The Complete Analysis of Link's Romantic Interactions in Twilight Princess - Link's Loves 

Official manga readers are in for a treat, if you dig Midna.

you fool, how could Link not fall for the glorious Postman?

I think, although Ilia definitely was his final love interest, Link would have gone with Midna if it was an option.

With Midna, I do think she developed feelings for Link that could have lead to being romantic had she stayed/they were able to continue spending time together.

Midna all the way i mean given how we Spend an entire journey from Beginning to end to a point where you don't want her to leave after saying goodbye makes me don't want her to go back to Twilight

“From the very first time we meet Ilia, we can tell there’s supposed to be at least some romantic connection. The way the camera pans seems to be straight out of those romantic chick-flicks, and Ilia has arguably the most romantic song in the entire franchise.” “The cutscene where Illia regains her memories has go to be by far the most obvious romantic moment in the entire franchise.” Skyward Sword would like a word with you on those statements. From the song literally titled ‘Romance In the Air’ and pretty much every scene where Link and Zelda interact, whether it be the cutesy meeting at the beginning of the game, flying on Loftwings together, the longing for each other in their faces when they occasionally meet throughout their quests, the crystal scene and the tender words said there and the pain in Link’s actions at losing her, to the moment where Link rushes into the room to catch her like all he needed was her as she broke out. Skyward Sword wins in both of those departments I would say.

The most popular choice isn’t always the correct one. I believe Ilia is the Hero of Twilight’s canon love interest. His relationship with Zelda is more professional and formal, and I believe Midna and Link’s relationship mirrors the bond between the Hero of Time and Navi, except I don’t think the Hero of Twilight would go on a hopeless quest to see her again.

I'd ship Hena and Link. They'd be a cute couple, fishing all day and boating together. Also, if they married that would make the forest hippie Link's brother in law, which is hilarious.

I don't even dislike Ilia. I think she's great, I just like Midna better lmao

I didn’t realize that people hated Ilya, her strong personality makes for some funny moments and it shows that she’s close enough with Link to act that way. Their close relationship is clear, and while I usually think of Link and Midna together cuz she witnessed the whole journey with him and became attached, she obviously can’t be cuz of the ending of the game, so logically, Link & Ilya make sense together. Also I love the part when you said “ONE of the hottest Zeldas” and showed my personal Hottest Zeldas 🤣

I always liked Ilia a lot, and she's my favorite character to ship with Link. I never understood why a chunk of fans hated her so much. They'll say "she stole my horse" even though injured legs are a serious problem for horses. It only takes a few seconds to heal in the Ordon Spring, and it would've reflected poorly on the village if Link rode in on an injured horse. Ilia's a kind-hearted girl who holds Link accountable for his actions. What's more is Link knows she's right and doesn't bother defending himself. As for the end credits scene, I like to think Link's been called to Hyrule Castle to train the soldiers in the swordsmanship he learned during his adventure, and that he'll return when that's over. Then like Ilia said, she'll be there waiting for him.

I always interpreted Midlink as being one sided from Midna’s end and I think she was about to confess to Link before destroying the mirror, but she chickened out at the last minute because she knew that she would never see him again and because she knew that Link was in love with Ilia (e.g. Midna teased Link when he found the scent of Ilia when she said “you smell that girl, don’t you? I can tell by the look on your face.”) I also like to think that Link and Zelda became friends during when repairing the damage done to the kingdom. Another piece of evidence for the Ilia ship (for me at least because this is my personal interpretation) is the infamous raining Ilias during the Lanayru cutscene because I really think that the raining Ilias represented Link’s desire for her love and his reaction to them was lust because he was tempted to use the fused shadows to force her to love him before he snaps out of it (side note: Link’s grin in that scene ALWAYS makes my skin crawl 😖). PS I’m actually one of the few Zelda fans who liked Ilia 😊

So many fell for this Link in this game, it's crazy ^^ Great Video

When Link smell Ilia's odor in the french version, Midna say "C'est l'odeur de ta louve?" "Louve" is the female of the wolf it mean something around "its the smell of your mate?"

