Rumour: More Claims Made For New Legend of Zelda on Wii U and NX, Gender Choice For Playable Character

I'm down for some Lady Link!

Gender option better not happen

Voice acting and playing as Linkle. I would love that.

Bring it on!!! NX & ALL, I'm READY!!!

I think this could be true not to sure about gender option but maybe it's time to move on 🤔

Definitely would like the Voice Acting for NPCs, something long overdue in a Zelda game.

As for the ability to pick character gender, I honestly still feel that the Character Link (despite the origins of his namesake) will always be Male in my view just like Mario will always be a guy and Samus will always be a woman. Saying that, I'm not gonna get into a kerfuffle if they do include the option and merely embrace it as something new.

Although I'll probably call her Linkle or something.

All seems plausible.

@Locke159 Why not?

"I heard from multiple sources that you can choose between a male or female as your playable character in Zelda"

This doesn't bother me but I know many will moan about this if true.

Good news all around!

...6 months later when the rumors prove false...

...oh well, maybe next time.

OH BOY MORE BASELESS RUMORS

But seriously, it sounds interesting, but yet again, I'll wait for something official.

@WireWare This is not a baseless rumour. Two trusted sources have been speaking to NoA employees. These are two reputable writers. That's enough basis for a rumour post.

I am all for having a female hero this time around. I am not as thrilled about it being a choice. I get that its Nintendo's stance that Link is the "link between the player and the game" and that its always a representation of the player, but that just isn't true. Link has defining attributes, his pointy ears, his fair skin, his blond hair, his blue eyes, etc. He is a recognizable character. That said, because he is never the same person and is reborn in each iteration, I have no issues with a female hero in the new game. But choice is unnecessary. It will remove some of the subtle interactions between the player character and other NPCs that previous games have had. Plus, gender is not everything. I am a guy, yet Link still doesn't represent me. I don't have blond hair, fair skin, blue eyes, etc. If you are going down this path, then they might allow you to customize the entire appearance. Which will make the character completely unrecognizable.

I'd be greatly appreciative of a voice-acted Zelda game

Choose between Link or Linkle most likely. Totally called that one too. This way they have "female Link" without actually changing an established character.

Hope it comes complete with this game's Navi equivalent asking "Are you a boy, or are you a girl?" at the beginning of the game.

As for voice acting, I'm down for that so long as the voice acting is good. No Treehouse voice acting. Actually hire some people.

I hope it's an option. Whenever gender is an option I usually go male first then female for my second/100% play through. But if it's true I'm going female all the way. We gotta shake up the status quo!

@WireWare She was right about Paper Mario and countless other things no reason to doubt her.

Zelda must be voiced by Zelda Williams, honoring both her and her father.

I'm a bit dubious of those rumours, they're the exact same points that have been blindly speculated for months and months now.

I'd recommend everyone takes these with a grain of salt or don't their hopes up until Nintendo actually reveals this stuff. If you're excited for female Link, don't be just yet, otherwise you'll risk getting upset by E3 2016.

All of these options sound great to me If true, would be fun to re-play the game as the female protagonist and see if anything is different. More options are never a bad thing in my opinion.

The only thing I wouldn't be happy with would be the Wii U and NX release.

assuming it is true i don't really see anything wrong with having the choice between male or female

@IceClimbers But choice does change the character. With choice they have to manage each interaction to make sure it works with either choice. I would be excited to play a female hero too, but I just want them to pick one. Don't give us the worst of both worlds...

I suppose they could go with extra effort and make both work and be believable. I doubt Nintendo would do that though. If they did, I would gladly take back everything and happily play the game twice.

This is great news for female gamers! Bravo Nintendo. Bravo

...oh...and all those guys that like to play as girls...not saying there is owt wrong with that...

Personally I prefer an adventure/RPG game where an avatar/playable character is a set age/height/gender/appearance as they feel more intergral to the story. The custom built characters always tend to feel tacked onto the story and are somehow seperate to what everyone else in the game is doing- I don't remember Fire Emblem Awakening for the avatar, but for Chrom. This would really damage what Zelda's essence is.

And don't get me on voice acting for Zelda....

I would love to see Link and Linkle being siblings, and at some point in the story getting to choose which of the two gets to carry the hero mantle. Think as if in WW your actions would cause link to be the one Kidnapped and his sister having to rescue him. Like if Ganon was instead looking for the next reincarnation of the hero of time instead of zelda's.

To all the haters about the gender choice, just consider that it would give the game more replay-ability, at the very least.

@Shadowkiller97 Perhaps this is the reason for delay? Doubling the possibilities of character?

I'm sure it being a choice was a compromise. They figured there'd be pushback at forcing a female Link on the fans, which is sad, but probably correct. I would have preferred a fully realized female iteration, but gamers have some major hang-ups about gender and race switching in their popular entertainment.

So...Prince Zeldaman confirmed and needs saving?

@Shadowkiller97
Not necessarily. Nintendo could program the game to have subtle different character interactions depending on your character gender. Remember, Nintendo had hinted that the new Zelda game would be a lot more open to non-linear player interaction. That could indicate that the game would react to which dungeons you solved first before an interaction, for example.

@Shadowkiller97 I'm pretty sure none of the Zelda games have any interactions that wouldn't work with a female protagonist. Even Skyward Sword, which has major romantic undertones, would work with a female protagonist.

@GrailUK Nah, it's lesbian Zelda time.

@nab1 If they actually did that, that would be awesome. What I am afraid of is that they are just going to have the same game with only things that could fit either choice. Like @MrGawain said, it is hard to think of any game with an avatar choice where the actual main playable character is memorable. As I stated before, I have nothing against a female hero. I would rather Nintendo just go with one or the other completely instead of straddling in between the two.

That would all be pretty amazing.

@indienapolis How true.

@IceClimbers Heck if its that kinda party, to hell with voice acting and keep the grunts and moans!

@Locke159

Why?

It sounds more like a fan's wishlist than a rumour. I'll keep the salt at the ready.

I have no objections if these are true though. If they added the option to change Mario's or Samus' gender, then I would be complaining. Link is different though. Mario and Samus have their own distinct personalities and characteristics, but Link is generic. Plus, every Link is different, so there's no reason why some can't be female.

Nintendo will see the positive reaction to these rumours and remove these elements from the game.
I've already heard Anouma talk about text dialogue so I reckon this voice acting will be fairly limited. I'm glad Link doesn't talk in these rumours.

@Shadowkiller97 games like Fallout or Dragon Age inundate you with character choices and design decisions. If the only choice is between A or B, then it isn't too much trouble to tailor the interactions between them.

I want the voice acting feature to be true. About Linkle, I don't care as long as I can play as Link.

Loving these choices, would like to see Nintendo be a bit more confident and give some of their main characters voices with extended dialogue , ahem, Link and Mario. I recall when Wind Waker came out and there was all this talk about Link having a voice and Myamoto said it was deliberately limited, so as not to make the gamers unhappy. However, it is my opinion that the character Link would do well to have a voice. Great voice acting would add an even greater amount of drama and mystery and depth to these already excellent games.
Me: "Hey Link , what do you think of having a voice acted part?"
Link: ". . . . ......................"

I'm in no way against choosing between male/female link. I'll just ignore it. I just think it's a bit unnecessary. But I guess it doesn't NOT work.....?

@linklefan IMO problem is, you get to enter your own name. If the character doesn't speak then you can imagine yourself speaking and that's fine. But if the character does speak and they have a voice vastly different to yours then it's going to feel weird and more disconnected than usual.

Hope the gender option isn't true. Some of the fun in Zelda games is the subtext that there is a romantic interest between Link and Zelda, even if it isn't stated.

@GrailUK Even better!

All sounds cool to me. I'd love to play as a female link. But knowing Nintendo, that likely means Zelda and Link wont have nearly as romantic a relationship as Skyward Sword. But hopefully they can surprise us.

I don't see the point in voice acting, there's so much text in Zelda games it takes longer to listen than it does to read, so it would actually take away from my enjoyment of the game - it would also be unecessarily unweidly and expensive to record, and if this is the reason it was delayed a year then I wouldn't be happy!

I personally find these rumours rather dubious. All these details feel like all the conjecture the English-speaking internet people has been incubating for years about prospective future Legend of Zelda titles. Pipe dreams which fans have been wishing for their favourite series to become, something which Nintendo isn't exactly known for.

Additionally, I cannot see a potential "Linkle" in this game. The Linkle from Hyrule Warriors (Legends) has a completely different combat style from Link, and Link himself has been quite a gender ambiguous pretty boy of sorts for a long time after the original release of Ocarina of Time. Many people still mistake him for a girl (although calling him "Zelda" is just an old ignorance.)

I really cannot see Nintendo actually pushing a budget for real voice acting, especially as they need to finish a game with extensive dialogue for multiple regions in multiple languages. I know Nintendo is no stranger to games with full voice-acting, like in the Star Fox series, Kid Icarus: Uprsing, and Code Name S.T.E.A.M. However, this is expected to be a huge title considering, and seeing Nintendo placing it in this game is so unlikely. They're not exactly like their colleagues at other AAA companies, after all.

Plus, I find it ridiculously nonsensical how easily so many people accept this title is getting a dual-platform release like another "Twilight Princess", especially as we know nothing about the upcoming codename NX platform and its technical architecture. It's like in 2011 when everyone thought Skyward Sword is coming to the Wii U just because Nintendo officially announced the console earlier that same year, and we all know this new Legend of Zelda title is being built from the ground up specifically for the Wii U hardware.

