The Legend of Zelda Vs. Fire Emblem! Two princesses who take matters into their own hands, sword in hand, magic at the ready - which royal heir will prove to be the superior combatant?
Intro[]
Zelda[]
Celica[]
Interlude[]
Pre-Fight[]
FIGHT![]
Results[]
S1 E3
Intro[]
Wiz: Alright Boomstick. Are you finally ready to fulfill your side of the bargain to Lucina?
Boomstick: No, why? Is she here right now? She is, isn’t she. Am I about to be turned into a kebab by the Falchion?
Wiz: No she’s not here right now, so you won’t be turned into a kebab yet.
Boomstick: Oh thank goodness! I still need more time to compile all my notes.
Wiz: Wait, is that why you were never… Ugh never mind. We’ve got a matchup that we’ve been meaning to do for a while now. Let’s get it out of the way.
Boomstick: Oh that’s a good idea! Who do we have fighting?
Wiz: Here’s this. (hands him a note) First up we have Zelda, princess of Hyrule and wielder of The Triforce of Wisdom.
Boomstick: And Celica, princess of Zofia and bearer of The Brand of Mila.
Wiz: Both are destined to be a half of the whole that restores peace to their respective lands.
Boomstick: He’s Wiz and I’m Boomstick!
Wiz: And it’s our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to see who would win a death battle!
Analysis: Zelda[]
Wiz: Long ago in the land of Hyrule, there was a goddess named Hylia, who watched over the Triforce after it was created by The Golden Goddesses.
Boomstick: Eventually, The Demon King Demise and his followers would seek to take The Triforce and use its power to rule the world
Wiz: Hylia would fight and defeat Demise, sealing him away.
Boomstick: However, Hylia would suffer grave injuries during the fight, so she knew that the seal wouldn’t hold Demise forever. So she employed various countermeasures to combat him when the seal finally broke.
Wiz: As one of these countermeasures, she willingly gave up her divinity and chose to be reborn as a mortal, so that she could use one of the pieces of The Triforce upon Demise’s inevitable return. That mortal was Zelda.
Boomstick: Wait, so the girl that Link always gets is a goddess reborn? Dang, for a guy who doesn’t speak much other than grunts and screams, he must be pretty smooth.
Wiz: Riiight… Anyways, there have been many different incarnations of Zelda throughout The Legend of Zelda series.
Boomstick: In fact, towards the end of the “Golden Era” of The Royal Family of Hyrule, Zelda’s brother officially proclaimed a law that every crown princess of Hyrule was to be named Zelda.
Wiz: One unifying trait between all the Zeldas is their wise leadership of their peoples.
Boomstick: She will always try to choose what is best for her people, even if that comes at a terrible cost to herself.
Wiz: A prominent example of this is when Zant threatened her entire kingdom, she willingly surrendered herself to spare her people of Zant’s wrath.
Boomstick: Or in Skyward Sword, where she chooses to remain sealed in a deep sleep to maintain the seal on Demise for as long as possible.
Wiz: While Zelda is a wise and benevolent ruler, she isn’t completely defenseless. In fact she has some very powerful magical abilities.
Boomstick: Being a possessor of The Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda has access to healing spells, divine wisdom, and as we see in Breath of the Wild, the ability to communicate telepathically with others.
Wiz: Zelda also has the ability to bring down various barriers in Ganondorf’s Castle, allowing Link to continue to advance.
Boomstick: Speaking of Ganondorf, Zelda also has access to the Sealing Power, which she used to either hold Ganon in place to allow Link to finish him off, or just trap Ganon in a massive ball of the sealing energy, which just disappears.
Wiz: What’s even more impressive is that Zelda held Calamity Ganon back for 100 years while Link slept in The Shrine of Resurrection.
Boomstick: Zelda has also used The Triforce of Wisdom to make disguises for herself, like the mysterious sheikah, Sheik. As Sheik, Zelda evaded Ganondorf for 7 years!
Wiz: Or Tetra, the pirate. Although this one is different from others as only when Tetra meets King Daphnes, she learns that she is actually Princess Zelda, as the necklace Tetra was wearing was a piece of The Triforce of Wisdom.
Boomstick: Zelda also has access to other powerful spells, such as Farore’s Wind, Din’s Fire, and Lanayru’s Love.
Wiz: Farore’s Wind allows Zelda to teleport a short distance.
Boomstick: Din’s Fire allows Zelda to launch a flaming orb. She can even control it in midair!
Wiz: Lanayru’s Love allows Zelda to briefly conjure a shield to protect herself from attacks.
Boomstick: Zelda is also shown to know how to play multiple songs on The Ocarina, a magical instrument.
Wiz: One such song is The Song of Time, which she uses to send Link back in time to when he was a child.
Boomstick: Zelda doesn’t always just rely on the Triforce of Wisdom or magic though. Multiple times throughout the series we have seen her using bow and arrows, including light arrows, to defeat evil.
Wiz: And if Zelda needs something a little more durable and powerful, she can possess phantoms, massive stone guardians, which she used to help Link in Spirit Tracks to solve puzzles that he couldn’t without the phantoms.
Boomstick: We know that Zelda also trained with Link for a brief time, but we don’t have a good understanding of her swordplay skills in the main timelines.
Wiz: Be that as it may, each incarnation of Zelda has played her role well to help vanquish evil standing side by side with Hylia’s Chosen Hero.
Boomstick: Zelda has helped Link to defeat some pretty impressive foes that have risen up to threaten Hyrule.
Wiz: Zelda has helped Link defeat Ganondorf on two separate occasions: Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess
Boomstick: In Spirit Tracks, the duo defeat Malladus, who took Chancellor Cole’s body, transforming into a massive demon boar, reminiscent of Dark Beast Ganon
Wiz: Speaking of Dark Beast Ganon, Zelda has helped Link defeat Dark Beast Ganon/Ganon on multiple occasions, most notably Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Breath of the Wild.
Boomstick: She also helped Link seal away Vaati in the Four Sword in Four Swords Adventures.
