Zelda game with playable female?

[Farore's Chosen]

@HeroOfTime
My apologies. I should have stated my point without taking a patronizing tone of voice.

 

[MW7]

No. Why? What would be the point? What possible actual reason other than "progress" can you give for this? Go play Elder Scrolls, or Fallout or Fable if that's what you want.

I guess I didn't explicitly say my reason, but I was simply thinking that some people may want to play as a female character. I would continue to play as a male character, and this little addition to a game could broaden the appeal and enhance other people's enjoyment of the game. If it simply is a choice, you could continue to play as a male Link, and this wouldn't affect you at all.

Mario is a game that appeals to both males and females. Metroid. Halo. Bayonetta. Uncharted. Why don't we just change all of them. They're all enjoyed by both male and female. Let's just switch it up. Why don't we just have amorphous blobs. That way no one will get upset about the sex of the character.

Mario already has games that let you play as multiple characters of either gender. In most of those games you mentioned (as far as I know) the gender of the main character is totally meaningless. I never said change them all. I'm saying giving player's a superficial choice of gender when gender doesn't matter doesn't hurt anything.

This is exactly the kind of BS gaming doesn't need. Keep your politics out of gaming. We don't need gay or lesbian characters. There's no gameplay rationale for this.

That was political? Of course the characters don't need to be gay, I'm just saying that for Legend of Zelda the gender/sexual orientation of the characters is meaningless in most games.

Except that there is canonical precedent for Link remaining male and Zelda remaining female. I ask again, why not make a Prince Zelda? No one is clamoring for that, are they? No, because it would be stupid. Not only stupid, but nonsensical. The spirit of the One who carries the essence of the Triforce of Courage is always a male. The One who carries the essence of the Triforce of Wisdom is always female. That is canon, and until Nintendo changes it, it will remain canon. Link is male canonically. It is consequential.

I think the fact that Nintendo could change it illustrates how pointless of a precedent it is. Also what you said isn't even accurate. In several games Link obtains different pieces of the Triforce. For instance in the first game, Link is collecting the Triforce of Wisdom - by your logic that would force him to be female. In Skyward Sword Link collects all the pieces of the Triforce. Furthermore, several games don't even mention the Triforce, and the fact that Link often collects the Triforce strengthens my argument. In games where the Triforce of Courage is collected, there is no reason why the person who finds it must be male. Finally you are simply appealing to tradition and authority. You say Link must be male because he has been in prior games, but if Nintendo changes it, then the canon changes. How is the hero being male a consequential detail if it can change so easily? All it takes is Nintendo deciding that they want to throw in a female option like they have in Pokemon games or a separate playable character who is female like in countless Mario games, and they don't even need to revise the prior canon at all to do so.

 

[DJ Twitch]

Who else here doesn't have some special reason for a female character and just want one because it would be cool?

 

[ZeldafreakCJM]

^Depends on what you mean by "female character."

I'd love a nonLink playable female, I'd stop playing Zelda altogether if we got a female Link.

 

[DJ Twitch]

^Depends on what you mean by "female character."

I'd love a nonLink playable female, I'd stop playing Zelda altogether if we got a female Link.

Yeah that's what I meant.

I would personally like having a female Link, but I do know it would go horribly wrong, so I'll say no to that until I see it can be done well.

 

[ZeldafreakCJM]

Yeah that's what I meant.

I would personally like having a female Link, but I do know it would go horribly wrong, so I'll say no to that until I see it can be done well.

Honestly, I still feel like the solution to all this is to just create a new character, someone who can essentially be a fem Link in spirit, without actually being a fem Link; hell at this point even though I don't like it I'd except something like Linkle, assuming she was canonically his sister, though I'd vastly prefer that tis new character be a lot more original and a lot less fem Linkish.

All this said though, I do feel like it's a bit of a slippery slope, I really really really don't want a female incarnation as I feel that's just a doorway to more and more different incarnations, but on the flip side I also feel like something along the lines of a separate character can work for the gender but it does sorta pose the question of whether or not it's fair since there's technically no race option, and it'd be nonsensical to add a new nonLink character just to have a black character, so I'm really not sure what to do on that front. I will admit however, the more I think about this all, the more I feel like it's contrary to how Link works, Link is suppose to be an every man that everyone can relate to, so it'd make sense that he'd have one static design, and I have a hard time considering it unfair, because he's technically not even human.

