The Did You Know Gaming? Team Investigates Why Link Looks Like an Elf
Posted on August 21 2018 by Rod Lloyd
Link, the hero of the Legend of Zelda series, is one of the most iconic video game characters of all time. His trademark green tunic, green cap, and pointed ears are instantly recognizable by generations of gamers. But as emblematic as Link is to the landscape of gaming, many people outside of the medium may just see our hero as a generic elf character. So why does Link look so much like an elf? The team behind the Did You Know Gaming? channel on YouTube recently set out to answer that question by exploring the real-world and in-game reasons for Link’s visual design.
PeanutButterGamer of Did You Know Gaming? and NormalBoots examines the various influences and considerations that contributed to Link’s iconic design in The Legend of Zelda. He begins by exploring the in-universe explanations for Link’s elf-like design, detailing Link’s heritage as a member of the Hylian tribe and the events of Skyward Sword establishing the hero’s classic green tunic. PBG then discusses the various real-world influences on Link’s appearance, with Disney’s Peter Pan being one of the most notable.
This video served as a pilot episode for a new video series for the newly re-launched NormalBoots YouTube Channel. This new series, to be titled “Your Questions Answered,” would have investigated viewer questions surrounding video games. However, the team behind Did You Know Gaming? and NormalBoots decided not to expand the concept into a full series and simply uploaded this episode to the DYKG? channel.
Did you learn anything new about Link from this video? Would you have liked to see Your Questions Answered expanded to a full series? Let us know in the comments below.
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
