Ancient Princess Zelda

The, also known as the , is a recurring character in. She is an iteration of Series: known for the eponymous TAoL: for which all princesses born into the TAoL: are named.

The introduction of speaks of the legend of Zelda, a legend that has been passed down in Hyrule. According to that legend, well before the events of the original video game, Hyrule was a prosperous land ruled by a king who had two children, an unidentified prince and Princess Zelda. The King maintained peace in Hyrule using the Triforce; however, he passed away, and although the prince should have received the Triforce in full, he only received a part of it. The prince frantically searched in vain everywhere for the remaining piece, but then a wizard came to the Prince and tells him that his younger sister, Zelda, knows the location of the mystical object. The prince demands that Zelda turn the information over to him, but Zelda refuses and, in a rage, the wizard puts Zelda into an eternal sleep, with him dying in the process. Overcome with grief, the prince seals his sleeping sister in the North Palace and orders that all female descendants of the Hylian monarchy are to be named Zelda.

To break the curse, a hero must possess the complete Triforce, but obtaining the Triforce of Courage would prove difficult as the king of ages ago had hidden it within the Great Palace. Only one who proved themselves worthy would obtain it.

In the end, Link obtains the Triforce of Courage from the Great Palace and awakes the sleeping princess from her slumber.

Although both games feature the same Link, this Zelda is different from the one in the original.

(Mishouzaki)
In the manga adaption of by Yuu Mishouzaki, she is referred to as the First Zelda. Unlike the game, she is not under a sleeping spell, but appears as a phantom.

The First Zelda's phantom appears to Link and the current Princess Zelda, explaining to them that she sealed away Ganon's true self in the Great Palace along with her body using two pieces of the Triforce, and that the Ganon defeated three years ago in was merely one piece of his self. She then sends them on a quest to return the Crystals to the Palaces.