Wiz: In that same game, Zelda survived a fall from a massive tower.
Boomstick: Whoa! That’s awesome!
Wiz: Indeed. Zelda in all of her incarnations has always been loved by the people of Hyrule. Her people can rest assured that when evil comes, Zelda will come forward to fight beside and support the chosen hero to vanquish whatever evil lies ahead.
Zelda: Calamity Ganon - For the sake of Hyrule… for all those harmed and slain… for our future… This is where you fall!
Analysis: Celica[]
Wiz: Long ago, the continent of Valentia was watched over by two sibling gods, Duma and Mila.
Boomstick: Duma wanted humanity to grow strong without divine intervention, while Mila believed that humanity endures enough suffering, and that the gods should bless and prosper them
Wiz: After realizing they would never come to terms with the way the other cares for humans, Duma and Mila would agree to split stewardship over Valentia with Duma watching over the northern country of Rigel, and Mila watching over the southern country of Zofia. They made a pact with each other that neither country would invade the other.
Boomstick: Yet there’s one crazy thing about Fire Emblem dragon gods. Each of them are destined to go completely insane and destroy themselves.
Wiz: It was prophesied that when that time came, there would be two who bear the Brands of each respective god. These two would rise up to save Valentia from complete and utter destruction.
Boomstick: And that’s where we meet today’s fighter: Celica.
Wiz: Celica was born into the royal family of Zofia with the Brand of Mila.
Boomstick: Yet she would be nearly assassinated as a young child when a baron named Desaix leads a coup, killing most of the Zofian royal family, installing himself as ruler over Zofia.
Wiz: She would survive with the help of a renowned knight, Sir Mycen, who would take Celica to Ram Village, where he presumed she would be safe. This would be where Celica would meet the other individual prophesied to save Valentia and her childhood friend, Alm.
Boomstick: Sir Mycen would give Celica some training in the art of swordsmanship during her time in Ram Village, training she would put to good use during her journeys using the various blades she would receive.
Wiz: While she can wield many swords from standard training swords up to brave swords (which allow Celica to attack twice as fast as normal) she is normally shown wielding two different weapons: The Ladyblade, and The Beloved Zofia. Should Celica use her swords long enough, she is able channel some of her life force into the blade to unlock some of their innate combat arts.
Boomstick: From The Ladyblade, Celica can use Flamberge, a magical technique wreathed in flame that allows to attack twice as fast as normal.
Wiz: Or Hexblade, a technique that taps into Celica’s innate magic.
Boomstick: As stated earlier, Celica can also wield The Beloved Zofia, a sword passed down the Zofian royal family.
Wiz: Celica can draw on this blade’s unique attributes to heal herself a modest amount should she need it.
Boomstick: And if she doesn’t want to outright kill someone, she can always use Subdue, a technique that won’t kill, but will leave the target on the brink of death. Not sure which one is more merciful though.
Wiz: Celica can also use The Beloved Zofia to unleash her ultimate technique, Ragnarok Omega, a powerful spell that wreaths her upper body in flame, only for her to unleash all that flame in a huge area of Celica’s choosing.
Boomstick: Celica is shown to be a respectable swordswoman. But swordplay isn’t all she’s got going for her. Celica can also call upon her innate magic to cast spells, something she only started to focus on when she was forced out of Ram Village.
Wiz: Celica would be forced to flee with the help of Sir Mycen to a priory on the neighboring island of Novis when a man named Slayde and the Knights of Zofia showed up under order of Desaix to kill Celica.
Boomstick: It would be here that Celica would find her calling as a priestess of Mila, but more importantly for today’s episode, she would start to develop her magical capabilities.
Wiz: That’s correct. During her time at Novis Priory, Celica would learn to channel her life force to cast basic fire magic.
Boomstick: Though her study of magic at the priory would be cut short when she is determined to leave and figure out how to fix Zofia’s crop problem, concluding that something has happened to Mila.
Wiz: Celica would reach Mila’s Temple, only to find that Mila was sealed away in the legendary blade Falchion by The Rigelian Emperor.
Boomstick: During this journey and her subsequent journey north into Rigel to find Mila, Celica would learn more advanced magic to use at her disposal, like long range lightning magic
Wiz: Or Seraphim, magic that is extremely deadly to monsters
Boomstick: Or Excalibur, a spell that yields frequent critical hits
Wiz: Celica would also gain access to Ragnarok, a weaker version of her ultimate ability, but strong fire magic nonetheless.
Boomstick: And lastly, Aura, a mighty spell that surrounds the target in light holy magic, scorching them.
Wiz: These spells would help Celica throughout her journey to save Valentia, along with Mila’s turnwheel, a limited use gift that allows Celica to turn back time. But even then, she ran into trouble.
Boomstick: Upon leaving The Temple of Mila, Celica would meet Jedah, the high priest of Duma, who told her that Mila’s binding could be broken should Celica offer her soul to Duma.
Wiz: This was a lie, as Mila, because of her love for her brother, had sealed Falchion within herself to prevent anyone from killing Duma.
Boomstick: Celica doesn’t buy this, and demands to see Mila herself. Jedah would await them at Duma Tower, where he would play his other cards.
Wiz: Celica at one point would impulsively agree with Jedah’s plan when another servant of Duma, Dolth would use Celica’s innate desire to protect her friends against her. But Dolth would die at the hands of Celica’s brother Conrad before Celica could go through with it.
Boomstick: Eventually, Celica and co. would reach Duma Tower, where Jedah would reveal that Mila had sealed away Falchion within herself. He would then tell Celica that should she wish to fulfill her destiny and save Valentia, she would offer up her soul to Duma.
Wiz: Celica, seeing no other option to save Valentia, agreed to do so. Alm would later enter Duma Tower and try to get Celica to change her mind, but Celica, desiring to create a peaceful, bountiful world for Alm, her friends, and all Valentia, sees no other way.
Boomstick: Having offered up her soul to Duma, Celica is shown to possess superhuman strength. She is able to not only disarm Alm, but send him flying backwards through the air as well!
