Legend of Zelda question for English

[TheMiningAlex]

I am doing a research paper for my English class and I am writing it on why the "Damsel in Distress" story trope is so popular. Specifically in The Legend of Zelda. So here is my question.


When you first discovered and played 'The Legend of Zelda" would any of the following factors have changed they way you thought about the game and how much you liked it?


Link was a Female
Zelda was a Male
Zelda and Link Swapped Genders
Zelda and link were the same Gender
Link was Old
Zelda was Old
Zelda and Link were both Old
Zelda was Ugly
Link was Ugly
Zelda and Link were both ugly
The villain was a child
The villain was clearly a female


If not please say no none of these would have affected the way viewed the game or how much i liked it.

IF EVEN ONE DOES APPLY PLEASE SAY YES

Feel free to clarify or ask questions in the comments

Please note i am only asking about these specific factors. This question is assuming Nintendo did not change any other parts of the story and only changed these factors. meaning they did not compensate for anything.

 

[Alita the Pun]

No none of these would have affected me.

The reason for this is because with the first zelda game, Nintendo set a mold, they set a kind of expectation of what other games would hold. If Nintendo would have introduced the game in any other way, that would have set the mold for the games to come. So no, it would not have affected me when I first played it. If they were to make these changes now though, I would be affected because that mold had been broken. Good luck with your paper, I hope this was helpful!

 

[pyjamas5189]

I don't think any of these would make a difference to me what drew me to the games was the puzzles and problem-solving aspect.

 

[Ventus]

Link was a Female
Eh since I first played Zeldor at ~age 3 (OoT released when I was 3)...this probably would have turned me off. But hey, who knows how a three year old thinks and atcs? I surely don't.

Zelda was a Male
A male being in a damsel of distress? No way. Unbelievables in the late 90s.

Swapping Genders
Like midway threough th egame? Of not sure. It could be a thing to remember, but int he context of OoT I can't see this happening personably.

Old
Well, this means little to me. Old people can do all kinds of stuff. My grandfather was a vet who served in the Vietname War. Grandma worked for Lockheed Martin, and so on.

Ugly
Which kind of ugly?

Villain in Child, Female
Couldn't take a child villain seriously in the context of OoT, if female, this is believable because the Gertudo were already implied to be sneaky devils who abduct Hylians for the sex.

 

[TheMiningAlex]

Link was a Female

Swapping Genders
Like midway threough th egame? Of not sure. It could be a thing to remember, but int he context of OoT I can't see this happening personably.

Ugly
Which kind of ugly?

1. no from the start.

2. not pretty, unattractive.

 

[TheMiningAlex]

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has given feed back and advice so far. You have given me a lot to think about and a lot of great information.

 

[Dio]

A little background info for you first, just so you know where I am coming from. I was around 4 when I first saw and got OOT so I answer how I think my 4 year old self would have viewed seeing that game.

Link was a Female
I probably would have thought it was a girls game and not wanted it.

Zelda was a Male
It wouldn't have mattered to me at the time that Zelda was a male. I think it could have worked with Link befriending a male prince.

Link was Old
This wouldn't have bothered me. I would have thought playing as an old swordsman was cool.

Link or Zelda was Ugly
We don't tend to be drawn to ugly people. It may have put me off but I'm not sure. Zelda being ugly would have bothered me more because she would have been less endearing.

Child Villain
I wouldn't have liked it. Seeing Ganondorf was one of the big reasons why I wanted OOT. I thought he looked badass. I don't think a child villain would have had that impact for me.

Female villain
If she was a witch I'd have liked that. I really loved witches around the age I got OOT and besides Ganondorf I was also excited for Kotake and Koume.

 

[TheMiningAlex]

Thank you all for your input it has made for a rather interesting paper. I hope this thread may spark more discussion about such topics and may continue on as a place for discussion.

 

[Bas]

Keep your gender issues and -ism whining out of my videogames please

 

[TheMiningAlex]

Keep your gender issues and -ism whining out of my videogames please

I'm sorry please keep your prejudiced opinions of me out of my request for information. I'm studying the question of why these genders issues are a big part of what makes Zelda a popular game. Maybe if you weren't clos minded you would have noticed that.

 

[Bas]

Oh, come on man, don't take this personal.

I'll contribute to make it up to you:

No I don't really care what my protagonists are/look like. Never have, I'll enjoy any game with any characters. All that matters to me is if the game is any good.
Some character types fit a certain setting or story better, but aside from that, no. Maybe I would have thought it was weird if the villain was a child, it would have to have some horror aspects to work, I think. Kinda like Majora's Mask did.

Many people share my sentiment. People just don't like having certain agendas pushed on them. Just because I might disagree with your opinion, does not make me a prejudiced, close minded person. That's cult thinking, and that **** is dangerous.

Don't preach openness, then be offended and attack people when they disagree. Mindsets and behaviors like this is why Trump got elected.

 

[Jamie]

Oh, come on man, don't take this personal.

I'll contribute to make it up to you:

No I don't really care what my protagonists are/look like. Never have, I'll enjoy any game with any characters. All that matters to me is if the game is any good.
Some character types fit a certain setting or story better, but aside from that, no. Maybe I would have thought it was weird if the villain was a child, it would have to have some horror aspects to work, I think. Kinda like Majora's Mask did.

Many people share my sentiment. People just don't like having certain agendas pushed on them. Just because I might disagree with your opinion, does not make me a prejudiced, close minded person. That's cult thinking, and that **** is dangerous.

Don't preach openness, then be offended and attack people when they disagree. Mindsets and behaviors like this is why Trump got elected.

He didn't even state his opinion so what the **** are you talking about?


Anyway, I think a character being ugly would be offputting for me. Aesthetics are important in video games I think.