The Legend of Zelda: Harem Simulator 2017 · 8:15pm Mar 10th, 2017
We all know why Link is walking behind Zelda.
This will contain minor spoilers for Breath of the Wild and bigger spoilers for previous Zelda games, so don't go below the break if you don't want to know anything at all about the newest Zelda game or previous Zelda games. I'm going to refrain from big story bombshells for the newest Zelda game, focusing mostly on the romantic aspects of these characters, so if you don't mind simply knowing of certain characters' existence, then you should be fine.
Humanity has always been utterly fascinated with romance. It's one of those things that we explore frequently, but never seems to get old. It has outlasted dragons, zombies, vampires, and even the recent superhero craze. It will never get old because humans want to think about romance, even if they have no desire for romance or already have their romantic desires fulfilled. Simply the action of seeing two people together is pleasing on some level.
The Legend of Zelda series has never shied away from heavily implying certain romantic connections, most notably those that don't involve Zelda. Getting deeper into Zelda lore, the whole trinity with Link, Zelda, and Ganon gets a whole lot more complicated. Bizarrely enough, despite what it may seem like on the surface, Link and Zelda really aren't fated to be together--not in that way.
Going back as far as we are able, the earliest Zelda game chronologically is Skyward Sword. In it, the Link-Zelda-Demise trinity is established.
At the end of the game, Demise, the Demon King who once sought to destroy the goddess Hylia not long after Hylia created Hyrule, curses Link and Zelda to forever fight in the cycle of sealing him away. The three components required to continue this ancient curse are: the blood of the goddess Hylia (Zelda is a direct descendant of the goddess when she took mortal form), the spirit of the hero (so they don't have to be related to previous incarnations of Link--no, not incest on any level), and the embodiment of Demise (someone who allows Demise's corruption to enter their very being--aka Ganondorf/Ganon). The first bestowal of the Master Sword occurs in Skyward Sword, as does the precedent of the green tunic that Link always wears, and the tradition that the Goddess's descendant "chooses" her hero to defend her. It's the game that starts the traditions of all the other games, despite being one of the most recent Zelda games.
Also in Skyward Sword, Link and Zelda become a romantic interest.
To be fair, Link and Zelda are childhood friends in this one, and their relationship becomes immediately apparent as one that has been a long time in the making. Basically the entire game is spent following in Zelda's footsteps, trying to save her and prevent ancient Hyrule from falling into darkness.
That doesn't mean there's not some level of flirting involved in even this game. You're actually able to confess your love for the banker lady after you've gotten sufficiently far into the game. Her father gets hilariously suspicious and asks you to investigate who's trying to steal his daughter's heart, and you can either tell her that you'll keep your tryst a secret from her father, at which point he'll get even more irate, or you can tell her that you just can't do it anymore, which will relieve her father--but he laments her sadness at the same time. Despite having the clear romance with Zelda all through the game, there's even still an almost playful polygamous romance that's being explored in this Zelda game.
Indeed, the polygamous nature of Zelda games is an oft-explored trope with each new addition in the series. Ocarina of Time is the first direct sequel to Skyward Sword (Minish Cap and Four Swords both occurred in between, but don't explicitly involve the Trinity), and is also the host of a three-way timeline split. In the split wherein Link remains an adult and defeats Ganon, it's heavily implied that he romances with Malon in the end and it eventually leads to the events of Twilight Princess.
There's also that kinda-romance thing with Nabooru, who kinda wanted Link's nuts as a kid and really wanted Link's nuts as an adult--but she became a sage, so he dodged that bullet.
In the split that involves Link remaining a child, Ganondorf's treachery is revealed, and he is executed as a result, which leads to the events of Wind Waker. The direct sequel in this split is Majora's Mask, but there's little in the way of romance in that game. Saria, while cute when Link is a child, quickly becomes problematic when Link becomes an adult, and I think Link would recognize that and refrain, despite Saria's apparent attraction to Link when he's younger. We do see he has a special connection with Zelda in Majora's Mask, but the romance is definitely not implied that Link and Zelda get together in any of Ocarina of Time's splits.
All of this discounts the fact that Princess Ruto, in giving Link the Zora's Sapphire, also effectively becomes engaged to him, and she talks about the whole husband-wife thing a little bit in your limited interactions with her. Is Link into fish people? More at 5.
