Underworld

Underworld
Link and Princess Zelda in the Underworld in the animated series
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda (1987)
Appears in	The Legend of Zelda The Adventure of Link Twilight Princess

"At that time, Ganon’s underlings were calling up new allies from the Underworld, and were beginning to work devilishly towards the revival of Ganon."

— The Adventure of Link prologue

The Underworld is a recurring location in the Legend of Zelda series. It is a mysterious location whose true definition or purpose is unknown.

Appearances

The Legend of Zelda

The term "Underworld" is never used in-game, but is widely accepted by fans to be the subterranean areas in which the dungeons are located (in contrast to the Overworld). It is regarded as Ganon's lair; however, this is somewhat inaccurate, as it is implied in the game manual that the dungeons existed prior to Ganon's arrival in Hyrule.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

The Underworld is mentioned in the prologue of the game. It is from here that Ganon's minions originiate, implying that they may all be demons, constructed of pure evil.

According to the original Japanese manual it is literally the "World of Spirits (Hell)".

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Auru mentions that prisoners in the Arbiter's Grounds who were sentenced to death were tortured before being banished directly to the Underworld by way of the Mirror of Twilight. Interestingly, this would seem to imply that either the mirror itself has two known pathways - one to the Twilight Realm and one to the Underworld - and the latter of the two cannot be accessed by Link, or that the 'Underworld' spoken of in the game is actually the Twilight Realm.

Non-canonical appearances

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.

The Legend of Zelda animated series

Dungeons are not considered to be individual structures. Rather, each one is just a separate entrance to the Underworld, which seems to run underneath all of Hyrule. Servants of Ganon often use hidden Underworld portals to surface near Link's current location.

The Legend of Zelda comics

The Underworld is Ganon's abode. At one point, he convinces the residents of the Water Town of Saria that he is really a good guy, made out to be a villain by Link and Princess Zelda. He goes on to claim that Link and Zelda are planning to flood the Underworld to flush Ganon out of his home unprovoked.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.

Theory

Theory warning: This section contains theoretical information based on the research of one or several other users. It has not been officially verified by Nintendo and its factual accuracy is disputed.

Because of the way the Underworld is spoken of in early installments of the Legend of Zelda series, it is possible that Ganon was originally intended to be the Devil of the Legend of Zelda universe. The Underworld is implied to be his lair and his minions are implied to be demons, furthering this concept.

Theory warning: Theories end here.