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Zelda Wii Needs an Anti-Hero
Article by TheWolfess
Many of us who were children when Ocarina of Time the Great came out are, sadly, either in college or finishing college and jumping into the working world. I am no exception, and as such I just completed my student teaching internship, where I taught a four-week unit on Good vs. Evil. I have spent the last week putting all of my materials together in a portfolio for the exit interview, and while I was looking over my material I starting thinking about our favorite Hero and the Zelda series itself.
In the first week of my unit I taught the 9th grade high school class about Idealistic Good and Evil, the ideas of “pure good” and “pure evil” and why they are not realistic, and how all of that relates to the Heroic Archetype. The second week was spent debunking the idea of pure good and evil, and introducing what is called an “Anti-Hero”.
If you’re asking yourself what all of this has to do with Zelda Wii, I’m getting there in just a moment. Let me fill you in on the basic terms I’ll be using in the article:
Idealism is: “A theory that professes that reality exists only in ideas. It also states that ideally everything and everyone should be perfect and flawless.”
Archetypes are: “Universal patterns in all stories and mythologies regardless of culture or historical period. They can be characters, symbols, or situations.”
The “Heroic Archetype” states: “The Hero is a protagonist whose life is a series of well-marked adventures. The circumstances of his birth are unusual, and he is raised by a guardian. He will have to leave his kingdom, only to return to it upon reaching manhood. Characterized by courage, strength, and honor, the hero will endure hardship, even risk his life for the good of all. Leaves the familiar to enter an unfamiliar and challenging world.”
Let me pause here and discuss how these terms relate to Zelda. What we have in the Zelda formula is your traditional fairytale. It is an idealistic world where good is pure good with no faults, and evil is pure evil with no positive attributes. The NPCs, mainly the townspeople, may be a little quirky but ultimately they are good and should be protected as well. The monsters are evil and should be killed, no questions asked. Zelda is also ripe with every kind of archetype.
"Our hero fits perfectly into the mold of the 'Heroic Archetype'."
For example, our hero fits perfectly into the mold of the “Heroic Archetype”. Read the definition again and think about Link: his life is a series of adventures, we usually know either nothing or little about his birth and he is always raised by guardians. He leaves the place of his birth to go out into a strange, unfamiliar world full of challenges, where he endures hardship and even death for the good of all (no other reason needed). At the end of his adventure he returns home. “Courage, strength, and honor” are the perfect words to describe him. Our hero fits so perfectly into this mold he could be the poster boy.
There is, I found, a problem with archetypal heroes and idealistic worlds: though they sound good, we cannot relate to them. When I taught this part of the unit a strange thing happened in my class. I used the Wizard of Oz and Dracula to teach these concepts, and although these pieces of literature are fun and creative, my students couldn’t relate to it no matter what we tried. They soon began to lose interest. It didn’t matter how creative the activities we did were, the fact was that the characters and the situations themselves seemed flat and pointless to them. They checked out, although the activities would have been fun and engaging if they were interested in the topic.
Let’s talk about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. We waited in anticipation, suspense, and most of us will admit that we thoroughly enjoyed our first play through. Once it was over, however, many of us did not feel the desire to play it again. We felt very disappointed. The game felt flat and lifeless somehow, leaving us with a faint feeling of needing something more. I argue that the same phenomena that took place in my classroom has taken place in the Zelda series with Twilight Princess. It’s too idealistic and ultimately we cannot relate to it.
The characters in Twilight Princess look very realistic, and many secondary characters are imperfect.
Why did this happen with Twilight Princess, but hasn’t been a problem in previous titles and in titles since? I’ve been thinking about that as well, and I believe that it is because Twilight Princess is the most realistic Zelda title to date. The characters look very realistic, and many secondary characters (such as Midna and King Bulbin) are imperfect. They are lifelike in that they have good and negative qualities, which is rare for Zelda. The best example I can think of from past Zelda titles is Skull Kid from Majora’s Mask.
No Zelda before or since, including Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, looks so lifelike, dark, and mature. This creates a different expectation and desire in the player, which Nintendo tried to fulfill with secondary characters. The problem they did not foresee is that the main character himself is un-relatable. He’s perfect, flawless, pure good. He makes no mistakes, and has no character flaws. This is a problem because this Link had the most realistic and expressive features of all of them. His face and his eyes spoke volumes in those cut-scenes, but Link himself was two-dimensional. We needed three dimensions.
