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Link Is Not A Woman In Zelda On Wii U
Update: In a recent interview, Aonuma said the Link featured in the trailer is not a woman, and that the comments he made about the character's identity weren't meant to be taken seriously.
"It seems like it has kind of taken off where people are saying 'oh it's a female character' and it just kind of grew," he told MMGN. "But my intent in saying that was humor."
Aonuma added that Link is meant to represent the player, and he doesn't want fans to focus on the character so much that they lose sight of the other elements in the trailer.
Original Story
Nintendo is excruciatingly tight-lipped on details related to its recent Wii U Zelda reveal, but series producer Eiji Aonuma did offer his reaction to fan speculation, and in doing so called out a popular comment on the protagonist's gender.
What are your reactions to everyone's reactions to the Zelda Wii U reveal?
Eiji Aonuma: Because I have been at E3, I haven't had much time to spend in doing this research, but I certainly have been checking fan reaction and I am really excited many comments have said how beautiful the game looks. The designers have been working really hard to make sure the visuals look like something players don't expect, or maybe something they haven't seen before, and this applies to not just to the scenery, but to the enemies and things like that.
Another interesting comment I've heard, quite frequently actually, is that, "Oh Link's a woman. Link is female now."
I thought that, too. I thought maybe it was Zelda when I first saw Link on Epona in the distance.
Eiji Aonuma: That might be something that consciously we kind of did, but not to say anything specific – I am not saying anything specific – but, I am hoping people continue to comment, and I will continue to follow the fan comments and reactions to the trailer. I am certainly curious, and I am sure there are things we as developers can glean.
Eiji Aonuma could simply be calling out a repeated comment that stood out to him, but the fact that he brought up the comment on his own, and said that maybe Link's gender was left unspecific on purpose could have greater meaning. Maybe Link is female in the new game, or maybe players can choose a gender at the beginning. Or maybe Link's features are just more feminine than they have been in the past. Whatever the case, Aonuma said we may learn more about the game next year.
For more on our interview with Eiji Aonuma regarding Hyrule Warriors, head here.
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