Do You Think Link Should Talk?

[Master Kokiri 9]

And now another thread specifying what we want in ZW. This time concerning Link himself, and whether or not he should talk.

I'll bet a lot of you are just going to say "It'll ruin the game! What the heck are you thinking?!", but I disagree with that.

Link has talked before, but they made it hard to pick up on. For instance, in TP when you go back to Ordon after restoring the Eldin Province and talk to the villagers, the screen blacks out and they know what happened. It's quite obvious that Link talked there. And in Phantom Hourglass, when you free Linebeck from his prison in the TotOK, Link waves his arms and Linebeck suddenly knows that Link is trying to find the Ghost Ship. Obviously he didn't talk there.

Anyways, I want Link to actually get text bubbles or something rather than the grunts and gestures and the single Japanese word he said in OoT (when Link falls from a cliff as an adult and gets hurt, he says "Ite" which is Japanese for "Ouch"). It would allow for his character to be developed. This is what I loved about WW and TP; Link actually showed character development in those games rather than being the static character he usually is in those games.

Anyways, how do you feel about Link actually saying things on screen that you can notice? Do you think it's a bad idea or a good idea? Discuss it here.

 

[Dragmire]

the real question should be: do you want link to talk more/should link carry on talking

in AOL he says: i found a mirror
in WW he says: come on
and in just about every game other than the legend of zelda and alttp, he always replies back, (i couldnt care less in the wind waker), he has a full conversation with that poor girl in windfall island, when he is asked a yes/no question, he clearly replies, they dont read his mind.

so yes he should carry on talking, talk more? i like him not starting conversations, he can carry on waiting for someone to speak before replying back. but i wouldnt mind if he spoke just as much as other characters in the game (apart from kaepora gaebora, i will kill the sick animal that makes him talk as much as that stupid owl)

 

[DayDreamer]

I dont really care if he talks or not. Though I do prefer his toon link emotions like the ones in spirit tracks. They really let out everyone's personality in that game.

 

[The zelda lover]

I think that Link should talk, he has the same right to talk as the other caracters.

 

[TwilightZelda]

i dont really care if he talks, i just like to play the game.

 

[rock]

He should definitely have a text box for talking, but if it's his voice (some of the gestures he makes are accompanied by sound) I say that should be a playable option to appeal to either party.

 

[Austin]

I said no. I'm aware that Link has "spoken" before, I don't mind it as long as I don't hear him. I don't want to hear his voice because it may totally rewrite his character for me. Unlike, say, Samus or Mario, Link isn't a character so much as a representation of the player in the game's universe. There's a reason you can choose a name in Zelda but not in the other two aforementioned franchises. Honestly, it felt so unnatural in AoL when Link found that... mirror, I think. This is also why I'm not rushing to find any Zelda manga, I don't like the idea of a Link I can't control. Just my opinion.

 

[TriforceHunter]

I really wouldn't mind, but, if this next game happens to have VA then it would be plain stupid if he didn't say anything, and I know him talking would affect his bad@$$ silent, lonewolf hero image, but he has spoken before, he always responds(Whenever it asks you to choose) always explains what happens and in WW you could respond in complete sentences, even is SC II, when the tittle screen, or when you're fighing he screams "Saiiya!"(Or something like that.) which definitely has to mean something.

 

[Zeruda]

I've said it before, but the only way I'd be okay with him talking would be if it was in the original Japanese with his normal voice actor. No dubbing whatsoever. Even then, I'd rather him not talk. I'm aware of his implied speech, and in TP, you can see his mouth moving as he talks in a beginning cutscene in Ordon, but... to actually hear full speech? I'd really rather that not happen. We have plenty of characters in the gaming world who are their own character... why take away the one that lets us be the character?

 

[rock]

I've said it before, but the only way I'd be okay with him talking would be if it was in the original Japanese with his normal voice actor. No dubbing whatsoever. Even then, I'd rather him not talk. I'm aware of his implied speech, and in TP, you can see his mouth moving as he talks in a beginning cutscene in Ordon, but... to actually hear full speech? I'd really rather that not happen. We have plenty of characters in the gaming world who are their own character... why take away the one that lets us be the character?

But would you agree that Link deserves a text box with his mouth moving and stuff? Of course no sound would be heard except for maybe expressions as it has been done in the past, but that way we can actually see Link's character speak without ruining Link's character, if you know what I mean.

 

[Y2K3]

I wouldn't want it. At all. There's something about talking protagonists that bother me, so I like 'em silent. I think it's better that way, 'cause then you can use your imagination more.
Plus, other than a few lines, he hasn't spoken at all at this point, so I don't see why he should have full blown speech all of a sudden. Leave him the way he is.

