The Legend Of Zelda series is well-known for its characters, especially Link, Princess Zelda, and the breadth of villains they must face. However, there are some villains that fans adore more than others due to their sympathetic qualities.
Some of the villains throughout the Legend Of Zelda series are more sympathetic than others. This ranges from being manipulated by other villains to destroy the world or take it over, as well as loyal allegiances due to familial ties with the main antagonists. Even if they did horrible actions, some of these villains tried to redeem themselves by turning to the good side, or only did those actions because it was out of their control in some way.
10 Skull Kid Was Only Actually Evil Because He Was Manipulated By Majora's Mask
Skull Kid appears as an antagonist in Majora's Mask. He stole the titular mask from the Happy Mask Salesman and ends up trying to destroy the entire land by sending the Moon to collide with it. However, he only did this because he was under the influence of the mask itself, and not because he actually wanted to destroy the world.
Had he not stolen the mask and put it on, he likely would not have done this at all. Additionally, the events of Majora's Mask, side quests included, would not have happened. Even if he is self-centered and mischievous, his bonds with Tatl and Tael also made him more sympathetic to fans.
9 Lady Maud Didn't Want To Take Over the World, She Just Wanted To Be The Most Fashionable
Lady Maud appeared in Tri Force Heroes as its main antagonist. Unlike many villains, however, she had no plans for world domination. Instead, her main crime was sending an enchanted, ugly jumpsuit to Princess Styla, which was impossible to remove once it was put on.
Despite this malicious act, however, Maud had no other motivations. In fact, after each of her boss battles, she only wanted to be left alone and didn't try anything to deter the heroes from saving the day otherwise. Even after Styla was saved, the kingdom noted that they wouldn't put Maud through any punishment too harshly. This was probably because they recognized that Maud only did this act out of jealousy, rather than destroying a whole kingdom.
8 Twinrova Was Made Up Of Ganondorf's Surrogate Mothers
Twinrova appeared in Ocarina Of Time as antagonists serving Ganondorf. Twinrova is actually made up of two Gerudo women: Kotake and Koume. Both of them were Gerudo witches that were also leading the Gerudo tribe in secret, acting as Ganondorf's surrogate mothers.
The only reason they serve Ganondorf is due to their bonds to him, rather than actually trying to achieve world domination. In some games, they're not even enemies but allies, such as in Majora's Mask where they actually help Link rather than hinder him.
7 Zant Did Usurp The Throne From Midna, But Only Because Ganondorf Manipulated Him
Zant appeared in Twilight Princess as one of the main antagonists. He initially served in the Twilight Realm's royal household and sought to become the next ruler. However, the Twili, the other residents of the realm, were worried that his thirst for power and conquest would lead to disaster and elected Midna as their ruler instead. This led Zant to take over the Twilight Realm, leading to the events of Twilight Princess.
Despite all of these actions, the only reason he was able to usurp Midna in the first place was that Ganondorf tricked him into believing Ganon himself was a god, promising Zant power if he followed him. This led Zant to believe, that Ganondorf would just keep reviving him. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. Even though he's one of the less-sympathetic villains compared to others on this list, his being manipulated by Ganondorf made some fans sympathize with him.
6 Byrne Initially Was Evil But Turned Good In The End
Byrne appears in Spirit Tracks as one of the main antagonists. He works for Chancellor Cole for the sake of summoning Malladus, the demon. However, Byrne turns over to the good side after Cole betrays him. He helps Zelda and Link find the Compass of Light and even helps Zelda get her body back from Malladus by using his power to repel Malluda. This allows Zelda to finally get his body back.
Unfortunately, Byrne is killed by Malladus after this, but it's later revealed by Anjean that he will return in a new form without any memories of the past. Fans adored Byrne's turning of a new leaf, as well as an opportunity for him to maybe make a reappearance in future games or some related comic-book tie-ins.
5 Master Kohga Turned To The Good Side In Age Of Calamity
Master Kohga appeared in both Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity as an antagonist. He led the Yiga Clan, which split off from the Shiekah Clan due to their exile from the kingdom, combined with their hatred for the kingdom doing so. In Age of Calamity, Kohga works with Astor to bring forth Calamity Ganon.
However, after Astor betrays him and the rest of the Yiga clan in Age of Calamity, Kohga decides to form a truce with Princess Zelda and the Champions to stop Astor's plans. This action, combined with Kohga being a canonical joke boss on top of his bond with his right-hand man Sooga in Age of Calamity, made many fans adore him.
4 Cia Was Manipulated By Ganondorf To Conquer Hyrule & Take Link For Herself
Cia appeared in Hyrule Warriors as one of its main antagonists. She originally was a guardian tasked with maintaining the balance of the Triforce but was corrupted by Ganon after she harbored affections for Link, and thus grew hatred for Zelda herself. She ends up amassing an army to try to take the Triforce.
Cia then split into two people; one of them was Lana, the good part of her, while Cia herself was the fully corrupted, darker side. After Cia is finally defeated, she finally acknowledges that her affections for Link will never be reciprocated.
3 Volga Was Manipulated By Cia To Fight Link & The Others
Volga appeared as a secondary antagonist in Hyrule Warriors. The DLC, Master Quest, reveals that he initially resisted Cia trying to recruit him as a general, but she eventually mind-controlled him with her magic to get him to obey her. Volga tries to fight only opponents he deems worthy, but he uses dark magic.
However, his final battle in the game involves Ruta or Zelda telling him to cast off his use of dark magic to fight fairly. Volga is moved by this, and so doesn't use dark magic when going up against Link and the others in the end. After his defeat, he can pass on without regrets.
2 Octavo Stole The Triforce To Try To Stop Ganon's Return
Octavo appears in Cadence of Hyrule as the main antagonist. Unlike other antagonists, however, he stole the Triforce for the sake of preventing Ganondorf's return, rather than trying to aid Ganon in any way. He stole the Triforce and enchanted all of Hyrule to follow a rhythm. Additionally, he attempted to amass an army to defeat Ganon himself.
Even though what he did wasn't good, considering it set off the events of Cadence of Hyrule as a whole, he was only trying to do it for the noble cause of defeating Ganon.
1 Princess Hilda Only Stole The Triforce To Save Her Dying Kingdom
Princess Hilda is Princess Zelda's Lorulean counterpart from A Link Between Worlds. She stole the Triforce and worked with Yuga to restore her own kingdom of Lorule. Even though what she did was despicable, she was only trying to help her own people, thus making her more sympathetic than most of the other villains in the series.
However, her plans backfire when Yuga betrays her, and it's only thanks to Link and Ravio's intervention that she and the rest of Lorule, as well as Princess Zelda and Hyrule, are saved.