How Should We Feel About Linkle?

Stephanie Burdo with TheKoalition.com writes:

"For the few of you that may not have heard by now, Nintendo announced the debut of a new Zelda character at their November Nintendo Direct. Not only is this new character blonde haired, blue eyed, and sporting a green tunic, but she looks very similar to the Hero of Time himself. This little Hylian goes by the name of Linkle and is known as “Female Link.”"

[SwiffEpics]

Now I actually want to play a Zelda game, so this was a great choice. I suppose for long-term Zelda fans it would be an issue, because it's just too different.

[DarkOcelet]

You want to play a Zelda game now because there is a female link now?

[garrettbobbyferguson]

She's not even female link. She's a completely different character with a voice appearing in a spin off title.

[PixelGateUk]

Wait...so all it took for you to want to play a Zelda game is to add a little girl to the mix? errr...dude...Zelda and Shiek are playable in Hyrule Warriors :P

[Paulino30]

I don't understand your statement. Why would having a female link make you want to play the games now. The games with female link will probably have the same Zelda mechanics implemented in the past games.

[Pookandpie]

Sheik, Impa, Ruto, Agitha, Zelda, Midna, Twili Midna, and Cia were all playable in Hyrule Warriors previously.

Is there something about green-clad females that just makes you want to play that game, now? Because *that's* the game in which Linkle is appearing.

[DragonKnight]

"Now I actually want to play a Zelda game, so this was a great choice."

No you don't. If you didn't want to play a Zelda game before when Link was meant to be a stand-in for yourself, you don't want to play a Zelda game mow. Your statement is blatantly disingenuous or purposely contentious. No one, absolutely no one decides to play or not play a game based solely on the gender of the protagonist. Not an actual gamer anyway.

[AtomHeart623]

Normally I live by the "To each his/her own" rule, but seriously WTF?

[illAmpThunder]

Idk the who whole back story of zelda but isnt link the warrior boy hero and zelda is girl a hero princess? that link saves? Anyways i love the idea of the new character but the name its self could be better imo

[StormLegend]

@ SwiffEpics

I had to log in to downvote you.

That was a sad comment.

You guys love starng at animated butts, instead of focusing on the game.
Don't choose to play games because of the Gender.

[Segata]

Isn't cloud girly enough?

[ChickeyCantor]

> I suppose for long-term Zelda fans it would be an issue, because it's just too different.

Wut.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Well you would be wrong.
Because this isn't Link; real Zelda fans know she's her own character and not a replacement.

[3-4-5]

* Can't stand these " How should WE feel" articles.

As if we are all supposed to think one thought and all think the same.

It's so limiting and pointless.

Who creates this trash ?

[DarkOcelet]

I think its useless as there is a female character already in LOZ. She is called Zelda.

How about making a game about Zelda rather than just making a female link, its really useless.

[-Foxtrot]

For the "wow" factor and to make it feel "fresh"...just like the Ghostbusters reboot or even the new Oceans Eleven which has a female driven team

Like I've said before the lore would not allow a female Link, they could force it in there sure but the lore has Hylia's Chosen Hero as a male along with Link who is Hylia Chosen Hero but reincarnated. On top of that you have Demises curse on Link which puts him in a cycle of his hatred and every game (basically every cycle) where the "spirit of the hero" and "blood of the goddess" needs to save the world they have always been the SAME GENDERS

So lets break that down

Hylia's Chosen Hero (The Original) - Male

Chosen Hero Reincarnated as Link - Male

The Curse - Put on Link...a Male

Wouldn't make sense and people need to realise, Zelda has lore...read it people

[GameCrateEd]

It's fun to have more characters. Just because there is already a female character doesn't mean we can't have another one, with a different backstory and different abilities.

[DarkOcelet]

Then why make a female link? Link is a male, make a new female without the connection to link.

It seems they are doing this just to appease to people who want link to be female which is so weird, thats like wanting Snake to be a female.

[GameCrateEd]

She's not replacing Link. She's not literally a female Link. She just shares his visual style.

It's fun.

[vanity29]

Linkle is literally a female link. There should be a Legend of Link that way people can play as Zelda instead of messing with the lore.

[Pookandpie]

@Vanity29

She's not literally a female Link. She shares his visual style (which, really, it's just a blonde person in a green cloak, rather than green tunic). She wields crossbows and, from what has been said and shown so far, uses a completely separate fighting style that's well in line with Hyrule Warriors. If she was literally a female Link, she'd be wielding the Master Sword. At current, she's a blonde girl with a hero complex.

