The Master Sword

"But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand... a young boy clothed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light."

- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Master Sword is typically the most powerful weapon in a Zelda game for general usage. The master sword will usually have a power level of two or three unlike the starting sword.The sword is said to be forged many years before the Rise and Fall of Ganondorf, although it's exact origins, and makers are unknown.

Ocarina of Time
This legendary blade resides in the Temple of Time. To gain the Sword, Link must collect the three Spiritual Stones, and use the Ocarina of Time to open the chamber where it is sealed. The Master Sword is the final key to the sacred realm that holds the Triforce, and only the one worthy of the title of the Hero of Time can draw the Master Sword. In both Ocarina and the Wind Waker, the Master Sword locks away evil from Hyrule. When removed from it's resting place, its prime purpose becomes to help attack and reseal evil and restore peace to the world. It can allow Link to go back in time to his childhood in Ocarina of Time, and this proves to be of much importance late in the game.

A Link To The Past
This was the game when The Master Sword propperly was called that. The Master Sword here is the legendary blade that rests in the Lost Woods of northwestern Hyrule in a pedestal with ancient Hylian inscribed on it. The ancient text says the hero with all three Pendants will wield it on cataclysm's eve, reading: "The Hero's triumph on Cataclysm's Eve wins three Symbols of Virtue. The Master Sword he shall then receive, keeping the knights line true." This sword has the power to emit a beam from its blade to attack enemies from a distance. This happens only when Links health is completely full. It is the second sword acquired in the game, and the third and fourth swords are more powerful versions of the Master Sword. The Master Sword is also called "the Blade of Evil's Bane", and has the power to repel evil magic.

The Wind Waker
The Master Sword is predominately referred to as the Blade of Evil's Bane in the Wind Waker legends and rests in a hidden chamber in Hyrule Castle, deep beneath the waves of the Great Sea. The Master Swords use as a key to lock evil away is broken when a young Link unknowingly draws the blade under the direction of the King Of Red Lions. He unwittingly awakens Ganon´s army from their ancient slumber. Later, Link learns that the Master Sword (After Ganon killed Fado and Laruto, the last sages of the sacred realm that remain after the great flood) has lost its power to repel evil and Link must awaken two new sages in order to regain that power. Those sages are apparently there in order to pray for the Master Sword and the hero who wields it, and keep it glowing with the power to repel evil.

Twilight Princess
The Master Sword within Twilight Princess is located deep within the Faron Woods in the Sacred Grove (the ruins of the Temple of Time). The blade is said to have once be held by the Legendary Hero. It is the one relic that allowed Link to break the curse that Zant places on him after the end of Lakebed Temple and return to his human form. Link then draws the blade from it's pedestal, and Midna proclaims that the sword chose Link to become it's new master.

The Master Sword in this game also allowed Link access to other numerous hidden temples later in the game (like the Temple of Time). The sword's locations marks a link between A Link to the Past and Ocarina of time, as it resides in the Temple's ruins, a place that is notably similar to the sword's resting place in A Link To The Past. Also, when Link enters the Mirror of Twilight, he his sword is upgraded into a light sword of a sort with the powers of the Sol's. The light sword allows link to cut through the Twilight Crystals.

The sword is-by contrast to the shield and the height of Link-considerably bigger than in the other 3D releases. Regardless, the general design is consistent throughout them all.