Linkâ„¢

MyGen Profile Generator Link (???, Rinku?) is the fictional protagonist of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Link and The Legend of Zelda are one of Nintendo's flagship game franchises, a franchise which has sold over 47 million copies worldwide to date (2006). Their enduring popularity has led to many incarnations of the Legend of Zelda story and of its Link character. The character's first appearance took place in the 1986 video game The Legend of Zelda, where it was portrayed by a two-dimensional sprite; in later releases Link's appearance has been conveyed by a computer-generated image (CGI). The character Link has been featured in other video games from Nintendo, on Nintendo's merchandising, on comic books, and even on a television show about the Legend of Zelda series.In the games, Link is described as a young boy from the fictional land of Hyrule, a Hylian. His age ranges from 7 to 18 depending on the game. He is also one of the few left-handed protagonists in video games (with the exception of his appearance in the Wii version of Twilight Princess, where he is right-handed for control purposes). Link often journeys through the realm of Hyrule, defeating evil forces and Hyrule's nemesis Ganon, also known as Ganondorf. To defeat Ganon, Link needs a mystical Master Sword usually obtained after many trials and battles using other swords and shields, as well as auxiliary weaponry such as boomerangs, bombs, bows and arrows. Although young, Link is portrayed as a great courageous warrior who has (or develops, depending on the game) a close relationship with Princess Zelda, whom he has repeatedly rescued. In several games in the series, Link must learn how to play a musical instrument that usually features in the game's plot and can magically unlock several spells.
The character has been portrayed with almost no spoken dialogue in the game series. Facial expressions were only available after the series went to the Nintendo 64. Shigeru Miyamoto has said in interviews that his conceptualization of The Legend of Zelda series and of Link was based on his childhood memories of books, movies and stories. In one of the interviews, he tells us he tried to make people identify with Link and have the opportunity to be heroes like the character. The games conform to his view: although at the end of some games Link becomes vastly talented in physical and magical arts, Link always starts as a regular boy when the game begins. An example of this is shown by the character's presence in Ocarina of Time who starts as an orphaned Hylian boy and ends as the legendary Hero of Time.
According to the official Zelda.com Encyclopedia, Link is "humble", but also possesses legendary bravery, an attribute consistent with his role as the rightful bearer of the Triforce of Courage. The character is known in later Zelda games as The Hero of Time in his Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask incarnation and as The Hero of Winds in The Wind Waker, as his heroic example has saved countless lives from evil. In the video games he is presented as being a stoic and polite young man, and in the television series as a whiny and love sick teenager. In the upcoming Twilight Princess his social status is explored early in the game. Rather than being the most popular kid in his hometown, Link is instead potrayed as a regular kid. Link may also have been a victim to bullying in his younger years, as a young man in the village calls Link a "snot-nosed" kid that he always used to make cry.He is the rightful bearer of the Master Sword, a powerful and magical sword he wields to defeat the forces of evil. Link does show rare moments of overzealous boldness, such as when he twice attempts to confront Ganon in The Wind Waker ill equipped to defeat him. Also, he inadvertently helped Ganon find the Triforce in Ocarina of Time, forcing Link to undo the damage he had caused, and eventually make things better than they were originally.[15] Although Zelda games feature more interaction with friendly or neutral non-player characters (NPCs) than some adventure games, such as the Metroid series, these characters rarely take an active part in Link’s quest which he completes alone. Link is shown to have several family members, such as an uncle in A Link to the Past, an unseen mother in Ocarina of Time who died fleeing the ravages of war, a grandmother in The Wind Waker who raises him in his parents unexplained absence, a grandfather from Minish Cap, and the most developed of Link's relatives, his sister Aryll who plays a critical role in the plot of The Wind Waker. He also has several friends, such as the pirate captain Tetra from The Wind Waker, Tatl the fairy from Majora's Mask, and the fairy Navi from Ocarina of Time. He also has a utilitarian relationship with Midna from Twilight Princess. His mother and father also appear as spirits in the Link to the Past manga.Link appears as a young Hylian boy, the equivalent to human in The Legend of Zelda mythos. He is renowned for his fighting skill, such as his incredible boomerang accuracy.[18] It is unlikely that his age ever exceeds 19 years at any point in the series, though apparently, in most games he is closer to the age of 7 to 12. Every Link wears a green tunic, an undershirt (usually white, brown, or green), and a long, floppy green cap, at least for part of each adventure, although the shades of green vary. It is also a common sight to see him wearing light-colored tights (usually white or tan), although he has appeared barelegged in other games. Link’s hair color is usually a dark blond but was originally a brown color. Link has long pointed ears resembling some conceptions of elves. These are apparently a distinctive trait of the Hylian race (and their descendants), which supposedly allows them to hear messages from the gods. Older Links usually wear small silver or blue hoop earrings, as is the Hylian fashion. However, in episode 4 of the Adult Saga in the official Ocarina of Time manga series, "Link Vs. Link", Impa is seen giving a Link his earrings, describing it as a "rite of passage for young Sheikah men". He also bears a Triforce mark on his left hand, marking him as the one who will find the Triforce of Courage. He is also well known for making use of a variety of weapons and items, such as bombs, hookshot, boomerang, bow and arrow and pegasus boots that make him run extremely fast. He also is extremely physically fit, being able to perform flips, and very skilled, knowing how to perform magic and play an ocarina. When he transforms into an animal in the twilight realm in Twilight Princess, he becomes a wolf, reflecting the mystical aspects of the transformation and his heroism. Link is left-handed, although this detail has changed over time, with his sword hand being different between games. The Adventure of Link instruction booklet describes Link setting off “with a magical sword in his left hand and a magical shield in his right”.In the Super Nintendo release, he alternates hands, but this is due to sprite mirroring. Starting with The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Link holds his sword in his left hand and his shield in his right, no matter what direction he is facing. This occurs in the left and right-looking sprites. In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, however, Link returns to alternately holding his weapon in the right or the left hand, depending on his orientation. At the beginning of the Four Swords Plus (Four Swords Adventures) manga, Link is referred to as the “left-handed hero” after defeating pirates that were raiding a Hylian town. In addition, Link's figurine description in Wind Waker lists his "manual preference" as left. However, in the animated TV series, Link is right-handed. In the Wii version of Twilight Princess, Link will be right-handed to better fit the game's control scheme. Because of this, the maps in the Wii version have also been mirrored. Due to a normal control scheme, the GameCube version Link will remain left-handed.