Everyone complaining about it also being on NX needs to seriously stop right now. You're lucky it's still even coming to Wii U after how hard it has failed. Nintendo is a company that has to make money, and using this game to promote it's new system is the best option available.

As a sidenote, the console you bought is not "your investment". They put plenty of games on it, and are probably putting this one, too, so you got your money's worth. Consoles are not "investments".

Nice! Voice acting is very welcome. But gender option makes me think about how can this affect the relationship between Link and Zelda, since we know that there's a friendzone over there.

I agree with the no voice actor for link, I like the concept of the silent hero, I don't agree with gender choice. Link has always been a male, I think we should keep it like that. I feel like the female option is really dumb. Make linkle or whatever this option a different character. Not an alternate link. Also I am expecting a really good soundtrack, considering every other was great.

Voice acting is important...no kids read these days!

Voice acting... Ugh. I know lots of people are excited by this, but don't blame me when you have to hear Beedle jabber at you over and over every time you need some freaking bombs. (Or, God help us, Tingle...)

I usually prefer to play as females in video games (not sure why really), but I'm not down with choosing your gender in a Zelda game. Link is a male and should always remain a male. It's just a very drastic change is all.

@Calllack
I see your point, and I agree in part. Along with the sentiment that the amount of text could make for some long winded dialogue scenes from another post. On the other hand, FFX did a great job in their voice acting, creating a vibrant world and nailing the length of cut scenes. Sure its like a movie script, but if the games pacing is well done the voice acting really adds to it. When a character laughs you can actually feel the emotion (not the on repeat cackling of the Skull Kid for instance). When you are asked a question you actually give a response and the character seems smart. No offence but half the time link is treated like a moron, and its derived from Nintendo's decision to give him no voice. I'm not saying make him the star actor of the game, just give him a few real lines, enough to make us connect with what the character is feeling in some scenarios, if it was properly done it would be great.

To everyone complaining about voice acting, please remember Super Mario Sunshine. That game did the voices brilliantly in my opinion, so much so that every Mario game after it felt "missing out" for me, for the lack of a better term. Sure, the amount of dialogue on a Mario game is much less than that of a Zelda game, but there's at least one example where Nintendo did the transition and in my humble opinion, did it right.

Horrible, really hope all three are wrong

Male Link or Female Link, but not both.

This better not turn out to be Legend of Skyrim.

Cool. I'm totally down for Lady Link. As a red blooded manly man, if I'm going to be staring at a characters ass for 50 hours, it might as well be an ass worth staring at.

@nab1 The reception of Super Mario Sunshine's cutscenes wasn't positive. It's largely why Bowser Jr was considered an annoying character for years.

I hope this is true. My favorite hero/heroine Samus fell victim to unnecessary vo. So for the love of all that is good and holy, do not give Link/Linkle a voice. The npc's however, should talk. That is all...

@Shadowkiller97
I had some of the same thoughts, too. I rather like the idea of a female Link in general; it actually is very clever with the reincarnation thing in mind...but to your point, my worry is less about gender swapping and more about the detrement that would be to the story. Link saving Princess Zelda would be cool. Female Link saving the male would be really cool too. But CHOOSE ONE so there can be proper character development and progression to relationships. The last thing I would want would be for them to remove the emotional drama they achieved in Skyward Sword in favor of a generic open world loose story like in games like Skyrim.

@Dr_Lugae Really? Never heard of either; not saying it's not true, just that I personally never thought that nor met anyone who did, so it surprises me. Kinda like how I originally loved the gamecube's design when announced (to me kinda resembling the Apple Cube at the time), then later finding out many people seemed to hate it and compare it to a Fisher Price toy

@IceClimbers I agree. All the games could easily work. But not by flipping a switch. You have Darunia who makes Link his brother and names his son after him. You have Ruto who is constantly teasing him about their engagement. You have Mido who is jealous of his relationship with Saria (Groose jealous with Zelda). You have Telma flirting with Link all the time and making him uncomfortable. I could keep going...

Could all of those things be done with a female character as the hero? Of course they could! Could you just swap out the gender in those games and leave everything as is and have it still work? No. That is what I am getting at here. I am fine with them having a female hero, but having the game be neutral in every aspect because the player could choose either gender will be a shame. I just don't see Nintendo taking the time to really make two games so that both genders get equal love. If they do, I'll bite my words and gladly play the game twice.

@able_to_think
Hahaha well said. And if Link is female I'm really hoping she is more hardcore and tough like Lara Croft or Samus instead of the cutsie, annoying Linkle type that is so in right now in games. Nintendo could always use another tough female lead. If it goes that direction...give me a woman, not a girl.

You can chose which one to get? That's a rather odd thing to see it's like she makes it sound like Nintendo forces one on you haha, maybe she means if you buy one you get the other free or with a discount? That's would be very sweet indeed!

As long as the voice acting is decent then I'm fine with it. And the Male and Female is a good idea too; but...I will wait until it comes from Nintendo's mouth.

NO voice acting!
"Hey, listen! Hey, listen! Listen to me Link! Stop hitting those chickens and listen to me!"

I hope that the voice acting can be turned off - not because it might be bad - just for that classic Zelda feel. Voice acting in Zelda is like a potential Kirby fps spinoff, which would not necessarily be bad, but a departure from the norm, which would take some getting used to at first.

I don't see what would be so bad about adding a female Link option. It's not like male Link is just going to disappear.

and I'd imagine male Link will continue being the canon option anyway.

If the gender choice is true then I think this is a good move forward. I grew up playing the game from the very beginning and feel like I have deep connect with Link. I'll stick with male, but it is great (if true) that it will make it easier for females to connect with the character.

As far as voice acting... I'm not too sure, it needs to be well done. Hopefully, like stated above, you can turn it off if you like.

@Dakt Because it's still a rumour and it's not official if they're just saying this stuff privately and not representing the company.

Seems kinda pointless to have a female Link, especially when we don't have gender bends of literally any other character. Unless Zelda becomes PRINCE Zelden when you choose Linkle, I don't want it. Voice acting is cool I guess. I'm glad they'll keep Link silent though

If it's on both systems I'd definitely get the more powerful version, so NX I'd assume. I'm cool with voice acting as long as it's done well. I don't get the need to make Link a girl but it seems to be a popular thing now, so probably going to happen. I never thought Samus should be a dude. Not looking for a big argument by the way, just stating my thought. I know Link was originally supposed to sort of be just an avatar sort of character but over 30 years of him being a guy would make him kind of unrecognizable otherwise. Maybe if they made Zelda a guy, but still. I'd just rather it be left alone.

I think it would be very endearing if a male and female protagonist situation were explained in the story as a brother/sister relationship, perhaps twins. Could lead to some interesting co-op play as well.

@earthboundlink I was perfectly fine with voice acting until you said Tingle.

It would be cool to have a male or female choice as long as the stories are different so I have a reason to play it again with either or. It's cool if they make appearances in each other's story so that it's happening in the same universe. Like if I pick Link, I still want Linkle to exist in the story somehow and vice versa. Not just say it's either Link or Linkle ! Each story can have its own agenda, like Link saving Zelda/ Hyrule while Linkle is of doing something else for Hyrules cause. Having 2 characters with unique stories is like getting 2 games for the price of one

In terms of Link's gender I don't really want choice as silly as that may sound because all of the previous game's stories have been centered around a single character becoming the hero of legend and having two just wouldn't make as much sense. I don't really care if Link is male or female, just make it focused on one or the other. As for voice acting I am ok with it as long as Link remains silent, the other characters could benefit greatly from having their own voices so I am all for that. It is pretty safe to assume that the NX rumor is very real because as they say, where there is smoke, there is fire though I hope us Wii U owners aren't left out in the cold with an inferior version.

@Locke159 Why? What's wrong with choice?

I hope the gender options rumor isn't true. SJW morons are being granted WAY too much influence and should just go away because its dumb. I would have no problem if they made a Zelda game with a playable Zelda character as the protagonist, but don't change Link who has always been male. Are they going to change Mario and Luigi to trans characters next? STAHP!

Choosing a gender would be awesome.... But then again, Nin/Japan will piss me off by making her grossly sexualized... Instead of just wearing the exact same clothes.

@IceClimbers @Shadowkiller97 Female Link on Wii U, male on NX, problem solved.

I know that sounds like a joke, but I'm serious. It could alter the stories just enough to get people to play both, like the minor differences in the Pokémon games. Could sell more copies that way, and the haters opposed to a female might rush to buy a NX. If they do it the other way it will look bad, why should woman have to buy a new console to play as female Link?

No Linkle though, it's Link, the reincarnated Hero. I don't see any problem with a girl named Link, seems gender neutral to me.

Voice acting, you say?

Personally, Link will always be a guy in my mind and that will never change.

With that said, I suppose having the option for those who want it can't hurt anything.

I've been saying this for months- Zelda is going to be a Wii U/NX release.

I dont mind voice acting as long as they keep the text balloon form so I could skip through the conversation by only reading. voice acting just slows a game way down and makes it needlessly long-winded.

I grow increasingly tired of waiting through 6-10 minutes of badly written conversations. MGS went on overload with that.

