E3 2016: Nintendo E3 Zelda Badge Appears to Suggest Male and Female Link

Cue the arguments. I'm fine with letting the players choose what gender Link is, and I would select the same gender as myself.

Ehhhh

I'm not seeing it

The hair is pretty much the same, just looks different with the hood

That said, the rumors of a female protagonist have been pretty strong and I wouldn't be surprised either way

I honestly don't care. And think it's very cool.

Interesting

The thing I'm interested in is why the Link(s) seem to be right handed in this artwork. And I don't have a problem with a gender option like most people and I just think it's a cool feature.

We'll find out soon enough. Looking forward to it.

I'd like the option, but that image just looks like link with a hood.

So they went with the Linkle design of giving female Link a hood instead of a hat.

But if that is female Link, at least from what we can see, her face looks a lot more manly than Linkle.

I don't really see the purpose of having the choice. What difference does it make? Plenty of guys play as female characters like Samus or Lightning. If games with female protagonists suddenly featured a male option I don't think people would be as welcoming...

The one on the right was taken from the latest artwork posted to Facebook... No one mention female then... https://www.facebook.com/LegendofZelda/photos/a.171885779539227.41729.170177419710063/1095641537163642/?type=3&theater

Both look equally feminine/masculine tbh

I think that is very cool. Although I think it doesn't have the same impact as we finally discovering we have been playing with a girl, right Samus?

if gender selection is a thing, this will guarantee a pre-order and day one purchase for me.

PROGRESS ♡

@BensonUii Indeed, that's his shoulder... lol

@BensonUii
some women have flat chests.
me, for example.

@EXP

That argument goes both ways.

It's because it doesn't make a difference that the choice existing doesn't really matter and is just an extra option for those who want it. Link has rarely ever been given enough personality for his gender to matter, which is why it's interchangeable.

That said, I am pro dating and relationship mechanics being added into Zelda games.

Gimme Lady Link, I'm very down with this.

@BensonUii I appreciate being given the option, and with the option one could always elect to play as the male avatar...

Eh...I'm just gonna wait until Nintendo says something about it themselves. Don't care either way, though.

NintendoLife, forgetting things they reported years ago

i have two questions please ... since i finished 3 zelda games only i know ... i played ocarina of time 3D / link between worlds and try forces and finished them all and soon will start major mask i guess

how link can be as female ? we know zelda game since 30 years ... isn't he suppose to be a male ? and zelda the female ? link beings female will change zelda history ? it's like saying you can play mario as female and male ?

and why nintendo never had voice acting for characters ? like never !!? whats the reason ?

@DarkKirby Whut? Dating in Zelda games? I think there are other games for that kind of thing. Just keep the Zelda franchise an action-adventure game.

I really don't like the idea of feminising male character just for appeal, or vice versa. I'd like to see original characters in original games. I also like to think that we live in an age where people can live with the decisions of the developers, I don't think every game needs character customisation. I think that's rather lazy to be honest; ''We can't create a solid character, do it yourself''.

@EXP "If games with female protagonists suddenly featured a male option I don't think people would be as welcoming..."
I never thought about it this way, and I think you could be onto something.

That said, as DarkKirby mentioned, Link is almost a clean slate.
I'm open to the idea of being able to chose a gender.
If canon is any important to anyone as it is to me, I'd say there is no reason why the spirit of the hero couldn't reincarnate in a female body

@BensonUii Can't relate to a mute character anyways.

@BensonUii linkle didn't really have any either...

Who even cares about nonsense like that really ?
Its not like the Zelda series has ever been character driven to begin with. Link could be an Oktorok and it wouldn't make much of a difference other than the traditional "prophecy of the goddess" falling flat on its bum.

If you can pick your gender, its pretty much a reboot or you're playing a random person and not "the chosen one". The blue clothes are a good hint for that too.

Be nice if they were twins...

Seems those rumors about being able to play as a female link were true indeed then. Well either way i would not have a problem whit that but those this mean that if you play as female link that zelda becomes a male then?

Hope this is true. Can't wait to play this as FemLink!

It just looks like Link from different perspectives to me. In the trailer they showed in 2014, Link was wearing that hood, and then he pulled it off and took the pose shown on the other side as he shot an arrow. As I recall (and this is where I might be mistaken), when asked, Aonuma said that the Link in the trailer was male.

While I'd prefer a male Link, because Link has always been male, being able to choose Link's gender won't make me less interested in getting the game.

Can we stop with the stuff, speculative, unsubstantiated clickbait headlines? This is not the reason that I started using Nintendo Life as my go-to website for Nintendo news.

@Octane Ok, you make a lot of sense, and the "lazy design" is a reality for a lot of forgettable protagonists.
If they give us the choice, I hope they make it so that the story makes sense, like the brother and sister/twins theory

I guess I'm really on the "whatever" side, I will be happy if they include the option, but won't be sad if they don't

@peeks Technically Link is only seen upon as a male because that's the only representation Link has been given, but as Link is reincarnated over and over again and never the same Link beside direct sequels I would say a female named Link isn't out of the question.

Of course if there are some lore in the Zelda series that says the Hero Spirit can only reincarnate as a male then I understand, but otherwise I don't see why Link could have a female counterpart though I do want her to be her own character as well and not a gender swap :+).

I do agree that it would be strange if a character like Sora from Kingdom Hearts suddenly turned into a female, but as Link have so many different versions I don't think Link can't be a female or to say having a female in the Zelda series named Link.

@Bobb There is this whole prophecy thing. Its always the reincarnation of the Hylia (which always comes down to the princess of Hyrule), the sole man born among the Gerudo tribe and the ancestor of Hylias male guard Hero (which always came down to the farmboy to soldier trope Link).

It has been this trinity for ages now (Both game release and ingame lore wise). It would take a bit of explaining why it suddenly changed.

@BensonUii Yup, i feel the same. XBX's silent protagonist basically ruined the game for me to be honest, especially since Shulk was such a refreshing and strong main.
I really don't care about a characters gender as long as it doesn't become overly trope heavy.

As for @CharlieSmile being "forced" to play X gender...who is forcing you to play the game anyways ?
Why play something you don't like ? And if you like it, what would such an insignificant change improve ?

@whiffy5 I'm sorry, come again? please explain what you mean?

@Octane Zelda: Witcher edition

i wish sites like this would stop with the click bait false rumours. A guy on the thread of the above tweet put the image of the hooded link over the image released last week. It's a perfect match.

They are BOTH male Links just one is wearing a hood and the other isn't....... This isn't proof of a female Link. If there is one then fine, but this isn't pointing at anything......

So when will paper Mario color splash come out

here is the image overlayed with the image from last week (from Twitter) https://twitter.com/dartsenthusiast/status/742112133467537409

@Bobb It's not the gender that's the issue for me, it's just the idea of more playable characters in general. I don't want a second playable male character either. @BensonUii made the argument already; Xenoblade X has completely forgettable playable characters, because there basically were none. Whereas Xenoblade has the iconic Shulk. Games with the strongest and more memorable characters never had a choice. I think that's completely fine and I therefore prefer it that way. I really don't hope they turn Link into an avatar, despite what people say about Link. It's a character; when you think of The Legend of Zelda; you think of Link.

Can we just wait until the all day Zelda blowout. It will pretty much answer all the questions we have and probably some we don't.

i'm sorry, but all i see is Link with a hoodie in a "different" "angle"...

@BensonUii (#12)

That's not a woman because she isn't riding side saddle.

I don't see any difference between the 2 images.

Why is everybody so obsessed with having a female Link. He's male, always has been. Leave him be. What next, female Mario? We'll call her Maria. No thanks. Or what about MegaWoman? Sonica? Mistress Chief?

It will result in, I won't say destruction but definitely a dilution of the character "if" it were to happen.

Edit: And another thing. The original source was this Tweet:

https://twitter.com/Sephazon/status/742092429193404416

But you used some other hack who Tweeted the same photos with wild speculation to make a sensationalist story out of nothing.

If anything is to happen it's that you can play as either Link or Zelda. End of story.

@crimsontadpoles I like the idea of picking the charecters gender, I just hope they have unique moves/skills/weapons to encourage replayability.

@Einherjar You are right, though I feel that Ganon hasn't been the "sole Gerudo man" for about half the games, but more the reincarnation of the beast. But I get what you mean, I really do.
@Octane I agreed with you on that, the game has always been about the same Link, and I also wouldn't like him going the forgettable main character path.

Getting myself back on the topic: I believe the picture really is the same person, from different artworks. It is just it sparked that good (bad?) old disscussion. Thanks for everybody who replied

@Wolf The hair wasn't quite as visible in the more zoomed out art. Here it's actually pretty clear that the Link in the right picture has longer hair, as that hair we see under the hood is too much for it to be his sideburns.

It'd be weird seeing Link as a girl, but whatever. As long as I get my hun, I don't care.

I don't have strong feelings one way or the other, so if they have gender choice I wouldn't complain. But having said that, this is just the same artwork we've already seen, with the same semi-androgynous probably-male Link that we've seen in the footage that's been released so far. Maybe Nintendo is hinting at something by having the two images in the lanyard like that, but if they are, then they've apparently been hiding the gender choice in plain sight all along.

If true, I have no problem with this when it's a choice. I'd have an issue if they'd went with only a female though, simply because Link is and always has been a male, and changing it now just for the sake of jumping on some pop bandwagon wouldn't be true to the series or authentic in the slightest. This, however, is totally fine and even welcome.

Now, how about at least the OPTION of having full voice acting in the game (although I can live without it for Link, since he represents the player, but it really needs to be there for everyone else at this point in time, if this franchise it to be taken truly seriously in 2016 and remain fully relevant and competitive)?

Is this like a Roarscach test or something? Cos I see the same character twice.

@Bobb Hes still always been a male Gerudo, while the Gerudo are, in general, an all female race, which is why Ganandorfs birth generally spells doom.

Like i said, they can write themselves out of this tradition, sure.
But history has shown that something like that brings with it more risks than benefits.

@PtM Im glad you read my posts and didn't just post some random nonsense, much appreciated

@BensonUii im not getting it because its like the middle of the night where i am

@Dezzy Hair is clearly longer in the right picture - those are not sideburns. Although I'll give it to you that their faces look almost the same to me.

I don't know, I think a lot of it has to do with angle difference between the two. We shall see.

Listen, if they make two Links, with one being male and the other female, I think that kinda ruins the character. When it's for someone you can customize that's fine because they are supposed to represent the player. Link is basically his own character with the idea that you can give him a personality. A new female character would be better IMO. It would be like giving the option of a female Mario or male Samus. BTW I'm not against the idea of a female character, but I would want it to be a new character and not just a girl Link.

It's pointless discussing whether the one on the right is a female, since it's impossible to reach a definitive answer/conclusion at the moment. It's best to simply wait and see at this point.

Come one, it's obviously the same character. I'm pretty sure the female version would be notably more feminine.

I don't mind if they don't do this, but I would be happy with it. I guess we'll just have to see.

Looks like the same person to me. This Link always looked very androgynous since the first video.

I really hope we get to pick though. With Link there's no reason not too. Link is a different person each time (well, most times) so I welcome the choice for those who want it.

Hopefully we'll find out soon.

@PtM Because i basically said the same thing
Link is a completely blank slate as is already. His gender serves but one purpose: To play into the whole prophecy thing, and that has been established canon forever.

