Many people have fond childhood memories of playing the early Legend of Zelda games, and later installments’ popularity proves that the series hasn’t aged a bit. Link and Zelda are, after all, two of Nintendo’s most iconic protagonists. Link’s pointed ears and green outfit are nothing short of iconic, and so is the bond he shares with the series’ titular character, Zelda. It seems pretty straightforward at first glance: she’s a princess, he’s a hero, bound to protect and serve her. Together, they fight off evil. The story, however, is a lot more complicated than that, and so is their relationship. In fact, I should be saying stories and relationships, as they each have more than one incarnation.
Most people tend to think that Link and Zelda are in love. In fact, if you google “Link and Zelda,” you’ll find results like “are Link and Zelda married,” “Link and Zelda kiss,” etc. However, their relationship is a lot more complicated than your typical “hero protects and save princess and they fall in love and live happily ever after” storyline. In fact, one of the things that fans enjoy about the series is that Link and Zelda’s relationship is different in each and every game. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the series or just curious about Link and Zelda, you may want to know more about them. Ther🔯e’s no denying their relationship is a complicated one, and it would definitely take more than a few lines to explain, which is why I’m giving you 25 wild things about Link and Zelda’s relationship.
25 🍷 They’re Destin🐎ed To Meet…
Fans of the Legend of Zelda games know that Link and Zelda have two parts of the mythological Triforce: Link has courage while Zelda has wisdom. As such, they’re destined to meet throughout their many lifetimes. As you probably know, there are several timelines in the Zelda universe, and Link and Zelda have quite a few incarnations throughout the series. This complicates thing, obviously, as each each Link/Zelda pair has a different relationship— but what stays constant is the fact that they always meet.
24 ❀ …And 🐎To Meet Ganon
To complicate things even further, there’s a third part to this equation. Link and Zelda always meet, and they aܫlmost always meet Ganon. It’s called the Triforce, after all, not the Biforce; Link and Zelda represent courage and wisdom, and Ganon represents power.
As the third part of the Triforce, Ganon is destined to meet the different reincarnations of Link and Zelda throughout time. No matter🉐 how many times he is destroyed, Ganon will always return to try and destroy everything Link and Zelda fight for.
23 Will They🥂/Won’t They Relationship🐭
Who doesn’t love a good will they/won’t they relationship? Link and Zelda have had different kinds of relationships over the course of the Legend of Zelda games, but quite often, they end up in a will they/won’t t꧋hey situation. The suspense has kept fans engaged in their story for many, many years. As it turns out, quite a few people think that this is exactly the way it should be. What happens between Link and Zelda is often left up to player’s imagination, and it works.
22 🀅 You Don’t See The Two Of Them In The Same Place Often 💝
This sort of implied, will they/won’t they relationship works especially well because in most of the games, Link and Zelda are rarely in the same place at the same time. Some games, like Breath of the Wild, give more importance to Zelda’s character, but at the end of the day, you still play as Link, and Zelda is rarely by your side during most of the games, which makes f🌱or an interesting relationship. You know they have a connection, and yet they rarely see each other.
21 They’re Not Act༒ually Together Romanti🔜cally In Most of The Games
The whole “they’re destined to meet no matter what” thing sounds pretty romantic, doesn’t it? And yet, Link and Zelda very rarely get romantically involved. It’s sometimes implied, as I was saying before, but in most games, the two 🔯characters have a platonic relationship.
In some instances, they don’t even like or care abo﷽ut ea🐻ch other at all! It’s a widely held popular belief that Link and Zelda are together, but fans of the games know that this is almost never the case.
20 Not Even In Wind﷽ Waker 🧸
In Wind Waker, Link meets Tetra, a young pirate. If you’ve played the game, you know that Tetra is later revealed to be Princess Zelda. The two of them live quite an adventure together, and, even though they’re fairly young in this game (Link is at most 16 years old), many fans ship Link and Tetra/Zelda in Wind Waker.
And yet, in the game itself, they’re not actually together— which makes sense. Again, they’re fairly young. What is cool about Wind Waker, however, is that you see Tetra occuไpy a much bi🐬gger role than she usually does in the series.
19 🌺 Link, 🎀The Silent Partner
Like many video game protagonists, Link is silent, and communicates mainly through grunts and sighs. Fans have been poking fun at this for years, and, in Twilight Princess , Midna teases Link about his silence: “Am I so beautiful that you have no words left?” she asks. In Breath of the Wild, one of Zelda’s diary entries tells us that Link "feels it necessary to stay strong and🍒 to silently bear any burden.” Makes sense, but we can’t help but feel their relationship must be interestiಞng at times, since Link never talks.
18 Twilight Princess: Keep It Cool And Professional ꧙
Talking about Twilight Princess, Link’s silence isn’t as much of a problem in this game, as the hero has a strictly professional relationship with Zelda. While in most Zelda games, the pair has an at the very least a friendly relationship, in Twilight Princess, Link and Zelda don’t reꩵally interact with each beyond what’s necessary for their respective jobs: Zelda as a princess and Link as a Hero. They don’t dislike each other, but they stay aloof and keep things professional.
17 Breath O💃f The Wild: Zelda Didn’t Like Link At First…
Zelda absolutely does dislike Link at the beginning of Breath of the Wild, however. Their♛ relationship in this game is especially interesting because it changes and grows throughout the course of the story.
For instance, we learn that Zelda resented Link for a while. Why? Well, he’s the Chosen One, he’s naturally talented, and his silence can c🌜ome across as arrogant. The game hints that Zelda felt insecure in front of Link (more on that later.) Thankfully, though, they do become friends, and grow to mutually like and respect each other.
16 …And They Bicker A Lot෴ in BotW 🍨
Link may be silent, but that doesn’t stop him and Zelda from bickering and arguing in Breath of the Wild. They clearly disagree on a lot of things, which is a bit o♑f a problem as Link is bound to Zelda’s side.
Zelda’s treatment of Link, who, as I’ve just mentioned, she initially dislikes, seems a bit harsh to some, but as we’ll see, she has her reasons for behaving that way. In any case, it’s another side of their relationship, one that we rarely get to see in Zelda games.