Arguments -against- a Female Link?

[Ventus]

I've been probing ways that I myself would personally like change in the Zelda series to be approached, and one such way is to make Link, our beloved hero, a female for the next installment. The notion however gets a lot of flame, but I want to know why. What is it that a female Link couldn't do that a male Link could? That causes the fanbase to turn on itself? That makes the sky red instead of blue? Thanks :yes:

 

[r2d93]

It could be done, but it'd feel a little awkward playing as a female Link after all these years as playing the beloved silent male garbed in green.
Plus, more often we'd see a male learning to become a skilled swordsman and using dangerous items fighting evil rather than a female.

Also, how would the relationship with Zelda work? Would they be galpals or something? I personally wouldn't enjoy it because it just wouldn't be Link. Link is an icon, it's like having a female Mario.

 

[Awesome]

It could be done, but it'd feel a little awkward playing as a female Link after all these years as playing the beloved silent male garbed in green.
Plus, more often we'd see a male learning to become a skilled swordsman and using dangerous items fighting evil rather than a female.

Also, how would the relationship with Zelda work? Would they be galpals or something? I personally wouldn't enjoy it because it just wouldn't be Link. Link is an icon, it's like having a female Mario.

Zelda isn't in every Zelda game and wouldn't necessarily have to be in one with a female Link. A female Link is fine. There's literally nothing wrong with the idea other than people being sexist. And it's not like having a female Mario....Mario is one person....Link is many people. The name Link has been used by countless heroes...why can't one be a chick?

I'd love to see a female Link or even have a game where you play as Zelda (no arguing that she was in Wand of Gamelon or however you spell it)....but that's just me.

 

[r2d93]

Zelda isn't in every Zelda game and wouldn't necessarily have to be in one with a female Link. A female Link is fine. There's literally nothing wrong with the idea other than people being sexist. And it's not like having a female Mario....Mario is one person....Link is many people. The name Link has been used by countless heroes...why can't one be a chick?

I'd love to see a female Link or even have a game where you play as Zelda (no arguing that she was in Wand of Gamelon or however you spell it)....but that's just me.

I'm not being sexist. And Link is still an icon, every Link has similar traits, and the two most relevant traits being that every single Link wears green and every single Link is a male

 

[Garo]

I think we're unlikely to see a female Link, and I also think that the very reasons we are unlikely to see a female Link are compelling reasons that we should NOT see a female Link.

The majority of game designers are men. It's pretty much a given that they are going to better relate to male characters, and as a result will be able to write more compelling male characters than female characters because of this stronger relation. The tendency of people to write what they know will lead most male designers to create a male central protagonist subconsciously; when they decide to create a female protagonist, the feeling that they are fighting their instinct leads them to try and write a female character that is absurdly "feminine" per societal distinctions. So rather than receiving a good character, we get a character that simply ascribes to societal definitions of a female. That kind of portrayal - while debatable as far as whether it can be called sexism - isn't the kind of portrayal that we want in gaming.

The kind of female character portrayal that we want is either a character that is good regardless of their gender, or a character that is good because they are a good representation of a real female character. The former would be easy to create, since we know that gaming is capable of providing compelling characters regardless of gender (Commander Shepard is a good example) - the only roadblock is that developers need to treat the female character like any other character and not go out of their way to make her "feminine", because that quickly descends into stereotypical representation or straight up objectification (I'M LOOKING AT YOU LARA CROFT). The latter would require that developers understand that a real female character neither fully ascribes to nor fully rejects traditional societal gender roles. Full ascription to gender roles results in boring, stereotypical characters. Full rejection of gender roles results in characters like Korra, which ultimately are female characters that act masculine, and are ultimately hollow and equally stereotypical. The way to get to the sweet spot is simply to understand that in reality, people neither fully embrace or reject societal pressures.

So after all that waxing theoretical: a female Link would be completely and totally fine, if - and only if - the fact that she is a female is not forced, but rather an inconsequential aspect of a well-crafted character. But I don't think gaming is quite capable of that just yet. And until then, I'd rather that we avoid stereotypical, objectified or just plain awful characters.

I recommend this video, which covers a lot of what I just said in far better form: Penny Arcade - Extra Credits – True Female Characters

 

[misskitten]

I don't see why we couldn't simply just have a choice in whether we would want to play as male or female Link in a game... I don't see how the story would change simply because of what gender character you play... there are no rules in Zelda that only male characters can be warriors or adventurers... so I don't see any issue that a female character could save Zelda and Hyrule.

 

[TheRizardon]

I have nothing against a female Link. I'm going to go with misskitten why not choose which gender? It would be interesting to see and people shouldn't just want what they've been getting for years. You could at least try it out IF Nintendo decides so which I don't see happening.

 

[link&zelda4ever]

i'm no sexist either i hate female protagonists,i love them like in the miyazaki films,they almost feature only female but a female link is something other,he was since over 25 years a guy and now as a girl were really strange,even if it were the same game,link is link and he's a guy.its like they would make zelda a guy.i wouldnt mind that they had to remove the romance between link/zelda or so but its just not the same,as for me,i wouldnt want this he should stay just as he is.

 

[The Jade Fist]

I think we're unlikely to see a female Link, and I also think that the very reasons we are unlikely to see a female Link are compelling reasons that we should NOT see a female Link.

The majority of game designers are men. It's pretty much a given that they are going to better relate to male characters, and as a result will be able to write more compelling male characters than female characters because of this stronger relation. The tendency of people to write what they know will lead most male designers to create a male central protagonist subconsciously; when they decide to create a female protagonist, the feeling that they are fighting their instinct leads them to try and write a female character that is absurdly "feminine" per societal distinctions. So rather than receiving a good character, we get a character that simply ascribes to societal definitions of a female. That kind of portrayal - while debatable as far as whether it can be called sexism - isn't the kind of portrayal that we want in gaming.

