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Fascist Italian Equipment

2022-12-08T10:01:04Z

2001:8003:1C20:8C00:20BE:3A3F:F2:46F0: /* Misc */

While [[Fascist Italy|Fascist Italy]] was never really known for [[FAIL|having even the most basic and functional equipment]] you may be surprised to find some of their weaponries are still commonly used today, both in all forms of fiction and even real life! Lack of resources and basic experience in developing these new weapons born from the first world war both resulted in a very scrapped together arsenal though thanks to some brilliant designers and ambitious manufacturers weapons on a smaller scale would sometimes overshadow even their allied equivalents in quality. Much like how [[Nazi Equipment|Nazi weaponry can be put into four categories]] Italian equipment can generally fall into three.

* Barely usable garbage, often times unusable
* Shockingly effective designs that were around for longer than Benito's government lasted
* Shockingly so ahead of its time it wouldn't be revisited for decades...Which were badly thought out and poorly designed

Be aware going forward due to their constant supply and manufacturing issue Italy would constantly use either capture or gifted foreign equipment as well as weaponry left over from the first world war. While some of those have been included due to their iconic use or of especial note, most have been left out. Seriously a third of this page would have to be dedicated to Nazi stuff if we counted those.

===Small Arms===
====Rifles and SMGs====
[[File:Carcano M1891.jpeg|150px|thumb|left|Carcano:Italian for "President Killer".]]
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCvIEioG9Y0 Carcano M1891]'':'''A cheap, easy to make rifle that despite receiving a number of updates over the years, were still based on the same basic weapon. Opinions vary depending on the model but of important note was its ammunition. Unlike other rifles the Carcano used soft round tipped ammunition, bullets that were considering horribly out of date back during WW1...While the Italians attempting to produce a more traditional rifle with the Carcano M38 they struggled to keep up with ammunition demands and ended up going back to the old ammunition. Besides imported Austria rifles and a semi-automatic rifle that was so short- lived people seem to disagree on if it was even used at all, the Carcano would end up being the only rifle used during the war. Most famous for being the rifle used to shoot JFK.

[[File:Beretta Model 38.webp|150px|thumb|right|The best SMG of the war, used by the worst army.]]
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogsdodlT99E Beretta Model38]'':'''Based on an old school semi-auto carbine of all things, this weapon [[AWESOME|would go on to be one of the best performing infantry small arm of the whole war.]] The weapon is most well-known for its iconic four cut muzzle break and a heat shield style barrel that helped in air cooling. It’s also known for its unique double trigger system. Essentially the system used two triggers, one firing the weapon at full auto while the other was used for single shots. While making the weapon heavier (hence why modern SMGs don’t do this) it allowed a commanding officer to take resourceful aimed shots at a distant target before immediately firing full auto if suddenly assaulted or flanked, rather than taking the time to flip a fire switch. It was also super easy to maintain as you can literally just pull the firing mechanism out of the back of that gun (that’s what the large cap on the back is for). The weapon was ultimately so successful that the Italian government attempted to save resources by asking Beretta to purposefully make the later models more shit, and even than they still managed to reach a typical SMG performance for the time. Fun fact, the final airborne drop of the war was performed by Co-Belligerent troops with the goal of preventing German retreat into far North Italy. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Allied commanders allowed these paratroopers to test every American, British and captured German weapon they had access to. After these tests they universally agreed to take their old Berettas M38s. It was also known early war as the ‘burp guns’ as Italy experimented with ten round magazines resulting in a short ‘burp’ of automatic fire.

[[File:FNAB-43.jpg|100px|thumb|left|The Algerian’s best friend.]]
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwY5ZQDqG70 FNAB-43]'':'''While originally entering the designing process before the 1943 split, it would later finish designing and enter manufacturing in the RSI North. Was oddly expensive and high quality for the time which resulting in only about a 1000 being produced. Still had issues with being overly complicated and while not a BAD SMG it was basically a more expensive, slightly less effective M38 from above. Oddly enough popped up in Africa and Algeria, and we have no idea why.

[[File:TZ-45.webp|100px|thumb|right|The Burmese’s worst friend.]]
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5RYzCmK4-Q TZ-45]'':'''A last ditch style weapon produced in the final days of WW2. Very light, performed ok…Better than most last-ditch weapons! The big issue the game has was it being one of the first SMGs to use a grip safety, most likely to stop untrained conscripts from shooting their own feet off or something. This meant that after putting a new clip in, one had to keep a hand on the magazine before taking their firing hand and using that to pull back the bolt. This was VERY unnatural feeling and regular soldiers who had used traditional SMGs for years were bound to stuff it up just as a reaction. Was sold and used by the Burmese Army until 1955.

====Pistols====

[[File: Beretta Modello 1934-1935.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The quintessential pistol]]

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIX1EL1hTmE '''''Beretta Modello 1934-1935'']:''' [[AWESOME|HOLY shit you guys…]] When we say a weapon is ‘the best of the war’ that’s more an opinion. To say that the Beretta pistol is the best pistol of the war is FACT. Hell, saying it is the best pistol period, there are some out there who would agree with that whole heartly. Light, cheap, accurate, easy to make and easy to maintain, this weapon was so beloved everyone from frontline troops to the highest-ranking officers on both sides nicked one whenever they could and only stopped being manufactured in 1993…In ITALY. Foreign versions are still being wildly manufactured today! The only real issue is may have is its use of a 9mm round but many argue that 10mm or .45 is overkill for a sidearm anyway…A ton of these were made too so they’re not exactly uncommon.

[[File: M1942 Sosso Pistol.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Il Duce’s personal firearm.]]

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO3ZAuiq35k '''''Beretta M1942 Sosso Pistol'']:''' A prototype design that’s only on here because it was produced, but only for literally the highest-ranking people in Italy…All five of them. Benito himself got one naturally, as too did the King. Used a holster/stock hybrid along with a curved magazine which held 21 rounds! Pretty good for its size all things saying. Still, the weapon was heavy, the holster/stock was naturally not a good holster OR stock and we can’t say much for performance since it was given to people least likely to ever get into a serious firefight.

[[File: Glisenti Model 1910.jpg|100px|thumb|left|]]

* '''''Glisenti Model 1910'':'''A leftover from WW1 it was more commonly used at the very start of the war. A complex system that was so easy to break it actually needed special [[FAIL|low powered rounds that struggled to cause serious harm at anything but point-blank range.]] Even after this modification the left plate was prone to shaking loose after prolonged firing.

====Machine Guns====

[[File:Breda 30.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Holy shit is the FAIL link going to have to overcharge itself for this one…]]

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFJI04ifSoM '''''Breda Modello 30'']:''' [[FAIL|…OH god…Here we go lads…You’re looking at one of the top five worst weapons of the war period. This thing…This thing is barely good as a club. Every seemingly terrible idea you can think of when designing a weapon was shoved into this one. I mean, where to even begin…Ok so first-off the weapon only had a clip of 20. Doesn’t seem too bad and pretty typical for the weapon category pre-war except those weapons used either a top mounted magazine or side inserted stripper clips. This allowed the reloader to quickly slap on a new magazine or stick in a new clip in just a couple of seconds keeping up a rapid rate of fire. The Breda on the other hand had an in-built magazine meaning to reload you had to push the magazine forward, reload the magazine manually with two strips, lock back into place and cock the gun. The weapon’s primary mechanisms were also exposed to the air not only making maintenance a constant issue but also requiring constant oiling and greasing. So much in fact, that you were expected to oil the firing mechanism BETWEEN RELOADS! Even had a little cover on top you could slide open before dribbling the oil in. This resulted in a very oily and greasy weapon that had mud and dirt stick to it constantly. Now, combine this with North African sand…Even in the best conditions? It wasn’t very accurate, had a slow rate of fire and would jam so often you sometimes couldn’t get a full magazine out without needing to unjamming the gun multiple times. This was some early war model, right? They learned from their mistake and replaced it right? NOPE! Because of resource shortages and the quantity of the weapon already produced it was decided to keep the model in use until the end of the war. Oh, and it also used the same round tipped bullets as the Carcano.]]

[[File: Breda 38.jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

* '''''Breda 38'':''' Considering the ur…State of the regular light machine gun vehicle crews were very glad to receive their own separate model. The Breda 38 was more on the heavier side for a LMG but it’s compact size better suited the cramped space of a tank with much better accuracy and reliability. While limited by a top mounted 24 round magazine it was very simple and easy to maintain along with having a heavy barrel which in a vehicle allowed the weapon to fire much more often before overheating, which thanks to a quick-change barrel was remedied quickly. It was effective enough that tri-pods were produced so the weapon could be deployed with the infantry.

