An ever-branching chronicle of heroes, the evil that hunts them, and the relics that turn the tide — gathered across the many ages of Hyrule.
The reincarnating triad at the center of it all, and the companions who orbit them across every age.
Bearer of the Triforce of Courage. A different Link is born in nearly every era, wielding the Master Sword against whichever shape evil has taken.
Descendant of the goddess Hylia and bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. Has been a pirate captain, a sage, a swordswoman, and, recently, the hero herself.
Cursed by the demon king Demise to hunt Link and Zelda's line forever. A Gerudo king who becomes the beast Ganon when he claims the Triforce of Power.
A recurring loyal protector of the royal family, drawn from the shadowy Sheikah tribe. Her role shifts from nursemaid to warrior to elder sage.
The imp-formed princess of the Twilight Realm who partners with Link in Twilight Princess, hiding a far grander identity beneath a sarcastic exterior.
A sharp-tongued pirate captain in The Wind Waker who turns out to be the current bearer of Zelda's bloodline.
The theatrical, blade-formed servant of Demise in Skyward Sword, obsessed with resurrecting his master.
The ancient Zonai king and queen revealed in Tears of the Kingdom to have founded Hyrule and first sealed away a corrupted Ganondorf.
No characters match that search.
After the Hero of Time's fate at the end of Ocarina of Time, Hyrule's history is said to fork into three parallel futures — before converging again, ages later, into one.
Skyward Sword. Hylia seals the demon king Demise, sacrifices her divinity to be reborn mortal, and the Master Sword is forged from the spirit Fi. Demise curses Link and Zelda's descendants forever.
Ganondorf steals the Triforce of Power. Link's fate here — victory as a child, victory as an adult sent back in time, or defeat — is what branches Hyrule's history three ways.
Link falls, and Zelda must seal Ganon away herself with the Seven Sages, leaving Hyrule fractured and diminished.
Link wins as an adult but is returned to childhood, leaving a future Hyrule without its hero when new evils rise.
Link exposes Ganondorf's treachery early, and he's imprisoned before ever touching the Triforce — until the seas rise to contain him for good.
Set thousands of years after all three branches, when the timelines effectively merge. An ancient Sheikah civilization, and later the Zonai founders Rauru and Sonia, shape the Hyrule that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom inherit.
From the blade that seals the darkness to the gadgets that solve every shrine, these are the tools that carry the Hero through Hyrule.
The "Blade of Evil's Bane," forged from the spirit Fi, sealed away between eras for whichever Link proves worthy of drawing it.
The royal family's near-indestructible shield, reliably durable across almost every incarnation of Link.
A recurring ranged staple, with the sacred Light Arrows serving as the classic finishing blow against Ganon's beast form.
A chain-launched grappling tool for crossing gaps, yanking distant switches, and reeling in enemies from afar.
Standard-issue demolition since the very first game, used to crack walls, clear boulders, and stagger tough enemies.
A returning throw weapon that stuns foes and snags distant items, a fixture of overworld puzzle design since the SNES era.
Elemental staves from the 2D and handheld eras, each reshaping terrain or enemies with a themed burst of magic.
A towering, godlike alternate form from Majora's Mask, granted by a legendary mask and wielding an oversized double-helix blade.
Tears of the Kingdom's building blocks — ancient Zonai tech and fused materials that turn ordinary weapons into makeshift rockets, flails, and turrets.
No weapons match that search.
The non-human cultures Link allies with across his travels, each with a distinct homeland and set of customs.
A tribe historically born almost entirely female, with one male born every hundred years — traditionally destined to become their king. Ganondorf's people of origin.
A graceful, fish-like people tied to lakes, rivers, and domains, often serving as skilled guardians of Hyrule's waterways and its royal family's allies.
A rock-eating, boulder-shaped mountain people known for their strength, mining trade, and famously spicy rock sirloin.
A winged, bird-like people who succeeded the Zora in some eras, prized for their flight, archery, and role as sky-borne messengers.
An ancient, secretive tribe sworn to protect the royal family, associated with the all-seeing Eye symbol and, in later eras, lost ancient technology.
Eternal children of the woods who never age, watched over by the Great Deku Tree and never venturing far from their forest home.
No races match that search.
Grouped by family rather than by game — the shapes evil and danger tend to repeat across Hyrule's history.
The boar-like demon beast Ganondorf transforms into once he touches the Triforce of Power, felled traditionally with Light Arrows.
A century-old malevolent force that corrupted Hyrule's ancient Guardians and Divine Beasts, held at bay by Zelda's sealing power until Link returns.
The historical Gerudo king, revealed as the true ancient evil sealed beneath Hyrule Castle by Rauru and Sonia thousands of years earlier.
