This is a simple overview of the characters who appear over the course of the story.
(A note from Melora: I'm going to be working on adding pictures and links to each of these over the next fee days)
Zelda's only named attendant in this story. Seems to be the head attendant.
Her name seems to be derived from "Impa", whom she replaces, and possibly "Wanpakku Comics", as a little in-joke?
Returning character from Hyrule Fantasy. He's a bit older now, and has seemingly become part of Zelda's royal guard.
Talks in a more formal way now, but will slip back into his old informal style at certain points.
Returning character from Hyrule Fantasy. The princess of Hyrule, still ruling over the land.
She initially stays behind when Link sets out, but eventually joins him on his journey for a while.
Returning character from Hyrule Fantasy. Link's materialistic parrot companion, he stayed behind at the castle while Link went on another journey.
Seemingly holds some position of power in the castle now, having gained the title of "Sir", but it's unclear what his actual role is. Notably, Link does not appear to have a title like that now.
Has also since gotten married and had three kids.
Returning character from Hyrule Fantasy. The main character, naturally.
Left on a journey some time after the events of the previous story, but returns when the mysterious mark appears on his hand.
Going by the game's lore, he should be 16 now, but this manga never specifies it - outside of the fact that he's underage.
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 22 (sleeping); Volume 3, Chapter 6, Page 164 (awake)
The sleeping Zelda from the legend. Link sets out to wake her with the power of the complete Triforce.
Originally a prince of Hyrule, became the new king after his father's death.
Naturally, he is deceased by the time of the story, but seemingly appears to Link in a dream.
Apparently, Link looks just like him, but the story leaves it up to interpretation what this means.
The magician who cast the sleeping spell on Princess Zelda I.
He disappeared forever after casting the curse (or did he?!)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 36 (flashback); Volume 3, Chapter 4, Page 211 (actual)
First Named: Volume 1, Page 34
Returning character from Hyrule Fantasy. He is the old man who gave Link his first sword, the character who says "It's dangerous to go alone" in the game.
Also the old man who's celebrating with everyone else at the end of Hyrule Fantasy.
He passed away some time between the two stories, but still left behind some words of wisdom for Link.
Cuscus (クスクス)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 35
First Named: Volume 1, Page 35
A possum-like beast person who trained under the Old Master as a pupil to learn magic.
Wants to become human.
Possibly named for the cuscus possum species, which he slightly resembles.
His Japanese name can also be literally romanized as "Kusukusu" which is also an onomatopoeia for snickering, so one could localize his name as "Snickers", if one so chooses.
I figured "Cuscus" sounded more like something that an English Zelda localization would go for, usually.
Gicolot (ジコロット) & Masheita (マシータ)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 41
First Named: Volume 1, Page 41
Gicolot is the younger sister of the Old Lady from the Hyrule Fantasy story. Masheita is presumably Gicolot's granddaughter. (She calls Gicolot "grandma" but it's not specified if she is literally related.)
They run a potion shop in Western Hyrule in the Old Lady's stead.
I tried romanizing their names in a way that felt close to the typical English Zelda localization style without outright changing them.
Mazura (マズラ)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 47
Not actually named in this story, but per the game and guidebooks his name is Mazura.
Guardian of Parapa Palace.
Originally he was called "Horsehead" in English, but Hyrule Encyclopedia went and gave him his Japanese name "Mazura" back, so I went with that.
Urabe (ウラベ)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 63
First Named: Volume 1, Page 63
Billina's grandmother.
Used to be a priestess in Ruto.
Fell into a despondent state after the Trophy/Goddess Statue was stolen from the town.
Billina (ビリーナ)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 63
First Named: Volume 1, Page 77
Urabe's granddaughter.
Guides Link and Watt to Midoro Palace, as she knows her way around the swamp.
I'm guessing she was intentionally given a similar name to Billy as she fulfills a similar role to him in the first story.
"Billina" is not that common as a feminine variant for "Billy", but it is the name of a character in the Oz series, and that character's name is spelled the same as hers in Japanese.
