It may be a bit late but the Hyrule Warriors Nintendo Direct has come and gone and has been streamed directly to us to be implanted in our brains and now I have a complete rundown of what was shown during the Nintendo Direct presentation plus I will add the actual presentation video for those who want to see it.
Here is the Direct for your enjoyment:
Here is the complete rundown of the presentation:
- NPC characters will fight alongside player characters, occasionally engaging in situational dialogue
- Many gameplay elements are inspired from The Legend of Zelda series, such as the opening chest animation, puzzle solving theme etc.
- Rocks can be used to destroy terrain and attack enemies
- The map is made up of “Keeps” – blue Keeps represent player controlled areas and red represent enemy areas. What Keeps players own will play a strategic role in the flow of the game
- King Dodongo shown – Another Zelda convention will be followed in-game. Example given was newly acquired bombs being used to defeat this boss
- Many familiar Legend of Zelda items will be making a return – arrows to attack distant enemies, climb walls with the hook shook, bombs, boomerang etc.
- Gohma shown, with the weak spot of his open eye. Again raises the point of using items (in this instance, the bow) adds a strategic layer to the gameplay
- Cuckoos in Hyrule Warriors will come after you if you accident hit them. In certain situations they can be quite useful,
- Cutting grass – much like in previous Zeldas, you can find hearts, rupees and other object
- Skulltulas are in Hyrule Warriors – players will be led to them by sound and will grant various unlockables
- Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword costume sets will be available as pre-order bonuses from certain retailers
Playable Characters
- Link – Signature weapon is 1 handed sword, well rounded and easily accessible. Has his famous spin attack
- Zelda – Signature weapon is a rapier, fast and furious attacks to defeat enemies. Has Arrows of Light for distant enemies
- Impa – Signature weapon is a giant blade, wide attack range. Acts and talks like a Samurai
- Sheik – Signature weapon is a harp, speedy fighter in battle
- Darunia – Signature weapon is a giant hammer, uses brute force to knock back enemies
- Ruto – Signature weapon is a Zora scale, can change the ground to water to travel from place to place
- Midna – Signature weapon is her hair, the shackle
- Agitha – Signature weapon is her parasoul, but also dynamically attacks enemies with insects
- Zant – Signature weapon is his schimitar, which he swings around but can also summon various things
- Fi – Signature weapon is her Goddess Blade, attacks as if she’s dancing. Can also transform herself into a blade
- Ghirahim – Signature weapon is his Demon Blade, just like in Skyward Sword he will be a savant in sword play
- Lana – Signature weapon is her book of sorcery. Key character in the story, can summon objects, traps or just direct attack opponents
- Characters level up through defeating enemies in battle
- Defeating certain monsters will drop materials that can be used to craft badges. Badges alter characters stats, everything from the number of a weapons attacks, combo lengths, Focus Spirit length etc.
- Ganon teased as a playable character as well, signature weapon is his Demon Swords
- Demon King Costume set will be available for Ganon for Club Nintendo members, inspired by his Ocarina of Time incarnation
Weapons
- Other weapons will be unlockable as you progress through the story
- Fire Rod for Link, Wind Waker for Zelda, Spear with the power of a Deku Tree for Lana were the examples given
- Each character has special attacks that allow you to defeat a lot of enemies at once
- Focus Spirit is a mechanic that will temporarily increase your character’s abilities and uses the magic gauge, is active once the gauge is filled
- Bomb Chus – Huge in Hyrule Warriors, no longer mouse sized
- Chain Chomp – Originally from the Mario universe but found his way into the Zelda universe. Now a usable weapon in Hyrule Warriors
- Some weapons have special abilities called ‘ skills’ – do everything from increasing attack damage to increasing the chance of finding a heart
- Fusing weapons increases the weapon’s skills
- Drop rates are tied into difficulty of missions
- Moon from Majora’s Mask – Can be used as a weapon, if the player hookshots the moon, can be pulled down to the ground to hit enemies
Stages
- Stages will be inspired by but a little different to what players remember
- Skyloft, Lake Hylia, Twilight Field shown, mainly from Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword
Adventure Mode
- Inspired by classic Legend of Zelda, will be a hybrid of classic Legend of Zelda gameplay with Hyrule Warriors
- Features a map, each block will take you into the game to play
- As you defeat blocks, you unlock adjacent ones on the overworld
- You’re able to search, which brings back a 2D Zelda for the player to find new treasure to help in battle
- Progressing through Adventure Mode will unlock new characters and the mode features some weapons only available to Adventure Mode
Co-op Mode
- Instead of splitting TV screen, one player will get TV and the other will get the Gamepad
- In order 2 process both screens, had slightly reduced resolution compared to single player
- Off TV mode will also be available in single player
