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I have not played Tears of the Kingdom and this post has zero spoilers.
Why do people want to play as Zelda so badly?
I'd really like to know, because this is something that has never occurred to me, nor is it something I really desire after hearing the idea.
To be frank, I play these games for a certain gameplay style - hookshots, swordplay, Sheikah slate abilities, etc. - that I feel like wouldn't really require a playable Zelda in order to have.
aybe a playable Zelda could have Sheikah slate abilities while Link has arm abilities? But that would essentially just be dividing up Link's existing gameplay between two characters for the sake of having two playable characters.
So maybe I'm not as imaginative as some of you, but what could a playable Zelda bring to the table in terms of enjoyable gameplay? I'd like to hear some ideas.
Tbh, I'm with you here. I'd prefer "playing as Zelda" to be explored in her own game rather than essentially making her an elaborate "item" for link to use, like I felt was the case in EDIT: Spirit Tracks.
i, for one, would love to see long-standing and established lady-type characters finally get some agency rather than be a lamp
botw zelda is the closest to having motivations other than just needing to do her duty for the kingdom and you can easily imagine a sequel that lets you actually play as her being the adventuring explorer she always wanted to be
To be honest, a playable Zelda was never on my want list. Then I played Age of Calamity. Admittedly that was mainly due to the Hyrule Warriors style gameplay but I had a blast playing as her. I just really want her to have more agency this time around. She had the best character arc of BOTW and yet the least presence outside of flashbacks. It fit that story well but this time I'd like to see our princess get her time to shine.
Because it would be different. After 35 years of playing as Link a turn as Zelda would be cool.
It's also just...not ideal to have the main female character always have to be rescued. I know, they're getting better at giving her things to do in the plot, but it would be nice to see Zelda take a more active role.
I'd love to see something like Witcher 3, where you get to play a bit as Ciri. The game could be 95% Link but that 5% as Zelda could be super cool.
I don't necessarily, but I think it's a bit silly that Link, being such a blank state in most other respects, has a fixed gender that the player cannot choose or affect and I think this is part of where the desire for a playable Zelda stems from. It doesn't affect me personally but it's frustrating to constantly hear about how Link is the player's avatar when the game doesn't let you change one of the most integral aspects of one's identity.
Like if it happened Iād think āoh shit nice!!ā, but I donāt know how itās spun out into some highly requested feature in the way that it has. Itās certainly not close to some make or break feature for me.
Maybe if Zelda got a more active role in the gameās stories (not that sheās not important, but her screentime is pretty limited generally) and Nintendo did more with her character, the requests wouldnāt be as prominent.
Playable Zelda has also gotten plenty of love in spin-offs like HW and Cadence of Hyrule. And I personally think itād be a great idea for TOTK DLC. But in terms of the main games, Iāve always assumed Link will continue to be the main character. Playable Zelda is not even close to some essential change that needs to be made. Overall, the dynamic they have now works for me.
If you want to do a blank slate protagonist, let players choose and customize instead of forcing a gender. Also people are fans of playing as Zelda from Hyrule Warriors.
Like if it happened Iād think āoh shit nice!!ā, but I donāt know how itās spun out into some highly requested feature in the way that it has. Itās certainly not close to some make or break feature for me.
Maybe if Zelda got a more active role in the gameās stories (not that sheās not important, but her screentime is pretty limited generally) and Nintendo did more with her character, the requests wouldnāt be as prominent.
Playable Zelda has also gotten plenty of love in spin-offs like HW and Cadence of Hyrule. And I personally think itād be a great idea for TOTK DLC.
Now that would be a great idea and would probably sell a ton of DLC. Playing as Zelda with some unique abilities and maybe even in a unique environment would be a great selling point.
Focusing on Gameplay won't deliver you to an answer to this question. I understand that gameplay over narrative is a valid interpretative framework, and it's probably closest to the way the devs think, but it's not an approach that will help you understand why people may prefer to connect with a defined female character over a blank slate male one.
Part of it I think is the idea of playing a character in a mainline Zelda that plays entirely different than what we are used to with Link.
Part of it is just being fond of Zelda herself as a character.
Part is that Zelda has had roles in previous games that would have been interesting to see from a playable perspective (Shiek, her journey during Skyward Sword).
Part of it is just wanting a female playable character in general.
All of that together seems like it would be fun to see Zelda playable in some capacity.
Playable Zelda would be cool, but I think being able to select Link's gender would make more sense. He's the link between the player and the game, and just about as blank a slate as he can be, so why not? Do the Splatoon thing.
Because it'd be fun! Lemme jump into a memory and see it from her perspective, wielding magic and thwacking things, shooting monsters. I don't see why she can't use a bow.
