I can understand being concerned about a mash-up between The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors, especially if you haven?t played anything Warriors related over the past 4 years or so. It?s a series that?s always had a certain stigma attached to it, with most considering it to be a throwaway button masher with little depth. However, for those like myself that I have played through titles like Warriors Orochi 3 or Dynasty Warriors 8, we know better. And hearing that Omega Force was going to get a shot at the Zelda universe gave me hope that we?d see something incredible out of this mash-up. The end result fits that description nicely.
Hyrule Warriors isn?t dependent on any one Zelda game, mashing together elements of Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time. You?ll see visual and audio cues from other Zelda titles outside of those three, but by and large this culls heroes and villains from those specific entries. Omega Force has also crafted a few unique characters here, along with a brand-new storyline to tie everything together. Does it feel like an important, lore-heavy entry? No, not really. This is more of a fun, one-off side-story that doesn?t try hard to make sense, and instead crafts a scenario that makes it possible for Fi and Zant among others to exist within the same universe.
While combat still focuses on slashing your way through endless hordes of no-named soldiers and monsters, Hyrule Warriors also puts a bit more emphasis on exploiting weaknesses than other Warriors titles. Most boss encounters, and larger enemy fights, will see you looking for the right time to strike, highlighted by a small meter that appears above an enemy?s head after they?ve executed a strong attack. Your window of opportunity to strike back can be quite small, and sometimes requires the use of a specific item to trigger that opportunity. This makes combat far more engaging than most Warriors titles, and should satisfy those that find combat to be the weakest aspect of the series.
Outside of the campaign, there?s are a Free Play mode that lets you tackle any previous level completed with any character unlocked so far. Some Campaign levels lock you into using one character, or a smaller selection than the available roster, so you might find it worth your time to revisit stages with someone new. But the most significant mode featured in Hyrule Warriors has to be the unique Adventure Mode.
I found Adventure Mode to be my favorite thing about Hyrule Warriors, offering hours upon hours of gameplay in smaller, bite-sized chunks. A lot of the battles feature unique modifiers, like one-hit kills, a larger number of boss battles, and even a quiz-like map that has you tackling specific monsters based on clues offered. It?s a very unique mode, and I can?t think of anything quite like it in the history of Dynasty Warriors games.
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