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Eiji Aonuma: No one explicitly said that that was Link.
- Thread starter dmr87
- Start date
HolyBaikal
Banned
Well, women and men have all sorts of anatomy. There really aren't any rules that are more important that someone's personal art style and things like that.
Kuja from Final Fantasy IX has a much tinier waist than hips.
Look at the seam going up the side of the tunic. There'd be a more pronounced curve if the torso were that twisted. Also, hell, just look at the tunic itself. It's tailored to be narrow at the waist and widen at the hips. A tunic made for a male would not be cut this way.
Gentle Rodriguez
Member
And he could have said this same quote after every other Zelda trailer, but he did it only this once for this one.
Aonuma isn't Sakurai or Kojima, he might not be trolling.
Metal Khaos
Member
I kind of hope it is. That would be a cool little twist for the next game to play as Zelda and maybe saving Link this time.
Inquisitive_Ghost
Member
This comment is flawless PR in that it sounds like it's telling you something while actually being completely inscrutable.
"Whatever gender the fans want most, we'll make it happen in the next trailer!"
Twilight Princess
Member
New ability: sex change
A Black Falcon
Member
It means Aonuma is having fun trolling Zelda fans (whichever way it is) and surely won't resolve this one way or the other anytime soon.
Admiral Woofington
Member
This could mean plenty of things, seriously master troll:
A. He's saying that they made Link even more female-like for the sake of causing a stir in comments and getting interest in the game.
B. He's confirming that Link is male but that the reactions to a female protagonist might make them consider in the future a female-starring game.
C. They're giving you the option to choose the sex of the protagonist, with the male version called Link and the female version called something else. Seeing how outside of Skyward Sword there was never much romance between Link and Zelda, this wouldn't really make the game that different.
D. He's still hiding the character is a female.
The wording of "one of the most interesting reactions" makes it seem to me like he wasn't expecting it, hence a bigger scale on the fact he never implied the character is female. But seeing an opportunity to keep the hype he then went full "don't quote me" as to not confirm and end the discussion.
Inquisitive_Ghost
Member
Eiji Aonuma said:
Actually, thinking about it, this is like the exact way he acted when people figured out Fi was the Master Sword.
I wonder if he's gotten any better at teasing (read: hiding stuff) or if it's the same situation again, where people figured something out and he just won't confirm it right away.
Black-Wind
Member
Yeah, I never pegged him as a troll.
Seems like he REALLY wants to toss the idea of "Female Hero" out there and see what happens.
Not that strange seeing how damn often people ask him about Zelda being the protag over the years
Twilight Princess
Member
I'll be very happy to play as zelda.
BurnOutBrighter
Banned
This is Nintendo's answer to all of the LGBT/lack of diversity criticism.
Link is now female and/or transgender. #dealwithit
Link is now female and/or transgender. #dealwithit
RMS Gigantic
Member
In that case, it would be rather ironic that it was ripping the cloak off that gave more solid(-ish, depending on who you ask) evidence to the "protagonist is female" hypothesis than anything else.
Sure but at this rate he's prolonging it with "You think it's a female character? Hmm, it's possible.
" building up the expectations for those expecting it.If he comes out with "lol it was Link♂ all along!" afterwards then it may do more harm than good.
But of course he could say "We may have a female protagonist next time.
" to avoid possible negative reactions.That type of hype building is just unnecessary.
I'm just being facetious. Aonuma just skirted around the issue is all.
Everything makes the Zelda fanbase go nuts though.
I'd hate for the character to be Zelda. There's only so many times you can play what is basically the same story remixed among the same cast of characters.
Besides, the idea of Zelda saving Link never made sense to me. Remember, Link is a nobody, a character nobody knows exists until he saves the world. That's kind of the point of his character. He has no value outside of his role as the Hero of Time, and if you're going to save the hero...well, some hero he turned out to be. Why would you even need him then?
I want this to be a brand new female character, hopefully that we play as. A completely new addition to the mythos. God, these are the EXACT kind of changes they need to make to the Zelda formula to bring the fresh feeling back again. It has been too long since I played a Zelda game and didn't know, ultimately, how everything was going to turn out.
Besides, the idea of Zelda saving Link never made sense to me. Remember, Link is a nobody, a character nobody knows exists until he saves the world. That's kind of the point of his character. He has no value outside of his role as the Hero of Time, and if you're going to save the hero...well, some hero he turned out to be. Why would you even need him then?