[[File:Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935.jpg|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935.jpg'':''' Essentially just a Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914 taken out of storage and modified to take a belt feed and replace the water-cooled barrel with an air one. Probably the most traditional machine gun used by the Italians despite the barrel overheating, jamming issues and rounds cooking off in the chamber.

====Anti-Tank Infantry Weapons====

[[What|Lol nope.]]

Well, mostly. Italian forces had access to anti-tank grenades (as talked about below) but their primary…Really ONLY anti-tank weapon was the Solothurn series of rifles which are already covered in the [[Nazi Equipmet|Nazi Equipment page.]] The RSI was gifted a number of Panzerfausts and Panzershrecks but like before…Covered in their own page. Really, the primary anti-tank weapon for the Italian’s was the Elefantino gun which is covered below being an anti-tank gun and all.

====Misc====

[[File:Lanciabombe Controcarro 60 mm.png|100px|thumb|left|The original [[Meme|Noob Tube.]]]]

*'''''Lanciabombe Controcarro 60 mm'':''' Essentially a rifle mounted grenade of special note as unlike the other powers that firing the explosive from the top of the rifle’s own barrel this was a separate barrel attached to the rifle as an addon. If that sounds familiar, yes…[[What|The Italians invented the underslung grenade launcher.]] Well, it was attached to the side but you get the idea. Despite being WAY ahead of its time the attachment [[wat|didn’t come with its own bolt]], [[Fail|requiring the user to manually remove the bolt from the rifle itself before inserting it into the attachment.]] Also of note was its primary purpose, as these fired anti-tank grenades rather than fragmentation. While not even close to as powerful compared to something like a Bazooka or Panzershreck it did allow the user to arch the shot into hitting the vehicle’s top where the armour was weak. Too bad the single bolt issue was pretty hard to ignore, especially when in the middle of a busy battlefield their users would usually lose the bolt while fighting leaving them without either a working launcher OR rifle!

===Artillery pieces and AT-Guns===

[[File:Cannone da 47-32.jpg|100px|thumb|left|The poor man’s 2 pounder.]]

*'''''Cannone da 47/32 or the Elefantino Gun''''': The Italian’s primary anti-tank weapon, the weapon nicknamed ‘little elephant’ was about on par with a British 2 pounder while having access to high explosive shells. It was designed more to have maximum impact at short ranges and was relatively light for a weapon of its kind, though this was achieved by [[Fail|removing any kind of gun shield and using an odd axel that would break if towed, meaning these things had to be pushed into battle.]] A slightly more powerful version was used in Italian’s early tank designs but the gun would remain a primarily infantry based weapon until the end of the war.

[[File:Cannone da 90-53.jpg|100px|thumb|right|Italy’s own Flak 88.]]

*'''''Cannone da 90/53''''': Originating as a naval cannon the 90/53 was later modified for land in the form of AA and AT guns. In this role it was surprisingly effective much like the German 88, having enough punch to blast open any allied tank in North Africa and Italy. It also served as the main armament of the Semovente 90/53 and while that vehicle had many issues its gun wasn’t one of them. Unfortunately for the Italian’s only about 500 were built, and out of those 48 for vehicle use.

[[File: Obice da 75-18 modello 34.jpg|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''Obice da 75/18 modello 34''''': Designed as a mountain gun first and foremost (I mean, you ever been to Italy?) the gun was designed to be easily disassembled and reassembled quickly and efficiently. Also had a nice punch to it, forming the bases of the Semovente 75/18. Probably better known for the funny heat shield style barrel.

===Vehicles===
====Tanks====
Now ultimately the previous entries might give the impression that while Italian weaponry was full of issues there were some standout pieces of equipment that would stand the test of time. That is NOT the case with Italian armour. Saying that every Italian tank was rusty old garbage wouldn’t even be much of a stretch. Of cause, this was thanks to a number of factors the designers and manufacturers of these vehicles couldn’t control, not just in terms of resources. Back in the interwar period Italy never really showed much interest in tanks (the opposite was true in WW1 but France couldn’t afford to send them any at the time and their local models were sub-par). After all, Italy was being equipped for a defensive war with the Italian heartland suiting rough inclined battlefields as opposed to European wide-open fields. Another important aspect was that so far tanks were a relatively unproven concept. They were slow, easy targets for artillery and the rise of anti-tank rifles made many nations, not just Italy, cautious about the weapon. When Benito took over Italy his obsession with Italian military domination pushed armoured vehicles hard resulting in Italian designers ripping apart imported designs to see how they worked. Ultimately Italy simply did not have the time or resources to play catchup with the rest of the world. Every time the Italian tank development teams put together something ‘modern’ it had already been made outdated by recent allied tanks. Resource shortages also forced designs to stay in the ‘light tank’ tonnage with only one exception which we’ll get to below. The most infamous aspect of Italian armour was that most vehicles were either riveted or bolted which means if the armoured plates were dented these connecting pieces could shoot out injuring or even killing the crew. This meant high casualties and very low number of veteran crew.

[[File:L3-33--35--38.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Behold! The armoured workhorse of the mighty Italian Army!]]

*'''''L3/33-35''''': Essentially an armoured go-kart. The primary armoured vehicle of the Italian Army, this little thing was produced in such massive that many were sold to other countries including Spain and Finland. An overall reliable and speedy little bugger, it was also somewhat adaptable with access to a flamethrower variant, artillery tractor and a variety equipped with a Solothurn 1000 rifle like a mini tank destroyer. It unfortunately had about as much armour as a wet paper bag though and was so cramped that the gunner would often sit on top of the tank to give the driver some elbow room. Has gained a bit of a following amongst Italian wargamers (that is to say those that play Italians not Italian players) in the same way as the [[UrbanMech|Urbanmech]] of [[BattleTech|Battletech]] fame. That is to say a small, short underdog of a vehicle that excels in the niche conditions it was designed for but lacklustre in the situations it finds itself in by the nature of the game. I mean, look at this thing! It’s adorable!

[[File:L6-40.gif|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''L6/40''''': An attempt to replace the old FIAT 3000 used by Italy since 1921, it was stupidly outdated by the time it entered service and was used up to the battle of Sicily. To make matters even worse the tank was originally designed with reconnaissance in mind (in fact it was quite short to help with this) but due to a lack of vehicles it was instead pushed into [[FAIL|the role of primary battle tank on the Eastern Front against T-34s.]]

[[File:M11-39 tank.jpeg|100px|thumb|right|Diet M3 Lee]]

*'''''M11/39''''': Italian’s first attempt at a modern design, this model of tank did not last long as one can expect from just looking at this thing. Just like the similarly shaped M3 Lee it was tall, bulky and having its primary cannon attached to the hull limited its firing arch which when you consider it was primarily designed for a breakthrough roll is kinda nuts. Unlike the Lee however its turret was equipped with machine guns instead of a smaller cannon, had bolted armour and oh! It wasn’t a medium tank at all! Yeah, despite the M standing for medium Italy decided to base their tank sizes on roles, not weight. This means that all tanks with the M moniker produced in Italy during WW2 were actually all light tanks. Thankfully they weren’t around for long. Unfortunately, they were replaced with…

[[File:M14-40--41--42.jpg|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''M13/40-41-42''''': Considered the ‘primary’ Italian tank of the war, the 40 was the first actual modern tank design from the Italians…Not that it was any good. Besides the typical armour and low firepower issue as mentioned above, the tank was also one of the first to use diesel engines. This allowed the tank to perform for longer periods of time and were less likely to explode when hit, but in the earliest models it would fill the vehicle with smoke [[Fail|forcing its crew to open up all the doors in the middle of combat in order to even see what was happening.]] This was quickly fixed though following models were more akin to Germany’s variants then full-on new vehicles.

[[File:P26-40.jpg|150px|thumb|right|The Italian Panther]]

*'''''P26/40''''': Believe it or not this tank actually entered the initial stages of development back in 1940 but issues pushed the release all the way back to late 1943. Most of this revolved around the designers wanting a traditional petrol engine while the Italian Army wanted a diesel, which granted was better but untested at the time. Didn’t help Italy didn’t have any ground-based engines powerful enough to drives this 26-ton tank and unlike the Allies refused to use repurposed aircraft engines. Requested by Benito himself, the P26/40 was inspired by the heavier tanks of Germany but shifted in 1941 (pushing the design back even further) by encounters with the T-34 and then it’s later variants. What resulted from all this was Italy’s only medium tank, which in regards to its performance was surprising effective. While not exactly a ‘good’ tank the P26 had a pretty decent gun, slow but very reliable mechanics and interesting a dual armour system that combined wielded and riveted structures to make it the most durable of the Italian armoured vehicles. Despite this it still couldn’t stand up to late war heavy guns but could take a hit or two from a Sherman. Despite being without a doubt the best Italian tank of the war the design was in the final stage of prototyping before the Armistice of 1943, though fun fact five of these prototypes were actually in Rome when this all went down and were used by the defending Italians during the fall of the city. It would see production by the RSI under German watch with the Nazis receiving and using so many its falsely believed to have been used by the German forces exclusively! Turns out it was somewhat popular as it was much more reliable than the heavier late war German tanks though there was a lot of criticism at its cramped two-person turret.