A cursed ancient mask that possesses the Skull Kid, driving the plan to crash the moon into Termina within three days.
A wind mage born from a corrupted Minish artifact, recurring as a rival dark force alongside Ganon in the Four Swords era.
Demise's blade-formed servant, working across the game to resurrect his master and undo Hylia's ancient sealing.
Spear- and club-wielding pig-like foot soldiers, a series mainstay since the very first game as common overworld enemies.
Centaur-like lion warriors wielding elemental weapons, generally regarded as some of the toughest non-boss enemies in the series.
Skeletal swordsmen and shambling, shrieking corpses that recur as dungeon threats across nearly every game in the series.
No enemies match that search.
Hyrule is rarely alone — parallel worlds, sunken seas, and floating skies all fold into the wider geography of the legend.
The recurring heartland kingdom, reshaped every era — sometimes a green field kingdom, sometimes a flooded sea, sometimes a shattered sky.
A mirror-world Link falls into in Majora's Mask, populated by twisted reflections of faces from Hyrule and racing against a falling moon.
A ruined, inverted counterpart to Hyrule introduced in A Link Between Worlds, governed by its own royal line and its own Triforce equivalent.
The flooded remains of Hyrule in The Wind Waker, dotted with over a hundred islands after the old kingdom was submerged to seal Ganondorf away.
A floating island civilization living above the clouds in Skyward Sword, the surface below considered a forbidden, dangerous unknown.
A vast, shadowed underground layer beneath Hyrule revealed in Tears of the Kingdom, mirroring the surface map above it.
Separate from story chronology — this is the order the games actually came out, useful for deciding what to play first.
| Title | Released | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda | 1986 | NES / Famicom Disk System |
| Zelda II: The Adventure of Link | 1987 | NES / Famicom Disk System |
| A Link to the Past | 1991 | Super NES |
| Link's Awakening | 1993 | Game Boy |
| Ocarina of Time | 1998 | Nintendo 64 |
| Majora's Mask | 2000 | Nintendo 64 |
| Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons | 2001 | Game Boy Color |
| The Wind Waker | 2002 | GameCube |
| Four Swords Adventures | 2004 | GameCube |
| Minish Cap | 2004 | Game Boy Advance |
| Twilight Princess | 2006 | GameCube / Wii |
| Phantom Hourglass | 2007 | Nintendo DS |
| Spirit Tracks | 2009 | Nintendo DS |
| Skyward Sword | 2011 | Wii |
| A Link Between Worlds | 2013 | Nintendo 3DS |
| Tri Force Heroes | 2015 | Nintendo 3DS |
| Breath of the Wild | 2017 | Wii U / Switch |
| Tears of the Kingdom | 2023 | Nintendo Switch |
| Echoes of Wisdom | 2024 | Nintendo Switch |
Non-combat gear — masks, tunics, and devices that change how Link moves through the world rather than how he fights.
From Majora's Mask's Deku, Goron, and Zora masks to countless collectible masks across the series, each granting a new form or ability.
Recurring color-coded outfits — green for the classic look, blue for underwater breathing, red for heat resistance — tied to elemental protection.
Ancient-tech tablets in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom granting Link map data, runes, and crafting powers.
Figure-linked outfits referencing past games and other Nintendo franchises, unlockable via amiibo in several modern titles.
No items match that search.
A few motifs that resurface across decades of games, rearranged but always recognizable.
The royal family's signature theme, first taught to Link in Ocarina of Time and echoed in games since as a symbol of the princess's protection.
A driving, percussive motif tied to the Gerudo people, recurring in various arrangements from Ocarina of Time onward.
The triumphant overworld fanfare introduced in the original 1986 game, remixed as the series' most recognizable piece of music.
A haunting, rain-summoning tune from Ocarina of Time that reappears as an easter-egg callback in later titles.
Waveforms shown are decorative — no audio is embedded here out of respect for the composers' copyright.
Small recurring jokes and developer touches that reward long-time players.
Hitting a chicken-like Cucco too many times summons a swarm of them to retaliate — a running gag since A Link to the Past.
An old man's cave warning from the very first game, referenced or parodied in nearly every entry since as a fourth-wall nod.
Series composer Koji Kondo and director Eiji Aonuma are frequently honored with in-joke names for minor NPCs and shop owners.
Names like Ingo, Talon, and Impaz recur across unrelated eras, hinting at reincarnation even for side characters, not just the main trio.
The King of Red Lions' sail subtly reflects the direction of the wind, letting attentive players read it without opening the wind menu.
The Eye of the Sheikah symbol appears sketched into rock formations and ruins well before it's ever explained in-story.