koroks out to some small islands to plant trees
that will eventually give birth (so to speak) to new woods, but they aren't
doing so well. Link must quickly transport mystical water from Forest Haven
to each of the trees, allowing them to begin to grow.
=============================================================================
G r e a t F a i r i e s
Demented sprite
Race: Fairies
Appearances: The Legend of Zelda
A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Four Swords
The Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
The Minish Cap
Twilight Princess
In other words, all games but the second.
Even though not one of them technically has a name, they serve a great enough
role in Link's quests that I saw fit to briefly detail them here.
Okay, rapid-fire. In the NES and Gameboy games, a Great Fairy would
completely restore Link's health. In A Link to the Past, Link would throw
various items into specific Fairy Fountains to have them upgraded. Ocarina of
Time's Great Fairies offered upgrades and magical attacks. In Majora's Mask,
collecting all 20 Stray Fairies in a dungeon would allow them to reform and
give him a special upgrade, one of which was a very special sword. The N64
ones are famous for screaming insanely when they appeared. In Four Swords,
they offered keys that allowed the party's quest to move forward. In The Wind
Waker, they mainly offered capacity upgrades (Rupees, Bombs etc.) and also
offered things like the Fire and Ice Arrows. In Four Swords Adventures, they
sometimes had to be rescued and escorted, and each of the maidens had the
ability to transform into a fairy, including Zelda. In the Minish Cap they
once again offered capacity upgrades. Lastly, in Twilight Princess they were
found in the Cave of Ordeals, and if Link completed the entire thing he could
visit their springs to fill a Bottle with Great Fairy Tears, which was
essentially Grandma's Homemade Soup with only one serving.
Whew.
=============================================================================
G u s t a f, R o y a l S p i r i t
Dead and kicking
Race: Hylian
Appearances: The Minish Cap
Gustaf reigned as King of Hyrule hundreds of years ago, but of course, he
died. He still wishes to maintain peace in his kingdom even from beyond the
grave, however, so he still does what he can to ensure its future. Link first
meets him after claiming the Water Element, then goes to meet him in the
Royal Crypt. Much like similar tombs, his was so complex it's its own mini-
dungeon. In life, he was very fond of the people of the Wind Tribe. The
Kinstone piece he gives Link allows him to enter Veil Falls and,
consequently, the Palace of Winds.
=============================================================================
G r o g
Get mediaeval
Race: Hylian, for a while
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
With a name like Grog, you'd think he'd be right at home sailing the bounding
main with Tetra's pirates, but on the contrary, he spends most of his time
moping in the Lost Woods. A parody that any individual dark or misanthropist
in nature would find insulting, Grog claims that 'everyone's disgusting' and
cuts himself off from society. He has a similar attitude in the sequel, when
he proves himself not particularly affected by the impending end of the
world, regretting only that he could not see his precious baby Cuccos become
full-grown cluckers (Link solves this by ordering a march that causes the
Cuccos' rapid maturation, earning himself the Bunny Hood.) Later on, he moves
to the Woods and becomes a Skull Kid, despite his sister's best efforts to
save him. That sister, if I recall correctly, is the Cucco Lady, and I think
his mother is Grandma from Grandma's Potion Shop. His father is Mutoh, the
foreman who's always yelling at the other carpenters (I know that last one
for sure; his father is definitely Mutoh.)
=============================================================================
H a p p y M a s k S a l e s m a n
Amazingly accurate timekeeper
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
Going only by the titular moniker of the Happy Mask Salesman, we have here
one of the weirder residents of the Zelda universe. From an early age, he was
fascinated with masks, especially those with magical properties. His
collection grew to be quite extensive, and he opened up a small shop from
which he sold his wares.
He was having trouble getting business, so he recruited Link as a trader.
Link borrowed masks for his own personal use and, when he encountered
individuals interested in buying, he sold them off on behalf of the shop,
keeping a modest finder's fee. He sold several masks like this, all of which
reappeared in the next instalment of the series. These actions also fed
Link's altruistic nature as they helped out their recipients with their
personal lives. The ultimate reward for this mini trading game was the Mask
of Truth, which had about three uses (two of which were pretty trivial.)
He got an interesting makeover for Majora's Mask, where he spent the entire
game waiting in the Clock Tower for Link to bring him Majora's Mask, which
Skull Kid had stolen from him. His poly was fundamentally the same, but he
added a giant pedlar's backpack festooned with odds, ends, cooking pans, and
masks. I expect most of you know this by now, but if you look closely you can
see a Mario mask pinned near his head. Close to it is an Elvis Presley one.