Don't care about gender choice, that's fine with me. Would be cool if the female option is Linkle with her own set of weapons/attacks. If they have splitscreen co-op...all my moneys

I'll be getting the nx version if given a choice. Now if only Nintendo would finally start talking about it...

@HopeNForever Linkle was given a different combat style in Hyrule Warriors Legends for the sake of having a different character gameplay wise in said game. In a mainline Zelda, it doesn't really matter. Give her the Master Sword, and she'd play like Link. Give him the dual crossbows, and he'd play like Linkle.

They should totally have the dual crossbows as an option, by the way.

@BensonUii And why couldn't the story be written just as usual regardless of gender? Link has never been written as a big straight macho (he's actually pretty neutral in every way except good/evil) nor should a girl link be all about butterflies, rose and extroverted emotions. Imo it's pure bs that gender should add any difference to an adventurer such as Link. Except for the little 'she' and 'he' replaced here and there in the script

Beside... Link has NEVER shown any typical male behaviors beside blushing to a big cleavaged-lady. Unless you consider the cartoon in which he clearly wants to sleep with Zelda.

@Jayvir why do you need to have a prince zelda if you choose female link? Haven't you heard of homosexual relantionships?

I hated Linkle!...but mostly due to the fact that words came out of her mouth. She can be the hero of legend, she just can't talk.

If this is true, I'm pretty happy they are trying something different.

A choice would be brilliant. There is nothing to Link as a character personality wise so I don't see why anyone should have a problem with it. The Hero of Time is always a different person, it's not the same situation as Mario or Samus.

@meh1234 why does it need to be a romantic relationship? Only one game in the entire series has Link and Zelda as such. I only brought it up because of Nintendo and fans are so intent on making Link a woman, then they should be equally as intent to make Zelda a man too. However, that's not good enough for people. Can't have a woman be replaced by a man, now can we?

NX seemed inevitable.

Voice acting would be great.

Sex option not so much (it's "sex" not "gender" everyone. Gender is masculine/feminine. Sex is male/female. Link is already quite feminine.)
We've got enough games with a character choice nowadays. It's actually more than the number of games with a set character if you run the statistics. This ALWAYS detracts from storytelling. Every single time.
Ok so if they're doing a story-light game like ALBW, it'd be fine. But Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess? No way. The set character is absolutely key for dialogue and character relationships.

What's the big deal choosing between Link or Zelda? Like choosing Mario or Peach in 3D World

Oh God, please no voice acting. Or if you have to (I know some people prefer VA), at least make one of the options a Japanese audio track and keep the text in English. I cannot bear English (American) voice acting in games.

And no female Link either. Link's a boy, always has been - doesn't stop this woman wanting to play the games (although I know, sadly, that forcing a female Link with no male Link option would almost certainly cause the game to fail badly).

Put those resources into making a fun game with a female hero instead. Create a new IP with women saving the world while wearing reasonably sensible clothes. Probably nobody would buy it but me (and then only if the story and gameplay were good enough - but then again, Metroid sold pretty well with a female hero wearing sensible-ish clothes) but do something different, don't just repeat everything that's gone before with the only difference being the hero's gender. It's lazy.

@NinChocolate That I could go for. Play as Zelda and save Link from the forces of evil, works for me.

Oh no...if there's really voice acting in the game I hope it's Midna-esque babble. An option to turn it off completely would be great, too.

I just want something official from Nintendo. A teaser, a press release, a screenshot. Just something that I can believe in..

@Jayvir But by that logic all of the characters would need to have their gender changed. Link changing genders is not a big of a deal because he has almost no personality, he's a silent avatar of the player, having both genders makes sense. As for the other characters, like Zelda, they have an identity of their own and changing their genders could result in completly different and uncharacteristic personalities.

@BensonUii Totally agree with your point here. A lot of "choose your hero/ine" RPGs have playable characters that are totally devoid of personality (looking at you, DQ9). Some of my recent favourites have been where I've played as a boy with a long back story (Return to Popolocrois) or as several people of differing genders and backgrounds (Bravely Default). A character, or set of characters, with... character. If the purpose of the game is to tell a story, as in LoZ, and the playable character is to be a genuine part of the story, then that character needs personality. I don't want or need every characer I play to look exactly like me and be exactly like me - games are an escape. I have to be me all damn day, let me be Agnes or Link or Pietro for a bit.

That said though, there still needs to be more female hero characters around. Some racial differences, preferably without stereotyping, wouldn't go amiss either. This is the 21st century, after all.

Voice acting can really kill a game for me, so hopefully if they go that route it would be well done. I like the weird grunts and random sounds the characters make in zelda, but I'm open to voice acting. Gender option is cool, Ive always wondered why games dont offer more customization. I don't know if I'll play as a female though, I really love Link, but the option is cool.
I'm always open to any direction a developer is trying to go in their new games, might as well try out something new. They obviously know games so if they think its a good idea then I'm excited to try it.

@BensonUii Don't worry, I'm not getting you wrong either. It's just this topic which is about to explode I think.

But in another game/book/movie with a hero being more developed and alive I would agree (Kinda. A warrior is a warrior still), but what I mostly meant is how Link has never shown a personality. So, why add more now that the hero can be both gender.

But tbh, I don't think I'd want a female hero with Nin because they suck at it. Samus is my childhood hero, now she's wearing latex, high heels and a whip lol.

That would be a smart move, a swan song for the Wii U and a good game to get early adopters on the NX because all it really needs is to be prettier and people will be on board.

Not sure how I feel about gender swapping Link, he's pretty much an established character. If they handle it well I don't mind, I'll still pick the male version and name him Link because my originality is on point. The only crime is if they make him/her right handed.

I don't care if you can choose between male, female or robot with tiny alien piloting it, I would prefer a set avatar. Part of the reason Xenoblade Chronicles X falls flat is because the main character is so generic, whereas the previous game at least had a personality that made the storytelling more compelling.

While some companies like BioWare can make it work, they have to work extra hard at it and even then you see a trend of them setting certain things in stone (like voice). Most however, fail to put the effort in that makes the interactions not seem generic. So we end up with a token choice that has no real impact outside of physical views and turns interactions into a bland flavorless thing.

A gender choice option is kind of questionable. For what purpose?

@Darknyht You must admit though, that Cross (Your hero in XenoX) could've been almost swapped with Link without any real difference lol. But all the characters surrounding you in X.. That's another thing.. They were cheesy, bland, cliché and lifeless.

A female Link, would be awesome.

I'm ok with the option for a female link. Voice acting done well obliviously would be nice, but not nesessary. In my opinion, reading makes you use your imagination more and sucks you into the story more then voice acting. I will be getting it on wii u before nx but it would be nice if there was incentives to get both.

@pazuzu I think those grunts, gasp and growling npcs do in LoZ is awesome and shouldn't change. They make that game more romantic.. Unless I'm biased by nostalgia.

Voice acting in loz would be a very hazardous route. I can see that easily falling down the cliff. I can't hear Ganon speaking without cringing.

I don't want voice acting in Zelda games. If that horrible Zelda cartoon from 1989 is any indication, yeah, screw that.

Gender option ? So you can change the pitch of Links grunts ? Great !

I'm fine with grunts. Less chance of ruining the experience than voice acting.

And a female Link is past due.

I can only accept this gender option thing, if it also switches Zelda's gender automatically.

The Legend of Zeldo: A Linkle to the NX

On the "Link is an established character" thing:

When most people use that argument, the counter is always "Link is a different character in almost every game, so there's no reason said hero couldn't be female."

True, in terms of Zelda lore/canon, Link's gender is not established as male.

However, those people weren't talking about Zelda lore. They were talking about Link as an icon in our universe. Link has been around for 30 years, and in people's minds and the brand, Link has been established as a male.

@Locke159 How can adding an 'option' be bad? Nothing is taken away.

@Locke159 I hope it does because it really won't change anything about the game and it's time the naysayers see that.

It's funny this VA rumor surfaced just when we were discussing XCX and its audio.
Give me KI: Uprising, and I'll suddenly ask for VA in every single game.
Give me XCX, and then, not so sure anymore...
Yeah, I can't make up my mind.

Maybe we could go for something similar to Fi's or Midna's speech? Without the added effects (reverb'...), obviously.

The multi-platform release however, it's great. It's probably the best thing to do. It's just sad the Wii U will be one of the very few console not to have its exclusive Zeldo.

@IceClimbers I'll argue the hero's garb, master sword, and hylian shield are more iconic than the avatar itself. The point is even made in the games multiple times when the avatar is given these items.

@Smokingspoon
Haha doesn't everyone consider grunting to be romantic? I like how they just sort shout one word and the rest is text bubble, maybe they could add a couple words and it wouldn't be too bad, but I don't know how I feel about whole conversations being voiced.
Linkle didn't seem sexualized so maybe they'd use her as a model. But who knows, maybe she finds the master heels and her Zora suit is a skimpy bikini.

It's about time if they do have voice acting. Playing TPHD right now and I just hate that the colourful cast of characters can't express themselves as well because you have to read the dialogue. Link should always remain silent but for cut-scenes they should breathe life into the characters with some voices.

@DizziParadise If it's a damn option then what's stopping you from continuing to play as a boy? Absoltuley nothing. You can continue on your merry way, ignoring the option to play as a female like it doesn't even exist.

Maybe playing games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, games where players can make many different choices, has opened my eyes to the realm of role playing in games. I know people who exclusively play as male Shepard, and they're not offended by the female's existence. I know people who only romance Liara, and again, they're not offended by the other choices.