Other than that, the gender really doesn't have any impact what so ever. If it would change or not wouldn't have impact on the character either, just on the established lore and people usually get a little nervous when we enter retcon / reboot territory.

What i DID say is that these "avatar characters" generally tend to drag down fixed narrative games.
In WRPGs like, say, The Elder Scrolls where you basically define the games progress by your actions, its perfectly fine to have an empty character.

But like others have said too, Xenoblade X suffered a good bit in the story department because of exactly that. A fixed narrative and a silent protagonist usually doen't mix all that well if you don't have a top notch writing team on speaddial.

Not convinced that isn't just a different costume? Surely a female playable character would be Linkle? Or is she getting a gritty reboot for this?

@YorkshireNed As far as i know, the rights to Linkle lie with OmegaForce / Koei and they are not co-developing this title.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Who cares. We'll find out soon enough anyways.

@YorkshireNed Linkle was never meant to be a female version of Link but rather a separate character - nor is she canon. If a female Link were to happen there is no reason why she should resemble Linkle.

@DiscoGentleman Seriously, do you guys not see the longer hair? Now that the picture is zoomed in I think it's incredibly obvious. Sure, there'll be the argument that there's just male Link with customization options, but then it'd feel silly not to just go the full distance and make sex a choice as well.

@PtM When has it not been like this ?
Link has always been the errand boy more or less.

The "Sidekick of the week" always had way more development than he did, plus there was always an emphasis on these "episodic story arcs" per temple.

Twilight Princess was actually one of the weaker titles in this regard, since the whole Twilight world deal left you pretty lonely.
Yet, you had the "resistance army", the whole Kakariko and Goron ark and the yeti couple.

All scenarios where you, the player, got more insight into the games supporting cast than the main hero itself.

@DiscoGentleman thanks, Hyrule Warriors Legends has spoiled me on having so many characters/weapons!

@LinkSword If you play Hyrule Warriors Legends, its pretty clear that Linkle is basically just a huge Link fangirl and paid subtle homage to the plethora of crossplayers out there.
She basically heard the legends about the green hero and forced herself into the role.

@Einherjar I guess you're trying to add to my point, but in case not - yeah, that's what I was saying. She is a different character and not some sort of alternate version of Link.

@LinkSword

Go back and look at the horse artwork from the other day. You'll see that the supposedly female one is actually cut out of that exact piece. It's undeniably just male link in that picture.

@LinkSword Yup, just tried to add a little more "backstory" ^^
She isn't a genderswap or a "Link from a different timeline", just someone who really really wants to be the "Hero in green"

@Dezzy

Me too. I can't see any difference between them.... Maybe the rumor that is floating around is making people see what they wish to see? It looks the same for me.

Honestly, I really don't care about choosing Link's gender. If there's a choice, I'll play as a male anyway.

Nothing confirmed but, I kinda wish there was just either female or male. I like like link as a character not just as an avatar and the gender option makes link seem less like a individual and more like an empty shell to run around in. If this thing is true however, I hope you can put a hood on male link. The hood looks dope.

I can see a new female character that you could choose as your hero at the start, but not a female version of Link. Seeing we already got Linkle, I will make her the female hero. That way you don't need to change the gender of an iconic character like Link. You can just have both.

Pointless "article" with basically nothing to show. I see the same character twice, just one with a hood and one without. I wouldn't mind the player being able to choose Link's gender since you can choose his name anyway, and Nintendo seems to push female characters (tons of new female characters in Smash, tons of female character in Hyrule Warriors), but I'm beyond tired of all this rambling about Link's gender based on nothing. Nobody cares in the real world.

Perhaps instead of gender it is more like a class thing. Alnuma said it would be more like a western thing, so maybe hood link is more magic or sword focused, where as no hood link is more archer/items focused?

@Dezzy I know that it's the other day's artwork. But I don't know what that fact is supposed to prove. Link's face was much further away in the full picture, so unless one were to analyze the drawing in depth for whatever reason you wouldn't be likely to notice something like longer hair. I for one took a quick glance at the picture the other day, thought Epona looked cool, and that was the last of it.

Still, I'm not going to be any more stubborn about it being what I'm seeing. In less than two days we'll know for sure. Either way is fine by me, but I think this'd be a cool new option.

@CharlieSmile
" I really resent being forced to"

Do you also resent when the main character of a movie is male? Forcing you to see things from their perspective?

Or do you resent reading a novel where the main character is male, forcing you and not ever giving an interchangeable choice of "protagonist 1b- female version".

Choice is fine, and appreciating that choice is fine, but resenting a character for their gender is not fine IMO. Resenting not being able to play as a certain sex is just as bad as those who resent the option TO play as the other sex

Both groups harbor resentment over the gender of a made up video game character. What does it matter either way

@PtM So you want him out of the story completely ?
I don't really think that would be such a good idea honestly.

@Ashthearcher That would be freakin amazing
Breath of Fire 3's "Mentor" system comes to mind.
Seek out / find a mentor, enroll under them and take on their style.

This would both play into replayability and exploration. Great idea !

For the love of God, do your research before you post anything Nintendolife!
...
...
Hmm...
Or, maybe it was a clickbait from the get go. I must say, your"e getting better and better at this.

@JaxonH

''Resenting not being able to play as a certain sex is just as bad as those who resent the option TO play as the other sex''

This. I have to wonder what these people who ''resent being forced to play as a male'' would say about a male player who resents having to play Metroid as a woman for all these years.

Obviously both are equally bad, but something tells me the former would still draw the 'sexist' card against the latter.

@LinkSword Dont want to beat an already dead horse, but take a gander at the profile text. Sadly, it gives you both answers to why this point of view is held and what this person would think about the other scenario :/

@JaxonH

My thoughts exactly. I've never understood why some people really care about the sex of a fictional character. As far as I'm aware, the only time it matters is when it's a first person game and there's a romance going on.

@PtM That's not the point of a game with a fixed narrative.
I think you're looking for stuff like TellTales adventure series.

@Einherjar Oh I knew... Hahaha.

"Eagle eyed readers"

LMAO

Please change the title of this article. This is nonsense. The strap only shows the artwork we've already seen. It doesn't "suggest" anything else than what one wants to read into it.
I could play that game too: It seems to suggest that the "leaked" name "Fields of Dawn" might be correct, since the strap and the Amazon art heavily features rising sun and similar sky colors.

So the rumors were true

Ultimately its makes no difference: a female option being available is a fine thing. I just believe that the female should have been a completely different character, such as an older version of Links sister Arryl.

Link being interchangeable as a character says he's narratively irrelevant which I don't think is strictly true. It's brilliant though that the people who want to play as a woman will finally have the chance.

Assuming this is true I can't say I am surprised as it was only a matter of time before we would be given gender options in a Zelda game. I will still use the traditional male Link for my first play through but I have nothing against trying the female version out for the next play through. As long as the game holds up to the standards of the series then I really don't care what gender Link is!

seems to be fun to choose the Sex of the character
also it would be fun if you could play with a male Samus, Tomb Raider or Bayonetta, also a female Mario or Star Fox.

Both Sexes represented in many games would be fun, not really important but fun

Female link it's actually a good idea. It's like taking Zelda back to its arcade-RPG roots. RPGs let you chose the sex of your character because it is the avatar of the player. The last console zeldas, tried to give Link romantic interests making the games look more like boring anime interactive adventures that otakus love. Zelda was successful when it embraced its western inspirations.

@TheDavyStar yeah but she is at least shaped feminine.

I think some of the humor in Zelda stems from the fact that Link is an awkward boy hero.

Having a completely gender-neutral storyline kind of limits some plots you could write. I don't care if Link is a boy or a girl, but I don't trust Nintendo to do anything interesting with the story if the player gets to choose.

@CharlieSmile IKR?? me too lol

This is so awesome!!! I can't wait:)

I'm a slim guy, so playing as Link was never a problem.
Gears of War?
I just don't relate playing as a hulking tower of flesh.
I tend to choose female protagonists, for the simple reason I appreciate any game that bucks common tradition.
Nintendo has always had a very sexist approach to their 'stories', with Mario and Zelda being top offenders and Metroid being an exception. With Other M, Samus lost alot of cred. Giving gamers a choice is awesome, and very welcome in every instance it's available.
Bioware (a Canadian company) has broken ground by placing gender roles at the wayside, and focusing on player choice and consequence.
At this pivotal moment in their 120+ years, Nintendo can make inclusiveness a priority, without simply pandering to the social justice crusaders.
I welcome a new standard for gender equality and opportunity and urge all my fellow gamers to join this pertinent and essential cause.

@Einherjar The strange thing about Xenoblade Chronicles X is that the character you created DID have his/her own voice. In combat, Cross actually said things depending on the soul voices you triggered (the blurbs were different depending on your chosen voice for character creation). It just made things feel weirder for cut scenes.

Maybe every version of Cross freezes up when it comes to talking to other people

@JaxonH

Exactly.
Both are just as bad.

But there is a delightfully good middle ground that the former [those that want the option of gender choice and/or resent not having said choice] still show resentment towards.

The middle ground of allowing the choice of a new female character created specifically for the game, with her own personality and background, or an established female like Zelda, to play as from the get-go.

Either of those choices would accomplish the goal of giving gender choice, without disrespecting the series.

But it seems a lot of these gender politicians really don't want that and just directly want Link, as a male personage, killed off in his entirety.

@Saiyo We don't need a female Mario, or a male Bayonetta or Tomb Raider.

Not every character has to have a gender swap. It works for Link because he is usually an androgynous character.

@Whiffy5 please be careful with what you say, we try to keep this a friendly place

@NodesforNoids Current Zelda and Mario stories are not sexist. Simplistic and cliche sure, but not at all sexist.

If its true that would be real progress,Link himself doesnt have a personality people are really insecure if they are bothered by this.

We'll see on Tuesday. Though female Link I hope would mean Prince Zelda because Whynut

If Pokemon can do it, Zelda can do it.

Or, or, or, it's the same character with two different artwork and people are reading too much into this

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Wow, you savagely tore into this clickbait article like a chainsaw. Well done!

I see Link and I see Link with a hood. Do I need glasses?

@DiscoGentleman Yes I do, kid. Zelda had a mixture of arcade action like Gauntlet with PC RPG elements since its inception. It started to get low on action after ocarina of time and got worse when aounuma took care of it. I have been playing games since the late 70s and zelda was one of them so I pretty much know what I am talking about.

@smashbrolink Link's always been a blank slate. There is nothing at loss if there is a female Link.

@Coffee_Drinker Im actually with @smashbrolink on this one.
Just try to imagine what would happen if people asked for a gender swap of Samus, an equally "empty" character.
Or a "Lars Croft" reboot ?
Or make it an even more hot topic and ask for a male version of "Life is strange" and be torn to shreds...

As much as i hate this saying, but this falls into the "Its only OK when we do it" category.
Im all for diverse and colorful characters, but im also a big fan of keeping stuff the way they were for 30 years now.

Why break stuff that worked for so long ? Why not kick Nintendo in the but for not making a new franchise starring a female lead instead ?

@Minotaurgamer I really dont have the slightest clue what "PC RPG" you are referring to honestly.
PC RPGs began as attempted digitalizations of table top games.
A huge part of that was character development, stats, decision making etc...Zelda never had anything of that.

