General Zelda Link's Gender

[Emmanuel]

One of the things I have been wondering about with more recent Zelda releases is related to Link's gender. Throughout the series, Link (and several other characters) have been "reincarnated" multiple times, with each new incarnation finding a destiny related to saving Hyrule, protecting the Triforce, etc. There are major commonalities between all of the different incarnations. Each Link is known for his courage, the pointy ears, ends up wearing some variation of the green tunic we all know and love, (usually) wields the Master Sword at some point, etc. What I'm wondering is whether Link's "maleness" is important to the core of Link's various reincarnations. Basically, at some point, could Link be reincarnated as a female, and still maintain the same destiny as a great hero? And if not, why? (Beyond the standard "most gamers are guys" write-off, please.)

Anyway, the reason I was thinking about this is because I think the way Link's gender has been portrayed in recent games represents a shift. I remember reading years ago about why it was significant that Link was a "mute" character. When we play the Zelda games, each of us likes to see ourselves as the hero and imagine that we are Link. Giving Link a specific voice would establish a personality and take that special element out of the Zelda games. But the idea that each of us sees ourselves as the hero in our story goes beyond that and relates to gender, too. Why should people who don't identify as male have to assume a male role to be the hero in their game?

I remember when I was playing Spirit Tracks several months ago, that on one of the islands, you can speak to a woman who tells you a fortune, but before she does so, she asks whether you are a boy or a girl. It could be simply that she cannot tell Link's gender, but it seems more likely to me that Link does not have a specific gender in the game and the player is allowed to choose. I cannot recall any other references to Link's gender in Spirit Tracks, like in other games. (OoT and WW are two that come to mind where I remember definite, very specific references to the player's gender.) In Skyward Sword, the most recent game, I think there were some references to Link's male gender, but the character himself is much more androgynous looking than in previous games, and I'm fairly sure that was intentional.

So, what do you think? Could Link ever be reincarnated as a female, or is Link's maleness important to the story in someway? Do you think we'll see Link continue to be more androgynous in future games, or will players ever have the option to choose a male or female version of Link?

 

[Ventus]

Link's maleness is not at all important to the story. A Heroine can work just as well as a Hero does. If anyone needs proof, hit up Lucina from Fire Emblem: Awakening. She's a perfect heroine, perhaps the best I can recall in recent memory.

Anywho, Link has always been an effeminate person by looks, and this is most apparent in Skyward Sword. Hell, he's been VOICED by females before, such as Fujiko Takimoto, (OoT Young Link, MM Link), Sachi Matsumoto (TWW/PH Link), and Yūki Kodaira (ST Link). There's no reason for the OPTION to be female to exist in the series; Link's gender doesn't affect the story at all because he never winds up with any girl for the conservative folk, and the story isn't written to have a homosexual tone ot it either. Female Link saving Princess Zelda is just as good as Male Link doing the same deed. I again refer you to Lucina of Fire Emblem: Awakening wherein she saves her own father from certain death, multiple times, within the story.

Female Link shall reign one day if Nintendo so desires to reach out ot its player base! We shall rule!

 

[Dragoncat]

I don't think he's reincarnated, I think it's most likely a hero bloodline. TP Link is descended from OoT/MM Link, who is descended from SS Link, etc. I guess the triforce of courage gene is on the Y chromosome and lies dormant until it's needed, so that's why he's always male. In the case of the failure timeline split where he dies before he can go forth and multiply, I think the very first Link(SS) or heck, even OoT/MM Link himself, chooses the next holder of the triforce piece, and after that it's blood relation again.

Okay, there's the scientific explanation. I guess there's no reason why Nintendo couldnt make a female hero, but they probably won't. It would be weird. There are plenty of other great games with female heroes, but LoZ isn't one of them.

 

[ihateghirahim]

I don't think Link should be a girl. It would change him. more than we might expect. The character would have to act differently towards the female Zelda, and I thought they were on the verge of being a real couple in the next game. I mean just imagine a female Mario, just no. Link is a boy and shall remain a boy.