There's also one that some say is a Darth Maul mask, but if that was the
intent, it's a far cry from the original. The rest are random generica,
though one looks like it could easily have become the Stone Mask.
The Happy Mask Salesman is best known for his bizarre (I won't say psychotic,
because he clearly does not have psychosis per se) behaviour. He stands alone
in dank locations. He is obsessed with masks (identity confusion?) and
develops dangerous emotional attachments to some of them. He also slingshots
between emotions more quickly than a Vibe Island denizen, screaming at Link
one moment then smiling pleasantly the next. Also, he rarely opens his eyes.
He also has a shop in Lynna City, where he figures into Oracle of Ages'
Trading Game.
=============================================================================
H e l m a r o c K i n g
Winged monstrosity
Race: Helmarocs
Appearances: The Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
In Arabian mythology, rocs are enormous birds who live on mountaintops. As I
recall, Sinbad the Sailor encountered one and stole an egg from its nest. I'm
not sure what happened after that, but I don't think it ended well for him.
This was how the Roc's Feather dungeon item came into being, but the Kargaroc
enemies first appeared in The Wind Waker. Though they could be somewhat
irritating to take out, they dropped golden feathers that were eventually
traded for a Heart Piece. Like the Helmasaurs, the Kargarocs have a
figurehead who is much larger and more powerful than themselves. (Helmasaur
King doesn't get a bio because he's a plain boss without any character.)
When Ganondorf emerges from the Golden Land and sets up shop atop the
Forsaken Fortress, he employs the Helmaroc King to do his bidding. Mainly, he
tasks it with locating and capturing Princess Zelda. He knows she's out there
somewhere, even if she doesn't. The Helmaroc King captures several girls who
*might* be Zelda, but as it turns out, none of them are. It eventually finds
Tetra, who really is Zelda, as captain of a merry band of pirates. The scurvy
knaves fight it off and are taken, in the course of the battle, to Outset
Island, where Link sees trouble and comes to Tetra's rescue. The Helmaroc
King swoops in once again and hauls of Aryll by accident, setting TWW in
motion.
They track the Helmaroc King back to Forsaken Fortress, but are thwarted
there. The Helmaroc King hurls Link into the ocean and leaves him for dead,
after which point he doesn't do anything for quite some time. He and Link
finally square off near the top of the Fortress, where he mostly swoops at
Link and tries to crush him. When he pecks, he gets his face stuck in the
stone, at which point he is vulnerable to strikes from the Skull Hammer.
He is also the boss of Death Mountain Trail in Four Swords Adventures.
=============================================================================
H e n a
Master fisherman
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
When Ocarina of Time was being developed, one of the lead programmers, Morita
Kazuaki, had a sort of 'secret project' - a fishing mini-game, the one we
found at Lake Hylia. This was a pretty cool place, so it made it into the
game! It was so popular, in fact, that Morita was assigned to create Hena's
Fishing Hole for Twilight Princess, which I actually like less, but whatever;
lure fishing from a canoe is neat. Anyway, Hena runs the inexpensive fishing
hole, which can be quite an interesting diversion, though a frustrating one
(I only ever caught one fish :( ).
She may be descended from Hyrule's most famous fisherman, the bald guy who
ran Ocarina's place (and the Curiosity Shop in Majora's Mask.) I find it kind
of funny that the photo is in black-and-white, because the Deluxe Pictograph
hadn't been invented yet. She also has a picture of herself with a lunker
(how vain of her). There's also one of her sister Iza, who runs the nearby
boat rental place, and her brother Coro, who sucks at fishing but is pro at
making lamp oil.
Like the fisherman from Ocarina, Hena gets mad if Link uses the Sinking Lure,
because it's unsporting. Unlike the fisherman from Ocarina, she lets him use
a different (but inferior) lure called the Frog Lure if he can beat eight
courses on the Rollgoal game. The Frog Lure requires skilled hands to use,
and so does Rollgoal, so I guess that's the connection there.
=============================================================================
H e r o ' s S p i r i t
Lycanthropic swordmaster
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
This ancient vestige of Hyrule's bygone golden age never introduces himself,
and there are few official resources to corroborate his name (except Nintendo
Power, a sometimes dubious source of information), but most people know him
as the Hero's Spirit, so we'll just call him that.
