UPDATE (12/8): We might be seeing even more of Linkle in the future, with Eiji Aonuma telling IGN in an recent e-mail interview that they “will keep her in mind when thinking about future titles.”
Despite having a name that’s been universally disappointing to every Zelda fan on the planet, the new original Hyrule Warriors character Linkle has seen otherwise completely positive reception since her announcement during Nintendo’s Direct on November 12th.
Fans have been pining for a playable female protagonist in the Zelda universe for years, and oftentimes the fanbase has seen requests specifically for a female version of Link. Hyrule Warriors’ original release on the Wii U, and its accompanying DLC, did a great job in helping satisfy those requests when we finally got to play as Princess Zelda and Midna, among others (including another new original character, Lana). Unfortunately, because of its lack of canon, this only felt like half of a win.
Enter: Linkle. A concept for a “female version of Link” originally proposed for the Wii U release, she ended up not making it into the final version. The only remnants of her wound up being concept art sketches that Nintendo included in the Hyrule Warriors artbook that was included with limited editions of the game in Japan, and it’s no surprise that her popularity took off from there.
Described as a young, cheerful and athletic woman hailing from a small town filled with Cuccoos, she aspires to be just like the heroes of Hyrule. Originally meant to play a little sister role to Link, it seems now that she has no real connection to him other than her admiration, and instead travels across the land on her own to help those in need.
It seems that fans are taking well to this adaptation, and from a personal standpoint I love the exciting, spunky attitude she has. In comparison to Link, it’s a nice change of pace from his stoic and quiet personality, and the dynamic between the two is sure to be interesting. Additionally, the adaption of Link’s fighting style to a dual crossbow wielding female is sure to be fun.
And speaking of dual crossbows, that’s her main choice of weapon. Armed with these, and a Compass passed down to her from ancient times, she’s a quick attacker that uses many types of arrows, with kicks in between. She even uses her quick feet to emulate Link’s Spin Attack, with the Spin Kick. However, just like Link, she’s bound to have other weapons at her disposal, and we’re sure that her combat style paired with her attitude in and out of battle is going to be very entertaining. She already looks to be a fast-paced character, with emphasis on taking down a lot of enemies at once rather than dealing out huge damage.
Even more, Linkle is getting her own story in Hyrule Warriors Legends! Not many details have been revealed, but we do know that it’s said to be a behind-the-scenes story that has Linkle traveling to Hyrule Castle with her Compass. We don’t know how this will tie into the main Hyrule Warriors story, but it’s been confirmed that Linkle’s story will only appear on Hyrule Warriors Legends, and not the original Wii U release. It’s also worth noting that Midna in her true form and Skull Kid will be appearing in her story, which means it’s probably safe to assume that some of the other earlier DLC characters that didn’t see any plot relation will make an appearance.
For Nintendo’s Direct to only be a little over a week old, the company seems to already be putting a lot of emphasis on the character. I take this as a very good sign. Even more than Lana, it’s worth considering that Nintendo may take this new character into the canon universe of The Legend of Zelda, especially after how much love the fans showed for her. After all, when Koei Tecmo called for new characters through its Twitter, it was hit with an overwhelming amount of responses asking for Linkle.
I, for one, would love to see them introduce Linkle into one of the main games, and I think this is a really great way for Nintendo to test her out and give people a chance to experiment with her.
Also, as a side note, I thought it worth pointing out the similarities between Linkle and Link’s Crossbow Training. That concept art looks suspiciously similar, and I doubt it’s a coincidence that her crossbow glows much the same way Link’s did in the spinoff.
Hyrule Warriors Legends will be released on March 25th, 2016 for the 3DS. Pre-order your copy from Amazon today!
Written by George Comatas
As a wannabe social media personality and professional in the world of sarcasm, George does his best to always adapt to the changing world around him. He considers himself a maverick: a true-to-heart gamer with the mind of a pop star. Whether this makes him revolutionary or a setback, he's yet to find out. But one thing’s for sure; he's one-of-a-kind.
