The Legend of Zelda’s Link has always been associated with being the conventional and ideal video game hero. He’s the one who gets endlessly reincarnated and can wield the Master Sword, after all. However, the means to his ends seem to be more than a little destructive, and sometimes the small things that he does on his own time aren’t the most morally upright.
He doesn’t seem too awfully bothered by it - the destruction and pain is soon forgotten, and he goes on as if nothing happened. But today, we’re not forgetting! Here are 10 of the most evil things Link has done that everyone just seems to forget about.
10 Steal Lots of Rupees
Essentially smashing everyone’s piggy banks as a “Saving the World” tax is just a wee bit off putting. You could almost bet that the amount of rupees that Link steals from everyone’s earthware per Zelda game is innumerable.
The worst part is someone has to keep making pots for them to get smashed by some green hooded jerk who wants the money inside. That’s even more value lost as each pot probably had to be handmade in the Zelda universe.
9 Link’s Awakening
This frequently passed over Zelda game might have the most sinister of Link’s actions within the entirety of the Zelda franchise.
Link’s ship crashes on a paradise-like island where he’s told by an owl that the only way he can get out is by awakening the egg atop the mountain. That’s the game. Pretty simple and innocent-sounding… until you realize at the end of the game that awakening the egg basically Thanos snaps the whole island. Every single friend you make, resident, and happy person in paradise dead and gone forever. That’s a wee bit dark.
8 The Many Deaths of Termina
It’s impossible to single-pass the whole game in Majora’s Mask without time travel, meaning that Termina will end in an apocalypse several times before the end of the game. While many times are either apart of the story or unintentional, we’re pointing the finger at the player for those times they procrastinated to farm rupees for that brand new mask or item at Termina’s expense.
The player makes Link evil in this case because all of Termina is getting sacrificed for the sake of getting another mask. For shame!
7 Ruin a Songster’s Life
For the sake of progress in Ocarina of Time, you have to jump back and forth in time to a miserable songster in the windmill, who tells you his whole life was ruined by a boy who played a song on an ocarina that essentially ruined his life.
He then teaches you the Song of Storms. Of course, you can go back in time after learning this song and play it in the windmill (which will totally mess it up), meaning Link must be the boy that ruined this poor man’s life.
6 Creating Demise
The never-ending fight against the scaley puppet throughout Skyward Sword is just the precursor to the evil that always reincarnates in the Zelda universe, Ganondorf. By not finding a way to end Demise, Link and others have effectively subjected their civilization to apocalyptic consequences over and over again for generations.
5 Terrorize a Town
In Twilight Princess you get to switch between man and wolf, and people like the wolf a whole lot less than you. When entering Hyrule, everyone screams and runs off when you enter as a wolf, and guards come running in, fearfully pointing spears at you by the dozens.
You can do this as many times as you want. It’s possible to spend hours just harassing the townspeople and chasing them around as some village monster, making them fear for their lives.
4 Grave Robbing
Do you want extra health in Ocarina of Time? Well, there’s a heart piece in a random grave, so go start moving all gravestones and take whatever money you can find from these dead people as you go.
This is another well passed over evil act as Link goes around disrespecting people’s final lying places, it’s no wonder he summons Poes like crazy! He is literally robbing them of their belongings.
3 Deku Genocide
In Majora’s Mask, it’s learned that the Dekus have their own society and can actually talk. They are a common enemy in grassy or forest areas, and frankly annoying if you’re looking to do any puzzle near them.
But in turn, throughout the hundreds of Dekus players kill throughout a Zelda game, you are also completely annihilating their population just because an ancient puzzle happens to be around their territory. It’s a grim thing, to say the very least.
2 Curse a Kid
In Skyward Sword you get a chance to completely ruin the life of one of your lifetime bullies. One of them entrusts Link with a love letter that he is to deliver. Of course, if you do, someone taller and more handsome comes in and admits his feelings. But you also have the option to give it to The Legend of Zelda classic, the hand in the toilet.
By giving the love letter to the hand in the toilet, you essentially eternally curse him with a spirit who is infatuated with him and constantly haunts him, putting him in constant fear.
1 The Pun
The worst possible evil Link has canonically committed would be “the pun” in Breath of The Wild. In the desert area, you can rent sand seals from the Gerudo to travel around. When you want to rent one you’re given the dialogue option of “Let’s Seal the Deal.” Absolutely evil and disgusting!
The Gerudo will comment on his statement, meaning this is a canonical moment where Link says something. Even worse, this implies that the snarky and annoying pun-based personality from the Legend of Zelda cartoon could be an accurate representation of what Link acts like. Perhaps it’s better if Link stays silent if that’s what comes out his mouth.
NEXT: 5 Classic Legend Of Zelda Games That Deserve A Remake (& 5 That Don’t)
