For decades, the relationship between Link and Princess Zelda has been at the forefront of fan speculation, and the recent release of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has reinvigorated that discussion. On one side of the fandom are those who interpret the relationship as romantic, while others perceive it as more platonic and even familial.
In an interview with Game Rant, Princess Zelda voice actress Patricia Summersett shed some light on the nature of the protagonists' relationship and cleared up some misconceptions based on her past remarks on the subject. She also emphasized that the portrayal of Princess Zelda was a group effort that involved many people across several creative teams who worked hard to ensure that Zelda's depiction in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom came across exactly as intended.
Link and Zelda's Relationship Is Intentionally Ambiguous
Patricia Summersett recently spoke about Link and Zelda's relationship, and some of her remarks were taken out of context. She had said that "if there is something there, it's left to us," which led to claims she had implied that the pair were a romantic couple. She addressed this with Game Rant, strongly emphasizing that the relationship is open to interpretation by players and how that ambiguity/mystery is an important part of their relationship across all games.
I'm not sure if you just saw that huge thing that blew up on Twitter today about me having to qualify a statement that somebody misquoted, and then it made a bunch of headlines about me saying something that I completely did not imply in the article?
So let me answer this very carefully. Because that's precisely what it was about. It's left ambiguous. I think people can put onto that incredibly dynamic relationship the interpretation of their choosing, and everybody comes to this series for different reasons. I personally love that there's a mystery in it. It keeps it all very active.
That the relationship is open to interpretation is very much consistent with Link's traditional role as a silent protagonist, allowing players to self-insert and interpret Link's world in their own way, without dialogue telling players how to feel or what to think in Link's shoes. Link's intentionally ambiguous relationship with Zelda is an extension of this freedom to choose. Players who want to see it as romantic and players who want to see it as platonic both have the opportunity to connect to an interpretation that feels right to them.
Zelda's Portrayal Was A Group Effort
Of course, Patricia Summersett wasn't solely responsible for the role of Princess Zelda. Narrative writers, scriptwriters, animators, and many others behind the scenes played an important role in depicting Princess Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom. This reinforces the idea that the relationship is intentionally ambiguous, as a significant number of people working on the game worked toward a portrayal that could be interpreted openly. In other words, the nature of the relationship wasn't just Summersett's idea.
The voice of Zelda and the way she's represented is very much a group effort, so it is my voice mixed with the vision of a lot of people on a creative team — more than one creative team. So I share in that enthusiasm and desire to get it right and do rely on the collective support and approval!
I do feel pressure sometimes, and I want to represent her as well as I can in the real world, because she does tend to be a symbol for people in certain rooms. But it is a character and it's not me. I now spend more time not distancing myself entirely, but just taking it all with a grain of salt. There's only so much that I can do and be in one lifetime, and I ultimately represent a lot of different characters from a lot of different franchises.
Summersett understandably felt some pressure taking on the role of one of the most iconic video game characters of all time, and with a major aspect of that character being open to interpretation, she has the added challenge of having to set the record straight regarding the team's intentions.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on Nintendo Switch.