Whether he’s appeared in a video game as a child or as an adult, Link has never exactly been a mountain of a human being. The Legend of Zelda’s iconic hero has always been depicted as someone of fairly average size, if not a bit on the smaller side. Even at his largest and buffest, an honor which probably belongs to Twilight Princess’ Link and his rock solid physique, he is still a far cry from the hulking Kratos’, Chris Redfields, or Ryus of the gaming world.
This has become more apparent than ever with the Era of the Wilds titles (Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity, Tears of the Kingdom), where Link finds himself looking up at someone when speaking to them more often than not. There is little surprise in Link being half the size of a Gerudo or a Goron, but even many Hylians and Sheikah tower over him. Although a canonical height has never been provided by Nintendo, YouTuber The Bread Pirate conducted a clever study in Breath of the Wild to determine that Link is roughly 5’2” tall (158.5 centimeters). It’s a rarity for mainstream entertainment — a fictional franchise where the hero is an adult male who would be considered well below average height in most parts of the world.
An exception that may immediately come to mind are Middle-earth’s most famous Hobbits, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, but The Legend of Zelda goes even further against the grain than they do in one very important way. Whereas Middle-earth’s stories characterize Hobbits as being heroic in spite of their size, the Era of the Wilds games rarely, if ever, bring direct attention to Link’s size. Bilbo, Frodo, Samwise, and other Hobbits are portrayed as surpassing expectations, bravely, and astonishingly participating in dangerous quests that they don’t belong in. Even still, they are not capable of the same mighty feats that Gandalf or Aragorn are, like slaying a Balrog or single-handedly fending off scores of Orcs.
Link, by contrast, is never depicted as having to overcome his stature to be an indomitable hero. He is a fearsome, fearless warrior who can defeat any foe no differently than if he were more than six feet tall and built like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Long before he saves Hyrule twice from destruction, in-game anecdotes laud his prowess as a knight, all without mentioning his smaller size. Once he gains kingdom-wide fame following Breath of the Wild, characters in Tears of the Kingdom react to him with awe, despite most having to look down at him when interacting.
One of the very few comparisons to Link is Kenshin Himura of the Rurouni Kenshin franchise. Kenshin (who is also canonically 5’2”) is regularly dwarfed by his opponents, yet he dismantles most of them with ease in battle. Simply confronting other samurai and revealing his identity strikes fear into their hearts. Another comparison is Wolverine, perhaps the most popular and most recognizable member of the X-Men, who is 5’3” (161.5 centimeters) within the continuity of Marvel Comics. However, when it came time to bring Wolverine into the mainstream eye via big budget, live action blockbusters, Hollywood instead opted for the 6’3” (190.5 centimeters) Hugh Jackman.
The Wolverine casting highlights the particular stigma that men of below average height face in Western societies. Unfortunately, they won’t come across many men of their size in our most popular forms of entertainment. Even the superheroes who are designed with more average appearances, like Batman, Captain America, Iron Man, and The Flash are far larger than Link, never mind the many brawny characters like Superman or Thor. The odds that James Bond will ever be portrayed by an actor much shorter than Daniel Craig (5’10”, 177.8 centimeters) are slim to none.
Professional sports are not much kinder. There is currently no athlete in the NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL who is Link’s height or shorter. In fact, there has never been a single athlete in the NBA’s or NHL’s history who was Link’s purported height of 5’2”. A mixed martial artist or a boxer who is considered “undersized” are targets for snarky ridicule even if they are successful at the highest levels of competition. Just ask former UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson, (5’3”), who once went 13-0 across more than five years and was among the most dominant champions in the sport. No matter how many opponents he tore through, Johnson always had to overcome disinterest from a large segment of fans because of his size.
Everyone deserves to feel positive about their bodies and see themselves represented in art. Like Kenshin and Wolverine, Link is a refreshing and very welcome exception to the norm for fictional heroes. Hopefully they are joined by others at their end of the height chart in the future.
