yes, I agree, some form of this is the most correct answer. He is descended from Hyrulian Knights... he is the last one left. Its his responsibility to save/protect her.
I never used "responsibility" as that word is more of a western thing. I always used "charge" as it is Link's duty by blood to defend Zelda. Even as a youngling it was pretty evident by the fact that Link's uncle answers Zelda's call.
Man I miss when Arin used to be funny and make animations. I had to edit out the Egoraptor to his actual name because he genuinely doesn't feel anything like the same person anymore. I miss pre-2015 internet
@@jormilos I just knew somebody was gonna take this as an opportunity to complain. Game Grumps is bigger and more successful than Egoraptor was or ever would have been. It's time to get over it, my man
@@JoystickStereo If you knew it, then you opened this comment looking for it. What does that say about you dude? Also, I don't give a damn if it's been more or less successful. Arin was funnier 10 years ago. The internet as a whole was more entertaining 10 years ago. Everything feels so sterile nowadays, Arin and Game Grumps included. I'm not even one of the guys that says GG died when Jon left. Nah, there was still life in it even when Dan first started. But after the stuff with Ding Dong and Julian, the stuff with Sr Pelo and the other guys from Newgrounds, and Arin's general personality online, he ain't the same guy anymore and it's sad. He would have been making fun of who he's become. He seems like a genuinely toxic person
The first word that popped in my head to complete “Zelda is your…” was “responsibility”. It fits in that, with Link’s uncle dying, Link is the last knight charged to defend her. Seems a more practical word choice than “destiny” IMO
It makes sense considering all past and present Links also been tasked with her protection across the timeline giving Link's Uncle reason to impart the same responsibility upon this current Link as all the other iterations of the character.
Destiny makes more sense… “Zelda is your responsibility” would make sense if it was your uninteresting real uncle, but it’s an epic video game so no you’re wrong
You took the words straight out of my mind, I was going to say also that fits better with "your Zelda's only hope" because it fits better than "destiny"
I think that’s what it is too, “responsibility” or “charge.” Something along those lines, that tells Link it’s his job to protect her. Arguing between destiny or responsibility when they imply the same sort of duty to protect her is definitely a purely semantical argument.
@@Thor-Orion i mean, the world "destiny" can have some different implications, given that in the second game they were depicted as lovers and in this game it slightly more vague
I think the "You're the Princess's only hope" option makes the most sense, both based on the dialogue before and because it wouldn't be too farfetched to believe the devs, at the time, were likely making a reference to Star Wars Episode 4 with Princess Leia's classic "You're my only hope" line. At least I imagine it was intended to be an Easter Egg reference since the Zelda devs like to reference various stuff like that.
I don't know that the timing is right for it to have been an intentional reference. A New Hope came out in 1977, and A Link to the Past began development in 1991. Yeah, Star Wars was well known at the time, but it hadn't exploded in popularity the way we know it yet. That happened in 1996 when the Special Editions were made, new toys released, and plans for expansion of the series were picked back up.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio While that is true, it's possible the writer who wrote this line was a Star Wars fan either way. It's not completely out of the question. Either way, I think the "you're the Princess's only hope" is the one that makes the most sense to me, even without taking the possible reference into account.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio Yet Japan was already well acquantied with the original Star Wars trilogy as Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump/Arale anime had blatant references to Star Wars as far as 1981. It's not far-fetched to assume Miyamoto and company wanted to reference Star Wars to further aknowledge the western inspiration which the Zelda series was using as basis for it's world.
@OtakuUnitedStudio Sonic the Hedgehog had the Death Egg in the early 90s. Even so, if we were to assume Star Wars influence, I think it could still be reasoned that Zelda and Link were siblings given Luke was too living with his uncle while his sister was literally a princess.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio Throwing yet another into the hat. Final Fantasy 4 came out in '91, and has more than a few Star Wars parallels and nods. Japanese devs just, absolutely adored referencing those movies.
Given how he was assigned as her knight/protector in Breath of the Wild's timeline, his uncle could have been saying "You are the Princess's knight/protector." or something to that effect. Zelda could have been calling for his uncle at the beginning for help as her knight, and when Link shows up in the sewers having also heard the same call for help, his uncle acknowledges him as his replacement.
What's cool is both theories work pretty well. There's bound to be at least a few Links tied to the royal bloodline, either through marriage or as descendants.
The Royal Knights are considered nobility and likely have married into or are descended from the Royal Family on numerous occasions. Members of the Royal Family who never took the throne would have been trained in the arts of combat, just like real royalty. "Defender of the Realm" and all.
Considering the implied romance between Hylia and the Link from Skyward Sword it is safe to assume there must be a strong bloodline connection between the Royal Family and the Spirit of the Hero across the timeline.
Destiny doesn’t really make sense because that’s not exactly a huge reveal. And if it wasn’t something consequential and revealing, then why cut him off from saying it right before he dies?
@@GottenGood no… they wrote the whole script. The whole point of him dying before the end is to be suspenseful and that would be just dumb if it was nothing of any consequence. Thus they would not have written it that way. Unless they were trolling the player as a joke
Zelda is your designated driver. She was supposed to have the keys to drive Link & his uncle back from the annual Hyrule kegger, but then Aganhim got involved
My version had this variant, I'm pretty sure. "Zelda is your... actual name... that's why they call it the Legend of Zelda, duh... just like how Metroid is the name of the spaceman..."
I think I always assumed it was "destiny" but the Japanese translation totally flipping the subject of the sentence around is very interesting. It definitely SOUNDS like the Obi Wan Kenobi thing from Star Wars when they phrase it like that.
I'm thinking it was an intended nod to Star Wars as well, it's not uncommon for the Zelda team to include references from their favorite media after all (just take Studio Ghibli's influences on the latest games for example.)
@@homerman76 Funny thing is, early ideas for the original Zelda would have likely had Star Wars references considering it would have involved time travel and the revelation that the supposedly mystical Triforce is actually a powerful supercomputer, with its fragments being computer chips specifically. I think that concept would have been a more appropriate entry to put in a Star Wars reference. But the idea that it was meant to be a not to Star Wars has been around a long time, though I don't really see it. I think they'd have made it a bit less cryptic if it was meant to be a reference at all.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio Considering how much further sci-fi Zelda has been turning into as of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom i'm pretty much sold on it been a Star Wars reference for that very reason you just pointed out above.
This was a take I first saw on the Game Grumps playthrough of Link to the Past, and it's one I tend to agree with. The uncle may well have been the last of the knights of Hyrule (if he wasn't certain before, the fact that he and Link are the only ones to respond to the Princess's call proves it) and while he didn't want to involve Link, now he has little choice but to push his nephew in that direction, or else the kingdom is doomed.
@@CanidRose I've never seen game grumps and literally thought up this while watching the video, so it's interesting to hear about others who came to the same idea. I remember assuming it was Sister as a kid. I guess between the general pop culture behind Star Wars and being a little boy whose only sibling was a sister led to me filling in gaps with something familiar.
You need to make shure that the sword is sharp and in top notch condition. Why not using that pile of decaying flesh that is laying around there so conveniently?
You know, I NEVER considered the possibility that his Uncle ALSO heard the telepathic message. I always assumed he was already planning to head to the castle while you were asleep and was just doing something at his table before he set out. He already has his sword and shield in hand when he gets up which lends to this idea imnsho... But it would make sense if it was a message meant for her royal knights. ... but then, why did LINK hear it? Perhaps he was IN TRAINING to be a royal knight. If his Uncle is one, then he was probably helping Link with his training. Link IS already capable of using his sword and fighting the other corrupted knights. That can't be a coincidence. If this is the case, it's possible his Uncle was going to say "duty". As a knight, protecting the royal family WOULD be Link's duty!
Simple if Links uncle heard it, yet Link also heard it, they're of the same bloodline. Whether it's the fact they're tasked to hide in plain sight as the last hope as we come to realize while the game progresses, or simply they chose to not be directly involved in the court but close enough to be there in time of need.
My knowledge is old but Hylian's ears allow for hearing beyond normal. It allows for them to hear telepathically. When Link heard the message his Uncle heard it at the same time. I must say its been Forever since I played the game and read the lore.
I always figured that Zelda had been sending out the same messages over and over again all night, and that the game starts when one of them wakes Link up. The Uncle is mostly ready to go because he's been hearing them for a while now.
honestly the fact that they both hear it, in my eyes, lends even more to a family connection. link is raised by his uncle, maybe his actual parents are the royal family. or maybe only one of the two, explaining why he was hidden away with his uncle. he'd be royalty, but also a stain on the family legacy
Ganondwarf: _The true hero of Hyrule trying to imprison Zelda for her crimes against humanity, though Zelda's wisdom makes everyone convinced he's really the bad guy doing all the bad things._
.... It aggravates me how well that works.... Especially since I can't go into how well it works without devolving into a tirade about how uneven the power scale is between the supposedly equal three sides of the Triforce.
