- "I've known Nayru was the Oracle of Ages since she was a child. I have always been beside her, protecting her."
- — Ralph
Ralph is a character from The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. He is the guardian and childhood friend of Nayru, the Oracle of Ages. During the game he displays strong determination to save and protect Nayru. Link encounters him several times in the story running around and providing information. Despite his courage, however, he sees Link as his "competition" and makes a game out of beating Link to rescuing Nayru, not realizing the danger of the situation. Similarly to Link, he wields a sword.
Biography[]
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
Link first encounters Ralph in the Forest of Time, listening to the singing of Nayru. He greets Link and Impa, who is secretly under the possession of the sorceress Veran. When Veran possesses Nayru's body, Ralph immediately draws his sword and threatens Veran, but is not able to attack, as Veran claims that he will only hurt Nayru by doing so. Veran escapes through a Time Portal, which Ralph and Link later use to follow after her into the past. In the past, Ralph parts ways with Link, claiming he will be the one to rescue Nayru.
Link later meets Ralph again outside Cheval's house. Ralph tells Link he saw the name of Cheval on a grave in the present. With this information, Link manages to obtain the Zora's Flippers and Cheval Rope from Cheval's Grave. The two meet again outside of Ambi's Palace, where Ralph reveals information regarding a secret passage into the castle grounds. Without waiting for Link, Ralph rushes into the palace. Link follows after him, sneaking past Queen Ambi's guards. Inside the Palace, Link and Ralph encounter Nayru. After a brief battle, Link expels Veran from Nayru's body. Ralph appears and is reunited with Nayru. In Nayru's stead, Veran then possesses Queen Ambi and immediately summons guards, forcing Link, Ralph, and Nayru to flee. In the present, Ralph apologizes to Link and claims all he did was run around while Link did the saving. Despite this, Ralph again claims he will be the one to stop Veran and goes back to the past.
After Link collects the Essences of Time and approaches the Black Tower, he is told by Nayru and Impa that Ralph is Queen Ambi's descendant — due to this, his plans to kill Queen Ambi in order to vanquish Veran might prevent him from ever existing. Link scales the tower and witnesses Ralph attacking the possessed Ambi's body. Veran easily defeats Ralph but spares his life. She then proceeds to battle Link. After Link frees Queen Ambi and defeats Veran, he meets Ralph and Nayru at the bottom of the tower. As they leave the area, they are confronted by Queen Ambi, and her guards come to help Link. Ralph and Ambi talk face to face for the first time as family, claiming she is his great, great, great, great, great, great, grandmother. In the credits Link can be seen teaching Ralph to perform the Spin Attack.
Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages manga[]
Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Legend of Zelda series and should not be considered part of the overall storyline.
Ralph encounters Link and Impa shortly after Nayru is possessed by Veran. He blames Link for her disappearance and the two fight over Nayru's Harp of Ages and Link activates it, sending him back in time without Ralph. Ralph then travels to a nearby village and discovers the Harp under the ownership of a merchant. Ralph buys the Harp and uses it to travel back in time where he encounters Link fighting Veran. The two escape using the Harp again. This time they find themselves at sea where they meet a group of Piratians and Queen Ambi's former lover Cap'n. Cap'n tells Link and Ralph Veran's weakness and the two travel Back to Queen Ambi's Time. There Ralph meets Link's ancestor Sir Raven who takes them to a secret village. Veran decides to posses Ralph and uses him to destroy her weakness, Mystery Seeds. Veran leaves Ralph's body and summons soldiers to the village who kidnap Raven.
Link and Ralph go to Veran's Black Tower and rescue Raven. Link also manages to convince Queen Ambi to stop her cruel treatment to her people by reminding her why she originally built the tower: to send a message to her lover Cap'n. Veran then posses the Queen, but Nayru, now free of Veran's influence, uses her powers to send Link, Raven, Ralph, and herself to the future. They return to the past, where Nayru uses her power to grow another Mystery Seed. Ralph decides to try and deal with Veran himself and attacks Queen Ambi in her tower. Veran tells Ralph that Ambi is his ancestor and if she were to die he would fade away. Ralph states that the only thing important to him is protecting Nayru and continues his attack. Just when he is about to kill Ambi, Link appears and uses a Mystery Seed to force Veran out of Ambi's body. Ralph, Link and Raven combine their forces and defeat Veran together. Koume and Kotake then appear and use the sorrow Veran collected from the people of Labrynna to resurrect Ganon. Ralph, Link, and Raven, along with Ambi's Guards and the villagers, combine their power to defeat the evil king.
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.