âLegend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroesâ video game review
By Lauren Paulsen, Senior Columnist
4/5
I donât think there is a gamer out there who doesnât know the Legend of Zelda series. I first came across the series when my cousins gave my brother and me a Super Nintendo. Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past was the first game we played. Being quite young, we sometimes found the puzzles to be challenging and Link died frequently, but boy did we have a blast. Even after all these years, now that I am an adult, I still love playing games from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Thus, I knew as soon as I heard about the new Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes game for the 3DS that I was going to get it.
The game is actually a direct sequel to Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. It takes place several years later in a country called Hytopia. Hytopia is extremely fashion-oriented. Styla, their princess, gets on the bad side of a witch called The Lady and she is cursed to wear an ugly black jumpsuit that she can never take off. Now all of the citizens are afraid to be stylish in case they too are cursed. King Tuft, Stylaâs father, starts looking for the hero of prophecy that can save their kingdom. Of course, that hero happens to be Link.
As I hadnât read the plot of the game before purchasing it, I was slightly taken aback as it wasnât the typical âSave Hyruleâ that I was used to. I also happened to find it kind of shallow; however, as I continued to play, I found it charming and amusing. Being able to wear different outfits to change how you fight was an interesting battle mechanic, and the dungeons and puzzles were as engaging as ever.
I have to say that my favourite part of this game is the multiplayer aspect of it. Along with Link, two other heroes of unknown origin join him to save Hytopia. Link has to work together with these two to solve the puzzles in the dungeons. I quickly grabbed two friends and we started playing together. Despite the fact that trolling is super easy, we really enjoyed ourselves. Adding the multiplayer aspect to a Legend of Zelda game only makes it that much better. I am told that it is similar to Four Swords in that regard, though I havenât played that game yet.
One downside to the multiplayer aspect is that you cannot play the story with only two players. You need three. You can always go online, but I prefer playing with friends, so sometimes itâs hard getting everyoneâs schedules to mesh just right. However, you donât actually require other people to play, as there is a single-player option. In this case, you control Link and two Doppels that allow him to transfer his soul between them. I found that, although I still enjoyed playing by myself, it wasnât as entertaining as with my friends. The puzzles were also harder and more time consuming to solve. I have yet to beat any timed challenges by myself.
Despite a couple of flaws or plot holes, I really would recommend Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes to any Legend of Zelda fan. Itâs not the typical story, and might be a bit cheesy, but the fun Iâve had with my friends playing together has far outweighed that and any negative aspects to the game.
