The Legend of Zelda has been one of Nintendo's most popular franchises since its debut in 1986. Over the course of the series' many mainline games, the fictional land of Hyrule has seen destruction, war, calamity, and chaos. Often, the conflict in these games is centered around the series' titular character, Princess Zelda.
The games usually feature players controlling Link, the hero destined to save Zelda from evil. However, Link's heroism is usually in response to a lapse of judgement for Zelda, or sometimes an act of naive bravery. These ten moments throughout the Legend of Zelda franchise are some of the princess's biggest blunders.
10 Zelda Flies Into A Twister
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, released for the Nintendo Wii in 2011, is the earliest game in the Zelda timeline. Because of this, the story is quite different from many other Zelda games, finding Link and Zelda as childhood friends on the floating island Skyloft. However, the story quickly treads familiar territory for Zelda fans.
Following the Wing Ceremony that kicks off the game, Zelda accidentally flies her Loftwing into a twister. This flight error forces Link into action, even when Zelda is rescued on the surface world by a Sheikah named Impa. However, it's Zelda fall from Skyloft that puts her, Link, and evil in constant battle throughout generations.
9 Zelda Stands Up To Vaati
Compared to other female Nintendo characters, Zelda is anything but a helpless damsel-in-distress. While her capture is often the inciting incident for Zelda games, the princess often fights to defend herself against evil. An example of this happening is in The Minish Cap, which released for the GameBoy Advance in 2004.
The Minish Cap is one of the few games in the Zelda franchise to not feature Ganon as the main antagonist. That honor instead goes to Vaati, a magician who comes to Hyrule to steal the Light Force. At the game's beginning, Zelda attempts to defend her homeland, but fails when Vaati quickly turns her to stone.
8 Zelda Sends Link Back In Time
Zelda plays a prominent role, as always, in Ocarina of Time, considered by many to be the best entry in the series. Link initially meets her as a child, before he is trapped in the Temple of Time for seven years. When Link reunites with Zelda in the future, she's masquerading as Sheik, a warrior who teaches Link songs for his ocarina.
However, Zelda dooms her timeline at the end of the game. Once Link defeats Ganon, Zelda sends him back in time to relive the youth he missed. However, according to the opening of The Wind Waker, this decision forces Ganon to later return and take over Hyrule, this time without the Hero of Time to save them.
7 Zelda Imprisons Ganon
From Ocarina of Time, the Zelda timeline splits three ways. In one timeline where Link is defeated in battle against Ganon, a descendent of Zelda imprisons the evil king in the Dark World. However, this decision predictably leads to more trouble for Hyrule when the evil wizard Agahnim sets his sights on freeing Ganon.
Because she is a descendant of the Seven Sages, Agahnim kidnaps Zelda at the start of the game. However, Zelda is thankfully able to save herself and the other descendants of sages thanks to a telepathic connection with Link. Without that, Zelda's lineage probably wouldn't have survived A Link to the Past.
6 Zelda Fights With Her Brother
The Adventure of Link was the second installment in the Zelda franchise, following its NES debut. Zelda plays a very minor role in this game, appearing at the start after being cursed to sleep eternally. Therefore, Link sets out to break the curse and revive Zelda, though the initial curse is caused by Zelda's steadfast-ness.
According to the manual of The Adventure of Link, Zelda's brother, the prince, had searched all across Hyrule for the Triforce so that he could keep Hyrule's peace. However, a wizard convinced him that his sister knew the object's location. Because Zelda refused to give it up, the wizard cursed Zelda in a fit of rage.
5 Zelda Surrenders Hyrule To Zant
Twilight Princess takes place after the events of Majora's Mask, which Zelda does not appear in. Prior to the events of the game, an evil ruler named Zant from the Twilight Realm invades Hyrule. Even though she does this to save herself and the people of Hyrule, Zelda forfeits her throne and willfully allows Zant to usurp her.
Because of Zelda's decision, Hyrule is cast over by twilight, and the princess is imprisoned in Hyrule Tower. Thanks to the twilight, all the citizens of Hyrule are turned into spirits except for Zelda, due to the Triforce of Wisdom she possesses. Again, it's Link's arrival to rescue her and Hyrule that frees everyone from this curse.
4 Zelda Hides In Hyrule Castle
Princess Zelda spends most of The Wind Waker disguised as a pirate captain named Tetra. It's not until her and Link visit the ruins of Hyrule Castle, frozen in time beneath the Great Sea, that the truth is revealed. After a meeting with the King of Hyrule, who had assumed the form of Link's boat, Tetra is transformed into her true self.
While Link and the King set off to gather the pieces of the Triforce of Courage, Zelda chooses to remain hidden in the undersea Hyrule Castle. However, this choice proves foolish when Ganondorf's minions later find her and capture her. After assembling the Triforce, Link is forced to rescue her from Ganon's Tower.
3 Zelda Explores The Wrong Ship
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to The Wind Waker, which ends with Link and Zelda, disguised again as Tetra, setting sail. In Phantom Hourglass, Tetra appears at the beginning of the game while exploring a mysterious ghost ship. Predictably, this exploration goes south, and Tetra is kidnapped.
When Link finally finds her, Tetra has been turned to stone. Therefore, Link sets out to free her, which results in his defeat of the evil phantom known as Bellum. Once Link defeats Bellum, him and Tetra reawaken on the deck of the ghost ship, realizing no time has passed from the game's start, though whether this is true is a mystery.
2 Zelda Loses Her Physical Body
Spirit Tracks is the follow-up to Phantom Hourglass, though it takes place generations after its predecessor. Zelda has resumed her role as Princess of Hyrule, who is visited by Link at the start of the game to appoint Link as a train conductor. Zelda uses this opportunity to ask Link to help her find the missing Spirit Tracks.
After escaping the castle, Link and Zelda are ambushed by Chancellor Cole, Zelda's servant. Zelda is attacked by Cole, who kidnaps her physical body so that he can resurrect the demon king Malladus. Thankfully, Zelda's spirit is able to escape and inhabit the armor of Phantoms, which she uses to help Link on his journey.
1 Zelda Lets Link Sacrifice Himself
Link is nothing if not courageous, and that remains true in the franchise's most recent entry, Breath of the Wild. 100 years before the game begins, Link and Zelda joined forces to fight Calamity Ganon. Due to the duo's growth as friends, Link heroically sacrifices himself to save Zelda from death by Calamity Ganon.
Because of Link's sacrifice, Zelda must use her legendary powers to transport him to the Shrine of Resurrection. As a result of their failed attempt to defeat Ganon, Zelda imprisons herself and the demon king in Hyrule Castle for 100 years. It's only through the courage of Link that they finally defeat Ganon all those years later.