Throughout the world of Hyrule, we've seen Nintendo take some interesting design choices when releasing their games. Of course, what comes along with these design choices is the differing faces of Link himself. Some of these I absolutely love...and some, eh not so much. So...let's talk about the various different ways we've seen Link.
So first and foremost, we'll talk about a Link design that I think could have really worked in the more recent rendition of Link:
As much as people **** on this game, I personally thought Twilight Princess deserves more praise than it gets. It's certainly not the best Zelda game ever made, and the story is a bit "cliche", but the dark world and Majora's Mask-esque themes worked really well in the story. Link's design is easily one of the best they've done though. He looks very crisp and mixed with the wolf design, it works really well for this game. It's unfortunate that we never really saw this design again as it really fits the dark setting very very well.
Next up we have the design for Wind Waker. A lot of people **** on Wind Waker for being too cartoonish and child friendly, but that's one of the many reasons why it was my number one Zelda game for a long time. The added benefit was of course the cute rendition of toon Link. It worked really well in this setting because everything else was so colorful and fun, and adding on a Link that gives into the absurdity as opposed to making him different made him a very memorable character. I don't know how else they could use this particular rendition of Link, but if they ever do, I hope it's for a Wink Waker II of sorts. That'd be awesome.
Skyward Sword is nowhere near one of my favorite Zelda games. The way the world worked and the controls were both just lacking. That mixed with the overall design of the game just left a bad taste in my mouth. But, the one thing that I find to be completely unforgettable is the silliness in Link's character design. Don't get me wrong, they fixed this particular style in Breath of the Wild, but Skyward Sword didn't work with it. I honestly wish they would have gone a Twilight Princess route for this one. Skyward Sword has a lot of faults, and this design is just one reason as to why.
Last and most certainly not least, we have the design for Link in Breath of the Wild. Now, here's the thing. I know this is very reminiscent of Skyward Sword Link, however this one is far more polished and less silly. No weird facial expressions, and it actually feels smooth, and non clunky. Sure, I know people would have loved a more dark theme throughout Breath of the Wild, but the art style they went with worked really well, and it was a smart move from Nintendo to continue with this one.