Daily Debate: How Important Are Relationships In Zelda?

Let me start by saying that this is not about the relationship between Link and Zelda. Today’s topic for debate is Link’s relationship with everyone he meets. The series has introduced us to hundreds of memorable characters, but we don’t really know anything about them. How can a series that tells so little about its characters provide such an incredible story?

I’m not sure I can answer that last question, but the Zelda series seems to be the only one that can do it. Think about it. Some of the most popular games in the series have very little character interactions, such as A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds. Of course, I’m not saying that the only good Zelda games are the ones without character interaction, but two of the highest rated games in the series have very little while the unpopular games, like Skyward Sword, emphasize those relationships. It’s true that the biggest complaint with that game was the motion control, but was that enough to have the impact that it did on the game as a whole?

As I stated before, the Zelda series includes hundreds of memorable characters, with only some memorable relationships. The closest we’ve ever gotten to a character was with Zelda in Skyward Sword. While that game in particular is known as one of the weaker in the series, for the first time in a Zelda game I had feelings towards the actions and people that were taking place before me. I finally felt a relationship growing between myself and other characters throughout the story, and it felt really good.

My thought process may be a little confusing, but here’s the question to which I’m leading: although we know that Zelda U is going to use the concept of an open world, can we anticipate that character interaction will be limited as well? And if that’s the case, how much could the game suffer with that lack of interaction? How important are these characters to you, and do you want to build friendships with them on your journey? Does a good adventure need to be shared? Leave your comments below!