Hyrule Warriors

Hyrule Warriors (ゼルダ無双, Zelda Musou) is a collaboration title between Nintendo and Koei set in the former's long-running Legend of Zelda franchise. Hisashi Koinuma and Yosuke Hayashi are the producers; Eiji Aonuma is the supervisor. According to Aonuma, the developers consider the game a "celebration title" of the Zelda series. The developers also state that Hyrule Warriors is "not allowed" to be called a spin off, claiming that it is a "Zelda fan-game", as the developers and programers behind it are all long time Legend of Zelda fans. Kou Shibusawa is uninvolved with development but expressed hopes for the title to sell one million units worldwide.

Early buyers can receive a serial code for three "Courage" costumes that can be used in the game. The Premium Box edition has an illustrated databook, a Triforce table clock, and three "Wisdom" costumes. The larger Treasure Box edition includes the first print and the Premuim Box bonuses with a Link scarf, a miniature treasure box replica that opens with the familiar Zelda tune for treasure, and two "Power" costumes. Consumers who order the game from Gamecity can receive an exclusive postcard with their purchase.

Plot
The Triforce is an artifact of hope containing pieces of "Power", "Courage", and "Wisdom" with the power to grant any wish. Once long ago, when an ancient evil threatened to overtake Hyrule, a hero assembled the Triforce to defeat them. The villain's soul was sealed into four crystals. Three of the crystals were sealed to faraway lands via dimensional portals, and one was sealed within the divine Master Sword in the hopes that the threat would never arise again.

Cia is a witch who was tasked with maintaining the pieces of the Triforce. Although once a good person, Cia became infatuated with Link and envious of Zelda. Her jealous mind unleashes the once sealed evil onto Hyrule. Link must rescue Zelda and save Hyrule from the clutches of darkness.

Gameplay
The basic controls and basic gameflow are similar to most Warriors titles. Some of the available maneuvers include dodge rolls and back flips. It is possible to play the entire game GamePad only; Pro Controller and the Nunchaku + Wii Mode set up is supported in multiplayer mode, though it is unknown if these devices can be used in single player.

Hearts indicate a character's overall health. The green bar in the GUI is used for magic. The magic gauge fills up by picking up magic pots from defeated enemies. Players can activate a spell to enhance a character's strengths or agility once the magic gauge is filled. While under the effect of magic, players earn bonus rupees if they defeat a certain number of foes before the effects are depleted.

Yellow bars serve as a character's Special Technique gauge which can be filled by finding Triforce pieces around the map or by hitting foes. Each character has a different Special Technique when they are under the influence of a particular magic spell.

Players are encouraged to find a particular monster's weak point in their attack patterns. If successful, the monster will be stunned and a "Weak Point Gauge" hovers above them. The objective is to gradually chip away at the gauge's endurance before the monster recovers. Massive damage is dealt to the monster if the player completely destroys it ("Weak Point Smash"). Bosses serve as the main threat for each level.

Characters have access to various weapons and items from Zelda to eliminate enemies. Rupees and other goods can also be collected to upgrade weapons or create badges for boosting a character's abilities.

Downloadable content so far includes costumes.

Characters
Developers stated that "unlikely Zelda characters" will be playable. Many enemies are monsters –both large and small– from the Zelda universe.

Playable

 * Link
 * Impa
 * Princess Zelda
 * Midna
 * Lana
 * Agitha

Enemies

 * Cia
 * Wizzro
 * Valga
 * Ganondorf
 * Zant
 * Stalchild
 * Stalmaster
 * Bokoblin
 * Lizalfos
 * Darknut
 * King Dodongo
 * Argorok
 * ReDead Knight
 * Moblin
 * Poe

Present

 * Great Fairy
 * Cucco

Stages

 * Hyrule Field
 * Lanayru Gorge
 * Palace of Twilight
 * Eldin Volcano
 * Twilight Lands

Related Media
A playable demo was present at E3 2014 with additional playable characters (Zelda and Midna) revealed. An early peek of Nintendo's E3 Zelda trailer was posted onto Twitter before the main event. During Nintendo's E3 Nintendo Treehouse Live stage event, interviewers for this game asked who would win in a fight: Lu Bu or Ganondorf; Koinuma supported Ganondorf. The MCs questioned if this particular dream match would happen in this game and he responded, "Maybe in a Hyrule Warriors sequel." When asked about the number of playable characters, Aonuma stated there would be "a total of 52 different play styles." He later pantomimed a Cucco for fans on camera to answer that they are in this title.