The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes director Hiromasa Shikata joined producer Eiji Aonuma to talk about the different connectivity options.
You may have already guessed this, but Tri Force Heroes received online connectivity to placate fans who complained the feature was missing in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords on Game Boy Advance andThe Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures on Gamecube. Online mode will allow you to play with registered friends, but also random players. However, this feature is region locked, and Aonum and Shikata seemed to have not been asked about this.
Regarding local multiplayer, however, everything is much rosier, and it’s clear this is how Nintendo prefers players play this game. You will be able to play via download play, therefore three 3DS owners can play it off of one copy. Furthermore, there is a special item called Proof of Friendship, which can only be obtained via local multiplayer.
There is no other way to obtain Proof of Friendship. With this in mind, it is likely this item doesn’t have a feature that is necessary to enjoy the game, although it could be something that makes it much more fun. Nintendo has anticipated every possibility, and added the option to use two bot Link to play through the game with you and whom you can switch around for puzzles..
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes will release for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on October 22nd, in North America and Europe on October 23rd.