#oot and minish cap I'm coming for you

[luna-loveboop]

Hello!! What's your favorite Zelda game?

- hero-of-the-wolf

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Skyward sword :)

I uhh am kind of nervous to share but you asked so ima rant about my life and why I love skyward sword :))

I was the youngest child, which leads to some problems with being included- but with video games I was actually ok with that. I was always a coward- if a character so much as had red eyes I would have nightmares and not be able to sleep for uhhh a bit. So movies and video games gave me wayyyy too much anxiety. Jump scares and being surrounded were terrifying to me- I also felt I wasn't good at video games with the controls. But I did like spending time with my siblings!

Anyways my mom (love her) was one of the adults as a kid who thought video games were evil- she didn't necessarily buy the theory of it rotting our brains, but she did want us to get outside a lot. But one Christmas we did get a wii... and skyward sword :DDD

We played games together- I did the gaming sometimes, but it was mainly my siblings. I always had thoughts/suggestions on the dungeons lol. However we didn't really have enough attention spans as kids to finish it. It was funny because it became a kind of pattern- my siblings would decide to play skyward sword! :D and we would start the game and make it to like the first dungeon and stop XD. We still all remember and have the entirety of skyloft and the opening to first temple + ghirahim boss memorized, but us actually beating the game was a no. The furthest we got on a run was getting the water dragons scale, at which point we enjoyed swimming drowning link until we ran out of steam again.

But I was still so scared of playing video games myself- there was umm. A lot of screaming and panic whenever I was attacked, which was mildly annoying to my family. (Child me was chaotic but we love her <3)

Cut forward years and we ended up stuck in a house together during Covid... at which point my mom threw away all previous ideas of video games being bad and bought us a bunch XD. Then there came a point as (college) adults that we all wanted and bought Switches- my brother says he started the Nintendo "switch revolution" in our family since he was the first

My sister helped me a lot. She was the one who showed me animal crossing as a chill video game, and how I could calmly catch the scorpions and tarantulas in that game (eeeeeeeh). I watched her play botw on wii u and she helped me beat (eiffjjdfkjfkf scary) thunderblight ganon without panicking. After that I decided to have they were fun! Fights still give me anxiety sometimes, but overall I'm actually good at it- which I hadn't expected lol

And then I got skyward sword hd on switch. And this was like. The moment for me I started really loving video games. I played through like me and my siblings used to do (nostalgia man). And I fully finished a video game. And obviously sobbed over sksw Zelink. Then I helped my dad through it- we also played games with him (and he is not the best at it), so me and my dad played through sksw in a summer.

I love all Zelda games are so so good- I've played a lot like the og legend of Zelda, botw, totk, twilight princess- and I just got wind waker and am excited to play it :D

So I love skyward sword as my favourite video or Zelda game ever because of nostalgia- it was my first Zelda game and has a lot memories for me from when we were kids :)

:)

I hope I made sense idk if all of my words were understandable. And also thank you so much for asking I love you forever and might melt whenever asked about myself fifdigjdockng sorry for ranting so long

[asofspades]

I'm making a list of my favourite Four HC

- He has a necklace made from a shard of the dark mirror to remember Shadow and a strand of his hair is dyed purple in his honour.

- I like to count Four swords and Four swords adventures as separate adventures, so he's been on 3 adventures.

- Four Swords personally would be literally Link and 3 copies of him, I like to consider this as if the clones you can make in Minish Cap just had a solid body and thinking ability but Link does go back to being the same at the end of the adventure

- Obviously I like to incorporate the FS manga to his last adventure and this time Link splits into four different beings each a main part of his personality but over the course of the adventure they sort of become their own person

- That's why I headcanon that Four isn't really link as he was before his last adventure, for me all of the colours went back together into one body but remained separate, they usually work together and that would be Four as we know him.

- Obviously I love the HC that we have seemed to collectively agree on that Four's eyes change colour depending on who's more dominant at certain points.

- I do think that sometimes not all of them are driving the wheel together and that might be because they just went through a moment that required a lot of one of the specific colours or they're in disagreement

-That leads me to the HC that Four gets migraines when the colours are not in sync, which is another one most of the fandom seems to share.

- I'm also a fan of the "dark portals scramble the colours and thus Four" collective HC

- particularly I like to think that Four is both distrustful of dark magic because of the whole Vaati resurrecting and Ganon thing, and the soldiers and his father being controlled by that magic but also it makes him sad because it reminds him of Shadow's magic

- Also, while I HC that Vio was the closest to Shadow for obvious reasons I think when they merged into Four their memories and feelings were instantly registered by each other and now the other colours also appreciate Shadow for more than just sacrificing himself for them and Hyrule.

-I like to HC that he was almost the same age as Time was in OOT for his first adventure, as a bonus I like to think his bday is on the Picori Festival day which adds an extra layer of depth to both the beginning of his first adventure and his relationship with the Minish

- Following that logic I like to HC him as being freshly 8 y.o for his first adventure, around 11 for the second and almost 14 for the 3rd, and as such I love the idea that Vio and Shadow kind of developed crushes on each other.

- On that same note, since we can see Link as a soldier in the FS manga, but obviously there's only his Grandpa in MC, I like to HC that his father was deployed somewhere far away from Hyrule for diplomatic reasons (he's the captain of the royal guard after all) and he comes back after the first adventure. He gets told about what his child did and decides him joining the Royal Guard would be a good idea

- Following the previous HC, I like to think Link is not really enthusiastic about joining the Royal Guard because my boy got raised by his very cool blacksmith Grandpa who loves him very much and he's a little blacksmith at heart. Which kind of explains why he looks a bit done about being part of the royal guard, aside from the fact that he's literally saved Hyrule on his own before. That is also the reason he's so proud to be a blacksmith but never talks about having been in the Royal Guard.

- This is a more niche HC but since Four's era is way before OOT and way after SS I like to think the legal age changes a lot and so I HC that in Four's Hyrule you're considered an adult at around 14 so he's already working an paying taxes and is of marring age by the time he joins the chain.

- That brings me to another point and it's that I HC Four to be 16 in linked universe (I think that one's also pretty much shared by the fandom) but since legally he's been an adult for 2 years he gets thrown off by people calling him "kid" despite technically being the second youngest, he's a kid in basically everyone's time but his and I find that idea hilarious.

- Another commonly shared HC, four hasn't grown or has barely grown a cm since his first adventure because he overused minish magic, I like to add a twist and since you also turn into a minish in FS I like to think he grew a tiny bit between his first and second adventures but the overuse during the 2nd one was what did him in.

- Another HC is that four can in fact use the minish magic by himself, making him one of the Links with innate magic ability. Going a step further I think both Hyrule and Time can detect some Fae magic emanating out of him due to his entrenchment with the minish and his earring and sword (after all the four sword was forged form the remains of the Picori blade), Legend can sense some light magic coming off of him (he can canonically use innate magic and is attuned to magic artifacts) and Twilight can sense something similar to Midna's magic and the twilight mirror due to the dark mirror shard necklace Four carries.

Technically Wind can use light magic just because but I like to think he senses magic but really doesn't know what he's sensing at all because nobody bothered to explain magic to him even though he uses it a lot and often.

- okay, the shield think, we know the Shield in WW and MC are quite literally the same shield. And while I support people who have the whole "wind is Four's descendant" HC, for me personally I think people just knew it belonged to a hero and the people who found it after the great flood decided to keep it and it ended up becoming a family heirloom. Particularly they just mention that it belonged to a hero, and it's the first and only time that they don't mention that hero being the Hero of Time like they do in every other instance.

