Being reborn over and over again but without knowing of your previous selves makes for an adventure every time. For Link, all he knows is his teenage youth, being a boy who may never know what it is like to live until old age. He is set to come back time and time again in alternate timelines to defend and save Hyrule. Similarly, Zelda is brought back over and over too, but there is a chance that she is conscious of this cycle? Who knows. So exactly how old are Link and Zelda in every Legend of Zelda game? There is a lot of speculation and not a whole lot of concrete evidence for all Legend of Zelda timelines. This is Vincent’s guide explaining The Legend of Zelda protagonists ages throughout the franchise. We hope you enjoy this read.
How Old is Link in Every Legend of Zelda Game?
Anything in bold has been confirmed by sources such as Shigeru Miyamoto’s Hyrule Historia and Miyamoto himself through interviews. However with a lot of inconsistent information it is hard to pinpoint exactly how old Link and Zelda are at the time of each entry. For this reason, any ages not in bold are our estimations and guesses based on the timeline. Also, each list is divided into each timeline, from the Child and Adult Era to the Fallen Hero Timeline and Calamity Era.
What is important to note in the research conducted to make sense of both Link and Zelda’s ages throughout the franchise is that Link is reincarnated very regularly, to the point where even Link must be confused where he is at all times. Not just this but, Zelda is impossible to place age-wise most of the time due to being a reincarnation too. This is why in the majority of The Legend of Zelda games, Link and Zelda are 16 years old. Keep in mind that this list only includes the mainline games of the franchise.
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004) – 12 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2002) – 13 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) 9- 16 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) – 16 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages (2001) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (2015) – 18-20 years old
- The Legend of Zelda (1986) – 12 years old
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987) – 16 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000) – 12 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (2004) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002) – 12 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007) – 13 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (2009) – 13 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) – 17 years old
Related: How to Play the Legend of Zelda Games in Release Order.
How Old is Zelda in Every Legend of Zelda Game?
Just like Link in every Legend of Zelda game, Zelda is reincarnated repeatedly throughout the franchise. Depending on who is bringing her back to life determines her intent in the game, such as being used for a source of evil in The Minish Cap. Because of this, Zelda often appears as a teenager just like Link. Whilst Skyward Sword has Zelda reincarnated as Hylia, in all other entries, Zelda is a version of herself, brought back through bloodline and inheritance of the Light Force which passes down to each Zelda. In comparison, every Link is not connected to one another, but rather brought into the world as the Hero to save the day.
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011) – 16- 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) 9- 16 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) – 16 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages (2001) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (2015) – 18- 20 years old
- The Legend of Zelda (1986) – 12 years old
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987) – 16 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000) – Unknown
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) – 17- 20 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (2004) – 20 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002) – 10- 16 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (2009) – 17 years old
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) – 17- 117 years old
How Old is Link and Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
Due to the fact that Link is repeated reincarnations of himself, it is difficult to pinpoint his real age however, there are a lot of sources and the fanbase suggesting that Link himself is over 100 years old. But I do not agree with this theory due to the fact that he is a reincarnation version of himself, he has not aged. So his body being 16 years old just means that he is indeed 16 years old with every rebirth. This is the same for Breath of the Wild to Tears of the Kingdom where the gap of 100 years for the Slumber of Restoration means that Link was preserved in a state of extreme hibernation in which his age will not have altered. The reality of it is that Link is a human, meaning that he would not be able to biologically live beyond 120. For this reason, I believe that Link is still 20 years old as of the time of Tears of the Kingdom.
In contrast, another character such as Purah who studies anti-ageing Relics would indeed be ancient due to the fact that she has lived throughout her days, although messing with her biological age to appear younger, but would be over a century in age due to actually being alive, unlike Link. As every version of Link and Zelda are different people and not a continuation of a past self, they are reborn into the game as 16 years old unless a sequel states that time has passed with the same version of Link and Zelda where they will naturally age until they are reborn once more.
Unlike Link however, Zelda was thrown into the past, set to live out her days until Link returned, a century later. This meant that Zelda had aged 100 years since going back in time, placing her at 117 years old. As Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel of Breath of the Wild, this places Zelda’s current age at around 120 years old.
That was our full guide on the ages of Link and Zelda in every Legend of Zelda mainline game. Are you playing Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? If so, feel free to see our related articles on this game over here. Thank you for reading this GJ guide!
