Product Code Database
Hyrule Warriors is a 2014 hack and slash game developed by Omega Force and Team Ninja and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game is a collaboration between Koei Tecmo and Nintendo, mixing settings and characters from Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda with the gameplay of Koei's Dynasty Warriors series. Hyrule Warriors was released in Japan in August 2014, and worldwide the following month. It became one of the best-selling games on the Wii U. An updated port, Hyrule Warriors Legends, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan in January 2016 and worldwide in March of the same year. A second enhanced port, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2018. A successor, , was released for the Nintendo Switch in November 2020.
The game has a context-based combat system, in which the player character's abilities change depending on the weapon chosen. Role-playing elements such as weapon and character leveling also appear. Defeating certain enemies gives players weapons bags, which will grant a random weapon to the character, and materials bags, which can be used to power up characters. "Sealed weapons" may also be found in treasure boxes, which increase the types of weapons randomly generated for the player in the field. The game supports an asymmetric local two-player mode with one player using the Wii U GamePad and another using a monitor. The game is also compatible with Amiibo figures, with figures based on The Legend of Zelda series unlocking additional content such as new weapons.
The main campaign of Hyrule Warriors, "Legend Mode", allows players to progress through the game's story; these story chapters can be replayed with any character in "Free Mode". Additionally, the game features an "Adventure Mode", in which players explore a map based on that of the original The Legend of Zelda and complete specific objectives, such as defeating a certain number of enemies within a time limit or completing a mission with a specific character and weapon. An update released on the game's launch date added "Challenge Mode", which encourages players to collect as many rupees as possible in a set scenario. The in-game Bazaar allows players to forge new weapons, spend rupees to raise characters' levels, create potions to temporarily boost a character's stats in battle, and exchange materials for badges that augment characters' abilities. The game also offers an additional quest to collect 100 Gold Skulltulas, tokens that appear in specific Legend Mode and Adventure Mode levels after defeating enough enemies, which will unlock illustration pieces of the several characters in the game and contribute to upgrading the in-game apothecary.
As Cia's forces attack Hyrule Castle, Link, a Hyrulean soldier-in-training, rushes out to aid the other troops and discovers he possesses the Triforce of Courage. However, the castle is taken and Princess Zelda is unaccounted for in the aftermath, so Hyrule general Impa asks Link to aid her in finding the princess. While searching, Link and Impa meet Sheik, a Sheikah warrior who claims to know Zelda's whereabouts, and Lana, a sorceress from the same clan as Cia. The group heads to the Valley of Seers hoping to close the Gate of Souls, but Cia traps Link and Sheik, the latter of whom is revealed to bear the Triforce of Wisdom. Cia steals both Triforce pieces, combines them with her own Triforce of Power, and uses the completed Triforce to open portals in time and space to the resting places of Ganondorf's spirit fragments.
To restore Hyrule to normal, Link, Impa, and Lana each lead their own campaign to drive out Cia's armies and close the Gates of Souls in each era. Along the way, they are aided by each time period's native heroes, including and from , Agitha and Midna from , and Fi from . During this time, Sheik reveals herself to be Zelda in disguise, and Lana explains that she and Cia were once the same person, with Lana embodying the light Ganondorf purged from Cia's heart. Meanwhile, three of Ganondorf's spirit fragments are released, allowing his body to be resurrected. No longer needing Cia, he attempts to take the Triforce, but Cia sends Link and Zelda's pieces back to their owners and uses her own piece to lock Ganondorf away.
After retrieving the Master Sword, whose power is strengthened by his bonds of friendship, Link prepares to confront Cia, who is weakened after being abandoned by Wizzro and Volga and using her own life force to strengthen her troops. He defeats her and she fades away, with Lana inheriting her piece of the Triforce. Using the completed Triforce's power, the time-displaced heroes are sent back to their own periods and Hyrule is restored to normal, with Lana once again closing the Gate of Souls.
However, due to the Master Sword's removal, the last of Ganondorf's spirit fragments is released, and Ganondorf is fully resurrected. Summoning Ghirahim from Skyward Sword and Zant from Twilight Princess to aid him, Ganondorf takes all three Triforce pieces from their bearers and uses it to strengthen his army and take over Hyrule Castle. Lana summons the heroes from Hyrule's history, and the combined group of heroes defeat Ghirahim and Zant before venturing towards Ganon's Tower. Overpowered by Link, Ganondorf uses the Triforce to transform himself into the dark beast Ganon. Link defeats Ganon with the help of Zelda's light arrows, and the heroes use the Triforce to seal him away once more. The heroes of the past are returned, Lana resumes watching over the Triforce in Cia's place, and Link and Zelda return the Master Sword to its pedestal to prevent Ganondorf's escape.
Shortly thereafter, an unknown figure steals the Triforce of Power from Lana while she is searching for clues behind Cia's disappearance. At the same time, a new rift is opened and pulls pieces of the Great Sea landscape from into Hyrule. Allying with Tetra and King Daphnes, Link and Lana eventually restore Cia, who explains she had vanished because her magic was stolen by Phantom Ganon, the mastermind behind the recent events. The group defeats Phantom Ganon, returning Cia's magic and the Triforce of Power. Tetra and the King are returned to their native time, while Cia, Link, and Zelda use the Triforce to restore Hyrule to normal. Having made peace with everyone, Cia returns with Lana to the Valley of Seers to watch over the Triforce together.
