Zelda Skyward Sword Producer: Link Shouldn't Talk

[Tolerant Fanboy]

Link is one of the great silent(ish) protagonists, and I have to agree that he should stay that way. Some characters, like Samus, work well with added characterization, but Link is just too discontinuous. He is a legion of green-hatted, courageous swordsmen. Characterization simply couldn't stick without abandoning the Hero with a Thousand Faces aspect of the LoZ series.

 

[fa_fallen_ye]

why does everyone keep saying Link's never spoken, does everyone forget the horror of the CD-i? Link has spoken in a video game before but thankfully it was on a terrible game that most people don't consider a zelda game I think this is reason enough for link to never get a voice box again.

 

[Decabo]

Well, that's stupid. This series will never reach the epic storytelling heights that it could if Link stayed silent. I don't want him to be chatty, but saying things like "What do you mean?" or "Are you okay?" shouldn't be too much to ask for. It worked for Jak and Daxter, and it worked for GTA. Link should definitely talk, so that not all conversations are massice one-sided expositions.

The "One sided" conversations have worked for Mario, have worked for Link, have worked for Samus, and so on and so forth. I see no reason for that to change now. I can't imagine what adding him actually speaking a couple pointless lines like those two could possibly add to any LoZ title. It would feel like having him talk for the sake of having him talk.

And how exactly have they worked for those series'? Mario isn't a story based game by any stretch of the imagination. Metroid hardly has any talking at all. Zelda, on the other hand, tries to present an epic view that is hindered by the fact that Link just sits there grunting and gasping. It's not too much to ask for the main character to be able to have a fucking conversation.

There have been 'massive epic rpgs' without the main character talking before. Bethesda titles and Final Fantasy etc.
I think the appeal of most games where the main character isn't voiced is that you feel more like the character is an extension of your own self. If the main charater starts talking you lose that sense, as you think 'That's not something I would say' or 'I would rather ask about this' or even just 'I would'nt ask in that tone...'.

Wow, overwhelming wrongness here...

Final Fantasy protagonists haven't been unable to talk since the SNES. That series evolved, and it worked out pretty well. And I don't know what game you're playing, but you can talk in Bethesda games. You have entire conversations. Your character isn't actually heard, but a lot of that is because games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion are much more gameplay driven than story driven, and those games are more of a choose your own adventure style, rather than a story being told like Zelda.

That's the common reason people give, but most of the time it's just an excuse. Think about it: can you name one RPG where your character can talk, but you'd rather they were silent? Having a protagonist you can care about is much more appealling to me than just a blank silent avatar to control like Link.

 

[Aureli]

Think about it: can you name one RPG where your character can talk, but you'd rather they were silent?

Yes, I can. Final Fantasy X. I would have enjoyed it so much more if Tidus couldn't speak.

 

[Lord S. Binkleheimer]

Hopefully he does remain silent past his usual grunts and what not.
How else will I fill in my own dialogue? =O

 

[zelamy]

the silent hero is a throwback to when games console simply didn't have the capability to let them.
romanticising their silence as some kind of character trait is not fooling anybody.
when the hero is silent you have to have the npcs explaining everything.
so link goes up to a shopkeeper, "hello, you're link you say, and you would like to buy a shield"
it's clunky as hell, consoles now, even the wii, allow fully voiced games, don't be stuck in the past.

 

[ziggy161]

Well, that's stupid. This series will never reach the epic storytelling heights that it could if Link stayed silent. I don't want him to be chatty, but saying things like "What do you mean?" or "Are you okay?" shouldn't be too much to ask for. It worked for Jak and Daxter, and it worked for GTA. Link should definitely talk, so that not all conversations are massice one-sided expositions.

The "One sided" conversations have worked for Mario, have worked for Link, have worked for Samus, and so on and so forth. I see no reason for that to change now. I can't imagine what adding him actually speaking a couple pointless lines like those two could possibly add to any LoZ title. It would feel like having him talk for the sake of having him talk.

And how exactly have they worked for those series'? Mario isn't a story based game by any stretch of the imagination. Metroid hardly has any talking at all. Zelda, on the other hand, tries to present an epic view that is hindered by the fact that Link just sits there grunting and gasping. It's not too much to ask for the main character to be able to have a fucking conversation.

There have been 'massive epic rpgs' without the main character talking before. Bethesda titles and Final Fantasy etc.
I think the appeal of most games where the main character isn't voiced is that you feel more like the character is an extension of your own self. If the main charater starts talking you lose that sense, as you think 'That's not something I would say' or 'I would rather ask about this' or even just 'I would'nt ask in that tone...'.

Wow, overwhelming wrongness here...

Final Fantasy protagonists haven't been unable to talk since the SNES. That series evolved, and it worked out pretty well. And I don't know what game you're playing, but you can talk in Bethesda games. You have entire conversations. Your character isn't actually heard, but a lot of that is because games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion are much more gameplay driven than story driven, and those games are more of a choose your own adventure style, rather than a story being told like Zelda.

That's the common reason people give, but most of the time it's just an excuse. Think about it: can you name one RPG where your character can talk, but you'd rather they were silent? Having a protagonist you can care about is much more appealling to me than just a blank silent avatar to control like Link.

Sorry, what I meant was actual voice-acting, not the main character 'text-talking' (with regards to Bethesda).
I don't fully understand your question, what do you mean 'where your character can speak but you rather they were silent?' Do you mean things like, I would have preferred eg game if eg main character didn't have a voice actor? Because I have trouble thinking of a recent RPG I have played/enjoyed with a voice-acted main character. :/
Also, I disagree with your last statement about blank avatar, but I guess it's just different opinions. I like a character I can imagine myself as and where possible in a game I love creating my own character. It just makes the game feel more personalized to me, and when ideas from the game directors are set in stone about a character, it's less of my own imagination I use, if you see what I mean.

 

[ziggy161]

Think about it: can you name one RPG where your character can talk, but you'd rather they were silent?

Yes, I can. Final Fantasy X. I would have enjoyed it so much more if Tidus couldn't speak.

Same x_x

 

[Glendrel]

Although I wouldn't particularly mind it, I agree that Link probably shouldn't talk. We all know what an abomination the TV series was, but I believe if done well (sans horrible catchphrases for starters) then it could be alright. But I dislike Aonuma's stance that he won't do it because it's "part of the series' history" when they've already gone and changed him to a right-handed hero. This is, in my opinion, the worst thing they could've done to Link. Maybe I'm just sentimental, but that always made Link stand out to me. So by all means keep him silent, but at least find a justification that doesn't sound hypocritical.