I don't know, perhaps if people are starved for new protagonists, Nintendo should invest in a sub series, where each game is a different protagonist, like a game where we play as the legendary goron who defeated Volvagia, or a game where we play as Sheik, or just things along that line.

 

[Emma]

Honestly, I still feel like the solution to all this is to just create a new character, someone who can essentially be a fem Link in spirit, without actually being a fem Link; hell at this point even though I don't like it I'd except something like Linkle, assuming she was canonically his sister, though I'd vastly prefer that tis new character be a lot more original and a lot less fem Linkish.

Like.... a twin sister or something and they've always been competing against each other or something like that? Link has had a sibling before. Who's to say it can'e be one similar to him but female?

 

[RegalBryant]

This is exactly the kind of BS gaming doesn't need. Keep your politics out of gaming. We don't need gay or lesbian characters. There's no gameplay rationale for this.

gay people only exist to fill some arbitrary quota, apparently

 

[ZeldafreakCJM]

Like.... a twin sister or something and they've always been competing against each other or something like that? Link has had a sibling before. Who's to say it can'e be one similar to him but female?

I could settle for a twin sister, though I'd prefer it just be a regular sister, or just another hero who happens to be a girl, who doesn't look like Link and has her own unique design.

gay people only exist to fill some arbitrary quota, apparently

In a world where there are apparently no sociological differences between gay and straight people, or black and white people, or men and woman...they kinda do.

I don't say this to offend, but there's no indication of any of these issues in Hyrule or the world around it, meaning you'd have to add it in, to make a story about the differences between any of those, otherwise, the change is just there for the sake of change.

However this does work in their favor, as it means there's really no stipulation on what other characters in the world can or can't be, since there's no logic to assume that x character couldn't be this or that.

This said, I do not want a opposite gender, black, or explicitly gay (no one in Zelda really talks about their sexualities, so it's always vague), Link, Zelda, or Ganon, largely because despite reincarnating or being reborn or whatever, each one has remained the same character since the start of the series.

 

[Emma]

I'm actually all for gay and lesbian stuff being in games so long as it's done right. I think games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect did it right. It wasn't forced on people, it was just there if you wanted it. But I don't really see how it's relevant to Zelda because the series doesn't like actually following through with any implied relationships so I can't see how sexuality would even come up. Making it an issue would mean you would need to have relationships in the games and that will cause trouble because Nintendo would likely force a particular relationship and many people will not like that. Imagine if they forced you with Ilia in Twilight Princess. Fans of Zelda X Link and Midna X Link would be upset.

I could settle for a twin sister, though I'd prefer it just be a regular sister, or just another hero who happens to be a girl, who doesn't look like Link and has her own unique design.

Opposite gender twins will look fairly similar as siblings but they can never be identical or extremely similar like same gender twins can. And being born at the same time makes it more likely for them to be competative especially as opposite genders.

 

[VikzeLink]

I've said it before, Link is a character, just like Mario, Kirby, Samus, Sonic, Starfox, etc.
He is not an avatar, like the main character in Dragon Age: Origins, World of Warcraft or Skyrim.

You don't change established characters like that. Another character would be better, but then it would also have to be a slightly different type of game.

 

[Majoras-Light]

I would personally like a game mechanic like Hyrule Warriors where you can choose from a variety of characters (not as many, of course) and have them all be previously used canon characters. It'd be nice to get the choice to pick a character when starting a save file or going into a new dungeon, and the different techniques could have effect on the gameplay.

 

[AncientPoe]

I would personally like a game mechanic like Hyrule Warriors where you can choose from a variety of characters (not as many, of course) and have them all be previously used canon characters. It'd be nice to get the choice to pick a character when starting a save file or going into a new dungeon, and the different techniques could have effect on the gameplay.