That's why I decided to romanize her name as "Billina" just like the Oz character.
Ibis (イビス)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 71
First Named: Volume 1, Page 69
The mage of Ruto Town.
Link first learns magic from him.
It's not explicitly mentioned, but the magic Link learns from him should be the Jump Magic.
Jermafenser (ジャーマフェンサ)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 86
Not actually named in this story, but per the game and guidebooks his name is Jermafenser.
Guardian of Midoro Palace.
Originally he was called "Helmethead" in English, but Hyrule Encyclopedia went and gave him his Japanese name "Jermafenser" back, so I went with that.
Very similar to Mazura in that sense.
Bagu (バグ)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 97
First Named: Volume 1, Page 98
A lumberjack living around the general Moruge Forest/Moruge Swamp/Midoro Swamp area.
Serves about the same role as in the game, giving Link a note for the River Man.
His name is actually supposed to be "Bug", to match with the character "Error", but was mistranslated in English as "Bagu".
However, since Error himself doesn't show up in the manga, I thought going with "Bagu" was still alright here.
Old Man of Saria
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 102
Not actually named in the story.
Teaches Link the Life Magic (Revitalization Art).
River Man (ワタシバノオトコ)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 104
Not named in the story.
Though this character's appearance seems to take from Error, from his role we know he is the same as the River Man in the game.
Let's Link cross the river by Saria Town after seeing the note from Bagu.
Masked Man
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 109
First Named: Volume 3, Chapter 6, Page 167
A mysterious masked man who resides at Death Mountain, and is seemingly the driving force behind the monsters' efforts to resurrect Ganon.
Despite appearing human, the monsters follow his commands.
SPOILERS: highlight to read
It is eventually revealed that his name is Ganon.
He is Ganon's original human self, and the monstrous Ganon whom we've come to know is a part of himself that split from him and became independent, possibly similar in nature to Link's Shadow.
Ganon is also several centuries old, and is in fact the very magician who cursed Princess Zelda I.
Old Man of Mido
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 128
Not actually named in the story.
Teaches Link the Fairy Magic (Fairy Art).
Gump (ガンプ)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 133
First Named: Volume 1, Page 134
A wolf-like beast person, whom Link met during his travels.
He taught Link sword fighting for a while, and Link greatly respects him.
He fulfills the role of teaching Link the Down Thrust like in the game, though there's quite an expansion in story content there, of course.
He desires to be the greatest swordsman in the world, seeking to become stronger for that purpose.
His name could also be romanized as "Gamp", but I preferred "Gump". Makes the pronunciation more obvious in English, too.
Rebonack (レボナック)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 144
Not actually named in this story, but per the game and guidebooks his name is Rebonack. (Also sometimes called Iron Knuckle)
Guardian of the Island Palace.
Patt, Pico, and Pott (パット,ピコ,ポット)
First Appearance: Volume 1, Page 181
First Named: Volume 1, Page 182
Watt's children.
Patt looks the most like Watt, but he does have his mother's eyes, and doesn't wear a bag, so that's usually how you can tell them apart.
Pico's name is a bit of an odd one out in the family, though it's a bit less so in Japanese (compare literal romanizations: Watto, Torotto, Patto, Piko, Potto), but still a bit off.
You could romanize her name as something closer to "Peec" or the like to make her name sound less different from the others in English, but that'd be kinda stretching it. I just stuck with "Pico" because her name doesn't perfectly fit the family pattern in any case.
Pott ends up having the biggest role of the three, tagging along with Link for a short while.
Lady Trott (トロット嬢)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 13
First Named: Volume 1, Page 182
Watt's wife.
Watt met her sometime between the events of Hyrule Fantasy and the time when Link went off on his journey.
Watt and Zelda (and Link) saved the forest where Trott lived from monsters, and his actions then endeared him to her.
They got married some time after Link set out on his journey.
Ganon (ガノン)First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 6 (flashback); Volume 2, Page 142 (actual)
First Named: Volume 1, Page 8
Returning character from Hyrule Fantasy.
