Topic: Miyamoto Admits Some People Hate The Legend Of Zelda Toon Link Design

Toon Link just doesn't really seem like the real Link to me. I appreciate him for what he brings to the table, but I just name him Fink and pretend he's a completely different character and not Link.

My thoughts on Toon Link:

I thought it was a shaky step forward. But Zelda is all about change. Almost each Zelda game manages to be different and bizarre and STILL impresses us all.

I like Zelda being different. Being the same too many times will just bore me.... like most modern FPSes today. Space marines? Really?

I really fell in love with the graphics of Wind Waker the first time i actually played the game. Before that i was like "oh, it's all too kiddy" too. Then to me it all looked so joyful and still touches my emotions deeper than a more realistic style. Toon Link also gets that job done better than most of all these generic teenie RPG characters in my opinion. I've always loved kid characters in all those good adventurous games and movies too. (A Boy and his Blob and The Goonies come to mind.)

I just don't know about Miyamoto's statement that they plan to only use the style for handheld games in the future...
I mean the AR presentation of Toon Link looks really promising. So i'd really love to see a 3D effect game with Wind Waker visuals as soon as possible. The thing is that the camera perspective should not be like in the DS games but more like the "over the shoulder one" found in Wind Waker. To me it gave that game a very epic feeling. Maybe after that one true "sequel" i could live with never ever having Toon Link in another game again. :S

At first that's what i thought about that picture too. But i really can't decide now because his clothes and hair do look a bit bland in comparison.


But maybe i should just play to game again to see the model back in action.

Revolution is upon us! _{/me hides in a vase}

I've always loved Toon Link, but I think that's because I have probably spent the most time playing the cel-shaded adventures. Also, the cel-shaded look stands up and will never go out of date. 10 years from now it is still going to look fantastic, whereas some of the others will show their age.

Definitely not opposed to seeing him again. Regular Link is fantastic as well though, I can't wait to get Zelda for 3ds!

You see, I actually take issue with the very idea of there being a single "real" Link. Each game was its own story, loosely connected to the others and quite possibly starring a completely different young man with a green tunic. All the attempts to unify the series timeline into a coherent tale of a single character break down into absurdity.

I simply don't know what the "real" Link even is. For me, Toon Link has always been the "real" Link, because he's still the only Link that's ever had an actual personality. He'd starred in some stellar games prior to Wind Waker, sure, but it was that game that defined him as a lovable character with human emotions, rather than just a stoic avatar that allowed me to experience the world of Hyrule. The visual style allowed for a sense of exaggerated expressiveness that let us see exactly what Link was feeling at any given moment. That's why I love Wind Waker.

If anything, I think we can agree that Toon Link does the most crazy stuff of all the Links. That Ganon finisher in Wind Waker? I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was knocked aback by the sheer fierceness of that move....

Yeah, I love Toon Link for his personality.

Cracks me up every time. The Twilight Princess Link is basically an expressionless avatar.

"walks in"
well being a HUGE zelda fan I thought I'd get my 2 cents in.

Yes of course it comes to no shock that not everybody likes "Toon Link" as stated. (Even at first I was thrown off by the little guy) But I've learned one thing about gaming that I will stick to: Never judge a game by how it looks! (ok except the Zelda CDI games haha)

The reason? For years I listened to my brother about how if it doesn't look "dark and cool and stuff" then the game is going to be dreadful. Not true, the game will have it's other reasons for being terrible (bad gameplay mechanics, broken controls, scary voice acting, ect.) and I must say, I've missed out on my fair share of great titles thanks to that advice... Never again.

Cheers.

I think it's a good idea personally...Legend of Zelda isn't really known for being serious and I am not exactly a fan of the series...but Wind Waker was appealing to me as it was different...and to me at least, played differently.

The Toon Link vs Normal Link thing is too close to the Green Eyes Sonic vs Black Eyes thing...which we should try to avoid with a Nintendo Franchise.

Broken controls? What? Where?

And here we go again. I guess that the fans of Toon Link (the cat-eyed Link, not the Link- eyed cat), would be happy if every Zelda game existent would feature that one and only design. Same goes for strict fans of realistic Link. How about variety? I at least want to see Nintendo try something new and preferably every time. Toon Link has been starring too many Zelda titles already, it's really getting quite boring.

@Faron: While I do mostly agree with what you said, having too much variety would make it a lot easier for a truly ugly Link design to see the light to day. So, have variety, but don't change it every game....

they just need to make sure the next time Toon Link is in a game it doesn't look like the DS games.

That was truly awful looking.

You won't have to worry about that. The 3DS is capable of producing Toon Link as he appeared in Wind Waker.

I always thought it was odd how people hated Wind Waker's colorful, cartoon art direction, then they hated Twilight Princesses gritty realism, and now there are plenty that hate the look of Skyward Sword.

@Faron: A long time ago, I got this crazy idea. What if there were a Zelda game with two different worlds (like the Light and Dark Worlds, or maybe just two different time periods like OoT) that each had their own art style. Imagine Toon Link pulling out the Master Sword and becoming Twilight Princess Link. Going from a Wind Waker-esque Hyrule to a Twilight Princess landscape like that would be really cool.

Different strokes for different folks. You can't please everyone (I wish someone would tell Nintendo that...). Personally, I prefer the gritty and realistic look of Link, and I hate the cartoony Link. And combining the two styles just looks so weird. I don't outright hate the Skyward Sword Link, but it was off-putting at first.

Before i finished writing my earlier comment i had this idea too. Then i thought it would just destroy the graphical flow of the game. I mean you can reach these goals by just using darker tones and effects. But it's an interesting idea for sure. It just has to be done very, very well.