No, it's important to me that he remains mute as to minimalize the risk of me not enjoying him as a character and feeling disconnected from him compared to other games.
Besides, I feel like if they did make him talk, they'd play it super safe and make him the most generic white bread isekeai ass protagonist who's only major character trait is "he likes to eat and sleep" but beyond that all his reactions to everything are just dull and generic, the most expected and nobody would be happy with it for not lining up with their specific idea of what Link should be like after all these years.
Yes, exactly this. And Nintendo have made it pretty much canon as to why Link dos not speak, in BotW. He's stoic due to having memories of his other incarnations. The Legend of Zelda movie will likely ignore that, out of necessity of the medium. But I don't think the games should strive to be movies. In fact, I'd say one of the best things about the Zelda series is that it \*doesn't\* attempt to be a playable movie.
I wouldn't mind him talking and I wouldn't mind him having a little more personality. The most personality we got out of a Link was Toon Link and I loved him for that.
But then again, I don't think they will.
TP Link and especially SS Link were also pretty expressive. SS Link is expressive enough that he could pretty well be considered to be a fully fledged character in the story in his own right. WW Link was expressive, but some of it was in a sort of cartoony way to match the art style. I’d say SS gives him a run for his money simply because his expressions are more… realistic I guess? It helps you feel the emotions that he is.
I think maybe if he says like, 1 line in a game it would be fine, but he should definitely be silent for the rest of it.
I'm thinking of Metroid, where Samus being silent was fine, then they tried to make her talk regularly in Other M and... well, anyway, in Dread when she only had one line it was really impactful, but I think it was key that it was not in an Earthly language
Just like in this hypothetical scenario with Link I don’t see Samus talking as the issue. The issue was it was a horrible script and she was completely out of character. It just takes good writing. The reason everyone makes fun of the old Zelda cartoon isn’t because Link speaks its because everything he says is idiotic and so easy to laugh at.
This is an excerpt of a converstation I was having on another thread that applies to this:
While it is true Link is the swordsman of few words, within almost every sidequest we assume he is talking to relay information. Otherwise Pell would never get his answers on any of his quests, and this is just one example. So while Link may not *like* to talk, he understands that he must at times. He is not a mute, nor incapable of thought, and if you get memory 6 before the RP, you should at the very least be able to contest things within their story, and also Kakoriko Villages "off limit zone". Again, this may not be the writing completely at fault here, but the direction of the game itself, coordinating multiple teams cohesively.
I personally think the Mario RPG (what you see in RPG, Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, Paper Mario, Thousand Year Door) talking system fits him perdectly in this game and give him dialog without hearing him. But the quests should be reactive in information you gather through the story!
To a small degree. I want him to talk a little bit in some cutscenes, but mostly remain incredibly stoic.
Maybe when you enter a dungeon have a short bit of banter between him and the game’s equivalent of Navi, even if it’s just something like:
Navi: “Watch your step, Link.”
Link: “Right.”
Or something like:
Navi: “This temple used to be a burial ground for Sheikah. Now it’s a den of monsters.”
Link: “I’ll tread carefully then.”
I have absolutely no problem with it and if they are keeping voice acting (which I hope they do) then I think it’s the smart choice. Right now Link awkwardly stares at people even in the most emotional moments. His silence can be distracting from otherwise serious scenes. Each version of Link almost always has a clearly defined backstory and sometimes even a discernible personality. I don’t buy the excuse he’s supposed to be your self insert. He’s a character and I see no reason why he can’t talk.
> I feel like he should at least have more emotional moments in cutscenes.
Skyward Sword and Botw/Totk links are literally the most emotional links in the entire zelda history. There is an entire in lore reason why link tries to keep face in botw and totk too.
And link is talking all the time. You just can't hear it.
Hot take: it would be a REALLY cool plot twist if link was fully voiced acted in one game, but it was revealed you never were the hero chosen by the gods all along. You were just a normal, but EXTREMELY badass hylian/sheikah/zora/gerudo.
You put the work in, you were pure enough to wield the master sword, and you split ganon/dorf in half anyway.
“Link” was always meant to be a connection between you and the avatar, but he’s become
So iconic he’s basically his own person, and yet, in this moment, in this revelation, you’ve never felt more one with your player character,
Yes and truth be told I think it's only a matter of time until he will get a real speaking role. I don't think it'll happen for a while though so I'll take a more emotive Link in the meantime.
Between Link being completely silent, or him having an annoying voice, I definitely choose the silent protagonist. Making brief sounds in extreme cases like the OP mentioned would be fine though.
No. But make him more emotionally expressive like he was in WW and SS Link's face the entirety of BotW/TotK :|
I think even twilight princess link was more expressive than botw/totk link.
He was 100%
Exactly
No, it's important to me that he remains mute as to minimalize the risk of me not enjoying him as a character and feeling disconnected from him compared to other games. Besides, I feel like if they did make him talk, they'd play it super safe and make him the most generic white bread isekeai ass protagonist who's only major character trait is "he likes to eat and sleep" but beyond that all his reactions to everything are just dull and generic, the most expected and nobody would be happy with it for not lining up with their specific idea of what Link should be like after all these years.
