The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Characters

Link
This is the first Zelda game to introduce a new Link. At the start of the game, Link is a boy living with his uncle who receives a telepathic distress call from Princess Zelda.


 * Badass
 * Baleful Polymorph: Link turns into a pink bunny if you go to the Dark World without the Moon Pearl.
 * Cool Sword
 * Hammerspace: Link wouldn't be able to walk if he had to carry everything in his inventory.
 * The Hero
 * Heroic Mime
 * Hero With Bad Publicity: Kakariko Village has wanted posters for him due to the fact that he was framed for kidnapping Zelda after he rescued her from the castle's dungeon despite the fact it was Agahnim that did the kidnapping and put her in there to begin with.
 * Knight in Shining Armor: But not literally. He's a knight and everything but his armor seems to shine.
 * Lady and Knight: The Knight to Zelda's Lady.
 * Last of His Kind: Link and his Uncle are the last of the Hylian Knights.
 * Heroic Lineage
 * Luckily My Shield Will Protect Me: And there is plenty of shield to use with the Mirror Shield.
 * Mana Shield
 * Nice Hat
 * Pants Free
 * Pointy Ears
 * Rainbow Pimp Gear
 * Sprint Shoes: The Pegasus Boots.
 * Sword of Plot Advancement: Link needs the Master Sword to defeat Agahnim. A good portion of the game is Link gathering the equipment necessary for him to claim the Master Sword.
 * Unfortunate Character Design: His in-game sprite has pink hair, despite official art showing him as blonde.
 * The Voiceless: It's a very rare occasion to hear Link speak.

Princess Zelda

 * Barrier Maiden: As she is a descendant of one of the old Sages.
 * Crystal Prison: Zelda is trapped in one for the first time in the series. The other Maidens are also trapped in crystal prisons as well.
 * Distressed Damsel
 * Everythings Better With Princesses
 * Guest Star Party Member: During the opening sequence, you have to break Zelda out of prison and escape from Hyrule Castle with her.
 * Lady and Knight: The Lady to Link's Knight.
 * Leitmotif: Zelda's Theme. This is its the first appearance in the series.
 * Live Item: After you beat Turtle Rock, you can see Zelda in your inventory screen in a crystal.
 * Pimped Out Dress: This game is one of the aversions for the series where in the official art, Zelda's standard clothes are rather plain. However, she does have a second outfit in the official art that fits this trope.
 * Modest Royalty: In this artwork.
 * Plot Coupon: Zelda is actually one of the second set of plot coupons you have to collect and you can see her in your inventory screen in a crystal.
 * Pointy Ears
 * Save the Princess: Twice in the same game. Zelda starts out already kidnapped at the beginning of the game and you rescue her during the game's opening sequence. When you get the Master Sword after completing the first set of dungeons, Zelda gets kidnapped a second time.
 * Telepathy: The Call to Adventure in the this game is Zelda contacting Link for help telepathically at the beginning of the game.

Agahnim
""Pestilence and drought, uncontrollable even by magic, ravaged the land. The king of Hyrule, after counsel with his sages, ordered an investigation of the Imprisoned Dark World (as the Golden land had come to be known) but the wise men's seal was apparently intact. He offered rewards for anyone who could find the source of these troubles. In answer to these summons a stranger named Agahnim came and quelled the disasters with a previously unseen form of magic." --The A Link to the Past manual"

""Ho ho ho... With this, the seal of the seven sages is at last broken. It is now only a matter of time before evil power covers this land completely...After all, the legendary Hero cannot defeat us, the tribe of evil, when we are armed with the Power of Gold. Ho ho ho... Now, I must go!" -Agahnim"

The main antagonist of A Link to the Past. He is an Evil Sorcerer who masterminded a plot to conquer Hyrule by appearing to be its savior. The king is naturally a Horrible Judge of Character and makes him his adviser. Through false allegiance and his powerful sorcery, he took control of Hyrule Castle and used the Brainwashed soldiers of Hyrule in order to pursue his objective. Agahnim seeks to banish 7 maidens descended from ancient sages to the Dark World so the seal placed by the sages can be broken. When the seal is broken, evil power will cover the land and an ancient threat will rule the world as it intended to long ago.