- the Palace of the Four Swords is a tricky one because me personally, I like to think that Four's soul is tied to his sword not only because he forged it but because of his second and particularly his 3rd adventure. Thus, when he dies he turns into a sword spirit and in the downfall timeline the sacred realm becomes the dark world and all inside it becomes corrupt and the sword that has been resting there for eras along with it's spirit gets corrupted as well prompting the events that happen at the FS palace in ALTTP.

- personally I like to think that since the Sacred Realm gate never opens in the child timeline the sword just rests in it's palace (built out of the elemental sanctuary that became the four sword sanctuary) along with it's spirit. And for the adult timeline it just rests underwater along with the rest of the old Hyrule forever undisturbed.

I find it really tricky that the splitting of the timeline ends up affecting previous heroes in the long run but it makes sense.

-Also, because SS takes place way way before MC I like to think the story of Sky is barely known outside of the Royal Family who might know a bit just because it's tied to their very existence. However I find that I like the idea that the people of the sky do know a version of said story and are descendants of the skyloftians who never took to the surface and that's why after living on the surface for a while by themselves they decided to go back to the skies and build a city on the cloud tops. Coincidentally since the Minish did come form the sky as well they might know about those stories. I think the molemits found in the wind ruins might be a version of the mogma mits from SS and the gust jar might have been inspired by the gust bellows from SS.

- Take I like, the blue ocarina in OOT that seems to be an heirloom of the Royal Family is in fact the Ocarina of Wind from MC, timeline wise it is the earliest apparition of that ocarina. My personal HC is Four gives it to Zelda either as a parting gift before parting on a trip where he ends up dying or he simply has it on his will to give Zelda that ocarina when he dies. With time the Royal Family unknowingly or knowingly infuse it with the power of the Goddess giving it the abilities we see in OOt and then in MM but, by the time it gets found by Legend in ALTTP is has basically lost all abilities except for the one to call a bird to bring you places. Personally I like to think that in the fallen timeline since the ocarina is in Link's hands when he fails it gets lost after being used to open the sacred realm and a regular someone ends up finding it prompting the side quest you do in ALTTP to get it.

- I also think that Four's relationship with his father is a bit rocky since he left the Royal Guard to become a full time blacksmith.

Some Colour headcanons

- Red enjoys using the fire rod but he doesn't like when people mess around too much with fire in forest because it reminds him of the third adventure

- Blue hates the cold because of the time he was encased in ice during the 3rd adventure

-Green has a need to save everyone because he still feels like he failed people during his 3rd adventure

- Vio likes to act all smug about his traitor act but he actually feels very bad about having tricked and betrayed shadow and he feels guilty that Shadow sacrificed himself after having been betrayed.

- Green also blames himself for Shadow and he finds it hard to be around their father because of the whole 3rd adventure.

[phoenixcatch7]

Things tloz has not been consistent about that you'd think it would be:

Everything. Buckle up.

The hero being called Link. He's Link in the same way Frisk is the character. The player chooses the name in every SINGLE game up until botw, and that only happened because of the voice acting. It's just shorthand for the link between the player and the game.

The princess being called zelda. Wind waker, she was called Tetra.

The princess being in the game at all (links awakening)

There only being one princess (the hero of either hyrule or legend had two)

There only being one hero (hyrule warriors had three and also linkle)

The princess not being a playable character (hw, aoc, and upcoming EoW. There's also non canon games like cadence and smash bros).

The master sword being in the game (four swords, minish cap, triforce heroes (?), ooa/oos only have it as a linked game post story unlockable, zelda 1,2 and la it was the magical sword).

Ganon being in the game (basically the exact same as the last point minus the 1st 3 games)

Ganon being a bad guy (hyrule warriors and generously, GENEROUSLY aoc, where he's playable as an ally post game).

The master sword being needed to defeat ganon (in botw aoc and totk the master sword is entirely optional, and totally inverts the traditional 'zelda weakens and link deals the final blow').

Link being the main character (upcoming eow which I'm cackling about)

The existence of humanity

Link being in green (abotk made him blue :( and took his hat >:((().

Zelda being in pink (abotk)

Zelda being blonde (she's anything from blonde to brown to ginger)

Link being blonde (tp and lttp (why is he pink?! Zelda is blonde! There's brown haired people! Why neon pink??)

Gerudo having rounded ears (up until abotk)

Nintendo making the games (hw and aoc, cadence lol)

Teen/kid link (totk is the only Link over the age of 19)

Link having a companion (it's pretty evenly split)

Zelda having the companion (aoc and eow)

Link having two companions (hw with basically all of them)

The nature of humanity vs hylians

The story taking place in hyrule (literally so many... La, mm, ooa, oos, technically ww, technically ss, half points for lttp and lbw, tfh)

Just the one triforce (lbw)

Just three separate pieces of the triforce (ww)

Any triforce at all (okay this one is complicated bcz depiction/hand marks/Actual Wish Granting Triforce but hylia alone knows where the triforce was in abotk. I'm counting ooa/oos because opening cutscene. La has zilch and I'm pretty sure mc too.)

Literally any religion has come and gone INCLUDING IRL CHRISTIANITY

Knowledge of the triforce

Knowledge of hylia (it's literally just ss abotk and maaaybe lbw)

The existence of hylia (^^^

The general populace being useless (totk) (that's it)

Link being left handed (in ss and abotk he's right handed. Tp is 50% right handed because they flipped the controls (and world) for the wii).

Link being able to swim at the start of the game (only in the 3d games minus lbw and la remake)

Link succeeding in his quest (botw) (I'm not counting failed hero oot because it's a meta attempt at a working timeline)

At least a tiny bit of time travel (loz 1/2, la, fs, lbw, lttp, botw...)

The hylian shield (only appears in the 3d games! (-la remake and ww and mm))

Link using a bow! (surprisingly 50/50)

Epona!! (literally just oot mm and tp. Botk she's noncanon amiibo and she's in mc but doesn't belong to Link T-T.)

A tutorial (varying subtlety, yes, but there's a difference between the great plateau and a 'press x to open menu :D' prompt five minutes into the game while a knight is trying to kill you (lttp)).

Link having the hero's spirit (ww. I personally disagree but hey)

The hero being a hylian! (totk hero's aspect)

Sleepy boy link (botk he has power naps On Lock)

Link being masc presenting (linkle, hw)

The symbolic elements (3/5/7 combos, lightning/ice/water/fire/wind triforce, boar/owl/dragon/whatever tf)

Things tloz has been consistent about in every game:

Link being a gnc short king (tp is the beefiest he ever got and that was 4'9 male gymnast build at BEST).

Him not telling anyone anything important ever.

[t-5seconds]

i'm doing a hunger games simulator of @minas-linkverse ! the game is under the cut, the stats (placements and such) will be in a reblog.

our lineup! i had to cut team C, less because they're not canon and more because they were too many characters. the four swords, oot, and loz1&2 zeldas don't have linkverse designs as far as i know, so they're not here.

