One Man Army – Does It Need To Go?

[Ventus]

Yes, I'm flaming Link's extreme abilities to successfully pull off OMA in every single game he's featured in (minus TWW and ST).

I personally think yes. It's absolutely ridiculous that that one man can defeat anyone and everyone. Singlehandedly, even. Nintendo continues to introduce new characters that mean both nothing to the plot and nothing to the gameplay, and I want that to change. We got instances of controlling other characters in MM with Kafei, TWW with Medli and Makar (plus the statue if memory serves), and ST with Zelda. However, I feel as if those were not enough. What about the rest of the cast members? In Twilight Princess, the Group existed but they didn't do anything at all except for a certain scene in Hyrule Castle. In Skyward Sword, we have the Knights of Skyloft yet they, for some reason, cannot pierce the sky barrier or even give Link some much needed aid. Where's the sense in all of that?

As to Link – get tired already. Fall down. Collapse. You cannot take all of that damage and still get back up, don't care what kind of blessing you may have. I've seen you take a knee in Skyward Sword, but that happened only once. Call on help, PLEASE.

My questions to you all are these: does Link's ability to destroy any and all enemies need to get away from Zelda? Do we need more assistance?

 

[MW7]

Haha, I literally opened your thread just to say what about TWW and ST but you covered your tracks. The multiplayer games might count too though but it's just more Links. That makes me wonder- if it's clones of yourself does it still count as one man army?

Anyway, I agree that we need more assistance but for completely different reasons. I think the instances in other games with controlling multiple characters led to terrific puzzle opportunities. It just opens up the possibilities and I think it's a good idea because I think more varied and diverse puzzles are a great thing. I wouldn't want to have to switch between players in every instance of the game, but things like WW and ST would be very welcome by me. Spirit Tracks is easily my least favorite game in the series, but I have to admit it had some of the greatest puzzles ever and most of that is due to controlling multiple characters in the Tower of Spirits.

 

[CuccoCailum]

Why would they do that?
The whole point of Fantasy Adveture games like Zelda/Elderscrolls is for you the player to go out and Explore and Conquer. And Live the Adventure you've always wanted to. It defeats the Purpose if you force Side characters to help us when we honestly don't need it. The only way I think they could pull this off is do it Resident Evil style and have lets say: A game where you can play as Link, Zelda, and maybe some other Character in separate Scenarios showing the varying sides of the Story/Adventure. In a similar way that Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep did.

 

[Cel-Shaded Deku]

Why would they do that?
The whole point of Fantasy Adveture games like Zelda/Elderscrolls is for you the player to go out and Explore and Conquer. And Live the Adventure you've always wanted to. It defeats the Purpose if you force Side characters to help us when we honestly don't need it. The only way I think they could pull this off is do it Resident Evil style and have lets say: A game where you can play as Link, Zelda, and maybe some other Character in separate Scenarios showing the varying sides of the Story/Adventure. In a similar way that Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep did.

^ This.

I see why it would be ludicrous for one man in real life to take down so many foes but this isn't real life. I wouldn't mind a few characters doing some work done by an ally or two. For example, you go to one dungeon and your partner goes into the other dungeon but he fails and you complete it for him (or her :bleh

 

[Ventus]

That makes me wonder- if it's clones of yourself does it still count as one man army?

Anyway, I agree that we need more assistance but for completely different reasons. I think the instances in other games with controlling multiple characters led to terrific puzzle opportunities. It just opens up the possibilities and I think it's a good idea because I think more varied and diverse puzzles are a great thing. I wouldn't want to have to switch between players in every instance of the game, but things like WW and ST would be very welcome by me. Spirit Tracks is easily my least favorite game in the series, but I have to admit it had some of the greatest puzzles ever and most of that is due to controlling multiple characters in the Tower of Spirits.

Technically speaking it *is* an OMA in the sense that there is only one existing "person", but it works out that there are multiple copies so it isn't exactly you taking everything on by yourself. That could get a bit confusing, haha

I completely forgot about the puzzles themselves, you're right about that. Add more variance in the puzzles, and even in the combat. Before I go onto my longwinded drawn out speech about combat, I'd like to say that multiple character puzzles shouldn't be limited to "you hold down this switch while I go and get that one" or "you hold down this switch while I pick up the boss key" as they generally were in Spirit Tracks. There are many more puzzles that could be solved, like stepladders or things of that sort. Onto LWDOS:

With multiple (AI controlled perhaps) characters, you could defeat enemies more easily or even gain the mere ability TO defeat an enemy. So, for example, say Link is going against Koloktos but doesn't have a Whip. One of the Skyloft Soldiers could've came into the fray and whipped the automoton for us, revealing its weak point. Sure, people say that is an inconvenience but it seems a bit more...satisfying to me, if pulled off correctly.

Why would they do that? The only way I think they could pull this off is do it Resident Evil style and have lets say: A game where you can play as Link, Zelda, and maybe some other Character in separate Scenarios showing the varying sides of the Story/Adventure. In a similar way that Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep did.

Bolded: That's another thing I suggested for future Zelda releases, though it doesn't fit in this thread.