====Tank Destroyers/Assault Guns====
Turns out while Italian tanks were mostly garbage their destroyers were surprisingly effective, which makes sort of sense when you consider tank destroyers were often used as budget tanks. Most of Italy’s larger guns were reserved for their destroyers and while their variety like tanks was limited, each one performed remarkably well.

[[File:Semovente da 47-32.webp|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''Semovente da 47/32''''': …Ok, maybe not ALL their tank destroyers were effective. Based on the L6/40 chassis the 47/32 up-gunned the design with an Elefantino while bolting on some extra armour. In fact, it was the [[What|most armoured Italian vehicle that fought on the Eastern Front.]] While the Elefantino could arguably be effective as an infantry support weapon early war, as a dedicated anti-tank cannon? Yeah, this thing was pinging off T-34s the moment it entered service.

[[File:Semovente da 75-18.jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

*'''''Semovente da 75/18''''': After the P26/40 saw setback after setback it was decided there had to be an interim vehicle to support the outclassed M13 series. While inspired by the Stug III it was instead used as short ranged artillery support until the increasing usage of medium tanks forced their use in close quarters as tank destroyers. Despite not being the original purpose of the design its 75mm cannon and HEAT ammunition proved devastating to the Shermans and Lees it came across. While using the same bolted armour as the M13 its smaller silhouette and extra added armour increased its survivability. While not produced in huge numbers they were far from uncommon and ultimately went down in history as [[Awesome|the one Italian vehicle the allies feared.]] Since most allied heavy tanks were kept for the Western Front the 75/18 stay effective throughout the whole war.

[[File:Semovente da 75-34.jpg|100px|thumb|left|75/18 version 1.01]]

*'''''Semovente da 75/34''''': Not much to say about this one…it’s pretty much the M13/42 chassis Semovente 75/18 but with a larger gun, most likely to provide the same punch without the reliance on HEAT ammunition. Only serious change was the front armour being made from a single plate instead of having an extra plate bolted onto to the M13s standard. Some were used during the Defence of Rome but was mostly used by the RSI and Germany.

[[File:Semovente da 105-25.jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

*'''''Semovente da 105/25''''': Originally conceived as a self-propelled gun made from the P26/40 chassis, the ongoing development of the base model and the success of the 75/18 ultimately saw the M13/42 chassis taking on this 105mm monster of a gun. Despite its size and power the vehicle remained enclosed with little issue, the gun able to obliterate anything it aimed at. The gun was even repurposed for defensive bunkers within the Vallo Alpino line. Just like above, some were used during the Defence of Rome but most saw action with the RSI and Germans.

[[File:Semovente da 90-53.webp|150px|thumb|left|The Italian glass cannon. Probably would have made it out of glass if they could get away with it…]]

*'''''Semovente da 105/25''''': When the inability for Italian armour to so much as scratch the T34s and KV-2s on the Eastern Front the call for a vehicle dedicated to raw firepower was called for. At the time, the Cannone da 90/53 seen above was the only practical choice though sacrifices had to be made to the eventual design. Armour was paper thin (seen as a non-issue with the guns range) as well as being opened topped and reared. Probably the worst issue was ammunition. The vehicle itself only had space for eight rounds although a ‘novel’ solution was found. A number of old outdated L6/40 tanks were transformed into ammunition carriers following these 105/25s while also dragging along additional ammunition carriages. Few were made since most Cannone da 90/53s were needed for air defence. While seeing action in North Africa and Sicily, they [[What|never saw action on the Eastern Front.]]

===Halftracks and Armoured Cars===

[[File:Autoblindo 40-41-42.jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

*'''''Autoblindo 40-41-43''''': Uniquely, the Autoblindo 40 was actually revised and redesigned a few times during its development thanks to its original purpose for recon and policing duties including in oversea colonies. Essentially the car was built from the ground up to perform in the same environments Italy would find itself fighting in during the second world war allowing the vehicle to operate for much longer times compared to their somewhat slapped together allied equivalents. The 41 simply replaced the turrets weapons from two machine guns to a 20mm Breda autocannon in order to make the vehicle more capable during skirmishes with similar vehicles. A more original design similar to the German armoured cars was in mind for the 42 model, but since it had North Africa in mind development stopped after Italy left the area. Instead, the 41 was improved with a better engine and improved armour. It ultimately performed well in all theatres and was even well liked by the Germans who used it.

[[File:S37.jpg|100px|thumb|left|APC. Adorable Personal Carrier.]]

*'''''Autoprotetto S.37''''': While the Italian Army knew from the start of the war that they would need their own armoured personal carriers the three designs proposed being…Less than impressive. The S.37 was the only one to actually see production and was literally just a failed armoured car design with the turret ripped off. Uniquely, despite being designed for transporting squads it used four-wheels left over from the original armoured car design rather than being a half-track preferred by the other major powers. This allowed the vehicle to move faster and was easier to produce and keep running, though naturally had a lot more trouble on muddy off the road terrain. Carried eight men (not great, but not terrible) while having the option for a machine gut both at the front and back, but usually had it at the back. There were also two variants both replacing most of its carry capacity for either a flamethrower or a Elefantino gun.

===Airplanes===
[[File:Fiat CR.42 Falco.jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

*'''''Fiat CR.42 Falco''''': Before the start of the war biplanes were on their final days, though this doesn’t mean they weren’t still desirable. Beside price and ease of construction monoplanes were still a new, relatively untested design. Most of the major powers saw the numerous advantages that came with monoplanes but most importantly they also had the funds and resources to develop a number of failures. Secondary powers though like Spain, Poland and the Balkan states needed something tried, tested and guaranteed to actually fly. That’s where Italy came in…Yeah despite the reputation their weapons received after the war, before the war Italy was quite the arms dealer, especially to other Fascists or nations sympathetic to the Axis cause. The Fiat CR.42 was probably their best product not only selling a trusted weapon but used many design techniques from the more modern monoplanes. This resulted in a plane more manoeuvrable than a monoplane with a well armoured strengthened frame. Most well known for their use by Spain, the Hungarian Resistance and…Well…Italy, the plane was extremely adaptable being easily equipped for recon, dogfighting and ground attack. Apparently, it was REALLY good at that last one too, with some sources claiming it had a 1 to 12 kill ratio in Hungary.

[[File:Fiat G.50 Freccia.jpg|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''Fiat G.50 Freccia ''''': One of Italy’s first monoplane designs, it was quite fast and manoeuvrable during its first deployment in the Spanish Civil War though like many Italian fighters they used Breda-SAFAT machine guns which were unreliable, jammed often, low velocity and low rate of fire. It did have good range so…You know…I guess it has that. Once the war started though they were vastly outclassed by the British fighters they were often sent against.

[[File:Macchi C.202 Folgore.jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

*'''''Macchi C.202 Folgore''''': The mainstay fighter of the Italian airforce, this monoplane kicked ass. Introduced in 1941 it was durable, fast, manoeuvrable and actually mass produced! It even outperformed the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in North Africa and has been credited as a very underrated fighter by many aces on both sides. Despite this though it did have a habit of entering bad spins, had the same shitty machine guns as above and had radios so bad the pilots often had to wiggle their flaps to communicate. Still, as an actual plane it was top notch but those failings as well as the rapid evolution of aircraft at the time led the model to be used for training and garrison after the 1943 Armistice.

[[File:Fiat G.55 Centauro.jpg|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''Fiat G.55 Centauro''''': Declared by the Luftwaffe as [[Awesome|the best Axis fighter,]] the Fiat G.55 had many of the same advantages as the C.202 but didn’t have the same mechanical issues, while also FINALLY getting rid of those machine guns for German replacements. While it was built in smaller numbers and mostly used by the RSI it performed incredibly and was one of the few planes they had that could fight at high altitude.

[[File:Savoia-Marchetti SM.79.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Three is always better then two.]]

