I have talked about The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker a lot on this website. I consider it to be my number one favorite game of all time, and I don't think that is ever going to change. I'm just so attached to this game, that I don't think I could feel attached to any other game the same way I am to Wind Waker. From the massive world that you can sail across and find little islands to explore, to the wonderful dungeons to come across, to having, arguably, the best Zelda, to the colorful and cartoon-like celshading, to the crazy and interesting characters. And speaking of characters, Link, in Wind Waker, is probably my favorite Link in the entire series, and I will explain why.
In every Zelda game before Wind Waker, Link didn't really have any personality whatsoever. Ocarina of Time is a great game, not perfect (To me), but still wonderful. But Link, I felt, was not interesting in that game. He had a total of two expressions. Either being shocked or just being completely stone face. Later games did try to make him more expressive, but before that, Link was just so blank on expressions, it didn't really make him that interesting of a protagonist. He had no personality whatsoever, at least to me. He just did things he was told to do and then be on his way, despite Ocarina of Time trying real hard to make him interesting with his backstory, but it doesn't work when you're playing as a plank of wood. Wind Waker's Link, however, I could see his personality and get to know his character without him having to say a word. Wind Waker starts with Link being asleep and lazy, and forgetting his birthday. He is kind of a slacker and he is kind of a goofy kid, but he is still very interesting. He has every kind of expression a person can think of. Joy, sadness, anger, fear, worry, disappointment, amazement, and surprise. Sure, he can be a bit blank, but he always knows when to express himself and is always able to show some personality when he sees something surprising. During battle, Link will always frown and lower his eyebrows as he stares at the enemy. It's subtle but effective and I love it. It's better than Link just looking at the enemy with no expression whatsoever.
Another thing that I love about Link in Wind Waker is that he isn't treated like he is a hero. He is treated like a kid. Granted, other Zelda games did that too, but Zelda told him he was part of a prophecy, Impa told him he was part of a prophecy, the Deku Tree, Navi, the Sages, every goddamn person in the story. In Wind Waker, Link was just a kid out to save his sister after she got kidnapped. Before he was told of Ganondorf, he had no idea of the prophecy, because no one thought of Link in Wind Waker as a hero. They saw him as a young boy and that is what he is. Those clothes he gets, they aren't prophecy clothes. No, that's his birthday gift because of his islands tradition. Link is just a young boy, and everyone treats him like that and I love it. Again, I know people in Ocarina of Time called Link a kid too, but that changed when he was an adult, and the Deku Tree, Navi, Zelda, and other's still called him a hero through and through. Link in Wind Waker was called the hero by, what? Two people... One of them being Ganondorf?
Lastly, why Wind Waker's Link is my favorite Link, is just because I find him to be the most relatable of the Links. He was a young boy, able to show expressions, with a sense of adventure who was able to sale the seas to start this very adventure. At the age that most kids would play Wind Waker, Link is the kind of kid they can relate to. Kid's play Legend of Zelda for the adventure, in order to explore it's very world, like they want to explore our world. And Wind Waker let's them do so, by not giving Link a voice, but the ability to use expressions, which he does. Kids are expressive, so it makes sense to have Link be expressive as well. So, having a young and expressive child as your main character in an adventure game allows kids to put themselves into the shoes of this Link more than any other. And it's because of this fact that I fell in love with Wind Waker, and will continue to love it for as long as I can. And yes, I know Link has been expressive in other games... But I'm biased, so... Yeah.
See you all next time.
In every Zelda game before Wind Waker, Link didn't really have any personality whatsoever. Ocarina of Time is a great game, not perfect (To me), but still wonderful. But Link, I felt, was not interesting in that game. He had a total of two expressions. Either being shocked or just being completely stone face. Later games did try to make him more expressive, but before that, Link was just so blank on expressions, it didn't really make him that interesting of a protagonist. He had no personality whatsoever, at least to me. He just did things he was told to do and then be on his way, despite Ocarina of Time trying real hard to make him interesting with his backstory, but it doesn't work when you're playing as a plank of wood. Wind Waker's Link, however, I could see his personality and get to know his character without him having to say a word. Wind Waker starts with Link being asleep and lazy, and forgetting his birthday. He is kind of a slacker and he is kind of a goofy kid, but he is still very interesting. He has every kind of expression a person can think of. Joy, sadness, anger, fear, worry, disappointment, amazement, and surprise. Sure, he can be a bit blank, but he always knows when to express himself and is always able to show some personality when he sees something surprising. During battle, Link will always frown and lower his eyebrows as he stares at the enemy. It's subtle but effective and I love it. It's better than Link just looking at the enemy with no expression whatsoever.
Another thing that I love about Link in Wind Waker is that he isn't treated like he is a hero. He is treated like a kid. Granted, other Zelda games did that too, but Zelda told him he was part of a prophecy, Impa told him he was part of a prophecy, the Deku Tree, Navi, the Sages, every goddamn person in the story. In Wind Waker, Link was just a kid out to save his sister after she got kidnapped. Before he was told of Ganondorf, he had no idea of the prophecy, because no one thought of Link in Wind Waker as a hero. They saw him as a young boy and that is what he is. Those clothes he gets, they aren't prophecy clothes. No, that's his birthday gift because of his islands tradition. Link is just a young boy, and everyone treats him like that and I love it. Again, I know people in Ocarina of Time called Link a kid too, but that changed when he was an adult, and the Deku Tree, Navi, Zelda, and other's still called him a hero through and through. Link in Wind Waker was called the hero by, what? Two people... One of them being Ganondorf?
Lastly, why Wind Waker's Link is my favorite Link, is just because I find him to be the most relatable of the Links. He was a young boy, able to show expressions, with a sense of adventure who was able to sale the seas to start this very adventure. At the age that most kids would play Wind Waker, Link is the kind of kid they can relate to. Kid's play Legend of Zelda for the adventure, in order to explore it's very world, like they want to explore our world. And Wind Waker let's them do so, by not giving Link a voice, but the ability to use expressions, which he does. Kids are expressive, so it makes sense to have Link be expressive as well. So, having a young and expressive child as your main character in an adventure game allows kids to put themselves into the shoes of this Link more than any other. And it's because of this fact that I fell in love with Wind Waker, and will continue to love it for as long as I can. And yes, I know Link has been expressive in other games... But I'm biased, so... Yeah.
See you all next time.