General Zelda Which Game Had the Best Relationship Between Link and Zelda?

[JuicieJ]

But, *casts sideways glance at OCs Fletcher and Kestrel* See those two there? Obviously brother and sister. Can you guess who their parents are? I'll give you a big hint: their parents were chosen by the gods for a great destiny...

Wait, wut? :huh:

 

[OcarinaofWind12]

I'd say SS and ST. Seriously...She's your companion in ST. That's about as close as they get.

 

[Mangachick14]

Let's put our personal preferences aside here...I don't want this thread to turn into a big argument. Maybe Darkest is one of the people who was disappointed with SS.

Maybe he was, and that's his right. However, give credit where it's due. He doesn't have to particularly like SS's portrayal of Link and Zelda's relationship, but it's inaccurate to say that their relationship wasn't shown--because as JJ's picture clearly depicts, the relationship is shown and with great emphasis.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

well at least no one said TP

 

[Mudora]

I personally would agree with SS. I felt that out of all other Zelda games, that one made me the most motivated to save her, due to that strong bond.

 

[Snow Queen]

I liked the Zelda x Link relationship Link's Awakening the most.

 

[Cfrock]

See, the difference between TMC and SS is the amount of detail put in.

I'll agree with that, but I'd like to point out that that's the only difference. In terms of function and significance to the plot, they are the same.

The function of the relationship in The Minish Cap is purely to get Link personally involved with what's going on, in that case stopping Vaati. Because Link cares for Zelda he wants to save her from being trapped in stone, so he embarks on the quest which quickly becomes about stopping Vaati instead. Likewise, the function of the relationship in Skyward Sword is purely to get Link personally involved with what's going on, in that case stopping Demise. Because Link cares for Zelda he wants to save her from being trapped in crystal, so he embarks on the quest which quickly becomes about fulfilling Hylia's plan instead.

In terms of significance to the plot, neither relationship really matters after the quest begins. They are motivation, catalysts, and nothing else. This is why The Minish Cap works even though Zelda spends almost the entire game trapped in stone, and why Skyward Sword works even though Zelda spends almost the entire game in different regions or trapped in crystal. Yes, Skyward Sword has a few moments were Link sees Zelda but these are only used to remind us of what we already know: Zelda and Link care for one another. The scene were Zelda seals herself in crystal includes a little bit of exposition to help the plot along but that is separate from their personal relationship. The moment might be emotional because they care about each other, but it doesn't change the plot or Link's motivations, and so isn't really all that important. It doesn't teach us anything new or move their relationship in a new direction (she still believes Hylia's plan is more important, he still just wants to get her home).

Skyward Sword presents it better and makes it easier to connect with, but at a fundamental level both games use the same relationship for the same purpose. The level of detail doesn't change what the relationship is, just determines how well it pulls it off.

I personally find that relationship to be a bit bland. It's just too generic for my taste. Link cares about Zelda so he runs off to save her when something bad happens. It's the most basic it can be. They can tart it up as much as they like with sailcloths and crying but it just doesn't interest me all that much. That's why my choice would be Spirit Tracks or The Wind Waker, if the latter had made better use of the premise.

In Spirit Tracks, Zelda is a key part of the quest, actually helping Link directly to save the world and stop the bad guys. The fact that she's a ghost is a nice little quirk that adds a bit of flavour to it. She's an active participant, whereas The Minish Cap and Skyward Sword, and many other games like Twilight Princess and A Link to the Past, use her in a much more passive one. The Wind Waker really could have made her an active participant, and she is a little bit while she's still Tetra, but once she is revealed as the princess she immediately goes back to being passive, which is one of the only things I would criticise that game for.

 

[Twilight King]

From a relationship standpoint, definitely SS. They had been friends for years before the game even started, and up until Zelda was captured by Girahim, they were getting pretty romancey. There could be some debate that it was in OoT simply because Zelda crossdressed to help Link throughout the game, although he didn't know it was Zelda.

 

[JuicieJ]

In Spirit Tracks, Zelda is a key part of the quest, actually helping Link directly to save the world and stop the bad guys. The fact that she's a ghost is a nice little quirk that adds a bit of flavour to it. She's an active participant, whereas The Minish Cap and Skyward Sword, and many other games like Twilight Princess and A Link to the Past, use her in a much more passive one. The Wind Waker really could have made her an active participant, and she is a little bit while she's still Tetra, but once she is revealed as the princess she immediately goes back to being passive, which is one of the only things I would criticise that game for.

I can respect ST being chosen over SS, because it's definitely pretty close. I just felt a much stronger connection between them in SS as opposed to ST, so the former was my choice.

 

[DarkestLink]

I realize their friends in SS, but we just don't spend enough time with her. That was a similar problem with Ilia in TP (but even then we saw her more often). Yes, they were close but I, the player, knew SS Zelda about as well as I knew TP Zelda. Even if they didn't have a past history in tWW and ST, the player actually gets to see the actual relationship forming, the character's personality, how they interact with Link and what their relationship truly is. With SS...heck, my cousin was watching me do a playthrough and he thought she was his sister.

 

[Dragoncat]

Wait, wut? :huh:

Do you not like OCs? Or...you didn't honestly think that wouldnt happen? Come on...you and I both agree there's romantic implications there. Pretty sure they would have a kid...or two. It's bound to happen eventually. Plus, the Hyrule Royal Bloodline has to start somewhere.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Do you not like OCs? Or...you didn't honestly think that wouldnt happen? Come on...you and I both agree there's romantic implications there. Pretty sure they would have a kid...or two. It's bound to happen eventually. Plus, the Hyrule Royal Bloodline has to start somewhere.

Yeah. This is why I prefer it when Zelda is in the depths of Death Mountain / Sleeping / Trapped in an alternate dimension. Keep the kawaii romance the hell away from me.

 

[Dragoncat]

Yeah. This is why I prefer it when Zelda is in the depths of Death Mountain / Sleeping / Trapped in an alternate dimension. Keep the kawaii romance the hell away from me.

Aww. Well, that's just you

 

[onebizarrekai]

Spirit Tracks, no question. It's the only Zelda game where I actually appreciate the relationship between them. Seriously, I didn't even like it in Skyward Sword because it only took a few words from a lady she didn't even know for Zelda to continuously leave her 'closest friend' behind. I just don't feel sorry for her, because all she did was hurt Link.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Aww. Well, that's just you

Deviantart is that way. Keep the ****** dating sims / otp fangirling out of my adventure games, plz (and whatever it is that boys do... is there a word for that? Not trying to be gender-exclusive in my antagonism).