You know why there's no game in which Zelda is the main hero? Because she couldn't defeat Ganondorf which means her adventure would be cheaper than one by Link, since she can't ever wield the Master Sword (I mean, everyone loved Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's final boss, right...? lol). She's the reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia who created the trial of the hero to defeat Demise, and the one who completed the trial was a green-clad boy named Link (which means only his reincarnation can draw the weapon from its resting place). Demise, upon his defeat, cursed Zelda and Link to struggle against him for all eternity.

Demise referred to her as the one who carried the blood of the Goddess, and Link as the one who carried the soul of the hero, a distinction meaning that their two roles can never intertwine. Zelda's role is that of guide, not that of the hero (the one with the soul of the hero is the only one who can wield the Master Sword, thereby making him the only one who can defeat Ganondorf, Demise's reincarnation). All of this is clearly stated in Skyward Sword which is the current lore.

So, I'd be fine with a female Link in a new Zelda game. However, I would not be fine with Zelda wielding the Master Sword because that tosses out lore that was cleanly established in the last game.

[DragonKnight]

1. How is it "fun?" All they did was literally rule 63'd Link, that's not fun that's pandering and lazy.

2. It's an insult to Zelda, who quite frankly is much more deserving of her own game than to create a female Link just because Nintendo is tired of being attacked by SJWs.

[GameCrateEd]

@DragonKnight

More characters, more variety, more choice -- these are usually fun things in games. We don't know exactly how Linkle will play yet, but having a character that's sort of like (but is NOT literally) a female version of Link seems like an amusing twist perfectly in keeping with Nintendo's style.

Also, creating a new female character isn't necessarily an insult to existing female characters.

[DivineAssault]

Nintendo is probably trying to shut the SJWs up and test the waters for new LOZ games including this abomination.. Now if cannon zelda titles had her as a secondary type of character to play as, it might be cool if she has her own move set.. The name is just stupid though..

[cogniveritas]

Why do you assume it's about SJWs? That seems to be an obsessive buzzword these days. Why wouldn't you just think they're trying to appeal to a larger audience of their own accord for more income from a growing segment of gamers rather than appeasement?

If you think this is alienating their base... well they already did that when they appealed to casual gamers with the Wii. It's funny, "Casuals" were the scapegoat a few years ago, now the red threat is the "SJWs".

[DivineAssault]

@ Cognivertas

Well, nintendo got BASHED by Anita Sarkeesian after the wii released for starters,, Secondly, Most nintendo games since she showed up featured females being playable like Mario 3D World.. Yet the bashing continues but moved on to her disliking of LOZ not having a female lead.. Do your homework before you comment boy.. You obviously havent been keeping track of whats going on..

[cogniveritas]

"Do your homework before you comment boy.. You obviously havent been keeping track of whats going on.."

Boy?.. cute, but immature. What was the point of that line? You've gotta know what is said about making assumptions. I'm well aware of what has been going on, but unlike people who obsess over the SJW boogey man, I give individuals like Sarkeesian a lot less credit than it seems you do for something that was going to be inevitable anyway as female buying power increases.

Correlation does not imply causation, and you seem to be riling yourself up by a loose connection you can't definitely prove but it fits the narrative you want as the victim who is having his boy's club infiltrated so you go with it.

You can't possibly expect me to believe that if a chorus of hardcore gamers couldn't change Nintendo's mind about going casual, but somehow the SJW crew convinced Nintendo to add some girls to your favorite games. Nintendo makes their business decisions regardless of what the internet commentators are feeling.

Additionally, playable female characters, and female versions of male characters existed before the SJW buzzword became an obsession. But let me guess, that was Sarkeesian's fault too. She and the SJW's probably invented Superwoman, Spidergirl, and Batwoman, .... wait did they know who Sarkeesian was at the time? Oh yea..

[N4GGuy24]

@cogniveritas

Well said. Shame about DivineAssault with his small narrow mind.

[DivineAssault]

@ N4GGUY & congniveritas, do you really think Linkle was added because nintendo or team ninja thought she would be a great add in for 3DS??? Think about all the controversy and everything for the last few years.. Seriously! Anyway, i already said i dont care but her name is still lame AF & shes not a game seller by any means.. If i have a narrow mind, look at the rest of the comment thread.. Idk if your defending nintendo or just trying to dispute but either way its clear as day.. SJW's have team ninjas sack and probably nintendos.. There was never a character like her in the past but now she resembles Link and has a rip off lame name to go with it??? smh whats wrong with gamers these days? Some are clear headed and understand but others think censorship and characters like this have nothing to do with SJWs..

