Aonuma won't say if you can play as Zelda in Breath of the Wild 2

I think it would be cool to see Link and Zelda both as controllable characters and the player being able to swap between them on the fly to take on enemies and puzzles.

There are theories popping up based on the teaser from E3 that revolve around Link and Zelda both having sealing/binding powers--something like the white hand seen holding zombie Gannon down. Off the top of my head, this could be done mechanically a few ways; as single button press like in God of War how Atreus could shoot/stun enemies, or as a focused sort of attack. Some enemies may only be stunned if hit with only Link's or only Zelda's magic while others have to be hit with both simultaneously, in short succession, or in a specific order. A focused attack could rely on a meter that has to be maxed out that would then be spent by aiming at an enemy then firing a continuous beam of stun magic while the other character runs in and lands a devastating attack. A lot of interesting possibilities... It would also be pretty sweet to see Link and Zelda learn to pull of special combined attacks like how characters did in Chrono Trigger throughout the journey.
 
kegkilla said:
Is "playing as Zelda" some sort of ideology-based demand coming out from the typical batshit crazies? Or is this something gamers have actually been asking for? I can't tell anymore.
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The reason I actually want to play as Zelda is because I'm hoping story wise there's more to be gleaned that just through our traditional "hero"

She's a woman, a lady of royalty, I'd suspect her view point might be different than Links, maybe different personal trials. And conquering dungeons and fighting bosses as a woman could present itself with different challenges. She might be quicker but not as powerful, more agile, her direct involvement would change the lore, a huge change from Zelda prophecy, not to mention Hyrulians might treat her different than Link. For better or worse.

I think playing as Zelda would be a welcome change story wise.
 
Meesh said:
She's a woman, a lady of royalty, I'd suspect her view point might be different than Links, maybe different personal trials. And conquering dungeons and fighting bosses as a woman could present itself with different challenges.
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Right, she would just have to accuse the dungeon boss of sexual assault.
 
Zog said:
I need to know Link's sexual preference.
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As long as it's not an escort mission, I would be okay tagging Zelda along for entirity of the game. Playable Zelda with specific skill set would be awesome - but I hate escorting missions...
 
kegkilla said:
Is "playing as Zelda" some sort of ideology-based demand coming out from the typical batshit crazies? Or is this something gamers have actually been asking for? I can't tell anymore.
Click to expand...
Because she is the best.
 
IF this happens, and that's a big if--whether in co-op, as a choice, or as the sole hero--I don't care much about the changes to narrative or anything, I just want her to have significantly different combat and traversal styles.
 
It's weird to think back on when BotW was first revealed. Link had his usual pretty boy face, no hips or breasts or anything, but his hair was pulled back and he had a blue shirt on. Seeing this, one of the very strong responses was "Wow, Link is a girl now! Finally!"

I just don't understand how people saw the reveal and that was their takeaway. It feels as if there is a very driven group of indeterminate numbers whose motivation is to have every popular, established male hero in fiction be either feminized or replaced.
 
A female version of Link maybe, but not Zelda.

Zelda has her own importance and role in the series. Making her an action hero would retroactively mess with older Zelda games lore.
 
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It's just going to be like Assassin's Creed Odyssey where lots of people were pushing that Cassandra was the canon choice and as the proper way to play the game then the game director would come out weeks after release and say he was "surprised" that the majority went with the Alexios.
 
Dirk Benedict said:
To be fair, I think Link is supposed to be 17 in the game, same age as Zelda?
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The "Linkle" character in that video isn't designed as anywhere close to 17. 12-13 is more accurate. And let's not kid ourselves, for 99% of the people asking for "Linkle", the motivation is rooted in sexual deviancy and nothing more. It's disgusting.
 
Would you be okay if the next Metroid having a male protagonist as its main, would you at least question the intention of it?

