Greatest Link?

[Have a coffee with me]

Throughout the many years of Nintendo there have been many Legend Of Zelda games,

and with those games, came many different Links. Which Legend Of Zelda game do you think had the best Link?




 

[old jazzy]

Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask. I'll admit that that probably has a lot to do with the fact that this was the first Link I was introduced to and the one I have fond childhood memories of, so for me, he was the original. He was the first Link to take the form of a man, not a boy. The first to appear in any spin-off fighting games. To travel through time to change the fate of the world always seemed like an extra great responsibility to take on. He is the Hero of Time that the legend in Wind Waker refers to, and he even appears in the form of the Hero's Spirit in Twilight Princess, making him in a way directly responsible for the successes of those two Links, and the first Link to actually communicate with a successor. That he continues to contribute even after his death in itself is great.  

[Waynebrizzle]

Skyward Sword because (spoilers) he beat the s**t out of Demise. All the other Links have trouble just beating a shadow of his former self. In fact, all Links after him are just shadows of HIM; he is the granddaddy of all Links. He also took out a whole ******** horde of minions just to get to Zelda and beat the s**t out of a demon king. He is also the only one with some signs of a personality.  

[old jazzy]

Of course the one from the most recently made Zelda game is going to have the most personality.

Also don't all Links defeat hordes of minions? And take out all kinds of big, powerful enemies, like demon kings.  

[Meta_Fish]

Waynebrizzle

Skyward Sword because (spoilers) he beat the s**t out of Demise. All the other Links have trouble just beating a shadow of his former self. In fact, all Links after him are just shadows of HIM; he is the granddaddy of all Links. He also took out a whole ******** horde of minions just to get to Zelda and beat the s**t out of a demon king. He is also the only one with some signs of a personality.

Ehhh, there's some truth to that, but I think you're exaggerating a bit. Sure, he beats Demise, whom is ultimate evil which is passed down to each Ganon/Vaati/etc that Link fights, but that doesn't necessarily mean that any other incarnation of them is any less of a menace or difficult or even evil. And correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Skyward Sword allude to the goddess blessing a hero directly? Isn't Zelda the goddess reincarnate? SS Link could be #2 in the line.

He's definitely not the only one with signs of personality, either. Windwaker Link has a ton, too. I'd concede SS Zelda is the most interesting, aside from maybe OoT's Shiek/Zelda split-up and Windwaker's surprise of Tetra being Zelda; SS's Zelda still has the most personality (though again, I'd say Tetra has a bunch too) and a human trait-mischievousness.

That aside, Zelda II Link because he has to go through so much bullshit, only to find out his strongest foe is himself. /joke answer  

[old jazzy]

Zelda II Link is great because he's also Zelda one Link, who has to be the most patient one of all since his game is severely lacking in terms of logic.  

[Waynebrizzle]

Meta_Fish

Waynebrizzle

Skyward Sword because (spoilers) he beat the s**t out of Demise. All the other Links have trouble just beating a shadow of his former self. In fact, all Links after him are just shadows of HIM; he is the granddaddy of all Links. He also took out a whole ******** horde of minions just to get to Zelda and beat the s**t out of a demon king. He is also the only one with some signs of a personality.

Ehhh, there's some truth to that, but I think you're exaggerating a bit. Sure, he beats Demise, whom is ultimate evil which is passed down to each Ganon/Vaati/etc that Link fights, but that doesn't necessarily mean that any other incarnation of them is any less of a menace or difficult or even evil. And correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Skyward Sword allude to the goddess blessing a hero directly? Isn't Zelda the goddess reincarnate? SS Link could be #2 in the line.

He's definitely not the only one with signs of personality, either. Windwaker Link has a ton, too. I'd concede SS Zelda is the most interesting, aside from maybe OoT's Shiek/Zelda split-up and Windwaker's surprise of Tetra being Zelda; SS's Zelda still has the most personality (though again, I'd say Tetra has a bunch too) and a human trait-mischievousness.

That aside, Zelda II Link because he has to go through so much bullshit, only to find out his strongest foe is himself. /joke answer

While Ganondorf is totally weaker than Demise normally (Demise's power was sealed in the Master Sword), he probably does make up for it by having the Triforce of Power, so you're right about that.

You're right that Zelda is a reincarnation of the Goddess, but Skyward Sword's Link is, as far as the game is concerned, the first Link, and the reason all the different Links show up throughout the games isn't because of the Goddess, but because of the curse Demise puts on all of them after he's beaten. I don't remember as much about the legend at the beginning, but as I remember, it was the Goddess and the different races that fought Demise; there was no hero. Even if there was, though, it wasn't the first Link, because that chain started because of Demise's curse. Could be wrong, though.