Wiz: This possessed state wouldn’t last long as Mila would notice both Alm and Celica’s struggles to save Valentia and unbind The Falchion. Alm would eventually end up stabbing Celica with the Falchion, giving Mila a conduit to purify Celica of Duma’s influence and resurrect her.
Boomstick: The pair would then go on to defeat Duma, freeing him of his insanity and unifying all of Valentia.
Wiz: One more adventure would await the both of them though, and they would journey to the neighboring continent of Archanea, navigate through the Thabes Labyrinth, and face down The Creation.
Boomstick: The Creation is Grima as a baby. Yup, the same Grima who would eventually destroy the continent of Ylisse.
Wiz: Valentia prospered under the rule of Alm and Celica, and they would go down in Valentian history as the ones who restored peace and prosperity back to the ruined continent.
Celica: “May Mila The Earth Mother watch over us”
Interlude[]
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we’ve run the data through all possibilities
Boomstick: And now, it’s time for a Death Battle!
Pre-Fight![]
The Great Plateau
Great Plateau - Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Zelda and Link are riding towards The Temple of Time. Zelda’s father, King Rhoam had received a missive detailing a large-scale monster uprising near the temple, and Zelda and Link were sent to investigate. So far, they haven’t encountered anything out of the ordinary. Sure a bokoblin here and there, but nothing that indicated a large-scale uprising.
“Strange, isn’t it. Based on the missive, I would’ve thought we’d have encountered many more monsters by now. Do you think so as well?” Zelda says to Link.
Link nods his head, eyes on full alert, observing the surrounding area.
“Normally father insists that I continue my training to unlock my sealing powers. I wonder why he sent us in the first place?” Zelda says.
Link just continues to observe the area, looking for anything unusual.
“Hehe. Ever the quiet one as usual.” Zelda says to herself, smiling.
Link suddenly stops his horse, his hand going instinctively to The Master Sword. Zelda stops her horse as well.
“What is it Link?” She asks.
Link closes his eyes in concentration, then unsheathes The Master Sword, pointing towards The Temple of Time. Looking towards that direction, Zelda hears the clash of weapons.
“I hear it. Let’s go, Link!” Zelda says. Both urge their horses forward, riding fast towards the temple.
As more of the landscape comes into view, Link and Zelda can see a group of monsters fighting a lone, hooded, cloaked traveler. The pair ride hard and dismount near the traveler, immediately engaging with the monsters. The trio best the group handily, Link and the traveler with their swords and Zelda behind them, using a bow and arrows she had taken from the armory. As the monsters retreat, the traveler breathes a sigh of relief and turns towards Link and Zelda.
“Thank you for the assist! I was inside that large building over there. I thought it would be a good place to rest and provide some sanctuary from the monsters. Well, as you can see, that didn’t turn out as planned.” the traveler said. She had the voice of a young woman, and Zelda could swear that she sounded like she was the same age as her.
“Monsters inside The Temple of Time? Is it really that bad? You’re not hurt are you?” Zelda responds, her voice reaching a certain level of worry.
“Nothing more than a few cuts and bruises. Really it’s nothing. Thank you for your concern.” the traveler responds.
“Oh thank goodness! I’m so glad!” Zelda says. Then realizing that she had no idea who she was talking to, Zelda clears her throat and says.
“Please forgive me. I’m here asking you a ton of questions and we haven’t even formally met yet. This is Link, my appointed knight, and my name is Zelda, princess of Hyrule.”
“Princess and royal knight, huh? Well then, I suppose I won’t need this anymore.” The traveler says, lowering her hood and taking off her cloak. Zelda sees a young, reddish, orange haired woman with orange eyes, wearing a white battle dress, which seems to be slightly armored.
“I am Celica, princess of Zofia. I have no idea why The Earth Mother sent me to this world, so I wanted to keep a low profile while I figured out where I was. Though, there’s no use trying to hide from royalty, right?” Celica says smiling.
“Haha I guess not.” Zelda responds, going along with the flow, though stories of the past come to mind as she remembers long ago, another Zelda avoided Ganondorf’s watch for seven years. Although The Earth Mother was unfamiliar to her.
“Also, you had mentioned someone called The Earth Mother. Who is that?” Zelda asked.
“Oh! The Earth Mother is the goddess of my world. We also call her Mila.” Celica responds, then remembering the statue in The Temple of Time, she asks:
“In that large building back there, there was a large statue of a woman. Who is that?”
“That’s a statue of The Goddess Hylia. She’s the goddess we worship here in Hyrule.” Zelda responds. Zelda can see that Link’s hand is twitching as it grasps The Master Sword. She could swear he wanted to fight Celica.
“Lady Celica, I think Link wants to spar with you. I’d imagine he wants to test your abilities.” Zelda says, looking towards Link then back to Celica.
“Oh do you now?” Celica says, looking at Link, who nods in affirmation. “I admit, I’m intrigued by the possibility, but in truth, I’m more curious to see what you can do, Princess Zelda. Perhaps then I’ll spar with you, Link.” Celica responds, looking towards the duo.
“O-oh, me?” Zelda stammers, surprised. “Why?”
“As princess, I wish to become stronger to protect my people. As royalty, I assume you feel the same?” Celica responds.
“I suppose you’re right.” Zelda responds.
In the distance, the trio can hear the noise of a large group of monsters, when all of a sudden a scream pierces the air. Link quickly mounts his horse and rushes off towards the sound.
“Link!” Zelda yells. But Link was already dead set, traveling fast.
“Please be safe.” Zelda says quietly. Zelda can hear Celica laugh a bit as Link races off.
“Charges headlong into any battle, does he?” Celica asks.
Zelda sighs as she responds: “That’s Link alright. Always has been.”
“Is that so?” Celica responds. Zelda could swear that she heard a hint of sadness in the response. “He reminds me of someone I know. A childhood friend from my world named Alm. You’re lucky to have someone like him, Princess Zelda. Don’t let anything come between the two of you.” Celica continues. Zelda smiles as Celica says that. Celica was right, and deep down, Zelda knew it.
