Should Link Speak?

[Sheikah_Witch]

There's something I was thinking about earlier while reading some speculation across the internet.

A lot of things come up in these hopes, dreams and speculation discussions, and has done so here on ZD as well.
Some often talked about points are:

* Playable Zelda
* Co-Op or Multiplayer
* Voice Acting

In between those points there seems to be a question hovering - the one of Link speaking. It has been a rigid convention of the series for a long time, having the silent protagonist that the player can project themselves onto. But with the Zelda team talking a lot about breaking conventions - is this one too much of a staple, or is it, too, ready for some messing around with?

Things has been changing over the last few games. Link has been given dialogue options that shows he has quite the personality despite not uttering a word in the game's pivotal story moments. And with Breath of the Wild introducing full-on voiced cutscenes for everyone except Link, it is at the very least odd that he doesn't pipe up once. He does have a canonical explanation to his muteness - but wouldn't even the most stoic of knights scream "WATCH OUT?" if something bad happens?
Also, if we do have playable Zelda and multiplayer, how odd wouldn't it be if one had voiced lines and one didn't? Wouldn't that feel, at the very least, a bit jarring?

(Then again, maybe Zelda should've skipped voice acting altogether and we don't need another cringe performance to add to the pile.)

It's an interesting take, for me at least. And I wanted to open it up a bit.

"Excuuuuse me, princess."

Yes? No? And Why?

 

[Dizzi]

Nooo its Link hes a mute dude!!

 

[Spirit]

I think they should just do it already, it's getting embarrassing.

In Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword you see him conversing with people but not saying anything. Skyward Sword even gives him dialogue options for some stupid reason...

Just do it.

Zelda isn't off to the best start with voice acting with some performances in BotW being okay and others being trash.

The reason Link doesn't speak is because Nintendo still think he is an avatar for the player, a 'link' to the player hence the name.

But to me Link has never been that, at least for me, I am not an elf boy. He has had a canonical name from the start with the second game being named after him. As soon as you name a character it is no longer an avatar for you, in my opinion (and we're never getting a gender choice for him).

It has gotten so bad now that you can't rename Link in BotW, which makes him even more the character he always has been.

He doesn't represent the player anymore so he should just talk. Even if he just says the most generic crap ever as to not let a personality or opinions shine through, he should say something. If he continues to be mute the cutscenes are going to continue to be awkward.

Either make him speak or give him an injury so he can't.

Wind Waker Link spoke so now that we have full voice acting they should just do it.

 

[Siphonix]

As much as everyone would like for him to, it defeats the feeling of the character actual being ”you”. The silence is to help emerge you into the game, and, when you are given multiple answers to choose from when talking to someone, they are usually up to interpretation when it comes to attitude and tone, and the NPCs usually give a basic answer to your response, so more work (a lot) would have to be done in dialogue and choices. Though... I guess it would be nice to try it out. Even have a voice actor.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

voice acting suk

 

[Dio]

Link isn't the player. He is not customisable. He doesn't have a load of dialogue options to reflect different personalities of people who might be playing the game. Zelda is not a series where you decide what kind of main character to be. If I had my way I'd set fire to the Koroks and shoot an arrow in Kiltons knee and take all his stuff. Skyrim and Fallout are these type of games but Zelda has never been that way and unless they are gonna have that freedom for link and make him a true avatar of the player then they should go all out and just develop his character fully rather than some halfhearted development like we get now.

It's just silly that he doesn't talk in BoTW. Everyone else does, in cutscenes it just makes him look awkward to not join in conversation. And he does not have the excuse of being a mute because he talks in game though text boxes.

In Wind Waker he already said full blown words 'come on!' so he had spoken voice acting already. Time to implement it in full.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I never felt in zelda games that I was playing as myself, I'm playing as Link the character, that's who's in smash bros, that's who's among nintendo's top characters
I don't care one way or another if he does talk, so I wouldn't flip out or anything if he does

 

[PoeFacedKilla]

No I don't think so. Link is the silent warrior: he says nothing but thinks deep. I'm fine with everyone else having voices but I think link should remain a projection of the players thoughts and not speak. Although it did work in Jak 2...

 

[Shroom]

I'd rather he didn't. I think there's enough juxtaposition with the dialogue options that you can fill in the gaps to how Link actually phrased something when you select a phrase to respond to characters.

I don't really think it'd affect my enjoyment or the quality of the games in anyway. I was sort of fine with the amount of voice acting offered in Breath of the Wild, and I have a fondness for text boxes because it helped me learn how to read when I was growing up.

Link can be quiet, Breath of the Wild sort of gave him a reason to be quiet through one of Zelda's diary entries, and as long as all the characters at least sound like they're from the same continent, looking at you and your fake British accent BOTW Zelda, then I think we're fine.

 

[Azure Sage]

I'm on board with Link having some actual dialogue now and then. His personality really shines through in the dialogue options in BotW, so expanding on that and allowing him to gradually become more open with himself and others (as was kind of built up in the game already) would be a logical step forward. He doesn't have to speak all the time, we could have the usual dialogue options as before and then he can talk in like, the critical moments. Not excessively so, but still have some words here and there.

I remember in Monster Hunter Stories, they had your character as a silent avatar with no dialogue of their own all the way up until a critical moment, where they spoke only once. And it had some serious impact on me. BotW 2 could do something like that. I'd be down for that.

 

[thePlinko]

If it were up to me there wouldn’t be any voice acting whatsoever. I always hated voice acting in games, as it almost never feels like it’s coming from the character itself- especially when it’s the player character. I was perfectly fine with the way it was handled in Windwaker, a few one word phrases here and there that aren’t even that audible your first time.

Plus it would be really weird if link couldn’t talk in BotW, but the exact same link was a chatterbox in BotW2

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

It depends on if Nintendo will figure out what direction they want to go with Link. Is he supposed to be an avatar of sorts, or is he his own person? In the past it seems they wanted him to be in the role of an avatar, yet we have games like The Wind Waker where his reaction to certain things actually gives him personality. I agree with Spirit, once you give a character an actual name there is no backtracking to the notion that the character is a personification of the players.

To further solidify that Link isn't an in game extension of the player, Breath of the Wild lacked the option to assign whatever name we want to him. Yet they are still holding the notion he is an avatar...

This is not logical!

If Nintendo is finally set on truly going forward with Link being his own person, than yes, give him a voice. The only other option on the table is bring in a new hero with a defined personality from the get go; though, the issue with that option is the inevitable backlash.

It's definitely time Nintendo does some deep contemplation on what they should do with Link, in any case.

 

[Lydia]

Nah, I personally vibe with mute characters more bc i was mute for a few years, plus it would be strange for a character that has been silent the entire time to suddenly get a voice.

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

Yes.

This idea that a player is incapable of relating to a character that speaks has always been nonsense. The protagonists of Mass Effect, Deus Ex, and Fallout (to name a few) have consistent character voice that is more compelling than anything the Zelda series offers. Link is more of a cardboard cutout than he is a character. Link vacantly staring at NPCs without saying anything just isn't cool.

Either give Link a voice or give us the option to choose Link's gender. If Nintendo isn't going to put effort into his character, then there isn't any point in treating the character as more than an empty avatar.

 

[DJ Twitch]

It was the one Zelda convention that BotW actually should have broken, so yes.

Link was never mute, not since at least OoT, so why Nintendo kept up the mute meme in the first place is beyond me.