The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Ishinomori)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a comic book miniseries by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori based on the game of the same name. It appeared in Nintendo Power beginning in January 1992 and ran for 12 issues, ending in December 1992. It was later published as a graphic novel in 1993. Many portions of the game were omitted, and several new story segments were added to "preserve the elements of surprise and add to the dramatic flow. Several new characters are introduced, most prominently Roam, Epheremelda, the librarian of Kakariko, and an unnamed boy who is friends with Sahasrahla.

In this alternate version of the events in A Link to the Past, Link is beckoned telepathically by Princess Zelda to rescue her from Agahnim's clutches, and eventually from Turtle Rock in the Dark World. Although Link starts out as a simple, bumbling kid, he gradually grows more confident about his abilities and succeeds in rescuing the princess with the help of the friends he makes along his adventure. In the comic, Link and Zelda have a close bond with one another, even going as far as sharing a dream together.

Although often considered to be a manga, the comic was originally published in English in America by Nintendo Power. By modern day standards, it can be considered to be an original English-language manga, although that term did not exist when the comic was originally published. A Japanese edition was later released retaining the left-to-right formatting of the original American edition. In the Japanese edition, the text is oriented horizontally in a left-to-right format as well and the original sound effects are left untranslated.

Chapter 1: Hero's Awakening
Link is awoken as he is contacted telepathically by Princess Zelda, who asks him to save her from Hyrule Castle's prison. The young hero panics and looks for his uncle only to find that he is missing. Following Zelda's voice to Hyrule Castle, Link sneaks into the castle and sees his uncle dueling Agahnim. Agahnim deals a deadly strike to Link's uncle, saying that anyone who challenges him will meet their doom, and promptly vanishes afterward. Link rushes to his uncle's side and receives his sword and shield from him. Before passing out, Link's Uncle explains that after the young hero rescues Zelda and the people in the Dark World, he might be able to meet his parents.

Meanwhile, Agahnim orders the soldiers to bring Zelda to him before anyone else she has contacted telepathically is able to find and rescue her. Link continues to search for Zelda while she relates to him Agahnim's plan: to use the life force of the descendants of the seven Wise Men to open the door to the Golden Land and unleash the evil power contained there. The young hero eventually finds the princess and, after distracting two Castle Soldiers that were taking her away, Link rescues Zelda and the two escape through a hidden passage to Sanctuary with the use of a nearby lantern.

Upon reaching the Sanctuary, the Old Man explains the consequences of Agahnim's plan. Zelda goes on to say that she feels Link is the legendary hero who appears every one hundred years to protect and save the land of Hyrule against Agahnim's forces, but just then, Agahnim appears and commands that Zelda return to the castle. Although Link steps in to protect the princess, the wizard easily defeats him when the young hero tries to attack him. As he takes Zelda away, Zelda reveals to Link that only the Master Sword can harm Agahnim. The young hero then rushes out of the Sanctuary to find the legendary sword.

Chapter 2: Wise Man's Warning
While Link continues to search for the Master Sword, Agahnim has wanted signs posted around the kingdom calling for Link's arrest for kidnapping Zelda. Before leaving the Sanctuary, the Old Man sends Link to find Sahasrahla, a descendant of the Wise Men who knows more about the location of the Master Sword.

