Summary
The Legend of Zeldaseries has evolved a lot over the years, from the 2D to 3D transition to breaking out from linear dungeon crawling into the open-world physics sandbox. Link, too, has seen his fair share of changes over the years. From fairy to fish man, Link has been pinched, warped, and fuzzed into a plethora of different forms across his many incarnations.
Some felt like curses, whereas others just started that way and then becamesuper-cool transformational abilitiesthat turned out to be essential for exploration, completing side quests, and saving the day. While some of Link’s magically-shaped bods have been studs, many have been undeniable duds. From worst to best, here are all of Link’s transformations.
The Dark World, as seen inA Link To The Past, transforms all who go there into their “true form.” Those with dark natures turn into monsters or demons. Link, for whatever reason, turns into a totally useless fluffy pink bunny rabbit.
As a bunny, Link is entirely helpless and unable to attack the many monsters he encounters in the corrupted realm. Obtaining the Moon Pearl from the Tower of Hera and shedding the bunny suit comes as a great relief. Link can be turned back into a long-eared hopper as a punishment for getting hit by an enemy beam. As such, Bunny Link belongs at the bottom of the pile.
When Link transforms into other creatures, the new form usually has a recognizable feature that gives away that it’s still the same courageous hero. However, the ring-induced forms seen inOracle of Seasons&Oracle of Agesturn Link into a generic monster without any abilities or mechanics, which is especially disappointing considering that every other ring grants Link a special ability.
Technically, being transformed into a Moblin, like-like,cloaked subterranean Subrosian, or octo allows Link to bypass a like-like’s shield-absorption attack, but that’s likely just a bug the developers never found time to fix. These powers could have been so much more (a Moblin espionage mission or item-eating minigame come to mind), and so they do not rank high on the list.
While it is rarely looked back on as a nostalgic favorite,The Adventure of Linkgrants the player various magic spells in their quest to side-scroll their way to saving Hyrule and Princess Zelda. One is the ability to turn into a fairy, allowing Link to fly up and over obstacles and fit in tight places at the cost of a little magic power.
Unfortunately, Link is also utterly defenseless in this temporary form. While this isn’t the most drastic trade-off for being able to take to the skies, the rest ofThe Adventure Of Linkmakes using the fairy form fairly unpleasant due to the game’s unforgiving difficulty and uninspired level designs.
InThe Minish Cap, thanks to the magical titular headwear, Link has the ability to shrink down to the size of a thumb. Besides his size, Link doesn’t undergo many changes in his Minish form, which isn’t so bad considering none of his offensive abilities are disabled while he occupies the same size and weight as a ladybug.
With this new perspective, the world isquite literally a bigger place, teeming with tiny secrets that he can take with him in his normal form (thereby making them regular-sized secrets). If nothing else, this form allows the player to focus on appreciating the small things.
After getting robbed, Link is cursed to live out the rest of his days as a shirtless wooden stump. Only by hearing the song of healing is he able to mask and unmask from this transformation at will. Nobody inMajora’s Masktakes Scrub Link seriously, as he is unable to carry a sword and is limited to spinning around and slap-stunning enemies with his big, green emo beanie.
Despite the Deku-Kid’s sorrowful expression, living as a sentient stub isn’t so bad. Gliding around on petal blades, hopping on water, and shooting gross goo from Link’s wooden mouth hole all have their fun moments throughout the adventure. Plus, the little guy is adorable despite his weepy expression.
When Nintendo was working onA Link Between Worlds, they set out tobridge the gap between 2D and 3DZeldagameplay. While 2D Zelda has generally been top-down, the developers stumbled upon an interesting idea with Painting Link.
After “wall merging” and becoming two-dimensional, this Link shares an uncanny resemblance to the hero as depicted in the tapestry opening ofTheWind Waker,and gains the ability to sidestep obstacles and slip through the cracks that connect Hyrule and Lorule.
6Giant Link - Majora’s Mask
One Titanic Boss Requires One Gargantuan Hero
There’s just something undeniably awesome about being able to turn into a giant, and although the Giant Mask only allows the transformation in the boss room ofMajora’s Mask’s Stone Tower dungeon, it still doesn’t take away from the energy of grappling with the enemy wyrms, Twinmold, in the middle of a sandstorm.
A clunky camera made this fight less awesome than it could have been. Thankfully,Majora’s Mask 3DSmade the battle much more engaging. In addition to swelling to titanic size, Link takes on a stout physique andluchadorpersona, complete with lurching, punching, ground-pounding, and Twinmold tail swinging.
While it may not be their number one imagination activity, at some point in their childhood, every kid daydreams about being able togrow up in an instant. Young Link’s teen transformation in the Sacred Realm while retrieving the Master Sword just about captures that fantasy.
Suddenly, the world is a much more dangerous place. Adults treat Link more seriously. He gets to drive (or ride a horse). Link even gets a stint in the slammer (if captured by the Gerudos). The best part is that Link can change back at any time by returning the blade to its pedestal, thereby fulfilling the fantasy some burned-out adults have of returning to their childhood.
After being touched by Twili magic, Link is shaped into a divine beast, albeit one that shares more in common with those found in Hyrule than the warped shadow monsters created by Zant in the Twilight Realm. Link gains the ability to bite, trot, scare villagers, howl melodically, speak to wild animals, and has enhanced hunting senses.
Despite shedding all of Link’s other distinguishing features in favor of dusky lupine fuzz, sharp teeth, and vicious claws, Nintendo really nailed Wolf Link by allowing him to retain his steely blue human eyes and iconic Adult-Link earrings (and players with enhanced eyesight might notice the Triforce symbol on his paw as well).
3Zora Link - Majora’s Mask
Catching Gnarly Waves And Strumming Stunning Jams
Zora Link drips with cool vibes, and not only because he just dolphin-jumped his way out of the water and onto the stage todeliver a sweet guitar jam. Like a true rockstar, he walks around topless at all times and can walk and breathe underwater. Well, maybe not all rockstars can do the latter, but ignoring the laws of physics like that is metal nonetheless.
While the joy of swimming was severely nerfed in the 3DS remake, Zora Link’s sleek fighting style (forearm blades, which can detach, fly, and home in on enemies, for some reason), shocking waveborn currents, and fishbone-themed electric guitar still make it one of the sweetest shapeshifts in the series.