Wind Waker, on the other hand, goes right back into polygamous territory.
It's pretty confident that Zelda (Tetra) and Link do end up together in the end, but there's also Medli, a super adorbz bird girl who implies that she'd rather leave and divorce her feelings for him from her greater responsibilities to the world. As Medli follows Link on his journey, there's a bit of an implied romantic attraction that she has for him that gets picked up on over time.
In Twilight Princess, Zelda's got the personality of a box of rocks, but Midna and Ilia both seem like viable love interests. Midna especially becomes close to you throughout the story, and it's implied that she's jealous of Link's desire to save Ilia and keep her safe. In the end, Midna has to leave, but she seems really, really reluctant to go. It's highly likely that Link ends up with Ilia, since they're childhood friends, he goes through all that effort to save her, and it's likely that she will remain close to him for the foreseeable future.
In the third branch of the Ocarina of Time split, we have the "Link is defeated" story, where he's defeated after Ganondorf becomes Ganon (basically, in the final fight). As far as the original Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past are concerned, I don't recall any specific implied romances from those. Back then, the amount of creativity that was allowed was somewhat limited by hardware, so there wasn't really a whole lot put into the relationship aspect of Link's journey--and the world is borderline post-apocalyptic to boot, so not much time to be pondering those kinds of things and not too many eligible pixels to try pickup lines on. Maybe I just can't think of the relationships in those. I dunno.
Which brings us to the present day. Does Breath of the Wild follow the romance precedent set by Ocarina of Time at all? So far, it definitely does. I've only done one of the four main story arcs and there's already three burgeoning romances. Without going into too much detail, there's obviously the Zelda one:
As an important point, I haven't actually encountered Zelda in the game yet, but some of the teaser stuff we got before the game came out makes it clear that she relies heavily on him for emotional support.
There's also Paya, who helps Impa (she's an old fart in this game) around her house.
Think Paya is just a wallflower who's not actually attracted to you and just has a stutter? Well, you can read her diary...
It makes it quite clear that she's really into you.
So, it pays to know that Link has lost memories of a life he had before (100 years, so only longer-lived races remember him), so a lot of people in certain cities recognize him, but he doesn't recognize those people. It's learned early on in the Zora quest that Link was romancing a Zora princess named Mipha before he went to sleep.
Confirmed: Link is into fish people! It's to the point where you can talk to one of the Zora in Zora's Domain and she tells you that 100 years ago (before Link went to sleep), you made a choice between her and Mipha--and you chose Mipha.
One of my favorite things about the Zelda franchise, honestly, is its ability to almost effortlessly tackle the convoluted and confusing dynamic of relationships. There can be an intertwining of souls, like in Link and Zelda's case--and sometimes it means something, but other times it simply means that your sole duty is to protect her with your life, as that is your destiny. Canonically, there's only one guaranteed Link-Zelda romance (Skyward Sword) and one heavily implied (Wind Waker). Romance is, however, a central point of exploration in the Zelda games, and one that indicates how messy and difficult it can be to find straightforward answers sometimes. That there's a romance between Link (a Hylian) and Mipha (a Zora) is particularly mind-blowing. They legit display a cross-species romance in Breath of the Wild. The shocking notions of this (even the Zora are still reeling from this fact 100 years after it was a thing) are a wonderful testament to how difficult love can be. It's this weird blend of emotions and hormones and coming to terms with things that may seem outlandish or wrong, but are ultimately exactly what they need to be.
Indeed, the Zelda games seem to have a light focus on the idea that racial differences, even in a world that has pronounced physical differences like the Zelda universe, still houses these romances that make it clear love can transcend those boundaries. It doesn't help that Link is a total hunk and all the ladies want him. Hell, there's even a light exploration on loli culture (namely Saria--but there are Zora children in Breath of the Wild that tell you you're cute, among other occurrences of similar things) in which Link clearly isn't into that, but the fact remains that it's there and it's one of those lingering questions: What if he had been interested?
I don't yet know if there are going to be more romances in Breath of the Wild. (Please don't spoil it for me.) I won't be surprised if I do run across more. In fact, I'm hoping that there are more light teases, like what Paya's got for Link. They add to Link's depth of character as the dashing hero from the stories, that guy that all the ladies fall head over heels for, and who ultimately makes a choice--or doesn't, as it were.
