Don't You DLC?: Zelda Breath of the Wild
A continuation of my ideas for DLC on games that I love, this time for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While I could go into how much I absolutely love this game, all of the things that are so special to me, and all of the things that would make it that much more special, I am instead going to limit myself here. Today, I will only be talking about one thing as it pertains to DLC for Breath of the Wild: new characters.
Like many people, I was surprised that the development team didn't take this game as the opportunity to finally unveil a playable Princess Zelda. Honestly, if there was a time to do it this was the perfect game to introduce it.
Without getting too much into my thoughts on the matter, however, I'm going to keep the intro simple and just go into my thoughts on completely imaginary and hypothetical DLC characters for Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Princess Zelda
Zelda would play very similarly to Link, having access to all the same weapons, runes, and gear that he does. Her playstyle would change, however, in a few unique ways. For starters, as she is a more powerful being than Link (and royalty), Zelda would begin the game with more hearts than Link. This may throw off the total of Spirit Orbs being greater than what's needed to get a full set of hearts, but that's okay considering you don't need to beat every shrine to complete the game. Zelda would also have access to even more advanced versions of the Sheikah Slate's runes. I'm not sure how all of them would change, but I picture simple changes (like being able to drop more bombs, create more Cryonis towers at once, etc.) and more complex ones (being able to create a Statis "field," using Magnesis to repel enemies, etc.). Oh, and Zelda wouldn't have access to the Champion's Abilities! Story wise, her campaign could be a little darker than Link's. Maybe the hero never awoke in the Shrine of Resurrection, and Zelda now has to leave Hyrule Castle (risking Ganon's complete annihilation of Hyrule) to accomplish what Link could not? In this same line of thought, it would maybe make sense that Zelda gets some other mysterious abilities throughout her journey, rather than the Champions'? Food for thought.
Ganondorf
As it should be, Ganondorf would be playing the game on "hard" mode (yes, I know Master Mode exists). He would start with a whopping 6 hearts and a complete second Stamina wheel (!), but in exchange would receive less healing from food and move slower than Link while doing anything that requires Stamina. In exchange, he would deal additional damage with any weapon and the limited armor that he could wear (he couldn't wear everything) would get additional defensive bonuses. This means that Ganondorf's playstyle leans more towards conserving energy, building up resources, soaking up hits, and dishing out utterly massive damage. Additionally, he would have a few different game mechanics. Ganondorf would not have access to the Sheikah Slate or its runes; instead, he would have some alternative ways to achieve the same abilities. Dark Magic would take the place of runes, while functions such as the Map, Beacons, and the Camera would still be available without any real in-game explanation of where they came from. As far as Champion's Abilities, these would also be missing in exchange for a few more "Dark Arts" to assist Ganon. I imagine many of the traveling or puzzle solving abilities, say Cryonis, the Zora Armor, the Parasail, etc. would just be replaced by similarly-functioning abilities for Ganondorf. He could also have access to some unique weapons that Link does not have access to, such as his Gerudo Claymore (the one from Smash Bros. Melee), his trident, and the dual blades he has in Hyrule Warriors. Storywise, why is Ganondorf playable? I don't know. Maybe he's a Ganondorf from earlier in the timeline who got rocketed to the future to stop himself from becoming the Calamity? Maybe he's hunting the Triforce in the current BOTW timeline, and it turns out Calamity Ganon and Ganondorf are not one and the same? Who cares. It just sounds cool as hell to play as Ganondorf in this game.
Linkle
Can I just say I love this character and wish she would appear in games outside of Hyrule Warriors? Shit, if she were playable in a future Smash Bros. game I would die happy. But anyway, if Ganondorf is "hard" mode, Linkle would be "easy" mode. As the peppier female version of Link, Linkle would start the game with one more heart than Link. She would also, because of her boundless energy, consume less Stamina than Link does by default. This means that from the outset of the game, Linkle can get around a lot more easily than Link can. I also picture her having a few different movement options, maybe a faster crouchwalk, the ability to cartwheel if she dodges to the side, etc. Linkle also would start with some default gear that Link lacks. While I picture the other two DLC characters also wouldn't start out in tattered clothes, Linkle would straight up start with her own variation of the Hylian Hood, Tunic, and Pants the second she steps onto the Great Plateau. She also would begin the game with a bow, the Crossbow to be exact. Since this is Linkle's "defacto" weapon in Hyrule Warriors, it makes sense to include it here. Unlike the other bows in the game, Linkle's crossbow would never break, fires its bolts straight-and-true, and has a permanent "Quick Shot" buff. She also could use any arrow type as ammunition on her bow. I know she could dual-wield crossbows in her original game, but for the purposes of BOTW I'll leave that out here. As far as other gameplay quirks, Linkle would actually be able to use all the same runes and Champion's Abilities as Link. For all purposes, she's just a Link with better mobility and a great starting weapon. Getting her into the story, however, is a little lazy. The only explanation I can come up with is that, for some reason, Link doesn't wake up and, well, Linkle arrives to the answer the call. Considering she thinks she's the hero of legend in Hyrule Warriors, and not Link, this works well enough for me.