Although the ideas of pure good and pure evil are great for fairytales and good ideas, they are not realistic or practical. In real life we never see a pure good hero or a pure evil villain. What we have is a world full of good people who have some bad characteristics, or flaws, and bad people who may have some good characteristics. In literature these people are called “Anti-Heroes”.
An Anti-Hero is: generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its opposite. The anti-hero is often a reluctant hero who does not consider himself capable of accomplishing the goal. He might be selfish, addicted, corrupt, sullen or disaffected. By the end of the journey the anti-hero typically transforms into a fuller, happier or more complete person due to the struggles he or she endures.
Zelda Wii is just around the corner, and the official art tells us that it will keep the realistic style of Twilight Princess. Most likely it will look even more realistic than its predecessor. For Zelda Wii to succeed, it needs a hero that can carry the weight of his own story. The secondary characters and NPCs can never fulfill the player’s need for a three-dimensional protagonist they can relate to. The secondary characters cannot carry the story—Link himself needs to be able to. That doesn’t mean that Link needs to be evil, or even drastically changed. Just giving him some negative attributes, some faults, some misgivings would suffice to turn him into the Anti-Hero we need.
A famous contemporary author named Flannery O’Connor is celebrated throughout the literary world for her amazing anti-hero protagonists. According to her book on writing, Mystery and Manners, she creates them by assigning each of her protagonists one of the seven deadly sins. Theses are:
- Lust: Excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature. Also, excessive love of others rendering your devotion to God (for our purposes, “your destiny”) as secondary.
- Gluttony: The over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. Specifically thought of in terms of food.
- Greed: Excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of wealth, status, and power.
- Sloth: Laziness, indifference, and the failure to utilize one’s talents and gifts.
- Wrath: Inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger.
- Envy: An insatiable desire for your neighbor’s belongings. Resenting that another person has something you perceive yourself as lacking, and wishing the other person to be deprived of it.
- Pride: A desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God).
What I end up wonder as I read this list is what would Link be like if given a Deadly Sin? Let’s go down the list and speculate.
First we have “Lust”. Its opposite, the Heavenly Virtue “Chastity”, is what our Link usually has. There is no in-game evidence that Link ever engages in serious romantic or sexual endeavors. He is the Hero and belongs to the world, and therefore he may not love or lust. What would happen, however, if our hero fell in love? What if he became obsessed with one person, physically and/or emotionally, and saving the world became his second priority? This would set up a perfect opportunity for him to have to decide between the woman he loves’ life, and the fate of the world. What if he made the wrong choice, and his love surives but the world falls to ruin? What if he makes the right choice, and although he saves the world, his love is dead and he is heartbroken for the rest of his life?
Second is “Gluttony”. Its counterpart Heavenly Virtue is “Temperance”, referring to self-control, justice, and honor. Since we never see Link eat in the games, period, it’s pretty obvious that he is normally characterized by the Virtue. What if he overindulge in food, and started out his adventure out of shape and overweight? We would have to start the game by getting Link in shape before he could save anyone. I don’t think giving Link this deadly sin would be as interesting as some of the others.
The third sin, “Greed”, is paired with the virtue “Charity”. Link is always doing things to serve others, and only receives payment for his deeds if they offer it. He never asks for payment. Giving Link this deadly sin would characterize our hero with the pursuit of money, status, and power. This would make him a lot like Ganondorf himself—in fact, if I were to pick one deadly sin that the King of Evil is cursed with it would be greed. A greedy Link would be “saving the world” and killing Ganondorf for the sake of his own advancement, his own gain. His intentions would not be pure at all.
The fourth, “Sloth”, is paired with “Diligence”. Diligence involves persistence, effort, and ethics. Link is certainly not lazy in saving the world—the man never sleeps—and he uses his natural talents very well, and for a worthy cause. If he were slothful, however, he might sleep through important cut scenes, or not use his talents for the purpose they’re given to him for. This sets up a scenario where Link’s slothfulness results in the capture of his loved ones, or some manner of enemy success and advancement. He would be riddled with guilt, knowing that it was because of him that Hyrule and his loved ones fell to evil, and might carry that guilt around throughout the entire game.
The fifth sin, “Wrath” is paired with “Patience”, and gives us particularly interesting possibilities. Many Dark Link fans write fan fictions whose main character is a Wrathful Link, called Dark Link. Their choice to give the evil entity positive characteristics as well as negative ones make him a perfect Anti-Hero form of Link. A wrathful Link might lose his temper and kill someone, causing him to go on the run. He might learn how to kill simply for the love of killing and bloodlust. This Link might have frequent outbursts, and we might wonder if he should be trusted to save the world, or if he was one of the monsters we should be frightened of. Some of my favorite fan fictions feature a wrathful Link, and it’s fascinating to watch his character grow.
