Pros
- +
Satisfying multiplayer pu🔜zzles goo🍬d for pratting about with (almost) anyone
- +
Fresh style
- +
The uplifting pom pom emote
Cons
- -
Solo mode misses out on the fun
- -
Links outfits rarely feel essential
- -
No D-pad aiming/walking
Satisfying multiplayer pu🔜zzles goo🍬d for pratting about with (almost) anyone
Fresh style
The uplifting pom pom emote
Solo mode misses out on the fun
Links outfits rarely feel essential
No D-pad aiming/walking
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Before the looks-conscious Tri Force Heroes, The Legend Of Zelda series was never a dedicated follower of fashion. And why should it be? This is one of gaming’s formative adventures, its timeless elements reworked across generations. It being in thrall to fads would be like your grandad mixing a Shearling coat with his carpet slippers in an embarrassing attempt to stay current. Thankfulꦓly, underneath its glitterati trim – its unlockable outfits, Link-stacking totems, daily rewards and in-level selfies – this co-op 3DS outing is a multiplayer puzzle-brawler built on old-school fundamentals. It’s the new stuff that occasionally comes unravelled.
I like its style, though. In the opening minutes, the threadbare threat of dark sorcerers is cleverly unpicked, Ganon and co sitting this one out for the Lady, whose evil plot is to imprison an eminently coutured princess forever – in a brown unitard. The vain kingdom of Hytopia is a no less endearingly silly spin on fiefdoms in peril. The threat to the locals’ way of life? Being constantly afeared of getting cursed for looking too good. Nevertheless, the peril is real enough that off you must go, questing with two partners into the Drablands to restore all that is good-looking to the lives of Hytopia’s beleaguered ඣsouls.
Thꦐat’s exactly two partners, mind. It’s not quite as hard as it sounds to orchestrate: as well as buddying up online, Nintendo has generously made the whole game available to play via Download Play, or with other local players. But be warned that you can never venture forth with just one friend. If you’re in a real pinch, you can play solo by juggling your ‘soul’ between a trio of creepy, Shy Guy-masked dolls called Doppels, tapping their icon on the touchscreen to animate that vessel. Still, I wouldn’t recommend that.
Why not? Well, because where Tri Force Heroes comes alive is in the gleeful chaos of trying to sync up with two other ludicrously dressed, sword-wielding buffoons, all sharing a life bar, to crack each area. The puzzles are simplified, designed to be worked out quickly, explained just as fast and then executed with teamwork and timing. So unlike most Zeldas, the hard bit isn't the figuring out what to do next, but how to get everyone to do it. And that goes doubly for online play, where communication is mediated by an excellent palette of simple but expressive emotes to get your message across. Take that interplay away and it’s just flat. It can be more fussy too: one late-game puzzle that I solved in 10ꦫ seconds with friends took upwards of 10 minutes of positional fiddling by my lonesome.
While most games get better with others, Tri Force Heroes doesn’t really work without them. So it’s curious that when picking stages online, Nintendo eschews the voting and then random final selection of Download Play and asks you to join a lobby per map area. This prevents you skipping ahead to later zones, sure, but it potentially means a shallower pool of fellow heroes to partner up with. While sufficie𒐪nt online numbers will make all this invisible, it’s still bizarre to make lobbies so granular. Why not just limit you to every zone you’ve unlocked so far?
Genre | Adventure |
Description | The classic Four Swords multiplayer Zelda template gets shrunk down to the equivalent of 'Three Swords' in this online and local co-op Zelda adventure on 3DS. |
Franchise name | The Legend of Zelda |
Platform | "3DS" |
Release date | 1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK) |