'Legend of Zelda' Wii U release date & news: game confirmed for 2016; Linkle, originally Link's sister, may show up in future titles

"Legend of Zelda" Wii U will be coming next year and Linkle, who is Link's look-alike was originally planned to be his sister. The positive reception on the new dual-crossbow wielding character has made the creators keep an eye on her in possible future games.

The coming of the new Wii U game was announced in the most recent episode of Nintendo Direct. The video is the first one released since the former Nintendo CEO, Satoru Iwata, passed away in July. The Wii U version will be an open-world adventure game with the iconic Link able to go in and out of dungeons any time.

Watch the episode here:

Linkle is a playable character for "Hyrule Warrior Legends" for 3DS and can be unlocked for the Wii U version. She looks like someone who is related to Link but it was revealed that she isn't. As for the reason why she looks similar is that she was originally intended to be Link's sister.

"Koei Tecmo first proposed the Linkle character as Link's little sister for the Wii U version of Hyrule Warriors," said Eiji Aonuma, series producer said as reported by Eurogamer.

"However, we felt this conflicted with the concept of Aryll from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the only character we had ever had appear as Link's sister, so we decided not to include that version."

He adds that Linkle was instead added to make the game more diverse and giving her a background as someone who wants to be a hero gave the game something new to offer.

According to Techno Buffalo, Aonuma has taken a liking to the green-caped heroine. The fan's reception to Linkle has been overwhelmingly positive and that the makers might make her appear in future titles.

"I'm sure we will keep [Linkle] in mind when thinking about future titles. I had a chance to give feedback on Linkle during development, but the satisfying action of using a crossbow, which we developed for the spinoff title Link's Crossbow Training, was implemented this time completely by Koei Tecmo," says Aonuma via IGN. "It may feel a little different from other titles in the franchise, but she doesn't feel out of place at all in the world of the Zelda games."

"The Legend of Zelda" Wii U exclusive will be released in 2016 but there is no specific date yet.