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@@whaleping I really hope they won't change a thing just to appease selfish brats like you! If you want fighter Girls play Metroid or fire emblem or Shana or Horizon or Teken or death or alive or Alice Madness, and let the classic gamers safe their damsel in distress, honestly Originaly multiple different types of games for everyone's tastes, why is your little group so invested of taking everything away from everybody else! Their were games made for your preference, why do you have to take from everyone else !?!!??
@@darienschnucker7354 I have no idea what you are talking about but at the same time, it’s funny RU-vid hid your comment. Maybe it was for the poor grammar?
The problem isn't so much that Zelda is a damsel in distress that constantly needs to be rescued and is otherwise practically uselss. In fact, most of the time she only gets captured as a consequence of getting in Ganon's way. The real problem is that we only see things from Link's perspective. Sure, we get hints about what she's doing but we don't really get to see it. In Ocarina of Time she is Sheik, so she's the one guiding you the whole time In Skyward Sword she goes on a whole adventure with Impa. In BotW she's been holding Calamity Gannon at bay for centuries. We don't get to see any of that.
Yeah, alot of fans have come up with ideas for Zelda side of these stories, Nintendo at one point apparently conceptualized Zeldas story in Skyward Sword and we were supposed to get to see it and play her but that never happened for whatever reason
You did NOT just downplay how much Zelda actually does in Spirit Tracks, it is the SINGLE most agency she has had in a Zelda game to date. She: 1. Sneaks directly out of the castle with Link's help in order to investigate the Tower of Spirits and the titular Spirit Tracks HERSELF 2. Possesses a suit of armor, which was about to KILL Link if she didn't step in 3. Uses said armor to help Link with puzzles and navigating the Tower of Spirits 4. Has TONS of funny moments and one liners over the course of the story 5. Helps Link fight Byrne, one of the guys who kidnapped her body, by PULLING HIM TO THE GROUND BY HIS GAUNTLET 6. Grabs her own body possessed by Malladus to keep it still for Link to shoot with the Bow of Light 7. Calls upon the power of Tetra (not Zelda!) to take back her body from Malladus 8. does the final song with Link in order to expose Malladus's weak spot 9. RANGED SUPPORT TURRET during the Malladus fight 10. HELPS LINK STAB MALLADUS IN THE GODDAMN FACE
Spirit Tracks was my first Zelda as a kid, I loved that she had a partner role and her own abilities the whole game. Having gone back and played the other games now, I hope Tears of the Kingdom keeps her as a partner. There's a lot of repetition and wasted potential when it comes to Zelda as Astro mentioned. Great video!
I really liked Zelda’s personality in Windwaker. It’s a shame they just had to activate princess mode at the end. It felt so off putting, almost like an entirely different character.
This makes me think of that one turn based JRPG where one of the heroes partymembers is a princess that fights in a pick dress and with an Umbrella. She is honestly my favorite character in that game. She is just such a wonderful and suportive friend to the hero and she is very open minded.
@@crazycap2945 No I am talking about Princess Flora from "the cruel king and the great hero". The game has some really cool Trailers should you be interested. But Flora has no Major aperance in the Trailers aside from one picture. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-firXMKKJJvc.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-h2XN51_wxzw.html
I don't think you gave Spirit Tracks enough credit. She's a full character in that game, on par in importance (though sadly not quality of writing, though that's more of a Spirit Tracks budget problem than a Spirit Tracks design philosophy problem) as Midna, and Midna's a great character. (As is Zelda in Spirit Tracks, in my opinion) She has likes, dislikes, a goal, a personality which isn't just "save me", and she even drops the HIMARS at the end of the final boss to finish him off together! That's right, I'll say it since nobody else will: Train Zelda is Peak Zelda, fight me.
For years I've dreamed of a co-op Legend of Zelda game where Link and Zelda travel together and get different dungeon items so they have to work together to solve puzzles. I was one of the people who got excited seeing short-haired Zelda, hoping it meant she'd have a more active role, or better yet, an equal role. I'll be fork'in disappointed if Tears of the Kingdom just turns her into a damsel in distress for the (looks back at the video) 15th time.
