Hyrule Warriors Reviews
Nintendo has served up fans something to tide them over in this Zelda-themed Dynasty Warriors clone. It's fan service more than anything else, but as you may have noticed by now, Nintendo is pretty good at fan service.
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.
Overall, Hyrule Warriors, despite its flaws, is a very addictive game and is most certainly worth playing extensively. Irrespective of Nintendo's successful past collaborations, I postulated that this game might be a bad idea, but I was proven wrong.
If you're a fan of the Dynasty Warriors gameplay and the lore of The Legend of Zelda series, you will absolutely fall in love with Hyrule Warriors and enjoy the extensive list of replayable modes. For those of you who feel this is a taint on the Zelda brand, I can assure you that nothing but care and dedication has been given to the mythos of the franchise. That said, the gameplay itself can become quickly repetitive without a difficulty challenge besides beating the enemy to the punch. And though it looks like a Zelda game, it certainly doesn't feel like a traditional one. The story races through in quick segments, mostly to introduce a new playable character. It's not the epic tale masterfully weaved from past Zelda titles. It's a game with perks and a game with flaws, and it will be up to each player's personal preferences to decide whether it's a worthy addition to their Nintendo library.
Hyrule Warriors delivers a wonderful Legend of Zelda action game with a large cast of familiar characters, identifiable worlds, a great upgrade/leveling system and endless amounts of action. It's far from a perfect game, especially in regards to controls and repetitiveness, but it's much better than expected. It has certainly raised the bar for the Dynasty Warriors series in regards to design.
The initial joy that comes from mashing buttons and watching Link and his cohorts slash down mindless scores of imps, goblins, lizardmen, wizards, and dragons gives way to a steadily increasingly pile of nitpicks when repeated over several hours.
At the end of the day, Hyrule Warriors is at its core a Dynasty Warriors game, but it injects enough of that Legend of Zelda pizzazz to feel fresh and fun in its own right. This game won't convert you into Dynasty Warriors fan and it has its fair share of problems, but after all is said and done I can say this; Hyrule Warriors is fun, and I guess sometimes that's all that matters.
Hyrule Warriors is a well-made, sometimes simultaneously dumb and brilliant good time.
The latest entry to the Zelda franchise, Hyrule Warriors is a game that lives up to the hype. The combination of innovative gameplay and immersive graphics makes this title a must-have for pretty much anyone who owns a Wii U.
Hyrule Warriors is mindless fun, with surprising detail and depth. It's not pure Zelda though, and if that's what you're expecting then you may want to prepare yourself first. Despite ample shortcomings, it's one of the better Musou titles in recent memory.
It looks like Zelda and plays like Dynasty Warriors. Yep, it does pretty much what it says on the tin.
Hyrule Warriors is not easy. I had to turn the difficulty all the way down on more than one occasion to get through the game in a timely fashion. That's a relationship I am used to with so-called "core games," or games aimed not at casual players, but traditional gamers who want some good, old-fashioned punishment through game difficulty.
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 lives up to expectations by having as many tropes from the Zelda series attached as it can, but it does have its fair share of shortcomings.
If hack-n-slash games are your jam—or you can tolerate them but really just love The Legend of Zelda in all its iterations—then Hyrule Warriors is a more-than-worthy warmup for Link on the Wii U.
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.
Like deep-fried caviar and the Warriors games that preceded it, Hyrule Warriors is an acquired taste that won't be for everybody. Gamers who primarily like first-person shooters or epics such as the Last of Us likely won't appreciate the mechanics of this game. If you're a fan of Dynasty Warriors-style games or grew up on old-school beat-em ups and adore the repetitive yet addicting mastery they require, then you will love this new link to the past.
Hyrule Warriors is the Legend of Zelda tactical brawler for the Wii U you didn't you know you wanted.
All in all, I'm glad to have experienced a game like Hyrule Warriors and also that I went into it without any great preconceived notions. What I found was an interesting addition to the Zelda franchise, enjoyable in a mindless way, and fun for scholars of Hyrulean lore. I would venture that any Zelda aficionado would find the same, just so long as you keep those wild expectations in check!
Hyrule Warriors surprised me in the best way it possibly could as I expected a decent and enjoyable, but not overly spectacular game, but what I got was the most fun I've had in a game in quite some time.