There are a lot of good characters, but most of them are one-off and pretty forgettable. There's maybe... what, 5 characters in the Zelda franchise that are actually notable? Link, Zelda, Saria, Impa, Ganon, Aghanim...
I disagree. Daurian the Goron, Tingle, Sahasralah, Naboru, Ruto, the Owl, Talon, Marin, Bow Wow, Navi, Skull Kid, Happy Mask Salesman, the King of Red Lions, Tetra...I could go on if you like.
Besides, as Mop it up said, you can use mafia to flesh out lesser known characters. All you really need are names and avatars for characters in this game.