(I made an LTTP about this game a while ago, but this is more about the revelation that the "musou" genre has been for me, and asking whether other musou titles are this good)
The never-ending content:
So in the few weeks since I started playing it, I've sunk more than 70 hours into Hyrule Warriors, which for me is A LOT. It's already eclipsed my time on Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for WiiU. And in the community thread for Hyrule Warriors, I see people logging 200+ hours. I can believe it -- the story-driven Legend Mode is solid in its own right, let alone replaying those missions for fun with other characters, and finding Gold Skulltulas, Pieces of Heart, etc. But then you play Adventure Mode, and the content borders on obscene. SO MANY MISSIONS! SO MANY REWARDS! And that's -before- you get to the DLC.
Complete one square on the mission map to earn its item card... Use that item card on another square (I.E. burning the right bush with the candle card, or bombing the right rock with the bomb card) to uncover its hidden reward, like a new character or weapon or costume... Then, to collect the reward, A-rank that mission with the required character (usually by completing the mission in under 15 minutes, with more than 1,200 KOs, and less than 4,000 damage). Oftentimes, to get to the square on the map with the reward you want, you have to work your way through numerous other squares to reach it. So you're crisscrossing the map from Zelda 1 (or other locations, like an 8-bit version of Termina from Majora's Mask, in the recent DLC) to collect the right item cards and unlock the desired rewards, which you then must earn by A-ranking.
When you find yourself struggling, you can hit the training dojo to raise your level... or use the materials you've collected to craft badges with bonuses like an extra meter for your special attack, more bottles for potions, reduced knock-back when hit, and capturing keeps more quickly... or you can go to the apothecary to brew potions that break the enemy's guard, increase rare weapon drops, multiply your EXP... or you can go to the smithy to forge better weapons with skills for faster attacks, stronger combos, more rupees and materials from fallen foes, etc...
The never-ending loop:
You can begin to imagine the loop that forms, your stable of wonderfully unique characters growing stronger and stronger. It's amazing how addictive this gets. And you can't fully understand the appeal of a musou title until you play it yourself. I was skeptical going in -- it looks like mindless button-mashing from the outside -- but there's nothing mindless about this game.
"Do I push forward? Do I fall back?" You're constantly making tactical decisions, like whether to quickly capture one keep to try and stem the flow of enemies in one corner of the map, at the risk of an ally fleeing or one of your own keeps falling on the other side of the map. You can't be everywhere at once, so you have to ignore 90% of the enemies and rush to key points on the map that need to be defended or captured, keeping a close eye on the ever-changing situation.
A roaming boss monster might appear, or summoners might call in reinforcements, or captains might raise enemy morale, or a bombchu might need to be escorted to a target, or stopped before it blows up your base. You have to make grueling judgment calls, you have to prioritize, you have to quickly and efficiently clear out key targets with well-aimed and well-timed attacks, taking into account the windup and power and area-of-effect of each combo string (especially if cuccos are around -- you don't want to attack a cucco!). Building special meter and magic meter, knowing when and where to use each, chewing through the trash mobs and quickly breaking the guard of the far more formidable enemy captains, which require you to lock-on and circle-strafe, ducking and weaving their attacks to reveal their weak point... It's quite a rush.
And each of the characters feels so unique. If you have the "main" mentality, Hyrule Warriors is almost frustrating in how difficult it is to choose a main, since nearly all of the characters are a blast to play. Only Agitha gives me trouble, although I love the fact she's in the game, and for all I know a recent balance patch might have improved her...
So how are other musou titles?
By comparison, I mean. There are so many titles in this line of games, but Hyrule Warriors is the first one I've played. I've heard that Hyrule Warriors is one of the better musou titles, partly because of the smooth flow and forward momentum from one combo string to another. But I have no reference point. Is Hyrule Warriors just especially good, or does its appeal extend to the rest of its genre? Because if other musou titles are equally addictive, I'm both interested to try them out, and afraid I'll be just as hooked.
