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Nintendo explains why you can't play as a woman in Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
IGN just put this up, and since it's assuredly going to be a thread, we'll start off the discussion with the fully quotes from everyone instead of an article linking through seven other articles to IGN.

Feel free to weigh in however.

IGN said:
...

IGN: So earlier, I brought up the similarities in the approach. The outfits remind me of gear-driven games like Monster Hunter and MMOs. Part of what ties into equipment-driven games is a player has a choice between choosing a male or female. I'm curious if, in this game, players will have a choice between a male avatar or a female avatar, especially since the story doesn't seem tied to a specific gender?

Hiromasa Shikata: I’m going to tell you a little bit about the story quickly and we'll circle around, here. There's this kingdom, an event happens, and the king needs heroes. So, he puts out a call for heroes to gather and one of those is this guy Link. He sees this audition, basically, ‘Heroes needed; apply here.’ And, that's the start of his adventure.

The story calls for this sort of legend/prophecy where heroes will come together to help solve a problem. And in that, they are male characters. So, because the game is set with that as the story background, you cannot choose a gender; you are a male character.

IGN: I guess I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't express some slight disappointment with that, especially because there is a Zelda outfit Link wears in the game. It just feels like it's one step closer to giving the Zelda series' female audience the chance to explore that universe from another perspective.

Shikata: Understood. I understand what you're saying, and just as general information, we do have a lot of female staff members who are playing this game and enjoying it. It doesn't seem to be a big issue to them. They still are getting emotional investment in this game. And to be honest, Link isn't the most masculine of guys in the world, depending on how you want to project yourself into the character.

...
Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06...aign=Blogroll&abthid=5592dd286e0ef0a14f000007
 

Sir TapTap

Member
So it's not three Links, it's Link and two other guys? That's actually a bit worse than the "it's three links and link is a dude" explanation I was expecting.

At least you can wear a dress I guess.
 
Same old shit. The weird explanations that don't make sense is what gets me. Just say you don't want to. At least then I'll know you're being honest.
 

Wulfram

Member
I'm not sure if he's basically just saying "they're male because they're male" or if he thinks that something about that set up that means that they have to be males
 

Phawx

Member
I wish it was all Zelda. And they wore Link's outfit.

Also I wish it were possible to play with two players mostly.
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
And to be honest, Link isn't the most masculine of guys in the world, depending on how you want to project yourself into the character.

Oh lord, glad they admitted this. I mean, Link has gotten super androgynous over time.
legend-of-zelda-wii-u-gameplay-trailer-hd720ph264-aacmp4snapshot004220140611212900.jpg


Hands down the most androgynous Link.
 

Nekofrog

Banned
The excuses are hilarious.

"Link isn't very masculine himself..."

"We have lots of women on the team who play it..."

"They're all men because it's like that in the story (that we crafted that way for some reason)..."

Bruh. You're not fooling anybody. You didn't put girls in because girls are icky, right?
 

fedexpeon

Banned
It is Nintendo.
They already killed Samus, give them time to adjust and mourn before we ask for more female leads.

Honestly, that is some crappy explanation...yeah, a job application is the reason why.
Sorry, heroes only, not heroines!
Not sorry.
 
They used all the worst rhetoric in one sentence, rofl. The women playing this game aren't complaining. Link is pretty girly anyways. The story is about men. Please understand jajajaja.
 
Its almost like....Link is the main character /s

In all seriousness this should be a non-issue and I'm not even sure why it was brought up. Im all for more women in gaming but it doesnt need to be in everything.
 

Vitacat

Member
"So, he puts out a call for heroes to gather and one of those is this guy Link."

And females couldn't answer the call, why?

I am not a SJW by a long shot, but my wife loves videogames, and its always nice when a game lets her have a character that reflects who she is. A game like this would've been a perfect opportunity to have choices and they just cheaped out.
 
This isn't an issue. Why does Back to the Future star two males?! Gender barriers don't even exist in cute games like this, no ones trying to reflect themself onto one of these characters.
 
Oh lord, glad they admitted this. I mean, Link has gotten super androgynous over time.
http://www.gameranx.com/img/14-Jun/legend-of-zelda-wii-u-gameplay-trailer-hd720ph264-aacmp4snapshot004220140611212900.jpg[IMG]

Hands down the most androgynous Link.[/QUOTE]

This is an anime art style, it was with with the series since ALTTP.

Most boys in this style are super pretty.
 
Shikata: Understood. I understand what you're saying, and just as general information, we do have a lot of female staff members who are playing this game and enjoying it. It doesn't seem to be a big issue to them. They still are getting emotional investment in this game.

Just because they don't mind doesn't mean everyone else will agree with them. Also, Japan is leagues behind other nations in gender equality. What people may see as normal in society there can be seen as discriminatory in other countries.
 

Fireblend

Banned
lol that's the most half-hearted answer-response interaction I've ever seen in an interview.