I don't know exactly why, but I found link's uncle's death really hard hitting when I played the game as a kid. Going back to your house and hearing the kakariko village theme was one of my earliest memories of fully reckoning with the deaths of some of my close relatives. something about being in that familiar, comforting place and hearing that music you know and love, realizing now that the person who made those memories for you is now gone.
I was living in el paso texas....got a snes from Montgomery ward..and it was storming for real just like in the game....I'm 41 now and I remember that so well
"Zelda is your liege" or something akin to that seems appropriate. The respect the knights had to the royal family and the fact that Link has become (presumably) the last one in that line of knights should push Link's uncle to make him realize his calling and to protect Zelda as his liege
With how most of the Links across the timeline have been personally tasked with the protection of their Zeldas it makes a lot of sense for Link's Uncle to have attempted to impart such a responsibility upon him so i'm pretty sure that's exactly what Nintendo was more or less suggesting with that piece of dialogue.
I think the biggest problem with this phrasing is...why would the uncle have left that line to be something he needed to tell Link at the last second? "Is your liege" is presumably super obvious, given that they're both in the Kingdom of Hyrule. This would put the least important information, and least urgent information, into the most urgent part of what Link's Uncle wanted to say. Was he just expecting to die after saying "Save the princess..." - and then realized he wasn't dead yet?
His uncle is saying that it's Link's destiny to protect Princess Zelda. It's mentioned at the end of the A Link To The Past graphic novel by Shotaro Ishinomari. It even shows Link's parents too. It was also originally published in Nintendo Power, so yes, it's canon.
Ah, the comics. And the really weird Super Mario World ones too. I really don't think being in Nintendo Power makes anything canon, but kudos for remembering that and let's call it...persuasive evidence?
Except that the mangas aren’t officially canon - which is sad because there’s a lot of great content in them that could have been logical explanations to things in the games.
I didn't know about the third version. Personally, even though I had subscribed to the "Zelda is your destiny" theory, kinda wish they kept the line more ambiguous. Cool detail nonetheless and great video!
@@ZeltikI think that there is a better option than sibling or destiny. "You are the Princess's Knight." That would fit with them being a from a line of knights. Other options would be savior or protector.
I'm sure somone else said it already, but the Uncle doesn't die. He absolutely survives, because we see him again at the end of the game, having recovered from his injuries.
And I completely forgot!!! I've played this game a million times and I forgot that! I fell for the oldest trick in the book hook, line, and sinker! Set up some sense of mystery to draw someone in, then pretend they never did such a thing as the focus quickly switches! It's same trick the Pokemon Anime threw when the GS Ball was introduced, was meant to contain Celebi, then the 4th movie happened, and the GS Ball was given to Kurt with the hopes that the fans would forget about it! (It didn't work.)
In the French script (because yes the original SNES version was also translated officially in French by Nintendo even back in 1991) the uncle's words are not as cut as in other versions. He goes "Sauve Princ... Zeld... Tu es son... sauv...". It's clear there that he meant to say "You are her SAVIOUR". The ambiguity is only really induced by the English localization and I don't think it was ever meant to be a brother/sister twist, except maybe in Nintendo of America's translators' mind at that time, only to be revised in the GBA version to be closer to the Japanese version and a bit less open to flights of fancy.
As pointed out in the video, though, the ambiguity is there _even in the original Japanese (お前は、姫の｡｡｡),_ so it is not "only in the English localization", and it clearly was intended by the original creators. That "sauv" part was actually _added by the French translators_ and has no basis in the original game dialogue at all. So it's actually the French translators who were apparently making up stories from their own minds, not the English ones.
I use to have an old illustration lore book from the late 90's and from what I remember reading there is never been a blood relation that I know of. So "sister" is never an option. But destiny seems spot on because of links blood line to protect her.
"only hope" or "last hope" definitely fits the best. It matches both the texts while still indicating there is something special about Link, which the GBA translation tried to oversimplify and spell out
It makes me wish we got such a gritty, serious and yet surreal Zelda game with the same aesthetic in real life. I feel like Nintendo could easily have given us such a game around the time of Skyward Sword but instead chose to go kid friendly for the sake of been as "accessible" to all demographics as possible without risking getting an above E rating.
@@javiervasquez625 The gritty franchise, The Legend of Zelda. Gamers will really say the most stupid of things. Don't a few Zelda games have T rating? And why are you so pressed about ratings? Perhaps you have some actual growing up to do first.
I had never heard of this, nor anything about it, but I find it satisfying that for the English version the two thoughts that sprang to my mind were "Sister," and "destiny." And with the japanese version the thought I had was "only hope." It is nice to see such alignment in a video like this.
This is the exact question I’ve had. A Link to the Past is my favorite Zelda game. I remember reading that line when I was 5 years old and thinking… his sister? His “meant to be”? His family? His twin? Ahhhhh. It kills me.
I doubt they are related. The alttp manga has them as romantic. Like the creators of the manga even call them romantic on a page somewhere, and it ends with implying they got married and had an apple farm. And while it might not be "game level canon" it is still an approved Nintendo product; someone had to sign off permission on the manga and it's contents before it was printed. Albw also has the rumor guy talking about the current zelda looking wistfully at a painting of "a previous hero and princess embracing" in the castle. Implied to be the alttp versions. So I HIGHLY doubt they are related, unless Nintendo is trying to imply incest with this version....
I have a funny thought for Blind in the Four Sword dungeon. Since in this version, Link's Uncle gave him a way clearer message, he thought he was being cool and mysterious by reciting a vague mysterious line in his illusion, and in that moment misunderstanding what could've pissed Link off just to amuse himself. Link would quickly realize the illusion thinking "that's not what he told me!" and just swing wildly.
It's possible to be related . If the queen had been violated by a man the child would be illegitimate but related to Zelda as a half sibling. This would explain why the uncle is taking care of Link instead of links Dad. Pretty sure links Dad would be beheaded in such a scenario. Was it worth it to lose your head to get in the queens loins....maybe.
So link to the past is back to the future? Also, Link was living with his Uncle for how long, and there is only one bed in their house. Zelda is your density, I mean, your destiny.
Just given the situation, I think the most likely intention was “You are the princess’s last hope” or “Zelda is your responsibility now.” The father didn’t want him involved, but he still instructed Link to continue the mission because he knew it was more important even than his son’s life.
Link to the Past is such a fascinating game and introduce so much lore despite being just the third game in the series. One place that always fascinate me was the Eastern Palace. It's a palace in ruins, taken over by dark forces. So just whose palace was it?
You forgot another option: You are the Princess' knight It would also make a lot of sense. Being a different way of saying "It's your duty link, now that I'm unable to."
I agree that in the context, this feels like maybe he is trying to confer his own _title_ onto Link, before he dies. That is, he is giving him the title/position/role of "The Princess' knight" that he can no longer carry himself.
Perhaps it could be, "Zelda is your cousin"? He is Link's uncle after all. It could explain the importance of their bloodlines, hence why the knights are sworn to protect the royal family.
The same Zelda outright *kisses* the same Link at the end of the Oracle games causing both to blush with little hearts coming out of Link's head so i seriously doubt Nintendo would be willing to imply _incest_ in the Zelda series with such a throwaway line as this one. It's safe to assume Link's Uncle was going to say "She's your responsibility now..." as he passed away from his injuries attempting to rescue her.
The problem with that is the alttp manga has them as romantic. Like the creators of the manga even call them romantic on a page somewhere, and it ends with implying they got married and had an apple farm. And while it might not be "game level canon" it is still an approved Nintendo product; someone had to sign off permission on the manga and it's contents before it was printed. Albw also has the rumor guy talking about the current zelda looking wistfully at a painting of "a previous hero and princess embracing" in the castle. So I HIGHLY doubt they are related unless Nintendo is trying to imply incest with this version....
I can remember calling the Nintendo help line one night when I was playing this to ask them specifically what he was going to say. The girl that answered actually put me on hold and went and asked someone else. She came back and told me very coyly that they weren't allowed to say. I guess in actuallity they didn't know!!
Knowing the original text now makes me think it was actually a veiled Star Wars reference. "You are the princess’s only hope," immediately reminds me of Princess Leia's message to Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Zelda is your destiny" has been ingrained in my memory and perspective so long I Mandela effected myself into forgetting the line was never completed. Still makes the most sense to me.
I'd assume that because the Japanese translation seems to have a possessive form of the word Princess, based on the video above. The most likely intent is "You're the Princess's knight". It'd align well with the story we are aware of in game and the later additions in the series.
Agreed. I don't know why some people jumped all the way to "siblings" or whatever lol. Especially given the manga and albw exist and imply romance with this version. Which would make that werid...