A comparison to Adventure games, say, Kings Quest is far closer to the truth. Zelda always followed a Key-Keyhole Item progression system. Its the major gimmick of this franchise.
It has nothing in common with either WRPGs or JRPGs.

As for its "Arcade" roots...well, obviously, as pretty much every game of that era was basically what we now call "arcady".
System limitations pretty much forced them to be early on.

@PlywoodStick I sure did. There's no need for it. We're only 1 and 1/2 days away from knowing all about this game. We just need to stay calm and not lose the run of ourselves.

@TheDavyStar Except for lore and a 30 year history that worked perfectly fine until now
But as much as there is nothing to lose, there is also nothing to gain from it.
A blank slate character stays that way, boobs or not.

And if that is the sole thing people identify with, i might finally understand that constant crying over "objectification"...just with a rather bizarre plot twist.

I think this is a good idea,but I think it's Link. We'll find out on Tuesday.

Yeah, same pics as the previously released art. And frankly, and I honestly say this strictly by way of analysis, the 'female' Link art has no chest. To me that's a key indicator that what we have seen so far is all male.

@Detective_TeeJay two COMPLETELY different games

I'd personally rather there not be a chooseable gender for Link. I'm not altogether opposed to the idea, and if it's in the game, it won't ruin the game for me at all. What I don't like with being able to choose your gender is that Link now just becomes a vessel for a story to take place around him/her. Sure, he/she can still have a large role, but there aren't any other interesting character traits about Link. I loved the Skyward Sword Link because he had what seemed to be a romantic relationship with Zelda. He became more relatable, and hence, more interesting. If you could choose a gender, they can't have just one gender be romantically involved and exclude the other or include both as possible romances. That would be too controversial, so the best way to remedy the situation would be to simply not have any romance angle at all. This would make Link less interesting.

I guess, in hindsight, Link hasn't always been the most interesting character and definitely doesn't need to be in order to create a good Zelda game, but having that extra layer of involvement is what really pulled me into Skyward Sword and made the game more memorable. So I say: if it's at the expense of a well-involved story, keep the gender fixed. If the game is good enough that it doesn't need a story to stand on, I'm fine with being able to choose a gender for Link.

@TheDavyStar That's like saying Laura Croft has always been a blank slate.

Skyward Sword Link is anything but a blank slate.
Same with most of the other Link's in the franchise; even if it's just in artwork, or in the tone set for the story, Link has always had a very easy-to-see personality to him.
It might not have always been the most interesting one, in early years, but it was there.
And it's only gotten more pronounced as the years have gone on and we've gained more tools with which to allow Link to express himself.

He's not a blank slate anymore, no matter how much you'd like him to be.

Turning him into a girl would be disrespectful to him as a character.

And even if you were right, even if Link were a blank slate that could be easily exchanged, that would still be disrespectful to fans of the franchise, who deserve a NEW female character, or at the very least an ESTABLISHED one like Zelda or Linkle, to play as.

A gender-swapped clone is lazy feminist pandering, in comparison to a new or established female as a choice.

It should not happen
And something important WOULD be lost; the integrity of the series and the company behind it.
Because gender-swapping Link is nothing more than pandering to feminists.

@Lady_rosalina Both have different protagonists almost every game. It's fine.

@Shepdawg1 Or do the far more logical thing that never seems to cross Nintendos mind and put Link / Zelda on equal footing, pair them up as an adventurer team and do it that way.

You can pick who to play and the story changes accordingly.
Think of...well, obscure comparison, but think of MegaMan X4 and onward.
Whoever you picked at the start did not change the story but merely small scenes which highlighted your respective character a little more.

Zelda showed off more than once that she is more than capable of taking care of herself (so much for the damsel in distress).
You could bring back the Shiek alter ego, you can give TPs Resistance leader Zelda another go, how about pirate Zelda ?

Shes a fighter in and off herself. But no, it has to be Link that has to go instead -.-
I'll never get where people get that sort of Idea from...

Silent Protagonists are not necessarily synonymous with Blank Slates. If they were, that would mean every silent protagonist in history could have been gender swapped. Imagine all those RPG's like Chrono Trigger becoming things like Chrona Trigger, starring Crona (which wouldn't work, since it sounds like "a crone", an old woman, instead of chronological/Chronus, who was definitely male...)

A Blank Slate is most common in WRPG's, especially in the vein of Dungeons and Dragons, and the Bioware titles. They usually have no innate characterization at all- the player must create it themselves. Over time, the character's persona, traits, and actions begin to match how the player defines them. They are malleable, so having a choice of sex/gender works better with a malleable plot/story, rather than a linear one (e.g. all of the Zelda series titles).

A Silent Protagonist, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily provide the player with any significant input on the character's persona. Sure, we control the character's actions, but their true personality comes in how they react to the world around them. After all, how we experience the world is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. (Or something like that...) The same goes for a silent protagonist. They make their own set of choices- we don't define them. All we do is see what would happen if they made one choice or another.

Link fits into the Silent Protagonist archetype, not really the Blank Slate. Thus, it would be better for Link to be either just a male, female, shemale, or whatever, but not be interchangeable, since the story is always linear in Zelda titles. There's different generations between the lore of each title, so changing to female, shemale, or whatever for this one is no problem, but again, interchangeable sex/gender doesn't work well with a linear story.

@Einherjar You make a good point. Zelda could work as well. I'm not saying it has to be just Link as a playable character. Just that I think a gender-swappable Link would be a bit of a step back from what Skyward Sword established.

That picture released made me think there was going to be a female choice. I don't care as long as it's still s Zelda game at heart.

@BensonUii These are my thoughts exactly. Love the idea of playing male Link. Love the idea of playing female Link. But CHOOSE ONE and stick with it lest the storyline get shafted and the narrative is shallow and weak.

And yeah, pretty much what @Einherjar said. Not every iteration of Zelda has to be a damsel in distress . Spirit Tracks sort of touched on that with the Spirit Zelda partnership, but she was basically still in distress to get her physical body back. Maybe this time she will play a more active, prominent role, rather than being shoved behind the scenes, turned into the damsel in distress anyways after revealing herself from her alter ego form, or being reduced to a mere sidekick when she does get a spotlight.

@smashbrolink funnily enough i think creating an all-new character to play as would take the focus away from Link as a face of the zelda series. You may argue that adding a second gender option for link might do so too, which leads us to the proposition "Should even have to do anything?" They certainly don't have to.

And, well, Lara Croft is certainly less of a blank slate given that she talks and expresses herself more overtly than Link. The reason Link has a personality is because the player bestows onto Link what we see for ourselves in him. Though, yes, it's true that Link has a greater degree of expression in Skyward Sword.

@PlywoodStick Zelda hasn't been a damsel in distress since like Twilight Princess, iirc.

@smashbrolink I'm proud to be left wing, and proud to be a feminist.
come again?

Guys let's keep politics and such out of the discussion before the mods come.

They look the exact same, just from different angles

Who cares?

Maybe I'm just not as attached to the series, but link was always a pretty boy anyway. And the character never spoke.

@NintendoFan990 of course we don't need them! its totally irrelevant but it could be fun... just stupid fun or weird things like character customization.

(I'm not being sarcastic, its really irrelevant)

@DarkKirby Androgeny can do that sometimes.

@-Red- As I recall, the last major console entry, Skyward Sword, made Zelda into... once again... a damsel in distress. A childhood friend instead of a princess, but still got captured by evil minions/beasts/whatever, and utterly unable to take care of herself. She's only really been an independent fighter in Smash Bros. and... the frickin CD-i titles. (LOL) That's right, we've already had Zelda as the main playable protagonist, but never from Nintendo... Pretty sad that they still rely on such tired tropes.

If you don't want a female version of Link, simply choose the male option. Easy.

@PlywoodStick She really didn't get captured, she spent the entirety of the game traversing the surface with Impa attempting to bathe in the Goddess' springs while alluding Ghirahim. She had her own journey. It was until the very end that she kidnapped by Ghirahim for a moment so he could steal her Goddess Powers to revive Demise.

Skyward Sword Zelda is legitimately the most developed Zelda in the series. She wasn't just some plot device with no character, the only Zeldas like that are probably the very first ones tbh.

@smashbrolink Well, we also have to remember that sort of classical/medieval era fantasy time period the series takes place in. And as we should all know, women have gotten the shaft (in more ways than one) throughout history (especially in the medieval era), preventing them from having access to leadership roles and recognition of accomplishments, even when they were very strong "heroines".

It has oft been said throughout history that a "hero" will save someone or another from something, many times assuming it would be a dashing macho man or an immaculate (male) saint. But really, there's no way of knowing what form that "hero" will take, including in this particular Legend, so literal accuracy of the definition is a moot point. It's a neutral term, too.

Can't be a female Link, there's no mole, lip gloss, z cup sized breast, a cleavage and a skimpy outfit.

@Smokingspoon She ain't in a provocative pose either.

@Smokingspoon LOL! Z cup would be as big as a person! Something tells me you've been hanging out on the wrong side of DeviantArt...

@PlywoodStick You don't watch enough anime sir. tsk tsk.

PLEEEEEEASE BE TRUE.

@-Red- Ah, she was a damsel in distress, but not until the very end. Progress!

And I've watched Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Maison Ikkoku, Rose of Versailles, Bokura No, Gankutsuou, Tenjho Tenge, the entire One Piece saga thus far, Eiken... oh. OH. I see. I think it's just the recent anime that does that, haha~

They should let you choose the race and hair colour as well.

The Legend of Nintendo Life: A Click to the Bait

@PlywoodStick Come on. Being captured at one single point does not make an entire character a Damsel in Distress. The way I see it, a Damsel in Distress is a character who is entirely characterized by being captured, they're flat, static, blank plot points.

A character doesn't need to be the main character in order to be a strong individual character.

@yuwarite Why not?

Make it like a Dragon Age character creator.

@-Red- True, the situation didn't strictly fit the old mold, but her journey was basically an attempt on her part to prevent herself from becoming the damsel in distress... but failed anyways, despite all her hard work. At least she wasn't a weakling, she just simply wasn't strong enough.

@PlywoodStick I don't see how that's the case. Her journey was done because she had to. She needed to complete her journey with Impa in order to protect others. She accomplished what she desired, despite being unarmed and alone at times.

Edit: I think people get to hung up on the part where they're kidnapped at one point and then equate the character to being just a Damsel in Distress.

@PlywoodStick So? Link can be a female now, so Link is no longer a predefined iconic character. So let the player create the character with the skin tone/ hair colour of their choosing, so every one can feel represented.

@yuwarite I misread the conversation, I agree with you two. Although Hylians are distinctly based on classical/medieval era European and East Asian fantasy, so you'd have a tough time trying to shoehorn in some African/Pacific Islander/Indian/Mesopotamian/Mesoamerican/whatever different looking identities into the current setting. A whole new setting would need to be created.

@-Red- Too bad we didn't get to actually experience/see her journey to know what it was really like. It would be interesting for a change to have to solve problems without being able to rely on a Master Sword or other legendary weapon or set of abilities as a crutch for success. Pretty much have to wing it like a female Batman or something, by being creative/athletic with the available toolset. Link has been like Batman with Superman's abilities by comparison. It might be fun to have that kind of handicap.

