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[Admiral Woofington]

Her 180 in attitude could have, and was for many prior to the reveal, that she realizes that Link isn't just a knight doing her job and a representation of everything she hates about her insecurities. He ultimately put his life on the line to protect her.

Even before that, when you read her diary she says that after she screamed at him for following her to the shrine that she felt a little guilty because she wasn't screaming at him for any other reason than her own issues. That she would try to change her attitude towards him. And I'm pretty sure the very next page is her saying she made him open up and how similar they are.

It just seemed like she was finally opening up to Link and realizing that he isn't much more different than her. Every single conversation with him during cutscenes is 'I hate my role, I wish I had another role or could escape this'. It just felt like two people with the weight of the whole world on their shoulders not wanting to fail and finding the other person who understands them. Becoming friends and very close. But I never thought 'oh she explicitly loves him'. I thought maybe there is something hidden there, but the game won't say it. Epecially with the Mipha subplot which made it VERY clear she was in love with Link and would have proposed to him.

Korra and Asami were totally flirting

I'm not beginning this debate on another thread lmao. I've said my dues on the final season OT.

 

[Vanguard771]

To be fair doesn't the love between Link and Zelda have more to do with Hylia falling for the original hero. Hylia gave up her status as a deity just so she could be reincarnated with the hero and live with him.

 

[Branduil]

So how are you supposed to actually fight Thunderblight Ganon? Because I've killed him 3 times but only through attrition.

 

[Vanguard771]

So how are you supposed to actually fight Thunderblight Ganon? Because I've killed him 3 times but only through attrition.

Backflip dodge his blur attacks and you can get a flurry rush with the right timing. I just dodge the electric balls and when he throws down the metal pillars you use magnesis to put one on him and hit him with his own lightning.

 

[Crimsonlink]

So how are you supposed to actually fight Thunderblight Ganon? Because I've killed him 3 times but only through attrition.

If you do the lizard Divine beast first, the shield ability auto stuns Thunderblight for you to kill him fairly easily.

Thunderblight was actually my first boss and I only had 4 hearts lol. Good times dying about 14 times before bringing him down finally.

The 2nd portion of the fight was annoying since he was so high up and tossing lightning everywhere till you end up realizing magnesis works on the pillars and can hit TBlight with his own lightning bolt. If you have stasis+ the fight is also super easy since he literally ends up right in front of you every single time.

 

[Crayolan]

So how are you supposed to actually fight Thunderblight Ganon? Because I've killed him 3 times but only through attrition.

Parry then strike
Dodge then Flurry Rush
Defend then attack until his shield breaks with a spear or 1h weapon (phase 2 you need a non-metal shield for this to work)
Release a spin attack just as he approaches to break his shield and stun him

 

[WordAssassin]

sorry but no. You're saying it's really obvious to everyone but her, but NOTHING in the game could have been outright romance until this guy tells you via song that it was. Mipha was just saying that when she does her healing that she thinks of her happy place or some crap, and that Zelda should do the same. And she gets interrupted.

No dude, saying Mipha's talking about "her happy place or some crap" leads me to believe you fundamentally misunderstood what was being said there.

It's very clear that Mipha has feelings for Link. She, and everyone around, notice Zelda has feelings for Link. Mipha, in an attempt to help Zelda awaken her power, begins to explain that when she uses her powers she focuses on someone she loves, with the intent to tell Zelda she should focus on someone she loves, AKA Link. Which is why when Link is in mortal danger, all she is focused on is him, and her powers awaken.

I don't disagree that Kass' song should have been a cutscene but it is absolutely telegraphed elsewhere in the story that Zelda has feelings for Link.

 

[Arjayes]

I thought it was pretty obvious that Zelda liked Link. At first, I thought the same as many people "this is purely platonic". Then I saw tiny hints that maybe she liked him but nothing conclusive. However, if you watch the memories in order then it's a lot more obvious than watching them in the order you discovered them.
edit
I watched the memories again and they're definitely not explicit in how Zelda feels. It depends on the person viewing each scene I guess. When Zelda comes down from Mt. Lanayru and Mipha tells Zelda what she thinks about when she heals people you can see that as Mipha confessing her feelings for Link in front of everyone OR her trying to help Zelda with her own emotions. We'll probably get more answers in DLC or somewhere around Hyrule but for now all we have is the song.