@@kit76149 The reason that "sister" is what pops into a lot of people's minds is because the English version of this line is very reminiscent of the famous line from Star Wars, "I am your father" (which also then consequently also made Luke's love interest in the movie (Leia) turn out to be his sister, too). Given this, the idea that this might have something to do with hidden familial relations seems like a fairly natural thought to pop into the mind of anybody who's ever seen Star Wars, really, so it's not really that surprising that a lot of people might have interpreted it that way (but that doesn't mean that's necessarily what was actually intended).
Last hope, responsibility, destiny, any one of those could easily be what Link' uncle meant here. Many incarnations of Link are decedended from the bloodline of the Knights of Hyrule and this incarnation of Link is most likely one of them giving the whole chosen one implications of this statement credence. Link is heavily implied to not be an ordinary person, he was able to wield the Master Sword after all, albeit after getting the 3 pendents which were likely a test by the sages to determine worthiness.
"Y-you are the Princess'..." I am in the "only hope" camp. I believe this view is bolstered by the last words of the Loyal Sage (Priest?) when Link finds him dying in Sanctuary shortly after obtaining the Master Sword: "You are our only hope..."
I feel like the original Japanese leaves *more* to the imagination than the English version, which really only gives the two options that you suggested, with 'sister' being the option most likely to pop into people's heads. Meanwhile, there's loads of options for the Japanese version: last hope, chosen hero, legend (get it?), destiny, brother, knight, betrothed, and so-on.
It's worth pointing out that the Japanese version of the text also does not actually say anything about what verb is involved (there is no reason to assume it must be saying "You *are* X") at all, and it does not even necessarily imply a possessive form for "princess". There are many Japanese constructions which use の to connect two words in ways that we would not necessarily consider to be a possessive in English, for example: お前は、 *_姫のために_* 戦う必要がある。 "You must fight _for the princess._ "
I think it's worth taking the context into consideration tho The line right before says 'zelda him otsukui suru no da' It seems to imply he is pretty to the point. So perhaps 'omae wa, hime no _tameni, tatakai suru no da_' :D Or perhaps 'omae wa, hime no saigo no kibou da' ;)
@@EmeraldEyesEsoteric He sleeps seated at the table, vigilantly protecting Link (as he tries to by going to save Zelda himself telling Link to stay behind). Though I am also curious, how do we know how many years Link has been living with his uncle?
I personally think it is “your are Zelda’s only hope” considering the ability time travel in the game… his uncle obviously knew more than he lead off. But telling link a piece of his destiny may have altered the future verses link learning it all on his own. Also could just quite simply be a cliffhanger 🤷🏾♂️
@@sparkydoodle696 “a link to the past” Past implies time travel… whether it be a different dimension or what have you heard dis travel to a different time
@@VividlineImages "A Link to the Past" is entirely a reference to how the game is a prequel to the first LoZ game. The Japanese name, "Triforce of the Gods", doesn't even make this reference. There is no time travel in the game, only the ability to travel between the normal world and the Sacred Realm (which Ganon turned into the Dark World).
@@MLennholm cool, fact remains link has a destiny the uncle knew about. But never told link anything. How the uncle got that information 🤷🏾♂️ beats me. But I for one believe there is another piece to the things his uncle knew that implies time travel. But it’s nothing that would ever be proven so it is what it is.
it's worth bearing in mind that during this era, game localisation was often left much more to a local team with almost no oversight from the original writers, sometimes none at all. The localisers of the time were also often writing within very strict character limits for technical reasons of the more low-level programming languagues, which often led to dialogue having to be fairly heavily re-interpreted by localisation teams across many languages to get it to fit inside the memory restrictions. Personally i think the most likely intended finish to the sentence was "last hope" or "only hope".
Definitely. Translation issues were notorious during the SNES days. Despite the jank, I'm surprised how functional some of them are. Of course I'd rather take a better translation like they did for the DS Final Fantasy 4.
Out of interest I asked a friend who works as a translator about this, whilst they agree that the most likely intent was along the lines of "you are Zelda's only hope", they also noted that this kind of cut off sentence trope is one hated within that industry as the gramatical rules of certain languages make it very difficult to cut off at the right point due to sentence structure differing, and that whilst it's now more common in cases like this for the original writers to include a comment containing the uncut sentence or a note on intent (or for there to be a way of localisers directly contacting them to check on something that could be translated multple ways), they believe it likely such things would not have been available to the localisers in this era.
If the reason was merely a technical issue, and not to add mystery, the devs didn’t need to waste the character limit with the uncle’s previous lines. They could have shortened his speech to free up memory to add one or two more words like “destiny” or “final hope.”
The Nintendo Power Comic as well as the Akira Himekawa Manga, his uncle just told him he might meet his parents and to protect Zelda. He was just gonna say Link is her protector.
I mean, it could be both. Maybe it was one way in Japanese, and the English localization just translated it differently. It works either way, really. I'm pretty certain based on the context from the line before, "Link, if anyone can do it, you can," that the last words would be "You are the princess' only hope/last hope" in the original Japanese text. It just has a logical flow.
This video is excellent. It's the perfect length for what it is, presents all known evidence to help answer the question, and it taught me something new (I was not aware of the bonus dungeon in the Game Boy Advance version, so it was super cool hearing about Blind the Thief impersonating Link's Uncle during the rematch)! The subtle animations added to the artwork (like at 01:16) are satisfying too--I love the floating spores and the flicker of the lamp.
The way I'd always interpreted it was the localisation team having fun by joining in on all of the Star Wars references in the intro sequence by responding to the one in the original dialogue with one of their own. - It starts with a princess projecting a message pleading for help from far, far away. - Link's uncle is an old mentor-figure Knight who dies during the rescue attempt. - Link's uncle gives him a sword and tells him about their (Jedi) knight 'way' and abilities. - Link infiltrates the enemy stronghold and breaks the princess out of her prison cell, etc. etc. It made perfect sense to me that when they came across the line "You are Zelda's (only hope)" they continued the gag by translating it into "Zelda is your (sister)", which as a joke also adds to this list of references: - Kenobi dies before telling Luke that Leia is his sister I don't think it was intended to be taken as canon as it was just gags and references and the sentence is never actually finished so they had the leeway to put it in. It's far from the only time references to western media have played a significant role in shaping the Zelda series... *Cough*PeterPan*Cough*
A Link to the Past is my favorite Zelda game of all time. Starting with the music, the way the game begins, the story and so on. The fact that you are touching this subject that has puzzled fans for a long time is awesome.
I know in game development, sometimes games are built backwards. So the people making the game are stronger at writing the story points that drag you in. It is possible that the original gba version was a re-translation from Japanese, and at some point they decided to do more of a reinterpretation than a re-translation. It makes sense when you think of the point where they say the dialog, as it is referenced as not the first time you had fought that boss before. This is just a theory though
Technically, if you've ever beaten the game, Link's uncle doesn't die. He passes out. "Your uncle recovers" is one of the final end-game credits points in the epilogue. He's not dead, he's just REALLY beat up.
In OOT his mother took him to the Kokiri forest but died offscreen. His father was never mentioned but he was most likely a knight who died in the war. In BotW Zelda mentions that Link is following in his father’s footsteps. Possibly his father died from an enemy which made Link work harder. In other games he doesn’t have much family mentioned outside WW and ALTTP which you see his family members.
This old mystery. I always felt like the new version was both "cleaning up" and missed subtly. The wizard and criminals always refers to the Triforce as "The Power of Gold" while those closely allied with Link call it the "Golden Power" a difference that shows how they prioritize it. This is completely missing in the Gameboy Advanced version.
No, not completely. I forget where, exactly, but there's a character somewhere that says something along the lines of, "What an irresponsible thing to leave lying around, the power of gold. Triforce." I want to say he's in the Dark World counterpart to Sahasralah's hideout near the Eastern Palace. I've only played the GBA version.
@@javiervasquez625 Destined to save and protect her. Maybe Link's uncle was her appointed knight at one point but resigned to protect Link from the bloodshed of being a knight.
@javiervasquez625 Meaning it is Links destiny to defend Zelda from evil. All the Zelda games are full of people having important destinies, fated to do certain things, not just Link and Zelda. But they are the important 2. Im pretty sure in any of the games with actual dialogue - a whole bunch of references are made to Link's fate or destiny as the hero of Hyrule.
Very cool video. My theory is that this is either a something similar to the curse mentioned in Skyward Sword or perhaps something to do with the Triforce. Something about Zelda is your other half referring to Link being the Triforce of Courage and Zelda being the Triforce of Wisdom.
Have you ever made a video talking about the royal guard in the back alley in Ocarina of Time? This mystery with Link's uncle and his last words are very reminiscent of the royal guard, to a chilling degree in my opinion...
