| archer9234 said: Link is a character. Has a gender, name, and basic personailty. If you change the gender, instead of creating a new character. With a new origin story. That just pisses people off. |
Alright, tell me about this character "Link." What's his background -- where did he grow up? How old is he at the start of his adventure? What color is his hair? What is his family like? Is he right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous? What are his ambitions? What are his fears?
Nothing about Link is sacred except that he represents the hero. Until 2011, Link was left-handed. This was absolute. The Wii version of Twilight Princess was non-canon, the inconsistency in some 2D games was just because the sprite was flipped to make development easier (or because of a superstition about Death Mountain). Zelda fans were pissed when Skyward Sword Link was right-handed. But you know what? He's still Link. The series isn't ruined because he was right-handed that one time. The integrity of the character was not forfeit. People were mad and then they got over it. Aonuma didn't feel like he had to create a brand new character with a brand new origin story just to explain why Link had this minor aesthetic difference.
Here are Aonuma's comments about Link less than a year ago:
"I don't want people to get hung up on the way Link looks because ultimately Link represents the player in the game... I don't want to define him so much that it becomes limiting to the players. I want players to focus on other parts of the trailer and not specifically on the character because the character Link represents, again, the player."
Aonuma doesn't want to define Link. Link can be anyone -- the spirit of the hero can manifest within anyone. "Female Link" just means the spirit manifested itself in a girl. She doesn't need a different origin story any more than the Hero of Winds needs a different origin story from the Hero of Time. They are already different characters.
| FragilE^ said: So many arguments for a female Link. To me, Link is still a real, defined person. To me, Link is Link and a "female version" is just as silly as a male Samus, no matter what you think about that comparison :/ Is it immersion and perception? Is that all it is? I never feel like "I" am in Hyrule. I'm playing Link. Do you guys insert yourself differently? Is that why you can so easily re-write the character? |
It has nothing to do with immersion and no one is re-writing the character. Link is still Link no matter what kind of chromosomes he has. Being a hero is about your spirit, not your DNA.
If you think you can define Link as a person, you are welcome to try, right here and now. Let's start at the very beginning: where was Link born? Any defined person ought to have a birthplace. It's where their personal story begins. If their exact birthplace is unknown, you can at least identify their childhood home.