Link finds Sahasrahla's house in Kakariko Village in the care of his wife, but she tells him that Sahasrahla left when he found out that Agahnim was responsible for the missing maidens and does not know where he has gone to. When Link tells her that he is looking for the Master Sword, the old woman tells of ancient scrolls that speak of the prosperous people who once inhabited the land of Hyrule. According to the scrolls they made many powerful weapons, including the ultimate treasure, the Master Sword, crafted specifically to resist evil power and which now rests in the Lost Woods. Upon leaving Sahasrahla's house, a villager, who is actually one of Agahnim's minions, alerts the soldiers to Link's presence, but the young hero manages to escape their grasp and stumbles upon a boy who was asked by Sahasrahla to watch over his wife. After being convinced of Link's good nature, the boy tells him where Saharsahla can be found, and so Link travels to the Eastern Palace. There, he finds the descendant of the wise men, and although he is puzzled as to how someone so young like Link could be searching for the Master Sword, he tells Link he must recover the Pendants of Virtue to claim the legendary weapon. Sahasrahla reveals that he can help Link by giving him the Pendant of Courage, but since the task to finding the remaining two pendants will not be an easy one, he asks whether he will be able to accomplish said task, to which the young hero confidently says yes both for Zelda and his deceased uncle. Just as Sahasrahla hands the Pendant of Courage to Link, the soldiers pursuing Link find him. Empowered by the pendant, he easily dispatches their leader and sends the rest fleeing. The young hero, amazed at the power of the pendant, promises to find the remaining two pendants and use their power to defeat Agahnim.

Chapter 3: Book of Mudora
The soldiers report that Link has the Pendant of Courage to Agahnim, who orders that all those in the Knight's Line must be eliminated at once. He erroneously thought that Link's Uncle, who he defeated at the castle, was the last of the knight's line, but he begins to suspect that Link is also of their bloodline and commands his soldiers to not return until he has been killed. After they leave, Agahnim reassures himself that the prophecy of the legendary Hero is just a folktale, and that the world will be at his hands when the moon is full and he casts the final spell over Princess Zelda.

When Link returns to Kakariko to find clues about the remaining two pendants, he finds the Library has been set on fire by soldiers. Link learns that the librarian, who Link must speak to according to Sahasrahla, is trapped inside the flames. The young hero pours a bucket of water on him and barges in to successfully save the librarian. Inside the House of Books, the librarian theorizes that the soldiers might have been after the Book of Mudora, and explains that it is the key to the ancient Hylian language which mentions that the hero will stand in the desert holding the book. Link takes the Book of Mudora and mentions how Sahasrahla had told him the Pendant of Power was in desert ruins, leading the librarian to claim Link as the legendary Hero of Hyrule and calmly leaving the book in the young hero's hands. Before Link can head out to the desert, Sahasrahla's wife warns Link that traveling through the desert will not be easy since the "fierce winds and shifting sand" have bested even the most capable adventurers. Just then, the young boy who Sahasrahla left in charge of his wife remembers that Sahasrahla showed him a bird that Link can ride on, which is actually a sort of glider with the shape of wings woven by the Hylian Sages. According to the librarian, the wings belonged to the bird who the knights used to take on their campaigns to protect the kingdom and which carried them to battle.

Using the "miracle wings", Link flies over the Desert of Mystery and locates the ruins of the Desert Palace. Using the Book of Mudora to translate the runes he finds, the ruins begin to sink to reveal a scorpion statue that has the Pendant of Power hanging on it. Before Link can approach it, he sinks into the quicksand and resurfaces on top of a Lanmola. Link tries to attack it with his sword but to no avail; however, he manages to retrieve the Pendant of Power from the statue and prepares himself to defeat the Lanmola.

Chapter 4: The Master Sword
Using the Pendant of Power's energy, Link successfully defeats the Lanmola; however, he is left stranded in the desert due to the glider having been ruined by a sandstorm. Left to traverse the desert on foot, Link is guided by Sahasrahla's telepathy to Death Mountain. Link arrives to the mountain and stumbles upon a portal, which activates itself and shows a vision of two people standing with his uncle. Believing them to be his parents, Link reaches for his mother's hand when she extends hers out to the young hero, but Link's hand turns into a claw when it passes the portal's boundary. Sahasrahla warns that the power of the Dark World turns the inhabitants into a reflection of their heart, and Link's hatred of Agahnim, although justifiable, would turn him into a beast if he were to enter. Shortly afterward, Zelda appears to Link and explains that they are in a dream, for if two people dream the same thing, they will meet. The princess tells Link to rest and encourages him to not give up while he begins to fall asleep on her lap, complaining about his arm hurting. When Link wakes up, he finds that someone has bandaged his arm and is actually standing in front of the Tower of Hera.

