Should Link talk?

I

I don't have one

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Now that video games are more story-focused, should Link talk? I am opened to a voiced Link mainly because I'm not a fan of the silent protagonist. (but I still love Nintendo games)
 
No. Nononononono. I'm not saying that because of tradition or whatever, I'm saying that because of Saint's Row 2. There are talking protagonists and then there are protagonists that either never shut up or go beyond the impossible when it comes to Narm. I can just see Link ending up as a truly horrible mix between these two extremes. So... no. I would really hate to see that happen.
 
Whoah! Link should NEVER talk!
He is the hardcore hero of light, twilight, mystery and wonder, wielder of the master sword and protector of Hyrule. This is all topped off by the fact that he never talks! He is just too hard for that! Maybe a scream or a grunt but that is it.
Plus, what kinda voice would they give him? I bet it would be some high pansy voice? It just wouldn't be the same again!
 
Hmm this is a toughie but I would go with no. I think that part of what makes Link a great character is the mystery surrounding him. We have never heard him talk and perhaps some stones are best left unturned. I certainly see where you're coming from with the silent protagonist thing where you are in a huge world where everyone speaks but you take a look at Dragon Age Origins the protagonist was silent , but in the sequel Dragon Age 2 the protagonist could talk, this limited the number of interactions that were available in the game, so I think this is also a production issue. But long story short : nope Link shouldn't talk.
 
Well Medza I actually preferred the talking of the protagonist in Dragon Age 2. So in a way you brought up an example where speech didn't actually ruin the experience... Then again Link is a constant character, whereas Dragon Age 2 was an entirely different experience from Dragon Age Origin even if certain characters were shared between them. So I still don't think speech is a good idea, but thanks for some food for thought.
 
I think it's more a question of silent protagonists as a whole. The fact that Link doesn't talk is a storytelling tool that a lot of games use (some better than others). I suppose he could talk through text boxes, but not with his voice, since that's kind of like a silent protagonist. Keeping him silent lets players use their imagination in his interactions with different people.
 
It all depends on the voice acting. If you look at games like the Legacy of Kain series, which had great voice actors, you will find it enriches the story greatly. Nothing beats the delivery of Raziel and Kain. Likewise, Metal Gear has had some great voice acting. When done right, voices can be a wonderful addition.
On the other side of the coin is bad voice acting. Symphony of the Night had some pretty terrible voice acting. While voice acting alone couldn't ruin such a great game, it did tend to get on my nerves. Without good voice actors, a game should be silent.
 
I think all other characters should talk, but I would not like it if link talked. I hate when the main character in a game talks, it ruins the immersion for me. If link were to talk, it woul have to be the same person that voices his attack grunts.
 
Was "the faces of evil" a CDI game? I saw the angry video game nerd review that system and the games looked utterly lame.
 
I actually played those games, and hated them. They were a disgrace to the zelda name. Ugh...
 
I don't think he shouldn't talk. I mean how a character should sound is subjective and so very few if any person is likely to be satisified with the voice actor chosen to play Link.
 
Ahem..

"Personally, I don't want to have Link speak in the game," says producer Eiji Aonuma in Nintendo Power. "We haven't had him talk at all up to this point. It's part of the series history. It would just, to me, break the image of Link to have him speak."
Click to expand...
 
Well, even if Nintendo wants to keep Link silent, it's still an interesting thought (plus the quote isn't true since the CDI games are technically official Nintendo games).
 
They were not developed or published by Nintendo. Therefore they are not official Nintendo games.
 
The CD-i games were merely licensed to Philips, and the only reason Nintendo did that was to get Philips off its back after a broken contract. Miyamoto or anyone from the Zelda team did not play any role in these games, and they're probably ashamed to this day that those games were allowed to be made.
 
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