Princess Zelda

Princess Zelda (ゼルダ姫, Princess Zelda) is the titular character of The Legend of Zelda series. Unlike the majority of Nintendo characters, there are several, distinct incarnations of Princess Zelda seen throughout The Legend of Zelda series. Regardless, most share the same status as the crown princess of Hyrule, the setting for the vast majority of the series.

Other hallmarks shared by the various iterations of Zelda are their possession of both inherent magical abilities and the Triforce of Wisdom, although these are not depicted universally. While earlier games depicted Princess Zelda as a damsel-in-distress, a number of modern games have depicted her as an ally, companion, and love interest to the series' protagonist, Link.

Zelda made her Super Smash Bros. debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Like Link, however, Zelda is playable in name only, owing to different incarnations (Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and A Link to the Past/A Link Between Worlds) appearing throughout the Super Smash Bros. series.

Princess Zelda's first appearance was in The Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System, where she served as the damsel-in-distress for Link to rescue from the evil monster known as Ganon. Within the series' chronology, however, Zelda makes her first appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword; this game is notably the only one where Zelda is not a princess, due to Hyrule's royalty having yet to be established during the game's events. Instead, she is the goddess Hylia reborn as a mortal, who chooses her childhood friend Link as her hero like Hylia did with her own chosen hero.

Zelda has appeared in some capacity in every installment of The Legend of Zelda series, with the exception of Link's Awakening, where she is only mentioned briefly, and Tri Heroes, where she is referenced via an outfit. While she has typically assumed this role in subsequent games, modern depictions of Zelda have seen her assume an active role in Link's final battles. Notable examples include The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Spirit Tracks and Breath of the Wild.

It is worth noting that while there have been multiple games within The Legend of Zelda series, it has not always been the same Princess Zelda who appears in each installment, with this same notion being shared with Link. This is evident by the fact that there are multiple timelines within the series, wherein many games typically feature a new Zelda. By extension, Zelda's age has varied across the series: she appears as a young girl in some games, and as a teenager or young adult in others. Ocarina of Time notably featured Zelda being portrayed as both a child and an adult in the same game.

Similarly, Zelda's design often varies between games, but she is most consistently depicted as a classically beautiful princess with long, blonde hair and pointed ears, the latter of which is typical of Hylians. Even these traits are not universal, however, as she sometimes appears as a brunette, or with a shorter hairstyle. She most often wears a floor length royal dress with an elaborate design, which is predominantly colored pink or purple, alongside white and occasionally gold."

She may also appear under the guise of Sheik, her alternate identity

"Sheik is a Sheikah who debuted in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Unlike Impa, the only other Sheikah seen in the game, Sheik's voice is muffled and her face is concealed, which make her virtually unrecognizable.

Sheik first appears before Link soon after his spirit is unsealed after being contained within the Chamber of Sages for seven years. Upon meeting Link, Sheik reveals that now that he is old enough to properly be the Hero of Time and has acquired the Light Medallion from Rauru, the Sage of Light, he must also awaken five other Sages and acquire their respective Medallions in order to become powerful enough to stop Ganondorf and save Hyrule.

Following this, Sheik appears before Link at various instances, and uses her harp to teach him warp songs to help him on his quest. In addition to teaching Link the songs, she imparts words of wisdom to him before mysteriously disappearing each time, typically via the explosive flash of a Deku Nut.

When all six Sages are awakened, Link arrives at the Temple of Time near the end of the game and is greeted by Sheik, who uses the Triforce of Wisdom to reveal herself as Princess Zelda. It is generally assumed that Sheik is a magically-induced transformation, which is reinforced by Sheik's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and the manga adaptation of Ocarina of Time."

via Smashwiki