How does reincarnation work in the Zelda Universe?

Reincarnation and eternal return are major themes in the Legend of Zelda video games. The three main characters, Link, Zelda and the villain Ganon/Ganondorf, are continuously reincarnated, cursed by the Demon King Demise to refight their battle over and over. That’s the elevator pitch right there.

They’re not the only people to get reincarnated, either. Other recurring characters include the eccentric shopkeeper Beedle, the fairy-obsessed Tingle, the farmer Talon and his daughter Malon. And many others besides.

Except that it’s not as simple as straight-up reincarnation. There are moments, scenes and in-universe comments that complicate it. In some cases, it doesn’t even seem to be reincarnation at all. The whole thing has become a little confusing. So I figured I’d try to theorise my way through it.

Princess Zelda

The most straightforward case is Princess Zelda, whom Nintendo has seemingly decided, with one notable exception, does not get reincarnated. Instead, each Zelda is a descendant of the previous Zelda. They have the same name because families, and royal families in particular, often reuse names.

(The biggest twist of Tears of the Kingdom is that it featured a female member of the Royal family whose name was not Zelda. I digress.)

In Skyward Sword, which serves as a prequel for the series, the Goddess Hylia reincarnates into a human called Zelda (that’s the notable exception), with all subsequent Zeldas being her descendants. Since then, the games have regularly referred to various princesses, in prophetic moments, as the princess with the Blood of the Goddess.

It’s implied as well that the magic powers that the Hyrulean Royal family possesses, and which Princess Zelda in particular possesses, stem from their divine inheritance. Hylia, instead of being continuously reincarnated, seemingly returns to being a Goddess in Breath of the Wild.

This explains why multiple versions of Zelda have, at times, been able to coexist, like in the original two games (which have different Zelda’s but the same Link) and in Tears of the Kingdom where, after some time travel shenanigans, Zelda is able to interact with her equally powerful relative Queen Sonia. Breath and Tears generally imply that every female member of the Royal family has these powers.

Ganondorf

Here’s where it starts to get complicated. The first thing to say is, more often than not, that whenever Ganondorf/Ganon appears, it’s usually the same guy (possibly transformed into a boar demon). He doesn’t get reincarnated, he’s just very long-lived and sometimes gets resurrected. Whenever he gets defeated by Link, he’s normally just sealed in a magical prison of some sort.

There are only two occasions in which Ganondorf has been a different person/possible reincarnation. Four Swords Adventure introduces a new incarnation, Ganon II. Though I’ve heard it theorised, years ago, that Ganon II is actually possessed by the recurring Ganondorf. The Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf also appears to be a new incarnation of the character.

Many of the games have entirely different villains, such as Vaati from Minish Cap and the Four Swords games, and Malladus from Spirit Tracks. This raises the question: Why do only some of the core three reappear? Why do Link and Zelda come back without Ganondorf?

The idea that Zelda is not a reincarnation partially explains this; it may just be Link and Ganon who reappear together. But this is insufficient. Why is Link reappearing on his own, without Ganondorf? Skyward Sword also provides another explanation.

When the Demon King Demise, the villain of Skyward Sword, dies, he curses Link and Zelda (briefly mentioned above). He declares that a reincarnation of his hatred will follow their successors, those with the Blood of the Goddess and the Spirit of the Hero, forever.

So it’s not Demise or Ganondorf that’s getting reincarnated, it’s his hatred. And it apparently haunts Hylia’s descendants. This implies, a point widely debated by Zelda fans, that Vaati and Malladus are reincarnations of his hatred. That would explain Ganondorf/Demise’s absence during those games. Link and Demise are reappearing together, just in different forms.

It raises another problem, though. In Four Swords Adventures, Vaati and Ganon appear simultaneously. They can’t both be reincarnations of Demise’s hatred if they exist at the same time. The prior problem resurfaces: why is Link reincarnating on his own?

I have a potential explanation. The fact that Demise’s curse specifies his hatred living on and being reborn, rather than himself, makes me think that it’s not reincarnation at all. Instead, his hate exists as a disembodied spirit that can possess and/or empower any individual it deems sufficiently scornful to carry out Demise’s work. A Spirit of Hatred that is, to slightly alter the Spirit of the Hero epithet that Link is described with.