While I do want to play as Linkelle, and think it's totally possible for Link to be reincarnated as a girl, this isn't pointing towards that. Both of them are from two concept art pieces from the game. If they appear a little different, it's because gasp games usually have a team of artists working on it instead of just one person, and even if it was the same person, the art doesn't always look the same.

Nintendo may still make gender choice happen, but this Lanyard isn't telling us anything. (T_T )

@PlywoodStick Yeah, that was wasted potential. They showed her (and Impa's) journey at the end of the game in the credits, but they could've done more.

Props to @smashbroslink and @Einherjar for basically expressing my current thoughts on this issue (I argued heavily about this on the forums around a year ago, then got sidetracked and it ended. I might have a few more points to add, but y'all argued the main ones far better than I did back then.

Zelda already has plenty of strong female characters in the supporting cast. Zelda, Midna, Princess Ruto, Medley, Impa, Tetra, that knight chick in TP, Saria, that Gerudo woman in OoT, etc. To call the series "sexist" or not representing genders equally is simply ignoring everything else in the series. I'd argue the female characters have been far more favorably depicted than most of the male characters in the series. The Mail Man, Tingle, the two men on Lon Lon Ranch, the builders, Zant, and many other male NPCs across the games. Am I bothered at all? No. It's a joke to reduce characters to a handful of anatomical differences.

Why does a male Link matter to me? He's an established icon of the series. There are three reasons I see for people wanting this change. Some simply see doing so as something cool or interesting, without much deeper consideration of the work required to make the addition of such an option meaningful. I ultimately fear that to create a female Link, Nintendo would opt to strip Link of any character (his actions and reactions reveal subtle hints of his character) and make character interactions more like walking on eggshells than any conversation (or strict listening to be technical). Others seem to want it simply for titillation, which they can get elsewhere. Then some people see it as some opportunity to make the series more "progressive". I completely object to turning Link into a political trophy.

Link isn't an avatar. He's not a character you are meant to fully project yourself onto. He's not a tool of extensive self-expression. You control him, you fill in some blanks, but he's not meant to be a representation of you. He is a link, someone ordinary who can plainly interact with the world and sometimes interact in extraordinary ways. To trample on this unique and established way of interaction with the game world, we'd be losing something great and very distinct to Zelda.

@DiscoGentleman LMAO! Hey, you never know, there could be some gems buried in there... You just have to decide if it's worth it to do the doodoo digging.

@DiscoGentleman
Impa is one of my favorites. When I was younger I used to have a total crush on Impa (OoT) and Sheik... (-. - )

@PlywoodStick It doesn't matter because it's a fantasy world, where things can easily be explained by: 'because magic...'. Also, tradition is going out the window with a female Link, so why not go even further and change up the lore to make it more inclusive.

Ugh another lanyard I'll be buying off ebay. sigh.

@DiscoGentleman Seconded. As soon as I played as Impa, Sheik and Zelda in HW I was like: "Why is there not some sort of Sheikah spin off ala Ninja Gaiden?"

@yuwarite Even with "magic", though, the world still has to have some kind of consistent logic (or even pseudo logic) of it's own. Otherwise, it's just a free for fall. May as well be the video game equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting at that point. (And even THAT had a certain logic to it!)

At least everyone's getting hyped up for E3. Sucks we still have to wait until 2017.BS.

@PlywoodStick No as big, but you're spine will be all messed up by age 30.

"The one on the right is totally female."
No, they look just about the same, just the one the right has a hood.

Female Link, huh. . . I'm not sure how I feel about this. There's nothing wrong with being able to play as a girl, but in The Legend of Zelda there's already an established image of the protagonist, so it'd be a poor decision to just give the player a 'female version' of Link, like he's not even a person anymore. And what happened to Linkle? Was she a one-off character?

I've sorted out my feelings now. If there's a playable female character, she needs to have a different name and her own personality. Furthermore, Link would have a separate quest, and the journey of the two would intersect. Perhaps, they'd even clash in a duel at some point. Two different stories, one complements another.

@PlywoodStick I think making the game more inclusive so people can create a character of colour/ their choosing means a lot more than stubborn adherance to fictional story telling.

Nintendo found a way to conveniently tie the games through an official timeline, and likewise they can find a way to conveniently make it so the Hyrulians/ the Hero can look different.

Perhaps the world is set years later, where they have mixed with other races, so now Hyrulians are of all kinds of skin colours.

Also, is it Hyrulians or Hylians? lol

Now it is time for a female Mario.
I give you.........................................................................................Drum Rolls..................................

"MARIA"
😂

I've said before it and I'll say it again I'm down with them Introducing player gender via CHARACTERS and not some arbitrary "junk picker" from some menu.

Make Link and Linkle twin heroes and selecting one sends the other on a separate quest (hey look Nintendo, I gave you some DLC there)

I'd be down for a female Link.

It still doesn't look like a female to me, it just looks like Link. Link with a hood.

Good. God.

Trust the internet to make something out of literally nothing.

What's hilarious is that Nintendo have NEVER alluded to adding a female Link to the game. Yet, the BS gets so thick, people take it as fact over fiction.

What happens if this is all a big bust? What happens if there's no female Link to speak of? I can probably guess; endless crying, Nintend00m, and accusations of misogyny by Polygon and Kotaku (still reeling from the big boot, brother).

I personally don't care either way. Female. Male. It's all good to me. But to see the same group of people mocking fanciful Miiverse posts, whilst arguing over the minute differences of two drawings of the same character, because of a rumour that's been taken as factual... well, kettle. Pot. Black.

One day my dream of playing as Zelda herself will come true. This could be that moment!

Called this before , was ridiculed.

The absence of boobs is a red herring; I think there is still an element of androgyny with Link's character

Nah, I am not sure!

If there's female Link, should there also be male Zelda?

That's a disturbing thought.

It's the same artwork Nintendo shared over Facebook, but fans have pointed out since the game's first trailer that Link looks more gender-neutral, which I think may actually work better than selecting a gender. Link has always been a silent protagonist so his personality could be what the player made it to be, and this allows for the player to use his or her imagination to decide Link's gender, without Link needing a second model.

@Kuhang @SLIGEACH_EIRE C'mon guys...Maria?? Pulease! Surely you're familiar with the already famous Giana Sisters?

@Kage_88 Oh don't worry, we've already confirmed there's no big bust

I don't know. Maybe it is because I've read the zelda manga, although its not "official official" Nintendo stuff. But making a female link or something like that just seems weird to me (and no, I am not a anti-feminist or something like that). Also if you look at the link from TP or SS, that is obviously a male and not a blank slate. I really like the quirky sometimes awkward things he does in TP and SS. It would be a shame to lose that all. And if you really want a female. Make it that the male and female choices are unique (as many people have said above me)

Lol, they're very much the same character just seen from different angles and in different poses. XD
It'd be way cooler of Nintendo opted for Zelda or any other female of the giant cast of characters to be playable instead of Link being female shoehorned in.

@Kage_88 @tjhiphop
There is another similar comment above and I have to agree with you both. You would think you were on a sony/Microsoft site discussing Nintendo products.

But some of the headlines used lately have only promoted this toxic chat.

As long as they do it properly (by not changing anything beside the gender) I'm all for it.

Maybe link just decided to channel his inner metrosexual and twee those bushy eyebrows...

Looks like a women counter part to me, but it's hard to know at this point.

Whatever thoses ends up being, I REALLY love the art direction of this Zelda. I can't wait to see more but it seems like they nailed it perfectly this time.
I hope the Wii U hardware won't restrain the overall visual quality. And if it does I hope the NX version will look much better.

@Ryu_Niiyama @Utena-mobile @DiscoGentleman I agree, while I'm fine with a female Link it would be so much better if you didn't always play as Link but rather other characters as well such as Impa and Zelda. I know this is a very controversial opinion but my favourite home console and handheld Zelda games are Hyrule Warriors and Hyrule Warriors Legends respectively.

@Ryu_Niiyama I still want a game where you play as Zelda, or switch between Zelda and Link depending on the story. It would be awesome!

@SomeBitTripFan Yup, my point precisely. I take issue in a female Link for the sake of a female Link alone.
And there really is not other point to this.

And you raised a very good point. Just compare the supporting cast of every game back to back.
On the male side, you either have insecure children, elderly wise men or goofy caricatures.
The supporting females have pretty much all been hero types so far.
And guess what ? No one bats an eye about "misrepresentation" there. Because its completely irrelevant nonsense !

I still stand by that if you want something "new" and something old has to change for it, you're basically doing it wrong.

This whole discussion is a complete farce. "Why are you so insecure about a female Link who has been male for 30 years and no one cared until recently ?"
If you mention that it works the other way around too, sh*t is about to go down...

Also, all this talk about "being able to identify with a game character"...i don't know about you guys, but i personally cant identify with an RPG character that i can design to look exactly like me if he is just an empty shell to click through pre-determined dialogue choices either.

Why do people "identify" with a digital characters crotch more than they do with whatever character traits they have ?
"This person ticks exactly as i do, too bad they dont have boobs, i cant bond like that".

You know what characters i really cant identify with ? Evil ones. Be it GTA or Disgaea, i cant stand evil doers or delinquents. Do i want to change them ? Nope, i simply don't play these games. There simply is no point for me to do so, since i simply wont enjoy it.

If you've been with a series for 30 years now and you love it as much as you do, why not ask yourself why exactly you do it and why changing it now would "improve" it, or if you're just following a certain agenda or believe...

Many people here chimed in on what i really want to see:
Several playable characters instead of changing old ones !
I don't want a male Impa the same way i don't want a female Link.
I want a playable Zelda, Impa, Ruto etc.

The circle of sages is as important to the lore as the trifoce trio is. Only a triforce bearer can lay the finishing blow on another triforce bearer, but only the sages can seal him away.
But they all play their part in the grand scheme of things.

Who are these sages ?:
The leader of sages: Zelda, female
Sage of Light: Rauru, male
Sage of forest: Saria, female
Sage of fire: Darunia, male
Sage of water: Ruto, female
Sage of shadow: Impa, female
Sage of spirit: Nabooru, female

Thats a 2/5 female quota and a pack of kick ass ladies right there ! And again, how are the men represented ? The wise old man and the goofy ,chubby goron leader.
On the other hand you have two freakin ninja (Zelda counted as Shiek), the tomboy explorer Ruto, the best friend you could wish for Saria and the kickass bladedancer thief Nabooru !

Why does no one ever "demand" their representation ? Nope, one of the few "normal" males has to go...

Has anyone commented on the pictures on the back?

Skyward Sword
Ocarina of Time
Original game/generic cartoon Link
Twilight Princess

4 games. 4 rumoured temples? Plus we know Eldin bridge is in the game, rumour of the mask seller from developer on miiverse, and the Wolf Link amiibo- this implies the game is at the end of the middle timeline?

I'd be happy to play a female Link, but the lanyard tells us nothing. I want one though!

Fan theory: the special Kakariko book Link carries on his belt is the new function of the game which transforms Link from male to female. It is the new highlighted feature of this Zelda and puzzles and enemies along with NPCs respond to Link differently depending what gender he swaps to. This becomes the all-inclusive Zelda game that 2% of the Zelda fans have clamoring for since they were children who despised playing as the opposite and/or non self-identified gender. It shall be called The Legend of Zelda: Gender is Not Defined By What Is In Your Pants. It will change lives and Reggie's body isn't ready. Hypersensitive crowds will cheer Nintendo for being "modern with the times" and CaptainRainbow's boy/girl Birdo will replace Epona.