The sixth sin is “Envy”, and its opposite is “Kindness”. Again, it is rather obvious which of the two our hero normally features. An envious Link might be a thief. Talented, sure, but a swindler, a sneak, and a thief. He might save the world, but he’ll rob the palace on his way out. Another possibility is that an envious Link might want something non-material that another person has, such as a woman or a title. Who knows what an envious, obsessed Link might do to obtain that desired object/person? How might the action of obtaining it affect the storyline?
“Pride” is the seventh and last sin, paired with the virtue “Humility”. Often considered the most serious of the deadly sins, and the cause of all the rest of them, a prideful Link would be very interesting to observe. For one, a prideful Link would have no sidekick because he would be too proud to admit he needed help. He might be very vain, “in love with himself” so to say, or perhaps a prideful Link would be out to make himself more important in the eyes of all around him. He would glory in his position of “hero” and welcome the attentions of the world. He would make sure everyone knew what he had done. The praise would have been his reason for the saving the world, not concern for the people.
Should Link remain perfect?
Each of these possible Links would create a very interesting story for Zelda Wii. They would also take the Zelda series in a very different direction. What do you think? Should Zelda stick to its traditional child-like formula and storytelling style? Should its hero remain the perfect virtuous archetype he has been? If that is the case, what should change about Zelda Wii to accommodate it? Or, should Zelda Wii keep its realistic style, and should Link evolve as a person and as a character? Should he be assigned one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and which one? How would the game be different with that Link? Please comment with your thoughts and opinions.
Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland was released only in Japan and Europe, never making it to the USA due to lackluster sales. Surprisingly, the game was well-received among those who did play and review the game. You play as Tingle, a 35-year-old (and single) man lost in the world. Guided by the mysterious figure Uncle Rupee, Tingle fills a mystical spring with money and gain access to the wonderful Rupeeland, a paradise where nobody has to work. Along the way, hire body guards to protect Tingle – but from what? All may not be as it seems in Tingle’s quest for monetary gain, and Rupeeland just might not be so rosy after all...
I think Link doesn't need a sin, but more emotion. Why can't he get mad when soemthing bad happens. Why can't eh run the first time he sees an enemy. Why can't he cry when he sees a loved one is save.
In WW he displayed soem emotion. Why can't he react more human.
Actually I agree with this
He also needs a sprint or run function, his normal speed is too slow when you want to get to some nearby place real quick
Anti Heroes are some of my favorite characters in games, take dark link from OoT and FSA, and probably my favorite anti hero, scorpion from the mortal kombat games, he is technically on the side of good, but he is obssessed with revenge for his family, he does things for his own motives, even working on the evil side, he is probably the best anti hero out there.
It's hard to give a voiceless avatar a personality. If Link spoke, then certainly, he should be imperfect. I think having a cold, uncaring Link would be interesting. Someone who's only doing what he needs to do.
I'm for the idea of Link being a non-perfect hero, but any of these sound like they could dominate the game in a way, Link should still save Hyrule or wherever, but it seems like any of these Links would be a jerk about it or not change through the course of the game
Perhaps maybe we don't need human NPC's to be the anti-hero, but perhaps like an object. Take the Master Sword for example. If say, the Master Sword was commanded to destroy evil when it was made, then it would just want to destroy, seeing how inanimate objects don't really know the difference between good and evil. Maybe, instead of Link struggling against his own faults (seeing how it's getting really overused these days) we could have him struggling against the Bane of Evil's Blade itself. It could help with the dynamic element that just seems to be disappearing lately.
What do you think?
I wouldn't like to make Link even a bit darker then he is now.
But I would like to be able to fight against my dark self maybe few times in the new game. Just like in OoT where at the water temple we fought against the dark Link.
Maybe something that happened in Prince of Persia The Two Thrones.
Somehow Ganon managed to split links personality. So at some point something bad happens to Link, he loses control of his self and "splits" in to persons. In the standard good Link and the dark evil Link.
But unlike in PoP, you can't control your evil side, but you must fight him and he's the second main enemy (after Ganon).
