Explanation for Lack of Female Hero in Zelda: Breath of the Wild Doesn’t Add Up

[archer9234]

Wright said:

The implication here is that the creative team worried more about Link’s story and identity rather than Zelda’s. It boiled down to a question that sounds a lot like, “But what about the man,” the inverse of which (“But what about the woman”) is a question that women have long since wondered to themselves. Even then, this reasoning doesn’t exclude the idea of a female version of the Hero, or Link. It might exclude the idea of Princess Zelda as a protagonist (disappointing), but how does this prevent them from creating a new character to play the hero?

The statement about “the idea of the balance of the Triforce” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, either, and it’s hard to gather why that would also be a factor in why they didn’t include a female Link. [...] The reason just feels arbitrary, rather than thought-out or even considered.

During Nintendo Treehouse E3 Live event, much was said about defying past Zelda norms and tropes. If you ask me, one great way of actually defying those norms would be to add a female hero. [...] However, it seems like we’re a long way off from seeing a character like Linkle fronting her own Zelda game at Nintendo.

Considering most Zelda stories are non-gender-specific anyway (and given Link’s often much-parodied androgynous appearance), how much effort would it really take to build a female hero, someone that isn’t just head-canonically female but actually female?

A few answers. Brand damage, and Sales. Take a Remake of Alien. The character is no longer Elen Ripley. It's now Mike Ripley.

 

You can't judge this. Because you don't know the game story. Story elements could demand things that they can't just change, at this point. Picture Twitlight Princess and swap out Link with Linkle. Changes a lot of stuff.

 

This goes back to question 2. Would you just want a model swap? In Mass Effect, and Saints Row. A lot of times they just do that. And forget subtle things. Like sitting down poses. Fem Shep is just using a male sitting stance. For Saints Row. The female character is forced to be a lesbian. Because of just doing everything the male does. No custom choice. Any romance moments, in cutscenes. That have already been built. Would cause issues, for this. If they did have a female lead. This would cause Zelda to be Bi/Lesbian, in this game. Do you do this to Zelda? Will this cause backlash? Loss of sales? Is this Zelda now orphaned from the rest? This is the extra stuff that companies have to worry about.