The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword/Heartwarming

• After winning the bird-riding contest, Link is flying back toward Skyloft when Zelda excitedly jumps out into the clouds. Link hurriedly swoops in to catch her, after which Zelda nonchalantly says that she's fine. It's a relatively minor scene, but it does a whole lot to flesh out the cute relationship that Link and Zelda have.
  • A lot of the interactions between Zelda and Link at the start of the game have a very "d'awww" vibe. For instance, Link thinking that he's supposed to kiss the goddess surrogate while standing on top of the statue just makes you giggle. Zelda in general is very huggable; it certainly helps a lot that she's perhaps the cutest incarnation of Zelda to date.
  • Zelda is very adorable in this game! Heck even Ghirahim called her adorable!
• Link and Zelda finally being together for the first time after she awakens from her thousand year sleep. ..... It's subverted, however, when a total Mood Whiplash occurs and Ghirahim captures her.
  • Not to mention just how Ship Teaser-ish that moment is... No one knows what happened during that White Screen...
    • Zelda says "Good Morning, Link"?
• Link's expressions in this game just make him so darn adorable. When Link listens to the various parts of the Song of the Hero, he looks so genuinely peaceful, which he probably hasn't felt much throughout the game. Heck, that childish smile he has when he's picking up those big-eared kittens makes this troper explode from the cuteness.
• This game makes it so you'll do something special for at least one person no matter what you do. For example, Peatrice (the Item Check girl) gets absolutely no business at all...and then Link comes around. The more you go to the Item Check booth (and you will have to go there often to swap out or sell stuff), the happier Peatrice gets, and the more she starts crushing on Link.
  • This is especially nice for those who are sick of the Ship Tease between Link and Zelda in their many different incarnations, and this gives gamers a chance to give Link a female companion who is upfront with him.
• Fi's final words to Link before going to sleep forever and becoming one with the Master Sword is that she'll meet Link in a next life. She does. All Links share the same spirit, so every time another Link picks up the Master Sword, whether they know it or not, they are meeting again. So in a way, it really isn't goodbye forever when they part ways at the end.
  • This has the bonus of retroactively turning every retrieval of the Master Sword into a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
  • And making the ending to The Wind Waker even more of a Tear Jerker. And Fridge Horror, when you take into acount that YOU doomed Fi to be stuck in Ganondorf's stone forehead for all eternity.
• After the credits we cut to a bunch of the villagers at the now earthbound Goddess Statue. Zelda says to Link that she wants to stay on the land the rest of her life, and Link doesn't even bother to answer with anything but a nod and a smile, implying he's going to stay with her. The way it's shot with the Triforce in the background and Zelda's white dress makes it look like an exchanging of vows.
  • And let's not forget Link's loftwing and Zelda's loftwing flying together.
• Groose. When you leave him he's having a meltdown over being unable to do anything while Link takes on the Big Bad. The next time you come back he's not only gotten over his funk, but built an entire rail system to combat The Imprisoned. Talk about Character Development!
  • Going hand-in-hand with that is right at the end, when Groose travels back in time after Link to see what he can do to help, and managing to dive and catch Zelda's body after Demise tosses it aside. The simple fact that the player will think "Hell yea, Groose!" about a guy who was the resident Jerkass at the start of the game speaks volumes about how far he'd come.
  • Pretty much the whole relationship between Groose and Link can be seen as one. In the beginning, Groose locks up Link's Loftwing, and basically just shows that they're rivals. After Groose follows Link to the surface, eventually, he warms up to him and thinks of him as a friend, helping him out against the Imprisoned. To see a relationship like that go from bad to good over time just makes this troper smile.
• Epona's odd coloring always struck me as strange, though beautiful. Then you come to the color of Link's Loftwing, apparently so rare, it was thought to have vanished from the line. Perhaps Fi's not the only one who's been sticking around with Link...
  • The Crimson Loftwing, Epona, The King of Red Lions... Link frequently finds himself being assisted by a red companion.
• From the Bazaar there's Bertie's idle animation. His kid he's carrying on his back starts crying, so he pulls a silly face and makes a bunch of goofy sounds until the baby is laughing happily. It's a very small but sweet moment.
  • There's also another small moment when you say to Gondo that you believe his grandfather's stories about the Ancient Robots. After ages of being teased about believing his grandfather the guy is thrilled when someone doesn't take the mickey out of him and actually agrees with him.
• The Love Letter sidequest can end in either Pipit and Karane getting together, which is adorable. Or it can end with the ghostly hand caressing a sleeping Cawlin. It's weirdly cute, but hilarious.
• The Mogmas in general. When they hear about Link trying to save Zelda they'll give him useful items such as Digging Mitts or, in Ledd's case, his own Bomb Bag, to help Link on his journey and/or will give him encouragement and hope that he finds her alright. The Kikwi also do this to a slightly lesser degree.
• When Zelda is revealed to be the goddess reincarnated, and has to enter a slumber to protect herself, she asks Link to wake her up when he has collected the Plot Coupons, as she always woke him up when they were kids. Most dialogue trees have a "no" option, but all the choices here are "Of course!" "I promise." "I will."
• When Link frees his Loftwing after it's been kidnapped by Groose. The way it spreads its wings and opens its mouth, as if to say "I'm free!" and the affectionate, gentle way it nuzzles Link are quite heartwarming, especially given their special connection and the fact that they grew up together.
  • An adorable callback to that scene: there's a Gratitude Crystal in that place, at night. For this troper, it was the last one. Couldn't stop smiling for a full minute at the accidental Book Ends.
• The Gratitude Crystals in general make for a lot of these. Miniquests aside, there is one in Link's room, like special, personal thanks to you.
• Groose's lackeys, Cawlin and Strich, don't seem to care that Groose goes missing from Skyloft and seemingly never returns. Cawlin mocks Groose behind his back and Strich is more interested in secretly hoarding insects. But then they come down to the Sealed Grounds with Gaepora after the credits to see Groose before leaving with him. Aww they really are friends.

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