“Very well, enough chit chat. Shall we begin?” Zelda asks.
“Let’s go.” Celica responds.
DEATH BATTLE!![]
March to Deliverance - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
The battle starts with Zelda drawing her bow, firing several arrows towards Celica, who dances out of the way of most of them, holding up her shield to protect herself from the last arrow. Zelda, seeing she had slowed Celica’s advance, readies an ice arrow and nocks it to her bowstring. Knowing her chances would be easier if Celica’s shield is out of the picture, she quickly aims and fires, only for Celica to roll sideways to dodge. But this gives Zelda enough time to draw out a shining rapier. As Celica is finally able to close in, the two princesses engage in a duel of swords.
It quickly becomes apparent to Zelda that she is outclassed when it comes to swordplay, as she is barely able to keep her blade between herself and the slashes and jabs that Celica was throwing at her. Celica, sensing the momentum starting to shift in her favor, channels some of her life force into The Ladyblade, igniting it in flame with Flamberge. Zelda, seeing the flame appear, instinctively holds her rapier close to her, trying to shrink away from the lightning fast x slashes coming from Celica. As she does this, she activates Nayru’s Love, feeling The Ladyblade strike against a magical diamond shaped shield. While she isn’t hurt by the attacks, she can feel the force of Celica’s strikes pushing her backwards ever so slowly. Celica, trying to capitalize on this opportunity, continues to try to slash, poke, and prod at Zelda’s defenses, slowly forcing Zelda to backpedal, inch by inch.
Zelda knows that she has to create some space between the two of them, and fast. She can see the shield she conjured start to blink in and out of existence, meaning the spell is almost over. She quickly darts her eyes around, searching for a place to warp. Deciding on a sturdy tree branch on a tree not too far away, Zelda activates Farore’s Wind right as Nayru’s Love ends. As she lands on the branch, she feels a sharp pain in her foot. Looking down, she sees that her boot has been slashed diagonally and that blood was slowly starting to appear through the leather.
“Ngh.” Zelda groans as the pain in her foot continues. She swings her arm in a small arc diagonally forward, manifesting Din’s Fire, and launches it towards Celica, guiding it towards her feet.
Celica looks around her warily, trying to find Zelda when she hears an explosion right near her. Looking down at her feet, she is surprised to see a ball of flame explode at her feet. She tries to roll away, but her own momentum combined with that of the explosion just launches her backwards slightly, causing her to fall and crash down on her back. Standing back on her feet, Celica looks up just in time to roll out of the way of another orb of Din’s Fire launched by Zelda. As Zelda launches one more ball of flame, Celica channels her energy and uses the fire spell, aiming a ball of flame towards Zelda’s, both flaming spheres colliding with each other and exploding.
Zelda narrowly sidesteps another ball of flame that Celica launches towards her, moving carefully as not to fall off the tree branch. Zelda again pulls out her bow, readying a lightning arrow and again aiming towards Celica’s shield. As she is about to release her shot, she hears a sharp crackle of thunder above her. As flames start to burn the tree she is perched on, she launches her arrow, knowing that it may give her some time to get down, especially if it hits, and jumps down. As she is falling, she hears Celica yelp as lightning courses through her arm, confirming to Zelda that her plan may work. Landing with a slight grimace as she is reminded of the pain in her foot. Shooting a few fire arrows around Celica, hoping to restrict her movement, Zelda launches a bomb arrow right at Celica’s feet.
“Don’t move.” Zelda says.
Celica feels somewhat restricted by all the flame around her, but noticing the arrow coming her way, she quickly channels some of her life force to manifest five orbs of light. Using the Excalibur spell, she launches these orbs towards Zelda. Two of the orbs cause the arrow to explode, and the explosion negates the other three, neutralizing both projectiles. Finding a gap through the spreading flames, Celica attempts to close the gap between them, sword in one hand and a ball of flame in the other, just in case Zelda tries to get away again.
“Oh no you don’t.” Celica says.
Zelda would notice this change in Celica’s strategy. Zelda knew that they couldn’t play cat and mouse forever, so it was time for her to change strategy as well. Using Farore’s Wind to find some cover in a nearby thicket of trees and begins to pull out a small blue instrument: The Ocarina. She puts it to her lips and starts to play The Song of Time. She gets halfway through it when she hears the cracking of wood behind her. Turning around, she sees the tree right behind her is starting to fall. Skirting out of the way to avoid it, she is about to restart the song when she realizes that Celica has nearly closed the gap.
As Celica continues to run towards Zelda, she again taps into her life force, channeling it to manifest crackling lightning between her fingers. Pointing her hand again towards Zelda, she unleashes the lightning. Zelda is able to dodge, but this gives Celica enough time to get within striking range. Channeling her magic into The Ladyblade, Celica uses the Hexblade combat technique, coming down on Zelda with a mighty diagonal slash. Zelda is able to draw her rapier to block, but the force behind the hit is too much for her, knocking her off balance. Seizing this opportunity, Celica once again wreathes The Ladyblade in flame using the Flamberge technique, delivering two quick jabs at Zelda’s abdomen, followed by a horizontal slash across Zelda’s upper arm, and finishes with one final slash, which Zelda miraculously blocks, putting the two of them in a bladelock.
“You can’t run forever Zelda!’ Celica says.
“Are you sure about that Celica?” Zelda responds.
Briefly taking her focus off the bladelock, Zelda again activates Nayru’s Love and pulls out the ocarina.
“Wait! What are you doing?” Celica asks, confused.
“Merely getting a change of scenery.” Zelda responds, putting the ocarina to her lips and playing The Song of Time. As the song finishes, both fighters are thrust back in time, eventually landing outside of a massive, dark tower.
Ganondorf’s Tower
Song of Storms - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Smash Bros Ultimate)
Zelda opens her eyes to see that she has sent both her and Celica to Ganondorf’s Tower in the distant past. Seeing this tower brings to mind again the story of the princess who hid from Ganondorf’s ire for seven years by disguising herself as a sheikah under the alias of Sheik.
