A LOVE LETTER TO ZELDA FANS, WRITTEN IN SOMEBODY ELSE’S WORDS
Hyrule Warriors - Video Game Review by Nathan Brooks
Hyrule Warriors is Nintendo’s first attempt at a hybrid. In this case, it’s a hybrid between Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors series and Nintendo’s very own Legend of Zelda series. Hybrids, obviously, don’t always work and considering how each of these games have quite different gameplay styles (mindless killing vs puzzles and adventure), this was a serious gamble. At the same time, this game is a massive celebration of all things TLOZ and if anything TLOZ related is messed up, Nintendo are in serious trouble. So, does this game work or is it just a mess of two styles that should’ve never tried to get along?
Story
 |
| Even the Triforce has turned up to the party! |
Compared to other games in TLOZ franchise, the story in Hyrule Warriors isn’t anything spectacular. It lacks the depth of the stories in normal TLOZ games and isn’t anywhere near as interesting. It’s one of those stories that has a set up and then has an ending, but nothing really in-between. To sum it all up, a once good person has become bad and is now trying to kill everyone. It sounds a lot better when the game tells it to you, trust me. From then on, it’s no more than a vague story that is just there to connect one level to the next and nothing else. It still isn’t anything awful though, just isn’t anything worth a lot of praise.
I did, however, quite like the concept that the spirit of Link (the hero) was reborn as another person, whenever Hyrule needed him most, which explains the multiple Links in different games in what I thought was quite an interesting way. It’s not canon though. Story: 7/10
Presentation
TLOZ is a huge franchise, so because Nintendo had so much to work with, they decided to stuff everything TLOZ in to this game. From the environments, to the characters, to the iconic items. So, how do these things look?
 |
| Looks like Link now has a... scarf? |
Well, graphically, this game is stunning. Every single model and environment looks amazing and they each have tons of detail put in to them. Returning characters each have absolutely fantastic designs and they each look the best they ever have. New characters, however, are not as good. One of the new boss characters, Volga, looks really lazily designed. He doesn’t have the unique design of the other TLOZ characters and instead looks really bland and unimaginative. Lana, a new ally, is much better. She fits well in to the TLOZ universe and her design is very unique. The main villain for this game, Cia, has a very… different design. Admittedly she is definitely unique and recognisable, but there’s one major problem. One of the developers of this game is Team Ninja, who have a bit of a reputation for the way they design their female characters. Lets just say it appears that she’s traded some of her clothing for a larger chest. Cia is unfortunately a victim of this design and normally I guess I could kind of overlook it. In this case, it’s different. Nintendo are usually against this kind of stuff in their games, considering they’re usually aimed at younger people and the fact that this game does have this stuff in it, it feels a bit wrong. Despite all that though, I still love the way this game looks. All the items are really massive now as well, so that’s cool.
Unfortunately for this game, the music is absolutely awful. Whereas in previous TLOZ games, the music is played by an orchestra, is epic and goes brilliantly with the theme of TLOZ, this music is a mess. For some reason, they decided to go for some Rock style music mixed with a bit of Electronic Dance Music and the original, orchestrated TLOZ music. It sounds horrible. The Legend of Zelda is meant to be epic and adventurous, not a Rock concert with a bit of EDM thrown in. All the music sounds really stupid, so that's why it's no surprise that this style doesn't work in any way at all.
The music in this game is awful, but thankfully the graphics are so good, they have saved the presentation. Just play this game on mute. Presentation: 8.5/10
Gameplay
The main aim for this game was to get the Dynasty Warriors and TLOZ style to mix well. So, does it then? Yes.
I’m not very good at TLOZ games. It has nothing to do with the puzzles, I’m not that stupid. It’s the overly complicated combat. It’s not bad combat at all, it’s just that it requires you to think a lot in a short space of time and I can’t really do that. Hyrule Warriors on the other hand, I am good at. The combat is reminiscent of Dynasty Warriors and is just so much fun. The feeling of power you get when murdering entire armies is amazing, so despite how repetitive it is, it doesn’t get boring easily.
Even if you do get tired of the combat, the constantly changing missions keep you on your toes, meaning you’ll never get bored of what you’re doing. Admittedly, the missions can sometimes become too much to handle, but that doesn’t happen too often. Each level is basically a battlefield and you have to win the battle to advance to the next level. The victory conditions are never the same in each battle and they often change halfway through. This means nothing ever feels repetitive or boring and instead each battle feels like a new experience.
 |
| DODONGOS! |
The boss battles are also very good. These are more like Zelda boss battles and require you to use a recently equipped item to defeat each boss. This means each boss needs a bit more thinking than regular enemies do, which boss battles really should do.
There’s not much else to say about the gameplay other than that it is just really fun. If you struggle with TLOZ combat like me, this is perfect for you. If you don’t struggle with TLOZ combat, then you should still be able to enjoy the gameplay. Maybe. Gameplay: 9/10
Lasting Appeal
Hyrule Warriors will keep you playing for quite a long time. The game has four separate modes; Legend Mode (the main story mode), Free Mode (Legend Mode, but with a full selection of characters), Adventure Mode (where you advance across a map, winning battles and discovering secrets) and Challenge Mode (battles with a specific goal to complete in a set time).
 |
| So many characters, so little time |
A long with all these modes, there’s a very large selection of characters to unlock, both villains and allies (one of which being Agatha from Twilight Princess for some reason). Each character has multiple costumes for them. Some can be unlocked with special codes you received by pre-ordering the game or registering it to club nintendo. Others are unlocked through DLC.
The DLC is another great addition to this game, with DLC packs unlocking weapons and costumes for characters as well as new Adventure Mode maps and scenarios for battles. It’s great to see Nintendo finally experimenting with this kind of stuff. Lets just hope they use this to fix the awful battle mode in Mario Kart 8.
One of the problems I have with this game is the lack of VS multiplayer. Sure you can play co-op, but wouldn’t it be so much fun to battle your friends army? It would also be good if there was an online mode. Because there isn’t.
Even with the lack of those things, theres still a ton to do in this game, meaning you shouldn’t lose interest for Hyrule Warriors too soon. Unless you have the attention span of a 4 year old. Lasting appeal: 8/10
Final Thoughts
As I said earlier, hybrids don’t always work. Like a techno-orchestra hybrid. That really doesn’t work. TLOZ and Dynasty Warriors, however, does work. The result of this experiment was a very fun game that brilliantly celebrates all things TLOZ in a very different way. There are a few problems with it, but those can be easily overlooked, just because of how enjoyable this game is. Maybe it isn’t much like other TLOZ games, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. Because it is good. In fact, it’s great.
 |
| Link faces off against his ultimate enemy, and that's not even a joke |
Overall: 8.5/10
Comments
Post a Comment