Nintendo Announces Female Version of Link, 'Linkle,' for Hyrule Warriors Legends

[MrFalconfly]

It's not a female version of Link. It's an "original" character based on Link's design, but not femLink. And that's how it should be. Either make a new IP or add some secondary character with the traits you want. Don't change Link and Zelda.

Oh I could kiss and hug you, you lovely person.

Oh bother this is gonna sound weird but I hope people will understand

Nothing grinds my gears more than people trying to force an existing character into being something completely different.

Like with the yahoos wanting a female James Bond, or a black Peter Parker, or a white T'Challa.

They are established characters.

Sure, make new characters that fit your requirements all you want like a Julianne Blake 009 MI6 (female MI6 agent, that I just made up, which is a bit like James Bond, but only in that she's an MI6 agent), Miles Morales Spiderman, or Tomas Hansson the Winter Panther (a "Scandinavian version of the Black Panther which I also made up to illustrate my point). But don't put Peter Parker through a hydraulic press to make him fit.

Back on topic.

Linkle is a really weird name. Why not Lynne? Or Lisette? Ah what do I know?

 

[Seraj33]

Imho they should've just called her Link... I mean who is to say its not a gender neutral name like Maria or Robin.

 

[Drathnoxis]

It's not a female version of Link. It's an "original" character based on Link's design, but not femLink. And that's how it should be. Either make a new IP or add some secondary character with the traits you want. Don't change Link and Zelda.

I'm pretty happy they did this, I always though it would be interesting to change up Link and Zelda's genders. It is a story about reincarnation after all so it makes perfect sense. Not sure if I would get behind a gender swapped Gannon though because his lore is a little messier but even that could still work.

Swapping Zelda's gender is out of question. She isn't a reincarnation, she's a female descendant. If you played Skyward Sword, you should know that Zelda was once the goddess Hylia. She sacrifices her immortality to do things and get reborn as the first Zelda that had the powers. After that every other Zelda is just a descendant and only female descendants can use her goddess power.

I actually had not played Skyward Sword and was unaware of that too be honest. How does Link fit in that is he also a deities descendant with powers that manifest? I was of the impression that it just passed along through bloodlines and/or reincarnation.

I wouldn't take that statement as absolute fact on the matter, since Skyward Sword made an awful lot of retcons that don't gel with much of what was in the older games.

A couple of the inconsistencies:

- Hylia is "The" Goddess in Skyward Sword, but the 3 goddesses that created Hyrule in Ocarina of Time (Nayru, Farore, and Din) are conspicuous in the absence of even the slightest mention.

- Ganon's origin as *censored for spoilers* in Skyward Sword, clashes with his previous origin as a Gerudo thief in Ocarina of Time.

- Zelda's powers were usually derived from possessing the Triforce of Wisdom, not from being descended from a goddess. I see no reason why a prince Zeldle or whatever, couldn't possess the Triforce of Wisdom.

One of the biggest mistakes Skyward Sword makes in it's story department is trying to be the origin story to a series of games that have no continuity. It doesn't even do a very good job, as most of the "origins" are for things that have never appeared in the series previously. Despite what Hyrule Historia claims, there is no timeline to the Zelda series and any attempt to tie the games together now will come off as contrived at best and completely retarded at worst.

 

[Damian Porter]

Now lets see a male Zelda. I would love to see what that would look like.

 

[BarrelsOfDouche]

Sooo...is this like an Adventure Time gender flip type thing, or are we just pandering...?

 

[AstaresPanda]

But why ? What was the need ? Zelda not good enough ? Gotta dick around swooping genders to keep ppls from crying foul. But its popular to pander to these overly sensitive ppls these days.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I used to think He was a She. Now He is a She.

 

[PointlessKnowledge]

Besides the name sounding dumb (which everyone seems to agree on, for once), this is pretty neat. Hyrule Warriors was on the, I'll get it eventually list, so if Hyrule Warrior Legends turns out to be any good, I might give her a spin (no, not that way).

 

[Tiamattt]

Huh, totally forgot about the Dragon Crown Elf, nice catch there all. Does that mean they get double the laziness points for the name and the design? XD

 

[bluegate]

I hope that Linkle shows up in a main entry Zelda game some point down along the line, I quite like her.

 

[EyeReaper]

Hell yeah! A completely new character!

-> for the 3DS port.

... well f*ck you then. Maybe I can still hope for this one as DLC for the Wii U version? And while I'm dreaming, maybe even for free?

Moving on...
This is apparently a seperate character from Link, not a female reincarnation?
Good, because I'd prefer a female Link to look more like this [http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Legend-of-Zelda-Linkle-511731134], personally.
Or like the one we saw in the Zelda WiiU trailer

If it makes you feel better, there is indeed a way to get the 3DS guys on the WiiU. You just have to buy the DS game first and transfer them.

OT: Duel Wielding crossbows is, in scientific terms, impossibly baller as hell. For some reason though, I think Linkle (snrk) is going to end up hanging out with Minako... outside of the canon

And the fights over "how wrong this is" and "How unfeminist this is" have thankfully not reached here... yet.

 

[Politrukk]

What a stupid name.

This is actually quite a decent genderbend concept.

But god what a stupid name.

...okay, I am about to burst many, many, MANY bubbles here, so here it goes: THIS IS NOT A FEMALE LINK. Period. This is a female character named Linkle. Yes, she is based on the idea of taking a girl and making her a Link look-alike. But she is not Link, she is her own character. There are in fact (and surprisingly) NO relations between her and Link at the moment beyond just looking like him and having a similar name. All we know is that she's a farm girl who's from a village that raises Cuccos. Cool your expectations people.

