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"IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS."
Old Man

Swords are recurring weapons in the Legend of Zelda series. They are long, sharp blades that are mounted to handles and often given hand guards as well. A sword serves as Link's primary weapon in all Zelda titles. Most swords can be carried in one hand, along with a shield in the other. Some swords, however, require both hands to be used. In virtually every game in the series, Link holds a sword in his left hand; the only exceptions are the Wii version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as these games utilize motion control and therefore must accommodate for the fact that most people are right-handed. Additionally, Link appears right-handed in the Master Quest mode of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, as left and right are inverted in this mode.

The most famous blade in the series is the legendary Master Sword. Most of the time, Link starts out with a relatively weak sword such as the Wooden Sword or the Kokiri Sword, and acquires a more powerful one such as the Magical Sword or the Master Sword as the game progresses. Many Zelda games contain three or more different swords, some of which are not required to complete the game, but can be obtained by completing various side quests — for example, the Gilded Sword and the Biggoron's Sword. In other instances, specific swords, often the Master Sword, are needed to overcome certain obstacles, and to complete the game. Some swords can be upgraded as Link progresses through the story, reforged by talented blacksmiths, or by powerful entities such as Great Fairies.

Some swords are unobtainable such as Zelda's Sword or are enemy weapons such as the Sword of the Six Sages and Scimitar of Twilight in Twilight Princess or Demise's Sword in Skyward Sword. However some games allow Link to utilize the swords of fallen enemies such as the Darknut Sword and Phantom Ganon's Sword in The Wind Waker or the Massive Swords in Skyward Sword. Breath of the Wild is the first game where Link can keep and equip swords obtained from enemies instead of wielding them temporarily and where enemies can utilize any swords discarded or dropped by Link if unarmed. However only incarnations of the chosen hero can apparently wield the Master Sword to combat evil as no incarnation of Zelda has shown the ability to do so despite being capable of holding it as several incarnations have demonstrated.

Hylians, Humans, Sheikah, Gerudo, Kokiri, Rito, Zora, Deities, and Demons have all have a history of utilizing swords as weapons as have numerous species of monsters and even autonomous machines such as Guardian Scouts and Ancient Robots. Gorons have a long history of crafting swords and in Breath of the Wild wield large blunt swords that function as a Hammer-Sword hybrid weapon. Koroks can craft high quality wooden Forest Dweller's Swords for Hylians. In addition to the Master Sword, various other holy swords exist such as the Fierce Deity Sword, Four Sword, Phantom Sword, Lokomo Sword, and Sword of the Six Sages though their power varies depending upon the sword. Demise's Sword, Death Sword, and the non-canon Soul Edge are examples of evil or demonic swords. Some enchanted swords may even possess sentient spirits such as Fi or the demonic Ghirahim that faithfully serve the wielder of the sword they inhabit. Breath of the Wild introduces magical elemental swords and greatswords empowered with fire, ice, or electricity.

Most swords Link wields are one-handed weapons allowing Link to equip a shield for defense. However some games feature heavy swords or greatswords that require two hands to wield properly. Two-Handed Swords generally have greater attack power and range though are generally slower and prevent Link from wielding them in conjunction with a shield thus reduce Link's defense. Link is often depicted as a prodigal swordsman whom often masters swordsmanship very early in life with the Link from Breath of the Wild being the youngest known Link to wield a sword as he was already a talented swordsman by the age of four capable of besting more experienced adult knights. Additionally some games provide various sword techniques Link can learn such as the Spin Attack, Sword Beam, Skyward Strike, Downthrust, Dash Attack, Roll Attack, Parry, and Flurry Rush.

One-handed swords[]

Two-handed swords[]

Non-obtainable/temporary swords[]

Other swords[]

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