And yeah, it'd be cool to change Link's physical traits as well. Why not? But I generally don't care for canon stuff.
Several reasons for me. For decades we've had gaming, and Nintendo series especially, feature strong male leads while passive female characters get into trouble. Even characters who have agency and power and importance within a plot - like Zelda herself - are sidelined.
Secondly, because when Zelda has been playable in Smash, Hyrule Warriors, and Cadence of Hyrule, I've enjoyed that experience. Playable Zelda is especially well realised in Age of Calamity, I think, from both a mechanical and narrative perspective.
Finally, because 'playable Zelda' to me doesn't necessarily mean "I just want to have the option to play as Zelda for part of the next Zelda game where you predominantly play as Link", or some variation thereof. Playing as Zelda could mean a different gameplay emphasis, structure and style, and wouldn't just open up story telling and character building possibilties. There's a big range of things Nintendo could do: I'm quite fond of @Dardan Sandiego's suggestion that, if linear puzzle box Zelda or classic 3D Zelda comes back, we play as Zelda rather than Link; instead of having a game built around classic Link abilities, we can have a game built around whatever Zelda is capable of. Equally, a Zelda-led game doesn't need to be confined to whatever the series has done in the past, but could be something else entirely.
Sure, open world Zelda really has reconfigured the possibilities of the series and has changed the identity of the series somewhat. Sheer logistics and resource demands means seeing EPD3 experiment further with spin-offs, or alternate with a 'main branch' of the Zelda series starring the titular Princess herself, has become unlikely. But personally I think it would be really exciting; regardless of whether it meant a new spin on the old style or something else entirely.
[Head-canoning a Last Story style 15 to 20 hour action RPG where Zelda leads a small band of plucky rebels against an evil vizier who's usurped the throne]
I'd love to play as Zelda if they come up with something interesting and related to her that deepens our understanding of her character and adds to the narrative. Also, it would be nice to play as female character, but I wouldn't like it if it's just a replacement for Link.
I agree with you, a playable Zelda was never on my list, but I am also a dude so I understand completely how someone else would want to play as her. Because she's such an important part of the story, if she were to ever be playable, her adventure would need to be more guided and feel more important. The best possible option for a playable Zelda unfortunately will never be made at this point, but it's the scrapped second quest in Skyward Sword, where you were going to play through her journey after she falls to the surface and is found by Impa. Something like that, absolutely give it to me. Sounds wonderful.
Iād love an ALBW style game but the twist is itās like 4 Swords except itās just 2. One would be Link and one would be Zelda. Zelda would have different set of powers, and you could build off of this for puzzles. Plus you could make it so they follow each other but you can split them up 4 Swords style to make it through the dungeons.
Link's boring and Zelda is cool. There's a desire to see Zelda in a more proactive role than she typically tends to be, and if they aren't going to give us the option to play as a female Link (of which there are in-canon reasons for why that should be a thing, yet they've never done it and probably never will) then playing as Zelda would be very nice.
That's literally it, for me. The reason is more thematic than mechanical, which is just as valid a reason if you ask me.
I mean, if I could choose, I think it would be really cool to see the three triforce-wielders changing protagonist/antagonist roles in perpetuity but that's probably too interesting for a Zelda game.
I've never much really wanted to play as her tbh, I'd rather play as Linkle if we were gonna have a different playable character in a Zelda game.
The one time I've thought about playing as Zelda was in Skyward Sword. I do think it would have been cool to have a spinoff game starring that Zelda.
It's not really an idea I enjoy either. Or rather, I'd be fine with there being a sub-series like Luigi's Mansion or Yoshi in which Zelda is the playable character, but I actually like Link as he is and consider him an important character in his own right. People say he's a blank slate, but I don't really agree with that either. It's more like you're an actor playing a chatracter and you're being given the opportunity to imbue him with your own take on things. Other games, like The Witcher, Rockstar's games or many jRPGs, might choose to do that in a slightly different way by letting the fixed character speak but giving you dialogue options to influence the specific actions that character takes. But I think the way Nintendo does it works well too. Link isn't just a blank slate avatar like a character in Elden Ring or Dark Souls or Elder Scrolls. He's a character in his own right that you're getting the chance to interpret in your own way.
It's ... not ideal to have the main female character always have to be rescued. I know, they're getting better at giving her things to do in the plot, but it would be nice to see Zelda take a more active role.
I'd love to have a Zelda that isn't helpless without Link.
The core essence of the Zelda story, since the beginning, is "young heroic knight saves the princess". But this can be respected without having Zelda just not do anything other that wait.
