Seriously, once you notice it, you can not unsee it. Apart from Impa and Robbie (both of which have shrunk with age), there does not seem to be a single adult NPC in the entire Kingdom smaller than Link.
… and I’m not even talking about NPCs that are huge by default, like Sidon and his brethren. Nope. I am talking about other Hylians, like for example Bolson and Hudson, both of which don’t exactly look “big” … except when Link is standing right next to them.
And that little mockery even begins right at the start of the game, because the very first NPC you ever meet is the “Old Man” … and just look at how small and insignificant Link looks right next to him.
The only NPC that was not outright a child and still a tiny bit smaller than Link, is Riju. However, since Riju is canonically 12 years old during the events of BotW, I count her as a child still.
As for the other tribes, Link gets the “short” end of the bargain again. Gorons are huge by default, just like Zora are, but what about the Rito? Well … Teba is as big as Link! …when he’s sitting down, that is. As soon as an adult Rito is standing upright, they have to look down on the tiny Hylian again.
But surely there must be SOME adult characters that are smaller or just as small as Link, right?!
Well … I haven’t found any so far, and I’ve been playing since launch. If you find one, please let me know.
Because even the effing Koroks can be bigger.
Seriousy, if you find a Hylian or Sheikah smaller than Link that is NOT a child, I would like to know.
Well, there was certainly not much of a growth spurt in the years between BotW and TotK. I don’t know if that interval has a defined time span, but you figure he’s gonna be about 20 in the sequel. And he’s still a wee lad.
According to a quick Google search link was 17 in breath of the wild which puts him anywhere from 22-25 in tears of the kingdom.
Which is a lot older than link has ever been shown to be in pretty much any Zelda game.
So even though he’s in his 20’s him being a series-long teenager is probably why they kept him looking younger.
Many men hit another growth spurt in their early 20s, sometimes it comes with a random extra inch or two of height.