The Legend of Zelda in Popular Culture

As a long-running and critically acclaimed series, has been referenced numerous times within various forms of media and has become a large part of popular culture worldwide. This page covers notable homages, parodies, and references not only in other video games but also in television and movies. This page does not include official cameos and crossovers within other Nintendo games or officially licensed third-party appearances. For references to within Nintendo media, see Cameos of The Legend of Zelda in Nintendo Media. For licensed references to within third-party media, see Cameos of The Legend of Zelda in Third-Party Media.

3D Dot Game Heroes
is all about bringing back the nostalgia of 8-bit games and it alludes to many popular games including. Many of the Zelda similarities include:
 * When the king gives the player their first sword, he states "It's so dangerous to be alone! Take this!"
 * The overworld shares similarities with many top-down Zelda games: it has many similar towns, dungeons, a Series:, a castle, and a mountain area where NaN Boulders roll down from the cliffs.
 * If a chicken gets hit many times, they will get mad and bring back up.
 * The enemies resemble NaN Armoss, NaN Darknutss, NaN Gibdos, NaN Moblins, NaN Keeses, NaN Lynels, NaN Like Likes, NaN Octoroks, NaN Stalfoss, NaN Tektites, NaN Zols, NaN Wizzrobes, NaN Patras, and Series: with extra arms.
 * The sword will shoot beams when the health is at its max, functioning the same as the Series:.
 * If a character breaks into a secret cave, he can either be rewarded or fined. An old man even says "It is a secret to everyone."
 * A fairy will join the hero's party.
 * One of their characters is called Moyomoto, who is the brother to Wigy. This is a reference to the Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto.
 * The fight with the Dark Bishop Fuelle is very similar to the boss fight with OoS: in.
 * The name of the final boss is "Onyx," similar to OoS: from . Onyx is also a dragon, much like OoS:'s true form.
 * Many dungeons and puzzles are borrowed from games but put into a 3D space.

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
 makes a reference to a popular quote from. In the kitchen, Lotus criticizes Junpei for being unable to identify an appetizer plate and its use. Junpei responds with "Well, excuuuuuuse me, princess."

Among Us
On the MIRA HQ map in , there is a plant that greatly resembles a Series:.

BioShock Infinite
In, Elizabeth tells Booker "It's dangerous to go alone," which is a reference to the Series: in.

Call of Duty: Ghosts
A glass trophy shaped as a Series: can be found in and is awarded for cutting bushes and smashing pots, which are both common activities in  series.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
At one point in, it mentions a great "Dekuh" which was "the most gorgeous tree in the forest" and its "magical power protected the forest from the attacks of dark creatures," referencing the Series:.

Dark Sector
The creators of have stated they have been heavily influenced by  games, and that they drew inspiration from the puzzles and pacing throughout the series.

DragonFable
One quest in involves collecting the four pieces of the Quadforce. One piece is found outside Linken's house. The Quadforce is similar to the Series: and the boss of the quest is Gananana, a name which sounds similar to Series:. The rewards of the quest are a dagger, sword, and staff of eye-rule, which sounds like Series:. The rarest price which can only be sold for 250 gold is Series:.

Enter the Gungeon
makes multiple references to with "The Bullet" character. The Bullet's default weapon is a sword known as Blasphemy. Similar to the Series:, it is able to fire sword beams when The Bullet is at full hearts, and it loses this ability after taking damage. The Bullet's past is also a reference to. The Bullet starts off in a hallway where he talks to an old man bullet that gives him a de-powered Blasphemy. The Bullet must then go on to kill the "Dark Magician, Agunim". This fight is based on the second round of the fight with ALttP: in. After defeating Agunim, a hole opens up in the floor and The Bullet proceeds to fight the "Evil King, Cannon", a fight heavily based on the ALttP: fight in. The Bullet also has an alternate skin resembling a rabbit, referencing ALttP:'s appearance in the ALttP:.

Epic Mickey
In, Beluga Billy mentions the famous "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." phrase from the original when he gives an item to Mickey.

