With Skyward Sword, the Zelda series saw another nudge in the direction of deeper characterization. More effort and time was clearly put into making the people of Skyloft and beyond both more believable and likable. Many people attest to this iteration of Zelda herself being the one most worth saving, and new characters like Groose and Ghirahim won't soon be forgotten. Even Link, according to some, was at his silent yet emotive best. But notice I don't put him in the same group as the others.
That's because over time, Link hasn't evolved all that much. Sure, with each new game his face has shown us more and more expressions, but Link himself is very much the same. He's silent...no matter what he does, he doesn't really protest, he kicks ass, he saves the world. Since Wind Waker, Link's added a new emotion in "get pissed when sister/friend gets kidnapped." Twilight Princess gave him...well, a few more rape faces then we ever wanted. And in Skyward Sword Link smiled more than ever. Which is jarring, given what he was doing. I made the point back in my review that this most recent Link was a total masochist. Another tear container? Smiling like a maniac. The Gods don't think I'm worth and want to test me again? So happy. My princess is in another century? Stepford smiling.
It's gotten to a point now where Link isn't quite relating with the player any more. I mean, players want dungeons, yes, but they certainly don't want...that other thing that the Gods like to hit Link with in Skyward Sword. Yet Link just goes along with it, never once telling Fi to shove it or questioning whether or not what he's doing is really worth it.
And that's the thing...it's something that irks me about more than just the Zelda series. Characters like Link just aren't stopping to consider the gravity of the situation. I mean, he's sort of taken up the mantle of "hero" and slashed the toes of stories-tall monsters to save some girl, about whom he can't get any straight answers. That's an awful lot of faith, even for a good, pure guy like Link. I know Nintendo's not too big on the whole "make characters deep and dark" thing, since they tried it with Samus to varying degrees of success, but Link's a character that deserves it. It'd certainly be a nice spin on the formula to have a Link with a little more of a personality. They can do this without making him Cloud too, or avoiding making him like Pit, who's still a lovable character with all of his chatter.
So how do we change Link? Let's start by looking at what he's always been, besides mute. Try and find me a game where Link hasn't been praised for his bravery or heroism. If you can, that'd be interesting considering in pretty much every console release since Ocarina of Time, except Majora's Mask, Link has obtained the Triforce of Courage. In Wind Waker, he actually had to build the damn thing. In some of the other games, it came as a bundle with the Master Sword. Point is, Courage/Bravery is Link's trademark characteristic.
Typically though, we look at courage or bravery as standing up to your fears and overcoming them. But fear isn't an expression that Link often shows. Surprise, yes. Shock, yes. But fear, very rarely. It's more or less always the case that Link has enough determination in him to go from one boss-ridden side of the Earth to the other. A giant screaming idol with a sword and shield? Bring it on. A lava-loving centipede with claws bigger than his whole body? Locked and Loaded. A pale elf dressed in holey tights and with a tongue longer than...Okay admittedly, Link showed some righteous discomfort when he first met Ghirahim. But when it came to fighting a monster whose toes may have had more mass than he did, Link doesn't even really stop to admire the size of the thing. Nope, let's charge on in.
Thing is, Link is as brave at the end of the game as he is in the beginning. You'd think he slayed purple goblins and man eating spiders as a means of survival prior to his adventure. Granted, it takes balls of steel to stand up to any of those monsters, it's just that...most of us...wouldn't. I'm not saying Link isn't a brave man. I'm saying that he never has to earn the Triforce of Courage that always seems to be the thing he has to...earn. The only thing about Link that grows in a Zelda game is his arsenal and his body count....oh, and somehow how much he wants to save Zelda.
We need a Link that grows. It's kind of funny actually since the first time we saw 3D Link, he was whimpering and crying in his bed. We never see him do that again. Let's have a Link that stays like that for a while. The call to action comes...and Link let's it go to the answering machine. Maybe he's tough at first, determined to go out and save whoever's been kidnapped this time, but one look at the monsters ready to knock him down and eat him and he scurries back home. We get a scene of him sitting on his bed shivering, paranoid at any little sound he hears, even if it's just the village kids come to poke fun at how he can't come within a yard of a buzzing bee. Instead of Link, it's his helper, the Fi, the Navi, or the Midna, who has to step up to the challenge, dragging Link kicking and screaming into this adventure.