This is probably one of the most interesting articles I've read on ZU. The idea of adding one of the Seven Deadly Sins to Link's persona leaves a lot to think about, but in the end, I think I'd rather stick with the Heroic-Archetype Link. The Legend of Zelda series is supposed to be exactly what the title implies: A legend. And what is a legend without the Archetypal Hero and Villain? The "Anti-Hero" works in some stories, but not in this case if you ask me.
I like the idea that you should be able to make decisions along the course of the story that would alter the way the story continued depending on the way you chose to act. By the way I hate the way that the previous games have had it how you will get the option to help or not but you can't continue until you agree to help. Why give you the choice when your only answer is "yes"? I don't think you should just instantly brand Link with a flaw, rather have it so you make him flawed yourself. A sort of your own personal Link who acts the way you told him to.
Honestly, Dark Link needs to have his own game. Maybe Dark would match with some of the sins and be a pretty nice anti-hero. Int he other hand, Link's never going to change unless Nintendo finally go (only) for a more mature audience, don't you think?
Even though, it would be interesting to have some love between Link and another character… But yes, I think that if what we want is an anti-hero, there's Dark already.
Again it's funny how people associate "Dark" with "Mature". Maturity has nothing to do with getting an "M" rating either. Zelda is plenty mature in terms of the themes it explores… death, right and wrong, love, friendship, responsibility.
People just don't catch it because they are looking for the obvious elements that make a game rated "M".
Yeah, I guess you're right about the "M" rating… But what I was thinking is that Nintendo may not change Link because he represents "that pure good" and is perfect to make a good impression for children.
The truth is that, since I'm not a native english speaker, I can't say exactly what I think… I'm not that good yet, hehe
This is funny that you mention this, because in the story plot for the game I added Link having a large ego. So, he needed to throw it away in order to become the hero of Hyrule. I completely agree and believe that Greed or Pride should be the choice. Or possibly both.
This is a great article, I've played some games(I can't think of the names right now) where a character(main or sidekick) has had a lot of pride, sometimes vainity, the same with envy. When I played TP, I thought link's personality might change as a wolf, and I could have saw him stealing money or something when it's in his reach. Not to contradict your article, but in TP, link actually steals the castles riches, he gets into hyrule castles treasury, but that wasn't much of a stealing scene, hyrule castle was tooken over and stuff, and it makes you think, If your good, is it right to steal from evil, even when it's for a good cause? All in all, that was a different article than I was expecting from the title, I knew you meant a dark link character with the word(s?) anti-hero.
I agree link should have one or two of these sins added to his personality, as long as their used in a good way(by that I mean; so then nintendo can make it work).
Actually Link does steal in Twilight Princess. He steals a sword and a shield from his own village. That's pretty sinful in some respects, even if the intentions are good (which is exactly what you mentioned). As a wolf he sneaks around and breaks into peoples homes… they are not only just his friends but also they are his friends who have just suffered a tragedy with the kidnapping of their children and raiding of their village.
Rusl was badly injured and should've been resting instead he has to step out and fend off the wolf that is Link. So really there are elements in the game already revolving around these themes. Yet most people don't notice them or think about it because naturally they believe it's ok to steal from the village in the game cause it's your home town and they'd understand right? Although in reality most people in society wouldn't… even if your intentions were good. As well I doubt the player doesn't feel bad to steal from their own village, their thought is "need to get sword and shield, and move in order to progress" with that being their only concern.
I think link is good as a perfect hero. I was reading about the sins he might have and each one got more…. For a lack of better words: Ridiculous. I just cant imagine Link as a sinner, not at all. I also cant see any upside to making him one either.
So I think that the Zelda series and Zelda wii should stick to the traditional to-good-to-be-imitated Link.
Nice article though.
It is difficult for Nintendo’s “Zelda” developers to do bold things with Link, with the ideals about the Legend of Zelda, and what makes a Zelda game. It’s also easy to tell that they don’t ask fans what they want.
It's also hard for any developer to go and "ask the fans" what they want. Since when it comes to such large fan bases, you get so many differing opinions. So many people have different perspectives and hopes and dreams about what Zelda should be, or should be come. If they were to ask the fans what they wanted, and only a certain sect of fans respond and then you get a certain Zelda formed as a result that other fans may not enjoy then it could be a flop.
Really as artists they should have the creative freedom to do what they would like with the series. I mean when something is created I am sure that they should create it the way they feel it should be created, not how they are told to create it.
