The Big Picture: Link Be A Lady

[Falterfire]

Oh - and incidentally if there's one other character who they could do this with and literally not have to defend the decision at all, it's The Doctor from Doctor Who.

They've even mentioned the idea in-show before and in an official parody made for Comic Relief a few years before the new series started called The Curse of Fatal Death [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-wDPoC6GM] they even went ahead and did it. Obvious a parody episode isn't the best precedent, but it does at least show they're aware it's a possibility.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

Aren't Wii U sales like crazy up right now? I already have one so, yeah.

Beat X-Box One last month. I think it might do the same in June, but I haven't checked the weekly numbers.

 

[Falterfire]

Since when has horseback riding and archery been considered feminine?

Ignoring the actual discussion on gender politics for a second:

Horseback riding is very much a thing associated with young girls. The stereotypical little girl's wish is to own a pony. Based on my experiences with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the Girl Scouts have a much stronger emphasis on Horseback riding in their summer camps. I'm not sure why that is or where it started (And obviously the male Knight In Shining Armor also rides a horse) but the little girl with her pet pony is definitely a thing that exists as a stereotype, and to a greater degree than the little boy with a pony.

Archery also gets associated with women somewhat frequently. If I had to guess, it's because of wanting to keep the female characters away from physical fighting while still actually being part of the fight. Again: I'm not sure where it started, but if you look at the Chronicles of Narnia, the oldest brother (I don't remember names) is given a sword while the oldest sister is given a bow. Hunger Games is probably the biggest driving force behind the stereotype right now, but again: Having the female character holding the bow is a thing which is well entrenched in pop culture.

 

[cynicalsaint1]

You know, while I agree that it would be pretty awesome if they made Link a girl this time around, I seriously doubt its going to happen. Even though I kind of hope it will - Nintendo has always been a bit stuck in their ways - they'll shake things up a little as time goes on, but never too much, and its really hard for me to believe that they would be daring enough to make Link a girl.

But its definitely an interesting idea, and they could do it and fit it into the series canon easily enough.

 

[Ferisar]

I must confess that I breathed a sigh of relief that the appearance of The Game Overthinker and pals at the beginning was just a "tease".

That being said, I agree with Bob that it would be good publicity for Nintendo if they made this Link female. Though I don't know if that would help in "fighting back" at the misogyny in some parts of the gaming community. Think of it this way: if we dismiss the notion that violent games can make people violent, then how can someone think that more "fair representation" of female/gay/trans/ characters would lead to more acceptance of these groups?

One is a knee-jerk reaction/misconception about the nature of violence when used in entertainment, the other is legit reasoning based around social exposure to certain types of reinforcement. Having games portray women in a better light, even without the whole "we'll think better!" bit is a reflection of something actually occurring.

 

[Covarr]

Y'know, this is one of the only franchises where I wouldn't have the slightest issue with gender-swapping the star, and Bob hit the nail on the head with every reason it was justifiable both in gameplay and in canon. The fact of the matter is, as long as Link continues to be more of a player avatar than a story-driven character (and let's face it, this has long been a weakness of this franchise), you can make Link whatever you want and it won't make much of a difference. And frankly, I think that's what the gaming industry needs most. Not a character who is loudly female, who exists more to send a message than anything else, but a character who is female just because. I think that'd send a much stronger message than any politically or ideologically motivated female character ever could, because it wouldn't come across as preachy.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Rabidkitten]

I thought it was Zelda in that trailer. Thus the blue, and the bow. And yes a male Link will be in the game but you will play as Zelda as the hero.... right?

I could write that story with my eyes closed. Ganon shows up while Link and Zelda are babies, banishes link to some dark prison, and a good witch steals baby Zelda away before Ganon overruns the kingdom and becomes the ruler. In secret baby Zelda is raised to be a hero. One day Moblins show up and kill said granny witch and Zelda must go on a quest to rescue link to obtain the triforce of courage to use against the usurper Ganon. 1 2 3 DONE.

 

[Biran53]

As cool as it would be I'd actually prefer that they just go all in and make Zelda the protagonist for a change. Who doesn't want to play a magic ninja elf who is wise-as-fuck?

I'm okay with Link being either gender, but I'd rather the Legend of Zelda games stick to just the hero.
I find badassery with Zelda in her just being a soft, but forceful political leader. Kinda like how she was in Twilight Princess. I would love to see a game where we get to play as Zelda, but I think it would be best to leave the action-RPGing to Link, whether (s)he be female or male.

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

I`m still banking on the fact that this Link is fully customizable now like in the recent Pokemon games. I mean, look at him/her! Swappable sexes, fully interchangeable outfits, that`ll totally rad!

 

[Foolery]

Also, CDProjekt are Polish devs, not like the US-dominant game devs who make the majority of "burly white dude" game's protagonists. Cultural variation does make a difference, and since they're one of the few prominent Eastern European devs out there, I don't think they deserve as much crap as say Activision does for their constant lack of well-written female protagonists.

Also worthy note, the Witcher is adapted from a series of fantasy novels, so staying true to the source material is a concern there, that said, no reason other stories in that world couldn't be told from a womans perspective and it's not like it doesn't have it's fair share of strong female characters... who shockingly of all, whilst yes, work as sexual motivation, actually instigate the sex themselves and it's seen not specifically as a connection, but as something that is simply pleasurable for both parties... WAAAAAAAH?! Strong, female leads, who not only instigate sex at their behest not the leads but also don't play it up as either something noble or a chaste act... who actually play it as just a thing people do? Crazy, that would never work, no one would want that in their video games.

Absolutely. And if you're familiar with the novels, you know that Geralt has a surrogate daughter named Ciri who was trained to fight at Kaer Morhen by the witchers. Very much a tomboy, and a strong female protagonist in the books. She's actually going to be in the upcoming game, Wild Hunt. The series has much to draw from and work with.

 

[kurupt87]

Where do you live that women have always been told there is a ceiling to their progression? The 1950's? The Congo?

 

[josemlopes]

as far as "no one has ever taken a male lead and made them female before." I cite Starbuck and Boomer in the RDM version of Battlestar Galactica. both male characters in the original, re-imagined as women in the update.

Battlestar Galactica isn't exactly what I would call "mainstream". When Bob said "no one", what he meant was "no one with widespread appeal even outside of the nerd culture." The Battlestar Galactica case can make for a decent example, sure, but the series itself just doesn't have the mainstream appeal for anything they do to "make a statement" in the same way as something like Zelda.

If he wanted to say that he would have said it. Simply saying "no one" has more impact but is false and saying the rest removes the impact of the argument so he might as well not have said anything.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Make Link female? Sure, why not? It'd be a nice change of pace. Not sure if they'd actually go through with it, but hey, sometimes it's nice to be surprised.

 

[Scribblesense]

Don't care what Aunoma said, if Link still looks like a 14yo girl when this comes out I'm going to go on believing she's a 14yo girl.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Oh thank god. I was terrified we were going to have to sit through another week of Game Overthinker.

Bob, I love most of your stuff, but I just do not like Game Overthinker.

I second that, classic Big Picture is awesome. The Overthinker thing last week was so annoying i had to turn it off half way through. YAY for classic Big Picture......now go do something on GotG.

 

[Mike Hoffman]

It may not change much of the story or themes, but it will give the kids more representation. Most kids are forced to play as men in these games, and while that isn't inherently a problem (and definitely isn't an issue in individual cases), the constant stream of images and games and movies where men are the heroes and women need to be rescued does have an affect on perception of gender. So yeah, it may not have a huge impact on the story, but it could have a huge impact on the young people playing it.