Neither should you be.

@NintyMan She's not the one who leaked them though. Nintendo accidentally leaked Paper Mario prior to her saying it was happening and TP HD was found on the Wii U/eShop database. She's been wrong about multiple things in the past. What she says should be taken with a grain of salt.

@rjejr That would totally work on me! It would probably make me double dip... especially if the Wii U version was released first.

I am so incredibly over the argument of gender. I think the world has come has become ridiculous. I just want the game to come out. Link has been male for 30 years. Why not make a new IP with a female hero. Of course, Samus has been a female hero for 30 years. Let's make her male.

I wouldn't mind if these rumours are true.

Well actually thinking about it a bit more. Maybe it would be better to do a separate female hero instead of a female incarnation of Link. I'm not sure now.

Everything else is fine though some Wii U owners will be pi$$ed as they bought a Wii U specifically for Zelda U only for them now potentially to be told they needn't have bothered.

@fortius54 Samus has alway been Samus Aran though, not a different reincarnation ;P

What I'd like more than a female link is an adult link. Not a 17yo teen, not a very 'mature' 25yo (japanese standard in their pop culture lol), but a real seasoned adult.

Since Nintendo is making this gender choice for Zelda games, I would like the choice to pick a male character in the next Metroid and Bayonetta. Or is that not pc enough?

The choice between gender sounds nice but I'm afraid of the character becoming generic and the storyline being light to accomodate for this. Unless they change the relationships with certain characters depending on if you play as a girl or guy, I feel like Link's relationships with everyone will be strictly platonic and well... pretty bland. Like in Skyrim-- while you can marry people of the same sex-- your relationship with everyone outside of your spouse is bland and in XCX your avatar doesn't have much depth.

Like of course, a female Link can have feelings for Zelda (or any female character but I'm seeing more people voice romance towards her) just like a male one, but I don't see Nintendo doing something as progressive as non-het relationships in a series as big as Zelda, which is a shame. I mean maybe I'm wrong and Link's gender won't affect any possible romance (not that romance is very important in the series) in the game but realistically, I don't see Nintendo doing that if they go the 'choose a gender' route.

@Jazzer94 There were also some times she had reported on wrong rumours. Don't trust any rumour 100%, no matter where it comes from.

The dual release has seemed rather obvious to many for some time, including my own guess, but cool to see it all but confirmed from an insider.

Female Link I think will just make the character less interesting. If you could play as the companion, that would be fun. Someone in the style of Midna or Tetra would be great.

RIP Link.

Just like every time I can choose the gender of my character, I will go with a female Link if this rumour turns out to be true. I sure hope it will!

Come on playable Linkle in a main series Zelda game!

@boxofmilk

I would have no problem if there was a gender choice in Skyward Sword and the story and character interactions remained the same.

~_^

But honestly the times in Zelda games where Link's gender is relevant to relationships he has with other characters is few and far in between. I would like for it to become relevant, as I am pro relationship mechanics in many games, but so far is hasn't really been.

@Shadowkiller97 Wii U owners have been waiting years for Zelda U, they should get it first by at least 2 or 3 months. Zelda U in Oct, NX in Nov, Zelda NX in Feb or March with some new games at launch, not a port. That seems fair.

@Shadowkiller97 I completely agree.

@GrailUK I vote prince (maybe even king) Robin and princess Zelda. (See what I did there?)

But like isn't Link already androgynous as hell

This is why Nintendo is firing their staff; everyone talks too much. I doubt that people like rumors, because the ones that piss you off likely not to be true, and who needs that. People should keep their mouths shut.

I'd prefer they kept Link as the male he's been for the past 30 years and focus on having a nice, engaging story.
But if the option is there, I'll play as male Link and be happy for those that can play as female Link.
I just hope we don't get a trainwreck of a story. Many RPG with avatar characters feel a bit bland due to that.

YAY!

If they are really doing this, I want a male Samus in my next Metroid game

I really don't see why this should be considered a huge step in "the right" direction .... The only thing they are goind to achive with this is making their characters less iconic .... which is the biggest sellingpoint Nintendo has at the moment ...

But as long as I don't know if the game is any good, I will just sit here and wait.

Nothing new here , but I'm definitely glad it is getting ported to NX. I gave up on Wii U a long time ago (feels like a long time anyway). Also, this explains why we have Linkle in the 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors

@McGruber Dude an NX port is not confirmed.

I'm down for some female Link. How about we get a gender option for Zelda, too? I like the sound of a Prince Zelda.

@TheGoddesseshero Dude, you're right. But I believe it's coming regardless. And she's a good source

I recall Aonuma saying there will he no voice acting in Zelda Wii U. Like he said they considered it but decided against it. And he said this some time towards the end of last year. So I feel like it's hard to see these rumors as reliable now.

@LiamR so linkle?

The only thing that really disappoints me with these rumors is the fact that, if this is released on both the Wii U and NX, that means that the Wii U won't have a single original, exclusive, main title Zelda game on the Wii U. And not counting the Virtual Boy (because really, why would you count that?), that would make this the first and only Nintendo console to not have one original main title Zelda game. Zelda was a huge reason, if not the main reason a lot of people purchased a Wii U, so it's kind of a disappointment that the Wii U won't have a Zelda adventure to call its own

my options: (IF these are true)
Gender swapping? ohhhhhhh yeah,
voice acting? ...i just hope it's better
Wii U/NX version? not surprised

Sounds fine to me, bring it on. Hurry up and officially announce NX too so I can plop a preorder down on it and Zelda.

Voice Acting? Hmm Unsure although willing to accept.
Gender option? No. Link has always been a male and always should stay a male.

Sorry but this is totally crap if true.. Link is a dude ffs.. Instead of emasculating an iconic character they should instead let us play as Zelda as an option.

The feminist agenda is ruining popular culture by being completely short-sighted .. If you want to give women the notion of empowerment create plots that will actually give them that feeling rather than "ooh ooh here's link now make him into a chick"

Also I'm worried that having NPCs fully voiced but not link will start to feel like any other game out there.. Instead give us a plot point as to WHY Link can't speak if you're going to go down that road! Was it a curse? Accident? Was he born like that?

Its changes like this that would drum up some attention as opposed to "yet another Zelda game." Voice acting I'm okay with as Link (And I guess Linkle) will remain quiet.

And heck, no one says these things will stay in the series. Sunshine had voice acting in cutscenes after all...

@Dizzard Gender-swapping an established character amounts to the same thing as saying he was never important enough to be an established character in the first place.
It's the same as treating him as if he were an unimportant androgynous doll.

And that's just plain ****ing stupid.

I'm completely against a gender swapped Link.

Playing as Linkle, Zelda, or a new original female character made for a new Zelda game?
Sure!

But NOT AN ABOMINABLE GENDER-BENDER.

@CrazyMetroid THANK YOU.

I'm sick of people being "okay" with screwing up an established male role just to suit gender politics, rather than asking for a new female, or at least the opportunity to play as an already-established female.

Screw gender-benders; leave our Link alone!

They should be careful with the voice acting; most people feel they can give half-hearted, cheesy performances especially where fantasy settings are involved. It could be FFX bad and I'd hate that for a Zelda game.

The rest would be fine.

@DizziParadise Hylian doesn't feel like "standard" English American (AKA Californian/Midwest). I could see them doing Irish English--that'd be cool. Or Appalachian English! Depends on if they're rural or city folk.

All these rumors seem plausible. I don't get the girl Link, but that's okay. If it is true, I know the voice acting isn't going to be cheesy. I never did want Link to talk either. So I like these rumors. It seems like we all have been waiting forever for this game. I can't wait.

I would prefer Linkle and Link as playable characters, not just a generic "female Link".

@IceClimbers I get where you are coming from and would agree if Link was fleshed out as a character. Nintendo has set the Zelda world up with alternate timelines and "reincarnations" of past heroes that gender really is meaningless story-wise.

NO GOD, NO GOD PLEASE NO NO... NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Besides we all know the only reason any guy would choose the girl option to bring on some sexual fantasy.

@Jazzer94 Basically, my thoughts in a nutshell. The purists will be satly, and I'll use their salt to make popcorn.

Zeldablade chronicles z.

Won't feel Luke a Zelda anymore.... But I might like it..... :/

LOL at how many people are apparently uncomfortable with an option to play as a female Link. Characters like Mario and Samus are one thing, but Link is very different in nearly every game, not the same recurring person. As such, there is no reason at all, even based on the lore of the series, why a female couldn't be next hero. I think having a gender option would be very cool. Would probably encourage me to replay the game immediately after completing it the first time.

Gamergate has gone too far. If they want to integrate a female Link, keep it in a spinoff. There's no reason to force it down our throats in the main titles and completely change the dynamic.

Prince Zeld has been kidnapped by Ganonna and needs saving! Linkle to the rescue... :/

@greengecko007 It's not about being uncomfortable, it's about going away from a well established lore just to please gender politics.

Link always has been a blank slate character, what will change if you got a female and male choice ? Barely any Link are the same in each Zelda except some sequels like Majora's Mask and the Wind Waker trilogy, otherwise it's always a different reincarnation.

Even the lore don't mention a gender I think the established gender is just something the fan made from games that were not supposed to be linked before they decided to please the fans with that official timeline.

It's a choice it's not like you will be forced to use a female character. You want to play the classic male Link ? Then pick male other people will pick female and it change nothing about your view.

