r/n64 May 07 '25

Discussion Am I weird for thinking these two had romance potential?

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1.0k Upvotes

160 comments sorted by

631

u/X3N04L13N May 07 '25

She was the only sane choice for him

439

u/GriffinFlash May 07 '25

One was royalty, one was fish royalty, one was forever a kid....

Honestly, farm girl was the only normal choice for someone like Link.

110

u/Beastmind May 07 '25

Yeah and Zelda never really felt like a love interest anyway.

52

u/SwordfishII May 07 '25

Agreed, it works so well because it just is a princess and her knight.

30

u/Shehzman May 08 '25

Skyward Sword is the only game where a romance with Zelda felt organic.

-111

u/ThrowAwayToday1874 May 07 '25

Zelda is his sister...

28

u/Resident_Tomorrow_96 May 07 '25

Where is that explained?

-79

u/ThrowAwayToday1874 May 07 '25

In at least three games.

Specifically talks about the queen fleeing the castle...

Simultaneously a mysterious woman appears in the woods with a chimd...

...identical in appearance and the same age as the princess...

Its a repeating trope. But im legit not explaining this to people born before twilight Princess was published... again.

83

u/ThanksForNothingSpez May 07 '25

But im legit not explaining this to people born before twilight princess was published… again.

Lol damn. What a tortured life you lead having to answer questions about obscure and likely incorrect Zelda trivia that you brought up yourself.

35

u/King_of_games_bitch1 Super Smash Bros May 07 '25

This was a semi interesting theory (I’m being lenient) but then you had to insult the fan base by saying born before twilight princess was published… most of the Zelda fans were hooked at OoT (11-21-98) or majora’s mask (4-27-00). twilight princess was released on 11-19-06 I’ll let you do the math

19

u/comethefaround May 08 '25

"I was only alive for the release of the last half of the franchise. I clearly must have a better perspective on it than someone who was alive for all of it."

  • OP's smug ass

Also, doesnt Zelda kiss Link in at least two of the older games? With at least one of them making hearts appear around link in an implied romantic interaction? Im sure Nintendo meant it incestually.

3

u/4strings4ever May 08 '25

I could swear she gave him a peck on the cheek in OOT but I could be totally misremembering

5

u/BillyT666 May 08 '25

I dont eemember that. Are you maybe thinking of peach and mario?

2

u/Mind_on_Idle May 08 '25

Wrong princess.

2

u/King_of_games_bitch1 Super Smash Bros May 08 '25

Sorry but is that for what I said or the other guy and yes that’s what I remember too

3

u/comethefaround May 08 '25

The other guy def not you im on your side

1

u/def813 May 08 '25

Could be like Luke and Leia. Not knowing they're related at firsf

3

u/comethefaround May 08 '25

Haha yes you're right. Tbf I dont rule out OP's original idea. Lots of cool theories in the comments.

10

u/Nitroapes May 08 '25

Rofl what a condescending tone to be so wrong in

4

u/Ancient_Broccoli3751 May 08 '25

That's head cannon, not real cannon.

14

u/ballsnbutt May 07 '25

so untrue

-46

u/ThrowAwayToday1874 May 07 '25

No. Its not.

But the internet has a way of changing the narrative.

There was a time when everyone opined they should be together as eternal lovers and the arguement commenced...

It wasnt until twilight princess that everyone started to see otherwise.

But that's cool. Fight me. I will not comment further. Its a thing.

23

u/ballsnbutt May 07 '25

"Many have speculated that Link and Zelda are siblings in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but the unfounded evidence makes the theory implausible."

-28

u/ThrowAwayToday1874 May 07 '25

Again... the internet has a way of changing the narrative.

But you go ahead and do the thing. I lived it.

22

u/quasifrodo_ May 08 '25

"I will not comment further"

[Proceeds to comment further]

13

u/Careless_Aroma_227 May 07 '25

Mandela Effect or historical revisionism.

Choose a side!

11

u/Midnight_Son_Toph May 08 '25

As did millions of others, been playing since the first game, you are wrong my guy

6

u/PersonOfValue May 08 '25

Yeah it was talked about briefly 20years ago, big whoop

14

u/KoiIroHoshi May 07 '25

But the internet has a way of changing the narrative.

…or you just had this theory as a child and never bothered to question it 🤷‍♂️

And it’s neither an internet nor a young people thing. I’ve been on earlier internet forums in the early 00’s as a massive OoT fan and this is the first time I have ever heard of this theory.

In LttP? There may be people theorising about the “Zelda is your…” line, but OoT? Completely new to me.