Link enters the Tower of Hera and climbs to the top to battle a giant spider, seizing the Pendant of Wisdom from one of its eyes. Upon grabbing the pendant, his arm is instantly healed, and the young hero uses the spider to ride down the tower. With all three pendants in hand, Link enters the Lost Woods and, while speaking telepathically with Sahasrahla, begins to have his doubts about whether the Master Sword will select him as his bearer. Sahasrahla goes on to explain that his parents were Knights of Hyrule but stumbled into the Dark World and, after they disappeared, Link's uncle adopted him to shield him from the intrigues of the Royal Family. Just then, the young hero finds the Master Sword and seizes it from its pedestal, readying himself to have his final battle with Agahnim and rescue the princess.

Chapter 5: An Old Enemy
After defeating three Ball and Chain Troopers with a single Spin Attack, Link decides to lie down and rest for a bit, only to be awoken by Zelda via telepathy. Although the young hero tells Zelda that he must rest, Zelda reminds him that only a single night remains until Agahnim, casts his final incantation on her and causes the entrance to the Dark World to open and overwhelm Hyrule with its evil. She goes on to say that Link cannot forget the sacrifice that his uncle made to stop Agahnim's plot, as well as the fact that his parents were sent to the Dark World for that same reason. Link, now confident with the power of the Master Sword, heads to Kakariko Village with his friends, but finds out that all approaches to the castle are blocked by Agahnim's soldiers. The librarian then comes up with the idea of making a hot air balloon to carry him into the castle.

Meanwhile, at the castle, Agahnim's preparations to cast the final incantation are complete, but he is soon interrupted by Ganon. He warns the wizard that a "being with intense emotional energy" is approaching the castle, much to Agahnim's surprise. Knowing this, Agahnim decides to wait on casting the incantation until Link arrives so that he can send Zelda into the Dark World right in front of Link. Just then, Link lands on the castle's highest tower and, after easily defeating a few soldiers with the Master Sword's might, he rushes to find Agahnim in the middle of his spell. Sahasrahla contacts Link and tells him not to trust all his power in the Master Sword, for even the legendary blade cannot harm Agahnim's body. Link attacks him anyway, but the Master Sword passes right through the evil wizard, which causes him to turn around and paralyze Link by only looking at him. Agahnim then casts Zelda into the Dark World triumphantly mocking Link that not even the legendary hero could stop them from obtaining the Triforce. As Agahnim continues to ridicule Link for challenging him only to meet his doom, the Master Sword begins to shine while Link is still frozen.

Chapter 6: A Fool in the Shape of a Tree
Link's rage towards Agahnim begins to channel through the Master Sword since the young hero and the legendary blade are as one, which causes for the castle to begin to crumble down. Agahnim and Link begin to battle, and after Sahasrahla reveals to the young hero that the Master Sword was also forged to repel evil magic, Link uses the sword to turn back Agahnim's magic against him and successfully defeat him. Bested by Link, Agahnim reveals that him being killed will not restore the Wise Men's seal, and with his final breath transports Link to the Dark World as Hyrule Castle crumbles to reveal the Pyramid of Power.

Frustrated for having disappointed Zelda again, Link is momentarily transformed into a beast by his negative emotions, but he manages to control them to remain in human form. He then resumes his search for the princess, determined to find her, but first stumbles into a shrine where he can rest before going on. As Link begins to fall asleep, a small tree that was inside the shrine begins to tell him the story of the Triforce and the Golden Land. The tree goes on to explain that only the first to touch the Triforce will be endowed with its strength, and that the land where they are now used to be the Golden Land where the Triforce was hidden. He speaks of Ganondorf the Thief, who accidentally stumbled upon the entrance to the Golden Land and had his evil wishes granted by the Triforce. After touching the touched the Triforce, Ganondorf achieved ultimate power and transformed the Golden Land into the Dark World, which caused for many men from Hyrule to be drawn to the land of evil only to be converted into monsters because of their impure thoughts and emotions, including the tree himself. The tree makes a final comment that Link must defeat Ganondorf and reclaim the Triforce to restore the Dark World into the Golden Land, at which point Link wakes up, confused, thinking it was a dream.

