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May 1st, 2008 at 12:30 pm by
Xizor
This is my first “blog” here at Zelda Blog, and whether or not this is part of a series is yet to be seen, but for now, I’m just gonna talk about what’s on my mind. Because after all, what are blogs for? =P Any real fan of the Zelda Franchise knows that Link is silent, but deadly. Not a sound emanates from him until the moment that his enemy is slain (at which point he lets out the classic “hy-ah!”). Otherwise, he never has anything to say. Saria is asking him what to do? No answer. Zelda is telling him what to do? No answer. Never anything to say. Why is this? Is he just shy? Or is there a larger reason than that?
To my own knowledge, Nintendo has never exactly told us why Link never speaks. One can guess as to why though; everybody loves the guy that talks his head off at school, but you know that when you gossip, it’s about that one kid that never ever talks. It’s not that you are actually interested in him as a person, there’s just a certain intrigue that surrounds him because of his solitude. Perhaps, then, this is what Nintendo intended with Link, to make him mysterious. Not to mention he seems all the more valiant that he goes on with his troubles and toils, all the while never once uttering a word of complaint. Minus the occasional grunt of pain when he gets attacked by sinister beasts. However, it may simply be due to a more hidden storyline aspect from the Big N. Maybe Link was traumatized by events in his past? Maybe, from a game play standpoint, making him talk would be irrelevant, but this may not be entirely true. We’ve seen plenty of games where the protagonist (that’s the main character for all you English-deficient people out there! =P) talks with the other characters. Final Fantasy games, Call of Duty, and others that I quite honestly cannot think of, just to name a few. Now you may be saying, “Well he does talk! There are times where you have to pick a response to move on to the next part of the game!” and yes, you would be correct. Obviously, nobody could ever get through life without saying a single word (even Helen Keller, she just had sign language and Braille), and Link is no exception. There are rare, limited moments where he is forced to speak. If this is by necessity or choice, we may never know. However, I prefer to believe in the value of intrigue. As far as I’m concerned, Link has no need to talk, and that’s all there is to it. And, in case you were wondering, Helen Keller was, in fact, a secret sword wielding heroine who went around slashing baddies. Filed under Editorials, Games, Humor Follow This Entry | Leave a Response | Trackback | ||
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May 1st, 2008 at 1:32 pm[...] ZeldaBlog wrote an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt: This is my first “blog” here at Zelda Blog, and whether or not this is part of a series is yet to be seen, but for now, I’m just gonna talk about what’s on my mind. Because after all, what are blogs for? =P Any real fan of the Zelda Franchise knows that Link is silent, but deadly. Not a sound emanates from him until the moment that his enemy is slain (at which point he lets out the classic “hy-ah!”). Otherwise, he never has anything to say. Saria is asking him what to do? No answer. Zelda is [...]
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May 1st, 2008 at 1:39 pm[...] [...]
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May 2nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm [quote]
Mystery surrounds the Legend of Zelda series, and this is an approach on Link’s muteness that i had never before heard.
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:57 pm [quote]
As the article mencion, this is one of the elements that gives to the game a very unique style and an amazing story. I hope this factor don’t change for the next sequels.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:54 pm [quote]
Nice blog, short and to the point. Like this comment.:)
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm [quote]
There’s a quick shot of Link moving his mouth while conversing with Ilia early on in Twilight Princess. There’s also responses like “I see. Link, I believe you,” that make me be strongly against the “Link is silent” camp.
May 5th, 2008 at 4:57 pm [quote]
The reason Link is silent is so that the game player can project any personality they wish upon Link. If Nintendo suddenly decided that they were gonna have Link talk, then they would have to figure out how Link would say some things. This would obviously go against some people’s opinions of how Link really is. Plus, to get around the fact that Link is “mute”, Ninty has come up with the brilliant idea of such characters like Navi, and Midna to name a few.
May 5th, 2008 at 10:26 pm [quote]
You’re close, but I’m pretty sure the mindset is more that the player IS Link. You BECOME Link, so they don’t want to fill in too many of YOUR reactions for you. Unfortunately, since Link is a character in his own right, they can only take that concept so far.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:01 am [quote]
The reason that Link has no visible dialogue is that YOU are meant to be Link, when I play the games I kinda put my own personality into the character and I like to come up with my own responses to question posed by other chatacters. I think this is pretty much true for everyone, we all put ourselves into the character which is why it would be difficult to make a movie of the franchise. I myself would hate a movie of the game if Link had an American accent, I also believe that Americans would hate it if Link ahd an English accent.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:55 pm [quote]
Well, I must agree with some of what has been said here, that Link is an empty slot so the player can decide what he’s thinking, who he is. With speach the player’d feel more as if he were just watching a play, but with Link not having a personality, it feels more as if you were there. I’ve noticed that in, say, Final Fantasy V it’s the exact opposite; you don’t feel you’re partaking, but rather watching. That’s why I like to have Link, as well as Mario, Samus etc., mute.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:41 pm [quote]
Because everyone mentioned why Link doesn’t talk, because we can add our own personality, I’d like to give a demonstration (lol) :
Random girl: So, you’re Link?
You *in game option* Yes. *when you put in your own personality* Heck yeah, I’m the ONLY Link in town, ya hear?
random bad guy trying to tempt you into the dark side: Hey Link, wanna go kill that puppy?
You: *in game option* No. *insert personality here* NOOOOOOOOO, DON’T KILL DA PUPPY!!! *gets ready to fight*
That’s Miyamoto’s plan with the silent heroes… in my opinion.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:07 pm [quote]
If the movie was otherwise amazing you’d hate it just because Link pronounces things differently? They made a few JAMES BOND movies with American actors and they turned out to not be completely horrible. There is no established accent in Hyrule, unless you count Japanese, so what would it matter?
May 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm [quote]
This is my take on Jumanji’s comment based on my interpretation of Link-
Random girl: So, you’re Link?
Link: Indeed I am, how can I help you?
Ganondorf: Link, I amyour father.
Link: No. Thats not true, that’s impossible.
Ganondorf: Join me. We shall destroy Hyrule, then eat Oreos with a glass of milk.
Link: I will never…Oreos you says? Tempting…very tempt… No, i’ll never join you.
*Link then draws the Master Sword and attacks Ganondorf head on.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:50 pm [quote]
To dats James Bond has NOT been played by an American. He has been played by actors from Scotland, England, Ireland and Australia. Sorry.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:43 pm [quote]
You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking of. The fact remains that accent means nothing compared to inflection of voice.
May 8th, 2008 at 4:12 pm [quote]
I’m fairly certain Link can talk. He’s just a quiet guy.
May 10th, 2008 at 7:55 am [quote]
I know this is meant to be funny, but taking it seriously: I think Link doesn’t talk so that we, the players, can supply our own dialogue. ^^