For Zelda genderswap it's different since she's from the same lineage that originated from Hylia taking on a human form. For Ganondorf or Ganon it's about the same since it comes from the Demon King curse and Ganon was born from Ganondorf desire of power.

I just don't get people being mad about a choice when they are not even forced to play the female character.

Please don't let it be Linkle, let it be Zelda in all her glory!

Ok one more asinine comment. Female playable character is Navi.

Is Nintendo secretly behind all these rumors? I mean mixing real and fake info to keep us all guessing.. Creating an atmosphere of such anticipation that when they finally reveal their secrets, ALL eyes will be on Nintendo. Kind of a genious marketing campaign if you ask me.

I would love to see a Zelda game where players can choose the gender of the Hero of Time.

We've seen Zelda take a more and more active role in the adventures, and this makes perfect sense.

Hell, I would be all for just having a female hero of time in this game PERIOD. However, that would make some people's heads explode.

@CrazyMetroid
It's not necessarily gender politics. People always assume that when the status quo is changed its because developers are kow-towing to some agenda. Maybe nintendo decided for themselves that they want to integrate a female main character for their series. Maybe they think they can reach a wider audience and make more money.
It's also might not be "a female link", they could introduce a new female hero of time, maybe Linkle, maybe someone new. Link would be the male option, and the female option is someone else. So its not just a gender swap, it's a choice between two different characters that allows you to play as you're preferred gender.
I personally don't see a problem having two different options as your hero of time. I don't know if I'd pick the other option because I'm partial to Link, but having that option doesn't really change the way I would enjoy the game.

No issues here with the gender option, if you don't like it, then just pick the guy Link, who cares?

Will wait and see if the NX version has more features, etc., this may be my first NX game.

Cool if there is going to be a female Link then we also need a male Zelda as well. You can't just put a vagina on Link and not throw in a penis to Zelda as well. If the man Zelda sounds too girly just rename him to Adlez.

I'd love to play as Zelda and have Link be kidnapped or whatever for a change.

As long as i can play as the badass Ganondorf, i don't mind, at all. But i don't believe the second rumor at all, nor the third one. Coming for NX aswell, i wouldn't be surprised, with how delayed the game keeps getting, it's soon not even coming out for WiiU. Pickable gender and Voice Acting? I doubt it, but would be cool if it was.

Only if Gilbert Gottfried voices every character, otherwise so sale!

Count me in on the crowd that's fine with Nintendo committing to either gender, but sees an "option" as a bland cop-out. I'd rather play a unique character with rich interactions with the world than some distant dummy that's supposed to represent me. I already have to put up with myself plenty, thank you very much.

And if Link's interactions with the world in past games have been tenuous... that's just all the more reason to jealously cling to what precious little characterization we can get.

Knowing how Nintendo loves to throw characterization under the bus these days to chase down every last PC brownie point, though, yeah, a gender choice seems like a foregone conclusion =/.

Face it: Zelda u will be on NX, or NX and Wii u. But it definitely won't be on Wii u alone!

I think the option to play as Linkle or Zelda is a cool idea. Probably won't do so myself but anyone who thinks this option is in someway harmful to the series is just being a drama princess (and not a Zelda or a Peach!). I'm more upset about it not being a Wii U exclusive because that means the Wii U will never have had an exclusive Zelda game which is a shame, but I do get that Nintendo has to make money,

If skyward sword had come out I wouldn't be concerned about gender but skyward sword made a real effort with story telling with the interaction between Link and Zelda. Now if true we can enjoy a game that will skirt round the players gender.

I'd rather we have a game we're we have a set gender I don't care which (currently enjoying the hell out of Tomb Raider) though this rumour dose hurt my dream of a Zelda/Shiek/Impa game

@aughra honestly Disinformation is probably the only way Nintendo can fight leakers in this digital age

Gender option sounds cool. For my money, it would just add to replayability.

I just hope they don't go with "Linkle." Awful name.

I would be careful not to get excited about these rumors, but Emily Rogers has generally been reputable.
I'd like to know when has she been wrong?

@aughra Well, if miss Rogers has legit sources, then the sources might be feeding her false info. But that damage the trust between Emily and the sources.

Including voice acting (and gender options for that matter) would mean that the dialogue has to written in a way to avoid saying the characters name (or referring to it by a gender pronoun).

Why do I keep looking at these articles? These are just the same theories that have been going around since forever.

@Action51 The generic Link is -not- the Hero of Time. The Hero of Time is an established male Link, specifically the one in OoT and MM (plus mentioned in WW). Just wanted to point that out.

@Locke159 Ah yes. The male experience will be completely ruined by knowing that somewhere on the disc lurks an equally canonical ending in which your sword-wielding fantasy blank slate was a girl.

@TheAdrock Link isn't one person though, it's just the title of hero that gets earned by several different male protagonists. It's not like the Link you played in A Link to the Past and the one you played in Ocarina of Time were ever interchangeable. If they're just reincarnated power (like the Avatar, for instance) then why should being a man be such an important part of it?

@meh1234 @retro_player_22 Honestly, in my memory not a ton of Zelda games ended in a relationship anyways. I might just lack imagination, but I rarely viewed Link and Zelda as being romantic in like, any of the titles. Skyward Sword supposedly gave them a relationship, but titles like OOT just sort of have her be an important figure who needs saving.

@TheAdrock Link isn't one person though, it's just the title of hero that gets earned by several different male protagonists. It's not like the Link you played in A Link to the Past and the one you played in Ocarina of Time were ever interchangeable. If they're just reincarnated power (like the Avatar, for instance) then why should the penis be such an important part of it?

@meh1234 @retro_player_22 Honestly, in my memory not a ton of Zelda games ended in a relationship anyways. I might just lack imagination, but I rarely viewed Link and Zelda as being romantic in like, any of the titles. Skyward Sword supposedly gave them a relationship, but titles like OOT just sort of have her be an important figure who needs saving, not necessarily dicking.

@3dsgeek333 I totally did mate! Nice one. I hope Nintendo remember to put a Robin Williams tribute in the game. A statue or something, somewhere in the world would be a lovely easter egg.

If these are true, then that's cool with me.

But to be honest - the writing's on the wall that it's going to be on both the WiiU and NX - unless Ninty really have lost their minds on this.

@Smokingspoon To an extent I would agree. Most of the character in Link comes from how people interact with him. It's the flirting the Princess in the Water Temple, the innocent crush Marion has, the motivation to save Ilia, and countless other actions that happen due to the gender of Link. A lot of those become something less without effort when the character is non-gender specific.

No problem here if any of these happen to come true. Sure hope there's an option to switch off voices, though.

Calling it now:

Link will be a Mii wearing green and you'll get to choose which size of pointy ears you want.

Yes! I've been asking for voice acting in a Zelda game for years now
and a choosable gender is always a great choice
Its an option, people! Stop acting like misogynistic bigots (especially you: a-hole GG supporters)

@LUIGITORNADO Not offended. Read my post #116 as to why I think a female Link option is a bad idea. In short, "choose your own character" characters in games, especially RPGs, generally have very little link (haha) to the story and no personality. This is fine for games like AC, where there is no plot, but if the playable character is going to be part of the actual story then it needs personality. So having the option of a female Link is a bad idea. I would be happy enough if the new game had a female Link as-written, with no option for male, because this would also fulfill that criteria - although I do think Nintendo would be shooting themselves in the foot of they did that.

If Link is just the player's avatar, then why not make him playable as black? Or Bangladeshi? Or a middle-aged, slightly overweight, mum of two? I don't need the characters in the games I play to look like me. Yes, I would like more strong female characters out there saving the world from the Forces of Darkness while wearing clothes that wouldn't trip them up or get caught in their sword, but I want them written as their own character, not a swappable, characterless, devoid-of-personality character designed to pander to the patronising and erroneous idea that to get more women into gaming you need to make established male characters playable as female.

@Haiassai I like the idea of Irish, or even Appalachian - so long as it's not over-the-top stereotyped. But really, I'd rather not have VA at all. It takes far longer to listen than to read, for one thing, and you also end up with the voice colouring how you feel about the character. In VLA, Clover's voice was so annoying that within a few minutes I hated hearing her. And I was playing with the Japanese VA! I tried the American/English VA and that was even worse.

I'd be fine with VA for LoZ so long as it's an option, not a requisite.

Seems like the franchise is trying to evolve, but some people don't want to.

Why?

Honestly, while I still don't put too much stock into rumors as a personal policy, I could easily see all three of these rumors working out.

Yes, if true, Zelda U coming to NX means that Wii U will likely lack its own main Zelda game. That being said, the Wii U experiencing disappointment is hardly even news at this point as far as I'm concerned, and if this rumor is true, at least it still gets the game.

As for voice acting, I don't particularly care if it's "not tradition," so long as it actually works. And considering this is a major home console Zelda game, Nintendo is totally going to put in the effort to ensure the voice acting is good.

It's the same deal with the female character choice. Even if this rumor is true, it need not mean Link's gender is malleable for this game. It could mean a version of Linkle is a playable character choice. All I know is, because this is a major home console Zelda game, Nintendo is going to make sure it works, if indeed it happens at all.

@Locke159 Ever gonna get around to answering everyone who wants to know why you take such a ridiculous position?

