Mixing together two different games to create one seems like a bad idea and trust me from the outside of the idea it does seem bad. The problem that can be found with mixing two completely different franchises together is that for one example the idea does not always completely work, on another example the mixture of two franchises might isolate long-time fans of a certain franchise because the other is one that they dislike. Hyrule Warriors presented itself with just this problem, as much as I love Nintendo’s Zelda franchise I honestly cannot stand Koei Tecmo’s Warriors franchise.
Within minutes though I will admit I found the combination of the two ideas to be perfect and extremely satisfying, presenting me with what has become a favourite Wii U game and potential best game of 2014.
The thing that really is notable about Hyrule Warriors was just accessible it was, it is one of those games that you can start playing and within minutes be a master at it. In part I would say this is because Hyrule Warriors is quite simplistic, you really only need a couple of buttons to play and before long you can work out the best strategies with each weapon in order to achieve maximum results. Though it does go a lot deeper with lots of different playstyles and problems found in the gameplay, it still proves to be a game that is easy to get into and times even master.
Added to this is the wide array of playable characters available within, this game acts as a who’s-who of the best of the best in the Zelda franchise providing a selection of our favourite characters. In how many games do you get the option to run around a battlefield as Ganondorf or as Zelda, or even as Princess Ruto from Ocarina of Time, and how can I forget Fi from Skyward Sword. The character’s each play differently and continued to keep things interesting many hours into the game with us being able to play as any character available.
As I previously stated the mixture of two different franchises does seem weird and like something that should not work, but Hyrule Warriors does prove me wrong. With a Zelda coat of paint, along with characters and enemies blends perfectly with the gameplay styling’s of the Warriors franchise, the battlefield nature of the Warriors franchise worked perfectly to tell a completely different story to the Zelda fan base and allowed us to do what many of us have wanted to do for years, which is just plow through an army of Moblins. The battlefields were all well done and each acted as a nice reference to Hyrule as a whole, even providing great layouts for each battle that keeps you going. A personal favorite moment was getting to fight a Goron army at Death Mountain, wow that was fun.
Hyrule Warriors is a great game and it is one of the best games I have played in 2014, the question is will this game be my Game of the Year. Well we are coming to a close on the nominees so we will find out soon.
In case you missed them the previous nominees are:
