"I vowed to rescue Princess Zelda. In that cause, I'm ready for any danger."
— Link
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and the seventh entry of The Legend of Zelda (Akira Himekawa). This is the fourth adaptation of the game, and was created as a tie-in to the Game Boy Advance release of A Link to the Past in 2005.
Link never expected himself to be much more than a simple apple farmer. But when his uncle goes missing one night, and when he receives a telepathic message from no less than Princess Zelda herself, he finds himself on a mission to save Hyrule from the demon lord Ganon and the dark wizard Agahnim.
For the 1993 Nintendo Power comic, go here.
A Link to the Past provides examples of:
- Above Good and Evil: Sahasrahla describes the Triforce as a pure power that will grant the wish of anyone who touches it, good or evil, but Ganon’s awful personality and goals are too much for even it.
- Accidental Truth: Link's uncle, instead of telling Link that Agahnim sent his parents to the Dark World, tells him that they died. At the very end, though, Link sees the ghosts of his parents alongside that of his uncle, confirming that they were Killed Offscreen.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: The manga does this with Agahnim. In the original game, he was an avatar of Ganon that the Demon King was able to remotely control from his imprisonment in the Dark World. Here, he was a former scholar and a friend of Link's family who used an ancient book to contact Ganon and make a Deal with the Devil.
- Adaptational Friendship: In the original game, Trinexx is a demon hydra that Link has to fight before gaining entrance to Ganon's Tower. In this manga, Ghanti is a bandit girl who helps Link throughout her journey, and unwillingly has Trinexx as a One-Winged Angel form.
- Adaptational Heroism: Vitreous is a friendly Cyclops girl as opposed to the game where it was a mass of eyeballs acting as a boss without any real background.
- Adaptational Wealth: In the game, Link and his uncle lived in a small house. Here, they have enough resources to run an apple orchard.
- Adaptational Wimp: In the original game, Trinexx was a powerful hydra that required the Master Sword and two Magic Rods to defeat. Here, Link is able to take it down with a single, well-placed slash. He learns to his horror that Trinexx was actually a transformed Ghanti.
- Adaptation Origin Connection:
- In this version, the Seven Sages are credited with creating the Master Sword.
- Agahnim has a new storyline that intersects with Link's. He is the one who kills Link's uncle, as opposed to the random brainwashed soldiers in Hyrule Castle. He also is the one who banished Link's Canon Foreigner parents to the Dark World.
- Adaptation Species Change:
- Just like Ishinomori's comic, the guards are actually Animated Armor rather than real people.
- Link's Dark World form is a wolf instead of a rabbit.
- In the original game, while it is kept somewhat ambiguous what Agahnim can be classified as, he turns out to be a Remote Body for Ganon. He is depicted as a Hylian here, on top of being a separate character.
- Adapted Out: Arrghus is the only Dark World boss not shown in the manga.
- Ambiguously Human: Ganondorf is shown in a flashback, and while he is never called a Gerudo, he has the typical round ears. On the other hand, he also has fangs and claws even before becoming Ganon.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Several of Zelda’s retainers question whether or not someone like Link can really be the prophesied hero. When Zelda asks them how they could judge someone’s character when Agahnim was able to scheme right under their noses, they fall silent.
- Badass Cape: Played with. Link spends his time before becoming the hero wearing an unflattering cloak. He gets to wear a much better cape after the final battle with Ganon.
- Betty and Veronica: Ghanti, who is a hot-blooded and dangerous bandit girl in a revealing outfit, is jealous of Link's feelings for Zelda, who is a kind, wise, and modestly dressed princess.
- Bloody Murder: Ganon's blood itself is acidic, as shown when Link cuts him with the Master Sword and the blood dissolves Agahnim's corpse.
- Brains and Brawn:
- Link is something of The Fool, relying on improvisation and luck while Ghanti makes use of whatever weapon is available. This is best shown in their confrontation with the Armos Statue; Ghanti breaks her scimitar trying to cut it, while Link lures it into a fountain to sink.
