Malon topic, Yeah.

I never heard of any version of MM cutting out the hug Cremia gives to Link, and I never heard any complaints about it.

I never heard of any version of MM cutting out the hug Cremia gives to Link, and I never heard any complaints about it.

A topic was started on ZU and I believe the verdict was that the PAL ( Pacific/Japan ) region retained the hug in the GC version, but none of us NAer's could trigger it. I haven't been able to despite being able to in the N64 version. I never heard complaints, but I can why it could spell trouble. Some fans think that Cremia actually had a thing for 10 year old Link.

That's weird, especially considering Cremia has feelings for Kafei.

That's weird, especially considering Cremia has feelings for Kafei.

http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/link...h-the-red-hair/

Here's an example. I've been linked to this article more than once as evidence for how the dev's favour MaLink. But it's just another fan writing it and most don't keep that in mind.

The Kafei thing seems to get missed most of the time, but it's an important piece of the puzzle. It may be because the scenes that confirm it require persistance to find. ( talking to Romani before leaving on the ride, the inn at 9 pm on the second day ) I still think that Cremia was merely responding in thankfulness to a hero. Link was responding to a pretty girl hugging him into her chest and earlier calling him an adult.

I've only read the first paragraph, and the person who wrote it described Malon as "the leading lady." I can't help but think, "What? What game has this person played?"

I skimmed through that article a bit, and I realized that it's a pretty old one; I've read it before, along with articles by that same person concerning the Link/Saria, Link/Ruto, and Link/Zelda ships.

Yeah, it definitely sounds like normal actions and reactions from Cremia and Link respectively.

Nabooru, more forward in the Japanese version? Is it something like what the Poe Man says to Link when you kill all ten Big Poes ("If I was as handsome as you, I could run a different kind of business!")? Ugh, that sounded wrong...

From what I heard, yes. I'm pretty sure promoting pedophilia is against the law in N America, which could explain the change. The Cremia hug is also mysteriously absent in the GC collector's edition of MM, and I would venture that's maybe why. Did they get complaints?

They had to have had complaints. I mean, seriously. Would you want your little boy being mashed up into a woman's breast? Would you want him sexually propositioned by a female mobster? Would you want your children to SEE scenes where this was considered comedic or, Christ forbid, acceptable?

This is not the only case of North American translators having to clean up Japanese imports - take the Sailor Moon cartoons, for example. If you watch the English-subbed cartoons as opposed to the English-DUBBED cartoons, there are extreme differences. An excellent example is that of Neflyte, who appears as a woman in the North American Sailor Moon cartoons. In the Japanese version of the cartoons, Neflyte is an effeminate (by our standards) appearing man. Obviously, parents would have raised Cain if their children watched a children's cartoon with obvious homosexual references, so it was edited out.

One thing that gliderpilotgirl has brought up is the fact that these particular Zelda games seem to have a slight fascination with pedophilia and prostitution (as Angel Zelda quoted the Poe Salesman, "If I was as handsome as you, I could run a different kind of business!") In TP, we definitely had some of the same stuff going on, just with a bit older Link. Anyone see the scene where she virtually shoves her chest into Link's face? Yeah, that may have been a cute reference to the scene in MM, but I rather think not.

Who's "she"? Are you talking about Ilia?

Who's "she"? Are you talking about Ilia?

I apologize! I am speaking of Telma. Ilia doesn't have the rack to shove in anyone's face.

Who's "she"? Are you talking about Ilia?

I apologize! I am speaking of Telma. Ilia doesn't have the rack to shove in anyone's face.

Oh, okay. I don't know anything about Telma. Maybe I'll look up her picture or something.

Yes, it is indeed quite old. Frankly, I liked the case he made for Ruto and Saria, but those are easy to veto as the game does it for you. I also have to pick a bone with the point he is trying to make about developer intention: what about the interviews and manga's, or anything else they've had input in? There's no affirmation of MaLink anywhere: it seems to be something beloved primarily by the fans.

What bothers me is Link is supposed to be the "hero with the pure heart"...I know MM was a more adult game, but it's crossing the line. On the bright side, it being so offensive/comedic again takes away it's seriousness. I doubt they would be treating the developer's choice girl ( an alternate version of her ) for Link with such obvious crudeness if she was actually that. Zelda gets nothing but respect from the game on the other hand, and I think Link himself has great respect for her. I see admiration, respect and love as being more indicative of the type of healthy relationship he has with her.

What I really mean to say is that men typically don't marry the girls who flirt so obviously and throw themselves at them...they marry the girls who believe in them, wait for them and act more like Zelda. ( And Anju )

I vaguely remember his case for Link/Ruto (I think it had a lot to do with Link and Ruto's "engagement"), but I honestly can't remember much about the Link/Saria article.

But I do remember that he seemed to be using double standards when it came to Malink and Zelink. He was obviously a Malinker, and I remember that he twisted the cloud scene between Link and Zelda in OoT as being just friendship.

Uhh... I don't think the hug in the MM game represented anything, really. It was but only a friendly gesture that helped to portray Cremia's motherly side; she adores Link as a mother would her own child. That's the way I see it, anyway. There's no way Nintendo would tag something like that along in a game. Not only that, his face was pressed against her stomach; not her breast. Let's keep in mind that up until TP was released, all of the Zelda games were geared for everyone, which means children and adults alike.

Aside from that, there are obvious facts that bring Link and Zelda together, and there will continue to be. People are just overlooking those facts for whatever reason.

People see what they want to. Sometimes I wonder if we are guilty of that too, I mean I know I would be if I tried to advocate that ZeLink was the primary pairing of TP. I can use logic to try to point to her, but I didn't feel the heart behind it. I think that's the undefinable aspect that makes me so settled on ZeLink in OoT/MM...the emotions that the game sent my way. Another reason why I can discount the Cremia scene personally is for that very reason: I picked up feelings of thankfulness from her, and heroic affection from Link. ( As in how a hero loves the ones he saves..I'd call it a platonic love, but still affection in a manner. )

Unfortunately, the emotion that one particular player feels can't be defined, and can't be right or wrong. I can advocate that the creators were trying to evoke a certain emotion though. That's where again the manga, etc come in. They confirm that our interpretation is a valid, Nintendo sanctioned one.

But you also have people who say that the manga can't be taken as canon, so there's really no right or wrong way to view it. As a Zelda player, we all have different interpretations, whether Zelink or Malink or any other Link ship.

But quite feankly, I find that any Malink evidence that can be found, whether in OoT or in any other game, is flimsy at best.

It is rather likely that Nintendo hints towards something between Zelda and Link, hoping that the player will find the pair appealing, but they allow the player to engage in the game by formulating their own relationships with the people that they meet. If you think about it, that's the main reason why they haven't explicitly stated anything between Link and Zelda and have only hinted towards it. I still believe that Zelda is the "leading lady", but the options are left open. I suppose that's one reason for why Zelda is so popular; you actually feel like you are a part of the game.