Top 10 Powerful Female Zelda Characters

While Link may be the courageous male protagonist, that doesn’t mean there aren’t females equally as powerful at heart. These women conquer Hyrule with both their love and warrior skills. Here are the top 10 powerful female characters in The Legend of Zelda!

10. Mipha (Breath of the Wild)

Even before Mipha became the Zora Champion, she already had big shoes to fill. She was the Zora Princess, sister of the beloved Sidon and a successor of the famous Sage, Ruto. Her people loved her very much, and for a reason: her gentleness and fragrant love deeply affected all of them for the better. Her healing power acts as the direct manifestation of who she was as a person.

Mipha was also intelligent, strong at heart, and perceptive. Becoming the Champion was no easy job: her strong relationships with her people and family told her not to go, but she did so for Hyrule and for Link. And in the role, she proved her worth under her meekness as the first Champion to master her Divine Beast. She also was the first to catch onto the fact that Link was struggling in the position of Zelda’s royal guard.

9. Urbosa (Breath of the Wild)

Like Mipha, Urbosa was already in the position of leader when Zelda requested her to become a Champion. But that’s not all. She also was close with Zelda’s mother, the late Queen of Hyrule, and was deeply grieved by her death. She saw the newborn princess and watched her in concern as she struggled to awaken her sealing powers. Therefore, she felt an obligation to protect and care for the princess with her life.

Urbosa also wielded great fighting skill: she had the ability to control the essence of lightning and thunder itself with the talent of “Urbosa’s Fury.” She coupled this with her close-ranged melee combat prowess.

8. Riju (Breath of the Wild)

Riju never fails to impress. She is a great example of a well-rounded character, being witty, caring, and most of all, a virtuous leader at the tender age of twelve. That’s not even a teenager yet! Since her mother passed away when she was very young, she had no choice but to inherit the position of the Gerudo Chieftain. But, even being this high-strung and a relative of the legendary Urbosa, Riju is everything but boastful. She evidently doubts her ability to govern her people properly at such a young age.

7. Hilda (A Link Between Worlds)

Though players may originally mistake her as a villainous character, Hilda is what you would call a “deep” villain. She has her share of evil impressions, but she’s also relatable. She’s a good leader. She only uses her extreme measures to save her kingdom rather than act out of vengeance and a will to destroy. As the Lorule counterpart of the gracious Princess Zelda, she was bound by fate to watch her kingdom collapse. The only way to save it? Get Link’s Triforce of Courage. And that’s where she gets villain-ish.

She demands Link give over the Triforce, but the story winds up with [spoiler] Hyrule and Lorule both being restored to peace. She becomes a good guy, as her kingdom is now returned to peace, and goes on to rule her people as the leader she’s always strived to be.

6. Medli (Wind Waker)

Medli is a truly underrated character. She possesses all strong characteristics as the Sage of Earth: determination, fearlessness, compassion, and love. She’s worked her whole life to master the Rito Harp, while she puts her life at risk to take care of the Rito Prince Komali. Even though dungeons are dangerous places, and she recognizes she’s not competent in flying yet, she accompanies Link to the Earth Temple and helps him solve certain puzzles.

Even when she confronts her true destiny as a Sage, she still stands strong and does everything she can to help her allies. She does this all in a buildup to the grand finale, where she helps Link and Zelda defeat Ganondorf and save Hyrule.

5. Impa (Skyward Sword, Hyrule Warriors, BOTW)

Ever since A Link to the Past, Impa has proved time and time again to be a powerful character at heart. She has always been Princess Zelda’s loyal protector and Link’s assistant on his seemingly never-ending quest to rescue Hyrule. Especially in Breath of the Wild, the Hyrule Warriors games, and Skyward Sword, she plays the role of a compelling character as she does everything in her power to guard those she loves. Regardless of whether she’s a wise old nursemaid, a competent Sheikah fighter, or Zelda’s bodyguard, she remains an unforgettable presence in the Legend of Zelda.

4. Midna (Twilight Princess)

Midna’s arc is one of the most fascinating in all of Zelda. It all started with this random dude called Zant who turned the Twilight Princess Midna into an adorable little imp, before she teamed up with Wolf Link to take on Zant and Ganondorf. This just makes her [spoiler] sacrifice to fix the Mirror of Twilight all the more heartbreaking, securing the barrier between Hyrule and her home, the Twilight Realm.

She basically evolved 360º throughout the course of one game. She was a bratty, sassy little creature at the beginning of TP, but then turned into an incredibly heartfelt, caring, and helpful ally to Link as the storyline progressed. Rather than making Hyrule feel her pain, she used her tragic loss to prevent Hyrule from experiencing the same.

3. Nabooru (Ocarina of Time)

Nabooru was originally a pirate, but she didn’t stay one for long. She didn’t let her identity as a Gerudo force her to bow down to Ganondorf. She finds her true purpose as the Sage of Spirit, breaking the buccaneering traditions of her race to save Hyrule. Unlike many other Gerudo of her time, she knew right from wrong and refused to submit to evil, no matter the threat. Fortunately, Nabooru is remembered even thousands of years later for her moral strength by being Divine Beast Vah Naboris’s namesake. Urbosa even writes about her in her diary.

2. Tetra (Wind Waker)

Technically, Tetra is Zelda, but she’s too much of her own character to be clumped with the princess. Like Midna, Tetra experienced a dramatic character arc throughout the course of Wind Waker. She started off as a ruthless, demanding pirate captain who took on a completely different personality and role than Princess Zelda. However, as she spent more time with Link and journeyed across Hyrule, she changed into a caring ally to Link who even helped him defeat Ganondorf. And who doesn’t love her witty humor? Both as Tetra and Zelda, she cracks some much-needed jokes!

1. Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)

Breath of the Wild‘s Princess Zelda refused to conform with the damsel-in-distress she had been in the past. In fact, she redefined what Princess Zelda meant to The Legend of Zelda as a whole. She became a heroine of her own alongside Link, struggling to awaken her power and protect her land. And she’s not the perfect princess model, either. She often lost her temper under pressure and felt like a failure when the Champions died. But, most of all, she overcame her weaknesses to embrace her powers at the last moment and do the right thing.

She’s also got her silly moments, as shown in Link’s 13 memories. Who can lose sight of the time she tried to feed Link a live frog? She’s also a big nerd, becoming the first Princess Zelda to be a passionate scholar and researcher. The Hylian princess has officially joined the techy geek group!