I'm one of those people who are not interested to play as a female main protagonist, especially if there's a male protagonist before it. I can still play Metroid or Bayonetta though because I'm attracted to its gameplay, but I'm turned off by Tales of Berseria for example even if I still had the drive to finish all the boring entries before it until the end. I became not interested if it becomes a female-centered story. Same thing happened with Assassin's Creed Liberation and FFXIII (absolutely not interested). Even if I'm fooled by FFXII fake protagonist Vaan, as soon as I know the story revolves around the princess I got turned off lol. It's so weird.

Maybe I should become more open minded, I know I'm missing out because of this, but I know a lot of people who felt the same. I also think that a similar situation would happen when it comes to movies and other media.
 
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I can see her being the Second Character you "Swap" to for more elaborate puzzles that Link can't do. I can also see Zelda being more of a Technical Fighter, using Magic and Potions on Enemies that are immune to Swords/Arrows etc.

I am thinking that she will be like Tails in the Sonic games, she tags along with Link to assist in the Adventure but only used when needed.

It would actually make "The Legend of Zelda" name true to the purpose of the title, since you effectively use "Zelda" in the game!

Link will always be the main character in these games, but I can see in this sequel that Zelda will be playable, if only for a few Dungeons where she is needed for a different approach over Link.
 
I always imagined Zelda as a mage, perhaps using her sword as a focus. There are plenty of ways to make Zelda an interesting playable character without straying into pandering territory.
 
If anything Zelda could have her own game on a spinoff. But come on, The Legend of Zelda is the story of the hero who saves Hyrule and it's princess. Why change it just to pander to people who have issues with the gender of the character on screen? Have you ever seen guys harrassing developers to make Lara Croft a male character?
 
well, if you do they are gonna make a big annnouncement about it, not an out of conference interview, and if you do not the don't wanna start hearing the complains now that the game is not even in alpha.
 
I hope is possible, Zelda not always is portrayed like peach who is a princess stereotype; Zelda was sheik in ocarina and once a leader pirate, she was badass before all the Era like craziness.

She could well fit as a Thief/Magic type while link a warrior/hunter type and complement. Also would fit well for her a Princess that don't wanna be a princess
 
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Touch fuzZy. get BizZay said:
It's weird to think back on when BotW was first revealed. Link had his usual pretty boy face, no hips or breasts or anything, but his hair was pulled back and he had a blue shirt on. Seeing this, one of the very strong responses was "Wow, Link is a girl now! Finally!"

I just don't understand how people saw the reveal and that was their takeaway. It feels as if there is a very driven group of indeterminate numbers whose motivation is to have every popular, established male hero in fiction be either feminized or replaced.
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Is it mean for me to say that it's not surprising that's what they think women look like - dudes with long hair?
 
kegkilla said:
And then it's no longer The Legend of Zelda, it's some game about some random goofy looking protagonist.
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Think GTA San Andreas. Just because you could make CJ goofy in hot pants as a fat out of shape looking hooker, didnt mean the game didnt treat him as the character he was.
 
I'd be disappointed if they bowed to pressure to make her playable, or worse, adding a 'female Link' option. To me, this would give the impression that you can get what you want as long as you screech loud enough. Have her playable (again) in a spin-off by all means.
The only thing giving me hope is that Link is the only one with the magic hand in the trailer as well as being the only one that's armed.
 
It doesn't matter to me if she is playable or not. I'll still be Link. Just make sure it fits the game and don't force me to be Zelda like those god awful Mary Jane sections.
 
kegkilla said:
Is "playing as Zelda" some sort of ideology-based demand coming out from the typical batshit crazies? Or is this something gamers have actually been asking for? I can't tell anymore.
Click to expand...

Nintendo has managed to create some cute/hot video game waifus and I prefer to have the ability to play as one or have the option to choose between male or female in games with boring protagonists like Link, sorry, yeah he is iconic, but I rather stare at Zelda for hours if I have the option. ;)

That is also becaue of the art style and character model design of the game. In a game like Links awakening I don't need a female protag, cause they all chibi anyways and it wouldn't make a big difference.
 
