Link and Zelda's Relationships (Warning: Spoilers)

How are the different Links and Zeldas related to each other? Is there any romance between then? Did Link just rescue her and then they parted ways? What if they're brother and sister? Post your thoughts and ideas here. I'm going to start from the first Legend of Zelda and go through the series in the order the games were released (which as far as I knoow is not the canonical timeline, but is the best way to organize the games without stirring up trouble).

In the original Legend of Zelda game, I think Link simply went off on his own after defeating Ganon, possibly to train and become stronger. Zelda's only words to him are "Thanks, Link! You're the Hero of Hyrule!," suggesting there isn't any romantic involvement, though the game had so little character interaction that it's hard to tell. If you count the cartoons as canon, however (which I don't), you might believe there's a one-sided love for Zelda on Link's end, and if you like that, then I'm cool with it too.

The Adventures of Link is to me the first game that implies romance between the two. We see Zelda give Link a kiss in the ending, though considering how old this princess is, it's kind of creepy. Nonetheless, it's the first hint of a relationship.

Moving along to ALttP, I still think there's romance between the two, and I thought this even before the GBA port clarified things a bit. In the SNES version, the dying words of Link's uncle were "Zelda is your...," causing many fans to think the word left out was "sister." The new translation clearly changed it to "destiny." While this doesn't say much on its own, Link's Awakening (which I believe to be the sequel to this game because it was released next and at this point Zelda games came in pairs) hints that he may have romantic feelings for Zelda. The game was of course just a dream, but Marin is stated to strongly resemble Zelda, and romantic interest seems to be explicitly stated between her and Link, suggesting his fantasy of being with Zelda in the real world.

Now for OoT. This is where things get interesting. Link's mother is never refered to by name, but is dead. So is Zelda's. It's never said Link's mother wouldn't be the queen of Hyrule. Upon first meeting Link, Zelda comments that his name sounds familiar, though she doesn't seem to recognize his face. This leads me to believe that the Link and Zelda in this game are indeed brother and sister. Why they were seperated as babies remains a mystery, but it's poosible that the Shiekah could only keep one baby safe during the Civil War without risk, so the queen was forced to flee with the other. She was caught up in fights and reached Kokiri forest barely alive, placing the prince in the hands...er... branches of the Deku Tree.

In the Oracles games, little information is provided of Zelda, and she only appears in a linked game. She doesn't have much to say before or after she's kidnapped, though she does give Link a kiss at the end, and he sure gets an adverse reaction from it. Like most of the other games, I find this the possible start of a romantic relationship.

Moving along to Wind Waker, I say the game thing again. After all, Link and Tetra sail off to find a new Hyrule together. Even putting in what little role she has in Phantom Hourglass, there's not much more to be said. They're another happy couple.

Okay, Minish cap, and the Four Sword games in general. Zelda is said to be a childhood friend of Link's in all of the games... and just friends if you ask me. Zelda is more interested in either having fun or maintaining the seal on Vaati depending on the title, and there's no kissing or evidence of them spending the rest of their lives together.

In Twilight Princess, there doesn't seem to be any romance implied between the two. Actually, Link is seen fantasizing about Ilia, so that supports it further. Like in the original game, I think Link rescued Zelda from the evil of Zant and Ganon, but then returned to his quiet life in Ordon.

Finally, we have Spirit Tracks. Oddly enough, I find this game gives more character to Zelda than any other in the past, even though they hadn't met before it started. This Zelda is more selfish than her previous incarnations, but nonetheless takes a liking to Link. Whether they stay friends or marry each other isn't clear to me, but this ia a great take on our favorite princess.

I won't discuss Skyward Sworn since it's not out yet and I don't want to speculate based on what's been shown and then be totally wrong. These are just my thoughts on Link and Zelda's relationships throughout the series. Please share yours.

in Oot she says that he seems familiar not his name. and they cant be brother and sister because impa would have recongnized him

---------- Post added at 01:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:10 PM ----------

and i belive in spirit tracks that they part ways but come back to eachother as they hug when she gets her body back and they hold hands when byrne and the lokomos leave. after this they part ways but she keeps pictures of them together.

I can't see why else Zelda would be familiar with some boy who's spent his entire life in a forest isolated from the last of Hyrule. While's it's true that Impa doesn't reveal anything about his past, she may have chosen not to give the truth away at the time as Link would be reluctant to return to his childhood where he belonged if he had found his true family. If that's true, though, then Impa is kind of a jerk. We also never see the king, so it's quit possible that he looks similar to what Link looks like as an adult.