 

[Twookie]

Ay ay ay, we're back at that Zelda or Mipha thing again, huh

No dude, saying Mipha's talking about "her happy place or some crap" leads me to believe you fundamentally misunderstood what was being said there.

It's very clear that Mipha has feelings for Link. She, and everyone around, notice Zelda has feelings for Link. Mipha, in an attempt to help Zelda awaken her power, begins to explain that when she uses her powers she focuses on someone she loves, with the intent to tell Zelda she should focus on someone she loves, AKA Link. Which is why when Link is in mortal danger, all she is focused on is him, and her powers awaken.

I don't disagree that Kass' song should have been a cutscene but it is absolutely telegraphed elsewhere in the story that Zelda has feelings for Link.

Yeah that's how I saw it too.

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

Let's ask the real question here.

Who does Link love?

Zelda or Mipha?

Spoiler

Money's on Sidon

 

[Derpot]

Let's ask the real question here.

Who does Link love?

Zelda or Mipha?

Spoiler

Money's on Sidon

Spoiler

Sidon.

This is the truth. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[Kamina]

Let's ask the real question here.

Who does Link love?

Zelda or Mipha?

Spoiler

Money's on Sidon

Link has a thing for Paya and her butt ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Let's be real, in a series that's all about tradition playing itself out over and over again, Mipha is just the future version of Ruto, who was doomed to the friendzone from the very beginning. Link used them both to get important stuff for his journey and then forgot about them.

*Insert "when the friend zone is so big it transcends millenia" meme*

Spoiler

I don't take shipping seriously

 

[Opa-Pa]

If anything I think this was the game that finally made me uncomfortable that Link doesn't speak. I never felt the need to change that before, series tradition etc, etc, but having emotional cutscenes with characters opening up to him to the point of crying and have him just stare like an idiot was awful.

I'm not sure how it'd work, but while having Link be a mute protagonist while everyone else talked without voice acting was fine... With voice acting however... Not so much.

In the end it's pointless to try to find out who Link loved in return because he doesn't say shit. Hell, he didn't even react with gestures to Zelda or Mipha, it was cringey.

 

[m051293]

No dude, saying Mipha's talking about "her happy place or some crap" leads me to believe you fundamentally misunderstood what was being said there.

It's very clear that Mipha has feelings for Link. She, and everyone around, notice Zelda has feelings for Link. Mipha, in an attempt to help Zelda awaken her power, begins to explain that when she uses her powers she focuses on someone she loves, with the intent to tell Zelda she should focus on someone she loves, AKA Link. Which is why when Link is in mortal danger, all she is focused on is him, and her powers awaken.

I don't disagree that Kass' song should have been a cutscene but it is absolutely telegraphed elsewhere in the story that Zelda has feelings for Link.

Yeah this didn't exactly feel subtle to me. Thought it was supposed to be obvious - especially when the moment before, Urbosa says something along the lines of "prayer isn't the only answer, perhaps something else will awaken your power" - cut to Link's face.

 

[Malus]

If anything I think this was the game that finally made me uncomfortable that Link doesn't speak. I never felt the need to change that before, series tradition etc, etc, but having emotional cutscenes with characters opening up to him to the point of crying and have him just stare like an idiot was awful.

I'm not sure how it'd work, but while having Link be a mute protagonist while everyone else talked without voice acting was fine... With voice acting however... Not so much.

In the end it's pointless to try to find out who Link loved in return because he doesn't say shit. Hell, he didn't even react with gestures to Zelda or Mipha, it was cringey.

My only fear would be Link getting a shitty va performance like some of the other characters.

