History Main / PetInterface

* Dogmeat in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' is shaping up to fit this trope.

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[[AC:HiddenObject]]

Sort of a low key ExpositionFairy crossed with {{Nintendogs}}.

* The Mabari war hound in ''DragonAge'' (later named "Barkspawn" in DLC). Another Mabari shows up in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII,'' though more as a ShoutOut to the first game (it's treated as a summoned creature, while the original dog was a full companion character).

* ''FinalFantasyVIII'' had one of the main characters have a pet dog named [[GenderBlenderName Angelo]] which could help attack in battles, such as shoving it onto a [[ImprobableWeaponUser Blaster Edge]] and firing it at enemies. She could also revive [=KOed=] allies, ([[GameBreaker and make the party invincible]]), and search for items on the battlefield.
** Which is based on the "Animals" ability from ''FinalFantasyV'', where a character could summon random animals to attack enemies, heal you, block attacks, etc.
*** Shadow's dog would occasionally enter battle for a free attack in ''FinalFantasyVI''.

* Nall mostly provides snark in ''[[LunarTheSilverStar Lunar: Silver Star Story]]'', but he's also the menu cursor and your BagOfSharing.

* The dolphins in the ''EndlessOcean'' system.
* The adorable Jeanne from ''NoMoreHeroes''. She gets fat in [[NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle the second one]], and if you get her to a low enough weight, Travis gets inspired and gains a new move

* Dogmeat in ''{{Fallout 3}}'' is shaping up to fit this trope.

* ''FinalFantasyVIII'' had one of the main characters have a pet dog which could help attack in battles, such as shoving it onto a crossbow and firing it at enemies. He could also rez [=KOed=] allies ([[GameBreaker and make the party invincible]]) and search for items on the battlefield.

** You can 'a'pply a bullwhip at a humanoid pet to take their weapon away. (For replacement with a better weapon.) You can also prepare and leave weapons, armor, and tools for your humanoid pets to pick up and use.

A relatively new interface for video games in which you are given a sidekick, usually a [[NonHumanSidekick pet]], that acts as a guide/virtual pet of sorts in the world. You can play with it, it will alert you of enemies, it will dig up hidden items, sometimes you can ride it, it usually can't die except in PlotlineDeath.

* Agro from ''ShadowOfTheColossus'', to some extent.

* The ENTIRE ''SpyroTheDragon'' series. Sparx the Dragonfly is your health meter (Gold -> Blue -> Green -> Gone, later updated to include an additional level of health, either a glowing gold or a warning red), and in later games can bust nearby gem cases, collect nearby gems, and even has his own levels.

** Which is similar to the Animal system in the ''BlackAndWhite'' games.

* Baby from the PlayStation RPG ''[[GuardiansCrusade Guardian's Crusade]]'', which revolves around this trope.

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<<|AnimalTropes|>>

* ''{{Torchlight}}'' combines this with ''BagOfHolding''; your pet acts as a secondary inventory as well as a combat helper, and can even go back to town to sell your excess loot for you. Somewhat unnecessary given how common town portal scrolls are, and you get a much lower sale price for your spoils, but nice for those times when you just can't be distracted.

* In the ''ProfessorLayton'' games, you're given a pet that will point out hint coins for you once you've completed its particular minigame. In ''Curious Village'', it was a robot dog you had to assemble; in ''Diabolical Box'', it was a hamster you had to exercise; in ''Unwound Future'', it was a parrot you helped make deliveries (this was changed from the Japanese version, where you taught the parrot different words instead).

* Hewie from ''HauntingGround''.

* GuildWars, likewise, allows player characters to train pets using the Ranger class' Charm Animal Skill (which any character can gain access to by switching their secondary profession to Ranger). Actually having the pet show up requires Charm Animal to be equipped, and other skills do things like healing, buffing, and reviving it. A character's pet can be named and if charmed below level 20 will level up and gain different, mutually exclusive traits as it levels (for example, pets that took dramatically more damage than they dished out will gain a permanent bonus to hit points at the expense of attack damage). Characters can unload a pet on an NPC "trainer," at which point the pet is LostForever, but opens up the slot for a new pet. Pets will hide in Hammerspace when in towns or when Charm Animal is not equipped.
* Wizard101 has pets that are raised to compete with other players in races and provide the occasional stat boost or spell. There are over a hundred different pets that can be obtained from various ways ranging from boss drops, quest rewards, to free with the purchase of a gaming card.

* Tricky the [[strike:Triceratops]] Styracosaurus from ''StarFoxAdventures''.

* The dog from ''{{Fable}} 2'', who [[spoiler:suffers a PlotlineDeath at the hands of the main villain (in a literal case of ShootTheDog). Your dog is then LostForever unless you pick the ending where he is revived.]]

* Nall mostly provides snark in ''{{Lunar}}: Silver Star Story'', but he's also the menu cursor and your BagOfSharing.

* The Mabari war hound in ''DragonAge'' (later named "Barkspawn" in DLC). Another Mabari shows up in 'Dragon Age 2,'' though more as a ShoutOut to the first game (it's treated as a summoned creature, while the original dog was a full companion character).

* NetHack - While not an integrated system, a surprising amount of NetHack's gameplay can be usefully applied to pets -- or rather, tame monsters (which can include humanoids).

