Mass appeal is the best. That's not even what I've been arguing up until this point, but now that you bring it up I will. You can't objectively measure how good a game is. You can only measure how much people like it, how many people like it, and how much money it makes. So the only way a game can be called good is if people like it a lot, a lot of people like it, or it makes a lot of money. Those are the things that are good about games. So yes, mass appeal makes something the best.
And I'm sorry if that upsets your hipster sensibilities. I'm sorry you're over in your corner not having fun with the rest of us. Your opinions aren't worth more than the opinions of other people. Everyone's opinion has the same merit. Therefore, mass appeal is an extreme indicator of what the best is.
It might not have the tightest gameplay. It might not have the most compelling script. It might not have the most memorable fight encounters. It might not have the cleverest puzzle design. You might be able to pull anything from it and find something to complain about. That's irrelevant. If people like it, people like it. That's what makes something good.
And don't give me shit about common denominators or how something in mass appeal can't ever reach the heights of whatever indie auteur effort crap you're having a wet dream about. Because the same way you get weepy emotional over a Hans Zimmer concert there are people whose life dream was to be at the Zelda orchestra. There are people so in love with the Zelda franchise they just draw fanart all day, or get tattoos and do cosplay. There are people more passionate about Zelda than you've ever been passionate about anything.
Also, you can't seriously argue that going against the grain is good when you're the grain that's being gone against. The trend is generic male character. Wow. Such risk. Very bold.
Sol said investing time in a female option would be a waste of developer time, and you agreed with that point. So we showed you that no, a lot of people would be very excited by the inclusion and would make it worth the developer's while. Maybe the Zelda developers have wanted a gender option for ages and didn't realize people would be hip to it. Maybe it never occurred to them before or they couldn't think of a good way to do it, but the rousing of crowds jogged their minds until they thought of a good design for it. Bottom line, if they put it in the game because they think they found a good way to do so, you can't fault them for that.
And the same goes for old Link. Except obviously, of course, duh, old Link would be much harder to fit into the game's narrative than female Link, and also obviously it's not something most people want. Which you knew, you're just being facetious because this bothers you on some irrational level and you don't have any cogent arguments to make.
Oh boo hoo. People want an option in a game that's easy to implement and doesn't change how the game plays or unfolds. If you want to use the male instance and name your character Link and name your horse Epona, good for you. Not everyone wants that experience. You can love Zelda games without being attached to Link's gender.
Though, realpics seem a bit sparse as of late, no?