Fable III
In the Morning Wood Graveyard in, one of the tombstones has an inscription of the famous original quote: "It's dangerous to go alone, take this." If the player digs up the grave, they will obtain a toy sword.

Final Fantasy
If the main character reads a certain tombstone in, it reads "Here Lies Series:." It is in the town of elves, Elfheim, near what could be called the bottom of the map. The original US localization for Final Fantasy was done by Nintendo of America and this tombstone was changed to read "Here lies Erdrick", referring to the legendary hero from the Dragon Quest series. The reference was changed back to Series: in the re-release Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls and all following re-releases.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
In , the description for the Fabled Sword mission says "I found the designs for making the same sword used by a legendary swordsman! But, the ingredients are hard to find. Please help. Rewards: 12600 gil, Master Sword, 80 AP". This is a reference to Series: and the Series:. When made, the description says "Only master swordsmen may wield this weapon."

Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak
In , the player must go to Sunny Peak and pull out the "Legendary Spoon" from its pedestal, similarly to Series: pulling the Series: out of its pedestal. It references and, as the player must collect blue, red, and green marbles to withdraw the spoon, similar to how Series: also needs three similarily colored items (the NaN Pendant of Virtues and NaN Spiritual Stones) to obtain the Series:. This scene even features variations of the "Open Treasure Box" and "Item Catch" themes, with their melodies played in reverse.

I'm O.K – A Murder Simulator
In, some of the opponents wear shirts with the Series: on it.

Infinity Blade III
A mission in is named "EXPLORE - A LINK TO THE PAST."

It Takes Two
There is an achievement in with the title "Force Triangulated" and the description: "Breathe some wind into your ocarina, my skyward princess!" which references the Series:,, , , and SS undefined. It is earned by finding a secret room modeled after the pot room in OoT3D: in.

Ittle Dew
 pays homage to the classic 2D Zelda titles and contains similar puzzle elements as well as NaN Hearts and NaN Treasure Chests. The protagonist herself greatly resembles Series:, and she is accompanied by a winged companion, similar to Series:. A pair of characters called the Incredibly Ugly Statues are based on the NaN Stone Statues from.

League of Legends
In, an item called the Trinity Force, a reference to the Series: and often abbreviated as such by players, can be bought in-game.

Mable & The Wood
The logo of Mable & The Wood is strikingly similar to that of, using a modified version of the same font. The protagonist also dresses similarly to Series:.

N+
One of the levels in the Nintendo DS version of is designed as a large Triforce.

Neverwinter Nights
A boss found in  is called Series:.

Ōkami

 * Although does not contain a direct reference, director  admits he has been influenced by  series while developing the  title, which was also adapted for the Wii in 2008. Coincidentally, both Ōkami and  feature a wolf as a playable character, with Amaterasu and TPHD:, respectively.
 * In the Ponc'tan area, the houses' doors show a symbol identical to that of the Series:.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All
In part 4-1 of the second case in , Phoenix utters the line "Well, excuuuse me, Princess," a reference to.

Pocket God
In, the Retro Skin Pack allows you to change the Spear to the "Legend of Ooga Sword." The design is very similar to the Series:.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Flora's shawl has an image of a Series: on it which can be seen in the opening scene of.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

 * In, the Shop minigame contains a puzzle featuring blue, yellow, and red NaN Ocarinas, which are named "Witch's Song," "Fairy's Breath," and "Goblin's Bellow," respectively.
 * The game's story features an antagonist wreaking havoc on a remote city after donning the Mask of Chaos, a relic of an ancient civilization, which bears similarities to the plot of.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
In, the crime scene sketch of Dr. Belduke's death shows his alchemical studies featuring a drawing of a Series:.

Skullgirls

 * One of Parasoul's Egrets in will occasionally say "Well, excuuuuse me, princess!" when being summoned, in direct reference to.
 * One of Robo-Fortune's quotes when the player loses due to a time-out is "I AM ERROR", referencing TAoL: of.

Slay the Spire
One type of potion that can be obtained in  is called a "Fairy in a Bottle" which heals the character to 30% of their maximum health after losing all health. This is a reference to NaN Fairies and NaN Fairy Bottles which are common in.