“Perhaps I could try something similar for this.” Zelda wonders to herself.
As she looks down, she notices that her appearance has changed. Instead of her normal blue outfit, she is now wearing a long white and pink dress, with long gloves on each arm, and the Triforce adorning the base of the dress.
“So, this is what the Zelda of this time looked like? Interesting.” She thinks to herself.
Focusing on The Triforce of Wisdom, she can feel her outfit change. Instead of the long dress, she now has a blue and gray outfit, adorned with the eye of the sheikah. A mask and headband wrap around her face. She indeed had taken on the guise of Sheik. As Sheik, Zelda disappears into the shadows, waiting for the opportune time to present itself.
Celica opens her eyes to again find herself lost in a place she knows absolutely nothing about. She switches The Ladyblade out for The Beloved Zofia, no doubt choosing it for its healing properties. Yet there is an ominous feel to this place, even she could feel as much. It all seemed to be coming from the massive tower nearby. The rain that had started didn’t help matters much either.
“I need to get out of this rain. This can’t be much different than Duma Tower, right?” Celica says softly to herself as she nears the hulking tower. She couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
Walking up to the entrance, Celica tries to open the door, but it won’t budge. She tries again and again, but nothing works. As she’s about to step back and blast the door with fire, it mysteriously opens up.
“That’s… odd.” Celica thinks to herself. She looks around herself to see if there was anyone who could’ve been responsible for the oddity. Nothing. Taking a deep breath and exhaling to calm her nerves ever so slightly, Celica enters the tower. She is about to light a small fireball to illuminate the way before her when she feels a piercing pain in her shoulder. Grimacing in pain, she looks over her shoulder to see a small kunai embedded there. She is also surprised to see herself in a different outfit. Now she is wearing a smaller yellow battle dress, a red breastplate, red boots, and a yellow cape. She turns around to try to spot her assailant, only to see the silhouette of a lone figure standing in the tower’s entrance, appearing more menacing with the crackling lightning illuminating them from behind. Celica could see this figure was wielding two kunai, one in each hand.
“Who are you?” Celica asks, a note of anger in her voice.
“You’re not supposed to be here.” The figure responds, coldly.
Solidus Cave - Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
The figure then rushes forwards towards Celica, throwing one of the kunai towards her as the figure comes nearer. Celica attempts to lift her shield to block the incoming projectile, but this causes her shoulder muscles to rip even more due to the kunai buried within. Lowering her shoulder because of the pain, Celica grimaces as she tries to bring her sword up to block the next kunai, but she isn’t fast enough and screams in pain as it buries itself in her arm.
Sheik, having seen that her two knives had disabled much of Celica’s defenses, having partially closed the gap already, pulls out another kunai attached to her leg. Sheik then slashes twice at Celica, who barely blocks them, before Sheik slams her with a massive overhead kick, dazing her. Sheik then does a massive spinning kick, sending Celica crashing into the wall, screaming as the kunai buried in her shoulder sinks even deeper in. Sheik throws one more kunai at Celica, which buries itself right above her hip, earning yet another scream of pain.
“Who are you?” Celica asks, her voice quivering in fear and pain.
“I suppose I can tell you, though it is knowledge you won’t find very useful, princess. I am Sheik. Now, allow me to put you out of your misery before Ganondorf does. Trust me, it will be easier this way.”
As Sheik walks forward to do just that, Celica feels a small weight in her pocket. She reaches in and pulls out Mila’s Turnwheel, which has some blood stains on it, much like her dress. Of course, how could she have forgotten! Using her leg to keep it steady, she starts to turn the gears on the turnwheel.
“Huh?! What’s that? What are you-” Sheik asks, surprised.
“Thanks for the offer, Sheik, but I still have work to do. So I’m afraid I must decline.” Celica replies, her resolve returning to her voice as she clicks the turnwheel into place. The two of them are sent back in time as the turnwheel works its magic. As time resumes, Celica turns around and brings her shield up, blocking the first kunai that Sheik threw at her.
“Wait, how did you?” Sheik asks.
“I’m afraid that is knowledge you won’t find very useful, so I’ll let you figure it out.” Celica says, mocking Sheik.
“Don’t mock me.” Sheik says, a dangerous edge coming through in her voice.
The two then engage in combat once again, but unlike last time, Celica was ready for it. Blocking Sheik’s kunai and dodging around her kicks, Celica evades the storm of blades. Then, dancing around Sheik’s overhead kick one more time, Celica leaps into the air, front flipping over Sheik, switching out The Beloved Zofia for a shining Brave Sword. Landing gracefully, Celica then rushes forward, taking the offensive. Slashing diagonally, side to side, jabbing, Celica becomes a whirlwind, and starts to force Sheik deeper into the tower.
Eventually Sheik finds herself backpedaling right into a locked door. Knowing that she won’t last long with her back to the wall, she sighs internally, knowing that she can’t keep her identity secret forever. She extends her arm to the door and causes the door to open, receiving a gash in her side as Celica’s sword finds its mark. Jumping and corkscrewing over Celica’s next horizontal slash, Sheik uses Farore’s Wind to teleport backwards, landing by another door. Launching another fireball with Din’s Fire, Sheik opens the door, which leads to an ascending staircase.
“Wait. You’re Zelda, aren’t you?” Celica asks quizzically as she launches a fireball to block Zelda’s.
“So, you’ve figured out my secret.” Zelda says.
Sacrifice and the Saint - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
The two continue through the doorway to the staircase, ascending it. This forces Celica to switch her sword to her left hand, causing her swordplay to become more sloppy as she isn’t left-handed. Even with this, she is still becoming too fast for Zelda to keep pace. Eventually, her uneven swordplay is able to find a hit on Zelda’s leg, causing her to fall to one knee. Two more slashes find their target on Zelda’s arm, all three strikes opening gashes and causing blood to stain Zelda’s sheikah outfit. Zelda uses Farore’s Wind to teleport higher up the tower stairs, and Celica increases her pace, running up the stairs faster to give chase.
