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12 - 2 - 00
First of all, I don't think they'll do this. Why have Link in your games when you can have Mario? The reasons for putting Mario in are obvious: his name sells. Over in Japan Nintendo comes up with a great idea for a game: kart racing with an impressive battle mode. The game is incredibly fun, but Nintendo is worrying that it won't sell. So they put the Mario franchise in there and they have one of the SNES's greatest hits: Mario Kart. They create a board game type game, add the Mario characters, and Mario Party sells millions and spawns a few sequels. So you can see Mario's purpose outside of the normal Mario games: he sells innovative new games that otherwise might not sell. Thus, there's no reason to put Link in these types of games. They have Mario and Pikachu.
So why am I so adamantly against Zelda Deathmatch or Zelda Racing or Zelda Party? I love Zelda not only for the games, but for the universe as well. I love the storyline, the legends, the characters, and so forth. I hate to use Hyrule.com.ar's motto or whatever, but Zelda is not a game, it's an experience. It is a game that is completely and utterly immersive, not just addictive like most games strive for. It is the type of game that spawns fan sites dealing with more than just game help. Hard to explain, isn't it? It's just Zelda holds a magical feel that no other game series ever had in my opinion, and the feel is much stronger than most of the good books and movies I have read and watched. So I hope you can see why I am a bit protective about this game series. To be belittled so much as to place Link in a kart to race against Zelda and Ganon is a torment I cannot endure.
Before I end this editorial, I better bring up Smash Bros before someone else does. Yes, Link is in Smash Bros. Yes I like the game. Yes I want to see Link in the sequel. But Smash Bros is different. Would Mario Kart be as fun as it is if they didn't use Mario characters? Probably. Mario Party? Definitely. Smash Bros? Nope. Part of the sheer fun of Smash Bros is the fact that you are these characters from different games, and this matters. Another pointless guy with a sword attacking an electric mouse is not the same as Link knocking Pikachu off of Planet Zebes. It adds to the zany feel of the game. Not to mention nostalgia (if you doubt they cared about nostalgia, then you haven't seen the hidden Mushroom Kingdom). That and, technically, it isn't Link fighting. The "storyline" of the game is a little kid making all his Nintendo toys fight one another, and then makes the winner fight himself (the Master Hand). So at least there's a reason Link's there, unlike, say, Mario and Bowser to suddenly decide to start racing. There's a purpose, a reason, for Link to be in Smash Bros. But there's no purpose in a Zelda Kart or Zelda Kombat. And that is why it is wrong.