@@aronspiker72 if they kill her off pretty much kills Link's plot device for facing the final boss. They already took his Dad and Little sister out of Botw Zelda is pretty much his only goal for continuing doing any of this. If she dies Link would probably cave in losing himself
@@jojomuppet1820 *Disclaimer* *I planned to post a brief explanation of my thought process and it quickly went off the rails and turned into a script for a 10 minute Zelda theory video to the point that I'm not sure if a TLDR is even possible. Anyone who sees this is free to copy this as I don't plan to actually make a video about this or anything. Credit would be very appreciated but I won't be too upset if you don't as I basically put myself in this situation in the first place* the reason I said this is that the teaser clip a few months ago showed a ball of light in front of link and the Link was acting in a way that suggested it was communicating with him. While the light could be any number of things it's very likely that the voice communicating with Link is giving him advice on how to repair the master sword, and what I've assessed to plot to be so far is that the game starts with Link and Zelda discovering this cave/chamber deep underground possibly below Hyrule castle and they find the remains of Ganondorf spewing malice and realize that the curse of the calamity won't be broken until Ganondorf himself is destroyed for good. So link tries to cut Ganondorf down with the master sword (which might have it even been enough to kill him) but the body responds by directing all of the malice he has built up after the events of the first game into the very cave that the three wielders of the triforce are standing in. Ganondorf attempts to kill Link but is only able to destroy the master sword and corrupt his arm before the glowing green hand saves him (regardless of what purpose it had in this) so Ganondorf decides to collapse the entire cave while possibly moving his body into Hyrule castle and then raising it in the air with his malice. When Link and Zelda try to escape right as the get to the entrance the floor around them crumbles and the entrance starts to become blocked so Zelda pushes Link through the exit at the last moment while she is forced to fall into whatever abyss is below that cave. After that point I feel like the green hand will guide link to a water puddle or something and help him reach the sky. In his mind Link failed a perfect opportunity to end the cycle of malice for good, the master sword that was a symbol of his past success is not just sitting in it's sheath in an unusable form, and the person who meant the most to Link chose to save his life rather than her own while the Hyrule castle is now hovering out of his reach and in Ganondorf's control once again. In his mind he's a complete failure in every way with this failure being even worse than 100 years ago being this time he had the advantage but everything still fell apart. The mysterious light appears and motivates him to finish what he started. So with my head canon laid out what could the mysterious light be. It's likely not Fi as she still seems to be able to communicate through what's left of the master sword. The 2 most likely options are either Hylia or Zelda. If it's Hylia then she either tells Link that Zelda is alive, or can Link revive her if he obtains the Triforce which seems to have been lost to the ages as nobody acknowledges it in BotW and could have hidden in this sky realm even before the first attack of the calamity. This would present his 2 motivations to be finding the Triforce to revive/save Zelda, and repairing the Master Sword to kill Ganondorf for good and break the cycle Hyrule was trapped in. If the ball of light is Zelda then it's either her spirit communicating with Link in an effort to save him from succumbing to the likely fatal depression he is almost certainly experiencing and she is effectively a companion in that spirit form until Link finds a way to revive her (likely with the Triforce) or she is stuck deep underground possibly in another dimension or something and she is discovering clues and insight to what is actually going on and provides leads on how to fix the master sword and what Ganondorf's actual weakness might be at several points in the game and there might be moments where we can trigger an interlude where we play as Zelda in this underground realm and solve puzzles to find more information on both how she can return to the surface as well as the clues to the truth of Hyrule and the calamity
@@jojomuppet1820 You do know that usually Link is always paired with a *companion* character who's role in the story is pivotal to Link's journey to stop wathever Evil is threathening Hyrule right? It's very likely that the "Spirit Arm" from the trailers is said companion character who's role in the game will serve as a catalyst for Link's motivations in the story.
