Marin

So hopefully this is in the right place, as LA is a GB game.

I don't have any experience with this character, but I've heard various things...that she reminds Link of Zelda ( ALTTP Zelda ) enough to make him mistake her for Zelda. She guides him and aids him in his quest, like many of the other Zelda's. And most importantly, Link apparently falls in love with her.
But Malon ( and Talon ) are based off her and her father, and many use this as proof that Link loves Malon. But in reverse, Marin was based off Zelda, so we can say Link already loved Zelda, and Marin just built on it. And also what made Marin special ( helping Link in his quest and being his best bud ) is also something associated with Zelda. But anyways..to you who have played LA..what's the story here?

I haven't played much of Link's Awakening, but from what I have played and from what I know, Link wakes up after being shipwrecked, sees Marin, and immediately assumes she is Zelda. Marin looks exactly like Zelda, expect Marin's hair is red and not blonde.

Because of this, many Malinkers think that Marin = Malon, but from what I wrote in the above paragraph, we can conclude that Marin = Zelda.

As for the "Link loves Marin" thing...the majority of Link's Awakening turns out to be a dream Link's having. Since Marin is a dream version of Zelda, we can conclude that Link loves Zelda.

This probably didn't make much sense. I'll just stop talking...

No, no, that made sense

Koholint Island is, essentially, a dream shared by Link and the Wind Fish, and so it's made up from parts of their subconscious (not to mentioned twisted by the Shadow Nightmares). When Link washes up on the shores or the island, it is Marin that finds and cares for him. When he wakes up, Link confuses her for Zelda. For all we know, she could have been created by Link's subconscious, as a representation of someone he trusted and cared about. After all, I think if any of us were shipwrecked on a strange island, we'd want to be found by a friendly face

Also, Tarin himself resembles Link's uncle from Link to the Past, the game which preceded Link's Awakening. So in a symbolic way, Link is rescued by his "family" when he washes up on Koholint

This may sound really dumb, but how is Link's and the Wind Fish's dream twisted by the Shadow Nightmares? I figure that the Shadow Nightmares are the bosses of the dungeons/temples...

The "Tarin = ALttP!Link's uncle" thing makes sense, but how does the "Marin = Zelda" thing help with the "Link is saved by his 'family' in a symbolic way" theory? I think the "Link and Zelda are brother and sister" theory has been disproven.

The dream is twisted because the Shadow Nightmares unleashed monsters, hid the instruments that could awaken the Wind Fish, and generally mace life on Koholint not very fun. Various NPC's throughout the game pretty much say that the island was peaceful before the monsters showed up

And with the Zelda = family thing, I simply meant that Zelda is close enough of a friend to Link to be considered family, not that she was an actual blood relative

Ahhh Link's Awakening, one of my favorite games (I think I'll go play it again). And I adore Marin.

But I for one certainly do not believe Marin = Malon. Especially, since Malon essentially does not exist in the ALTTP universe. Marin was meant to be an interpretation of Zelda, which of course is shown by Link mistaking her for Zelda. However, I do believe Marin was a basis for Malon i.e the red hair, love to sing, love of animals and their fathers' uncanny resemblance to each other (and Mario). So when OoT was being developed, the character designers must've understood and realized that Marin was (and in some cases still is) a popular character. So they may have decided to recreate her. Hence, Malon was born <3.

I don't believe Marin is proof of Malink (or Zelink for that matter) in OoT, for the simple fact that the two Links in the games are different Links. So Link loving Marin may mean he loves Zelda, is debatable. Because the only thing Zelda and Marin have in common is that they look so much alike that it can confuse our hero. I think Link loved Marin not only because she was nostalgic by reminding him of Zelda, but also because she had a distinct personality all her own (not simply because she was a Zelda clone, which I don't think she was).

But as far as Marin x Link proving Zelink or Malink in OoT, I just don't buy it.

Like you said, Marin was designed to look enough like Zelda for Link to mistake them.

That concept is a very big part of the plot in my upcoming fic, Circles.

I think Marin is one of the biggest, most important hints at the ZeLink coupling. Marin.... the beautiful island girl Link thought was Zelda. For those who don't know, it's canon for Marin to have either red or blonde hair. Each Zelda game has various styles of artwork- usually 2 (sometimes 3) types. In some artwork, she had red hair- in other artwork she had blonde hair. You'll have to remember that when LA came out, it was in black and white, and it wasn't until later that her sprite was given red hair in the rerelease.

I believe that Marin was Link's dream girl version of Princess Zelda. A simple peasant (although a hero) being with a princess is unlikely (although canon in AoL), and his only way to ever come to be so close to her is through a dream.

Marin symbolized Princess Zelda in many ways people overlook:
She wanted to fly away- to be free. Much like a princess would want to be free so that she may choose who she would want to be with... to just cast aside all those royal duties and live her own life.

She came so close to telling Link her feelings on multiple accounts... Princess Zelda would have wanted to do the same, but could not.

She was also given a very simple design... a major contrast to the regal wardrobe a princess would have. Perhaps this was to symbolize that beneath that royal shell was a normal, simple girl who just wanted to live freely.
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I do, however, disagree with the statement that Marin reminded Link of ALttP Zelda. According to Miyamoto, ALttP is the last game in the series, and LA can fit in anywhere after OoT. So, LA had to come somewhere between those games, disproving the theory that Marin looks like ALttP Zelda. This mistake was most likely based upon the character designs.

