Hyrule Warriors Direct rundown

It may be a bit late but the Hyrule Warriors Nintendo Direct has come and gone and has been streamed directly to us to be implanted in our brains and now I have a complete rundown of what was shown during the Nintendo Direct presentation plus I will add the actual presentation video for those who want to see it.

Here is the Direct for your enjoyment:

Here is the complete rundown of the presentation:

NPC characters will fight alongside player characters, occasionally engaging in situational dialogue
Many gameplay elements are inspired from The Legend of Zelda series, such as the opening chest animation, puzzle solving theme etc.
Rocks can be used to destroy terrain and attack enemies
The map is made up of “Keeps” – blue Keeps represent player controlled areas and red represent enemy areas. What Keeps players own will play a strategic role in the flow of the game
King Dodongo shown – Another Zelda convention will be followed in-game. Example given was newly acquired bombs being used to defeat this boss
Many familiar Legend of Zelda items will be making a return – arrows to attack distant enemies, climb walls with the hook shook, bombs, boomerang etc.
Gohma shown, with the weak spot of his open eye. Again raises the point of using items (in this instance, the bow) adds a strategic layer to the gameplay
Cuckoos in Hyrule Warriors will come after you if you accident hit them. In certain situations they can be quite useful,
Cutting grass – much like in previous Zeldas, you can find hearts, rupees and other object
Skulltulas are in Hyrule Warriors – players will be led to them by sound and will grant various unlockables
Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword costume sets will be available as pre-order bonuses from certain retailers

Playable Characters

Link – Signature weapon is 1 handed sword, well rounded and easily accessible. Has his famous spin attack
Zelda – Signature weapon is a rapier, fast and furious attacks to defeat enemies. Has Arrows of Light for distant enemies
Impa – Signature weapon is a giant blade, wide attack range. Acts and talks like a Samurai
Sheik – Signature weapon is a harp, speedy fighter in battle
Darunia – Signature weapon is a giant hammer, uses brute force to knock back enemies
Ruto – Signature weapon is a Zora scale, can change the ground to water to travel from place to place
Midna – Signature weapon is her hair, the shackle
Agitha – Signature weapon is her parasoul, but also dynamically attacks enemies with insects
Zant – Signature weapon is his schimitar, which he swings around but can also summon various things
Fi – Signature weapon is her Goddess Blade, attacks as if she’s dancing. Can also transform herself into a blade
Ghirahim – Signature weapon is his Demon Blade, just like in Skyward Sword he will be a savant in sword play
Lana – Signature weapon is her book of sorcery. Key character in the story, can summon objects, traps or just direct attack opponents
Characters level up through defeating enemies in battle
Defeating certain monsters will drop materials that can be used to craft badges. Badges alter characters stats, everything from the number of a weapons attacks, combo lengths, Focus Spirit length etc.
Ganon teased as a playable character as well, signature weapon is his Demon Swords
Demon King Costume set will be available for Ganon for Club Nintendo members, inspired by his Ocarina of Time incarnation

Weapons

Other weapons will be unlockable as you progress through the story
Fire Rod for Link, Wind Waker for Zelda, Spear with the power of a Deku Tree for Lana were the examples given
Each character has special attacks that allow you to defeat a lot of enemies at once
Focus Spirit is a mechanic that will temporarily increase your character’s abilities and uses the magic gauge, is active once the gauge is filled
Bomb Chus – Huge in Hyrule Warriors, no longer mouse sized
Chain Chomp – Originally from the Mario universe but found his way into the Zelda universe. Now a usable weapon in Hyrule Warriors
Some weapons have special abilities called ‘ skills’ – do everything from increasing attack damage to increasing the chance of finding a heart
Fusing weapons increases the weapon’s skills
Drop rates are tied into difficulty of missions
Moon from Majora’s Mask – Can be used as a weapon, if the player hookshots the moon, can be pulled down to the ground to hit enemies

Stages

Stages will be inspired by but a little different to what players remember
Skyloft, Lake Hylia, Twilight Field shown, mainly from Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword

Adventure Mode

Inspired by classic Legend of Zelda, will be a hybrid of classic Legend of Zelda gameplay with Hyrule Warriors
Features a map, each block will take you into the game to play
As you defeat blocks, you unlock adjacent ones on the overworld
You’re able to search, which brings back a 2D Zelda for the player to find new treasure to help in battle
Progressing through Adventure Mode will unlock new characters and the mode features some weapons only available to Adventure Mode

Co-op Mode

Instead of splitting TV screen, one player will get TV and the other will get the Gamepad
In order 2 process both screens, had slightly reduced resolution compared to single player
Off TV mode will also be available in single player