Its actually kinda funny. in terms of pure Agency. Skyword Sword kinda wins. Sure shes not the best character. but Story wise she has more agency than Link. Link constantly has to chase her around when she goes where ever she wants. And she even freezes herself through her own choice and kinda just...tells link "Hey, uh, i need you to defeat Demise so i can be released, k? thanks!"
if she had tried to fight back against ghirahim abducting her in any way, i would have been satisfied. like, all this agency and you have no tricks up your sleeve? hell, belle got away with elbowing xaldin in kingdom hearts 2
Real talk it's crazy how you've somehow gotten significantly more funny and charming since the first video of yours I ever saw, you're always one-upping yourself and you're on a total roll lately. Keep up the great work my lovely lil' spaceman
I’m still confused about Tetra’s skin color changing when she becomes Zelda. Like a fork becoming a spoon when you’re putting steak in your mouth, a spoon can get the job done too but why?
@@joeda900 Y’know, someone brought this up in a video I watched. He mentioned that Tetra’s transformation was just the King desperately trying to get everything to the status quo (I think). Basically what I’m saying is “Yeah I guess so”
I always assumed her ancestors did "crossbreeding" with different skin colored Hylians in order to better hide Zelda's features from Ganondorf. It's interesting that such a thing is in fact possible in a world of Magic overtaking Science and "genetics".
It's so telling (and given it's by Team Ninja, somewhat of an indictment) that the game where Zelda has the most agency is the spinoff that WASNT made by Nintendo. To fill you in, in that game she's not a princess but an actual QUEEN and acts accordingly by being an army commander and taking proactive measures; literally as soon as she gets kidnapped she just nopes out to start helping as Sheik, and her relationships are also different like how instead of being her guardian Impa acts as her retainer. She's easily my favorite version of Zelda after Spirit Tracks and Tetra, especially with both Zelda and Sheik being absurdly OP in gameplay. Also a thing I still can't believe happened that I don't think anyone should forgive let alone forget is how when the person who has been in charge of Zelda games for like 2 decades, Eiji Aonuma, was asked why we haven't gotten a game that has zelda as the playable main character, they honest to god gave the asinine excuse of "if we have Princess Zelda as the main character who fights, then what is Link going to do?". I think i'd somehow have respected them more if they flat out said 'because we don't think that'd sell as well' i mean jfc...
It's the same reason why Princess Peach isn't a protagonist in a "Mario game" which has Mario as the lead protagonist. It's not meant to make sense for the default damsel character to suddenly get shoved to the main character's seat while the default Hero gets shoved aside.
@@javiervasquez625 Super Mario 3D World did a pretty good job on that by having Peach as a playable character choice while introducing different characters (fairies) to fit into the damsel position. The Zelda series should just do the same thing as well.
Remember how they made Ciri playable in The Witcher 3? Granted, that wasn't the most interesting part of the game, but it's really not that hard to make your main female character playable.
@@elfsong713 Link is the "Hero" of the Zelda universe he's not Geralt of Rivia. ¿What's the *logical* justification for the very Messianic figure of the franchise who's been incarnated at least 12 TIMES already to fight Evil to be suddenly shoved to the side so that a Barbie doll character may randomly steal his spotlight...? ¿Why don't make Ganondorf playable while you're at it?
@@javiervasquez625 what is your justification for thinking that Zelda should be a "Barbie doll character?" She is in the literal title of the series. How are there so many legends about her if she doesn't do anything in most of them?
Pretty much in every game that link is with Zelda, Zelda is the only reason why they win. Even in OG Zelda remember she's the one who splits the triforce pieces to keeps Ganon from winning and her being awake is what ends evil in Zelda 2. Link to the past you got a point we're basically she moves the plot along in the sense that she is the most important person in the entire story link is relatively insignificant. Link would be dead in oot because she he requires her to open the doors for him as the tower collapses and Majora's mask would be unwinnable for him if she didn't have her flashback where she teaches him the song of time. Twilight princess she's the only reason that midnight gets to live to have the game have a happy outcome and she gives link the light arrows to actually win I hear more examples but multiple point is is that it aggravates me when people say that Zelda is useless in the Zelda series when basically she is the one who has the plot happen and is the most important character in the games where she features.
I guess she's not useless if she serves as a tool, but Link also needs the Master Sword to defeat Ganon and that doesn't make it an interesting character.
Except all of that stuff happens either BEHIND THE SCENES or BEFORE your journey even starts. That's just it she only serves as a plot device to set things in motion but a lot of ppl would like to see her do more than that. That's the issue with zelda.
