| Main characters | 4: Link, Princess Zelda, Impa and Ganon |
|---|---|
| Old Men | Several, in caves and dungeons. They give swords, bomb upgrades, the Letter and hints |
| Old Women | Medicine women who sell potions after you show them the Letter, and hint sellers near the Lost Woods and Death Mountain |
| Shopkeepers | Merchants in hidden shops and caves across Hyrule |
| Friendly Moblins | Give rupees from secret caves |
The Legend of Zelda has a small cast, but most of the people you meet in caves and dungeons do something useful. Link does the adventuring and Zelda is the goal. Ganon waits at the end. Along the way, Old Men give you swords and bomb capacity, Old Women sell potions and hints, and merchants stock the items you need. Knowing who is who saves you a lot of walking.
Table of Contents
Quick reference
| Icon | Character | Role | Where to find them | What they give you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Link | Hero | You play as him from the start screen | 3 hearts and bomb capacity 8 at the start, and every item you find |
 | Princess Zelda | Captive princess | Held by Ganon in Level 9 | She is the reason for the quest, and she is found in Level 9 after Ganon falls |
 | Impa | Zelda’s nursemaid | Named in the manual; appears in the game as an old woman | Sends Link out to find the Triforce pieces |
 | Ganon | Final boss | Level 9, Death Mountain | The Silver Arrow delivers the final blow |
 | Old Man | Sword-giver, hint giver, dealer | Caves, dungeons and the northeast cave | Wooden, White and Magical Swords, the Letter, bomb upgrades, hints and Heart Containers |
 | Old Woman | Medicine woman and hint seller | Potion caves and secret caves near the Lost Woods and Death Mountain | Red and Blue Potions after you show the Letter, and hints for rupees |
 | Shopkeeper | Merchant | Hidden shops and caves | Magical Shield, keys, Blue Candle, bombs, arrows, bait and the Blue Ring |
 | Friendly Moblin | Donor | Secret caves across Hyrule | 10, 30 or 100 rupees |
Heroes and villains
Link
Link is the hero you control from the first screen. He begins with three hearts, no items and a bomb capacity of eight, and he needs to find the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom before he can reach Ganon. Every sword, shield, ring and tool in this guide is something Link collects on the way, so the first few screens are about getting started with the Wooden Sword.
Princess Zelda
Princess Zelda is the captive at the centre of the story. Before Ganon could take the Triforce of Wisdom, she broke it into eight pieces and hid them across Hyrule. Ganon holds her in Level 9 on Death Mountain. Once you defeat Ganon, you find her in the last room of that level.
Impa
Impa is Zelda’s nursemaid. The game’s manual names her, and the story says she escaped Ganon’s forces and found Link. She is the reason Link sets out, and she does not fight alongside him.
Ganon
Ganon steals the Triforce of Power and leads the invasion of Hyrule. You only meet him in person at the very end, in the final room of Level 9. Your swords wear him down first, and the Silver Arrow delivers the final blow. Expect him to take many more hits from the Wooden Sword than from the White or Magical Sword.
Old Men
The Old Man in the start cave
The Old Man in the cave on the start screen gives you the Wooden Sword for free. Walk into the cave and he gives you the sword. It is the first item of the game.
The White and Magical Swords
The White Sword is in a cave behind a waterfall in the northeast mountains, and you can take it once you have at least 5 hearts. The Magical Sword is under a movable tombstone in the graveyard, and it needs 12 hearts. Each sword has a heart requirement: 5 hearts for the White Sword and 12 for the Magical Sword.
The Old Man with the Letter
A cave in the far northeast of Hyrule holds the Old Man who gives you the Letter. Walk in and take it, then show the Letter to a medicine woman to start buying potions. Without the Letter, the medicine women will not sell you anything.
The Old Men who sell bomb upgrades
The Old Man who offers a Heart Container or a potion
Bomb the southern side of a large boulder in the northeast of the overworld to open a cave. An Old Man there offers a Heart Container or a Red Potion. Choosing the potion means you do not get the Heart Container.
The Old Man in Level 2
Old Women
The medicine women
Medicine women live in hidden caves in several parts of the overworld. Once you have shown them the Letter, they sell a Red Potion for 68 rupees and a Blue Potion for 40 rupees. Without the Letter, they do not open their shop. Their caves sit behind bombable walls and burnable trees, including in the northeast and on Death Mountain.
The hint sellers
An Old Woman by the Lost Woods sells a hint for 30 rupees, and the hint tells you the route through the forest: north, west, south, west. A second Old Woman, in the waterfall beside the Lost Hills, sells a hint for 20 rupees about the way up Death Mountain. Pay less and she refuses to talk.
Shopkeepers and friendly Moblins
Shopkeepers
Shopkeepers run shops in hidden caves and behind bombable walls. Their stock includes Magical Shields, keys, the Blue Candle, bombs, arrows, Monster Bait and hearts, The Blue Ring is sold in a hidden shop under an Armos statue. Prices change from shop to shop.
Friendly Moblins
Not every Moblin wants to fight. Some Moblins hide in secret caves and give you rupees when you speak to them. Their gifts are 10, 30 or 100 rupees, depending on which cave you find, and they repeat the line that the cave is a secret to everybody.
