Title: The Golden Power - http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3544959/1/The_Golden_Power
Fandom: Legend of Zelda; Twilight Princess
Rating: T
Summary: Zelda hires Link as a private mercenary to quell the new problems in Hyrule and its surrounding states.

It's been a while since I read the beginning of this story, which I guess is a good thing – means the author's dedicated to writing it.

Basically, if you like Zelda and the setting created in TP, and don't mind that setting being expanded to new kingdoms and evils, this is for you. If you simply fancy the Zelda series, you'll probably like this too; Link's develops as a character fairly well.

I honestly can't say if this is library material. It's written competently and will be continued to be updated and I kind of like it, but I don't know if it will suit everyone's tastes.

This story features many of the same faults all Zelda stories seem to suffer from – OC abuse, ill-explained monarchy in Hyrule, and Zelda and Link always being thousands of miles apart (some more character interaction between them would be interesting).

It's worth a try. What's the verdict?

 

...Isn't this already in the library? I did spend like 10 hours reading the thing.

 

...Nope. Or at least, it's not in recycling bin or in 'Other Fandoms'. Perhaps it was for review but was rejected / deleted? Or maybe you read it from a general recommendation thread?

If it's here somewhere already, I apologize.

 

Well, given my introduction, I should probably respond to this one.

This story definitely has a ton of original characters, but they're sort of a necessity given the type of story it is. Zelda only has so many canon characters anyone cares about, and if you're expanding the plot to cover the entire world rather than just Hyrule, it's not like you can really stick to using them. They remain secondary to Link the entire story however. Out of 22 chapters, probably about 4 of them deal with point of views other than his or Zelda's.

The author attempts to address a lot of the fundamental video game flaws of the Zelda games. Why does Ganon always come back, why are Zelda and Link always there to oppose him, and so on. The answer he comes up with is about as close to satisfying as you're going to get.

In the spirit of dealing with the video game source seriously, he doesn't downscale Link's power like so many video game fanfics do. You killed gigantic towering monsters in the game? Link's going to do it in the story. Random mook type enemies are no threat to you? Yeah, neither are typical soldiers to Link. True bosses can challenge him, but those aren't terribly common. This leads to a lot of Link stomping face and awing those around him with the impossibility of it. A plot point later on actually does explain why it WOULD be impossible for anyone not Link. This isn't to say that he never loses or faces defeat - honestly, the latest turn the story has taken alienated quite a few readers because of just how much that isn't true.

The pace of the story can be pretty slow towards the beginning, but it picks up during the middle of the Ghent arc and continues speeding up after that. The author has said that there are about 10 chapters to go, and that the plot pace to accomplish that will be pretty fast.

Faults aside, if you want to read a well plotted and written story about Link smashing face across multiple countries, this is probably the best you're ever going to find. I'd just stress that the story doesn't really start until he reaches Ghent, which is a few chapters in. There is a LONG introduction.

 

I really enjoy this story not only because of the mass Link pwnage of just about every minion of dark forces he meets and the rather spectacular destruction he leaves in his wake, but also because DBAinsw has made this story very three dimensional (or is it four?) filling in characters and creating so many story twists and minor plots that it keeps you entertained even when Zelda is just filing paperwork. The only big problem I can see would have to be the fact that he pulls out plot twists and creates so many that you can lose sight of the story's main plot. Link gaining so much power over the course of the story is explained very well and the author has said that he knows that he puts to many minor things into his work and is attempting to focus his next few chapters so that the plot doesnt get more confused. I give it a five out of five right now and I hope that he follows through and it doesnt become something like say A Second Chance at Life.

 

I could have sworn this was recommended before as well, but for some reason it wasn't on my favorites/alerts list. I guess I'll read it again with a huge sense of deja vu?

 

Let's see here. Little things like capitalization and missing letters pop up here and there in the chapters, but that's not something I tend to worry about, it is noticeable though when the protagonist's name isn't capitalized at times.

Furthermore, despite a certain hint of god-like fighting ability, an innate ability born unto Link, each and every encounter is entirely thrilling. Which is hard to manage with Link's survival seems guaranteed, so congrats to the author for such an enthralling tale.

Which reminds me, nitpicking here, but tail was used where tale should've been....

Either way, the characters are fleshed out pretty well, though there's some angst moments that seem to pop up quite often. He's fond of this man vs. self that Link is trying to get through that happens every time there isn't some place to break into, or something to kill, or some need to stay alive, so yeah, that's getting a bit tedious.

It's a good read, with only minor flaws. 4-4.5/5 depending on how much of a grammar Nazi you are.

 

I just read this entire thing and damn it was a nice read! 6 hours to read it all damn nice just hope he doesn't abandon it.

 

He's been managing to keep it going despite long waits in between updates for a while now- I'm hopeful that it gets finished!
But yeah, it may be a bit wordier than the average fic, and has a couple more spelling mistakes than I like, but it's also by far the best Zelda fanfic I've seen.
The battles are pretty freaking awesome.
5/5

 

Updated for the first time in...damn, I can't even remember. It looks like there are two new chapters, but I'll probably have to re-read the fic seeing as it's been so long.

 

I let out a quite unmanly whoop of joy when I discovered that this had updated; this easily makes the list of my top five favorite stories

 

Any takers on how long it takes until he posts again?

 

I'm guessing another year. I have reread this fic at least 3 times due to the sparse update rate. It was totally worth it since this is the best piece of Zelda fanfiction. This time, I will wait until the next update to reread it again.

 

The Golden Power by DBAinsw -T- Legend of Zelda

Title:The Golden Power
Author: DBAinsw
Rating:T
Genre: Drama/Adventure
Status: WIP
Fandom: Legend of Zelda
Pairings:
Summary: [TP]The Golden Power is omnipotent and omniscient. Its true nature is beyond mortal ken, but only mortals can decide how it is used. Any third of it could dominate the planet, but only all three together can save it. A tale of Royalty, Gods, and a Hero.
Link:http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3544959/1/The-Golden-Power

Its probably the best Zelda fic around and one of the most addictive stories to read, descriptive, intriguing plot, ingenuity of handling and developing existing characters, and he creates interesting places and people to expand the Zelda universe masterfully. 5/5 read now!

 

God damn you, I thought there was an update...

Also, this has already been recommended, though the story does deserve more accolades than it has received.

 

I merged the threads.

 

Well, for anyone who hasn't been keeping up with it in a two or so years, the latest update was in April of last year.

I didn't know that. I guess I'm off to rereading it.

Before I forget, definitely 5/5.