I will always be bothered that Tetra gets whitewashed and turned into a boring damsel in distress when she gets turned into Zelda in Wind Waker. Sure, there's the final battle with Ganondorf, but it just feels... weird considering how awesome and capable Tetra was
I hate how this video is how I learned that Super Princess Peach's Vibe Scepter was a vibrator... I thought it was talking about the power of emotions or something 💀
Overall, in the series, no I don't think she does. However, I'm very glad Nintendo seems to be acknowledging this since they gave her a much larger role in the recent Breath of The Wild saga. I really hope she gets even more agency because she's such an inspiring character to girls, women, and everyone in general.
YES! THANK YOU! this literally needed to be said! to be honest, throughout the years as a little kid I’ve always admired Zelda’s wisdom and her vibe. it made me upset how Nintendo didn’t managed to wanting to give her a lot of screening time role, though it’s not her fault Nintendo doesn’t know how to do their princesses right. not to mention, her look is what has inspired me to make my own character (who has the look pretty identical to the TP princess Zelda). even her voice actress Jun Mizusawa deserves so much better
@@flytothemountains824 this comment is so beautiful!!!, Zelda is also a very special character to me, specially TP Zelda and Oot Zelda. She is also Sheik and Tetra, which is a pro! Honestly I wish the writers would treat her as a character rathen than plot device or Link's romantic interest (the exception is Botw and Tetra?)
I would fork over my soul for a game were Zelda lives up to the series’s namesake rather than just another damsel in distress. She doesn’t even have to replace Link as the playable character or anything, just make her feel powerful. As a kid it would’ve felt a lot more empowering to see a strong woman lead that doesn’t get kidnapped or sexualized, and I think the same applies today (with a few exceptions) Thanks for talking about this!
I always thought it might be fun to get an alt version of Skyward Sword that's the game from Zelda's perspective. She and Impa went around to each dungeon before you but we only got glimpses of what they did. Would be interesting to see how she interacted with each dungeon and area, presumably in a completely different way than Link had. She may have even altered the dungeons along the way from their original form, leaving behind the version Link got.
Exactly! We only view link as having more agency because we have agency over him ourselves , but he still has to do all of these tasks and quests even though he actively doesn’t want to just like Zelda has expressed wanted to be more active in the narrative ( like in BOTW)
I get that Zelda doesn’t do much but “the legend of Zelda” sounds more like a well… A LEGEND! A STORY ABOUT FINDING THE LEGEND! Zelda is the legend! And saving her is the story.
Alright because Minish Cap is my childhood favourite I'll give her SOME defense - At first she was able to deflect Vaati's stuff with her magic, all of the other guards were flung aside but she stuck her ground. Then she was turned to stone but still, she was friendly and pretty confident until that point, good impression...
I've personally always wanted a spinoff JRPG Zelda game cause I feel it could work very well (Also I love that genre so mixing it with a series I adore would be really cool to me), and that would be a really good opportunity to give Zelda more agency throughout the plot, especially if she actively travels with you as a party member or something. That being said, I know that's never gonna happen. Lol. I hope she's playable in TotK (Its the perfect game to do it with), but I'm not expecting it. Would be a really nice surprise tho.
I think that the most infuriating part about this is that in Ocarina of time, when she is Sheik (a boy) she is this badass who helps and saves peopl while Link is asleep and then, as soon as she becomes Zelda (a girl) she gets instantly kidnapped. To then, when she is free she is clunky and not agile at all, gets trapped in fire, and can only use magic for opening doors. She literally showers you with hearts when you free her from the fire... weren't you a badass???? Like, sure, you can be a badass and a lovey dovey person... but combined with it all, it just is insulting. OOT is still my favorite game of all time but... acknowledging this is hard... and please Nintendo... a main line game with a playable badass Zelda!!!