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kegkilla said:
Yes, having a sexualized, 14-year old female version of Link that looks like it was designed by a pedophile would most certainly ruin the game for me.
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She has the same proportions as Link, and Link is an adult... why do I always hear the same stuff about anime girls? It's different when you have stuff like those Disgaea characters, but here Linkle seems pretty passable as 18+.

Go check some asian women, they do have small builds.
 
Meesh said:
The reason I actually want to play as Zelda is because I'm hoping story wise there's more to be gleaned that just through our traditional "hero"

She's a woman, a lady of royalty, I'd suspect her view point might be different than Links, maybe different personal trials. And conquering dungeons and fighting bosses as a woman could present itself with different challenges. She might be quicker but not as powerful, more agile, her direct involvement would change the lore, a huge change from Zelda prophecy, not to mention Hyrulians might treat her different than Link. For better or worse.

I think playing as Zelda would be a welcome change story wise.
Click to expand...

See, this is something I don't really understand about how people approach gaming. Or at least how stories are told in gaming.

The storytelling format of the Zelda series has always been that Link is something of a "blank slate" and the real substance of the story is experienced as something like almost being a tourist or independent participant in the game world.

Link is more of like Skyrim's Dragonborn or Bloodborne's Hunter than a Nathan Drake or Kratos type. If you get my meaning?

I could see the idea of a female Link working just fine (not Linkle) but having the playable character as Zelda would seem to be a big change in the basic DNA of how Zelda games tell their story.

It can't help but feel it would become less of a Legend of Zelda game and more of a Naughty Dog type thing.
Given the massive success and critical acclaim of Breath of the Wild I wonder why they would want to move away from that exploration type storytelling to a more direct and controlled format.

I think games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Skyrim etc would lose quite a bit if they were to try and make the game be the direct story of the protagonist rather than an exploration and discovery of the game world.

I know many people dislike silent protagonists but I feel they can be a key component in a well crafted game.

It's an area where games can stand separate from movies. Difficult to make a good movie where the protagonists says nothing and the plot is really all about seeing all these interesting locations (or levels) and encountering interesting characters (or NPCs and bosses).

On the other hand games like The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption 2 are almost trying to be interactive cinema in a lot of ways. I always think it's weird to see things like calls for an Uncharted or Metal Gear movie because that is essentially just a 2 to 3 hour experience with zero gameplay. Maybe it's more convenient than having to play through the game.

Obviously there are advantages and disadvantages to both styles. Even there can be a kind of blending of these styles.

I just don't know that it suits the Zelda franchise to become this thing where you play as a fully fleshed out character.
These games always felt like stepping into a strange world where everyone is in on what the place is really all about. Except for the player who has to explore the world, it's lore, it's dungeons it's bosses and NPCs to figure out what's what.
Dropping a fully formed character into that adds something new but then it also takes something away.
Then again, maybe experimentation can freshen things up and make a better end product.

That's risky though.
Creating a Zelda game that it deliberately not like a Zelda game and then hoping for the best.

The thing is that Link's viewpoint is OUR viewpoint. Zelda's viewpoint would be imposed on the player and then also imposed upon the world of the game.

It's not like when you play as Link you get any sense of how Link feels about the world. We don't get Link going into exposition about how he feels about this or that or his feelings on things.

That's why it's kind of even weird for people to think of Link as the traditional hero. In a, I think, very true sense the player IS Link. Whatever your race, gender, sexuality, whatever you pick up the game and experience the world in a very neutral observer-like fashion.

That's what a Legend of Zelda game is. That's what separates those from a movie or a book or a play. It's what keeps the apart from the "cinematic" storytelling of many modern games.

I don't know if that's something they should even consider changing.

I believe it would better suit the franchise to offer a female version of Link or actually just don't refer to Link's gender at all and leave the character design somewhat ambiguous (which I kind of feel they were already doing but OK).

