For every 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Legend of Zelda gam🍨e, there is almost always a new incarnation of Princess Zelda of Hyrule to fulfill the never-ending prophecy. Despite her name being in the title of almost every game in the series, she is often a suppo🦹rting cast member who is missing throughout the game but steals the show when she finally joins.
Just like Link and their mortal enemy Ganondorf, Zelda herself has seen various redesigns since the first game, with a ton of variety and different alterations. Which are the best of this Hylian princess' incarnations throughout the timeline, and which leave fans just shrugging?
Updated on June 15, 2023, by Casey Foot: Similar to Link, Zelda’s design remains mostly consistent throughout the series; although, of course, there have been some exceptions to the general design. These changes help to differentiate each version of Zelda, with lots of designs building on those that came before them. In 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda has the same design as she did in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Breath of the Wild, but there are a few changes that make her stand apart in this game as well.
14 Wand Of Gamelon And T꧒he Faces Of Evil
These games are notorious for their sluggish gameplay an𓆉d awful cutscenes. They feel more like rejected i🍌deas for a Legend of Zelda animated series that manage to be even worse than the actual animated series.
Both in the cutscenes and the gameplay, Zelda's design is nothing special, and her voice feels out of place. She has a more casual outfit with a blue vest, cropped purple shirt, and pink skirt, which could’ve been a more modern interpretation of her character, but it falls flat because of the art style.
13 Zelda's Adventure
The Phillips CD-I was not kind to The Legend of Zelda series as it churned out not only two infamously awful 2D animated games, but also a live-action digitized game that al👍lowed you to take control of Zelda going on her own journey. In the game, Zelda wears a blue dress with poofy white sleeves and a large pendant necklace.
In theory, this concept should make for a great change-up, but instead, the digitized ‘realistic’ sprites and backgrounds are so poorly designed that it's impossible to tell what you’re looking at. The only somewhat redeemable part of this Zelda is the FMV sequences that are unique but still not great.
12 ♋ The Legend Of Zelda ♛
Not only does Zelda not appear until the very end of the game, but her design is nearly identical to Link's sprite except for the dress. There's nothing really bad about the in-game sprite, it's just nothing iconic or memorable.
Zelda’s official artwork shows off more details that aren’t noticeable simply by looking at her sprite.🅠 Zelda is wearing a pink ball gown-like dress adorned with white bows, and she has a matching pink pearl necklace. She has adorabl𓆉e voluminous hair unlike any other version of Zelda.
11 Four Swords And Four Swords Adventures ▨
Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures gave fans another 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:version of Toon Zelda. This design takes inspiration 🧔from The Wind Waker while changing elements of the character to show that it’s a different iteration. Zelda dons a similar pink dress; although, it does have differences, such as the white cape and vest-like top layer.
Zel🅰da’s hair is a differ💝ent color, looking more strawberry blonde in the official artwork, and is tied back and decorated with a red bow. It’s one of the most underutilized Zelda designs, which is a shame as it’s particularly charming.
10 🔯 The Wind W𝐆aker
This versi🤡on of Zelda is easily the cutest version. She first debuted in The Wind Waker as the pirate Tetra before her true destiny and identity were revealed. Tetra has an outfit befitting of a pirate captain with a red neckerchief, blue jacket, and white pants. In contrast, as a princess, Zelda is wearing a pink dress with the Hylian Crest and Triforce on it, and blue eyeshadow.
Although the Zelda in Spirit Tracks is a different incarnation of the princess, the same design was used, showinꦍg how this Zelda was a direct descendant from the one in The Wind Waker. In Phantom Hourglass, however, it’s Tetra who has the spotlight, wearing her familiar pirate garb.
9 ꦍ A Link To The Past
A Link to the Past is another example of a Zelda game where there is lots of variation between Zelda’s in-game sprite and the official artwork. Zelda’s 🃏sprite depicts her with brown hair, wearing a purple dress acc🔯essorized with a tiara.
Official artwork for the game differs greatly, either depicting Zelda wearing a pink and white dress with lots of golden jewelry pieces, or in a simple blue dress that has few🐬er embellishments but is no less cute. Unfortunately, the SNES’ graphical limitations weren’t able to represent the Zelda designs shown in 🎃the official artwork.
8 🤪 A Link Between Worlds
A Link Betwe✨en Worlds used A Link to the Past’s official artwork of Zelda wearing her pink dress, finally doing the design justice in the game’s model. Zelda’s outfit is befitting of a classic fantasy princess, with a pink overall laid over a white dress, which translates well to the 3DS’ graphics.
Zelda’s Lorule counterpart, Hilda, 📖is a direct contrast to this design, having a purple color scheme rather than a pink one. Overall, it’s a traditional look that suits this iteration of Zelda well.
7 The Minish Cap 𓃲
Though the covers and marketing materials use Toon Zelda, The Minish Cap’s 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:pixel style meant this design was translated to sprite form. Zelda’s sprite is especially endearing as it’s surprisingly detailed, downꦕ to the blushy cheeks.
The Minish Cap’s beautiful animation helps to capture Zelda’s cheerful personality, creating the best 2D version of Zelda. Similar to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Skyward Sword, Nintendo decided to make Zelda Link’s childhood friend. This gave her more perso𓄧nality, which makes you feel more compelled to go on a quest to help her.
6 ❀ Ocarina Of Time 🧸
For the first time, Princess Zelda had a more active role throughout the plot of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ocarina of Time both in the past and future portiꦉons of the game. More personality was given to the character, along with unique designs for child and adult Zelda, as well as Sheik.
When disguised as the mysterious Sheik, Zelda resembles 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a Sheikah warrior with a chest piece featuring the Sheikah emblem as well as bandages obscuring their identity. As a c🐼hild, she has a hood embellished with the Triforce covering her hair and a matching dress.🎃 As an adult, her outfit has a few more details, such as golden shoulder guards and Triforce-shaped earrings.
5 ♑ Skyward Sword
Reflecting on the game’s position in the timeline, Skyward Sword gives Zelda a design that is familiar yet fresh. Less glamour, a simple pink dress, and tons of expression lead to this seeming less like a princess and more like a beloved villager, whic𒁃h makes sense for her more humble character.
Zelda’s change of dresses to more regal attire signifies her shift from a carefree girl on Skyloft to bei🐻ng the mortal form of Hylia with a heavy duty on her shoulders. Zelda’s design is representative of her character arc throughout the game, visualizing how she changes.