Like so many other iconic games, The Legend of Zelda has a dedicated fan base, a slew of references in popular culture, and a whole plethora of jokes. Lots and lots of jokes.
There are whole pages on Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter that are focused on nothing else but Zelda-themed humor. Everything from riddles to knock-knock jokes to puns. The following list contains the latter, a list of our favorite “punny” moments inspired by The Legend of Zelda.
10 “I Link, Therefore I Am.”
This isn’t just the rallying cry of many a Link fan, playing on the words “Link” and “think.” And it’s not just a funny saying either. It’s the title of a real book that tackles both whimsical and serious philosophical questions about all things Zelda. That includes Hyrule, Link himself, and of course, the fans that play him.
Various authors attempt to answer questions like, How does time work in Link’s world? Is the game considered to be art? What’s a “gamer experience” exactly? Of all the puns on this list, this is the one that’s both humorous and profound enough to have a whole book about it.
9 “Ganon hates the Internet, There are Too Many Links.”
Ha, ha, ha. This one will get a few eye rolls but it’s too obvious to skip. The word “Link” can have several connotations, as other entries on this list make obvious, and a common one is a reference to a “hyperlink.” Here’s where our friend and hero of Hyrule, Link comes in, present in a million places on the internet and again in several linked references on any given page.
Although now that so many Nintendo games are available online, Ganon might not have a choice. On the other hand, the online age of gaming might have made this pun obsolete.
8 “Just call her the Navi-gator.”
We kid Navi for how often she yells at us, but we really appreciate all of her help since we first met her in Ocarina of Time, so here’s a pun with some love for everyone’s favorite dancing ball of nagging light.
Given that her main job is guiding Link along the right path with helpful hints and constant reminders, essentially “navigating” him through the game, her name might have been a deliberate pun from the start. You really can’t get away from how much her name resembles the word “navigate” so this is almost too obvious.
7 “Tri-force.”
Here’s one that Shakespeare would have liked. It’s a clever play on two words. Link couldn’t open the door, so Zelda told him to use his heroic strength, or, she told him to try force. Triforce. Get it? It’s the same name as the legendary treasure that plays a crucial role in so many Legend of Zelda games.
You actually have to think about this one a moment before you get it, which makes it even funnier.
6 “Lucky I’m wearing my Goron tunic tonight!”
This overlaps into the Zelda pick-up lines, of which there is also a bundle. Instead of using a pun itself, this joke plays on the two meanings for “heat.” Literal heat, like in a volcano, or the symbolic meaning when applied to an attractive person.
If an explanation is needed, the pun can be extended with, “…because you’re so hot!” This reference is a bit more obscure just in case you’re trying to chat up someone who isn’t a huge Zelda fan. And we aren’t going to judge you for that.
5 “Where Does Zelda Find Her Heroes?”
Well, if you were Zelda and you were looking for a hero, what handy online social media would you turn when looking for a dependable employee? Look no further than LinkedIn! Get it? Of course, the one online network specifically used for recruiting new employees or scouting out new employers is also named after the person you’re looking for! Well, not exactly but it’s close enough to make a joke based on a pun.
You could take this a lot further by thinking about what Link’s LinkedIn page would look like. The Deku tree would be a former employer, or perhaps Navi would be a character reference?
4 “Have You Played the Legend of Zelda Gardening Sim?”
You play as Link, the Hero of Thyme. Hur hur.
There are so many sim games of virtually every theme and activity imaginable, so you could be easily fooled into thinking that this is a real thing. It’s not, but this pun on the word “time” is a classic. This is different from the other puns because it doesn’t use a word from the game but a common pun that English uses fairly often. You can either measure the passage of the minutes and hours or describe a common plant used in cooking and medicine. Both meanings are only a letter away.
3 “Where’s Waldo” Plus “The Legend of Zelda” Equals…
“The Missing Link.” Well, at least we didn’t call him Zelda!
Now, the only other question remaining is, would the result of this pun result in a book or a video game? Hopefully, a book, because there’s an interesting video game link between the two and it didn’t go so well for Waldo the first time around. There actually was a Where’s Waldo video game for the classic Nintendo system, and it’s famously bad. We’re not sure how a book like that could have been adapted into a video game, but at least we know for sure what doesn’t work.
2 “Are you wearing Pegasus Boots?”
“Because you’ve been running through my mind all day!”
First, we have a play on the word “hot” but this time we the word “running” instead. You can literally run, or you can describe something you constantly think about as “running through your mind.” This is another of the punny pick-up lines that use The Legend of Zelda lore and references. The Pegasus Boots appear in several games and give Link the power of running really fast, and that’s why this pun works.
1 “How Did Link Win the Basketball Game?”
Ok, this is an old one, but it has only gotten better with time. The Hookshot is one of Link’s most famous tools, as his fans from even the early days will attest, but it’s also the name for a specific move on the basketball court.
Why couldn’t Link be a basketball player? Wouldn’t the use of the Hookshot on the court be a foul? Perhaps there’s a type of sport in Hyrule similar to basketball that allows the use of Hookshots along with Goron tunics.