Then there's the timeline and theory questions. Link's descendents have always been males who looked relatively the same. It seems (definitely in the non-canon mange) that the Hero is always brought back as a boy. A gender shift would be strange and create too many bad fan stories. Link could never survive this sort of transition. Link is a boy and he needs to remain a boy. Zelda is all the female we need.

 

[Evan]

I think it would be a pretty good idea, but will it happen? I think somebody should send a note to nintendo to tell them about Links gender.

 

[Satsy]

Serious question, what importance would Link's gender have to any game? It isn't important to his solving puzzles, and with his running around in a tunic I'm not convinced females are turned off being represented by him any more than a boy would. Near as I can tell it's only important when it comes to his being referred to in third person. Shame that the English language doesn't have a gender-neutral association. As far as the games go I must be missing some very important fact for his gender to be an elephant in the room from time to time.

Only other reason I ever see Link's gender mean anything comes from later fan speculation/art/fiction regarding relationships. Which isn't important to the games.

 

[ihateghirahim]

It affects how he looks and how other people will talk to him. It would be more evident in a more story-heavy game.

 

[Satsy]

But does it really? More often than not the way people talk to him is based on his age or his clothes. (or the fact that he's a hero/hero in the making)

 

[Sir Quaffler]

No. Link is a male, and he should always remain a male.

I know there are several cases of females being just as adept at being the hero as the male, but we're not talking about other people. We're talking about Link. He's a defined character, and his masculinity plays a large role in that. Switching the genders around will only confuse his identity, which I'd argue would only make it even worse for people not very knowledgeable about the Zelda franchise.

For instance, if you were to talk to me about Commander Shephard, I don't have a really good idea of who you're talking about. Is Shephard male or female? What are the defining features? Who is Shephard really? I don't really know and so I have a hard time connecting with him/her. Same goes for Elder Scrolls and any other franchise that has you make your own character, it actually makes them less of a character.

But with Link I know who he is. His appearance may be slightly different from game to game, but the general idea is still there. I have a defined idea of who Link is, and it's largely thanks to the fact that he's always been male that I can do that.

As for the canonical reason why he's always male:
The Spirit of the Hero, which is that of the Hero of the Goddess in SS, is passed on to every Link to follow (except for the Child timeline). Masculinity is part of the soul, I'd wager, and so whoever inherits the Spirit of the Hero must be a male.

 

[Mastersworddude]

..It seems you're going into character customization role-playing here, which I like most of the time. but idk about it in LoZ

 

[OcarinistOfTime]

I support you completely in concept but in practice I can't see it even being possible. Not for any sexist reason what-so-ever but more to the fact that Link can't be a girl because he's not a girl. Mario can't be a transexual because he's not a transexual, Donkey Kong can't be a dolphin because he's not a dolphin. Link isn't just a character he's an icon. You can change the protagonist in the first or second sequel but once a series of 25 years has a protagonist who's name has become a synonym for hero, it's not just a simple change. People personally have feelings toward Link. He's our friend. He's not a blank template to project yourself through, he's a rainbow template being a different character to all who join his quest. Link may have started as just a empty canvas but in the past quarter of a century I believe he's developed a deeper personality than any other Nintendo mascot, and he's never said a word. Changing his gender doesn't change anything at first glance but changing even the tiniest facet of someone as beloved as Link is just too big. It's a total game changer that doesn't necessarily change the game at all.

 

[Ventus]

No. Link is a male, and he should always remain a male.

I know there are several cases of females being just as adept at being the hero as the male, but we're not talking about other people. We're talking about Link. He's a defined character, and his masculinity plays a large role in that. Switching the genders around will only confuse his identity, which I'd argue would only make it even worse for people not very knowledgeable about the Zelda franchise.

As for the canonical reason why he's always male:
The Spirit of the Hero, which is that of the Hero of the Goddess in SS, is passed on to every Link to follow (except for the Child timeline). Masculinity is part of the soul, I'd wager, and so whoever inherits the Spirit of the Hero must be a male.

