Hyrule Warriors Direct live-stream, blog

The Hyrule Warriors Direct will begin one hour from now (11 PM ET / 8 PM PT). Our last couple of formats have worked pretty well, so we’ll post tidbits from the presentation below. If there are major announcements (like new characters), we’ll make separate posts as well.

Note: today’s presentation will be roughly 26 minutes.

Updates to follow below…

• NPC characters will fight alongside player characters, occasionally engaging in situational dialogue
• Many gameplay elements are inspired from The Legend of Zelda series, such as the opening chest animation, puzzle solving theme etc.
• Rocks can be used to destroy terrain and attack enemies
• The map is made up of  “Keeps” – blue Keeps represent player controlled areas and red represent enemy areas. What Keeps players own will play a strategic role in the flow of the game
• King Dodongo shown – Another Zelda convention will be followed in-game. Example given was newly acquired bombs being used to defeat this boss
• Many familiar Legend of Zelda items will be making a return – arrows to attack distant enemies, climb walls with the hook shook, bombs, boomerang etc.
• Gohma shown, with the weak spot of his open eye. Again raises the point of using items (in this instance, the bow) adds a strategic layer to the gameplay
• Cuckoos in Hyrule Warriors will come after you if you accident hit them. In certain situations they can be quite useful,
• Cutting grass – much like in previous Zeldas, you can find hearts, rupees and other object
• Skulltulas are in Hyrule Warriors – players will be led to them by sound and will grant various unlockables
• Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword costume sets will be available as pre-order bonuses from certain retailers

Playable Characters

• Link – Signature weapon is 1 handed sword, well rounded and easily accessible. Has his famous spin attack
• Zelda – Signature weapon is a rapier, fast and furious attacks to defeat enemies. Has Arrows of Light for distant enemies
• Impa – Signature weapon is a giant blade, wide attack range. Acts and talks like a Samurai
• Sheik – Signature weapon is a harp, speedy fighter in battle
• Darunia – Signature weapon is a giant hammer, uses brute force to knock back enemies
• Ruto – Signature weapon is a Zora scale, can change the ground to water to travel from place to place
• Midna – Signature weapon is her hair, the shackle
• Agitha – Signature weapon is her parasoul, but also dynamically attacks enemies with insects
• Zant – Signature weapon is his schimitar, which he swings around but can also summon various things
• Fi – Signature weapon is her Goddess Blade, attacks as if she’s dancing. Can also transform herself into a blade
• Ghirahim – Signature weapon is his Demon Blade, just like in Skyward Sword he will be a savant in sword play
• Lana – Signature weapon is her book of sorcery. Key character in the story, can summon objects, traps or just direct attack opponents
• Characters level up through defeating enemies in battle
• Defeating certain monsters will drop materials that can be used to craft badges. Badges alter characters stats, everything from the number of a weapons attacks, combo lengths, Focus Spirit length etc.
• Ganon teased as a playable character as well, signature weapon is his Demon Swords
• Demon King Costume set will be available for Ganon for Club Nintendo members, inspired by his Ocarina of Time incarnation

Weapons

• Other weapons will be unlockable as you progress through the story
• Fire Rod for Link, Wind Waker for Zelda, Spear with the power of a Deku Tree for Lana were the examples given
• Each character has special attacks that allow you to defeat a lot of enemies at once
• Focus Spirit is a mechanic that will temporarily increase your character’s abilities and uses the magic gauge, is active once the gauge is filled
• Bomb Chus – Huge in Hyrule Warriors, no longer mouse sized
• Chain Chomp – Originally from the Mario universe but found his way into the Zelda universe. Now a usable weapon in Hyrule Warriors
• Some weapons have special abilities called ‘ skills’ – do everything from increasing attack damage to increasing the chance of finding a heart
• Fusing weapons increases the weapon’s skills
• Drop rates are tied into difficulty of missions
• Moon from Majora’s Mask – Can be used as a weapon, if the player hookshots the moon, can be pulled down to the ground to hit enemies

Stages

• Stages will be inspired by but a little different to what players remember
• Skyloft, Lake Hylia, Twilight Field shown, mainly from Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword

Adventure Mode

• Inspired by classic Legend of Zelda, will be a hybrid of classic Legend of Zelda gameplay with Hyrule Warriors
• Features a map, each block will take you into the game to play
• As you defeat blocks, you unlock adjacent ones on the overworld
• You’re able to search, which brings back a 2D Zelda for the player to find new treasure to help in battle
• Progressing through Adventure Mode will unlock new characters and the mode features some weapons only available to Adventure Mode

Co-op Mode

• Instead of splitting TV screen, one player will get TV and the other will get the Gamepad
• In order 2 process both screens, had slightly reduced resolution compared to single player
• Off TV mode will also be available in single player