As one of the most iconic characters in gaming, Princess Zelda has become a staple of the medium. Bearing in mind the recent and outstanding critical reception of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it's safe to say that the heroine has successfully reestablished her notoriety amongst gamers – if her popularity was ever in question to begin with, that is. What's immediately apparent by this more recent version of Zelda, however, is that she has a lot more personality thanks to the addition of voice acting in BotW.

Voiced by none other than Patricia Summersett, I recently has the opportunity to speak to the actress about the changes to Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Touching on the visual changes to the character, I quickly followed up by asking Summersett whether or not Zelda could hold her own as a main and playable character following fan demand for a playable female in The Legend of Zelda.

GR: The character Zelda has been given a bit of a visual overhaul this time around, so what do you think of the changes and do they showcase the character a little bit better?

“Gosh, I mean, it’s so funny. I’m so biased with the overall… I’m really interested in her evolution they’re all interesting and different. I really, I love how they present her now. I loved [...] her pants, I love her personality that she is very assertive and out there. I really like the way that they portrayed her now. I think she’s a beautiful portrayal of Zelda."

GR: Building off of that, Nintendo has gone around and made her a much stronger character this time around and prior to release, there was actually a lot of chatter in the industry about the desire to see a main and playable female protagonist in Breath of the Wild. Do you think Zelda would be up to the challenge of saving Hyrule?

“Yeah, I mean obviously, I feel like one of the great joys in my life is playing female warriors in video games, I feel like that’s something that comes about a few times for me and I’ve really enjoyed it every time. It’s just sort of the ultimate, and the fact that I got to play her when she was such a… it was a very clear direction that they took to make her a strong woman presence, autonomous, you know. She can really take care of herself and to have a developed journey and she comes to the place where she has to reach down inside and activate her powers. Yeah, it was pretty incredible to be a part of that."

When I previously spoke with Shigeru Miyamoto, the famed developer mentioned discussions of having Sheik star as a playable character in a new Zelda game. Whether or not that idea ever bears fruit will remain a mystery for the time being, but perhaps a game of that nature will provide Summersett with the opportunity to utilize her vocals in a leading and playable capacity for fans.

Then again, there's always the chance that Breath of the Wild's forthcoming DLC will put the Princess in a playable role. Since the content is still a few months from release though, fans will just have to speculate on when they'll have the opportunity to control Zelda in a core Zelda title.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is currently available on Nintendo Switch and Wii U.