The Hero is Defeated
A Link to the Past
1991 · Super Nintendo Entertainment System
A Link to the Past begins with a legend from long before it: the Imprisoning War, in which the Seven Sages sealed Ganon away at great cost to the Knights of Hyrule. The Sacred Realm, shaped by Ganon's heart, became the Dark World.
Now Hyrule is troubled. The wizard Agahnim, made the king's advisor, is sending the maidens descended from the Sages into the Dark World to break the seal. Princess Zelda, one of them, calls to Link from the castle dungeon. Link's uncle tells him he is an heir of the Knights of Hyrule. Sahasrahla, an elder of Kakariko Village, sends him after three pendants and the Master Sword in the Lost Woods.
It opens the fallen hero branch. In Hyrule Historia the same Link goes on to Link's Awakening and the Oracle games. Centuries later A Link Between Worlds returns to this Hyrule, where paintings in the castle tell this Link's story.
Starring
- Hero
- Link
- Princess
- Princess Zelda
- Villain
- Agahnim
Where to play it
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System1991 · the original
- Game Boy Advance2002 · with Four Swords
- Wii2006 · Virtual Console
- Wii U2014 · Virtual Console
- Nintendo Switch Online2019
Its place in history
Also connected
- Oracle of Seasons & Oracle of Ages (2001)The same Link, sent by the Triforce to Holodrum and Labrynna
- A Link Between Worlds (2013)The same Hyrule centuries later, with a new Link and Zelda and this game's story told in paintings
Sources
- Hyrule Historia (2011; Dark Horse EN 2013)
- Nintendo official Zelda chronicle (JP, updated Sep 2026)
- Zelda Wiki — Zelda Timeline
- Zelda Wiki — A Link to the Past
- Zelda Wiki — Imprisoning War