So Let's Talk About the Waifu Factor

[StoicPhantom]

Palutena is at least old enough to legally be a waifu.

Waifu is a term for a character you like, not necessarily implying physical or romantic attraction, even though it can. Slang terms don't have to have a literal definition and I don't think most countries allow marriage with multiple wives, yet people have multiple waifus. "Waifu" wasn't a serious term in the first place, so you don't need to take it seriously and actually think that is who people would want to marry. Some people just use it as a term to imply some sort of attractive qualities.

 

[Downshift]

Waifu is a term for a character you like, not necessarily implying physical or romantic attraction

Metagross is a character I like. Is Metagross a waifu?

 

[Deleted member 189823]

Metagross is a character I like. Is Metagross a waifu?

yes

 

[StoicPhantom]

Metagross is a character I like. Is Metagross a waifu?

Sure. Heterosexual dudes even waifu'd other dudes, before husbando became a differentiator. That's the beauty of not taking things too seriously or being obtuse about them. You can have all sorts of fun with it.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

I actually prefer TP Zelda, but this new Zelda looks good too.

 

[Downshift]

I'm glad we decided that term means absolutely nothing.
The Hover Boots in Ocarina of Time are my new Waifu.

 

[Deleted member 189823]

Still lowkey wish she is at least 15...

 

[Downshift]

ALTTP and/or ALBW Zelda is 16.
TP Zelda is 20.

 

[BJN39]

If we’ve finally concluded what a waifu is can I lock this thread?

...what is even this discussion.

 

[StoicPhantom]

can I lock this thread?

If you feel the need to do so, we can't really stop you, can we? I'm not really sure why there would be a need to do so, though.

...what is even this discussion.

Clearly a thought provoking conversation, on the deep and profound nature of waifuism.

 

[Downshift]

As long as Chris Hansen doesn't show up, we're good.

 

[StoicPhantom]

I'm glad we decided that term means absolutely nothing.
The Hover Boots in Ocarina of Time are my new Waifu.

Pretty sure we decided it has evolved, into a term for a character you really like. I'm not sure how the Hover Boots, are classified as a character, but good for you, I guess.

As long as Chris Hansen doesn't show up, we're good.

I think he has his hands full with Fleece Johnson, currently.

 

[Deleted member]

I love how we went from talking about Zelda and Palutena, to Hover Boots and Metagross. XD (But in that case, my waifu is the 'e' in Falco's Landmaster.)

Also, there are a fair amount of countries where 16 is considered the legal age, and Zelda was confirmed to be 16 in ALBW, so using the argument that "Zelda is underage" is stupid.

 

[Deleted member 189823]

If we’ve finally concluded what a waifu is can I lock this thread?

...what is even this discussion.

Please.

 

[Deleted member]

If we’ve finally concluded what a waifu is can I lock this thread?

...what is even this discussion.

I think the more important question in this thread was not "what a waifu is," but "is Zelda a waifu?"

If you wanna lock up this thread, feel free to, but maybe make a poll to determine if she is first, that we all can vote on. It's pretty easy to tell with characters like Metagross, whether or not they qualify, but with Zelda I'm a bit skeptical given this thread so far. So, let's take a vote.

 

[BJN39]

If I need to I can create a poll or just boop this thread. I think a conclusive answer is nice

Also, Metagross is definitely a straight up waifu. If you play Pokémon go then you agree

 

[Downshift]

I'm all for a poll.

ALTTP Zelda vs TP Zelda vs OoT Zelda (vs Metagross) as best waifu

 

[BJN39]

Poof! A poll.

I think semantics on being a waifu aside, we love to talk about our favorite Zelda Variation. Don’t be shy if you love a different design even more!

 

[DarkStarStorm]

Skyward Sword Zelda will always be the number one Zelda waifu, although this one cuts a close second place. Twilight Princess Zelda is at the very bottom.

 

[StoicPhantom]

Skyward Sword Zelda will always be the number one Zelda waifu, although this one cuts a close second place. Twilight Princess Zelda is at the very bottom.

This is exactly what I would say and I voted as such.

 

[Deleted member]

BJN39 It's A Link Between Worlds (ALBW) Zelda, not A Link To The Past (ALTTP) Zelda.

 

[Idon]

BJN39 It's A Link Between Worlds (ALBW) Zelda, not A Link To The Past (ALTTP) Zelda.

That's a translation error.
Sakurai's original quote said it's ALttP Zelda.

 

[osby]

I'm surprised TP Zelda is winning, considering how much hate she gets these days.