I don't know why anyone would be confused about this.... It can only mean one thing : Link, You are the princess' Hero... We have seen time and time again, the motif of the Hero. One who can save hyrule from peril, one who can save Zelda. With most of the moniker's of different links being Hero of the -.... I can't think of anything but the word Hero fitting there.
I like to think that its destiny "Zelda is your... Destiny" because this is the 3rd game that came out and its the 3rd time you as the player are a version of Link saving another version of Zelda and they have been and always will be the destiny of Link and Zelda which is the same for all future games since.
So, I always thought “cousin” but “destiny” makes way more sense. Also, on the “avoid fate” bit, it sounds like a clever reference to the “Fallen Hero of Time” timeline branch they were building at the point the GBA release came. As for the original Japanese “You are Zelda’s …” I think “only hope” is the best fit. I’ve always viewed the opening scene as though Link is awakened by Zelda’s telepathic message due to his lineage. Edit: stellar video and in-depth analysis btw
When I was a kid I thought it was so obvious that Link's uncle was trying to say that Link and Zelda are related. I assumed "cousin," but I suppose any close familial relation could work. The old man with the mirror under Death Mountain also lends credence to this idea with his dialogue, if you read between the lines and assume that he's not some rando. Honestly, I headcanonized the idea that Link and Zelda are related and never even thought to question it till many years later.
I personally thought it was more obvious that he was saying Zelda is “yours to protect” since like, he was protecting her, then died. Now we take up his sword and shield to do the same
When I was a kid I used to think they were related just because they look like they could be siblings. Then I realized how wrong I was after playing Skyward sword.
Do you know what that old man's dialogue is? Edit: I looked up a playthrough of the game and found it. It's the old man you guide through the mountain right? I don't think the dialogue has anything that you could read between the lines to backup the idea that they're related. I like the idea of them being related though, so I wish there was.
Damn. Videos like these remind me of how much I loved Zelda as a kid. It was whimsical and had just enough mystery to make it more than just just a video game but a full story, like am interactive book or movie. I want to get back into Zelda!!!
Glad to hear! And don't worry, I'll still be making longer content too. I've got a few big things in the works. This way, though, I don't have to go weeks/months without uploads while I work on the bigger stuff
In Japanese, sentences are often unfinished, but clearly understood in context (and often even translated in Anime as a complete sentence despite the missing word, as non-Japanese viewers wouldn't understand). It's clear that he meant "You're the princess's last hope". There's no possible ambiguity.
Japanese uses a lot of implied references to earlier context element, but that's not the case here. It is clear here that the sentence is left unfinished both grammatically and semantically, not because the missing part was implied but because Link's uncle (presumably) passes away before he had a chance to utter the last words.
"Zelda is your problem now" is my canon.
I love this 🤣
lmaooo
Fr 😂
That's what I wanted to say.
Haha!
He was definitely trying to say, "Zelda is your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate."
"So what does that make us?"
@@MaxonerousX "absolutly nothing"
@@momokochama1844"Which is what you are about to become."
@@seabornefiber9963I see your joycon is as big as mine. Let's see how you... handle it.
😂😂😂
"Zelda is your charge now" or something like that would make sense. "You are the Princess's protector/knight"
Personally I think responsibility
Finally someone resonable @@tavairushernandez4588
yes, I agree, some form of this is the most correct answer. He is descended from Hyrulian Knights... he is the last one left. Its his responsibility to save/protect her.
I always felt like "responsibility" is what he meant. He passed on his sword and shield, and with it, the responsibility to protect Zelda.
yeah i always assumed responsibility too
Valid. This makes sense too.
sister shes your sister
I never used "responsibility" as that word is more of a western thing.
I always used "charge" as it is Link's duty by blood to defend Zelda. Even as a youngling it was pretty evident by the fact that Link's uncle answers Zelda's call.
This one is the most accurate by far.
I think it's interesting that both "You are the Princess' only hope" and "The Princess is your sister" could conceivably both be star wars references.
Because those are the two biggest cliches for fantasy storytelling
Japanese fantasy games but especially Nintendo use Star Wars tropes pretty often
I choose to believe it's something less cringe
@tylerspeegle6494 it's not. It's most likely a star wars joke.
@@Kiamors kids think everything is a reference these days.
“ZELDA’S MY WHAT?!?!” from that old Egoraptor animation is all I can think of whenever I read the Uncle’s text 😂
Hahahahahahaaaa yes, I was just about to say this! When he starts ripping how own skin off WHAT IS ZELDAAA!?!?!??!
Zelda calls out to him again
Link: shut up! What is she uncle!
Man I miss when Arin used to be funny and make animations.
I had to edit out the Egoraptor to his actual name because he genuinely doesn't feel anything like the same person anymore. I miss pre-2015 internet
@@jormilos I just knew somebody was gonna take this as an opportunity to complain. Game Grumps is bigger and more successful than Egoraptor was or ever would have been. It's time to get over it, my man
@@JoystickStereo If you knew it, then you opened this comment looking for it. What does that say about you dude? Also, I don't give a damn if it's been more or less successful. Arin was funnier 10 years ago. The internet as a whole was more entertaining 10 years ago. Everything feels so sterile nowadays, Arin and Game Grumps included. I'm not even one of the guys that says GG died when Jon left. Nah, there was still life in it even when Dan first started. But after the stuff with Ding Dong and Julian, the stuff with Sr Pelo and the other guys from Newgrounds, and Arin's general personality online, he ain't the same guy anymore and it's sad. He would have been making fun of who he's become. He seems like a genuinely toxic person
The first word that popped in my head to complete “Zelda is your…” was “responsibility”. It fits in that, with Link’s uncle dying, Link is the last knight charged to defend her. Seems a more practical word choice than “destiny” IMO
It makes sense considering all past and present Links also been tasked with her protection across the timeline giving Link's Uncle reason to impart the same responsibility upon this current Link as all the other iterations of the character.
Destiny makes more sense… “Zelda is your responsibility” would make sense if it was your uninteresting real uncle, but it’s an epic video game so no you’re wrong
You took the words straight out of my mind, I was going to say also that fits better with "your Zelda's only hope" because it fits better than "destiny"
I think that’s what it is too, “responsibility” or “charge.”
Something along those lines, that tells Link it’s his job to protect her.
Arguing between destiny or responsibility when they imply the same sort of duty to protect her is definitely a purely semantical argument.
@@Thor-Orion i mean, the world "destiny" can have some different implications, given that in the second game they were depicted as lovers and in this game it slightly more vague
I think the "You're the Princess's only hope" option makes the most sense, both based on the dialogue before and because it wouldn't be too farfetched to believe the devs, at the time, were likely making a reference to Star Wars Episode 4 with Princess Leia's classic "You're my only hope" line. At least I imagine it was intended to be an Easter Egg reference since the Zelda devs like to reference various stuff like that.
I don't know that the timing is right for it to have been an intentional reference. A New Hope came out in 1977, and A Link to the Past began development in 1991. Yeah, Star Wars was well known at the time, but it hadn't exploded in popularity the way we know it yet. That happened in 1996 when the Special Editions were made, new toys released, and plans for expansion of the series were picked back up.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio While that is true, it's possible the writer who wrote this line was a Star Wars fan either way. It's not completely out of the question. Either way, I think the "you're the Princess's only hope" is the one that makes the most sense to me, even without taking the possible reference into account.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio Yet Japan was already well acquantied with the original Star Wars trilogy as Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump/Arale anime had blatant references to Star Wars as far as 1981. It's not far-fetched to assume Miyamoto and company wanted to reference Star Wars to further aknowledge the western inspiration which the Zelda series was using as basis for it's world.
@OtakuUnitedStudio Sonic the Hedgehog had the Death Egg in the early 90s. Even so, if we were to assume Star Wars influence, I think it could still be reasoned that Zelda and Link were siblings given Luke was too living with his uncle while his sister was literally a princess.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio Throwing yet another into the hat. Final Fantasy 4 came out in '91, and has more than a few Star Wars parallels and nods. Japanese devs just, absolutely adored referencing those movies.
Given how he was assigned as her knight/protector in Breath of the Wild's timeline, his uncle could have been saying "You are the Princess's knight/protector." or something to that effect. Zelda could have been calling for his uncle at the beginning for help as her knight, and when Link shows up in the sewers having also heard the same call for help, his uncle acknowledges him as his replacement.
"Zelda is your charge" kind of thing?
Yeah this is what I always thought, nothing else made sense in context.
Most likely IMO.
What's cool is both theories work pretty well. There's bound to be at least a few Links tied to the royal bloodline, either through marriage or as descendants.
*hypothesis
The Royal Knights are considered nobility and likely have married into or are descended from the Royal Family on numerous occasions. Members of the Royal Family who never took the throne would have been trained in the arts of combat, just like real royalty. "Defender of the Realm" and all.