 

[Golnei]

If anything I think this was the game that finally made me uncomfortable that Link doesn't speak. I never felt the need to change that before, series tradition etc, etc, but having emotional cutscenes with characters opening up to him to the point of crying and have him just stare like an idiot was awful.

I'm not sure how it'd work, but while having Link be a mute protagonist while everyone else talked without voice acting was fine... With voice acting however... Not so much.

In the end it's pointless to try to find out who Link loved in return because he doesn't say shit. Hell, he didn't even react with gestures to Zelda or Mipha, it was cringey.

I understand that the way the scenes are set up might create a need for it, but whenever I try and imagine how he'd sound with dialogue added into them, I kind of recoil - especially with the game's quality of voice acting, I'm having a hard time thinking of them giving him a voice and set dialogue that would fit; as well as how wrong it'd sound for them to be dubbing all of his gameplay grunts - Link has always had different VAs, but there's a specific style of performance associated with the character since OoT that I'm not sure an English-speaking actor would be able to replicate. But at the same time, I really like the expanded dialogue options they've given for this entry. Since future Zelda games aren't going to have this specific plot structure, it might be fine to keep him silent in cutscenes and interact more substantially through player-selected dialogue, which would be much less limiting in a scenario where the supporting cast hasn't been dead for a century.

Let's ask the real question here.

Who does Link love?

Zelda or Mipha?

Spoiler

Money's on Sidon

Spoiler

It has to be Purah.

She was the one who actually saved him, and he has the option of returning her enthusiasm in dialogue options; making her one of the few candidates with some sort of visible reciprocal affection.

 

[Opa-Pa]

Yeah that's where I stand. The way things are right now, BoTW's cutscenes feel bizarre with Link being silent, but at the same time I can't really imagine a way in which giving him a voice would work well either... It's weird.

 

[JaseMath]

That's the point. Zelda's romantic feelings were obvious to bystanders but not Zelda herself. Zelda's diary becomes full of talk about Link once she becomes interested in him. She totally has a crush on him and is expressing it through analysis of him, talking to him constantly, trying to crack his silent exterior, sharing personal moments with him, breaking down her own facade around him. Kass' mentor noticed how Zelda was all over Link and realized that it was love. Zelda herself didn't realize it until Link was about to die, which awakened her powers.

That's a sloppy way to explain what is obviously a narrative oversight. The big problems is that everything you're saying, while true, is explained over the course of one exchange with Kass. One. I'd even venture to say most players won't even see this exchange. It's unfortunate because the implications of what their love could mean for future generations of Hyrule are gigantic, but the story is basically, "Oh, yeah. They were in love, too." It'd be nice if the audience—us, as players—were given clues throughout the game and Kass' exchange confirmed what we suspected, but as it stands, their love is an afterthought, and why the developers thought to just gloss over this huge dynamic is beyond me. In fact, if Kass' story didn't have the love angle thrown in, there'd be no question as to the plutonomy of Link and Zelda's relationship.

EDIT: Also, Link not speaking makes their "love" appear pretty one-sided if you ask me. If future titles would ever build upon the love angle, Link has to speak, or at least acknowledge Zelda in ways that go beyond following her around or Zelda essentially saying, "Remember when you told me...". I admire Nintendo for exploring the concept, but it's so forced, nothing about it feels authentic. As a long-time fan of the series, it put a smile on my face to know that they ended up together, but the reality is it wasn't explored at any length to make it meaningful to anyone else.

 

[Basileus777]

In fact, if Kass' story didn't have the love angle thrown in, there'd be no question as to the plutonomy of Link and Zelda's relationship. I

Uh, sure there would be. It's easy to read their relationship as romantic even without it.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Link should have had VA, but minimal lines.

Completely made up dialogue as an example

Zelda: Ganon is doomed to return.

Link: I'll be ready.

Or

Zelda: We must now head to the Spring of Wisdom.

Link: Yeah.

Or

Zelda: What was it you said about taking care of horses again?

Link: *Actually says the line Zelda says he said in the game*

Enough so that he doesn't feel awkward in cutscenes, but stays with his quiet persona.

