King Harkinian

King Harkinian is the father of Princess Zelda and the king of Hyrule. He first appeared in The Legend of Zelda cartoon and later a comic series based on the show. He later appears in the cutscenes of the Philips CD-i titles, Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and is best known for his appearances in both games, whose cutscenes and his quotes are a frequent source of material, despite his limited screen time in the games themselves.

In the cartoon and Valiant Comics series, King Harkinian has white hair and a white goatee, and is wearing a blue robe. In the Philips CD-i games, his hair color was changed to brown, his robe was recolored to orange, and his headband was changed. However, King Harkinian retains his white hair in his gameplay sprite from Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, which only appears after Zelda defeats Ganon.

Link: The Faces of Evil
King Harkinian has a very minor role in Link: The Faces of Evil. He only appears in the first opening cutscene, where after Link complains of boredom, he reminds Link that warriors fight for peace. Seconds later, when Gwonam arrives, he reveals that Ganon has invaded Koridai. King Harkinian offers to help, only for Gwonam to remind him of a prophecy reading that only Link can defeat Ganon.

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon
King Harkinian plays a larger role in Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. In the opening, King Harkinian plans on traveling to Gamelon to assist his cousin, Duke Onkled, in fighting Ganon's forces. Zelda is concerned for his safety, but the king assures her the Triforce of Courage will help keep him safe. Harkinian instructs Zelda to send Link if he goes missing for a month.

After a month, Zelda hears no word from King Harkinian, so she sends Link to go find her. Another month later, Zelda hears nothing from neither Harkinian nor Link, so she goes on an adventure to find them.

During Zelda's adventure, after she defeats Hektan at Dodomai Palace, Lord Kiro reveals to her that Duke Onkled had betrayed the King. Later on, Zelda manages to defeat Ganon, and she walks into Harkinian's prison room. She is happy to see him. Lord Kiro points out Duke Onkled, who begs to Harkinian for mercy. King Harkinian orders Onkled to scrub all the floors in Hyrule, and he denies Onkled's request for mercy unless he has done so. Link wakes up, wondering what had happened. Zelda denies that anything had happened, and she and King Harkinian laugh, ending the game.

Link: The Faces of Evil

 * "My boy, this peace is what all true warriors strive for!"
 * "Hmm... How can we help?"

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

 * "Zelda, Duke Onkled is under attack by the evil forces of Ganon. I'm going to Gamelon to aid him."
 * "I'll take the Triforce of Courage to protect me. If you don't hear from me in a month, send Link."
 * "Enough! My ship sails in the morning."
 * "I wonder what's for dinner."
 * "You've saved me!"
 * "After you've scrubbed all the floors in Hyrule, then we can talk about mercy! Take him away!"