I think too often people have a singular idea of HOW games tell their stories and that this is too often so very similar to movies or novels. So when a game doesn't do that think people reckon it could be improved by being more like a traditional story.

If you could re-skin Horizon Zero Dawn to be a "Zelda" game with Alloy being replaced by Zelda, obviously, would this make a good Zelda game or would it just allow Zelda games to blend into current gaming trends as opposed to being it's own thing?
 
Personally, I don't think Zelda needs to be a main protagonist, but it would be nice to get a break from the usual damsel in distress story.

The idea of Zelda being a partner character that you occasionally control to solve certain puzzle types or manipulate certain game mechanics is fine by me. Perhaps her magic will be required to solve this game's equivalent of shrines, for example. Or maybe they avoid shrines this time and have different types of Sheikah puzzles. Would be fun to have a second player along for co-op as well.
 
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Would be interesting if you could and if she had a different play style. What if she were to mostly use magic as her primary form of offence and defense? That'd be cool. They've experimented with Zelda in the past with Spirit Tracks but it really wasn't all that fun. If Zelda is gonna play a major role like what the trailer hints at for BotW2 then I think she should be playable.
 
Can't they just leave a series the way it's been for all these years. Instead of trying to pressure devs to change a well established franchise. Rather wait till devs create something else.
 
kegkilla said:
Is "playing as Zelda" some sort of ideology-based demand coming out from the typical batshit crazies? Or is this something gamers have actually been asking for? I can't tell anymore.
Click to expand...
Nah, those bizarre Nintendo fan perverts just want more jack-off material:
 
Eraroten said:
Nintendo has managed to create some cute/hot video game waifus and I prefer to have the ability to play as one or have the option to choose between male or female in games with boring protagonists like Link, sorry, yeah he is iconic, but I rather stare at Zelda for hours if I have the option. ;)

That is also becaue of the art style and character model design of the game. In a game like Links awakening I don't need a female protag, cause they all chibi anyways and it wouldn't make a big difference.
Click to expand...

"need"? Really? Why would you "need" a female protagonist?
 
Jason Kotaku said:
"So why are you asking me that if you can't tell me?" I said, also laughing. "I feel like if I'm going to answer, you should have to answer my question."

"Well you've been asking so many more questions, you know?" he said. "One question, I hope you'll look past that."

A few minutes later, I tried to get tricky, asking him how many playable characters there are in this sequel to one of the greatest games ever made. Sadly, he saw past my journalistic Jedi trick. "I can't say," Aonuma said.
Click to expand...
I get the feeling Jason being quite a dick from the excerpt. You know either way the answer will bring strong feelings to some fans. Desperate for clicks that much?

Kotaku being Kotaku I guess.
 
Saruhashi said:
See, this is something I don't really understand about how people approach gaming. Or at least how stories are told in gaming.

The storytelling format of the Zelda series has always been that Link is something of a "blank slate" and the real substance of the story is experienced as something like almost being a tourist or independent participant in the game world.

Link is more of like Skyrim's Dragonborn or Bloodborne's Hunter than a Nathan Drake or Kratos type. If you get my meaning?

I could see the idea of a female Link working just fine (not Linkle) but having the playable character as Zelda would seem to be a big change in the basic DNA of how Zelda games tell their story.

It can't help but feel it would become less of a Legend of Zelda game and more of a Naughty Dog type thing.
Given the massive success and critical acclaim of Breath of the Wild I wonder why they would want to move away from that exploration type storytelling to a more direct and controlled format.

I think games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Skyrim etc would lose quite a bit if they were to try and make the game be the direct story of the protagonist rather than an exploration and discovery of the game world.

I know many people dislike silent protagonists but I feel they can be a key component in a well crafted game.

It's an area where games can stand separate from movies. Difficult to make a good movie where the protagonists says nothing and the plot is really all about seeing all these interesting locations (or levels) and encountering interesting characters (or NPCs and bosses).

