Zelda and Dynasty Warriors team up to wreak havoc on Hyrule

By Ryan Fleming December 18, 2013

zelda dynasty warriors team wreak havoc hyrule — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Read our full Hyrule Warriors review.

Nintendo and Tecmo Koei are teaming up to combine two storied franchises, The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors. The new game, tentatively titled Hyrule Warriors, will be released for the Wii U at some point in 2014.

Say what you will about Nintendo’s recent strategies, it knows how to leverage its properties in new and interesting ways. On the list of possible Zelda game spin-offs, a mash-up with Tecmo Koei’s button mashing franchise was probably fairly low.

The game, announced today during Nintendo Direct, is a spin-off of the franchise and a separate property from the main Zelda series, which is still unannounced but in development. Instead of exploring a re-imagined kingdom of Hyrule, Link will be unleashed upon hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of poor, doomed enemies, who will taste the justice of his steel. To add to the enemy body count, Link will be able to use a familiar assortment of weapons, including bombs and a wizard staff. To add to his repertoire, Link will also have what appears to be a charged up Moussu attack taken from the DW games.

If you aren’t familiar with the Dynasty Warriors games (or their many spin-offs), the idea is simple: You choose a warrior, then sally forth and lay waste to thousands of enemies in a giant battlefield. It isn’t exactly deep, but it is oddly satisfying and addicting.

As the trailer notes, Hyrule Warriors will not be the game’s final title. Along with the actual name, there are a lot of questions that we still need answers for – like is there co-op, and who’s mad idea was this – but in the meantime, enjoy the trailer for what feels a bit like a glorious fever dream involving Dynasty Warriors and The Legend of Zelda.

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Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

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