[Xantar]

Changing the basic storyline a bit? Sure, ok. I'd like that. Making Link more "grown-up" and having deeper emotion in the game? Ok, that's not a terrible idea.

But let's not lose focus of what IGN is saying here. It would have been one thing if they had proposed to have Link falling in love (which he has never done before) or crying or having Zelda herself as a kickass, playable character (I want Sheik!). Had they proposed any of those ideas, I think the vast majority of Zelda fans here wouldn't have a problem with it.

But IGN is dreaming of Link on a quest for Ganondorf's death to avenge Zelda's murder. I don't even mind the idea of Zelda getting killed. But Link getting enraged and swearing revenge? Didn't IGN just say that Prince of Persia 2 tries way too hard to go for the gritty look?

Besides, that's not gritty or mature. It's just bloody. Bloody does not necessarily mean mature (something I suspect IGN generally doesn't understand). In any case, their proposed storyline is puerile and banal. Instead of the game having the plot of a typical fantasy story, it now has the plot of...a typical action movie. Excuse me if I fail to be excited.

I'm glad IGN isn't in control of any of the three console manufacturers because it's pretty clear that they would have no idea what they're doing. Hell, it seems that they don't even have any idea of what they want to begin with. Although I'm guessing that they would probably read my Zelda fic and think that it's exactly the kind of story Zelda should be (here's a hint: not one of my readers came away with that conclusion by the end).

Now, if Zelda were recast in the mold of Lord of the Rings, that's something I could get behind. Big armies? Let's go for it. Let's throw in some politics, too. Get Zelda into a marriage of state. Have racial prejudice. Now that's a Zelda game I would like to play. But please, let's not turn Link into yet another dark anti-hero who "smolders with generic rage" as Penny-Arcade put it so nicely.