The devs even confirmed it in some titles.. Team ninja among them with DOA extreme and the likes.. Its ugly and sad that devs bend to her will like that neutered Psychonauts dev Tim Schafer.. Look it all up if you dont beleive me and think nintendo's family friendly motto wouldnt have caught wind of this.. Give me some quotes or proof that they dont affect the games these days.. I can show you word for word what the companies said for doing dumb crap like that.. Xenoblade X on wii U got censored in the west because of them too...

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I agree with you about Zelda.
However, Linkle is her own character, not a Link replacement, so she's okay in my book.

[DivineAssault]

She's supposed to be a sister like character to Link like wind waker.. I said if she retains a different move set, it might work out well.. Or switching on the fly to complete quests/puzzles would be a nice twist.. Ill never get over the nam but if its fun, i wont care and rename her..

[ApolloTheBoss]

I have no problem with her except for the fact that she has two crossbows. I mean what's the point. It's effectively the same as having two bows and arrows.

[Pookandpie]

Two crossbows in D&D 5E with the Crossbow Expert feat is pretty sweet, though, so maybe they thought along those lines?

... Knowing Hyrule Warriors, she'll probably reload them like an action star (no hands, ma!) after special attacks, etc..

[GameCrateEd]

Yeah fighting with two crossbows is hardly the craziest thing a Warriors game has ever featured.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

She does.
If you watch the trailers of her combat thus far, you might notice a moment after one of her special attacks where she does this little leap upwards with both crossbows pointed at the ground.
She's pulling the strings back with her freakin' feet.XD

[Relientk77]

I dont see a problem with it as long as its just an option

You can choose to play as Link or Linkle

[-Foxtrot]

The thing is if it was an option they'd have to step carefully when referencing past adventures

You know what Nintendo is like, why make it anymore complicated for them when they didn't even do an official timeline until the past few years.

[GameCrateEd]

Nintendo is right to not let concerns about possible lore complications get in the way of something that could be cool and fun.

[-Foxtrot]

Why should you go against built up lore for "fun"....the games are fun already.

I mean the last main game was Skyward Sword and that filled in a lot of the lore...why go against the point of the most recent game

[WalterWJR]

The story's are not exactly cohesive and the games are never really set in the same universe apart from maybe the DS games. Story is never a buying point for zelda, its all about the gameplay and puzzles.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Why?
Linkle is her own character, so as long as they portray her as a new heroine in the lore instead of just a stupid gender swap, then that should be fine.

[Pookandpie]

This is exactly what you'd do

Because Linkle is a character for Hyrule Warriors, a Dynasty Warriors-style Zelda spinoff game. You get to play as all types of characters, several of which you probably wouldn't ever see in a main Zelda title (like Cia or Lana, who alongside Volga are my favorites to play as).

I don't see anything wrong with giving players the option to play as Link or his sister for a game- when the events transpire that result in someone telling him or her that, "You have the soul of the hero and should go get that Master Sword, lickety split!" the non-chosen sibling can just become a supporting character. There's nothing established that says the soul of the hero has to be reincarnated into a male, and more options are always nice so long as they don't contradict lore.

[Blank]

Only thing I feel weird about this character is the name Linkle. Wouldve been nicer if Zelda had a better focus about her part, but whatever it is what it is I just wish the name was more creative.

[JLynn943]

Yeah, talk about an uninspired name. I can't imagine the creative process behind that one.

[MasterCornholio]

Now give Mr. Tingles a girlfriend!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.mariowiki.com/im...

[bangoskank]

Intoduce her in an alertnate reality where the hero of prophecy is a female. Have realities merge so she works with link. After that game give her her own spinoff series.

[Fez]

That's an interesting idea. Could work really well. The name would definitely have to change though. Even if it was just Link - Linkle is a rubbish name.

Tbf though I'm not invested in the lore since the original is the last Zelda game I played so not sure how fans would feel about this. I feel fans would prefer Zelda as the main character over a rip-off link.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

How about Linkle's Crossbow Action game

[2pacalypsenow]

meh..

[Coachkeys]

It's cool but it seems pointless. The character link is so well known that it just confuses the ones familiar with him. This probably would have done better if the character had her own storyline and following.

[Romudeth]

She better be able to talk unlike Link!

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Oh I can only imagine the confusion. There are people out there who call Link, Zelda.

[WheatBread]

I'm fine with it, but her name sucks.

[annoyedgamer]

Its lame, just like the new Lara Croft.

[blawren4]

I think the character model is awesome!. having an interlocking story with both playable, like perhaps arkham city, would be amazing.

