Over the years, Link from The Legend of Zelda has taken various forms. From child to baby face in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker looking more brooding and more mature Twilight Princess, Link has always seemed rather young. That said, his actual age is quite ambiguous. Similar to other video game heroes, like Mario, Link hasn’t aged much over the years. As a hero of time, he is more of an archetype than a person – both ageless and not.
Although the games themselves often don’t specify Link’s exact age, there are several reasons why his age may be important. For starters, fans of the show might want to figure this out so they can feel more comfortable deciding on Link’s favorite romantic pairings. His age also informs his character, as many Zelda games center on coming-of-age stories in which Link also discovers his power during a period of adolescence. Here’s what we know about Link’s age.
Image: Nintendo via Polygon
How old is Link from The Legend of Zelda?
On some level, there is no real right answer to the question. Link is not a single individual. “Link” is the name given to a hero chosen by the goddesses to stand against evil. The bond we know is more like a narrative archetype of a character from a decades-long series than a specific person. For this reason, Link does not have a single age or design. However, through developer interviews, official guides, and context given in games, we can identify at least a few more concrete answers if we want to know more about Link’s age in a specific game.
It’s safe to say that Link is generally younger and under the age of 18, regardless of his incarnation. Hyrule Historia says Link is 10 years old in the first game, The Legend of Zelda. In Link’s Adventurethe hero is 16 years old. In an interview, says Eiji Aonuma the link in Twilight Princess at 17 years old. According to an Iwata request with the development team of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time quoted by Zelda Wikithe link in Ocarina travel between 9 and 16 years old.
Image: Nintendo via YouTube/GTS13
How old is Link in The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild?
Unlike most Zelda games, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gives us a pretty solid age for Link via a few clues. For starters, a memories cutscene depicts Zelda being 17, so it’s likely Link is the same age, due to the similarities in their designs. However, we also get another more concrete clue about his age. In the same scene, Zelda mentions that someone must be at least 17 years old to climb Mount Lanayru and visit the Source of Wisdom. In breath of the wild, Link climbs Mount Lanayru and visits the spring, suggesting he is at least 17 years old. If we take into account that Link wakes up from a 100-year-old slumber at the start of the game, Link would be around 117 years old.