@@oscarpalm4863*theory
A hypothesis is your guess as to the outcome of an experiment, usually a scientific experiment.
Theory is the right word.
@@GuitarHeroRocks99hypothesis works too
Considering the implied romance between Hylia and the Link from Skyward Sword it is safe to assume there must be a strong bloodline connection between the Royal Family and the Spirit of the Hero across the timeline.
Zelda is your Destiny
No matter what tale they appear together in, Link is always destined to be entangled in her story.
Sounds more like a curse to me XD
Sure.. but only because she's his SISTER.
Destiny doesn’t really make sense because that’s not exactly a huge reveal. And if it wasn’t something consequential and revealing, then why cut him off from saying it right before he dies?
@@prohsodieYou assume it HAS to be a big reveal. It's more dramatic for him to "die" mid sentence.
@@GottenGood no… they wrote the whole script. The whole point of him dying before the end is to be suspenseful and that would be just dumb if it was nothing of any consequence. Thus they would not have written it that way. Unless they were trolling the player as a joke
"Link, Zelda is.... your father.."
"No. That's not true! That's impossible!"
it could also be Link, Zelda is...... your brother. if the game was made present i would not be surprised
Nah. Star Wars quotes doesnt hold much weight anymore.
bwahahahahah 😂😂😂😂
@@maik1982 zelda is a girl
Link, Zelda is your real name......
zelda is a boy and you play as him
That’s the best theory by far
@@bananadaily2317Its a joke dude
@@twinzzlersZelda is a boy and you play as him.
Zelda is a boy and you play as him.
Zelda is your designated driver. She was supposed to have the keys to drive Link & his uncle back from the annual Hyrule kegger, but then Aganhim got involved
Legend of Zelda: A Lincoln to the destination
My version had this variant, I'm pretty sure. "Zelda is your... actual name... that's why they call it the Legend of Zelda, duh... just like how Metroid is the name of the spaceman..."
A fellow Halo is a pretty cool guy, eh kills aleins and doesnt afraid of anything fan I see
I think I always assumed it was "destiny" but the Japanese translation totally flipping the subject of the sentence around is very interesting. It definitely SOUNDS like the Obi Wan Kenobi thing from Star Wars when they phrase it like that.
I'm thinking it was an intended nod to Star Wars as well, it's not uncommon for the Zelda team to include references from their favorite media after all (just take Studio Ghibli's influences on the latest games for example.)
Help me linki-wan kenobi, you're my only hope
An addendumb, why are you liking this, it's really stupid
@@homerman76 Funny thing is, early ideas for the original Zelda would have likely had Star Wars references considering it would have involved time travel and the revelation that the supposedly mystical Triforce is actually a powerful supercomputer, with its fragments being computer chips specifically. I think that concept would have been a more appropriate entry to put in a Star Wars reference.
But the idea that it was meant to be a not to Star Wars has been around a long time, though I don't really see it. I think they'd have made it a bit less cryptic if it was meant to be a reference at all.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio Considering how much further sci-fi Zelda has been turning into as of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom i'm pretty much sold on it been a Star Wars reference for that very reason you just pointed out above.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio Interestingly, very early OoT beta testing literally had the same portal technology as featured in the Portal Franchise.
Another possibility is "Responsibility", as now link is the only one that can help her.
This was a take I first saw on the Game Grumps playthrough of Link to the Past, and it's one I tend to agree with. The uncle may well have been the last of the knights of Hyrule (if he wasn't certain before, the fact that he and Link are the only ones to respond to the Princess's call proves it) and while he didn't want to involve Link, now he has little choice but to push his nephew in that direction, or else the kingdom is doomed.
@@CanidRose I've never seen game grumps and literally thought up this while watching the video, so it's interesting to hear about others who came to the same idea.
I remember assuming it was Sister as a kid. I guess between the general pop culture behind Star Wars and being a little boy whose only sibling was a sister led to me filling in gaps with something familiar.
Given he was a knight passing the torch of guardianship to his nephew, i always read it as "responsibility" too
Most people when uncle die:
"wah wah cry cry"
Link: *celbrates the new sword then proceeds to stab uncle with said sword multiple times*
Ever considered checking yourself at a mental asylum for your psychopathic tendencies?
good ol times
Ben could only dream of having a nephew like Link.
You need to make shure that the sword is sharp and in top notch condition. Why not using that pile of decaying flesh that is laying around there so conveniently?
You know, I NEVER considered the possibility that his Uncle ALSO heard the telepathic message. I always assumed he was already planning to head to the castle while you were asleep and was just doing something at his table before he set out.
He already has his sword and shield in hand when he gets up which lends to this idea imnsho...
But it would make sense if it was a message meant for her royal knights.
... but then, why did LINK hear it?
Perhaps he was IN TRAINING to be a royal knight. If his Uncle is one, then he was probably helping Link with his training. Link IS already capable of using his sword and fighting the other corrupted knights. That can't be a coincidence.
If this is the case, it's possible his Uncle was going to say "duty". As a knight, protecting the royal family WOULD be Link's duty!
I haven't played the game but with no other context, I thought of "destiny".
Simple if Links uncle heard it, yet Link also heard it, they're of the same bloodline. Whether it's the fact they're tasked to hide in plain sight as the last hope as we come to realize while the game progresses, or simply they chose to not be directly involved in the court but close enough to be there in time of need.
My knowledge is old but Hylian's ears allow for hearing beyond normal. It allows for them to hear telepathically. When Link heard the message his Uncle heard it at the same time. I must say its been Forever since I played the game and read the lore.
I always figured that Zelda had been sending out the same messages over and over again all night, and that the game starts when one of them wakes Link up. The Uncle is mostly ready to go because he's been hearing them for a while now.
honestly the fact that they both hear it, in my eyes, lends even more to a family connection. link is raised by his uncle, maybe his actual parents are the royal family. or maybe only one of the two, explaining why he was hidden away with his uncle. he'd be royalty, but also a stain on the family legacy
In a shocking twist it's actually "Zelda is your ... uncle's killer. avenge me, Link!" (Edit: Hello, Reddit!)
💯
Gasp!
It would explain why she is in prison
Ganondwarf: _The true hero of Hyrule trying to imprison Zelda for her crimes against humanity, though Zelda's wisdom makes everyone convinced he's really the bad guy doing all the bad things._
sister shes your sister
I like that right after his uncle dies link just hoists the sword up in the air like “oh yeaah!” And just doesn’t even care about his uncle dying.
Well, the guy also ransacks people's homes without invitation, throwing pots into walls and taking people's money 😂
@@ocean_monster1You're fighting a guerilla war against your own government at the behest of voices in head. You need every resource you can gather.
"Zelda is your link to the past"
that's my best guess to this.
Roll credits 😂
.... It aggravates me how well that works.... Especially since I can't go into how well it works without devolving into a tirade about how uneven the power scale is between the supposedly equal three sides of the Triforce.
@TheDark4light I'm lost , is this for my Rollin credits 🤣
Nice pun to the game's title
That’s actually a brilliant insight
I don't know exactly why, but I found link's uncle's death really hard hitting when I played the game as a kid. Going back to your house and hearing the kakariko village theme was one of my earliest memories of fully reckoning with the deaths of some of my close relatives. something about being in that familiar, comforting place and hearing that music you know and love, realizing now that the person who made those memories for you is now gone.
I was living in el paso texas....got a snes from Montgomery ward..and it was storming for real just like in the game....I'm 41 now and I remember that so well
I read that and later that night felt like crying and didn't know why until I talked through it with my mom.
You know what bugs me? Link was living with his Uncle for how long, and there is only one bed in their house.
@@EmeraldEyesEsoteric in ancient times entire families share the same bed to save on firewood.
Good news is he gets revived in the end (seen in the credits)
"You are the princess' fated hero"? That's what I thought after hearing the GBA translations.
"Zelda is your liege" or something akin to that seems appropriate. The respect the knights had to the royal family and the fact that Link has become (presumably) the last one in that line of knights should push Link's uncle to make him realize his calling and to protect Zelda as his liege
I think this is likely. Similar possibilities include: "charge" or "responsibility". And "You are the Princess's protector."
With how most of the Links across the timeline have been personally tasked with the protection of their Zeldas it makes a lot of sense for Link's Uncle to have attempted to impart such a responsibility upon him so i'm pretty sure that's exactly what Nintendo was more or less suggesting with that piece of dialogue.
it doesn't quite work with the phrasing i feel like
I think the biggest problem with this phrasing is...why would the uncle have left that line to be something he needed to tell Link at the last second?
"Is your liege" is presumably super obvious, given that they're both in the Kingdom of Hyrule. This would put the least important information, and least urgent information, into the most urgent part of what Link's Uncle wanted to say.