Slingo Mystery 2: The Golden Escape
In chapter 19 of Slingo Mystery 2: The Golden Escape, players come across a table with several masks on it, including Series: and the Series:.

South Park: The Stick of Truth
In, one of the costumes, the Wood Elf Outfit, bears a resemblance to Series:'s Series: and includes a green cap with blond hair. A sword that resembles the Series:, the Elf Blade, can also be purchased. When the player character obtains a new weapon or piece of equipment, he holds it above his head similarly to Series:.

Spyro: A Hero's Tail
In, when Spyro finds the ball gadget, the professor mentions NaN Gold Skulltula Tokens and NaN Piece of Hearts.

Terraria
Players in can create a set of vanity items called the Hero's Clothes which look very similar to Series:'s iconic Series:. The set is made of three parts: Hero's Hat, Shirt, and Pants. The clothes do not affect the player's stats in any way.

The Binding of Isaac
is an isometric dungeon crawler heavily influenced by the original. The most notable influence graphic-wise is the HUD, which closely mimics the design and style of the one in.
 * Multiple items in the game are references to items in . Among them are Hearts, Bombs, and Keys, but there are also items that function the same and resemble the Compass, Map, and Stepladder.
 * Several enemies behave similarly to enemies from . Some of these enemies behave the same as Ropes and Darknuts. The bosses Chub, C. H. A. D., and the Carrion Queen have the same weakness as Dodongo. The boss Pin is inspired from Lanmolas in its attack patterns, and the boss Scolex seems to be inspired from both Lanmolas and Moldorm, as it will burrow underground, and its only weakness is its tail.
 * There is a slim chance, when using the telepills, that it will take the protagonist to a secret room. The room contains a character who says "I AM ERROR."
 * In some endings of the game, the protagonist will open a treasure chest, and take out an item. he will then hold the item up high, exactly like the, while the "Item Get!" theme will play.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

 * One of the Challenges in called "I Rule" is a phonetically similar to Hyrule where Isaac is given Mom's Knife as a Sword, the Liberty Shield as a Shield, the Boomerang, and both Key Pieces to resemble the Boss Key.
 * The Japanese logo of the game is heavily inspired from the Japanese logo of . The word Rebirth is also in a purple box, similar to the purple box containing the phrase Triforce of the Gods. The  expansion changes the color of the box to gold. The Japanese used on the title screen,, also mirrors the Japanese name for ,.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
If one talks to Farkus after he turns into a werewolf in Dustman's Cairn, you can ask if all the Companions have that ability. He will say that only members of The Circle can turn into werewolves and that "It's a secret to everybody."

The Longest Journey
The keyholes on the communication statues on the Island of Alais have a symbol that resembles the Series:.

The Simpsons Game
 references series twice:
 * When the player reaches the level "Enter the Cheatrix," Lisa yells "I hope I get to meet Zelda...ZELDA," while small hearts are falling from pipes.
 * When the player reaches the level "NeverQuest", Homer is dressed as Series: and Marge is dressed as Series:.

Transformice
In , Series:'s hat and hair, the Series: and the Series: can be found in the shop. There is also a Series: costume.

VVVVVV
The screen containing the first shiny trinket of the first level in  is named "It's a Secret to Nobody".

Warcraft II
In  and its expansion, one can see the Triforce in one of the stones of the Temple of the Damned.

Warcraft III
In  and the expansion, if the player clicks a "Druid of the Claw" enough times he will say "Can't ... stop ... DANCING!" possibly in reference to Series: (with music in the background somewhat like "Series:").

