Since E3, at least half of the articles I have seen online all feature the phrases “Aonuma said,” or “Aonuma told…” and so many other variations of this and considering how we did a post of our own concerning something Aonuma has to say with regards to Breath of the Wild, we decided to make a series out of the things Eiji Aonuma has to say when it comes to The Legends of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
In yesterday’s unofficial first instalment, we got to learn about why the new Zelda has been delayed so much and why it’s also to be on the NX, but like I said, that was yesterday, today is all about Aonuma on a gender neutral Link a few other things, so let us begin!
We’ve already had Aonuma say why there isn’t a female option of Link in this game, due to Aonuma’s belief that two female Triforce wielders would make for an unbalanced Triforce. Well now, when talking to TIME, he explained why Link in Breath of the Wild has such a feminine appearance and it is due to Aonuma wanting Link to appear as gender neutral so that all kinds of players could relate to him and that this is something he has wanted for Link ever since Ocarina of Time. Below you will find Aonuma’s full explanation:
“Back during the Ocarina of Time days, I wanted Link to be gender neutral. I wanted the player to think ‘Maybe Link is a boy or a girl.’ If you saw Link as a guy, he’d have more of a feminine touch. Or vice versa, if you related to Link as a girl, it was with more of a masculine aspect. I really wanted the designer to encompass more of a gender-neutral figure. So I’ve always thought that for either female or male players, I wanted them to be able to relate to Link.”
During the development of Twilight Princess, I went a different route and created a version of Link that was more masculine. But after Twilight Princess I went back to the drawing board and decided Link should be a more gender-neutral character. Hence I created the version of Link that you see in Breath of the Wild. As far as gender goes, Link is definitely a male, but I wanted to create a character where anybody would be able to relate to the character.”
So that’s why I think the rumour went around that Link could be a female. Because maybe the users were able to relate in that way.”
He does have a valid point, something that might just appease many Zelda fans who weren’t happy with the concept of having a female Link in a main title Zelda game (sorry Linkle. No Legend of Zelda adventure for you.) Now we could just end today’s instalment here, but both Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime have had plenty of things to say too, so here’s something from each of them. Miyamoto confirmed Monolith Soft’s assistance with working on Breath of the Wild, saying that over 100 Monolith Soft are involved and that this isn’t the first time the developers behind Xenoblade Chronicles X worked on a Zelda games as they also helped with Skyward Sword too. As for Reggie and what he had to say this time around, well he’s talking about why he feels Breath of the Wild offer’s the best of both worlds:
“As Aonuma and the team were thinking about what to do next with Zelda, this thought of exploration, open air, the ability for you, if you want, to go try and take on the big bad boss right at the get go…it won’t go so well, but you can! You have all of that freedom. That’s what they wanted. … The game is a masterpiece.
There still is puzzle solving. You still are questing to find better and better weapons, to beat tougher and tougher enemies out there. Over the next couple of months we’ll share more and more about what’s the same and what’s different. There still are elements that are traditional to a Zelda game. We believe it’s the best of both worlds.”
Now that we have the name of the new game and hours of footage, not one of these Nintendo giants are done talking about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so you can be sure that as soon as Aonuma has more to say, along with the others, you can catch it here as our next instalment!
Source: Matt Peckham of TIME, Ben Reeves of Game Informer & Jenna Mullins of eoline.com