But in all reality..... What does it matter what gender Link is in the game? Choose the one you prefer if the option is viable; you're still going to travel the world and kill Ganon probably.

@Zach777 The Legend of Zelda: The Gender-Bending "Wand" of Gamelon. Just a single shake and a tug, and poof! Instant gratification!

The twist? Miyamoto and everyone at Nintendo can do it too! Free benders for all the little boys and girls!

LOL at all the coments on this.

@PlywoodStick The thing about that, though, is that we're no longer in those times, and Zelda's fantasy world doesn't take after those dark-age times closely enough for what you said to be applicable.

Both in the modern day, and in Zelda's storyline, there's no need for the use of the term Hero in any sort of gender neutral fashion.
Also, by doing so, it ignores the fact that Zelda has always been female, and that both Link and Ganondorf have both always been male, and that that's never truly been an issue that needs "solving".
To be quite honest, there's more detriment than gain in gender-swapping Link, when making a new female protagonist that exists alongside Link in the same storyline to play as, or letting us play as an established female alongside Link, would accomplish the same thing without disrespecting Link as a set characterization.

@Einherjar The thing is though, most non-girly games have always had male protagonists. I'm sure lots of us don't care either way (for example, I'm a PES fan; if I want players who represent my gender, I've gotta switch to FIFA but then I'll have to play FIFA, and I don't know if I want to do that), but Nintendo is betting on the ones who DO — and why not?

It'd be different if this was Legend of Zelda: You Have to Play As Female Link. But it isn't; it's just a choice. Choice is good (unless it's integrated in that horrible "gender change as part of gameplay" fan theory, in which case I'm out)

Playing as Zelda or Ruto (Or Darunia!) or whoever would be awesome, but that'd arguably be the bigger change so I'm sure Nintendo would never go for it (smartphone idea maybe?).

I don't care. I want this game and I plan on buying it for the NX if the NX is something I purchase. If not, then I'll be picking it up for the Wii U. The game looks cool from the little we saw. If having choices for Link's sex makes this game more enjoyable for someone else then I'm okay with it because it will have no effect on my enjoyment of the game.

@dazzleshell Twins, and we somehow get co-op adventuring.

@jwfurness Ok, that is literally the best idea to come out of this lanyard picture. A choice of female Link would be cool, but I'd preorder right away if it somehow had multiplayer.

@jwfurness Sold! A story about twins would be awesome and very creative. If this isn't a twins story, Nintendo should be calling you immediately for a job interview....I would play that game!

@KoopaTheGamer ...wouldn't that just be Sheik?

@CharlieSmile If both are true, then that's even more reason why your opinion regarding Link's importance in The Legend of Zelda should not be taken seriously.
Because it's been established that left wing feminists don't want equality with men, they want sublimation OF men.
But that's a separate topic that I won't be going into any deeper, because it's a pointless endeavor.

I'll only say this; the middle ground between not allowing a female to be playable, and gender-swapping Link, would be to allow players the chance to play as either a new female that isn't Link, or as an established female of the series such as Zelda.

This middle ground simultaneously caters both to people who want to show respect to the series and to Link as a character, and to people who want the option of playing as a gender they can more easily identify with.

Gender-swapping Link does nothing but harm in comparison.

@smashbrolink How about other trait changes? Such as a darker, non-Aryan Link? (Kind of like Tetra, except without blonde hair.) Would those affect his characterization, or his Silent Protagonist archetype in the context of the series?

Plus, we've never really been given a good indication of what makes Hyrulian politics and culture tick, we've only been given glimpses of it. So we have no idea of how people are really treated in Hyrule.

@TheDavyStar I think that as long as Link is still present within the world when the female character is chosen, possibly even helping out during certain sections of the main story, it would fulfill both conditions simultaneously.
But that might be expecting too much from Nintendo, so I'll just say that, at the very worst, Nintendo should just stick to what has worked since the series started, and not open the can of worms that selectable gender would open up.
I mean, next we'd have people asking for fat, anorexic, trans, etc etc etc player options for Link.
Allowing gender-swap is a slippery slope that would do more harm than good as far as Zelda is concerned.
A female playable character aside from Link? Sure, if it's done right, could be fun.
But nothing more than that.

@PlywoodStick I suppose that depends on whether or not we're taking birth regions or differences in body structure owing to era into account, as far as Hyrule's history is concerned.
But then we'd have to go deep into the lore of Zelda U, at least, to find out which areas of Hyrule in Zelda U's particular era have the higher concentrations of people with different/darker skin or body traits, and whether or not any extraneous factors like the birth of any other evil individuals influencing the birth of the hero in a certain region come into play, and given how little info we have of Zelda U's overworld regional structure, and how much the land masses of Hyrule change between games, that's basically impossible to accurately account for...

But going by the past, it seems that the Spirit of the Hero tends to conform to a fairly narrow set of physical characteristics whenever it is reborn into the world; a Hylian male with brown or blond hair, blue eyes, white skin, and overall courageous demeanor, usually starts out naive and has to be taught the ways of the hero through adventure itself.

I don't think there's ever been a case where Link was in a position to inhabit a body of darker skin color, and contextually speaking it seems like the majority of Hylians are white so the odds of him being born as one of darker skin are very unlikely, especially if we consider the likelihood of the Spirit of the Hero having some sort of inclination towards those white blond/brown haired blue eyed Hylian body types, since it's what his ancestors almost all looked like.

@smashbrolink Hyrule Warriors nailed this diverse character pool, and it'd be cool to see again (to be honest, I care more about what Ganondorf is up to than Zelda) but Nintendo would never go for that in the mainline Zeldas. Having Link as a Pokemon Trainer type character where you choose traits is the only way this will ever happen.

But more than that, Hyrule Warriors needs a sequel.

@World Why would using established staple characters be a bigger change than changing 30 year old lore ?
Again, all this talk about "representation" and "Link is a blank slate" leaves me to think that people solely identify with a characters crotch !

This is what i don't get. If the argument is "The gender is unimportant" why is it so important to change it then ? Why not leave things as they have been for 30 years now ?

Why ask for change when you could instead ask for entirely new ideas ? That is the whole issue i take with all of that.
What is sold as "progressive inclusivity" boils down to "whats yours is mine now". A complete waste of potential in my book.

It irks me that these people wanting established characters changed towards their preference climb the highest mountains to shout their message into the valley (Looking at you Samus Trans article) and never started as much as, say, an E-Mail campaign telling Nintendo how big their female audience is and that they would like new female heroes.

@dkxcalibur Meeeee too.

@World

Well, keep in mind that Spirit Tracks, Wind Waker, and a few other Zelda games allowed us to control other characters, at least in a minimal fashion, so it's not as if the concept of being able to play as a female character with Link at her side, or staying behind in a village somewhere, would be outside of Nintendo's range of experience.

If they can shove Zelda's soul into a suit of armor, then why not let a Linkle-like character journey alongside Link or vice-versa in Zelda U?

I will likely write things that were mentioned by others, but I don't feel like going through 200 plus comments and quote.

I once read an interesting comment that Link stopped being an avatar after the very first Zelda. And I would agree. Ever since he started having deeper relations to the people around him he stopped being an avatar and became a character.

Having a female Link for the sake of having a female Link is not progress, to me it is more like regress. I would prefer to have a seperate timeline of female Link. Or give it a reason or purpose.
I even made up my own plot. Ganondorf is usually adult, while Link and Zelda are children. So a young Ganondorf could use magic or something to destroy the other two Triforces before they reincarnate. But instead of destroying them they get switched, Link being born as a girl with the Triforce of Wisdom, while Princess Zelda being born as a boy with the Triforce of Courage. Because of a prophecy that a princess will save the country they name the boy Zelda and let him wear girls clothes in front of others as not to worry the people of Hyrule.
Something like this would be interesting. Or give one of the existing girls a more prominent role. Like Zelda, of course, or Impa. Or make a whole new IP with a female lead? Let the girl stand on her own feet instead of being something like an afterthought.

And one more thing. When I once argued that I don't want Link to be female, I got a comment thrown at me a la "You don't know the hardships of women in the world". First, Link being female won't change the position or treatment of girls and women. There might be some individuals to whom it would make an impact, but I would say in the greater scheme it won't mean anything. Second, I'm a woman myself. So basically, because I'm not all in for a female Link I was thought to be a sexist, cauvinist male, who doesn't understand the hardships of women. Thank you. You want progress, right? How about not lumping everyone into one close minded category?

On another note, if you're only able to relate to someone if they're like you, to say it short, in looks, that's sad. Really sad.

@Einherjar #215
This. So. Freaking. Much.

Not to mention companions like Navi, I guess is female, Midna or Fi, who is likely genderless but looks very feminine.
There is a nice dynamic between male Link and all those female characters.

@Einherjar Oh, I definitely agree with you on the part about making two Links. I'd personally prefer Nintendo to make up a new female character and offer the choice between the two (with customization options), with no alterations in story. But Nintendo is lazy and traditional so they won't do that.

I think some of what you call "progressive inclusivity" (as good a term as any) is a bit garbage and unreasonable, but wanting (playable!) female characters in stuff is hardly out there. In non-militant cases of people wanting female characters, I don't think it's so much a desire to steal someone else's toys, but just wanting to play alongside.

Is Link a boy?

@smashbrolink Haha, forgot about Spirit Tracks! And Kafei from Majora's Mask (but I guess he's a guy).

Yeah, good point. And I agree with you. Two Links is kind of silly, but I also think Nintendo will never actually go forward with two completely separate playable main characters in a Zelda game when the lazy option is there and it's the thing everyone else is doing. Maybe I'm too cynical!

@PlywoodStick Whether or not they would affect his character would, again, probably depend quite a bit upon the region he was born into, since physical and personality changes are greatly influenced by the region in which one is born.

Take the Gerudo for example. Or the Zora or Ruto [the race, not the princess].
Heck, for an even more extreme example, take the Koroks from Wind Waker, who are descended from the Kokiri and changed their entire bodies, heck practically their entire racial type, when they came to live upon the sea.

I think it's fair to say that having Link become a less...what was the word you used? Aryan? Ah screw it, I'm gonna stick to terms I actually know.XD
I think it's fair to say that having Link become a less Hylian character would probably also change his characterization to reflect the region, and possibly the race, that he would be born into.[Although I doubt it would affect his Silent Protag archetype, since that seems more like a development decision for the sake of artistic aesthetics, and possibly to avoid offending players with one badly done voice or for avoiding more costly budgets, than anything else]
But since he seems to have an inclination towards being born with the previously described traits, i think the likelihood of Nintendo deciding to include a darker-skinned Link is highly unlikely.

Thought it would be pretty funny if there was a way of getting different degrees of sun tan in a future Zelda game, to account for that player choice without screwing with his characterization/archetype, or the lore or birth regions or all that complicated jazz too much.XD

@Rin-go Or...you know...just let Zelda do the adventuring and skip the whole crossdressing part O.o
If you want them to switch genders but still fulfill their respective genders role...whats the point in the first place ?