Upon leaving the shrine, Link is confronted by three thieves and a Hinox, who ask him about a fairy they are pursuing for her magic powers. When Link tells them he does not have the fairy, the monsters attack him, but the young hero easily defeats them with the use of the Master Sword and by throwing the Hinox's own bombs back at it. After the Hinox explodes, the fairy appears next to Link.

Chapter 7: Zora's Mask
Before Link has a chance to ask the fairy anything, she flies away and leads him to the Zora's Waterfall, where he encounters a Zola. Thinking it to be a monster, the young hero tries to fight it, but the Zola thanks Link for having saved Epheremelda, the fairy. The Zola explains that he thought he was Romu, the knight who, with the Master Sword, scarred his forehead. After Link is healed by Epheremelda, which is the sole reason the thieves of the Dark World desire her power, the creature introduces itself as Zora. He and Epheremelda tell Link about the ruler of the Dark World and the usurper of the Triforce, Ganon, and how he sent Agahnim to Hyrule to do all the work for him since Ganon cannot leave the Dark World. With Agahnim's magic, he sent the Maidens to the Dark World so Ganon could steal their power, which makes Link realize that Zelda is still alive. Knowing this, Zora tells Link that one of the maidens is imprisoned in the Palace of Darkness nearby; however, he warns the young hero of the explosive materials, known as firecorn, that are kept in there. Link decides to go anyway, for he insists that he must rescue the maiden trapped in the crystal. Before leaving, Zora allows Link to take Epheremelda as a guide and grants him the Zora's Mask to disguise himself and not look so conspicuous as he is sneaking around the palace.

The duo arrive to the Palace of Darkness and eventually reach the storeroom with the explosives, and although Link had been able to sneak around with the Zora's Mask without being noticed, he is discovered by a Rocklops. The Rocklops warns Link of what could happen if he set off the firecorns in the palace, but the young hero disregards his warning and takes a Hinox's bomb belt that was wrapped around it. Link then stumbles into the imprisoned crystal, but is attacked by a Gleeock that was called upon by the Rocklops. Although he defeats it easily with the Master Sword, soon more Hinoxs riding Gleeocks begin to head towards him. Link gives Epheremelda ones of the bombs from the Hinox's belt, which eventually denotes the firecorn stockpile and destroys the entire palace. This allows the maiden to be freed from the crystal, who thanks Link and grants him a relic called the Comm-Fork. Before Link can ask her where Zelda is, the maiden disappears, and instead a knight appears in the rubble and demands that the young hero hand over the Master Sword.

Chapter 8: Roam, the Mystery Knight
The knight introduces himself as Roam, who challenges Link for the right to wield the Master Sword. He transforms into a monstrous eagle and proceeds to attack Link, who counters Roam's attack and defeats him. Roam apologizes for having misjudged Link and reveals to him that the ancient Book of Mudora tells that the one who corrupts the Golden Land will be defeated with the Silver Arrow, the sacred item that Roam has been seeking. He continues to explain that he is a descendant of one of the Knights of Hyrule who was a master archer, and when he discovered that Agahnim was sending the seven maidens to the Dark World, he sought after them through the portal near Death Mountain. Because he is in the Dark World, he is transformed into an eagle every time he engages in battle. Link, overjoyed that Roam is also a descendant of the Knights of Hyrule, begins to think that the two of them can join forces to find Zelda. Roam is shocked to hear Zelda has been transported to the Dark World, saying Link is too much of a "weakling" to wield the Master Sword and save the princess. The young hero tries to defend himself by saying he has the three Pendants of Virtue to prove his worth, but Roam is unimpressed and begins to walk away to continue searching for the Silver Arrow. Before disappearing, Roam tells Link that he senses they will have to join forces against Ganon, and advices the young hero to stay alive until then.

