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Discussion It’s time to admit it. Link can no longer be a silent Protagonist.

link not speaking in botw because of the expectations thrown onto him is so, so much more important to me than him having a voice
 
ToniC139 said:
link not speaking in botw because of the expectations thrown onto him is so, so much more important to me than him having a voice
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This is just a handwave to justify him being silent though; he definitely speaks to others, we just don't get to hear it. We even get to pick the things he says like when he first meets Sidon.
 
I think it’s worth hopping back and surveying the Nintendo franchises as a whole because outside of one or two exceptions the other characters are just like Link.

For all the Mario characters you get one or several word phrases like:
Peach: Maaaaaario
Mario: It’s a me, Mario
Luigi: Weegee time
Wario/Bowser: laugh

Outside of text, Samus Aran rarely speaks. I cant recall Kirby speaking. And that’s all fine but it’s time that Nintendo started more expressive storytelling and I suspect the Mario movie might be the start of that. No way they can do the low-rent characteristics with that cast.
 
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As long as we have voice-acted cutscenes I do think it would be fine for Link to talk. It does get a bit weird for instance, when Zelda does all the talking and Link just kinda stands there in all of their cutscenes.

In normal gameplay however, I think him talking is very unnecessary. Doing all the interactions through text boxes makes sense, and if he starts making random quips it can get bad real quick.
 
Link WILL find his voice...

when he's voiced by Tom Holland in the animated Zelda movie.
 
Link will be voiced in BotW2

By Chris Pratt
He’s so cool
 
no no no no no no no

for the sake of all that is good in this world please keep my boy wordless

he’s got the good grunts and that’s all he’s ever needed
 
Catalyst said:
As long as we have voice-acted cutscenes I do think it would be fine for Link to talk. It does get a bit weird for instance, when Zelda does all the talking and Link just kinda stands there in all of their cutscenes.

In normal gameplay however, I think him talking is very unnecessary. Doing all the interactions through text boxes makes sense, and if he starts making random quips it can get bad real quick.
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The thing about the memories though is that they're his memories of Zelda (and the Champions) so it makes sense they focus on what they are saying to him while he listens rather than him saying anything back.

OTOH, the cutscenes in Age of Calamity suffer from this as they don't have that viewpoint factor so having Link just grunt in reply to be addressed by someone feels weird (not to mention Age of Calamity's retcons remove his anxiety issues in the first place).
 
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To be honest the argument in the op for why Link should be voiced is actually my argument for why he shouldn’t be, some of the dialogue choices in botw are silly , glib and flippant and definitely would be more jarring to be present in the game to me if Link was a voiced character .
 
Game ends. Link is on a beach in Tahiti. Him and Ganon are lounging under umbrellas in aloha shirts and cool shades. A SMOKIN' hot bikini babe serves Link a Mai Tai. He lowers his shades and utters his first spoken line.







"Y'know something, Ganon ol' pal? I could get used to this."


Credits roll to Don't Worry (Be Happy)
 
I don't care either way. But I liked the voice acting in BoTW for the most part. Everyone harps on it, but really, the only weak one was Zelda. Everybody else was really good. And even then, the Zelda one was not that bad. She was trying to figure out the role, since by AoC, it was much much better.

The main issue with Link, there is no win/win situation here. No matter his voice, how good of an actor, someone will hate it.

My pick for Link if he ever spoke? Elijah Wood. I stand by that decision.

Thorakai said:
I agree that Link should start having his own “voice”…by which I mean I think it would be really neat if they started recognizing Link as mute or even deaf. Have him use some Hylian sign language and use text boxes to show what he is saying. I know there will probably be a lot folks that will be upset because it might seem like some copeout to not pay for voice acting, but Link being one of the biggest recurring silent protagonists in gaming presents a great opportunity to acknowledge the ASL community. Personally, it would also be really neat to explore a whole Zelda that shows what it would be like to explore a world when you might not be able to fully communicate with everyone.
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Okay, this idea I like. I love the idea of Link being deaf and communicating through sign language. It adds a very subtle layer of depth to him.
 
I think he can stay mute, but he should emote more, like in the Wind Waker and Skyward Sword. Maybe even have a diary somewhere?
 
TonyBaduy said:
I think he can stay mute, but he should emote more, like in the Wind Waker and Skyward Sword. Maybe even have a diary somewhere?
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In the Japanese version of Breath of the Wild, the quest log is his journal.
 