Yeah, I would not be cool with female Link. Link isn't an avatar, he is his own character and you shouldn't need to customize him. Any Zelda fan shouldn't WANT to customize him, because he's Link! Would Zelda be changed into a male if you chose female link? Yeah no thanks.

This isn't Skyrim, guys. I really wish people would stop comparing Zelda to American Open World RPG's. Totally different game.

@Fath

Agreed. Totally.

@retro_player_2

No, just no. Please.

@DizziParadise I find it odd. I fully agree with your comments about Link not being androgynous for the same reasons I disagree about your thoughts on VA. If done well (which is a key part), VA gives the characters more character. Sure, it's quicker to read, but if you speed read, do you really capture the essence of the person speaking or his/her environment? And adding your own voices in your head is the same idea of choosing Link to be a boy or girl. It gives you options, but lacks a fleshed out idea. I understand your fear about bad voice acting--I've definitely have heard my spoonful of weaksauce--but there are too many pros to have it out entirely. "Having the option" is a fair compromise, but even if it's less than par, I will choose VA over NVA

Soooo... What if Mario or Samus changed gender? Don't deny that it would be weird. Same EXACT thing with Link. If this happens I will be convinced Nintendo is breaking for PC brownie points. (FE Fates was the first example of this)

Leave the gender bending to DeviantArtists please.

The gender option is a great idea. I hope it's true.

Ah, this thread is a buzzword fest!

Better get a grip on your goodies, boys: Them evil feminists are coming at u like gender-bender SJWs with an evil agenda making corporations kowtow before their pc demands!

/smh

@meh1234 why does it always have to be Zelda? Just because link has a female option doesn't mean Zelda needs a male option. There are other characters besides Zelda in the game you know

Skyward sword was the only game Nintendo actually teased signs of affection in..

I'd prefer this iteration of Link simply be a female over giving a checkbox to the player. Or at least two distinct characters, so your second time playing could be different and the characters are different. If it is just a checkbox I have to admit I fear a bit of a generic approach to the character interactions. There is some natural relationship tension that develops with Link and who he interacts with in Ocarina and Twilight and even Wind Waker. It's usually somewhat subtle — I'm not looking at you Princess Ruto — and I like it that way, but you want the storytellers to be able to play with expectations that way.

You know, If I was given the task, I'd let Zelda and Link work together and have the player alternate play between them (maybe even cooperatively if you have a second person) and have them split up at times to take on parts of the adventure alone. Just have two main characters. I think many would just like to play Zelda! This way you get your cake and eat it too.

Still, as others have brought up Link is the hero of time and a different person in almost every single game. No reason whatsoever Link couldn't be female in many of the eras of this Legend.

Women and girls have been a huge part of gaming since the start — just not in the industry that creates them. For decades there was a misconception that the best way to make a game was to make something you, yourself, would like. So, it's no wonder that many games were tone deaf to some types of play that women might prefer.

All of the sudden people are up in arms because some women who have loved games their whole life would like people to recognize that and not ignore their preferences? What is so controversial about that?

What I find disappointing is those who lash out in response like someone invaded their treehouse — many of them seemingly adults who never grew up. It saddens me a bit because being a gamer in the early days made you sort of "nerdy" and possibly the target of ridicule and now that same group is targeting others who want in. To me, it's sad.

Sure there were some extremes from the women gamers "first" — plenty of stuff I disagreed with — but the alternative was to be ignored.

As far as conspiracies of having games ruined by a screaming minority. Hogwash. Publishers and developers have been leaving money on the table and are slowly awakening to it.

@Haiassai I think maybe my issue with VA is that is is nearly always American. I am English. Some characters speak in Yorkshire in my head, some in Zummerzet or Deb'n, some in Norf Lahnden innit. Swapping any of those for any other of those wouldn't be as big a disconnect as having them all be American (and they all seem to me to be generic "American" - I can tell the difference between, for example, a New Jersey accent and an Alabama one, but no VA I can recall has ever really used the rich variety of American accents, just this generic non-accent that any American will safely understand). I don't know why I have such an issue with this when I don't have an issue with Japanese VA, which I can't understand a word of apart from arigato. So just make it an option I can switch off and we'll all be happy.

@aaronsullivan I've been gaming since 1982. My favourites were always adventure games, like Beneath a Steel Sky and Simon the Sorcerer. Only one adventure game that I can recall had a female protagonist, and that was The Perils of Rosella. There have been more since, of course, but during my formative gaming years I was never able to play a female character apart from that one game. Even Manny the skeleton was male. The thing about all those characters though was that they had backstory, personality, they were part of the plot. Every "choose your own character" character I've played wasn't really part of the plot, certainly not part of any backstory, and had no personality. I personally would love to see more games where the protagonist is female, but not at the expense of having the character I am playing be so characterless as to not need an assigned gender.

I don't think it is right or fair to use an established male character for some kind of experiment in "getting more women into gaming" either. Let's have a LoZ game with Linkle as the protagonist, yes, I'd be all over that. Linkle is her own character, even if she is a Link spin-off. But is it possible to write a satisfying LoZ game story and dialogue where the player character can be either male or female and still have their own personality? I don't think so.

I will predict that, if Nintendo goes this route for Link, the story won't be as satisfying, the interactions with NPCs will be dull, and the ones who shout loudest about how much they hate the changes will be blaming "wimmin" for "ruining their game". We don't need a "choose your own Link" any more than we need a "choose your own Lara Croft" or "choose your own Jill Valentine". What we do need are more games with female protagonists who don't have to wear sexy outfits to save the world.

ETA I really like your Link and Zelda team up idea above. That would work for me too. They kind of did that, very slightly, in Spirit Tracks, and having that expanded would be good plot wise and gameplay wise, I think.

Not sure how I feel about voice acting, but as long as female Link is only an option, I think I'll be fine with that. Though I'd still prefer having a strong female character in the game besides Link. Why does there have to be a male and female version of everything?

NX version for this game is pretty obvious at this point in time.

I'd rather play as Zelda personally. Link has always been flatter than cardboard and making him female isn't going to change that. I want to see nuanced, capable female characters not cardboard cutouts. Women aren't suits put on top of male characters. If that is what the gaming world thinks female representation is then I can keep playing as Bland McBlandguy.
As for voice acting... Did literacy and imagination drop off a cliff somewhere and nobody sent me the memo? I can read and give the characters voices of my own, thanks. Pardon any typos...on my phone.

If this is meant to be inclusive, then give us full customisation of Link, so everyone can represent themselves.

The idea should be that anyone can rise up to be Link, regardless of what they look like.

@Ryu_Niiyama literacy has little to do with it. There are characters in an immersive environment that you interact with in multiple ways, yet when you want to argue or discuss something they all mumble and grunt while handing you a few written paragraphs. It's a disconnect that only exists because of limitations on presentation and budget that don't need to exist for most big games.

I still like it in abstract contexts. Games where you are already lending your imagination to fill it out. Pixel art games are already asking you to fill in blanks with imagination so when a Text box pops up its an easy transition.

When environments get more realistic it's increasingly odd that everyone communicates with long winded texts even though you are right next to them.

The biggest problem is that it interrupts games that are seamless and involving which I fully expect the next Zelda game to be.

@aaronsullivan hmm. Difference in viewpoint then. I find voice acting to be immersion breaking personally. I feel that it lessens the interactive component of games personally. Puts it that much closer to a movie on rails. Of the dialogue is long winded that is a writting issue that voice acting doesn't fix. It highlights it actually.

However, my being an avid reader likely influences my opinion. It is funny, I never thought that voice acting would be my "get off my lawn" trigger but it really, really is. Sigh, oh well.

I also don't see pixel art as too much more than lazy/low budget game design. Gaming is a visual medium; I don't want to flesh out the dev's half filled pixelated canvas. This applies to deliberately "retro" games. I'm ok with games that have hardware limitations.
To each her (or his) own I suppose.

Don't want voice acting. Zelda games are excellent at creating atmosphere. Voice acting will diminish that.

@CrazyMetroid I have a hard time believing that when there is nothing in this established lore that says Link can't be a girl. Especially if it were an option. My interest in playing as a female Link has nothing to do with politics whatsoever, and I'm not so unique of a person to imagine I'm the only one who feels that way.

@McGruber Yeah but there's also the fact the NX doesn't have a confirmed release and that it's coming out this year is just something people have convinced themselves of.

Gender choice wiil be a great thing in many aspects and should be part of the game. And I think it should go beyond a Link/Linkle choice: you could create a non specific gender character with plenty of customization.
Anyway, just an opinion above. The important is to bring some diversity so it will make us feel a much finer link as the main hero of the game and it's characterization.
I personally noticed this when I saw my girlfriend playing ALBW. She was so involved into that world and gameplay that I had thought how cool it would be if that hero wasn't a boy, but instead could be any gender the player could choose. It was fine as a boy, but could be more engaging with a gender choice.

@FTPinkRabbit This is a PG website, let's refrain from using that kind of language. Also please don't triple post, that goes for you too @Moshugan

@Ryu_Niiyama
Right, if you enjoy reading in a game I'm not going to change your mind and it's not like I don't believe that you prefer it. I do question the reasoning behind the immersion factor a bit.

If I'm playing my game with voice acting and some character starts talking to help advance the story I sometimes don't even have to stop controlling my player and playing. Trine with the narrator for a quick example. The alternative, a text pop-up, requires the player to stop everything. So, you literally aren't playing a game anymore. You have switched to reading. To me that's more immersion-breaking to you it is not. I suspect it's because you prefer immersion through reading.

