Nintendo's Hyrule Warriors, which was released in Japan last month and will arrive in North America on Sept. 26, is a very different kind of game.
Nintendo called in help from two outside studios: Team Ninja, developers of the Dead or Alive series and Ninja Gaiden; and Omega Force, the creators of Dynasty Warriors.
The result is a game that looks a lot like The Legend of Zelda, but the game play goes in a very different direction.
Hero Link once again is called to save the realm, but rather than
featuring the traditional puzzle-solving and exploration elements in a
long and winding adventure, Hyrule Warriors thrusts players into hack-and-slash action.
The change in game play could change Nintendo's fortunes. Its
franchises long have followed a familiar -- if not exactly predictable
-- pattern that typically involves the signature character fighting evil
through exploration rather than the use of brute force. This approach
hasn't fared well since the release of the Wii U nearly two years ago,
and on the business side of things even Mario has been unable to truly
save the day for the company.
This time, Link is drawing his sword to try something different