Poll: Female Link in the next Zelda game - Your thoughts?

[Something Amyss]

I see where MovieBob is coming from, but Link's gender is neither a selling point nor an obstacle to my purchase of Zelda games. That being said, I would be just as likely to play a girl Link, and if the genders were selectable I would pick a girl Link. Assuming it was a Zelda game I'd be getting in the first place. I've never much liked the 3D Zeldas.

But honestly, I would rather see new IPs featuring women and treated with the same marketing and interest, rather than gender swapping. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that it's not my preferred method. I also think it'd be cool to get Zelda into action, and Hyrule Warriors seems cool for doing that. Not worth a Wii U, but still.

 

[Something Amyss]

Yay, nay, or don't know... where's the neutral option in the poll?

In this case, isn't neutral "I would be willing to?"

 

[RandV80]

Yay, nay, or don't know... where's the neutral option in the poll?

In this case, isn't neutral "I would be willing to?"

Yes, and my post was only up for about 30 seconds before I edited it

 

[fix-the-spade]

But I would like to know what the general thoughts on this subject are among the Escapist community.

In total seriousness, I thought the Link in the trailer was a girl, the movement, the line of his back when he flings away his cloak and the general shape of his face just screamed GIRL to me, albeit a realistcally proportioned one rather than the traditional TnA shape girls tend to be in videogames.

Whether I would want to play as a female Link, I'm not bothered either way. I play Metroid because they're fantastic games, that Samus is female is largely a non-issue except in Fusion, where her past and loves become a plot point, but even then Malkovich could have been a girl and Samus could have been a man and it would still have worked. Writing and game play matter more, the whole cast of BF4 could have been women and it would still have been terrible too.


Actually, I would love to see a game with a Female Link and a Male Zelda (Fink and Melda?), it would be brilliant to see a game with a non-sexualised female hero and a mansel in distress. Although after Other M I'm not sure Nintendo can be trusted not to sexualise a female lead character...

 

[Ieyke]

At this point, MovieBob's latest Big Picture episode is out, the subject of which was the discussion of whether or not the Link in the upcoming latest Legend of Zelda game was female, and not male as he usually is. The video then went on to clarify that the folks at Nintendo did not intend this and that he simply looks more feminine than usual, rather than being outright female.

That said, I, like Bob, feel that this would be a good move overall, for reasons he already stated in his video. I think I'd be willing to play as a female Link, if we ever got one. But I would like to know what the general thoughts on this subject are among the Escapist community.

The poll options are useless.

Like and willing to play as should be separate options.

I wouldn't like it, because it's stupid and lazy, but I'd be willing to play it.

-

Not really a fan of the Link being a girl idea simply because the whole concept is much better as these 3 specific individuals constantly reincarnating as legendary heroes and villains reborn. Same people cursed to dance the same dance over and over and over with the context of their eternal conflict always shifting due to the ever-evolving world they're always reborn in.
I'd much rather have THEM be the same, and their circumstances be what does the dramatic shifting.

What I think this series DOES need is to really spend some time becoming the actual Legend of ZELDA.

It seems really hollow, reactionary, and kinda dumb to gender swap characters to pander to equality, especially when you can address equality in a much more genuine and direct way by simply elevating the damn title character to be the hero.
And not just doing it once.
Make it a recurring thing.

Make Link a courageous wimp and have the wise and mighty Zelda save his ass from Ganon. Or have something happen to Link where he falls into a coma and transfers his Triforce of Courage to Zelda, making her super powerful.
Let Link be captured.
Let him be incapacitated.
Let him be her sidekick.
Let them be equals.
Have Link forced/tricked into becoming the villain, and have Zelda defeat him.
Have Zelda travel through time meeting and working with all the different Links from the past in a quest to fix time.
Have Link and Zelda swap Triforce pieces, and have Zelda born as the adventuring commoner while Link is born as a nobleman.

