Zelda games come in many shapes and sizes. They appear on both handhelds and home consoles. They span massive 3D adventures, dense top-down quests, and even a side-scrolling action RPG. Each new installment in the storied series can be very different from the last, and yet there is one thread that is a constant throughout all of the main games: the protagonist, Link. He is the hero of every game, the player character in each installment. And it is he who makes The Legend of Zelda my favorite series of video games. But what is it about Link that makes him such an icon?