Making Zelda a Little More Japanese

The character style within Zelda games has changed quite a bit over the years. Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and now Skyward Sword all have distinctive graphical and character styles. Are these styles too westernized? Should the series stay closer to its Japanese roots? The folks over at Kotaku think the artwork you see to the left is just that, a more Japanese character style. I’m not sure I agree with that assessment, but I do like the character designs.

The artwork was created by deviantART user Gerwell. While the artwork looks sweet, the artist had even more in mind when creating this artwork. Not only does she want to change the visual look, but she would like a fundamental difference of what character roles are in the Zelda series. Make the jump to see what the artist had to say.

I just wanted to make some designs for some Zelda game! I have a vague idea of what the plot would be, and the particularity of the game would be that most dungeons would be done with the help of Sheik. Duos forever!

So…Link, random forest kids, Sheik, Princess Zelda and Ganondorf! I hope this isn’t out of spirit, I wanted Japanese touch in the designs, and OFF with Zelda’s pink dresses! 🙂

To some it up, she wants Princess Zelda to be more actively involved with the storyline and gameplay, and much less like the helpless Princess Peach in most of the Super Mario Games. Spirit Tracks seemed to move in that direction with Princess Zelda taking a more active role throughout the game. However, from what we know about Skyward Sword, it appears Zelda is going back to her traditional role of helpless Princess.

So what are your thoughts on the artwork? What do you think Princess Zelda and Sheik’s role should be in future Zelda games? Let us know by posting in the comments below.

Source: Gerwell via Kotaku
Related: Skyward Sword Walkthrough

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