Nintendo reveals a female version of Link from The Legend of Zelda for Hyrule Warriors Legends - a brand new character that goes by the name of Linkle.

For Zelda fans, the most recent Nintendo Direct delivered big time. Nintendo used the presentation to show new footage of The Legend of Zelda for Wii U, announce a "new" game in the series, and also reveal a new character being introduced to the franchise in the upcoming Hyrule Warriors Legends for the Nintendo 3DS. The character in question? A female version of Link, known as Linkle.

In Hyrule Warriors Legends, Linkle is from an unnamed village filled with cuccos. She resembles her male counterpart in many ways, with blonde hair, pointy elvish-looking ears, and a tendency to dress in green. However, Linkle differs from Link in her fighting style, as she dual wields crossbows in place of wielding the Master Sword.

It appears as though Linkle will be a ranged character, though she will have some close-quarters attacks as well. Her most significant of is the "spin kick", Linkle's equivalent to Link's iconic spin attack move. It functions basically the same as Link's spin attack, but instead of utilizing a sword, Linkle uses a powerful kick to take out all the enemies unlucky enough to be near her.

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The addition of Linkle and the Wind Waker characters to Hyrule Warriors Legends will certainly help the game feel like much more than a mere port of the Hyrule Warriors game on the Wii U. It will be interesting to see if gamers will embrace the idea of a female Link, however, especially considering the female Link controversy when fans believed a female Link was in the next main series Zelda game. Overall, Linkle seems like an interesting new character for the Zelda franchise, and hopefully she shows up in future titles besides just Hyrule Warriors Legends.

Between this bnew character reveal for Hyrule Warriors Legends, the new footage shown of The Legend of Zelda for Wii U, and the announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, there was plenty for Zelda fans to enjoy during the latest Nintendo Direct. It looks like Nintendo will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of Zelda in style with the three aforementioned games, as well as by introducing the female version of Link to the world in 2016.

What are your thoughts on the addition of Linkle to the Hyrule Warriors Legends roster of playable characters? Are you excited to play as a female version of Link? Would you like to see any other characters from the franchise gender swapped? Sound off in the comments below and let us know your thoughts on Linkle and Hyrule Warriors Legends.

Hyrule Warriors Legends will be available on March 25th, exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.