The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
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 It's dangerous to go alone...so don't!
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The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a co-op action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD and Grezzo, and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. This is the second orignal Zelda game released on the 3DS, as well as the third game in the franchise to be based primarily around multiplayer (after Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures), albeit with only three as opposed to four, wireless and online connectivity instead of Link Cables, and with an emphasis on cooperation rather than competition.
Good Qualities
- As the title implies, you can team up with two other heroes, be they other players or dolls known as Doppels, to explore the Drablands in search of Lady Maud so you can end Princess Styla's curse.
- You can lift up other players using the Totem system so that the three of you can reach higher ledges or hit hard-to-reach objects.
- Good graphics that use the same perspective as A Link Between Worlds, but use the "Toon Link" style from Wind Waker.
- You can use the materials you collect throughout the game to make new costumes from Madame Couture to give you various effects, among them include the Boomeranger (which improves the range and damage of your Boomerang), the Jack of Hearts (which increases your group's Heart count by 3), the Showstopper (which makes whoever wears it more likely to be targeted), etc.
- Some of the costumes even resemble those of other characters, such as Linebeck's Uniform (which lets Link see into chests and adds extra time to the clock/hourglass items), Tingle's Tights (which prevent Link from falling, but only thrice), the Fierce Deity Armor (which increases your attack power while allowing you to shoot Sword Beams in all four directions at full health), and even the Legendary Dress (which gives Link Zelda's dress and increases the Heart drop rate)!
- Many dungeon items from previous games return here, such as the Bow, Bombs, Boomerang, Gust Jar, and Hammer, while also introducing new ones such as the Water Rod, Gripshot, and Fire Gloves.
- Decent soundtrack composed by Ryo Nagamatsu, with the lobby's Lucky Lobby Ball also using tracks from previous games such as Skyloft from Skyward Sword, Epona's Theme from Ocarina of Time, Clock Town (from Majora's Mask), Yuga's theme from A Link Between Worlds, etc.
- Materials can not only be found at the end of each level, but also from the shopkeeper in town and from playing the Daily Riches game (where you must pick one chest per day in hopes of getting the special material; you can never lose this game because you're guaranteed to get the material if you miss thrice).
- After you complete each level once, you can then unlock three Drablands Challenges, which adds new conditions to the levels you have completed such as finishing the level as quickly as possible or popping every balloon.
- Once you complete all 12 Challenges in a particular set, King Tuft will give you a special material to use for certain costumes.
- The Den of Trials introduced in the 2.0.0 update is a fun gauntlet mode that grows whenever you beat all four levels of an area of the Drablands, where you defeat sets of enemies as they arrive before claiming your reward, and the final boss being a 3-on-3 match against three Dark Links!
- Most of the boss fights are just as fun as ever, and often require some quick teamwork to strike their weak spots. Some of these include the Blob King and Queen, the Hinox Brothers, Blizzagia, Prismantus, and of course, Lady Maud herself.
- For the first time in a 2D Zelda game, certain enemies from previous 3D titles appear, such as ReDeads, Freezards, Aeralfos, and Deku Scrubs/Totem Dekus (while they did appear in the Oracle games as NPC's, this is the first 2D game where they appear as enemies).
- When you obtain a Camera from Photo Bro, you can then take photos at any point in the Drablands, and you could share it via Miiverse before the service shut down.
Bad Qualities
- While multiplayer gameplay is great, the single-player campaign feels decent, but more like an obvious afterthought and is much harder due to only one person controlling three characters and the game being designed around multiplayer.
- There is also no option to play with only two players instead of one or three.
- Online play has several issues, particularly the fact that the game is region-locked, preventing copies from different countries from interacting with each other, while Animal Crossing: New Leaf had no such issue. Others include the frequent disconnection when you're trying to find other heroes, some lag due to a spotty connection (as is to be expected for an online mode), certain users not being team players due to poor matchmaking, etc.
- The story is pretty nonsensical, with the people treating fashion as if it were a life-or-death matter, and Styla being cursed with a black one-piece suit from Lady Maud (the Cursed Tights) that makes her unfashionable.
- The Fake Hero is very unlikable, believing that he is the true protagonist and bragging about his fifteen Friendly Tokens; however, he does lighten up when you gain the same amount of your own Friendly Tokens in multiplayer games.
- This is the only game in which you do not use a shield, which could have given you more defense options than you're provided. The closest your Link gets to a shield is the Serpent's Toga, which allows him to turn into stone while standing still.
- Some Drablands Challenges are next to impossible to complete, particularly the "Don't drop the pot!" and "Don't fall at all!" challenges due to the near-impossibility to not get hurt in later levels.
- Sadly, due to the Nintendo Network shutting down on April 8, 2024, you can no longer play online multiplayer.
Reception
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes received mixed reviews from critics and users (scoring 73/100 and 7.1/10, respectively, on Metacritic; the lowest-rated of any mainline Zelda game)[1], with many considering it a step down from A Link Between Worlds in terms of plot and characterization, and also from Four Swords/Four Swords Adventures in terms of mechanics and multiplayer. While the graphics, sound, and multiplayer modes were praised, criticism was directed at the single-player mode, characterizations, story, and online features.
Trivia
- Tri Force Heroes is the only Zelda game to date where Link cannot make use of a Shield.
- Tri Force Heroes is also the only Zelda game to date that does not allow for multiple saved games.
- Hidden throughout the town of Hytopia and its Castle are various journals detailing the author's travels in the Drablands, collectively known as the Drablands Diary. These writings frequently make mention of scenic spots that are hidden in the Drablands' Levels.
- Link's voice in Tri Force Heroes is based on four prior Zelda games. When the player begins a new game, Link is randomly assigned a voice from either Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks, or A Link Between Worlds. If any Links in a multiplayer game share the same voice, they will be pitch-shifted to remain distinct.
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