All of the games in The Legend of Zelda series feature a boy named Link as the central playable character and hero. Link is frequently called upon to rescue Princess Zelda, after whom the series is named. Ganon is most often the central antagonist (and more recently, a new villain, the wind mage Vaati, has appeared in multiple Zelda games; specifically, The Minish Cap, Four Swords, and Four Swords Adventures). The action usually occurs in the land of Hyrule, and involves a divine relic known as the Triforce, a set of three magically-bound golden triangles of great power. In story terms, the earlier games did not deviate much from the standard "save the princess" theme, but later installments have diversified their plot, and added twists and turns to the tale. One Zelda game, Link’s Awakening, did not feature Zelda at all (although she was briefly mentioned when Link thought Marin was Princess Zelda), and in Majora’s Mask, she was only seen in a flashback. The protagonist in each game is not always the same boy named Link, although occasionally the same Link is controlled across multiple games (see nature of the protagonist).
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