In video games, three are not a crowd. Especially in a The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes in which any help is little and all the extra swords and bows are more than welcome. Because everything that has not yet taken off in the Tri Force Heroes single player experience shines with its own light in its multiplayer.
Between the launch of A Link Between Worlds and Breath of the Wild, the most experimental Nintendo was pulled out of the hat, and for Nintendo 3DS, one of the most original adventures in the official timeline of the Zelda saga. And although it is not among Link’s best deeds, he knows how to radiate his own sensations.
That said, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes wasn’t the first multiplayer adventure based on The Legend of Zelda. There we have a Four Swords Adventures for the GameCube released almost a decade earlier. And, prior to this, a Four Swords that gave added value to the relaunch of A Link to the Past on Game Boy Advance.
Of course, that Tri Force Heroes was not a pioneer in multiplayer does not mean that it overflows with good ideas. And in the process, he took a special advantage of the 3DS hardware: from the use of its touch screens to its stereoscopic 3D, through online features and the sadly defunct initiative of offering local games to two or more players with a single copy. of the game.
A set of interesting features that served to wrap a light story within a saga considered cult. A plot premise -perhaps- minor that took itself little seriously to give space and presence to fun.
And although in many respects Tri Force Heroes might seem like a spin-off of The Legend of Zelda saga, the reality is that it is a direct sequel to A Link Between Worlds and, by extension, the official continuation of A Link. to the Past . The SNES classic and one of the best games on 16-bit systems.
Many contrasted sensations that put us before an obligatory question: Is Tri Force Heroes really up to the mark of The Legend of Zelda? In many respects, a total return to top-down zeldera sensations. But both the tone and its playable premise make it a unique and special delivery . Both the good and the not so good.
Three heroes, a mission and dozens of outfits
Princess Cursilinda, about to have a hard time
Long ago there was a kingdom in love with fashion. Its name was Pasarelia and for almost all its inhabitants there was only one thing above elegance: the impeccable taste and beauty of Princess Cursilinda. But, as we said, some did not share the same devotion to the ever-radiant heir to the throne.
Using a ruse, the witch Lady Degala cursed Cursilinda condemning her to wear very tasteless leggings until the rest of her days. Deeply ashamed of her appearance, the princess secluded herself and the happiness of the kingdom and the inhabitants of Pasarelia began to fade little by little.
In a desperate act to break the curse, King Rízor of Pasarelia sent messages to all kingdoms in search of heroes willing to enter the lands of Harapia and confront Lady Degala herself. Of course, the candidates should have heroic bearing. More specifically, pointy ears, a side parted hairstyle and generous sideburns.
Dungeons, vases and pointy-eared heroes. It’s definitely a Zelda
It might seem that only Link, the savior of Hyrule, fit that description. In fact, that he was passing through Pasarelia after defeating Ganon and in the middle of a series of trips seemed a thing of destiny. But, to his surprise, there were two other hero candidates just as willing to rescue Cursilinda. And somehow the three of them knew that only by working together could they make it happen.
Unlike all previous games in the series in which Link is the only protagonist, the three heroes summoned by King Rízor in The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes share the main role. Moreover, the intention of Eiji Aonuma , producer of the saga, is that the true hero of Hyrule is the one who controls each of the players.
It’s unknown where the other two hero candidates came from, but the character under your control is the true hero of A Link Between Worlds.
That the three hero candidates – all named Link – have robes of a distinctive color is circumstantial. What’s more, the change in appearance and the use of different suits with abilities become one of the most characteristic elements of the experience.
Because, while the NES classic The Legend of Zelda was born with the manifest intention of offering a completely different experience to that of the Super Mario Bros. series, it must be admitted that Tri Force Heroes is the one that most aligns with the joyous spirit. , surreal and cooperative of the king of platforms.
In fact, in this 3DS adventure the trio of Links surpassed Mario himself in terms of costumes and powers: based on overcoming adventures, obtaining materials and updating the game, we can get up to 36 outfits with their own characteristics. Some inspired by the Zelda universe, others in the Nintendo sagas and a good part of them completely original.
And yet, the true essence of Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes and what defines it compared to the rest of the saga, lies in its playability. True to the spirit of the classic Zelda stage, yet brave when it comes to multiplayer. Maybe too much.
A unique adventure, enjoyed more and better on three consoles (and six screens)
The main idea and inspirations behind Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes are more than evident: Eiji Aonuma himself had long wanted to make another Zelda game to be enjoyed in multiplayer in tune with Four Swords.
The visual aspect of Tri Force Heroes will be one of the influences of the Link’s Awakening remake.
The game engine in A Link Between Worlds , the highly successful top-down return of The Legend of Zelda series, lent itself wonderfully to his idea. Grezzo (who years later will remake Link’s Awakening) had fully captured and internalized the classic essence and there were ideas from Spirit Tracks that Aonuma was very interested in exploring.
We were inspired by the gameplay of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, in which you had to alternate between controlling your character and the wraiths. We thought it would be great to bring that spectrum / player control mechanic to a team made up of friends or whoever you want.
In fact, originally Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes was not going to have a single player mode. The original intention of Hiromasa Shikata was for the title to be completely focused on the cooperative, both locally and online, implementing the option to play in single-player afterwards and at the express request of Aonuma.