That is where I have my problem with Marin proving ZeLink. Link thought she was Zelda, but the point remains she wasn't. The only thing Marin really had in common with Zelda is that they both looked so much like that it confused Link. Other than that, I really don't see much of a similarity between the two.

This was not only Link's dream but the Wind Fish's as well. So it's hard for me to believe that Link completely dreamed up Malon. I think the Wind Fish had a hand in her creation, as such making her a separate person altogether. She was nostalgic, yes, because she bore a resemblance to Zelda, but I believe she was her own person which helped Link gravitate toward her.

Of course I think this is just me wanting Marin to be her own person, rather just "a version of Zelda". She was my first Zelda girl and I don't enjoy thinking of her as, essentially, a clone of Zelda. I don't think she was. I think Link did fall in love with Marin, not only because she reminded him of Zelda. But also because she (ugh this is hard to explain. It makes sense in my head.) had her own personality which made her distinctly different than Zelda, I guess you could say.

EDIT: More of what I wanted to say

Otherwise wouldn't he be actually falling for Zelda? Even if Marin was only a "dream version" of Zelda, she still had separate feelings.

I hope this makes sense

I agree with you, Saami. See, while Marin may be a "dream version" of Zelda, it doesn't necessarily make her Zelda. She has the some of the same characteristics (for the most part), and looks pretty much identical. However, like I said, she's symbolic. Her personality is what Zelda would want to be (or perhaps even what Link would imagine she'd be) but can't be because of her royal position. This is what makes Marin an entirely different character. She's complex, really, and it makes her one of the greatest TLoZ characters of all.

...I hope that made sense. DX

Actually, the inhabitants of Kohonlint as well as the island itself is a dream of the Windfish, not Link's. Marin is the Windfish's creation, which is why the Owl as well as the monsters kept warning Link that if he woke the Windfish, the island (and it's inhabitants) would disappear. They didn't say "if you wake up, the island will disappear". And there is no evidence to even suggest the Windfish knew about Zelda or even Hyrule. And even if she is "only a dream", that doesn't change the fact that feelings were there between them. And Marin becomes more than a dream, as shown at the end of Link's Awakening. The Windfish granted her wish.

Just moving it to the appropriate thread.

Actually, the inhabitants of Kohonlint as well as the island itself is a dream of the Windfish, not Link's. Marin is the Windfish's creation, which is why the Owl as well as the monsters kept warning Link that if he woke the Windfish, the island (and it's inhabitants) would disappear. They didn't say "if you wake up, the island will disappear". And there is no evidence to even suggest the Windfish knew about Zelda or even Hyrule. And even if she is "only a dream", that doesn't change the fact that feelings were there between them. And Marin becomes more than a dream, as shown at the end of Link's Awakening. The Windfish granted her wish.

Just moving it to the appropriate thread.

But there was supposed to be a connection with Zelda, correct? Why else would Marin be pointed out to be physically similar, enough for Link to mistake her for Zelda? The dev's don't throw this sort of info in for no reason.

Nevertheless, I do agree that Marin is a different person but I think that the Windfish "borrowed" inspiration from Zelda, Hyrule for Koholint and supposedly the Nightmares resemble Ganon...they were just different people/things...like Termina borrowing characters from OoT and changing them.

Actually, the inhabitants of Kohonlint as well as the island itself is a dream of the Windfish, not Link's. Marin is the Windfish's creation, which is why the Owl as well as the monsters kept warning Link that if he woke the Windfish, the island (and it's inhabitants) would disappear. They didn't say "if you wake up, the island will disappear". And there is no evidence to even suggest the Windfish knew about Zelda or even Hyrule. And even if she is "only a dream", that doesn't change the fact that feelings were there between them. And Marin becomes more than a dream, as shown at the end of Link's Awakening. The Windfish granted her wish.

Just moving it to the appropriate thread.

But there was supposed to be a connection with Zelda, correct? Why else would Marin be pointed out to be physically similar, enough for Link to mistake her for Zelda? The dev's don't throw this sort of info in for no reason.

Nevertheless, I do agree that Marin is a different person but I think that the Windfish "borrowed" inspiration from Zelda, Hyrule for Koholint and supposedly the Nightmares resemble Ganon...they were just different people/things...like Termina borrowing characters from OoT and changing them.

I don't think the dev's want to go without mentioning Zelda at least once. I seem to remember there were a few fans who thought Link WAS Zelda in the original The Legend of Zelda game. And I think this may have been the first Zelda game for many (it was mine). So this may have simply been to avoid that same confusion.

And if you mean the Nightmares Link fight at the end of the game, Ganon's shadow does appear. As does Agahnim. I believe these were actually Link's side of the dream. Since I don't think the Windfish knew anything about Hyrule.

Finally, something we can agree on

Or they wanted to imply that Zelda was important to Link, even if she wasn't present. Most believe that LA Link is ALTTP Link ( my first Zelda game ) as well...they have a history.

So Link and the Windfish were dreaming together...this could still explain why Marin appeared as Zelda, someone of great importance to him....regardless that she's a different person. As for Hyrule...I've seen comparisons of Koholint to ALTTP's Hyrule before...they seem to have some merit.

We agree on TP Link and Zelda as well. Just most noticeably not OoT Link and Zelda.

I think it's been stated that LA is not a sequel ALttP, as there is no definite answer as to where it is to be placed in the timeline. I'm not saying that it isn't the same Link. Just that there's a possibility that he's not the same.

Do you remember any of the comparisons? I would love to hear them.

And there seems to be an agreement on WW Link/Zelda (even though I tend to lean toward Link/Medli as well).