Skyward Sword had a cool twist on this, and I'd like to point out that she played a much more powerful and in-control role in Skyward Sword. Her decisions directly influenced the overall narrative, and you could almost say Link played a more supportive role in that context. I'd love more of this in future Zelda games.... but it doesn't require sections of gameplay as Zelda.
Response #2: We liked how she played in Hyrule Warriors and we want more of that
I don't have much to say about this one, other than that I'm glad that the Hyrule Warriors style of gameplay is distinctly separate from Zelda games. I enjoy it, but it makes for a totally differently designed world and enemy system that wouldn't fit in a Zelda game without having to experience it in isolated, controlled pockets for specific parts of the game. Which I guess would be cool and fine!
I don't necessarily, but I think it's a bit silly that Link, being such a blank state in most other respects, has a fixed gender that the player cannot choose or affect and I think this is part of where the desire for a playable Zelda stems from. It doesn't affect me personally but it's frustrating to constantly hear about how Link is the player's avatar when the game doesn't let you change one of the most integral aspects of one's identity.
Part is that Zelda has had roles in previous games that would have been interesting to see from a playable perspective (Shiek, her journey during Skyward Sword).
I think this is the thing that is most enticing to me. Somebody had a theory about Tears of the Kingdom that has been stuck in my mind ever since, and dear lord I would actually really love it if this came true in some future game.
I'll mark it as a spoiler, not because it is one, but because the game hasn't come out yet and anything is up in the air at this point.
Somebody posited the idea of Zelda being forced to spend the game in a different location from Link, and had a unique gameplay style where she would speak to different citizens and civilizations of Hyrule, gathering information in a detective-style way, uncovering secrets, and leaving notes and abilities for Link to retrieve whenever he passes through the area.
The items or abilities you leave or don't leave actually have an effect on the Link side of the game, and that's a really cool and unique way to include Zelda in the game. A less action-oriented and a more detective-style game that directly influences the rest of the game would be great.
Plus, like with Skyward Sword and the idea the developers had of including a sort of "second journey" where you play as Zelda and see things from her perspective, deepening the lore and giving new context to your experiences as Link, would be a good way to expand the game.
Focusing on Gameplay won't deliver you to an answer to this question. I understand that gameplay over narrative is a valid interpretative framework, and it's probably closest to the way the devs think, but it's not an approach that will help you understand why people may prefer to connect with a defined female character over a blank slate male one.
I see what you're saying, but an answer related to gameplay is the surest way to get me, the person asking the question, to agree with those who want to play as Zelda, which is why I'm framing it this way
Is this bait? She's the namesake character of the series, but is usually reduced to a prop. People (many of them femme) would feel empowered if they could play as her. People feel the same way about Peach
What I don't understand is the hate for Link. You can pry that twink from my cold dead hands.
It's not really an idea I enjoy either. Or rather, I'd be fine with there being a sub-series like Luigi's Mansion or Yoshi in which Zelda is the playable character, but I actually like Link as he is and consider him an important character in his own right. People say he's a blank slate, but I don't really agree with that either. It's more like you're an actor playing a chatracter and you're being given the opportunity to imbue him with your own take on things. Other games, like The Witcher, Rockstar's games or many jRPGs, might choose to do that in a slightly different way by letting the fixed character speak but giving you dialogue options to influence the specific actions that character takes. But I think the way Nintendo does it works well too. Link isn't just a blank slate avatar like a character in Elden Ring or Dark Souls or Elder Scrolls. He's a character in his own right that you're getting the chance to interpret in your own way.
And tbh I appreciate them sticking with this rather than giving him a doofy teenager voice with stupid quips, or making him sound like a Fire Emblem protagonist (honestly Alear gave me similar "this is exactly why Link should never talk" vibes).
And the thing is, he DOES have attributes, they're just not so in your face in every game.
Ocarina of Time (child) - very much excluded and a little lonely.
Wind Waker - very bubbly and carefree
Twilight Princess - more determined, responsible, in a protector role over the kids in his village.
Skyward Sword - lazy, unmotivated
Breath of the Wild - confident, stoic
these are baselines that help you establish the rest of Link's personality as the player. People can say it doesn't count but personally I think it does.
Video games are a lot of things and one of those things is a power fantasy. You don't just want to see the character you identify with doing cool shit. You want to be the one doing it.
And tbh I appreciate them sticking with this rather than giving him a doofy teenager voice with stupid quips, or making him sound like a Fire Emblem protagonist (honestly Alear gave me similar "this is exactly why Link should never talk" vibes).
And the thing is, he DOES have attributes, they're just not so in your face in every game.
Ocarina of Time (child) - very much excluded and a little lonely.
