Breath of the Wild Should Link Have a Background?

[Justac00lguy]

Almost every Zelda game we take control of the unexpected hero named Link......Who actually is Link? Most of the time we know him as the kid who grew up in the forest or the sky or.....an island....Well you get the point

Point is we dont really know our hero, he never speaks, he rarely shows any emotion and it just seems like he was dropped on someone's doorstep excluding WW and ALTP as he had at least some family :/ This always make me feel unwanted when playing as Link as whenever really has unemotional attachment to anyone he cares about, sure Midna was different and SS did the whole connection between Zelda and Link really well but I think in tenet installment of Zelda should at least know something of Link. Maybe a backstory, a family or who his family was.

Tell me what youguys think, should we know more about our hero in the Zelda game?

 

[Deeds]

I think that the lack of knowledge on Link, opens our minds (as people playing the game) to what he may actually be. This makes us theorise about the game, and create back-stories using only our imagination. I like not knowing a lot about Link

 

[Sydney]

... Link does have some backstory, but it's different for each game. In Skyward Sword, he discovered that he was the chosen hero. In Ocarina of Time, Link discovers that he's actually Hylian, and that his mother brought him to the Great Deku Tree to be raised as a Kokiri before dying of her injuries. In The Wind Waker, Link has a sister and Grandmother, so he does have family. In A Link to the Past (?), Link has an uncle. As for his emotions, he's been showing a lot more emotion in later games. You don't need to speak to express your emotions to someone your care about.

So in a sense, Link does have a little bit of background. It's not much, but it's there.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Btw I did state that apart from Wind Waker and A link to the past link had almost no family, plus what you mentioned abt Link finding out he is a hero in SS applies to nearly every Zelda game....

 

[Ventus]

Well Link, by the time of Skyward Sword, is a full character on his own two feet. Anyone who disagrees with me, well, that's simply how they view the character. Link has had personal journeys (MM, LA sorta, SS...and a few others I'm missing), and others were simply a "destiny" he had to walk through (OoT primarily).

That being said, I think it's time for the good ol' Hero in Green to get a decent background this time around. He's a full character, and like any character he needs some kind of origins beyond the stereotypical "random boy who just by chance becomes a hero". Nintendo can do more with Link, and I beleive Zelda Wii U just might be that place. :yes:

 

[Zorth]

I wouldn't want that, giving Link a background would ruin his entire purpose which is to be the connection between the game world and our world. They should do the opposite, remove as much backstory as possible and just make him a silent warrior whom we for gods sakes should be able to customize at the start of the game. Feels as if Nintendo both wants Link to serve as a connection and be his own character at the same time, which doesn't really work IMO. Even if they do decide to give him a background I won't be sad I'd just like for it to be well written and make sense with the plot obviously.

So either a completely empty shell which we can customize to fit us, or a story rich well written character.

 

[DarkestLink]

Not much, no.

 

[Vaati101]

I wouldn't mind a brief background of Link's origins, but nothing too drastic that has a major impact on the main story. We don't need to know too much about Link's past since that's not really the main focus of Zelda. A simple yet vague origin story similar to the one in Ocarina of Time is enough. Asking about Link's past deeply is like asking about the origins of the fierce Deity, a mystery that will never be revealed.

 

[SNOlink]

Remember, though, that Nintendo intends that Link is a connection between the gamer and the game world. I don't think it's bad to go into his life like with the examples of WW, SS, and ALttP, but it shouldn't get too deep into his character.

 

[Networker1]

I was just thinking about making a thread like this...

Anyway, I found that the only time I actually got so caught up in the story it was emotional was WW, because I had failed to rescue Arryl. Assuming we LIKE to have deep and emotional Zelda games, I belive Link NEEDS to have a family. Anything else and it's just me making some random dude save the day. Had Link had a little more background/family in OoT, I might not have seen the "here comes the villan to steal all that I have foolishly collected" cliche coming, which would have drastically improved my views of OoT. Just my .02: give Link a family please.

 

[Curmudgeon]

OoT pressed the limits of my tolerance for background. After more than a few minutes, I'm jamming the A button to get to the stabbing. Dropping small hints occasionally while I'm on my way to stab something later in the game is acceptable.

 

[DuelMark]

Sure, why not?

 

[Dekunub]

This has been said before, and brought up before. But Link is meant to be our "Link" into Hyrule. he is the silent hero. I've always kinda made Link my own, and imagined Hyrule and the people I met as a canvas, for my imagination. It's that and the thrill of exploration that make us care about hyrule. Make us keep running to Zelda's call for help. Link does have some background that you've already read a few times. Giving us some hints, without ruining the entire formula. If they ever made a game where Link began being his own persona, and talking it would be nothing short of wrong.

 

[Spirit]

I don't think it'd enhance anyhting if Link had a background or not, it'd go against Nintendo's rule of him as a surrogate between game and player to give him one, but even if they did give him one, i dont think it'd be much more interesting than the backgrounds Zelda and the villains of the series have. For the main villain there is nearly always a war, or a casting out etc. I personally prefer Link not to have a background becuase it elevates him a little bit above crappy backdrop cliche to get the ball rolling.

I also think that Link being a blank canvass in every game is kind of his thing, Zelda as a series doesn't do it very well but Link is supposed to be the quiet home town boy with a great destiny, it just never feels like that because we all know who Link is now and the series is so predictable.

 

[Networker1]

If they ever made a game where Link began being his own persona ... it would be nothing short of wrong.

You mean like in WW?