@@lukejones7164 yeah, but it is certainly curious that while she is represented as a boy she is this badass who saves and helps everyone, but as soon as she shows herself as a girl… she gets captured and does nothing…
@@lukejones7164 … … …. As soon as she reveals herself as Zelda she gets captures and does nothing until Link deals the final blow. She can’t escape that crystal thing, she doesn’t kill one monster, gets trapped in fire until Link saves her, she screams in terror with every little rock that falls off. When she was in a Sheik disguise she literally saved a lot of people putting herself in far more dangerous situations than falling debree… if you don’t want to see it, fine. Zelda is extremely powerful but can’t save herself when she is the princess. She does stuff when Ganon is almost dead. She is a badass but the final part of the game doesn’t show that at all because… I will say: to make Link be the one who saves the princess. And giving someone arrows is not my definition of doing something… of course, if you see her potential as a treasure chest, then this conversation serves no purpose…
Super interested in how you feel about Zelda's role in Tears of the Kingdom, now that the game is out. Spoilers - she does stuff! Which is nice! But most of that stuff happens before the story, even if in a roundabout way. She is support in the final battle (kind of), she doesn't get kidnapped, everything she does is her own choice. But I can also see how the result of those choices hamper her agency as much as help it, because (super duper spoilers) the choice she makes is essentially to sacrifice herself by becoming a mindless dragon until Link shows up. She doesn't remember her old life so she's basically just like. A magical, immortal animal. It was her choice and she did it to save the world, but she still relies on Link a lot as the true "final hope" of Hyrule while she waits for him to get the sword and use it. I think its still a better story for her than most, and TotK does a better job than BotW of pushing you to experience the story (if you don't do the story, its actually harder to figure out how to even find the final boss, and the final fight will probably confuse you in the last phase and make you at least consider seeking out the story. Also, those giant geoglyphs are much easier to find than those specific-ass tiny spots on the map where you got the memories in BotW. So it feels like even if its still optional, Nintendo is pushing you MUCH harder to see the story).
But she still exists only in stories. You can't imagine Tomb Raider where Lara only appears in memories and episodes, and you can't play her. It's not the same.
Funny that you mention about wanting to give Zelda something to do in the games. StarFox Adventures you had Krystal be a playable character for a few stages before she gets kidnapped at the Kazoa Palace and you have to play as Fox to save her. The original version of that game Dinosaur Planet had Krystal play a companion role where she is playable in 1/2 of the game with Sabre being the male protagonist that plays the other half of the game. And we also have the Metroid games where you play as Samus in all of the games.
Ooh I would like a game in a style like Total War (maybe with some HOMM or similar influences; but turn-based overworld, real time battles). Zelda is the leader of the actual faction, but of course also has an army of her own. She will normally be in the capital with her troops, but will move out in emergencies and has the smallest and strongest army. She is also responsible for running the country, ordering logistics, doing research etc. On the other hand, there are multiple generals with Link as the main general. Each general has their own army, with more (but generally less elite) warriors. So you play as Zelda (though you don't really see her) ordering things around, but when specific battles happen you give the troops instructions and can edit those instructions, but you play as the general while the AI troops actually follow the instructions. There should of course be bonuses if you encircle or pin or skewer or fork or whatever chess terms are applicable to fantasy wars. In this case, Zelda can be her artillery if the capital is sieged, play as Sheik when sending out the capital army on an ambush, etc. It would be difficult to make this work, but I now want a Total War: Zelda.
I'd never heard of you nor seen your channel until this video appeared in my recommended, and after watching it, my take is; hell yes, algorithm done good this time. Solid overview, solid points, solid humour, solid editing, solid take in general on subjects I've got interest in - and bonus, solid bass guitarist 😁Easiest sub in a long time - now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to binge your back catalogue!
You completely undersold OoT Zelda. She's the entire reason why the story of that game even happened and Link would have failed without her. If Nintendo ever makes a current Gen remake of OoT, there should be parts where you can play as Sheik.
It's pretty Fork'n funny how often a character who's name is in the title of a series barely gets to do much in these games. I know Link is meant to be a link between the game and the player, but I feel like Zelda should be playable in some capacity in the main series, like a character you earn, are made aware of her importance, and finally get to see what all the hype is all about.
Like...just make...AoC it's own series of Zelda games. PLAYING AS ZELDA just kicked all of the ass. Also, using Urbossa, Riju, Daruk and Yunobo was so forking cool! Zelda's dominant light arrows were the cherry on top!
imagine a legend of zelda game where there are 3 playable characters, each with their own items and magic powers thanks to the piece of the triforce they hold link, zelda, ganondorf? and then a fourth secret one you unlock when you beat the game with all of em that is the upside-down triangle haha
I think game companies like to fork girls into a damsel in distress role because its a trope that works good enough to motivate people, but at the same time, I'm getting real tired of peach not bringing mace when bowser shows up.
