The first thing that I noticed about Hyrule Warriors was its cutscenes. While theyre not voiced (in typical The Legend of Zelda fashion), they are downright beautiful to look at. The opening scene shows a sleeping Zelda struggling through a nightmare, then waking up with the feeling that something sinister is about to happen in Hyrule. Shortly after, she meets Link in the Hyrule soldiers training fields and sees his potential as a warrior. (And as a boyfriend, perhaps?)
As far as the gameplay is concerned, Hyrule Warriors is clearly more Dynasty Warriors than The Legend of Zelda, but the game has done some smart things to make it more entertaining for all. Just as the game gets going, it asks you if you want to play it more like Dynasty Warriors or a traditional 3D Zelda. The button layouts on the face buttons are radically different for each one its simply a case of what you prefer. The lock-on system to keep yourself focused on bosses and other important enemies is pretty much the one from Zelda, and it makes zooming in on the correct foes as easy as its been for years in Links earlier adventures. Attacking is done with a couple of buttons B and Y are the ones used primarily in the Zelda style. By stringing these two together in a certain patterns, youll create combo attacks which will help to destroy groups of enemies and offer more ways to crowd control. (Remembering the right sequences of inputs to trigger certain moves can become a struggle, though.)
In the beginning, overcoming your foes feels somewhat easy. Youll hack and slash your way through hordes of enemies with ease, and you wont even consider needing to use the combos. Just like the other Dynasty Warriors games though, Hyrule Warriors is just giving you a false sense of security early on its soon squashed, as youll have to take on more complicated tactical missions on the battlefield. Youll have to overtake enemy camps, escort allies and help troops that are on the brink of being annihilated. Deku Babas appear at random, and youll have to use your secondary bow and arrow weapon to deal with their threat. Another encounter youll run into early was with a tribe of rogue Gorons, who threw boulders at your base of operations. Youll have to quickly overtake two keeps and destroy Bombchus on top of all that, which is kind of stressful.
These missions will require a lot of running, and, thankfully, the characters move rather swiftly over the battlefield. The game always makes it clear where you need to go, though taking an additional keep or outpost doesnt hurt. The good flow makes it feel like the action never really stops, and to encourage this further, they are some opportunities to use items. I already discussed the bow and arrow, but what about Links bombs, or his hookshot? Both have environmental and tactical benefits, which makes learning how to use them an additional task to take on. These items will play a very important role in defeating bosses as shown with King Dodongo and the bombs. Another example is how you defeat Queen Gohma, from Ocarina of Time, with shooting arrows in her eye. The bosses are straightforward in that sense, but they fit the battlefield format quite well.
And what would a good Warriors game without lots of different playable characters? In my preview time with the title, I got to toy around with eight of them: Link, Zelda, Sheik, Impa, Lana, Midna, Darunia and Fi. Overall, I really like playing with them and toying around with the abilities they have on offer. The white sorceress and newcomer Lana was my favorite, because with her Deku Spear and Book of Sorcery, she was truly a force to be reckoned with. As it comes to more familiar Zelda characters though, the choice was a bit trickier. You cant go wrong with Link and his sword or Magic Rod, while Darunia uses his hammer to deal some serious damage. The only really tricky one for me so far was Sheik with her Harp. Her moves didnt give me the direct satisfaction that I needed though her special attack, which you can activate with the X Button, was really quite cool.
Before you start a scenario, prepping yourself for the battle is critically important. Your characters will level up during gameplay and will collect materials to improve their skills. Within the in-game bazaar, you can craft badges, and these will rapidly change the statistics of your character. Its also a great place to check on all of your weaponry and see if you can combine anything to give it more effect. Depending on the difficulty you choose during a battle, the drops from enemies will be more important and can help you push away more powerful opponents in the future. Those are all things to consider before starting, because with every step closer to the end, the battles do become all much more difficult. And straight out of Ocarina of Time, you can also find Golden Skulltulas by meeting special conditions. What do those unlock? Well, youll have to play the game to figure it out yourself!
I had my doubts when it was first revealed, but now Im a believer Hyrule Warriors is a truly fun fusion of The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors. While the game may seem deceptively easy at first, it will challenge your strategic mind more and more with each new level defeating enemies is one thing, but defending bases and dealing with the surprises on the way is a complete other. Hyrule Warriors is a colorful, bright spectacle that may not delight everyone, but the ones that do take the plunge with it will seriously have a blast. And if youre coming in as just a Zelda fan or just a Warriors fans and have never played a game in the opposite series, this is shaping up to be a fun way to learn about the other side of the coin. Several hours in, I have a few nitpicks but Im having a blast so far and certainly hope that it will continue on this positive path.
http://www.nintendoforcemagazine.com/hands-on-preview-hyrule-warriors/
Tried to pick out the good parts but everything is good.
