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| Watch here: http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct/08-04-2014/#/video-ndirect |
Today Nintendo hit us up with another Nintendo Direct. If you know me in person or follow this blog, you may be aware that while the Playstation has been my primary system since the first one, I'm a Nintendo fanboy in my heart and always treat their systems as my secondary console. Nintendo gives us games that no other platform will -- quite literally because they own and develop their most legendary IPs -- and they're just damn good. I also respect the fact that Nintendo goes off and does their own thing, even if it isn't always for the best. I actually love the Wii U and love the Gamepad.
They may be horribly out of touch in some aspects of their business model and plan, but in others they innovate. I always look forward to Nintendo Directs -- they're an event for me. They're usually about half an hour of showcasing new footage and breaking news. The only problem with the Directs is that they quite often disappoint. I, like many others, hope for certain things that we never get. Some of it is our own fault, but some of the blame rests on Nintendo.
This one focuses on Hyrule Warriors, which is a game I am looking forward to but it's not one of the big games of the year for me. I quite enjoy Dynasty Warriors but don't follow it religiously and I'm not a fan of Zelda at all outside of a few games that I mildly enjoy. So how did the Hyrule Warriors Direct fare? Read on for the news that matters.
Hyrule Warriors is looking like a good time with just enough change on the Dynasty Warriors formula to make it fresh. Don't get confused though, because this is still more of a Dynasty Warriors game with a Zelda skin than the other way around, but I'm okay with it.
The boss battles should be of interest in this. Though it will lack the legendary Lu Bu, it will have bosses from other Zelda games, and it will require the items that you find throughout the maps in order to defeat them. This should keep battles relatively unique and inject some strategy into the button mashing formula that Destiny Warriors is known for.
You will also need to use the items to open up different areas much like in Zelda.
There are tons of things from the Zelda series brought in, such as the Cucco. They will come after you if you hit them and you'll see them mingling with the enemies on occasion. However, in some situations you can actually make them your allies. Other characters such as the Bombchu or even the Moon from Majora's Mask will also be included. It's safe to say that there will be plenty of fan service involved but it's interesting how they incorporate some of these. For example, you can hookshot the Moon to have it fall on enemies.
You'll have things like grass cutting, which seems silly, but it is part of the Zelda charm. Apparently they were going to have a stage that consisted solely of grass cutting but they didn't include it. I think that might be a good thing because I can't really see that being enjoyable. Sometimes Nintendo makes a bigger deal out of certain aspects of their IPs than they deserve, and I reckon the grass cutting is one of them.
These are the characters that they talked about in the Direct: Link, Zelda, Impa, Sheik, Ruto, Darunia, Midna, Agitha, Zant, Fi, Ghirahim, plus some new characters like Lana. They will all have their own attributes and weapons, such as a sword, a giant hammer, etc. This is typical Dynasty Warriors fare.
This isn't really news, but expect to see a bunch of stages based on places that you know and love within the Zelda universe, such as Skyloft, Lake Hylia and Twilight Field.
You can fill a bar by defeating enemies that will power-up your character when used. It is called "Focus Spirit."
In terms of character progression, it's light but it exists. Your characters level up as you slaughter your foes, and some materials drop in battle that you can use to craft badges that enhance your stats. You can also acquire weapons that enemies drop... some of these also have skills in them or if they have an empty slot you can fuse your own skills in it, such as more attack damage or a better chance of finding hearts.
There's a mode called "Adventure Mode," which basically slaps you on a NES-inspired map and you can move around to the different stages and play them. Each stage will have its own victory conditions and once you achieve them the level will end and more spaces on the grid will open up around you so you can progress to the next stage. It's not mind-blowing, but it's something.
Like any Destiny Warriors game, the core gameplay consists of spamming attacks until hundreds of enemies fall to your might. You can take over bases in the middle of combat to help turn the tides of battle, but mostly it'll just involve you laying waste to enemies yourself.
One sore spot for me is the lack of online co-op, and how they handle the local co-op. I don't know why but for as forward thinking as Nintendo is in a lot of ways, they have some problems with minor issues. Instead of playing on the same screen, which is completely acceptable in local co-op, especially since most people have bigger TVs these days, one person will use the Gamepad screen and the other will use the TV and Wiimotes. Not only that, but the screen resolution will go down when playing in local co-op. I don't know why they felt the need to do this to use, but it's a bit of a downer. I normally play Dynasty Warriors with a friend but I'll be playing this one solo.
As the Direct ends, we are shown Ganondorf. Of course he is badass, and of course you will want to play as him. If you're a Nintendo Club member then you can get the Demon King costume set, and like most games, there are pre-order bonuses from select retailers.
I think the variety and whatnot of the enemies, mixed with the Zelda characters and atmosphere, will make it a little more exciting than just a normal Dynasty Warriors. I enjoy this idea as a one-off, but if it became a series I think the novelty would wear off. After seeing the Hyrule Warriors direct, I don't know if I'm more excited for it or not, but most of my fears have been put to rest, and the problems I had with the game I already knew (such as the co-op).
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