Hyrule Warriors is one of the most fun games I’ve ever played, and it’s probably the most fun Legend of Zelda game I’ve ever played. As much as I absolutely love the Zelda games, sometimes you just want to madly rush the enemies and swing the Master Sword blindly. Hyrule Warriors lets you live that experience in this weird mash-up between Dynasty Warriors and Legend of Zelda.
The mash-up is so crazy, it works.
I brought Hyrule Warriors to my Extra Life team, and playing a bit of it convinced two of them to buy it. Unfortunately, only of them has a Wii U, so it’s doubtful both will make the purchase.
So why Hyrule Warriors? Well, do you like hack-n-slash? Do you like having crazy, fanservice-inspired fun?
Hyrule Warriors may not be the Wii U Legend of Zelda game we need or even the game we deserve, but it’s the one we have. It’s not perfect, and it’s nothing like any typical Zelda game before it, but it’s hard to deny that it’s fun. It’s also full of fanservice, which makes it even more fun. And sometimes, all you want to do is have silly fun.
I have never played a Dynasty Warriors game, but I have played my fair share of Legend of Zelda games. Tecmo Koei heavily emphasized that Hyrule Warriors was most definitely not a Zelda game, but a Dynasty Warriors game first and foremost. It just happens to have a Zelda skin slapped on it, a story that mashes up the stories from several popular Zelda games, environments from the Zelda games, and collectibles from the games. Gameplay is 100% Dynasty Warriors, meaning that it is hack-n-slash action with a bit of real-time strategy mixed in.
Now the real-time strategy is not anything close to your traditional RTS games. Don’t think this is comparable to Civilization or Age of Empires, either.
As each mission starts, Link and friends start in their Allied Base, and they will try to take over keeps across the map to gain the advantage across swarms of enemies. The enemies will also keep spawning at outposts, so it’s smart (and often necessary) for Link to take over the outposts as well. To take over a keep or outpost, all the player has to do is defeat the Outpost Captain or the Keep Boss. The keep/outpost color will change depending on which side has control. However, just because a post or a keep are under Hyrulian control does not mean this is permanent. The enemy will constantly try to take back control, and if they get out of hand, they can take over the Allied Base, which means instant defeat.
Hyrule Warriors is hardly Game of the Year material, but it doesn’t make it any less fun or worthwhile to play. This almost beats out Diablo 3 as my go-to game for hack-n-slash fun. For those who own a Wii U, this is a must-have. Read my full review at Action Trip for more info.
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