World of Warcraft
A long quest chain in  is available in the zone Un'Goro Crater which heavily references series.
 * It begins when the player locates a stranded raft (a reference to ) in Un'Goro Crater, which starts the quest "It's a Secret to Everybody." The player must then find a bag nearby it, containing a Curled Map Parchment, a Large Compass, a Lion-headed Key, and a Faded Photograph. The photograph shows a picture of a pair of gnomes dressed similarly to Series: and Series:, standing in front of a ruined castle. The player then has to find the gnome dressed as Series: in the photo, named Linken, who is located at a camp in the zone, to continue.
 * Further down the quest-line, the player is tasked with stealing a plant from a gnoll named Miblon Snarltooth. Miblon will respond with "Grumble grumble" if he is spoken to. To distract Miblon to steal the plant, the player must purchase a Series: item from a nearby dwarf, who will sell it to the main character with the quote, "Buy something, will ya?" Both quotes, and the ability of meat to distract monsters, are a reference to the first.
 * Near the end of the quest-line, the player must summon a water elemental named Aquementas to do a task for them, in reference to the dragon Series:.
 * The end of the quest chain, named "It's Dangerous to Go Alone," involves the player slaying a fire elemental and taking the Golden Flame it was guarding back to Linken. The Golden Flame resembles a golden triangle, and Linken says it is "dangerous in the hands of those with an evil heart" which references the Series:. The rewards for completing this quest are Linken's Sword of Mastery, Linken's Boomerang, and the Spirit of Aquementas.
 * There is a kodo in Un'Goro Crater named Dadanga, and its owner says it "dislikes smoke." A reference to the first game, when a man says "Series: DISLIKES SMOKE."

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
In the  expansion pack, Linken reappears as a guest party member at Sethria's Roost in Mount Hyjal. He rides a brown horse resembling Epona. Linken also says some of Link's quotes, "Excuuuse me, princess!" and "Oh boy! I'm so hungry I could eat a fire elemental!" Patch 4.3 revamped the Darkmoon Faire and added a three headed Hydra named Gleok in the Darkmoon Faire Zoo as a reference to Series:.

ZARA the Fastest Fairy
The title logo for  is similar to logo, featuring red, uppercase letters with serifs, with the "Z" being larger, and the rest of the title directly below. Zara flies through environments reminiscent of forested areas in, gaining speed by collecting objects called "bling" that are nearly identical to NaN Rupees—specifically, the slightly shorter ones seen in SS undefined.


 * In the episode "Zombie Party a Go-Go," Zelda's Lullaby is played both times that Waffle is ridiculed by Mr. Blik.

In the first episode in "the Waz's" office, Majora's Mask can be seen on the wall.


 * The character of Xandir's girlfriend, voiced by Cree Summer, is largely based on Zelda. From the episode "Gay Bash", she was Xandir's girlfriend before he came out of the closet. The evil Lord Slashstab used to capture her for no reason, leading to Xandir's never-ending quest to save her. She seems to be a terrible homophobe, refusing to allow Xandir to rescue her once he informs her he is gay, even though at the time she was being lowered into a pit of megacobras in Lord Slashstab's castle.
 * Xandir's appearance is also based on . Xandir has blond hair, blue eyes, pointed ears, and green clothing, much like Link.

In the final episode of the seventh season, Marshall Eriksen gets drunk and attempts to use an ATM. Instead of the ATM information, he imagines scenes from on the screen.


 * In the sketch "Gaming’s Next Top Princess", Zelda appeared as one of the contestants with Peach and Samus. She later had a modeling picture with Ganondorf as Sheik. Also, in the sketch "Minute to Flynn It", Link appeared on the head of Clu when his head malfunctioned.
 * In the sketch "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Icarus", Zelda is among the students attending the school Pit goes to, and she sits with Peach and Daisy during lunchtime. When Pit and Kirby ask to sit with them, they tell him to go beat up Bowser, Wario and Ganondorf for them. Towards the end of the sketch, Peach, Daisy and Zelda become Pit's servants after winning a Super Smash Bros.-esque fight with Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Sonic and Mega Man.

In the episode "Bowl-R-Rama Drama," fanfare music sounds every time Baljeet holds the "World's Most Pointless Records" book over his head, similarly to how Link raises every new item he finds. Also, in some episodes like "S'Winter" or "We Call it Maze," the Triforce can be seen in the background.