The prophecy reincarnates the triforce bearers to be basically carbon copies of their ancestors.
No one said that the wisdom bearer has to stay dormant in the castle. We know Zelda has ample combat training with both a rapier and a bow and that she is way more powerful than Link is. Just let her do the job and have Link stay on the sideline, leading the Hylian troops in the meantime, or policing the castle town.

@World And im totally in support of that !
IF you have the choice, a diverse cast is the way to go, no questions asked.
But i don't see any reason why established characters need to be changed to achieve that, especially if the series in question is stockfull of unsung female heroes no one seems to give two sh*ts about. And they rank among the most interesting characters in the whole series too !

Let us explore the Shiekah tribe when it was still in full bloom back in the day ! Zelda Gaiden - Impa Origins.

How about the unique struggles of the Zora tribe ? Give tomboy princess Ruto her day in the limelight.

Let the Gerudo solve the Ganondorf problem themselves.
hen the prophecy is late, and the princess and hero arent born yet, a Gerudo woman has to save the kingdom !

Have a game about the three freakin goddesses for Din's sake !

It saddens me that these things are just banter on a random comment section and not pushed by a million voices until Nintendo has no other option but to listen.

And that is precisely what i meant with the whole "whats yours is mine now" thing. There are more voices for change than there are for inclusive expansion.

@Einherjar It wouldn't be exactly like a mainline Zelda, but can you imagine some kind of strategy game where you played as one of the goddesses and maybe something that looks more like classic Zelda when you get out of god-mode and go on the ground.

So basically, Zelda: Actraiser Edition

But in all seriousness, I agree with what you're saying that people who want this stuff waste their time arguing in the comments when they could be e-mailing Nintendo until Nintendo is, like, "fine, take your Agitha and Ganondorf buddy comedy!" (not that that's on my wishlist or anything...)

@World Yup, ive been discussing this idea for ages.
An RTS with the Hylian Army, the "Nature Alliance" (Kokiri, Goron, Zora) and the Forces of Evil.

Or really start from the beginning: You're the goddess creating the land, making it habitable for these nations and help them build their civilizations.

There are so many opportunities to enrich this series past the adventures of "local elf rescues kingdom".
Build the kingdom ! Make a freaking "Princess Maker" game with Zelda for mobile devices !

Basically the same treatment Mario got. Venture into uncharted territory, enrich and expand the franchise. There is literally no reason to take away one character when you have so many great ones just waiting for their backstory to be shown.

And just between you and me....that Agitha Ganandorf thing...ahem...
You know...i totally wouldn't buy the living crap out of a parody game with these two, totes not !

Think of it ! Chibi Ganondorf tries to rule the world but cant find his minions....and the only partner in crime to pick would be Agitha, the crown princess of....bugs...
I wish i could draw...there is "4koma comic strip" gold in there xD

On balance, I think a gender choice is fine with such a "blank slate" character. If this helps some girls enjoy the game a bit more, then fine.

Let's be honest though, there is a double standard.

What if the one of the left is Link, and the one of the right is Zelda? And you get to choose to play as Link or Zelda? That would be awesome actually. To actually get to play as Zelda in the Legend of Zelda?

@Einherjar Maybe because Lara and Samus have a personality and have actual dialogue and thoughts were as Link has none of that but only goes from point A to point B and uses item X or helps person X to go to said Point it would be another story if he had a personailty but he just has a "iconic" look nothing more if Skyrim and the Like can do the same and Pokemon why is it such a leap of logic for LoZ it strikes me as nothing more than blind fanboyism and people afraid of change.

I would rather play as Zelda than a female Link.

@Coffee_Drinker If hes so "blank" why does it matter in the first place ? So it literally IS boobs people identify with, not character.
That's....actually quite sad to be honest.

As for your comparisons:
Elder Scrolls doesn't follow a fixed narrative. That's why you, the player, can be everyone and everything.
Pokemon use avatars. Shallow, soulless shells representing you, the player.

Link on the other hand does have his place in the story and overarching lore, as many stated several times in this comment section.

Also, what exactly is it, that makes Samus and Lara inherently "female" ? What would change about them if you would switch their gender ? If their backstory is valid, why isn't LoZ's lore about the triforce trinities reincarnations ?

To quote someone you might know:
"[...]such a leap of logic for Tomb Raider / Metroid it strikes me as nothing more than blind fanboyism and people afraid of change"

See the issue here ?
Its called progress if you want to change an established, 30 year old male character, but asking the same to be done for an established female one is problematic and totally not the same ?

Besides, have you heard of the "Uncharted" series ?
This little "unknown gem" is the result of "What if Lara Croft would be a man....but lets not change that" and it becomes its own thing.

Its not a "fear of change", its the futility of it. There is nothing to gain, only to lose. You lose 30 years of character establishment for "a blank slate, now with tits".
Explain to me the netgain of "representing" the female playerbase with a genderswapped "miss male character" instead of their own icon ?

Under what circumstances is that progressive, if you have to cut out one thing, to replace it with the same just so it has different genitals you wont see anyways ?
How is it, that you are presented with one of gamings most diverse and kick ass female characters and instead of asking for them to be playable, you want the silent, shallow one instead...

It's the same person. The hood just makes it look different. This is just like E3 2014 when everyone thought that Link was a girl because he had pigtails.

@Einherjar Lars Croft? LARS?
Seeing as she is British nobility, it would probably have been Larry, Lancaster, Lane or Lawrence...

But in all seriousness, I agree with practically all of what you have said in the entire list of comments you made in this thread.

People wanting to change that "for the sake of" or for SJW reasons, just don't get it and should probably look for entertainment elsewhere.

Having said that, it could be interesting to play some chapters of the story as Zelda, as in a kind of "meanwhile, back at <location wherever Zelda is at that moment in the game>" say similar to the double campaign in the old Resident Evil games, where you could play as several characters but all in the same intertwining story line.

Oh well, we'll know soon enough I suppose...

People this is clearly the same Link with his hair down and a hood on.

@ThanosReXXX Id really love such a story approach. Team it up with different play styles too !
Link does the dungeoneering, Zelda protects and builds the castle town, Impa infiltrates enemy territory, Ruto, Darunia and Saria rally the troops and Tingle....blows up but balloons for...combat !

@smashbrolink lol ok if you say so

@LinkSword He just took his ponytail out.

@ThanosReXXX Also, you'd expect someone called "Einherjar" to pick a scandinavian name
But now i cant get a Tomb Raider esque game with everyone speaking with the thickest of cockney accents out of my head

Zelda Lore has always pointed to a male hero being reincarnated. Making Link female actually does impact canon that's not me being a bigoted fanboy, it's just pointing out the facts. I think any game with a set character should stay that way. If you want to make changes, play a Western RPG or Pokémon.

@Coffee_Drinker You must've not played very many Zelda games. Lol

@Einherjar I'd sooner expect a German name..
And for some reason when I read "Lars", the first thing that popped into my mind was a young Dolph Lundgren. Go figure...

Cockney, huh? "Toom' raidah... "

They look exactly the same to me. I don't get why everyone is making such a big deal about this. We have already been given a female Link and her name is Linkle.

You´re seeing ghosts, Nintendolife.

Definitely looks female.

It's just two different hairstyles. The left one looks like Link's hairstyle, and the right one looks like mine.

Boy, people really do see what they want to see. And they don't even question it: they take their bias as fact.

@smashbrolink Thanks for calling out the sexist behaviour of a certain user in the comment section, but they will never learn from their arrogant ways (as seen by her response). We need more people like you.

It would be great, I honestly don't mind, as long as the game itself is great.

@whodatninja Agreed. Zelda has long evolved past the damsel in distress status she had back in the 80s and as a shinobi/sage/ruler/magical archer/goddess she is way more interesting than Link has ever been. If Nintendo made a solid spin off series I'd stop playing mainline Zelda at the drop of a hat.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: I want female characters with depth. Not everything requires a gender swap/option, especially if doing so produces empty, lifeless characters. As a female, it bothers me that the fantasy of inhabiting a female character seems to matter more than giving a female character her own narrative and agency instead of just tacking on a genderswap. As if that means something.

@Einherjar That sounds like a cool but somewhat stressful game concept! Maybe someday...

No it doesn't.

@Einherjar I'd definitely buy that strategy game. Honestly sounds more my thing than Zelda proper. (And I'm sure I'd find someone to recommend that Princess game to, at least).

Hey, now you're making me wish I could draw!

But no, of course not. Who would ever want to see the King of Evil teamed up with the Princess of Bugs? That wouldn't be the best thing ever and make everyone forget that "Link" guy or anything

@HikariJake Would you prefer game devs pander to you instead?

@Kylo_Ren lol

@CharlieSmile ... Typical.. Haha

@ThanosReXXX ""meanwhile, back at <location wherever Zelda is at that moment in the game>" say similar to the double campaign in the old Resident Evil games,"

I think they should go all out and make it a parallel dimension, mirror the worlds like TP Wii and Gamecube - and opposite gender for everyone - female Link, male King Zelda, evil witch Ganandorf. Is that any stranger than time travel or dark realms?

Good thing Metroid has a male character option. Zero Suit Sam, now we're talking. Everyone should get a first place trophy in MK9, don't want anyone to feel bad. Bowser should be reincarnated into a bunny, because he makes me feel uncomfortable. Oh, and I would also like to see Nintendo develop a dating interface for the next Luigi's Mansion. If anyone else has unnecessary, superfluous crap they feel should be added or changed to ruin another perfectly good franchise, let me know.

@rjejr No, not really yet I was still going for a bit more realism in context to the world and lore so far. We have already seen various iterations of Zelda in some kind of heroic role yet we obviously only see her when she crosses paths with Link. It could be fun for a change to simply let us see what she's up to in between those encounters, and they could easily make that a part of the whole story.

@ThanosReXXX Bor-ring. Go big or go home.

Here's an idea, they are all rabbits. The Link vs Ganadorf battle could look like this.

@smashbrolink I agree it's unlikely, just thought it would be interesting to explore another side of the world Hyrule is on. Maybe even have a different type of story where there are multiple "Links" from different parts of the world, but each nation's legend says there's only one Link, leading to a conflict... That kind of narrative hasn't really been seen since the Holy Land Crusades (censored to a war for the "Golden Land" in the West) of Link to the Past. Might be interesting to see Link be more involved in the political history of Hyrule.

@rjejr No, seriously, like in Wind Waker she was a pirate. That ship MUST be going somewhere when she's not meeting up with Link...

And now that GIF made me think that some people might have the idea that "how can the light that burned so brightly, suddenly burn so pale" might very well be synonymous for Nintendo in its current state...

But NX may surprise us yet, although the new iteration of the Xbox One certainly did nothing to strengthen that belief, because it appears that it will be considerably more powerful than the PS4 and even the NEO...

So, the NX better be able to fall somewhere in between all those revisions, either on its own or with the aid of the supplemental computing devices, if those are even real, but the 'cleared for completion' notice of the patent does seem to point to that very thing, since that is something that normally only happens if you actually want to do something with the patent.

Guess we'll find out in a month or two...

@ThanosReXXX If its true and the NX is just catching up to the Xbone and PS4...yeah...they have been left to eat dust right there by the Scorpio.

Nintendo REALLY needs to put out the big guns this time. And i HOPE thats the reason they delayed it again.

@Einherjar That amount of time in and of itself is way too short to make any last minute hardware adjustments in response to the other parties, so either they get it right this time, or they don't.