Midna, Fi, Tingle, and the rest....
I think a lot of other excellent characters absolutely exist and, well, could be playable in some form. Midna would be fun, Tingle and Fi could be interesting, a younger Impa and Sheik would kick ass... but, to be honest, I wanted to stick with characters that wouldn't "break" the experience of BOTW. Having Midna with her shapeshifting or either of the Sheikah with their ninja skills kind of leaves you wondering why they'd be climbing rock walls or struggling to fight with a tree branch, don't you think?
A few little notable ideas
I said I would stick to just characters, but I just had to add a few things while I was thinking of them.
-More ranged weapons with their own abilities would be fun. Think Hookshots, the Wind Bellows or the Grappling Hook.
-More melee weapons with weird secondary functions, like how BOTW did the Fire Rod or Boomerangs. Being able to use the Shovel as a melee weapon and a tool for digging up treasure? That would be pretty neat. Or something like the Cane of Somalia. That would just be cool and weird enough to see working really well in a game like BOTW.
-More gear with special abilities, like the Zora Armor. Bring back the Pegasus Boots and let me sprint like the wind, or the Roc's Feather/Cape and give Link the ability to jump higher or even glide. There are a few other neat throwback ideas here too, like the Iron and Hover Boots from OOT, the Magic Boots from Zelda II, the Magic Cape from ALttP, the Mermaid Tail from Oracles, or the Stone Mask from Majora's Mask.
-The Mirror Shield.
-Gimmicky items like the old Zelda games being lumped in with the runes. I know it defeats the point of the Sheikah Slate being the big item in the game, but it would be cool to be able to use the Beetle from Skyward Sword or activate spells again.
Like many people, I was surprised that the development team didn't take this game as the opportunity to finally unveil a playable Princess Zelda. Honestly, if there was a time to do it this was the perfect game to introduce it.
Without getting too much into my thoughts on the matter, however, I'm going to keep the intro simple and just go into my thoughts on completely imaginary and hypothetical DLC characters for Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Princess Zelda
Zelda would play very similarly to Link, having access to all the same weapons, runes, and gear that he does. Her playstyle would change, however, in a few unique ways. For starters, as she is a more powerful being than Link (and royalty), Zelda would begin the game with more hearts than Link. This may throw off the total of Spirit Orbs being greater than what's needed to get a full set of hearts, but that's okay considering you don't need to beat every shrine to complete the game. Zelda would also have access to even more advanced versions of the Sheikah Slate's runes. I'm not sure how all of them would change, but I picture simple changes (like being able to drop more bombs, create more Cryonis towers at once, etc.) and more complex ones (being able to create a Statis "field," using Magnesis to repel enemies, etc.). Oh, and Zelda wouldn't have access to the Champion's Abilities! Story wise, her campaign could be a little darker than Link's. Maybe the hero never awoke in the Shrine of Resurrection, and Zelda now has to leave Hyrule Castle (risking Ganon's complete annihilation of Hyrule) to accomplish what Link could not? In this same line of thought, it would maybe make sense that Zelda gets some other mysterious abilities throughout her journey, rather than the Champions'? Food for thought.
