Video Game Character of the Month - August 2014 - Link - The Legend of Zelda

Video Game Character of the Month

August 2014

Link
The Legend of Zelda

Overview:

Link, The Hero of 'Insert Power Here'. This will be an interesting VGCOTM as, really, I should be doing about 17ish versions, due to the Link in these games not really being the same Link in each game. Anyway, here we go.

A quick bit of info on Link: 

He doesn't speak but instead communicates in grunts

He is not the same Link in every game but, rather, reincarnations of him

He has many titles (Legendary Hero, Hero of Time, Hero of the Goddess, Hero of Winds and Hero Chosen by the Gods)

He always wears a green tunic (other than Fours Swords where he also wears red, blue and purple) and a pointed hat (or a Phrygian cap as it is actually known)

He is almost always left-handed (barring the Wii versions of Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword)

He is part of the Hylian race

He is the person chosen to bear the Triforce of Courage and the Master Sword

He is a master of many weapons, magic and music

He generally fights Ganondorf although he has fought many different enemies as well

He (or at least some versions of him) have family members (an uncle, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather and sister)

He might be part of the royal Hylian family

One of his reincarnations can turn into a wolf

Some of his reincarnations might, actually, be dead when you play as them
He can move faster by walking backwards

Creation of Link:

Link is one of the many brainchildren of Shigeru Miyamoto and the inspiration for him came from Miyamoto's memories of books, films and his own personal experiences. Another inspiration is Peter Pan, who Link bears a strong resemblance too. Link's name comes from the original idea for the Triforce being electronic chips and that the hero would travel between the future and the past and be the 'Link' between the two games. Link doesn't speak so that the players can imagine for themselves, what he would be like, and put themselves in his life. For this same reason, Link usually starts out as a regular boy who then achieves great things. As said in the overview, Link is actually a different reincarnation of himself in every game.  

Evolution of Link:

Over the many iterations of the series, Link has changed in both physical appearance, age and complete graphical overhauls. Some of these have been to do with the storyline (such as Ocarina of Time) or to fit in with the tone of the game (such as Twilight Princess and Wind Waker). Link has also changed from being permanently left-handed to being right-handed although this is due to the switch to motion controls in Skyward Sword. Finally, Link has become a master of many weapons, items, magic and music as well as meeting many of the races of Hyrule and other places in the Zelda universe. 

Games:

The Legend of Zelda: released (Japan) on February 21, 1986 on Famicom Disk System/(North America) on August 22, 1987/(PAL) on November 15, 1987/(Japan) on February 19, 1994 on NES and Famicom/(Japan) on February 14, 2004/(North America) on June 2, 2004/(PAL) on June 9, 2004 on Game Boy Advance/(North America) on November 19, 2006/(Europe) on December 8, 2006 on Wii Virtual Console/(World Wide) on September 1, 2011 on Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program/(Japan) on December 22, 2011/(PAL) on April 12, 2012/(North America) on July 5, 2012 on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console/(Japan) on August 28, 2013/(Rest of the World) on August 29, 2013 on Wii U Virtual Console

Zelda II: Adventure of Link: (Japan) on Famicom Disk System on January 14, 1987/(PAL) on September 26, 1988/(North America) on December 1, 1988 on NES/(PAL) on November 14, 2003/(North America) on November 17, 2003/(Japan) April 1, 2004 on Nintendo GameCube/(Japan) on August 10, 2004/(North America) on October 25, 2004/(PAL) on January 7, 2005 on Gameboy Advance/(Japan) January 23, 2007/(North America) on June 4, 2007/(PAL) on February 9, 2007 on Wii Virtual Console/(World Wide) on September 1, 2011 on Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program/(Japan) on June 6, 2012/(North America) on November 22, 2012/(PAL) on September 13, 2012 on Nintendo 3DS on Virtual Console/(Japan) on September 11, 2013/(North America) on September 12, 2013/(PAL) on September 26, 2013 on Wii  U Virtual Console

