Highlights
- Jumping is not useful for Link in most Legend of Zelda games, causing difficulties in dungeons and lengthening his journeys.
- Link's infrequent speech causes communication issues, but he makes up for it with his actions and facial expressions.
- Link has a weakness for cuccos and can't handle their wrath, often leading to his demise.
TheLegend of Zelda franchise is one of the most long-running and well-renowned video game series ever. Having managed to retain a place at the very top of the gaming industry for several decades, always evolving with the times, there is a lot of history for all the major franchise characters, especially Link, the protagonist.
Zelda: Link's Best Friends, Ranked
Over the many generations in The Legend of Zelda, Link has made some of the best friends one could ask for both in and out of Hyrule.
From the very beginning of The Legend of Zelda franchise, Link has been the protagonist and main playable character. In almost every game and spin-off since then, that has continued. Despite his many strengths, there are also a few flaws in every great hero, including the various versions of Link that have appeared throughout the franchise’s history.
6 Jumping
Causes Dungeon Difficulties
- Shown In Many Games
Link is a great hero, brandishing the master sword and fighting off incredible, terrifying enemies by the horde. However, there is one brutal weakness he has which is both surprising and consistent throughout almost every game in the series. Jumping is not particularly useful in most Legend of Zelda games.
Not only is it not an option in most of the games, but the ones that have dedicated jump actions such as Breath of the Wild still don’t give Link the ability to get over knee-high obstacles. This major issue for the Hero of Hyrule is a factor in lengthening many of his journeys, and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like a solution will be found anytime soon, though some items have given him temporary relief.
5 He Doesn’t Talk Much
Causes Social Issues
- Shown Constantly
There are a lot more important issues that Link faces than his lack of talking, but the communication issues that he faces as a result of his speech being infrequent at best are sometimes debilitating to his journeys. He manages to get the point across fairly well most of the time for a mute, and there are some occasions in the past when he has spoken.
The Legend of Zelda: Every Reincarnation of Link Explained
As the Hero of Time, the Hero of Legend, or simply Link, The Legend of Zelda's intrepid hero is continually reborn to save Hyrule from its foes.
Nevertheless, there are quite a few times when he has struggled, whether it is trying not to embarrass himself with somebody interested in him or attempting to stand fiercely against a wrongdoer. Though not so eloquent, Link does manage to showcase many times how he makes up for it with his actions and facial expressions.
4 Cuccos
Causes Death
- Shown In A Link To The Past & Others
A repeated joke throughout the Legend of Zelda games is that Link can’t handle the wrath of cuccos. These small creatures never seem that dangerous, roaming the countryside of Hyrule throughout different games in the franchise, but they have a dark secret. If players choose to have Link attack a cucco, then they will experience unexpected fury.
Instead of a cucco merely fighting back, they will usually be quite patient in letting Link kill them. However, when one dies, their brethren unleash a hellish storm of fury upon Link. No matter what amazing, beastly creatures Link can take down in the franchise, he never seems to get the hang of surviving the mass of cuccos unleashed in such moments, they can even be found in Tears of the Kingdom.
3 Gullibility
Causes All Kinds Of Problems
- Shown On Multiple Occasions
Link isn’t that bright. Through no fault of his own, generally being a farm hand or servant in the opening of the games, Link is never able to see traps or trickery coming. He usually believes in everyone, listens to them completely, and will usually do whatever they say, even if it means putting himself or others in grave danger.
The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Best Companions, Ranked
While Link's had many companions during his Legend of Zelda adventures, a few stand out for their designs, charisma, and story relevance.
This sort of loyalty can be a strength, but when people seek to take advantage of it or trick him, as they often do, they’ll succeed and Link will be left looking like a fool. It’s happened on several occasions, like letting Skull Kid rob him, or letting Ravio set a shop up in his home. He also constantly puts a lot of trust in Zelda without knowing her well, although luckily for him, this normally works out. His naivety was at its very worst in Ocarina of Time, when Ganondorf manipulated him with brutal ease.
2 Swimming
Causes Death
- Shown In Breath Of The Wild
Seen in other games as well, but made a priority issue in Breath of the Wild, Link can swim, somewhat. Unfortunately, his stamina for swimming isn’t great, and he has no ability at all when it comes to treading water. As soon as he tires, and his stamina meter runs out, Link instantly drowns.
Most people, especially heroes like Link, with a lot of fitness and adventuring behind them, wouldn’t drown so suddenly or frequently. In other games, Link is shown as being completely incapable of swimming, prompting this to be a major weakness for almost every version of the Hero of Hyrule, though items can help him get better in more recent games.
1 Laziness
Causes Early-Game Issues
- Shown In The Wind Waker
One of the major moments when Link is proven to be negligent is when he allows his sister to be kidnapped because he isn’t looking after her. Besides this, there are plenty of occasions throughout the series when Link is called lazy or is found sleeping in at the beginning of games.
This problem doesn’t seem to continue once Link is kicked into action. However, he does usually do things by taking the simplest path he can see. This is a grave weakness and shows the sort of lazy methods that have gotten him and countless others in trouble in various games. Careful people and heroes see far fewer major issues than Link does, and he’s often left just trying to clean up messes he's made, though the incredible boss galleries he's taken out speak for themselves.
