Daily Debate: What If You Could Choose Whether Link Did or Didn’t Have a Companion in a Zelda Game?

We’ve all had that moment where Navi is really getting on our nerves. Maybe we’re in the Forest Temple, and this is our 26th time playing through Ocarina of Time, and we know exactly what to do, but the dang fairy is hovering over our heads shouting “Hey!” every five seconds. What if there was a way to turn her off for a while, or hey, even an option when you start the game to not even have her tag along in the first place?

Of course, Navi is just the most obvious example. And I realize that the companion characters throughout the series are there to help you as you initially play through the games. However, most Zelda gamers have completed their first playthroughs of these games and are probably just playing again to relive the adventure, or playing again to beat their personal best times as speedrunners. For this particular group of players, you have to admit that having the option to decline a companion would be nice.

I can see some players disagreeeing, and pointing out that some companions, like Midna, or the King of Red Lions, are important for the story development of certain games. That’s fine, they can still hang around for that portion of the game, but the speedrunner community is most likely skipping the story anyways. So it might be nice to skip all the companion-forced tutorials/advice as well.

But these are just my opinions. What do you guys think? Would you like the option to be able to choose whether you have a companion throughout a Zelda game or not? Beyond just ignoring them but having them be an annoying, nagging voice in your ear of course. Or do you prefer to have them along, even if you have to put up with their constant handholding? Share your thoughts in the comments below!