Sheik

File:Sheikartwork.jpg

Sheik in an official artwork for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Sheik is a character from the The Legend of Zelda universe, specifically a disguise of Princess Zelda. As Shiek, Zelda aided Link in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64, giving him tips and playing beautiful songs.

See Sheik (SSBM) and Sheik (SSBB) for fighter info.

Character description

Sheik is a character in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and is the alter-ego of Princess Zelda. In the game, Zelda disguises herself as a Sheikah. With her voice muffled and face concealed, as well as wearing a form-fitting blue suit with the red Sheikah eye in the center, she is virtually unrecognizable.

Sheik plays the harp and teaches Link new songs to help him on his quest. When Link arrives at the Temple of Time near the end of the game, Sheik uses the Triforce of Wisdom and reverts to Zelda. It is claimed by the character's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee that she uses her magical skills to change her skin tone, hair length, eye color, and clothing. In addition, when hurt, Sheik is voiced by a female voice actor in both Ocarina of Time and Melee.

Gender dispute

A popular topic in both the Legend of Zelda and Super Smash Bros. fan communities is the gender of Sheik. Though logic would dictate that Sheik is a female as she is merely a disguise of Zelda, many have suggested that her masculine qualities are due to a gender change Zelda undergoes while transforming into Sheik, explaining the sex alteration as an effect of magic.

The issue originates from Ocarina of Time; in the game, Link encounters Princess Ruto in the Water Temple. She asks Link to thank Sheik for saving her, referring to Sheik as "him". In addition, the non-canon manga for Ocarina of Time suggests that Zelda uses the Triforce of Wisdom to actually become male while disguised as Sheik. Zelda herself apologizes for "meeting Link in disguise," though this could indicate both a magical transformation or a simple costume.

While Sheik's gender in the Legend of Zelda franchise remains under debate, Sheik is considered a female in the Super Smash Bros. series: Masahiro Sakurai refers to Sheik as female in her update on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! website. Nevertheless, fans have continued to argue over Sheik's sex, though usually satirically so as to emphasize just how insignificant the issue is.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Main article: Sheik (SSBM)

Sheik is one of the new characters introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Rather than being added as a full-fledged character, she is a transformation of Princess Zelda; Zelda is the only character in Melee to possess such an ability, though Samus gains one very similar to it in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Sheik is considered to be a top-tier character, due to her swiftness, agility, and surprisingly powerful smash attacks. Sheik is such a good character that many consider her to be broken, especially when one takes into consideration the fact that she's supposed to serve as a supplement to Zelda, who's a considerably slower fighter whose moves tend to have a lot of lag.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Main artical: Sheik (SSBB)

When Princess Zelda was confirmed as a playable character in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl, players were introduced to a redesigned Zelda based off the model used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This Twilight Princess-influenced incarnation of Zelda led to many debates about whether or not Sheik would return. On one side of the argument, many claimed that because Sheik did not appear in Twilight Princess, Zelda should not be able to transform into Sheik as Sheik didn't exist in that game. Many cited the fact that Link's special moves were reworked to feature more Twilight Princess-related qualities as evidence that the latest entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise would be the game focused on in Brawl.

On the other side, many felt that the Zelda in the Super Smash Bros. series was not supposed to be any specific Zelda from the Legend of Zelda series; rather, she was an amalgam of all Zeldas, past and present. Since this Zelda has already exhibited the ability to transform into Sheik, there should be nothing preventing her from retaining this trait in Brawl.

The debate was settled with the revelation of Sheik's inclusion in Famitsu's review of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Shortly thereafter, the official Super Smash Bros. website confirmed Sheik with its January 16th update. Sheik's special moves have not been changed, though she now uses a slightly different, Twilight Princess-inspired design. Of note is the fact that design was sent to Sakurai by Eiji Aonuma, director of Twilight Princess; it was initially created for Twilight Princess, but plans to bring Sheik back were later scrapped, rendering the model obsolete until the development of Brawl.