The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Three Links unite to lift a fashion curse in Hytopia.
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is an action-adventure game released in 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS. It was co-developed by Nintendo EPD and Grezzo, and published by Nintendo. As the second original 3DS title in the Zelda series, following A Link Between Worlds, it is also the third franchise entry to focus on multiplayer, after Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures. Unlike those games, it supports only three players instead of four, and emphasizes cooperation over competition. The story features the same Link from A Link Between Worlds, who is summoned alongside two other Links by the fashion-obsessed kingdom of Hytopia. Their mission is to break a curse placed on Princess Styla by the evil Drablands Witch.
The game received generally mixed reviews upon its worldwide release in October 2015. Critics praised its presentation, soundtrack, and multiplayer, but many criticized its single-player mode and online matchmaking features. It sold over 1.36 million copies globally.
In gameplay, three players control differently colored versions of Link, working together to fight enemies and solve puzzles. As in earlier multiplayer Zelda titles, players must cooperate using items received at the start of each level. A key technique involves stacking the three characters into a totem pole, allowing the top player to reach high places, attack enemies, be thrown across gaps, and perform other actions. Players collect items to craft outfits that grant special abilities, such as upgrading an item's power, health, or stamina. The party shares a single heart meter; if it depletes, all players lose a life fairy. The game supports local and online multiplayer, with players using icons on the touch screen to communicate. A competitive Coliseum mode is also included. Solo players can control doll-like companions called Doppels instead of other players, though the main mode cannot be played with just two people. The visual style blends elements from A Link Between Worlds and The Wind Waker.
Free downloadable content was released on December 2, 2015, adding a new dungeon called "The Den of Trials" and two extra costumes. This dungeon contains more stages than the original ones, requiring players to defeat all enemies in each stage to advance.
The story takes place several years after A Link Between Worlds.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Series
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platforms
- Nintendo 3DS
- Released
- October 22, 2015 (JP); NA/EU; October 23, 2015; October 24, 2015 (AUS)
- Genre
- Action-adventure
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Director
- Hiromasa Shikata
- Producer
- Eiji Aonuma
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Tri Force Heroes is set several years after A Link Between Worlds and centers on Link, who was originally planned to appear with the same design as the protagonist of A Link Between Worlds but was replaced with the 'Toon Link' design in the final version, as the developers felt it made the models easier to see on the smaller screens of the 3DS. The Tri Force Heroes protagonist and the A Link Between Worlds protagonist are still the same Link. In the series' official timeline, Tri Force Heroes takes place in an alternative timeline that results from the Hero of Time's potential failure in Ocarina of Time, leading to the events of A Link to the Past. It is the fifth title on this timeline branch (the Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages as a joint title), taking place between A Link Between Worlds and the beginning of a part of this timeline called the 'Era of Decline', which involves the events of The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It is the eighteenth title in The Legend of Zelda chronology.
Reader's Guide
Tri Force Heroes received generally mixed reviews from critics. While the game's presentation, soundtrack and multiplayer were praised, many reviewers criticized the game's single-player mode and its online functionality and matchmaking features. The game sold over 1.36 million copies worldwide. At its showing at E3 2015, it won the Game Critics Awards Best Handheld/Mobile Game and IGN Best 3DS Game awards. The game supports both local and online multiplayer gameplay, wherein players use icons on the touch screen to communicate with each other, as well as a competitive Coliseum mode. A single player can also play the game by controlling doll-like companions called 'Doppels' in place of additional players, though the main mode does not support two players without a third. Nintendo released free downloadable content (DLC) for Tri Force Heroes, which introduced a new dungeon called 'The Den of Trials' and two additional costumes. The update was released on December 2, 2015.
Did You Know?
- The game was originally going to not include a single player option, but series producer Eiji Aonuma personally requested it.
- The inspiration for Tri Force Heroes originated in 2009 from a portion of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks in which Princess Zelda is able to possess phantoms.
- The development team consulted with folks in the U.S. and in Japan about having Link wear a dress, and concluded that having a cross-dressing Link would not be an issue.
- The game features a visual style mixing A Link Between Worlds and The Wind Waker.
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