- It is revealed that Link's father and Agahnim had this dynamic in their youth, with the former being a swordsman and the other a scholar.
- The Cameo: When Sahasrahla is recounting the story of the Imprisoning War, Ganon's humanoid form, Ganondorf, is shown claiming the Triforce.
- Canon Foreigner: Ghanti the bandit. Subverted in that she is transformed into the monster Trinexx. The author's notes at the end state their hope that Ghanti would be present in a future game.
- Chekhov's Gun: While on his way to Hyrule Castle in the middle of a storm, Link finds an apple coming from his farm. He cleans it and picks it up, then a priest in the Sanctuary blesses it, rendering it able to heal any injuries. It comes into play several times afterwards, culminating in Link giving it to Ghanti to heal her after she was mortally wounded as Trinexx.
- Clipped-Wing Angel: All the monsters Link fights in the Dark World turn back into humans afterwards.
- Continuity Drift: This manga came out over a decade after the other three Link to the Past mangas and incorporated elements from the later games released in the series that didn't exist when the earlier mangas were created. Ganondorf's human form uses his design from Ocarina of Time and the Armos Knight uses the Ocarina of Time design for Armos rather than the original A Link to the Past design.
- Cooldown Hug: Zelda delivers one to Link when his hate for Agahnim makes susceptible to the Dark World's corruption and starts to transform him.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Compared to how much trouble he had fighting other monsters, Link pretty much owned Trinexx. Aside from parrying its fire breath with his sword, he didn't have to do anything other than to hit it. Once. Even he noticed how Trinexx wasn't that strong.
- Damsel out of Distress: In the game, Zelda remains in the crystal until the end of the game. Here, however, as Link is starting to transform, Zelda breaks herself free out of the Crystal Prison she's in in order to calm Link down from the corruption!
- Devious Daggers: The treacherous, conniving Agahnim rarely has to rely on anything more than his magic, but he does resort to using a dagger against Link's uncle and Link himself, although he fails with the latter.
- Dies Differently In The Adaptation: Agahnim is killed by Ganon when the Demon King decides that his servant has outlived his usefulness. In the original game, Agahnim is just an avatar of Ganon that gets killed by Link with the Master Sword.
- Empathic Weapon: The Master Sword has some intelligence to it, being able to send a telepathic message to Link as well as reserving the choice to accept or reject a user. The latter element almost costs Link his life when he gives into his hatred for Agahnim, which leaves him unable to use the Master Sword until Zelda gives him a Cooldown Hug.
- Even Evil Has Standards: While Ghanti and her teammates are bandits, they think that letting Ganon run amok with the Triforce is too dangerous and are willing to help Link stop him.
- Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Deconstructed. Link is nice and understand almost to a fault, and he's even willing to forgive Ghanti for an attempt on his life. But he really has it out for Agahnim for killing his uncle and sending his parents to the Dark World. Agahnim later gambles on this, since Link's uncharacteristic hatred for Agahnim almost costs him the use of the Master Sword.
- Everyone Has Standards: Sahasrahla claims that the Triforce will grant any wish desired by the one who claims it, as proven when Ganondorf took hold of it to become the demon Ganon. When the heroes prevail, however, the Triforce actually thanks them for freeing it from Ganon.
- Evil Costume Switch: In a flashback to his youth, Agahnim is shown wearing a much more humble robe than the extravagant one he now wears as an evil wizard.
- Evil Former Friend: Agahnim was a friend of Link's father before his research into the Sacred Realm and deal with Ganon turned him into an evil sorcerer.
- Face–Heel Turn: Agahnim was genuinely good-hearted until Ganon's power affected his mind.
