The sound comes from Link, the hero of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, released for Nintendo 64 in 1998. In game Link yells when falling, taking damage or being thrown back, and players remember those short cries as part of the adventure. Online, editors isolated and stretched the scream into a standalone meme clip, sharing it on soundboards and in videos where an overlong yell fits any disaster. Its link to a beloved game keeps it recognisable even outside Zelda clips.
About this sound
Link screaming from The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, a long panicked yell used for fails, jumpscares, rage moments and meme edits online.
This is Link letting out a long, uninterrupted scream that just keeps going until it turns absurd. The voice is high, strained and panicked, with no words, only pure alarm stretched far beyond a normal reaction. It starts like a genuine fall or attack cry from a game, then the length makes it funny, as if Link has completely lost control of the situation. Over a calm or ordinary clip it creates instant chaos, and over a disaster it exaggerates the pain so much that viewers read it as comedy rather than danger.