What Gender was Zelda?

Princess Zelda is a character in the Legend of Zelda series who is traditionally female, often serving as the princess of the kingdom of Hyrule and playing a central role in the series’ storyline. The character’s gender has been consistent across the series, with Zelda being depicted as a female character in various games, including Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Breath of the Wild.

FAQs About Zelda’s Gender and Character

General Questions

1. Is there a male Zelda?: No, there is no male Zelda in the Legend of Zelda series, but Princess Zelda has disguised herself as a male character named Sheik in Ocarina of Time.
2. Is Link and Zelda in love?: While Link and Zelda are not in a canon-confirmed romantic relationship, they share a loving and caring relationship, with Link always supporting Zelda and Zelda believing in Link.
3. Is Link LGBTQ?: Nintendo insists that Link is both straight and cisgender, but fans have expanded the Zelda universe with LGBTQIA+ characters and queer readings of Zelda games.

Character Background

4. Who does Zelda have a crush on?: Zelda has feelings for Link, and their relationship is rooted deeply in childhood, with The Minish Cap developing a romance between Link and Zelda.
5. Is Link nonbinary?: Eiji Aonuma, a longtime Zelda producer, wanted Link to be a gender-neutral character, but Link is male, with a design inspired by Peter Pan.
6. Why does Link look so feminine?: Link’s design has been made to be more gender-neutral, with Aonuma creating a version of Link that is more masculine in Twilight Princess but reverting to a more gender-neutral design in Breath of the Wild.

Game-Specific Questions

7. Is there a female Zelda?: Yes, Princess Zelda is a female character who has appeared in most Zelda games, including Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Breath of the Wild.
8. What gender is Link?: Link is a male character, although Aonuma wanted him to be gender-neutral in Ocarina of Time.
9. How old is Zelda girl?: Zelda’s age varies across games, with Princess Zelda in Twilight Princess being around 20 years old and the one in Breath of the Wild being 16 and 17 years old during flashbacks and 117 at the time of the game.

Relationship and Romance

10. Who is the baddie in Zelda?: Ganon is the primary antagonist of the Zelda series and the final boss in many Zelda titles.
11. Why don’t Zelda and Link kiss?: The creators of the series don’t want to put Link and Zelda into a relationship, as Link is an avatar and not a character with his own personality or emotions.
12. Is Link supposed to marry Zelda?: Link and Zelda are never depicted as getting married, and no Zelda is explicitly mentioned to be related to any Link as their mother or anything else.

Character Design and Development

13. Did Zelda have a crush on Link?: Yes, Zelda has feelings for Link, as mentioned in the final Kass song, which talks about “the princess’s love for her appointed knight,” referring to Link.
14. Is Link from Zelda autistic?: Link is designed to be an avatar, and he himself doesn’t have autism.
15. Why is Link always so short?: The reason behind Link’s varying heights is due to different games showing Link at different ages and different versions of Link, with the Legend of Zelda timeline featuring Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf being continually reincarnated to participate in a battle between good and evil.