- Forced Transformation: People who wander in the Dark World for too long end up turning into beasts because of Ganon's power. More actively, Agahnim transforms Ghanti into Trinexx as part of his plan to get Link to succumb to his hatred. It's implied that after the story's end, the transformed people turn back to normal, with Ganon's power disappearing after his defeat and Link's wish for Hyrule to be at peace.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Mothula is described in the manga as originally being a beautiful girl who turned jealous of a prettier girl. No such backstory is given to Mothula in the game.
- Healing Herb: Link gets an apple blessed with healing powers.
- Heroic Lineage: Link is descended from the Knights. So is Ghanti; it turns out she wasn't descended from thieves.
- Heel–Face Turn: Ghanti, who started off as a bandit before becoming Link's friend.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Agahnim indulges in a bit of this in the original print once he's captured Zelda, saying how he's wanted her for a slave since the moment he first saw her.
- Improvised Weapon: Link manages to defeat the Ball & Chain Trooper by throwing a jar at it. Since the Trooper is actually a suit of Animated Armor, the enemy falls apart when the helmet is knocked off.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Subverted — Link is set up to be this, but Agahnim takes great pleasure in showing him that he's not as incorruptible as he thinks.
- Kill the Parent, Raise the Child: Ghanti was raised by bandits who told her Knights of Hyrule murdered her parents. She becomes an enemy after learning that Link is a Knight's son, until Zelda reveals that the Silver Arrows Ghanti wears as earrings are proof she is descended from Knights and the bandits lied to her, as they instead killed her parents and raised her to be one of their own.
- Knightly Sword and Shield: Link is actually a downplayed example. While he does carry his uncle's sword and shield, he relies on the former for combat and the shield disappears in some panels. The Master Sword essentially makes the shield redundant.
- Love Redeems: Ghanti starts off as a self-serving bandit who declares that she will kill Link one day, but not only protects him from Agahnim, but becomes his full-fledged companion in the Dark World.
- Love Triangle: Ghanti the bandit cites this as the reason for her reluctance to help Link rescue Zelda, since she has feelings for Link but recognizes that Link also has feelings for Zelda.
- Magical Accessory: Ghanti's earrings turn out to be the weapon they need to defeat their enemy.
- Meaningless Villain Victory: Agahnim finally manages to send the maidens and Zelda to the Dark World to open a portal between it and the Light World on behalf of Ganon, but the Demon King has no intention of honoring his end of their bargain and kills Agahnim.
- The Needs of the Many: Link selflessly uses the Triforce to wish for peace in Hyrule rather than wising his uncle or parents back to life.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: In his youth, Agahnim reasoned to Link’s father that doing whatever was necessary to get the Triforce was the only way to end all of Hyrule’s troubles. When Link’s father continued to interfere, Agahnim banished him to the Dark World. In the present, Agahnim does not bother to pretend that he wants power for anything except the sake of having it.
- Only the Pure of Heart: The Dark World transforms those with greed or hate in their hearts, so someone like Link or Link's parents can travel through there without fear of a Forced Transformation. That isn't to say Link can't be corrupted...
- Piggyback Cute: At one point, Link has to carry Ghanti up the mountainside on his back.
- Rejected by the Empathic Weapon: Agahnim turns Ghanti into the hydra Trinexx and sets her on Link. When Link gives Trinexx a near-mortal wound with the Master Sword and realizes too late what it really is, he gives into his hate for Agahnim, something that causes the sword to reject him until Zelda breaks free from her Crystal Prison and gives him a Cooldown Hug.
- Secret-Keeper: The barkeeper and bar patrons in Kakariko Village doesn't turn Link in after his wanted posters go up, and help him out by telling him to leave via the back door and handing over a map.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Sahasrahla is willing to set Link against an Armos to test his worthiness as a hero.
- Stab the Sky: The Master Sword actually tells Link to do this after he draws it from its pedestal.
- Taunting the Transformed: Link is temporarily turned into a wolf-like monster by the Dark World's magic when he gives into his hatred for Agahnim. Agahnim laughs at the helpless hero for his new form and the fact that he can no longer hold the Master Sword.