You say games are a visual medium, but sound plays an important role and I'll make the brave assumption that you don't play the game with your audio muted. Why does everything make a sound but talking? It's just an incongruous choice to me.

The pixel art thing. It's an abstraction. Books are always asking you to fill in the blanks, visual and otherwise. Complaining about half-filled art when you are an avid reader is so discordant! That's how us humans are, though and you are far from alone on that one!

How do you feel about art-styles besides attempts at photo realism? They are also abstractions asking you to fill in the the missing information.

I think there are some game types where reading as the main source of immersion is fantastic. Particularly hacking style games where you are sifting through information and researching and the story is told between the lines. Love that. Zelda, to me, would be improved by having creatures and people talking when they should. I say save the in-game reading for things that are written in the world.

And the title. I'll happily read the title screen.

Copy/Pasted from the other Article on Gender Choice:

Link has been a well handled character (yes, character, not avatar). Male, but not hyper-masculine, somewhat feminine in appearance. I remember an old thread discussing how his appearance was almost androgynous. He could play the typical hero-character in the classic "hero saves princess" story. Games could contain a hint of romance (Malon, Zelda, and Ruto in OoT; Tetra/Zelda and maybe Medley in WW; Ilia, Zelda, and Midna in TP; Zelda in SS). The games have had innumerable strong female characters.
I'm afraid this attempt is going to shave away some of those more subtle parts of Link's personality, which at least gave an indication that there was a bit more to him. That said, if they are going to add the option, they better make it meaningful. Other games with characters of customizable gender (Mass Effect, Fallout, etc.) used these differences to effect the narrative and the interactions the player could have. The difference added to how the player could interact with the world. I place doubt in Nintendo doing anything like this. A model swap and a few pronoun switches is all I'm expecting. And for addition of some boobs, a few s's in front of "he", they'll erase any hints that Link is anything more than a "blank-slate". I'd like to be surprised, but I'm not optimistic about it.
Then there's still the issue of continuity. You're forced to either never mention the events of the game, do so vaguely, or take one course of events as "canon" (unless they want to make the timeline an even more confusing mess than the family tree in "I'm My Own Grandpa"). Link is an established character and the face (though not a name) of the franchise. I'd rather see this not happen and if it does, it'll have to prove to be a meaningful addition.
I just don't want to see artistic vision trampled for progressivism's sake. If this is their vision and they are truly impassioned to make this an addition to the game, I'm for it. If this is just them thinking "well, people seem to want it, so we'll just adjust the game to fit it in", then it's a misfortune.

[Exeunt SomeBitTripFan]
(Thus concludes my somewhat dramatic ramble/rant. Take from it what you will.)

(Bonus) Jocular Desperate Point: This will make the whole issue with "It's called 'The Legend of Zelda', so his name is Zelda" that much more of an issue. I HATE having to correct people on the internet who would even SUGGEST that Link's name is Zelda, let alone those idiots who name him anything other than "Link" in their game files!

@aaronsullivan: There's actually a notable difference. Books can still provide rich detail about an object, room, person, or any other noun/verb. The person has to mentally fill in some details, but many are provided or can be provided through the text. Some thing rendered in pixel art is, essentially, just less detailed. It has details, and the artist had to put effort into making those details, but you're really just looking at a less detailed object. The difference is that the reader has to envision and construct the details and take liberties where detail is not given. Something depicted with pixel art just isn't very detailed (speaking exclusively about minimalist "retro" pixel art, not high-detail, potentially stylistic art rendered as sprites). I hope I communicated that clearly. I can try to give an example if you need it.

As for voice acting, I'm a fan of the style Zelda games currently use. The short clips give enough of a sense of what the character is like, but you aren't beat over the head with it. I'm scared to imagine a fully voice-acted interaction with a character like Tingle, Beetle, or some of Zelda's other unusual characters. I could imagine it getting irritating. I don't have confidence in Nintendo hiring a talented group of voice actors either. To be honest, there's great potential for voice acting, but it seems like it's used just a way for someone to read a text box aloud. It's nice, given a talented voice actor, but it could be used for greater purposes. I'd be incredible to walk through Hyrule Castle Town, just overhearing bits of conversation--about the weather, some bad joke, or maybe an interesting rumor (which could lead to a side quest, game progression or a reward), or just flesh out the game world. Games already do this, to some degree, with text but you often have to speak directly to the person or quickly read the floating text (or text box, there's something like this in XCX) and there's some little indication that something is important or you get something like "I saw something glittering in the cave near Hyrule Castle. I wonder if there's treasure there". Just imagine if you picked all that up just hearing it in idle conversation as you walked down a street. If there's any game that does this, please let me know. I may just be repeating what @aaronsullivan said here, but I felt this example made a good case for what he was saying.

I'm surprised it's taken so long to offer a playable female character. I mean, the actual series is named for a female so it seems logical.

The reality is that the new game will be on NX. It would be nonsensical of Nintendo to put their flagship game on a dead console only. Not sure why any Nintendo fan would not want NX to stand the best chance of success, however loyal they felt to Wii U.

As for voice acting, that sounds fair enough, although let's hope the Western voices are a bit more convincing than Xenoblade Chronicles X!

It's no rumor because even IGN has posted it on there website as coming out in 2016 and if it was even close to being a rumor they would never post that at all. They are very strict about everything they do so if they posted it, it is 100% legit trust me

I love the idea of male or female. I play all the souls games with both so why not Zelda?? I think it's awesome and hell yeah 2 thumbs up on the voice sounds. IMO it should of been done years ago since all the other games have been doing it for a decade now.

@Josaku That's... Kind of a good point actually.

Link may be a little different each time, but we do all know him as "Fairy Boy". Once it becomes knowing "them" rather than "him", the line begins to blur. Sure some characters get away with it, like Commander Shepherd but generally gender is a pretty standout factor in a recurring design.

Huh.

@Ichiyama Ditto. I don't mind brief clips like the ones used by Beedle or Navi, but generally I find the characters to be more charming the way they are, kind of hard to place a finger on why.

The voice acting better be in Hylian

@SomeBitTripFan
On the voice acting, my frustration with Nintendo has always been that if they did embrace it, I'd expect them to apply it in ways other studios don't. Using it as an integral part of play, using it to streamline the hand-holding. Just imagine if all those tips the helper character (Navi, Fi, etc.) gave you were just organically stated as you were still playing rather than interrupting the flow.

I think Shigeru Miyamoto's apparent disdain for story in games has more to do with how it stalls the play than anything else, and here we have a way to satisfy gamers' expectations and hopes for deeper stories while interrupting the game play less. Plenty of games have been doing this for a long time. Nintendo has seemed poised to do so. Frustrating from the outside by I imagine many on the inside of Nintendo feel the same way.

@SomeBitTripFan
Just quibbling on the pixel art reading vs. from a book comparison.

First, bad writing has the same problem as bad pixel art in that it isn't suggestive to the imagination but simply direct representation. There's another facet to this as well, though. Essentially, the written text in games we are talking about is dialog. It's dialog. Which is more representational than abstract in writing when it's quoted speech. Which is exactly what we are talking about replacing.

There is room for the imagination of how they sound, and what their expression is in writing, but frankly, in the Zelda games, that is already given to us through grunts and sounds and animations. So, replacing quoted speech in text boxes with voice is losing very little to nothing in the way of imaginative interactivity for the player in this particular case.

Where good, suggestive pixel art leaves plenty to the imagination and replacing that with more and more realistic art in games or photorealism tends to separate the player from the action and make them feel like more of an onlooker.

I think people's aversion to pixel art is that there is a switch in their brain they flipped long ago that told them it was a lazy approach only necessary in the past for technical limitations and there is no attempt to find the beauty or meaning in it. That's pretty hard to undo and there's plenty of poor examples out there to reinforce their notion. For some, it's the opposite, where it is full of nostalgia for a time when all computer imagery was this way and they are accustomed to that experience in the mind where it is fleshed out into something expanded and personal. It's natural for them to see games with pixel art and slip right into that favored activity again.

People are different! Go figure!

Nice conversation on here where it has had the potential to be so heated.

What strikes me as odd is, we've known about this game for about two years. There are all these rumours and tidbits of info flying around. But, we don't even know the full title of this game yet.

Well, bar a few entries in the series each Link is an entirely different person, so giving the option of choosing a gender for Link is such an obvious thing to do to keep everyone happy.

But doing the obvious things fans are clamouring for isn't Nintendo's thing at the moment so who knows?

@GammaPhonic
From a fan's point of view it may seem odd, but from the view of the creators of the game, that's often the last decision you make after you know more about your game, how it stands out among competitors and previous games in the series. What is likely to excite gamers in the time it's released rather than when it was started. It's marketing. It should be able to change at the last minute if necessary, imo.

In this case, even if they had a title, the whole Wii U vs. NX vs. both has even made the code name dicey.

Can someone tell me what Emily Rogers track record is? The only thing people have been telling me is that she was right about Paper Mario Color Splash and TP HD but both were leaked prior to her talking about them. Like Paper Mario was leaked and rumored 8 months prior to her taking the credit for it, and TP Hd was found on the eShop database before she said anything about it. So it's hard for me to know how reliable she is when most of the things she apparently leaks were already around.

