About two weeks ago, just after I posted my top eleven comic book adaptations, I wrote about what makes up a full story in response to queries and uproar about why I put some films above others. In that, I made the claim that some stories, ones that we as the gamer, and in larger circles, geek, community put on pedestals as the greatest don't fulfill those requirements. Most of the Legend of Zelda games were among them.
Yeah, I know this is unpopular to say, especially since Zelda is, well, it's Zelda. The mother of action adventure/pseudo RPG's. The first example of epic storytelling in action gaming (it predated Dragon Quest by almost four months and text games had almost a decade head start, but action style games commonly seen on consoles, it was the first). But, even still, it was not complete story.
The main reason was lack of any form of love story...even platonic love or love between side characters. This wasn't really formed until Link's Awakening, and even still, we've only seen it happen ONE other time in the entire series, Majora's Mask.
One could argue that Link and Zelda are a couple by the end of most of the games. That at the end, the two heroes live happily ever after as the new king and queen of Hyrule...but...save for Zelda 2's possible ending (which, hey, that was the first time they'd ever met, so, not sure I'd go with romantic as much as "it's been a really, REALLY long time since..."), the two have never once been close in any way other than compatriots in battle. Midna and Marin have been closer to the green capped hero than the princess.
As such, I blame Link.
No, it's not a girls stick together thing...but, let's face it. It's really hard to communicate with someone who doesn't communicate outside of barbarian screams, wild gestures, and nodding. To that end...I think Link should really have a voice.
After the Other M debacle, I know many of us are still wary of these characters having voices, especially, since the last time they did give Link one...this happened...
Even so, outside of the CD-I games and the abomination above, every time Link's been given a voice in comic or manga form, it's been done extremely well. Especially those done by Akira Himekawa, a shared pen name by two mangaka.
Now, I'm not going to get into detail on each of the books yet (I will in due time, promise), but each follows the major plot points of the games they relate to, with a few minor modifications for story telling purposes (the change of location of Shiek's reveal is a big one that makes a lot of sense). The only major change to the stories are now we know Link's responses and thus, a lot more about his character.
For now, I'm only going to urge you to check out the books one last time, and open the floor to a conversation about Link having a voice before jumping into the series, proper. I encourage you to share any thoughts you have on it, or on the books if you've checked them out.
-Sara
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