Ominous organ music fills the air as Zelda reaches the top of the stairs. Zelda leans against a wall and starts to cast a healing spell on her wounded leg. Feeling the magic stop the blood and start to numb the pain, Zelda lets out a small sigh of relief, which is cut short as she hears the sound of armored boots running up the staircase. Grabbing her two kunai and preparing for another confrontation, she sees Celica run up and strike with a huge diagonal slash. Zelda is able to block it with her kunai, and the two are set in a blade lock.
Celica, noticing this, channels more of her life force into her brave sword, activating the Penetrate combat art, pushing her legs and arms forward with all of her might. Zelda can only stand there and watch in horror as her kunai break under the force of Celica’s blade. Celica, having broken through Zelda’s defenses, uses her momentum to rush forward, swiping across Zelda’s body with her blade, leaving a huge gash across Zelda’s chest and side, causing more blood to soak into her clothing.
“It’s over Zelda. I suggest you surrender.” Celica says.
“Never on my life.” Zelda scowls.
Zelda teleports with Farore’s Wind to a huge set of double doors, to an area with a window behind her, Celica in pursuit. Opening one of the doors and using her other hand to draw a kunai and deflect a jab from Celica, both princesses cross blades once again. They both look into the room to see a huge pipe organ, and the person who’s playing it is none other than Ganondorf, which causes Zelda to immediately close the door. The two begin to fight again and Celica’s speed again starts to force Zelda back to the window. As Zelda’s back is pushed against the window, Celica punches Zelda in the jaw, dazing her. Celica then rams Zelda with her shoulder, causing the window to break as Zelda falls from the tower.
Zelda hits the ground, wincing in pain as she feels her broken ribs. Looking over her blood-stained outfit, she starts to cast healing spells on herself, hoping to fix at least her ribs. A dreadful sense of deja vu washes over her as she hears the sound of armored boots running down the stairway. Zelda, struggling to her feet as she finishes her spells, furrows her brows in anger as she sees Celica exit the tower.
“You’re not getting away this time Celica.” Zelda whispers to herself.
Shedding her sheikah disguise for her princess regalia, Zelda extends both arms and activates the Triforce of Wisdom, a massive beam of sacred sealing energy extending towards Celica, holding her in place. After a few seconds, Zelda ends the sealing energy and immediately casts Din’s Fire, aiming towards Celica’s wrist. It connects and the brave sword is sent flying away, landing with a dull thud in the dirt. Zelda pulls out her ocarina and again begins to play The Song of Time.
“Oh no, no more world hopping.” Celica says as she rushes forward to stop Zelda, The Ladyblade in hand.
As Celica says this, the doors to the tower fling open, banging against its stone exterior. Both princesses look to see who exits, and they see none other than Ganondorf, who laughs when he sees Zelda.
“Ah, the princess of Hyrule, come to pay me a visit? An unexpected surprise! But a pleasant one indeed!” Ganondorf says, quite pleased as he advances towards Zelda and Celica.
“On second thought, world hopping doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Celica says. “Zelda. Anytime now.”
Zelda finishes the song and both princesses are sent forward in time.
Tower of Spirits
Phantom Chase - The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
As time is restored to normal, both princesses land in The Tower of Spirits. The air feels hot and heavy due to the lava contained within. As Zelda gets up, this time in her Toon Zelda regalia, she notices that she is surrounded by phantoms. This brings back memories of the books she read about the legends of a princess who would help the chosen hero by controlling these phantoms.
“If she could do it, I don’t see why I couldn’t. I mean, they’re similar to guardians in a way.” she thinks to herself. Walking up to a phantom, she puts her hand on it and says softly:
“Let’s see what you can do.”
Celica gets up only to see Zelda’s spirit leave her body, her spirit entering into a massive statue. She stands there, head tilted slightly in confusion when nothing happens, but immediately takes a defensive stance as the pink statue shudders and draws a massive sword, turning to face right towards her. As the statue brings its sword backward to swing, Celica quickly launches a fireball to stall the swing. She succeeds in stalling it, for about half a second as she quickly rolls backwards to avoid the sword, feeling the wind from the swing in her hair as she does. Celica continues to dance around the sword, casting fire and thunder when she has time, but the fire and lightning barely leaves a mark on the phantom.
Zelda feels like she has a feel for the phantom’s movements now, and she has had plenty of time to study Celica’s habits. Predicting that Celica would roll backwards to avoid her horizontal slash, Zelda plans to feint and advance, kicking Celica. She does just that, and it goes according to plan. The kick connects and Celica is sent flying backwards, the crack of broken bones emanating throughout the room as she is slammed into a wall. Zelda walks the phantom forward and delivers a large, low swing towards Celica, who had just stood back up at the lava bank’s edge. The phantom’s sword connects with The Ladyblade and Celica’s shield, clashing with such force that Celica’s shield breaks in half, and subsequently breaking her arm. The swing also sends Celica flying again into another wall, another sickening crack of broken bone emanating from her direction as she slams into the wall.
Celica slowly struggles to her feet, whimpering in pain as she feels her broken arm and ribs. She knows she can’t take much more of a beating, and groans internally as she sees the phantom walking towards her. As she sees the phantom approaching, a voice enters her mind:
“Only strength holds meaning. Only power holds sway. Offer up your soul, and I will grant you the strength you require.” It was Duma.
“No! There has to be another way!” Celica responds.
Clutching Mila’s turnwheel, she sighs and she struggles to support it with her mangled arm. Yet despite that, she is able to turn it back, knowing that this was the last use of it. Both fighters are again sent back to the moment where they first entered the tower.
Time resumes as Zelda’s spirit enters the phantom. Celica, aware of what she’s in for dodges Zelda’s first swing and quickly changes The Ladyblade out for The Beloved Zofia. Dancing around Zelda’s second slash, Celica channels her life force into her hands, preparing Seraphim.