I mean Zelda 1 Princess Zelda hid the 8 fragments under the ememies' own noses, and ALttP Zelda does give advice in the Dark World dungeons like Saharsrahla does in the light world (at least in the GBA version). However, Tetra still has more agency than most, and Spirit Tracks Zelda probably does the most of all despite her body being captured. BotW/Tears of the Kingdom Zelda, I will wait till we see what's out.
I love how the timeline just forks in a different direction in aoc and zzelda gets to do stuff. It's probably one of my fave Zelda games bc i can play the cool women instead of Link
I would love another game with Link and Zelda as companions throughout, a la Spirit Tracks, though it'd be even better if Zelda wasn't a ghost and Link could talk.
Personally I don't care that there is not enough Zelda in legend of Zelda games, but what really pisses me off is that there are never any utensils in the games (such as Crab fork, Chip fork, Pastry fork, Olive fork, Pie fork, etc)
Ideally theme wise her game should be a Immersive Sim with RTS flare she does politics that changes how she runs her war or lack their of and if war is needed she can take the massive risk an fight on the field
8:11 The only way she could do that is by aiming it straight up so it could have enough velocity to pierce Ganons armor. But you could hit link instead. And I don't think she can climb the wall. Not without getting blasted at least, and it's probably too tall. Nope, she's gatta sit this one out and pray to the Gods. Don't think the Gods don't hear that.
FORK!!!! This is a fantastic video. I have been playing The Legend of Zelda since the first one came out and have increasingly wished she played a much larger role in the games. I loved her in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity! I would 100% play a Zelda Kingmaker/stealth game! And as a Black person, I had the same reaction when Tetra's skin colour changed when she became Zelda in Wind Waker.
In Wind Waker's defense: Saving her at the start is more a coincidence and not really significant, I'd say. In-universe, it just happens coincidentally, because the Helmaroc King just happens to fly over Outset Island as her crew shots the giant bird and thus rescue her. When you arrive in the woods at the north of the island, Link technically rescues Zelda, but her crew is right on the hero's tail, so I'm pretty confident they would've rescued her if Link wasn't there. Out-of-universe, I'd say it doesn't have the same connotations and vibe as the saving in many other games (and this game later on) rightfully criticized by you - it's not a goal/ark/plot the player is working towards for many hours, but happens in the first 5 minutes of the game and quickly moved on from both by the cast and the player.
always loved that about botw(love her stopping ganon for 100 years & really hope totk has her as a playable character/if she gets separated is a different gameplay focused on her in hyrule rallying against ganon as the kingdom's breaking apart while link's in the sky kingdom.),hyrule warriors(do wish the sheik in that was oot zelda just to see 2 zeldas/wish aoc wasn't a cop out au.) & especially the wind waker games(favorite version period as even as zelda i still loved her with how she actually helps link against ganon helping link get the most badass defeat of him in the series & actually has a personality/hated phantom hourglass for having her be stone for most of it.) like her being a cool partner to toon link in spirit tracks(wish we got a new wind waker.) which is what i remember the most of that game. as they're where zelda earned that title compared to the other games where she gets kidnapped,sits around doing nothing for the early games/oot,doesn't do much as sheik(smash bros. made most of her moves up with how she just teaches songs and tbh think the final hit could've been done without her.)/causes the timeline split,is under house arrest for twilight princess that she might as well been absent with how she has the least interaction with link(the story is more about midna who one ups her as a badass princess/honestly got more romantic affection from link & telma/the great fairies with how flirty they are with him.),absent for most of skyward sword and drags the game out getting kidnapped when she should've been with link with how close they were(the only thing i liked in it's story and would've been a better option of zelda's amiibo unlocking a side story about what she was doing or replaced the backtracking with that.) and really not a good sign the horrible cdi games are the closest she's gotten(even more when you realize even tingles gotten more playable appearances than her.). honestly think princess peach has gotten a bigger break as looking even past super princess peach she has 3d world,mario party/tons of spinoff's and the rpg's to back her up(and more the fault of miyamoto being lazy and outdated with story to just having her be playable with bowser causing trouble.) that i like her more than most versions for zelda.(also that sexualization is more doa's problem of having zero shame or dignity not trying with it's plot outside a few characters as ivy's badass,though yeah agree with quiet as looking back with how much of that was in metal gear someone was super needy.)
