Tetra (The Legend of Zelda)
| Princess Zelda | |
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| The Legend of Zelda character | |
Zelda, as she is seen in Twilight Princess
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| First game | The Legend of Zelda (1986) |
| Created by | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Voiced by (English) |
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| Voiced by (Japanese) |
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| Portrayed by | Diane Burns/Annie Ward (Zelda's Adventure) |
Princess Zelda is the titular character in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in its original entry in 1986. The name has applied to many female members of Hyrule's royal family, which includes several distinct characters in Hyrule legend.
Though she is the eponymous character, her story role is often that of donor or damsel in distress. The player instead controls Link, the series' central protagonist, and usually focuses on defeating Ganon (or Ganondorf), the series' main antagonist. Many Zelda games adopt the classic princess-and-dragon premise of chivalric literature: Zelda is usually kidnapped or imprisoned by Ganon, prompting Link to come to her rescue. Some games in the series have emphasized Zelda's magical abilities and importance to the functioning of Hyrule, demonstrating that she is more than capable of taking care of herself. In several games, she is one of the Sages, whose work is essential to defeating Ganon; in others, she adopts alternative personae in order to take a more active role in her kingdom; and in some, she is a self-sacrificing princess regnant. Zelda's alter egos include the ninja Sheik in Ocarina of Time and the pirate Tetra in The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass.
According to Shigeru Miyamoto, co-creator of The Legend of Zelda series, Princess Zelda's name was inspired by that of Zelda Fitzgerald, an American novelist, dancer, and socialite, as well as the wife of fellow novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. Miyamoto explains, "[Fitzgerald] was a famous and beautiful woman from all accounts, and I liked the sound of her name. So I took the liberty of using her name for the very first Zelda title." Ben Reeves of Game Informer elaborated that the "name Zelda (alternately Selda or Segula) might not be used much anymore, but this old Yiddish name means 'blessed, happy, or lucky.'"
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