Fans are fickle too… they may want something one day and not another. Some people want a "Assasins Creed" style Zelda because it's the medieval action adventure that is fairly popular now. Some want a sandbox Zelda, being a little on the Grand Theft Auto way… steal horses you know. Just because they are popular game franchises though, that doesn't mean that Zelda should become like them. Also in the future who knows if such franchises will be as big.
Personally I don't attribute my disappointment with Twilight Princess to me not being ale to relate to the Link of the game. My disappointment is entirely based around there being nothing to explore. The closest adventuring thrills I got in the game were really from exploring the Forest Temple, Water Temple, lantern caves (there were only two of them) and the Arbiter Grounds. These places all had a sort of quality of wonderment that I loved.
Everything else in the game was empty and void of any emotional attachment. The City in the Sky was a horrible dungeon (with an awesome boss though)… the city had nothing going on that made me feel "wow"… it was blocky and slow (hanging by hookshot on the peahats was not fun) and this was supposed to be the last dungeon high before facing Zant. The Twilight Palace was again disappointing… barely what I could call a dungeon in terms of challenge and puzzles. Strangely The Twilight Palace and Hyrule Castle both suffer the exact same design flaws… you have these malevolent evils to face that sit in empty castles with barely any guards.
Twilight Princess didn't need an anti hero… I felt for Link. Seeing him get angry at Colin's kidnappers… when Midna teleports them away as Ganondorf still tries to attack them. There was an emotive character they had who was relate able to. Most people I've heard complain about Twilight Princess had no real issues with Link himself or the characters… it was purely level design and over all feel of the world of Hyrule. The linearity and lack of anything to explore. How often was anyone compelled to explore and look around Lake Hyrlia… there wasn't much to see under the water. Overall the problem with Twilight Princess was the world that was created.
An interesting thing to note is that Link in the various Manga series is usually a much more rounded character than his video game counterparts.
Why not a Zelda game where Link is faced with a moral dilemma that could affect the outcome of the game dependent on what he chooses? Link doesn't have to have a certain moral fault that runs throughout the entire game.
I loved the article however, I feel to really accomplish such a task link needs to have a personality and to have a personality he must speak. So ultimately I just don't see this happening since I don't see Link speaking in the near future.
the idea that loz is a religious comment is very important imho–im in no way religious–yet i see the structural importance. link himself is a jesus, saving a people with no thought of return. yet even in the bible, we see jesus as questioning god and the meaning behind the apparent suffering implemented by him. in no way am i saying that loz wii should hold more religious aspects than it already has. if it did then i would feel as though i was playing dmc IV–a great game, yet containing some of the most annoyingly flat and juvenile characters in rpg genera. my point being that i feel as though the best way loz wii could return a more personal connection to the player would be to have link fail. he could fail in his defeat of gannon, kinda like what we saw in majora's mask. but i am proposing something even more rudimentary, such as; link is by sequential standards charismatic and determined, yet he is failure at the most needed skill, fighting. throughout the game you would then shape the way by which link wields his sword, maybe creating your own secret sword techniques, or creating a sense of accomplishment by eventually proving your worth. that is just an idea, probably one of the worst ive had, but the point remains. as a side note, and as a loz lover, i feel as though the most interesting flaw for link to have would be for him to fall in love with zelda, it is kinda implied in some games such as with tetra in ww. i think the series should show such flat out by creating a wrathfull link as a result of gannon imprisoning zelda or something along the lines of such. in essence, i agree with SRWG.
also i loved the article
I personally love flipping between picturing (The) Link(s) as a realistical hero(becoming more hardened and gritty the more he has to do), and as the goofy but lovable cartoon/comic version of him(while not the same, they were similar).
Dude this article is amazzzzzzzzzing
and yes I totally agree with you…
Regarding which sin I think Link should have is Greed” imagine when you are done saving Hyrule you turned to take it for your own and you have to fight yourself and your greed…
it will be so amazing and exciting ….
I think it would be very intresting to see our Hero Link struggling with the obbsticles that we struggle with every day. I like to think of it as a dungeon, except in Links mind. Before he saves the world, he must over come his personal chalenges from within.
A dead 9th grade class…? That sucks. It would've been cool if I heard you say those exact words up in your article in my high school lit. class. You'd be too cool to be my teacher. Maybe you should talk about video game characters next class!
Anyway, you make a great point. I'd like to see Link with a bit of imperfection in him. I think a bit of each 'sin' would do him some good. I'm sure it'd make the story telling far more awesome. Although, I'm thinking it would separate the player from Link a little bit. Link is supposed to be our 'link' to the game right? Seeing Link with a personality that doesn't satisfy us might cause us to grow distant. I can already see some getting a foul taste in their mouths.
