Triforce

The Triforce, also known as the Golden Power or the Power of Gold, is a golden, sacred relic that appears in many of The Legend of Zelda games. It was created by the three Golden Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore, after they had created Hyrule. The Triforce is made up of three equilateral triangles, which are joined (with an inverted empty triangle in the middle) to form a large equilateral triangle.

Summary
The three pieces of the Triforce are distinctively known as the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage, and they each represent a unique characteristic. In many of the games, Ganon is associated with the Triforce of Power, Princess Zelda with the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link with the Triforce of Courage.

The Triforce represents the essence of the three goddesses, and grants godlike power to the person with the Triforce. As a result, throughout the the history of Hyrule, many have searched for the Triforce and have even waged war over it. The Triforce is an inanimate object that cannot discern between good and evil desires. At times, the three triangles of the Triforce have been split into smaller pieces and scattered due to fear of misuse.

If an unworthy person attempts to claim the whole Triforce, its three parts separate, and the person only keeps the part that they believe in the most. The remaining two pieces each reside in two other chosen people, who can be identified by a triangular mark on the back of their hand. If the three pieces of the Triforce draw near, they resonate and attempt to reunify into a single Triforce. To unlock the full power of the Triforce, the person must demonstrate a balance of power, wisdom, and courage through a series of trials and have the complete Triforce in possession.

The Triforce has demonstrated some degree of sentience on occasion, and rarely communicates telepathically with a voice that refers to itself as the Essence of the Triforce.

The Legend of Zelda
The Triforce first appears in The Legend of Zelda, though it is only individually represented by the Triforce of Power and Triforce of Wisdom. The complete Triforce does not appear, and the manual describes both Triforce pieces as "golden triangles" (the "tri" prefix of Triforce could be derived from its triangular shape).

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is the first game to feature the whole Triforce due the debut appearance of the third piece, the Triforce of Courage. It also debuts the iconic symbol, shown only in illustrations.

In an era prior to the game's events, the King of Hyrule used the Triforce to maintain peace throughout Hyrule. He eventually died, and his heir, the prince, could only inherit part of the Triforce. The king had told a secret about the Triforce to only the prince's younger sister, Princess Zelda. She refused to tell the secret to the prince or to the magician assisting him, and the latter put her under a spell of eternal slumber.

One day, Link suddenly gains an image of three triangles on the back of his hand, which he shows to a shocked Impa. She showed a scroll to Link that explains the secret for uniting the Triforce. It reveals that both the Triforce of Power and of Wisdom remained in the Kingdom of Hyrule but the third piece, the Triforce of Courage, was hidden away. It further states that the Triforce must only be used by someone with no evil intent and an inborn special attribute. A triangular crest mark would appear on the back of a person worthy of possessing the Triforce. Link goes on an adventure to retrieve the Triforce of Courage from the Great Palace.

While the Triforce has a key role in the story, its only in-game appearance is in the ending. After getting the Triforce of Courage, Link uses the completed Triforce to awaken Princess Zelda from her slumber.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (itself known as Triforce of the Gods in Japan), the Triforce's backstory is greatly expanded in the game and in the manual, which describes the creation of Hyrule. After creating the world, the Gods departed and left behind an artifact representing a small portion of their essence, the Triforce. The person with the complete Triforce would be given three titles, "The Forger of Strength", "The Keeper of Knowledge", and "The Juror of Courage". The Triforce was located in the Golden Land, causing many to search hoping that someone worthy of the three titles would obtain it. A verse from the Book of Mudora made the Triforce even more desirable. Many dilapidated buildings closely related to the Triforce were mentioned repeatedly in Hylian legends, and some were rumored to have the Triforce. The desire of obtaining the Triforce would turn into a lust for power and then pure greed.

One day, a gang of thieves broke into the Golden Land. Ganondorf, the leader of the thieves, fought past his followers and grabbed the Triforce. A whispering voice from the Triforce encouraged Ganondorf to wish for his strong desire or dream. Ganondorf made an evil wish that shrouded the entire Golden Land in darkness, making it the Dark World. This led to the events of the Imprisoning War, which ended with Hyrule's forces sealing Ganon away in the Dark World.

The Triforce makes a few brief appearances in the game. It appears during the title screen sequence, where the three parts of the Triforce connect before the logo appears on-screen. The Triforce also appears in the ending after Link defeats Ganon. Link goes into a chamber, where all three parts of the Triforce are located, and is greeted by the Essence of the Triforce. It explains to Link about the Triforce and how Ganon used it to make an evil wish to conquer the world. Since Ganon was defeated, the Triforce awaited a new owner, and Link walked up to it, presumably wishing for everything to be restored.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the Triforce first appears in a flashback when the Great Deku Tree provides a backstory to Link on Hyrule's creation. The Triforce is called "golden triangles" by the Great Deku Tree. In the flashback, when the three goddesses finished creating Hyrule, they returned to the heavens and left behind the Triforce. It became the basis of the world's providence and was placed in the Sacred Realm. Other flashbacks like this appear at other points in the game.

During the game, Ganondorf is searching for the complete Triforce to conquer Hyrule. After Link pulls Master Sword from its pedestal, the portal to the Sacred Realm opens. Ganondorf sneaks in and touches the Triforce, but it separates into three pieces because Ganondorf's attributes of power, courage, and wisdom are imbalanced. Ganondorf only obtains the Triforce of Power because he desires power over wisdom and courage. The other parts, the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage, were inherited by Zelda and Link respectively. Ganondorf went to look for these two pieces, which he could obtain if he found them again.