When Warriors was presented to Eiji Aonuma, Koei Tecmo used their cross-over game as an example of how the game would feel. In contrast to previous collaborations, Nintendo was confident in Koei Tecmo's ability to make the game, leading them to have "far more expectations than uncertainties". This confidence was shared by Aonuma, who readily accepted being offered a place in the game's development by Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of the reason behind Aonuma's strong support of Hyrule Warriors is an ongoing push by him to break away from many traditions that have become attached to the Zelda franchise since its inception. Along with Omega Force, the main developers for the Dynasty Warriors series, Hayashi and Koinuma brought in help from Team Ninja, who had developed the Dead or Alive series, to help more with one-on-one combat and inject new ideas into the development process. Koei Tecmo's president Yoichi Erikawa said that he hoped Hyrule Warriors would appeal to fans of both franchises and go on to sell at least one million copies.
Hyrule Warriors was publicly displayed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014 with a new trailer, in which Agitha, Lana, and Midna were confirmed as playable characters. Zant and Argorok were also confirmed as boss characters. The game also appeared in playable form for show floor attendees, as part of a Nintendo Treehouse presentation. Over the time span following the E3 announcement, Nintendo has released further information on the game's website, confirming Fi, Ruto, Darunia and Sheik as playable characters, as well as Ghirahim, the Imprisoned and a version of Gohma as boss characters. During a Nintendo Direct presentation in August, Zant and Ghirahim were also confirmed to be playable, alongside the game's main antagonist and final playable character, Ganondorf. A female version of Link was also considered as a potential playable character, but was scrapped during development. Sketches of the female version were included in the Hyrule Warriors art book included in the Japanese limited editions of the game and the character grew in popularity shortly afterwards, becoming one of the more widely requested characters during Koei Tecmo's open call for new playable characters in the game's official Twitter. The female version, officially named Linkle, was later announced for Hyrule Warriors Legends during the Nintendo Direct web stream in November 2015. Former Nintendo character writer Chris Pranger stated that Linkle was the last character he wrote for before leaving Nintendo.
Hyrule Warriors relationship to the Zelda franchise is classified in a few different ways. Iwata himself has called the game a "Zelda spin-off", and Nintendo's own website directly refers to both Hyrule Warriors and Hyrule Warriors: Legends as "The Legend of Zelda Games". The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia grouped it in with other games with Zelda content in it, such as Super Smash Bros., Soul Calibur II, and Sonic Lost World. (2025). 9781506706382, Dark Horse. ISBN 9781506706382 The game's placement within the Zelda chronology has been described by Anouma as "not in the universe but connected to the timeline" and that, "there is a link between the two, but it exists as a separate dimension, so it doesn't exist as part of the main canon".
Additionally, four DLC packs were released in the months following the game's launch. The first DLC bundle, the " Pack", was released in October 2014. This bundle included a new "Cia's Tale" story campaign, alternate Guardian of Time costumes for Lana and Cia, Epona as a weapon for Link, 16 unlockable character re-color costumes, and most notably, a second map for Adventure Mode. The second bundle, the "Twilight Princess Pack", was released in November, and added Twili Midna as a playable character, the Dominion Rod weapon for Zelda, Ilia and Postman costumes for Zelda and Link respectively, 16 unlockable character re-color costumes, and a third Adventure Map. The third bundle, the "Majora's Mask Pack", was released in February 2015 and added Tingle and Young Link as playable characters, a Skull Kid costume for Lana, Ocarina of Time costumes for Sheik and Impa, 16 unlockable mask-based costumes and a fourth Adventure map. The final bundle, the "Boss Pack", was released in February in Japan and March in North America and added two new modes: "Boss Challenge", in which players fight multiple boss enemies at once, and "Ganon's Fury", in which players can play certain challenges as final boss Ganon, with a playable giant Cucco for Ganon's Fury and 5 new re-color costumes as rewards. Players who purchased all four packs received a Dark Link costume.
Throughout the year 2016, four new DLC packs for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of the game were released, containing additional Adventure Mode maps, characters, costumes, and more. The Wii U version received all packs except for the first one. The packs could be purchased individually or as part of a season pass. The first pack, the "Master Wind Waker Pack", added a "Master Quest" version of the Great Sea Adventure Map for the 3DS version. Medli, from , was released as a free downloadable character for both versions to coincide with the release of the Master Wind Waker Pack. The second pack, based on , was released on June 30 in Japan, Europe and North America. The pack added Marin as a playable character and a Boots weapon for Linkle on both versions, and a new Adventure Map for the 3DS version. The third pack, the and pack, was released on September 1. The pack included the playable character Toon Zelda and a Sand Wand weapon for Toon Link on both versions, and an additional Adventure Map for 3DS. The final DLC pack, the pack was released on October 31. It contained a final Adventure Mode map for the 3DS version, as well as Ravio and Yuga as the final playable characters for both versions of the game. Players who purchased the season pass received an Ganondorf costume based on his appearance in The Wind Waker.
Lorenzo Veloria of GamesRadar however was less favorable of the gameplay ties to the Warriors series that despite "brilliant Zelda fan-service" called the combat "unimaginative" and repetitive, while Dan Ryckert of Giant Bomb felt that the mission variety was "basic" and full of "mindless slashing". The review for GameTrailers concluded that "your long term enjoyment of this game boils down to how much you like Dynasty Warriors, or hack-and-slash games in general". By contrast, Simon Parkin of Eurogamer felt that Warriors gameplay is "often unfairly criticized", before going on to state that compared to previous titles Hyrule Warriors rewards thoughtful play and demands a strategic approach that transcends the brute force combo-strings of its moment-to-moment gameplay.
All four Famitsu reviewers awarded Hyrule Warriors a score of 9 out of 10, for a total score of 36/40.
In October 2018, a financial report published by Koei Tecmo revealed that the Nintendo Switch port sold more than expected outside Japan, despite not revealing sales figures.
|
|