After Roam leaves, the Comfork begins to ring and Link sees an image of Sahasrahla and the rest of his friends back in Kakariko, where they are discussing an earthquake that shook the Eastern Palace. Although at first Sahasrahla disregards Link's voice as having been his imagination, Sahasrahla and the others eventually communicate with Link and discover that the Comfork allows them to speak with each other even though they are on different planes of existence. Link begins to tell his friends about his journey through the Dark World, and Sahasrahla begins to note similarities between the Dark World and Hyrule on his map of the land, leading him to discover that the Dark World is a warped reflection of the Light World and that the two are somehow connected. He goes on to reveal that the Dark World reflects the inner contents of one's mind, and because the heart of the maiden Link rescued was so pure, she was trapped in a crystal, much like Zelda. Knowing this, Epheremelda begins to ask her fairy friends if they've seen the princess, and one of them comments on how she overheard a monster talking about a girl imprisoned in a crystal near the Swamp Palace.

The duo head out to the palace but discover that the area is completely dried up. Link calls to Sahasrahla for help and asks him to go to the Light World location of the Swamp Palace, where Sahasrahla and the boy accompanying him find a fountain surrounded by statues. The boy, able to see Link in the water of the fountain, warns Link of the monsters behind him, where a Hinox and a Taros shut the door to trap the young hero inside the palace. As the boy watches the battle between Link and the foes, he accidentally activates the statues that cause water to pour into the fountain. This leads to the Swamp Palace in the Dark World to get flooded, washing away the monsters and Link.

Chapter 9: Wizzrobe's Trap
The Hinox and Taros end up sinking as they struggle with each other, while Link's Master Sword is dragging him below the surface. Epheremelda tells Link to stay afloat, for the water is almost up to an opening that the fairy had found earlier on. The young hero is then rushed into a new chamber, where he finds the second maiden imprisoned in her crystal. As Link makes his way to the maiden, a large, tentacled monster attacks him. He thrusts himself with the Master Sword into the monster and defeats the creature, which spits out Link from inside and gives him a chance to destroy the floating crystal where the maiden is. The maiden, now freed, thanks Link and tells him that Zelda is imprisoned in a rock shaped like a turtle found at the end of the world, then vanishes. Epheremelda tells Link of a map of the Dark World that is located in the Ice Tower, when suddenly Link hears Zelda contact him telepathically from beyond the wasteland. Epheremelda, who cannot hear Zelda's calling, advises Link against going to the wasteland since it is too dangerous, and once they get in there, there will be no way to escape. She recommends that they go find the map first, but Link disregards her suggestion, for he claims that if the wasteland is as dangerous as she says, then he has to rescue Zelda as soon as possible. This angers Epheremelda, who claims that Link never worries about her and that all he ever talks about is Zelda, leading the fairy to indignantly leave Link's side.

Now on his own, Link heads into the wasteland and stumbles into an oasis from where Zelda is calling his name. The young hero ventures in and finds her, but as he remembers the maiden's words of Zelda being inside a turtle rock, the princess turns out to be an illusion made by a Wizzrobe, who promptly captures Link and conjures Vitreous from the swamp to devour him. Just then, a whirlpool is created that engulfs both Vitreous and the Wizzrobe, and from beneath Zora appears to rescue Link. When the young hero asks Zora how he arrived and who told him where he was, Zora explains that Epheremelda had requested that he go rescue Link and that he is able to warp between worlds due to the presence of water.

