Dark Link

Dark Link
The Dark Link-inspired Dark Armor Set in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
A boss in	Melee Brawl SSB4
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Console of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom Disk System)
Location	Temple Bridge of Eldin
Article on Zelda Wiki	Dark Link

Dark Link (ダークリンク, Dark Link), also known as Shadow Link, is a dark doppelgänger of Link that appears in multiple Zelda titles, including Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.

Origin

Dark Link in Ocarina of Time.

Dark Link's origin is shrouded in mystery, and he is sometimes believed to be a creation of Ganondorf. Dark Link's strength and abilities differ in the games he has appeared in. In most of Dark Link's appearances, he appears to know every technique Link knows or has learned and can effectively match and counter his attacks; other games also show that he is capable of using Link's items as well.

Dark Link's design varies between games. In his earliest appearances, such as The Adventure of Link and Ocarina of Time, he appears as a completely black version of Link, sometimes with glowing red eyes. After Dark Link made a cameo appearance as the Dark Interlopers in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, he started being depicted with various gray shades in his color scheme, occasionally including white hair.

Hyrule Warriors features dark versions of many characters, including Young Link and Toon Link. While Dark Link himself does not appear in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Dark Armor Set is based upon his updated appearance in Ocarina of Time 3D.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Dark Link as he appears in Melee.

In Melee, Dark Link is fought by the player controlling a red-colored Link in the event match Event 18: Link's Adventure. This version of Dark Link is an allusion to the final boss of Zelda II, Link's Shadow; the playable Link's red palette swap likely references the Reflect spell from Zelda II, which turned his tunic from green to red. An all-black character does not appear anywhere else in the game, and aside from the texture and lack of voice effects, he is identical to Link. However, this texture can be applied to any character via the debug menu or the black character glitch. If playing as Dark Link through these methods, his icon and voice will be the same as regular Link; the event match's settings can be recreated in the debug menu by setting his sub-color setting to 3 and status modifier setting to 18 (respectively, dark icon and no voice).

In addition to Dark Link himself appearing, a Dark Link-inspired alternate costume is available for both Link and Young Link. Unlike later installments, only Link's tunic changes, with his eyes, skin, and hair remaining unchanged.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Dark Link as he appears in event matches in Brawl.

Dark Link appears as an alternate costume for Link. Rather than the traditional completely-black Dark Link, this costume resembles the design of the Dark Interlopers in Twilight Princess.

Dark Link also reprises his role as the enemy of Event 18: Dark Link Duel. However, the Dark Link in said event is shown as being completely black, like in Melee and Zelda II. Despite that, Dark Link uses the damage meter icon for the normal palette swap. Co-Op Event 7: Battle of the Dark Sides features the players as Link and Samus versus Dark Link and Dark Samus.

Toon Link also has an alternate costume that resembles a toon version of Dark Link, such as Shadow Link from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, while likewise featuring a similar color scheme to that of the Dark Interlopers.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

The Dark Link costume as it appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

The Dark Link alternate costumes from Brawl return in Super Smash Bros. 4 for Link and Toon Link. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Link costume is used to represent the Dark Link character in the Final Battle Team-Up event match and two entirely darkened Links in the A Fated Battle event match.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Young Link's Dark Link costume as it appears in Ultimate.

In addition to the Dark Link alternate costumes for Link and Toon Link returning from Brawl, Young Link's costume is updated to better resemble the Dark Interlopers.

Gallery

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  Shadow Link as he appears in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

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  Dark Link in Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition.

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  Dark Young Link in Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition.

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  Dark Toon Link in Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition.

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  Dark Link as he appears as a palette swap in Brawl.

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  The Dark Link alternate costume in SSB4

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  Toon Link's Dark Link-inspired costume in SSB4

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  The Dark Link alternate costume in Ultimate

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  Young Link's Dark Link-inspired costume in Ultimate

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  Toon Link's Dark Link-inspired costume in Ultimate

Trivia

• Although each playable incarnation of Link has a black alternate costume that makes them virtually identical to Dark Link, the Hero of Time is canonically the only one among them who actually fought him.
  • While the Hero of Winds did not fight Dark Link, his successor in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks can do so via the Take 'Em All On! minigame.
• Dark Link and Dark Meta Knight are the only "dark" characters to not become playable characters separate from their original counterparts.
  • As of Ultimate, however, one of Meta Knight's alternate costumes allows him to appear virtually identical to Dark Meta Knight.
• Coincidentally, the Dark Link Event Matches in both Melee and Brawl are Event 18.

See also

• Dark Samus
• Dark Pit