I can see that being a nightmare for programming and balancing. And the dungeons would suffer most. You'd have a bunch of samey mechanics that have to pander because you can't ever be sure of what capabilities the player is coming into them with. Zelda game dungeons are balanced very well because they know what items you will have, as well as a variable range of items you may or may not have (extra heart containers, extra bottles, possibly a bonus weapon). This allows them to design dungeons that precisely expect something from the player. Just look at ALBW. All the Lorule dungeons are about the same level of difficulty because the designers couldn't know what order you'd take them in. It's fine near the beginning, but past number 2 or 3 it becomes almost insultingly easy. They don't know how many hearts you'll have, or bottles or what weapons you may or may not have rented from Ravio. It's the single biggest stumbling block for that game, and adding in a whole slew of characters and abilities would amplify that tenfold.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

I guess I didn't explicitly say my reason, but I was simply thinking that some people may want to play as a female character. I would continue to play as a male character, and this little addition to a game could broaden the appeal and enhance other people's enjoyment of the game. If it simply is a choice, you could continue to play as a male Link, and this wouldn't affect you at all.

(1) if you want to play as a female character, there are games out there that allow for that. The Legend of Zelda is not one of those series. And yes, it would affect me in the sense that it would alter the game in an intrinsic way. Link is male. Giving an option for a female Link is not the same as giving an option to play as either Link or Zelda.

Mario already has games that let you play as multiple characters of either gender. In most of those games you mentioned (as far as I know) the gender of the main character is totally meaningless. I never said change them all. I'm saying giving player's a superficial choice of gender when gender doesn't matter doesn't hurt anything.

I'll give you a pass since you said "as far as I know". But in my opinion, Bayonetta being female is extremely important to the series. As is the case for Metroid. Maybe Halo could get away with it (I'm not really a big Halo fan, so I can't say). The point is, no one is asking to change other characters, so why ask for Link to be changed?

And as is the case with Mario, instead of changing the canonical sex of the character, why not just as more playable characters? With different moves/skills? Super Mario Bros. 2 did this, allowing us to play as Peach, and she had different skills than Mario and Luigi. In fact, those skills from that game have gone on to become a staple for her in subsequent games.

But what they didn't do is make Mario into Maria.

That was political? Of course the characters don't need to be gay, I'm just saying that for Legend of Zelda the gender/sexual orientation of the characters is meaningless in most games.

I apologize. In my righteous indignation, I misquoted my quotes. Half of my post was directed @RegalBryant

But the reason why people want to change genders, include handicapped and minorities is political.

I think the fact that Nintendo could change it

I think you missed the point already. Nintendo could. Nintendo also could make Samus into a man. Or Mario into a squirrel. Or Fox into a Ninja Hamster. But they won't. Because of canon. Because it would change the series.

All it takes is Nintendo deciding that they want to throw in ... a separate playable character who is female like in countless Mario games, and they don't even need to revise the prior canon at all to do so.

Separate female character ≠ female Link.

As for the rest of your points, yes, there have been tweaks to the gameplay. But most of them still lead to Link being the wielder of the Triforce of Courage. In the first Zelda, there were only two Triforce, so it did not apply. Not until the 3rd Triforce was added was it engraved into canon. And it has been. It is canon now. Just because the creator of the story can change the canon/history/lore of the story doesn't mean that it should or that it will.

I appeal to history (not authority) because history is the relevant point here. "Link should remain male because Link is male" is not a logical fallacy. It's a fact. Disney could change Luke Skywalker into a woman right now, and it would become canon immediately. That doesn't mean they will or that they should. Change for the sake of change is hardly ever good.

There has to be some actual gameplay rationale for something like this to be changed. And "just so people can play as a girl" is not a good reason.

gay people only exist to fill some arbitrary quota, apparently

Yep, and it's done to appease the lunatics. Unlike @ZeldafreakCJM I do intend to offend.

If you want to make a political statement about underrepresentation of some minority group, go start a rally or sign up for Tumbler (though I'm sure you already have one). Leave the video games for people who play them for fun, not to make a statement.

To wit, I'm Mexican, and I've never been upset that Mexicans are underrepresented in video games. Because I'm not a lunatic.

 

[RegalBryant]

Unlike @ZeldafreakCJM I do intend to offend