2. Zelda & Link - Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
One of the earliest, and most famous, relationships in all of gaming, it's been fun to watch the relationship between Princess Zelda and the valiant hero Link evolve. Once a simple means to an end, their relationship has slowly, from game to game, turned into something special. The evolution started out small. In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, instead of being a faceless princess, Zelda was trapped in a state of sleep in her palace, which was a place that you had access too right from the very beginning of the game. If you died outside of one of the dungeons, you'd start again in this palace, right at the foot of Zelda's bed, constantly seeing her and being reminded of why you are doing what you are doing. A Link to the Past took this even further, having Link actually meet up with Zelda early in the game, as well as her telepathically communicating with Link throughout the game. Zelda was becoming less and less of a final goal to be reached, and more of a person. Zelda and Link also began to develop what few other meaningful video game relationships have the advantage of developing - a history. The dawn of the 3D era brought new life into the relationship between Zelda and Link. What also started to become apparent (and has since been confirmed by Nintendo) was that the Zeldas and Links appearing in these games were not always the same characters from game to game. But this ultimately does not matter. Zelda and Link were a united symbol of hope for the land of Hyrule, and games like Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess brought levels of depth to their relationship unseen in the series previously. Most recently, Skyward Sword combined arguably the most emotional story in the entire series with a study of Link and Zelda's relationship in one of the best ways any medium can: an origin story. Are they simply friends? Are they in love? Are they brought together allies in a common cause? It's likely a mix of all these. But one thing is for sure: Zelda and Link have been through more together than almost any other pair of digital heroes on the face of the earth. Their adventures have provided multiple generations of gamers with some of the finest moments video games are capable of offering. The next year or two should see a new adventure set in Hyrule on the Wii U, and a new level of evolution of the relationship between these two beloved characters. To another 25 years!!