Topic: What if Link is gender neutral?

Actually the scene was explaining the greed and corruption of hylians using link and llia but I get what your saying

Didn't we already have this discussion in the Gender Bias thread? To sum up my arguments there:

(a) Almost every Link we've played is a brand new person born however-many years after Hyrule was saved (or not saved) last. We're (or I'm) not asking that history be rewritten to have established Links suddenly turned female, just for Nintendo to give us the option to choose what fits the player best going forward. It's a new Hero of Time, it's a new adventure. The comparison to Samus keeps coming up, and it doesn't apply — she's not reincarnated between games. Link is.

(b) Miyamoto himself has said in the past that the reason they keep Link a silent protagonist is to allow the player to better project themselves and their own character onto Link. Offering options to non-males (females at least would get us rolling) would greatly aid the immersion process. I used Halo: Reach as my example of how it's already been done by the competition, a largely silent protagonist is given a male or female form and voice in all cutscenes and gameplay depending on the player's settings. Reach is a great game, the Halo series absolutely does not suffer for having had a gender-customizable main character in one of their titles, and I was able to listen and play and feel like that was me on the screen fighting aliens and doesn't afraid of anything-ing. I can never do that with a Zelda game.

(c) For the one of you here and maybe two of you in the other thread arguing that there would be same-sex relations if Link were possibly female, there's never any real interaction between Zelda and Link, he never 'gets' the princess. When do we see anything on screen beyond shy glances or her telling him he has to save Hyrule? He may as well be gender neutral in all his current incarnations for all the passion and romance he's never shown, so I don't see where 'well he's kissed a princess!' holds much water. Link is always 'hey imma kill this oktorok now' as Zelda spends 90% of her time cooped up in a tower or a castle or sleeping forever or otherwise incapacitated, lol, so it's not as if she'd be guaranteed another kiss in another adventure.

(d) And for those who may be hung up on the name (there was one in the other thread, just covering bases here), Zelda hasn't always been named 'Zelda'. There is past precedent for her name not being set in stone. If Nintendo wants to offer 'Link' and 'Linka' as default names for their provided options, it's not like it'll never have been done before.

In fact, the only good argument i've seen so far against offering a choice was the one where there were a few users who wanted an honest-to-goodness story out of the next Zelda game, no more bland silent protagonist but a robust male hero with dialogue and personality and princess-saving romance and whatnot. I think it'd be nice if they were able to write one that went both ways, Link's playable portion and Zelda's playable portion (she could still have those Sheik skills~) as two star-crossed lovers forever tasked by a looming evil they must keep under control else all will perish in fire and darkness. But if Nintendo continues on with Miyamoto's vision of a 'bland' Link, there is no reason he could not be a 'she' in future games, so I for one would very much appreciate a choice in gender for my protagonist. You play your file as a male if you prefer, and she'll be female in mine.

[Note: i wouldn't mind playing as Zelda and in fact have suggested that myself in the past. However, being forced to play as her still isn't really a proper choice.]

What would be really fun is if they made it so that you could play the game from two different viewpoints, as either Link or Zelda. I don't mean it just changes what character you play as - the game is completely different for each characters. We saw a bit of this at the end of Skyward Sword, where we saw flashbacks from Zelda's point of view. Taking that to the next level and creating an entirely separate games with different paths and goals would essentially give us double the game.

Yes. This is why everybody is freggin stoked to play as Midna in Hyrule Warriors.

I like you. This is kinda what i meant by having a Zelda game with part of it played through as Link and part as Zelda. :3

Bowsers Inside Story did work pretty well with that type of thing.

It's because people are trying to see something that something there. I never would have even thought people would come up with this whack stuff if I didn't frequent here.

How about gender changes nothing and it's still Zelda? Thank you, good night.

What if zelda was a girl?

Well she's already been a boy...