The kind of female character portrayal that we want is either a character that is good regardless of their gender, or a character that is good because they are a good representation of a real female character. The former would be easy to create, since we know that gaming is capable of providing compelling characters regardless of gender (Commander Shepard is a good example) - the only roadblock is that developers need to treat the female character like any other character and not go out of their way to make her "feminine", because that quickly descends into stereotypical representation or straight up objectification (I'M LOOKING AT YOU LARA CROFT). The latter would require that developers understand that a real female character neither fully ascribes to nor fully rejects traditional societal gender roles. Full ascription to gender roles results in boring, stereotypical characters. Full rejection of gender roles results in characters like Korra, which ultimately are female characters that act masculine, and are ultimately hollow and equally stereotypical. The way to get to the sweet spot is simply to understand that in reality, people neither fully embrace or reject societal pressures.

So after all that waxing theoretical: a female Link would be completely and totally fine, if - and only if - the fact that she is a female is not forced, but rather an inconsequential aspect of a well-crafted character. But I don't think gaming is quite capable of that just yet. And until then, I'd rather that we avoid stereotypical, objectified or just plain awful characters.

I recommend this video, which covers a lot of what I just said in far better form: Penny Arcade - Extra Credits – True Female Characters

Link Doesn't even talk, so writing a compelling female Link would be made alot easier by that fact alone.

Others saying but what about the relationship with zelda? What about it? Alot of the games there was almost no friendship or relationship between them, it was more like she was telling Link what to do, or Link was saving her because it was the right thing to do.

I think I would be ok with it. I would want her to be more feral then civil though. By which mean, the traditional style of Link who lived mostly alone, so she'd wouldn't be a refined prissy brat, or entirely tomboyish.

Its not like there is alot of dialogue for Link to say, the real writing would be in how other characters talk to her instead. And in a medieval world, its expected she would be treated more poorly, by many of the male characters, but some times better. They could go wrong if every one is hitting on her, or if every one is treating her like trash, but as long as they make those how every single person talks to her, it would fit fine, as long as they don't overly stress the fact oh look female Link, but make it feel more natural the way other characters talk to her.

Granted not like the way people talked with link was all that natural either, considering they knew what he wanted to say, even though all he did was stare and grunt at them.

It would be an interesting change of pace, but at the same time, Link is seen as a single person, even if there are different Links they are re incarnations, not just people being named the same, and as an icon nintendo probably doesn't want to change him in such a profound way.

 

[Mangachick14]

Look, I'm not sexist (being a girl myself) but it would be too much of a change. It's not wise to just go and gender-bend such an iconic character, especially since the franchise is already over 25 years old. If nintendo had already been switching Link's gender through the years, it would be fine, but randomly changing his gender after that long would be well... random. If people want a female protagonist in the Zelda series, why gender-bend our green-clad hero when we already have Zelda herself? Yeah, I would like to see more powerful women in the Zelda series, but I'd prefer it if we weren't switching the gender of an already existing character. Personally, I have absolutely no problem with female protagonists (Actually I like them a lot) but making a big change like this just wouldn't feel right to me.

But hey, that's just my opinion. Feel free to have your own.

 

[Ventus]

It's not wise to just go and gender-bend such an iconic character
If people want a female protagonist in the Zelda series, why gender-bend our green-clad hero when we already have Zelda herself?

I know at the end of your post you said it's your opinion, but for one:

1)Link, being an iconic character and all, is frequently called Zelda. He isn't so well known that changing his gender would affect anything; heck I still call him Zelda just to have a laugh with my little brother. Link isn't Mario, and *everyone* knows who Mario is regardless of playing a game of the series whereas Link is still Zelda in the minds of people who haven't had their spoonful of Zelda.

2) Like I said, Link is still Zelda in the minds of many people. But, ignoring that, let's examine what Link is. From the very definition of the word, Link is "anything serving to connect one part or thing with another; a bond or tie". (Dictionary.com) Link doesn't speak (barring that incident in AoL, and "Come on!" in TWW). Link has emotions that are genuinely those of practically any human being with a heart. Link really is an empty shell, a Nobody, whose very essence is that of the player. Changing the gender of Link will affect nothing, absolutely nothing, except for the 3D model and animations. Link(ette?) would still be that avatar that connects us to Hyrule, Skyloft; Termina; Holodrum & Labrynna; Koholint Island and even new places, SHE would just not be a male. Link doesn't even have a personality at this point, but the closest we can understand is the dopy-turned-heroic personality in Skyward Sword, but even that wasn't too touched upon to solidify Link as any one character.

:/

 

[Spirit]

I dont have any arguments against it, i think it should happen, Aside from SS and maybe AoL there really hasn't been any romance between Link and Zelda, the fans want to and think they see it.

If Link were female nothing would change aside from the way he looks, women can be brave, honourable chosen heroes too. Link doesn't say anything and doesn't do anything that defines his gender or does anything a woman couldn't.

It'd be nice to have a female Link, it'd be nice to have a sisterly bond with Zelda perhaps instead of an apparent romantic one.

Hell, give us a choice at the beginning like pokemon, male or female Link. He's about as gender defining as the surrogate pokemon trainers anyway, because as nintnedo say, that is exactly what Link is, a surrogate.

 

[Cel-Shaded Deku]

Link is already feminine to have the appeal of both genders. So what's the point of do dynamically changing a character when he's already designed to be similar to what you what him to be?

 

[CheeseXCrackers]

There really is no reason to change his gender.

 

[willsfairysword]

theres not a good reason to change the gender of link the gender of the main characters don't really mater in most games.