It’s dangerous to go alone.
Hyrule Warriors is the most obscure Zelda spin-off since the infamous CDi games released back in 1993. The formula for Nintendo’s flagship series has always been the same, but with the first release on Wii U, Link and company have something else in mind. Hyrule Warriors is a musou game, developed by Omega Force (the creators of the Dynasty Warriors series) as well as Team Ninja (known for Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden), and it is anything but traditional. This is standard Dynasty Warriors fare, but what will keep non-fans interested long after they tire of pressing X for the 1,000th time, is all the Zelda fan service thrown in.
There is a story here, and it is just as far-fetched and entertaining as I could have imagined. There had to be an explanation as to why all of these characters from various timelines were fighting together (honestly there really didn’t need to be) and Hyrule Warriors delivers. The in-game dialogue is still grunts and groans accompanied by text boxes, but the pre-mission breakdown is actually voice acted. It involves time travel and magical portals; all the standard video game flavors of narrative delivery. I found it entertaining and ridiculous at the same time.
Of course, that is not why Hyrule Warriors exists.
This is probably going to hurt.
Platforms: Wii U
MSRP: $59.99
Price I’d pay: $59.99
Multiplayer: Local only
Time to beat: 8-10 hours (story) 25-30 to unlock everything
Make no mistake, this is a game about mashing the same attack buttons over and over, while wiping out thousands of enemies. Taking over bases and fighting massive bosses. This game spawns repetition, and without the Zelda charm, might scare off some players. I am relatively new to the musou games; never really cared to dig into them, but am glad I am now. I think of it more as a fighting game; lots of similar combos, with variety coming from the attacks, and of course the visual fidelity.
Hyrule Warriors hooked me. It ate up an entire weekend of play time. Mostly because I love the universe, but also because it drip-feeds unlockable items that are just interesting enough to keep me coming back.
The badge system let me upgrade character attacks and attributes, while the weapon fusion system had me combining swords and such to craft stronger weapons. Sure the results are minimal, but the execution kept me going. I could level up characters with rupees, and boy are there a lot of rupees on the battlefield. The satisfaction of taking down a large enemy and watching them explode into colorful coins never grew stale for me.
Legends Mode is where I spent the beginning of my time. Playing through the story was fun, but the real treat opened up when I started digging into adventure mode. These one-off missions, presented on an old 2D map that looks like the first Zelda game, kept me hacking and slashing away for more unlockables. There are so many characters and items, all of which have unique attacks and moves. It is all I wanted to do. Plus, mowing down enemies with the power that is Ganondorf is quite liberating.
The special attacks are fun to execute and watch.
If there is one area that disappoints, it is the multiplayer. I really wanted to dive in with friends across the country in my slashing adventures, but sadly this game only supports local co-op. It also takes a noticeable graphical hit when playing. The frame rate suffers, and the resolution goes down, which is made more noticeable by the fact that this is again, one great looking game.
I absolutely adore Hyrule Warriors. The cast of characters, tons of fan service and promise of future DLC make it a contender for one of top five of 2014. I kept coming back wanting to play more, even after unlocking almost everything the game had to offer. That is the ultimate compliment I can pay to the latest exclusive title on the Wii U. Fans of Zelda and musou games, this is a no-brainer, but for anyone else on the fence, it is definitely a game worth checking out.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