And assuming that the hardware has probably already been in its final state for some time now in order for it to be ready to develop for, they must indeed come up with something like the SCD's to be able to keep the train going in what's coming next year.

Either that or they go completely solo, as it already almost seemed with the Wii U at times.

Well, I guess they better have a HELL of a software line up in that case...

(as for Scorpio: might even be that Sony didn't even see that one coming, so I wonder if they are going to make some changes to NEO, since in their case I suppose it probably would be possible since contrary to the NX, it is an update of an already existing system)

@Ryu_Niiyama Very well written, and I agree. If they're gonna make a gender choice, but then in turn not give the main character any personality, it kind of makes it pointless. Like they're paying lipservice to the idea of a female hero you know.
Just make a new female main character, or give existing (forever titular!) characters like Zelda the spotlight! I'd buy that.

It's getting better with female main characters in gaming, but there's still a ways to go....

This would be cool to see, but lanyards are not the definitive clue.

@ThanosReXXX Seeing that Microsoft both announced a new Xbox One (S) AND teased their new systems, its not far off that Sony might do the same, announce the PS4 NEO and tease what it probably going to be the PS5.

As for Nintendo...
The Wii had the benefit of bringing a LOT of "casuals" onto the table. The irony is, once they're in for a few years, they stop being casuals and slowly but surely shift into the regular or even hardcore demographic.

So what worked once (cheap console due to low specs) might not worked again, as demonstrated by the WiiU.
The big neckbreaker for it was, that the age of "Oh well, we just make a different version for that system" is over and done with.
Your system is either up to snuff or out of the game.

And like i said in a different comment section already, if Nintendo doesnt skip the PS4/Xbone step and thus catches up to their competition, it will get worse and worse.

Its one thing to not be seen as competition by other console manufacturers. Its a whole different story to not be seen as a viable platform by game designers. And thats the position they are in now.

Games now cost a shed ton of money to make. This narrows production to a "one size fits all" version. If the NX cant even handle that...the whole "no 3rd party games" issue will grow to absurd proportions.

Catching up with current gen hardware wont do them any good. There are few people out there who haven't switched to either PC gaming or a PS4/Xbone.
And those few will probably still pick one of those over a NX because of their already established (and now price reduced) libraries.

Hardcore gamers wont spend money on a system that will be outdone in a year or so and will probably play even more "catch up" in terms of its library.

Its a very uncanny position Nintendo put themselves. They are literally one console gen behind its competitors. And no exclusive library out there can make up for that, the WiiU is the living (almost dead) proof of it, as it currently has the strongest, most diverse exclusives on the market. Its not enough anymore.

@Einherjar - we don't allow partially censored expletives here. Please vendor the while word, or just choose a more appropriate word to begin with. Thanks.

I only see the same, relatively masculine, Link except from a lower perspective with a hood.

On the topic of a female Link, I have no issue with it at all. Why would I? Yeah. The hero of the goddess can be female. I just want to enjoy the game.

I don't want a gender option, though. I want this to be an incarnation of Link I can say "Oh yeah, that's Zelda U Link." I want Link to have their own identity per game. Wind Waker Link has his own identity, Twilight Princess Link has his own, and Skyward Sword Link has his own. If this Link is female, so be it. But not a choice.

@BensonUii has a good point with the Shulk vs. XCX Protag comparison.

@smashbrolink Alright, alright, I think she gets it already...

@Smashbrolink I suggest you cool it, I'd rather not have to ban you.

Everyone else, let this be a reminder that we don't discuss politics, let alone gender politics.

Save it for other websites.

@ThanosReXXX Well, Sony conference over, no new console, just games. But honestly...that lineup will be a knickerbockerglory and a half to top.
You know me, im the last guy to call "doom and gloom" but looking at the competition...its fair to say that Nintendo has met with a terrible fate..
Not gonna lie, this will take a few miracles to recover from.

@Danksparce The question is: Why does NL invite these discussions with articles like that in the first place ?
You guys cant tell me you didn't know what a hot topic this gender nonsense is at the moment.

@Einherjar You say this like I actually work for the site. I'm a volunteer moderator making sure people don't break the site rules.

If you ask whether articles similar to this should have comments enabled I'd say no.

Oh and no swearing

@Danksparce It was an open question. And closing down comments by default is the worst nonsense a site like that could do to be quite honest.
Just don't publish articles like that in the first place if they don't serve any other point than to rile up people in your comment section.

I don't think a Lanyard should be causing arguments.

Why can't people just get along?

@Danksparce Easy, because NL invited them to discuss this.
Let me quote the article itself:
"Discuss."

And again, this is currently a pretty hot topic in general.
And the combination of clickbait articles + gender politics + potentially changing core things that have been like this for 30 years...that was bound to get heated.

And if you monitor the comments closely, most arguments start with politics mumbojumbo. Everyone else is just having a passionate discussion.

...Was deleting my comment really necessary Dank? -.-

@Megumi_Sagano LOL! Mod battle!

@Danksparce Apparently, you all neglected to mention that this was a Cursed lanyard... Any website that posts an image of it is doomed to be subject to tumblr style arguments! It's probably one of the worst fates imaginable. Just thinking about it is giving me chills. **rubs forearms nervously**

@PlywoodStick Triggering chills ? "Uses Nayru's Love to create a safe space"
Pot shots aside, that's (sadly) the naked truth.
You cant safely publish this sort of article and not have these kinds of people start fundamental debates about it.

Anyhow, let's just move on and attempt to have a constructive conversation please.

If I can say something that has not been revved up maybe : P YEEah, I know, i'm being cereal, that seems kinda wrong, but here it goes!

.....It's a lanyard, I have a Sonic one that I like more, THEND!

Personally, I just want Sheik to make an apperance this game. "The Princess is a ninja"... I remember thinking that when I guessed Sheik's identity after the fire temple and I still get chills at her reveal scene because of how awesome it was that she was way more than a plot device.

@CharlieSmile Implying that every game must have a male and female option is progress. LOL

I honestly don't see the point of optional genders. Link has always been male...... why add to that?

@Danksparce Fair enough, but just to be clear, I'm with Einherjar on this one; the topic itself invites discussion over gender politics when it says that something "appears to suggest" a female or male.

I may have gotten a little over-heated, and for that I can apologize, but please, don't blame us for bringing up gender politics when the topic itself invites it with the headline alone.
That's all I ask.

@Einherjar Yeah, well... their system being "up to snuff" depends on what it was in the first place, because what I said earlier is likely the case, and so far into the development of a system you are certainly not going to stop the manufacturing process to make some last minute adjustments because the competition just changed the game, so to speak.

Their only two chances are either to introduce a highly interesting machine that is on par but has some features that still make it interesting and profitable enough for people to publish their games on, or the SCD's are truly an actual thing and they will be able to keep up that way.

I'm still wondering what new ways to play are, though. And I'm not really seeing someone as stern looking as Kimishima "wanting to play it himself" but who knows...

Don't agree with your assessment of where the Wii casuals went to, though: most of them simply left and never came back. A lot of Wii's left to gather dust underneath TV's or on closet shelves is a true testament to that. No soccer mom or grandparents became any kind of regular or hardcore gamer after the Wii... (and the other casuals moved to smart platforms)

Sony's press conference was good, though. Had some nice games. I liked God of War Nordic style a whole lot more than I liked the previous games, which I didn't like at all. I also liked the stage everything was presented on and the (light) effects they used on it.

All in all, it actually had quite a friendly vibe, something I'm not really used to seeing from Sony, so even though they're not my favorite company, I'll give 'em credit for that.

Still moderately optimistic for Nintendo, if only for my belief that they must have learned their lesson by now, and also based on my faith in Kimishima, a man that has yet to fail in anything he does, and he truly has an impressive resumé...

@Ryu_Niiyama Didn't even think of that! With Sheik in the mix, there's unlimited possibility for action gameplay! Magic and arrows with Zelda, and stealthy brute force with Sheik!

I for one could use a deeper explanation for Zelda's secret ninja identity! It's never really been explored beyond Ocarina of Time, where it was a pretty awesome plot twist. Remember good plots in Zelda?! I really hope Zelda Wii U won't ditch a good story for an open-world.

@whodatninja Stealthy brute force is an oxymoron... It's such a Papyrus thing to say!

@ThanosReXXX The Scorpio is going to be at the level of an actual gamer PC... Woo, changing the game.... Or just go with a PC to begin with.

Oh well, may as well see the price/performance and energy efficiency ratio and see how it compares.

@World Not quite. Sheik is (at least in my opinion) obviously female, although you may not see her face.

@PlywoodStick Nyeheheheh

@PlywoodStick The catch is...NOW it has the specs of a (beginner) high-end gaming PC....when its released though...yup, it will just be a console again
The only thing that really needs to happen is, what they promised this gen already and didn't keep: The development barriers between consoles and PC must be torn down.

What "ruined" this gen was the bright idea to use shared memory banks (RAM and VRAM as one bank) in consoles. This meant that PC ports would need a complete overhaul of their memory allocation.
Look at the PC port of Arkham Knight to see how well that went.

Console architecture simply needs to be as close as possible to the PC as possible. That way, scalable engines will be guaranteed to run games on both systems without much of a hassle. Just develop them with console specs as their "lowest possible setting" in mind and you're good.

@KoopaTheGamer Just listen to Shieks voice clips. They are significantly lower pitched than Zeldas regular voice, implying she tried to come off as a male.
Which is perfectly fine, as all this persona tried to be is NOT Zelda. All in all, it really didn't matter what Shiek was, but who it was. ^^

@ThanosReXXX Their conference was great. Compared to others, they didn't pull any punches. It was a straight up trailer show without many interruptions. And the fact that every single piece of music was played live by an orchestra was just....stunning.

As for the "casuals", i actually know quite a lot of "moms and dads" who got back into gaming, even if its mobile or, in most dad cases, sims on PC.
But sure, you're not entirely wrong. It wasn't the big influx of players i made it sound like.
But the fact is, you wont be able to attract them with the same bait twice. They either left or stayed where they were already.

As the pessimist that i am....i really don't see Nintendo creating a system that is going to steal everyone else's show...
The complete radio silence isn't making things easier, as the course of the industry seems to be set: End goal = High and stable frame rates at at least 1080p if not 4k.

Its an arms race without much room for innovation. The industry is trying to recreate the "Wow" effect the HD switchover caused in terms of picture quality.
And innovation is only good if people adopt it. And Nintendos latest try, to make the second screen the standard setting met with deaf ears (although i personally still like it a lot).

Maybe, just maybe, their cartridge plans turn out to be the miracle they need, as there is the possibility for them to come with their own hardware on board. Depending on the connectors used, they can very realistically have their own RAM or VRAM banks if they need them.

That said, it would also create the need for publishers to not only print their standard issue discs but also manufacture cartridges which could turn out to be way too expensive...

Its a rats tail, every solution comes with its own set of significant problems. I just don't see the light at the end of this tunnel.

@ThanosReXXX "Either that or they go completely solo, as it already almost seemed with the Wii U at times.
Well, I guess they better have a HELL of a software line up in that case..."

Difference between going solo on NX and solo on Wii U is that after Wii U nobody w/ half a brain should be expecting NX to go anything but solo.

OK, I don't really like the "Solo" word, can we say "no AAA support"?