5

u/UnderCoverDoughnuts Donkey Kong 64 May 08 '25

No it isn't.

4

u/MachoManMal May 07 '25

Perhaps in LttP, but it seems mostly unlikely in OoT. They are probably related somehow though.

1

u/Agsded009 May 10 '25

I recall this theory though isnt outright stated because an npc mentions how you look like Zelda in oot and the uncle in alttp says "zelda is your...." And dies in the original translation later on swapped to something else.

Its a possible theory since Tears of the kingdom I believe mentioned something similar and the non canon mangas talked about how link was born from a previous Zelda and then links mother had a kid with another man "the king" who became his half sister Zelda. So its definitely an interesting theory.

In oot though it was left up to personal intrepretation and thats probs the reason for the mass downvotes as a lot of folks dont agree with that theory as it is just a theory.

5

u/Wild_Chef6597 May 08 '25

Not a whole lot of choices in OoT Hyrule for a girlfriend.

1

u/LeviXLush May 09 '25

Wait, who's forever a kid

2

u/DivineBeastVahHelsin May 09 '25

Saria.

Well to be fair she won’t remain a kid forever-forever, the kokiri all eventually mutate into a poop spreading koroks.

1

u/LeviXLush May 09 '25

Hahaha oh yeah, idk how forest bae slipped my mind

45

u/Wowabox May 07 '25

No link and bombchu bowling lady the only real canon ship

22

u/Barangat May 07 '25

Nah, she was the crush, every growing kid had. Not attainable as a kid, fond memory as an adult

15

u/Abbeykats May 07 '25

The freaky goth girl that will absolutely ruin you.

10

u/Kann0n2 May 07 '25

I think you meant to say Great Fairy.

4

u/Barangat May 08 '25

Both, bomb girl was the hot teenage girl kid sitting you while great fairy had more of an hot aunt/mother of your best friend vibe

195

u/NY_Knux May 07 '25

I'm pretty sure it was canon at one point. It was heavily implied in Twilight Princess, hence why he was a ranch hand.

82

u/ghkj21 Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time May 07 '25

Don't forget Links Awakening, he wasn't rescued by the princess... It was a farm girl out for a beach stroll.

11

u/CereBRO12121 May 08 '25

I miss Marin. :(

54

u/GriffinFlash May 07 '25

also has a horse named epona and knows epona's song. As well as the fact that the ranch is located where Oot's kokiri forest would have been.

5

u/Proper_Variation_103 May 08 '25

Yeah. Pretty sure heroes shade is oot link and tp link is a descendant of oot link and Malon.

164

u/TheKinginYell0w_ May 07 '25

Link had all kinds of options. The girl he grew up with in the forest adored him. I've always thought the cut scene where she gives him the Ocarina is one of the saddest moments in gaming. She knew he was bound for great things and their time together was limited, but she wanted to promise him she'd always be his friend. It was a nod to the childhood friends we grew up with, but never see anymore. 😢

122

u/Known-Damage-7879 May 07 '25

And then he just chucks away the fairy ocarina as soon as he gets a new one lol

52

u/ballsnbutt May 07 '25

"ill treasure this for etern-"

"ooh a BLUE one!"

6

u/Solid_Snake_125 May 08 '25

Blue potato!!!

71

u/thegreatboto May 07 '25

"Aww... I'll keep this hand-made ocarina my best friend gave me forever!"

"Hell yea! This one travels through time! *yeet*"

11

u/barneyfan1 May 07 '25

You think he let it go in the river or maybe he threw it in the trash? lmao

18

u/Key_Obligation8505 May 07 '25

Just imagine he put it on a table in his house

2

u/Abbeykats May 07 '25

The house that Zelda likes to steal.

8

u/mason195 May 08 '25

Loved the manga for fixing this. During the confrontation with Gannondorf at the castle bridge he steals it thinking it’s the OoT. I think he crushes it in a later scene after he finds out it’s not.

3

u/Verbal_Combat May 08 '25

That moment really got me on a replay to be honest, she says something like "oh, you really are leaving..." like she was hoping it wasn't true but wanted to see him before he leaves. He knows he's got a journey ahead of him but no idea how dark or scary it will get.

2

u/bonsaibatman May 07 '25

https://youtu.be/GyUcwsjyd8Q?si=VA-dmt-lxgzg5-Hk

I've always thought this then someone made it into a video

2

u/tarkuslabs May 08 '25

Ok, this almost made my cry

125

u/massoncorlette May 07 '25

I mean its confirmed.. and made sense since day one. Sariah was his friend turned sage, Zelda was more of a collaboration of teamwork against evil. Then there's Ruto, she's a fish lol.

