Sheik

Sheik is an alter-ego of Princess Zelda that first appears in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is a disguise where Zelda assumes the form of a Sheikah and with the characteristics of a. Sheik wears a form-fitting blue suit with a red Sheikah eye in the center. Sheik has blonde hair, which overlaps the left eye, and a red eye color. Sheik has a harp for a signature instrument. Depending on the game, Sheik's build varies between looking masculine or feminine, commonly looking androgynous.

Despite only appearing in one The Legend of Zelda game, Sheik is prominent in the Super Smash Bros. series, starting with Super Smash Bros. Melee, where Sheik is a playable transformation of Zelda. Starting with Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Sheik became a standalone playable character, as well as in the Hyrule Warriors games. In all of these appearances, Sheik is referred to as female and is given a more feminine design, with the Hyrule Warriors iteration simply resembling a red-eyed Zelda in different clothing.

Sheik's true gender is a controversial topic, whether as an alias or standalone character, because both the character's gender and pronoun are inconsistent throughout the games and other official sources.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Sheik is the first character that Link encounters in his adulthood, barring Rauru in the Chamber of Sages. Sheik is a mysterious character with a large role during Link's adulthood. Link does not encounter Sheik during his childhood. Sheik frequently reminisces on life when talking to Link. Sheik's wisdom and intelligence is likely because his true character, Princess Zelda, bears the Triforce of Wisdom.

Link has several brief encounters with Sheik throughout his adventure. Most of these encounters end with Sheik teaching Link to play a certain melody on the Ocarina of Time. Every melody taught by Sheik is capable of warping Link to an area near a certain dungeon. Whenever Link learns to play one of Sheik's new melodies, Sheik plays the melody on his harp alongside Link. Sheik has the ability to vanish, and he does so by throwing a Deku Nut in front of him. Sheik usually leaves right after teaching a melody to Link. Most of the time, Link runs to Sheik right before he vanishes.

Link first encounters Sheik immediately after leaving the Sacred Realm and becoming an adult. Sheik appears at the Pedestal of Time just as Link starts walking from it. Link senses Sheik behind him, so he takes out his Master Sword and turns around, pointing his sword at Sheik. He tells Link that he had been awaiting him. Sheik tells Link about a legend from his race, the Sheikah, where the five awakened Sages and the Hero of Time will bind evil and restore peace to Hyrule. Sheik then introduces himself to Link, whom he believes to be the Hero of Time. He instructs Link to go to each temple and awaken its Sage because the evil is drowning the awakening call to the Sages. Lastly, Sheik notes that Link is unequipped and tells him to visit Kakariko Village, suggesting that Link can find an item there (later revealed to be the Hookshot). For most of Link's adventure, Sheik waits for him in the Temple of Time.

Link encounters Sheik again at the Sacred Forest Meadow, which is near the Forest Temple. It is where Sheik teaches the first warping melody to Link, the Minuet of Forest. After awakening the first sage, Saria, Link can return to the Temple of Time, where Sheik informs him that returning the Master Sword back into the Pedestal of Time allows Link to return to the past, when he was a child. Sheik then teaches the Prelude of Light to Link, a melody that allows him to quickly warp to the Temple of Time. The next time Link encounters Sheik is at the Death Mountain Crater, near the Fire Temple. As Link walks across a wooden bridge, Sheik drops from above, on the other side of the bridge. He approaches Link while briefly describing true friendship. This is to introduce the Bolero of Fire melody to Link, allowing him to easily warp to Death Mountain Crater. According to Sheik, the melody is dedicated to the power of the heart. Sheik says goodbye to Link, but as he approaches her, she briefly leaves behind a short wall of fire, then steps back, and throws a Deku Nut to vanish. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, the wall of fire is not shown.

