If you could change the writing of any character in the Zelda franchise, who would you change and what would you change?

[The Dashing Darknut]

Me personally, I would change Ilia. She was really boring to me and I would’ve given her more personality. I would also make her not have the memory loss thing and would make her be more important in the plot. I would also change her weird hair. She just felt like a boring and cliched character who was not endearing to me at all.

 

[Chevywolf30]

I think that Ilia is a good character, but I do agree she could be somewhat more relevant.

I'd change Tetra's writing tho. While I don't think there's anything wrong with her arc, it could be better. Maybe since she has the Gossip Stone, she could be your companion through the late game dungeon's instead of Medli and Makar.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Deku tree
Mans got old english and doesnt even know how to say it proper

 

[The Dashing Darknut]

Deku tree
Mans got old english and doesnt even know how to say it proper

Link is in his causal outfit in Wind Waker understands him, funnily enough. Link in his Outset outfit has the whole too cool for school look.

 

[twilitfalchion]

Tetra. Halfway through WW she loses almost all personality and starts to feel irrelevant to the plot. And she lost her tan.

I'd gladly have her finish the game side-by-side with Link after that midway point where she becomes aware of her place as Zelda instead of just staying hidden in Hyrule Castle.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

toon zelda in wind waker, maybe something else will come to mind but her personality shift I think is the biggest thing that could use a rewrite, she really shouldn't have been shelved like that

(also brown zelda but yeah)

 

[The Dashing Darknut]

Wow. Tetra seems to be the most popular answer right now. Was not expecting that.

Tetra. Halfway through WW she loses almost all personality and starts to feel irrelevant to the plot. And she lost her tan.

I'd gladly have her finish the game side-by-side with Link after that midway point where she becomes aware of her place as Zelda instead of just staying hidden in Hyrule Castle.

Yeah, her just staying put is the same kind of issue I have with Ilia. To be honest, the only Zelda incarnation I really like is the Spirit Tracks one. Other than that, I’m not much of a fan of her.

 

[Chevywolf30]

Then there's BotW Zelda who won't stay put.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Link is in his causal outfit in Wind Waker understands him, funnily enough. Link in his Outset outfit has the whole too cool for look.

OOT deku tree

Also the entire cast of botw, especially zelda on behalf of fraxinus

I hate how mean ilia is in the beginning, shes one of those basic white chicks who wouldn't hesitate to doom the human race to save a puppy and it's what makes her so unlikable to me. So I would change that specific piece of dialogue

Another character I would toy with is fi. The framework is there and the concept is cool, but her jargon technobabble isnt really convincing at all. Everything is 99% confidence, even things that are vague and reachy just as much as things that are literally guaranteed. She also needs more introspection during the lanayru sand sea sequence.

Most dialogue in japanese video games is borderline cringe and zelda isnt an exception. But I'm usually willing to look past it

Wow. Tetra seems to be the most popular answer right now. Was not expecting that.

People are salty about it for some reason
I can get the skin color change but the different personality complaint is baseless because it ignores context

 

[twilitfalchion]

Yeah, her just staying put is the same kind of issue I have with Ilia.

The thing with Ilia for me is her lack of plot relevance. Tetra is set up as a major character for the game's first half then drops off. Ilia is just one step above being a generic NPC the entire time. She could be gone and nothing of any significance would change in the game.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

The thing with Ilia for me is her lack of plot relevance. Tetra is set up as a major character for the game's first half then drops off. Ilia is just one step above being a generic NPC the entire time. She could be gone and nothing of any significance would change in the game.

Horse call! Cant live without it

 

[The Dashing Darknut]

Horse call! Cant live without it

*Coughs in warping*

The thing with Ilia for me is her lack of plot relevance. Tetra is set up as a major character for the game's first half then drops off. Ilia is just one step above being a generic NPC the entire time. She could be gone and nothing of any significance would change in the game.

True. I personally found Tetra to be endearing, whereas I didn’t find Ilia endearing at all.

 

[DJ Twitch]

Ilia was fine, but I think what we needed here was a little more interaction with Link to make their relationship more believable. Perhaps she could have been captured during a later segment in the game.

For Tetra, I honestly would have left out the transformation entirely. Having her inexplicably turn into a princess and do a 180 in personality completely killed her.

Now to bring something new to the table, I would add something to the Lon Lon Ranch arc in OoT. It always seemed strange to me that when you beat Ingo, everything just suddenly goes back to normal: Talon is allowed to come back, Ingo is nice again, nobody asks any questions. There's definitely a piece missing here, like a final confrontation with Ingo where you free him from a corrupting influence or just beat him into submission.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

ok this one isn't as much of a character rewrite as it is a story rewrite, but Din from oracle of seasons

we interact w/ her for a total of like 4 minutes before she's kidnapped and gone for the rest of the game until the end, for being a titular character for the game, she's gone for like 95% of it, Lanayru got a way better treatment in ages so it's mega lame that DIn becomes a damsel so quickly

 

[twilitfalchion]

I'll bite. BotW Zelda.

They tried to go for the deeper characterization, but more often than not she came across as a whiny, unfriendly brat. Sure there are diaries that explain her situation better, but how many folks are going to go out of their way to hunt for some books at specific places in a massive world to find that out? The memories just don't cut it to clarify her behavior either.

And it's not like Link will ever speak up to clear the air, so...

EDIT: I will say that her characterization in AoC was better overall, if only because she didn't really have any whiny moments that I can remember.