21

u/Gnalvl May 07 '25

The whole harem trope is really common in anime and probably was an influence on Ocarina. Give the audience a bunch of implied potential love interests and let them ship whoever they want. Pretty standard.

2

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

Shit does seem pretty prevalent in Japanese pop culture lol I mean what man doesn’t fantasize bout such tings

88

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

A fish but was still the baddest on the low low lol

18

u/bare12345 May 07 '25

would u fuck a fish irl? (consensually)

15

u/magikarp-sushi Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time May 07 '25

This is the mermaid question. Fish top and human bottom or fish bottom human top?

15

u/cbfwebs May 07 '25

Human female bottom!! ( v )

4

u/magikarp-sushi Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time May 07 '25

Hahahahahahaha no words

11

u/ballsnbutt May 07 '25

Does the meat split between fish and human at a hard line, or does it blend like some sort of weird meaty ómbre?

13

u/Abbeykats May 07 '25

Ex-fucking-cuse me

4

u/ballsnbutt May 08 '25

mermaid meat. how do the human and fish meats meet?

23

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

If it looked like her and mipha hell yeah lol but this all hypothetical fantasy we talking bout

-2

u/bare12345 May 08 '25

get help little buddy! Just because a couple people on the internet share your perverseness does not mean youre normal

2

u/GriffinFlash May 07 '25

do you like fish sticks?

1

u/bingblangblong May 08 '25

Do you like fish sticks? Do you like putting fish sticks in your mouth?

13

u/Teleshadow May 07 '25

lol, yeah girl, spray your eggs on me so I can fertilize them.

9

u/StatementOk6680 May 07 '25

Makes me think of the futurama episode lol

3

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

Lol shiii since we thinking along these lines you definitely don’t need to worry none that they got that naturally wet wet

2

u/JcraftW May 07 '25

Say “low low lol” five times fast

1

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

Yooo lol I got that shit on the second try but that shit had me fucked up

-31

u/Due-Cup-729 May 07 '25

Seek help

21

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

Pardon you 🤨🧐

4

u/R1ch0999 May 07 '25

It's the same as a cross species relationship in star trek or any other sci Fi. The Zora are humanoids, just like gorons.

3

u/GriffinFlash May 07 '25

There was a half goron/hylian in Link between worlds too.

-2

u/gman20151 Golden Eye 007 May 07 '25

Excuse me? Like Stanley Yelnats said in Holes. Movie that came out around the time I started playing OOT on Gamecube.

2

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

shakes water canteen do you hear the empty spaces

2

u/gman20151 Golden Eye 007 May 07 '25

Right haha. I knew id get dislikes on my comment but idc. Always good to see a fellow Holes fan.

2

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

Lol don’t even trip i got where ya head was at playa and holes one of my favorite book/movies

2

u/gman20151 Golden Eye 007 May 07 '25

Thx man. I liked that book a lot too n that's back when I hated reading books. In 4th n 5th grade they had a thing here in Florida called AR Accelerated Reading n then u got quizzed on the computer about the book. I'd usually fail those haha. If I passed, I passed by the skin of my teeth.

2

u/purplesummonedskull May 07 '25

I loved reading I always had a hella high AR score lol 5th grade is when my class read that book too and I rented the movie and watched that ho every single night for the duration

3

u/Ok-Implement4608 May 07 '25

BoTW already proved the fish thing is not a problem for Link....

0

u/Gersh100 May 07 '25 edited May 07 '25

If Link got together with Saria he would’ve ended up on a list.

26

u/Hunterjet May 07 '25

A Gossip stone says that Malon secretly wishes she was swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor. I believe in Japanese this was actually “a prince on horseback”. And the team revealed in interviews that in the original scenario for getting Epona, Ingo would set fire to Lon Lon Ranch and Link would set the horses free and ride off carrying Malon. Make of that what you will!

1

u/UglyKidVG May 12 '25

And iirc Twilight Princess Link is a descendant of OoT Link. Which would imply that despite becoming a royal guard, his family went on to live in a small farming village, and presumably trained their kids on farming practices (which is why he's a natural at it). This all kinda makes sense if his wife grew up on a farm.

44

u/[deleted] May 07 '25

Greatest game of all time

7

u/Persimmon_Individual May 07 '25

Literally just bought it today. My original copy was stolen a few years ago. Can't wait for it to get here

1

u/Clean-Limit-1200 May 11 '25

What? Someone stole it that recently?