Link's next encounter with Sheik is within the Ice Cavern, after he obtains the Iron Boots. Sheik informs Link that the Zoras are trapped beneath a thick layer of ice. He tells Link that the ice is from the monster of the Water Temple and further explains that the ice cannot melt unless the source is destroyed. Sheik then teaches the Serenade of Water melody to Link, allowing him to easily warp to the Water Temple's greater location, Lake Hylia. Sheik describes the melody as a reflection of growth and maturity over time. After teaching the melody, Sheik vanishes. After Link defeats the Water Temple's boss, Morpha, he leaves the dungeon and finds Sheik, who congratulates Link and says that the water is returning to Lake Hylia because the monster was defeated. Sheik then finds out that the Water Temple's Sage, Ruto, wanted to thank him. As they admire the lake, Sheik says that both Link and Ruto destroyed the Water Temple's monster together. After silently staring at the water for a moment, Sheik steps back and vanishes right before Link turns around to look.

Their next encounter is at Kakariko Village, where a building was set on fire. Sheik is standing at the Well of Three Features, urging Link to step back. An invisible, evil shadow spirit emerges from the well, shakes Sheik around, and then throws him on the ground. The shadow spirit then knocks into Link, making him unconscious. Sheik did not become unconscious from the fall because he is seen reaching out his right arm just before Link gets knocked out. Later, Link wakes up and sees Sheik looking at him. He explains to Link about the released shadow spirit, who was once sealed in the bottom of the well by Impa, but the seal broke because the force of evil became too powerful. Sheik believes that Impa has returned to the Shadow Temple to seal the shadow spirit but is worried that she is in danger. Sheik instructs Link to destroy the spirit within the Shadow Temple and rescue Impa. He then teaches Link to play the Nocturne of Shadow, a melody that allows access into the Shadow Temple. According to Sheik, the Nocturne of Shadow is capable of absorbing Link into infinite darkness that even absorbs time. Sheik says that he will take care of Kakariko Village and then vanishes again. The next place that Link encounters Sheik is outside the Spirit Temple. This is the last place where Link learns a melody from Sheik. When Link first enters the area, Sheik mentions the past, present, and future and reminds Link of the Master Sword's time-traveling capabilities. Sheik metaphorically describes a boat sailing upstream and downstream on a river before arriving at a port. The "boat" is the Master Sword, which can travel forward or backward in time. The "port" is the Temple of Time. Sheik tells Link that he can only restore Desert Colossus by returning to childhood and entering the Spirit Temple. Sheik then teaches Link to play the melody, Requiem of Spirit, which warps Link to the Spirit Temple (and is the only means for him to access it as a child). Right after Link learns the song, Sheik puts a temporary sand barrier in front of him, similar to him placing a temporary fire barrier in Death Mountain Crater, and immediately leaves without saying anything. Sheik then vanishes behind the sandstorm.

After completing the Spirit Temple, Rauru telepathically communicates to Link. He tells Link to return to the Temple of Time, where someone (Sheik) is waiting for him. When Link enters the Temple of Time, Sheik tells Link that he has overcome several hardships and that his final challenge is to defeat Ganondorf. Sheik tells Link about the Sheikah legend of the Triforce and the Sacred Realm. After telling the story, Sheik mentions that when Ganondorf touched the Triforce seven years ago, he only retained the Triforce of Power because his lust for power over the other two characteristics, wisdom and courage. Since then, Ganondorf went searching for the other two parts to conquer the world. Sheik reveals that Link has the Triforce of Courage, previously unbeknownst to him. Sheik tells that the Seventh Sage bears the Triforce of Wisdom, then he removes his disguise and is revealed to be Princess Zelda, the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. After a brief reunion, Zelda is kidnapped by Ganondorf, and this event reveals that Zelda disguised herself to hide from Ganondorf, who wanted to steal the Triforce of Wisdom from her. Zelda's Sheik alias is not featured in the rest of Link's adventure.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Sheik does not appear in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, although Link can assume Sheik's appearance by wearing the Stealth Chest Guard, Stealth Tights, and Sheik's Mask.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (manga)
In the manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Sheik is portrayed differently. While still an alternate form of Zelda, Sheik has no memory of his previous life and is explicitly male.

