Should There Be a Female Link in Future Zelda Games?

[Brad64]

No, just no. I could never live with this. The only exception for me is that the story swaps, like maybe after kyward sword, in hero quest, you get to be zelda and go through her adventure.

 

[Nicole]

Personally, I'm not fond of the idea. Link has been a male hero ever since I was a kid, and I, for one, dislike change. It would make the game quite weird for me, but I'd probably get used to it after a time. Besides that, there's just something different about female protagonists. I've said this before: In my writing, I always use a male protagonist because I don't like to give my characters depth (obviously if I were trying to be an author I would give my characters depth, but I'm talking about writing for school and whatnot). I always equate female characters with emotions, and Link has never really had any. I feel like if Nintendo made a female Link, they would have to dramatically change his personality and his being, which, and I'm sure I speak for most Zelda fans, isn't something I'd like to see in a game. If this were to happen, I think the focus would me too much on Link. Zelda games that have had a good amount of character depth (to me) like Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess were never focused on Link; their character depth came in the forms of other NPCs.

I highly doubt Nintendo would make a female Link, ever. That's like making a female Mario. Could you imagine a female Mario? Yeah.... no.

 

[vaati18]

I'm a girl and I don't support this. Link's character is a male and has been for the last 25 years. If Link is a girl than there will be no Link and no Link in a Zelda game is like Earth with no air

 

[Flare24]

MAYBE if Link had a girl that was also some kind of hero and helped him fight and wore the Hero's Clothes. Other then that I dunno about a female Link if it's just that and only that.

 

[KindoDeku]

I just can't see Link being a girl. but I would love to play as Zelda, like in Wand of Gamelon. not that would be cool. Play as both Zelda and Link.

 

[Agent B]

I think what they should do is make it optional at the beginning of the game to make Link male or female.

 

[Zelda14]

No. I hate it when games/tv shows add in female protagonists just so they won't be viewed as sexist. It often ruins it because more times than not, they just don't fit into the story well. (I'm not saying that no games/shows should have female protagonists but it just doesn't work when a storyline has already been established with a male.) I believe that the characters of LoZ should stay as they are. As for pokemon, it does work because there are all kinds of Pokemon trainers and it's always been like that (Eg. Misty being a gym leader). In the Pokemon games, the trainer is meant to be you. In LoZ, it is always Link.

Edit: Someone previously said that if the roles were switched and we were to go through Zelda's adventure it would be fine - I agree. I think that's actually a cool idea.

 

[Kitkat]

I was gonna say a bunch of stuff, but Vanita posted some super long thing that said everything I was gonna say. So, I'm gonna save my time, and just agree with him.. I agree with you Vanita. Anyway, I love the idea of choosing Link's gender and name. Like, there doesn't have to be a princess, and what big changes would it make? I'm pretty sure that everyone agrees that girls can be warriors too, and all that would change is his appearance, and not saving a princess. Why can't a girl save the princess anyway? it's not like there has to be :loveromance:love:.

 

[LordFire]

Making Link a female? No. Just no. I can't possibly ruin the image of the Hero of Time; prized knight of Hyrule and champion of light making him a her. It ruins the whole appeal of that fairy-tale story I was told as a child when the brave knight ventures to save the kidnapped princess.

It's not that I'm sexist, it's because the Zelda franchise has already established Link's image in my mind. If anything, being able to switch back-and-forth through Zelda and Link in certain parts of the game to solve puzzles would be the only thing I would ever like to see. Maybe a game playing Zelda's side of the story in Skyward Sword would be okay too. Changing Link's name and changing Link's gender are completely different and shouldn't really be compared.

Hurrah for not reading the thread at all and hoping you didn't re-post anything already said.

 

[Ventus]

[...] B1:I always equate female characters with emotions, and Link has never really had any. B2I feel like if Nintendo made a female Link, they would have to dramatically change his personality and his being[...]B4 If this were to happen, I think the focus would me too much on Link. Zelda games that have had a good amount of character depth (to me) like Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess were never focused on Link; their character depth came in the forms of other NPCs.

B3I highly doubt Nintendo would make a female Link, ever. That's like making a female Mario. Could you imagine a female Mario? Yeah.... no.