No matter what you think about Ilia, you gotta respect her forehead game

Ilia is Perfect for Link. You pretty summed up why it is. But, I just have to say, as I played through the game that cutscene where Ilia gets ger memories back didn't need to make me feel things. (and yes I cried.)

Gonna be honest… didn’t pay attention to the romance as much in this game. Also, never understood the hate for Ilya even though I didn’t have strong feelings for her either way. She was there, she was an ongoing B or C-Plot, and she’s childhood friends with Link. I know people don’t accept relationships unless they’re either explicitly stated or shown with a kiss, but I’m not against Link/Ilya.

I have to dissagree about midnas change of heart. We already see gradual inklings of changes over the time she and Link send togeather and her most heroic caring/heroic moment comes before Zeldas sacrefice where she showes shock and worrie over link getting attacked by zant and tries to protect him despite having nothing really at her disposal, followed by her almost dying for him, followed by her beging Zelda for help, but not for herself, only Link and Hyrule . . . . all before Zelda choses to sacrefice herself for her which also horrefies Midna, so the catalyst of change had to have been link

Twilight Link and Zelda don't make much sense for me, it's cute but they are a very formal relationship

What's up with Link and red head girls that end up disappearing to never been seen?

Midna would have been the one for me. I would have pushed Zelda into the portal and have Midna destroy it so her and I would be the new King and Queen of Hyrule.

TP Link has a fine selection of beauties to pick from for sure. Underrated ladies to me are Hena and for some reason Illia. Of course Midna and Zelda are great too. "Thelma being double Link's age" Maybe a problem for him, but not for me 👀 Edit: actually got me thinking, obviously Illias the same age as him, but im pretty sure all the other girls listed are older than him too lol. Zelda and Hena strike me as early 20's maaaaybe 19, while Midna for all we know could have been around for decades already since i wouldn't be surprised if the Twili had wonky aging going on.

So basically: Midna: best choice but impossible as she’s gone forever. Hena: would work but don’t see each other too often Zelda: this era’s link and Zelda aren’t as close as other era’s. Ilia: makes the most sense are probably canon.

What's interesting to note, Link and Midna's relationship in the official manga, their romantic relationship actually gets developed and they kiss twice before Midna breaks the mirror of Twilight. So my theory is Link and Ilia were friends maybe they had a small crush on eachother but nothing was set in stone. Link meets Midna, eventually falls in love and then loses Midna. And eventually years after Link and Midna are separated Link and Ilia marry but it's more of a formality since he is aware of her feeling but his ability to feel romantic feelings have died when he lost Midna. But that's just me.

Just stumbled upon this video. Reminds me of the olden days where I shipped cartoon characters together lol. But after reading the Twilight Princess Manga adaptation by writer duo Akira Himekawa, I will say that I much prefer Link with Midna over Ilia by a 100 mile radius. Now now, I know that the manga is officially licensed by Nintendo, and that it isn't technically "canon" by any means, but I can personally think that Akira Himekawa wouldn't have crafted the story that they did if there wasn't already chemistry there between Link and Midna in the game. After all, the manga has been going since 2016 and book 10 is coming out this year in english to conclude the series. So needless to say, the author duo is definitely all for Link x Midna as far as the story goes if they're willing to make the TP manga longer than any other adaptation they've done so far. Honestly, I kinda see Link and Midna as a sort of a Spyro and Cynder dynamic in terms of chemistry throughout the course of twilight princess. One needs to rely on the other and one cannot necessarily do a task alone, so a nice bond forms overtime (possibly romantic to some degree). This is what happens with Link and Midna throughout the manga where Midna definitely shows some romantic development for Link as time went on. Unfortunately, due to Miyamoto's standards and scewed vision, we never really got an official sequel to Twilight Princess even though they were planning to make one (we got Link's crossbow training instead ... ugh). Maybe if we had one more game the shipping would have been clearer, but who knows. But I will say this, regardless of which "canon" you are behind, Nintendo has muddied up the Zelda Timeline enough to where practically any type of canon can happen with all the "official" Zelda properties. Plus, Akira Himekawa has written official canon entries in the Skyward Sword section of the zelda timeline, so by all means I would consider the author duo to have a hand in the overall canon. Nintendo wouldn't have had Akira Himekawa write all the Zelda Manga Adaptations if they didn't trust them to adapt the story for the better, which I'd say they did very well. On another note, I'd like to believe that there has to be some type of artifact or object in the world that could also bring Link into the twilight realm somehow someway. After all, Zant was just left to his own devices after Ganon was defeated, and Link just straight up rides Epona into the forest in the end credits. Maybe they could have teased that the hero of Twilight would undergo his own arc in which he tries to reunite with Midna in some way, just like how the Hero of Time tried to find Navi in Majora's Mask. But again, we will never know since Miyamoto refused to have a true followup to Twilight Princess which is a shame. Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend you guys to go and read the Twilight Princess manga if you want to truly have your Midna x Link fix, and to honestly get an even better told story than the original game, minus dungeon action. The series goes into great detail into making Link have his own background, and fills in the holes throughout the TP story by adding lore that truly fits within the continuity of the game, and fleshing out character motivations, like Zelda herself. Not to mention, the more mature themes and original events that were never in the original that ultimately makes this Manga my definitive take on Twilight Princess. Give it a read, you won't regret it.