Super Smash Bros. series
Sheik has been a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series since Super Smash Bros. Melee. Sheik's design in Super Smash Bros. Melee is straight from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, though starting in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sheik started using a tweaked, more feminine design inspired by the aesthetic of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sheik uses the costume from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the torso, along with what little can be seen of Sheik's facial features, additionally appears more masculine.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sheik and Zelda can change between each other as their B-down move. However, later games make them fully separate and give them attacks for that command. When using the Home-Run Bat, Sheik sends opponents flying vertically rather than horizontally like other characters. Because of this, in the Home-Run Contest mode for Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sheik must change back into Zelda in order to get any significant distance.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl's "The Subspace Emissary" mode, Zelda turns into Sheik and leads Princess Peach through the battleship Halberd after they are restored by Samus Aran. Later, Sheik gets into a fight with Fox McCloud, but stops after Peach suddenly offers them tea. Sheik is one of the characters in Subspace Emissary that does not transform into a trophy, along with Zero Suit Samus, Squirtle, and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Hyrule Warriors
In Hyrule Warriors, Sheik acts as a separate warrior to Zelda from a gameplay perspective, but they remain the same character. Sheik is consistently called female, and her design looks almost identical to the game's iteration of Zelda wearing a different outfit. Sheik uses her harp as a weapon by playing various songs with different elemental abilities on it. Most are the warping songs from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, though electricity is represented by the Song of Storms.

In the story, Sheik meets the group in Eldin Caves, with Impa immediately being suspicious of her due to "Sheik" not being the name of anyone in her tribe. When the group splits up while traveling through time, Impa goes with her to keep watch on her. Once the portal in Lake Hylia is closed, Sheik reveals herself as Zelda to Impa.

Super Mario Maker
In Super Mario Maker, one of the 8-bit costumes that Mario can receive from a Mystery Mushroom is Sheik, which can be unlocked either with a Sheik amiibo or by clearing 100 Mario Challenge on Normal difficulty. All of Sheik's sounds are from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The costume's transformation sound is the sound clip that plays when collecting an important item. Pressing will have her turn into Zelda (using her sprite in this game based on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess), which briefly plays Zelda's Lullaby in an ocarina sound. The sound that plays when Sheik jumps is her voice clip of throwing a Deku Nut before disappearing. The death tune is Sheik's theme, and when clearing a level, the theme in which Link initially meets Zelda plays.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

 * Red indicates the trophy or description is exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version.
 * Blue indicates the trophy or description is exclusive to the Wii U version.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

 * BradyGAMES: "Among the most mysterious characters in the game, Sheik is also the important acquaintance that Link makes during adulthood. When Link awakens in the Temple of Time, his first encounter with Sheik gives him the information to seek out Ganondorf in the dark reality of a strange, new Hyrule. As Sheik appears throughout Link’s later quests, Link will gain the ability to use various warp spots scattered throughout Hyrule Kingdom. Helpful, but incredibly mysterious, Sheik appears and disappears within the blink of an eye. What are Sheik’s true intentions?"

Zelda Universe

 * "The youth known as Sheik appeared in Hyrule after Link returned to the Temple of Time as an adult. Sheik always covered her face and muffled her voice to protect her identity, but Link soon learned that this helpful soul was in fact his good friend Princess Zelda. Her unusual dress and demeanor came from being raised as a Sheikah by her protector Impa."

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

 * Amiibo: Sheik is a mysterious, masked warrior who played an important role in Link’s quest in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time game. Disguised as part of the Sheikah tribe that populates Hyrule, Sheik taught Link essential ocarina melodies and then vanished in an instant. Why does Sheik look so familiar?

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

 * Super Smash Blog bio: "Now Sheik joins the battle wearing the Sheikah costume from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Keep the pressure on your opponent by using his speedy dash to quickly close in on (or get away from) your opponent!"

Trivia

 * In the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color versions of Mario Golf, Sheik's name is shown on the game scoreboard in Tournament mode.