Who is Link to you?, Define Link. The man himself.

I agree to some extent with most of your points - but I would like to point out what
motivated each of these Links to step outside their doors and make a difference in their worlds.

WW: This Link was forced out of his complacency by the kidnapping of his sister. He was gradually dragged into events bigger than he was, and instead of tucking tail and running, he put on his shield and sword and went for it all.

OoT: This Link left Kokiri Forest because Gohma attacked the Great Deku Tree, who died just after he was forced to entrust the Kokiri's Emerald to Link. Again, this Link was caught up in events he could not control, but instead of becoming a coward, he fulfills his destiny as the Hero of Time.

TP: This Link was virtually kidnapped from Ordon. Like the Links before him, he was also caught up in events he could not control. First, his friends were violently kidnapped before he was knocked unconscious - a complete fool would not vow revenge and seek to get them back. But before we call him "doormat," let's think about the circumstances that he comes under.

He is in jail at the castle, he realizes that his human body is gone and he is inside a wolf's body, thus he is very disoriented and has no control over his newly discovered senses. Midna shows up, and at the beginning of the game, she is a self-serving, rude, and presumptuous little chit. She takes full advantage of Link's handicaps and forces him to bend to her will. Does this make Link a doormat? Absolutely not! We see him fighting her several times throughout the game, meaning that while he can't really do anything about his situation, it does not mean that he is just going to sit around and take her crap.

But Link finishes the quest because he sees the suffering of the people who will not be able to escape Twilight without him (i.e. the Zoras, the people in Castle Town, the folks of Ordon, and most of all, Zelda herself).

Believe it or not I agree with EVERYTHING you posted. I just wished there was someway Link could have beaten up on Midna a few times when she was being rude.

Link beating up on Midna would be very out of character for our hero to do. Sure, he spends the game attacking damn near anything that moves, but those things are trying to kill him. Sure, Midna starts out the game as a pest and something of a bully, but with Link trapped in a strange body, not knowing when or if he'd ever return to normal, Midna was his only way out of that dungeon, and the only way to rescue his friends. So rather than let his pride get the better of him, he put up with Midna's rudeness so he could save people. I'd hardly call that the act of a "doormat."

Yeah...at first I wasn't too crazy about Midna and her bossy attitude. But as the game progressed she became more tolerable and likeable by the end. I still say Link is pretty much a doormat but in a good way and it seems he enjoys being told what to do anyway. If Link wasn't a doormat we could never complete the Zelda games.

I suppose he's a doormat in the sense that we, the players, have complete control over him, but he's hardly a mindless drone, going along with whatever anyone in the game tells him to do.

The mindless drone blindly following orders is probably more associated with OOT Link since he is literally a child trapped in a mans body that is inclined to politely obey Zelda, the sages, and other NPC's because he needs the guidance of responsible adults to keep him in line and to tell him what to do.

TP Link seems more like the normal but awkwardly shy and gentle natured teenager who tries to be the perfect gentleman. Unfortunately being a perfect gentleman has the nice guy finishing last in romance stigma, and since TP Link doesn't hook up with anyone, it seems to be very true in his case.

I've always liked the idea of Link being a very kind, patient and a rather "country bumpkin" type of person Who also kicks major butt with a sword! Haha.

I dunno how I feel about Link being called a doormat though. He has his obligations as the hero so that shouldn't necessarily characterize him as someone who just gets mowed over. He does what he needs to do to get the job done right and if that means he needs to hop on one foot through ten flaming hoops then so be it, lol!

That's a good way of putting it, I think! He is rather awkward, in that he's a bit of a backwaters type of guy, but how much has that stayed with him at the end I can't say. The ending of TP was rather dramatic (Midna leaving and Link also not staying in Ordon) all things considered. He a changed man, that's for sure.

I feel TP Link did mature in a sense by the end of the adventure, but he still didn't strike me as the bold and assertive ladies man/go getter at all. As for AOL Link, thats another story.

