Ocarina of Time Remake Has Link Speak, but Only in Japanese
In the Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2, Link speaks one voice-acted word to Princess Zelda during the Ganon's Castle escape. The line, "saa", plays in Japanese in every language version, voiced by Shou Komura.
Link officially speaks for the first time in a mainline Legend of Zelda game, in the Ocarina of Time remake for Nintendo Switch 2. It is one word long.
Players hear it near the end. While escaping Ganon's Castle with Princess Zelda, the pair find their path blocked. The only way forward is a single Hookshot target.
After firing the Hookshot, Link takes Zelda in his arms and says the Japanese word "saa." It translates to something like "come on" or "let's go."
Japanese in every version
The line is not localized. It plays in Japanese even in the English version of the game.
Princess Zelda and other characters have English voice actors. Adult Link has one voice in every version: Japanese voice actor Shou Komura. English-language players will catch the word only if they understand Japanese.
It reads as a piece of fan service placed at the end of the game. Nintendo evidently did not hire multiple voice actors for a single word across the game's other dubs. Even so, the soft-spoken determination in the delivery fits the character, according to the report.
Why Link was silent before
Link can technically talk in every Zelda game. Players never hear it. His dialogue appears as selectable text or is left to the player's imagination, which helps make him a self-insert protagonist.
In the original Nintendo 64 Ocarina of Time, his voice amounted to grunts and shouts. The remake changes that with this one line.
There is one earlier near-miss. In Wind Waker's Earth Temple, Link can shout what sounds like "come on" or "come along." It could simply be a wordless shout to get his companions' attention, but it was the closest the series came to a spoken word before now.
Timing ahead of the movie
The timing is notable. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth plays Link in the live-action Legend of Zelda movie due next year, and Link will almost certainly speak in it.
The remake's single word may therefore preview how Link sounds on screen. That is an inference from the timing, not something Nintendo has said.
Nintendo has not commented on the line in the material reviewed. Players can hear it only in the final stretch of the remake, during the Ganon's Castle escape.
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