Strong agree. I love Wind Waker as much as anyone, but my favorite depiction of Link, Zelda, and Ganon has always been the DiC cartoon. 90's nostalgia is in right now, let's get it done.
 
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Nah.

He’s an avatar, not a character. He is just supposed to be a generic hero on a quest, his full backstory and personality are up to your imagination. I like it this way, it grounds him in being a video game character, and think if anything more games should follow this formula.

There are a lot of games that have too much pointless dialogue which distracts from the actual video game. And voiced dialogue is usually not very good, I often just turn it off in games.
 
He should raise his voice or Nintendo should add some story reason, why he does not talk. Or add some characters, that always interupt him and make a goofy Wind Waker style game. I don't like silent Link.
 
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If only the dude from the zelda cartoon voices him. I want his first line to be "well excuuuuuuseeee me princesss"
 
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Zelda is my favorite series and I prefer silent protagonists in general. I don’t want them to take this away from me.
 
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I think it's kinda lose-lose for Nintendo. Link being silent is kinda dumb now. Link talking would probably be worse
 
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I see both sides here but it is a little odd that he’s in these cinematic full voiced cutscenes and he just doesn’t say anything ever. I wouldn’t be upset if he talked and it was done well. I don’t really care about the “blank canvas” thing because the dude is doing things in these cutscenes that I have no control over anyway. It’s just kinda odd but whatever.
 
Indyblue said:
I see both sides here but it is a little odd that he’s in these cinematic full voiced cutscenes and he just doesn’t say anything ever. I wouldn’t be upset if he talked and it was done well. I don’t really care about the “blank canvas” thing because the dude is doing things in these cutscenes that I have no control over anyway. It’s just kinda odd but whatever.
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Link hasn't been a blank canvas for ages, I think it would be alright if they made him an introvert character that talks a little when he needs to, nothing more.
 
I guess I'll also voice my apparently unpopular opinion that I'm not a fan of silent protagonists. It only really makes sense when it's a custom character, which Link never has been.

I also would like Nintendo to stop being afraid of voice acting. It seems like they do it once, with mixed results, and then are scared off from ever trying again... How dare you disturb my family vacation?

It just especially doesn't make sense for Link because he does speak, and other characters hear him, it's only the player that does not.
 
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I’ve never played a single Zelda game and thought to myself “this scene would be a lot better if link had something to say here.”
 
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Of course he can. Maybe you don't like it, but that's similarly tough luck as the fact that I do not like BotW's design nearly as much as classic Zelda.
 
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Link needs
Epidemic said:
I personally have no issues with silent or voiced protagonists as long as I enjoy how they are implemented, but specifically in the context of Link's characterization in Breath of the Wild: I do feel it is relevant to mention a structural change in the English localization that I had mixed feelings about.

I was discussing the game with a Japanese friend after the audio language options had been released, and was intrigued to find out that the original version of the log/journal had been written in a more flavorful way (as well as in the first person format). At the time, my ability to read Japanese wasn't quite far enough along to feel comfortable doing an entire playthrough to experience it myself, but some of the examples that she helped me translate and compare against were pretty telling at how comparatively bland Link was presented in English.

While not quite the same as going fully voiced, I could personally see where the lack of those aspects being present could make a difference for some people. I know that I've even considered going back to experience it like that now, for better or worse.

I want to say I remember some articles springing up around the subject as well, but a casual search at least brought this one up.

Major Discovery: BotW’s Adventure Log = Link’s Diary?!
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Even after all of this time.... and I still learn about BotW.

Man, NoA really screwed the pooch with that one. It would have given BotW even more great personality. I would have read all of the quest logs, and maybe even did all of the non-shrine quests.
 
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I don't mind Link being silent, even in the context where the rest of the game is fully voiced acted. BUT, they need to work on his facial expressions and gestures of things happening around him

in Breath of the Wild he actually has great animations for doing stuff like cooking and shivering of cold, but in cutscenes, he look like a cardboard cutout.
 
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"Yeah Zelda, it looks like we have become some sort of Legend." - Link, probably
 
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Link not being a silent protagonist would be a huge negative for me, actually. It's one of Link's most defining characteristics and has it's charms. In the same vein, I didn't like when Link switched from being left handed, or his blue tunic in BotW, and absolutely hated him not having a cap.
 
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