Nintendo have done it before:
Everybody thought Samus was a guy in armor. BAM! He's a she. Then there was Sheik. Who turns out is Princess Zelda in disguise.
While it didn't take longer than one full game for Ninty to tear the bandages off of your now-favorite Joan of Arcs' bossoms in the past, rumor has it we might be in for their biggest coup of a gender-bait'n'switch – or rather: switch'n'bait – yet, spanning several console generations.
Of course, many of you have noticed already: Link's been undergoing some “changes”, lately…
So is THIS going to be Nintendo's newest “innovation”?
--A female Link?--
Is THIS what Nintendo have been preparing us for by gradually making Link look more and more effeminate up to the point where kids have started to refer to him as “ZELDA – Irish Warrior Princess”?
Everybody thought Samus was a guy in armor. BAM! He's a she. Then there was Sheik. Who turns out is Princess Zelda in disguise.
While it didn't take longer than one full game for Ninty to tear the bandages off of your now-favorite Joan of Arcs' bossoms in the past, rumor has it we might be in for their biggest coup of a gender-bait'n'switch – or rather: switch'n'bait – yet, spanning several console generations.
Of course, many of you have noticed already: Link's been undergoing some “changes”, lately…
So is THIS going to be Nintendo's newest “innovation”?
--A female Link?--
Is THIS what Nintendo have been preparing us for by gradually making Link look more and more effeminate up to the point where kids have started to refer to him as “ZELDA – Irish Warrior Princess”?
Continuity has never been much of a concern with the series anyway, and any attempts at providing a chronological canon have seemed more like a “Shoehorn of Time”. And in that spirit, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to slap on some contrived “explanation” that involves some kind of black/white magic whatever.
Also, there's been a lively debate around female video game heroines throughout the gaming communities. So Nintendo would be right at the… “Pulse of Time” by breaking the gender barrier again with the revamped “Heroine of Time”.
Should Nintendo go full-circle on Link and unveil what many have been suspecting? Should Nintendo introduce the first transgender video game hero(ine)?
UPDATE:
Wow... so that female Link concept art is official? o.o
Heck, I've seen it floating around and thought it was some Japanese fanart!
Well, that settles it, doesn't it? There actually are plans for a female version of Link. Be that an actual sex-change of "our Link" or more of a "parallel universe" variety.
The plot thickens!
This has also stirred a heated discussion over at www.reddit.com: