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Released a year and a half ago Hyrule Warriors was a strange mixture. Characters and world of the smartest and most innovative series (The Legend of Zelda) received the gameplay of the series, simple and monotonous (Dynasty Warriors). However, more than a million Link fans wanted to kill hundreds of identical dummies. Therefore, an improved re-release for 3DS, which has an audience five times larger than Wii U, seemed logical.

Doesn’t support its hardware

The word “improved” does not apply to external data. After the beauty in high definition, looking at the low detail of the portable version and the “comic book” outlines of the characters is simply painful. Numerous enemies constantly appear two steps away from the hero out of nowhere; when stereoscopic mode is turned on, the frame rate drops like the ruble exchange rate this winter. However, on the old 3DS there is no three-dimensional image at all, and there are even fewer enemies – with the same problems – which sometimes slows down progress.

It’s sad that the flickering of a bunch of albeit slow, but moving characters is not very suitable for a portable platform with a small screen. Sometimes it becomes difficult to understand what is happening and which corner of the map to run to. The map itself on the bottom screen is also not very informative, as it is jam-packed with pointers and colored markers. The camera is also strange, periodically refusing to aim where it should and showing anything but the wrong opponent. Although if you manage to detach yourself from the complete chaos in which you are running around and take, for example, a screenshot, you will find out what it looks like Legends very nice by the standards of ancient “hardware”.

The battles from the original have been preserved in full, between the battles there are still cutscenes, although they were spoiled by “blurring” – in general, they worked on the transfer. But for owners of the old version of the console, I recommend trying the demo version and assessing whether 18 – 20 frames per second and sudden appearances of monsters under your nose interfere.

Repetition is the mother of battle

For those unfamiliar with games Koei Tecmo Let me explain – this is a purebred slasher film, where the hero is constantly attacked by dozens of enemies who are unable to resist. Among them, sometimes there are slightly stronger individuals, and once or twice during a half-hour battle an enemy appears in the arena, posing a real threat. Control over the battle is given by captured fortifications – they are the ones that allow you to progress in the mission. Kill enemies and their commander, hold the base, escort an ally, kill enemies, hold, escort – repeat many, many times.

Another annoying repetition can be the sound. https://mr-jones-casino-online.co.uk/login/ Not music – there are no problems with the tracks, they correspond to the heroic theme and echo the most famous Zeldian compositions. The screams of your fighter are annoying, and there is nothing you can do about it (except maybe turn off the sound or switch to another character).

Quickly changing appearance is a very useful thing. After all, the battle pattern can change every two to three minutes. For example, stormtrooper lizards appear in several places at once, and they need to act against them, which is not enough for two legs. Although issuing commands directly during the battle on the touch screen is a dubious pleasure. To make life easier, they came up with totems in the form of owls, allowing the fighters themselves to be transported wherever they need to go.

Not only Link fights for Hyrule, but also other good heroes of the series – from Sheik and Impa to the new sorceress Lana and Princess Zelda herself. All with their own types of weapons, special techniques and series of attacks, but with one set of additional items and a skill tree (it develops, however, separately). Additional items here act as an attempt to keep the spirit alive The Legend of Zelda. They are the ones who are most effective against the most powerful scoundrels – and each needs its own. The huge lizard Dodongo needs to be fed with bombs, and the underground predatory flower should be cut off with a sharp boomerang.

Fan service and feminism

Otherwise, all that remains of “Zeldian” is the outer shell and the eternal, unpretentious plot about the struggle of impeccable heroes against disgusting evil. The dark side here is represented by rather faded scoundrels, memorable only thanks to their neckline and a close Russian man named Volga. And in general, the plot does not in any way resemble a full-fledged story, working only to please the fans and introduce more familiar faces.

In some places the game is simply fan service, even more so than the Wii U version. At a certain point, the team of heroes splits up and goes to different eras, created based on the classic parts of the series. And if in 2014 it was possible to visit the universes Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess And Skyward Sword, then now we also have at our service Wind Waker along with Majora’s Mask.

The first received a whole epilogue and as many as three heroes who can be controlled. But, with all the coolness (for fans) of Link, Tetra and King Daphnes, the main newcomer should be called another. And it’s not even Kid Skull from Majora’s Mask, and the one who is now fighting with him is Linkle, the female version of Link and the triumph of feminism in a separate universe. The girl, added for the sake of it, turned out to be a very pleasant fighter. Her missions are fast-paced, funny (chickens can act as supporting “cannon fodder”), and her crossbows are the most spectacular weapons in the arsenal of Hyrule’s defenders.

Time to feed the fairies

Fresh stages increase the campaign by almost a third, but even without them the plot is only the tip of the iceberg. The Free Mode has not gone away, allowing you to replay any battle for any available character. Including for villains – from dark Link to Ganondorf.

“Adventure Mode” is also in place, and it is much more extensive than the main narrative and is available from the very beginning. In it you need to explore a large map, each cell of which represents a separate mission with a special task and, in addition, stores a special trophy. The tasks differ little from what is present in the plot. The only ones that stand out are those battles where you need to defeat a certain number of monsters in the allotted time. The size of the map is simply huge, to get the most delicious treasures you need to go through battles for the best score, so don’t count on a dozen or two hours, but several dozen or even a hundred.

It is important that Adventure Mode is integrated into the main outline of the game. After all, we use the things received here – weapons, materials for badges and life energy – in Legend Mode. At its core, this is a large training field that allows you to prepare for a difficult battle if you do not want to reduce the difficulty. There are special mechanics, such as enemy barriers that take away health, as well as a new feature for the 3DS version – fairies.

Traditional firefly assistants are responsible for magic. Having found the bottle on the adventure mode map, we also open something like a “Tamagotchi”. The fairy needs to be fed, developed its magical abilities and even changed clothes. Firefly abilities, which work similarly to weapon perks, can be exchanged with other players. Together with Linkle, this part of the re-release seems to be an attempt to win over the female audience.

From the chaos that is happening in the fields of Hyrule, order is not born. All improvements in the portable version are broken by technical problems and the general low level of the series Warriors. It’s not clear what could attract a normal “Zelda” fan in a single-cell action for fifteen hours. Perhaps your favorite heroes, of whom there are even more here than before. But even fans are better off replaying one of the many “real” 3DS titles. Fans of Chinese historical battles will find it more interesting – but they are unlikely to have a console from Nintendo.

Pros: all content from Wii U has been transferred in a digestible form; changing heroes and fast movement make battles more intense; new characters and content have appeared.
Cons: graphics are noticeably worse; the process, overcrowded with characters and events, did not fit well into the portable format; technical difficulties, especially noticeable on the standard 3DS.