[Dasteru]

What next? A male Zelda named Zelder?

[Enigma_2099]

... the hell kind of name is Linkle?

[ShadowKnight]

I don't know how I feel about this???

[PaleMoonDeath]

Just wait for the cosplayers bud, it'll work out.

[mamotte]

I dont know how should I feel about having to feel anything about this. Is a spin off character, in a spin off game, and it's just a female link. It's just a silly joke, an innocent extra, a cute face face cosplaying Link.

Nothing more, nothing less. Stop making a storm in a glass of water.

[PaleMoonDeath]

I'll judge by the cosplay ;)

[Coachkeys]

In fact, this character would be awesome if they dropped the name and made her an original character. Links sister even. But to simply say it's a female link. Seems lazy and gimmicky to me.

[Vaughntophat]

I don't feel anything about Linkle? It really doesn't matter, "Link" is canonically NOT the same character per game. So what if one of the "Retelling" or "Reincarnations" of the legendary hero is a female variant? The brilliant thing about the canon of Zelda is that each game can be its own entity separate from the other ones. I say celebrate that creative freedom. Male or female, I'm totally ambivalent.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

There is no "Link".

There is Link, Zelda, and Linkle.

She is her own established character, not a gender swap.
Just like Link and Zelda are their own established characters.

The lore specifically states: Spirit of the Hero.

It's why Link has always been born a male, just as Zelda being a reincarnation of the GODDESS Hylia makes each of HER incarnations FEMALE.

A female Hero is called a Heroine.

Just changing Link's gender would go against series lore and precedent, and would turn off a lot of fans, so I'm very glad that Linkle is her own character and not a feminist-pandering disaster.

[Vaughntophat]

I'm certainly not one to spit in the face of tradition, and also don't subscribe to the feminist agenda and strongly disagree with shoehorning in female versions of things just to appease certain vocal minorities. You'll also have to forgive me if I'm less educated on the specifics of the lore, I play Zelda games only casually in passing. I enjoy them a lot when I play them, but I'm certainly no die-hard fan.

That being said, from what I assume is a somewhat misinformed understanding of the overall lore of "Zelda" (The game not the person) is that the hero of time overcomes some great world threatening evil, and that each game was a "Retelling" or some imagining of that lore. With that version of the lore in mind(Which again I openly admit very well may not be accurate) I was just stating that the IDEA of a female version of Link would be neat, as that PARTICULAR understanding of the lore would allow for such creative freedoms.

I am in no way stating that Link, as he is, as an entity, should, or needs to be made female for any agenda. Further, if a more accurate version of the lore actually states that Link MUST be a male canonically, then I'm opposed to a female link.

I only meant that if lore allowed it, exploring creative options might be fun. Nothing more.

[Dunban67]

What about a female Mario and Luigi? It would be FUN!!

A guy Samus... how Fun... oh wait can t do that its not pc

Is Kirby a guy or a girl- well we should have a definitive girl Kirby just to be sure

Donkey Kong???Too masculine- we need a girl ape too .... it would be fun

Xenoblade on the Wii should retroactively be docked 10 points off its Metacritic score sone there was no girl Shulk too

[just-joe]

You know what my reaction was?

"Hmmm, that's cool."

That's it.

[ZeekQuattro]

Can't wait to unlock her. Hyrule Warriors is not cannon and at this point neither is Linkle. Not sure what the issue is. Its a spin off series. lol

[ChickeyCantor]

Linkle is just fan service. Just a fun design on their part. And everyone is losing their mind.

It's probably not even canon, just the developers adding more characters.

It's not even Link, it's just based off link. Why you people gotta be mad?

[Medievalwaffles]

Wait isn't linkle mentioned in the hyrule hystoria book where they talk about all of LOZ?

[D-riders]

So is the new linkle or whatever supposed to still rescue Zelda??

[Ahmay]

ok Zelda is bi..

[feraldrgn]

Feels too forced to me, if they hadn't have called her "Linkle" then it wouldn't have felt that way.
Should have been an actual new character rather than a gender-swap.

With it being a gender swap, it makes no sense in the Zelda universe.

[skratchy]

I really don't see what the big deal is. Original Link still exists, guys. Not every female character created is somehow going to ruin gaming. You can still be as masculine as you want, no one is questioning your sexuality or anything.

[Miraak82]

Should make an alternate/parallel world were Zelda is the enemy with the Triforce of power , Link the the captive with the Triforce of Wisdom and Ganon's the hero with the Triforce of Courage . Zelda captures Link cause she's evil and Ganon goes to rescue link cause there like super BFFs lol