HYLIA DIES IMMEDIATELY. great start

interesting team up. everyone seems to be doing okay

NEVERMIND. WORLDS IS A TRIPLE MURDERER. sksw zelda, st zelda and hyrule are all out of the running! both hylia and hylia 2 dead on the first day. and first stole from a child. this concludes the reaping

everything is going fine. sailor is in his natural habitat

EVERYTHING IS GOING BAD. hero tries to kill... his own past self... but tp zelda stops him! so i guess time paradox prevented but first is still going to die in the future. albw zelda dies at the hand of alttp zelda. botw zelda kicks ass, defeating tetra and killing masks. legend kills mini, which admittedly i could see him doing. hilda takes the hylia route of dying all by herself. hoods somehow stalks a wolf without him noticing

ending off day one, feathers has some water. good job buddy. nine people are dead

that was a really deadly day one. worlds is currently in first place, from his triple murder. district 12 has been wiped out

everyone is having a great night, except tetra, who first just killed.

yeah, everyone except tetra had a good night one. four & hoods and botwzelda & ravio are cuddling, which is cute. time for day two!

the triple murderer is defeated! nobody killed him, he just ate some bad berries. also feathers has a sprained ankle now

i guess fangs did notice hoods stalking him! not much happened today. only two people died

now that worlds is dead, first, legend, alttp zelda, tp zelda and botw zelda are tied for first place. district 6 has been wiped out! only ravio lives to represent albw

alttp zelda kills sailor and gets herself into first place! also, four receives another hatchet. he has two now

ravio dies, the last remnant of albw. there were four of them, twice as much as other games had, so their odds were good, but not good enough i suppose. onto day 3

casual interactions. hoods and tp zelda are a fearsome team, i wonder how that happened. also four is doing very poorly even though he has two hatchets

a bad day for mental health, but a good day for staying alive! after two people died in the night, everyone left managed to survive all day.

districts 7 and 8 were wiped out. alttp zelda is now in first place.

first takes after hylia: death by falling. fangs and his zelda have a nice talk

legend kills feathers, cementing him and his zelda as the frontrunners. minish cap zelda questions her sanity again. maybe she's not doing so well.

ALTTP ZELDA KILLS LEGEND? they were on the same team, but i guess she didn't like having competition for first place! hoods and fangs kill tp zelda, despite having both previously teamed up with her- and she was on fangs' team! four kills botw zelda! mc zelda stops questioning her sanity for long enough to murder engie! what a day! a lot of people just died, and it was 50% betrayals! 75% if you count four backstabbing botw zelda!

these five are the only people left alive. when those four were hunting for "other tributes" they were just looking for alttp zelda. but they never took her alive

seven people died. districts 1, 2, 5 and 9 were wiped out. everyone is tied at one kill. there is nobody in the lead and no full teams left.

mc zelda and fangs are friends! that's nice. nobody dies in the night

fangs betrays mc zelda immediately! but she survives. no casualties today, so let's move on to the next night.

mc zelda and fangs are now friends again! make up your minds

OH OKAY. hoods and mc zelda are down! it's just fangs vs four now.

they're tied for kills. it all comes down to this... the final battle

...that was a fast final battle.

congratulations to four! i'll reblog this post with the placements and stats.

[cutebutalsostabby]

In which LoZ games can Link see ghosts, and are there any reasons why he can see ghosts in those games? What about Zelda? Does she ever get to see ghosts or is that a Link thing.

It's a bit arbitrary tbh? In short, I would say that some ghosts are able to make themselves visible whenever they like, whereas others can only be seen if Link has a particular item or ability. I don't recall any of the Zeldas having specific items or abilities here, but you tend to only interact briefly with Zelda in these games so it doesn't actually come up. The specific Links with items/abilities are OoT/MM!Link, WW/PH!Link (arguable), TP!Link, LA!Link, ALBW!Link and AoL!Link - see further details below.

Skyward Sword: Link can see one (1) singular ghost and it's the toilet hand. Which maybe doesn't actually count as a ghost? Do ghosts have physical forms? Nonetheless, it's indicated that other people can hear if not see this ghost, so SS!Link doesn't seem to have any special powers.

Minish Cap: Link can meet a few different ghosts! These include the ghost of a dead king, the ghost of a swordsman, a pair of ghost siblings and some sort of ghost parasite that you can suck up with your gust jar if you arrive at the right time (which I didn't. No light arrows for me...)

Four Swords/Four Swords Adventures: I don't recall there being any ghosts in the former? I think there were some in the latter, but there were no specific abilities/items associated with them. I'm less familiar with these two games however.

Ocarina of Time: you can view ghost Dampe with the naked eye (I think) but need the eye of truth to see the spirit in the wasteland. While you're in the Shadow Temple, Well and a few other areas, Navi mentions being able to see/hear spirits that Link can't.

Majora's Mask: this game's version of the Eye of Truth lets you see a few other ghosts, including Darmani! Though you can see his shadow without it, which is interesting.

Wind Waker: you meet a few dead people, including Fado, Laruto and King Boat Dad. It seems like they all appear specifically because they want to talk to Link, e.g. in response to him conducting the sage's melodies. He doesn't have any special items or abilities, except potentially the Ghost Ship chart: you need this in order to board the ship, and the game text hints that the object is cursed somehow. Might explain why Phantom Hourglass is suddenly so much ghostlier?

Phantom Hourglass: same Link as above, but he meets way more ghosts this time! They're everywhere! Spooky!

Spirit Tracks: technically Zelda isn't a ghost? I think? She's technically still alive, after all? I don't recall there being any other ghosts in this game.

Twilight Princess: hell yeah ghosts, and this time you actually have a reason(?) for being able to see them! Turn on wolf senses. At least one ghost is visible (to both Link and Midna) even WITHOUT wolf senses, and it's the dead Zora queen who wants you to save her child.

A Link to the Past: nothing that I recall, outside of monsters.

A Link Between Worlds: you can get the highly fashionable hint glasses, which let you view hint ghosts! I of course am a pro gamer and never used this ability.

Oracle of Ages + Oracle of Seasons: there are a few ghosts, but no special items or abilities. They're just there.

Link's Awakening: some ghosts are visible without items, but you can also obtain the Magnifying Glass, which lets you see others! But then again, this is a dream so whatever goes, I guess (spoiler lol).

Triforce Heroes: nada afaik.

Zelda I: it's not really clear who is and is not a ghost? You meet an old man under a grave and he gives you a sword. It's probably fine?

Zelda II (Adventure of Link): you obtain the Cross! Definitely not based on any real world religions. The Cross lets you see invisible ghost monsters. You don't meet any actual ghost NPCs in this game, but theoretically this Link would be able to see them if they were there.

Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom: you meet plenty of ghosts but don't have any special items to see them. Imo this version of Hyrule must be SUPER haunted, so you're probably only seeing a fraction of what's there.

Hyrule Warriors (if you count it): no special items or abilities, except maybe the magic mirror you get in the water temple? It's an item that you can use to break an illusion spell. But in general, if a ghost shows up, it's visible to all characters.

I think that's everything? Let me know if I missed a game!

[fourswords]

starting sketching out light and like. HES 12??? like I get it- he's about to be 13- And knight is the oldest at a grand total of 15 but like-

BRO DOESNT EVEN HAVE AN ATTENTION SPAN YET???

like I know they're dumb in the manga but 😭 every 12-13 year old I've ever met is like a certified dumpster fire, which you might wanna consider in his character lmso

but I just feel like after the manga it wouldn't even matter that he saved Hyrule, he's just getting grounded until he's a legal adult 😭

like azure THATS A BABY- Aint no way he's smart enough to have even survived half the manga even with his dumb luck!

im crying please add like one year to all their ages im on my hands and knees is your goal to give this tiny child some form of PTSD because he is IN CONSTANT DANGER.children need to have a sense of safety (and their stupidity doesn't count, blue got swallowed alive and frozen, vio was lying to SAVE HIS LIFE, green was straight up about to kill vio and had to deal with attacking another knight, and couldn't bring himself to attack their own dad, and then red got chased by an angry mob and then lost all will to LIVE with blue in that one temple-) 12 is barely even conscious and self aware 😭

like I know 12 year olds have complex emotions and can handle abstract concepts and start getting into deeper moral understanding- but my human of earth the self awareness is either ONE THOUSAND OR ZERO AND THERE ISNT A BETWEEN AT THAT AGE-

im sorry if I sound rude or something btw I'm mostly just joking and I tend to overdramatize for comedic effect but I genuinely cant wrap my head around him being just 12- like at least 14??? maybe bump knight to 16 while ur at it? ?

