General Zelda Princess Zelda: Young or Old?

[Justac00lguy]

To be honest as crazy as it might sound I feel Zelda's role in "Zelda" games is typically little. Now story elements in the LoZ series are largely bliss, so this could be why her role doesn't really stand out. However due to the fact that the game is based around her, I feel her role could be more significant.

Now why does this have to do with her age, well it really doesn't to be honest but essentially I want Zelda to play a bigger role in the plot itself and in a way I feel age could be a big factor. Now the titles "young" and "old" can be rather generic, so deepening on your choice, just abbreviate a little.

To be honest two distinct games stick out to me when it comes to age, that would be Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, now of course we don't know the specific ages but it was nice to see such a contrast. In TP we saw a much mature Zelda who seemed to act more like a Queen of sorts and in SS she was more like the typical teen damsel in distress. Question is though what would be your preference on Zelda age wise and more importantly how this could increase her role within the plot?

 

[DarkestLink]

Young if she's deeply involved in the plot. Old if she's not deeply involved in the plot.

 

[Clank]

Hmm, I think the real question here is how mature of a Zelda; though I want one that acts like a queen(aka TP), but has a wild side(aka SS)

 

[Azure Sage]

It depends, but I went with "young". Some of my favorite Princess Zeldas were younger, like Spirit Tracks Zelda. She was young, and hugely involved in the plot; heck, she was Link's partner. Of course, I don't see a correlation between Zelda's age and her involvement, and I doubt there is one. But I like to see her younger. I'd say between around 13 to around 18 is a good age range for her.

 

[Ventus]

I prefer the older, wiser Zelda that we've only seen in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. It's not so much that she's wise - all Zelda's thus far have had a sliver of wisdom - but I like the aesthetic of being older and, as they say, knowledge comes with age.

In OoT she was something like a young adult (I'd guess 16-18 by the makeup), and in TP she was more like an adult (around 20s I'd say, but there's probably a dev quote to turn my proposal down). I personally like that age range (being 17 myself). Do it for her next appearance eh?

 

[Skittles]

Ancient. What?

No, seriously, I like a younger (or less mature) Zelda because it seems that the younger Zeldas are much more involved and she interests me as a character. Probably because there's more room for character development because she usually has to gain her wisdom thus meaning she'll be more active in the overall game like we saw in SS, ST, and WW. Those games have my favorite Zeldas and they all happened to be more plot relevant and younger Zeldas too...

 

[ihateghirahim]

I want an older Zelda. It was nice to see a mature and involved Zelda in TP and OoT. She felt more real and easier to relate to. Granted, young Zelda was required for OoT, and she often fits nicely into childish games, but she simply lacks to interesting, calm,powerful, and most importantly wise nature of the older Zelda. I mean older Zelda surrendered Hyrule to Zant to save it, and she sacrificed herself for Midna. She also disguised herslf as Sheik to help Link (if teaching you songs that warp you to where you already are is helping), and she helped you beat Ganon in the end. She's wise and a force to be reckoned with. I can't imagine a younger Zelda doing all those things. I know the OoT princess is really wise at a young age, but she really grows as a character later on. She became more mature and powerful during the seven-year reign of Ganondorf. It's a great if shallow arc, but a more mature Zelda works much better in the end.

 

[Ventus]

I know the OoT princess is really wise at a young age, but she really grows as a character later on.

Young Princess was not wise, she was a pretty rash-acting character in fact. Noted by her telling you seven years later that she regrets making the choices that she did - that she was acting way too harshly regarding the Ocarina of Time.

Beauty of her character really.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Oh yeah, I forgot about Zelda's regrets. People, including me, say Zelda's storylines aren't that important, but they are existing and quite good; despite their lack of consistency and emphasis.

 

[ILU]

I'm voting young, because OCARINA OF TIME!

For being so young, Zelda was very keen. She saw through Ganondorf as he falsely swore fealty to the King. The KING! Hyrule is not lead by simple-minded, weak fools. It was a king who united Hyrule. Centuries after (TWW), it's a king who finally lays Hyrule to rest. And then all the Zeldas and blah blah blah. My point is, Hyrule is lead by the greatest of the greatest, and its own king couldn't see through Ganondorf. But, young little Zelda did.

YES! She was rash and naive! But that's part of what made her such a great character- she learned from her mistakes and carried that soul-crushing regret on her shoulders for seven years... for the rest of her life, really. Like Ventus said, that's part of her beauty. A little kid would normally cower. But Zelda was determined to do something, and even though she made a decision with devastating consequences, she still showed passion for Hyrule and tried with all her might to save it from impending doom. A CHILD did this. It wouldn't be nearly as impressive if she made such a choice as an adult.

Twilight Princess Zelda made a very strong and impressive decision. She surrendered her power, her entire kingdom, in order to save everyone. She is a very, very strong woman in that game. But that decision is to be expected of somebody her age in her position. What Zelda did in OoT as a child was far more impressive because it's so far beyond what anyone would expect from a little girl.

So, I vote young. It'd be great if we could have both... see her in both stages of her life, but I really don't want to visit time-travel again for a long, long time. I'm sure they could do a "....[insert number] years later..." type of thing story-wise, but who knows.

 

[The Jade Fist]

Why not like a little kid Zelda, and a older Link. Is there a rule they have to be like the same age?

 

[Spirit]

Old, TP style and in an ideal world, older than that, mid 20s would be nice, have her in her princess role where she actually has to act like royalty and understand the evils which are threatening the land, much better than having her young and things having a little less bite.

 

[Ventus]

Old, TP style and in an ideal world, older than that, mid 20s would be nice, have her in her princess role where she actually has to act like royalty and understand the evils which are threatening the land, much better than having her young and things having a little less bite.

But that's the thing about TP Zelda: she didn't act like a princess but as a Queen. The decisions she makes are not those of some brat abusing her powers (princesses are known for this aspect as viewed by history), but of a woman who feels for her people and understands the evils threatening her land as you said.

 

[HylianHero]

I want an older Zelda. It was nice to see a mature and involved Zelda in TP and OoT. She felt more real and easier to relate to. Granted, young Zelda was required for OoT, and she often fits nicely into childish games, but she simply lacks to interesting, calm,powerful, and most importantly wise nature of the older Zelda. I mean older Zelda surrendered Hyrule to Zant to save it, and she sacrificed herself for Midna. She also disguised herslf as Sheik to help Link (if teaching you songs that warp you to where you already are is helping), and she helped you beat Ganon in the end. She's wise and a force to be reckoned with. I can't imagine a younger Zelda doing all those things. I know the OoT princess is really wise at a young age, but she really grows as a character later on. She became more mature and powerful during the seven-year reign of Ganondorf. It's a great if shallow arc, but a more mature Zelda works much better in the end.

This.

When I first read the thread title, I thought like very young child Zelda or elderly Zelda. I would love to see an elderly Zelda in a game. I think it would be awesome to have a Zelda game with the OoT time gap on steroids, where you get to see a kind of SS Impa change in Zelda's age between times.

 

[Salem]

I agree with an older Zelda, possible in her 20s or 30s, maybe she's the queen of Hyrule.