When Vaati returns in Four Swords Adventure, escaping his imprisonment within the Four Sword, he’s a mindless monster. I reckon that when he got imprisoned, the Spirit of Hatred abandoned him to find a new host, and without its power, he promptly went insane. That’s why Vaati and Ganon can appear simultaneously; the former no longer has the Spirit of Hatred, the latter does have it.

I have a bit more to say about this, which I’ll get to in the next section. For the moment, I’ll say that I think this theory improves Ganondorf’s character.

In The Wind Waker, it’s explained and implied that Ganondorf was initially driven by a commitment to his people. They lived in a harsh and deadly desert, whilst Hyrule was lush and green. He grew jealous and hateful of Hyrule’s comfort and ease of life. Then, Skyward Sword came along and said, “nah, he’s just a reincarnated demon.”

Don’t get me wrong, I actually really like Skyward Sword, it was my first Zelda game, but I think the former explanation is more interesting. My theory reconstitutes it. He was initially motivated by his jealousy of Hyrule’s prosperity, and his resulting anger made him an ideal host for the Spirit of Hatred.

Link

From Skyward Sword onwards, the games make repeated reference to the Spirit of the Hero (as briefly mentioned). This spirit is forged and tempered during Skyward Sword’s Silent Realm gameplay segments, which Link does to become worthy of the Triforce and Master Sword.

The ‘Spirit of the Hero’ lines can be interpreted in two ways, I reckon. It might just be hyperbole, a prophetic way of saying that the various Links are reincarnations of the guy from Skyward Sword (the Manga ‘Chosen Hero’ isn’t canon). But that doesn’t seem possible.

In A Link Between Worlds, there’s an old character called Gramps who’s heavily implied to be a previous incarnation of Link. Namely, he’s the Link from A Link to the Past (and several other games). There’s no ambiguity here, as with Vaati and Ganon II. Two versions of Link are appearing simultaneously, ruling out reincarnation in the standard sense.

Instead, I’d say that the Spirit of the Hero is a literal spirit entity that, in times of crisis, seeks out and empowers a suitably courageous host. That’s why two Links can appear together. Gramps, with his hero days behind him, is the old host, and the young Link the new host. (Gramps probably lost the Spirit when he destroyed Koholint Island in Link’s Awakening.)

This goes hand in hand with my above theory about the Spirit of Hatred. It’s a reasonably safe assumption that the Hero and Demon’s reincarnation cycles work in pretty much the same way. So, whenever the Spirit of Hatred returns to plague Hyrule and the Goddess’ descendants, the Spirit of the Hero returns in tandem. Both spiritual entities then seek out and empower suitable candidates to continue their ancient battle.

Other characters

Okay, that accounts for Zelda, Ganon and Link, but there are a few other characters that continually reappear. And if the main three characters don’t reincarnate in the standard sense, then it seems unlikely that random NPCs do. I’m going to quickly run through some of them here.

Malon and her father, Talon, usually don’t have a particularly big role when they appear. I’m inclined to say, therefore, that this is largely a coincidence. They’re from a prominent family that owns and operates the kingdom’s primary ranch, supplying horses to the Royal family and Knights. And like the Royal family, they often reuse names.

This probably applies to several minor characters, like Dampe. Families or areas that often reuse the same name. I reckon something similar applies to Zelda’s guardian Impa as well. Impa doesn’t get reincarnated; rather, Impa is a common name amongst her tribe, which is tasked with protecting the goddess’s descendants.

Then there’s Tingle. The fairy-obsessed character who wears a skin-tight green costume and appears in multiple games. I’m kind of inclined to say that Tingle is de facto immortal, or just magical enough to live a long time anyway. Perhaps this is a result of his fairy obsession and an ongoing attempt to become one. He keeps finding ways to prolong his life.

Finally, the eccentric shop owner Beedle. I have no evidence for this whatsoever, but as I was writing, I decided that Beedle is a god. I can’t back this up in any way, and I’m definitely wrong. But the idea crossed my mind, and I’m going to roll with it. He’s the God of Salesmen. Not a powerful god like Hylia or the Golden Goddesses. He’s a very minor deity, but it does make him immortal. And that’s why he shows up so frequently. It’s also why he can travel so fast (he’s always where you need him) and is strong enough to power an airship through pedal power in Skyward Sword.

Final Thought

And that’s the note I’ve decided to end on. There are two spiritual entities. One haunts Hyrule, constantly following the Royal family and trying to seize the Triforce. The other returns in tandem to defend Hyrule and the Triforce. And Beedle is a god.

-Dexter