*'''''Savoia-Marchetti SM.79''''': Arguably one of Italy’s most well-known military planes, if not downright the most famous of their three engine designs, the SM.79 actually started out as a civilian airliner focusing primarily on speed while also providing a rather sizable hull for passenger transport. Putting the focus on speed over space it was still limited to only eight passengers but in the former regard it was record breaking thanks to its three powerful engines. Many public test flights and races were organized by the Italian government as a propaganda tool and after it became clear they didn’t have to fudge the numbers to come out with a win, discussions on turning the aircraft into a military design were quickly organized. The idea of a medium bomber came naturally with its size and free space, modifying the design to be equipped with four to five machine guns and a bomb bay. On top of that the plane was famously manoeuvrable and easy to control, capable of even doing a loopty-loop! Wasn’t that much of a slouch on durability either…Some had to be sacrificed for the speed but it wasn’t fragile for the time. Sadly, it did come with a couple of issues coming from the original civilian design, mostly in regards to its inability to install turrets and the shape limiting its capacity to hold larger bombs to only a couple (though smaller bombs could be carried in typical quantities). When it saw battle in the Spanish Civil War it was so good at outrunning and outfighting the interceptors it came up against, they weren’t even given escort fighters furthering its reputation. Sadly, while used till the end of the war newer planes quickly caught up with its performance and it was soon brought low by Allied planes.

===Ships===
To sum up the Regia Marina (and this is a VERY short summery considering they were the fifth largest navel power) the Italian navy started the war with a massive fleet, though most of these ships were of an earlier design. Still, they weren’t exactly lacking…Many sources show the Italian ships to be great in design often able to complete against the allies in a fair one on one fight. Issue came with modernisation. While Italy STARTED with a huge navy, they didn’t really have the production capacity to replace them quickly and these ships also lacked radar and sonar. This meant that a fair one on one fight was very infrequent while having your fleets ass handed to you at night or in a storm more common. They also purposefully elected to give up on any sort of air arm for the navy since it was seen as unnecessary. After all, no doubt [[That guy|the military might of Italy was about wash over the Mediterranean coast like a flood]] meaning naval fleets would always be in range of an Italian airbase. This of cause, [[Fail|did not happen.]] Italian crews weren’t really trained all that well either. Special note should be made about those sailors however as during the 1943 disarmament by Germany almost the entire navy proceeded to tell their ally to [[This Guy|fuck off.]] Those that didn’t hoist the anchor and sail right into the arms of the Allied powers fought to the bitter end on land or skuttled their ships. Hell, there’s a number of ports kept out of German hands thanks to the heroics of these sailors. It wasn’t in vain either. Without the Italian navy Germany had to give up on the Mediterranean completely while also forcing the RSI and Germans to position troops along the coast of Northern Italy to prevent Allied landings taking pressure off the Allied and Co-Belligerent armies.

===Wunderwaffen===
[[Meme|Hahahaha…Oh wait, you’re serious. Let me laugh even louder. AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!]]

===Misc===

[[File:Breda Mod. 35.jpg|150px|thumb|left|In nature, bright colors alert predators to danger.]]

*'''''Breda Mod. 35''''': The 35 along with other series of similar hand grenades was the Italians bread and butter when it came to anti-personal explosives. Often called Red Devils because…Well…Just look at the damn thing, the striking paint job was actually pretty typical at the time. Everyone getting a hand grenade only really became common practice after WW1 so color coding explosives to maximize safety was typical for many countries including America, hence why early Pacific troops had yellow grenades. What made the Italian grenade stand out was its choice of fuse, contact instead of timed. Once activated it would detonate once it was impacted by force meaning it would go off the moment it landed. While the advantages are obvious there were a few reasons other countries avoided this. Activating a grenade only to drop it was a much more deadly mistake with these, plus veteran soldiers would quickly get a feel for the timer and actually manage to get their grenade off while it was still at chest height causing maximum casualties to the enemy. The final reason, which turned out to be an advantage for the Italians, was how fickle the mechanism was. Basically, if you fought in an area with soft ground like say, the deserts of North Africa, the grenade would sometimes not go off on impact. Of cause, the grenade was still armed though and even touching the thing could cause it to detonate. If you toss one into a British foxhole either it immediately went off killing a bunch of guys inside or it wouldn’t and instead just sit there, nice noticeable red in color, telling the troops in the hole they were now sitting on a ticking timebomb that would turn whoever touched it nice meat paste. This could lead to MORE soldiers than who have been killed abandoning the hole and getting shot as they retreated. That, and most Allied troops (especially American) was trained to fight the Germans and Japanese not Italians…So a fresh squad out of training would see a red can in the ground, go “Oh what’s this?” and vanish in a cloud of blood.

[[File:Breda Mod. 42.jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

*'''''Breda Mod. 42''''': Despite the name the 42 was actually an anti-tank grenade instead of a fragmentation like the 35. The name was actually a reference to the fact that mechanically it was pretty much the same grenade using an anti-tank charge and a stick for further throws. Not much more to say beyond that except it was the primary ant-tank weapon of the Italian infantry. No Bazooka for you buddy.

[[File:Passaglia Grenade.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Molotov on crack]]

*'''''Passaglia Grenade and OTO Mod. 42''''': Since the Breda Mod. 42 wasn’t developed till 1942, Italian soldiers in the early years slapped together their own AT grenades in the form of Passaglia grenades. Essentially a bag with some dynamite in it, it was attached to a Mod. 35 to act as a fuse. It was heavy, unstable, difficult to throw and since it relied on concussive force to cause damage it was only effective when tossed onto the engine block. While ineffective it was still examined back in Italy and helped inspire a sister project to the Mod. 42. This new bomb, the OTO Mod. 42, was a large thick glass bottled filled with a mixture of 50% gasoline and 50% flamethrower fluid. It didn’t actually come with any form of explosive or ignition making them safer to transport and carry. Instead, once one was needed, the user would [[Ork|stuff a regular grenade into the neck of the bottle before tossing this double grenade at the enemy.]] This essentially makes it a few molotovs taped to a stick grenade and tossed together. As you can probably expect they were quite effective but did have some issues such as its short range, unstable nature and difficulty transporting (we did say it was safer, not easier…)

[[File: Brixia Model 35.jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

*'''''Brixia Model 35''''': Mostly known for having a top mounted clip and a nice pad to sit on, this light mortar was known for its surprising accuracy and staggering rate of fire. In fact, it could fire rounds so quickly they had to teach the crews to slow down less they damage the barrel. It also as mentioned came with a comfy little pat so the user could sit or lay upon it for hours without feeling as uncomfortable. Issue came from its complicated nature and light shells lacking any real punch. The clip that sticks out on top isn’t the explosive rounds but separate ignition cartridges. If you are unaware this is how modern cannon-mortars work meaning this is another Italian WW2 weapon that was [[What|ahead of its time.]]

[[File:Mortaio da 81-14 Modello 35.jpg|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''Mortaio da 81/14 Modello 35''''': Based on the already well-liked Brandt 81 mm Mle 1927 French mortar the design was further tweaked and messed with to improve the already impressive range and cutting back on weight. As you can probably guess it was very successful and quite popular.

[[File:Breda mod.31 .jpg|100px|thumb|right|]]

*'''''Breda 20/65 mod.35''''': Probably the best well known stationary gun of the Italians, this light AA gun isn’t so much known for its performance (it was sub-par on release, was improved to ‘ok’) but because it was used EVERYWHERE. As you read above Italy and machine guns did not mix well so whenever a vehicle or defensive position needed some heavy rapid-fire weaponry the 20/65 was sought out instead. It had enough punch to deal with most light tanks, didn’t jam every five seconds and was rather light for its purpose. The only serious issue it had was a structural fault that meant dragging it faster than 20 kph could damage the frame so it was often transported (and used) on trucks.

[[File:Lanciafiamme Modello 35.jpg|100px|thumb|left|]]

*'''''Lanciafiamme Modello 35-40''''': Pretty typical for a inter war period flamethrower, the 35 model was rather heavy and required two soldiers (one for the lance, one to carry the tank) in protective gear which granted wasn’t exactly uncommon at the time while the 40 shrunk it down to a more familiar single soldier backpack. Considering the reputation of Italian weaponry, one would think strapping on one of their flamethrowers would be a very, VERY bad idea though thankfully for their users they weren’t much more dangerous than other flamethrower of the time. Both varieties were heavier and had a shorter range however.

[[File:SPA-Viberti AS.42.jpg|100px|thumb|right|Death Limo]]

*'''''SPA-Viberti AS.42''''': Funnily enough based on the chassis of Autoblindo 41 rather than a armoured car based on an established vehicle, the AS.42 was created to fulfill the armies request for a long range reconnaissance and raiding inspired by the successful British units of the same variety. While these British models were either jeeps or smaller armoured cars the AS.42 was quite a lot longer with additional seating. This also provided space to equip much larger weapons giving Italy access to a fast-moving heavy weapon platform. It also carried up to 20 jerry cans giving in incredible longevity along with two machine guns standard with the extra space allowing the installation of either a Breda mod.31, S-18/1000 rifle or a Elefantino gun. They performed well, as despite overall having a larger shape they had quite the short profile making it easy to hide plus the cans and extra space gave in much longer longevity then their allied counterparts.