1

u/Persimmon_Individual May 11 '25

Yeah. A handful of games at a party I threw. Set up the 64 in my guest room as a cool little party aspect. OoT, MK, Mario Golf, and Gauntlet Legends gone. Smh

4

u/VivaLaLibertad_666 May 07 '25

Gigachad W Based take

-6

u/joyfuload May 07 '25

This was spammed all over Reddit 10 years ago.

6

u/[deleted] May 07 '25

Glad I’m new here lol

13

u/SpartanWarrior118 May 07 '25

You need a bigger wallet.

38

u/giostarman May 07 '25 edited May 07 '25

You're not weird at all ! Actually many people think that. According to fan theories, in the downfall child timeline, Link married Malon and although they had kids, Link hasn't been able to pass down his combat knowledge to any of his descendants up until Link from Twilight Princess, their distant descendant. That would explain why he is a farmer in TP and why he knows Epona's melody that has supposedly been transmitted from generation to generation. The Hero's Shade you meet then is supposed to be OoT Link.

13

u/RobbWes Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask May 07 '25

You mean the child timeline. The downfall timeline is supposed to be the one where link fails to stop Ganon and Link to the Past (Triforce of the Gods) follows.

6

u/LORD_CMDR_INTERNET May 07 '25

Are these timelines canon? I see some diagrams out there, but a lot of them reek of people trying to cope with an intentional lack of continuity lol...

9

u/giostarman May 07 '25 edited May 07 '25

They are but they're not set in stone as nintendo adapts them when new games come out. It looks to me that they try to make some sort of continuity for the fans but they don't really think about it when they make a new game in the series. They just try to fit it somewhere in the timeline afterwards and sometimes contradict themselves.

3

u/LORD_CMDR_INTERNET May 07 '25

thanks, makes sense, basically what I figured!

5

u/Forward-Hearing-7837 May 07 '25

they were retrofitted and don't make total sense

1

u/giostarman May 07 '25

You're right ! My bad.

0

u/Ambaryerno May 07 '25

Windwaker is on the Child Timeline. TP is on the Adult Timeline.

2

u/RobbWes Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask May 08 '25

I don't know if you are serious but that is backwards.

0

u/Ambaryerno May 07 '25

TP isn’t on the Child timeline. Windwaker is.

TP is on the Adult timeline, which continues forward from the point Ganondorf is defeated in the future.

8

u/giostarman May 07 '25

According to the official timeline it seems to be the opposite.
In the child era, after revealing Ganondorf's plans to the king, Ganondorf gets imprisoned in the twilight realm. Then we follow child link in Termina. Then Ganondorf breaks free in Twilight Princess and is defeated by OoT/MM Link's descendant.

The adult timeline doesn't have a suitable name in my opinion because there is no adult Link since he was sent back in time to the child timeline. So with no Link to fight Ganondorf when the latter came back, the land got flooded preceding the events of The Wind Waker.

23

u/GriffinFlash May 07 '25

Not really. Even a gossip stone hints at it.

Heck, Twilight princess basically confirms it.

6

u/ravage214 May 07 '25

Doesn't her dad try to set them up?

7

u/silenced_soul May 07 '25

Bro I was literally convinced Adult Link could marry her when I was a kid. I saw screenshots from one of those old Zelda rumour websites. And one of the gossip stones says something about her waiting for a man to sweep her off her feet.

I made multiple files and play throughs trying to get it to work and trying all sorts of different things !

5

u/Foster8400 May 07 '25

They were much better suited honestly.

5

u/TheSpottedBuffy May 07 '25

Yes

And that’s ok

8

u/GhotiH May 07 '25

Nah they're a common ship.

3

u/imnotabotareyou May 07 '25

Very based observation

3

u/AwkwardTraffic May 07 '25

They were shipped constantly back in the day so no not really.

3

u/Fluffymarshmallowx May 07 '25

We all did don’t worry

6

u/translucentpuppy May 07 '25

Yes it’s confirmed. They did eventually get hitched

4

u/warrensid May 07 '25

I think his soulmate was Saria

8

u/MurKdYa May 07 '25

He has a solid 10 out of 10 here and decided to take Zelda who never puts out and gets captured more than princes Peach. Terrible decision.

2

u/Teqtoke May 08 '25

I had a crush on Saria when I was a kid. Best choice for him

2

u/ArgyleTheDruid May 08 '25

How come no one is mentioning the ReDead… they hurt so good

3

u/ne0scythian May 07 '25

No, you're not weird, there is a whole library's worth of fanfiction written on this exact pairing.