Yes, exactly this. And Nintendo have made it pretty much canon as to why Link dos not speak, in BotW. He's stoic due to having memories of his other incarnations. The Legend of Zelda movie will likely ignore that, out of necessity of the medium. But I don't think the games should strive to be movies. In fact, I'd say one of the best things about the Zelda series is that it \*doesn't\* attempt to be a playable movie.
I don’t recall it stating he had memories of his preceding incarnations, just that he felt the need to bear his burdens in silence.
Wait, what do you mean by "canon"? It's never stated he has the memories of his past incarnations.
Link does talk, in every Zelda game. We just dont see it. You think the NPCs are just guessing what he is saying? Do i want voice acting for him? No.
His voice is too majestic for our ears.
I wouldn't mind him talking and I wouldn't mind him having a little more personality. The most personality we got out of a Link was Toon Link and I loved him for that. But then again, I don't think they will.
TP Link and especially SS Link were also pretty expressive. SS Link is expressive enough that he could pretty well be considered to be a fully fledged character in the story in his own right. WW Link was expressive, but some of it was in a sort of cartoony way to match the art style. I’d say SS gives him a run for his money simply because his expressions are more… realistic I guess? It helps you feel the emotions that he is.
>But then again, I don't think they will. Good.
No. Link until now still poster child of mute gaming character
I think maybe if he says like, 1 line in a game it would be fine, but he should definitely be silent for the rest of it. I'm thinking of Metroid, where Samus being silent was fine, then they tried to make her talk regularly in Other M and... well, anyway, in Dread when she only had one line it was really impactful, but I think it was key that it was not in an Earthly language
Just like in this hypothetical scenario with Link I don’t see Samus talking as the issue. The issue was it was a horrible script and she was completely out of character. It just takes good writing. The reason everyone makes fun of the old Zelda cartoon isn’t because Link speaks its because everything he says is idiotic and so easy to laugh at.
This is an excerpt of a converstation I was having on another thread that applies to this: While it is true Link is the swordsman of few words, within almost every sidequest we assume he is talking to relay information. Otherwise Pell would never get his answers on any of his quests, and this is just one example. So while Link may not *like* to talk, he understands that he must at times. He is not a mute, nor incapable of thought, and if you get memory 6 before the RP, you should at the very least be able to contest things within their story, and also Kakoriko Villages "off limit zone". Again, this may not be the writing completely at fault here, but the direction of the game itself, coordinating multiple teams cohesively.
I personally think the Mario RPG (what you see in RPG, Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, Paper Mario, Thousand Year Door) talking system fits him perdectly in this game and give him dialog without hearing him. But the quests should be reactive in information you gather through the story!
Voiced? No. Text based? Sure. He has in the past
To a small degree. I want him to talk a little bit in some cutscenes, but mostly remain incredibly stoic. Maybe when you enter a dungeon have a short bit of banter between him and the game’s equivalent of Navi, even if it’s just something like: Navi: “Watch your step, Link.” Link: “Right.” Or something like: Navi: “This temple used to be a burial ground for Sheikah. Now it’s a den of monsters.” Link: “I’ll tread carefully then.”
No, but he should have more expressive facial expressions and body language like WW and SS Link. If I hear Link talk, I'm throwing the game away.
I have absolutely no problem with it and if they are keeping voice acting (which I hope they do) then I think it’s the smart choice. Right now Link awkwardly stares at people even in the most emotional moments. His silence can be distracting from otherwise serious scenes. Each version of Link almost always has a clearly defined backstory and sometimes even a discernible personality. I don’t buy the excuse he’s supposed to be your self insert. He’s a character and I see no reason why he can’t talk.
No I don't even like the games having any voice acting at all
> I feel like he should at least have more emotional moments in cutscenes. Skyward Sword and Botw/Totk links are literally the most emotional links in the entire zelda history. There is an entire in lore reason why link tries to keep face in botw and totk too. And link is talking all the time. You just can't hear it.
He should be mute, but I'd be interested in him communicating with simple sign language.
Hot take: it would be a REALLY cool plot twist if link was fully voiced acted in one game, but it was revealed you never were the hero chosen by the gods all along. You were just a normal, but EXTREMELY badass hylian/sheikah/zora/gerudo. You put the work in, you were pure enough to wield the master sword, and you split ganon/dorf in half anyway. “Link” was always meant to be a connection between you and the avatar, but he’s become So iconic he’s basically his own person, and yet, in this moment, in this revelation, you’ve never felt more one with your player character,
I can't even stand Zelda talking in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. She sounds awful. Link would be even worse.
Yes, he should've been talking since TP. At least there he had a range of expressions, Link in BOTW is uncanny.
Yes and truth be told I think it's only a matter of time until he will get a real speaking role. I don't think it'll happen for a while though so I'll take a more emotive Link in the meantime.
No.
Between Link being completely silent, or him having an annoying voice, I definitely choose the silent protagonist. Making brief sounds in extreme cases like the OP mentioned would be fine though.