- This Cannot Be!: Agahnim is shocked when the Master Sword not only blocks his magic blast, but allows Link to send it right back at him.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Link shouts "Agahnim, I'll never forgive you!" when the evil wizard not only sacrifices Zelda, but reveals that he was the one who got rid of Link's father.
- Villainous BSoD: Agahnim experiences a breakdown when Zelda foils his attempt to corrupt Link, and Ganon refuses to share the Triforce with him.
- Was Once a Man: All the Dark World bosses are here revealed to be Hylians cursed into monster forms when they entered the Dark World:
- Helmasaur King was a scaredy cat who went around wearing a large suit of armor to look more intimidating.
- Mothula was a pretty girl who was jealous of another girl prettier than her.
- Blind the Thief was actually three brothers who bickered all the time.
- Kholdstare was a very rich man that was left alone because he cared more about his money than anything else.
- Vitreous was a woman who loved spying other people to listen to their secrets.
- Trinexx was Ghanti, transformed by Aghanim to trick Link into succumbing to hatred and turning into a monster.
- Weapon-Based Characterization:
- Link, as the prophesied hero, starts off with a Knightly Sword and Shield and later gets the Master Sword.
- Ghanti, as Link's anti-heroic occasional partner, carries a Sinister Scimitar. When she fully joins Link's side in the battle against Ganon, she switches to a bow.
- The conniving, self-serving Agahnim uses a dagger on the rare occasions he doesn't just use his magic.
- Ganon, as the resident Satanic Archetype, uses a trident.
- What You Are in the Dark:
- When Agahnim is about to kill Link in the desert, Ghanti throws a sword at him to send him away. Despite having a good chance to finish off Link, she is unable to go through with it.
- Agahnim, on the other hand, failed this test long before the story started. When he managed to contact Ganon from the Light World and was offered a Deal with the Devil, he not only accepted, but sent Link's parents to the Dark World when they tried to stop him.
- Wrecked Weapon:
- Ghanti breaks her scimitar trying to cut the Armos statue.
- In a flashback, Link's father tries to stand against the newly empowered Agahnim, only to get his sword snapped in half.
- Xanatos Gambit: Agahnim sets one up when Link is close to reaching Ganon. He transforms Ghanti into Trinexx and sets her upon Link. Either Trinexx kills Link, or Link cuts down Trinexx and is so enraged at Agahnim that the Master Sword rejects him. While he is close to securing the second outcome, Zelda manages to break free from her Crystal Prison and give Link the Cooldown Hug he needs.
- You Are What You Hate: Ghanti hates the Hylian knights so much that she used to want to kill Link because he's descended from them. It turns out that she's also descended from the Hylian knights, and the thieves killed her real parents. Learning that leads her to get over her hatred.
- You Don't Look Like You:
- The designs for Kholdstare and Vitreous are completely different from the original ones. While Game!Kholdstare is a spikeless Kracko and Game!Vitreous is a genderless giant poison-oozing eye surrounded by other eyes, Manga!Kholdstare is a Piloswine-like creature and Manga!Vitreous is a female giant one-eyed swamp-creature.
- Whenever Ganon makes an appearance in the story, he is often shown as a silhouette of his appearance in Ocarina of Time. During the final battle however, he has coarse black fur present only in this version despite not having such in previous and later appearances.
- You Killed My Father: Ghanti the bandit declares Link her enemy because he's the last of the Hylian knights, whom she has been raised to believe killed her parents. She's, therefore, surprised to find that her guardian lied to her and she herself is, in fact, also descended from the Hylian knights.
- You Must Be Cold: Link wraps Zelda in his cloak to protect her from the rain when they escape from Hyrule Castle. She smiles and tells him that it's warm, prompting the first appearance of his recurring Luminescent Blush.