Whatever. I'll guess I'll find out when the game comes out. Don't want to start pulling my hair too soon. A new trailer would be good though, give us one Nintendo.

@aaronsullivan You question my reasoning behind the immersion factor? Aside from the fact that I am a totally different person than yourself and thus don’t consume and connect to media the same? Okay…

If I’m playing a game and I have to listen to someone prattle on about an exposition of plot, something I can read in a few seconds mind you; I have to stop (or at least switch mental gears) and actually pay attention to what the person is saying which for me means I’m not playing anymore. I’m listening to make sure I don’t miss something that is plot relevant. For me that is immersion breaking to the point of being jarring most of the time. Sound plays a role in notifying me if danger is coming or if there is some plot specific sound…similar to rumble. Or to give me a nice OST to look for to listen to on my down time later. Other than that the only time sound is important to me is when I’m doing sound runs. (which is playing a game with my eye closed with the music as my only queue. Shinobi 3 is my favorite game to do this with…as I did it a lot as a child while my mom did my hair.) As for why does everything make a sound except talking? Why is there music? I don’t know too many people that have a running soundtrack in their heads in RL so why is that acceptable when my aversion to voice acting isn’t?

Also again when I read I supply the voice (mentally) so for me I can put a voice that I personally feels fits the character…voice acting ruins that. You wouldn’t really win that bet about me muting games. I either turn off voices when I can or mute and turn on subtitles when I can’t. Every now and then I’ll get a game that I don’t mind too much voice acting in but sadly it is from a more base reasoning or extreme familiarity (so attraction, or I grew up hearing that voice actor…Jennifer Hale fits both for me). I’m very introverted (not a hermit but I can go days without speaking if I don’t have to work) and perhaps that has some influence, but voices play a very key role in how well I can tolerate someone (this includes games and tv shows).

Pixel art due to hardware limits is very much an abstraction in so much that it isn’t realistic. The devs didn’t have what they needed to build the world in their heads. However, when I play a game I’m not filling in the world mentally. Why would I? The world that the development team was able to present is staring me in the face. I don’t play chrono trigger and see an anime drawn by Akira Toriyama…I see sprites…that’s it. As such, I am not really sure why my dislike of low quality pixels is deemed discordant. I don’t like books that are poorly written either. Also, books are not an abstraction (at least not the good ones in my opinion). The writer is describing the scene to you. They are telling you exactly what is there…seeing it in your mind’s eye doesn’t mean you filled in the blanks…it means that the author described the scene well and you as a reader comprehended the description. So I don’t understand your confusion or objection at all to my viewpoint. Don’t get me wrong I like some pixels and hand drawn art; I’m a huge fighting game fan so I adore games like blazeblu or old SNK games (which have great pixel art but they also pushed hardware limits).

As far as artstyles in games go, like anything else it depends upon the artstyle used. I love vaniliaware games because of the art used, but that isn’t the same as a poorly designed 8 bit game (or a retro!Indie game) or a AAA game with poor textures (somebody has gotta help Bethesda out with that). An artstyle isn’t asking you to fill in anything…again it is an art style…that depiction is the extent of the world that you are playing in.
Like I said before: To each her or his own. I maintain that I prefer to play games without Voice acting; or at the very least give me the option to turn it off. I still don’t see how LoZ would be improved by voice acting. Perhaps it is because I view it as an interactive myth and consume it as such. To me voice acting in a LoZ game is like someone playing an audiotape, while I’m actually reading the book. There are too many voices going on at one time and not in the same cadence. For me it is jarring and immersion breaking. For you its one less thing to read. Like I said in my original rebuttal: different viewpoint then.

Also can we get a spin off game about the Sheikah or any of the other races of Hyrule? Why change Link when you have other characters that have stories that can be told? I would love to play as Impa and find out exactly what happened to the rest of her people. Or even Zelda trying to find out what happened to them. I know she is busying running a kingdom and ducking Ganon but I think that would be a pretty interesting game.

@Ryu_Niiyama Not objecting to your viewpoints or judging! Just trying to understand. You're interesting.

On the book thing, I still maintain that most require a huge amount of filling-in-the-blanks as most writing gives nods and suggestions in descriptions to set you off towards a feeling for situations and environments and don't explain every detail. One reason why characters and locations in movies based on books get such varied reactions from readers.

For me, I talk to people all the time while doing other things but I can't seem to read while doing anything else but sip some coffee or adjust my position for comfort.

I commented on related stuff earlier and almost included you. Should have because we touch on similar subjects.

An Impa game would be great. Hyrule Warriors version maybe. She rocked in Skyward Sword.

@aaronsullivan Fair enough. I just wanted to clearly respond to each of your points in turn. I'm a little blunt, but rarely mad.

I'd say that characters in movies based on books get varied reactions because it is impossible to translate a book to movie one to one. For one, the movie is trying to turn a profit and they will make changes to accommodate that for better or for worse. All male cast? Time for chickafication! No people of color? Somebody is about to get an increase in eumelanin! Everybody heterosexual? Somebody will at least be bi (just remember lesbians require bulletproof vests)! Are just a few examples that cause positive or negative uproar (usually both) when something jumps from one form of media to another.

Plus actors are miming a role but they will never encapsulate it. How many times do you see folks complaining on the internet about an actor's portrayal of a character or why they should or should not have been picked? Short of animated movies (and even they fall short) there are too many outside variables involved that just doesn't exist when you deal with author, editor and publisher. I never watch a movie hoping it will be like the book. I merely hope that it is vaguely recognizable and beyond that entertaining on its own merit. Otherwise I would never be able to watch comic book movies or shows and I really would have issues with video game movies.

I think otherwise we will have to agree to disagree on how books are interpreted. If people fill in the blanks it is due to their own bias and not necessarily due to the wording of the passage. If I describe something as "blue" (the color, not the mood) your mind may supply cerulean blue when I meant true blue. But my description is accurate: your interpretation is not. Which isn't bad...its just not what I said.

As for reading I prefer to read with music, or in absolute silence, or while walking (I'm not kidding). But I can tune out just about anything when reading so it really doesn't matter either way. Green tea for me, thanks.

Yes to HW Impa in anything! HW is like the anti-Link for me... I spend most that game going "why is HE the hero again?". I have always interpreted Zelda and Impa as pretty bada$$ in most of their incarnations...its only the fact that they are dealing with the undying root of all evil that Link (and the blade of evil's bane) is even needed. Which is why I object to gender swapping him just to check the representation box. I really, really wish there were more female voices in professional gaming to get the point across that we aren't looking for bland guys in drag. If I could stomach the rampant misogyny I'd have gone into the field. Alas I'd only be good as a code monkey and the code monkey's don't write the storyboards.

@Locke159 I'm not trying to sound rude, but why do you not agree with gender choice in Zelda?

@Locke159 You're obviously looking for opposing views, and we are all taking the bait.

I think the reason a gender-selectable character bothers me so little here, is that Link doesn't have a defined character in terms of speech or mannerisms...he is defined by his heroic actions and adventures (which is fine for a video game!).

Also, the Legend of Zelda series has a messed up time-line with multiple heroes donning the outfit and wielding the Master Sword over many ages.

Now, this doesn't work with a character like Bayonetta or Serious Sam who are defined by their quirks and dialogue...but it doesn't bother me at all for a silent protagonist.

If Link becomes female-possible then Ganon and Zelda have to be able to change too, which throws off the whole origin of how things began in Skyward Sword. But what do I know

I'm in the camp that wants one or the other.

I just feel like the game would be better if one is picked. I would love to play as a female Link and learn more lore from the Zelda Universe. I just don't want the game, as others have already said, to be generalized for both gender options. I want the game to be as great as it can be crafted around who that incarnation of Link is.

Just as an example, I feel that many of the Zelda games would be way different if Link was female or if Link had the option between male and female. The interaction with Ruto would be way different in Ocarina of Time. The whole story would be different for Skyward Sword. Heck, Link's interactions in Twilight Princess would even be different.

@Ryu_Niiyama I don't know which would cause more outrage; changing Link's gender or replacing Link altogether. :'D

@Moshugan replacing him would require the mythos to change or a different villian. The series revolves around the trinity of link, zelda and ganon. Anytime one is removed the setting or villian tends to change. Changing Link's sex allows the mythos to continue but it opens up other dynamics people aren't considering. Most people consider link and zelda to be a romantic pair no matter the incarnation (i don't personally but i think that stems from my lack of interest or ability in reading heterosexual social queues). If link is female that doesn't mean that zelda will get sex swapped. In fact as the princess of destiny and reincarnation of her grace i'd say if anyone has a set sex it is her. Are they going to make link homosexual? If they chose not do then the question becomes why is that not a natural valid option given that these two souls are bound to each other? Lesbian relationships are rarely positively portrayed in media so then nintendo has to alter their perceived dynamic. Messy business all around. I still say flesh out an existing female character or put a game in the failed hero timeline to accomdate a possible character dynamic change.

Well.. I really think that a gender choice would be stupid. Link is in fact The Hero, not Heroine. Don't fix it if it ain't broken right?

But.. I could go for a gender choice, if it meant that you could choose a Female Protagonist, that is not depicted as a female Link. But as a Original woman/girl character, that has a key part to the new story. And in that way, see some other things that we necessarily wouldn't see playing as Link.

For me Link is a dude, no matter what people want him to be.
And it is also funny how people call Linkle a "Female Link". She isn't. She is Original with a not-so original name! Hah.