Reception
The character Link has been overall well received by critics, and was awarded a star on the Walk of Game in 2005 along with his creator, Shigeru Miyamoto. Game Informer chose Link as the number one "Hero of 2006". CNET declared him the second top video game character of all time in 2009. In 2010, Nintendo Power chose Link as their second favorite hero, commenting that his courage always wins out over evil. In 2011, Empire ranked Link as the sixth greatest video game character, for being "one of the world's most celebrated console heroes" who "helped establish RPGs as an international gaming standard" as well as "one of gaming's most enduring heroes." That same year, UGO.com ranked him as first on the list of video game characters who need their own movies, adding: "Get Peter Jackson or Guillermo del Toro to do it, dump a ton of money into it, and we'll all die happy." In 2012, GamesRadar ranked this "personification of what a hero is" as number one "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in games, adding: "Link is not only brave; he is the embodiment of the virtue of courage and heroism, single-handedly embarking on epic quests, helping those in need no matter how small the task, and showing his kind-hearted soul to everyone he meets. Link does all these things and receives little more of a reward than the occasional 'thank you.' He is the truest of all video game heroes."
Link proved to be a popular guest character in the other, non-Zelda series as well. In 2008, IGN ranked him as the best bonus character in the Soul Calibur series, while GameDaily ranked him first on the list of top ten Smash Bros. characters. The character has also become very popular among the gaming community. In the 1988 and 1989 Nintendo Power Awards, readers voted him as the best character. He was voted by readers as the number one and three "Best Hero" in the 1993 and 1994 Nintendo Power Awards respectively. In one of IGN's 2007 Hero Showdowns, Link user was voted the favorite over Cloud Strife. He has appeared in multiple GameFAQs "Character Battle" contests and is the only character to have won more than once. In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition from 2011, Link was voted the second best video game character of all time.
There was also some negative reception. IGN named Links's appearances on the CD-i as some of his worst moments, describing this incarnation of him as feminine. In 2010, GamesRadar stated that while he does not talk, "Link has shouted the same 'Hyea! Hyea! Hyeaaaaa!' since 1998." Similarily, GameDaily included him in the 2009 list of ten game heroes who "fail at the simple stuff" for his inability to "shut up". In 2011, IGN included among 2011's worst dressed video game characters for "dressing like an Arizona grandma" during the first few hours of Skyward Sword.
Read more about this topic: Link (The Legend Of Zelda)
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul. A true conversion, a true Christ, is now, as always, to be made by the reception of beautiful sentiments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)