Link's fear could also be used as a gameplay element. At first, he can only fight certain types of enemies effectively without fumbling all over himself in a panic. As he builds up confidence, his sword skills become smoother and previously terrifying enemies become more manageable. It would give a greater sense of accomplishment right to the player that now things are getting easier and enemies aren't so tough. It would have to be a subtle mechanic, activated when an enemy engages Link or vice versa. The type of enemy would determine Link's fear and the moveset he'd have against them. This, of course, would mean there would have to be a wide array of such movesets, to help the player grow little by little, in ways they may not notice. It'd be a nice way to keep a player within certain boundaries too.
Xenoblade Chronicles actually has a tinge of this in it. It's world is massive, and naturally populated with creatures of all shapes and sizes. You're walking straight through Tephra Cave and then WHAM! A caterpillar over four times your size comes out of the ground, the caution siren sounds, and you're in a desperate battle you feel foolish for running so eagerly into. You learn very quickly that some enemies are not to be trifled with, even if you're right where you're supposed to be. It's a brilliant system, and one that would work very well with the Zelda series. Let's face it, a lot of the creatures found in Hyrule Field aren't all that daunting. Throw in one of the more massive, daunting enemies in the vein of Xenoblade, and the player will naturally connect with Link in not wanting to even go near the thing. Enemy design and presentation would be key.
Imagine it...you start out with a Link that's bullied, fearful, timid, and untrained in sword combat (we'd have to have a Link who's somewhere between Young Link and TP/SS Link in age, I think), so by the time we reach the end of the game, he's decked out in the classic green tunic, wielding the Master Sword, and glaring down enemies with a confidence he's earned by overcoming the personal trials that came along with the trials of the hero. When he reaches the final boss, Link's hands shake with adrenaline...he's still scared, but he's overpowering his fear with confidence. THAT'S when he earns the Triforce: when he's finally gained the courage to climb the big, dark tower and face down the huge, ferocious, ominous, daunting, frightening final boss. Now he's wielding that sword as well as a player's arm will allow. He still get scared, breathing heavily as the final boss' power bears down on him. He gets scared because in reality, it'd make anyone nervous.
Again, games today always seem to forgo logic for badassery. Protagonists are fearless, snarking and taunting their way through the game and filled to the brim with determination right up until the final boss...which is a towering, 50 foot shirtless demon that attacks by grabbing meteors from the atmosphere and throwing them. I mean, look at something like Resident Evil, which is MEANT to be scary...and yet the main characters are always cool and collected. Even if the main character is surprised by the appearance and power of an enemy, you can bet they'll be back on their feet within seconds, ready to play...meanwhile if the same thing were to pop up in your backyard, you the player would likely piss yourself and run away. The question is then...how can we make players understand how a protagonist might actually feel if the situation were to occur in reality. I mean, how ironic is it that games are getting more and more realistic...yet the characters don't react to ten foot tentacle monsters realistically at all?
Zelda games have come far enough to incorporate this type of expression into Link's character, since he's been more and more expressive with every game. If Nintendo wants to continue down the path of character expansion, they'll need to mix it up some, and Link's characterization is the most potent place to do that. It actually helps that he's a silent protagonist...it forces the game makers into packing as much into his facial expressions and body language as they can, making a landmark of a character. The whole subtlety thing can be learned from Shadow of the Colossus. Wander was largely silent, yet we can determine a lot about him from how clumsily he waves his sword around, how he can manage to shoot while on a moving horse (standing up even), and how he changes over the adventure. The changes are both obvious and minimal. The obvious ones are that Wander gets stronger and healthier, as shown by his circular grip gauge and health bar. The less obvious, and most enthralling one, is that Wander's appearance actually changes as the adventure goes on too...to the point where runes come up all over his skin and his hair darkens. His clothes are torn, roughed up, and he altogether just looks tired. I've never ever seen this technique...this attention to detail used in any other game, and it's one that should be used in Zelda.
Skyward Sword was another step in the right direction for Nintendo's minimalist storytelling. They're always about not bogging the player down in story, cutting it down for gameplay. What if though, these story elements became part of the gameplay? What if Link's character actually affected how the game played? The player would then be directed and drawn into the story, maybe even to the point of looking for and picking out when Link changes his swordplay, and maybe even his looks. Just like in Shadow of the Colossus, there would be consequences both obvious, a la gameplay, and subtle, a la some of Link's expressions and how he looks. When next we see Link, I want to see a character who really earns the Triforce of Courage by overcoming his fears...fears that normal people would be crazy not to have.
