General Zelda How Do You Like Link's Character?

[Salem]

In the early games, Link didn't have a backstory, he was usually a random dude who decide he must save Hyrule.

Starting from Alttp, he was given a little bit of character, he had an uncle, Oot he was given more backstory, and it just intensified. Now there're several side characters that he has a connection with, his sister from WW. the kids from TP, Zelda in SS.

In games like MM, he was seen as a stranger to the land he was supposed to save similar to the original Loz, it was like this in LA, and the oracle games, to someone playing these games without playing their preques they might think its the mysterious origins version of Link not the more defined character we know of in later games, but bear in mind these were the same Links from Alttp and OoT.

My question is, how do you like Link's character to be? Do you want him to have a defined backstory, connections to side characters. or do you want him to be as vague as possible?

 

[TriFiERCE]

I'd like him to have a vague back story, than it's revealed as the game progresses.

 

[Mangachick14]

I'd really like it if more emphasis was put into his backstory and personal relationships in new instalments. Of course, I'd prefer it if we weren't just completely bombarded with it as soon as you open a new file. A nicely paced backstory which is slowly revealed throughout the game would be a lovely step up, and I think Nintendo should attempt it for the next games. So to answer your question, I'd certainly prefer a well-defined backstory over the other options.

 

[DarkLink17]

I just want to see some explanation as to who this Link is related to (is he ALttP Link's son?), and a reference as to what happened during the time between the two games.

 

[Yeti]

Honestly, I prefer something in between, where there's enough back story to make each individual Link a compelling character in their own right, but not enough to anchor him with a ton of preexisting relationships. I think Wind Waker was the perfect mix of this. Link had a strong relationship with his Grandma and sister Aryl. You could tell he loved them and this humanized him. You could actually feel what his motivation was for going to such great lengths to save his sister. At the same time he had a few close acquaintances among the Outset Island villagers, such as Orca, but nothing too extreme.

Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword meanwhile gave Link a ton of established friends. TP Link seemed to be pretty close to everyone in his village, giving a sense that he was part of community like no other Link before him. This created some problems, however, in that the game had to spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on showing these relationships. This slowed the opening segment of the game to a snail's pace. This trend was continued with Skyward Sword, where Link was given a clear occupation as a Academy student with established relationships with students and staff.

In short, I think giving Link relationships and back story is an effective part of storytelling in Zelda. Link being a random dude was a product of the NES era, where story wasn't a huge priority. Nintendo probably wouldn't be able to get away with a blank slate Link in this day and age. With that said, I think they've gone a little overboard in recent years. The creations of thorough backgrounds has resulted in the opening scenes of most modern Zeldas being bogged down in exposition, taking us away from getting into the meat of the game early on. Nintendo could fix this by giving the next Link a smaller pool of starting relationships. Perhaps they could start him out on a family farm instead of in a village-sized community.

 

[Vampire Squid]

I prefer a vague backstory. When I play a game I like to get into the characters head if possible, as I am living the game through the character. If everyone knows Link but I don't know them it takes from that experience some. Link knowing some people is fine and realistic, but I prefer it to be as vague as the story will allow.

 

[Ventus]

Link is such a broken ideal that I can't say I prefer him one way or the other. Like it or not, Link is a character as well as multiple characters all at the same time. Makes sense? I knew it didn't. At the core Link is supposed to be an avatar but Nintendo has been treating him like he's this amazingly written guy...

...ugh whatever. What I'm saying is that I'm perfectly fine with him having a ton of story - in fact he should have a ton of story for every installment given that he's the main AND ONLY playable character - but something aches at the back of my mind saying that he is supposed to be a clean slate.

 

[snakeoiltanker]

im in the middle, so i voted Dont know dont care! LOL the avatar idea has worked for a long time, but i have been wanting to see something new at the same time. So if they were to have a game based around Link and his origins and what drives him, and why he even gives a **** about Hyrule, i wouldnt mind, i wouldnt mind seeing who Link is now that Nintendo has turned him into this Multi-Character so they would have to pick one of the links and run with it.

WW link has got a lot of love, i would say we know a lot about him, and now ALttP link is getting a ton of love! the Hero of Time Link from OoT is just.... well Dead, like in every timeline but the game he's in! Whether killed by Ganon or just died of old age, like im assuming is what happened in the WW timeline, we know he went to termina after OoT but by the time of TP, its a new link again! sooooo, yeah, if you ask me, they got a lot to work with, Nintendo just dont seem to care!

 

[Curmudgeon]

Vague backstory with bits revealed here and there. A little show of emotion or comic relief is ok occasionally, but I prefer my adventure heroes to be mostly silent killing machines. Plot sequence cutscenes put me to sleep. Especially when it's pre-teen romance junk.

 

[Salem]

Okay, offtopic, I was a proponent of Single Link theory until WW was released, I still somehow believed all of the pre-ww Links as the same dude even though it makes no since story wise, specially with the new timeline and whatnot, its just my head canon, that's all.

Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword meanwhile gave Link a ton of established friends. TP Link seemed to be pretty close to everyone in his village, giving a sense that he was part of community like no other Link before him. This created some problems, however, in that the game had to spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on showing these relationships. This slowed the opening segment of the game to a snail's pace. This trend was continued with Skyward Sword, where Link was given a clear occupation as a Academy student with established relationships with students and staff.

In short, I think giving Link relationships and back story is an effective part of storytelling in Zelda. Link being a random dude was a product of the NES era, where story wasn't a huge priority. Nintendo probably wouldn't be able to get away with a blank slate Link in this day and age. With that said, I think they've gone a little overboard in recent years. The creations of thorough backgrounds has resulted in the opening scenes of most modern Zeldas being bogged down in exposition, taking us away from getting into the meat of the game early on. Nintendo could fix this by giving the next Link a smaller pool of starting relationships. Perhaps they could start him out on a family farm instead of in a village-sized community.

That's part of why I don't want Link to not have too much character.

I prefer a vage backstory. When I play a game I like to get into the characters head if possible, as I am living the game through the character. If everyone knows Link but I don't know them it takes from that experience some. Link knowing some people is fine and realistic, but I prefer it to be as vague as the story will allow.

Vague backstory with bits revealed here and there. A little show of emotion or comic relief is ok occasionally, but I prefer my adventure heroes to be mostly silent killing machines. Plot sequence cutscenes put me to sleep. Especially when it's pre-teen romance junk.

Exactly, that's how I generally prefer my protagonists in Video games.