system
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human
[Legend of Zelda series] Just how many people are caught up in this resurrection cycle, anyway?

So the basic idea of the series is that an evil malice is resurrected over and over, eventually becoming Ganon and threatening all of Hyrule, while Link and Zelda are perpetually reincarnated to stop him. But then there seem to be other recurring characters, like Impa, always meant to be a sage to guide Link, and Beedle, who... sells him shit? Sometimes important shit, sometimes not? Who else is caught up in this cycle, and why are people like Beedle in it? Because I doubt it's just some amazing coincidence that people with the same names, appearances, and personalities are popping up to fill the same roles at the same times as Link, Zelda, and Ganon.
gpt
It isn't as many as we would think. Link, Zelda, and whatever form of Demise's curse is present, usually in the form of Ganon(dorf) might really be the only ones.

Likely answer for the rest of the recurring characters is a strong family resemblance to an ancestor of theirs. Impa has had many different incarnations. Yet the clue here is that in *Age of Calamity*, Impa appears nearly identical to her future granddaughter Paya. Telling us that Impa is just a name that is likely passed down, as even in *Twilight Princess*, Impaz is named after her.

Other notable people are not in every Zelda game. Just a character with a very strong resemblance and shared name. Beedle isn't in every game. Malon & Talon haven't been seen in quite a while. The Great Deku Tree is really another version or say child of a previous one. And we can't even be sure the shared name is the exact name as their ancestor as the series has seem to proven that the language has evolved over time, sometimes needing something or someone to translate. So even Link might not have the same name, he just has something that would be the equivalent of it. Like how Mark and Marco are practically the same thing and that might be true for all the characters with a shared name too.