This long between metroid games certainly feels like reincarnation. But it is the same Link being reincarnated again and again, not just in gender, but in personality as well. He's not just being spun out into the world as a random person, but into a specific role, it is the same with Zelda and Ganon, none of them change genders and all have the same personality & values with a few additional quirks. If one must be a choice, so must the rest. I have no issue with spin offs focusing on different characters, but Link's gender has become fixed, and my niece doesn't care one bit, she is loving OoT 3D and doesn't care that the protagonist is a male.

Those are some very magic clothes if they can manage to perform a sex change simply by donning and removing

Ganon doesn't get reincarnated in the games and since when does Link have a personality?

How about Epona gets her own game with Malon?

1. Well Ganondorf himself is one instance of reincarnation and he is also reincarnated in four swords. Also it was mentioned in SS that the battle between Link and Ganondorf is destined to continue for all time:

"Though this is not the end. My hate... never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end! I will rise again! Those like you... Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!"

2. Try telling a mute person that they have no personality and don't blame me if they hit you over the head. I've met plenty of people who speak that have no personality, and a couple who don't speak that have plenty.

[quote=shaneoh]

That was Demise, an example of reincarnation in Zelda resulting in a different character which could be applied to say a female Link:P

Link talking or not talking has nothing to do with his lack of personality, he just seems to go along with things for the sake of it. I never understood in Ocarina why he wasn't intrested in his parents when he was talking to the Deku tree.

You would be right using Metroid as an example of reincarnation, but Metroid games have Samus. Samus is the same character, through all the Metroid games. She doesn't change.

Zelda games have a Link, a Zelda and Ganon (I believe he is the same throughout the series).

Link is not the same character throughout the series. There are a few games where he is (Wind Waker → Phantom Hourglass, OoT Child → MM, and I'm sure there is a few more). But, and it's established in many games, Link is never the same hero. Link is an idea, and isn't tied to a gender.

Nobody is asking for Link to only be female. Link has never had a voice, he is a vessel for the player to embody. The player, either male or female becomes Link, and there's no question that for some females, the experience can be lessened because they cannot connect to a male character. What some players want, is an option. Not a lot would have to change. A female could be called the Hero of Time. A female Link could rescue the female Zelda. A female Link can wield a sword and shield, wear a tunic, shoot a bow and arrow. If anything needs to change, it would be the character model, perhaps some items, and some of the text NPCs say in the game.

Give players the option.

Link never appears exactly the same except in direct sequels to a story, but there is still a strong physical similarity, just like there is a strong physical similarity between both Demise and Ganondorf. Also we encounter D at the end of his life, not knowing how much he would have physically changed since birth, and both have a habit of changing their physiology, who knows where that would eventually lead?

You do know the Deku tree was dying right? I don't think he had the luxury of telling Link his entire life story.

Already presented two instances of reincarnation on the villains part, OoT, and 4 swords. Still the same gender, same as Link and Zelda

Ugh no. That leads to Goku/Reggie/Batman/Every single videogame character for smash bros. If you want the option you should be making the game yourself and then you'll understand how truly difficult giving the people that option is. Also it sucks being required to play through a game a second time when you've missed a reasonably different portion of story due to picking a small aesthetic detail.

I'm out. In response to the thread title:
"What if Link is gender neutral?"
People will b&^%$ and moan especially when they get what they want. So don't give it to them.

When did I bring up Smash Bros? We're talking about Zelda.

There's no need to play it again. You get the same experience as both a male and female Link. We're not asking for the whole game to change, just the gender of the hero.

Do you really think people will complain if given the option? Nobody is forcing them to play as a female. If they don't like it, play as a male.

You're just being an a**hole for the sake of it.

That's what happens when you give people the choice

It's not as simple as changing the appearance and he to she. KotOR 2 story changes a bit depending on which character you pick

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/06/reggie_fils_aime_fan...

I accept what has been given me and I'm the donkey hole?

Finished. Done.

That's because KotOR 2 has a story beyond a hero stopping the villain.