Unrivaled in terms of magical ability in all of Hyrule, in control of the nation's army and unable to be directly harmed even by the land's blade of legend, Agahnim appears to be unstoppable.

""A mysterious wizard known as Agahnim appeared as from nowhere [...] and with strange magic powers he eliminated the good king of Hyrule.""
 * Amazing Technicolor Population: Agahnim is blue in the official artwork, but has a natural skin tone in-game.
 * The Archmage: Agahnim's magic solved the plagues of Hyrule when no other magic could. He would go on to perform great feats of sorcery, such as mass brainwashing, transporting himself and others between dimensions and utilizing powerful offensive spells.
 * Badass: Agahnim does some very impressive feats of magic.
 * Bad Powers Bad People: Summed up nicely in the below quote from the Prologue.

""After all, the legendary Hero cannot defeat us, the tribe of evil, when we are armed with the Power of Gold.""
 * Demonic Possession: The nature in which Ganon reveals himself, as well as some issues as to why Agahnim would reopen the Dark World if he was Ganon to release him if he was already freed of it anyways, is implied to be more of this trope than Ganon simply disguising himself as such. Later in the series, Ganon does explicitly show the ability to possess people in the form of.
 * Disc One Final Boss
 * Doppleganger Attack: Used in the second fight with him.
 * The Dragon: Agahnim to Ganon.
 * Evil Chancellor: Well, he did betray the king he acted as an adviser for by outright murdering him.
 * Evil Genius: Agahnim's knowledge of sorcery is the key to his power and his plan to imprison the Maidens in the Dark World does succeed despite Link's efforts to stop him.
 * Evil Plan: He plans to undo the Sages' seal. Zelda tells us he is very close to completing his plan right from the beginning of the game.
 * Evil Sorcerer: Arguably the best example in the Legend of Zelda series.
 * Fake King: Agahnim used this position and his powers to complete his objectives. This did not go entirely unnoticed as one castle guard commented, "After Agahnim took over, everyone began to act strangely."
 * Fisher Kingdom: Subverted. We see Agahnim cross from Hyrule to the Dark World, a place which physically alters the appearance of everyone who does not have a Moon Pearl, and Agahnim does not change at all.
 * Good Powers Bad People: Agahnim's powers saved Hyrule from drought and pestilence. Too bad he supplies the image for the Evil Sorcerer Page.
 * Improvised Weapon: The game says the Master Sword is the only thing which can defeat Agahnim. Skilled players can use the Bug Catcher's Net to reflect Agahnim's orb attack back at him, which is obviously Not the Intended Use of the item.
 * This is also an Ascended Glitch with Link being able to use Bottles to reflect some of Ganondorf's attacks in Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.
 * Let No Crisis Go to Waste: Agahnim's actions before the game started brought him much acclaim. He was famous for stopping a blaze and then he saved Hyrule from a rather mysterious pestilence and drought when no one else in the world could.
 * My Death Is Only the Beginning: Twice. Defeating him in Hyrule causes a portal to draw Link into the Dark World. When you defeat him in Ganon's Tower, he.
 * Noblewomans Laugh: "Ho ho ho... Now, I must go!"
 * Nothing Can Stop Us Now: The only person who can stop Agahnim is the Hero of legend. Agahnim seems to think not even the Hero can stop him and his tribe.