Oh yes, he definitely got more mature. I think we can call TP Link rather laid back, yanno?

As for AOL Link, man that game beat my ass >.< But all to awaken a Princess, heck yeah! He deserved the ending he got cause playing the game was hell for me lol.

One of the reasons why I like the Zelda series so much is because of Link, and it's not because he's awesome via looks, badass skills, and blah blah blah. I'll refrain myself from explaining what we all already know, hahaha.

Truth be told, I love that Link is so simple. While he's not completely devoid of his own character, he's like a blank slate for the most part. He has no real defined past in most games, if not all, he doesn't speak his thoughts (given, he does act them out sometimes), and you see his interactions with others through your own eyes.

I think, when it comes to "innovation," which Nintendo is all about, Link is a perfect example. You, as the player, are given freedom as Link... so much so that you become the hero. I mean, honestly, the games are full of situations that are open to interpretation, and Link is just another way of really tying the player to the land of Hyrule.

I also think this is why so many people argue over shipping, because in the end, it's a matter of our own preference and nothing is canon. We kind of imagine the idea that Link likes so-and-so without realizing that it's probably because we prefer so-and-so, for whatever reason. LoL!

I do think Link does have his own character, like the way he reacts to things, but mostly, I think Link is who we want him to be (given, we don't exaggerate too much and make him evil... because that's Ganondorf's role, lol). That's Link, to me.

Adding to that, the shippers who prefer a specific pairing are willing to dig up proof, although, the evidence we find is unpredictable at times...


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So, you're basically saying that we the players are supposed to feel as though we are Link while we play the game? That makes sense, considering what I've heard Miyamoto say about the issue in interviews, and it's a pretty common thing for videogames.

Now, if the Zelda series was a book series, and Link had little to no personality, then it would be a bad thing, since books are different from videogames. And the main character of a book having no personality doesn't make said book a good read.

Not to mention Link not having a set personality in a theoretical hollywood movie would not translate very well if his in game personality in OOT/TP were used literally. IMO if there was a book or movie based on the Legend of Zelda there needs to be a middle ground between the over confident and assertive go getter Link from the cartoon and the unassertively shy and gentle natured doomed eternal virgin Link from the OOT and TP games.

Actually, I have to disagree with one part of your post, Zelda Angel. I don't think characters like Link are too common in video games, and that's what sets Zelda aside from the rest (in most cases).

Like, let me use a broad example out of Final Fantasy games. The male protagonist is very well defined in these RPG's, and like books, the characters are pretty much set. Unlike Link, they have very precise and recognizable behaviors. In some ways, I guess it could be a bad thing that Link is void of a developed personality.

All the same, while Link is rather empty in comparison to these types of characters, because we have that freedom, we can make up our own persona for Link. We enjoy it, too, or we obviously wouldn't be fans of Link.

That said, while Link differs in image from person to person, there are some things that the general public will agree on, too. There are hints in the game at what kind of person Link could be. Like I said earlier, there are times when Link reacts specifically to something, and that gives us some semblance of character. In fact, the very fact that Link is a Hero also gives us a nudge towards the idea that he is most certainly loyal and brave.

I do agree with you, though, that a book based literally off of the Legend of Zelda would be boring on Link's part, unless someone took that creative right and used it well. And that's exactly what all of us do. We make Link creative and awesome.

I wouldn't call it unpredictable so much as balanced. Look at Twilight Princess for example: the game makes a case for and elaborates on the possibilities of both Ilia AND Midna. So much so that I truly can't see a preference displayed in the end. Basically it provides evidence for both: it's really up to us to choose one and advocate it.

Isn't that what the manga's have done, albeit in condensed form? Link has huge personality, especially in his OoT/MM incarnation. The only problem is because his in-game personality is so hard to discern, such a defined personality is bound to not mesh with the personality some have imagined for him. I personally had imagined him similarly so I had no trouble with that interpretation.