Video Source: GameXplain/Nintendo
Congratulations to everyone who called
her. Linkle finally got announced for Hyrule Warriors Legends on the
3DS. And I have good news for everyone owning the Wii-U Version.
Nintendo announced that all characters from Legends will also become
available there. The Stories of Linkle and Toon Link, however, will
remain exclusive to the 3DS. I don't mind this, as long as I get to
play the characters in adventure mode.
I'm still not to keen on Hyrule
Warriors 1.5, but at least now I don't have to buy it to experience
the new characters. Still I would have preferred an actual Toon
Hyrule Warriors for the 3DS and not just this ''updated'' Version of
the original game.
But enough of that for now. Today I'd
like to talk about Linkle.
She looks awesome!
I have to admit, that her announcement
got me pretty hyped. Last year, when her design first surfaced with
the Hyrule Warriors artbook, I was pretty sure that we would see her
as a DLC character for the game. And in a way I was right.
Picture Source: Hyrule Warriors Artbook
Linkle looks like a Mid-Range Typ of
fighter and a good addition to the rooster. Her crossbows look like
interesting weapons and help distinguishing herself from other
fighters. Especially the move, where you're shooting enemies, while
sidestepping like in a 3rd Person shooter, looks
interesting. (Found at 0:53 in the video). From the looks she also
seems like a more agile fighter. Of course she also takes inspiration
from Links moveset, but that is to be expected. All in all I'm very
happy with her addition and I'm looking forward to trying her out.
Picture Source: Nintendo
Now this was the part, where I talked
about the character and her moves. Now comes the part surrounding
her. Anyone not interested in Game Politics, Gamergate and things
like that, can safely skip this part. Ok? Now then lets start.
Firstly I'll have to say, that, while
in no way part of the Gamergate movement, I support their stated
goals of more ethics and transparency in game journalism. What does
this have to do with Linkle? Well after her announcement some outlets
criticized Linkle for her appearance. In their Words she was just a
female Version of Link and fitted the Ms. Male Character Trope. For
anyone unfamiliar with this Trope, it basically describes a
genderswapped Version of a established character. Or to put it into
more internet friendly terms. Any rule 63.
Now, while describing Linkle as a Ms.
Male, may seem justified at first glance, this does a huge disservice
to the character and the people accusing her. Generally I'm not to
keen on tropes, because often it simplifies the character, they have
their right to exist. It's just that good characters can't be defined
with one Trope and doing so proves your ignorance towards the
character. Now I'm not saying that Linkle may have a great
characterization, but breaking her down on just her visuals is a
thing often criticized by the very people doing it. Describing her as
genderswapped Link also ignores the snippets of information we
already have about her.
When the Artbook for Hyrule Warriors
released last year, it was revealed that the developers discussed
Linkles relationship with Link. During that time she was considered
as Links little Sister or maybe even daughter. Currently Nintendo
describes her as a young Women from a certain Village that strives to
be like the Hero.
Looking at these three possible
backgrounds her attire make sense. If Link is her inspiration, her
role model, it makes sense for her to copy his appearance. Even more
so if she is his daughter or sister. But she is still her own
character. Not acknowledging it and just dismissing her as a Ms. Male
is ignorant and stupid. Of course she can end up being just that, but
just generating outrage about her looks is ridiculous.
Let me say this. Breaking down a
character into a single Trope and ignoring any other traits he, she
or it has, is jut plain stupid and helps no one.
One other thing. Why is it that Bows,
crossbows and such are suddenly ''Female Weapons''? Firing a Bow
takes a lot of strength, but more importantly since when are weapons
assigned to a specific gender? This I beyond stupid. Are MG-5 now
female guns, while ''real'' men use the AK-47? Declaring weapons to
be gender specific just narrows down possibilities. It forces us into
predefined paths, when creating new characters.
''Oh no I can't have her using a Bow,
because Bows are female weapons and I don't want her to fall into
such stereotypes. Better give her a sword... Oh no, now she is a Ms.
Male or Fighting Fucktoy...''
This thinking in tropes is harmful to
creativity.
Oh and the crossbow critics ignore
another important part about Hyrule Warriors.
Picture Source: Zelda.wikia.com
We also have a classic magi user
(Lana), a Rapier wielding Queen (Zelda), whatever Rutos Fighting
Style is and a girl, who uses giant beetles to squash her enemies
(Agitha).
In the end I can only say that I don't
understand the outrage against Linkle. It's a mindless reaction,
defining everything that doesn't fit into a (very) narrow mindset as
problematic, without knowing the circumstances.
Oh and if you want to hear me ranting
about Women in Games some more:
In the end I can only say that Linkle,
judging from her trailer, looks like a fun character gameplay wise.
As for her story? I can't say anything about this yet, but judging a
book by it's cover is never a smart move.
And as always
thanks for reading
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