Topic: What if Link is gender neutral?

Well the way Zelda stories have been in general it wouldn't matter if Link was male or female anyway.

Do people actually want Link and Zelda to get together? Seeing as them being a couple is a common argument for not having Link as a girl I'm just curious.

It's not about whether we think they should or not. If they do, choosing male or female would most likely change the choice of gender of any other given character within the game.

Does it really need to though.

Meh, I'm fine with them being gay but I'm more curious as to do people actually want Zelda & Link to get together.

Yes. Choosing a female Link should not automatically put the main character into a lesbian relationship, if there is a such relationship within the game, which is implied within TP(Illia), Skyward Sword(Zelda), OoT(the zora girl, can't remember the name... Ruto?) and Wind Waker(Tetra).

That's why I'm saying other characters' genders would have to be player controlled, as well, and that's not exactly easy.

I don't really care. Zelda has only been Link's love interest in a couple games; at least what I would consider as a love interest. I'm mainly trying to say that Link being female in Skyward Sword, would also warrant a choice of gender, elsewhere. Just think if there was a male Zelda in Skyward Sword, and Groose is still head over heals for him, or whatever.

Having a female Link doesn't mean we have to swap Zelda as well. If anything it might help make up for their Tomodachi Life flub.

Only if you retroactively change the previous games, in the new game you could either write around it or just have them as a gay couple. In anycase most of the "romance" is so subtle it could be applied to freindship.

Given the current discussion about genders, imagine if people started debating for the inclusion of sexual equality.

I think the minds of quite a few people here should explode.

Also, [insert expletive] you Scar for suggesting females should not be in a relationship with a female.

That condradicts wanting a choice of Link's gender, though. If you're going to give gender choice of a character, you have to make it count and give that option to other characters where it could potentially matter.

I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm saying if you want Link to be a girl, that shouldn't automatically make Link a lesbian, which would happen if you didn't allow a choice of gender for other characters. You didn't understand what I typed at all. FACT.

Worth noting that I haven't once said that a female Link would be a bad idea. I've just said that it's unnecessary if making Zelda represent women better is the goal and that making Link gender neutral restricts what you can do. Like it or not changing the gender of the main character changes the way you approach a game/story, especially a game like Zelda. If it didn't nobody would care either way. I'd rather they write the story well for one character rather than trying to make it work with both.

No. It just changes the relationships between various characters. I really liked the Groose/Zelda/Link dynamic in Skyward Sword and it wasn't specifically because Link and Zelda had a thing going there. You can't tell me that that whole dynamic would have been identical if Link was a girl. They should just write the game for one Link whatever Link they decide to go with. The story will be better for it.

But we should be forced to witness a straight relationship?

OMFG, I'm saying a choice of gender should apply to multiple characters, not just Link.

I don't care if Link is gay, straight, or lesbian. You should be able to choose any.

You guys either didn't read, or didn't understand what I typed at all.

Weren't Birdo & Yoshi a gay couple due to reconning or a mis-translation? You also had Tharja in Fire Emblem also being in love with your avatar regardless of them being a guy or girl.

@Chrono_Cross No, I was just over analyzing things lol. That's not really a reason not for a female Link and I never thought so, I don't want one, but that has another set of reasons that I've already discussed. It's a fliipin game, the difference in mucle mass isn't really relavant here. I saw the whatever can part, over analyzed it, and posted. (I was also up posting a bit late last night). You might just take it as trying to save face, but I'm being genuine, so take as you will.
So yeah, sorry for pulling this thread in that direction, it was kind of weird.

I think he is highlighting that currently Link is always shown as straight.

No he's saying if you're allow to choose gender you should have options. Kinda like how Harvest moon allows you to date girls if you're a guy or guys if you're a girl. Unless Nintendo is ok with letting you have homosexual relationships (which they won't cuz they're kid friendly) they should have plenty of options because obviously if there's a female Link he won't be able to have a romantic relationship with Zelda or any other girl. He just uses mass effect as an example since you can be any gender and still have a romantic relationship with any of the main characters no matter what their gender. He's also stating that because of these reasons relationships between characters in Zelda can't be exactly the same if you're able to choose gender.

Aonuma gave an interview to Kotaku regarding, among others, the subjects talked about here:

Schreier: There was a lot of talk about the main character of the trailer—is it Link, is it not Link, is it a boy, is it a girl? One of the big questions that it got people talking about is: Would we ever be able to play as a female hero in a Zelda game? Is that something you've ever thought about, or something you're considering?

Aonuma: The main character isn't actually Link—it's the player. Of course we have to have a main character in the story, so Link is that main character. But I don't want him to be like a superhero. I want him to represent any player, have that possibility. So that's why I don't really know if we need or want to define it so clearly.

Schreier: But when you look at Link, you see a certain type of person—you see a male character... There was a case I remember where a father coded Legend of Zelda and made it so you could play as a woman because his daughter wanted to feel like she was really represented in the game. Mr. Aonuma, have you ever thought about that, and whether it'd be more inclusive to female players if they could play as someone of their own gender?

Aonuma: Is it that simple—that creating a female character means bringing more female users into the world?

Schreier: I guess what I mean is, when I'm playing and I see a man—in response to what you said about Link being a representation for the player, and the player being the main character—when a man is playing, he can feel more represented by the player character than a woman playing might.

Aonuma: So there are actually many female characters you can play as in Hyrule Warriors. We've introduced Midna, we've introduced Princess Zelda, and Impa as well. So if that connection needs to be there—I'm not saying that it does—let's see what happens with Hyrule Warriors, if as a result of there being more female protagonists, more women pick up the game, I'm all for it, so I've decided to see what happens with this title.

Schreier: So I know that you can play as Zelda and Midna in Hyrule Warriors. A lot of people have been looking at that and saying, 'Hey, I would love a game where I could play as Zelda, or Sheik'—have you ever thought about making a game where you get to play as Zelda and Sheik as the main character or hero?

Aonuma: I mentioned this earlier, but there are female characters in Hyrule Warriors, and I'd like to see what the result is of people actually being able to do all these things they want to, and if we get the results that in fact do say if people are given the opportunity to play as a female character, then more people will start playing, my ultimate goal is to have as many people as possible enjoy a game so I'd like to see what happens with Hyrule Warriors.

• See more at: http://www.zeldainformer.com/articles/aonuma-speaks-about-the-new-female-protagonists-in-hyrule-warriors#.U6Mx-fl_sRN

Basically he's saying "Let the people decide"! He's putting awfully much weight on an spin-off which gameplay style differs quite a lot from the main series. On top of that the "Warriors" series is known for an abundance of characters, so I'm not sure whether such huge decisions should be laid on the shoulders of Hyrule Warriors alone. We'll see.