There are dozens of ways to do this without being so lazy and reactionary as "Link's a girl now".

This series already HAS two heroes. The stupid thing is that it only ever uses the male one as the player character.

Also, can we get a steampunk Legend Of Zelda? Please?

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

Considering another switch Link did in the past, I don't think we lefties would find it far-fetched if he switched even more.

(Yes, Skyward Sword was pretty much unplayable to a lefty like me who actually knows how to use a sword).

 

[FPLOON]

Uh... Where's the "I don't know" option?

*puts up flame shield*

Now, hear me out here... That's not to say that I do or don't want to play a female Link... It's just that Link's gender, overall, has never been something I actually thought about in general... Or, at least, question why Link's always one gender and not another gender... In fact, the more I think about it, I would must rather play as Zelda[footnote]CDI don't count, yo![/footnote] more than anything else right now...

So, yeah... Female Link? I don't know... Playing as Zelda instead of Link? TOTALLY on board with that!

 

[Hero of Lime]

I would certainly still enjoy the game, and would not really care, just like how I had to get used to Link being right-handed in Skyward Sword(and possibly in the new game by the looks of it :/).

That being said, my response to this question will always be the same. I would rather play as Zelda over Link just being gender swapped. There is more potential in the story telling that way. Link could simply not appear when Zelda and the great evil clash, forcing her to take on the role of the wisdom and courage Triforce holder.

Another scenario, Link is there, doing what he does best, but you play as Zelda doing her own thing, going to her own dungeons, fighting her own enemies, occasionally helping Link and vice-versa.

Now if we are given a choice between Male and Female Link, then that would be cool too, I play the games enough that I would play through the game using both for sure. And again, if it would just be female Link, I would probably love the game just as much as the others.

So, I would play and enjoy the game with female Link, but like others have already said, it would feel kinda lazy, or shallow means to say the series is innovating. Zelda games do enough to set each other apart that changing a big part of the protagonist does not make it fresher for me.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Yeah sure, why not. It's not like Link ever talks or has any characterization at all and is basically a blank slate for the player to latch on to. It just be Link but with Tits.

 

[Brian Tams]

I would totally be down for playing a female Link. They could get around the implied romantic angle between Link ans Zelda by making FemLink and Zelda be either best friends or even sisters. This would give the new protagonist more depth and motivation to rescue Zelda.

Or they could keep the implied romantic angle, since there'd be absolutely nothing wrong with it.

 

[80sboy]

Hell yeah why not? although I think it would be hilarious if they pulled a Samus Aran on the master chief in Halo just to see the wtf reaction from dudebro gamers, but meh...

 

[Fox12]

The rumour being debunked was actually the biggest disappointment of E3 for me XD

Playing female Link or Zelda would be fucking boss.

Was it, though? All the creator said was that it's Link. He never clarified whether Link as male or female. I get the impression that they're being deliberately vague in order to test the waters. That way they can deny a gender swap if there's a negative reaction. While the next Link will probably be male, I could easily see a female Link in the future, or else a male/female option. This seems very deliberate on Nintendos part, as opposed to a bunch of raving fans.

 

[Fox12]

I would certainly still enjoy the game, and would not really care, just like how I had to get used to Link being right-handed in Skyward Sword(and possibly in the new game by the looks of it :/).

That being said, my response to this question will always be the same. I would rather play as Zelda over Link just being gender swapped. There is more potential in the story telling that way. Link could simply not appear when Zelda and the great evil clash, forcing her to take on the role of the wisdom and courage Triforce holder.

Another scenario, Link is there, doing what he does best, but you play as Zelda doing her own thing, going to her own dungeons, fighting her own enemies, occasionally helping Link and vice-versa.

Now if we are given a choice between Male and Female Link, then that would be cool too, I play the games enough that I would play through the game using both for sure. And again, if it would just be female Link, I would probably love the game just as much as the others.

