General Zelda More "Out-There" Characters

[Justac00lguy]

Anyone who is familiar with narratives know that any good story needs good characters. As the Zelda series has grown it has certainly come to focus more on a narrative and the story elements have certainly grown and grown over the years.

From implementing basic character dialogue to then having characters showing specific actions an even emotions, then we have games like Majora's Mask that gave characters an importance and a real sense of uniqueness. After this we move onto the Wind Waker, one of the most notable games to actually show character emotion through over expressive facial features and reactions etc. Games like Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword built on this through more dynamic characters and even character development.

I trailed off a bit but essentially what I want to get onto is more unique or in a sense more "Out-There" characters. Zelda is a series, that in my opinion, could do with more diverse characters as I feel we see to many cliché characters and roles. Games like MM certainly differentiated from this with characters like the Happy Mask Salesman and Tingle, then we have characters like Ghirahim, who in my opinion was one of the most interesting characters to date.

Point is that characters who tend to differ from the norm or are abnormal give more diversity to the range of characters and even if we come to love or hate them the point is to get us the player to have some sort of feeling towards them. So in your view, howwwould you like more characters, like the title states, are more "Out-There"?

 

[Dragoncat]

Groose was a perfect example of this, I don't think Zelda has done a troubled youth/bully that sees the light and becomes a good person before. He's kind of like the rival in Pokemon Gold/Silver in a way...they even both have red hair. Crazy.

But yeah. Cliches are always bad...so it's nice when they make characters that aren't as predictable.

 

[Azure Sage]

But yeah. Cliches are always bad...so it's nice when they make characters that aren't as predictable.

I have to disagree with you there, cliches are not ALWAYS bad. Done in excess, yes, but one every once in a while doesn't hurt. They can actually be really good if done in a way that makes them seem fresh.

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I would absolutely love to see more "out-there" characters. In my opinion, character diversity and development really breathe life into stories. The story is mostly about the characters because it follows them. I doubt we'll ever see character diversity in Link (lol duh), but we've seen it in more recent characters. For example, Zelda from Spirit Tracks was a real go-getter compared to all past Zeldas, and she even helped out a lot throughout the quest. That was a big jump in character for her, and I'd like to see something like that happen again. And then, we also have characters such as Groose like Dragoncat mentioned. He went through some well-paced character development and grew from a common bully to a major player in the story. Character development helps improve the story, and character diversity makes it more entertaining. So I'd definitely say it's something I'd like to see more of.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Yeah, the MM characters are so memorable because they don't follow cliches or guidelines. Nintendo took some big risks and it came out better than anyone could have expected.

I think we really need some new characters. I personally found the SS cast to be rather bland; bar Groose. We need people who can break stereotypes, have depth, and actually make me remember them. I know I may sound like I'm asking for an MM clone, but I really think memorable characters can come from any setting. SS could have had much better characters, but it was squandered on short lackluster sidequests that served to get Gratitude crystals and . . . that's about it. Bring me some interesting characters Nintendo. WE know you can do it.

 

[Dragoncat]

ST Zelda is scared of mice but not things that are bigger and scarier, lol. Seriously wtf.

And yeah, I see your point about cliches(Azure). TV Tropes wouldnt exist without those...I guess a cliche is just an overused trope.

 

[Ventus]

ST Zelda was 'fraid of mice...hated her for that tbh. Phobias are just gross. I
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I'm all for character diversity. I like quirky characters like Tingle and the unsettling types like HMS, but there's a fine line between NEEDED diversity and things that are simply trying too hard and become annoying. Ghirahim is the tryhard in this case - it's fair of him to act all princely but I really heavily disliked his "flamboyant" nature; it seemed less like he was trying to act like a prince so much as he was a spoiled brat. So...yeah. You get my meaning in this case: characters can have their own traits but they needn't flash them out at every second where it just becomes plain creepy without any significance.

 

[DarkestLink]

I'm fine with some weird traits...but I don't really want to see more "Out there" characters. Usually for Nintendo, this means make a character act weird, but don't actually give them character and hope that the fans are too distracted by the weirdness to care.

 

[Musicfan]

I love almost all Quarks of alot of characters. I will be fine as long as they dont talk like a vally girl or have an extreem MUltiple personality disorder un less if its used for comandy like doc and shou from The last air bender.

 

[Dragoncat]

I will be fine as long as they dont talk like a vally girl or have an extreem MUltiple personality disorder.

Actually I think both of those would be hilarious.

You get my meaning in this case: characters can have their own traits but they needn't flash them out at every second where it just becomes plain creepy without any significance.

Agreed...Ghirahim was pretty funny though.

 

[CPainter307]

That's one of my favorite things about Zelda, just how weird it gets. Like, really weird. But this isn't a bad thing; it's the moment in the game where you just go "what?" Or it's the moment when you find a character that's absolutely crazy and he becomes the talk of you and your friends. It's part of the atmosphere the games create, and the characters are never hindering.

One of my personal favorite characters is the shopkeeper from Link's Awakening. I love how if you steal something, he doesn't seem to care, but if you come back he blasts you with an energy ray that instantly kills you. Now why couldn't they send this guy to go find the instruments?!

 

[Dragoncat]

One of my personal favorite characters is the shopkeeper from Link's Awakening. I love how if you steal something, he doesn't seem to care, but if you come back he blasts you with an energy ray that instantly kills you. Now why couldn't they send this guy to go find the instruments?!

Because he would have too much fun making explosions all over everywhere and by the time he gets the instruments, the whole of Kolohint looks like it got hit by a nuke?

 

[Spirit]

It is my one wish for Zelda to cut loose like it has done in the past once more with the likes of Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask, the characters in those games were odd, wild and at time hilarious. they didn't feel cliche, they didnt feel as if they were ticking the boxes to fill out narrative plot and weren't just there for sidequests... out there characters are something nintendo can do really well with the right set up but theyre too afraid to retread the ground or do something similar.

More out there characters would be brilliant be it protagonist or antagonist, i'd welcome them with open arms and enjoy their presence.

What would be really good is to have a really out there character as a companion. something you couldnt trust, or something that freaked you out.. that'd be great it'd add so much depth for the player just in concept alone. I kind of had that with the Loftwings since they looked like the angriest birds ever...