The Hylia - The Princess That Is Zelda

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It's still amazing after all this time, Princess Zelda is still one of the most popular characters in the history of video games. She barely missed the cut to be inducted into the first ever Walk of Fame, beaten out by her hero Link, Mario and the Halo franchise. The reason it is such a shock is because of how poorly Princess Zelda is depicted in the Legend of Zelda series.

If you want to know where I am coming from, it is best to start at the beginning. From 1986 until 1998, Princess Zelda was a lifeless character who had but a few lines of dialogue in A Link to the Past, and most of the time she was sitting around captured by Ganon waiting for Link to save the day. It is funny, though, to go to other materials from this era such as the comics and cartoons, and see how people interpreted Princess Zelda as this heroine who could dish it out like Link. Even creators of unofficial Zelda games, in particular those games for CD-i, had this impression that Princess Zelda was a fighter and gave her a rather fierce spirit and sense of adventure. Not even the manuals and player's guides gave any suggestion that Princess Zelda was more than a helpless damsel in distress. Yet, so many people envisioned her as much more.
Damsel in distress.
Then in 1998, Nintendo brought to life Princess Zelda in a way not seen before. Princess Zelda had a prominent role in the game, but she occupied most of the screen time as an alter-ego, Sheik. Not many players realize just how bold of a character Sheik really is (at least for a Nintendo-made game). The character of Sheik was very masculine, very athletic and a highly skilled master of martial arts. More importantly, the character brought up some interesting questions about gender identity and what sex Sheik really was, especially when the twist at the end revealed Sheik was actually Princess Zelda passing herself off as a male.

This characterization of Zelda took another step further in The Wind Waker, which had our heroine as a pirate leader named Tetra. She was a tomboy and very headstrong. However, whereas in Ocarina of Time Zelda seemed weak at first and underwent a transformation to becoming strong as Sheik, Tetra in The Wind Waker went through a reverse process. She became weaker as Princess Zelda, and much more feminine. There is no arguing that Tetra was the best characterization of an incarnation of Princess Zelda yet because we got to see so much of her personality and she had the most screen time of any Zelda.

Yet, after these two bold steps to bring Zelda to life, Nintendo too strides backwards with Four Swords Adventures, which had Zelda back to her usual damsel in distress, and then Capcom continued the downward spiral in The Minish Cap by effectively eliminating her until the end of the game. But there is hope with the upcoming Twilight Princess, with the only known artwork depicting the Princess wielding a sword, and hints from Eiji Aonuma that she may fight alongside Link at some point, or just fight something in general. But the question still remains. Why is Zelda's name stamped on the series name, and does she always have to be rescued by Link? What is Zelda really like, afterall?

The most common places to look for the interpretations to the answers to these questions are in the realms of fan fiction, fan art and role playing. Some prefer to stick strictly to what is presented in front of them by the games and materials by the creators. Some fans believe Zelda is this damsel in distress who is very feminine and dreams of her hero Link all day. Some believe she is this warrior princess who hides behind a veil of formal edicate to deceive her foes. And some, dare we say it, believe she is hopelessly in love with Link. Regardless of depictions by the fans, it seems creator Eiji Aonuma believes Zelda should be more important to the series, hinting she will be a playable character in a future title and that there may be romance between her and some other character.

I believe it is called The Legend of Zelda because of the events that transpired in the original game according to the manual and according to what Shigeru Miyamoto has said on countless occasions. Link was a traveling adventurer in the land of Hyrule when he came across a woman named Impa being attacked by monsters. Link fought them off and Impa told him the "Legend of Zelda", which was how Ganon came to Hyrule and kidnapped her in search of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to fulfill his dream of ruling Hyrule. That is what I would tell you if you asked for a logical explanation, and that it is nearly like the same issue Final Fantasy has, where the first game made was supposed to be the last, then it evolved into "each game is the final story of the characters". Well, until X-2 came out.

I think that holds some truth with Zelda. I think every game revolves around Princess Zelda. No, she is not in every game. I understand that. However, every game that happens is a direct result of something Princess Zelda did, or the backstory of the game involves her. For whatever reason, it always seems to be that Princess Zelda is the key. In Oracles, she is the key to reviving Ganon. In The Minish Cap, she is the source of the Light Force. In The Wind Waker, she is the last in the bloodline of all that remains of Hyrule. Link will always arise whenever evil appears, Ganondorf is always behind the Triforce of Power being stolen, but Princess Zelda is Hyrule. Hyrule is the land of Zelda, and its princess is Zelda. Notice how in the legends in each game, Link is simply known as the "Hero", Ganondorf is known as some "Evil", but Zelda is always mentioned by name. She is eternal, and she is the soul of Hyrule, just like the Child Like Empress was the embodiment of Fantasia. She may not physically appear in every game, but her spirit is present nevertheless. But in all honesty, every fan has their own reasons for why the series is called The Legend of Zelda. Just like the timeline mystery, and why Link never really speaks, it's another facet of what makes Zelda so imaginative and wonderful. These things should never change.