I'm going to start by talking about Skyward Sword. Sorry, but it's necessary. From what little we've already seen in the demos and trailers, it looks like we are seeing a very strong relationship between the two from the very beginning. And if we are to believe that these are the very first Link and Zelda, then whatever bond they form in this game is likely to be the basis of their bond in every other game.

So with that, I think it isn't too much to believe that they have some sort of special spirit that transcends time and space in order to instill in them the same basic personalities and bonds for when they are needed most by Hyrule. This bond seems to take the form of a good childhood friendship that could develop into a much stronger, more adult relationship should the criteria be met. The biggest problem with this, though, is the proximity in which the two are raised. It seems that, often times, the two are raised far apart from one another, stunting this relationship from the start. But when they do meet up, they likely feel that familiar feeling, like Zelda admits to in OoT.

Now for the much less serious answer:
In the games in which Link lives with his uncle or other relative on the outskirts of the castle, I think Link serves a much more... twisted purpose. In most cases, Link's uncle is a blacksmith. But what, exactly, keeps him in business with the King, aside from his quality products? There must surely be competitors that want a cut of the castle-folk's business. So, maybe Link's uncle offered Link to the King in order to secure a lucrative business deal. Or maybe it's the other way around. Maybe the King offered Zelda to Link's uncle in order to keep him on as the castle's main blacksmith. If either of these two cases were to be true, then it would easily explain why the princess of the kingdom so often spends time with a mere commoner that lives on the outskirts of the castle, like Link. They spend time together because they are "destined" to get married due to the arranged marriage set up by their parental figures.

Originally Posted by Hylian Mermaid

I can't see why else Zelda would be familiar with some boy who's spent his entire life in a forest isolated from the last of Hyrule.

He seems familiar because she had been having dreams about him.

I feel as thought Link doesn't plan on starting a relationship ever.

I've seen the footage of SS that's been released so far, as well as the demo, but knowing Nintendo I'm sure they've intentionally kept something major a secret that would change my opinion greatly. Anyway, Zero brings up an interesting point with Link's blacksmith relatives. I'd even like to combine that with your special spirit theory, and it's working to bring them together by placing Link in the care of a family member who lives near the castle. Of course, as long as they're close to each other, I can still assume that the type of relantionship they have can vary from just friends, to lovers, to siblings. I can't agree with link_like (at least for some games) because we clearly see Link enjoying himself when he's kissed or being flirted with except of course with Ruto).

Originally Posted by Hylian Mermaid

I can't see why else Zelda would be familiar with some boy who's spent his entire life in a forest isolated from the last of Hyrule.

What, you remember that part of her speech but forget the rest? OoT Zelda had a dream of Link receiving the Kokiri Emerald, that is why she says he seems familiar.

-JEB

How are the different Links and Zeldas related to each other? Is there any romance between then? Did Link just rescue her and then they parted ways? What if they're brother and sister? Post your thoughts and ideas here. I'm going to start from the first Legend of Zelda and go through the series in the order the games were released (which as far as I knoow is not the canonical timeline, but is the best way to organize the games without stirring up trouble).

All Zelda's are related.

As for Links, the original intent was that ALttP Link was decended from the Hylian Knights. By the time of OoT, there were no more Hylian Knights. The intent was that ALttP Link was decended from OoT and LoZ link was decended from ALttP Link.

Now, we don't know if it still holds up.

I only remember one of Link's relatives being a blacksmith, and that's Smith, his grandfather from TMC. His uncle from ALttP is... well, we don't really know. He seems to be a 'secret knight' and may have had contact with the King before Agahnim arrived.

Grandma in TWW is definately not a blacksmith.

Originally Posted by Darth Tagonite

What, you remember that part of her speech but forget the rest? OoT Zelda had a dream of Link receiving the Kokiri Emerald, that is why she says he seems familiar.

-JEB

Are you kidding me?

Zelda: What's your name?
Zelda: ....................Link? -strange, it sounds somehow familiar-

There's been a complete spoof around the whole internet about it when you named your character zelda.

11 months.

11 FRICKIN' MONTHS!!!!!

Originally Posted by Mister Blak

11 months.

11 FRICKIN' MONTHS!!!!!

Well yeah I wanted to post a new thread about thesame topic because I just started to wonder about them being siblings but since this thread wasn't closed...

Hello. The rule on ZU for most forums is that in order to revive a thread, it's good to go from the date of its creation to three months afterward. After that, it's considered a necro-bump which we don't allow, and seeing as this thread is almost a year old, gonna have to lock up.