Review ‘Hyrule Warriors’ From The Editor

Yes! It’s taken us awhile to get this review out but it’s only too late to never post it at all. We hope you enjoy our take on this different version from the Zelda series.

If you’re looking to form an argument that Hyrule Warriors is “just fan service” as a negative criticism, you’re wasting your breath. However novel this Dynasty Warriors-meets-Legend of Zelda game is conceptually, once you open that first chest and Link thrusts that treasure toward the camera, you realize that this is a Legend of Zelda spin-off worth taking seriously.

Nintendo Wii U owners have been waiting quite some time for the next true entry of The Legend of Zelda, which made the initial announcement of a crossover between the beloved franchise and Dynasty Warriors all the more bizarre. Officially released under the banner Hyrule Warriors, the game borrows elements of both game franchises to offer a unique hack-and-slash experience on a grand scale. The end result may not be overly deep or challenging, but there are certain aspects of the title that will hit a handful of the right chords for fans of both series.

There’s a reason why Link was the most well-received character out of the three console-exclusive fighters in Soul Calibur II. And if you know your Legend of Zelda history, seeing the title character herself hold her own in a crowd-based beat-em-up isn’t at all unusual. Hyrule Warriors isn’t “just” fan service: it’s pure fan service.

The plot surrounding the events in Hyrule Warriors emanates from a sorceress named Cia who’s been corrupted by an (initially) unnamed and ferocious evil. Since she has the ability to see various events unfold throughout time, she’s gained an unhealthy obsession with capturing the soul of Link – who just so happens to be the holder of the Triforce of Courage. In a bid to claim the mute protagonist’s soul, Cia has opened up portals to various timezones that link back to previous core Zelda entries (Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword) in order to summon reinforcements.

Before venturing out onto the battlefield with the iconic green tunic in tow, it’s important to note that fans need to keep their expectations in check. Nintendo doesn’t feature ‘The Legend of Zelda‘ in the title of this game for a reason, and even though familiar faces may be present throughout, Hyrule Warriors is a lot more like Dynasty Warriors than anything else. That said, there are some nice nods to the classic Nintendo-owned property scattered throughout the game.

Since this crossover is largely inspired by the gameplay of Tecmo-Koei‘s Dynasty Warriors, players are tasked with wiping out hordes after hordes of enemies. Players will regularly tear through over 1,000 foes during each stage – something that, admittedly, is an enjoyable power trip – but tedium begins to set in once the thrill fades.

If you’re new to Warriors games, setting priorities isn’t as easy as it might initially appear. The biggest rush comes when you’ve completed all the mid-mission objectives and you’re left racing against the enemy toward the current victory condition. Even if you confront the boss with a full bar of health, the same can’t be said about the health of your home base at the other end of the map. Should you return to your base, or stay and try to defeat the boss to end the mission, thereby saving the base in the process? Choosing wisely in such tight and time-sensitive situations makes victory all the more satisfying.

For all the Legend of Zelda-related items, jingles, and familiar faces that are thrown at you every other second, Hyrule Warriors still manages to be a fine Dynasty Warriors spin-off in its own right. If you have muscle memory devoted to the series, then you know that the first priority when beginning a mission is to leap into the fray, get to work in liberating the nearest fort, and set yourself on a path to at least 1000 kills. Hyrule Warriors is not a shallow reskin, but to Warriors faithful, it does look like a new pair of shoes that has been aptly broken in.

Boss battles are a refreshing change of pace from the ‘B/Y-button’ fueled franticness that makes up a majority of the Hyrule Warriors campaign, and that’s because there’s a unique tactic that must be employed to defeat each and every monstrous baddie. Whether it’s throwing bombs into the King Dodongo’s mouth to stun him or using the chainshot to bring the ferocious dragon Argorok crashing down from the sky, these are the points that feel the most Zelda-esque and they make for some of the game’s most enjoyable moments.

During battle, users will accumulate a number of different items that they can then use to upgrade their roster of playable characters. These upgrades work similarly to a skill tree in that players must pick and choose where and when to spend these items on different attributes. Using up these various items can unlock additional combos, among other things, and there’s a surprising amount of depth behind this system – which will require players to go back through completed stages to secure rarer materials.

The greatest trick Hyrule Warriors pulls off is in making a convincing argument that the game might just belong in the much-debated Legend of Zelda timeline. When you prescribe to an “official” timeline that accepts the notion of multiple Links, it’s not that unreasonable to argue Hyrule Warriors as canon. Although series producer Eiji Aonuma has gone on record stating the contrary, that won’t stop fans from disputing this game’s place in Zelda lore. The impressive cutscenes alone have enough expository weight to make Hyrule Warriors timeline-worthy. Further validating the argument is how the story mode features inter-dimensional journeys to various Legend of Zelda worlds, including lands from Skyward Sword, locales from Twilight Princess, and even the dubiously memorable Water Temple. As an argument for and against the notion of canon-eligibility, Hyrule Warriors even manages to rehash plot key points from the franchise (eg. Sheik’s backstory) that are also significant spoilers to the very, very few who will play this game but have never beaten a Legend of Zelda adventure.

Some of the best moments in Warriors games are those in which agile combos lead to brief, character-specific cutscenes, so I’m not surprised that the studios involved in developing Hyrule Warriors devoted time to giving everyone in the playable roster unique attacks and animations. Watching Link perform spectacular melee attacks only makes one wish such potent moves were available in mainline Legend of Zelda games. It’s never jarring to watch him and his supporting cast let loose against the game’s countless hordes, especially when a single special attack breaks the 50-kill mark.

After the main campaign has wrapped up, fans can jump into Adventure mode. Taking place on the original The Legend of Zelda‘s overworld map, this mode makes for a nice distraction before, during or after users have completed the main campaign. There are secrets to discover, based on their original locations in the NES classic (which requires some detective work or serious recollection to discover) but the entire Adventure mode itself is a lovely addition to a game that’s already bursting with fan service.

The flow of time is bittersweet. You wake up one day and you realize that there are more Dynasty Warriors spin-offs and crossovers than there are mainline Dynasty Warriors games. Aside from introducing many Legend of Zelda fans to the Warriors franchise, Hyrule Warriors adds little innovation to Koei’s megaseries as a whole, but nevertheless brings an undeniable spark ignited by the crossover cast itself. As one of the more well-produced Warriors games in recent memory, it is easy to see Hyrule Warriors paving the way for more Warriors spin-offs–other properties that have a substantial amount of melee combat. Street Fighter? Dragon Ball? The idea of a Gundam Warriors game, let alone a series, was once an absurd concept, just as Hyrule Warriors was when it was first announced. If the Warriors franchise has proven anything, it’s that most every entertainment property is fair game. And that prospect is both exciting and a bit scary.