[Zelda] Legend of Zelda: The Return

[KLSymph]

Well, let's review something I've liked for a long time.

Legend of Zelda: The Return by Rose Zemlya - a.k.a. Lady Rose.

This 40~ chapter (completed!) story is one of my favorite fanfics. As the name has no doubt already made obvious, it's a Legend of Zelda story, specifically a Ocarina of Time continuation. The basic idea is that at the end of that game, Link was returned to the past with no memory of his adventures. Life being what it is, he eventually had to leave the Kokiri and live as the Hylian he was (not knowing much of anything about the why of it), and eventually his memories begin to resurface. All this with Ganon's minions trying to free him from his captivity, the Sages trying to protect him (since freeing Ganon involves killing Link, like you didn't see that coming), and the whole Princess Zelda relationship rearing its (ugly?) head in oh so complicated ways.

Lady Rose is a great author, though I'm not going to list the exact ways she's great since quite frankly the AA has already depressed all of my ability to judge degrees of goodness (as opposed to degrees of badness, which I am now far too practiced at). You can read it from her story, I think. The story itself is at times funny (go sarcastic Link), touching, exciting, blah blah blah the usual things that makes a action/adventure/general story good. There are many original characters, this being a pretty epic story, and they're individually interesting and well used.

The story is long, and may need multiple afternoons to read. But out of probably... four LoZ stories on ff.net that I can still remember, this one is the best (and, incidentally, probably the longest). And it's complete, too, can't forget that; its sequal is not though (but 17 chapters is still respectable).

Highly recommended for those who've played Ocarina of Time.