In closing, here's a pic of Link and his harem (sans fish-woman Ruto, psycho fan-girl Cia, Zelda's alter-ego Sheik, and Midna's true form):
The never-ending content:
So in the few weeks since I started playing it, I've sunk more than 70 hours into Hyrule Warriors, which for me is A LOT. It's already eclipsed my time on Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for WiiU. And in the community thread for Hyrule Warriors, I see people logging 200+ hours. I can believe it -- the story-driven Legend Mode is solid in its own right, let alone replaying those missions for fun with other characters, and finding Gold Skulltulas, Pieces of Heart, etc. But then you play Adventure Mode, and the content borders on obscene. SO MANY MISSIONS! SO MANY REWARDS! And that's -before- you get to the DLC.
Complete one square on the mission map to earn its item card... Use that item card on another square (I.E. burning the right bush with the candle card, or bombing the right rock with the bomb card) to uncover its hidden reward, like a new character or weapon or costume... Then, to collect the reward, A-rank that mission with the required character (usually by completing the mission in under 15 minutes, with more than 1,200 KOs, and less than 4,000 damage). Oftentimes, to get to the square on the map with the reward you want, you have to work your way through numerous other squares to reach it. So you're crisscrossing the map from Zelda 1 (or other locations, like an 8-bit version of Termina from Majora's Mask, in the recent DLC) to collect the right item cards and unlock the desired rewards, which you then must earn by A-ranking.
When you find yourself struggling, you can hit the training dojo to raise your level... or use the materials you've collected to craft badges with bonuses like an extra meter for your special attack, more bottles for potions, reduced knock-back when hit, and capturing keeps more quickly... or you can go to the apothecary to brew potions that break the enemy's guard, increase rare weapon drops, multiply your EXP... or you can go to the smithy to forge better weapons with skills for faster attacks, stronger combos, more rupees and materials from fallen foes, etc...
The never-ending loop:
You can begin to imagine the loop that forms, your stable of wonderfully unique characters growing stronger and stronger. It's amazing how addictive this gets. And you can't fully understand the appeal of a musou title until you play it yourself. I was skeptical going in -- it looks like mindless button-mashing from the outside -- but there's nothing mindless about this game.
"Do I push forward? Do I fall back?" You're constantly making tactical decisions, like whether to quickly capture one keep to try and stem the flow of enemies in one corner of the map, at the risk of an ally fleeing or one of your own keeps falling on the other side of the map. You can't be everywhere at once, so you have to ignore 90% of the enemies and rush to key points on the map that need to be defended or captured, keeping a close eye on the ever-changing situation.
A roaming boss monster might appear, or summoners might call in reinforcements, or captains might raise enemy morale, or a bombchu might need to be escorted to a target, or stopped before it blows up your base. You have to make grueling judgment calls, you have to prioritize, you have to quickly and efficiently clear out key targets with well-aimed and well-timed attacks, taking into account the windup and power and area-of-effect of each combo string (especially if cuccos are around -- you don't want to attack a cucco!). Building special meter and magic meter, knowing when and where to use each, chewing through the trash mobs and quickly breaking the guard of the far more formidable enemy captains, which require you to lock-on and circle-strafe, ducking and weaving their attacks to reveal their weak point... It's quite a rush.
And each of the characters feels so unique. If you have the "main" mentality, Hyrule Warriors is almost frustrating in how difficult it is to choose a main, since nearly all of the characters are a blast to play. Only Agitha gives me trouble, although I love the fact she's in the game, and for all I know a recent balance patch might have improved her...
So how are other musou titles?
By comparison, I mean. There are so many titles in this line of games, but Hyrule Warriors is the first one I've played. I've heard that Hyrule Warriors is one of the better musou titles, partly because of the smooth flow and forward momentum from one combo string to another. But I have no reference point. Is Hyrule Warriors just especially good, or does its appeal extend to the rest of its genre? Because if other musou titles are equally addictive, I'm both interested to try them out, and afraid I'll be just as hooked.
In closing, here's a pic of Link and his harem (sans fish-woman Ruto, psycho fan-girl Cia, Zelda's alter-ego Sheik, and Midna's true form):