 * In the season 3 episode "Shoe", a sketch named "Rescuing Zelda" shows Link saving Zelda as usual, but Zelda states that she barely knows Link and then goes on about the other guys that attempted to rescue her. After that, Zelda gives Link eight Rupees and then simply leaves, much to Link's disbelief.
 * A sketch from the season 8 episode "Fridge Smell" features Link and Zelda asleep in bed, only for Link to get awoken by Zelda's farts. Talk about a "wind-waker".
 * A sketch from the season 8 episode "Hopefully Salt" features Link trying to undo Zelda's bra while they have sex, with the "secret" jingle playing when he does.
 * A sketch based on the Super Smash Bros. series and The Hunger Games appears in season 9, known as "The Smashing Games". Link is among the characters to attack the Villager after getting a Smash invitation.
 * In the season 9 episode "3 2 1 2 333, 222, 3...66?", a sketch named "Ocarina Fitness" shows Darunia complaining about being asked if he skips leg day.

At the beginning of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the movie plays the Great Fairy Fountain theme song and, later on, it plays the chime from when Link obtains an item.


 * In the second episode of the "Imaginationland" trilogy, when the wall breaks away and the bad imaginary characters charge out to cause havoc, Link, who is one of the good imaginary characters, can be seen running away within a second.
 * Ganondorf can also be spotted in the third episode of the same trilogy, during the war of the good imaginary characters versus the bad imaginary characters.
 * In the "Black Friday" trilogy, Kenny dons Princess Zelda's dress from and assumes the name Princess Kenny.
 * In the episode The End of Serialization as we Know it, Sheila Brofovski checks her son Ike Broflovski's search history to see if he did any trolling on the internet. One of Ike's searches is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.



Steven, the titular character of the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe, owns several Nintendo consoles, including a Nintendo GameCube with a copy of. In the episode  a Bottle of Milk that resembles the Bottles from and  can be seen on a shelf in the background of one scene. In the episode  Steven sings a slowed down version of the Chest Opening jingle when pulling his mothers sword from his pet lions magic mane. Series creator,, stated that the music in Steven Universe is influenced by video games, including.



In Episode 11 of Season 6, Flutter Brutter, a background Pony resembling Link can be seen pulling a cart of Rupees while in the town of Ponyville. He sports Link's signature hat, with a deep brown coat and light blond mane and tail. His Cutie Mark resembles an incomplete Heart Container. He also has a white mark trailing down the front of his face, giving him an appearance similar to Epona's.


 * The character Starfire appears in a video game called "Starfire's Quest: The Legend of the Legendary Quest" when each Titan enters their own game. The game features several references to The Legend of Zelda and.
 * In the episode "Knowledge", Raven gives Starfire a pendant containing multiple symbols, one of which is the Triforce.

In the fifth episode of Season 5, Gavin (played by Bruce McCulloch) wears a green cap like the one Link commonly wears.

In the episode "Child Fearing," there was a character who resembles Link. The character was not officially announced as Link, but it has many of Link's key features, as well as what looks like a Fairy. The character was in a game, controlled by the Mayor of Townsville. The Mayor made the character slash his sword, get smashed by giant brick squares twice, run into walls, and kill the creature which looks like a Fairy. Afterward, the Mayor gets a "start over?," in which the screen zooms out of the game, and the viewers can clearly see that the character was in fact in a game, as well as the Mayor holding what looks like a Nintendo 64 controller.

The Tale of Zelmore is a video game parody of The Legend of Zelda series which appeared twice: it first appeared in "The Flakers," being played by Darwin and Anais. In "The Promise," Gumball and Darwin express excitement for its sequel. When Gumball takes the disc out to play the game, he holds it up in the same fashion Link does when he finds an item in a chest. He also hums the same tune. In "The Scam," Sarah is dressed as the Moon from for Halloween.


 * : When Bart turns Springfield into Hell, the swirling whirlpool above the church is similar to how Hyrule Castle turned into Ganon's Castle after Ganon takes over in the future in.
 * : Professor Frink is dressed as Link coming outside of Well-Hung-Over's.
 * : Dr. Hibbert is selling potions. The potions and their effect reflect the ones in all the games: a Red Potion (restores Health) for 20 NaN Rupees, a Green Potion (restores Magic for 30 NaN Rupees, and a Blue Potion (restores both) for 100 NaN Rupees.
 * : One of the games shown after the electricity cuts out is a game resembling.