[[Category:History]]

The Legend of Zelda

2022-12-08T08:56:28Z

2001:8003:1C20:8C00:20BE:3A3F:F2:46F0: /* Monsters */

{{/vg/}}

The Legend of Zelda is a series of adventure games for the Nintendo system. One of the oldest franchises, alongside Super Mario, at least one game has graced every console Nintendo has put out. With its epic landscapes, focus on puzzles, and a wide array of [[monster]]s and races, the Zelda series is a goldmine for an enterprising [[Dungeons & Dragons]] [[DM]] to draw from for inspiration.

==The Story==
You play as one of the many incarnations of Link, a (typically) green-clad Hylian youth somewhere between 9 to 18 years of age who sets out to fight evil in order to accomplish some heroic goal, often related to rescuing someone. This most often means Princess Zelda, whom the series is named after. In pursuit of this goal, he often clashes with the evil Ganon (or Ganondorf), who wants to rule the world, or some other menace ranging from a jerk wizard who kidnaps girls to a fucking terrifying mask trying to destroy everything.

Central to the series is the Triforce, an artifact of immense power that taps into a user's power, wisdom and courage to use. It has near reality-warping powers in its full form, which is why Ganon(dorf) seeks to obtain it. Link occasionally has to find bits of the shattered Triforce in his quests, or people capable of sealing Ganon(dorf) away. At some point the pieces of the Triforce became sealed within the three main characters, with Ganon(dorf) getting the Triforce of Power, Zelda getting the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link getting (or sometimes having to find) the Triforce of Courage. The Triforce is of such immense value that at one point there was a civil war over who could control it, leading to, in several games, 1) Link's parents being killed and forcing him to live in hiding, 2) a tribe of wizards getting banished into a parallel realm, eagerly waiting for a chance at vengeance, 3) causing the entire Sacred Realm to become a cursed dimension after Ganon succeeds in grabbing it, and probably even more situations.

Note that it is not always the same Link who appears in the series: while some of them appear in several games as the protagonist (One appears in four games, and three others in two games each) there is often a new Link in every game. And while they look alike, they are not related to one another - except in one case where it is strongly hinted that they are family (namely the one from Ocarina of Time and the one from Twilight Princess). This is because the games are constantly soft-rebooting (really it's that it takes place over a VERY long stretch of time and each Link, Zelda, and Ganon are reincarnations). Hyrule itself will change too every so often; sometimes it will feature the same familiar geography of Hyrule castle, Death Mountain, Zora Village, etc. And other times it will feature very dramatic changes, such as all of Hyrule being flooded. Even in games where the major land features are present they often get jumbled up and moved around.

The Zeldas on the other hand are related to one another: the first one was the reincarnation of the goddess Hylia and all Zeldas are her descendants, making them the Blood of the Goddess. And while the various Links might not be related they inherit something as well; the Spirit of the Hero which gives them the drive to stand up to evil and use the various tools they find despite them never having used or even seen them before.

The villainous Ganon is the same one over and over again though, being the reincarnation of the [[daemon|demon]] Demise. Occasionally, it's stated he can't truly die; he only ever suffers temporary defeat. Even while he gets killed at the end of some of the games, his followers try to resurrect him (and sometimes even succeed), making him the same guy again and again. Even so, he takes many different forms; early on he's a piggish brute (literally), though later he adopts a more human form (in this form he's always called Ganondorf) when he uses subversion as his main strategy, typically as one of the rare Gerudo males, though he can still be capable of some horrifying shit if he's in possession of the Triforce of Power. Eventually, however, he gets sick of this shit and drops all subtlety, turning into an eldritch abomination called "Calamity Ganon" that curses the land of Hyrule itself, resurrecting fallen monsters and seizing control of the kingdom's automaton army. In every single case, his weakness remains the same: only the awakened Master Sword and/or special arrows (Silver Arrows or Light Arrows depending on the game)can seal him away.

The fact that the timeline also branches off into multiple paths simply makes it more confusing to keep track of. Fortunately, Nintendo not only printed a game-by-game explanation of the timeline, but they also gave a definitive starting-off point in Skyward Sword, taking place just prior to the founding of Hyrule and the establishment of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf as perpetually reincarnating characters.

==Tabletop Games==
Officially, there are no Zelda tabletop games (no, the Zelda version of Monopoly doesn't count). Unofficially, homebrewers have tried their hand at making some. A Legend of Zelda [[D20]] system has been floating around the net for years, and [[/tg/]] has been busily working on a [[Legend of Zelda RPG]] and [[Four-Sworded Adventuring]]. There's also [[Megaton]], which is a wargame set in the Zelda setting.

A more recent fan game that's gained some popularity is ''Reclaim the Wild'' which draws most of its ideas and setting lore from Breath of the Wild, though with some notable exceptions such as playable Twili characters. The game is a skill-based one, with a number of skills each tied to one of the Triforces (Power, Wisdom and Courage). Completing major tasks such as quests or defeating powerful foes awards the player [[XP|Tokens of Heroism]] they can use to level up these skills or other attributes such as Stamina and Health.

==Vidya Games==

There's been A TON of them, but the one that gives the most nostalgia is the first one, which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrn8RBxM4W0

All of the games share the same basic gameplay: Link needs to stop Ganon/Ganondorf (or whoever the big bad is supposed to be for the game) by visiting various locations in Hyrule (or wherever the game takes place), collecting various artifacts or rescuing people before finally confronting the main boss. Each location typically has a dungeon that is heavily puzzle-oriented; Link will usually have to fight his way to a mini-boss, which will drop a new gadget that he'll use to complete the dungeon and fight the final boss. Each game will usually also feature an additional gameplay feature unique to the game, whether it's commanding your own little ship, turning into a wolf, or hopping between the real world and a mirror world.

In every game, though, you play Link though, that is the one constant across any of them (except for those creepy Tingle games and the CD-i spinoffs). Even the Hyrule Warriors spinoff games have much of their focus centred on Link, though they do allow you to also play other characters as well including fan favorites such as Impa or fan banes such as Tingle.