Look who tumbled straight off the enthusiasm train.

Very hefty response you've got there sir/madam.

"Linkle"?

Jesus christ, couldn't they have thought of a slightly less....stupid variant of Link? Linkle sounds like a cheesy joke, as if someone created the name to mock the very idea of a female Link.

Would you have preferred "Linkette" ?

OT: Will Linkle have an alternative pinkle outfit?

This would also be stupid.


Can't a female character just be a female character for once? especially a genderbend one?

Did we need a pink link? no.
Do we need a pink Linkle? absolutely not.

The notion seems preposterous to me that female characters should always come with some form of pink or dress re-skin.

And I'm not even a feminist.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

It's not a female version of Link. It's an "original" character based on Link's design, but not femLink. And that's how it should be. Either make a new IP or add some secondary character with the traits you want. Don't change Link and Zelda.

I'm pretty happy they did this, I always though it would be interesting to change up Link and Zelda's genders. It is a story about reincarnation after all so it makes perfect sense. Not sure if I would get behind a gender swapped Gannon though because his lore is a little messier but even that could still work.

Swapping Zelda's gender is out of question. She isn't a reincarnation, she's a female descendant. If you played Skyward Sword, you should know that Zelda was once the goddess Hylia. She sacrifices her immortality to do things and get reborn as the first Zelda that had the powers. After that every other Zelda is just a descendant and only female descendants can use her goddess power.

I actually had not played Skyward Sword and was unaware of that too be honest. How does Link fit in that is he also a deities descendant with powers that manifest? I was of the impression that it just passed along through bloodlines and/or reincarnation.

Link is different from Zelda.
People often think that Link, Zelda and Dorf are all reincarnations, but that's not the case.
Zelda is never reborn besides the very first Zelda. As I already said, she's a descendant.
Ganondorf isn't reincarnated, it's always literally the same Gandondorf. He's practically immortal post OoT because of the Triforce of power and when they do manage to take it away from him and kill him, he gets revived by the two old witches which name I never remember. The old hags that fuse into the hot cold witch in OoT.
Link on the other hand is always a different Link, but his soul is immortal. He distinguished himself during the first war against Demise. He was the best warrior and the one that could use the reforged Goddess Sword. Honestly I don't remember exactly how and why, but Hylia made his soul immortal and get reborn every time the world needs a hero.

Zelda - descendant.
Ganondorf - always the same person.
Link - Different body but the same soul.

I wrote this from memory so there might be some details that aren't 100% correct.

 

[Lightknight]

"Linkle"? What the hell? I guess "Link" is perceived as a gender specific name in Nintendoland. Like we have people named Bobette here... But Linkle is a ridiculous sounding name. Anything that rhymes with Tinkle is. Hmm, but maybe that's kind of the route they were going with a fairy-esque sound to it? If that's the reasoning then that makes better sense I guess.

 

[Coruptin]

Looks like a dragon crown

 

[RJ Dalton]

"Linkle"?

Jesus christ, couldn't they have thought of a slightly less....stupid variant of Link? Linkle sounds like a cheesy joke, as if someone created the name to mock the very idea of a female Link.

Gads, they could just transpose the "l" and the "e" and the name would sound better than "Linkle".

My Thoughts. One more to add to the list of Nintendo's stupid name for its product.

It's even worse in Japanese, where it would be Rinkuru, which is how you would also pronounce Wrinkle. It's probably a pun. Japan's got a habit of stupid name puns in fiction.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

"Linkle"?

Jesus christ, couldn't they have thought of a slightly less....stupid variant of Link? Linkle sounds like a cheesy joke, as if someone created the name to mock the very idea of a female Link.

Gads, they could just transpose the "l" and the "e" and the name would sound better than "Linkle".

That's cool and all... but I'm not too wild about the name. Linkle? REALLY?! Couldn't they pick something that's not so... lame?

"Linkle"?

Jesus christ, couldn't they have thought of a slightly less....stupid variant of Link? Linkle sounds like a cheesy joke, as if someone created the name to mock the very idea of a female Link.

Would you have preferred "Linkette" ?

OT: Will Linkle have an alternative pinkle outfit?

OT: First thought? Cool. Second thought? Linkle? Seriously? Does NoJ not realize that that sounds like "tinkle," a euphemism for urination that only little children use? Ungh...

Moviebob did an old game overthinker episode where this sort of thing was brought up, and I think he had the right idea, call her "Lynk."

 

[go-10]

yeah I'll stick to calling her Aryl... I've played HW far too many hours already and with these new characters I'm afraid I'll fall down the void once again :S

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

Oogly name aside, I just realized something regarding Linkle.

Now...she's an elfin looking girl who wields two crossbows as weapons...

http://maplestory.wikia.com/wiki/Mercedes

Nexon's going to SUUUUUUUUUU-HUUUUUUUUUUUUUE!

CAPTCHA: zombie attack

That'd better not be DLC...

 

[Aerosteam]

Rule 34 if her is being created right now.

Implying that there isn't already enough genderbend Rule 34 artwork of Link to satisfy/terrify us all.

Rule 34 if her is being created right now.

Hate to break it to you, but fem-Links already been a thing for a while I'm sure. It's the internet afterall.

Rule 34 if her is being created right now.

You're in for a ride if you've never seen gender-bender art of Link. It's been going on for a long-ass time.

I know that! I'm talking about Linkle specifically, her design is different from just Link with boobs.