Whether you're on the side of Ilia or Midna (personally, I'm with Midna), at least we can both realize that TP Zelink makes 0 sense

There's a detail that a lot of people seem to forget that actually disproves that link and midna will never see eachother again. Rusl tells link at the beginning of the game about the twilight, how during dusk the barrier between the two worlds gets weak and people can see people from the twilight (thought to be spirits of the dead). I think that was intentionally included to leave the possibility open.

While I support Ilia and Link, I do believe it's not outside the realm of possibility to think that Link would go on to do more within Hyrule which would involve him more with Zelda. I think Ordon might not hold onto him the way it once did. But that's speculation. Ilia and Link are for sure canon.

It's between Ilia and Midna. Either one doesn't bother me. The only problem I had with Ilia is how the writers had no idea what to do with her towards the end of the game. So really not her fault.

4:33 In the Japanese version, this kind of interpretation is kind of harder to make as romantic. She only says "Link... See- ... See you later..." Japanese players also interpret this as more of her choking up on her words that she's about to say "See you later" while realizing in the moment, that's not going to be able to happen because of her destroying the mirror, then finishing what she was going to say, the meaning no longer really being literal. Just more of a sad realization that she won't see him again. Undeniably, she cares about Link with all the time they spent together. On the other hand, the manga makes it WAY more obvious of her romantic feelings toward him though.

I’d say there’s only one example of a more certain romantic relationship than Link and Ilia in the franchise, and that’s Link and Zelda from Skyward Sword. They have a ton of chemistry, it’s shown throughout the game how much they care about one another. One of the main things keeping Link going through that game is finding and reuniting with her. It also has one of the saddest scenes where Zelda is sealed in that Crystal and Link’s face says it all. So yea when the game ends it’s obvious they end up together and basically start Hyrule Kingdom.

It seems pretty obvious Illia is Link’s live interest in Twilight Princess.

What a great time to release this video, I just finished the game for the first time and it was quite fun. I really felt for Midna at the mid credit scene and I'm pretty sure she was about to confess her love, in my opinion her breaking the mirror has two meanings first is the obvious one that light and dark cannot live together and second depicts heartbreak which mirror depicts perfectly. If I were to guess the main relationship of Link is him and Midna the reason is that you spend 95% of the game with her but they wanted some kind of heartbreaking end to the story so they send Midna back to her own realm. Great video btw

Man , i can watch your videos all the time with not getting tired

Even though I love Midna, it is undeniable that Ilya is who Link canonically ends up with

I did not realize there was Ilia hate in the fandom. Hers and Link's relationship seemed the most obvious to me.

Me: _I said the real Midna._ [The imp version shows up] Me: _Perfection_

I read the manga before playing the game, damn that piece of the ending makes it all the more different

Out of all pictures from BOTW you chose the one showing that Zelda’s thicker than a bowl of oatmeal 🤣

I feel like link and Zelda’s relationship changed in every game after SS. It’s like their souls are meant to be. I feel like he always belongs with Zelda but you all make good points.

