2014’s Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U was quite the surprise for me personally. While I do enjoy Musou (Dynasty Warrior-like) games, I was expecting Hyrule to be just another spin-off, but it ended up defying and going beyond my expectations by offering improved and flashy gameplay, tons of modes and characters, all wrapped up in a package that looked, performed and sounded excellent. It was one of the most content-rich Musou games I have ever played and one that had continued support post-release with great DLC offerings and tweaks. Nintendo has now decided to port that game, with all DLC included and new content and features to the 3DS. It’s quite the package when you consider everything you’re getting and it’s actually a fantastic experience on handheld. Unfortunately, the experience will not be the same for all.

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It’s obvious that no single game will be universally enjoyed by every gamer, which is the way it should be as personal taste will always differ. In the case of Hyrule Warriors Legends however, your enjoyment of the game won’t be dependent on your tastes as much as the system you’re playing it on. Legends is releasing on both the old and New 3DS and while both versions are essentially the same, the difference in performance is quite depressing.

I reviewed Legends on an old 3DS and most of my play time was on this system. Without beating around the bush, this version of the game suffers from incredible slow down and while I’m used to the occasional frame drops by now, it just isn’t the case here as majority of the game runs at a sub-standard speed. To add insult to injury, even with watered down graphics it can’t even handle that many enemies on screen and most just pop in out of nowhere. These two things alone completely and utterly ruins 2 core fundamentals of any Musou game; speed and tons of enemies on-screen at once.

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If I have to be honest, I couldn’t stomach much of this version and I didn’t put as many hours into this as I would with any other game I review. I was quite dissatisfied and it would be shameful to present a half-baked review, so I managed to get a hold of the game running on the New Nintendo 3DS and the disparity in performance was immediately evident. Not only did it look better, but it ran smoothly, even when the battlefield was filled with enemies. This is clearly how the game is meant to be played.

With the New 3DS in hand, I could appreciate the port much more and I have to say, this game is actually a perfect fit for handhelds. The Adventure mode, which is basically a huge set of challenge maps, is really well-suited for quick pick up and play sessions and the rewards for each challenge is worthwhile, making you feel like you accomplished something in a short amount of time. Free Mode is also great if you don’t want anything too strenuous and just want to run around and kill stuff. One addition that is worth mentioning is the ability to instantaneously switch between different characters on the battlefield by touching their respective icon on the bottom screen. It really helps in creating a much more fluid flow to battle as it allows you to switch to another character somewhere else on the map and really comes in handy when you need to quickly get to a keep that’s under attack.

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As mentioned before, Legends includes all of the DLC previously released on the WiiU version. I missed out on all of that, so it was really fun getting to try out all of the other characters like Twilight’s Midna and the most beloved by all, Tingle. Beyond that, there’s also a few never before seen characters as well like the female version on Link, Linkle. She comes with her own side story and while there’s nothing exceptional about it, I really enjoyed her as a character. Her moveset was extremely satisfying and her dual crossbows made for some interesting combos that at times actually reminded me Bayonetta or Dante from Devil May Cry. I do hope we see more of her in other Zelda games.

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Hyrule Warriors Legends looks fantastic on a New 3DS, and while it’s obviously nowhere near as good as the WiiU version, it still translated well over to handhelds and retains a lot of its counterpart’s visual flair. The soundtrack is still as good as I remember it to be and the guitar riffs in the Solidus Cave track still makes me want to rock out every time. It should be noted however that the 3D function is exclusive to New 3DS but you’ll probably never play with it on as it causes a major dip in performance, so it’s kind of an useless feature.

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I enjoyed Hyrule Warriors Legends, I really did. It’s an easy game to recommend and its new content and features, updated gameplay and the inclusion of all the WiiU’s DLC makes it well worth the price, if, you have a New 3DS. I simply cannot advise anyone with an old 3DS to buy this game. It runs at a snail’s pace, looks washed out and has terrible enemy pop in. If you feel that low framerates might not bother you all that much, there’s a demo available for you try out, which will give you a good indication of how the game runs.

Hyrule Warriors Legends is a fantastic game that is not satisfied with being a simple port. Its new features and content, refined gameplay and the inclusion of all the original’s DLC makes this an easy recommendation, if, and only if, you have a New 3DS.

 

Last Updated: March 22, 2016

Hyrule Warriors Legends
Hyrule Warriors Legends is a fantastic game that is not satisfied with being a simple port. Its new features and content, refined gameplay and the inclusion of all the original’s DLC makes this an easy recommendation, if, and only if, you have a New 3DS.
8.0
Hyrule Warriors Legends was reviewed on Nintendo 3DS
70 / 100

13 Comments

  1. This review is most.

    Reply

  2. Jim Hogan (Banana Hulk Hogan)

    March 22, 2016 at 09:15

    Excellent review brother! You’ve made Banana Hulk Hogan rip off his shirt…

    Reply

    • Umar

      March 22, 2016 at 09:17

      ^_^ thanks, brother 😉 !

      Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      March 22, 2016 at 09:27

      peel. :/

      Reply

      • Jim Hogan (Banana Hulk Hogan)

        March 22, 2016 at 09:37

        ^_^

        Reply

    • Admiral Chief in New York

      March 22, 2016 at 09:45

      (refresh)

      Reply

  3. Mr Cat

    March 24, 2016 at 04:51

    Nice review, I can’t wait to pick the up on Friday. Shame on Nintendo for not making it New 3DS only though, they will have lots of pissed off people on social media.

    Reply

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