Zelda and Link shippers are in shambles after Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment describes them as just friends, but after 39 years we can read between the lines

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment might be the 'untold story of Tears of the Kingdom' but Zelda appears to still be keeping some secrets to herself. One of the quests in the recent release called Learning the Blade contains a description of Link and Zelda's relationship, which is more than a little suspect.

As spotted by The Gamer, the Age of Imprisonment quest description, which is written as a journal from Lenalia, describes how Zelda told the chamberlain that she learnt her swordsmanship by "following the example of a knight – and friend – from her own time." As someone with her own feminine wiles this already raised alarm bells, but the original Japanese convinced me that our Hylian princess is being more than a little coy – as one fan puts it, "she is not fooling ANYBODY."

The original version of this quest description calls Link a "身近な騎士." Japanese is a famously evasive language when it comes to love, but this slightly ambiguous description refers to Link as someone she is very close to and familiar with like a family member, a good friend, or even, a smooching partner. If you've been a fan of the series for the nearly 40 years it's been around, then you'll know there have been more than a few situations where the pair have shared a lingering look.

Link and Zelda are shown to be in a romantic relationship in both Skyward Sword and The Minish Cap, and even share a kiss at the end of The Adventure of Link and the Oracle games, but with multiple timelines and versions of themselves, it's really difficult to remember their current relationship status. Despite their complicated relationship, I think in Age of Imprisonment the lady doth protest too much.

Former GTA boss Dan Houser says Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears or the Kingdom are like Alfred Hitchcock films: "They're just speaking the language of video games."