On the other hand games like The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption 2 are almost trying to be interactive cinema in a lot of ways. I always think it's weird to see things like calls for an Uncharted or Metal Gear movie because that is essentially just a 2 to 3 hour experience with zero gameplay. Maybe it's more convenient than having to play through the game.

Obviously there are advantages and disadvantages to both styles. Even there can be a kind of blending of these styles.

I just don't know that it suits the Zelda franchise to become this thing where you play as a fully fleshed out character.
These games always felt like stepping into a strange world where everyone is in on what the place is really all about. Except for the player who has to explore the world, it's lore, it's dungeons it's bosses and NPCs to figure out what's what.
Dropping a fully formed character into that adds something new but then it also takes something away.
Then again, maybe experimentation can freshen things up and make a better end product.

That's risky though.
Creating a Zelda game that it deliberately not like a Zelda game and then hoping for the best.

The thing is that Link's viewpoint is OUR viewpoint. Zelda's viewpoint would be imposed on the player and then also imposed upon the world of the game.

It's not like when you play as Link you get any sense of how Link feels about the world. We don't get Link going into exposition about how he feels about this or that or his feelings on things.

That's why it's kind of even weird for people to think of Link as the traditional hero. In a, I think, very true sense the player IS Link. Whatever your race, gender, sexuality, whatever you pick up the game and experience the world in a very neutral observer-like fashion.

That's what a Legend of Zelda game is. That's what separates those from a movie or a book or a play. It's what keeps the apart from the "cinematic" storytelling of many modern games.

I don't know if that's something they should even consider changing.

I believe it would better suit the franchise to offer a female version of Link or actually just don't refer to Link's gender at all and leave the character design somewhat ambiguous (which I kind of feel they were already doing but OK).

I think too often people have a singular idea of HOW games tell their stories and that this is too often so very similar to movies or novels. So when a game doesn't do that think people reckon it could be improved by being more like a traditional story.

If you could re-skin Horizon Zero Dawn to be a "Zelda" game with Alloy being replaced by Zelda, obviously, would this make a good Zelda game or would it just allow Zelda games to blend into current gaming trends as opposed to being it's own thing?
Click to expand...
I'm of the belief Zelda doesn't have to conform to tradition. Normally we are Link and we explore the story as it unfolds, I don't think that'll change much, but what if Zelda herself doesn't play that way? What if we are playing third person POV? Maybe even are Link playing as Zelda? Perhaps playing as Link tells the same story differently than when we play as Zelda, different delivery methods.

In any case, I'm always about pushing the story element in different mediums, games too! And if Zelda doesn't hold too tightly to traditional formula then story is free to evolve. Playing as Zelda could be an aspect this way, not just combat, npc interaction, dungeon and puzzle solving, but story too.

Just because Zelda games have always been presented a certain way, doesn't mean they cant retain the spirit of the series while delivering different story methods.
 
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Meesh said:
I'm of the belief Zelda doesn't have to conform to tradition. Normally we are Link and we explore the story as it unfolds, I don't think that'll change much, but what if Zelda herself doesn't play that way? What if we are playing third person POV? Maybe even are Link playing as Zelda? Perhaps playing as Link tells the same story differently than when we play as Zelda, different delivery methods.

In any case, I'm always about pushing the story element in different mediums, games too! And if Zelda doesn't hold too tightly to traditional formula then story is free to evolve. Playing as Zelda could be an aspect this way, not just combat, npc interaction, dungeon and puzzle solving, but story too.

Just because Zelda games have always been presented a certain way, doesn't mean they cant retain the spirit of the series while delivering different story methods.
Click to expand...
While I don't think the series needs a strong or at least an in-your-face story component, I would be down to see any experimental changes to the formula, however large or wacky, provided they are in spinoff games not the core series. Fans don't lose out when Nintendo tries new ideas in side-games, which they can then bring over to the main series piecemeal as they work or abandon as they dont. If you change the core series too much though, you risk losing that spirit altogether.

