Earlier today, we shared a few new Hyrule Warriors videos to get you hyped for the night's Nintendo Direct. Hyrule Warriors producer Yosuke Hayashi and general Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma were present to elabortate upon all the new content and features. Since many Zelda fans are unfamiliar with the Warriors franchise, the early portion of the stream simply covered the basic Warriors framework.
The biggest surprise came at the very end with the reveal of Ganondorf as a playable character — he was merely hinted in the past. The Demon King (step aside, Nobunaga!) dominates the battlefield with his Great Sword and dark magic. Like Link and Zelda, he too will have alternate costumes that give him the appearance of his Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess incarnations (no Skyward Sword look, since he wasn't present in that game). These garbs will be part of the Demon King Costume Set, available to anyone who registers the game on Club Nintendo before October 23.
Speaking of costumes, Link and Zelda's alternate clothes will also be available in the US edition if you pre-order from select retailers, but Nintendo has yet to specify which ones.
The stream confirmed that villains such as Zant and Ghirahim will be playable. There was a bit of confusion when they were revealed wihtout any playable gameplay media to accompany them, so we're glad the mystery has been cleared. Something else that needs to be corrected is a mistake made back in June by calling Zelda a queen. Apparently she is still a princess — the original interview simply mistranslated Aonuma's words.
Another big talking point was Adventure Mode, which adopts the presentation of the original NES Legend of Zelda. There's the familiar text crawl during the title screen that explains the story and displays the weapons, then there's a familiar 8-bit overworld map with plenty of secrets to uncover. Moving to a new block on the map requires clearing certain challenges, and it's during these that the standard Hyrule Warriors gameplay rears its head. There are even weapons that can only be obtained in Adventure Mode, so players have plenty of incentive to give it a run.
Items were discussed in greater detail as well, and some new ones made an appearance. Cuccos, the infernal chickens from Zeldas past, are still present and will attack you if you provoke them, but under certain conditions they will fight by your side. (Additionally, the sorceress Lana has a Summoning Gate weapon that can summon a giant Cucco!) Bombchus from Ocarina of Time serve the same purpose as before, only now they are massive in size. And Link can even swing a Chain Chomp from the Mario series in place of the Ball and Chain.
Each character has a magic meter that fills up so that they may use Focus Spirit. This technique increases their stats and allows them to trigger unique special attacks. Another feature that affects stats are badges, which can be created by fusing items that enemies drop. These badges grant you Skills, such as increasing the likelihood of finding hearts on the battlefield. You'll also be able to fuse weapons that you find during your fights, and the resulting weapon may have a Skill imbued in it.
There are plenty more nuggets to learn about in the full Direct, which I've posted below. Watch the entire 26-minute video if you have the time, then be prepared for when Hyrule Warriors arrives on Wii U this September 26.
