The best freaking fanfiction I have ever read! And I have YouTube to thank for it! If I hadn’t found the audiobook I never would have found this amazing story! Please please please write more like this! I and many of my friends would love to see something like this for Breath of the Wild!

I have been coming back to read this fan fiction since it started and waited through three years to finish it, and here we are in 2018 and still it’s the best damn thing I’ve read since the first adventure. Reconciliation is right there by this fan fiction’s side. Thank you, Lady Rose, for having created this story for us.

Sweet golden goddesses. I've just binge read the last twenty or so chapters and it is now a quarter past four. in the morning. O_O Amazing story

Wow, this is good. I don't usually read fan fiction because most of it sucks and has over five million grammar mistakes but this is good!

Job bkppjbbbjjjjjiiiui88iiiujjjjjjjjujjjjjijggj León pllllm

According to your page, you haven’t updated any stories in a couple years, so I’m not sure if you still read emails from fanfiction. I also waited literal months between finishing your story and writing this review to the point where I was questioning if I should even do it. In the end though, I said I was going to do it, and so here it is.
By all accounts, I probably shouldn’t have stumbled upon this story, I haven’t been actively looking for stories for some time, and I rarely go beyond the first couple of pages. If it wasn’t for a piece of fanart on Deviantart that someone made and provided a link to your story, I probably wouldn’t have ever found it. Fate is funny that way. You never know when or how you’ll come across your next favorite story. And that’s what Legend of Zelda: The Return is to me; the best fanfiction I’ve read in a good long while, and the best Legend of Zelda Fanfiction that I’ve ever read.
Easily the best part of the story is the characters. Good God, you did an incredible job with them. Rather than the heroic hero we all know and love, you made Link start out as almost a reluctant hero, and mature into the self-sacrificing hero of the games. You gave him actual character development, and thanks to you, this is now an angle I want Nintendo to consider in their next Zelda game. But it wasn’t just Link that was done beautifully, the other characters were amazing as well. I’ve always had a soft spot for fanfictions that focus on secondary characters or create new characters in the world. It can be a difficult thing to accomplish, but you pulled it off spectacularly. I loved all of the characters you created; Hunter and Neesha especially. I laughed at Sheik’s awkwardness, and was genuinely heartbroken when Jinni and Ketari died. I didn’t see it coming and was saddened even more so because of it.
One of the best parts of this story is that I don’t think it’s ever been done. We get to see what canonically happens to Link through the game Majora’s Mask, but this is a “what if” where Zelda gives Link a chance to have a normal life. And although I know that there have been several Zelda games where Ganondorf wasn’t the main antagonist, but as I haven’t actually played any of them this was new to me. Bringing back Shadow-Link and making him the main villain was not a move I expected when I first began reading the story, but I am so glad that you did. The lack of knowledge about his actual skills beyond mimicking Link’s moves perfectly led to a whole array of interesting and surprising encounters. And then he turns out to be Link’s father? I loved it. I loved it from the time travel chapters to the chapters where they gathered their army. My only complaint is that it couldn’t go on forever.
As I said earlier, I have no idea if you will even receive this. The last activity I can see on either your fanfiction or fictionpress was three years ago. But if you do happen to read this, I want you to know that you did a great job, and that I hope to one day write half as good as you do.

Aside from the absolute inferno of blackened fire that eats at my sanity, this fic is really good. Link is just letting himself get walked on, though. If I haven't made it clear, he needs to put his damn foot down and slap a bitch.

She never answered the d*mn question. "did I know you were going to take my memories". Oh the burning, raging flames of lividness that fester in my beating heart. If I was Link, I'd b*tch slap Navi into the nearest tree for being a selfish a$$hole and constantly insulting me. I'd tell all the sages to f*ck themselves for going along with that plan to kill my MEMORIES and acting like I'm being a dick for getting pissed off and confused. Then i'd probably end up killing myself JUST to spite them.

Goron sworn brother? Totally never heard from him again.
Navi? Never even said hello, even though she could have just BECAME HIS FAIRY AGAIN.
sariah? Could have contacted him via the song.
Zelda? Jesus Christ she became a b*tch.

Why is link apologizing? Everyone just shat on him, and are pretty much demanding that he fix their problems.

Man this was released 2 months after I was born...this is pretty exciting for myself rn tbh.

Lady Rose,
I know I'm more than a decade late and I sure you won't see this message (being too busy with your latest and greatest story) but I had to thank you for this amazing rendition of my all time favourite game. I hope you've kept up your amazing work and know that I'll be reading your future works.
Your thankful reader, Steel.

I also always cry this chapter. Oh my god. This is an emotional rollercoaster.

I always cry when I read this letter. This is like the tenth time I've read this story. No shame. Makes me really happy, honestly.

I'm so confused. I expected Link to be able to handle himself more, now that he's remembered how to fight and use a sword and all the other magic he's capable of. Yet he still seems so useless and childish? I dunno, this is an entertaining story, but seems rather absurdly OOC. I didn't know it was even possible to make a silent protagonist OOC, until now.

Aha, and there's the rage at Zelda I was expecting from the beginning. Surprised he's only angry about it now though, he should have been aware that Zelda's the one who erased his memories from before chp 10 when it was revealed at Lon Lon ranch?

I'm not sure how to feel about this fic, honestly. It's so dearly well-loved by fans, and it's certainly an entertaining read.

But it's hard for me to close my eyes and play dumb against a few plot holes and ridiculous decisions from the cast. Like...if Link is so frustrated by not being capable, why not train? Or get someone to teach him how to handle a sword? Why doesn't someone just play the damn Song of Memory for him on the Ocarina of Time, get all those Hero of Time memories back? Why is Link not more upset by the fact that Zelda erased his memories without his consent? It's barely a blip on his emotional radar for a single half-chapter. And why does he act more like a kid than any of the actual kids in the story?

Aside from those glaring issues, this story is immensely entertaining and at times heart-wrenching. The arc with him going back in time to meet his parents and help his child-self get to the Kokiri Forest in particular was absolutely fantastic. You showed clear character growth and maturity from Link after that event as well, which was just perfect.