I always interpreted the end of TP as a mirror to OoT. I thought Link left Ordon to find a way back to the Twilight Realm to reunite with Midna.

Ilia is most definitely the canon pick. (And one I definitely support considering Malon and Link. Who by the way, I pronounce Muh-lon.) But for Twilight Princess, I have been most supportive of the Zelink. Namely for when Midna changed and I include that as Zelda interactions as much as Midna after her sacrifice. Midna became more supportive and understanding. Less bossy and less of Midna using Link to them becoming more equals. And the scene she went back to more of her usual self and making decisions for others was when Zelda woke up in the throne room of the castle. And Zelda said that Midna and her hearts and minds were one however briefly. Implying Zelda was the cause of Midna’s more understanding nature. Midna BEFORE Zelda’s sacrifice always made decisions for Link and taunted him throughout. But immediately after did Midna ask Link to make the choice to help her himself, (much like Zelda does in MANY games) and often looked at corrupted twilight creatures of the bosses in particular (Stallord through Zant) with a bit more caution and care. But after Midna loses Zelda’s light, she immediately takes it upon herself to take on Ganondorf without Zelda or Link, and takes it upon herself to seal the door of Twilight shut. I get the hunch Link caught on to that as Zelda and Link are equals. And that can kinda add to Zelda’s interactions with Link. And if you include that, Link spent the hardest parts of his journey with Zelda as well as Midna. And I think that adds a lot to his relationship with Zelda. (While also not harming his arc with Midna) And although the master sword was laid to rest, the fact Link didn’t abandon his tunic also tells me he didn’t stop being the hero after Ganondorf’s death. Which although unproven, Link likely would have continued to spend a lot of time with Zelda. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence Twilight Zelda and Link were used so much in smash bros.

the entire franchise? i still think skyward sword zelda and link have a lot more stronger moments overall. but illya is also pretty good too tho.

I really wanted Link to leap through the mirror before Midna destroyed it. Not only would this "confirm" the game's best ship (in my not-so-humble opinion), but it'd be an interesting setup for Four Swords Adventures - the only game following TP on the official timeline. FSA is a bit odd because the Triforce of Courage never makes a direct appearance outside being mentioned on some history plaques. The absence could have been explained through TP's Link disappearing with his piece of the triforce into the Twilight Realm.

I don't hate her and Link being together but I do think the fishing hole girl is a good candidate as well. My reason to support this is because when you look at the canoe if you take a good look at it from a different angle you can also realize that it's the same canoe she is using or at least same design when she goes out on the water with link after a few times.

I'd ship Hena and Link. They'd be a cute couple, fishing all day and boating together. It would also make the forest hippie Link's brother in law, which is hilarious.

well, Some thing's can change. I believe that midna and Link would end up together. First because llia forget to link is like 2 hours into the game, and second because midna is with you throughout most of the entire game. Through Midna's personality change throughout the game and her kindness to link by the end, I think that midna is the best person suitable for Link in Twilight Princess.

Hey it just ocurred to me, if the possibility that the hero of time got together with Zelda is true, wouldnt that mean that the Link and Zelda from Twilight princess are blood related? I mean if every Zelda in the series is a decendant from the other Zeldas that came before so she would have to be a decendant from the Zelda we see in ocarina of time.

While Ilia seems like the most realistic, the ending tells me it won't happen. Link leaving the village indicates that he went off to see the world.

Yea, Ilia really seems to be Link's canon match as well as Malon in Ocarina of Time (and TP proves it also), but fun fact - earlier I was obsessed with MidLink and ZeLink. like, REALLY obsessed. I personally think that if Midna didn't destory the mirror, they might've had some development, but, yes, life sucks.

I understand not everyone liking Ilia but Mayor Bo and Link are definitely the perfect father and son in Law.

Damn I missed this series

Only reason why I think it would make more sense for Link to choose Midna over Illia (if she hadn’t broken the mirror) is because I believe Link changed so much during his journey as a hero and Midna would probably understand him better than Illia at that point

I still cry every time I watch Midna's farewell scene like the first time I saw it when I was like what? 13-14 years old? I was blown away with Midna's true form and her obvious love for Link.