also I'm gonna figure out some way to incorporate the different colors into his hat probably, its big so its like a bag lol since in the manga blue just shoved his whole hammer in there I'm pretty sure

smithy will be extremely small without complaint.

feel free not to take my words seriously tho lol I just cant imagine a 12 year old going thru the manga, like look me in the eyes and tell me a 12 year old-

if I misunderstood anything lmk lol I am a lil stupid sometimes

HAHAHA YES HE IS IN FACT TWELVE. The Legend of Zelda is a series that's all about "yeah let's hand this child a sword and let him go nuts" (to use a popular example, BOTW Link being canonically handed a sword at age four and is said in Mipha's diary to have been able to best grown men in fights: "At the request of Hyrule's king, a group of outsiders came to greet us at the domain. One of them was a Hylian child of only about four years of age. His name was Link. He made quite a first impression. He was curious and full of energy, with a ready smile. Are all Hylian children that way? One thing that surely sets him apart is his swordsmanship, which I hear is exceptional. He has even bested adults. He must be somewhat reckless, however, as he was covered in bruises.") and I absolutely intend to lean into that as much as possible. Light's age comes mainly from comparing Akira Himekawa's designs for Links of varying ages side-by-side with each other; for example, you have Minish Cap Link, who's very obviously drawn like a young child:

You have Twilight Princess Link and Ocarina of Time Link, both drawn to look like older teenagers (and we know OOT Link's older age is 16-17 depending on who you ask):

We have Skyward Sword Prequel Link, who is a fully-fledged adult (his other panels illustrate the difference more sharply, but this is what he looks like, so):

And then we have FSA Link in the manga, who is drawn to be VERY visibly younger than OOT, TP and SS Prequel Link, but is definitely visibly older than MC Link (he's got the rounder face + eyes, the shorter stature, and it becomes even more visible when compared to the knights in the FSA manga itself):

His maturity level also does, to me, match that of an average 12-year-old nepo baby (which he really kind of is)—kid who thinks he knows everything & that he's hot shit but is kind of a giant train wreck internally.

All three Four Sword heroes prior to him were explicitly stated to be "young boys", and FSA manga Link is really no different in that regard—in the context of my own AU, he's actually the one who went on his adventure at the oldest age (with Smithy going on his around 8-9, Four going on his at 10, and Knight now going on his at 11). It's just been a shorter time since his adventure than it has been for the others ^^;

[raycatz]

Ask games! 🔥, 9, 11, and tell me your favorite song or soundtrack!

Hiya Blue! Thank you for the ask.

🔥 What’s your favorite part of Zelda games? (Adventuring, Characters, Dungeons, Combat, etc.) Adventuring! Learning how to get through the world is just as much of a puzzle as those found in the dungeons. I think it's fun coming across a suspicious spot on the wall and going, aahh I'm going to need the hookshot for that, and then tucking that info away for later. Every item acquired opens the world a little more.

9. What Legend of Zelda games have you played? finished: LA remake, OoT 3D & og, MM 3D, FS Anniversary Edition, WW HD, albw, botw, Hyrule Warriors: AoC (w/o DLC), totk practically finished (I just haven’t beaten the boss yet): FSA, Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, SkSw played: Zelda I, alttp, OoS, Phantom Hourglass, Link’s Crossbow Training (lol), Hyrule Warriors og haven’t played / haven’t played enough of: Zelda II, OoA, Twilight Princess, TFH

11. What is your weapon of choice? (Sword, bow, elemental rod, etc) Sword. Whatever is most direct and gets me up close and personal with the monsters. I've lost all fear in botw and totk haha so in those games I like to use swords or the heavy weapons that deal the most damage. With the heavy weapons I'll rely on flurry rushes and charged attack with holding Y and then switch to a short sword when I need faster attacks and want my shield. Same with OoT. You deal more damage if you attack with A and jump attack so I'll swap between the biggoron and master sword. (smack the monsters with the rod of seasons. bap bap bap bap!) Combat in the 2D games is more difficult for me so the boomerang is on my offhand slot the most often for stunning monsters. I like that boomerangs and the hookshot work similarly in the 3D games for stunning monsters. The firerod in FSA is awesome because of the sheer wall of fire you can make with the four of them. The magnetic gloves in FS and OoS are fun too. It's neat to steal the enemy's carapace and use that against them. Also Four is magnetic. Hover your teammates across gaps (or into the monsters).

favorite song or soundtrack! My favorite song is the Song of Storms! I like the more intense covers.

[bluesdesk]

Hello and sorry for being late again. Here's round 12, we have 5 games left! I've been busy with uni stuff :"D Skyward Sword lost to botw and Majora, I could see how this was going since round 10, but honestly I'm really sad it went like this. SkSw is my favorite after all, followed by Majora, and I think Majora or botw are going to lose this round :( There's still wind waker I'd like to yeet, I played the gc version and left out of boredom tbh.

A little off topic: I and a group of friends are making a video game for an exam! It isn't related to Zelda but it's an action-adventure. I'd love to get some feedback on the idea, and I made a survey. It's anonymous so you won't be tracked in any way! I mostly need people from 12 to 18 years old but really anyone is fine. When we have a demo, we'll most likely share it to get more feedback. I'd be really glad if you take a moment to take the survey! Thanks in advance :D

So, about SkSw! I really feel like people need to play it, and with motion controls if they can (mostly because I played it on the wii). With the motion controls I felt like I was really in control of Link's actions, movements, and story, it felt way more "real" and personal than any other game. The music is the best imo, you can really hear the orchestra! Also Zelda isn't a princess but a knight academy student, she can fight! And we have character development with Groose and an unlikely enemy that's Ghirahim. Yes you go to the same area more times but each time it's a different zone. In OoT you visit each area 2 times, and nothing has changed in appearance. Also SkSw is one of the few games in which Zelink can be considered "canon", the others being Spirit Tracks, TotK, Hyrule Warriors.

Back to the poll, remember to vote the game you think is the worst out of these in the list! Please don't vote a game if you don't know it! Knowing means having played the game (even not completed), watched a gameplay, read the wiki! Having read the manga is ok too, I can't think of any other things rn but I hope you got what I mean :D

Reblogs are appreciated, since for obvious reasons I won't tag this as Linked Universe, but the majority of my interactions come from that fandom!

<< Previous round

Rankings under the cut!

The CDIs

Triforce Heroes

Zelda 2

Hyrule Warriors / Legends / Definitive

Cadence of Hyrule

Zelda 1

Four Swords Adventures

Four Swords

Oracle of Seasons/Ages

Age of Calamity

Phantom Hourglass

Link's awakening/LANS

Spirit Tracks

Tears of the Kingdom

A link to the Past

A link between worlds

The Minish Cap

Skyward Sword

[illegiblehandwriting1]

Hi there!

Hey guys, I'll admit it.

I'm not sure what I'm doing.

But I'm a writer, musician, and Zelda enthusiast! I write for Linked Universe mainly (Illegible_Handwriting on ao3) and I figured I should make a Tumblr, so here we are! I like a bunch of other things too, though (marble hornets, stormlight archive, gravity falls, unravel 2, metroid, doctor who, the owl house, rottmnt, ben drowned/awakening, generation loss, episodes 4-9of star wars, HUMAN RIGHTS DAMMIT, just to name a few) so I'll pretty much post whatever I want to.

I swear a lot, so be warned.

Nonbinary (and everyone is hella valid, homophobes/terfs/transphobes/racists/ableists/anti-Semites etc. beware >:( so be nice everyone)

I use "#illeg scribbles" for my writing, and #chicken scratch for any other rambles or posts I make. #reblog is exactly what it sounds like!