 

[L2 Sentinel]

I'm surprised TP Zelda is winning, considering how much hate she gets these days.

TP Zelda has a lot of fans, but it's typical internet behavior for the people who dislike something to make more noise than the people who like it, and often times they project they're personal opinions onto the community as a whole by making blanket statements like "nobody likes this!" even when they are in the minority.

It's hard to know how popular anything really is, even if we do polls like this one or the one in the social thread. This poll is somewhat problematic in the sense that not everyone who likes Zelda is comfortable calling her their waifu. But the "Are you happy with the Link Between Worlds redesign?" poll in the Zelda social is far worse. It was created overlaying an existing poll, so already the votes were completely skewed. In the previous poll, my vote was for option 1, and when they remade the poll I had to change my vote to option 3. Not everyone who voted in the last poll has come back to change their votes, so naturally the option that was winning as soon as the poll was changed is still winning. It also doesn't help that the poll creator used biased flavor text to describe the different Zeldas, which can influence how people vote. It's a bad poll and it's results shouldn't be taken seriously, but not everyone passing through these forums are going to know that, so that poll is obviously going to give people the wrong impression about how people really think about the different Zeldas.

Where on the internet the polls are being held is also a factor. The more casual Zelda fans are probably not going to come here, for example.

 

[DarkStarStorm]

TP Zelda has a lot of fans, but it's typical internet behavior for the people who dislike something to make more noise than the people who like it, and often times they project they're personal opinions onto the community as a whole by making blanket statements like "nobody likes this!" even when they are in the minority.

It's hard to know how popular anything really is, even if we do polls like this one or the one in the social thread. This poll is somewhat problematic in the sense that not everyone who likes Zelda is comfortable calling her their waifu. But the one in the "Are you happy with the Link Between Worlds redesign?" poll in the Zelda social is far worse. It was created overlaying an existing poll, so already the votes were completely skewed. In the previous poll, my vote was for option 1, and when they remade the poll I had to change my vote to option 3. Not everyone who voted in the last poll has come back to change their votes, so naturally the option that was winning as soon as the poll was changed is still winning. It also doesn't help that the poll creator used biased flavor text to describe the different Zeldas, which can influence how people vote. It's a bad poll and it's results shouldn't be taken seriously, but not everyone passing through these forums are going to know that, so that poll is obviously going to give people the wrong impression about how people really think about the different Zeldas.

Where on the internet the polls are being held is also a factor. The more casual Zelda fans are probably not going to come here, for example.

I think that the problem is that we have the option of choosing "Other." You can tell who my favorite Zelda is judging by my profile pic.

 

[Downshift]

I'm surprised TP Zelda is winning, considering how much hate she gets these days.

TP Zelda has far more fans than haters. Just about every Zelda main I've run into likes her far more that OoT Zelda, and that's saying something given how universally loved her source game was.
Stoic is probably the only legit TP Zelda hater I've run into. Most people just prefer one over the other.


Real talk tho, where is Hyrule Warriors Zelda??
Arguably the actual hottest Zelda, not just "cutesy", and by far the best actual outfit for Smash:

Spoiler

 

[Deleted member]

Ultimate Zelda = Best Girl. She should get her own game.

 

[Deleted member 189823]

No more waifu factor.

Nuke this thing.

 

[Downshift]

ALTTP Zelda looks like the child Zelda that Link meets before she acquires the Triforce of Wisdom.
Twilight Zelda looks like the calm, sagacious Zelda after she acquires the Triforce of Wisdom and is about to dismantle Ganon's scheme.
...then she'd go on and solve Peach and Mario's Bowser problem, and devise a plan for Samus to systematically wipe out the Space Pirates while she's at it.

And she'd do it all while glowing with a quiet, humble, serene beauty:

 

[Deleted member 189823]

ALTTP Zelda looks like the child Zelda that Link meets before she acquires the Triforce of Wisdom.
Twilight Zelda looks like the calm, sagacious Zelda after she acquires the Triforce of Wisdom and is about to dismantle Ganon's scheme.
...then she'd go on and solve Peach and Mario's Bowser problem, and devise a plan for Samus to systematically wipe out the Space Pirates while she's at it.

And she'd do it all while glowing with a quiet, humble, serene beauty:
View attachment 186746

She doesn't look like a child to me. ),=

 

[Raftina]

I think that the problem is that we have the option of choosing "Other." You can tell who my favorite Zelda is judging by my profile pic.

The way you construct these polls will affect the type of answers you get. I do not mean how you phrase the poll question and the answers. I mean what the poll is looking for in the first place.