*'''The Legend of Zelda''' – The game that started it all and introduced many of the ideas the future games would take: Princess Zelda, Ganon, the Triforce, going around and defeating dungeons, and things like that. That said, the game is fairly difficult to play due to how cryptic it can be, with secret caves and overly short messages from the handful of NPCs in the game making the game just awkward to play these days.
*'''The Adventure of Link''' – The original black sheep of the series and far more RPG compared to the more action-adventure of its predecessor. It is NOTORIOUS for the combat and even more cryptic messages from the NPCs (“I am Error” being the meme probably most well known from this game, an ironic translation error as the NPC should actually be “Errol” and is actually an important NPC in the game).
*'''A Link to the Past''' – This game is what really put Zelda on almost every gamer’s radar. While most can agree the original was a decent start and that even the second game had some good ideas, this game fully embraced its action RPG role and truly established what it was to be a Zelda game – great puzzles, a strong story, and a number of twists that make the game far more expansive than it appears at first glance. Almost every game after this one used it as a basis for how a Zelda game should be, even the 3D ones. The story is the first Prequel to the saga and introduces the Master Sword to the Mythos.
*'''Link’s Awakening''' – When a bunch of game programmers at Nintendo got bored, they decided to make their own Zelda game but for the handheld Gameboy. The higher-ups liked the idea so much they gave them a wide berth and the end result is one of the best 2D Zelda games ever to the point it’s been redone twice now (Link’s Awakening DX adding color and a bonus dungeon while the Switch remake overhauled all of the graphics and added just a few quality of life improvements to make it not just a carbon copy). This game actually started the trend where a dungeon has an item you use to clear and beat the boss used in future games, in prior games sometimes a dungeon would have this trait, and sometimes it wouldn't.
:It is also the first Zelda game to have a mysterious and dark undertone to it with the player eventually learning that all the NPCs they’ve been getting to know and care for aren’t even real, just parts of the Wind Fish's dream and that by beating the game and waking up the Wind Fish they will all disappear. Needless to say, it showed that Zelda games could be just as deep and complex on a handheld as they were on a regular console.
*'''Ocarina of Time''' – Widely seen by many in the industry as one of (if not THE) greatest game ever made (at least until fairly recently), Ocarina of Time was the franchise’s first attempt at 3D and to say it did it well would be an understatement. Though incredibly similar to A Link to the Past in terms of what the story is (save Zelda, defeat <s>Ganon</s> Ganondorf and acquire the Triforce and Master Sword along the way), it took a major departure in introducing a time travel mechanic (which inadvertently made three timelines for the games to occur in). Introduced concepts and tropes to the series that are still seen to this day such as the Gorons, Z-targeting and notorious Water Temples. Still well worth going back and playing to this day (though you might want to play the remake on the 3DS for small quality-of-life improvements).
*'''Majora’s Mask''' – What happens when you get an absolute smash hit of a game and your boss tells you to make a game that is just as good but you’re only given one year to finish it? Well, in most cases you fail miserably, but in this instance, it was done phenomenally. Set not in Hyrule but in the lands of Termina (only the second time a Zelda game did not take place at least partially in Hyrule), Link must stop the machinations of a crazed Skull Kid who is being warped and manipulated by the titular mysterious ancient mask to drop a moon onto Termina.
:During the game Link will gather a vast collection of masks, each with its own abilities from making him run faster, helping solve a missing person’s case, and MAKE HIM THE EMBODIMENT OF A PRIMAL DEITY. Oh, and he has only three in-game days to stop the moon from crashing into Termina and killing everyone, so no pressure. This game is practically a horror story the amount of creepy stuff you come across, albeit one where you play as the hero who ensures a happy ending.
*'''Oracle of Seasons/Ages''' – For the first time, Nintendo gave another company the rights to make a mainline game using the Zelda franchise. The company was Capcom and they were originally told to just remake the original Zelda but they quickly changed those plans to make a trilogy of games. A trilogy proved too much, though, and they pared it back to just two games but made sure the two could interact in specific ways. Seasons focuses more on the action, getting Link into melee proving to usually be the best option much of the time, but Ages focuses more on puzzle solving and figuring things out across the map and within dungeons.
:When you complete one game you get a code to take much of your save data to the other. Both games are also set outside of Hyrule, Seasons taking place in Holodrum and Ages in Labrynna. If you do carry your save data over to the second game (doesn’t quite matter which but canonically it is Seasons and then Ages) you unlock the secret true ending and face off against Ganon once again.
*'''Four Swords''' – A quirky co-op game that was on the same cartridge as the Gameboy Advance’s version of A Link to the Past. Link has taken up the Four Sword and is beside himself in confusion. You and up to three friends have to traverse semi-randomly generated dungeons to eventually fight and defeat a new villain in the franchise named Vaati. Would later get a full sequel.
*'''The Wind Waker''' – Another 3D Zelda game, this time on the Gamecube. At its launch, it was received with a very mixed response due to the idea that the game would actually have looked more like a traditional “realistic” fantasy game rather than the rather cartoony cel-shaded one we got with this one. Over time though the game has gotten more positive responses with most agreeing the look helped the game age incredibly well. Its main gimmick this time is that Hyrule is no more, drowned under the waves of the Great Ocean.
:Despite the apocalyptic inundation, Ganondorf is back and ready to find the full Triforce once more so he can attempt to again subjugate the people (though he admittedly has a lot more nuance in this game than previously). Link must sail across the ocean and fish up clues (usually quite literally) to help save his sister first and foremost and the world by extension. Oh, and be sure to go home every now and then and make sure your grandma is safe, okay? She even makes you yummy soup.
*'''Four Swords Adventures''' – The sequel to Four Swords on the GBA, this Gamecube game is much the same as the first but with the added function to play solo properly. Once more you must fight Vaati but you also get a shot at fighting Ganon. Despite this, the game is still basically just a series of fast dungeon crawls.
*'''The Minish Cap''' – Ever wonder why Link wears a green hat? Well, this is the game for you then! Vaati(this is a prequel to Four Swords) interrupts a festival and ruins everyone’s day and it’s up to Link and his magical talking hat named Ezlo to save the day. The unique gimmick of this game is the ability to shrink Link down to minuscule size which has the odd effect that monsters that would typically pose little to no threat to a normal-sized Link are suddenly massive and double as boss fights. Also details the reason why Link always finds money and items when they cut grass and smash bottles – A Picori (a minuscule fairy person) put it there for Link to find! Regarded as one of if not the best handheld Zelda games by most fans.
*'''Twilight Princess''' – After the backlash to The Wind Waker over its cutesy design, Nintendo knew they needed to get in the good graces of fans once more. Twilight Princess went for a more traditional-looking Zelda game with a fuck ton of brown and grey smeared over your screen(it was the late 2000s when most vidya makers decided that color was for little babies). Link must save his childhood friends with the help of the snarky shadow-being named Midna.
:For large parts of the game Link is transformed into a wolf, which no doubt made plenty of furries happy, during which he has several heightened senses and scares the shit out of normal people. Otherwise, it’s a typical “go to X dungeon, get Y item and defeat Z boss, then use the new item to help progress to the next dungeon, rinse and repeat.
:The new villain of this game, Zant, is actually just a puppet to a downright menacing Ganondorf (who even temporarily mind-enslaves Zelda). There is a good reason why every Smash game still uses this Ganondorf. While the game was incredibly well received (some fans legit broke down into tears at the announcement), it’s seen some growing resentment over the years over how poorly it has aged in terms of looks and how seemingly by the books a lot of the game turned out to be. It even has the dungeon boss largely regarded as the easiest in the whole franchise, a giant eel monster thing named Morpheel who basically cannot kill Link and is easily dispatched in just moments.
*'''Phantom Hourglass''' – A sequel to The Wind Waker, it was not very well received for a multitude of reasons, chiefly the absolute shit controls where you’re forced to use the touch screen of the DS for most things in the game, including moving Link around. Has some interesting dungeons but is incredibly clunky and awkward to play.
*'''Spirit Tracks''' – A sequel to Phantom Hourglass, it literally is a railroad game, with Link needing to conduct a train from point A to point B for much of the game. It does however let players play with Zelda though! Kinda. Well, mostly. See, Zelda is basically a ghostlike figure for much of the game and can possess phantoms to help Link solve puzzles and fight enemies.
:While fans were quite happy to finally play with her, the game is viewed as fairly subpar overall due to basically the same mechanics from Phantom Hourglass being in the game as well as the on-the-rails approach to the overworld.
*'''Skyward Sword''' – One of the better Zelda games storywise but with a somewhat awkward control scheme that forces the player to use a Wiimote (the main controller for the Nintendo Wii) to swing a sword and solve certain puzzles, Skyward Sword broke a lot of new ground in terms of story for the Zelda franchise. Among other things it set a new visual standard by combining Twilight Princess's realistic designs with Wind Waker's cel-shaded graphics to give the series a distinct [[anime]] look.
:Canonically the earliest game in the series, it finally tells the story as to why Link wears Green and why so many of the characters always seem to show up in the games and more, namely the feud between an incredibly powerful demon named Demise and humanity’s patron goddess Hylia.
:While many laud it for the deep story and wonderful characters (Groose is one of the best new characters to the franchise, and Fi eventually starts to warm on you), most agree the game was fairly weird to handle due to the forced Wiimote swinging and toggling. The HD remake for the Wii U is much better in that regard but really? Who the fuck even owned a Wii U? Thankfully, Nintendo later released a Switch version that features more traditional controls.
*'''A Link Between Worlds''' – Part sequel and part pseudo-remake of A Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds is a rather curious take on the Zelda series. In this game, Link must save Zelda and a number of other Sages from a mysterious villain who is also a painter named <s>Hitler</s> Yuga. In the process Link acquires the ability to merge himself into a wall and take on a stylized painting form and move across certain locations in the overworld and in dungeons in this fashion to solve puzzles and get by enemies. Eventually, Link appears in a dark twisted otherworld version of Hyrule called Lorule (real original, Nintendo) and bests dungeons in both realms to save the day.
:Another unique trait of the game is that almost all of the dungeons can be done in whatever order the player chooses, something not seen in quite some time (if ever) in the franchise thanks to the item rental system. No longer do you need to conquer a dungeon or perform some weird trade sequence to acquire the various tools needed to move from one dungeon to the next. Now all you need to do is talk to the guy who suddenly made your house into a shop and rent (and later buy) the items you want/need to deal with the next dungeon of your choosing. Basically took what A Link Between Worlds introduced and made it all better.
*'''Tri Force Heroes''' – Hot garbage that no one played.
*'''Breath of the Wild''' – Probably the most anticipated game of all time (I’m not joking about that either), the game had been hyped by Nintendo for quite some time, with snippets of gameplay released and small nuggets of information slowly leaking out from them about the game. Did not help that the game got delayed multiple times which only drove fans crazy. When it was finally released it quickly garnered MASSIVE praise from critics and fans alike, with most agreeing it topped Ocarina of Time as the best Zelda game of all time.
:Players take control of an amnesiac Link who is thrust into a vast and dangerous world and must use their wits and an arcane artifact known as a Sheikah Slate to overcome the odds and eventually defeat the Calamity Ganon. There are only 5 real dungeons in the whole game, over 100 mini-dungeons called shrines (though some are barely more than “defeat this one monster” or “walk to this one part of the shrine with no traps or puzzles”, but still there are a fuck ton of them!) as well as hundreds of little side quests and puzzles to ponder over. Or you could just go running naked and armed with just a tree branch to fight Ganon, it’s up to you (no joke, you can get inside the final dungeon right after the start of the game - good luck surviving).
:The world is enormous and is filled to the brim with things to do, sites to see, people to meet, quests to complete and more. It was so successful that Nintendo almost immediately announced a sequel
*'''Tears of the Kingdom''' - The as-of-this-typing still-in-development sequel to Breath of the Wild. Taking place a few years after BotW, with Link also travelling to some floating islands in the sky(the remains of Skyward Sword's world? who knows?). Oh, and Link appears to get a new hand-based magic power but no one outside of Nintendo really knows what’s up with that.
*'''Hyrule Warriors''' and '''Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity''' - A spinoff series of games by Koei Tecmo modelled on their ''Dynasty Warriors'' games. In the original Hyrule Warriors game, a mysterious sorceress named Cia fucks with all of the timelines (yes, all of them) after getting corrupted by darkness after she starts straight up lusting after all of the Links in the timelines. That's right, she gets so fucking horny for Link's ass she throws all of the timelines out of whack to try to sleep with him.
:Hyrule Warriors, being a Dynasty Warriors clone, has its main focus be taking control of a unique hero unit (sometimes multiple units to swap between in the various levels) and just demolishing waves of hundreds upon hundreds of enemies with each hero's unique abilities and weapons.
:Age of Calamity steps back from the "all timelines" bit but still fucks with time anyway. See, in Breath of the Wild when Calamity Ganon starts his, well, calamity over Hyrule, a little guardian robot Zelda built as a child wakes up, realizes what is going on and jumps back in time to try and stop it, causing two timelines to form - one where the little robot did nothing because it ran to the past and which is the same timeline Breath of the Wild takes place in, and the other being the one where it shows up and helps rally the Champions of Hyrule (present and future because "fuck how timelines should really work, amirite?") to stop Calamity Ganon.
:The first Hyrule Warriors game has a lot going for it, mostly for being the first (good) Zelda game where you can actually play the titular character as well as a whole slew of other characters from the franchise such as Agatha the Bug Princess from Twilight Princess, Skull Kid from Majora's Mask and even a new version of Ganondorf himself. Age of Calamity is a bit more restrictive in heroes to choose from but with a much more focused story tied directly to the newest and possibly most popular Zelda game in decades. Age of Calamity is now widely considered to be at least partially canon thanks to the depth of its story and how Nintendo's team worked with Koei Tecmo to ensure the game was as faithful as it could be to Breath of the Wild, right down to helping guide them on level design.