“Seraphim!” Celica yells as holy light flies towards the phantom. The light hits the phantom, but Zelda just continues to walk forward as if nothing happened.
“H-how?” Celica stammers, stunned in disbelief, earning a solid pummel from the flat of the phantom’s sword for that lapse in concentration.
“Only strength holds meaning.” Duma’s voice comes again.
Ignoring the voice, Celica gets up to her feet and channels her life force into The Beloved Zofia, drawing upon the innate magic to fuel her next attack. As a fiery inferno surrounds her arms, Celica swirls it around her and launches it towards Zelda, unleashing the mighty Ragnarok Omega. As the area around the phantom erupts in a fiery inferno, Celica’s spirit’s fall as there was no visible damage to the phantom.
“No…” Celica moans.
Zelda again takes the opportunity to continue her offensive, slowly forcing Celica towards the lava’s banks. Slamming the flat of her blade into Celica, Zelda again sends her flying into the wall.
“Ugh…” Celica moans as she looks up, seeing the phantom advancing on her, now just at the other side of the lava bank. Everything she had tried, nothing worked. At this point, she could only delay the inevitable. Unless…
“Only strength holds meaning.” Duma’s voice again enters her mind
“Is there really no other way?” Celica thinks to herself.
“Only power holds sway.” The voice says again.
“Nothing else has worked. Do I really have a choice?” Her voice was wavering. “No, I don’t think I do.”
Zelda crosses the lava bank and readies her blade, prepared to finish the job. Yet she is taken aback as she hears these words fall from Celica’s lips:
“Only strength holds meaning.”
What was Celica doing?
“Only power holds sway.” Celica mutters.
Zelda repositions the phantom’s blade into a defensive position, preparing to react.
“Lord Duma. I accept your proposition. In exchange for your strength, I grant unto you my soul.”
The Mad God’s Blessings - Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia
Zelda is horrified as she sees Celica fall to the ground and begin to writhe in pain, her soul exiting her body as a yellow swirl. A bloodcurdling scream echoes throughout the room as Celica’s body contorts uncomfortably one last time, then the room falls deathly quiet.
“Did she just… die?” Zelda wonders to herself. As she moves the phantom in closer to investigate, she sees Celica’s motionless body twitch slightly, purple flames slowly beginning to surround her body.
“Nope, she’s still alive.” Zelda says to herself as she raises the phantom’s sword high into the air, preparing to bring it down on Celica. As the sword reaches its apex, Zelda sees Celica slowly stumble to her feet in a way that she could only describe as a zombie. Zelda brings the phantom’s sword down to cleave her opponent in half, when the momentum of the blade is slowed and redirected by Celica, who heaves the sword to her side, changing the trajectory of the blade to land next to her.
“What!? H-how?” Zelda stammers, astounded at what happened.
“Heh.” comes the reply.
Zelda again tries to swing, this time horizontally, which Celica ducks under and begins to advance. Zelda readies herself for Celica’s assault, but is left confused when she sees Celica charge right past the phantom. But recognition quickly leaves her horrified when she realizes Celica’s intentions. She wasn’t planning on fighting the phantom, she was going straight for Zelda’s unconscious body! She turns the phantom around and begins to return to where her unconscious body was lying. She arrives at the location just in time to see Celica raise her sword high into the air with both hands, the point of the blade pointed downwards towards Zelda’s heart!
“Hehehe. You will make an excellent offering to Lord Duma!” Celica cackles. “I can feel the power coursing through you. Yes, a most excellent offering indeed!”
“NOOOO!!!” Zelda cries as she desperately throws the phantom’s shield at Celica, praying that it hits. A yelp of pain and the crack of stone sends a flood of relief through Zelda’s heart as she wills her spirit to leave the phantom and return to her body. As Zelda wakes up, her body and spirit once again reunited, she quickly pulls out the ocarina and begins to play The Song of Time.
The Great Plateau - The Temple of Time
Air of Brutality - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Both princesses in The Temple of Time, each again in the outfits they first started in. The night outside is clear, the moon providing soft streams of light to the ruined temple. But the picturesque scene was interrupted by the sound of streaking guardian beams, explosions as their beams make contact with the ground. Back in the temple, both princesses again continue to fight, magic spells and arrows slamming into each other. Eventually, Zelda uses Farore’s Wind to quickly teleport right up to Celica, narrowly avoiding a burst of lightning that struck where she stood a moment before. Zelda kicks Celica in the stomach with all of her might as the spell ends, causing the fallen princess to keel over. Zelda takes this opportunity to pull out her rapier.
“FOR!” Zelda yells as she unleashes three quick thrusts with her rapier
“MY!” Two quick x slashes and a lunging thrust
“PEOPLE!” A strong spinning slash aimed directly for Celica’s neck.
The sound of both blades clashing together nearly drowns out the growing thud of hoofbeats on stone. Zelda is startled to see all that momentum be stopped by one blade. Celica had blocked it, and seeing the look on Zelda’s face causes a smirk to appear on her face.
“Is that all you have? Pathetic…” Celica sneers.
With a strength that betrays her size, Celica slashes horizontally with The Beloved Zofia, causing Zelda to get thrown backwards, her glittering rapier leaving her hand. Zelda’s body slams into the statue of Hylia, and she falls face first onto the stone ground of the temple.
“I will give you one last chance, Zelda.” Celica says, slowly approaching Zelda, her hands glowing with a holy light. “Sacrifice your soul to Lord Duma, or I will snuff out your life, along with the life of your knight.”
“Link… No, I can’t allow it! I won’t!” Zelda thinks to herself. That statement from Celica was all Zelda needed to hear to kick her resolve into high gear. For all the times that Link had protected her, now it was her turn to do the same. After all, she, The Goddess Hylia reborn as a mortal, wouldn’t allow Herself or Her Chosen Hero to be defeated by some foreign, upstart, vessel.
