Home > Tri Force Heroes Director Explains the Lack of Female Characters
Originally published on Link's Hideaway.
Tri Force Heroes is launching for Nintendo 3DS later this year and brings a multiplayer experience. In the game - you work together to get the materials for new outfits, which change the attributes of the players wearing them. One such outfit is a Zelda outfit, which leads many to wonder if a female playable character would be present in the game.
In an interview with IGN - Tri Force Heroes Director Hiromasa Shikata explains why a female character will not appear in the game. He cites that the "story" calls for a "legend/prophecy" where heroes come together and that the heroes are "male characters." This backstory makes female characters not make any sense for the game. Check out the full quotes below for more information...
IGN: So earlier, I brought up the similarities in the approach. The outfits remind me of gear-driven games like Monster Hunter and MMOs. Part of what ties into equipment-driven games is a player has a choice between choosing a male or female. I'm curious if, in this game, players will have a choice between a male avatar or a female avatar, especially since the story doesn't seem tied to a specific gender?
Hiromasa Shikata: I’m going to tell you a little bit about the story quickly and we'll circle around, here. There's this kingdom, an event happens, and the king needs heroes. So, he puts out a call for heroes to gather and one of those is this guy Link. He sees this audition, basically, ‘Heroes needed; apply here.’ And, that's the start of his adventure.
The story calls for this sort of legend/prophecy where heroes will come together to help solve a problem. And in that, they are male characters. So, because the game is set with that as the story background, you cannot choose a gender; you are a male character.
IGN: I guess I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't express some slight disappointment with that, especially because there is a Zelda outfit Link wears in the game. It just feels like it's one step closer to giving the Zelda series' female audience the chance to explore that universe from another perspective.
Shikata: Understood. I understand what you're saying, and just as general information, we do have a lot of female staff members who are playing this game and enjoying it. It doesn't seem to be a big issue to them. They still are getting emotional investment in this game. And to be honest, Link isn't the most masculine of guys in the world, depending on how you want to project yourself into the character.
About the Author:
Austin Dickson
Austin Dickson has been around the Zelda fandom for years. He started Link's Hideaway as a small personal project, which later turned into something of which he never thought possible. He enjoys writing articles, guides, walkthroughs, and developing the different Concealed Gaming network sites.
