How do you play Link? Who is he in your head? Are you a totally pure hero? Are you a bit of a sociopath who runs around hitting Cuccos for the lulz? Did you try and kill the Skulltula family? Do you run around putting bombs against every wall you think might have something behind it? Who is he to you?
Ehhhhh. I feel like there's not enough choice involved in the games to make me bother characterizing Link. I tend to have a little idea what my characters are like in, like, Bethesda or Bioware or Obsidian games but Nintendo games are super linear and I mostly just focus on the puzzles and completion. "To me," Link is more defined by his personality in fanfics I guess. Like Sky Lines. Or Fighting Gravity. (also you should totally read those so I have someone to talk about them with OOOOO: )
Haha, I've read Sky Lines and it's great! There's a sequel that I need to get around to reading. Never heard of Fighting Gravity but I can so look that up.
I don't really insert my own characterization to Link, but I roll with the characterization the games give him, for the ones that do. It is limited, but it gives us an idea of the character. For example, Wind Waker Link has a multitude of expressions and reactions. It kind of tells me that yeah, he's just a kid, he gets really excited pretty often, screams kind of a lot, and stuff like that. These are reactions I wouldn't expect from a grown adult, at least not as strongly, which is where we see a clear difference with another Link I'm about to mention. With Skyward Sword's Link, he's clearly presented as kind of a lazy slacker, maybe almost a little incompetent, but as you go through the game, you see he's not incompetent at all. In fact he is quite talented at what he does, he just never put forth any effort until he really needed to step up to save someone(i.e. when he needed to go save Zelda). For the games without really any innate characterization to Link(So pretty much everything before Wind Waker), I don't really put any thought into Link as a character, he's just the hero, and I don't really care that much about it. Personally though, I prefer the way that the games I mentioned above did it. In those, Link has enough personality to not be just a blank slate, and it shows that he is actually a person(plus the reactions can be pretty funny, and pretty cute for Toon Link), but he doesn't feel like a complete, well balanced character, which I think would actually detract from the Zelda experience. In the grand scheme of things, he is still just "the hero of whatever". So like in your examples, if I go around killing Cuccos, I don't think it's Link doing that, and that he's some maniacal sociopath, I think I'm doing it, I'm just screwing around in the game. Then again, I am not really one to roleplay in video games, even in ones that feature a lot of choice. I'll have some idea of what they're like, but I won't really be that extensive about it. I would probably not like it if they tried adding more characterization to Link than what they have now, though. Kind of a long answer actually, I didn't mean to talk that much about it, sorry!
Haha, no problem! The reason I'm asking is because I had the sudden realisation that I was probably going waayyyyyyy too far in the depiction of Link in my fanfic. Let's say that he's less than traditional.
Ah, well, I'm just speaking purely in regards to the games. A Zelda fanfic starring Link seems strange in general to me just because I have a hard time picturing Link as a fully defined and fleshed out character, but I would not really care if a fanfic Link had a personality, it only bothers me if it's like something canon.
Like SM, I generally think about different Links as different characters. There really is no one Link. The most iconic ones are OoT/MM, TP, and "Toon Link." Not only are these the most renowned and popular games in the series, but each of those links was also featured in Smash. Almost every Link seems to have good intentions, tries hard, and is overwhelmingly courageous/determined... ... with the very notable exception of SS Link. For the keks, I'll break it down by game. Some are omitted (TMC, OoS, OoA) because I don't remember them very well. LoZ: Some random kid who's on the weirdest adventure of his life. Part of what I like about this game is how little is explained, and I assume Link himself barely knows what he's doing too. AoL: That same kid, now a teenager, has defined his experiences and his previous adventure. He has a better idea of what he is doing and what he needs to do--and his very mature for his age. He is taking every noble action he can take to save his kingdom and his love. Easily the most Lawful-Good Link in the series. ALttP/LA (and ALBW, even though they're not the same Link): A return to being a kid. Others guide him in a very dramatic fashion: his uncle dies and entrusts him to be a man, Zelda, the Maidens, and later Marin enlist his help. Even the Triforce tells him what to do. I really get the vibe he has no idea what he's doing, but can't say no to Zelda or whoever. "I can't believe I'm doing this..." sums him up pretty well I think. Like LoZ Link, his adventures tend to be kind of wacky. I could see him easily being twisted around a girl's finger, too. OoT/MM: Part of why I like this Link as a whole is because you see very clear character development between the child at the outset of OoT, and the kid who's seen more than his share of shit at the end of MM. I feel as though he becomes somewhat world-weary, and overall becomes very experienced in his... line of work, I suppose. It's difficult to imagine he didn't go on many more adventures after MM. Maybe that's just my impression, though. Like SM said, I don't think he has many traits which carry throughout these games. He generally seems to try hard, but almost everything seems to come to him very easily (kind of the opposite of SS Link). tWW/PH/ST: They maintain a similar personality and appearance. Very emotional, overreacts to a lot of things, easily excited, probably has a childish sense of humor... In PH/ST I feel he's significantly more mature and makes better choices overall. He relies less on his partners, and will generally take action for what he believes is right--even when he has little obligation to do so. In ST in particular it seems like he could have easily just said no. TP: Others rely on him more directly. He feels like a teenager who's been thrust into manhood, and is accepting it quite well. He's one of the most mature for sure, standing next to AoL Link in this regard. In a large way, he takes responsibility for himself, for his job on the farm, for the children of his fellow villagers, and eventually the fate of two entire kingdoms ... and while he has a guiding partner like all 3D Links, she's easily the least helpful of them all, which only makes his maturity and self-responsibility stand out even more. SS: Immature and lazy, but curious and good-natured. Unlike most of the Links, I feel he doesn't try his best very often, isn't very confident, and I get the impression he only "does what's right" because others expect it of him. He's the only one who isn't a child, but acts childish, and I feel this reflects poorly on him. My view of him is largely defined by reasons SM already said, plus... There's just the fact he's still bullied at the game's outset, and apparently relies on Zelda to stand up for him. It feels less like Link, to me, than any which precedes it, and instead the generic young-male protagonist of [insert anime/movie]. FS/FSA: ...These Links are their own separate beast. A lot of people seem to define them based on their friends' personalities when they played the game together.
Hmmm. I guess to me Link has always just been this sweet, little boy really. He's brave, absolutely, but is more just a kind soul who gets dragged into events he can't really control/ turn his back on than a fully-fledged hero of any kind. Other than that I haven't read into him much before. Sorry I can't be more descriptive!
Considering TP Link is my favorite, I like this analysis. I always try to play him as... well, to define it in Dungeons and Dragons terms, a Lawful Good Fighter, or Paladin if he's got the magic. I generally don't dick around with the cuccos (though I did it once to see if TP Link would get swarmed by angry cuccos like OoT Link did), I'm not a dick to the characters, and generally I just play him to the benefit of everybody else in the game. (Gratitude Crystals, though, man.... Grrr....) Oh, and if I can give him magic armor, I will.
