Hyrule Warriors is a hack-and-slash spinoff that combines the gameplay of Dynasty Warriors with the iconic Legend of Zelda series. The first game released on the Wii U in 2014, then ported onto the 3DS with different content in Hyrule Warriors Legends. But the Nintendo Switch rendition merges all content from its predecessors while cleaning it up and providing a better experience for players.
Back when I was a writer for the Hidden Triforce, a Legend of Zelda fansite, I wrote an article after 100% completing the Wii U version of Hyrule Warriors. After a little less than 700 hours of gameplay, I (1) earned all Heart Containers, weapons, and Gold Skulltulas in every mode, (2) completed story mode in every difficulty, (3) earned A ranks in all Adventure Mode and Challenge Mode games, (4) maxed out every character’s level to 255, and (5) completed all illustrations. This allowed me to earn all the medals in the game, which wraps up my full completion experience.
Although it was certainly a challenge, I legitimately enjoyed it. There were a lot (and I mean a lot) of missions to plow through. From every individual game in Adventure Mode, to the many difficult missions in Challenge Mode, there was always something to prepare for and something to complete. The Definitive Edition possesses even more gameplay after adding more Adventure Maps from Hyrule Warriors Legends.
Tetra, fighting the Helmaroc King, on the Forsaken Fortress map.
With loads of different missions to complete, the Great Sea Map, the Master Wind Waker Map, the Koholint Island Map, the Grand Travels Map, and the Lorule Map are all available to play from the start. So, upon purchase, players can earn new characters and other upgrades throughout the many Adventure Mode maps. The Definitive Edition also added parts of Hyrule Warriors Legends such as the My Fairy System, the partner system that allows you to change between active characters in a mission, and an alternate ending to the story mode that features characters from Wind Waker. Overall, these extras truly solidify the Definitive Edition and give Hyrule Warriors fans a plethora of content they’ve been anticipating for years. (The game also added two new Breath of the Wild-inspired skins for Link and Zelda. Awesome.)
Link, donning his Era of the Wilds Tunic, exclusive to the Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition.
Aside from additional gameplay, it performs significantly better than past Hyrule Warriors games. There are major improvements to lighting, textures, and framerate, with brighter and sharper graphics. It also minimizes the size of the HUD elements. The presentation is notably cleaner and a lot easier on the eyes compared to the Wii U and 3DS renditions.
Link facing a horde of Bokoblins in the prologue of the Legend Mode.
Though this isn’t a major change, the ability to skip cutscenes in the Definitive Edition saves a lot of time. By pressing the + button, players can quickly skip cutscenes when opening chests, the victory and defeat animations, and the final character cutscenes too. With how much there is to do, the more effective you can be with your time, the better. So, I think is a great change.
Twili Midna, one of the many playable characters in Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Editions, after earning a Heart Container.
The first Hyrule Warriors game had the Termina and Twilight Adventure Maps available as DLC whereas Hyrule Warriors Legends possessed the Koholint Island, Grand Travels, and Lorule Maps as DLC. While the four DLC characters Marin, Toon Zelda, Ravio, and Yuga were available in both games, the Wii U version never gained their respective Adventure Maps. This left out a lot of gameplay and understandably disappointed many fans.
With the Wii U version’s lack of major content, and the 3DS version’s lower-quality graphics, a Nintendo Switch rendition of Hyrule Warriors was much needed. The Definitive Edition is clean and enhanced with awesome quality-of-life changes, it is a major step up from past Hyrule Warriors games. If you enjoyed either of its predecessors, the Definitive Edition is well worth the purchase.