Yeah, I guess I was mostly trying to say he was the most genuine feeling/unique. All the other Links had expressions, sure, but it seemed to be mostly generic reactions or wacky faces in response to something like being shot out of a cannon. That was funny, sure, but it's not like it provided deep insight into his personality. I'd agree that Tetra was also a great character, but I was just comparing the Links. I also thought Linebeck and Groose were great.  

[old jazzy]

hi i'm wayne and I HAVE SKYWARD SWORD ASPERGERS ALL OTHER ZELDAS CAN SUCK IT  

[Waynebrizzle]

That's not a spoiler.  

[Have a coffee with me]

Waynebrizzle

Meta_Fish

Waynebrizzle

Skyward Sword because (spoilers) he beat the s**t out of Demise. All the other Links have trouble just beating a shadow of his former self. In fact, all Links after him are just shadows of HIM; he is the granddaddy of all Links. He also took out a whole ******** horde of minions just to get to Zelda and beat the s**t out of a demon king. He is also the only one with some signs of a personality.

Ehhh, there's some truth to that, but I think you're exaggerating a bit. Sure, he beats Demise, whom is ultimate evil which is passed down to each Ganon/Vaati/etc that Link fights, but that doesn't necessarily mean that any other incarnation of them is any less of a menace or difficult or even evil. And correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Skyward Sword allude to the goddess blessing a hero directly? Isn't Zelda the goddess reincarnate? SS Link could be #2 in the line.

He's definitely not the only one with signs of personality, either. Windwaker Link has a ton, too. I'd concede SS Zelda is the most interesting, aside from maybe OoT's Shiek/Zelda split-up and Windwaker's surprise of Tetra being Zelda; SS's Zelda still has the most personality (though again, I'd say Tetra has a bunch too) and a human trait-mischievousness.

That aside, Zelda II Link because he has to go through so much bullshit, only to find out his strongest foe is himself. /joke answer

While Ganondorf is totally weaker than Demise normally (Demise's power was sealed in the Master Sword), he probably does make up for it by having the Triforce of Power, so you're right about that.

You're right that Zelda is a reincarnation of the Goddess, but Skyward Sword's Link is, as far as the game is concerned, the first Link, and the reason all the different Links show up throughout the games isn't because of the Goddess, but because of the curse Demise puts on all of them after he's beaten. I don't remember as much about the legend at the beginning, but as I remember, it was the Goddess and the different races that fought Demise; there was no hero. Even if there was, though, it wasn't the first Link, because that chain started because of Demise's curse. Could be wrong, though.

Yeah, I guess I was mostly trying to say he was the most genuine feeling/unique. All the other Links had expressions, sure, but it seemed to be mostly generic reactions or wacky faces in response to something like being shot out of a cannon. That was funny, sure, but it's not like it provided deep insight into his personality. I'd agree that Tetra was also a great character, but I was just comparing the Links. I also thought Linebeck and Groose were great.

I like that they don't actually give Link a personality, it makes it impossible to hate the character rationally.

I hate playing games with terrible main characters, especially the whiny ones or when they have a voice

I can't stand listening to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H47ow4_Cmk0  

[old jazzy]

Agreed, I hate playing as people who won't stfu. Silent protagonists always seem to do well, but I do have to admit that I especially enjoy silent protagonists who you can give a little bit of personality to by selecting what you want them to say during conversation. Especially if they don't have voices, and the the options you pick from are things you yourself would be likely to say - makes them super relatable.

That said, I still don't think being the most relatable Link necessarily makes him the greatest. He's just lucky that his game came out in 2011.  

[Waynebrizzle]

How exactly is being from 2011 helpful for a character whose fanbase uses nostalgia as a primary criteria for evaluating things?

And good character design isn't just about being relatable, nor is that what I think SS's Link is.  

[old jazzy]

It's helpful because he was created and developed with the most recently available tools and ideals. Does his fanbase use nostalgia as a primary criteria? You'd think there'd be more people arguing for pre-N64 Links if that were the case. It's from N64 installments onwards that people really seem to appreciate him. In general, they love him just as much in Skyward Sword. Or so it would seem to me.

Being relatable is just one great quality that contributes to overall good character design, and it works especially well for one who is meant to function as a link between the player and the game.  

[Waynebrizzle]

I can agree to all that. I've got different priorities with what I like in characters, though. I'd rather be told a story than be made to feel that I'm the main character, though I think both things are good. SS probably had my favorite story so far, at the cost of maybe not being as immersive as the others.

I think that people are just going to argue that the Link from their favorite game is the greatest most of the time, and nostalgia does factor into that. It factors into everything, really. You could say I have nostalgia for SS even though it's a year old. Most people don't say that Zelda I or II is their favorite game. I can think of a few that would say LttP's Link is their favorite, though.  

[old jazzy]

I dunno, Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game and I have nostalgia for it but I don't think the Link in that is quite as impressive as the N64 Link in terms of what he's done. But like I said, that WAS the first Link I was introduced to.