Was he just expecting to die after saying "Save the princess..." - and then realized he wasn't dead yet?
Lol
His uncle is saying that it's Link's destiny to protect Princess Zelda. It's mentioned at the end of the A Link To The Past graphic novel by Shotaro Ishinomari. It even shows Link's parents too.
It was also originally published in Nintendo Power, so yes, it's canon.
I remember the comics in Nintendo Power.
Ah, the comics. And the really weird Super Mario World ones too. I really don't think being in Nintendo Power makes anything canon, but kudos for remembering that and let's call it...persuasive evidence?
Oh my… Ishinomori doing a Nintendo based Manga…
Ironic given that Nintendo’s N&B blocks had a set themed around one of Ishinomori’s creations
Except that the mangas aren’t officially canon - which is sad because there’s a lot of great content in them that could have been logical explanations to things in the games.
Uncle: Link, I'm dying... Blah *dead*
Link: Cool a sword! Da na na naaaa!
😂
I didn't know about the third version. Personally, even though I had subscribed to the "Zelda is your destiny" theory, kinda wish they kept the line more ambiguous. Cool detail nonetheless and great video!
Thanks! Yeah it's an odd one, and I agree that I prefer the original.
@@ZeltikI think that there is a better option than sibling or destiny.
"You are the Princess's Knight." That would fit with them being a from a line of knights. Other options would be savior or protector.
I'm sure somone else said it already, but the Uncle doesn't die. He absolutely survives, because we see him again at the end of the game, having recovered from his injuries.
The uncle does actually die. But in the end, he is resurrected by Link's wish with the triforce
@@thatoneguy52884 I never considered that. I guess it could be true
@@thatoneguy52884 Then why didn't Link wish for his parents to be alive too?
@@thatoneguy52884except, the end credits say “your uncle recovers” which suggests that he was just significantly injured.
@@MrEricAdam that can also work
"Link, you are the princess..." My canon.
I kinda love how everyone always says the uncle died because they forgot he recovered in the credits lol
That's only after Link wishes to undo all of Ganon's evil!
Guys, we need to keep the thumbs' up for initial comment and Zeltik's response perfectly equal.
If you had the Triforce you might bring back your uncle too
Im doing my part@@CayenneTurboDriver
And I completely forgot!!! I've played this game a million times and I forgot that! I fell for the oldest trick in the book hook, line, and sinker! Set up some sense of mystery to draw someone in, then pretend they never did such a thing as the focus quickly switches!
It's same trick the Pokemon Anime threw when the GS Ball was introduced, was meant to contain Celebi, then the 4th movie happened, and the GS Ball was given to Kurt with the hopes that the fans would forget about it! (It didn't work.)
In the French script (because yes the original SNES version was also translated officially in French by Nintendo even back in 1991) the uncle's words are not as cut as in other versions. He goes "Sauve Princ... Zeld... Tu es son... sauv...". It's clear there that he meant to say "You are her SAVIOUR".
The ambiguity is only really induced by the English localization and I don't think it was ever meant to be a brother/sister twist, except maybe in Nintendo of America's translators' mind at that time, only to be revised in the GBA version to be closer to the Japanese version and a bit less open to flights of fancy.
The german version confirms that theory too, since there it is "Du bist ihr..." meaning "You are her..." ...Retter / saviour
Average 90s english localization
oh interesting
well then its confirmed.
As pointed out in the video, though, the ambiguity is there _even in the original Japanese (お前は、姫の｡｡｡),_ so it is not "only in the English localization", and it clearly was intended by the original creators. That "sauv" part was actually _added by the French translators_ and has no basis in the original game dialogue at all.
So it's actually the French translators who were apparently making up stories from their own minds, not the English ones.
I use to have an old illustration lore book from the late 90's and from what I remember reading there is never been a blood relation that I know of. So "sister" is never an option. But destiny seems spot on because of links blood line to protect her.
"Zelda is your...automotive financing account representative, and she's been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty."
*dies*
I died reading this 😂
So good
Can't be, she's not Indian.
"only hope" or "last hope" definitely fits the best. It matches both the texts while still indicating there is something special about Link, which the GBA translation tried to oversimplify and spell out
sister shes your sister
Hmmm yeah out of all options discussed 'hope' seems to be the only on that fits the japanese text
@@fuseteam plus she is the light that seals the darkness. So she truly is their only hope.
It always goes back to Star Wars 😂
"Zelda is your only hope??" Why would she be Link's only hope... That doesn't make sense
“Z-…Zelda’s my what..?”
“ZELDA’S MY WHAT??!?!”
Katsuya Terada’s artwork is gorgeous, as is much of LTTP’s concept art. It’s lovely to see its sombre tone captured in your video
It makes me wish we got such a gritty, serious and yet surreal Zelda game with the same aesthetic in real life. I feel like Nintendo could easily have given us such a game around the time of Skyward Sword but instead chose to go kid friendly for the sake of been as "accessible" to all demographics as possible without risking getting an above E rating.
@@javiervasquez625 The gritty franchise, The Legend of Zelda.
Gamers will really say the most stupid of things. Don't a few Zelda games have T rating? And why are you so pressed about ratings? Perhaps you have some actual growing up to do first.
@@NuiYabuko Lol okay? I guess opinions don't exist then.
Covering smaller Zelda mysteries is such a cool idea for a series!! Great video Zeltik.
But are they as good as Cheesy Bread?
@@OtakuUnitedStudioask your mom
@@poochettino I'm probably older than your mom
I had never heard of this, nor anything about it, but I find it satisfying that for the English version the two thoughts that sprang to my mind were "Sister," and "destiny." And with the japanese version the thought I had was "only hope." It is nice to see such alignment in a video like this.
There's nothing better to get me into the Zelda mood than an upload from Zeltik
Real
This is the exact question I’ve had. A Link to the Past is my favorite Zelda game. I remember reading that line when I was 5 years old and thinking… his sister? His “meant to be”? His family? His twin? Ahhhhh. It kills me.
I doubt they are related. The alttp manga has them as romantic. Like the creators of the manga even call them romantic on a page somewhere, and it ends with implying they got married and had an apple farm. And while it might not be "game level canon" it is still an approved Nintendo product; someone had to sign off permission on the manga and it's contents before it was printed.
Albw also has the rumor guy talking about the current zelda looking wistfully at a painting of "a previous hero and princess embracing" in the castle. Implied to be the alttp versions. So I HIGHLY doubt they are related, unless Nintendo is trying to imply incest with this version....
@@jpineapple9495 fish bones isn't even in this game
>reads Zelda dialogues as five years old
As a five year old I picked my nose lmao.
I have a funny thought for Blind in the Four Sword dungeon. Since in this version, Link's Uncle gave him a way clearer message, he thought he was being cool and mysterious by reciting a vague mysterious line in his illusion, and in that moment misunderstanding what could've pissed Link off just to amuse himself. Link would quickly realize the illusion thinking "that's not what he told me!" and just swing wildly.
I go with “Zelda is your destiny…” If Link is descended from the Hylian knights, it’s highly unlikely he and Zelda are siblings.
Nah. They came from a same clan
It's possible to be related . If the queen had been violated by a man the child would be illegitimate but related to Zelda as a half sibling. This would explain why the uncle is taking care of Link instead of links Dad. Pretty sure links Dad would be beheaded in such a scenario. Was it worth it to lose your head to get in the queens loins....maybe.
@@smathre978
Would that be appropriate in a game rated E for Everyone?
So link to the past is back to the future? Also, Link was living with his Uncle for how long, and there is only one bed in their house.
Zelda is your density, I mean, your destiny.
The uncle apparently sleeps in a chair and lets his nephew have the bed
Just given the situation, I think the most likely intention was “You are the princess’s last hope” or “Zelda is your responsibility now.”
The father didn’t want him involved, but he still instructed Link to continue the mission because he knew it was more important even than his son’s life.
its his uncle
Zelda is your destiny… “you are the princess’s knight” nailed it, wrote that before you said it. And it’s the most canonically sound
Link to the Past is such a fascinating game and introduce so much lore despite being just the third game in the series. One place that always fascinate me was the Eastern Palace. It's a palace in ruins, taken over by dark forces. So just whose palace was it?
Likely the palace of the Hylia.
You forgot another option: You are the Princess' knight
It would also make a lot of sense. Being a different way of saying "It's your duty link, now that I'm unable to."
I agree that in the context, this feels like maybe he is trying to confer his own _title_ onto Link, before he dies. That is, he is giving him the title/position/role of "The Princess' knight" that he can no longer carry himself.
Yeah it would fit better than most cause a lot of incarnations are Zelda's Knight
"You are the Princess'... whatever", is my money
@@luiszuniga2859 "You are the princess' true identity"
Would be such a plot twist... Link being the actual princess.
