If Link Were A Woman

[Majora's Cat]

Honestly, this never popped up in my brain before. Link will always be a man, but I wonder how the Zelda series would've went down if The Legend of Zelda's main protagonist was a woman? Nintendo has already experienced immense success with Metroid. We all love Samus' cool and silent commando persona, so would the Zelda series have been more successful if Link were a girl? I wouldn't say so for sure, but it seems that although the shortage of women starring in video games is great, the few iconic girls of the video game world have become legends. Lara Croft, Samus Aran, these two are gaming's most well-known female protagonists. Link could have gotten more attention as a character if he were a girl. I want to know your views on this idea.

 

[badmuffins]

Uhh... It wouldn't be different. It would be the same. Take a look at Metroid for example. People didn't know that Samus was a girl until the end of the first Metroid. Did it gain or lose any fans? No.

 

[Valexi]

Well, you have to take into consideration that Samus was hidden in a giant bulking suit, whereas you can visibly see Link and confirm that he is indeed male.
Personally, I'm not all too fond of female protagonists. I mean, a female saving a female princess seems to imply certain things, doesn't it?
I don't think I would enjoy the games as much as I do if Link were a female. I know there's the whole "that's sexist" thing, but I'm a female and I like my heroes to be males.
But, that's just my opinion and sometimes I flash my hidden male envy.

Here's some rule 63 for you:

 

[Majora's Cat]

@ badmuffins

Yes, but that was the first Metroid game. One of the reasons Metroid has such an important place in the gaming world is because it was one of the first games to feature a woman as the main protagonist.

 

[enemytracker]

I don't care if they make a Loz that has a female protagonist, the number of fans would still be the same.

 

[PhantomTriforce]

Uhh... It wouldn't be different. It would be the same. Take a look at Metroid for example. People didn't know that Samus was a girl until the end of the first Metroid. Did it gain or lose any fans? No.

I'm right with him on this one. I don't think it would make a difference.

 

[Satsy]

How the games would be approached may well have differed. While we in the western World are pretty big on our gender equality, this isn't so much the case in Japan. What would be acceptable for a male to do could have been seen as 'unrealistic' for a heroine character. Like wielding large mallets and shifting giant boulders like they were just giant boxes. While Samus could get away with that by being in a mechanical suit that does pretty much everything she needs, a female Link wouldn't quite have this kind of explanation, so it'd either mean some different puzzles, or very different items.

Also, what Link would be fighting for probably would change, so as not to seem so out of place or weird. So rather than a woman going off to save a princess, she could very well be fighting under orders of a King, or simply fighting to save the World, and Zelda's appearances (if in fact the name Zelda wouldn't instead move to Link) would probably be further reduced from 'kidnapped princess' to a possible oracle/seer, and operate solely like Shiek from OoT.

tl:dr, game dynamics would probably change quite a bit, regardless of Metroid's success in the US (it wasn't quite so in Japan).

 

[ancazur]

Speaking theoretically:
In the 80's, how often did we really see a female protagonist? (And knew from the start, mind you.) Nothing comes to mind. You can correct me if I'm wrong. But I don't think Zelda would have taken off as well if Link were female back then.

Now, though, it wouldn't make a difference. If the Zelda series were created today, and Link were female, it would be more widely accepted. We have more female protagonists these days, and don't care as much about gender.

The story itself would have to change drastically, though, based upon the "saving the princess" thing (like Valexi stated). Unless Princess Zelda were, say, female Link's sister or something. But again, that's giving him/her an identity from the start of the game... which we tend to avoid.

I went on about that longer than I thought I would

 

[Majora's Cat]

@ anzacur

I completely agree with you. There would really be no difference with Link being a female today, but back then, it did make a difference. Then again (as I stated before)... look at Metroid! A female character in 1986, and Samus became an instant classic. Female characters are rare, but the few feminine heroines in video games are pretty famous. We need more women in video games.

 

[StrangeWig]

It is an interesting possibility. I'm not sure if Link being a female would affect the sucess of the franchise. Probably not, I guess. And it'd certainly be weird for a girl to go rescue a princess!

But one thing is certain: if people already think Link's name is Zelda, imagine the amount of confusion if he was a girl! :yes:

 

[Mikau94]

Don't Forget Ms. Pacman!

I honestly think it would make a slight difference. Think about it, all the sidekicks have been female (with the exception of Ezlo). So would the main supporting character be male or female? What about the final bosses? I think we would see more female antagonists. I would still play, but I think some other people wouldn't.

 

[February Eve]

I'm a bit lost on why a woman couldn't rescue another woman. I doubt male Secret Service members say, "Oh, it would be weird for a man to rescue another man, so I'll let a woman officer help the President." Link's main goal is not necessarily to just saving the Princess - it's one of the steps necessary to saving the entire kingdom, and a female "Link" can still be happy to serve her country/kingdom/world. Plus, see the Minish Cap for an example, where Link and Zelda were already friends. If my best friend were in trouble, I'd try to save her too. As for people thinking it implies "things" - this is the internet. In some corner of the web, it would happen anyway.

Hard to say how the games would be received, really. I'd like to believe it would be no different, but I don't have enough knowledge of gaming history to make an accurate judgment.

Eta: Though I'll grant that the sumo wrestling fanservice would have to be amended. :xd:

 

[Satsy]

I'm a bit lost on why a woman couldn't rescue another woman. I doubt male Secret Service members say, "Oh, it would be weird for a man to rescue another man, so I'll let a woman officer help the President."

You're still thinking along the lines of western gender equality. Consider how even our cultures used to act towards women, and how important jobs (like protecting important people) were 'mens' jobs. Because women had their place. We in US and Europe may not see that the same way anymore, but Japan has even now yet to catch up on that. So it would have made a difference, even if we wouldn't want it to be.

However, as ancazur said, if the series were made today, it wouldn't make quite so big a difference. 20 years changes a lot.

 

[February Eve]

You're still thinking along the lines of western gender equality.

No, I'm not. It was a rebuttal to the idea that it would be "weird" to have a woman save another woman because of what it implies, and that there are plenty of circumstances that it would make sense.

I added afterward that "Hard to say how the games would be received, really." That directly relates to western and eastern cultural differences, and I said that I don't have the background to judge. Which, I do somewhat, but not enough for me to feel comfortable making a stronger statement.

 

[bbevington90]

I don't know if Zelda would be a part of it. I think Zelda was originally created to be Peach in the Mario games: just a damsel in distress. If the main protagonist was female, I don't think we'd be saving a princess. Actually, I think it could easily be that the main protagonist is Zelda, and we'd be saving her father, the King of Hyrule, in games. Obviously the games would be really different if that were the case, but I think it's the more likely situation.