And what he does say about himself is allusory at best, but that just
enhances the mystical nature of the character. Ever since Majora's Mask's
Swordsman School, there have been a number of individuals willing to instruct
the player in the ways of Hyrulean combat. Hero's Spirit, the latest
implementation, is uniquely qualified in that he was actually around in
ancient times, when many actually studied the Way of the Hylian Blade with
great dedication. From the way he talks, he has truly mastered the sword and
has surely seen a fair few battles before he was transformed.
In fact, chew on this: He actually refers to Link as his successor. He most
likely just meant that it was now Link's responsibility to proliferate the
ancient sword arts, but in context, it almost sounds like Hero's
Spirit...HERO'S Spirit...is actually Link from Ocarina! Pretty out there,
you'd think, but is it really?
Anyway, he teaches seven techniques over the course of the game - paltry
compared to the Blade Brothers, but he's just one guy, plus every one of his
is cool and/or useful, which is more than they can say. They're also
progressive, meaning they grow in strength and animation quality as you go
on, and sometimes require mastery of a previous technique to perform (most
commonly the Shield Attack.) My favourite technique is the Mortal Draw, where
Link stands still without L-Targeting, sword sheathed. Then, at the last
second, before the opponent sees through his ruse, in one smooth motion he
draws it and fells them in a single stroke. If you like, he also spins it
around all fancy-like when he sheathes it.
To learn a technique, Link must locate one of the Howl Stones scattered
across Hyrule. In wolf form, Link must then howl out a specific tune, many of
which are from Ocarina of Time. When he does this, he will be transported
to...'another dimension,' I guess, which looks a lot like Hyrule in its
heyday. He and the Hero's Spirit, in the form of a glowing golden wolf, then
join together in a howling concerto. After that, a spot gets marked on his
map and Link must head over to that location, where he finds the wolf in the
flesh. The wolf then again transports them to another dimension, this one
very white with Hyrule Castle in the background. He assumes the form of a
skeletal, armoured soldier. After testing him on the previous technique, he
proceeds to drill Link on a new one. He tries to introduce them with as much
gravity as possible, but really, Link is in no danger >_<.
The final technique, the Great Spin Attack, is learned right outside the
castle barrier, so it may well be that Link learns it right before the final
showdown. When he has imparted all he knows, the Hero's Spirit departs this
world with no more than a fierce hope that Link will prevail.
=============================================================================
I g o s d u I k a n a
The king is dead
Race: Stalchild (Stalfos, maybe?)
Appearances: Majora's Mask
Long ago, Ikana was a flourishing kingdom in the east of Termina. But trouble
soon came to the utopia as war broke out between the natives of Ikana and the
Garo ninja, both of whom lived in Ikana Canyon. A bloody power struggle
ensued. Apparently, neither side was ever able to actually win. Its history
has turned Ikana into a residence of death and sorrowful memories. The only
living beings Link encounters there are Pam, her father, Sakon, and the
modern Garo, whose clan is still intact. Everyone else is a troubled spirit,
a Poe, or something of the like.
Remember the Composer Brothers, Sharp and Flat? When Sharp attempted to
restore Ikana, he inadvertently raised many of its dead former occupants.
Igos du Ikana returned to rule the Stalfos from the Ancient Castle of Ikana
(we can assume that it did not always have the 'Ancient' prefix.) Link is
forced to enter the castle and head for the Throne Room. Here, he must first
do battle with the king's royal bodyguards, then fight Igos du Ikana himself.
He attacks with a large sword, and sometimes detaches his head to spit
fireballs at Link. He is weakened after a few sword strikes, then finally
defeated when Link exploits the king's new vulnerability to sunlight (new
since he died, I mean.) Upon his victory, Link learns the Elegy of Emptiness,
a quest-critical Ocarina melody.
In life, he was good friends with Captain Keeta, who leads the Stalchildren
of Termina.
=============================================================================
I l i a
Malon wannabe
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Twilight Princess
Link's kinda tomboyish childhood friend and daughter of Mayor Bo, Ilia
harbours great fondness for both of them, as well as for Epona. But no matter
how hard she tries, Epona just plain likes Link better. She doesn't like it,
but she does recognize the bond that Link and Epona share, and as a parting
gift for his journey to Hyrule Castle, she makes him a charm that symbolises
the love between man and beast. However, she is quick to anger when Link
injures Epona slightly by recklessly jumping fences. She seizes the charger
and takes her to Ordon Spring, refusing to give her back. After some coaxing,
Link convinces Ilia to let go of the reins and let Epona take some risks once
in a while.