 

[dur.i.am]

I believe that Nintendo are doing the right thing by creating games in which Link doesn't create a sound which forms a word, thus allowing Link to talk. I think it would be too hard for Nintendo to find a voice actor this late into the series that would work well (although admittingly, CD-i Zelda wasn't that bad, but wasn't great either). I'm not all against the idea of having a Link that talks as I will explain in a second, it's just I'd prefer for Link to remain silent as it allows the audience to create the voice of Link in their head. Although we don't get to see Link's dialogue, I've created an idea in my head of the points in which the player selects what Link does respond to certain people.

I do think that the fact Link doesn't speak is something that makes Zelda what Zelda it is, speaking is very common amongst all games found on other the other consoles (well, the majority of these games anyway). The majority of today's great games and series also have a major advantage with choosing voice actors as they've been using voice acting since they first began selling, although Nintendo have no excuse as I'm sure most games since Ocarina of Time, if not earlier would have been able to use voice actors but didn't. These games also have the advantage that their characters change from game to game (e.g. Call of Duty, Final Fantasy as far as I know...etc) so it's not that hard to produce a game in which their characters have voices.

However, if they were able to release different clips of voice actors as Link in which the Zelda fanbase had a influence over (e.g. being able to vote on how well the voice actor fits), I don't see the harm in it as we are able to influence Nintendo towards a new age of Zelda games in which Link speaks. I personally would try and go against this though, as I said before, I believe that Link not speaking is something that makes Zelda Zelda. I wouldn't like the fact that Link has suddenly began to talk either...

My overall conclusion is that I don't think Link should ever talk in a Zelda game other than the odd noise like to show that he's in pain.

 

[Xinnamin]

There have been more than one occasion in games, or even other media, where I felt an entire moment ruined by voice acting. For voices to work, the voices have to be pretty near perfect, in tone, volume, pitch, everything really. The dialogue also plays heavily, even if he was silent but had his own dialogue, it would be far too easy to mess up. Quite often it takes only one bad moment to spoil an otherwise brilliant scene, and at this point, with the Zelda series being so old and established, I think giving Link a voice would come across as too big of a shock to the system.

Link is the hero, the main character, and originally nothing more than a representation of the player. Even though at this point, Link is basically his own character, he is still the player's connection to Hyrule/whatever world we're saving. We as the player are able to project our own thoughts to the situation, we're able to make up Link's voice and dialogue in our heads, and personally, I think that's half the fun. I don't know about you, but my favorite thing about cutscenes is that I can make up Link's dialogue, make him say what I want him to say, what I think is the most appropriate (or most humorous depending on my mood) for him to say. It stirs the imagination; I feel more connected to the story.

Frankly, at this point with the series so old, most players probably already have an established idea of what Link sounds like to them, what all the characters sound like to them. Like I said, it takes one little moment to ruin a big scene. Example, Midna. This is just a personal sentiment, but bear with me. When I first heard her voice, I thought it wasn't too bad. The game progressed, and there were moments I thought her tone didn't quite match the situation, but those were small annoyances. At the very end, she regains her true form, but keeps that high pitched imp voice that I felt totally clashed with her new appearance. I didn't like it, and for the entire final cutscene, I found myself constantly focusing on how out of place her voice was. I don't want that to happen to Link. I don't want to spend the whole game noticing the issues with his voice. I don't want to spend the whole game trying to correlate my thoughts with his dialogue.

Of course, it's possible that Nintendo could do it right and make it near perfect, but it can never be perfect. The Zelda fanbase is huge, and there's no way to please everyone and make everyone's vision of perfection a reality. I'd rather not add another ingredient to the controversy melting pot.

 

[Raven]

Either way I'll be happy, I mean you have to admit that the series has made some big changes in the last few games and at this point nothing is sacred (right handed Link in TP for Wii) but I do agree that Link shouldn't talk yet... This next game could have VA for all I care but as long as Link doesn't say anything, some people would get very annoyed if Link started jabbering all the time. Although I do enjoy reading all that text, games these days are so advanced that some people see no VA as a downside. Zelda is just one of those games that is too cool for VA how can you pick someone to do Ganon or Zelda? whoever was chosen could never live up to our expectations but I think one day they might give it a shot... maybe.

 

[rock]

After thinking a little bit about it, I'm going to have to just say no to giving Link a voice, or speaking, or dialogue. Not that it wouldn't be good, but it'd have to be extremely good for it to work.

Also, I'd prefer to most noise/text coming from Link to be when he makes those expressions: falling, drinking something, riding Epona, damaged badly, etc. Stuff like that doesn't have to be elaborate on, cause it always allowed for me to get a sense of who Link is as a character, but I think it would honor Link's character if more noises like that were incorporated. For instance, when Link attacks, make his expressions different. I know they are unique to each move so I'm pretty much saying give him more moves.

It's pretty badass when you as the character express emotion (shock, rage, sadness, etc.) but don't say much- it makes him much more complex than any other character who talks...and then to top that off he could be as calm as a butterfly, but lash out (with his noise expressions) and switch right back to calm. It's like there's a beast inside of him that only he controls.