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What If Link Could "Go Dark" in a Game?

Joined
May 16, 2020
(If this has already be done, feel free to ignore this; if this hasn't been in the Daily Debate, feel free to take it.)
I was watching a few videos about morality factors in games and it made me wonder what if Nintendo made a game with such a mechanic, especially the Legend of Zelda series. What if Link's choices made him the Hero…or a villain. What if his worst moral choices went beyond smashing pottery and terrorizing barnyard fowl (who, at least have a chance to get revenge…most of the time)? What if we could only do certain side quests by being on one side of the fence or another? What if Dark Link was more than just a skin?

In Breath of the Wild, we got the chance to determine how close Link & Zelda get to be by the end by regaining our memories. I wonder how many people would like to see Link actually defy his destiny and choose to be more like the villain. Now, if it was just something that we could see but NPCs were unaware of the difference, it wouldn't be worth it, but what if it was more than cosmetic? If you wear some of the DLC items in BotW, namely the full Phantom Gear, Phantom Ganon Gear, and **shudders** Tingle sets, many NPCs startle at the very sight of Link. This mechanic would have to be something more along these lines, maybe even more severe to make it worth it.

In the end, this is just a random idea that popped in my head while watching "random" videos on YouTube. I'm not too serious about adding this mechanic, but there may still something worth talking about. So, I'll leave it to everyone. Again, I don't know if this has ever been a Daily Debate, but if it hasn't, any of the writers from Zelda Dungeon who want to can take this and roll with it, just credit me. I don't really care about more than that.
 

Vanessa28

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That won't work. It won't really fit in the game to have Link go criminal. He already is a bit of a criminal by breaking into other people's homes and smash their stuff and steal items :D But to see Link go beyond that won't fit. It wouldn't make sense either because he's the main character to defeat evil and to go all evil himself doesn't really fit. That won't make sense for the players either because they have to play him to save the world from evil and they literally would have to kill off their main character as well. That would make an endless "game over"
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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(If this has already be done, feel free to ignore this; if this hasn't been in the Daily Debate, feel free to take it.)
I was watching a few videos about morality factors in games and it made me wonder what if Nintendo made a game with such a mechanic, especially the Legend of Zelda series. What if Link's choices made him the Hero…or a villain. What if his worst moral choices went beyond smashing pottery and terrorizing barnyard fowl (who, at least have a chance to get revenge…most of the time)? What if we could only do certain side quests by being on one side of the fence or another? What if Dark Link was more than just a skin?

In Breath of the Wild, we got the chance to determine how close Link & Zelda get to be by the end by regaining our memories. I wonder how many people would like to see Link actually defy his destiny and choose to be more like the villain. Now, if it was just something that we could see but NPCs were unaware of the difference, it wouldn't be worth it, but what if it was more than cosmetic? If you wear some of the DLC items in BotW, namely the full Phantom Gear, Phantom Ganon Gear, and **shudders** Tingle sets, many NPCs startle at the very sight of Link. This mechanic would have to be something more along these lines, maybe even more severe to make it worth it.

In the end, this is just a random idea that popped in my head while watching "random" videos on YouTube. I'm not too serious about adding this mechanic, but there may still something worth talking about. So, I'll leave it to everyone. Again, I don't know if this has ever been a Daily Debate, but if it hasn't, any of the writers from Zelda Dungeon who want to can take this and roll with it, just credit me. I don't really care about more than that.
Welcome to the Forums, I've seen your comments on the frontpage, and I want to say thanks for reading our content! I'm not sure if this has ever been touched on as a Daily Debate topic, but if you'd like for one of our writers to potentially put their own spin on the idea, join our Discord server, pitch the topic, and tag the writing team!
 

MapelSerup

not actually Canadian
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
It works as a small story element, but not much else, considering the context and lore. I remember a moment in the ALttP manga (the Akira Himekawa one) where Link let’s himself be controlled by anger in the dark world, transforming into a beast and unable to hold the Master Sword. This leads to some character development on his part. A morality system wouldn’t really work well with Zelda, though, as the whole point is to be a hero. Cool idea though!
 

Echolight

❤️ love yourself ❤️
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Sounds more like a fanfiction story tbh

A official Zelda Game wouldn't be that great of making a game like that, it just doesn't fit in with the whole series, Link is supposed to be the hero, he always was, and always will. That's what I like about him :)

Nice thought though
 
Joined
Mar 15, 2020
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I don't think the idea fits Zelda well enough. Link should always be pure. Plus despite how many games have tried it, I can't think of any games with a morality system that was actually as impactful as advertised. It's always just like a few changes in dialogue at best.
 

el :BeoWolf:

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I gotta say no on this. Link has always been a hero for a reason. It makes no sense for him to be corrupted into a villain. While I do like the concept, I do not like it applied to a character that's been long well established as the Hero
 

areasell

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Australia
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I wouldn't really like if Link got to choose. I'd rather see a game where one of Ganon's offspring tries to make the world dark instead.
 

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