Once Link has awakened six sages, Link learns the truth about where the remaining Triforce pieces went from Zelda, who is then captured by Ganondorf to lure Link in and obtain the Triforce pieces from both. Once Link reaches the top of Ganon's Castle where Ganondorf and the imprisoned Zelda are, the Triforce pieces resonate with one another, causing the symbols to glow on the back of each person's hand. In the end, Ganondorf fails to obtain the complete Triforce because Link, the six sages, and Zelda seal him into the Sacred Realm at the end of the game. Zelda sends Link back in time to before any of the game's events ever happened, allowing him to stop Ganondorf's takeover. However, the Triforce mark can still be seen on his hand, signifying the Triforce of Courage is still with him.

Aside from the flashbacks, the complete Triforce does not appear anywhere else in the game, although its symbol appears on various objects such as pictures, clothing, shields and saddles.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the Triforce only appears as a symbol, most notably on the Hero's Shield. Additionally, a texture used for certain pillars and blocks associated with the Ikana Canyon area have a Triforce symbol seemingly on the groin of a large-tongued figure, though it is replaced with a blank spot in Majora's Mask 3D. What resembles an inverted Triforce can be seen on the floor under the three light beams in the chamber Skull Kid curses Link, but as this is also absent in the remake, it may have been an unintentional consequence of how the beams overlap.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages
The Triforce has a minor yet identical role in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. In each game's opening sequence, the Triforce sends Link to an area in need of his help—Holodrum in the former game and Labrynna in the latter game. In the ending for both games' Linked Game, after Link defeats Ganon, the Triforce ascends into the sky, and each piece transforms into a bird. All three birds fly away.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Hero of Time returns to his original era, and the Triforce of Courage splits into eight fragments and scatters. Eventually, Ganon revives, and no hero appears to defeat him, leading the Goddesses to sink Hyrule under the Great Sea. Over time, the legend of the Triforce gets mangled by the few who know about it into the golden "Triumph Forks," which they believe to be some sort of magical cutlery.

Ganondorf manages to stay alive and continues to search for the remaining pieces, sending a giant bird called the Helmaroc King to capture pointy-eared girls to figure out which is the current incarnation of Zelda. This turns out to be Tetra, who only has a piece of it; the remaining part is actually held by King Daphnes. He reunites them, causing Tetra to become Zelda, and Link travels in search of the Triforce of Courage's shards. Once he does so, however, Ganondorf kidnaps Zelda. Once Link reaches them, Ganondorf takes the pieces, causing the Triforce to be reunited. However, only the first person to touch it will have their wish granted. King Daphnes ends up beating him to it, and wishes for Hyrule to be washed away for good so Link and Zelda can carve their own future. Hyrule fills with the water above, while Ganondorf, King Daphnes, the Master Sword, and the Triforce are forever buried under the sea, signifying the true end of the original Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the Triforce pieces went to the three main recipients due to Link traveling back in time at the end of Ocarina of Time. However, this means that Ganondorf gained the Triforce of Power, thus escaping the execution intended for him. He continues attempting to gain the other pieces, but in the end, once Link defeats him, the Triforce and the divine protection he received from it leave him, allowing him to die.

Despite several Triforce symbols appearing throughout the game and the Triforce appearing in a flashback, it is never mentioned by name.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the three Triforce pieces are located separately in the final dungeon, Sky Keep. Once Link obtains them all, he wishes for the elimination of Demise, causing the giant statue of Hylia to descend and crush the Imprisoned, and allowing Zelda to reawaken from her stasis.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, the Triforce pieces are again separated, with the Triforce of Power being sealed away with Ganon (despite this contradicting the end of A Link to the Past, the game's predecessor), the Triforce of Wisdom being kept by the royal family, and the Triforce of Courage being lost. Yuga turns Zelda and the sages into paintings and then uses them to summon Ganon into Lorule, a parallel Hyrule. Yuga then fuses himself into Ganon, thus gaining both the Triforces of Wisdom and Power. However, he is restrained by Princess Hilda, who sends Link off to find and rescue the sages. Once he does so, he obtains the Triforce of Courage and returns to the top of Lorule Castle, Hilda reveals that her kingdom once had a Triforce as well, but her ancestors destroyed it in a misguided attempt to end the fighting over it. Since the world depended on the Triforce, it began rapidly decaying. Hilda then attempts to take the Triforce for herself, but Yuga Ganon breaks free and attempts to steal it for his own purposes. Link ends up destroying him, and Ravio (revealed to be the cowardly Lorulean Link) appears, telling Hilda that dooming Hyrule to save Lorule is exactly the sort of thing their ancestors were trying to prevent. Regretful, she shows Link and Zelda a fissure atop Death Mountain where Yuga had first discovered the link between the two kingdoms, and Link and Zelda travel through. They arrive in the Sacred Realm with the Triforce, and touch it together with the same wish. They recreate Lorule's Triforce, allowing the kingdom to heal.

Trivia

 * In the original The Legend of Zelda, the pieces of the Triforce were originally meant to be computer chips that allowed Link to travel between the past and future.