That said, after all the changes BotW brought to the formula, it's not like the series is stagnant. If anything, many are calling for a half-step back, or, rather, a mixing of what made BotW so refreshingly different and some of the elements from the rest of the series that they missed. That line between refreshingly different and loss of spirit is subjective though, and for some people even BotW was a bridge too far.

You turn Zelda into a linear, Last of Us-style adventure for the sake of story, and you'll lose more than you gain, both in fanbase and in the game itself, IMO. Just as games don't need to be bound by series conventions, they also aren't obligated to deliver on all potentials of the medium. It's okay for the Zelda series to not care about telling that kind of story, or even any story at all. It could even be a core component of the series' DNA. Or not. *shrug*
 
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Meesh said:
I'm of the belief Zelda doesn't have to conform to tradition. Normally we are Link and we explore the story as it unfolds, I don't think that'll change much, but what if Zelda herself doesn't play that way? What if we are playing third person POV? Maybe even are Link playing as Zelda? Perhaps playing as Link tells the same story differently than when we play as Zelda, different delivery methods.

In any case, I'm always about pushing the story element in different mediums, games too! And if Zelda doesn't hold too tightly to traditional formula then story is free to evolve. Playing as Zelda could be an aspect this way, not just combat, npc interaction, dungeon and puzzle solving, but story too.

Just because Zelda games have always been presented a certain way, doesn't mean they cant retain the spirit of the series while delivering different story methods.
Click to expand...

Fair enough but I see that as similar to the debate over From Software games and difficulty.
As in, if a specific type of game has is fundamental aspects changed significantly or done away with then can it be said to be the same thing anymore.

Especially when there are so many other games out there to choose from, it seems like there is no need for an established formula to become "something else" when that something else is widely available elsewhere.

One of the biggest criticisms of Breath of the Wild in relation to other mainline Zelda games was the lack of dungeons.
This criticism is valid because a Zelda game traditionally has a number those distinctive dungeons.

Zelda games have always pushed the story element. The main thing though is that it is not a form of traditional narrative storytelling but rather the game-world itself contains the story of that world. The story becoming more cinematic and way less subtle is not necessarily an evolution. It sounds more like a move away from videogame storytelling to movie or TV storytelling. Which is where I think people go wrong.

Breath of the Wild is the story of Hyrule after an apocalyptic event. The quiet world with scattered settlements, lonely travelers and mysteries from the old, now ruined, world to be discovered. It's not supposed to be a narrative story, not should it be. We already have many, many, games that do the character driven story. Why should this one change because that other one is popular?

What defines a Legend of Zelda game? Is it just the name on the box? Is there some other "lightning in a bottle" aspect of Zelda games that sets them apart for those who have an interest in gaming?

If you go to a Sushi restaurant but you don't want to eat raw fish they will likely have other things on the menu. Many would say "if you don't want fish then order something else". It seems unusual to reply back to that with "but can't they just change the fish to not be fish".

I guess what I mean is, if you make a specific dish and then change all of the ingredients and try to make it again, you've actually just made a completely different dish. Slap a "Zelda" sticker on it and that's that?

In the context of gaming this is rather unnecessary because there are already so many games, both current and future releases, that provide whatever anyone could want.

For example, From Software is known for their difficult games and stubborn challenge. If these fundamental characteristics are taken away in the name of "choice" or "progress" then how do you define what remains?

Similarly, a Zelda game has it's own "DNA". There are well defined elements and motifs and even design philosophies that define that a "Legend of Zelda" game actually is. Take those away or alter them too much and what are you left with? A Zelda game that kind of isn't a Zelda game.

Then, of course, there's all the things that would have to change to bring in the "bigger focus on story" design philosophy.

Maybe you just want a Legend of Zelda movie?
 
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