The Wii U’s first Zelda title tremendously shakes things up with a more slash-happy approach to saving Hyrule...
Release Date: September 26, 2014
Platform: WiiU
Developer: Tecmo Koei Games
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Beat-‘Em-Up
The Legend of Zelda series has become synonymous with AAA gaming for the most part. While not only being a nearly universally enjoyed franchise, the series has given us a number of benchmark moments in gaming that have gone unrivaled for some. Shifting to the Dark World in A Link to the Past for the first time; Riding Epona in Ocarina of Time; Even turning into your wolf form in Twilight Princess. We still think of these moments, fondly, whenever video games are in discussion, and the lasting power behind this series is immense. But will this, a new spin-off with a new gameplay style, manage to match those moments from the past and stay as fondly in our memories? Will it turn the whole series and Zelda as we know it on its head? Well, as Na’vi would say, “Hey! Listen!” you’re not going to want to miss this.
As you’ve likely heard by this point, the biggest difference in this title is the gameplay blending between Zelda and the Dynasty Warriors series, and it’s shocking how well it all comes together. This weird thing is such a delight to move though and the kind of rampaging fun many of us have wanted to have with Zelda for a log time now. Link’s Crossbow Training teased us with what could be done with this world transitioning into a different gameplay genre, but this pushes far, far beyond that. It also helps that every step of the way feels like a colossal love letter to the Zelda series as a whole. 8-bit retro pictures welcome you during the loading and instruction screens, and the plot itself is designed to cater to fan service.
Hyrule Warriors constructs a rather novel plot to implement all of this craziness, with Ganondorf planning his resurrection through the sorceress, Cia (with the help of Wizzro and Volga), who is supposed to protect the Triforce’s balance and keep the world neutral. In the process, the Gate of Souls is opened, which acts as a portal to various moments in Hyrule’s timeline as a means to build an army of enemies, but in our case acts as the conduit to the “Zelda Greatest Hits” mash-up we’re given to battle though, as Link is aided by Zelda, Impa, and heroes throughout all of Hyrule’s time-space continuum to battle Ganondorf, Cia, and the forces of evil.
Not only is all of this deeply addictive fun, but it also tells you the history of Zelda’s lore at the same time, in a streamlined, unique fashion. In spite of how I knew what I was getting in for, I found myself surprised at how much enjoyment I got out of seeing events come together (like Link getting his trademark tunic, and I about lost my mind when I saw the moon from Majora’s Mask show up in Midna’s first stage, or a freaking boss battle against Dark Link!) and the constant familiar faces and enemies that came up at the appropriate times.
While Hyrule Warriors’ “Story Mode” is certainly the main attraction, you’re also offered up the relaxing “Free Play Mode” which is exactly as it sounds, the boiled down, stat-specific “Challenge Mode”, but also the wonderfully creative “Adventure Mode” which really goes beyond what’s necessary of it. “Adventure Mode” is completely separate from “Story Mode” and it borrows much from Dynasty Warriors’ “Challenge Mode” setup. Perhaps most innovatively, the menu for this is almost like its own minigame, as you move about a classic NES style top-down world, with each block of the grid or landmark on the world map representing a challenge. I mean, why just drably select a mission from a menu when you can control Link through the land of Hyrule to achieve the same thing? It even has a story (I can’t think of the last Challenge Mode menu setup that had its own independent story), as you are once again staffed to take down Ganon and his eight evil minions to restore order to Hyrule. You’re given a number of items to help you in your quest, with Link holding maybe his greatest assault arsenal yet as these items are all used to discover secrets amongst your overworld/challenge menu.
