Toon Link almost starred in A Link Between Worlds, A Link Between Worlds Link almost starred in Tri-Force Heroes

The following information comes from Designer Yoshiki Haruhana, as revealed in the Zelda: Art & Artifacts book...

Haruhana: For this title there was a difference of opinion on which Link to use. Since it was for the Nintendo 3DS, some felt that it should be Toon Link, since it’s a title for a portable game system, but others said that this was a sequel to A Link to the Past, so it should be regular Link. We had a long debate over it.

Interviewer: The people who played the first game on SNES may have had an issue if the main character was Toon Link…

Haruhana: Exactly. Since A Link to the Past was the original, it only made sense to go in that direction. And since it’s been twenty-two years since the previous title, the expectation about the art style became what it is. I found myself thinking that the Zelda series certainly has a bit of everything, which keeps it interesting.

Interviewer: So it isn’t necessary for the main character to be Toon Link just because the game is on a portable system.

Haruhana: Yeah, that’s how it worked out.

Interviewer: But for Tri Force Heroes, the main character went back to being Toon Link.

Haruhana: Actually, we had our share of trouble for this title as well. For a while into production, the main character was the Link used in A Link Between Worlds. But one day, Aonuma made an announcement: “We’re going with Toon Link!”

All: [laughter]