You can’t have The Legend of Zelda without the legendary princess herself. And there is a good reason why her name is in the title of practically every game. Between her rank, her divine powers, and 🍌her influence on Link, Zelda is a pretty awesome character. Whether she’s the kind-hearted princess who believes in good, or the stern general who’s not afraid to kick some monster butꦛt, Zelda isn’t someone you should mess with. After all, she is the reincarnation of the goddess Hylia. If you try to fight her, you will lose.

What’s also pretty cool about this princess is that there are many different versions of Zelda, but they all hold the same purpose: to rule and protect Hyrule from all evil. And t𓆉hanks to her divine gifts, she usually ends up being the one with the power to stop Ganon and other villains from taking control. No matter what version of Zelda you see, she is always dedicated to her people.

But Zelda hღas not had it easy. Practically every version of her has gone through some pretty terrible things. Between Hyrule constantly being in danger, her getting stolen, and Ganon trying to rise to power again, Zelda has a lot on her plate. And a l♑ot of messed up things have happened to her.

So here are the 20 worst things that have happened to Zelda. Let’s bring on the pain and suffering! Think we missed some significant moments? Make sure to let us know i💮n the comments section below!

20 𒁏 This Kingdom Is Surprisingly Hard To Hold On To

When it comes to protecting Hyrule, poor Zelda can’t seem to catch a break. Hyrule is alway༺s in danger of being taken over by some force of evil, particularly Ganon. The Gerudo King of Evil is determined to take over Hyrule, no matter how many times and lifetimes it takes him.

And he does succeed a few times. Ganon has taken over Hyrule a couple of times thanks to his immense power. And ♉Zelda was forced to either give up her kingdom to him and go int🌌o hiding, or she was captured by and imprisoned by him. And in at least two cases, Zelda has lost her father, the King, to Ganon. That’s got to be tough on the poor girl.

19 ꧅ It’s The Battle That Never Ends

What’s pretty impressive about Breath of the Wild is that it takes place 100 years after Calamity Ganon has won and destroyed a good part of Hyrule. So, while those that survived are slowly ge🍸tting on with their lives, a very interesting battle is going on at Hyrule Caꦉstle.

Zelda's been locked in battle with Calamity Ganon for 100 years. 

According to this game, Zelda has managed to keep Calamity Ganon at bay and trapped in Hyrule Castle for 100 years, waiting for Link to recover and take on Ganon once and for all. So, for 100 years, she’s been locked in a nonstop battle with this monstrous ♕being of darkness. That’s a long time to be fighting. I think Zelda deserves a nap after all of this.

18 ꦆ Zelda With Ghost Powers Is Pretty Cool

While Zelda has never technicꦦally been ended in the games, her ghost does get separated from her body in Spirit Tracks. While the evil Chancellor Cole takes Zelda’s body, her spirit somehow manages to escape. It does come in handy and it’s pretty cool since this was the first time you could ever play as Zelda.

But it’s kind of creepy when you think about it. Zelda’s body has been captured by🧸 an evil guy, and her spirit is just wandering around, trying to help Link. And she can possess people, which is pretty awesome, bgffut also kind of ꦰdisturbing. Hey, whatever it takes to save Hyrule.

17 ܫ She’s Stone Cold Serious 💦

☂Zelda has had quite a few unpleasant things ha♛ppen to her. She’s been taken, nearly sacrificed, and nearly ended. And of course, she’s been turned into stone. But did you know that she’s been turned to stone not once, but twice?

In The Minish Cap, Princess Zelda gets turned into stone by Vaati, the evil dark sorcerer. And in The Phantom Hourglass, Tetra, also known as Zelda gets turned into stone by Bellum. I don’t know what it is with people wanting to turn Zelda into stone, but I’m sensing a theme here. Tꦿhat can’t be all thatꦛ pleasant for her. I wonder if she was aware of anything while she was stone?

16 ꧟ This Guy Is Way Too Obsessed With The Princess

I don’t know about you, but I think Ganon has a rather unhealthy obsession with Princess Zelda. Pretty much anytime he shows up in a game, he goes and captures the princess. I get that she’s one of the Triforce wielders an𝓀d she’s literally blessed by the gods, but you need a new hobby, Ganondorf.

Ganondorf likely hurt Zelda while she was held captive. 

What’s also disturbing is that Ganondorf likely hurt Zelda while she was held captive. No🅺thing’s been confirmed in games, but I 🍃wouldn’t put it past the King of Evil to have his own twisted fun with the princess. Poor Zelda needs to get out of there somehow.

15 ಌ Sometimes You Have To Run ꦯ

Being a princess wouldn’t be an easy job, and Zelda showed she cared about her people from an early age. But in Ocarina of Time, she was forced to leave Hyrule castle and go into hiding when Ganondorf betrayed the ꦜRoyal Family and took over Hyrule.

This must have been hard for Zelda. Even though she was 𓄧only a child when this happened, it probably felt like she was turning her back on her people. She knew that she couldn’t do anything if she was gone, but that still must have been a difficult thing to do. But things worked out in the end, thanks to her working with Link.

14 🍃 How Far Would You Go To Save Your People?

While Zelda doesn’t play a huge role initially in Twilight Princess, she does some pretty awesome things. And one that stands out is that she gives her life to save ཧMidna. After Zant exposes Midna to the light world, Midna is mortally wounded and barely clinging to life. But Zelda decides to save Midna’s life by giving up her soul and her divine powers to her.

You’d think that would end Zelda, but it apparently just makes her body soulless, an empty shell. It’s a very noble thing to do, and you could see why Zelda did it. She understands that Hyrule and Link need Midna if they have any chance of defeating Gan♐andorf and Zant. But still, that’s a pretty brave thing to do, Zelda.

13 That’s A Lot Of Pres💝sure

Being a ruler over a country wouldn’t be easy. And throughout the games, Zelda has often taken over as the ruler of Hyrule at a pretty young age. I think the o♐ldest version of her still isn’t much older🔯 than 18. So, you can imagine that she would feel a lot of pressure.

Zelda has often taken over as ruler of Hyrule at a pretty young age. 

But I think it’s the Zelda from Breath of the Wild that goes through the most, mentally and emotionally. She knows that it’s up to her to stop Calamity Ganon, but she can’t seem to acc🐷ess her divine powers, and you really 𝄹feel for this girl who’s trying her best, but still failing. It’s hard when your entire people are relying on you to win.

12 She’ꦯs Not Herself Right ♔Now

It’s always kind of creepy when good characters in a game get possessed by evil ones. You’re basically fighting your friends, but they’re not really them. And of course, this has happened to Zelda a couple of times as well. The most notable one is in Twilight Princess.

After Zelda gives her soul and powers to save Midna, Ganondorf captures Zelda’s body. And w🧸hen Link and Midna come to fight Ganondorf, he uses Zelda as a puppet to fight Link. Thankfully, Link and Midna manage to restore Zelda to normal, but that must’ve been terrible for her. Even if she wasn’t aware of anything, her body’s probably super sore at least.

11 🏅 That’s A Powerful Soul

Even the first and original Zelda in Skyward Sword had her fair share of hardships. She had to travel from temple to templ෴e to activate her powers🐻. She was taken by Ghirahim and then her soul was used to bring about the great Demise, an evil entity that was sealed away.

Being en🌠ded is one thing, but having your soul ripped out of you and absorbed by another being can’t be pleasant. What’s also crazy is that the events of Skywa𓃲rd Sword trigger the never-ending loop of the battle between Zelda, Ganondorf, and Link. This is where it all started, and Zelda still ended up suffering.