Chapter 10: To Turtle Rock...and Zelda!
Reunited with Epheremelda, Link travels to the Ice Tower, where they are confronted by Kholdstone. Link reveals that all he wants is to see the map of the Dark World, but Kholdstone mentions that the map is his greatest treasure and will not let anyone see it. The monster unleashes two Stalfos to attack Link, but when the young hero sees that they keep respawning even after defeating them, he begins to focus his power on the Master Sword, which causes for the tower to begin to collapse. Kholdstone warns Link that if he destroys the tower, then he will destroy the map as well, making him realize that the map is etched on the tower's floor. Before the tower collapses, Link learns the location of Turtle Rock and heads there along with Epheremelda, where they begin to look for the dungeon's entrance. Remembering the words Link heard in the Ice Tower, the young hero strikes the top of Turtle Rock with the Master Sword to allow a lightning bolt to hit it and thus reveal the entrance.

Inside the lava-infested Turtle Rock, Link finds Zelda imprisoned in a crystal, but he is then attacked by a three-headed dragon. However, Roam, who had been following Link, arrives just in time to save the young hero from one of the dragon head's attacks, and prepares to prove himself as the true legendary hero.

Chapter 11: Ganon's Tower
Roam and Link cut off the dragon's ice head, causing its ice and fire to mix and explode. The explosion shatters Zelda's crystal, and Link rushes to her side to save her, infuriating Epheremelda. The four escape Turtle Rock as it collapses, and Roam boasts that the Book of Mudora's prophecy supports him as the Legendary Hero, for he is the one seeking the Silver Arrow, and leaves to find it. Zelda tells Link the book has a power which is beyond their comprehension, and Link remembers that Sahasrahla said only a man who has overcome his own negative thoughts and emotions can become the true hero. Since Roam has not, Link fears that this might actually be his downfall even if he finds the Silver Arrow. The young hero goes on to say that they should not worry about Roam, for Link will defeat Ganon by himself if he has to, leading Zelda to put all her trust in him.

The two continue on without Roam and eventually find Ganon's Tower, although they are not able to find its entrance. Suddenly, Roam appears and admits he has failed to find the arrows. Overwhelmed by his failure, Roam transforms into an eagle and flies up to the tower, worrying Link since Roam's emotions are out of control and could cause him to remain a beast forever. Zelda then asks for the aid of the maidens, which allows them to enter the pitch-dark tower. Inside, The group is attacked by illusions of Link's past foes, and when Roam attacks a specter of Agahnim approaching Zelda, he is killed, with Ganon rising from the illusion.

Chapter 12: The Final Battle
Link attacks Ganon but he is easily thrown back by Ganon's trident. Zelda takes up Roam's crossbow as Link is trapped in between the trident. While Ganon mocks Zelda, Link uses the opportunity to slash the evil thief's trident in half and, as he is falling down, the young hero slashes over Ganon's chest, leaving him paralyzed. Zelda begins to ask for the aid of the maidens and fires an ordinary arrow from the crossbow, but as it approaches Ganon, the power of the maidens, Zelda, Link, and Roam, turn the arrow into the Silver Arrow, destroying Ganon. The Triforce rises from his body, and the Essence of the Triforce tells Link that the Triforce is waiting for a new master now that Ganon has been defeated, asking that the young hero touch it with a wish in his heart. As Link touches the Triforce, Epheremelda sadly bids him goodbye, and Link and Zelda are transported back to Hyrule.

At Hyrule Castle, Link sees a vision of his father, mother and uncle, who congratulate him on his difficult victory and tell him to never forget the efforts of the many generations of knights and Wise Men that preceded him. The Dark World vanishes and releases all of the people who had been trapped there, returning the longed-for peace to Hyrule. Zelda is crowned the Queen of Hyrule and in turn appoints Link as the Master of the Knights of Hyrule. The young hero is then seen looking at the Master Sword back in its pedestal in the Lost Woods, when he then hears Zelda speak to him from behind. She begins to comment on how although the bond between them was so strong when she was in Ganon's clutches, now that they are both free and at peace, their duties now keep them apart, leaving the queen to feel alone. As Zelda begins to gallop away on her horse, she confesses to Link that as long as she lives, she will never forget the time when they were together in their dreams. The comic's final scene shows the Master Sword overgrown by foliage as it sleeps, waiting for a new bearer when disaster befalls Hyrule again.