My heart rips knowing all these are different story lines. My heart always ships Zelda and link but now doing a deep dive it's hard to think of anything but that 😮

Ilia is PRIME waifu material, and everyone who says otherwise is wrong.

Omg he uploaded

When we played an about 16-17 year old link in Ocarina of Time he was about the same height as Link in Twilight princess but i wonder what exactly makes the heroes shade so tall and if TP who inherits his genetics also has a chance to become like him

Illia is a real farmer girl! Those kind of women give ugly tasting medicine with great healing effect!

I actually really like ilia, I thought she and link made a cute couple. It's clear that there's a mutual love and attraction there. Seeking her and the kids at the beginning of the game was for me one of the hooks tbh. This is one of the few games where there's no clear romantic intention with princess zelda (while skyward sword, botw, and totk made the romance between link and zelda much clearer imho).

*The scene where Link and Midna break up, and Midna shed a tear, made me shed a tear too*

The thing against Illia being the end all be all is that we don't know where Link went after Twilight Princess. After his journey, maybe he decided to find new adventures and leave Hyrule, maybe he decided to be a knight for the Kingdom and serve under Zelda or another theory, he went to find a way to reunite with Midna. All of the above like his ancestor before him. Any way you look at it, him leaving Ordon might've been an actual parting. TP Link might've had the case of Wanderlust, not being able to settle down with Ilia.

It's between Midna and Ilia for me. I personally prefer Link with Midna, they play off each other well and make an excellent team, plus their chemistry is just really, really good. But I think Link with Ilia makes more sense. There are a lot of in-game hints that Link and Ilia have feelings for each other, plus seeing as Midna destroys the only portal that would allow her and Link to see each other again, even if Link WAS in love with her, a relationship between them could never happen. Midna is separated from Link forever, but Ilia is right there with him even after his adventure ends. If the Hero of Twilight were to end up with anyone, Ilia is the only one that both makes sense and has a chance of working out.

Wait, why do people hate Ilya? I played TP, and did the whole 100% completion too (thank you gamefaqs). I didn't hate her. She just didn't leave all that much impression on me.

Glad you came to the same conclusion. I think Ilia is my favourite character from the game, and although transporting her over the bridge was annoying as hell the story around her made up for it.

Given how it ends, it’s pretty obvious who he canonically smashes.

midna all the way

Manga confirmed it. If Aonuma didn't greenlight the manga adaptation, then it wouldn't have been written in that way. Plus, the final page feels like OoT Link is showing TP Link a way to get back to Midna that way TP Link doesn't suffer like he did

never understand why the seen with link and midna were link holds her in his arm isn’t romantic but the seen in botw with zelda and link is

My take is that Link just figured he'd end up with Ilia before the events of the game, then fell in love with Midna, and after losing her went to Zelda.

Midna reminds me a bit of mother Talzin from Star Wars

I'm sometimes a bit of a contrarian, but in this case my favorite potential love interests are also Malon and Midna. That said, i also have to agree that Ilia is probably the actual girlfriend of the story

Huh, how very interesting, though didn’t you already cover this Title?

Will you be re-evaluating the pervious videos too?

I truly believe it’s meant to be Ilia and Link, I mean they grew up together

Personally I think it’s with Ilia. But If I’m Honest,Game Twi-Link is one of the Links that I just Can’t Imagine in a Relationship.(Which is Odd since he is probably one of the more Mature Links in the franchise but still) With Zelda i think they are more like Co-Workers. They Respect each other but They aren’t really ‘Shippable’. With Midna…I’m conflicted. The Manga really did it make me like the couple. but as canon goes,The Ship Will NEVER Sail.Even in the manga,Midna just can’t ignore her role as the Twilight Princess and Neither Can she Ignore’s Link’s role as Zelda’s and Hyrule’s Champion.thus the best she can do for them is a final kiss but that’s it. Just Fond Memories And A Bitter sweet Love between Star-Crossed Lovers. (Also,A big part of The ship was because Manga Link was his own Character instead of The Games where he is less Writing) If anything. Game Link and Midna are more like Broa more than anything else. So It’s Ilia by Process of Elimination.But honestly…I find it hard to seeing them Settle down. Mostly Because Ilia is Not in the plot at all in later parts and She just ends up on the side.