#smoke & ashes has its own tag, and so does #dear four chronicles! #the chosen and the champion also exists but I don't really use it anymore because I'm working on s&a, so if you want updates on that, use the smoke & ashes tag thx :D

And I don't know how active I'll be on here (probably not a lot) but we'll see how this goes! If I'm not active, don't be alarmed, that'll be normal probably lol.

I guess I should make a masterpost huh. Ok that's under the cut.

The Chosen and the Champion series (in progress)

The Chosen and the Champion (Switch gang tribute): Completed. A ton of Wild and Sky content because I saw Skyward Sword on Switch and went FUCK yes. This got off the rails very quickly. Just read all of them at this point, cuz I don't know what I'll bring back next. Chapter 20 and onwards is Exploring Sky's Hyrule.

Smoke & Ashes: Incomplete and in progress!! continues where C&C left off, with a huge fucking focus on Sky's adventure, specifically the end. However, unlike most fics, people are NOT very happy or forgiving with Sky. If you know, you know. VERY ANGST HEAVY. PLEASE READ ALL THE TAGS AND WARNINGS.

Like Mounds of Molten Gold: Incomplete and in progress!! Just a bunch of extra content for the C&C universe! Some are companion pieces to a specific chapter or section, while some are just random shit. There might be cut content every now and then. All of them help to give a deeper/more enjoyable experience to the main fic (in my opinion).

The Dear Four Chronicles (in progress)

Dear Four: completed. oneshot. pre-Minish Cap Four and post-LU Sky. Shenanigans ensue.

Hey Time: completed. oneshot. pre-OoT Time and post-LU Four. Shenanigans but it's 12k this time.

Hello Wind (temp title): being written! IDK when it'll come out, but it'll happen eventually. I promise.

The Groose is Loose! (temp title, in progress??? Maybe???)

A Weight Called Eternity: completed. oneshot. I asked the question "what was Groose doing during the Demise fight?" This is absolutely spliced from ch16 of S&A. Do I care? No. It's edited substantially as well, and is not LU, but SkSw instead. ALSO HEAVY ANGST

Other fics:

There it is again, that funny feeling...: Incomplete and in progress!! multi-chapter. It's a bunch of different ideas all stemming from the same base question: "what if Sky was the Fierce Deity?" Each chapter is a separate AU. Please heed the warnings on this one.

Imagine all the fun you and your future self could have, if only you had a driver's license: Completed. multi-chapter. Long-ass title because I never thought of a better one. Basically, pre-LU Wild and Sky are in Mariokart! Bunch of crack. Lots of fun.

Here lies Link: completed. oneshot. Four digs a grave for a dear friend. Also Wolfie is there for emotional support. Heed the tags.

Storybook: completed, i guess. oneshot, i guess. pre-Minish Cap Four knows about Sky and I think that's the most precious idea. If I ever come back to this, I'll let you know.

Freezing Flame: completed. oneshot. halloween from a couple years ago. Wind finds a graveyard. Heed the warnings.

All the Lights in the World (Are Slowly Going Out): completed, i guess. discontinued, really. multi-chapter. I tried Wumptober 2022 and I only got 3 prompts in. heed the tags and warnings.

Fluffy Pillows and Angsty Teens: incomplete! multi-chapter. Random shit i wrote!!

Beyond Recollection (discontinued): done, i guess. Multi-chapter. Was gonna be about a female hero after twi who people couldn't remember, but i left the idea.

As twilight fell: completed. oneshot. my first fic. don't read it. save yourselves. I might rewrite it eventually. heed the warnings in the tags.

[risingsouls]

[*screams in confused*

I have so much shit to say under the cut and none of it is goign to make sense but I gotta get the thots down.]

I NEED ANSWERS. AND MAYBE I'LL GET THEM WITH MORE TEARS BUT FUCKING. AAAAAAAAAAAH.

So, I found the scene with Ganondorf swearing fealty to Rauru and I'm just. I want to know all the things. Because of how far in the future from the other games botw takes place, it's so HARD to pin down exactly how things connect to the older games, and this scene is a testament to that. This scene obviously mirrors the one in OoT, but it can't be the same one, right? BUT at the same time, Ganondorf is obviously VERY uncomfortable with swearing his fealty, and LOW KEY suggests that the relationship between the Gerudo and Hylians at this time is going to be a new one. So does THAT mean this was after the Civil War? Is the sealing war (I forgot the name already oof) the same thing? Was that event THAT far back, all the way to the creation of Hyrule? I mean it would MAKE SENSE but then...how do you square that with how the Gerudo are in OoT, very obviously their own group with their own religion and having like nothing to do with Hyrule as a whole. I guess it could just be that, what what this Ganondorf (or the same one? It's hihgly suggested he's the same person throughout) is going to do, that recreates the tensions between the Gerudo in Hyrule (peep the loyal soldiers in the scene meaning the Gerudo swear allegiance to Ganondorf as their king at this time) that we see through OoT. But then, in this era, it's obvious the Gerudo despise Ganondorf if Urbosa's comments in BotW are anything to go on so ????????

And maybe it IS the same scene from OoT because, even though we already had a few games in the timeline BEFORE (SS and Minish Cap, the latter of which Hyrule is established) OoT, I'm pretty sure I've read the creators have basically said that timeline is null and void. So...does that mean OoT comes "directly" after SS? As in, Rauru and the Zonai come to settle and establish Hyrule, the king in OoT was Rauru, AND this scene they're showing IS the scene from OoT? So are the Link and Zelda from THAT era outside peeking in the window and plotting? Or, with this time traveling ability, is it also somehow suggesting that Zelda is the same throughout, too (I don't THINK this is the case but IDK).

I don't think that's it because it's also made obvious that Ganondorf isn't after the Triforce in this (unless these stones somehow become the Triforce or something). In fact, there still hasn't been a mention of it and Hylia is the only Goddess really touched on still. So going back to the idea of this being, timewise, so far removed from OoT era anyway, is the Zonai!Hyrule different than the OG!Hyrule? I mean...there was a flood and Hyrule was refounded, yeah? So is THAT the Hyrule we're in now, and the creators used that big time skip just to redo the entire series so that nothing in the past is REALLY connected to what happens in BotW and TotK? I mean, we obviously still have mentions of older figures like Ruto on the stones and Urbosa mentioning Nabooru along with plenty of other obvious connections but...is that just because they know the history of a Hyrule from a bygone era? One that drowned in a great flood? The sages are different elements, too. So like. Where in time are these memories or whatever taking place?

If you've made it this far, congrats. You survived my ramble, hopefully without scrambling your brain. Have a cookie.]

[jack-shadow]

My Theory on the Zelda timeline.

okay with tears of the kingdom out The timeline has been shaken up a bit but I think it aslo made it clearer where Breath of the Wild or tears of the kingdom fall on the timeline, but in order for this Theory to work we first must establish what Era of hyrule's history Zelda was sent back into.

For this many pepole have pointed to the fact that hyrule was only recently founded to put it somewhere between Skyward sword and minish cap, but I have have a somewhat outrageous idea that it takes place a few years before the events of ocarina of time, you might think I'm crazy but I point out there is no way that it could take place too long before ocarina of time because of Gannondorf, he seems to be the same age as he was in Oot in totk which can't happen if He is some couple centuries before that game, he isn't some God (not yet anyway) he ages like a human being.

Aslo The castle town and the temple of time seemed to be positioned on the Great plateau which pepole have already pointed our seems to be the location of Oot's castle town ruins. With this I would like to ho back on my previous statement and say that Oot couldn't have happened in the same timline as this game because of Ganondorf's sealing which would make it impossible for him to be on Oot or TP or WW or any other game because he is sealed underground still not knowing who link is!