In "Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons", Grunkle Stan swats a fairy on his back, which says "Hey. Look. Listen," referencing Navi's infamous calls to Link in.

In the episode "Time To Rob and Slam", when the show's main characters Cyd and Shelby watch Barry's favorite movie "Spark Dynamo", a white Triforce is shown in the background near the end of the episode.

In the episode "Total Rickall", a flashback scene shows Rick running into the family's living room holding an limited edition Nintendo 3DS XL, claiming he bought it at Wal-Mart at a cheap price and could sell it at a more expensive cost.

In the episode "Childish Things", a person is seen dressed up as Link at the National City Toy Convention.

In the episode "An 8-Bit Princess and a Flat Tire Genius", Meemaw gifts Sheldon a Tanoshi, a gaming console that resembles a SNES, and a game called "The Quest for Adeera", with a box that is similar to that of the first. The flavor text on the back of the box back reads "Brave adventurer, prepare to enter a world beyond your imagination, where the only sound you'll hear is your own heart pounding as you race through the dark woods", a reference to the box of.

Adventure Time

 * The cover of Issue 41 features numerous blades from throughout popular culture, including the Series:, based on its appearances in and.

At a sketch called "Peach and Zelda Catch Up," both Peach and Zelda are in a café reunited after a long time talking about their frustrations, while admitting that they actually enjoy being kidnapped.

Homestar Runner
A large number of references have been made by Homestar Runner. A list can be found on the Homestar Runner Wiki.

Homestuck

 * The webcomic Homestuck makes several references to The Legend of Zelda series:
 * Just before John Egbert launches into the sky to help his friend, Jade, play Sburb, Vriska messages him via Pesterchum and demands that he changes his attire, insulting his taste in fashion. John agrees to change his clothes, but rejects the idea of discarding his current pair, claiming to be like Link and comparing his power over wind to being like the Wind Waker.
 * In the playable flash segment, "> [S GET UP JOHN, THIS IS NO TIME FOR SLUMBER.]," two references to The Legend of Zelda can be seen. By hitting AltGr+T, a small window appears asking for a trickster code, which is 024913. Following the code being entered, John Egbert's appearance changes to resemble Link from and his hammer is replaced with the Master Sword. Alongside John is a Tier 2 Prototyped Sprite of Guru Guru which serves no purpose other than to accompany John.

Problem Sleuth
When the titular character retrieves the "Chronoscope of Axial Conjugation" from the Cathedral of Syndetic Ascension, Problem Sleuth assumes Link's famous pose while a Triforce appears in the background. Shortly thereafter, this scene is obstructed by text pointing out how "lame" of a parody it is.

Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series
In the episode "Massively Multiplayer Online Children's Card Game," Yugi, Joey, and Mokuba find a fairy that repeats the infamous "Hey! Listen!" over and over. Later, Joey activates the OoT3D:, immediately followed by the beginning of "Saria's Song."

Cultural influence

 * The band have expressed devout appreciation for the series in several ways. They came onstage to  intro music during their Reptilian Empire Tour in 2006. Three members of the band can be seen wearing matching Triforce rings in their music video for "Mouth Like a Magazine".
 * Joe Pleiman created a song parody of the main Zelda theme. It was recorded by his band "The Rabbit Joint" for their 1998 album of the same name. The song is commonly falsely attributed to System of a Down.
 * Boom Bip's song "Roads Must Roll" from the album Seed to Sun (Lex Records, 2002) contains melodies from the title theme song to.
 * Robin Williams named his daughter "Zelda" because Zelda is his favorite video game series. When his wife had been pregnant with their daughter they had been playing constantly and both had decided they would name their daughter after Princess Zelda.
 * On the XM channel, 80s on 8, theme is occasionally put in the background.
 * To commemorate the release of, Google Maps added an image of Series: to their app to represent the user's position when using Street View mode.