Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

@jump I don't necessarily disagree (well, other than the fact that Hyrule Warriors isn't a Zelda game), but the playable cast(?) wasn't what made those games stand out for me. I found the time system in MM a lot more interesting. Zelda Musou was just about beating up entire armies, but I still don't think that game can be compared with the actual Zelda games.

@Jump @Octane Just putting my own two cents in, I prefer the idea of Link just using items and wits, rather than relying on a bunch of friends. Hyrule Warriors worked, because it was a departure from the norm on so many levels. I'm not the hugest fan of MM, but that may be because of the Great Bay... I even don't mind the Water Temple so much, as that's just Iron Boots central, but Great Bay annoys me...

I'm undecided on the whole Gender thing. If they handle it so well it's not too noticeable, then fine, but as someone mentioned earlier, Shulk, even if he is a little bland, is far more memorable than Cross, both from Xenoblade (Chronicles and X).

I don't care about Link's gender, if Link if left- or right-handed, if the Zelda timeline match up perfectly, those sort of stuff. It's a new game. I want a new experience. If things are well implemented, such changes will make no difference to me after an hour. And game options I will never use, I will forget about after a very short while.

The things I would care about is if the new Zelda game isn't feeling original enough, if the story is too unbalanced, or if the combat system is awkward to use, or similar things.

Link only needs 8 words to win every case though. Very doable and can be done in many voices and languages to suit the players preference.

Did. You. Get. That. Thing. I. Sent. You.

Gender is most definitely not socially constructed. That's a long-discredited idea that gets thrown around humanities departments at universities. No-one in the sciences accepts it though. There's even a handy wikipedia page that lists the differences in the average male and female brains: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience_of_sex_differences
Those differences, especially the effects of testosterone and oestrogen on the brain are what create the 2 genders. The thing that should've gave that away is the fact that nearly every animal species has gender differences too. And most of them have no form of a society that could even do the "social constructing".
Sorry to get all nerdy but my sister is a psychology professor. I get lectured about this stuff every week.

@Dezzy So, what testosterone/oestrogen levels does Link have...?
AFAIK, Link is a video game character. In video games, it's mainly the visual appearance that signals the gender. Looking/behaving as a "male/female" is indeed socially constructed to a great extent. Link has long hair and no beard, which in many cultures would indicate that Link is female.

This would be the perfect time to leave the thread and go outside to play with your family or pets.

Nah, I think the night before the big Zelda information truckload is a perfect time to go deep into debunking tired SJW myths.

That's no fun.

This is not entirely true. Masculine and feminine behavior can also be linked to biology. Not that any of this should apply to Link to begin with, since he's a video game character. Link's obviously a boy, because up to this point, the creators have stated he is.

OR, we can discuss how the Zelda frachise changed so much from the NES days to now.

He says...

He cites...

Gender is a human-constructed role, whereas sex is a physical manifestation of your genetic code. Perhaps look up the definition of a word before you tell me how "long-discredited" my argument is My friend is a psych major too, FYI.

I like this idea. These types of discussions tend to get out of hands at times, and rarely result in anything productive.

Please, people. Let's save the politic-- I mean, psychological talk for later. We will supposedly learn more tomorrow.
@Meowpheel I don't have a pet and family members are busy, so can I do homework inside?

No.

Do your homework outside.

@Meowpheel Aw, but it's too hot outside!
(Why am I doing this? The excitement from Zelda must be getting to my head )

Ok ok, you can stay inside.

But keep the window open so fresh air and sunlight enters the house.

Why would we go outside on Christmas? Sony's press conference is in a half hour and I'm stayin' in for that! E3 hype, boys.

The general hope was that you'd read it rather than ignoring it based on the title alone. The last 2 sections cover some examples of where the brain differences lead to behavioural differences. Those behavioural differences are what create the basis for the genders, which society then builds upon.
Something like testosterone determining how competitive and aggressive someone is (i.e how "masculine" they are) has hundreds of papers supporting it that you can find with a quick google search.
That's a difference that also happens to be the same in chimpazees. Making it almost impossible to be a human-construction.

you guys should go back to talking about the grass

Sony Won, but Zelda could still be better individually.

Unrealistic expectations? Probably, but they're not unwarranted.