Wii U had no game support, from Ntinod or anyone else (see my many comments about all the sequels Wii U is lacking) but 3DS does ok. Monster Hunter, bunch of stuff from Squenix. If NX Home and handheld can play the same games, thats double the solo output, maybe triple the other support. After watching MS and Sony yesterday, Nitnedo isn't going to battle with them, not even a little. Ninteod is battling mobile, tying to stay relevant. Not sur ethey can, butit's not liek Xbo xis kicking any PS4 tail either.

Make a home console and a handheld that play the same games - SSB, MK, Pikmin, Zelda, Pokemon, Monster Hunter - and get all the kid 3rd party support - Lego D, Lego, Skyaldners, embrace the kid and family friendly monikor, and just stop being in competiton w/ Sony and MS, b/c they arent, just bring the Nintneod games to both home and handheld.

@ThanosReXXX Almost forgot, the most important aspect of being a family first video game console is price.

Wii U - 32GB, no games, no blu ray - $299
Xbox 1 S - 500GB, new games, 4k + HDR video - $299

Yeah, that's not going to work.

NX Home needs to be $199, maybe $249 w/ a really good game. NX Handheld needs to be $199 and work as a 2nd controller.

@rjejr Not going to happen. The XboneS (The Crossbones meme is complete ) is a mere remodel, probably made with plenty of overproduction on the regular model.
To beat that price, they need to save on something significant, like, a disc drive or a bigger HDD.

The best thing it could do is match that price again...and we all know that the WiiU already sold at a loss, which rules that option out. They cant afford another console generation to eat through their savings and their handheld department cant save them all the time.

@Einherjar nice projection there i suggest you read it again I never said anything on who should and not be playable in this game also you consider Link shallow and silent at least we agree on something but the mods have spoken on not turning this into a gender thread.

@Coffee_Drinker "nice projection" Listen to your own advice buddy : "i suggest you read it again"
It seems you missed the point entirely. But im not the first one to pint that out either, so i don't expect anything worthwhile coming from you to be honest....

@Einherjar sorry to think you ego is so fragile that you think a woman character would destroy that but thanks for the strawmans and hyperboles.

@Einherjar What's not going to happen, $199? Probably not, but I think that's what it would take to be successful.

I've been predicting 8 mil NX sold for probably over a year, no reason yet to change my mind on that.

Here's how you get to $199. Take the New 3DS innards. Remove the 2 screens, slap on TV out. NX may be a home console, but it will be a home console in name only. No HDD, no disc drive, just 2 slots, cartridge and SD card. It only needs to be as powerful as X1 to get Lego Dimensions and Skylanders, it's not getting any other 3rd party support for home console games. I twill get Pokemon on MH on the home console though to take up the slack. When the NX handheld releases next holiday for $199 and works as a Gamepad on the home, then they can make games like Splatoon again.

If Nintedo tries to make a $300 home console they will fail. Gamecube, N64, Wii U, it's becoming a long line of home console failures. Only a handheld hooked up to a tv might work.

@Coffee_Drinker You literally have no clue what i wrote, have you little man ?
You not only missed the point, you went in the exact opposite direction of it ! Its almost remarkable.

But you can white knight all day long as far as im concerned.
As long as you don't even read what others wrote, let alone get the gist of it, there is no point talking to you.

Heck, you didn't even get the point that we literally advocated for MORE female lead characters in the series and ditch Link completely as the main for a couple of titles xD
But whatever floats your boat man
Keep pushing that ideology cart till it runs on its own.
Maybe someday, insulting others and proclaiming how "fragile their egos and how afraid of woman they are" will net you the moral high horse you're longing for so bad.
Good luck on that part.

@rjejr Yup, that pricepoint will be hard to reach. And if they fall behind in both, tech and price, that's basically the end of it. Plain and simple.

That said, looking at how Nintendo handles their IP's lately, i fear that a solo approach is able to maintain them.
And if you're going for a "PS TV" approach, why not skip the console entirely and solely bank of a console / handheld hybrid instead ? Making two devices serving basically the same purpose will only create the same amount of consumer confusion the WiiU created.

Just make it a handheld console with peripheral support.
But even that wont be possible for 300 bucks.

@Einherjar ugh, don't mention PS TV, what a disaster. (And I hope it's ok if I avoid your other battle, I have enough of my own, thanks.)

Handheld w/ TV out makes sense, and I would have preferred that honestly, but Ntinedo seems set in their home console ways.

Difference between NX home and handhelds at $199 though is power. Home needs to be able to do 1080p w/ 5.1 surround, so that's more processing power required, NX handheld only needs to do stereo and maybe 480p, Nintnod won't do 720p, even though they should. So a little more money goes into power on the home, into the screen on the handheld. Home also needs the power to run multiplayer in splitscreen, which a handheld doesn't need as each handheld runs it's own screen.

And honeslty, I'm not sure how to make a $199 handheld have the power to run 1080p on a TV w/ 5.1 surround, much less splitscreen. Ninteod needs a home console for couch co-op and the home "experience". Handheld can run the smae game at lower res in solo mode, o rmultiplayer on seperate handhelds.

So while I do think a handheld w/ TV out is the way to go, have for at least 2 years now, I can understand why Ntinod might want to give a home console another try.

@Einherjar Ah the White knight insult you really have no argument do you?,just call me an SJW and get it out of your system I did read what others said and agreed I just showed my opinion what other things you can do I did not say that Zelda should not be chosen a lead but I am not acting triggered here am I?

@Coffee_Drinker Just to recap: You, the one insulting other peoples "fragile egos", are telling others they are "calling you an SJW because they are out of arguments" ? xD Dude, you're hilarious !
But please, go pester someone else now. I've said everything i wanted about this topic, if you are not able to grasp half of it and just want to fling sh*t around, do that with someone else please.
I really don't have the patience to deal with childish nonsense like that.

@rjejr Yeah, the PS TV was...something. Especially here in Europe, where approximately 80% of the games are blacklisted on the device, for no reason whatsoever.

As for home consoles, well, it has been Nintendos lifeblood for many many years now. I don't think they will part ways with that concept anytime soon.
But it is true that they completely lost touch with it and i even say that they only dominated the handheld market due to a severe lack of competition.

To be completely honest...i have no clue what the best way is to approach this situation. The hole they've dug themselves is pretty deep. All we can do is hope for the best really.

@vDom You don't have to agree with me, that's fine.
But I still know I'm right.

@CharlieSmile I'm glad you seem to think FORCING your ideologies onto other artists is right.

@Einherjar "hope for the best really."

Hope is not my strong point. Zelda Breath of the Wild was a nice start, but I realzie now I really hate Treehouse Live and Nintndo hasn't so much lost E3 as chosen not to show up.

Zelda has a name, a good name at that, it just screams Skyrim, but now the talking heads talk about Pokemon, a game that will sell 3 million copies even w/o a word being said ever. And evrybody who was interested in Zelda just goes back to their lives. Nintendo has no leadership, just random actions. I have no hope left.

@vDom whatever you say lol

@CharlieSmile Glad to see you realise I'm right. Also glad to know that you won't get the new Zelda since there is no female Link option! Have a nice day.

@rjejr That said, MANY games tried to be Skyrim this year.
God of War, Horizon...its becoming a major theme.
And i just saw the trailer and must say...
Im not really impressed at all.

Its yet another empty open world that looks like it serves no real purpose...
And what else did we get ? Armor, Weapons, climbing....
That's nice and all, but that's supposed to be the big killer here ? I really don't see it.

Just another Zelda with yet another open world.

@vDom whatever you say you go ahead and rest easy now

@Einherjar Sony is all Skyrim all the time, though Sammyb likes to call it Uncharted/Last of US. I'm halfway thru the Tomb Raider reboot - huge backlog - and I'd say that game really has a nice balance of open world nature and cramped caves. And action packed cut scenes, I'm a big fan of those.

I'm currently torn between Horizon and God of War, but in a good way. After 20 minutes of Zelda wandering I'm ready for a nap. I's almost like they took the Hyrule Warriros game and then took out all the bad guys. It might be too open. And empty. I know that's what they want, but empty and open isn't for me. It worked great for XC years ago w/ that great story and characters, and XCX lost the great story and characters for a world filled in w/ stuff - rocks, ,rivers, caves, creatures. Link so far just has a big open empty world. Wii U and NX owners can love it, but I'm getting a PS4.

@rjejr I said EXACTLY the same after the stream a few minutes ago.
It "wanted to break free from Zelda conventions"....and become one of the most overused, overplayed and generic genres out there: Open World RPG / Survival...

That little gameplay snipped was boring as all heck...and it ran like sh*t too ! So yeah, i pass.
SHOULD i end up getting whatever the NX is supposed to be, im getting it there.
But im not dealing with this stutter fest on a WiiU.

~ Link is MALE. No Female Option. The End ~

LMAO sorry but Link will not have a female option, nor will he ever.
Refer to: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-wont-have-a-female-he/1100-6440862/

and anyone who thought that was a female link with the hood on is so stupid. it's just link... with a hood on. hahahaha

@CapeSmash
sorry but no, completely wrong. and for the record both those pics of link look exactly the same

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-wont-have-a-female-he/1100-6440862/

@CharlieSmile
i just want to say that it's ridiculous to think equality and progress means every male or female character needs to be gender swapped or completely customizable. that's not how the world works, and the majority of people want iconic characters to continue being consistent.

we don't need a female donkey kong, mario and luigi, ryu and ken.
we don't need a male princess peach, chun-li and cammy, or a freaking male lara croft.

@KoopaTheGamer Wait, I guess that's true! I forgot that Sheik is Zelda crossdressing in Ocarina. In the manga, Sheik is literally Zelda turned into a guy, and who doesn't remember being Zelda; and apparently I just mapped that onto the game...oops!

@World I wouldn't rule that out to be honest.
Her voice is deeper, her eye color has changed...
Magic can do some funny stuff sometimes

Omg this is a relief x.x" i thought they were gonna bring that annoying female version of link on a good game :/ i'm hoping they don't bring her at all..but i'm worried about zelda ; - ;" where is she in the new game? Can someone tell me what happen to her?? Or something at least? Also I rather see a guy link, thank you very much because link has been a man threw out the whole years of the game it would feel odd for OLD ACTUAL fans to see a female link replace link because of the many male and female fans ._. wanting it to happen..you know whom i'm talking about. Links a boy not a dang chick with one boob on the left and one split butterfly down there ALRIGHT! xD Then he'll be trans..the whole world knows e-e..run link..run ..okay let me shut up but thank god this was cleared up.

@Einherjar you indeed dont have the patience but that is what makes you the child here and like what you gave flimsy arguments at best and went off and threw childish temper tantrum with emojis and everything sad to see a gown man act that way you really do have the ego of a small child tsk tsk.

@Coffee_Drinker And again, the ego insult from a supposedly grown man who doesn't even know what punctuation is.

But seriously mate, stop pestering me with you petty baiting.
Im not going to repeat myself again.

And btw. If you don't like my "flimsy arguments", how about the official statement reinforcing what we "children" explained on here over and over again:

Its canon lore, deal with it.

I am absolutely so sick of this Gender thing all the time!! I wish it was the 1980's - '90s again, where people just enjoyed their favorite game characters and accepted what developers created..
Do you guys also want a female Mario or Super Maria? It seems to be a thing of this time! and i'm absolutlely missing the older days more and more now every day.