Summary
At its heart,The Legend of Zeldafranchise is all about Link and Zelda, particularly their many reincarnations battling evil to save the world. The courageous and silent Link manages to become the hero in every iteration, having someincredible achievements throughout the franchise, be it against Vaati, Ganon, or a falling moon.
Regardless, the short hero saves the world repeatedly, persevering through generations, fighting battles that seem impossible, and saving Hyrule countless times. However, although rare, Link every once in a while loses a fight or is defeated in some way, shape, or form. Despite being a small number compared to the character’s many achievements, Link does have some pretty bad defeats under his belt, some that impacted the whole timeline and others that simply affected an iteration of the character.
InMajora’s Mask, the player has three days to stop the moon from crashing into Clock Town, yet that is not nearly enough time to save the world. Yet, to stop this horrible fate from becoming the only truth, Link enters a time loop that has mostly him failing to save Termina over and over again so that one day he can save it.
Although this does not have any major effect on the game or other installments of the franchise, as it does not actually happen, it does affect the player. The multiple failed attempts are hard to watch, making Termina one of themost terrifying places to live in theZeldafranchise.
The Great Deku Tree is a recognizable symbol in theZeldafranchise and a beloved character in the installments. InOcarina of Time, Ganondorf cursed the Great Deku Tree, and the young hero embarks on a journey to save it.
Although not necessarily a defeat, as Link manages to kill the root of the curse, the hero’s efforts are in vain as the curse’s damage is done. The death of the Great Deku Tree is a hard moment in the franchise, and it definitely feels like a defeat in Link’s book.
When his village is attacked, Link is unable to save his friends and manages to get himself unwillingly turned into a wolf. In general, the repercussions of the transformation were mostly personal, having Link feared by everyone around him.
Despite, or even because of the transformation, the Link inTwilight Princessis probably one of thebest iterations of the character. However, the Shadow Beast’s ambush marks a moment of helplessness on Link’s part that is rare to see, to say the least.
Despite being one of thestrongest versions of Link in theLegend of Zeldagames, the hero of the kingdom is not undefeated. The start of the game features Link and Zelda investigating the ruins in Hyrule and, although there is no actual fight, the Demon King is able to defeat Link, take off his arm, break the Master Sword, and erase many of his hearts.
Link stood no chance when going face to face with the mummified Ganon awakening from his sleep, not only being easily defeated by him but also watching helplessly while Zelda vanished. Even though he still manages to be triumphant in the end, also getting a brand new upgraded arm, the defeat blemishes the hero’s record.
3Link Is Robbed By Skull Kid – Majora’s Mask
Skull Kid Transforms Link Into A Deku Scrub
The opening scene ofMajora’s Maskfeatures one of Link’s gravest failures to a prankster that triggers the destruction of the world. While Skull Kid was mostly a prankster, he still managed to defeat Link and rob him of his Ocarina and trusted horse, Epona.
Link does not give up easily, but with the power of the mask by his side, Skull Kid defeats Link, transforming him into a Deku Scrub, and manages to get away with it. Although Link eventually recovered Epona and Ocarina, this defeat made Link’s quest to save the world a lot harder in one of thedarkest Nintendo games.
AlthoughBreath of the Wildfeatures many achievements for the short hero, the game starts with a major defeat that happened one hundred years before the start of the game. Link and the other champions lose to Ganon, resulting in Zelda giving her life to save the hero and give Hyrule another chance.
Even though the player does not experience this firsthand, throughout the game, Link starts remembering moments from his past life in which he failed to defeat the calamity that terrorized Hyrule. Although the hero still manages to make it up by the end of the game, this hundred-year defeat is probably one of thehero’s biggest failures.
1Link Loses To Ganon – Ocarina Of Time
Forever Changed The Zelda Franchise With A Timeline Based On The Hero’s Loss
The Zelda timelines can be very confusing, yet most of them stem fromOcarina of Time’s possible ending, which splits themain timeline into three different ones. In particular, there is one in which the hero is defeated by Ganondorf, making Link’s worst defeat in the franchise by far.
Not only does he lose to the villain, but Link also sets a timeline defined by the Dark World brought upon by the villain, causing a war between realms. This timeline is filled with a vicious cycle of Hyrule rising to prosperity and falling into darkness over and over again until Link is fully successful. Yet, this defeat will forever mark theLegend of Zeldafranchise, as it impacted so many other games.
