With the announcement that Breath of the Wild will be receiving a sequel, the trailer for which heavily stars Princess Zelda, many have started to wonder and speculate if she will be the main protagonist and playable character of the smash hit’s sequel.
Of course, fans have been asking for a playable Zelda for years, reversing the damsel-in-distress trope and placing Link in the captive position and Zelda as the hero. Unfortunately, it seems Nintendo has been hesitant to make a main series game where Zelda is the playable hero. Luckily, it’s not completely impossible to find her as a playable character in some games from time to time. Here are all the Legend of Zelda games where that’s possible.
6 Smash Bros.
Of course, the most straightforward way to play as the Princess is to pick up a copy of Smash Bros. Princess Zelda was made a playable fighter in the Smash series in Melee and has been in every game since. In Smash 4, Zelda and her alter-ego, Sheik, were split into two separate characters. Maybe in the future even more Zelda characters will be added.
Zelda has had a few different looks, starting in Melee with a design inspired by her appearance in Ocarina of Time. Her current design is modeled after her Skyward Sword design.
Zelda is a floaty character that mainly uses magic attacks for her moves. Din’s Fire, Nayru’s Love, and Farore’s Wind seem to form the basis for most of her special attacks, and she can summon a Phantom from her role in Spirit Tracks to attack other players.
5 CDI Games
In the early 1990s, Philips created three Zelda games as part of a deal with Nintendo for their CD-i format. These games went on to become some of the most hated and ridiculed games in industry history, mainly because of their terrible cutscenes and awful controls. The storyline, enemy combat, and other elements were also panned by fans and critics alike. However, their terrible quality made them instant memes and their legacy persists today.
One of the things about these games that many people either don’t know or forget is that Zelda was a playable character in not just one of them, but two. The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda’s Adventure both star the Princess as the main protagonist, on a mission to save Link.
4 Spirit Tracks
As mentioned, Princess Zelda is capable of summoning or producing a Phantom in her newest Smash incarnation. This comes from her role in Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS. In this game, Zelda’s soul is separated from her physical body, and she spends most of the game as Link’s travel companion in spirit form.
As such, she’s capable of “possessing” the large Phantom guards and using them to help solve puzzles and move Link along. Because of this, Zelda is technically a playable character in the game. It’s in a small role, of course, but it’s the closest to being a playable character in the main series that Zelda has ever been.
3 Hyrule Warriors
In one of the most underrated moves Nintendo has made for the Zelda series, they paired with Koei Tecmo to create a crossover game between Zelda and Dynasty Warriors. This side-game is a hack and slash style action game that uses locations, characters, items, and enemies from the Zelda series.
Many fan-favorite characters from the Zelda series are playable in Hyrule Warriors, from obvious choices like Midna or Ganondorf to surprise appearances from characters like Agitha and Ravio. But, one of the most well-done character designs has to go to Princess Zelda herself, who rocks an incredible pink dress and cool new crown.
She wields either a Rapier, the Wind Waker, or the Dominion Rod as her weapons. However, the core Zelda character is not her only appearance. She is also playable as Sheik, Toon Zelda, or Tetra.
2 Cadence of Hyrule
Another incredibly underrated game that slipped by many fans of the Zelda series is the Crypt of the Necrodancer’s spinoff, Cadence of Hyrule. Like Necrodancer, this game requires the player to move, attack, and navigate the world on beat to a music track.
Necrodancer was already an amazing game with a very unique twist, and Cadence of Hyrule builds on this by adding Zelda’s iconic musical scores and characters. It’s a truly fantastic game that will reignite players’ love for Hyrulean music.
Even better, though, is the fact that the player can choose to play as either Link or Zelda, and can switch between them. The top-down style and art direction are very reminiscent of early Zelda games.
1 Breath of the Wild 2 (Hopefully!)
No official answer has been given to fan speculation as of yet, but many are theorizing and hoping that Zelda will be the playable antagonist of Breath of the Wild’s sequel. There are still very few details about the game released to the public, but this hasn’t stopped rumors and speculation from flying left and right.
Whether she would basically be a re-skin of Link or an entirely different playstyle is unknown, but hopefully the latter is the case, should she become playable. Isn’t it about time that Zelda got a true adventure of her own?
NEXT: 10 Breath Of The Wild Mysteries That Still Aren’t Solved