No sooner has he done this, however, than a portal opens above Ordon Spring
than a gang of Bokoblins storms the village, knocking out Link and abducting
Ilia and the village kids. Somehow, Ilia winds up pretty far away from where
they did - in her case, she finds refuge in the Hidden Village. Impaz,
wanting to leave because of the danger but unable to because of the relic she
must guard, is in a huge dilemma and is very, very worried, especially what
with the Twilight having descended on Lanayru Province. Ilia, ever the good
girl, gives her the charm she made for Link, and tells her how Link will come
and save them. Well, she's half-right, but not in quite the way she thought.
The next part of her story is a little foggy, but somehow she ends up miles
away in Hyrule Castle Town, all of her memories wiped by severe trauma - she
doesn't even know her own name. Telma the barmaid takes her under her wing,
letting her live at the bar for a while. When Link finds her there, Ilia
doesn't even recognize him, but Telma can see it in his eyes. As it turns
out, Prince Ralis could benefit from the healing hand of Renado in Kakariko
Village, and Ilia would be safer there, so they assemble in Telma's wagon and
Link must guard them from Bokoblin assaults as they cross two plains (going
the long route, because the town's east bridge is out). Thanks to Link, the
trio makes it to Kakariko safely.
Ilia spends the rest of the game here, but her amnesia (a really, really
overdone clich‚; I was disappointed by this development) remains. Toward's
the third-last dungeon, Link retraces Ilia's footsteps and gets the charm she
gave to Impaz, which causes a synapse to fire and restore Ilia's memories all
at once. The charm, by the way, is a nifty item that lets Link call Epona
from anywhere, instead of just from preset points.
Her father, Mayor Bo, is one of only two humans to have ever sumo wrestled a
Goron and come out on top. Both he and Link cheated, though: They used Bo's
Iron Boots. By the way, does anybody else think Bo's moustache makes him look
a little like a boar?
=============================================================================
I m p a
Royal handmaiden
Race: Sheikah
Appearances: The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link
Ocarina of Time
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Twilight Princess
Impa is supposed to be Zelda's nursemaid, handmaiden, teacher, bodyguard and
all-around loyal companion, but if you ask me, she doesn't do an especially
good job of it. She spends most of her time being injured and allowing
Zelda's capture. And she doesn't even bother to show up for her first two
appearances: She just phones it in, briefly summarizing the backstory. In
this capacity, she seems to be something of a chronicler of Hylian lore.
She's one of the few people who seem to be mildly aware of the Triforce, and
she knows all the secrets of the Hylian Royal Family.
She actually appears in Ocarina of Time, in the flesh. While other games have
her old and frail, practically crippled from her violent adventures, and
wearing a long red robe, Ocarina sees her youthful, energetic and garbed in
battle gear. This is interesting because it offers us our only chance to
observe a real live Sheikah. The Sheikah placed the Gossip Stones and were
responsible for many of the temples in Hyrule, but except for Impa they're a
no-show. They were the venerable stewards of the Royal Family in ancient
times (mostly during the period when all of Hyrule was at war with itself),
but since then their numbers have dwindled to just Impa. She's the last
surviving one. Maybe the Sheikah had seen through their intended purpose and
were no longer needed? Killing off an entire race because they have outlived
their usefulness seems a little harsh, but then again, the Three Goddesses
did drown an entire country to stop a single would-be dictator.
Anyway, Impa teaches Link Zelda's Lullaby early in the game - this is in fact
the tune that she used to play for Zelda to put her to sleep. When Ganondorf
assaults Hyrule Castle, Impa acts quickly and flees with Zelda on horseback.
For the next seven years, Hyrule is plunged into darkness. But Zelda doesn't
go down so easily. In hiding, she formulates a plan and tries to do it mostly
through manipulation, but she also acts directly. To that end, Impa teaches
her some of the Sheikah's secret arts and she takes on the guise of Sheik.
Everyone in Hyrule Castle takes cover in Kakariko Village. I don't think Impa
had a Ganondorf takeover in mind when she drew up the blueprints. When Link
beats the Shadow Temple, it turns out the last surviving Sheikah happens to
be the Sage of Shadow. Whew! What if it had been a different Sheikah...?