 * Not Quite Dead: Link nearly kills Agahnim but the crafty sorcerer sends the hero to the Dark World before Link could finish the job.
 * The Pawn: Agahnim is presented as being Ganon's pawn and is called such by the rescued Maiden in Misery Mire.
 * Psycho Electro
 * Robe and Wizard Hat: The hat isn't pointy but he has more than enough robe to make up for that.
 * Sealed Good in A Can: Agahnim is good at making these. He seals the 7 Maidens inside crystals.
 * Sealed Evil in A Can: Agahnim works to break the seal of the sages. Doing so will unleash evil power across Hyrule.
 * Shock and Awe: Agahnim can summon lightning from his hands. However, it's easy to dodge because he only fires it when standing in the northern part of the room and he doesn't turn to aim it at Link like he does with his other 2 attacks, so Link can just move to the side of the room when he starts charging an attack on the northern side of the room.
 * Sinister Minister: In the Japanese version, he was a priest. This was changed because Nintendo's localizers had not yet outgrown their aversion to using religious terminology and symbolism.
 * Super Powered Alter Ego: Superpowered in the sense of Agahnim being more magical, possibly due to.
 * Sword of Plot Advancement: Agahnim is the reason this exists in the game.
 * Tactical Suicide Boss: Despite having his one reflect-able attack used against him numerous times, Agahnim will continue to use it until he is defeated.
 * Teleport Spam: Agahnim teleports after nearly every attack, making teleporting the most common move he uses in battle.
 * Tempting Fate: Agahnim confidently decrees, "After all, the legendary Hero cannot defeat us, the tribe of evil, when we are armed with the Power of Gold." By the end of the game, Link has done just that.
 * Tennis Boss: The series' very first occurrence of a tennis boss is the first fight against Agahnim.
 * Treacherous Advisor: For aiding Hyrule and its people, the King appointed Agahnim to be his chief adviser. Things didn't go well afterward (see below).
 * The Usurper: Agahnim gets rid of the king and makes Hyrule Castle his base of operations.
 * Villain With Good Publicity: Link gets framed for kidnapping Zelda despite the fact that it was really this guy who at first simply locks her in the castle's dungeon, but later banishes her to the Dark World. Agahnim also has fame for ridding Hyrule of drought and pestilence.
 * Wake Up Call Boss: So the bosses have been fairly easy up to this point. Just a few swipes of the sword and it was over. And now you have a better sword: the Master Sword, the sword of evil's bane. Too bad directly attacking Agahnim with it hurts Link, not Agahnim.
 * You Can't Thwart Stage One: By the time Link bursts into his chamber, he's already sent Zelda away to another realm.

Sahasrahla
The elder of Kakariko Village and a descendant of one of the sages who sealed Ganon. He serves as Link's guide through the game, communicating with him through telepathic tiles (though it seems as though touching the tiles just notifies him of when his assistance is needed, because when Agahnim sends Link to the Dark World Sahasrahla telepathically communicates with Link regarding his current situation despite there being no tile in sight).


 * Ancient Keeper
 * But Thou Must: When he asks you if you want to go find the Master Sword, your choices are "Yeah" and "Of course!"
 * Exposition Fairy: Need help? Touch a special tile on the walls of dungeons and this guy is always there to help. You don't even need to be in the same world as him to do this!
 * The Hermit: The most notable and significant example in the game. He leads Kakariko Village from afar.
 * Hermit Guru: He is called wise and shares his knowledge with Link when needed.
 * Hint System: Sahasrahla is good for a clue or two when Link gets stuck.
 * Mission Control: Sahasrahla guides Link through his quest for the Master Sword.
 * Mr. Exposition
 * The Obi Wan
 * Telepathy: He uses it often when talking to Link when they are not in the same area.
 * Voice With an Internet Connection

Link's Uncle

 * Back From the Dead: In the ending.
 * Badass Mustache
 * Death By Falling Over: Those rats were just too much for your uncle to handle.
 * Heroic Lineage
 * Knight in Shining Armor
 * Mentor Occupational Hazard
 * No Name Given
 * Unnamed Parent: Parental Substitute anyway.
 * The Order: He was once a great knight of Hyrule.
 * Parental Substitute
 * Secret Art: Before he dies he teaches Link his signature Spin Attack which has been passed down their family.
 * Take Up My Sword: He urges Link to do this as he dies.