I completely disagree with everything you said. Link in fact is not a male; for what the story knows, Link is a nameless Hero(ine) who combats evil. Yeah, intros such as TWW say "a young boy" et cetera, but that's merely to agree with OoT or whatever game they might be referencing. There is nothing that even remotely says Link *has* to be a male. Tell me, what things does he do that a female can't? If you're gonna tell me that he saves Zelda, save it; I've seen much more intriguing storylines where a female saves her female friend, and even where a female saves her own FATHER - the pater familias -- from his death, and heroically at that.

@The "canon" reason
Do you have any in-game text that suggests this? Again, there aren't many things a male can do that a female can't, and being heroic is one of the things that BOTH genders can do, and equally so. I wouldn't even use SS as an example; it's a fanfic in all reality. I could be the son of a long line of Zeldas and I'd technically have "the blood of the goddess". Remember, I am the SON of a Zelda. Are you saying that i have to be a female to have the blood of some chick? Becuase that isn't true in the slightest.

I support you completely in concept but in practice I can't see it even being possible. Not for any sexist reason what-so-ever but more to the fact that Link can't be a girl because he's not a girl.

The Link you play as in the games thus far are male, that much is true. But, "Link" isn't a static character, no matter how much Nintendo may make it seem. "Link" can change - it has gone through hair colors, sizes, AGES - and gender is a part of change. Doesn't break the game in any way; I'll reference three nice heroines now.

Lucina - Fire Emblem: Awakening
Maria Traydor - Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Reimi Saionji - Star Ocean: The Last Hope

None of them break the flow of their respective games. Female Link wouldn't do it either.

 

[Satsy]

I can understand that people are set in the idea of Link = Male since initially the games were based on olden times when the stereotypes were pretty set (hero = man, female = damsel in distress). And I can also understand, with the resurfacing growth of female empowerment that people are adamant about reminding the World that whatever a guy can do, so can a girl. Of course this both highlights and ignores the gender spectrum as it's come to stand in today's society.

But with the new ideas that have grown into Hyrule's World building since, say, LttP, the set times that we've come to know through history, DnD and JRR Tolkein are no longer applicable. Not to the degrees people want to believe anyway. Though I still favour his current androgyny to playing to the binary. His questionable gender mean that ultimately he's not alienating males who play for being a girl, nor is he alienating girls who play, since the form is friendlier to relate to.

Don't believe he's androgynous? The two games that are lauded as story-driven, TP and SS, are the biggest examples. Many tasks that Link performs could be pulled off by any gender, with very few discrepancies. The only moment I think that would tip in favour of masculine that I've seen is the Sumo bit in TP. But compare Link's face to the males of the game, and the females of the game, in TP or SS. You want to call him masculine, but his features are extremely effeminate. Your idea of manly man, near as I can tell, is more effeminate than half the women! Even if you want to call 'pretty-boy' on the idea, he still undermines the idea of manly.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Ventus: There are certain aspects to a character that cannot change. Males and females are inheirently and naturally different. Link's actions and relationships with other characters would have to change because of a gender switch. He does have a distinguished identity that retains it's core aspects through different games.

The legend of Zelda is not an RPG. Link is an adventurer that we all know and love. Female characters can work (What's Star Ocean?), but Link is already an established male. Imagine changing Mario to a male and Peach to a boy. The series would be ruined. If you want a female protagonist, make your own gaming franchise. Link can't be a female, it wouldn't work. Also, I recall a lot of people here wanting Link and Zelda to finally have an established thing going on.

That's not even beggining to get into issues with the timeline. The reincarnation and what not would have to be totally rethought, and I still don't understand half of the existing timeline.

We just should tamper and distort our hero.

 

[Satsy]

I still fail to see any real examples of how Link would be treated any different depending on his gender. There are no instances where he would be treated different, and no instances where is gender is a pivotal part of any legend.

ihateghirahim if you can find me an example in-game of where being a male is necessary and cannot be changed without completely throwing a wrench in the works, then I'll reconsider my position. Please find me one.