Who is Princess Zelda? Feminism in Hyrule

The woman the series was titled after and one of the most recognizable female characters of Nintendo, Princess Zelda.


The Legend of Zelda franchise hadn't really emphasized the importance of women in the first couple of games. This would include Zelda's damsel in distress role in Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, and Twilight Princess. These games depict women as inactive, submissive, and frail. Zelda, though often possessing abilities such as clairvoyance, telepathy, loyalty, royalty, wisdom, and determination, she still plays as a helpless maiden. Continuously waiting for Link to save the kingdom, defeat Ganon and rescue her. What does this say about the game-maker's opinion of women? The fact that Zelda was the only major female character implies that the girls the game is trying to target are also full of potential, but instead prefer to rely on a man to take action.


Yet as the series progresses the female characters seem to become more prominent. Zelda and other characters are more active in helping Link complete his goals. Not to mention if Zelda didn't exist, Link would never have a task in the first place. She is always the one to contact him in some way to let him know that Hyrule is danger. It appears that the game creators wanted to get more girls to play, while keeping the image of pure, pristine Zelda alive.
We see the first examples of this progression in none other than Ocarina of Time.

Depicted: Badassery 

As a little girl the first Zelda game I fell in love with was Oot. Was it because of the amazing storyline? Was it because of the captivating way the game grabs ahold of you? A bit.
But what drew me in the most was seeing Sheik appear every so often, giving vague details about where to go next, and trying to question where "he" came from. Why was this mysterious character sent to help Link on his quest? What was his motive? It isn't until the end *spoilers* when we find out that Sheik was truly Zelda in disguise. (GASP)
The Hyrule Princess couldn't stay in her kingdom for fear of being captured by the evil Gerudo Prince, Ganondorf, for she saw it happen in her dreams. She used her magic abilities to transform herself into a man, a man who can go anywhere he pleases as well as take on any task.
Becoming a man is another example of the importance of action within Zelda games. But the fact remains that Zelda was only masking herself for protection. The true actions Sheik made belong to Zelda.

And even after she was captured anyways, she managed to still aid Link in the ultimate battle against Ganon, by using her magical Light Arrows. Without those, Link could not have succeeded.

Another example of female importance in this game was the origin of said Prince of Darkness. Ganondorf came from a secluded desert residence of Gerudo Valley. The village entirely consists of women, only accepting women in their tribe (how they reproduce is beyond me. I'm guessing they take men as slaves and then kick them out after). According to their beliefs, once every hundred years a male is born into their bloodline. He is immediately crowned prince, and is chosen to be ruler for their land. Ganondorf's mothers (his mothers are not lesbians, but twins haha), are incredibly evil, if not more so than Ganon himself. Before Ganon was born, it is said that much of the ruin of Hyrule was caused by these two.
This shows that more than just a male can cause havoc and destruction in Zelda. The fact that the mothers were originators for the main antagonist says something about the importance of creation that women possess. Just think about the Goddesses!

I believe that the makers of OoT saw the lack of female buyers, and decided to turn it up a notch. But they didn't stop there. Sheik's transformation into Zelda brought forth the impact of women in video games. Sort of like when Samus was revealed to be a girl in Metroid.

In Windwaker, one of the most prominent characters is a pirate leader named Tetra. She is everything opposite of princess quality. She is brash, rude, sneaky, boyish, and leads an entire band of these guys:

Blonde girl in the middle: Badass

Tetra sails the high seas, her sole goal being to find sunken treasure, and she is an expert thief. She represents mischief, cunning, strength, and leadership. It isn't until later that she is revealed as the missing princess, but that doesn't change her personality. In the follow-up game Phantom Hourglass, she is the same badass as she was from the beginning. Tetra was next to Link fighting just as many monsters, and completing just as many quests. She no longer has to disguise herself as a man in order to take action.

It appears as the times change, so do the outlook of women in Hyrule. The first couple of games had a sort of medieval style to their formatting. Link battling dragons, maidens being abducted, wizards casting spells, etc. But when Windwaker and Twilight Princess came after OoT, women suddenly became independent, active leaders and fighters in new times. Tetra comes from a world with no land, only Islands where the customs are a bit different.

Midna, for example, was a princess of the Twilight Realm. She came to Hyrule in search of Zelda to save her side of the world (the Twilight Realm being the Sacred Realm turning evil from Ganon). She may be a princess, but she exhibits immense power and magical strength. In fact at one of the final battles of Twilight Princess, it is Midna who destroys the evil King Zant. Not Link. She is more powerful than him.
And just like Tetra, Midna accompanies Link throughout the entire game.

Badass in Spirit

The Legend of Zelda didn't quite explore the world of feminism at first, but when the storyline advanced so did their importance. Girls among many (including me) began to liken themselves with this type of confident, adventurous identity. Whether it be mysterious Sheik, daring Tetra, or resolute Midna, each had a concrete base that stemmed from their characteristics.

Princess Zelda began it all. Without her meek, passive past selves, the rise of the new female wouldn't have occured. Thank you Zelda!