"I should pursue this line of questioning, I guess, you know, to show our readers this isn't just a PR piece designed to be free publicity to your game"
"Yeah. Here's a non-answer full of holes you're not going to go after anyway so why even bother"
 

DrArchon

Member
At this point, I don't think anyone should hope, much less expect, Nintendo to allow character gender-choice for any LoZ game. They probably should just come forward and say that so everyone can stop wondering. I'd honestly respect that more than these wishy-washy "well the prophecy says..." answers.
 

Adaren

Member
Weak excuse. At the very least, having a female playable option would have generated some significant buzz for the game.
 
"So, he puts out a call for heroes to gather and one of those is this guy Link."

And females couldn't answer the call, why?

I am not a SJW by a long shot, but my wife loves videogames, and its always nice when a game lets her have a character that reflects who she is. A game like this would've been a perfect opportunity to have choices and they just cheaped out.

In Hyrule Historia, Miyamoto even acknowledged that Link was Nintendo's original player avatar and that it's his first game where the player could give the main character his or her own name. Still really depressing that Nintendo hasn't caught up with the genre they were standards-setters in 30 years ago.
 

Nanashrew

Banned
Some pretty poor excuses. They have already stated this isn't even set in Hyrule and the princess isn't Zelda. They could have done something more.
 

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
The excuses are hilarious.

"Link isn't very masculine himself..."

"We have lots of women on the team who play it..."

"They're all men because it's like that in the story (that we crafted that way for some reason)..."

Bruh. You're not fooling anybody. You didn't put girls in because girls are icky, right?

They don't female playable characters in because they don't think it will lead to any extra sales, and likely aren't in tune fully with how western media has latched to the issue recently.
 
"The story calls for this sort of legend/prophecy where heroes will come together to help solve a problem. And in that, they are male characters."

Hahaha. I mean, this is probably somewhat a case of lost in translation, but what the fuck kind of logical leap is this? Oh right, the kind where women are almost never portrayed as heroes in our society.
 
It's silly a reason but no more then any other reasons by other developers. Nintendo aren't afraid to have female characters in their games. Also I laugh at that statement about link's masculinity.
 

Ushojax

Should probably not trust the 7-11 security cameras quite so much
And to be honest, Link isn't the most masculine of guys in the world, depending on how you want to project yourself into the character.

I hope this is read by all those crazies who were saying Link was never androgynous.

They never seem to understand how comical it is when they get uptight about the gender of an elf in tights.
 
So, I'm going to be controversial (maybe?), and I don't mean to sound offensive here at all - but why does there need to be an explanation in the first place? I come under a minority that is underrepresented more than women in the industry, and while it'd be nice to have a broader range of characters, I honestly don't believe there is some misogynist/racist intent behind the exclusion of female/minority playable characters in every game out there.

Sometimes, people just want to make a fun game, and treading around the toes of minorities and other groups is just honestly overlooked. That said, with Link being able to cross dress, it probably would have been less controversial to just add a Zelda character model for people to play as. The game is made from what largely looks like recycled assets from ALBW anyways.
 

Ultima_5

Member
i find it odd people always wanting link to be a girl. you rarely hear that question being asked to other companies when they do reboots

whys nintendo have to answer this question all the time
 

Crocodile

Member
Time to turn on the grill because somebody's about to get roasted :p

Real talk: Weird. I thought all three characters were Link or versions of Link split from a single person. If he just wanted to have 3 characters and they happened to be male I don't think that's an issue. The implication (maybe I'm reading too much into it but I feel many others will read this like I do) is that because there was a call for heroes "of course" they would be male? I can't say that makes me feel good/comfortable. Also, "I have female coworkers who enjoy this" is 100% true I'm sure but feels more like a diversion/missing the point type of answer?
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
Sometimes, people just want to make a fun game, and treading around the toes of minorities and other groups is just honestly overlooked.


Sometimes systemic racism and sexism just exist! Can't do anything about it, move on with your lives. In separate lines, please.
 
It is Nintendo.
They already killed Samus, give them time to adjust and mourn before we ask for more female leads.

Honestly, that is some crappy explanation...yeah, a job application is the reason why.
Sorry, heroes only, not heroines!
Not sorry.

Nintendo's been very good about putting playable female characters in its games lately, so I don't agree with the sentiment you're expressing. But the explanation offered here is just stupid. "The story we wrote means he has to be male!" Yes, because you wrote it that way. Simply saying it's Wind Waker-style Link split into three would be a much easier to swallow defense.
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
This is an anime art style, it was with with the series since ALTTP.

Most boys in this style are super pretty.
Yea but, Zelda has always had an anime art style, stuff like this.
legend_of_zelda_conceptart_lBb7k.jpg

legend_of_zelda_conceptart_kfvss.jpg


Then LTTP introduced this.
IepN119.png


^ There likely wasn't a huge debacle over whether or not this Link was male. It's definitely the eyes and new rosy cheeks of WiiU Link that give off the vibe.
 
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