The Legend of Zelda franchise has its fair share of strong female characters, with Princess Zelda ranking among the highest, having the power of the Goddess Hylia. But there are some equally powerful male characters that populate the land of Hyrule and those surrounding it, most evidently through Link, the main protagonist of The Legend of Zelda franchise.
But there are many more characters among the games that imbue a unique set of skills and magical powers, whether used for good or bad. And in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, even more characters have been introduced with God-like qualities that provide Ganondorf with yet another nemesis to challenge outside his quest to destroy Link and Zelda. These are the strongest male characters in The Legend of Zelda franchise.
8 Byrne
In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Byrne helps Chancellor Cole resurrect the demon Malladus. Once they successfully do so, Byrne unsuccessfully tries to gain power from the demon, which attacks Byrne in response and nearly kills him. However, when the ancient demon takes over Zelda’s body, only Byrne can defeat it.
At the end of the game, Byrne leaves his evil past behind and uses his powers to prevent Malladus from re-entering Zelda’s body at the cost of his own life. As shown during combat with Link, Byrne could wield magic and attack with the claw on his hand. He could also conjure and wield bursts of energy, much like that of the Master Sword.
7 Daruk
In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Daruk was one of the four Champions tasked with piloting a Divine Beast to defeat Calamity Ganon. Aside from being a powerful Goron wielding the legendary Boulder Breaker, Daruk could cast a red crystallized rock shield around his body to deflect incoming attacks known as “Daruk’s Protection”.
Despite his power, Daruk was no match for Fireblight Ganon on Divine Beast Vah Rudania. When Link kills the same foe, the spirit of Daruk bestows the Champion’s ability of “Daruk’s Protection” for the hero to use in battle.
6 Skull Kid
Introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Skull Kids are believed to be children who wander the Lost Woods. But in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, one Skull Kid makes the mistake of stealing a cursed item that takes over the person wearing it. Through the magic imbued in Majora’s Mask, the Skull Kid becomes its puppet, which imbues the child with immense power.
These powers include changing people’s appearance and the weather of Termina, the ability to fly, and even curse large swathes of land. Controlled by Majora’s Mask, the Skull Kid is hellbent on destroying the land of Termina by crashing the moon into it. That is until Link can put a stop to his plans.
5 Vaati
The Minish Vaati becomes a powerful sorcerer after stealing the Mage’s Cap - a garment made by Vaati’s master, Ezlo, that can grant power to those who desire it. But it isn’t just the Mage’s Cap that grants Vaati his strength. Having become increasingly more fascinated by dark forces, Vaati quickly hones his skills and becomes a threat to the Minish and Hyrulians.
In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Vaati is shown to have the ability to transform into different and increasingly powerful forms, including Vaati Reborn, Vaati Transfigured, and Vaati’s Wrath. Aside from his strength, Vaati’s magic allows him to petrify unsuspecting foes and even turn them into objects.
4 Yuga
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds introduces players to the world of Lorule, the mirror image of Hyrule. Princess Hilda is Princess Zelda’s counterpart, while the evil sorcerer Yuga mirrors Ganondorf. Yuga is hellbent on resurrecting the Demon King, and to do so, he must hunt down the descendants of the Seven Sages in addition to Zelda.
Yuga can conjure up all sorts of magic with his staff, but the most notable is his ability to turn people into art. He incapacitates his enemies by trapping them in picture frames and can turn himself into a painting. When Yuga eventually fuses with Ganon, his magical powers are increased substantially to the point that he can wield magic without using his staff.
3 Ganon/Ganondorf
Like Princess Zelda is the mortal incarnation of the Goddess Hylia, Ganondorf is the human incarnation of the Demon King Demise. He also possesses the Triforce of Power, which grants him the ability to transform into an all-powerful monster that is often in the form of a massive boar. But even in his human form, Ganondorf is huge and physically strong, dwarfing Zelda and Link in size due to his Gerudo blood.
While Ganondorf may seem like an unstoppable force, he does have one weakness - the Master Sword. As the weapon has been infused with sacred magic and blessed by the Goddess Hylia, it can beat the most powerful of dark magic. So even though a mummified version of Ganondorf manages to nearly break the Master Sword and the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom, nothing stops that legendary weapon from returning to its true destiny in defeating true evil.
2 Rauru
In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Rauru is introduced as the Source of the Right Arm when Link awakens on the Great Sky Island. But it is soon revealed that in this timeline, Rauru was the founder of the Kingdom of Hyrule, alongside his Hylian wife, Sonia. Rauru is a Zonai, a race thought to be directly descended from the Gods. These Gods gave them Secret Stones, which enhanced the abilities of gifted individuals.
As the Sage of Light, Rauru holds immense power and has the ability to seal darkness. He uses this power to trap Ganondorf underneath Hyrule Castle for centuries, sacrificing himself in the process. Only when Link and Zelda come across this scene is Rauru’s power broken, leading to Link obtaining Rauru’s arm and gaining God-like powers.
1 Link
Link has many incarnations, but mostly all successfully overcome some sort of evil. The latest incarnation of Link in Tears of the Kingdom is powerful, having taken on a vast amount of Gloom during his first confrontation with a mummified Ganondorf. Link’s power grows exponentially in this game, in that Rauru, the first King of Hyrule, has given Link his arm imbued with Zonai's abilities.
While Link doesn’t have any superpowers, he shows an aptitude to take on any given situation with minimal health and stamina and quickly picks up new techniques and powers that he comes across. As he is imbued with the Spirit of the Hero, Link holds the Triforce of Courage and can wield the Master Sword - the only weapon to defeat the truest evil, which is most often some version of Ganondorf.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.