Poll: Would we all be cool with a female Link?

[zehydra]

Couldn't be worse than changing him to be right-handed.

Though it seems somewhat stupid to change Link's gender when the series already has a female character that could fill the roll. Make Zelda go on an adventure and kill chickens and break pots 'n' stuff.

Can't kill the chickens. The chickens will kill you.

OT: I wouldn't care so long as they don't make the gender a focus in the game.

 

[NerAnima]

I would be interested in seeing a female Link, but I don't think it would work, and for everyone saying that they should make a game about Zelda, I would be all for a game in which you alternate between Link and Zelda/Sheik, but if the game is exclusively about Zelda, then people may wonder what Link is even needed for.

A Zelda game in which everyone is gender-swapped wouldn't work either, since, if I'm not mistaken and I bloody well could be, that Ganondorf HAS to be male, in every incarnation.

I'd much rather get the Majora's Mask 3D that many people have been clamoring for, and a Metroid game that goes into Samus' character without being shit, and while I'm making my wish-list, I'd like to have another Star Fox game, like the original and the N64. Oh, and Merry Christmas, everyone.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

http://www.babynames.com/name/LINK

It's apparently short for 'Lincoln' and is a traditional boy's name. Why is Jeff/Jeffrey a boy's name? I dunno. But that's how we use it.

Interesting.

Though I disagree with the assumption that it's meant to be short for "Lincoln" in this context and isn't simply the word "Link" which is an obvious inference to the "link" between time/universes/etc that the game's underlying narrative is based on.

That meaning is gender neutral to me, which is why I was confused on the matter. >.>

 

[Drauger]

I don't really care if link is a female, but i really rather had Zelda play an important playable character than just swap Link gender

 

[Azkar Almsivi]

I said no because I'd rather an original female character. By the looks of it I think all heroic Links in that family are clones of each other. Except maybe for the cel shaded ones. They have a bit of Auntie Sally in them.

 

[Sould1n]

Yes, I'd be cool with a female Link. Link does reincarnate and is a different person each time (except for the games that follow on from one another and star the same Link) so it would be interesting if they experimented with that reincarnation aspect.

I'm not sure much gameplay wise would change with Link being female. Story-wise perhaps a little and some character interactions would work out differently but a female hylian Link would likely work similarly to a male Link. I guess I can see what people mean by it being a mere 'change for the sake of change', as not much changes as a result of it, I just think it would be interesting to have happen.

 

[Sian]

I'm not okay with a female Link.

If all you change about Link is gender, but everything else stays the same, then what was the point? I think it would feel really weird. You'd need to change more than Link's gender for me to be okay with this.

Note: I'm not saying that we should go putting stereotypically female characteristics on a female Link, just that there needs to be more of a difference between the two.

 

[Karen Parker]

with how androgynous some of link's designs are overall, i don't see why they couldn't have a game where link is female; or better yet, why not have mulan/metroid type scenario where you play the game as normal, and only near the end it's revealed that this link is female. perhaps the actual, male link was sickly as a child, or was killed by ganon, so his sister took on his sword and tunic, taking his place without anyone finding out?

 

[Lieju]

I'd be fine with it, but why do it, when you could give Zelda her own (proper) game?

She has triforce too, you could make her game very puzzle-focused like similar to Professor Layton games, since she has Wisdom. (Not that she can't hold her own in a fight, but having a different kind of Zelda-game could be nice.)

 

[QuiB25]

I've gone for yes.

Link is already pretty androgynous, so it's hardly much of a leap.

as there isn't anything particularly masculine about Link. He's not really a muscleman and the green tunic is more or less unisex. He was pretty much intended to be merely a blank character for the player to project onto, and really the only personality aspects I can think of to define him are pretty gender neutral: brave, intelligent and competent in situations of crisis.

Yeah. That.


I should, however, also point out, that I don't really care for Zelda as a series, if I was a fan, however, I'd probably be irritated if changes were being made for the sake of it.

Sidenote: Are there other characters to whom this would apply? Where gender/race/sexuality/etc are so insignificant that changing them would leave the overall character unscathed? Off the top of my head: Chell(Portal), Master Chief (Halo) and Kirby (well, Kirby).

Samus Aran.
Plenty of Final Fantasy characters.
In fact, pretty much any Japanese made game tends to have plenty of girly-men who it wouldn't make much difference to swap them over with.

I'd argue that while Samus Aran's character is minimalist, being female is really important to who she is.
You've got the whole "surprise, I'm female" ending that gave her an important legacy in the gaming world, and the whole "motherly instict" thing about saving the baby Metroid.

And Chell came from a game with some arguably "female" themes, so while it might not be important to whatever character she even has, it might be important to the game's story.

 

[QuiB25]

Heck I don't even like Sarkeesian's work and I still know that the point of her work is the call for female characters that actually have depth to them and aren't just gender swaps. Horrifically tired or not of the trope that a male character is rescuing a female character, the solution isn't just gender swapping. The solution is making a character that stands on their own merits, thus Link with a female anatomy is pretty much an insult to the female gender. Considering how devoid of an actual character link is you might as well just slap a bright pink bow on Link's head and say hey look Link is a female now! Aren't you all super happy?

In a perfect world, this conversation would be pointless.

The whole point is that Link's "maleness" has nothing to do with his character. "Link" is a title given to a person who dresses in a tunic and saves shit with a sword and magic. You could cast Link in just about any role, and it wouldn't contradict who "Link" is.

