Whether it’s brawling with Mario in Super Smash Bros., or sailing a cell-shaded ship (try saying that five times fast!), in Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Link has survived title after title and game after game through various consoles and platforms and remains and industry leader and gaming icon that anyone can recognize. He has been transformed into a wolf, gone through the torment of being 2-dimensional, and even gone back and forth in time! Few other video game characters have the capability of boasting such incredible feats, yet Link does it every year or so! This is why Link is my favorite video game character, and arguably one of the best characters and game franchises of all time.
With every new installment in the Legend of Zelda games, usually there is also a new rendition of Link’s appearance. In Majora’s Mask, Link was a child, wearing his familiar green tunic and cap, yet in Wind Waker, he was also a child, however looking completely re-invented! He seemed more of a teenager than a child, was thinner, cell-shaded, and drawn in a completely different style to begin with! Then in the Super Smash Bro’s series of character fighting games, Link is more adult, being much taller and bigger than so far two of his previous counterparts. This adult link has not stayed the same either however, as seen in the Twilight Princess looking notably darker and more cynical, due to the nature of the game itself. Not even Mario can attest to having so many changes in style, design, and creation, and still remain just as recognizable with each variation than Link.
As well as his effortless costume changes are the changes to play style that Link undergoes each game. In Wind Waker, Link was controlled through a corded Gamecube controller, and in the next installment in Twilight Princess, Link was motion controlled through the Wii remote! Both games are amazing and offer radically different play style, yet focus around the core character of Link and his actions. In Wind Waker, a press of a button caused Link to swing his sword. In Twilight Princess, a swing of the Wii Remote did the same thing. One action, two separate causes, one character. And that’s just a comparison of only two games.
Truly Link is famous in the most literal sense of the word, and has more fans than he will ever know. He continues to break boundaries and set new goals, and every year or two has to once again fight off evil to save the princess and his home. He is not only famous, but a hero, and one of the greatest video game characters of all time.