Princess Zelda

Princess Zelda is a major character from The Legend of Zelda series created by Nintendo. Many different incarnations of Zelda have existed throughout the course of the series, but they commonly share traits such as they all rule over the kingdom of Hyrule, and they all have the power of the Triforce of Wisdom within them. The plot of her series is that she and Link must protect the kingdom of Hyrule from Ganon and prevent him from obtaining the two pieces of the Triforce not inside him.

Though her series is named after her, the titular starring role in the games is Link. Zelda serves as more of the series' equivalent of Princess Peach, but she usually has active supporting roles in the plot, sometimes even being somewhat of a sidekick to Link, rather than being solely a damsel-in-distress. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Zelda disguises herself as her alter-ego Sheik to aid Link without revealing her true identity to him.

Super Smash Bros. Melee


Zelda is one of the newcomers introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Her design is based upon her appearance as an adult in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. She is a tall lightweight character with slow movement but powerful attacks.

Zelda's moveset mostly uses her magical abilities, while her special moves are mostly based on the spells Link can acquire in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Her neutral special move is Nayru's Love, which puts up a magical barrier that reflects attacks and damages opponents. Her side special is Din's Fire, which launches a fireball that explodes after a time. Her up special move is Farore's Wind, which causes her to disappear and reappear higher a distance away. Finally, her down special is Transform, which causes Zelda to turn into Sheik, giving her a completely different moveset.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Zelda returns as a default fighter for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Her design in this game is based on her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. While Zelda's moveset has not been changed, her Final Smash is Light Arrow, which fires a Light Arrow that strikes any opponents in its path.

The Subspace Emissary
Zelda and Peach were watching Mario and Kirby. However, at the arrival of the Halberd, both princesses ran down to assist them after the arrival of the Primid. However, Zelda is soon captured by Petey Piranha and put into a cage along with Peach. Kirby, who battles Petey Piranha, has the choice to rescue either Peach or Zelda.

If Zelda is not rescued, Wario appears and uses a Dark Cannon to transform her into a trophy and runs off with her. She is later seen on Wario's Cargo alongside Ness, who was also turned into a trophy by Wario shooting a Dark Cannon. However, King Dedede distracts Wario by turning Luigi into a trophy and using him to lure Wario off the Cargo. Dedede steals the Cargo, takes back Luigi, and drives off. Link later spots Zelda on the Cargo before Dedede takes Mario and Pit, who were defeated by Link and Yoshi just prior. Although he loses both his newly acquired trophies to Kirby, and the engine of the Cargo is then wrecked by Pit, Dedede manages to get away with the remaining trophies he does have and makes it to his castle, where he pins badges on Luigi, Ness, and Zelda to revive them later. Unfortunately, Bowser arrives, steals Zelda and brings her to the Halberd, having a short scuffle with Mario's team along the way (and causing Zelda to lose her badge to Kirby).

If Zelda is rescued, she will team up with Kirby and escape the stadium the Warp Star right before it explodes. They fly through the sky, and are chased by the Halberd, which both Kirby and Zelda land on. However, the Arwing with Fox McCloud inside is also following the Halberd. The Halberd shoots down the Arwing which falls down and crashes into the duo, and soon, Kirby and Zelda are back on the ground now in a grassland. While Kirby wanders off looking at other things, Zelda is shot by Bowser and she turns into a trophy. Bowser sends Shadow Bugs which take over Zelda and clones her.

False Zelda takes out a Dark Cannon and tries to shoot Link and Yoshi, however is stopped by Pit and Mario. False Zelda and the two fight however she is soon defeated and turned into a trophy, which soon dissolves. However, Link saw this and thinks that Mario is a member of the Subspace Army and that he killed Zelda, so he tries to turn Mario and Pit into a trophy with Yoshi's help. They are both defeated, however, and taken by King Dedede before Kirby's intervention, after which Link attacks the Cargo's engine.

Regardless of whether or not she is rescued from Petey Piranha, she still ends up in the Halberd with Peach. Meta Knight soon arrives with Lucario and Solid Snake as his entourage, fighting off both False Zelda and False Peach before freeing the real princesses. Zelda then goes off on her own with Peach until they are united by Fox, Falco Lombardi, Lucario, and Snake to fight Duon and have Mr. Game & Watch join their team, and Meta Knight retakes the Halberd. She then goes into Subspace and finds Tabuu, but is turned into a trophy along with everyone else by him soon after, leaving it up to Kirby, revived by the badge from earlier, to revive her. If Kirby also rescued Link, then both of them will revive Ganondorf, who learns of Tabuu and joins the other heroes into the Great Maze.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U


Zelda returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, retaining her appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess that was used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Although Sheik also returns, they are now completely separate characters, meaning that she can no longer transform into Sheik; her down special attack is instead Phantom Slash, which summons a Phantom to charge forward and attack.

Super Mario Maker
Zelda appears as a Costume in Super Mario Maker. Zelda's costume can be unlocked by scanning her respective amiibo or randomly by completing the 100 Mario Challenge on expert difficulty.

Snake's codec

 * Colonel: Snake, I see you're fighting Zelda.
 * Snake: Yeah, I guess. Doesn't feel right fighting someone in a dress, though.
 * Colonel: Don't underestimate her just because she's a woman. Zelda's attacks are backed by powerful magic. Her hand-to-hand combat may look weak, but her magic makes it cut to the bone.
 * Snake: So this rose has thorns... Interesting...
 * Colonel: ...This is no time for pickup lines, Snake.
 * Snake: Don't worry. I know from experience that it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for.

Trophy information
Red indicates exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version. Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Palutena's Guidance

 * Palutena: This isn't quite the Zelda you're used to.
 * Pit: I hear she no longer changes form in battle.
 * Palutena: That's right, but she's got a new special move: the Phantom Slash.
 * Pit: Where does she get the Phantom from?
 * Palutena: It's hard to say. Magic?
 * Pit: WOW! I didn't realize she was such a powerful magician.
 * Palutena: I could do something similar, I'm sure. But it's pretty dark magic. Now, what part of you should I use to make your Phantom?
 * Pit: My Phantom?! Uh, you don't have to do that for me, Lady Palutena!
 * Palutena: Oh, don't be scared! I'll just equip you and-
 * Pit: Uh what will it cost me?
 * Palutena: Oh, I don't know. Maybe just your...soul?
 * Viridi: Hahahaha! Look how pale he got! You're really scaring him! Listen, Pit, if you can knock Zelda's Phantom out, she won't be able to call it back for a bit. Keep an eye on her.

Trivia

 * The instruction manual for Super Smash Bros. Brawl incorrectly refers to her as the queen of Hyrule.
 * Zelda appears in Nintendo Monopoly, where she replaced North Carolina Avenue and costs $300.
 * Zelda's name appears on the scorecard of Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color.

Zelda Principessa Zelda