Oh, and in the Oracle games she is either possessed by Veran and used to
create catastrophe, or grievously wounded by a group of one-hit enemies,
depending on which game you're playing. Either way, she takes up residence in
a house just outside of town and helps Link recover that game's main item. In
a main-linked game, she also opens the way to the side-quest that ends in
Zelda's rescue.
A little old woman named Impaz appeared in Twilight Princess's Hidden
Village. They both have white hair, her name is clearly a derivative of Impa,
and and the Hidden Village is the abandoned but ancestral home of the
Sheikah, so perhaps she is Impa's distant descendant. Her only purpose is to
give Link a book written in Sky Writing that will let him reach the City in
the Sky.
=============================================================================
I n d i g o - G o s
Producers of slammin' tunes
Race: Zoras
Appearances: Majora's Mask
The Indigo-Gos are Zora Cape's five-man music sensation. Though musical
instruments and music themes have always played a huge role in Zelda, the
Indigo-Gos are its first and only band. Unfortunately, like the rest of
Termina's residents Skull Kid has been causing them huge problems, some of
them lethal. For one thing, they were booked to play at the Carnival of Time
in Clock Town, where locals celebrate the passing of another year with
festivities and prayer to the Four Giants. But the impending apocalypse has
seen their show cancelled.
Moreover, the evil that has invaded Great Bay Temple has turned their usually
pristine waters barely liveable. Naturally, everybody is a bit down. Once
Link rousts Gyoakku from the temple, however, they spend the rest of the
three-day time period playing in front of Zora Cape's giant shell. It's
pretty neat to see them all playing together.
Lulu (vocals) - Her mother was in the original Indigo-Gos, and Lulu's voice
may be even more beautiful. However, Lulu's eggs were stolen just before the
game began, sending her spiralling into worry and depression that has robbed
her of the ability to speak. What the Gerudo thieves planned to do with the
eggs, I do not know. As for the father, from a few casual references we can
infer that it's probably Mikau. When Lulu hears the New Waves Bossa Nova, she
sings it for a giant turtle disguised as an island, who braves the storm
surrounding Great Bay Temple in order to deliver Link to its doorstep. As the
wearer of a long, slinky blue dress, she is one of only a handful of Zora to
wear clothes. This is a little odd, considering her alternate-world
counterpart is Princess Ruto, who embraces the customary Zora nakedness.
Evan (keyboard) - As the band's moody frontman, he assumes most of the
responsibility for writing their songs. He gets quite offended when the other
members write songs without his input. But their best stuff comes from Lulu
and the guitar-playing duo, anyway. Almost uniquely, he has a number of
golden scales among the typical white and blue ones.
Mikau (guitar) - Mikau is so awesome, he gets his very own profile.
Japas (bass guitar) - Mikau's good friend, Japas backs him with a guitar
fashioned from a crustacean. The two frequently hold very successful 'jam
sessions' in Japas' room, where they come up with guitar patterns on the
spot. They later use these patterns in their songs, much to Evan's
consternation. Japas styles his fins in a punk-rock style.
Tijo (drums) - Substantially larger than the average Zora, Tijo plays a set
of puffer-fish drums. He seems to be the only band member with all the pieces
of the puzzle regarding their relationships with each other - he knows about
Mikau and Lulu's secret relationship, for instance. His body is of a
different phenotype than most Zora. My Grade 10 Science teacher enjoyed the
Genetics unit very much.
Toto - I might as well talk about him too while I'm at it. Toto is the
group's manager. He handles their bookings and appearances. He seems to be
relatively affluent and has made a lot of money from their success, meaning
he's made them a lot of money.
The Indigo-Gos are best known for their hit single 'The Ballad of the Wind
Fish.' That song is originally from Link's Awakening: Marin taught it to Link
so he could wake the Wind Fish and return home. Lulu wrote the New Wave Bossa
Nova, which, incidentally, revives her near-death (?) eggs and causes them to
hatch when they're all gathered together. Also, Japas, Evan and Tijo all have
solos on the guitar, organ and drums, respectively.
Indigo-gos is a portmanteau of indigo and go-go. Indigo is a shade of purple.
A go-go is a trend, as in 'Henshin a go-go, baby!'
