Much like my first game for the Nintendo DS was Phantom Hourglass, my first game for the 3DS was Hyrule Warriors Legends. I invested countless hours into the game, with some interesting characters becoming my favorite; any of my readers who know the names Linkle and Lana have my attention. I would charge across the battlefield of the main campaign with crossbows blazing and baby Deku Trees sprouting from my enemies left and right.
Perhaps my favorite part of Legends was the extended campaign. For the majority of your time, you play as Link and his various allies across time and many timelines. It’s an all-star cast that includes some of the most well known allies, from Princess Ruto to Medli, but also the often-forgotten like Twilight Princess’ Agatha. Especially as a fan who had just been exposed to the official timeline, which I will not debate on either side about today, the story of Hyrule Warriors and the placing of so many important characters on the same battlefield was nostalgic and exhilarating – even if I’d hardly been playing long enough to be nostalgic.
For this game, though, the true gem lies after the heroes’ story is told. You don’t just unlock boss monsters once you complete the game, but you get to experience their stories. Once you have completed the main campaign, you unlock levels revealing the villains’ narratives. Both the “Ganondorf” and “Cia’s Tale” scenario groups allow the player to experience the story as it takes place between major chapters within the game. In these chapters the player gets to unlock and control characters who had been bosses in the Legend scenarios like Volga, Ghirahim, and Ganondorf himself.
In the Ganondorf scenarios, which I replayed endlessly, you get to watch the Demon King’s ascension to power after the heroes have claimed the Master Sword, unsealing him and allowing him to awaken in Hyrule again. I spent possibly too much of my life carving through the Gerudo Valley as Ganondorf wielding his two Great Swords to claim the space as my own. I was duped by the trickery the Hylians resorted to as Ganondorf pursues Lana in search of the Triforce of Power. I relished in a victory over the princess Zelda and her appointed knight as I claimed the entirety of the Triforce for myself. Knowing the effort that went into claiming the Triforce for Ganondorf made the defeat of the Dark Beast in the heroes’ tale all the more sweet.
Cia’s Tale, on the other hand, was a very different experience. The dark sorceress was a clear villain, and her downfall was seen in her methods far before her plan started to fall apart. Her first stride to recruit the powerful Volga is an immediate misstep – the dragon knight wants nothing to do with her war and the new ally she recruits along the way, Wizzro, almost immediately double crosses her. I admittedly was uneasy playing the rest of the scenarios knowing that Volga and Wizzro had been compelled to obey by magic. Still, the entire story shows the events and motivations that directly lead up to the various levels on the heroes’ path – a type of context that is seldom seen in Zelda games.
Still, I will always stand by Linkle’s “The Other Hero” scenario as the best missions, if only because of the Cucco captains. Maybe it speaks to the part of me that wants to raise a lot of birds, or the urge to fire crossbows for hours. Perhaps it even relates to some chicken-related trauma I’ve subjected plenty of Hyrule’s heroes to over my years playing the games.