 

[m051293]

Uh, sure there would be. It's easy to read their relationship as romantic even without it.

Yeah I haven't even seen this Kass scene (whoops), and it seemed like they were laying it on thick at times.

 

[Exploding8]

Link should've had exactly 1 line the entire game. In the final memory, after unlocking the others, as he's slowly slipping into unconsciousness...

"Zel...da....."

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

It'll probably also help if Link had more facial expressions than the same stoic face he has 80% of the time in cutscenes. Like, show some emotions, Link. Even at the end cutscenes he still had the same face, no smile, no sign of relief that Zelda is safe, nothing.

 

[13ruce]

It'll probably also help if Link had more facial expressions than the same stoic face he has 80% of the time in cutscenes. Like, show some emotions, Link. Even at the end cutscenes he still had the same face, no smile, no sign of relief that Zelda is safe, nothing.

Yeah this is how they should do it, just like WW Link make him very emotive. A voice would ruin his whole character imo. I'm fine with a few dialoge lines but a voice for Link? That will end the same as Samus.

It would also ruin how people all think of Link or whst he does after a game, the devs even said years ago that unless it's mentioned ingame his romantic choices are up to the player. This excludes Skyward Sword, Zelda 2, Spirit Tracks. Botw and maybe few more ofcourse since those hint at it. but Zelda and Link Don't have to be together romantically always. Because in some of the games it would not even make sense they do end up as good friends in those that is a sure thing.

 

[Golnei]

It'll probably also help if Link had more facial expressions than the same stoic face he has 80% of the time in cutscenes. Like, show some emotions, Link. Even at the end cutscenes he still had the same face, no smile, no sign of relief that Zelda is safe, nothing.

That does have an impact - I didn't register his silence as odd in Skyward Sword, for example, since he was pulling these amazing faces the whole time.

BoTW Link is pretty expressive ingame, but it doesn't really carry over to the cutscenes to the same extent - I guess they considered it might be a little too cartoony for the slightly more serious story? But even in the frog scene, you don't really get to see much of Link's reaction to having it shoved in his face - he's framed from behind, and the voice grunt is basically all you hear.

 

[Majukun]

sorry, but link has to stay mute.

 

[Mr. Wedgewood]

Would mind if Link acted like this
https://youtu.be/OE4VkfYaP1w?t=163

 

[Thud]

Obviously Link loves food.

And considering he's a man perfectly capable of cooking he doesn't need anyone else.

 

[Timeaisis]

So how are you supposed to actually fight Thunderblight Ganon? Because I've killed him 3 times but only through attrition.

Parry his teleport attack.

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

Would mind if Link acted like this
https://youtu.be/OE4VkfYaP1w?t=163

Well excuse me, Princess.

Obviously Link loves food.

And considering he's a man perfectly capable of cooking he doesn't need anyone else.

The man knows how to fucking cook top tier food, I can't argue with that.

 

[Twookie]

Link should have had VA, but minimal lines.

Completely made up dialogue as an example

Zelda: Ganon is doomed to return.

Link: I'll be ready.

Or

Zelda: We must now head to the Spring of Wisdom.

Link: Yeah.

Or

Zelda: What was it you said about taking care of horses again?

Link: *Actually says the line Zelda says he said in the game*

Enough so that he doesn't feel awkward in cutscenes, but stays with his quiet persona.

yeah I agree with this. It feels weird that he apparently speaks a lot to people, but only off-screen. Like, the character have to repeat to Link what Link has said to that character earlier because Link said something off-screen, just really awkward IMO.

 

[Stopdoor]

Definitely on board with Link's mute-ness crossing a line in this game, the scene where Zelda gets angry at him plays really weird, and the one where she talks about the advice he gave her. Like, mute Link might be doable, but it wasn't done well here. I'd almost prefer if they just went all the way and accepted he was mute in-universe, and he's just really good with dealing with his disability.

The journal explaining how he's quiet is such a tease - that's really how they should play it, with minimal lines. It killed me they couldn't just have Link respond "Yes" to Zelda when she asks if he remembers her - would have given some gravitas to the otherwise plain ending.

