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Aonuma: That was Link in the Wii U Zelda trailer, denies 'female' rumors
- Thread starter Partition
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Girls, the hero of time is always male. Girls are weak, im so sorry.
RMS Gigantic
Member
Mushroomer25
Member
The references to personality were more in line with the whole Doctor/Bond arguement. And I honestly don't think the studios behind Bond really buy the whole "it's the same guy!" conceit. Skyfall set up events that, if you were to understand the intention - could be viewed as a prequel. Despite taking place decades in the future, after the films it would theoretically precede. In reality, I just don't think the creators of Bond care as much about continuity as people think they do.
I guess I just don't really buy the whole "projection of the player" arguement (even if it's coming straight from the man's mouth). If Link's appearance & persoanlity is meant to mirror the player, why hasn't he been visually customizable - ever? If I am Link, why not offer those character creation options since the SNES era? Link is a known character - he's not the protagonist from Pokemon.
Why did you say space marine? Why couldn't you say bounty hunter like what she is?
Oh because it doesn't sound as bad that way.
WrenchNinja
Member
What part of the reincarnation cycle says he has to be a boy? Girls live in a world where the majority playable video game characters are guys. Can young boys not fathom playing as a girl?
Dammit people stop with the Samus comparison. Samus is only one person. If there were twenty incarnations of Samus in different generations, I'd wonder why one of them wasn't a dude too.
Has that really been a thing? I've seen people asking for a Zelda game where you protag as Zelda but I've never seen anyone asking for fem-Link before this E3. (Pornography not withstanding.)
PdotMichael
Banned
Ignoring Other M you can play the other Metroid games without to know who is Samus.
Link is basically the only constant in a game series with complety art style shifts and gameplay mechanics between two games of the sereis.
truestatic
Member
technocritter
Banned
Did people really get invested in this. Who cares about Link's gender.
Blood Diamonds
Banned
Link is a player avatar.
It's been said even by Nintendo before. So what's your point? The reason he has no personality he;s just supposed to link the player to the game. Link could be female for one game, Link is not a character with tons of backstory and development that would be reset if there was a gender switch.
Monocle
Member
Oh yeah, I can definitely agree with that. A selectable gender option would be disappointing unless the story and character interactions were drastically different between the male and female heroes. I think the most practical way to go from a developer's standpoint would be to fully commit to a female lead character.
Aquamarine
Member
Young girls always get the short end of the stick in these types of situations, man.
Nothing.
How is this an issue anyway? Why make it into an issue?
Nintendo made Link a male. Nothing wrong with that.
SkeptiMism
Member
Ok first of all, why would Samus suddenly have to change into a "male space marine" (I'm assuming you mean something like from Warhammer 40k). Why couldn't Samus just look exactly the same and then in the end of the game just be revelead that he's a man instead of woman (just like it was revealed originally that it's a she)?
The point is, Link's looks wouldn't have to change almost any if he was to made female. He already looks very androgynous.
Second, it's not the same thing at all. Samus is always the same person. Link is always a different reincarnation and thus a different person every single time.
edit: And that is actually the point I was making first with saying that they're replacing Link every time.
Why would they immediately assume girls are weak because the hero of time is not one?
The same series that had clans of entire Gerudo female warriors, Impa, and Shiek. Important Sages that are female, etc.
It was so obviously not a female link. First of all he looks pretty similar to the last Link in SS, but more importantly a female Link would be a pretty big deal, no way they would make that move without making it abundantly clear.
And girls are too weak to lift the master sword.
And girls are too weak to lift the master sword.
Apple of Enlightenment
Banned
Can anyone point out where in the OP Aonuma specifies that the character is Link and is male? There are paraphrases, but the quotations only specify the issue as a rumour (thus evoking the 'we don't comment on rumours and spec' reply, which is pretty suspiscious to me).
Ok. That's fine with me. Just thought I'd ask.
Mushroomer25
Member
The character is a known member of their community. They've often seen as a slacker, the last person one would trust with the fate of Hyrule. You're meant to believe that prior to the player starting the game, Link was somebody. By having an avatar creator at the front, it smashes that illusion.
If you didn't, you wouldn't be here.
No hostilities, just cold hard logic here. Emotions are for gurlz. And I wasn't just talking about that dude, but anyhow, this isn't going anywhere. gg bro
bg Aonuma
Vermillion
Banned
She speaks in Fusion, for one thing.