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: released (Japan) on November 21, 1991/(North America) on April 13, 1992/(Europe) on Septemer 24, 1992 on SFC and SNES/(Japan) on March 2, 1997 on Satellaview/(North America) on December 2, 2002/(Japan) on March 28, 2003/(PAL) on March 28, 2003 on Game Boy Advance/(Japan) December 2, 2006/(North America) January 22, 2007/(PAL) on March 23, 2007 on Wii Virtual Console/(Japan) on February 12, 2014/(North America) on January 30, 2014/(PAL) on December 12, 2013 on Wii U Virtual Console

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: (Japan) on June 6, 1993/(North America) on August 1993/(Europe) on November 19 or December 1993 on Game Boy/(Japan) on December 12, 1998/(North America) on December 12, 1998/(Europe) January 1, 1999 on Game Boy Colour/(World Wide) on June 7, 2011 on 3DS Virtual Console

Link: The Faces of Evil: released (North America) on October 10, 1993/(Europe) in 1993 on Phillips CD-i

Zelda: the Wand of Gamelon: released (North America) on October 10, 1993/(Europe) in 1993 on Phillips CD-i

Zelda's Adventure: released (North America) in 1994/1995/(Europe) in 1995 on Phillips CD-i

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: released (Japan) on November 21, 1998/(North America) on November 23, 1998/(PAL) on December 11, 1998/(Australia) on December 18, 1998 on Nintendo 64/(Japan) on November 28, 2002/(North America) on February 18, 2003/(PAL) on May 3, 2003 on Nintendo GameCube/(China) on November 2003 on iQue Player/(PAL) on February 23, 2007/(North America) on February 26, 2007/(Japan) on February 27, 2007 on Virtual Console

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: (Japan) on April 27, 2000/(North America) on October 26, 2000/(PAL) on November 17, 2000 on Nintendo 64/(PAL) on April 3, 2009/(Japan) on April 7, 2009/(North America) on May 18, 2009 on Virtual Console 

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons: released (Japan) on February 27, 2001/(North America) on May 14, 2001/(Europe) on October 5, 2001 on Game Boy Colour/(Japan) on February 27, 2013/(North America and Europe) on May 30, 2013 on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages: released (Japan) on February 27, 2001/(North America) on May 14, 2001/(Europe) on October 5, 2001 on Game Boy Colour/(Japan) on February 27, 2013/(North America and Europe) on May 30, 2013 on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords: released (North America) on December 2, 2002/(Japan) on March 14, 2003/(Europe) on March 28, 2003 on Gameboy Advance/(World Wide) on September 28, 2011 on DSiWare and 3DS eShop (Four Swords Anniversary Edition)

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: released (Japan) December 13, 2002/(North America) on March 24, 2003/(Europe) on May 2, 2003/(Australia) on March 7, 2003 on Nintendo Gamecube

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure: released (Japan) on March 18, 2004/(North America) on June 7, 2004/(Europe) on January 7, 2005/(Australia) on April 7, 2005 on Nintendo GameCube  