Characters

 * Link
 * Princess Zelda
 * Ganon
 * Agahnim
 * Link's Uncle
 * Sahasrahla
 * Sahasrahla's Wife
 * Roam
 * Epheremelda
 * Link's Father
 * Link's Mother
 * Librarian
 * Sahasrahla's Friend
 * Maidens
 * Zora
 * Old Man

Items

 * Master Sword
 * Fighter's Shield
 * Silver Arrow
 * Pendants of Virtue
 * Book of Mudora
 * Lantern
 * Comfork
 * Firecorn
 * Crossbow
 * Trident
 * Triforce
 * Zora Mask

Enemies

 * Ball and Chain Trooper
 * Soldiers
 * Knights
 * Stalfos
 * Hinox
 * Taros
 * Thieves
 * Rocklops
 * Lanmola
 * Gleeocks
 * Moldorm
 * Kholdstare
 * Arrghus
 * Trinexx
 * Wizzrobe
 * Vitreous

Places

 * Hyrule Castle
 * Secret Passage
 * Sanctuary
 * Kakariko Village
 * House of Books
 * Eastern Palace
 * Desert of Mystery
 * Death Mountain
 * Tower of Hera
 * Lost Woods
 * Dark World
 * Pyramid of Power
 * Zora's Lake
 * Palace of Darkness
 * Swamp Palace
 * Misery Mire
 * Ice Palace
 * Turtle Rock
 * Ganon's Tower

Differences From the Game

 * Sahasrahla inhabits the Eastern Palace rather than just living near it, and gives Link the Pendant of Courage. In the game, Link must defeat the Armos Knights to claim the Pendant.
 * Death Mountain is on the borders of the Desert of Mystery. In the game Death Mountain is far north and the desert is to the south-west.
 * The monster fought in the Tower of Hera is a giant spider as opposed to the Moldorm fought in the game. However, when the monster's illusion appears in Ganon's Tower, it is still called a Moldorm.
 * Link cannot travel freely between worlds and is trapped in the Dark World once Agahnim transports him there.
 * Link maintains his form in the Dark World by controlling his emotions, while in the game the Moon Pearl is needed to maintain human form.
 * Link is attacked by monsters called Gleeocks in the Palace of Darkness. However, the monsters are bright orange  lizards with green gems on their heads, and thus physically resemble  smaller versions of the Helmasaur King which is fought in the game.
 * The boss of the Swamp Palace may or may not be Arrghus - the monster is shown as a bright red jellyfish that attacks with tentacles, but no eyeballs are shown.
 * The events of the Dark World are heavily abridged - Skull Woods and Thieves' Town are entirely removed, and Link only saves two maidens before finding  Zelda. Though Link enters Misery Mire and the Ice Palace (referred to as the Ice Tower), no maidens are imprisoned there. The collection and  usage of items vital to the game's completion are often removed entirely from the comic, with only the Book of Mudora appearing in the same capacity.
 * The monster fought in Turtle Rock in a three-headed dragon with a grey head, a red head that breathes fire and a blue head that breathes ice. Though the three heads and their powers are a  reference to the game's boss Trinexx, the dragon is never called Trinexx.
 * The narration at the end of the game says that the Master Sword sleeps again forever, while the comic says that the Master Sword sleeps waiting for a time of crisis when a hero will need it again.

Further Notes

 * In the Dark World Link is accompanied by Epheremelda who offers him assistance. This is before Ocarina of Time introduced Navi as the first canon Fairy Companion.
 * Zelda assists Link in the battle with Ganon, firing the Silver Arrow to kill him. In some later games, Zelda fires Light Arrows to help Link in the same manner. When Zelda deals the final blow in the comic, she does so by aiming at a glowing wound Link carves across  Ganon's chest to paralyze him - Ganondorf possesses a similar wound in Twilight Princess.
 * Agahnim and Ganon are explicitly shown to be different beings, communicating between worlds in one scene.