Zelda: Tri Force Heroes – Miiverse messages from Aonuma and Shikata, why 3 players instead of 4
With the launch of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes in the west, series producer Eiji Aonuma and Shikata took to Miiverse and talked a bit more about the game.
First, here’s some opening comments from Aonuma:
We next have comments from Shikata, who explains why the game features three players instead of four:
Hello! I’m Hiromasa Shikata, the director of The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. I’d like to thank all of you out there on Miiverse for having me here!
So, why did we decide on three players rather than four this time around? When three players are split up and, say, two players have to catch up with the third player or one player gets lost and the other two have to work together to try and find them, all three players naturally develop a sense of cooperation. Four players divide evenly into two teams, and I think that they might sometimes lose touch with the spirit of cooperation.
We knew we wanted to focus on cooperation in Tri Force Heroes, and the concept of a triangular relationship between three players was something we talked about a lot. The core gameplay mechanic is that players can lift one another to form a totem and work together to solve puzzles, which means that vertical puzzles become a part of the fun. These totems are less complicated to form with three people than with four, so it was perfect.
We’ve gone down a player from Four Swords Adventures, but I think you’ll find that the challenges of three-player cooperation will bring you and your friends closer. I know that all of you out there on Miiverse probably have a lot of questions and maybe even some reservations about Tri Force Heroes, so we’ll try to answer them in this Miiting.
And lastly the following from Aonuma:
Mr Shikata was also the director of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, so I’m sure he’s got some good vertical puzzles up his sleeve already!
You might get frustrated in online multiplayer mode, but please make good use of your communication icons, work with your friends to overcome all sorts of challenges, and experience an extraordinary sense of accomplishment when you succeed!
Also, even though cooperation between three players is at the heart of the game’s entertainment value, you can of course still play on your own!