==Major Races==
'''Humans/Hylians:''' Humans are, of course, everywhere in the games. Certain humans are depicted with [[elf]]-like pointy ears; known as ''Hylians'', in universe this is supposed to represent a divinely blessed subrace who have a strong innate connection to the divine, which usually manifests as a greater affinity for magic. Indeed, ''Skyward Sword'' addresses how the Hylians got their name, basically it meaning "the people of (the Goddess) Hylia." The most famous Hylians are the titular Princess Zelda and Link.

'''Zoras:''' The first non-human race to debut in the series, showing up in the very first game, Zora were originally a race of vaguely [[kappa]]-like fireball-spitting fish people. ''Ocarina of Time'' would reinvent the race with a sleek, gracefully inhuman look and a culture more akin to [[Aquatic Elf|Aquatic Elves]] than anything, making them non-hostile NPCs who the Link of that game actually needs to save from the evils of Ganondorf. This redesign proved really popular, and with the exception of ''A Link Between Worlds'', this has been the portrayal of them used going forward, even if the design has been tweaked and retweaked between editions. Both ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''Breath of the Wild'' introduced Zora waifus for Link, although the latter's Mipha is the only one fans have ever taken seriously.

'''Gorons:''' The [[Dwarf|dwarves]] of Hyrule, Gorons are a race of stone-eating rock-creatures, originally depicted with rounded, boulder-like bodies and spindly limbs, but became somewhat more proportional starting with ''Twilight Princess''. While most of them were shorter than your average human in their debut (barring a couple of huge ones), starting in ''Twilight Princess'' your average Goron is much larger than a human. The Gorons tend to be expert craftsmen in stone and metal, as well as skilled in the use of bombs, and although they are friendly by nature, they're also immensely strong and tough, so they make formidable warriors. Like... well, pretty much every important nonhuman race, they debuted in ''Ocarina of Time''.

'''Gerudo:''' Hyrule's [[Amazon]]s; dark-skinned, red-haired female warriors and thieves who are usually depicted living in the desert (save for those in Termina from ''Majora's Mask'', who are [[pirate]]s instead). Introduced in ''Ocarina of Time'', where they are technically a former enemy nation, but in the present is largely being forced to work against Hyrule by their king, Ganondorf, an evil [[wizard]]-[[thief]] who seeks to conquer the land. After ''Majora's Mask'', where they were straight-up villains, they basically vanished. After a long absence, they returned in ''Breath of the Wild'' as a friendly nation of tall, dusky [[musclegirl]]s who make money as honest merchants. While they had rounded ears like humans in their first two appearances, in ''Breath of the Wild'' they sport pointed ears like the Hylians. As an (almost) all-female race they're highly dependent on Hylian males for reproduction; it's implied in Ocarina of Time that these are purely temporary trysts with (hopefully) willing partners, but in Breath of the Wild its more of a Rite of Passage that a Gerudo woman prepares for to go out into the world and find a suitable husband; with Gerudo now openly accepted in Hylian society, its more common to see Gerudo women settle down with families, though most tend to stay within the Gerudo valley rather than take up permanent residence elsewhere. Children are usually born female but once every 100 years or so, a male Gerudo is born, who becomes their king by law. Unfortunately for the Gerudos, it keeps being Ganondorf.

'''Kokiri:''' Only appearing in ''Ocarina of Time'', the Kokiri are essentially the [[gnome]]s of Hyrule; forest spirits who look like unaging Hylian [[Loli|children]]. They are a MAJOR component to the story of ''Ocarina of Time'' with one Kokiri named Saria, in particular, being one of the [[Sage|Sages]] needed to help stop Ganondorf. They may or may not be evolved from the Kikwi beings seen in ''Skyward Sword''.

'''Koroks:''' Debuting in ''The Wind Waker'', these small humanoid plants are implied to be the Kokiri, or at least their descendants, who forsook their more humanoid appearance. They've only appeared in ''The Wind Waker'' and ''Breath of the Wild''. They play a major role in ''The Wind Waker'' but the vast majority of their being in ''Breath of the Wild'' is little more than filler content that, once completed entirely, rewards the player with [[What|a stylized golden pile of shit]]. Gotta love that Japanese toilet humor...

'''Rito:''' Another race that debuted in ''The Wind Waker'' before making a surprise return in ''Breath of the Wild'', the Rito are almost different races in each appearance. In ''Wind Waker'', they appear as humans with retractile wings on their arms and beak-like noses and are implied to be the descendants of the Zora after the fish-people were changed to not be allowed to linger in Hyrule after it was flooded. In ''Breath of the Wild'', they are straight up [[aarakocra|humanoid birds]] and are simply the inhabitants of the cold northern mountain regions, with no connections to the Zora as far as we know.

'''Picori:''' A diminutively-sized (and somewhat rodent-looking but with pointy ears rather than rounded ones) race more commonly known as "the Minish" to Hylians, they were introduced properly in ''The Minish Cap'' though one of their kind (Vaati) was actually introduced in ''Four Swords''. They are a kind and highly magical race who helped the Hylians by crafting magical artifacts in the past. They canonically are the reason Link finds rupees and items when he smashes bottles and cuts grass. The lack of such things in ''Breath of the Wild'' implies Ganon killed them all.

==Monsters==

'''Octoroks:''' Just like their name suggests, Octoroks are large octopuses that spit rocks at you.

'''Moblins:''' Started out as basically [[Orc]]s with bulldog faces. In more modern times, their faces have become more pig-like, similar to many common portrayals of Orcs, but they also started getting bigger, and often take the role of [[Ogre]]s. They are commonly armed with spears and may throw them at Link.

'''Bokoblins''' are the most recent form of the basic Mook once Moblins got promoted to Giant Mooks. They are typically larger than [[Goblin]]s, but smaller than Orcs.

'''Chuchus''' are slime enemies, more like the Slimes of Dragon Quest than [[Ooze]]s. Many Chuchus are elemental(Ice, Fire, Electricity, etc...), and their jelly can often be harvested.

'''Keese''' are annoying goddamn bat-like enemies. Usually, they are minor nuisances, unless there are a lot of them. Often come in elemental varieties, and are rarely associated with Demon-like enemies called '''Vires'''.