"You are the princess' last hope." This sort of phrasing if fairly typically of fantasy hero stories from the late 70s through early 90s.
"ZELDAS MY WHAT? WHAT IS SHE , WHAT IS ZELDA?!" ~ Link to the Awesome
I need to know so I know if I’m good to ask for a kiss or not!
First goddamn thing I thought of
@@Themacattack1209 other worlds, other rules - maybe families are a bit closer in hyrule 😁
"Come ON! I wanna put my wiener in that!"
I WANNA PUT MY WIENER IN IT, I GOTTA KNOW!
Perhaps it could be, "Zelda is your cousin"? He is Link's uncle after all. It could explain the importance of their bloodlines, hence why the knights are sworn to protect the royal family.
Alttp is my favorite game in the series btw. I would love to see more videos on it!
Definitely plausible.
Not uncommon for there to be a branch family that serves to protect the main family, historically speaking, so it's possible 🤔
The same Zelda outright *kisses* the same Link at the end of the Oracle games causing both to blush with little hearts coming out of Link's head so i seriously doubt Nintendo would be willing to imply _incest_ in the Zelda series with such a throwaway line as this one. It's safe to assume Link's Uncle was going to say "She's your responsibility now..." as he passed away from his injuries attempting to rescue her.
The problem with that is the alttp manga has them as romantic. Like the creators of the manga even call them romantic on a page somewhere, and it ends with implying they got married and had an apple farm. And while it might not be "game level canon" it is still an approved Nintendo product; someone had to sign off permission on the manga and it's contents before it was printed.
Albw also has the rumor guy talking about the current zelda looking wistfully at a painting of "a previous hero and princess embracing" in the castle. So I HIGHLY doubt they are related unless Nintendo is trying to imply incest with this version....
"Link, Zelda is your Legend" and thus began the critically acclaimed series of the Legend of Zelda. Truly one of the zelda moments of all time
I can remember calling the Nintendo help line one night when I was playing this to ask them specifically what he was going to say. The girl that answered actually put me on hold and went and asked someone else. She came back and told me very coyly that they weren't allowed to say. I guess in actuallity they didn't know!!
Knowing the original text now makes me think it was actually a veiled Star Wars reference. "You are the princess’s only hope," immediately reminds me of Princess Leia's message to Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The game is littered with Star Wars references.
...and Luke ends up being her brother so both would make sense! :P
It adds to the fact that Zelda is a Sith Lord.
"Zelda is your destiny" has been ingrained in my memory and perspective so long I Mandela effected myself into forgetting the line was never completed. Still makes the most sense to me.
I'd assume that because the Japanese translation seems to have a possessive form of the word Princess, based on the video above. The most likely intent is "You're the Princess's knight". It'd align well with the story we are aware of in game and the later additions in the series.
Agreed. I don't know why some people jumped all the way to "siblings" or whatever lol. Especially given the manga and albw exist and imply romance with this version. Which would make that werid...
@@kit76149 The reason that "sister" is what pops into a lot of people's minds is because the English version of this line is very reminiscent of the famous line from Star Wars, "I am your father" (which also then consequently also made Luke's love interest in the movie (Leia) turn out to be his sister, too).
Given this, the idea that this might have something to do with hidden familial relations seems like a fairly natural thought to pop into the mind of anybody who's ever seen Star Wars, really, so it's not really that surprising that a lot of people might have interpreted it that way (but that doesn't mean that's necessarily what was actually intended).
Yeah but the context seems to point to 'hope'
The line preceding it says 'you must save princess zelda!'
So logically flows to 'you are her only hope'
Last hope, responsibility, destiny, any one of those could easily be what Link' uncle meant here. Many incarnations of Link are decedended from the bloodline of the Knights of Hyrule and this incarnation of Link is most likely one of them giving the whole chosen one implications of this statement credence. Link is heavily implied to not be an ordinary person, he was able to wield the Master Sword after all, albeit after getting the 3 pendents which were likely a test by the sages to determine worthiness.
"Y-you are the Princess'..."
I am in the "only hope" camp. I believe this view is bolstered by the last words of the Loyal Sage (Priest?) when Link finds him dying in Sanctuary shortly after obtaining the Master Sword:
"You are our only hope..."
I feel like the original Japanese leaves *more* to the imagination than the English version, which really only gives the two options that you suggested, with 'sister' being the option most likely to pop into people's heads. Meanwhile, there's loads of options for the Japanese version: last hope, chosen hero, legend (get it?), destiny, brother, knight, betrothed, and so-on.
It's worth pointing out that the Japanese version of the text also does not actually say anything about what verb is involved (there is no reason to assume it must be saying "You *are* X") at all, and it does not even necessarily imply a possessive form for "princess". There are many Japanese constructions which use の to connect two words in ways that we would not necessarily consider to be a possessive in English, for example:
お前は、 *_姫のために_* 戦う必要がある。
"You must fight _for the princess._ "
I think it's worth taking the context into consideration tho
The line right before says 'zelda him otsukui suru no da'
It seems to imply he is pretty to the point.
So perhaps 'omae wa, hime no _tameni, tatakai suru no da_' :D
Or perhaps 'omae wa, hime no saigo no kibou da' ;)
What does the Japanese version say about Link living with his uncle all those years, and there only being one bed in the house?
@@EmeraldEyesEsoteric The uncle doesn't sleep. He sits at the table ever night.
@@EmeraldEyesEsoteric He sleeps seated at the table, vigilantly protecting Link (as he tries to by going to save Zelda himself telling Link to stay behind). Though I am also curious, how do we know how many years Link has been living with his uncle?
i'd love to see more fun little videos like this thrown into the mix, if that'd be something you'd consider doing! :)
"Zelda is your b*tch", 100%
The Nintendo power comic of Zelda has her and link becoming somewhat romantically involved.I don't believe they are siblings.
Bruh that music gives 40 year old me goosebumps whereas 10 year old me thought it was a cool song..
I personally think it is “your are Zelda’s only hope” considering the ability time travel in the game… his uncle obviously knew more than he lead off. But telling link a piece of his destiny may have altered the future verses link learning it all on his own.
Also could just quite simply be a cliffhanger 🤷🏾♂️
Time travel wasn’t in A Link to the Past
@@sparkydoodle696 “a link to the past”
Past implies time travel… whether it be a different dimension or what have you heard dis travel to a different time
@@VividlineImages the link in the title is referring to events that happened in later games, not time travel
@@VividlineImages "A Link to the Past" is entirely a reference to how the game is a prequel to the first LoZ game. The Japanese name, "Triforce of the Gods", doesn't even make this reference. There is no time travel in the game, only the ability to travel between the normal world and the Sacred Realm (which Ganon turned into the Dark World).
@@MLennholm cool, fact remains link has a destiny the uncle knew about. But never told link anything. How the uncle got that information 🤷🏾♂️ beats me. But I for one believe there is another piece to the things his uncle knew that implies time travel. But it’s nothing that would ever be proven so it is what it is.
it's worth bearing in mind that during this era, game localisation was often left much more to a local team with almost no oversight from the original writers, sometimes none at all. The localisers of the time were also often writing within very strict character limits for technical reasons of the more low-level programming languagues, which often led to dialogue having to be fairly heavily re-interpreted by localisation teams across many languages to get it to fit inside the memory restrictions. Personally i think the most likely intended finish to the sentence was "last hope" or "only hope".
Definitely. Translation issues were notorious during the SNES days. Despite the jank, I'm surprised how functional some of them are. Of course I'd rather take a better translation like they did for the DS Final Fantasy 4.
Out of interest I asked a friend who works as a translator about this, whilst they agree that the most likely intent was along the lines of "you are Zelda's only hope", they also noted that this kind of cut off sentence trope is one hated within that industry as the gramatical rules of certain languages make it very difficult to cut off at the right point due to sentence structure differing, and that whilst it's now more common in cases like this for the original writers to include a comment containing the uncut sentence or a note on intent (or for there to be a way of localisers directly contacting them to check on something that could be translated multple ways), they believe it likely such things would not have been available to the localisers in this era.
Another comment mentioned how translators were flown to Japan, so they have access to the source material, so that doesn't seem to be the case at all.
Except he compared it to the original Japanese text and they effectively say the same thing so that doesn't apply here
If the reason was merely a technical issue, and not to add mystery, the devs didn’t need to waste the character limit with the uncle’s previous lines. They could have shortened his speech to free up memory to add one or two more words like “destiny” or “final hope.”
The Nintendo Power Comic as well as the Akira Himekawa Manga, his uncle just told him he might meet his parents and to protect Zelda. He was just gonna say Link is her protector.
I mean, it could be both. Maybe it was one way in Japanese, and the English localization just translated it differently. It works either way, really.