Yeah, making Link female would be arbitrary. So is making Link a farmer, growing up in the woods with perpetual children, or washing up on the shore of an island with amnesia. It's all about putting Link in new worlds and situations to keep it fresh (I'll let you judge if they succeed). In a perfect world, people wouldn't have to justify making Link female for absolutely no reason, as long as it didn't contradict the story they built around him or her.

If they created a "Linkette," who was established as different than male Link, it'd be Ms Male. But since the female Link would still be "Link," it'd be the SAME character - because gender doesn't have to matter. Maybe they could use Link's female gender to touch on what being female in this new world would be about; it'd be good for the story. Maybe being female won't affect the story at all.

And that'd be fine. BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER. Link doesn't stand on "his" own merits, because he's a blank slate. So screw your high expectations about this hypothetical female Link. Because from the sound of it, you wouldn't go out of your way to post on forums about how some male character from another game known for its minimal story would need to justify its existence.

It's more than a little disgusting how you say that a female Link with little personality (you know, like the male Link) would be a an insult to the female gender.

 

[Bonk4licious]

I think it would still sell, either way, so as long as that isn't a concern, I'd be totally cool with it. I'd love to see a much tighter, faster paced Zelda with maybe a more nimble female protagonist in this series. I think her saving a princess Zelda would be pretty cool, too, it could shed light onto a different part of the Hyrule spectrum. If Zelda can go ninja and get shit done, why can't other females?

 

[Dragonbums]

I wouldn't mind, but why would they do that?

They should not force this. Just be free to be artistic.

But if they chose to make the new Link female anyway that would also be freedom of artistic expression.
You can't just assume that when a character is swapped its because of forced political correctness.

 

[NerAnima]

with how androgynous some of link's designs are overall, i don't see why they couldn't have a game where link is female; or better yet, why not have mulan/metroid type scenario where you play the game as normal, and only near the end it's revealed that this link is female. perhaps the actual, male link was sickly as a child, or was killed by ganon, so his sister took on his sword and tunic, taking his place without anyone finding out?

That sounds like a interesting idea, since no one would ever guess, and maybe they could drop a couple hints that will only be pieced together when they drop the bomb. May not work, though, since in the lore of LoZ, the Hero of Time, the wielder of the Triforce of Courage, etc, is supposed to be chosen by the Goddesses, so she would have to have received their blessing in order for it to work.

Still, would be kind of interesting to see how it works out

 

[Rednog]

Heck I don't even like Sarkeesian's work and I still know that the point of her work is the call for female characters that actually have depth to them and aren't just gender swaps. Horrifically tired or not of the trope that a male character is rescuing a female character, the solution isn't just gender swapping. The solution is making a character that stands on their own merits, thus Link with a female anatomy is pretty much an insult to the female gender. Considering how devoid of an actual character link is you might as well just slap a bright pink bow on Link's head and say hey look Link is a female now! Aren't you all super happy?

In a perfect world, this conversation would be pointless.

The whole point is that Link's "maleness" has nothing to do with his character. "Link" is a title given to a person who dresses in a tunic and saves shit with a sword and magic. You could cast Link in just about any role, and it wouldn't contradict who "Link" is.

Yeah, making Link female would be arbitrary. So is making Link a farmer, growing up in the woods with perpetual children, or washing up on the shore of an island with amnesia. It's all about putting Link in new worlds and situations to keep it fresh (I'll let you judge if they succeed). In a perfect world, people wouldn't have to justify making Link female for absolutely no reason, as long as it didn't contradict the story they built around him or her.

If they created a "Linkette," who was established as different than male Link, it'd be Ms Male. But since the female Link would still be "Link," it'd be the SAME character - because gender doesn't have to matter. Maybe they could use Link's female gender to touch on what being female in this new world would be about; it'd be good for the story. Maybe being female won't affect the story at all.

And that'd be fine. BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER. Link doesn't stand on "his" own merits, because he's a blank slate. So screw your high expectations about this hypothetical female Link. Because from the sound of it, you wouldn't go out of your way to post on forums about how some male character from another game known for its minimal story would need to justify its existence.

It's more than a little disgusting how you say that a female Link with little personality (you know, like the male Link) would be a an insult to the female gender.

Talking about high horses maybe you should climb off your steed and reread what I actually wrote because you're putting words into my mouth that I did not say. The absolute joy of reading comprehension that goes down the toilet when people are "passionate".
I said "Considering how devoid of an actual character link is..." this is in no way shape or form is ambiguous that I am not referring to the current Link. So I don't know how you're making the claim that I'm making some sort of disgusting insult to a hypothetical female Link.
I basically said Link is already such a character with little to no defining actual characteristics that making him female would pretty much just be slapping a pink bow onto his head. Which is insulting to females because like I said before it would just be a "Ms. Male" character. Link's only defining visual characteristic is his green tunic and his green hat; turning that female in any really defining way would be adding really superficial and stereotypical elements.

And yes they would need to justify it because you're actually wrong about anyone dressing in a green Tunic being called Link. In windwaker they dress all the boys at a certain age in a green tunic as a custom from the Hero of Time legend. And this legend was created from the male Link in Ocarina of Time. Also, it isn't a new Link every time. Link from Ocarina of time had his timelines split into 3 parts and that character actually went on into other games. So yes him suddenly becoming female would need a bit of justification.

 

[Lightknight]

From several of link's pictures, I'm not sure it would make any difference. One of the most feminine characters I've ever seen.