It's also interesting how a game about how these two roles constantly reincarnate (the hero and the goddess' descendant) they never end up reincarnating as the opposite sex. Even Hyrule Warriors introduced what the hero (Linkle) could be like if they reincarnated as female
My personal favorite Zelda is Spirit Tracks Zelda. Because A) her personality is different from most other zeldas... who are kinda just there, minus tetra. B) she is actually in the game and actually does stuff with you throughout the whole thing
7:09 There is something wrong with that. Hyrule is being taken over by the Twilight and even if the people are blissfully unaware it's still not good. Also some are aware that something is wrong. They're afraid and see terrifying creatures like the Twilight bugs. What Zant did was put the denizens of Hyrule in constant fear and helplessness. Link has every reason to help them. After all, Zant is conquering Hyrule on Ganondorf's behalf according to their deal. Ganon gives him the power he needs to usurp Midna, and he in return uses his new powers to bring Hyrule under Ganondorf's control, acting as a puppet ruler of Hyrule as he rules his own palace in the Twilight Realm.
On the “you’re the player so why let other characters be the one to do stuff” One of my favorite moments in hollow knight is when Quirrel shows up and is like, the only reason you can win the ummu fight. I guess it’s still like a “player support situation” but in the moment it really feels like you are the support to his actions.
"Negotiate peace between the Gorons and Zora." HOLY SHIT IS THAT A HYRULE TOTAL WAR REFERENCE (Yes, there is a Hyrule Total War mod, and Zelda can lead entire armies into battle.)
It is impossible for anyone to have more or less Agency. Either you have it or you don’t. Agency isn’t about doing stuff. Agency is about the ability to make decisions (and then act on it). The key word here being ability. Even if someone points a gun towards your head, the one thing they can’t take away from you is your agency. So the question isn’t how much agency does Zelda have but rather does Zelda have agency and the answer is … technically no because she is a fictional character from a fictional world. But in that artificial world, yes, every single incarnation of Zelda that we’ve seen so has agency. Also, you did Minish Cap Zelda dirty by dismissing her involvement in the game. What was her involvement? Well, she picks up Link to go to the festival together, she run around the square to see everything, win a prize and choose to get the shield for Link, and restores Hyrule at the end of the game. She choose to do all this. That’s agency.
there was a comment I think, from someone on nintendo or the zelda team, in response to the request of the playable zelda. it went to the effect of "we can't have playable zelda, what would Link do?" made me gnash my teeth. how hard can it be to imagine even a secondary or partial role for zelda to actually have a role in the series? why do they seem so resistant to breaking the mold of the series?
The final description of the game you came up with that Zelda could be playable in sounds like a cool tower defense game? Like a Civilization V sort of playstyle, keeping Ganon out of the Kingdom and having a world map to control armies while micromanaging the main capital for upgrades. Maybe if you survive long enough then Link returns from somewhere and you can start doing missions as him to clear out the threat for good. Civ VI meets Shadow of War meets Hyrule Warriors?
I'm certainly biased because the Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game, but Tetra is definitely my favorite rendition of Zelda, but yeah, that does come with the big asterisk that I mean Tetra, and not Zelda, because she stops being a character when she becomes Zelda. Everything about how they handled that reveal is just, such a big splotch on an otherwise wonderful game.
if you care, the spin-off Cadence of Hyrule gives you the option to say who is playable and who is stuck sleeping at the start of the game. So you can play link and save sleeping zelda, or you can play zelda while link sleeps in bed all day.
Regarding tetra’s skin color 1 you could say that white lead was used on her skin. The kind of make up used in history to make skin color more white. We can also take into consideration that Tetra has been living as a pirate for a while meaning her skin got a tan from all the sun.
Easy short term solution have series of games called tales of link where we play as Zelda and link never appears and the link in the games name always refers to another use of the word link imagine it
