Breath of the Wild NPCs join the battle?

[Spamomanospam]

Did anybody else notice the guy fighting alongside Link in the new trailer? It won't let me upload the image here because of file size, but I'll link a tweet with it.

What do you think this means? Could this imply Link can get hirelings or works together with other soldiers/mercenaries? Could this just be a lone circumstance where random villagers attack monsters that wander nearby? There's a bunch of possibilities, and I can't put my finger on a specific one!

Here's my tweet where I provide the image.
https://twitter.com/SpamOManOSpam/status/804548568988192772?s=09

 

[Mido]

I actually never took note of that in the trailer, but if it is as you say, I think such a concept would be neat in this game, especially since it seems that Hyrule is more sparse in population this time around. It would make sense that villagers would want to band together and realistically fight enemies, so in this respect, I could see soldiers fighting various enemies outside villages or other areas of residency. If it goes farther than more basic implementations like the aforementioned one, I would definitely be intrigued, especially if such a concept has any ties to the main quest. Its definitely a tough call to gauge this concept, but it is absolutely interesting!

 

[Spirit]

I dont think thats Link in that image. Just two NPCs.

I dont know whats going on in that scene, its not a cutscene because its not got much dynamic camera action and the fighting itself is rather stiff, like you'd find when allies in your armies fight in the warriors games... maybe its a side quest where you have to help protect the village, not unlike defending the ranch from aliens in Majora's Mask.

Its definitely some sort of in engine gameplay but to what end i cant say, other than defending the village, which i hope is fun.

 

[Dio]

Well companions seem to be a thing. Not just Wolf Link but another type of doggie as well. We see NPC's fighting in the new trailer so perhaps it is possible some will even accompany Link on certain missions or perhaps you can even hire mercenaries or maybe the favours you do for certain characters might prompt them to in return, fight at your side.

 

[hwrdjacob]

I think this might be used to hammer in "Ganon brought Hylians to their knees and destroyed Hyrule" if it's correct they're stragglers banding together. The fact the village we've seen is hidden village style tucked away in the mountains supports that.

 

[Spamomanospam]

I dont think thats Link in that image. Just two NPCs.

After looking this over, I think you're right. Adds a little weight to the idea that people defend their villages, though. I wonder if random mobs will just run around and sometimes attack towns and stuff.

 

[Azure Sage]

NPCs finally getting off their butts and fighting back instead of doing nothing about their fate/letting Link do everything? And potentially being able to invite them along like how the Wolf Link amiibo works? Sign me the **** up. I've been wanting this for years. YEARS. Solo adventures are not nearly as fun as when you have company. Maybe there is no companion character because we can form parties with NPCs? Either way, this brings me much joy, whether its a party system or not. Much joy, indeed.

 

[Spirit]

I just hope its not limited to villagers and that the ones you could potentially enlist are fleshed out. Id rather villages only have a handful of people i care about rather than being overpopulated with cannon fodder.

Enlisting members from Kass's race or a Goron or Zora depending on where youre going could be great. Say youre about to make the pilgrimage up Death Mountain, taking along a few fire resistant Gorons would be a great help.

 

[FrozenDragon]

I agree that it's not Link, neither of them.

I suspect it means that at some point, possibly sidequests of some sort, NPCs fight against monsters and have to be helped out, they seem to fight rather slowly and clumsily compared to the enemies and Link.

...I hope it won't be an annoying rescue quest, it could be fun, yeah, but it could potentially be frustrating :'D

But it seems nice, and adds a bit of realism to the game if it happens (more than what it already has, haha)

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

If you notice when it shows the Horse-esque hut with the man riding the horse, the man can be seen in an earlier look at the hut walking in the distance, meaning it also might be possible that they'll be able to do things like use animals to their gain.

 

[A Link In Time]

I doubt the NPCs you fight with will have deep back stories, but it's nice to see mainline Zelda taking inspiration from Hyrule Warriors. I think this is just a small side feature. Nintendo doesn't want to take away from Wolf Link being the real shining star helper.

 

[Alita the Pun]

I like this idea, this could be really cool. as you progress through the game, you could help people who in turn assist you, eventually, you would have a small company of brave people who travel with you and help you fight. I imagine it being like Fire emblem in that you can "collect" assistants and depending on whether you protect them or not, they can die in battle. something that would also be cool is if you could arm them with weapons that you have collected. they may start out with a club or an axe but you could give them a sword or spear to fight with. also armor too

 

[Salem]

I hope that's not a permanent or long term thing, I find thing like that boring because then I would have to share resources and have to watch out for the hearts two or more characters rather than just Link, also with all the armor and should it could potentiality complicate the game.

 

[Azure Sage]

Nintendo doesn't want to take away from Wolf Link being the real shining star helper.

No, they definitely should. Amiibo should only be for extra benefits, not making a system in the game better by forcing you to buy something extra. And on top of that, you also need to have Twilight Princess HD to use it since Wolf Link's hearts are tied to the number of hearts you had left at the end of the labyrinth thing. Making you buy another game plus an Amiibo (AND a Wii U if you don't have one) to have the only decent partner for the party system would be ****ing ridiculous.

 

[FrozenDragon]

No, they definitely should. Amiibo should only be for extra benefits, not making a system in the game better by forcing you to buy something extra. And on top of that, you also need to have Twilight Princess HD to use it since Wolf Link's hearts are tied to the number of hearts you had left at the end of the labyrinth thing. Making you buy another game plus an Amiibo (AND a Wii U if you don't have one) to have the only decent partner for the party system would be ****ing ridiculous.

This.

We did see a dog on the Life in the Ruins trailer, so most likely, we'll get to have stray ones to use as temporary partners or something, and if we want Wolf Link then wee need amiibo. They wouldn't implement a partner AI just for amiibo.