Having Link be the only Legend Of Zelda character to appear on this list feels a bit deceptive, really. The entire main cast of the series deserves equal recognition for how iconic they are. So here's a quick shout-out to Zelda, Ganondorf, the Gorons, Zoras and yes, even Tingle - that annoying little shish-kebab. Link gets top billing here because he's the poster boy for the Zelda series as a whole, and the conduit in which the player gets to experience Hyrule in all of its utopian glory. But besides that, the Hero Of Time's sage green attire - coupled with a Hylian shield in one hand and the Master Sword in the other - forms one of the most recognisable icons in video game history. No matter how drastic Link's redesigns have been over the years (Wind Waker being the obvious one), you'll always know who you're looking at just from a quick glance. He's the hero we need and the hero we've continued to have for almost three decades. Here's to another three.
Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.
