The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are each largely flawless games - although TOTK manages that by largely just being the same as BOTW - which achieve what they set out to do with little hiccups. Of course, no game is completely perfect, but, at least in my opinion, and after well over 300 hours across both entries, I firmly believe that they come pretty close. However, as much as I love both games, there is one crucial feature I believe they're both missing that ultimately makes replaying them a little hard.

Of course, BOTW's best features have become a staple of the open-world genre, so it feels blasphemous to suggest it should borrow from other open-world games. However, there's a staple RPG mechanic that BOTW and TOTK largely lack - although not entirely - which, were they to include, would drastically improve the overall experience. While they survive without it, I sincerely hope that if there is to be a sequel to Tears of the Kingdom, it implements this much-needed feature and thus adds a significant amount more adventure to the proceedings.

TOTK & BOTW Needed Companions

It Would Make The Adventure More Epic

Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom lack companions. To be absolutely clear, I'm firmly aware that they both actually include companions, albeit not in the traditional sense. While BOTW's companions largely take a backseat, TOTK's best companions play a major role in certain story missions, fighting alongside Link in the way that is expected of companions in RPGs. However, in both games, these characters only accompany Link during main missions, and never while out exploring the open world like they would in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, for example.

Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom's implementation of companions is relatively disappointing, in my opinion, as it is exceptionally limited and showcases the potential that introducing them to the entire experience would have. It is a genuine pleasure to fight alongside these larger-than-life characters and converse with them during their respective missions. However, once it's over, and they return home, Link is again alone and forced to trek across Hyrule and solve the land's problems all on his own. It is a shame, as they could be a core part of his journey from the get-go.

BOTW's best NPCs, as well as TOTK's, should have a more involved role in the player's quest, especially when the stakes are as high as they always tend to be in Hyrule.

Meeting the likes of Sidon or Riju shouldn't be to unlock their unique ability to use later on in combat or while exploring. It should be to add them to your party, to journey alongside them, to learn more about them as you venture across the rolling fields and dense jungles of Hyrule, to chat over a campfire as Link cooks a meal for him and his friends. BOTW's best NPCs, as well as TOTK's, should have a more involved role in the player's quest, especially when the stakes are as high as they always tend to be in Hyrule.

Hyrule Can Feel Lonely Without Companions

It Is Largely An Empty Expanse

I found, after my second playthrough of Breath of the Wild and all throughout my first playthrough of Tears of the Kingdom, that Hyrule often feels exceptionally lonely. I completely understand that it is the point in Breath of the Wild, as its peaceful, haunting apocalyptic tone is a core part of what drives exploration and gives the game its iconic atmosphere. However, in Tears of the Kingdom, it felt strange to be journeying alone, especially after all the connections Link had made throughout BOTW and all the references to him fighting alongside the Champions before his long nap.

The lack of companions in the open world makes best RPG of 2024, Dragon's Dogma 2.

Dragon's Dogma 2's amazing Pawn mechanic almost perfectly replicates that feeling of a fellowship within a vast fantasy world by giving the player a handful of lively AI-controlled companions to fight by their side. I always found myself growing immensely attached to each and every one of them, dreading having to leave them behind to take onboard new ones, and creating so many memorable stories with them, even despite their personalities boiling down to their appearance and style of dialogue.

It makes me wonder just how incredible Tears of the Kingdom would have been had I journeyed alongside any of its memorable characters. It would have given Nintendo an opportunity to flesh them out even more, allowed players to craft unforgettable memories, and gotten it one step closer to replicating the vibes of Dragon's Dogma 2 or even the best road trip video game, Final Fantasy XV. That sense of camaraderie absolutely elevates a story, an open world, and the overall sense of adventure, and TOTK, at the very least, could have benefited greatly from that.

TOTK's Sequel Should Add Companions

It Would Help Set It Apart

While the chances of getting a Tears of the Kingdom sequel any time soon are unlikely, I hope that Nintendo eventually revisits this world so that it can expand upon it with mechanics such as constant companions. My dream would be if it added Zelda - or even Sidon, as I adore him so much - as a playable second character or an AI-controlled companion that would adventure around with Link. Of course, it would be even better if Link encountered numerous characters who eventually ed his party, each with their own unique fighting style or exploration ability.

I come from a background of playing almost exclusively story-driven JRPGs, which are famous for their huge casts of characters and party , so that may be a core reason why I feel like a sequel to Tears of the Kingdom should implement them. However, I do genuinely believe that they greatly improve an open world experience and help craft unexpected emergent gameplay moments that become their own story. They help make a world feel more alive and reactive, bring color and life to an adventure, and ultimately serve as a friend, if only for a short while.

There's a lot that a TOTK sequel must change, but if it only adds one mechanic, I hope it's companions. It is time Link hangs up his lone wolf status and starts welcoming friends. Having those extra characters around for the adventure of a lifetime as they take down the next big bad and save Hyrule from yet another apocalyptic disaster sounds amazing. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom may have missed out on constant companions, but the next game could finally be the one to give Link a friend who isn't constantly bugging him to listen.