Link is short cause he is younger than Zelda.

Ehh, when Midna cuddles with Link after she destroyed the Twilight barriers around Hyrule Castle and how they look at each other?

Con Zelda no, pues hay cero química en esta ocasión más con Midna pero evidentemente el emparejamiento lógico se va por Ilia

from the two most obvious answers to link's love interest in Twilight Princess we can deduce that TP link likes bossy women XD

I had never of people hating on Ilya before.

I would have liked if Link ended up with Midna but Ilia is the most logical choice 😔

While I get the reasons for Telma, some people make it work with a large age difference. Some people prefer it in fact. I just don't think it would work because Telma's got a lot of other things on her mind about helping people, and like you said, she's just got that kind of personality.

Well in the manga its obvios that link went on a journey to find a way to the twilight kingdom remember in the mangas canon the mirror itsn the only portal to the twilight, otherwise in the game the final its the same link embarcs in to other journey its just we dont see another way to the twilight realm.

I don't hate Ilia that much, but I think that the shot of Link leaving Ordon Village in the end credits is meant as him going on his next adventure, what that is we can't really know for certain other than he certainly wouldn't be sharing it with Ilia. Maybe he's searching for another way to the Twilight Realm so he can be with Midna? that's just a suggestion that would support the Midna ship though and doesn't have much basis other than him obviously not wanting to be separated from Midna. It could honestly be anything and it was probably just a teaser for the canned Twilight Princess sequel. So imo his love was either Midna or possibly another girl we don't know of and never will since Twilight Princess 2 never came out.

Why does no one mention the time Midna mentioned something was romantic but she was getting out of the burning building and that was like the first time she flirted with him

Boy is a chad, even though he is smoll he still has game for the boom boom. How can any girl resist such a manly man. A silent protagonist who only has to smile to woo them ladies, boi a succubus of love. He also got that drip with all that green and tights showing how real men wear clothes. And at a young age is natural on music playing, horse riding, sword combat, and treasure hunting. And due to his treasure hunts he makes that dough like no other cash flowing in his pocket.

11:41 waaaaat, isn't link and zelda from skyward sword better as it is almost confirmed by the way zelda speaks to link etc?

I love link x zelda in all the legend 8f zelda games

link x zelda is more professional and trust then romance. where they would be back each other if danger comes ahead. Midna/Link is forbidden love, due of their positions form their own worlds they can't be a thing, link is a hero in his world while midna is ruler in her world. it does suck she destory the mirror but midna is doing what's best even it hurts her heart. for hena is a possible interest. it doesn't feel one sided even though hena is head over heels for him and link enjoys her company, illa x Link is strongly possible, link grew up with her, they do feel like a married old couple, most of the twilight plot is doing it for illa. just like the Hero of time, link just has a thing with country girls. which was possible with Hena if they would've spend more time together

Midna forever

Telma has strong "auntie" vibes

I like ilia character so far In the manga

I see Midna as another species, not even as an other race. Dont like liker her and dont hate the character either, feels like the feminine version of Hiei from Yuyu Hakusho, someone you can not turn your back

you forgot the great fairy 😏

"Do you ship Link with another character just because you hate Ilia that much?" No. Shipping Link with another character does not mean that I hate Ilia. Maybe it just means that I think there is more to determining a relationship than just "this character had more screen time with Link". Maybe I think there's a lot of untold story that happens after the game ends. Maybe I think that Link and a certain princess want to find companionship with each other after everything they've been through. (TP Zelink all the way ✌)

Midna is best girl. If this Link touched the triforce, I'm sure he would find himself at her side again.

Midna >>>>>>>>>> everyone.

Ilia is the boring shounen love interest who hangs around the sidelines of the plot, gets damsel-ed occasionally, and has no natural chemistry with the MC and is only recognizable as a love interest because it's such a cliche. Midna on the other hand, is your true companion who shared every moment of your adventure with you, it's pretty obvious who the better love interest is, regardless of what the developers intended. It's the classic Orihime vs Rukia situation.

Midna is best waifu. End of conversation, you're welcome.