B1: Female characters don't have to be emotional. I'll find a couple of those in the Zeldaverse: Impa (SS), Impa (OoT), Nabooru (partly, OoT), Rosa Sisters (MM, though they weren't big characters to begin with), Tatl (sort of, MM). Female bodybuilders aren't of the frail stereotype commonly given to females. Female workers aren't of the "kitchen" stereotype commonly given to females. Emotionless females aren't of the emotional stereotype commonly given to females. I realize it's what you see, and there's not necessarily anything wrong with it, but there's more to the picture than meets the eye.

As to Link never really having emotions...I direct you to SS, MM, TP and *possibly* LA. Those are some games where either hints are given at Link's emotions [MM through gameplay, LA through the whole Marin thing], or they're obviously shown in cutscenes or something. Especially in SS with any scene related to Zelda, and in TP with...pretty much the entirety of the game's cutscenes. Link has emotions. He can cry. He can get angry. He can laugh. He can even talk. A female Link would function the exact same way.

B2: But the reality of things is, they wouldn't have to change the entire being or personality. A female Link is only a matter of having to change the 3D model, hire a female voice actor (we actually already had one before; Fujiko Takimoto did Child Link OoT), and give some necessary physics for a realistic portrayal assuming the game is in three dimensions. She would still be an avatar for the player. She could still be a swordfighter [female swordfighters aren't completely unheard of; Joan of Arc is a historical figure in real life and I can direct you to games like Mirror's Edge if I remember correctly and Bayonetta; better representations still exist in video games]. Besides a few text edits, she could still be a hero (heroine if being proper which is where the text edits come into play). Female Link doesn't need extensive characterization, backstory, voice acting, or anything like that. No real changes are needed outside of physics, female voice and model changes.

B4: Once again, Link wouldn't need any focus as she would still be the same kind of character as he is. What does it matter if Link is a male or female? Does the character development REALLY have to shift as drastically as you suggest? If the main character is supposed to be a silent protagonist, that can be achieved regardless of gender. Just keep the character silent. That's all. Extensive character development for Link wouldn't be far fetched anyway; it happened with OoT to a small extent, it happened a LOT with SS (they even forced Zelda to be attached to us, seriously?!). Charcter development cannot hurt a character. Character development cannot hurt a character who has already achieved the first stages of development. It can only enhance.

B3: Uhm...Peach. Yoshi sometimes. Daisy at moments. They aren't actually a female Mario, but the same role is played by a female character. Point is, we could have a female character who is still a "Link" but isn't the Link we know. I can imagine Mario with female features, it isn't that hard. Different, sure, but not impossible.

Making Link a female? No. Just no. I can't possibly ruin the image of the Hero of Time; prized knight of Hyrule and champion of light making him a her. It ruins the whole appeal of that fairy-tale story I was told as a child when the brave knight ventures to save the kidnapped princess.

Except that it'd be a game (speaking hypothetically here) completely unrelated to OoT and the Hero of Time. How could it possibly ruin the image of a character who it isn't involved with in any shape, way or form? As I've said before, the "knight in shining armor saving his princess" has been bent to fit a female in the shining armor and she still saves a princess. It's different, sure, but it isn't far from the general idea.

 

[LinkxZelda]

I don't think I would like it if they made a female Link. I hope he will always stay male if he doesn't then I am not sure how I will react. I have nothing against female hero's but I do not want a female Link. I don't think there is a reason why they should do this.

 

[gravendoom75]

no... just no... unless they want to make prince zelda.

 

[Ventus]

no... just no... unless they want to make prince zelda.

They don't have to make a counterpart to female Link, as the story never centers around LinkxZelda romance. Even though it was implied in SS, it wasn't "official" and wasn't the focal point of the game.

Furthermore:
[video=youtube;b-dor5b2oeM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-dor5b2oeM[/video]

I don't think there is a reason why they should do this.

To attract more players, more money, and obviously to show what Nintendo can expand upon in the series. The whole "Hero in green who can do everything without being stopped" story is getting old, they need to do something different. One such difference, and it really isn't as big as the whiny fans are making it out to be, is changing the Hero to a Heroine. Remove the green garb as well, and give us something more ornate and decorative. Make it so the hero(ine) isn't a Gary Stu/Mary Sue [because we all know Link is].

 

[masterbow]

No way, having a female link would make all of the zelda characters change because a lot of girls like link and they would what to be changed to a guy and all of his enemy would be a girl. My opinion.

 

[cay19]

Why does everyone feel the need to change so drastically the game I have grown up with. Come on people female link, voice actors??? If you don't like the game for the awesomeness it already is, go play something else!!!