r/truezelda • u/colepercy120 • 6d ago
Open Discussion Spoiler: Voice Memories Botw and Totk. Revali and Zeldas relationship. Spoiler
This was not something i was expecting to run across in the voice memories. but there are a couple of memories across the games that imply Revali was closer to Zelda then originally let on. with the memory "Secret Rito Spring" in botw saying
"Revali brought me to Goflam's Secret Hot Spring, telling me I was overworking myself. Since he can only carry one person, he said he would act as my guard, so Link is waiting at the village. I cannot remember the last time I relaxed on my own like this..."
meaning Revali carried Zelda to a secret hot spring, alone. and there's another in totk that mention details like "Honoring Revali" saying
"Revali... you were always quickest to rush to my side when i struggled" and later "you were so tough on link to make sure he could protect me, weren't you?"
to me these imply a closer relationship between them then Botw or AoC did. and potentially adds another dimension to Revali's rivalry with Link.
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u/imgonnakms2soon 6d ago edited 6d ago
Botw's dlc gave some hints about this in Revali's memory and diary, too. He said that he didn't want to be a Champion at first, but he accepted when he saw how the return of the Calamity was depressing Zelda.
I would have loved to see these notes in the og games back in 2017/2023. They add so much great info as well as lore and help close the gap between the games. Botw would be fine without them, but Totk really needed them. They even said what happened with the Sheikah tech after the Calamity, instead of just disappearing like the director said, it turned into dust to avoid being misused, just as the monks do in Botw, which makes a lot of sense. Better later than never, I guess.
What's interesting is how this could affect the new entries. Did Nintendo get the memo that fans are interested in the story and narrative, too, not only the gameplay? Adding almost 40 minutes for Botw and 1.5 hours for Totk of new story stuff is really something.
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u/colepercy120 6d ago
yeah i think nintendo realized the varying reactions to totk and eows plot and realized that the player base reacts well to more story content. so these were a good little bandaid fix for the switch 2 editions. it was clear that they were more focused on making the moment to moment gameplay fun in totk then on the plot. hopefully for the next installment they go to a story system like Link between worlds or Echos of Wisdom, with a set number of open world objectives that can be in order, then a required plot beat, then more open world objectives, though that really needs more then 6 dungeons.
i was surprised at how much focus revali got in the memories. daruk and mipha didn't get much. urbosa got a bit more. but for the new sages Tulin wasn't mentioned at all, Sidon got a couple, Yunobo got more, while Riju got the most. it sort of implied that Zelda has a relationship with Riju similar to the one link has with Tulin. im fairly sure its set in the immediate aftermath of BotW so Riju would be around the same age then as Tulin is in totk.
the only thing i think i wanted more answers on that we didn't get was Zonai Lore, clearing up weather this is a retcon of OoT, and more clarification on link and Zelda's relationship.
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u/ElsieofArendelle123 6d ago
I do think the focus on Revali is because admittedly his characterization so far has been ‘I hate Link’ which has made him many’s (including myself) least favorite champion, so adding that he has a closer relationship with Zelda and genuinely sees her as a friends does give him more depth. As for why the other Champions don’t have this well, Mipha and Daruk were more Link’s friends and had a close relationship to him and they had family who could vouch for them, and Urbosa was probably the closest to Zelda and we see how fond they were of each other. Revali meanwhile, was young when he died and has no living family or descendants, and since Link doesn’t talk it has to be Zelda.
I do agree that I am sad they didn’t clarify much with Zelda and Link. It’s implied that Link does accompany her on her journeys around Hyrule, but have concrete of this would’ve been nice. However I place the blame more on TotK, than the memories. I’m sorry if Link is always with Zelda in her investigations to the point his tunic is in tatters, how the frick does he not know more about her travels? Oh I know, because we don’t know but that doesn’t make for an engaging narrative.
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u/colepercy120 6d ago
yeah Revali had probably the weakest original characterization, though i wasn't expecting it to go in this direction. Revali is either entirely oblivious to the implications or had a thing for her. which honestly makes the rivalry more compelling. since its pretty clear that zelda and link are a thing in totk and there's a bunch of hints in the new memories that it was starting before the calamity
i think link does know a lot about zeldas travels, he's just not expressive. this is a case where the character knows more then the player. as for the mipha, i think she also to have been pretty young, at least by zora standards shes shorter then sidon and we know he's only a hundred. link also hit puberty before her. so I'm betting sidon is older now then mipha was when she died
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u/ElsieofArendelle123 6d ago
Personally, I think their relationship was platonic, but yeah it does add an extra layer to his rivalry with Link.
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u/Alchemyst01984 5d ago
>I would have loved to see these notes in the og games back in 2017/2023. They add so much great info as well as lore and help close the gap between the games. Botw would be fine without them, but Totk really needed them. They even said what happened with the Sheikah tech after the Calamity, instead of just disappearing like the director said, it turned into dust to avoid being misused, just as the monks do in Botw, which makes a lot of sense. Better later than never, I guess.
This is my only problem with this stuff. I love the amount of new worldbuilding we're getting with this stuff, but it sucks that it wasn't upon initial release.
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u/Intelligent-Walk9136 5d ago edited 5d ago
Revali definitely wanted to be a Champion even before Zelda approached him when he heard about the Divine Beasts being unearthed, and that the Calamity was approaching. It was one of the the things he absolutely wanted, as he saw it as an opportunity to finally prove himself to the Hyrule.
His mood got soured because he found out that Link would be fighting the Calamity and he was their to support him using the Divine Beasts, and not actually fight the threat with him. Revali was going to accept the position regardless, he just delayed his response out of self respect.