Ugh…I'm just arguing with myself. Overall, Link with more personality = awesome. Good luck with teaching!
I agree with many other people's views. Even though it would be interesting to have a main character with certain personality traits, that would take the charm off a flat character, which lets you build him up as you want to.
Just as you imagine him to be a good-willed, sinless, humble character, I have found myself thinking he can be quite a victim of the circumstances that surround him, and he just does what he can in order to get out of them -saving the world in the process- but in the end, to me, he's just a very unfortunate child. Probably because I'm pretty much the drama queen myself.
Anyways, if Zelda has so many fans, it is clearly because the main hero is a flat character to which anyone can relate to, because he will have the characteristics and flaws that each player chooses to see in him.
Sorry, I completely disagree. Some of the greatest stories and characters ever created are Heroic beings with no discernible character flaws while still remaining a fascinating character. I love characters that are pure and simply good, and its one of the reason's I like Mega Man's back story more than any other character of the NES era. Look at Crono from Chrono Trigger. He's a silent protagonist with no real character flaws, and yet he is still a fascinating character. You can feel his (and your own) righteous fury when he draws his sword before the final battle. His sacrifice to save the party is an incredibly heroic action. I like my Link just the way he is, thank you.
By the way, Skyward Sword uses a more cartoony style, reminiscent of Ocarina of Time. And thank God for it. Twilight Princess was boring looking, and I'd take Wind Waker any day of the week.
Greed: Link kills the poor enemies just wandering hyrule field for the rupees they hold.
Sloth: Young link (Oot) is said by navi to be lazy, the scene where she wakes him up?
Envy: The enemies rupees, again.
Wrath: he kills the poor enemies without a second thought. And the bosses only wan’t to be loved. link is wrathful. He has issues. Heck he doesn’t go so far as to blink when he kills ganondorf in TP. Link is a sociapath.
more serious here though, toon link’s tone of voice his humorous shock whenever things don’t go his way his single line “come on” make him seem even worse than any other link.
Link aint perfect. However of how close he may seem.
I just finished playing TP and I loved the game, and can go back to it again and again. To me it wasn't all this "bright and happy" stuff, it showed some real dark, mature content. And I think Midna was a perfect "anti-hero" and I totally related to her. She was reluctant and sometimes I even thought she would turn against me. Also, Zant was a great character that had greed for power and ended up turning to the dark side.
Also, like in any RPG, the main character is supposed to be blank and 2-dimensional, so that the player can incorporate their own thoughts and ideas into the the character.
ANd hello? The wolf! You go around terrorizing townspeople for fun! How is that "moral and virtuous"!
I would like to be able to create the character by a survey ala-pokemon mystery dungeon
Groose.
WISH GRANTED!
Okay, I didn't have time to read all the comments so I'm sure someone already mentioned this (actually I did read one comment that said close to the same thing), but the reason I originally loved the zelda series was BECAUSE of its idealism. Not only link the character is idealistic, but his entire world is. If you gave only link backstory and motives and just said everything and everyone else around him is either "good" or "evil", it would leave the player unsatisfied because of that inconsistency. Moreover if you try to give every character realistic motives, it would over embellish the game and story. I think what made twilight princess unsatisfying is the lack of stuff to do within the game- ( I finished it much quicker than any other title, even the gbc and nintendo ones)- not that link was one-dimensional.
on an unrelated note, to thewolfess, I have been jumping from site to site reading your articles- super addicted to your intriguing choice of topics in relation to zelda.
"how can hyrule's destiny depend on such a lazy boy?"
what else is there to say? none of those other "sins" could possibly apply to the Link we all know… but he's lazy! the hero is always lazy until he's called to action. he's meant to be a simple character, a simple life, and until he's brought into his role of destiny he has nothing important to do and therefor is understandably lazy (why would a hero of destiny find anything important in day-to-day meaninglessness? he just wants to sleep in the sun).
i can hardly believe this slipped your mind, though this is an old article. you may be right that Link's character is flawed in Twilight Princess,—yet, is the flaw perhaps just in your perception? I thought the problem with the game was that there was too much story, not that there was insufficient depth as you suggest. for me the problem was in the gameplay and puzzles and battles, not the character development.
but what do I know? I'm not getting my master's (sorry, can't help but say it)