Last night, Nintendo confirmed via a business wire press release that Ganondorf will be a playable character in their upcoming Hyrule Warriors video game. The reveal trailer embedded above gives a preview of just how dominating Link’s foe will be when the game drops later this year.
In addition to this character reveal, Nintendo reps also released a detailed list of all the features that fans can expect in the game.
- Adventure Mode: Players are faced with a grid of challenges that looks like the map from The Legend of Zelda on NES. Completing each challenge unlocks a new region of the map, and with it, a new level of Adventure Mode. Certain characters and weapons can only be unlocked in Adventure Mode.
- Costumes: Club Nintendo members who buy and register Hyrule Warriors within four weeks of launch will receive a set of alternate Ganondorf costumes as free in-game downloadable content. More details will be made available on http://club.nintendo.com. For certain other characters, Nintendo will make downloadable alternate costumes available as pre-order bonuses from select retailers in North America. Nintendo will announce more information about how to get these cosmetic add-ons in the future.
- Playable Characters: In addition to Ganondorf, players can opt to play as various characters from The Legend of Zelda universe. Each character carries his or her own specialty weapons: Link (Hylian Sword), Princess Zelda (Rapier), Impa (Giant Blade), Midna (Shackle), Sheik (Harp), Agitha (Parasol), Darunia (Hammer), Princess Ruto (Zora Scale), Zant (Scimitar), Fi (Goddess Blade), Ghirahim (Demon Blade) and Lana (Book of Sorcery).
- Weapons: A Chain Chomp will make a guest appearance as a weapon. As the story advances, new weapons will become available to some characters, such as the Magic Rod for Link, the Baton for Zelda and Spear for Lana. Weapons have special abilities called Skills that increase attack damage, or perhaps increase the chance of finding Hearts. Filling the Focus Spirit magic gauge will temporarily increase a character’s abilities and help to mow down huge numbers of enemies. And Bombchus are back, just bigger and more explosive.
- Game Play: Players can level their characters up to increase HP and attack skill, or they can grab materials dropped by defeated monsters to craft Badges to increase a weapon’s number of attacks, create longer combos or extend Focus Spirit time.
- Co-Op Mode: Two players can play a local co-op match, with one player looking at the TV and the other looking at the Wii U GamePad controller. Single players can also play on the TV, or using only the GamePad in off-TV play.
- Locations: Players will face down hordes of enemies in familiar locations, such as Skyloft from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Lake Hylia from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Twilight Field from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
- Classic Zelda Elements: Players will recognize items from their favorite Zelda games, including bombs, arrows and a Hookshot. The game is filled with familiar Zelda staples, such as Cuccos, Rupees, Gold Skulltulas and plenty of grass cutting.
Senior Editor David Jagneaux mentioned Ganondorf as one of the 5 playable characters he wanted to see in Hyrule Warriors. He guessed correctly and it will be interesting to see if any of his other picks end up making the cut.
Hyrule Warriors launches exclusively on the Wii U on September 26th.
Are any of you planning on picking up this game? Who else do you think will be confirmed as a playable character? Please feel free to let us know your thoughts on this topics and more in the comments section below.
