The reveal clearly features both of our protagonists in the aftermath of the events from Breath of the Wild. They work together and venture through the catacombs as a pair. What if you and your buddy can team up this time around?
One thing is clear, we’re returning to the very same playground that is the vast Hyrule. While we were very impressed initially it doesn’t age very well once you’ve cleared the main quests of BotW. The majority of the world is kind of empty and apart from collecting mushrooms and the occasional clan attack there’s not much to do. Except if you’re really into collecting Korok seeds that is…
Now with the reveal trailer putting both heroes side by side and working together I can see a number of ways that co-op would be fit for the sequel or why the reveal hints at this:
Messing around with game physics.
While the original game offered some cool stuff to try out and mess around with it could be even more fun with two players burning down trees and flying on floating platforms that you’ve crafted. It could offer some new (optional) co-op puzzles where both players need to work in a complementary fashion to get extra loot or clear a dungeon. You could still do it on your own but playing with 2 players would open up a separate room where both players would get rewarded with some epic co-op loot or armor by clearing the objective together.
Co-op monster buster!
The many bases with foes could get larger in numbers if you ask me, I want more bases and skull-shaped grottos. Link and Zelda could time their arrows when striking from far the shadows and really get some sneaking gameplay on Ganon’s goons. What if Zelda could freeze enemies while Link slices them with the Master Sword. The fighting could gain a whole new level of awesomeness in this co-op story!
Finally we can say that we play with ZELDA as a character!
Putting the common name mistakes aside it would be good to finally have Zelda joining in on the fun especially since she herself felt so bad not being able to help more in BotW’s story. She could redeem her guilt and we could see both wisdom and courage thwarting Ganon’s plans.
Complementary powers?
As I mentioned Zelda and Link could both be blessed with different powers or play styles so they really work in tandem. Zelda might offer some battle-proof healing capabilities or even sport a stronger bow and arrow. Meanwhile Link gets his swordplay up and offers a more aggressive and melee play style.
But what if I don’t have a friend to play with?
Their have been a lot of games with co-op elements where the AI takes care of a character. It might not be as fun and immersive but this gameplay mechanic is not new and has already been used in some way in the series. I think an AI Zelda that’s always there with you would be amazing instead of having her pop up randomly to fit the plot in cinematics.
It’s a whole new world.
Hunting and gathering loot and food would be much more fun with 2 players. One could be chopping down trees for firewood and another might hunt animals for meat or gather mushrooms and spices to get cooking and fill up those precious hearts! the vast land of Hyrule has been explored already but doing it again with more content and together with a trusty friend could be exactly what this sequel needs to keep us playing in this big sandbox! When we were kids playing with others in a sandbox was more fun than playing alone wasn’t it?
Want to play at my house? Bring your Switch!
Now it’s all fun to dream but would it actually be realistic? Over an internet connection exploring Hyrule together would be totally feasible. If the system reaches too much power to handle we could just limit the maximum distance between both players.
Locally I think split screen might demand too much from the Switch and so getting 2 switches together could work over Wi-Fi. No difference with playing over internet but actually talking to each other might prove even more fun. Over distance that could be fixed with the release of the Pro Controller featuring a headphone jack and allowing voice chat.
So that’s my take on what we might get in this sequel. It would again break all conventions of what we think a Zelda game is without breaking the formula but while adding a fun story driven co-op experience. We could finally see how Link and Zelda take on an adventure together!
What do you think? Is this the right time and story for co-op Zelda?
