Format: Wii U
Release Date: 9/26/2014
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Omega Force, Team Ninja
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: T
Hyrule Warriors blends the hack and slash, quick paced action of the Dynasty Warriors series with the highly praised Legend of Zelda series into a fun, but repetitive game that unfortunately is not for everyone. While the game plays well, looks great and has a diverse cast of characters, newcomers to the Dynasty Warriors universe, like myself, can quickly become bored with its mindless action. Longtime fans of Dynasty Warriors will feel right at home, though with its over the top action, and fans of The Legend of Zelda will appreciate the fan service Koei Tecmo has in the game.
Presentation: The presentation in Hyrule Warriors is strong. The maps are all large and there are many areas to play in, including stages from Ocarina of Time's, Twilight Princess' and Skyward Sword's worlds. The cutscenes, though there aren't many, look great and each character looks impressive. When using the gamepad's off screen feature, the visuals look much darker and slightly muddled. Once or twice while playing, the game slowed down significantly; like I was playing in slow motion. There were a great number of enemies on the screen, though the game didn't slow down later on, even with more enemies on the screen. The soundtrack is refreshing. For a majority of the game, the music is upbeat and the iconic Zelda themes are orchestral. The main combat theme is played in the tune of electronic rock. It's relevant throughout the battles, which adds an exhilarating feeling when slicing through hordes of enemies. The music is fitting for a game with fast gameplay.
Gameplay: The game is fast paced and the combat is fluid. Slicing, hammering or casting spells to take out hundreds of minions feels great. Each character plays differently. Playing as Link feels very different than playing as Ganondorf. Both feel untouchable, but Link is faster, though Ganondorf can kill more units with one swing. I enjoyed playing as Sheik the most, using the harp both quickly and using Zelda songs to cause various elemental effects. Killing enemies will fill a bar, which allows the characters to use their special attacks. Players can use bombs, arrows, the Hookshot, Boomerang and more, though these should be used on boss fights or to pass a certain obstacle. Before battles, players can go to the Bazaar to upgrade weapons, create badges to strengthen the warriors and to level up warriors, which costs rupees. Conquering keeps and outposts is where the game becomes repetitive. Each map has a number of these, and securing them increases the morale of your troops, which makes them stronger, and securing the keeps and outposts creates more units. Defeating enough enemies in a keep releases the keep boss, and killing them secures the keep. Gaining or losing control of keeps can be crucial to the main quest of the stage your are playing. Conquering a keep can spawn a chest that either contains a sealed weapon, a heart piece or rupees. Killing enemies drops rupees and materials, sometimes tougher enemies or bosses will drop weapons, which can be seen at the end of the stage.
What Game Modes Are There?: Legend Mode is where the story occurs. Though the story is not too great, it does have an interesting take on the Legend of Zelda universe. Without giving too much away, Link is a soldier-in-training in the Hyrulian army, and he has to aid Zelda and Impa by fending off dark forces who are trying to take over Hyrule castle. Throughout the story, you go to various areas and have to complete numerous objectives in each stage. Many of the stages have villains from the series and you have to defeat them before they reach a certain destination or destroy an allied base. Fighting these bosses feel vastly different compared to when you fought them at the end of dungeons. The story lasted about 12 hours for me. Bosses and elite enemies were the only encounters in which I felt vulnerable I didn't see too much of a change from playing on the normal or hard difficulty. But leveling up increases your heart capacity and attack power. Completing the story unlocks Hero Mode and a second Gold Skulltula to appear on the map. Gold Skulltulas provide pieces of illustrations, and after completing the illustrations, you can view them in the gallery. Free Mode is where you can replay any scenario with any playable character. This mode is fun, but I had no desire to play any of the story missions again. Adventure Mode is where I had the most fun. The original Legend of Zelda Map is shown, and each block can potentially have a battle or an objective to perform with different circumstances. Players can earn grades through killing enemies, taking damage and how much time it takes to complete the challenge. Potential rewards include heart pieces, the candle to burn trees, the compass and more. Completing missions on each block will open the map further, allowing players to get more items and uncover the original NES' map. Challenge mode provides the player with certain quests to undertake. Completing these quests unlocks more challenges and unusual battles, though this mode didn't appeal to me as much.
- That thing is even scarier now.
Verdict: Hyrule Warriors is a fun game. It looks great and features an upbeat soundtrack, plays well for the most part and has fun game modes. The story does not feel gripping and the game can become repetitive for some. But if you like Dynasty Warriors or The Legend of Zelda, give Hyrule Warriors a chance. Slicing through enemies and feeling immortal while doing so feels awesome. As always, thanks for reading and share your thoughts.
+Great visuals +Fast paced action +Diverse cast of characters -Can become repetitive -Sub par story 7.5/10