I'm pretty certain based on the context from the line before, "Link, if anyone can do it, you can," that the last words would be "You are the princess' only hope/last hope" in the original Japanese text. It just has a logical flow.
This video is excellent. It's the perfect length for what it is, presents all known evidence to help answer the question, and it taught me something new (I was not aware of the bonus dungeon in the Game Boy Advance version, so it was super cool hearing about Blind the Thief impersonating Link's Uncle during the rematch)! The subtle animations added to the artwork (like at 01:16) are satisfying too--I love the floating spores and the flicker of the lamp.
"Zelda is .....the real Ganon we made along the way"....
The way I'd always interpreted it was the localisation team having fun by joining in on all of the Star Wars references in the intro sequence by responding to the one in the original dialogue with one of their own.
- It starts with a princess projecting a message pleading for help from far, far away.
- Link's uncle is an old mentor-figure Knight who dies during the rescue attempt.
- Link's uncle gives him a sword and tells him about their (Jedi) knight 'way' and abilities.
- Link infiltrates the enemy stronghold and breaks the princess out of her prison cell, etc. etc.
It made perfect sense to me that when they came across the line "You are Zelda's (only hope)" they continued the gag by translating it into "Zelda is your (sister)", which as a joke also adds to this list of references:
- Kenobi dies before telling Luke that Leia is his sister
I don't think it was intended to be taken as canon as it was just gags and references and the sentence is never actually finished so they had the leeway to put it in.
It's far from the only time references to western media have played a significant role in shaping the Zelda series... *Cough*PeterPan*Cough*
A Link to the Past is my favorite Zelda game of all time. Starting with the music, the way the game begins, the story and so on. The fact that you are touching this subject that has puzzled fans for a long time is awesome.
Link. Zelda is your accountant
Yeah, I always interpreted it as something along the lines of "Zelda is your responsibility now".
"Link, Zelda is your..." **Sweet Home Alabama starts playing**
I assumed it was 'Zelda is your destiny.'
1:10 I always think its so funny that Link still poses with his dead uncle's sword
I know in game development, sometimes games are built backwards. So the people making the game are stronger at writing the story points that drag you in. It is possible that the original gba version was a re-translation from Japanese, and at some point they decided to do more of a reinterpretation than a re-translation. It makes sense when you think of the point where they say the dialog, as it is referenced as not the first time you had fought that boss before. This is just a theory though
Technically, if you've ever beaten the game, Link's uncle doesn't die. He passes out. "Your uncle recovers" is one of the final end-game credits points in the epilogue. He's not dead, he's just REALLY beat up.
I’m quite interested in Link’s various version of family…
Many uncles… a grandmother and sister… very mysterious.
In OOT his mother took him to the Kokiri forest but died offscreen. His father was never mentioned but he was most likely a knight who died in the war.
In BotW Zelda mentions that Link is following in his father’s footsteps. Possibly his father died from an enemy which made Link work harder.
In other games he doesn’t have much family mentioned outside WW and ALTTP which you see his family members.
Love this wee ALTTP video! Videos on the older games are always enjoyable :)
I like “Zelda is your responsibility now/You are the Princess’ only hope” since it contextually makes a lot of sense, even more so than “your destiny”
This old mystery. I always felt like the new version was both "cleaning up" and missed subtly.
The wizard and criminals always refers to the Triforce as "The Power of Gold" while those closely allied with Link call it the "Golden Power" a difference that shows how they prioritize it. This is completely missing in the Gameboy Advanced version.
No, not completely. I forget where, exactly, but there's a character somewhere that says something along the lines of, "What an irresponsible thing to leave lying around, the power of gold. Triforce." I want to say he's in the Dark World counterpart to Sahasralah's hideout near the Eastern Palace. I've only played the GBA version.
I always believed Link's uncle would say, "Zelda is your destiny."
"Destiny" meaning what exactly?
@@javiervasquez625 Destined to save and protect her. Maybe Link's uncle was her appointed knight at one point but resigned to protect Link from the bloodshed of being a knight.
"I'm your density... I mean, your destiny."
@javiervasquez625
Meaning it is Links destiny to defend Zelda from evil. All the Zelda games are full of people having important destinies, fated to do certain things, not just Link and Zelda. But they are the important 2. Im pretty sure in any of the games with actual dialogue - a whole bunch of references are made to Link's fate or destiny as the hero of Hyrule.
@@childofcascadia Thanks for the reply though i already knew after Sirrantsalot told me.
i always assumed it would be "responsibility" or something to that effect.
Very cool video. My theory is that this is either a something similar to the curse mentioned in Skyward Sword or perhaps something to do with the Triforce. Something about Zelda is your other half referring to Link being the Triforce of Courage and Zelda being the Triforce of Wisdom.
Have you ever made a video talking about the royal guard in the back alley in Ocarina of Time? This mystery with Link's uncle and his last words are very reminiscent of the royal guard, to a chilling degree in my opinion...
I’ve seen some theories that Zelda is his sister in this universe, I always thought that was kind of cool
"Z-Zelda's my what? Zelda's my WHAT?! WHAT IS SHE?!"
I don't know why anyone would be confused about this.... It can only mean one thing : Link, You are the princess' Hero... We have seen time and time again, the motif of the Hero. One who can save hyrule from peril, one who can save Zelda. With most of the moniker's of different links being Hero of the -.... I can't think of anything but the word Hero fitting there.
Exacly what I was thinking when I played the game.
You know, I like this answer.
I like to think that its destiny "Zelda is your... Destiny" because this is the 3rd game that came out and its the 3rd time you as the player are a version of Link saving another version of Zelda and they have been and always will be the destiny of Link and Zelda which is the same for all future games since.
"Zelda is your responsibility" may also be an option, not sure hehe, great video!
Honestly as a Zelda fan your videos are truly the best!
So, I always thought “cousin” but “destiny” makes way more sense. Also, on the “avoid fate” bit, it sounds like a clever reference to the “Fallen Hero of Time” timeline branch they were building at the point the GBA release came.
As for the original Japanese “You are Zelda’s …” I think “only hope” is the best fit.
I’ve always viewed the opening scene as though Link is awakened by Zelda’s telepathic message due to his lineage.
Edit: stellar video and in-depth analysis btw
It probably has to do something with the fact that they hold pieces of the Triforce.
When I was a kid I thought it was so obvious that Link's uncle was trying to say that Link and Zelda are related. I assumed "cousin," but I suppose any close familial relation could work. The old man with the mirror under Death Mountain also lends credence to this idea with his dialogue, if you read between the lines and assume that he's not some rando. Honestly, I headcanonized the idea that Link and Zelda are related and never even thought to question it till many years later.
I personally thought it was more obvious that he was saying Zelda is “yours to protect” since like, he was protecting her, then died. Now we take up his sword and shield to do the same
When I was a kid I used to think they were related just because they look like they could be siblings. Then I realized how wrong I was after playing Skyward sword.
Do you know what that old man's dialogue is? Edit: I looked up a playthrough of the game and found it. It's the old man you guide through the mountain right? I don't think the dialogue has anything that you could read between the lines to backup the idea that they're related. I like the idea of them being related though, so I wish there was.
eh cousin is still acceptable in many cultures, it wouldnt ruin links other plans
Damn. Videos like these remind me of how much I loved Zelda as a kid. It was whimsical and had just enough mystery to make it more than just just a video game but a full story, like am interactive book or movie. I want to get back into Zelda!!!
I really like this format, though I don't mind the more extensive videos either.
Glad to hear! And don't worry, I'll still be making longer content too. I've got a few big things in the works. This way, though, I don't have to go weeks/months without uploads while I work on the bigger stuff
@@ZeltikI have the T-Shirt that says Zelda is my what…
"....sister"
Link: I know. Deep down, I've always known.
That's I also thought. LOL
Responsibility was always what i assumed
"Link, Zelda is your father's, brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former roommate."
"What does that make us?"
"Absolutely nothing, which is also what I'm about to be. HRK! Bleh..."
In Japanese, sentences are often unfinished, but clearly understood in context (and often even translated in Anime as a complete sentence despite the missing word, as non-Japanese viewers wouldn't understand). It's clear that he meant "You're the princess's last hope". There's no possible ambiguity.
"There's no possible ambiguity" is his unfinished and unspoken statement.
Japanese uses a lot of implied references to earlier context element, but that's not the case here. It is clear here that the sentence is left unfinished both grammatically and semantically, not because the missing part was implied but because Link's uncle (presumably) passes away before he had a chance to utter the last words.
what are you on about
I guess the Asian stereotype of being smarter than Westerners are true.
Pffffffsssshhhh you’re making stuff up
It's obvious that in the original game, your uncle never dies, it was Blind the Thief all along.
"Zelda's my what...? ZELDA'S MY WHAT!?"
**proceeds to spaz out and shoving a fairy down uncle's throat in the hopes that it revives him**