Anyway, in both RE games and KHBBS, we had assistance in many scenarios. In REmake, there were several instances where Barry or Rebecca would pop up and lead us onwards to the next puzzle or we would be saved/have to save them. In Resident Evil Zero, despite the co-op being generally forced, there were many moments where we could go solo or Rebecca/Billy would have to come in and distract the boss so we could defeat it, most notably against Queen Leech. I'm sure RE2, 3 and 4 have had their moments. RE5 was forced co-op. KHBBS:Mickey aided Ven while fighting Vanitas. Mickey aided Aqua while fighting final Vanitas [and also during the Unversed attack on Kairi]. Ven, Aqua and Terra were a three man team (And realistic at that) when fighting Trinity Armor.

All of the moments I listed and even the ones I didn't above, they're all realistic. There's no way Ventus, Aqua despite being a Keyblade Master, or Terra could've taken down Trinity Armor all by themselves at the growth they experienced at that time (speaking from a storypoint – it's possible to grind to LV99 that early in the game but it'd take forever). Likewise, Rebecca and even Billy would've long been dead against any of the co-op forced bosses were they going solo. I'm sure it'd be the same thing for Link, especially against something like Koloktos.

'sides, the extra assistance wouldn't be given to us in a moment like "OMG hepl meh wid dis Deku Baba11one!!!!o1n1". It'd be given in a dungeon or a boss fight or something relatively dangerous.

^ This.

I see why it would be ludicrous for one man in real life to take down so many foes but this isn't real life. I wouldn't mind a few characters doing some work done by an ally or two. For example, you go to one dungeon and your partner goes into the other dungeon but he fails and you complete it for him (or her :bleh

Well, it isn't exactly that Link can defeat all the foes that he did. It's that he does it all successively with no break at all. Surely he would've been out of steam by the time he finished with the Horde Battle?

I do like that idea, but I don't want it to be in the vein that you have to complete it for the other player. We could always have a dungeon that takes group effort [beyond things like cloning in The Minish Cap though that was an awesome experience], amirite?

 

[Linkfan112]

I rather like the idea. One of my favorite cutscenes in the entire series is the one in Wind Waker where Tetra, Valoo Prince komali and the postman come to Link's rescue. Link can do thing nobody else can, but it doesn't mean he has to do everything himself. I would have loved to have seen the Skyloft Knight's do something other than just catch me when I fall off a ledge. I mean, what else are they doing?

 

[SHUGENABOUF]

I rather like the idea. One of my favorite cutscenes in the entire series is the one in Wind Waker where Tetra, Valoo Prince komali and the postman come to Link's rescue. Link can do thing nobody else can, but it doesn't mean he has to do everything himself.

i would have to 100% agree with you about that.

 

[Fiveoclock]

I'm okay with one-man armies, as long as Link is actually strong enough. It's not unreasonable for him, with the full Triforce, to destroy entire legions of enemies.

 

[Kitkat]

You're right, it definatley makes it less realistic. Like, when the group of people help you in Twilight Princess, I didn't actualy need their help, I could have easily taken those enemies out. Although, I was left wondering why they didn't help me with Ganondorf, one of them had a freaking cannon! I'm not really into the fighting in the game because I'm terrible at it, but it would be cool if they made Link weaker, a d gave him more help.

 

[krule274]

Thats fine as long as Link is strong and is able to beat up all the baddies~

 

[snakeb0t]

Link is the Hero. The "Legend of Zelda" (in game) is that Link pwns the baddies. Why would you create an adventure legend about a large army winning? It would suck, and I wouldn't buy it. It would take control from the player, and the PC would no longer be the driving force behind the victory of good. Playing it, you would feel worthless. If this is your thing, go play an MMO.

 

[DuelMark]

No, the point is to show Link growing in strength, courage and skill by taking down a large amount of enemies before the final boss.

 

[TriforceMaster]

I personally don't really mind. A change of pace would be cool, but not forever. I honestly hated Medli and Makar in TWW. I didn't mind it in ST though. I just didn't like how you had to play the song to change characters in TWW. Took forever just to plant a seed, or hit a switch, etc.

 

[JuicieJ]

Yes and no. Yes as in it would be cool to see Link have some actual help in battle. No as in Link is the chosen hero each time and destined to battle foes on his own, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's placed upon him intentionally by the gods because they know he can do it. Plus, it's a single-player series with one protagonist, and it's been that way for 25 years (with the exception of the FS games, which kind of do this sort of thing you're talking about). You have to admit, it'd be kind of odd to have another character come in as playable out of nowhere. A real issue with this, though, is how is he going to call anyone for help? He doesn't have telepathic powers to contact anyone, nor does he have any kind of mobile device to call someone up. I suppose it could work like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood where some pals are always hanging around waiting to be summoned, but surely you see what I'm saying. I wouldn't mind if there was some help for Link in the series, though. In fact, I'd welcome it, especially if it were a co-op scenario. But it's not necessary.

Now, let's look at this statement:

It's absolutely ridiculous that that one man can defeat anyone and everyone. Singlehandedly, even.

"Absolutely ridiculous?" You act like you've never seen this before. Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man... They've all done this sort of thing alone before. Sure, they've had help at times, but the fact is they've done it alone. It's not ridiculous. It's common storytelling, even in stories that aren't about superheroes. It's perfectly believable when it's a fantasy world.

By the way, he's failed on the timeline, so he's not exactly unbeatable now.

 

[chucker173]

NO! link is and always will be the chosen warrior to vanquish evil from hyrule he has to be a one man army. the legend of zelda is fantisy game and i think it only makes sense to have a hero that can do unhumanly possible things so i think link should stay awesome and not rely on anyone