* ''[[MetalGearSolid Metal Gear Solid 4]]'' provides the tiny, cute, adorably flaily Metal Gear Mk. II (and III). You can use it to do reconnaissance, fetch ammo for you, and extend a prod from it to electrocute {{Mooks}}. Find a dog that can do that.

* Brown from ''Rule of Rose''.

* The adorable Jeanne from ''NoMoreHeroes''. She gets fat in the second one, and if you get her to a low enough weight, Travis gets inspired and gains a new move

* ''{{Torchlight}}'' combines this with ''BagofHolding''; your pet acts as a secondary inventory as well as a combat helper, and can even go back to town to sell your excess loot for you. Somewhat unnecessary given how common town portal scrolls are, and you get a much lower sale price for your spoils, but nice for those times when you just can't be distracted.

* In ''SkiesOfArcadia'', Fina has Cupil, a living weapon of sorts which acts as her pet and her only childhood friend.

[[AC:MMORPGs]]
* Several classes get pets in ''WorldOfWarcraft''. Elementals can be summoned by Shamans (earth, fire) and Mages (water), Priests get a shadowfiend, Death Knights can raise a ghoul from a corpse (even that of a dead player!), and Warlocks can summon a variety of demons, from the lowly Imp to the massive Infernal. But none are as pet-focused as Hunters, who not only can tame almost any Beast-type enemy in the world, they get to name the pet and give it its own minor talent tree. In all of the above cases, the pet gets a small bar of icons above the player's ActionBar, for the player to give commands with.

* NetHack - While not an integrated system, a surprising amount of NetHack's gameplay can be usefully applied to [[strike pets]] tame monsters (including humanoids).

Examples:
* [[MetalGearSolid Metal Gear Solid 4]] provides the tiny, cute, adorably flaily Metal Gear Mk. II (and III). You can use it to do reconnaissance, fetch ammo for you, and extend a prod from it to electrocute {{Mooks}}. Find a dog that can do that.
* Tricky the [[strike:Triceratops]] Styracosaurus from ''StarFox Adventures''.
* Brown from ''Rule of Rose''.
* Hewie from ''HauntingGround''.
* The dog from ''{{Fable}} 2'', who [[spoiler:suffers a PlotlineDeath at the hands of the main villain (in a literal case of ShootTheDog). Your dog is then LostForever unless you pick the ending where he is revived.]]
** Which is similar to the Animal system in the ''BlackAndWhite'' games.
** Not quite [[spoiler:LostForever any more. With the Knothole Island DLC, the player may resurrect his dog at a special shrine, though it requires a human sacrifice.]]
* The dolphins in the ''EndlessOcean'' system.

* The "dog after me own heart" in ''The Bard's Tale''.
** The game plays with parts of the trope: [[spoiler:suffers a PlotlineDeath but is revived as a ghostly skeletal dog.]]
* Nall mostly provides snark in ''{{Lunar}}: Silver Star Story'', but he's also the menu cursor and your BagOfSharing.

* ''HarvestMoon'' has featured a dog and a horse in virtually every incarnation. Sometimes you also got a cat (or had to chose between the dog or cat).
* Baby from the PlayStation RPG ''[[GuardiansCrusade Guardian's Crusade]]'', which revolves around this trope.
* The transforming dog in ''SecretOfEvermore''.
* One of the most attractive features of the PC game ''Fate'' is the fact that your avatar is given a pet sidekick. You can name the animal, decide if you want a cat or a dog, and choose from a handful of different color variations. Although not invincible, the pet will fight for you and takes far less damage. Farther into the game, you can feed your pet different kinds of fish to turn it into a giant spider, a unicorn, or a number of other things, each with their own attributes.
* Dogmeat in ''{{Fallout}} 3'' is shaping up to fit this trope.
* Skye from ''GrandiaII'' is a bird that acts as a father figure and a bad mode of transport to the main character.
* ''FinalFantasyVIII'' had one of the main characters have a pet dog which could help attack in battles, such as shoving it onto a crossbow and firing it at enemies. He could also rez [=KOed=] allies ([[GameBreaker and make the party invincible]]) and search for items on the battlefield.
** Which is based on the "Animals" ability from ''FinalFantasyV'', where a character could summon random animals to attack enemies, heal you, block attacks, etc.
*** Shadow's dog would occasionally enter battle for a free attack in ''FinalFantasyVI''.
* In ''SkiesOfArcadia'', Fina has Cupil, a living weapon of sorts which acts as her pet and her only childhood friend.
* The ENTIRE ''SpyroTheDragon'' series. Sparx the Dragonfly is your health meter (Gold -> Blue -> Green -> Gone, later updated to include an additional level of health, either a glowing gold or a warning red), and in later games can bust nearby gem cases, collect nearby gems, and even has his own levels.
* ''Torchlight'' combines this with ''BagofHolding''; your pet acts as a secondary inventory as well as a combat helper, and can even go back to town to sell your excess loot for you. Somewhat unnecessary given how common town portal scrolls are, and you get a much lower sale price for your spoils, but nice for those times when you just can't be distracted.

* ''FinalFantasyVIII'' had one of the main characters have a pet dog which could help attack in battles, such as shoving it onto a crossbow and firing it at enemies. He could also rez KOed allies ([[GameBreaker and make the party invincible]]) and search for items on the battlefield.