Wind Waker - very bubbly and carefree
Twilight Princess - more determined, responsible, in a protector role over the kids in his village.
Skyward Sword - lazy, unmotivated
Breath of the Wild - confident, stoic
these are baselines that help you establish the rest of Link's personality as the player. People can say it doesn't count but personally I think it does.
I agree completely. And he's felt like more of an established character in that version of the setting progressively with every game, too. I love how in Breath of the Wild his story was a twist on Zelda's own, where he seemed poised to fulfill his destiny with much greater ease than Zelda could, but then experienced such a crushing defeat and had to regain his sense of place in the world. Nintendo may not focus on character development as much as a more story-focused developer like Square-Enix or Naughty Dog might, but when it comes to characterization I think the Zelda series does a really good job, with both it's minor characters and major ones.
I think you might want to change the title of your OP because it's asking a slightly different question from how you frame it in your OP. Not that I don't think your question isn't valid but you're gonna have a lot of people who will answer the question in the title and gloss over the rest.
I want to hear her do the "ho ho" sound when soothing a horse. I want to hear Ganondorf do that sound, I want to hear Mipha and Urbosa do that sound, I want to hear Shulk and Rex do that sound, I want to hear Mario do that sound, etc. Anyone and everyone should be able to make that noise
I think you might want to change the title of your OP because it's asking a slightly different question from how you frame it in your OP. Not that I don't think your question isn't valid but you're gonna have a lot of people who will answer the question in the title and gloss over the rest.
Sure, but the title is as much part of the OP as the rest of it and I think it's just good practice to have it match the discussion one wants to foster. Belly seems to be clearly more interested in the gameplay side of things (again, completely valid, no notes) whereas most people's answers are not going to be about gameplay.
I'd love to have a Zelda that isn't helpless without Link.
The core essence of the Zelda story, since the beginning, is "young heroic knight saves the princess". But this can be respected without having Zelda just not do anything other that wait.
Skyward Sword had a cool twist on this, and I'd like to point out that she played a much more powerful and in-control role in Skyward Sword. Her decisions directly influenced the overall narrative, and you could almost say Link played a more supportive role in that context. I'd love more of this in future Zelda games.... but it doesn't require sections of gameplay as Zelda.
it doesn't need to involve playing as zelda, but we also just don't need to do anything for us to want it and the idea of exploring the specific version of zelda we've seen in BOTW is tantalizing enough
SS is also not the example i'd use for characters having agency. zelda does get to do a few cool things in cutscenes, but ultimately both she and link are playing roles defined for them by someone else centuries ago, and it ends up with zelda taking a nap in a rock for most of the game because it's just her job
I believe it is time to have a strong female character as "Playable" in these games , Zelda has been almost always a kind of strong character in the series, but why not playing as her? maybe some kind of "Gamers don't like to play as women in games" agenda from Nintendo?
I mean the game is called The Legend of ZELDA, Sheik was super cool of a concept of a princess gone ninja hiding in the shadows and her power set with light magic/hylia god powers was always neat.
Because fans are caught up on, and are obsessed with, the series' windowdressing far more than the actual core gameplay (that part that really matters).
Video games are a lot of things and one of those things is a power fantasy. You don't just want to see the character you identify with doing cool shit. You want to be the one doing it.
Because fans are caught up on, and are obsessed with, the series' windowdressing far more than the actual core gameplay (that part that really matters).
Hugely disagree with this notion. You can care about both of these things and lots of people do. Video games are, and have been for a while now (arguably since its inception), more than just gameplay.
The theming, visual identity, and core values of The Legend of Zelda have always reflected more than a vessel to deliver gameplay to people.
Because fans are caught up on, and are obsessed with, the series' windowdressing far more than the actual core gameplay (that part that really matters).
Sure, but the title is as much part of the OP as the rest of it and I think it's just good practice to have it match the discussion one wants to foster. Belly seems to be clearly more interested in the gameplay side of things (again, completely valid, no notes) whereas most people's answers are not going to be about gameplay.
The title is exactly what I wanted to ask. The point of this thread is to better understand exactly why people want a playable Zelda. My interest in it, or being convinced of something, is secondary.
If you read my responses, you will see I'm not debating. I'm engaging with responses, agreeing with some, disagreeing with others, and teasing out my own feelings on the subject, because I'm open to have my mind changed. I specified what would best change my mind in order to help you do that, if convincing me of your opinion is something you care to do.
I don't particularly want to play as Zelda, I don't usually enjoy character specific sections in games, they're usually less fun than the regular action. But I trust the Zelda team to do it right whenever they feel like it would make sense with their concept, so I'm open to the idea.
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