=============================================================================
I n g o
Surly farmhand
Race: Hylian
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Ingo's appearance is modelled on Luigi from the Mario series of games, and
like Luigi to Talon's Mario, he is always playing second best. He spends his
days tending the horses and livestock at Lon Lon Ranch. Since Talon does
nothing but sit in his house all day long and play trivial mini-games with
visitors, Ingo is forced to do pretty much all the work there is to do. He
proves himself to be quite an excellent farmhand and a capable rider to boot,
but Talon doesn't give him nearly the respect he deserves, keeping him
downtrodden with barely enough of a wage to live on. This has left him
frustrated and bitter.
When Ganondorf takes over Hyrule, he kicks Talon out and gives Ingo control
of the ranch. He forces Malon to stay and work for him, under the threat that
he'll mistreat the horses if she tries to leave. He continues this for seven
years, whoring out the steeds to tourists for brief rides. When Link
liberated Epona, Talon stormed back and wrested control from Ingo. After a
time, the two actually became grudging friends.
In Ocarina, Ingo wore overalls and a green shirt (like Luigi), but he traded
it in for a fancy tunic and ruffled collar for his reappearance as Gorman in
Majora's Mask. This time he was the leader of a group of performers called
the Gorman Troupe, which chiefly included two sets of twins: Twin brother
jugglers, and twin sister dancers. They were scheduled to perform at the
Carnival of Time, but were cancelled due to the impending apocalypse. Oh, and
adding to the twin theme, Gorman had twin brothers, the Gorman Brothers.
(...) If Link saved Romani Ranch from the aliens on the first night, Cremia
would try to deliver Romani Milk on the second night. But the Gorman
Brothers, like they had the past few times, tried to steal the cargo, so Link
volunteered to fend them off as Cremia drove the milk wagon to town.
Ingo returned with his dignified appearance in a manner not at all having to
do with farming, this time as a money-grubbing landlord in The Minish Cap.
Link was the middleman between he and three sisters, two of whom became
tenants. The last one was out of luck for purposes of game balance.
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J a b u - J a b u
Aquatic deity
Race: Giant turtle
Appearances: Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
The Wind Waker
Jabu-Jabu is a giant green fish-turtle thing with a big blue gem stuck in his
forehead. The Goddesses appointed him as the lesser deity charged with the
overall safety and well being of the Zora race. So much for that. He never
says anything and the influence he chooses to exert is pretty limited. When
Ganondorf attacks, with warlock magic and a third of the Triforce at his
disposal, he easily overpowers Jabu-Jabu, who is never seen while Link is an
adult. The Zora are then unilaterally put on ice, and Zora's Cavern becomes
one big icebox. Their other sanctuary, Lake Hylia, becomes festering with
Tektites and is almost drained by Morpha, who has taken over the Water
Temple. Nice going, double-J.
Like the Great Deku Tree and Darunia, however, he also plays a key role in
helping Ganondorf take over Hyrule: The third dungeon is Jabu-Jabu's Belly, a
surreal cavern filled with organic contraptions, walls that bleed when struck
with the sword and an infestation of Bari and Biri (electrically charged
enemies that float through the air and look a little like jellyfish.) Link
must allow himself to be swallowed so he can venture into Jabu-Jabu's
digestive system and make contact with Princess Ruto, who eventually gives
him the final Spiritual Stone.
Like 90% of the polys from Ocarina, Jabu-Jabu's is reused for Majora's Mask.
Well, his face is. This time, he's not a deity, but he's still a giant turtle
- he's sleeping in the middle of Termina Bay next to Zora Cape, disguised as
an island. He even has palm trees growing out of his back. When Lulu recovers
her voice, she sings to wake the turtle, who then carries Link through a
terrible storm to Great Bay Temple, the third dungeon.
Jabu-Jabu's Belly was a pretty creative dungeon, so he reprised that role in
Oracle of Ages. Once again, the Zora worship him and he protects them. The
quest to enter Jabu-Jabu's Belly and vanquish the evil inside spans both the
Past and Present.
Now, in The Wind Waker, there's a character called Jabun. I'm not quite sure
what to make of him, but it is generally believed that Jabu-Jabu altered his
body and changed his name, becoming Jabun. A few things in that game are made
pretty clear, like the Zora having become the Rito, but Jabu-Jabu becoming
Jabun is sketchy. Okay, the names are similar, and they're both water
deities, and they both offer a blue quest item, AND Jabun is one of only a
handful of people to speak the ancient Hylian language (in other words, the
language spoken by the inhabitants of Ocarina of Time's Hyrule). Hmm, maybe I
am sure, after all.
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J a l h a l l a,