As far as the gameplay is concerned, Hyrule Warriors is clearly more Dynasty Warriors than The Legend of Zelda, but the game has done some smart things to make it more entertaining for all. Just as the game gets going, it asks you if you want to play it more like Dynasty Warriors or a traditional 3D Zelda. The button layouts on the face buttons are radically different for each one its simply a case of what you prefer. The lock-on system to keep yourself focused on bosses and other important enemies is pretty much the one from Zelda, and it makes zooming in on the correct foes as easy as its been for years in Links earlier adventures. Attacking is done with a couple of buttons B and Y are the ones used primarily in the Zelda style. By stringing these two together in a certain patterns, youll create combo attacks which will help to destroy groups of enemies and offer more ways to crowd control. (Remembering the right sequences of inputs to trigger certain moves can become a struggle, though.)
In the beginning, overcoming your foes feels somewhat easy. Youll hack and slash your way through hordes of enemies with ease, and you wont even consider needing to use the combos. Just like the other Dynasty Warriors games though, Hyrule Warriors is just giving you a false sense of security early on its soon squashed, as youll have to take on more complicated tactical missions on the battlefield. Youll have to overtake enemy camps, escort allies and help troops that are on the brink of being annihilated. Deku Babas appear at random, and youll have to use your secondary bow and arrow weapon to deal with their threat. Another encounter youll run into early was with a tribe of rogue Gorons, who threw boulders at your base of operations. Youll have to quickly overtake two keeps and destroy Bombchus on top of all that, which is kind of stressful.
These missions will require a lot of running, and, thankfully, the characters move rather swiftly over the battlefield. The game always makes it clear where you need to go, though taking an additional keep or outpost doesnt hurt. The good flow makes it feel like the action never really stops, and to encourage this further, they are some opportunities to use items. I already discussed the bow and arrow, but what about Links bombs, or his hookshot? Both have environmental and tactical benefits, which makes learning how to use them an additional task to take on. These items will play a very important role in defeating bosses as shown with King Dodongo and the bombs. Another example is how you defeat Queen Gohma, from Ocarina of Time, with shooting arrows in her eye. The bosses are straightforward in that sense, but they fit the battlefield format quite well.
And what would a good Warriors game without lots of different playable characters? In my preview time with the title, I got to toy around with eight of them: Link, Zelda, Sheik, Impa, Lana, Midna, Darunia and Fi. Overall, I really like playing with them and toying around with the abilities they have on offer. The white sorceress and newcomer Lana was my favorite, because with her Deku Spear and Book of Sorcery, she was truly a force to be reckoned with. As it comes to more familiar Zelda characters though, the choice was a bit trickier. You cant go wrong with Link and his sword or Magic Rod, while Darunia uses his hammer to deal some serious damage. The only really tricky one for me so far was Sheik with her Harp. Her moves didnt give me the direct satisfaction that I needed though her special attack, which you can activate with the X Button, was really quite cool.
Before you start a scenario, prepping yourself for the battle is critically important. Your characters will level up during gameplay and will collect materials to improve their skills. Within the in-game bazaar, you can craft badges, and these will rapidly change the statistics of your character. Its also a great place to check on all of your weaponry and see if you can combine anything to give it more effect. Depending on the difficulty you choose during a battle, the drops from enemies will be more important and can help you push away more powerful opponents in the future. Those are all things to consider before starting, because with every step closer to the end, the battles do become all much more difficult. And straight out of Ocarina of Time, you can also find Golden Skulltulas by meeting special conditions. What do those unlock? Well, youll have to play the game to figure it out yourself!
I had my doubts when it was first revealed, but now Im a believer Hyrule Warriors is a truly fun fusion of The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors. While the game may seem deceptively easy at first, it will challenge your strategic mind more and more with each new level defeating enemies is one thing, but defending bases and dealing with the surprises on the way is a complete other. Hyrule Warriors is a colorful, bright spectacle that may not delight everyone, but the ones that do take the plunge with it will seriously have a blast. And if youre coming in as just a Zelda fan or just a Warriors fans and have never played a game in the opposite series, this is shaping up to be a fun way to learn about the other side of the coin. Several hours in, I have a few nitpicks but Im having a blast so far and certainly hope that it will continue on this positive path.
http://www.nintendoforcemagazine.com/hands-on-preview-hyrule-warriors/
Tried to pick out the good parts but everything is good.