Ganondorf
As it should be, Ganondorf would be playing the game on "hard" mode (yes, I know Master Mode exists). He would start with a whopping 6 hearts and a complete second Stamina wheel (!), but in exchange would receive less healing from food and move slower than Link while doing anything that requires Stamina. In exchange, he would deal additional damage with any weapon and the limited armor that he could wear (he couldn't wear everything) would get additional defensive bonuses. This means that Ganondorf's playstyle leans more towards conserving energy, building up resources, soaking up hits, and dishing out utterly massive damage. Additionally, he would have a few different game mechanics. Ganondorf would not have access to the Sheikah Slate or its runes; instead, he would have some alternative ways to achieve the same abilities. Dark Magic would take the place of runes, while functions such as the Map, Beacons, and the Camera would still be available without any real in-game explanation of where they came from. As far as Champion's Abilities, these would also be missing in exchange for a few more "Dark Arts" to assist Ganon. I imagine many of the traveling or puzzle solving abilities, say Cryonis, the Zora Armor, the Parasail, etc. would just be replaced by similarly-functioning abilities for Ganondorf. He could also have access to some unique weapons that Link does not have access to, such as his Gerudo Claymore (the one from Smash Bros. Melee), his trident, and the dual blades he has in Hyrule Warriors. Storywise, why is Ganondorf playable? I don't know. Maybe he's a Ganondorf from earlier in the timeline who got rocketed to the future to stop himself from becoming the Calamity? Maybe he's hunting the Triforce in the current BOTW timeline, and it turns out Calamity Ganon and Ganondorf are not one and the same? Who cares. It just sounds cool as hell to play as Ganondorf in this game.
Linkle
Can I just say I love this character and wish she would appear in games outside of Hyrule Warriors? Shit, if she were playable in a future Smash Bros. game I would die happy. But anyway, if Ganondorf is "hard" mode, Linkle would be "easy" mode. As the peppier female version of Link, Linkle would start the game with one more heart than Link. She would also, because of her boundless energy, consume less Stamina than Link does by default. This means that from the outset of the game, Linkle can get around a lot more easily than Link can. I also picture her having a few different movement options, maybe a faster crouchwalk, the ability to cartwheel if she dodges to the side, etc. Linkle also would start with some default gear that Link lacks. While I picture the other two DLC characters also wouldn't start out in tattered clothes, Linkle would straight up start with her own variation of the Hylian Hood, Tunic, and Pants the second she steps onto the Great Plateau. She also would begin the game with a bow, the Crossbow to be exact. Since this is Linkle's "defacto" weapon in Hyrule Warriors, it makes sense to include it here. Unlike the other bows in the game, Linkle's crossbow would never break, fires its bolts straight-and-true, and has a permanent "Quick Shot" buff. She also could use any arrow type as ammunition on her bow. I know she could dual-wield crossbows in her original game, but for the purposes of BOTW I'll leave that out here. As far as other gameplay quirks, Linkle would actually be able to use all the same runes and Champion's Abilities as Link. For all purposes, she's just a Link with better mobility and a great starting weapon. Getting her into the story, however, is a little lazy. The only explanation I can come up with is that, for some reason, Link doesn't wake up and, well, Linkle arrives to the answer the call. Considering she thinks she's the hero of legend in Hyrule Warriors, and not Link, this works well enough for me.
Midna, Fi, Tingle, and the rest....
I think a lot of other excellent characters absolutely exist and, well, could be playable in some form. Midna would be fun, Tingle and Fi could be interesting, a younger Impa and Sheik would kick ass... but, to be honest, I wanted to stick with characters that wouldn't "break" the experience of BOTW. Having Midna with her shapeshifting or either of the Sheikah with their ninja skills kind of leaves you wondering why they'd be climbing rock walls or struggling to fight with a tree branch, don't you think?
A few little notable ideas
I said I would stick to just characters, but I just had to add a few things while I was thinking of them.
-More ranged weapons with their own abilities would be fun. Think Hookshots, the Wind Bellows or the Grappling Hook.
-More melee weapons with weird secondary functions, like how BOTW did the Fire Rod or Boomerangs. Being able to use the Shovel as a melee weapon and a tool for digging up treasure? That would be pretty neat. Or something like the Cane of Somalia. That would just be cool and weird enough to see working really well in a game like BOTW.
-More gear with special abilities, like the Zora Armor. Bring back the Pegasus Boots and let me sprint like the wind, or the Roc's Feather/Cape and give Link the ability to jump higher or even glide. There are a few other neat throwback ideas here too, like the Iron and Hover Boots from OOT, the Magic Boots from Zelda II, the Magic Cape from ALttP, the Mermaid Tail from Oracles, or the Stone Mask from Majora's Mask.
-The Mirror Shield.
-Gimmicky items like the old Zelda games being lumped in with the runes. I know it defeats the point of the Sheikah Slate being the big item in the game, but it would be cool to be able to use the Beetle from Skyward Sword or activate spells again.
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