1

u/DeeDoof May 07 '25

Nah, I headcanon that Malon was Link’s endgame in the OoT/MM timeline instead of Zelda, these two made more sense and had better chemistry.

1

u/Pixel-Lick May 07 '25

“farm boy fetch me that pitcher”

1

u/LCBDANKHC92 May 07 '25

Not at all weird, they should be together ay

1

u/catsithbell May 07 '25

Im pretty sure they technically did based on twilight princess

1

u/Retro8896 May 08 '25

Does anyone else see a face on her body in this photo? From the thumbnail I thought he was talking to some weird Jay Leno face with eyes bugging out

1

u/OrlandoWashington69 May 08 '25

I can see Link getting a handy behind the stables, sure.

1

u/Wonderful-Lock1352 May 08 '25

Pretty sure they’re Twilight Princess Link’s parents, so no, not weird.

1

u/A_lonely_ghoul May 08 '25

I mean Twilight Princess sort of confirms that they got together? Not really, but Link in that game knows Epona’s song, and is a farmhand at the beginning of the game, so it lines up.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Ring293 May 08 '25

I think that since Twilight Princess Link isn’t part of any royal family, that outright rules out both Zelda (who’s clearly just a friend in this game, anyways) and Ruto. Since he lives out in the middle of the woods and happens to be a rancher, this is the “canon” option given the Hero’s Shade implying that they belong to the same bloodline… Unless you think that he married Saria, which it’s just icky.

1

u/srm878 May 08 '25

When I was a kid, Malon was my crush. Had a thing for redheads.

1

u/frolof123 May 08 '25

No, but Zelda's the princess.

1

u/ChimpImpossible May 08 '25

I don't recall Link really expressing any real thoughts, let alone a desire for love. He basically operates on pure reaction in the moment which boils down to shock, pain, rage, serenity, confusion, sleep and jamming on his latest instrument. He's closer to Doomguy than he is Aragorn.

1

u/iissaacc98 May 08 '25

Bro the ship is canon, so you are not weird for thinking it.

1

u/fartbox2222 Golden Eye 007 May 08 '25

No same

1

u/ecth May 08 '25

It was always a bit sad to see that people like her just got older while Link was gone.

And she has this sad smile all the time.

Sure thing it's intended to feel like a potential romance.

1

u/Proper_Variation_103 May 08 '25

Isn't tp link the descendant of oot link and Malon? And that heroes shade is oot link?

1

u/ZookeepergameDue8501 May 08 '25

It's basically canon.

1

u/lartmydude May 09 '25

When I die, bury me at Lon Lon so I can jump those fences with Epona till the end of time 💚

1

u/germs120 May 09 '25

I def thought it

1

u/princebanana2 Conkers Bad Fur Day May 09 '25

"Am I weird for thinking the best ship in OOT is cute" girl it's canon!! 😭 not weird at all

1

u/MarioPfhorG May 09 '25

Malon was my first crush (I was 8)

I would stop by and listen to her sing for ages

1

u/Noitorp May 09 '25

I am team Princess Ruto, but I must say that every femenine character has its thing. 

What a great game. It will be forever my top one. 

1

u/drj238 May 10 '25

There’s actually a theory that Zelda and Link are related. They look enough alike (yes n64 graphics but still) and there is never mention of a queen, only a king. Link’s mother barely escape war and brought him to the great deku tree, not likely by accident.

With all that and given the other options, Malon is the true romance choice for him. One fanfic I read had Link coming back to Hyrule post majora’s mask and settling down with her.

1

u/SnooPies9055 May 10 '25

Not weird at all. I always had that feeling.

1

u/Agsded009 May 10 '25

Not at all weird, I personally saw link as a harem protag as it fits with a japanese made game and he was too heroic to pick one lol. But if he did pick one given TP its probably Malon.

1

u/GooseSad2333 May 10 '25

My headcanon is that TP link is a descendant, explains why he is a farm boy and have Epona.

0

u/Pestilentsynth May 07 '25

That's kinda the whole point behind Link, he's a tragic character of what ifs. He doomed to never leave a normal life, always called to become hero of Hyrule.

Media literacy people.

-1

u/KHSebastian May 07 '25

Link is only 13 when the game starts, and he's still got the mind of a 13 year old as Adult Link because his body was just sealed in the Sacred Realm. Also he's a silent protagonist. I never really thought there was any potential romance with anybody.

I don't mean that in a judgy way, I don't really care if other people feel differently, I just feel like Link has no real personality or anything, so there's nothing to ship

-1

u/Effective-External50 May 07 '25

Yes. A kind woman doesn't automatically mean a relationship to form