'''Like Likes''' are weird tube-like enemies that look like a semi-gelatinous length of the intestine. They have a habit of swallowing Link whole and eating his shield or other equipment. One variant has a lure with a Rupee-like grown on the end and will eat your rupees if they catch you.

'''Wallmasters''' are giant disembodied hands that will grab Link and carry him off, dumping him at the beginning of the dungeon or another pre-designated location.

'''Cuccos''' are... Chickens? Yes. But hurt one, I fucking ''dare'' ya.

'''Wizzrobes''' are humanoid creatures that resemble cloaked men, and attack by casting spells of varying kinds. They may also teleport or run in thin air.

'''Darknuts''' are humanoid swordmasters clad in heavy armour that typically wield a large sword & shield. Their armour renders them impervious to damage to all but attacks from the rear, and they're some of the more dangerous enemies encountered. Some depictions have them strip their armour after a successful rear strike, increasing their agility thereon.

'''Dodongos''' are large dinosaur-like monsters with tough hides. Don't bother trying to kill them with your sword, just throw bombs down their throats.

'''Peahats''' are flowers that fly around like helicopters.

'''Lynels''' are [[Centaur]]s with Lion heads, similar to <s>[[Chakats]]</s> D&D's [[Wemic]]. They're typically among the most dangerous enemies found in the overworld.

==Major Items==

'''The Triforce:''' An object referenced in nearly every single game, sometimes referring only to one of the three pieces that make up the whole. In any case, the Triforce is the single most powerful artifact in all of Zelda with many games focusing on Ganon trying to get hold of it because it grants whoever possesses it massive amounts of power and a wish. It's been used several times in series as well and each time its power is truly awe-inspiring. Typically it is split into three pieces, each piece also being called a Triforce (a bit confusingly at times, admittedly), each named after a certain aspect of character - Wisdom (most often associated with Princess Zelda), Power (most often associated with Ganon), and Courage (most often associated with Link).

'''The Master Sword:''' Nicknamed "the Sword that Seals the Darkness," this is the most iconic weapon in Zelda and is in nearly every game. Occasionally it's the most powerful sword in the game and other times it's not quite the most powerful and needs to be upgraded. Link usually acquires this ancient and powerful blade between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way through the game. The reason it's so mighty is that it is the sword that needs to be used to kill Ganon most of the time.

'''The Silver Arrows/Light Arrows:''' Depending on the game the name changes but the overall effect is the same - these arrows are incredibly powerful, often able to one-shot nearly every enemy in the game and are used very often in the final boss fight to help stop the big bad of the game who gets wrecked when hit by one.

'''Boomerangs''' are common sub-weapons Link uses in many games. They typically kill smaller monsters while stunning larger ones, and can also pick up items from a distance.

'''The Sheikah Slate:''' Introduced in Breath of the Wild, this multitool is incredible. It is capable of summoning bombs, freezing objects (and enemies) for short periods of time, conjuring pillars of ice from nearly every watery surface in-game, marking locations on your map, taking pictures, calling a magical and ancient motorcycle, and is also the game's menu screen to access weapons, armor, gear and quest logs. Used in combination with the wide variety of objects that the Sheikah Slate can interact with, creative players will be able to use it to not only solve complex puzzles but also for ambushing enemies.

'''The Ocarina of Time:''' A musical instrument that gives its name to one of the most popular video games of all time. Playing various notes on it can do all sorts of magical effects, time manipulation being merely one of them. Songs can call your horse to you, summon a rainstorm, warp Link to a number of locations on the map, as well as wake up and put people to sleep (depending on game).

'''The Hylian Shield:''' A powerful shield that is almost as iconic to the series as the Master Sword. It was nothing special when it first appeared in Ocarina of Time, Link buys it early in the game and it doesn't burn like his initial wooden shield. Late in game, the Mirror Shield replaces it. But since Link is so frequently depicted with this shield in artwork it became an iconic part of his look, so when it reappeared in Twilight Princess it became the best shield (still because it doesn't burn, but Link can reflect stuff with any shield). Skyward Sword started a trend where it became a shield Link has to unlock because it's just that good compared to other shields.

'''The Mirror Shield:''' A powerful shield with a shiny face that can be used to reflect light or magic, often usable in combat.

'''Heart Containers:''' Found either complete or in pieces. Complete Heart Containers immediately increase Link's heart count (his health) by one. Pieces of Heart Containers need to be combined in order to increase Link's heart count by one. Usually, the pieces are sets of 4 pieces except in Twilight Princess which required 5. Breath of the Wild also opted out of giving heart pieces and only rewards Link 4 Heart Containers through the whole game, instead requiring Link to complete multiple shrine quests to acquire Spirit Orbs which he can then trade in either to increase his heart count or increase his stamina, both requiring 4 Spirit Orbs to do so.

'''Rupees:''' Zelda's main currency through all of the games, these little gems come in a variety of colors, each denoting a different amount it's worth. Almost always green rupees mean only 1, but beyond that, it's changed several times through the series. In the original Zelda, there were just Rupees worth only 1 or 5, but subsequent games have increased that amount with the most common colors being green, blue, red, silver, gold, purple and orange, with gold or silver usually being the most valuable (typically worth 300). You can almost always find them by killing enemies, cutting grass, breaking pots, opening chests and completing certain quests. In Breath of the Wild, Rupees are almost impossible to find in the wild outside of some chests, so players generally make money by selling loot, crafted potions or cooked food.

'''Magic Armor:''' While Link's most iconic armor is just a set of green clothes with varying amounts of detail to them (he was designed to look a lot like Peter Pan after all), Magic Armor is probably the best armor in any game, though it usually has a major drawback to it as well. In Wind Waker, this was appropriately your magic meter, which made it a very risky item to use given how many other items used magic as well. All future instances of Magic Armour would change its fuel source to the pure energy of money, that being rupees. In Twilight Princess & its HD port, it depletes your rupee count if hit, but it also drains it at a rate of 2 rupees per second, meaning it should only ever be worn at the very last moment to stop an attack or else you're going to go broke fast. That said, both armors block 100% of all damage while worn (and powered, in TP's case). Wind Waker HD would rework its Magic Armour to function as it did in Twilight Princess minus the constant rupee drain.

'''The Hookshot/Longshot/Clawshot:''' A fairly simple item in concept, it's effectively a grappling gun which pulls some objects towards Link or pulls link towards an object. Most of these objects are wooden or have a metal mesh, but they can also be used to pull some items or even enemies to Link. ''Twilight Princess'' gave players not one but two Clawshots, allowing Link to jump around more easily in some environments not unlike fucking Spiderman.

'''Masks:''' Depending on the game a mask can have a variety of abilities and powers. Beginning with the Bunny Hood in ''Ocarina of Time'' which does nothing for Link but when traded to one NPC it makes them run like a bat out of hell, most of the masks do nothing and the few that do are fairly minor. The next game, ''Majora's Mask'', made masks vitally important (the Bunny Hood gives him super speed), with some granting Link the ability to transform into another form while most give him new abilities such as literally blowing up (taking damage in the process even). Masks continued to make varied appearances in future games up to even ''Breath of the Wild'' where they are a costume piece that confuses certain enemies depending on the mask worn.

'''Trading Sequence Items:''' These items almost never help link directly, merely being small parts of a semi-long quest in games which will reward Link with something at the end of it with an item that will help him such as a big ass sword or a magnifying lens needed to read one magic book in the game. Most TTRPG Zelda games will omit these unless the GM is a massive prick.

'''Bottles:''' Filled with milk, water, fish, fairies or otherwise, these objects are somewhat notorious in canon since for whatever reason they seem almost indestructible, incapable of breaking and can often be used in place of a sword to smack balls of energy tossed at Link by his foes. That's right, [[What|a little glass bottle is able to tennis whack a fucking lightning ball around like it is nothing.]] Also, despite being, you know, glass bottles, there are usually only about four that can be found anywhere in the world, and Link usually has to jump through fucking ''hoops'' to get each one. Breath of the Wild is the first 3D game to stop using them since what Link carries is only limited by his inventory space.

'''Bombs:''' One Link's most used items, you use them to blow open walls or other specific locations meant to be blasted. Sometimes Link gets a type of super powerful bomb that he can only carry one of at a time that is meant to blast open a super tough target. Certain enemies have a vulnerability to bombs that are exploited by throwing the bomb at them or placing it where they will get too close. '''Breath of the Wild''' stopped using traditional bombs, however, the Sheikah Slate has a feature that takes their place where Link creates a bomb. Unlike in older games these don't have fuses and are detonated remotely; damage against enemies is nerfed but they're still great for stuns/knockbacks and are commonly used in various physics puzzles.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:All_links.jpg|Many of the Links so far (though some are the same)
Image:Almost_all_Zeldas.png|And many Zeldas
</gallery>

[[Category: Video Games]]