When it comes to multiplayer, the experience is exceptionally well tied: unlike the previous two shared Four Swords experiences , each player could freely wander through each phase, although it is only possible to solve them by collaborating with each other.
Union makes the Triforce!
Tri Force Heroes is the only installment -to date- of Legend of Zelda in which the heroes do not carry a shield. In fact, it is also the only title in the series in which there are no multiple starting save slots. But he was able to combine the best of the classic installments, including their nuances of action and puzzles, with new ideas.
One of the most interesting, perhaps the most distinctive, is the mechanics of Totem : the three heroes make a human column that allows them to access, fight and interact in three levels of height. Benefiting in the process of stereoscopic 3D on Nintendo consoles.
And why three Links and not four? The purple Link might be out of the equation, but the level design and co-op experience worked much better in Tri Force Heroes with three players.
In the first place, our idea with this game was to stack the characters into a totem with which to reach high places. With four players the organization of the totem would be complicated, and the two people in the middle would not have much to do most of the time.
As for the camera, the higher the totem, the further it would have to be moved away, which would also make the characters look smaller.
It was not only a design decision, but also a gameplay. Although in local games the players had no problems communicating with each other, in order to simplify dialogue and creativity in remote online, with friends or strangers, a very intuitive message and icon system was created using the touch screen .
The image chat system is terribly simple. And fulfills
And, logically, that four players do not agree conditions the experience, especially in casual online games with strangers.
A team of three has certain advantages. If the players are separated, two on one side and one on the other, the player who is alone worries about separating from the group, and the other two worry about having lost their partner. As a result, they will naturally stick together and try to work as a team.
On the other hand, when a group of people have to decide something, it is the majority that tips the balance one way or the other. If the team were four people, the possibility of a tie would make quick decisions difficult. A team of three adapts very well to the puzzle solving dynamics.
Unlike other contemporary notebooks, online gaming on Nintendo 3DS was never one of its greatest attractions as a system. All in all, Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes did the tasks and got note betting on a different experience but well tied to its acronym and its feelings of adventure. Which brings us to the question of rigor: how does it feel to play solo?
As we have seen on many occasions, Nintendo first designs the gaming experience and based on that creates the content. This is where the puzzles, the settings and, to a lesser extent, the visual identity emerge.
If we venture alone we must also control the other two heroes
The original approach of Tri Force Heroes is that the games were shared between three Links controlled by three players. So, for the solo game, we should control the actions of the three heroes.
And, in fairness, that the single-player was added with development already started is something that shows.
Not that the system is poorly implemented, for the record. We can freely alternate between each of the Links and progress and explore at our own pace. Continue unlocking prizes in the dungeons without relying on anyone. But a Tri Force Heroes without the co-op factor is a decaffeinated adventure experience.
The pace of solo matches is much less crazy
In many respects, Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a game that must be measured from two perspectives. And although it absolutely refuses to be considered a spin-off, the reality is that it failed to make itself stand out on a Nintendo 3DS in which, by the way, the remakes of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask shone with their own light.
And in fairness, despite his approach to fun through new avenues , he didn’t leave a significant mark on the show either.
Tri Force Heroes, much more than an experimental Zelda
In 2015 Nintendo was not going through its best streak. Not much less. Wii U did not finish taking off as a console and its big bombs, almost all produced internally, were cannibalized in sales, coinciding in a non-strategic way in the calendar. And yet, Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes surpassed one million copies in less than six months.
Privileged sales figures that, despite the enormous hook of The Legend of Zelda saga, have a triple merit in this installment: only a single cartridge was needed to share games and adventures with two other players when playing locally thanks to the Download mode. Nintendo 3DS.
In Tri Force Heroes each console showed what our Link was doing on the screen, and that gave much more game to its multiplayer
Now, perhaps Link’s triplicate adventure in Pasarelia was not a great production as Skyward Sword had been or Breath of The Wild was being, a game that had already generated enormous anticipation. But it radiated Nintendo’s style: from its distinctive approach to shared entertainment to its exceptional cult of detail.
Proof of this is that if we wear the Eternal Clothes we will see how our hero not only sports a retro touch, but also transforms all the music in the game and turns it into the sounds of the NES.
Tri Force Heroes 8-Bit Link Arrived One Year Before Commemorative Amiibo
Another curious detail is that the voice of the three Links is taken from the games Ocarina of Time , The Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks or A Link Between Worlds and is assigned to the player randomly. And, not only that: if this voice matches the one another player has when playing online, they will change their tone to make them distinguishable.
Which brings us to a logical question: if this is the same Link we met in The Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds, why does it look like the cartoon version of The Wind Waker and its portable sequels?
At first, the game’s designers followed the artistic line started from the SNES classic A Link to the Past , but Aonuma bet on recovering Toon Link’s visual identity and its colorful world. A success that accentuated more and better the casual tone of the adventure.
Tri Force Heroes is far from being the most relevant, loved and remembered installment of the cult saga, but it found its own identity as an adventure and was able to contribute cooperative ideas and multiplayer experience that expanded the universe of The Legend of Zeld to. Playable aspects that today, perhaps, would work better than in 3DS and that Nintendo itself should not forget for the future of one of its star sagas.
