Hyrule Warriors Reviews
'Hyrule Warriors' delivers plenty of fan service for 'The Legend of Zelda' fans but fails to provide a compelling reason to keep playing.
Hyrule Warriors brings the worlds of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors closer together in a fun, repetitive action game.
Hyrule Warriors rewards thoughtful play and demands a strategic approach that transcends the brute force combo-strings of its moment-to-moment gameplay. The marriage of Zelda and Musou is an unexpected success, then - a game that recounts the Zelda myth not just in a new way, but in a whole new language.
Hyrule Warriors has brilliant Zelda fan-service, but is ruined by unimaginative combat and brain-dead enemies.
This aggressive version of Zelda can become repetitious, but there are reasons to keep fighting
An unlikely pairing of Dynasty Warriors and The Legend Of Zelda yields greatly satisfying results.
Team Ninja and Omega Force have forced Zelda's universe into the confines of a beat-em-up, but much of the charm and appeal was strained out in the process.
This odd Wii U collaboration plays like a guided tour of The Legend of Zelda's most iconic locations and characters. The price of admission? Playing a bunch of Dynasty Warriors.
It's no Ocarina of Time or Link Between Worlds. Hell, it's not really a Zelda game. But if you like Zelda, you finally get a Zelda fan-service game. That's the allure. Wait. You don't like Zelda? What's wrong with you?
At the end of the day, what elevates Hyrule Warriors to greatness is its seemingly endless fanservice. Whether it's an obscure cameo, a cucco counter attack, or even just an awesome finishing move, the game is rife with glorious slices of Zelda goodness.
If you love all things Zelda and your button-mashing thumbs aren't yet sore, then Hyrule Warriors is definitely one for your collection. Otherwise, you're not missing much if you skip it.
For those that come in expecting a classic Legend of Zelda adventure this could potentially be an underwhelming experience; yet as a fun action game with plenty of content is delivers well. Once the problem of perception — courtesy of the iconic characters at play — is resolved, this is an entertaining addition for action fans.
Hyrule Warriors has little in common with a traditional Zelda game. You don't solve any puzzles, you don't explore any dungeons, and you certainly don't break into anyone's house and destroy all of their pottery. Still, it definitely works as a spin-off that focuses almost entirely on action. It's fun to see Link and friends battle with the kind of glitz and glamour you'd expect from an episode of Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball Z. I'm not saying I'd want that in a real Zelda installment, but it works in this surprisingly engaging off-shoot.
Hyrule Warriors is a success. It enables Nintendo to explore the Zelda cast and world in large scale conflicts, while also offering fans an avenue for rampant nostalgia. The game only falls down due to the documented trappings of the Warriors franchise and the fault of being the first of its line, even though it does make some brave attempts to improve on the template with this. If you have a penchant for the world of Nintendo's Hylian hero, and don't mind the repetition of its design, then Hyrule Warriors undeniably offers an entertaining and satisfying way to engage in large scale quasi-tactical Hyrulian combat.
Hyrule Warriors is fun, pays decent fan service, and uses the Dynasty Warriors template well.
Honestly, if you're a Zelda fan, I wouldn't recommend you skipping out on this title due the sheer amount of modes and content squeezed in. What I would recommend, however, is playing in segments instead of trying to beat the bulk of it at once, since the repetitive nature of the gameplay can at times get exhausting after a couple hours of missions. If you're unsure whether to take the plunge, you can always rent or ask a friend for their copy first.
Hyrule Warriors benefits from allowing the Zelda series to take some big risks. Even if the graphics and gameplay feel like a generation late and a few stellar dungeon designs short, I'd like more third-party developers to pitch projects like this as each leaves me more hopeful that Nintendo consoles won't have rely on strictly first-party wares.
When played in short sessions, Hyrule Warriors is mindless fun that celebrates the rich history of the Zelda series. However, your long term enjoyment of this game boils down to how much you like Dynasty Warriors, or hack-and-slash games in general, and whether or not you care about exuberant amounts of Zelda fan service. It more than delivers on both these points, but if either one of these is a turn off, this likely isn't the experience for you.
Hyrule Warriors can fall into the same trappings as any hack and slash, but the amount of effort that went into making it enjoyable for Zelda fans is staggering. This is one of the best couch co-op games I've ever played, warts and all.
It always sounded like a bad idea, but although Zelda has inspired one of the best Dynasty Warriors games to date the end result is still well below average by any other standard.