For the other, Link could easily be female and retain the iconic look. Especially since, again, it is made clear that these are separate characters.
I'll preface with I love the Zelda series and I adore Links design.
So why is it a big deal that people would love a female lead even though Link has absolutely no personality? Sure the appearance is iconic but having a female lead for one game should not bother people this much. He's a self insert character.
And it is awful because people are getting defensive over one game having a change. So what if it's a female lead? you've got the countless of Zelda games with male Link and yet one with a female lead offends you? It's a speechless character.
You are right that the statements from Aonuma in the article don't really directly say that (other than he does say it is Link). The author however says this:
So I would assume there was more to the interview that hasn't been transcribed yet (he said in the other thread it was over 40 minutes long)
MrCookiepants
Member
Still would bang.
Right, so... why can't the hero of The Legend of Zelda be a young woman for at least one game then?
truestatic
Member
PdotMichael
Banned
Samus is normally hidden in a large suit.
You could replace Samus with the main character of the Dead Space series and most people wouldn't see a difference while playing the game.
SomeRandomWeirdGuy
Member
Because then, to me and many others, it's not Link anymore, and shouldn't bear his name. Evidently some people consider Link to be nothing but a cypher, but I really don't. He's a character in my head, and he's male. Every game he gets changed up a bit, but he's always Link. And despite what many seem to be saying, one's gender does in fact affect the character, even if the character is androgynous (otherwise we wouldn't be having his discussion).
I don't care if the next ten Zelda games star some new female character, but Link is male in my mind. There's no reason to change him, because if he's so supposedly unimportant to everything, then a new character is just as worthy to be the main character
Monocle
Member
I think there's also something in there about backseat modding. Anyway, I'm engaging in real conversations between the jokes, not just drive-by posting. The subject of this thread genuinely interests me and I want to talk about it.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
Booooooo
I don't like the new Link design at all.
I don't like the new Link design at all.
Mushroomer25
Member
It's less about "I don't want Link to be a girl!", and more about how gender is treated in games like this. Is it an integral part of the character? Or is it a completely variable trait?
Wolfe
Member
It's pretty clear: "I don't want people to get hung up on the way Link looks because ultimately Link represents the player in the game," he said.
"I don't want to define him so much that it becomes limiting to the players. I want players to focus on other parts of the trailer and not specifically on the character because the character Link represents, again, the player."
Girls, Link as a Hylian male, defeated evil and was cursed with eternal reincarnation. He is always reborn to fight evil when it eventually returns, he is the hero of time. Nowhere does it say girls are weak anywhere. Like I don't even know where you're going with this, projecting your own opinion? If Link was a girl from the start, I'd say she should always be born a girl, but she wasn't.
So while the "character" is different, the soul of Link is the same, and every time, he's born as the same white fairy looking Hylian with blonde hair etc. As a non-white guys growing up, it didn't say anything to me that hey, Link is not a coloured male, men of color are weak.
The Silver
Member
This perspective makes no sense to me.
Would you really be upset if the person in the trailer was a girl?
Looks like Link, "acts" like Link, doesn't talk or have a character arc like Link, just another Hero of Time who happens to be a girl this time around, what's the issue here?
I just don't really see Link(hell you don't even have to call him Link in the games) as being that rigid, the concept and androgynous design allows for such a change, unlike someone like Mario or Samus.
Granted, but narratively, it opens the door far more wide for a female incarnation than simply rule 63-ing Samus would
SkeptiMism
Member
There's nothing wrong with it if you prefer to have him as male.
But if you feel that way, then don't try to reason that it's just the same as changing Samus or Mario's gender as it's not the same thing at all. Changing Link's gender would fit the lore just fine as he's always a different reincarnation.
And? How does the change the fact that Link wouldn't have to change looks if he was a female? And that he's a different reincarnation every time?
AnathemicOne
Banned
So what I'm getting here is....,
"But he's a guy to ME!"
Link (in both lore and gameplay) is a speechless character, that just so happens to be represented by a male figure whose iteration with each installment has been closer to androgynous each time. What difference would it really make to have Link as a female in terms of lore and/or gameplay?
Actually, you should be offended! The non white race in Zelda, the Gerudo, are only a clan of warrior women. The only man born becomes evil.
This racist oppression cannot stand.
KojiKnight
Member
There's only ever been one Hero of Time, that's OoT Link.