Hyrule Warriors Direct Impressions, Screenshots, and Press Release

Some of my hype died for Hyrule Warriors once I found out that there was going to be no option available for “Online Multiplayer”, many people (Including myself) figured that Nintendo had dropped the ball on a title that could possibly be a console seller to some (Kind of similar to Mart Kart 8 or the up-and-coming Super Smash Bros. for Wii U).  However, from seeing this new “Hyrule Warrior Direct” presentation, maybe they do not need it.

I am going to give my impressions over what was seen in this presentation given by Nintendo in regards to how it is currently playing out (Do not worry, I will also embed the YouTube video of their entire session for easy comparison of my article).  Many wondered if this was a good idea or not (Myself included, again), and I am here to update my opinion on this game given the new information.

Video game fans will get the chance to play as the baddest bad guy of The Legend of Zelda video game series. Ganondorf, nemesis of Link and aspiring Triforce owner, will become a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming Hyrule Warriors video game, which launches Sept. 26 for the Wii U home console. Nintendo revealed new information about Hyrule Warriors during a Nintendo Direct video. To view the Nintendo Direct in its entirety, visit http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct. 

Hyrule Warriors combines two classic video game franchises, The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors, and challenges players to face off against hordes of enemies in epic battles. Some of the information discussed in the Nintendo Direct included: 

• Adventure Mode: Players are faced with a grid of challenges that looks like the map from The Legend of Zelda on NES. Completing each challenge unlocks a new region of the map, and with it, a new level of Adventure Mode. Certain characters and weapons can only be unlocked in Adventure Mode. 

• Costumes: Club Nintendo members who buy and register Hyrule Warriors within four weeks of launch will receive a set of alternate Ganondorf costumes as free in-game downloadable content. More details will be made available on http://club.nintendo.com. For certain other characters, Nintendo will make downloadable alternate costumes available as pre-order bonuses from select retailers in North America. Nintendo will announce more information about how to get these cosmetic add-ons in the future. 

• Playable Characters: In addition to Ganondorf, players can opt to play as various characters from The Legend of Zelda universe. Each character carries his or her own specialty weapons: Link (Hylian Sword), Princess Zelda (Rapier), Impa (Giant Blade), Midna (Shackle), Sheik (Harp), Agitha (Parasol), Darunia (Hammer), Princess Ruto (Zora Scale), Zant (Scimitar), Fi (Goddess Blade), Ghirahim (Demon Blade) and Lana (Book of Sorcery). 

• Weapons: A Chain Chomp will make a guest appearance as a weapon. As the story advances, new weapons will become available to some characters, such as the Magic Rod for Link, the Baton for Zelda and Spear for Lana. Weapons have special abilities called Skills that increase attack damage, or perhaps increase the chance of finding Hearts. Filling the Focus Spirit magic gauge will temporarily increase a character’s abilities and help to mow down huge numbers of enemies. And Bombchus are back, just bigger and more explosive. 

• Game Play: Players can level their characters up to increase HP and attack skill, or they can grab materials dropped by defeated monsters to craft Badges to increase a weapon’s number of attacks, create longer combos or extend Focus Spirit time. 

• Co-Op Mode: Two players can play a local co-op match, with one player looking at the TV and the other looking at the Wii U GamePad controller. Single players can also play on the TV, or using only the GamePad in off-TV play. 

• Locations: Players will face down hordes of enemies in familiar locations, such as Skyloft from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Lake Hylia from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Twilight Field from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. 

• Classic Zelda Elements: Players will recognize items from their favorite Zelda games, including bombs, arrows and a Hookshot. The game is filled with familiar Zelda staples, such as Cuccos, Rupees, Gold Skulltulas and plenty of grass cutting. 

For more information about Hyrule Warriors, visit http://zelda.com/hyrule-warriors. 

Looking over everything, I am very impressed by the amount of thought that has went into making Hyrule Warriors, it looks like it is actually going to be a ton of fun to play.  I mean, even though I know that Nintendo tends to put a lot of thought into anything that is a first party IP, I was quite worried that it was going to follow the same, time-and-time again formula that is present throughout the vast majority of Dynasty Warriors games…just different characters.  It looks like they have actually made a valiant effort to make sure it has remnants of things actually found within the Legend of Zelda, which is cool.

What I mean by they included lots of things found within The Legend of Zelda, they have items like Bombs, Bombchu, Treasure Chests, and even Grass Cutting.  I mean, not only are those items present but you have to use them in order to do special things within the game, like clear paths or destroy boulders.  A lot of emphasis seemed to go into making it a seamless blending between what Tecmo Koei has mastered in hack-n-slash game play and Nintendo’s iconic franchise.  Also, it seems that some of the bosses, like King Dodongo and Gohma, made it into the game and can even be defeated faster by using similar methods as those found within their respective games (Hitting Gohma’s eye or throwing bombs in King Dodongo’s mouth).  Even smaller thing like Skulltulas being back and hidden within areas, even with their family sounds.  Even entire stages like Skyloft and Lake Hylia will be present to do battle on.  An immense amount of thinking went into this game just from these small examples alone.

Something else I liked was the character selection.  The cast of characters currently playable are Link, Princess Zelda, Impa, Sheik, Darunia, Princess Zuto, Midna, Agatha, Zant, Fi, Ghirahim, Gannondorf, and Lana.  Sure, this cast is relatively small compared to what you find in games like Dynasty Warriors (Maybe even Warriors Orochi), but the cast looks completely unique and is a welcomed gem to any fan of The Legend of Zelda series.  While you may love a lot of the characters within the game, you only really ever get to play as the Hero of Time, Link.  The only other time you have really gotten to play with anyone else (To my knowledge) is during the Super Smash Bros. Games, and that has only included Zelda, Sheik, Gannondorf, Young Link, and Wind Waker Link (Toon Link).  Being able to play as Gannondorf and Zant is just amazing, and even the new girl (Lana) looks incredibly impressive.  It also shows the whimiscal, serious, or heroic personality traits found within each character’s persona through their respective play style.

Adventure Mode looks good and seems to reward those that venture away from the other modes by offering rewards that can be used through other areas of the game.  I like how it seems you constantly have incentive to actually get through things by being offered better weaponry or equipment for your character, even the possibility of further character unlocks (Who knows, we could get up to a DW style playable character number eventually).  It also takes a note from the very first game on Nintendo by the way you navigate and scan for items.

The only thing that really bothers me about the game is the combat.  The combat does look very fun, but it also looks as though it will be very easy and will get repetitive in the types of combos you can perform and exactly how difficult some of the fights are.  Sure, I know you might have to dodge certain attacks from some enemies while exploiting the weaknesses from some of them, but once you level-up your character enough you may be able to kill them in very few hits (One of the issues I had when I played Da Qiao on Dynasty Warriors 3 on Playstation 2).  Or you may have attacks like Lana which are very airborne, providing you with the power to attack and be incredibly hard to hit by ai enemies while doing so.  Maybe everything has a drawback and some enemies are harder than others, but they need to make sure there is at least a reason to find better armor and to use the weapon combining feature (Which is very cool, by the way).

I was impressed overall and believe that Nintendo did a good job explaining how everything will work and showing that the game is Dynasty Warrior’s style, but is completely faithful to what we can expect out of The Legend of Zelda series.  While it might not have been a game I would have initially purchased if I owned a Wii U, it is starting to look more-and-more like a title that warrants you to whip out your wallet and make some purchases.  I am surprised that Nintendo could make me actually like this type of game again.  The only thing now to really worry about is the length of the game itself (Though adventure mode adds a huge amount of replay value).