Category: Video Games

The Legend of Zelda fans who have long pondered when Link would finally share a kiss with Zelda have discovered that the hero of Hyrule already smooched someone in an official manga. What’s more, it wasn’t with Zelda, but with his faithful Twilight Princess companion, Midna.

The kiss in question comes from Viz Media’s The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess series. The 11-volume manga was written and drawn by a duo of female Japanese mangaka A. Honda and S. Nagano under the pseudonym Akira Himekawa. The pair is most famously known for their manga adaptations of The Legend of Zelda franchise, which go beyond simply retelling the events of games like Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask by providing backstory to its MacGuffins and remixing storylines.

We should note that Himekawa’s Twilight Princess Manga isn’t new; in fact, its first volume was published in English in 2017 and will receive a complete series box set in September. However, a lot of diehard Zelda fans are just now discovering its existence and they’re beside themselves over a manga panel from its final volume — which many took for a well-drawn Link x Midna fan art circulating on X/Twitter — where the two engage in a passionate kiss.

Whereas 2006’s Twilight Princess heavily implied that Midna harbored romantic feelings for Link, Himekawa’s manga took things a step further by having her kiss the Hyrulean warrior before returning to the Twilight Realm. To make matters all the more awkward, the heartfelt kiss happened in front of Zelda.

BRO HOLD ON THIS ISNT FAN ART??? pic.twitter.com/DicOhXPQU9

— 💫AstralWingz💫 (@Zhane_Star) May 2, 2024

this is the first time I’ve seen this omg my twilight princess otp lol 😭 https://t.co/Wm5bbLiGl3

— ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) May 2, 2024

Neither is this one. pic.twitter.com/VzWUwP5fUO

— Chris500 (@Chris50016) May 2, 2024

Much like Himekawa’s Twilight Princess series, manga adaptations of well-known video game series like Mario and Kirby often expand on the relationships of its titular heroes in hilarious in-character (or out-of-character) scenarios. As one X/Twitter user points out, Himekawa in particular have gotten away with quite a bit. This revelation hasn’t stopped Zelda players, more specifically fans of Midna, to take a victory lap over the canonical kiss.

While Midna shippers on Twitter are discovering the kiss for the first time, folks on Resetera are a year in on fondly reminiscing over the manga’s emotionally climactic kiss as a prime “Do you remember” topic of discussion. Much of Reserta’s chitchat over the surprise kiss lament over Zelda being forever in the friend zone (despite Link sleeping in her house), while others champion the moment as ample reason for Midna in a future Zelda game.

Others, meanwhile, are just enjoying watching fans discover the moment for the first time.

love it anytime someone new discovers the tp manga ending, it’s like an angel getting their wings https://t.co/dABFiXxYG8

— 🌱 kaye ✵ (@sleepyHyliian) May 2, 2024

Thumbnail credit: Viz Media

Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.

Starting today, Amazon has discounted the popular 2TB WD Black SN850X PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe Solid State Drive (SSD) for only $139.99. The SN850X works equally well as additional storage for your PS5 console or as a blazing fast boot drive for your gaming rig. We picked the SN850P (which is identical to the SN850X but with official PS5 certification) as the best high-capacity M.2 SSD for 2024.

2TB WD Black SN850X PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 SSD for $139.99

The SN850X is the latest generation of WD’s flagship Black series M.2 SSDs. It’s easily one of the fastest SSDs on the market. There are only a few SSDs out right now that can match its speed like the Samsung 990 Pro and the SK Hynix P41 Platinum, but they’re also more expensive.

The SN850X’s upgrades over the SN850 include newer flash chips (BiCS5 vs BiCS4) and an updated firmware, both of which offer improved sequential and random read/write speeds. What this all means is that the SN850X will perform exceedingly well as a boot drive for a gaming PC. For PC gamers, there’s also an updated Game Mode 2.0 utility that’s designed to tune the SSD for better performance during gaming sessions. The 4TB capacity means you won’t have to worry as much about overfilling your drive full of games and apps. With that much storage you might not even need another drive.

The SN850X also makes for an excellent PS5 SSD. It is identical to the SN850P, which is the only officially licensed PS5 SSD on the market. It fulfills almost all of Sony’s requirements, like a minimum read speed of 5,500MB/s and a PCI-Express Gen4x4 interface. The only caveat is that this particular model doesn’t include a built-in heatsink. That is easily remedied by picking up a inexpensive PS5 heatsink off Amazon.

If you’re looking for more SSD storage upgrade options for your PS5 console, check out our best PS5 SSD deals of 2023. There are even less expensive options if you’re not married to any brand.

After news broke yesterday that Take-Two Interactive is shutting down Intercept Games, players began review-bombing the studio’s final project, expressing frustration and disappointment at the closure.

Heading over to the official Steam listing for Kerbal Space Program 2, its most recent reviews on Valve’s digital storefront reveal they are “Mostly Negative.” Further examining the recent reviews, you’ll see dozens of players leaving notices for Kerbal Space Program 2, many expressing disappointment that Take-Two shut down the game’s developer. Some commenters are warning others not to buy the game, as the project was released last year in Early Access and it seems unlikely that it’ll ever see a final release.

“WARNING, the entire development team has been laid off. This project appears to be dead, it was barely making progress to begin with, it’s over,” one user wrote in their review of Kerbal Space Program 2. “Do not buy, modders will end up having to carry this if the community wants it.”