 

[Geminosity]

Maybe they should just go all the way and have Link actually be mute and he talks via sign-language? It'd certainly be an interesting take on the silent protagonist trope and solve some of these issues :3

edit: darn you Stopdoor, beat me to it

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

Maybe they should just go all the way and have Link actually be mute and he talks via sign-language? It'd certainly be an interesting take on the silent protagonist trope and solve some of these issues :3

You know, that would actually be rather neat.

 

[Easy_D]

Definitely on board with Link's mute-ness crossing a line in this game, the scene where Zelda gets angry at him plays really weird, and the one where she talks about the advice he gave her. Like, mute Link might be doable, but it wasn't done well here. I'd almost prefer if they just went all the way and accepted he was mute in-universe, and he's just really good with dealing with his disability.

The journal explaining how he's quiet is such a tease - that's really how they should play it, with minimal lines. It killed me they couldn't just have Link respond "Yes" to Zelda when she asks if he remembers her - would have given some gravitas to the otherwise plain ending.

He doesn't really emote much either, which is weird coming off Skyward Sword, where he was emotive as heck, despite not talking. But yeah, he should've audibly said "Yes." and followed that up with a smile.

Edit: Somehow missed this -

That does have an impact - I didn't register his silence as odd in Skyward Sword, for example, since he was pulling these amazing faces the whole time.

BoTW Link is pretty expressive ingame, but it doesn't really carry over to the cutscenes to the same extent - I guess they considered it might be a little too cartoony for the slightly more serious story? But even in the frog scene, you don't really get to see much of Link's reaction to having it shoved in his face - he's framed from behind, and the voice grunt is basically all you hear.

Hell yeah, Skyward Link had the best faical expressions. I also like the cutscene where Zelda and Impa escape into the Gate of Time and Link looks rightfully pissed in that scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKpP_ZQUA8Y <- Leagues better than any of the cutscenes in BotW. Just look at how pissed off Link looks 2 minutes in because he didn't get a proper chance to meet up with Zelda

I imagine it was just a matter of priorities, had to get the actual gameplay just right. Also, for the love of all that is good, go back to the fake language for whatever follows BotW. That way they can really nail it *sounding* right without having to worry about hiring a buncha voice actors for all the different languages.

 

[Crossing Eden]

It'll probably also help if Link had more facial expressions than the same stoic face he has 80% of the time in cutscenes. Like, show some emotions, Link. Even at the end cutscenes he still had the same face, no smile, no sign of relief that Zelda is safe, nothing.

.

It's a lot easier to project on Skyward Sword Link and Wind Waker Link because they're actually emoting and expressing what the player likely feels. The above is supposed to be a conflict between Zelda and Link and he's just there. Imagine the mocap actor for this dude, "LIterally just stand there."

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Would love to see this photoshopped to have Link thinking about cooking food

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

Speaking of his lack of emotions, I like how he looks bored out of his fucking mind when the King tells him what happened 100 years ago and to save his daughter. I think Link just doesn't care about anything. Like, he looked like this for around 5 seconds. I seriously think they did a poor job with Link in these cutscenes.

 

[Ultimadrago]

I didn't even need Link to talk in this, I wanted him to give more powerful expressions during all of the Memories and other story cutscenes. It's extremely uneventful to have him just look on as someone pours their heart out or displays their connection with him. He shows amounts of visible reaction in other parts of the game, which makes the divide even worse.

Speaking of his lack of emotions, I like how he looks bored out of his fucking mind when the King tells him what happened 100 years ago and to save his daughter. I think Link just doesn't care about anything.

No, he's quietly taking on his burden (of hunger).

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

I didn't even need Link to talk in this, I wanted him to give more powerful expressions during all of the Memories and other story cutscenes. It's extremely uneventful to have him just look on as someone pours their heart out or displays their connection with him.



No, he's quietly taking on his burden (of hunger).