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap: released (Japan) on November 4, 2004/(Europe) on November 12, 2004/(North America) on January 10, 2005/(Australia) on April 7 2005 on Game Boy Advance/(Australia) December 15/(Rest of the World) on December 16, 2011 on Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors Program/(Japan) on April 30, 2014/(PAL) on May 29, 2014/(North America) on June 5, 2014 on Wii U Virtual Console
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: released (North America) on November 19, 2006/(Japan) on December 2, 2006/(Australia) on December 7, 2006/(Europe) on December 8, 2006/(Korea) on August 27, 2009 on Wii/(Japan) on December 2, 2006/(North America) on December 11, 2006/(Europe) December 15, 2006/(Australia) December 19, 2006 on Nintendo GameCube/(North America) on May 15, 2011/(Europe) on September 16, 2011 on Wii (Nintendo Selects)
Link's Crossbow Training: released (North America) on November 19, 2007/(Europe) on December 7, 2007/(Australia) December 13, 2007/(Japan) on May 1, 2008 on Wii
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: released (Japan) on June 23, 2007/(North America) on October 1, 2007/(Australia) on October 11, 2007/(Europe) October 19, 2007/(Korea) on April 3, 2008 on Nintendo DS
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks: released (North America) on December 7, 2009/(Australia) on December 10, 2009/(Europe) on December 11, 2009/(Japan) on December 23, 2009 on Nintendo DS
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: released (Europe) on November 18, 2011/(North America) on November 20, 2011/(Japan) on November 23, 2011/(Australia) on November 24, 2011 on Wii
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds: released (North America and Europe) on November 22, 2013/(Japan) on December 26, 2013 on Nintendo 3DS
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D: released on (Japan) on 16 June, 2011/(Europe) on 17 June, 2011/(North America) on 19 June, 2011/(Australia) on 30 June, 2011/(South Korea) on 27 September, 2012/(Taiwan) on 27 October, 2012 on Nintendo 3DS/(PAL) on 4 October, 2012/(North America) on 18 October 2012/(Japan) on 1 November, 2012 on Nintendo 3DS eShop
Nintendo eShop
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD: released (North America) on September 20, 2013 on Wii U eShop/(Japan) on September 26, 2013/(Europe and North America) on October 4, 2013/(Australia) on October 5, 2013 on Wii U
Super Smash Bros.: released (Japan) on January 21, 1999/(North America) on April 26,  1999/(Europe) on November 19, 1999 on Nintendo 64/(Japan) on January 20, 2009/(PAL) on June 12, 2009/(North America) on December 21, 2009 on Virtual Console
Super Smash Bros. Melee: released (Japan) on November 21, 2001/(North America) on December 3, 2001 (Europe) on May 24, 2002/(Australia) on May 31, 2002 on Nintendo GameCube
Super Smash Bros. Brawl: released (Japan) on January 31, 2008/(North America) on March 9, 2008/(Australia) on June 26, 2008/(Europe) on June 27, 2008 on Wii
Sonic Lost World (DLC): released (World Wide) on March 27, 2014
Soulcalibur II: released (Japan) on March 27, 2003/(North America) on August 27, 2003/(Europe) on September 26, 2003 on Nintendo GameCube
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: released (Japan) on March 9, 1996/(North America) on May 13, 1996 on Super Famicom and SNES/(Japan) on June 24, 2008/(PAL) on August 22, 2008/(NA) on September 1, 2008 on Wii Virtual Console
Various WarioWare games
Hyrule Warriors: released (Japan) on August 14, 2014/(Europe) on September 19, 2014/(Australia) on September 20, 2014/(North America) on September 26, 2014 on Wii U 
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS: released (Japan) on September 13, 2014/(North America/Europe) on October 3, 2014/(Australia) on October 4, 2014 on Nintendo 3DS
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: released (North America) on November 21, 2014/(Europe) on November 28, 2014/(Australia) on November 29, 2014/(Japan) on December 6, 2014 on Wii U
Super Mario Maker: released (Japan) on September 10, 2015/(Europe/North America) on September 11, 2015/(Australia) on September 12, 2015 on Wii U
Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS: released (Japan) on December 1, 2016/(Europe/North America) on December 2, 2016/(Australia) on December 3, 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart 8: released (Japan) on May 29, 2014/(Europe/North America) on May 30, 2014/(Australia) on May 31, 2014 on Wii U
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: released (World Wide) on April 28, 2017 on Nintendo Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D: released (Europe/North America) on February 13, 2015/(Japan/Australia) on February 14, 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes: released (Japan) on October 22, 2015/(Europe/North America) on October 23, 2015/(Australia) on October 24, 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS
The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild: released (World Wide) on March 3, 2017 on the Nintendo Switch and Wii U
Hyrule Warriors Legends: released (Japan) on January 21, 2016/(Europe/Australia) on March 24, 2016/(North America) on March 25, 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS
My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: released (World Wide) in 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop

That's all on Link but if I have made a mistake or missed something then please, don't hesitate to comment. And, as always, if you want a character to win the award then please comment as well.

Goodbye for now, Harry

Sources: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_(The_Legend_of_Zelda)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Legend_of_Zelda_media

http://www.nintendo.com/amiibo/games/detail/super-mario-maker-wii-u

As well as my own knowledge