Link the Thief?

[Djinn]

Rogueish type characters have been famous in the fantasy genre for years. Several games and stories star a thief, or otherwise notorious individual that comes from the bad side of town and uses their skills learned for survival there to help them on a much larger quest. Knowing how to quietly move around unnoticed by guards in a hometown could also be used to survive in a dungeon filled with enemies. Or the skill of sneaking into and out of castles can be used to penetrate a long lost dungeon. They might have better skills at discovering traps within a temple or a means to escape them. Normally they begin the adventure through very selfish means, by breaking into a tomb, or wealthier individual's home, or they happen across a valuable item that leads them to look for more causing an adventure to happen to them. There are many different ways a naive pickpocket or unlucky intruder might unintentionally find themselves on a much greater mission that encompasses the entire kingdom because of their curiosity.

What would people think of a less than reputable Link as the star of a future game? Someone who comes from the seedier side of town and is better skilled in sneaking, hiding, and laying traps for his enemies?

Normally Link comes from a small village on the outskirts of Hyrule and is typically an orphan who discovers the greater world of Hyrule during the adventure. A Link that comes from Castletown, but a more rough side of it, would be an interesting change of pace. Then he could also discover the rest of Hyrule again by leaving the confines of the slums of Castletown for the first time.

Perhaps that nobility that all the other Links live up to could be something this character would learn slowly over the course of the game and would later try to aspire to. He might start out on his quest for selfish reasons but eventually learn to help others for the sake of helping others. Either through interaction with other characters, deities found within Hyrule, or understanding his need to live up to the mantle of Legendary Hero. He could be the first Link to actually be required to earn his right to lift the Master Sword, at least by doing more than just dungeon diving for three pendants.

Nintendo does somewhat play around with this concept, with the ability to gain the thief title in LA by stealing from a store. As well as the many other times Link wonders into homes and takes rupees by breaking random pots. The player is perfectly allowed to take whatever they wish from a house when there is something to take. But what about a game where this is common at first but then the player learns to not do that over the course of the game. Where you have a personal reputation level that is stained by doing shady acts like this. Where the player might have more of an understanding of what makes a legendary hero, over the title just being granted to him without effort.

 

[JuicieJ]

Nah. I think that just wouldn't fit Link properly.

 

[Sonicbowling]

I would love Zelda to implement some sort of morality system. I think this could have worked for Majora's Mask, but the N64 could only do so much. I could just imagine a boss fight where a person is being controlled by this "thing or object" and you have 2 choices to take down the boss. If you look at the game "InFamous" you can see how the morality system works very well and adds to the story. If it can work for a game like InFamous, why can't it work for Zelda?

Overall, I think everything you listed here would work great for the Zelda series. And it would definetely bring a breath of fresh air to the franchise.

 

[Mr.Verto]

As it might be true that Link is always noble becaase o his origins, it is highly unlikely Nintendo will make him a thief...or not so good...
For the simple reason that if he is "bad" and he stole something, say I dont know the Master Sword (by he getting the medallions or whatever) he probably give it to Ganondorf (even if he knows he is evil) for $$$, or any other reason.

NOW, if he changes troughout the story is a little bit more likely, but anyways he usually sets out in his quest for a noble goal like looking for a friend or find his destiny, which then turns out greater (Link sets to save Ilia, ends saving Hyrule)

So Link could only fit in the description of a thief or "bad" if you put the pieces of the story in a vastly pool of complexity to not lose the "Zelda" name.

 

[Xinnamin]

Don't be so quick to dismiss the idea JJ, I personally think it would add a very interesting flavor the the series. Link already sort of gives off a slight Robin Hood feel, even if one of the biggest similarities is the tights, but I can see the concept of a rogue Link working. As it stands, Link is pretty much the definition of a hero: selfless, courageous, willing to go to extreme odds to save worlds he has no initial connection to or emotional investment in, frankly, it comes off as a tad unrealistic (and yes, I know it's fantasy and thus realism is a semi-moot point, but all stories need realistic characters regardless of genre). We've already had several more mature games in the series, such as MM or TP or WW to a degree, but those games drew their dark side from the plots. I think it's about time we had a darker/mature game that draws its appeal from character development.

For some reason I am reminded of Pokemon Colosseum, where the protagonist was for once not a goody goody child coming of age, but a mature young adult criminal going rogue from his own gang. There was some strange appeal from this new hero persona that really made the plot more interesting for me, since the plot was no longer just about saving the world, but also self-redemption. Connecting that to Link, well, why is Link always destined for the Triforce of Courage? Is it really as simple as the fact that he was chosen by the Goddesses? The games have always sort of just gone under that assumption and made it so that Link was destined for greatness from the start. I've never once felt like the Chosen Hero while playing because the games don't allow the player to earn the title. The player has always earned the power to slay evil, but never the right to be called hero; that was a divine mandate from the heavens that Link should always take that title. Perhaps this is why, for me, the ToC always seemed the weakest of the Triforce pieces; it never felt more than proof the Goddesses allow Link to wield his hero status. Hell in some games Link starts out with the Triforce, already marked for greatness. There's no character development.

Granted, Link has had minimal character development in pretty much all the titles, to allow him to still feel like a "link" between player and game. I think this is a moot point by now really. The series has taken all sorts of other innovations, AoL and MM being two big ones I can think of that deviate greatly from the formula, but those have always been deviations from gameplay formula. I think we can stand to take a deviation from character formula, and forcing Link to actually earn his title of hero is a great place to start. That, and I want to be able to play as a shady character again and watch the character I control grow as an individual.

 

[germ1137]

He does break the pots in Mila's house, and it makes her father mad. He's a stalker with Mila, and he also sneaks into the Bomb Shop.

 

[My Dear Epona]

Well Link can be a thief on LA but I think all the thief backstory would be exactly that a backstory and one thing that makes Link so great is that he has no strings attached to any backstory so we can identify ourselves easily

 

[unknown_user]

I think it would be interesting to see that, but Nintendo would have to sit back and think on how they would play that story. If they get it wrong the game would be messed up,
if they get it right then there you go, a thieving link that is bad in the beginning and over a course of time he turns good because of various events.

 

[ZoraDeadpool]

makes sense to me, after all Link does break pots in people's houses for their money

 

[Beeker]

I think it would be quite an interesting concept to see Link as a rogue or thief instead of a farmboy or whatever he is at the beginning of each game. It could give some new ideas for stories, and maybe even leave room for character development. Even if they did go through with this plot, there would most certainly be a change of heart or something, they wouldn't leave him somewhat bad forever.

Also, I do agree with Xinnamin about the point about the Triforce of Courage. Every game it just happens to be that Link was just chosen by the goddesses, and that he has a destiny to fulfill. To see Link actually work for that power, and to go from a lowbrow thief to a noble hero, would be pretty cool and maybe even a good change of pace.

 

[Musicfan]

Good consept but I think that if a lot of people have a problem with link being right handed then it might not go over so well. I love storys with character develppment. This idea could make for wonderful over world or town boss fights espetily in the beginging. It could also pit link agesnt a childhood friend(I'm twisted I just love storys and games like that)and make it very emotional ( please for give my spelling I'm haveing a bad day and have insomnia)

 

[Caeda]

I love this idea. One of the only things I find wrong with this series (okay, it's actually pretty much the only thing) is the fact that Link never gets any character development. I don't really care about him not talking, but he always has the same sot of personality. To have him go through something like that would be a risk that Nintendo should take. It wouldn't make the series worse; it would make it better.