Grappling hooks.
Love or hate ‘em- Actually, I take that back.
You CAN’T hate grappling hooks.
You’re not ALLOWED to hate grappling hooks.
They make every video game better.
And if you find any evidence to refute that, jokes on you, because it doesn’t EXIST.
Grappling hooks in video games are awesome and they have multiple applications in traversal
and combat.
Look at the Metroid Prime Trilogy’s Grapple Beam, you can swing with that thing and use
it to tear off enemy shields.
It’s great.
However, the most recent example of a great grappling device is the Grappleshot from Halo
Infinite.
Now at first, you wouldn’t think that the hulking Master Chief had any business being
equipped with a grappling hook, but he has one in Halo Infinite and it makes us wonder
why he didn’t get one sooner.
Sure he can use it to get to high places, but he can also grab items with it, propel
himself toward enemies, and most importantly, hijack vehicles from afar.
That’s right, not even banshees are safe from the Master Chief.
Granted, they never were, but they’re now less safe thanks to his Grappleshot.
I can’t tell you how many times I used this new toy over the course of the campaign.
Heck, I just kept grappling the ground because it gave me a slight boost while sprinting.
At least I think it did?
Look, if I think it makes me go faster, I’ll do it, I don’t care how ridiculous I look.
The Banished won’t laugh when they’re on the other side of my Grappleshot.
Did I mention it electrocutes people?
The Grappleshot was a necessary addition to Halo Infinite, as an aid in traversal was
needed for the first open-world game in the series.
While there were the familiar linear corridor levels, Zeta Halo was filled with sprawling
zones containing mountainous regions that even the trusty vehicles would have trouble
getting through.
Luckily, Chief’s trusty Grappleshot could get him through the journey all on foot, allowing
him to scale any mountain and take any shortcut he sees.
You know, seeing a grappling hook implemented this way in an open-world set in a wild area
really took my breath away.
It made me think of another open-world game that’s part of a long-running series that
surprisingly didn’t have a grappling hook.
Yeah, you saw the title, you knew this was coming.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was groundbreaking, changing the conventions of
its respective franchise while also inspiring other open-world games, like Halo Infinite.
There were even reports that the game was supposed to be as large as Breath of the Wild.
Even then, we can see some inspiration from that game in Halo Infinite’s final release,
such as the ability to scale mountains and the wild physics-based stunts that players
are pulling off.
To outright call it a “Breath of the Wild CLONE” though would be highly inaccurate,
as it is still very much Halo in its gameplay, just thrown into an open-world environment.
Dare I say though that Halo did something BETTER than Breath of the Wild, and that was
its implementation of the grappling hook, let alone that the game had one to begin with.
Now am I really subtracting points from Breath of the Wild because it didn’t have a grappling
hook?
Noooooo, but it was curious even back in 2017 that the game never had it in the first place.
After all, most Zelda games before it have had variations of one.
If Breath of the Wild was your first Zelda game, then gather around the campfire children,
let grandpa Joe tell you the tale of the Hookshot!
This contraption helped Link make his way across certain gaps that have a target or
climbable textures.
Then there are the Clawshots, which are basically the same thing, but let Link jump between
targets as he’s connected to them.
Wind Waker also had an item actually called the Grappling Hook that attached to poles
so Link could swing on them.
Not as fast as the Hookshot, but effective nonetheless.
I kid you not, these items were in NINETY PERCENT of Zelda games….approximately.
However, it was nowhere to be seen in Breath of the Wild.
Of course, this game did away with tons of previously established Zelda conventions,
but the lack of a Hookshot or Clawshot was one of the things fans noticed the most.
The most likely reason for its absence is that the development team didn’t know exactly
how to creatively implement it in an open-world setting with virtually no limits.
Because as cool as the Hookshot is, its usage is extremely limited as it can only be used
on specific targets.
How could this possibly work in a boundless open world?
Well, it turns out the answer might be in Halo Infinite.
Zelda...learning from Halo?
I didn’t think that was possible, and yet, here we are.
Even the setting of Halo Infinite sounds Zelda-related.
ZETA HALO.
ZELDA HALO.