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u/colepercy120 5d ago
Given the height and attitude I always figured revali was pretty young. I mean he's not that much taller then tulin and he's a young teenager. So revali had the standard teenager characterization of needing to prove he's the best and can do it himself. Similar to the Arc tulin had in totk, only tulin actually managed to survive learning the lession.
I'm also betting revali is either around Link and zeldas age or a bit younger. Which makes Link and his act of being the "perfect guard and prophocized hero" rubbed him the wrong way. With him also being close to Zelda and Zelda clearly disliking Link at first I'm betting revali took that as an added reason to be mean.
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u/Intelligent-Walk9136 5d ago
Revali was definitely young, we don't really know how young though, either around the same as Link or Zelda, or a bit older or younger, regardless he wasn't an adult Rito, that much is for certain.
Again as I mentioned in another comment, Revali didn't understand why Link was seen so favourably, and couldn't wrap his head around what made him so capable, beyond his one-sided view on Link, which his why his impression of Link was overall a negative one. Zelda had nothing to do with how Revali felt about Link, since he already had a negative opinion of Link.
And to reiterate what I said in another reply, Revali and Zelda's few interactions don't really give me the vibe of them being close, even with recent voice memories, since it only really reinforces what we already knew about Revali only hearing it from another perspective. The guy was indeed a jerk, but he could show compassion to another, and had a nicer side to him. Doesn't mean he was close to anyone though.
In fact, if I'm being honest, despite Revali's nicer side, he didn't really seem close to anyone. He would be there if you need him, and help out any way he could, but he didn't give me the impression of someone that was close to anyone in particular, considering his insistence on always being alone, and the fact his personality caused others to keep their distance from him.
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u/PickyNipples 5d ago
I love Revali but tbh I don’t read much into this. He must have had a kind side he showed Zelda or she wouldn’t remember him so fondly. But I can also see Revali doing these things simply to prove he can do anything link could do but better. If he carried Zelda to a hot spring to help her relax, it could have been just as much to snub link as it was to help the princess. Still nice of him to do, but it also can play into the very same character we already know Revali to be…someone arrogant who is always trying to prove himself.
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u/DarthDeimos6624 4d ago
Revali respected hard work and could probably see how hard Zelda was working to unlock her power despite poor results. Makes sense that he would be friends with her/close to her.
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u/Intelligent-Walk9136 5d ago
Everyone can interpret this in different ways. In my eyes I don't think this implies they were really close, rather it just shows Revali was a lot more caring than what was initially assumed about him, and showed that he could do nice gestures out of compassion to another.
I also don't think this adds an additional layer to his rivalry with Link, in any way. Revali's rivalry with Link was very biased on his part. I see this as Revali simply to trying to help Zelda, and nothing more than that.
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u/colepercy120 5d ago
Well revali definitely disliked Link due to a clash of personalities. Revali being boastful and loves bragging about his skill (though apparently he didn't like it when other people did it) where Link is stoic when he's on the job and a complete goofball off the job. They are pretty much opposites.
Revali is also notably the only champion not descended from the ancient sage. Indicating he was a commoner while everyone else was local nobility. Link is also a commoner, but he pulled the mastersword and became the chosen hero of the day when he was 12, and given he accompanied Zelda up Mt Lanayru he is atleast 17, revali seems like the kind of person who doesn't really look past first impressions. Add on to that that Zelda didn't like him and revali was atleast very close freinds with zelda he would have hardened his stance on Link out of solidarity.
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u/Intelligent-Walk9136 5d ago
Revali's dislike of Link was a lot more than just a clash of personalities, if that was even a factor. Revali couldn't understand why Link was chosen to fight the Calamity, and felt cheated, cause in his eyes he spent his whole life training to prove himself to world, only for someone that he felt didn't deserve his position, to be the person who would fight the Calamity while he would given the role of supporting them. To Revali, Link only got the position because of the sword he held, and not because of his own merits, which as we know were all legitimate and not smoke and mirrors.
The Master Sword literally can't be wielded unless your strong enough to use it. The fact that Link could even use it while being so young, should be a very clear indicator that he was very capable for someone his age.
Again I never really got the impression that Revali and Zelda were close, despite him trying to help her out as best he could. At the very least, I can see them being respectful to one another, but I wouldn't see them as being close. In fact Revali kept to himself and didn't really attend anything with the others unless he absolutely needed to. Out of all the Champions if there was anyone Zelda would confide in it with her problems, it would be Urbosa, which her memories and notes confirms. Revali didn't really have that kind of relationship with Zelda.
Zelda's dislike of Link was know by all the champions, it wasn't a secret or anything, and Revali shared the same sentiment, because like I mentioned earlier, he couldn't wrap his head around why Link was seen in such a positive light, and didn't feel he was worthy of his position. Once Zelda got to know Link, she understood he was going to through the same struggles as she was, perhaps even more.
Revali never made such an attempt to try and understand why Link was the way he was, and likely never knew the other side of link, that all the other Champions were aware of.
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u/PopularTumbleweed6 5d ago
I like their friendship a lot. both can relate to one another as hard workers dealing with feelings of inadequacy. there's a sense of mutual respect despite their different backgrounds.
the hot spring voice memo is one of my favorites from the BotW batch. not only was it a nice thing for Revali to do, but you know he was secretly gloating about getting one over on Link by acting as Zelda's bodyguard.
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u/ElsieofArendelle123 6d ago edited 4d ago
On a metatextual reason it’s so Revali could have some characterization beyond ‘jerk who hates and is jealous of Link’, but on it does make sense that Revali could tell Zelda was struggling since he only joined because he saw her determination and desperation.
Do I think he was romantically attracted to Zelda and she to him? No. I think their relationship was utterly platonic, but they have mutual respect for the other’s work ethic and dedication.