I want this to be a brand new female character, hopefully that we play as. A completely new addition to the mythos. God, these are the EXACT kind of changes they need to make to the Zelda formula to bring the fresh feeling back again. It has been too long since I played a Zelda game and didn't know, ultimately, how everything was going to turn out.
I'll give you that.
Wow so Aonuma intentionally threw on a gender ambiguous character and is now reading this thread to gauge the reaction?!?
I'm switching to #TeamFemale.
Mango The Magician
Banned
I'm already pissed and nervous just thinking about it. I want to play as good old Link.
Admiral Woofington
Member
You're asking Nintendo to change the formula to an established franchise. That might be asking for a bit much lol.
Some will say that's change just for the sake of change. Others will say it simply isn't a Zelda game without Link.
I don't think so, at least not with Zelda. Aunoma's made it very clear that they basically want to do everything short of outright rebooting the series.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
Either way, backlash and disappointment are pretty much guaranteed.
MrFrankFontaine
Banned
I don't know...looks like Link to me.
I think he's trolling and that people are reading too much into this.
I think he's trolling and that people are reading too much into this.
Paracelsus
Member
Both in their own way are right, though. If you actually write Link as a woman fine, cool. Another Link that can't jump.
Ending spoilers
I can imagine why Aounuma would say nothing to clarify the matter before the game's released if there's a twist like that.
Demise cursed the bloodline of those who share the blood of the goddess (hylia/zelda) and the spirit of the hero (link), so there's a possibility a female link which inherits the spirit of the hero can be born. It's strange that all the links would be male given the probability of a boy or girl being born. Given demise's curse the characyer has to be link or zelda right because they are bound to battle this evil? Who else would you play as?
But I would still consider female link to be link, so aonuma's qoute is confusing, unless it's zelda or an already known/established zelda character something, it would always be link, to me anyway. Maybe he just meant in terms of gender this isn't the traditional link since the character is female.
Link speaks at the end of the game, is revealed to be female, everyone has a new favourite waifu even though they thought she was male throughout the whole game.
I can imagine why Aounuma would say nothing to clarify the matter before the game's released if there's a twist like that.
Demise cursed the bloodline of those who share the blood of the goddess (hylia/zelda) and the spirit of the hero (link), so there's a possibility a female link which inherits the spirit of the hero can be born. It's strange that all the links would be male given the probability of a boy or girl being born. Given demise's curse the characyer has to be link or zelda right because they are bound to battle this evil? Who else would you play as?
But I would still consider female link to be link, so aonuma's qoute is confusing, unless it's zelda or an already known/established zelda character something, it would always be link, to me anyway. Maybe he just meant in terms of gender this isn't the traditional link since the character is female.
It'll be an in game joke. "Link" will just grumble.
Twilight Princess
Member
She could be both link and zelda in the way that zelda was Tera and zelda.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
That is what I want if it means playable Zelda.
If this is the same sort of rubbish as Atlus saying "We never said it was a PS2 game!" just before the Nocturne PSN reveal, I will be tempted to inflict some measure of harm on Eiji Aonuma.
Honestly I could see them going that direction.
Link was never a defined character, he was the "link" between the player and the game, and his character was whatever you projected on him.
I could see them carrying that a few steps further. Do you think Link is male? Then he is male. Do you think Link is female? Then she's female. Of course they wouldn't actually say this outright, they would just play coy in interviews and answer a question with a question.
Q: "Is this new Link a female?"
A: "What do you think?"
crooked spin
Member
It's haaaaappening
eyeball_kid
Member
Hmm, strange phrasing by Aonuma. It's possible that internally they want to use Zelda as the protagonist (and have already steered the plot and design that way), but he's floating this with the fans to gauge interest first, guessing that we would probably pick it apart and find the feminine aspects.
I think if Aonuma wants to shake up the series, and also draw in more female gamers to the series, this would be a great way to do so. I'd personally be hyped if this turns out to be Zelda.
Haunted
Member
Just some anecdotal evidence for fun, my female friend who's pretty nuts for Zelda absolutely refuses to even float the idea of a female Link when we were talking about this earlier. Link needs to be a hunk for her to be happy (which is why she also refuses to accept Toon Link).
She's a bit of a sexist.
Shamrock7r
Member
That was a great non-answer. Dude should go into politics