Most Recent: Wii U

The Internet was in a bit of a tizzy yesterday when Legend of Zelda Wii U Producer Eiji Aonuma hinted that the arrow-wielding warrior in the game’s teaser trailer may not be the series’ standard protagonist, Link.

However, it seems it was a a small joke that exploded out of proportion. Aonuma has now clarified matters by confirming it was indeed Link that featured in the video segment.

Actually that comment I made jokingly. It’s not that I said that it wasn’t Link. It’s that I never said that it was Link. It’s not really the same thing, but I can understand how it could be taken that way. It seems like it has kind of taken off where people are saying ‘oh it’s a female character’ and it just kind of grew. But my intent in saying that was humour. You know, you have to show Link when you create a trailer for a Zelda announcement.

Given how much flack Ubisoft is currently taking for its sexist attitude towards a playable female character in Assassin’s Creed: Unity, and how much of a buzz there was that the new character may be Link and Zelda’s daughter, Nintendo could certainly do worse than play with the idea of a female lead for a future installment. However, Aonuma deftly side-stepped the issue with an explanation as to what Link represents.

I don’t want people to get hung up on the way Link looks, because ultimately Link represents the player in the game. I don’t want to define him so much that it becomes limiting to the players. I want players to focus on other parts of the trailer and not specifically on the character because the character Link represents, again, the player.

Well said.

[Source: Nintendo Insider]

When Nintendo finally revealed the latest iteration of The Legend of Zelda franchise for the Wii U, many were focused on the open world aspects described by Producer Eiji Aonuma, or the cel-shaded graphics that the art team has settled upon. However, it seems that while the audience lapped up the brief battle between the game’s hero and the laser-wielding tentacle monster, they may have missed the obvious…

The hero may not be Link.

This is straight from Aonuma, who was quoted as saying, “No one explicitly said that that was Link.” Now, no one said it wasn’t either, but his big tease would indicate that Nintendo is taking a massive step away from the core formula of the series.

A key indicator seems to be the sky blue tunic worn by “Link” in the trailer, a departure from the game’s characteristic green uniform. In fact, it is remarkably similar to the clothes worn by young cel-shaded Link in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker; could the two games share a continuity of some kind?

Another, more fantastical theory is that the hero is the son, or daughter, of Link and Zelda. This would certainly push the franchise into fresh, new territory, both in terms of history and storyline. What do you think, readers? Is Aonuma just teasing, or does Nintendo plan to expand their hero roster in the Zelda-verse?

[Source: Venture Beat]