However Zelda's involvement changed the timeline making it so Oot never happened, my evidence is as followed, Ganondorf used a Zelda phantom to kill try Sonia of Zelda wasn't there he wouldn't be able to do that, Zelda was there when Gannon first saw the power of the stones and if she wasn't there who knows if Rauru would have even arrived, the butterfly effect of Zelda being there caused the timeline to change into a new branch, if Zelda did not show up which knows what would have happened,but my guess is that Ganondorf laid in wait for longer this time meanwhile Rauru and Sonia had a daughter named Zelda after one of Sonia's Ancestors. Ganondorf's interest in the Secret stones diminishes when he hears of the Tri-force and goes after that instead, without Zelda's involvement the events Oot unfold as we see in game. Now you probably are telling me that this can't take place around Oot because Oot was an already well established kingdom, and my counter argument is that it already seems well established in Totk given the glimpses we see in the past, it has guards a throne room, and multiple structures, it could be by first king and Queen of hyrule, they mean of hyrule proper as in minish cap and four swords it's still growing.

Anyway that's my belief on where botw and totk fall on the timline, I think it's pretty solid,if you have any points that add or contradict this theory please share I'm happy to hear.

Edit: more evidence to the First rulers of hyrule proper idea, they refer to hyrule as a kingdom in the past, but in minish cap (a game that most think comes after Rauru's time) hyrule is legit referred to as one town, hyrule is just a big town! Not a kingdom! Which means Rauru's rein would have to come after minish cap!

[wishuponroses]

Top 5 Zelda games

This is a real challenge. Because I adore the Zelda franchise, it's one of my favorite gaming franchises of all time. Hopefully I won't get flames!

A Link Between Worlds ~ Although I've already talked about this game in a previous ask, this may still be my favorite Zelda game to date, even though I haven't touched my 3DS in sometime. I adore the story, artstyle, and gimmick. It's set in the same Hyrule as ALttP with similar dungeons. The characters are remarkable. Truly a gem! Maybe it will be dethroned one day. One of my gripes with the game is not earning an important item in dungeons.

Tears of the Kingdom ~ Over 140 hours in, and I still haven't beaten it. I've been savoring every moment I play. I get easily distracted by places, enemies, characters. The caves are awesome. I haven't built a mecha yet (doubt I ever will), but simple Zonai tech will have to do for now!

Link's Awakening ~ Nostalgia time! Fun fact, this was my first ever Zelda game that I ever owned. While my brother played OoT on the N64, I bought myself a Game Boy Color for my birthday one year with Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition and Link's Awakening DX. Fell in love with LA DX instantly. I managed to conquer two full dungeons on my own before finally putting it down and leaving it to rot. And then of course I finally beat it years and years later when Link's Awakening HD remake came out for Switch! I really hope we get Oracle games in the future to follow-up. (only played both once in my life) It's such a sweet little game!

A Link to the Past ~ Hopefully I'm not cheating, but... I first played ALttP on the GBA. I ADORED it, despite not getting very far. (I hated how they reused Link's cries from OoT/MM...) I've tried it a couple of times on Switch Online, but gave up twice. Third time's the charm! I restarted it again earlier this year before TotK came out. I've gotten... maybe at least five to six dungeons down, tops? The manga adaptation is probably my favorite out of any of the Zelda stories. I love the Link and Zelda of this universe. They're terribly sweet together.

Ocarina of Time ~ Would you believe that once upon a time that Majora's Mask was my favorite game in the series? I love it, but the three-day cycle really takes a toll on me. I finally gave up on the Water Temple in the 3DS version. I don't even know if my brother beat it back in the day. But, we did beat OoT together. I think it's purely out of nostalgia for this game. I hope it gets delisted when/if I play WW HD/TP HD in the future.

I have played Minish Cap, BotW (around 200 hours) both Oracle games (once in my life), TLoZ, Zelda II, and Skyward Sword HD.

What I haven't played are Wind Waker, its sequels, Twilight Princess... I would love love LOOOVE to play those games if they come to Switch/Switch's successor. They both look like they have their own charms, characters, stories and love for adventure!

Thank you for being so patient with this ask, JJ. I appreciate it my friend!!!

[seagullcharmer]

chain link fences nickname list + reasons (wip)

*starlight (botw link) - his name is actually signed 'star fragment', representing his adventurous, questing nature. he thrives in the wild, and he's rare and lucky himself, like a star fragment. he's also one of the few people who manages to find star fragments, so isha especially loves using that name. when spoken, however, it's a little awkward, so it gets changed to starlight. it is also a reference to how botw opens (zelda says 'you are the light, our light that must shine on hyrule once again'. but i didn't want to just call him light lol)

*archive (botw zelda) - this is mostly a placeholder while i think abt it, but. she likes history and research and documenting stuff :-) also she's a woman out of time, going from her life 100 years ago to now

*charm, captain (hyrule warriors link) - he is handsome and charming :) need i say more

*grace (hyrule warriors zelda) - she is lovely and graceful :) also sounds cute with charm

*bee (alttp, oracle games) - he is a busy adventurer (a busy bee, if you will) (also an affectionate nod to therunawayguys' alttp playthrough, where emile called it the 'bee-percent run'. this was my first introduction to alttp)

*cloud (skyward sword link) - a) he's a daydreamer (head in the clouds) b) he literally lives in the clouds. the links are very creative

-his sign name is actually 'sleepyhead', a gift from zelda in their youth

*sunshine (sws zelda) - sunshine was the sign name link gave her as kids, but it became especially fitting with the whole hylia deal, yanno?

*twilight / farmboy (tp link) - i could not come up with anything else. if i change my mind, y'all'll know. also thank u rar for farmboy <3

*tune (ww link) - a pun on 'toon link', but also refers to the musical nature of him playing the winds. there is no formal sign language on the great sea, but the folks on outset made a rudimentary version for him; aryll has always called him big brother, both speaking and in their sign

*tetra (ww zelda) - y'all know why

*fay / sprite (oot link) - malon calls him fairy boy. she is the only one allowed to do so. 'sprite' is technically mm link, and what charm called him during the war (but i haven't played mm or hw yet)

*wimple (oot zelda) - this is her sign name. i'm working on another nickname, but this works for now

*hazel (loz1+2 link) - hazel is a durable, resilient wood that can grow even under less-than-ideal circumstances. seemed a cute name (i'm still working on their character development)

*honey (albw, tfh, la link) - this was mostly a joke to parallel bee. just kinda stuck tho

*clover (minish cap link) - partly due to that art of him with the minish under the clovers, partly because four-leaf clovers are lucky. idk i just liked it

*fortune (minish cap zelda) - goes along with the lucky nature of link

*hex (loz cdi link) - this is a JOKE like yes he will actually show up, at least in paint chips, but still

*jinx (loz cdi zelda) - again, JOKE. but coordinated name with hex :)

*prism (fsa link) - i have thoughts abt fsa but i'll have to go rewatch trg play it. he won't come into play for a while anyway but

i'm still working out a lot of stuff, but here's a start :-)

[vicmillen]

@the-au-collector well, the start of the idea comes from a YouTube video title that I caught a glimpse of and never get to watch. Essentially it's what it says on the tin, that the timeline split during Time's adventure never happened.

(This gets way too long, so I'll break here)

Every thing before Time's era is unchanged. You have the losing war against Demise, the near destruction of the world, skyloft rising up above the clouds. Then the events of skyward sword happened and the skyloftians descend back to the surface. A dozen or so decades later Minish cap happened, then a few more generations later four swords. A few centuries after that comes the Hyrulean civil war, which kick started Oot.