Like in the game, the monsters are aiming to revive him.
However, in this story they actually end up succeeding (sort of), and thus Ganon plays a larger role in the latter third of the tale again.
Monster Leader
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 18
Not actually named in the story.
A reptilian monster, possibly a Geru or Daira, who leads a group of monsters that built a fortress in the forest where Trott came from.
They were apparently hoping to revive Ganon, but it's unclear if they're affiliated with the Masked Man at all.
They were all defeated by the efforts of Zelda, Watt, Trott, and Link.
Old Lady (お婆さん)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 54
First Named: Volume 2, Page 54
Returning character from Hyrule Fantasy.
Gicolot's older sister, she is the old lady who previously ran the potion shop with the help of the fairy fountain.
Link and Billy encounter her again in Eastern Hyrule, where she has been stuck for a little while.
Old Man of Nabooru
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 55
Not actually named in the story.
Teaches Link the Fire Magic (Fire Art).
Wizard (ウィズザール)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 64
A Wizard enemy whom Link encounters in the Maze Palace, who also actually speaks to him.
The Wizard reprimands Link for entering the palace without obtaining Reflect, and falling for a trap that had been laid by the monsters.
Hank (ハンク)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 73
First Named: Volume 2, Page 78
Shamon's son.
Fulfills the role of the kidnapped child from the game, being held at Maze Island.
Shamon (シャモン)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 77
First Named: Volume 2, Page 79
A swordsman and also the mage of Darunia.
Teaches Link the "Reflect Magic" and helps him forge a new sword.
Carock (カロック)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 116
Not actually named in this story, but per the game and guidebooks his name is Carock.
Guardian of the Maze Island Palace.
The Flute-loving Monster
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 128
A monster that lived in the river on the way to Kasuto.
It loves the sound of the Flute, and isn't actually on Ganon's side.
It fulfills the role of the River Devil from the games, though it does more as a character, too.
The idea of the River Devil being driven away by the sound of the Flute is reinterpreted as the monster enjoying it and helping out Link and friends in return.
It seems particularly attached to Zelda, for showing it kindness.
Tick (チック) & Tock (タック)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 158
First Named: Volume 2, Page 160
Two fairies Link encounters in this story after Zelda's death.
Their names could be romanized in many ways, but since they're a duo, I thought this made the most sense.
Elder of Kasuto
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 163
Not actually named in the story.
The elder of Old Kasuto.
Eventually teaches Link the Thunder Magic (Thunder Art).
Chic (チック)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 171
First Named: Volume 2, Page 173
A boy from New Kasuto.
For some reason, he has the same name as the fairy Tick in Japanese - might be a goof on Mr. Ran Maru's part. (see Translation Notes)
Bente (ベンテ)
First Appearance: Volume 2, Page 176
First Named: Volume 2, Page 175
The mage of New Kasuto.
Teaches Link the Spell Magic (Spell Art).
Volvagia/Barba (ヴァルバジア/バルバジア)
First Appearance: Volume 3, Chapter 1, Page 220
Not actually named in this story, but per the game and guidebooks its name is Volvagia/Barba.
(In Adventure of Link its English localized name was "Barba", but in Ocarina of Time it was localized as "Volvagia" instead - in Japanese those bosses have the same name.)
Guardian of the Three-Eye Rock Palace.
Doesn't get any dialogue, poor fella.
Boruba (ボルバ)
First Appearance: Volume 3, Chapter 4, Page 191
First Named: Volume 3, Chapter 4, Page 194
Guardian of the Great Palace.
In all English media, this boss was called "Thunderbird", but his Japanese name is just "Boruba".
I went with the Japanese name because "Thunderbird" doesn't seem to fit this manga's interpretation of him especially.
This boss was never supposed to be any thunder-related bird after all, the English localizers just named him that - presumably to make his weakness easier to guess?
Link's Shadow
First Appearance: Volume 3, Chapter 4, Page 213
The evil in Link's heart manifested.