So, I would play and enjoy the game with female Link, but like others have already said, it would feel kinda lazy, or shallow means to say the series is innovating. Zelda games do enough to set each other apart that changing a big part of the protagonist does not make it fresher for me.

You see, they already have the perfect angle to play as Zelda. What if Link loses? We already know that time line exists, it's canon. So how would Zelda react to the fabled heroes death, knowing that the weight of the world now falls on her shoulders? How would it feel to be left behind? The ending could be really apocalyptic, since we know the world is flooded in order to stop Ganon. It would be a darker turn for Zelda, sure, but one they could pull off. It also shows tha there's plenty of room for a new narrative, if Nintendo wanted to pursue that.

 

[chadachada123]

I'd rather play as Zelda, since she'd be far more interesting than just "female Link."

Zelda is a much better archer, and with the Triforce of Wisdom, could provide much more gameplay options than a gender-reversed Link would.

I voted no because the only reason TO do it would be to appease people that complain about it, who are complaining without realizing that the better option (Zelda) is right in front of them.

 

[flying_whimsy]

Hell yeah why not? although I think it would be hilarious if they pulled a Samus Aran on the master chief in Halo just to see the wtf reaction from dudebro gamers, but meh...

Oh man that would be hilarious to see.

OT: I definitely would play as a female link, although like many others in this thread I'd much rather play as zelda, especially if she has a little personality. I loved Midna in Twilight Princess, and if Zelda was characterized that well in her own game I'd buy that on release day (and I never buy on release day). I don't think it would be that hard to make a zelda game featuring zelda, especially if she wound up with the triforce of courage rather than wisdom.

Then again, I also think it would be cool to see a game where zelda or link had the triforce of power and wound up as the villain. I can just picture the fan rage that would cause...

 

[Scott Rothman]

I wouldn't not play it if Link was female, simply because I can't bring myself to care. Also what would be the point of having a female link? Nothing would change. We wouldn't have a strong female character as the protagonist of a game. We would have a dummy with boobs rather than a dummy without. A slightly more feminine Link is all we would see. It just seems kinda redundant.

What about a game playing as Zelda or Sheik? Or any game playing one of the female Zelda characters? Playing as Zelda could actually change the gamplay to a significant degree. Have it centered around Zelda using magic, transforming into Sheik and using the ninja skills when things call for that.

I just feel that making Link a female would just be an empty gesture meaning nothing, changing nothing. It wouldn't stop me playing, but that's because I don't care either way. Make Link female, make Link male, make Link gay, transgendered, as long as he's an empty husk of a character neither of these changes mean anything. If we were to be satisfied with this we don't aim highly enough.

I assume you're saying this as a male even when there are thousands of females who have been talking about how much it would mean to them to see a female link...

Empty gesture to you, but meaningful to many many more people.

And it works with the lore (not that that is even a good excuse) so there's literally no reason not to.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I'd be down for that! Until then, though?
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It's gotta be the next best thing! Closest thing to a core game that lets you play as Zelda, I'd say.

Also, http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/16/5815116/hyrule-warriors-zelda-nintendo-e3-women >.>

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Yeah I'd do it. I'd much rather prefer a Link with a focus more on their bow than their sword, sort of what the Zelda U trailer showed us.

 

[the December King]

...nope.

I wouldn't play Link as a girl. If it was a character customization option, choosing the sex, then that's a nice feature (but I still wouldn't play as a female link). Or if a game featured Zelda as a playable character, that would be cool, and add more depth and richness to the series.

But for me, Link is a boy, Zelda is a girl, either as a playable would be cool... and Ganon is who I'd rather play anyways.

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

i don;t see how a female link would work.. it would be like suddenly changing Mario and Luigi to the super Mario Sisters.. it's wouldn't make sense. this was done solely because bishojo guys are popular with girls in japan and they wanted people to talk about their company in regards to something other then their failings.... if they made Zelda playable along side Link then that would work and actually make sense.