Link is a weird case because as the games go on he gets more and more of a personality. The Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom duology, especially taking Age of Calamity into consideration, give us one of the most defined incarnations we've ever had and hint as a lot of depth and trauma and just-- really solid things that I really appreciate as a long time fan.

I found myself thinking a lot about Link while writing my silent protagonist list; he's such a famous and influential silent protagonist that his absence felt like a real hole in this post. The Legend of Zelda series is one I've never quite managed to get into, sadly, despite several short-lived attempts, so I couldn't speak about Link with any authority. I've been curious about how he feels as a silent protagonist to fans of the series, so it's interesting to hear these thoughts on him!

But I think a silent protag has a much steeper hill to climb to make me care about them, opposed to if they had literally anything else going on.

It's a real challenge! I can understand having a silent protagonist in 'the protagonist is basically just you' games like Pokémon or Animal Crossing, but I'm a little surprised they're still such an enduring tradition even in heavily story-focused games; it seems like having a silent protagonist would make writing the game's story and interactions so much harder.