This is my headcannon now, he's thinking of food all of the time.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

What if the twist in the dlc is that link Is a Sheikah robot

 

[SolVanderlyn]

OoT Link looks so good in this game. How I imagine WW Link looking all grown up.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

That's a sloppy way to explain what is obviously a narrative oversight. The big problems is that everything you're saying, while true, is explained over the course of one exchange with Kass. One. I'd even venture to say most players won't even see this exchange. It's unfortunate because the implications of what their love could mean for future generations of Hyrule are gigantic, but the story is basically, "Oh, yeah. They were in love, too." It'd be nice if the audience—us, as players—were given clues throughout the game and Kass' exchange confirmed what we suspected, but as it stands, their love is an afterthought, and why the developers thought to just gloss over this huge dynamic is beyond me. In fact, if Kass' story didn't have the love angle thrown in, there'd be no question as to the plutonomy of Link and Zelda's relationship.

EDIT: Also, Link not speaking makes their "love" appear pretty one-sided if you ask me. If future titles would ever build upon the love angle, Link has to speak, or at least acknowledge Zelda in ways that go beyond following her around or Zelda essentially saying, "Remember when you told me...". I admire Nintendo for exploring the concept, but it's so forced, nothing about it feels authentic. As a long-time fan of the series, it put a smile on my face to know that they ended up together, but the reality is it wasn't explored at any length to make it meaningful to anyone else.

One of the final memories at the Deku tree Zelda says "Tell Link that I l" before the Deku tree cuts her off and tells her that those sound like words best coming out of her mouth. She was about to tell the Deku Tree that she loves Link. Between the memories and diary, I felt it was fairly obvious that overtime Zelda grew feelings for Link.

 

[Geminosity]

Changing track somewhat, while Mipha is one of my favourite characters in BotW and the one I feel got the most fleshing out compared to the rest of her champion chums thanks to a combination of storied armour, statue, stone tablets explaining her in more detail and her people actually remembering her and talking about her (unlike the rito champion ), I can't shake the feeling that the character they desired to portrait got slightly marred in the execution and that in some way it might even contribute to why her VA turned out so bad.

On one of the stone tablets in Zora's domain it mentions something to the effect of her appearing excited at the discovery of Vah Ruta being uncharacteristic and contrasting her usually calm demeanour. This leads me to think that she was intended to be demure, calm and controlled. The issue here is that this goal feels like it may have informed her interpretation when it comes to voice delivery and her role in the cutscenes a little too much resulting in flat, oddly paced delivery and a general lack of her showing any of the excitement she was witnessed of being capable of having towards ruta when she gets to interact with link, her love, for the first time in 100 years. I think they've played her a little too flat :/

It just seemed so strange to me that when she manifested at the end of Vah Ruta that she did it a considerable distance away, talking calmly.

 

[JetBlackPanda]

So after you beat ganon and get THE END. That's it? You can't continue from that end state? You have to new game or continue from the save before?

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

So after you beat ganon and get THE END. That's it? You can't continue from that end state? You have to new game or continue from the save before?

That's it. Here's a little star on your last autosave, thanks for playing.

 

[Twookie]

So after you beat ganon and get THE END. That's it? You can't continue from that end state? You have to new game or continue from the save before?

It creates a save that puts you just outside Hyrule Castle IIRC. Nothing special happens. There's a secret/true ending cutscene that will play after The End screen if you beat Ganon and have found all the memories.

 

[Geminosity]

That's it. Here's a little star on your last autosave, thanks for playing.

Nintendo has learned much from primary school teachers. GOLD STAR! :3

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

One of the final memories at the Deku tree Zelda says "Tell Link that I l" before the Deku tree cuts her off and tells her that those sound like words best coming out of her mouth. She was about to tell the Deku Tree that she loves Link. Between the memories and diary, I felt it was fairly obvious that overtime Zelda grew feelings for Link.

No, she was clearly going to tell the Deku Tree to tell Link that she was the one who stole his Chilled Copious Simmered Fruit to feed her pet frog that they grabbed the other day.