———WHAT IS IT

Hyrule Warriors is a hack and slash, beat-em-up style game originally released in 2014 and developed by Koei Techmo and Omega Force. The game is a mix of Dynasty Warriors gameplay with The Legend of Zelda elements.

The game has been released multiple times in slightly altered forms. First, it was released on the WiiU in 2014 as Hyrule Warriors and then recieved a port to the 3DS, known as Hyrule Warriors:Legends.

The 3DS port recieved elements not added in the WiiU version, such as a side-story featuring Linkle, a female Link original to the Hyrule Warriors games, and a Wind Waker epilogue to the main story.

Four packs of DLC were released for the game: Master Quest Pack, Twilight Princess Pack, Majora's Mask Pack, and the Boss Pack. Most of the packs included new Adventure Mode maps, outfits, and weapons as well as new playable characters, such as Twili Midna from the Twilight Princess Pack and Young Link from the Majora's Mask pack.

The Boss Pack included a whole new gamemode with two versions: Ganon's Fury and Cucuoo's Fury. You play as Beast Ganon or a Giant Cucuoo, depending on the mode, and complete unique challenges.

In March 2018, the game was ported to the Switch as Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition. It included all the DLC and updates that both versions, WiiU and 3DS, recieved. It does have some unique items for being on the Switch, but is mostly restrained to constumes. Otherwise, the game was graphically updated and handles large numbers of enemies much better than the WiiU or 3DS did.


———GAMEPLAY

The game has two main modes: Legend Mode and Adventure Mode.

Legend Mode is the story mode of this game. The events of this game are considered non-canon and Hyrule Warriors has no place in the Zelda timeline. The game begins by explaining that Ganondorf's soul had been split into four pieces and sealed away in four different times — the time of Hyrule Warriors, Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and Ocarina of Time.

However, through the goddess Cia (an original character to Hyrule Warriors), Ganondorf plans to revive himself. Cia was originally the Sorceress of Time along with Lana (another original character to Hyrule Warriors). They used to one person, however due to Cia's obsession with the Hero of Courage, they split. Cia's love for the hero is what Ganondorf uses to exploit her, resulting in her opening the Gate of Souls which connects different points in time.

This results in a siege upon Hyrule Castle with monsters from all different times/games. Link, a knight-in-training, rushes to the field to help aid the fight where he teams up with Impa.

From there, Link and Impa team up with Lana and the three decide to split up in order to close the Gates of Time. The stages that follow take place in the worlds of Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and Ocarina of Time and also unlock playable characters from those games.

Adventure Mode is the other main mode of the game. The definitive version of the game includes nine maps, all based on different Zelda games and unique gimicks based on their corresponding games. For example, the Termina Map has a timer that resets most of the map after a certain number of battles have been fought, reminicint of Majora's Mask's three day cycle.

Each map is given a difficulty rating, from Easy to Hero. A tenth map, the Rewards Map, is unlocked through finding Golden Skulltulas which unlock illustration pieces. Once enough have been collected to complete an illustration, a square will unlock on the Rewards Map.

Excluding the Rewards map, the maps, in order of difficulty from Easy to Hero, are:

In my opinion, the best guide for this game is SBAllen's Unlockable Guide. Not only does it go through every stage in Legend Mode, but it also covers every square for each map in Adventure Mode as well as the best stages to grind for materials/food/EXP/etc. I love how this guide is organized and cannot recommend it enough if you play the game.

Use the owl statue on the right to warp to my own personal thoughts and experiences with Hyrule Warriors:Definitive Edition.