N choose 1 type of poll such as this one will tell us how many people have a character as their favorite.
N choose n type of poll will tell us how many people like the character.
Upvote/downvote type of poll will tell us how many people like or dislike the character.
Rate the character type of poll will tell us how well liked the character is.

Lets look at an example. Suppose we have Zelda, Samus, and Lara Croft and a sample of 10 people.
6 people love Samus (rating of 10), 1 person likes her (rating of 7), and 3 people dislike her (rating of 1).
1 person loves Zelda, and 9 people like Zelda.
3 people love Lara Croft, 1 person likes her, and 6 people dislike her.

N choose 1: This poll will ask the users to pick their favorite. You will have Samus 6, Lara 3, and Zelda 1.
N choose n: This poll will ask the user to choose all the options they like. You will have Zelda 10, Samus 7, Lara 4.
Upvote/downvote: This is a Youtube style like/dislike voting system. You will have Zelda 10, Samus 4, Lara -2.
Rate the character: This will be a survey that asks the user to rate each character individually. This will give Zelda 7.3, Samus 7, Lara 4.3.

If you want to know how well the fandom (Smash or Zelda) likes each Zelda as a whole, the third or fourth options would give you the best answer.

 

[Deleted member]

No more waifu factor.

Nuke this thing.

Why?

 

[Deleted member 189823]

Why?

It's reducing Zelda to just a cute icon and people won't even take her as a serious threat. I respect people that actually have the play to back it up.

 

[Biggamer10^Neo]

https://discord.gg/5Fpfg2u join this discord server if you use a waifu! Special emotes and roles

 

[Downshift]

It's reducing Zelda to just a cute icon

Nintendo did that to her when they redesigned her from a stoic, regal, distinguished and queenly ruler into a giggling kawaii schoolgirl.

 

[DarkStarStorm]

stoic, regal, distinguished and queenly ruler

(see also: bland personality, silent, rigid, and woman who governs)

giggling kawaii schoolgirl

(see also: energetic, not a mannequin, analyze the definition of schoolgirl)

 

[Downshift]

(woman who governs)

You're saying this is a negative trait?

 

[Idon]

You're saying this is a negative trait?

"Wow!
Leadership ability?
In MY princess?"

 

[Downshift]

IDGI...
You'd rather Zelda be just a girl in the kitchen than a woman on the throne?

 

[DarkStarStorm]

You're saying this is a negative trait?

Far from it. I was merely pointing out that saying that one of her defining personality traits is being a ruler is proof as to how little they gave us to work with as far as character identity. It's not a character trait, but just a position as far as Smash goes. Yes, in Twilight Princess we CERTAINLY see her put the lives of her people above her position and their possible freedom. She sacrifices her life because it means that Hyrule can be saved. Yes, those are fantastic examples of how she is a "queenly ruler", but we get none of that in Smash. The label "queenly ruler" can be applied to a dozen other Zeldas in the franchise (including Ultimate's Zelda). In fact, that "trait" is exactly what is wrong with her in previous Smash games. In Brawl/4, they use that stoic nature as an excuse to make her essentially just a mannequin with magic sparkles. This is coming from someone who got their start in Brawl/PM, who absolutely loathed how bland Zelda was. That's why I always used to use the black recolor, because at least that conveyed that it was "DARK" Zelda. (I also modded in Skyward Sword Zelda, but that's not relevant to the discussion). Which, as much of a meme as playing a DARK character is, it added more substance than anything the devs gave the character as far as personality expression.

Her animations in the Brawl/4 iteration are also very juxtaposed (yes that is the correct usage) with her supposed personality. Her screams and yells when using her attacks in the Brawl iteration completely undercut the supposition that she is a composed and poised person. If she had a bit of...pomp? in her attacks, posing herself with the grace of a fencer, then by all means her personality would be PERFECTLY portrayed. However, the fact that she actively throws her body around with kicks and down-smashes means that the exuberant personality of Smash Ultimate's iteration fits those animations like a glove. This iteration is bouncy (get your mind out of the gutter), energetic, and more expressive than the Twilight Princess version.

Now, I will add perspective that even I think that Ultimate's version of Zelda is flawed. In fact, I have a firm opinion about how Zelda's kit is flawed and how those flaws negatively affect her character identity (Ocarina of Time special moves that Zelda never had, having two versions of the same aerial negatively affecting her neutral-game, a random Phantom stapled onto those OoT abilities, ect.). I'm not just fanboying over new Zelda, but I am of the opinion that it is a step in the right direction.