As you move through your challenges, the score you earn at the end of it determines whether you unlock more of your explorable overworld map. Getting an “A” rank will also give you a mega-powerful item for a specific character, which can range from something as drab as a heart container, to a rare new weapon. Sometimes this “A” rank is impossible to get unless you use the Mode’s “Search” function, giving you a closer look at your square, allowing you to see item-specific secrets necessary to grabbing that “A.” Such as the realization that using fire to burn a bush on the square will reveal a secret staircase containing Lana’s Spear weapon. Needless to say, this is a lot of effort, and actually involves difficulty and puzzle solving (more than in the actual “Story Mode”, without a doubt) making this a robust, lengthy mode all on its own. I could easily see (although it’d be weird) players even preferring this mode, depending on the sort of Zelda gamer they are. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Nintendo release a full title that takes advantage of this sort of gameplay and set up down the road.
Returning to the frenetic hack-and-slashing of Story Mode, you get to control many classic Zelda characters that until this point were just talking heads and shiny non-playable characters to be looked at from afar. There’s a roster of 13 here, with most titles in the franchise getting representation (Midna and Agitha from Twilight Princess, Fi from Skyward Sword, and villains, Ghirahim and Zant, are some of the more surprising inclusions), and Lana being a new character entirely. Each of these characters has their own weapon and magic set which keeps the constant battling to stay as fresh as it can. Smashing foes with Darunia’s ultraton hammer is manic fun, but very different than playing as Ganondorf and double-fisting swords as you fight through the fray, which in his case includes battling against Link and Zelda, no less. That’s right, you get to fight against Link here even!
Keeping the nostalgia flowing strong, you get to take these characters to battle on some of the best known, most revered locations and battlefields from Zelda history such as Hyrule Field, Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, the Palace of Twilight, Ganon’s Castle, and even Skyloft from Skyward Sword.
When it comes to your fighting, there’s a very heavy slant towards the Dynasty Warriors combat mechanics, with also a mix of Zelda elements thrown in, such as enemy targeting and lock-on. This is a pretty seamless system as you’re working your way through the hordes of enemies, or taking part in the giant boss battles that are sooooo damn fun as you see new baddies and reimagined classics, like Gohma.
As one might assume, endlessly bashing buttons through dozens of levels with near-identical goals behind them does become repetitive to a degree, but that’s more the design of the genre than the game’s fault particularly. Plus, the entirely different stages, and wide berth of playable characters, help keep things fresh; the game is at its best when you first start playing it and all of this is new. Once you’ve played enough of the levels, the sheen hasn’t exactly worn off, but it’s definitely lost some of its shine as the concept may wear thin to some gamers. By this point extraneous elements like “Challenge Mode”, which don’t provide any rewards for players, may inevitably go untouched due to the fatigue.
Zelda games are usually given the proper attention when dealing with the aesthetics, and Hyrule Warriors is no exception, containing amazing graphics (the best of the Wii U, I’d say), and it’s great to see these characters looking so defined. I didn’t experience any slowdown as I blazed through it all at a frenzied pace either, and there are some beautiful animations through your special moves, especially when you’re mowing down dozens of enemies at the same time. The music, unsurprisingly, is also top-notch, with classic Zeldasongs sounding remastered and at their best. It’s easy to break up the monotony of the gameplay too with these tunes pulsing through the battlefields.
This is certainly a deep, full game with plenty to return to. Hyrule Warriors is relatively lengthy at around 20 stages, with each one taking you about half an hour to complete, give or take, if you’re collecting everything in the game. That’s not including any of the detailed “Adventure Mode” and the wealth of weapons, artwork, and abilities to unlock on top of everything.
After taking all of this in, clearly there seems to be much life in this idea and recent re-invention of the Zelda franchise. There is of course the alternative that it’s just because this game is new and the only one of its kind that it feels so fresh, but I don’t think anyone would be surprised if this series kept going. The sales figures in Japan, if anything, seem to indicate the title’s success, and it wasn’t too long ago that we saw games like Metroid Prime and Paper Mario that took “old” franchises and revamped them into something different. We keep doing this. We want this, and The Legend of Zelda is just the most recent example to receive a facelift. Fortunately the result has the series looking more like Lana and less like Darunia. Not that Gorons aren’t pretty in their own right…
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