“Princess Celica, if you are even worthy of being called a princess anymore, in the name of the goddess Hylia and by my authority as princess of Hyrule, hereby reject your demand and sentence you to death!” Zelda says defiantly with all the confidence she could muster.
“Hmm.” Celica replies. “If you will not comply, then I see no reason why I shouldn’t follow through on my offer.”
As holy light surrounds Celica, Zelda can hear the sound of hoofbeats growing louder and louder, and a familiar face enters from the side of the temple. It was Link! Zelda could see that he was covered in bruises and burns, but still returning, ever loyal to her. But before she could fully register this, she felt her body being scorched by holy light. But between the burning sensations, she feels another force impact her, sending her away. As she looks up, she is horrified to see Link lying on the ground, his clothes smoldering. Link, her ever loyal knight, had rammed her out of the spell Celica had cast, taking the brunt instead himself. As Zelda crawled over to him, all those memories of their time together again resurfacing.
“No! No, Link! Wake up!” Zelda cries, shaking his body. “Link, wake up, please!”
As Zelda continues to shake Link’s body, she hears Celica starting to laugh.
“Ah, both of you are now in the same place. How perfectly delightful! Saves me the trouble of actually going out and finding him! Now. you will both meet your fate!” Celica says, surrounding herself with a flaming inferno.
“You… MONSTER! DIE!” Zelda yells, her hand outstretched, her face contorting in anger. But something strange happened.
With Power Awakened - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
The inside of the temple illuminates with a brilliant light. As the light fades, Zelda is surprised by what she sees. On the back of her hand, the symbol of the Triforce was alight! In fact, her whole body was aglow with radiant light!
“Was that… the power?” Zelda whispers to herself.
As Zelda is awed at the sudden revelation, she hears Celica grunt, blocking her eyes from the light with her arm.
“Ngh, agh. Now… you… will… BURN!” Celica yells, the inferno again surrounding her body.
“In the name of Hylia, I command you to leave!” Zelda responds.
The temple is filled with two brilliant hues of light, the fiery inferno from Celica, and Zelda’s sealing energy. Both princesses cry out in pain as they are burned by the other, but eventually, all grows quiet.
From the smoldering ashes, Zelda slowly crawls over to Link and slowly shakes him awake. Link smiles weakly, glad to see Zelda is alive. Both turn their heads to the other side of the temple when they hear the clattering of a blade hit the stone ground. They both slowly get to their feet and walk over, where they see The Beloved Zofia laying motionless on the ground.
Post-Fight[]
Zelda and Link are seen exiting The Temple of Time headed towards Hyrule Castle, The Beloved Zofia in Zelda's hand
Conclusion[]
Boomstick: Whoa! That was awesome!
Wiz: Indeed. Though both Zelda and Celica play excellent support roles in their respective story, when they come face to face in a battle to the death, Zelda takes this victory more times than not.
Boomstick: That’s right. Even though Celica may have a more explosive, offensive arsenal than Zelda, it doesn’t really matter when your opponent can tank everything you can throw at them and then just keep going.
Wiz: That’s right. Zelda is extremely durable. In Breath of the Wild, Zelda kept Calamity Ganon at bay in his little egg sack for 100 years by herself!
Boomstick: And, do you remember Demise? Yeah the evil god who’s spirit lives on through Ganondorf. In Skyward Sword, Zelda again kept the seal on him by herself for a time.
Wiz: Now, both Celica and Zelda have access to healing abilities. Now, while one could argue that The Beloved Zofia’s passive regeneration is superior over a longer battle like this one than healing spells, its effect is curbed by one important detail.
Boomstick: And that is that Celica needs to spend her lifeforce to cast each and every one of her spells. Zelda on the other hand, doesn’t have to worry about that.
Wiz: Therefore in a drawn out battle like this one, a self damaging system is going to cost you big time.
Boomstick: But Wiz and Boomstick I hear you say, Celica has defeated Duma and Grima. She’s used to facing godlike opponents. Shouldn’t this be similar?
Wiz: While it is true that Celica has faced gods, she couldn’t actually kill Duma, and needed an entire group to take down Grima.
Boomstick: While Zelda is Hylia reborn, it was only with the help of Alm and her friends that Celica survived these battles. And in a one on one with someone as durable as Zelda, eventually Celica was going to fall.
Wiz: Not to mention that with The Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda is shown to be incredibly wise in determining the best path forward, and Celica has been shown to be quite brash when her emotions get the best of her.
Boomstick: Now, Celica does have the advantage in strength, offensive capabilities, and close quarters combat. Should the entire battle take place in such a situation, Celica would eventually pull this fight.
Wiz: Except we have seen that Zelda would much rather take a flight from farther away, and eventually let her superior wisdom guide her to victory. And if necessary, we have seen Zelda take on multiple forms, so she could change based on the situation.
Boomstick: When it is all said and done, Zelda is just an absolute tank who will whittle you down from afar in safety
Wiz: Celica may be a gifted fighter with many powerful abilities, but Zelda’s superior wisdom and incredible durability turned out to be too much for her.
Boomstick: Yup. I guess one could say that Zelda just sealed the deal.
Wiz: The winner is Zelda
Notes[]
- The connection between the two combatants are both are princesses, both chosen by their various deities, prophesied to save their worlds from doomsday scenarios, both have close connections to their prophesied counterpart, and both have skill in both magical and martial abilities
- Like my previous battles, the songs are merely placeholders for a possible soundtrack. If I were to develop a song for this battle, I would call it "Two Halves of a Whole." The cover would feature The Triforce with The Brand of Mila on top, The Bow of Light with Beloved Zofia in place of an arrow.
- The little bit about Lucina is a reference to my very first Death Battle where Boomstick and Lucina struck a deal where Lucina would be in my second battle, which didn't happen. But I plan to have her in my next battle.
- If this battle was animated, it would be a fusion of 2d and 3d animation where the combatants outfits would reflect their presentation of their character at the time of the game's location in which the fight is located.
- As much as possible, I wanted to portray Zelda with the abilities she had in each location's games. [[Category:[1]]]