Romance is one of those intangibly satisfying things to ponder over and witness. That it's been a staple of the Zelda franchises is as pronounced as it is apparently lacking in other Nintendo titles (Mario, you vanilla monogamous bastard, you). The amount of deep emotional consideration that goes into making a Zelda game is evident in the struggle with polygamy that Link encounters in just about every major Zelda title since Ocarina of Time. You say harmless flirting, I say being torn apart by all of these amazing people you get to meet in your journey, all of whom you'd be happy to end up with, and ultimately only one person that gets chosen.
Time to wrap this all the way back around. In a way, I find romantic exploration of the Mane Six to be just as intriguing. The disappointing aspect of fanfiction in this respect is, sadly, that exploring these complicated emotions tends to be missed by authors. Much of the time, only one of the Mane Six becomes a romantic interest--or "all of them" is the protagonist's choice, and a harem is established. There is little in-between, though some does exist, in which the main character experiences true struggle in picking who they want to be with and ends up with only one partner. In real life, relationships are that complicated. Sometimes, it's difficult to find even one person who likes you--and sometimes, it feels like every eligible partner in the world just wants a chance to spend time with you.
I don't envy Link his struggles, nor do I envy the poor soul that has to pick only one of the six amazing personalities of the Mane Six. I can't imagine that I'd have a clear choice, were I in a situation in which several desirable women (or mares, for those kinky fetish folks) wish for a chance with me and I must remain strictly monogamous. It's a fine line, as well, having to choose... maybe they'll all defect, or maybe none of them will. In the end, I like to think that I wouldn't turn into the type of person I don't want to be--someone with a harem. I want to choose one, now and forever, to be happy with. Monogamy is my preference in every respect, but games like Zelda force me to question whether my preference is truly the superior choice. What if I could choose Zelda, Mipha, and Paya all at once? What if they were all okay with it? Would they all make me happy in the way that I want? I don't think I want to know the answers to these questions, whether from a fantastical or a pragmatic viewpoint.
At the end of the day, however, only one constant remains true...
Purah is best loli (but really an old person) waifu. Nothing can top her.
Of the personalities of the Mane Six, Applejack's is defiantly my favorite (Ponka is a close second.) She's an anchor to all the nonsense we have to deal with (I also love a powerful female). Fluttershy and Rainbow are kind of irritating while Twilight and Rarity are exhasting to handle day to day. I have dreams about them sometimes.
Romance is defiantly my favorite genre. I have to have it somewhere in what I read or I lose interest (sometimes). Character interactions are my favorite bits in most stories (especially if they are being bashful/cute).
I got a massive kick from watching Midna and Link interact with one another. It was just so cute! Especially in the later game. ^.^
4450831
Didn't know you were into ponies. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Despite the ostensibly existent romance with Ilia that was likely tearing Link apart from the inside? It's what I love about the Zelda franchise.
4450878
You write a good character/s, you get attention and eventual attraction; I can't help but love her personality. Her voice is rather attractive, too. I've always had a thing for Southern-Belles.
(Also the fact that she can beat my ass is rather appealing, for some reason.)
To tell you the truth, I always forget about her. I find her rather disinteresting. I have no idea why. (I mean, I love childhood friend troupes, so why is she so boring?)
4450888
Nobody remembers Ilia, despite the fact that she's literally the entire reason you start your quest.
4450907
I know, it's just so weird. She's just so forgettable. I remember her getting kidnapped by that ogre, then saving her in the canyon. I know she had something to do with getting into the Sky temple and then nothing. She do anything else? I even remember the other kids better.
4450938
There are two reasons why I remember Ilia.
1. She is a re-skin of Zelda in Hyrule Warriors, which is a really fitting aesthetic with my favorite Zelda weapon, the Wind Waker.
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda/images/9/9a/Zelda_Wind_Waker_(Hyrule_Warriors).png/revision/20140811162726
Imagine this aesthetic on Ilia. Her simple attire and the fact that she's barefoot fit in very well with Hyrule Warriors gameplay.
2. There's a scene where she says something related to the name you picked for your horse, which can lead to some very... interesting dialogue.
i.imgur.com/5Nf6j.jpg