One of the very few items to be in every single Zelda game, the bow has a history of not only providing handy long-range defense, but also being vital in the offense against Ganon himself. Ranging from the silver arrows in the original LoZ all the way to the light arrows in Wind Waker, the bow has been a vital tool in every game.
Perhaps one of it's most interesting uses was the bomb-bow combination introduced in Link's Awakening, which allowed players to make seeming impossible bomb throws with ease, or unleash massive firepower on distant enemies.