There are five recurring tenets which have defined The Legend of Zelda’s three decade long run: Link, Zelda herself, Ganon, Hyrule, and the Triforce. That said, there is one other piece of the series’ iconography that’s since taken on quite the life of its own– and quite literally at that. Introduced in A Link to the Past, the Master Sword immediately established itself as one of the most recognizable images in the medium.
Even if the Master Sword isn’t a regular occurrence for the franchise, it’s hard to separate the Blade of Evil’s Bane from The Legend of Zelda as a concept. More often than not, it’s the sword fans imagine Link wielding alongside his now equally iconic Hylian Shield. The closest Link has to a signature weapon, the Master Sword is an integral part of The Legend of Zelda’s brand & a blade with a storied history.
10 The Labors Of Link
The Legend of Zelda has had its fair share of prequels over the years, but Skyward Sword seems to be the franchise’s definitive starting point, offering insight into the the founding of Hyrule, the relationship between the main trio, and the creation of the Master Sword. Prior to the events of the game, the Master Sword was known as the Goddess Sword.
Much of Skyward Sword revolves around Link proving himself through Herculean tasks that prove his worth in the eyes of the Master Sword. Come endgame, players need to conquer a series of challenges to forge the Goddess Sword into the iconic Master Sword.
9 Farewell, Fi
Arguably the most controversial detail in Skyward Sword, Fi is the spirit of the Goddess Sword and Link’s partner throughout the game. Fi is characterized as an emotionless AI before her time, but her journey with Link does gradually result in her gaining emotion (conveyed so subtly, most miss it.)
This doesn’t make Fi a super compelling character, but it does make her farewell & loss of sentience at the game tragic enough. There’s also an uncomfortable quality to Fi’s fate. As the spirit of the Master Sword, Fi is bound to the blade. Unfortunately, this means her consciousness has all but faded the next time the Master Sword appears in the timeline.
8 A Blade Forgotten By Time
Following Link placing the Master Sword back in its pedestal at the end of Skyward Sword, quite a bit of time passes without the blade reappearing in Hyrule’s history. While it’s entirely possible the Master Sword was wielded inbetween Skyward Sword & Ocarina of Time, the timeline places focus on the Four Sword.
While the Master Sword rests, the Four Sword finds itself at the center of Hyrule’s main conflict. Link forges the Four Sword during the events of The Minish Cap, and a later Link uses the weapon against Vaati much like the Master Sword is used against Ganon.
7 The Sword Of Time
Time marches on and history would eventually remember the Master Sword (forgetting the Four Sword in all but one timeline as a consequence.) The Hero of Time would be the next known Link to wield the Blade of Evil’s Bane in the spirit of the hero’s first encounter against the Prince of Thieves, Ganondorf.
Interestingly, an optional line during the final battle against Ganon reveals another title for the Master Sword. Speaking to Zelda upon retrieving the Master Sword mid-battle sparks a line where she explicitly refers to the Master Sword as “the sword of time.” While innocuous, this line justifies several oddities with the Master Sword’s relationship with time in later games.
6 Time’s Key
Sheik refers to the Master Sword as a ship of sorts, a vessel that allows the wielder to travel through time at their leisure. While this symbolism works for the Master Sword’s depiction in Ocarina of Time, thinking of the blade as a ship doesn’t quite match up with future appearances. In practice, the Master Sword is more akin to time’s key.
And if the Master Sword is a key, its pedestal is the lock. In Ocarina of Time, the pedestal is used to let Link travel through time; in The Wind Waker, the pedestal unfreezes time in Hyrule Castle; and in Twilight Princess, the pedestal is once again connected to the Temple of Time. Breath of the Wild downplays this emphasis on time, but it’s no coincidence that Skyward Sword introduced Timeshift Stones.
5 The Master Sword’s Relation To Other Blades
The Hero of Hyrule’s strongest weapon in The Legend of Zelda, and sole sword in The Adventure of Link, is the Magical Sword. Although the two swords are unrelated, concept art for the Master & Magical Sword share enough visual similarities where early franchise fans may have speculated that they were connected.
On the flipside, the Picori Blade’s in-game sprite work in The Minish Cap is a rather alarming match to the modern Master Sword. Both have purple hilts and gleaming, silver blades. The Picori Blade becomes the Four Sword so they can’t be the same weapon, of course, but it’s still interesting to note the similarities shared by the series’ weaponry.
4 Tempering The Master Sword
A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds seem to suggest that the Master Sword as it usually appears isn’t as strong as it could be. In its natural state, the Master Sword is strong enough to kill Ganon and just about any dark beast, but it can also be upgraded two tiers: capping out at the Golden Sword.
That said, both A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds likewise suggest that any upgrades made to the Master Sword are temporary at best. By the time Link returns to the blade to its pedestal in both games, any & all tempering done has already worn off.
3 Breath Of The Wild’s Rust
The Master Sword appears heavily rusted during the battle against Calamity Ganon’s forces 100 years prior to the events of Breath of the Wild. Interestingly, however, this might not be actual rust. Despite how often the Master Sword is inactive, it’s never shown to rust (in fact, Breath of the Wild makes it clear that inactivity heals the sword to some extent.)
Likewise, previous Links use the Master Sword non-stop and never suffer for it. It’s more than likely that the “rust” on the Master Sword is a result of Ganon’s malice “bleeding” into the blade and corrupting it. Link fights so many corrupted Guardians back to back that it’s the only sensible explanation.
2 How The Master Sword Historically Determines Worth
The Master Sword is very picky when it comes to choosing a master, likely stemming from Fi’s intimate connection with her Link ages ago. In A Link to the Past & A Link Between Worlds, the Master Sword responds only to those who have found the Pendants of Virtue; in Ocarina of Time, the Hero of Time is deemed outright unworthy for being too young.
The Hero of Winds has the Master Sword’s powers locked away from him, the Hero of Twilight needs to to solve an actual test, and the Master Sword straight up drains Link’s health in Breath of the Wild as a means of weeding out anyone too weak to wield to Blade of Evil’s Bane.
1 The Master Sword Sleeps Again… Forever?
Despite being the first game to introduce the Master Sword, A Link to the Past ends by removing the blade from the franchise’s narrative permanently. With Hyrule saved and Ganon defeated, the Master Sword no longer serves a purpose.
Ocarina of Time got around this by setting itself as a prequel, and other games through alternate timelines, but the Oracles immediately posed a problem as the Linked Game involves Link (the same hero as in ALttP) reobtaining the Master Sword. To say nothing of A Link Between Worlds. It’s a pity, but at this point it’s simply best to ignore A Link to the Past’s closing lines.