The biggest change comes after oot's ending, here we'll assume that when Zelda sent Link back, she fully reset the timeline, instead of splitting it. So no adult timeline, and no downfall either... Well, technically everything is downfall now, but still.

In this theoretical timeline, after Link brought back news from the erased future, Ganondorf's plan to claim the triforce didn't work as he wishes. However he still gained power after retreating to the Gerudo, and eventually Hyrule ended up in another war.

Oot Link becomes a knight, then promptly died in the war(or immediately after, either works). Next comes the events of Lttp(plus awakening...?) and Tp. Though I haven't decided which comes first, both of them are gonna be very close in time period.

After that would be the bunch of games that I'm not familiar enough with (sorry), and doesn't have a clear setting anyway. Albw, the oracle games, triforce heroes, cadence of Hyrule, Hyrule warriors, etc. The idea is that basically everything is falling apart around now, with frequent universe breaking shenanigans happening every decade. Records are inconsistent and murky, because time something doesn't even work right...

Anyhow, this era of chaos ends with the two og Zelda games, Zelda I and Zelda II. Some years after Zelda II ended, Ganon finally made another grand comeback, this time without the pesky hero in the way. The solution? Noah ark, duh.

So anyway, the triforce is broken, Hyrule is flooded, fish turns into birds and the age of sailing begins. Aka the era of Wind Waker. A few decades later the people reached new found land, and founded the USA the great sea slowly resides. With the help of some goat people that came down from the sky, which may or may not evolved from tiddy chicken people, Hyrule is rebuild again.

However old evil followed them even to this new era. Another Demon King rises, another imprisoning war happened, but ultimately the evil is sealed and the kingdom continue to grow.

At some point industrial revolution happened and there's trains and ghosts aka spirit tracks. Then even more machines is built, a sprawling army of them. At this peak of technological advancement, Ganon's influence broke the seal again. Then gets resealed, again. However the kingdom grows wary of the overpowered machines, and everything eventually gets buried in the flow of time.

Eventually ol' ganon rears his ugly pig face yet again, and the machines of the era past does turn against their masters this time. But, well. The hero always win, eventually. And while we're at it I'll add in the headcanon in which time shenanigans in Aoc resulted in some weird inconsistency, ie the lack of ancient Sheikah tech in Totk. Which brings us to the end of the timeline, where the the ground opens and the sky falls. Great times, really.

...

Gee that's so much longer than I planned. I hope I didn't miss any major games, but in any case this is ment to be a headcanon thing so I'm not stressing about it too much (a lie)

[novelmonger]

My Ranking of the Zelda Games I've Played

My sisters were ranking Zelda games, so of course I had to join in and overthink everything. So here are my...hot takes? Maybe? I haven't played Four Swords, Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, A Link Between Worlds, Triforce Heroes, Breath of the Wild, or Tears of the Kingdom.

Ocarina of Time In my opinion, the only Zelda game that fully achieves what I've always wanted from the franchise. It has an epic fantasy story, probably the best music (including music being an integral part of the gameplay and story), distinct and interesting character designs, challenging temples, and THE ACTUAL BEST COMPANION IN THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE NO CONTEST. This Link is also my favorite, as he seems one of the most serious and lonely ones, very fitting for the high stakes of his quest. As a bonus, this is also the only game where you get to switch between being a child and an adult, which makes for interesting gameplay and story ramifications. All the nostalgia is there, but it's not just nostalgia, either. I've played this game so many times (in the original version, Master Quest, and various randomizers) that I'm pretty confident I know at least 95% of everything there is to know about this game. It feels like home.

2. A Link to the Past The one after OoT that comes closest to the ideal. It still has that epic fantasy feel, despite the much simpler graphics - which look very pretty nonetheless, especially in the GBA remake. I think this game has one of the strongest beginnings, because instead of starting you out in a calm little village to ease you into the quest, this game starts you out with Link following his uncle through a torrential thunderstorm to Hyrule Castle, and then coming upon his uncle as he's dying and taking up his sword and shield to go save the princess! The music is excellent (Hyrule Castle a;ldkfjsd;lkfjds;klfj), the temples/dungeons are challenging, and I love the concept of going back and forth between the Light World and the Dark World. (Less cool is Link turning into a pink bunny the first time he goes to the Dark World, but still.) There's a reason this one is a classic. Also, this game has hands-down the best title in the entire franchise. Everyone else can go home.

3. Phantom Hourglass I kind of surprised myself at how high I ranked this one, especially since I've only played it once almost ten years ago. But this game surprised me so pleasantly, I still think of it fondly. First and foremost is my whole theory about how Ciela is actually Navi - that theory healed something that had been broken in my heart for over ten years; I didn't realize how much I needed that until I heard Ciela's cheery little, "Hey!" For that matter, I felt like the whole game was full of fun, endearing throwbacks - mostly to WW, of course, but to plenty of other Zelda games as well, like the island with all the Gorons that plays the Goron music we all know and love. I really enjoyed the twists in the story, simple as they were, and overall the whole thing felt like a bite-sized WW. I've heard a lot of people complaining about having to keep on going back to the Temple of the Ocean King over and over again, but that was actually one of my favorite parts of the game. It was challenging, but in a way that made me want to keep trying - which is more than I could say for most of the temples in the newer games. So, while the art style is not my favorite and the whole game is pretty far from my ideal of what a Zelda game should be, I enjoyed this game so much that I think it deserves to go in my top three.

4. Majora's Mask This is a very solid game, taking a lot of the things that make OoT great and expanding on them. I really like how many NPCs there are and how they all have a story and things you can do to help them. It's also cool to play as Child Link but be able to use a lot of items he couldn't in OoT, like the hookshot or riding on Epona. The music is excellent, and even the new ocarina songs are memorable and distinct. It's really fun and interesting to be able to turn into different races, and all the different effects that come from wearing the masks feels like a natural progression from the mask sidequest in OoT. So, when trying to be objective about this, I have to put this one pretty high on the list, but I just couldn't put it in my top three. The main reason for that is that I find the story very depressing, and the overall feel of the game oppressive. The story is framed by Link's search for Navi, which he doesn't succeed in. The primary theme of the game is death, and no matter how many times you turn back time to fix things again, you know that inevitably the moon is going to fall in three days. It's like a pointless, desperate cycle that you get stuck in, and even if you help someone out with their problems, you have to turn back time again and it's like you never did any of that. The majority of the game makes me feel sad, hopeless, or anxious. So even though I have to acknowledge this is a really good game, I can never really bring myself to replay it.

5. Skyward Sword I ended up really liking this game. Part of that was because of the improved motion controls since Twilight Princess, so it felt more like actually swinging a sword around instead of just twitching your hand (despite the tendency to dorkily run around with your sword sticking straight up in the air). I don't really like the characters as much - they tend to be either annoying or just kind of blah for the most part - but I can't deny that this game is just fun. I had fun with all of the bosses, especially Ghirahim and Demise. And speaking of which, the final battle against Demise/Ganon has got to be the most epic battle in the entire franchise! I have never felt cooler than I did summoning lightning to my sword and smiting the King of Evil with it. I also really liked the Silent Realm levels, as nerve-wracking as they can be. Unfortunately, the game also suffers from a lot of less-than-stellar elements, not least of which is Fi. Ugh, ugh, ugh, worst companion EVER >_< I also didn't really like the Loftwings; they didn't end up being as fun of a gameplay element as they sounded at first. Overall, the temples tended to be pretty but not as challenging as I wanted them to be. And then there's the Oocca x.x What on EARTH. So Skyward Sword is a really mixed bag for me.

6. Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages Since these are very closely linked and I feel almost the same about both, I decided to lump them together. I really like the look and feel of these games; there's something very nostalgic and comforting about them. Oracle of Seasons was actually the first Zelda game I ever played a bit of, and it intrigued me so much that's how I got into the franchise in the first place. So it's kind of funny that I actually only got around to playing these games a couple years ago. But they ended up being really fun, with interesting gameplay and good music. Points get taken off for not having a ton of story, and actually requiring you to trade rings through the Link Cable if you want to explore everywhere.

7. The Wind Waker This is another game that's really pretty solid, but I just didn't care for it much personally. I don't like the Toon Link art style, and didn't find the storyline that compelling. Zelda being Tetra was a really fun way to switch things up, but I didn't like how her personality did a complete 180 once she found out the truth about herself. It would have been more interesting if her piratey side showed through more even as she was trying to be a princess. I did enjoy the world, and it was fun to explore on a boat instead of on foot or on horseback. But it didn't feel much like a Zelda game - somehow, most of the game feels less Zelda-like to me than PH, even though they take place in the same world. Also, while there was some good music in the game, I hated the Wind Waker songs. None of them were memorable, so it was really hard to keep track of which ones did what.

8. Link's Awakening It's kind of a shame that this game goes so far down my list, because it was the first Zelda game I ever owned. I didn't realize what I was getting into, I just wanted to swing a sword around after trying out Oracle of Seasons. Story-wise, I really don't like this game. There's such a dissonance between the cutesy, silly adventures you go on…in pursuit of waking up a flying whale who is dreaming the entire island and all of its inhabitants into existence, so as soon as you wake the Wind Fish up to escape the island, all the places you've become familiar with and all the friends you've made just go *poof*. Yeah, 'cause that's not depressing! The whole game just left me feeling weird and unsettled. If you don't think about any of the implications of what you're doing, though, it's a fun, cute little game, a lot like the Oracle games. I found it much harder than those, though that might have been because I was much younger and less experienced of a gamer when I played this one. I will say that the music in this game is fantastic. I used to go to the square where Marin stands around singing the Ballad of the Wind Fish, and just sit there to let that tune soothe me.

9. Twilight Princess On paper, this one should be one of my favorites, because it seems like one of the games that hits closest to my ideal of what a Zelda game should be, with an epic fantasy story and the fundamental elements of Link going to the castle to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganondorf. But the reason this goes so far down on my list is that I was expecting it to be that ideal, and it fell really short of the mark, so the disappointment was much worse than games like SS, where it didn't look much like my ideal at all, so I wasn't expecting it to be. The concept of Link turning into a wolf is really cool, and I do like how the Twilight Realm is kind of like the Dark World, but distinctly different. Midna is probably the second-best companion; I like how snarky she can be, and she gets more backstory than most companions do. The climax is pretty cool, and I love how Zelda actually takes part in the battle - until SS blew it out of the water, I might have said TP had the best final showdown. There were also some cool new items - the Spinner being my favorite. But I really didn't like the drab color scheme that made everything look the same sort of muddy brown. Instead of beautiful, fantastical locations, everything just kind of blurs together in my mind, till I can barely remember any of it. I also couldn't stand most of the NPCs, who were either annoying, ugly, or both. None of the music was memorable except for melodies they reprised from previous games, and in some cases (like Kakariko Village) they made it so much worse I wish they'd done something completely different instead. And don't even get me started on the awful off-key howling you have to do! When you compare it to the beautiful tunes you can play on the ocarina or the harp…. Yeah, I was mostly just disappointed with this game and never want to play it again.

10. The Legend of Zelda/The Adventure of Link I probably shouldn't even put these on the list, because I never got anywhere close to beating them, but I have played some of them, and the reason I stopped was because I realized I didn't like them at all. I appreciate what they gave us, because if not for the success of these two games, none of the ones I love would exist. But…I just find NES-era games to be practically unplayable, sorry :/ The graphics look really ugly to me, and the gameplay is too clunky. It's gotta be SNES-era or later.

[fourswords]

ezlo... the grumpy grandpa ever...

i was going to respond to this with a list of quotes from him that really show how he's the grumpiest grandpa ever but then i remembered this one quote from him that goes:

"There are some strange creatures on Mount Crenel… Creatures I've never seen before, and your sword alone won't beat them! Don't give up hope, though! Try your other items on them! Well…you don't need me to tell you how to do your job. Just deal with those monsters, and I'll take care of everything else."

i think the "Well...you don't need me to tell you how to do your job" is funny and interesting in equal measure because it's such a stark contrast from other companions for links who were on the younger side (think oot link with navi and ww link with the king of red lions) at the time whose purposes were definitely more aligned with, at the very least, helping link to do his job as a hero (navi with z-targeting, the king of red lions with helping link get around and also kind of. manipulating him into becoming The Hero™). but ezlo is canonically fucking clueless about damn near everything that doesn't involve his niche realm of being a "famous minish sage" who is "renowned for his amazing creations" (according to his figurine description). like:

"A strange nut that will allow us to understand the Minish language… The Jingle Nut, did he say…? No, wait… That's not it… Ah, I remember now! It was the Jabber Nut. That's what it was… Come on, my boy! We've got to find the Jabber Nut!"

"Have you ever visited Hyrule before? What? You have? …What's it like? Not that I… I mean, I've seen it before! Of course I have! I'm very well traveled. I just wanted to see…what you thought of it!"

"So! We must infuse the White Sword with the elemental power. That means we must find the elemental sanctuary. And the way we do that is… Um… Well, I'm sure we'll figure it out!"

"So there are three books that we're supposed to return, right? Link, I'm sure you can handle it! Don't get me wrong! I'd love to help! But I'm a great Minish sage! I don't understand your big, human ways! So…I'm counting on you!"

there are a BUNCH more examples but you get my point. i just think it's really, really funny that out of the few companions that younger links had at that point in time, it's in the minish cap that said companion is like "ehhhhh i don't need to tell him what to do he's smart enough to deal with it himself. he just needs to be yelled at to stop dawdling and GET A FUCKING MOVE ON sometimes." which is also kind of exemplified by this line of ezlo's near the end of the game, too:

"We will get through this! We have all of the techniques and power you've gained in your journey! And we have your wisdom and courage as well! Link! I believe in you!"

it says a lot that he attributes not only courage to link but wisdom as well. link has so so so so so SO much personality in this game and between his own flavor text/internal dialogue when interacting with things and ezlo's running commentary on link's attitude/words/expressions/reactions to things it's SO plain to see (ex: "Link, I know this may not be a great time for it, but... I wanted to say thanks for everything you've done. I'm very grateful for-- Hm? What? You're freaked out? You're not used to me being nice!? Fine, then! Forget I said anything!"/"You're so energetic all the time… Not that I'm saying you're hyperactive or anything! I meant it as a compliment! Like…you've got a special talent for being WAY too peppy or something."). and i love it so much. it's also exemplified by this line of dialogue which is absolutely hilarious to me:

"Do you have to ask me about every single little thing?! Just figure it out for yourself, you big baby!"

anyway. for the sake of not going on a 500-year tangent about how ezlo is my number one favorite companion and the hero of the minish is my number one favorite link and how much i adore all the dialogue in it. i'll end it here. <3

BUT ALSO FUN FACT DID YOU KNOW THAT LINK ACTUALLY CANONICALLY DIDN'T BELIEVE IN THE MINISH PRIOR TO THE MINISH CAP:

"So, where in the library would any Minish folk live, anyway? Maybe those people who say the Minish exist "only in stories" might be right! Hey! Link! What's that look for? Don't tell me you were one of…them? You're kidding me! You're wearing a Minish person on your head, you oaf! I certainly hope you believe in us now!"