I can’t be the only one who hears that.
The Grappleshot in Halo Infinite serves as a great proof-of-concept for a potential Hookshot
in the Breath of the Wild sequel.
Instead of making the Hookshot only compatible with certain markings on a wall, just let
it connect to nearly any surface.
This would make movement a whole lot faster--and more fun-- both on the ground and while climbing.
Sure Link can climb by himself, something Master Chief can’t do ‘cause he’s a
chonky boi, so the Hookshot would serve as a supplement to climbing rather than a requirement.
Imagine how much quicker it would be to use the Hookshot to cover more distance in a shorter
time.
Even better, since we’re climbing the same mountains we did in Breath of the Wild, wouldn’t
we want to do it in a different way?
The Hookshot would totally make the climbs more snappy.
There might have to be a cooldown feature implemented like the one in Halo Infinite
to make sure players don’t become overpowered climbers.
Either that or the Hookshot can use up stamina.
Given that the Breath of the Wild sequel is going to have these islands in the sky, using
a device like the Hookshot to travel between the skylands would make too much sense.
There could even be floating miniature islands or creatures between islands like in Skyward
Sword.
That way players don’t have to only use the glider.
Halo Infinite also proved that a grappling hook has some serious combat potential.
Chief can use it to latch on to enemies and reel himself towards them for a serious beating.
There’s also a skill he can unlock that stuns them with an electric shock so they
don’t block his punch.
Other than that, Chief can grab weapons and explosive crates with the grappling hook as
well as hijack enemy vehicles with it.
The Hookshot in previous Zelda games could be used to pick up items and damage enemies,
but it wasn’t the most useful item to combat these foes.
That can change in Breath of the Wild 2.
Link could potentially reel himself toward enemies with the Hookshot or pick up items
from a distance during battle.
And think of the bossfight potential here!
Imagine fighting a giant boss as big as a mountain.
The only way to kill them is to climb them, and you’re going to need a grappling hook
if you want to do that faster.
I’m getting CHILLS just thinking about it.
The development team can also come up with new ideas for implementing the Hookshot during
combat rather than just copy Halo Infinite’s style verbatim.
That is IF they’re going to put a Hookshot in Breath of the Wild 2, which I hope they
do.
Heck, the Hookshot could even double as a Wind Waker-style Grappling Hook that lets
Link swing across gaps.
Hundreds of utilizations are possible for a Hookshot, Clawshot, or Grappling Hook in
the Breath of the Wild sequel, and Halo Infinite really helped sell the idea of one in an open-world
setting.
Halo Infinite has a lot of great things going for it, and the Grappleshot is definitely
in the Top 3.
So much so that it got us thinking about the potential return of the Hookshot in Breath
of the Wild 2.
I hope Eiji Aonuma gets a chance to play Halo Infinite to think about the possibilities
of this device in Breath of the Wild 2 or any future Zelda game.
You know what though, why stop at Zelda?
There are lots of game franchises that could benefit from including grappling hooks.
Like Mario for example.
We got a sample of what that would be like in Super Mario Galaxy 2 with Yoshi’s long
tongue, but imagine it in a 2D game like this mod right here.
It would certainly make 2D Mario games interesting again.
And if Nintendo needs more ideas for how that would work, they should pull out their Super
Mario Bros. Super Show VHS for some inspiration.
But going back to open-world games, maybe Bethesda can put grappling hooks in Fallout
and Elder Scrolls?
I’m tired of having to sprint up those mountains, man!
Also, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate had a grappling hook, why didn’t the other games?
And you KNOW I have to talk about the Grapple Beam from Metroid, as it could make a HUGE
comeback in Metroid Prime 4 beyond swinging and removing debris.
Maybe Samus could have a melee attack and make like Master Chief, pulling enemies towards
her and hitting them with her massive arm cannon.
Retro Studios could really get wild with the Grapple Beam, and I hope they do.
Anyway, what do you think about the Hookshot possibly returning in Breath of the Wild 2?
Do you think Halo Infinite’s Grappleshot serves as a good inspiration for it?
Let us know in the comments below and check out the videos on the right for more topics
you might be interested in.
Until next time, bye!