Playing A Game Hyrule Warriors WiiU

I have only a passing knowledge of the Dynasty Warriors franchise, which I think actually makes me a pretty good target for this Zelda crossover. Playing Hyrule Warriors feels very different from any other Legend of Zelda game; and yet, the series' familiar characters and environments are integrated well-enough that it all... mostly, feels right.

In retrospect, the genre-bending angle isn't actually that hard of a sell. Zelda games are accustomed to pitting Link and friends against a massive army of evil -- Hyrule Warriors essentially just adds a "good" army, and removes the dungeon puzzles. Through just shy of 20 stages, the game's Legend Mode tells a story that initially tries some interesting (okay, fanservicey) twists, but eventually becomes exactly what one would expect from any other Zelda game. Familiar faces, both good and bad, chip in as the campaign hops around between levels like Hyrule Field, Death Mountain, the Water Temple, and Gerudo Valley, with Hylian soldiers and Gorons fighting Stalfos and Moblins, et al. There are even franchise-appropriate opportunities to use traditional Zelda items, like bombs to blow up a weak wall, or arrows to target a Gohma's weak point.

And in that respect, Hyrule Warriors delivers a number of legitimately-enthralling encounters: boss battles, particularly in the game's second half, present some real pattern-recognition and timing-sensitive challenges. For the most part, though, Hyrule Warriors is unsurprisingly mild. Hordes of enemies, and a smaller number of mid-bosses, get to deal with the business end of a given protagonist's weapon, as said protagonist must clear out one area, then another area, then escort a friend, then resume clearing, and so on. Especially in the first half of the campaign, the combat is mostly brainless. It's reasonably fun, sure, and timed events tend to keep it from becoming too tedious. But only occasional special events and boss battles really stand out amid the whole experience.

To be fair, there is in fact a lot of content here: the Legend Mode campaign is a respectable length, there are a bunch of other game modes with less narrative-focused objectives, the crafting/upgrade system is pretty deep, and there are a bunch of unlockables and "medals" to boot. At the end of the day, though, I wasn't quite interested enough in the core gameplay to continue on with these options.

Hyrule Warriors is a successful spin-off, and almost certainly some fun for any Zelda fan. It's not exactly what I would call a masterpiece, and independent of its Zelda association, the appeal of its gameplay formula does seem pretty narrow. But despite how ... dumb, it can seem at times, the product as a whole is satisfyingly well-made.

Also, the two-player co-op mode is an easy recommendation, combining the normal gameplay with some light tactical coordination. Runtime performance on the GamePad is ... not great. But it's worth tolerating to participate in the closest thing yet to a Legend of Zelda real-time strategy game.

Better than: Link's Crossbow Training, that time I tried Dynasty Warriors: Gundam
Not as good as: uh, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, I guess
But, it might also be better than: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Progress: Finished Legend Mode on Normal difficulty.

Rating: Good