Nintendo of America was concerned about sales of Hyrule Warriors

Hyrule Warriors represents one of the first major collaborations between Koei Tecmo and Nintendo in the musou genre. The game debuted on the Wii U in 2014 and was later remastered for the 3DS in 2016 and for the Switch in 2018. In 2020, a sequel titled Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was born. However, it is interesting to note that Nintendo of America was not entirely confident about the success of this project.

During a recent episode of the Kit and Krysta Podcast, former Nintendo employees Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang shared their insights from this period. They revealed that some people within Nintendo of America had reservations about the quality of the game and feared that it could tarnish the prestigious reputation of the Zelda franchise, established over decades. In fact, concerns were so great that some thought the game shouldn’t even launch in North America.

Eventually, Hyrule Warriors received a warm reception from critics and audiences. The game not only exceeded Koei Tecmo’s expectations in terms of sales in the West, but it also became one of the best-selling titles on Wii U. The enhanced port to Nintendo Switch was an even more resounding success, confirming once again the public’s enthusiasm and once again surpassing Koei Tecmo’s forecasts.

This unexpected success demonstrated that initial fears were unfounded and strengthened the position of Hyrule Warriors as one of the Wii U’s rare flagship releases.

The story of Hyrule Warriors takes place in the kingdom of Hyrule, a once peaceful land now threatened by an evil witch named Cia. Once the guardian of the Triforce, Cia succumbs to jealousy of Princess Zelda and an evil influence that corrupts her heart. Determined to conquer Hyrule, she unleashes an army of monsters to invade the kingdom.

The story begins at Hyrule Castle, where soldiers are training. Link, a young soldier in training, quickly stands out when an army of monsters attacks the castle. During this battle, Princess Zelda mysteriously disappears. Impa, leader of the royal guard, recognizes Link’s potential and takes him with her to find Zelda.

Throughout their quest, Link and Impa meet several valuable allies:

• Sheik : A mysterious Sheikah warrior who offers help and guidance.
• Lana : A White Witch, later revealed as the “good” part of Cia, separated from her negative emotions.
• Darunia : The powerful leader of the Gorons.
• Ruto : The wise and noble princess Zora.
• Midna : The Princess of Twilight, seeking to restore her kingdom.
• Fi : The spirit of the sword of the goddess, serving as guide and ally.

Cia uses fragments of the Triforce to open portals to other eras and dimensions in the Zelda universe. This allows iconic characters and locations from previous games like Skyward Sword, Ocarina of TimeAnd Twilight Princess to join the conflict. The heroes traverse these different worlds, facing various enemies and rallying new allies to their cause.

During their adventure, the heroes discover that Cia is being manipulated by Ganondorf, the Dark Lord, whose spirit uses his power to sow chaos. After several difficult battles, they manage to defeat Cia. However, this frees Ganondorf, who then takes physical form, revealing that he orchestrated the events all along.

Ganondorf uses the fragments of the Triforce to increase his power and launches a massive offensive against Hyrule. Link, Zelda, and their allies band together to face Ganondorf in an epic final battle. After an intense fight, they manage to defeat him, once again sealing the threat of Ganondorf and restoring peace to Hyrule.

With Ganondorf’s defeat, the portals to other eras and dimensions close. Allies from other times return home, and peace is restored to Hyrule. Cia, now freed from Ganondorf’s evil influence, realizes her mistakes. In search of redemption, she retreats to meditate on her past actions.

Hyrule Warriors DLC (downloadable content) characters vary depending on the game version and added content packs. Here is a list of DLC characters for the different versions of Hyrule Warriors:

Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)

1. Volga (Dragon Knight Pack)
2. Wizzro (Dragon Knight Pack)
3. CIA (Master Quest Pack)
4. Twili Midna (Twilight Princess Pack)
5. Young Link (Majora’s Mask Pack)
6. Tingle (Majora’s Mask Pack)

Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS)

1. Toon Link (Wind Waker Pack)
2. Tetra (Wind Waker Pack)
3. King Daphnes (Wind Waker Pack)
4. Medli (Free Update)
5. Linkle (Original Character Pack)
6. Skull Kid (Majora’s Mask Pack)

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition (Switch)

The Nintendo Switch version, titled “Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition”, includes all DLC characters from the Wii U and 3DS versions. Here are the additional characters exclusive to previous versions and included in this version:

1. Linkle (Original Character Pack)
2. Toon Link (Wind Waker Pack)
3. Tetra (Wind Waker Pack)
4. King Daphnes (Wind Waker Pack)
5. Medli (Free Update)
6. Skull Kid (Majora’s Mask Pack)

Additional packs (3DS and Switch)

1. Marine (Link’s Awakening Pack)
2. Toon Zelda (Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks Pack)
3. Ravio (A Link Between Worlds Pack)
4. Yuga (A Link Between Worlds Pack)

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity begins 100 years before the events of Breath of the Wild. Hyrule is a prosperous land ruled by King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. However, signs of the resurgence of Calamity Ganon, an ancient evil entity, appear, threatening the peace of the kingdom. The story begins with a desperate battle against the forces of Calamity Ganon. Zelda, with the help of her knight, Link, tries to repel the invaders. Meanwhile, a small Guardian, named Terrako, springs into action and opens a time portal, transporting himself and a mysterious enemy into the past, in an attempt to change the course of events.

In the past, King Rhoam decides to prepare Hyrule for the impending war against Calamity Ganon. Zelda is responsible for bringing together the Champions of Hyrule’s different races to pilot the Divine Beasts, ancient and powerful machines created to fight evil. The champions are:

• Miphathe princess of the Zoras.
• Darukthe powerful leader of the Gorons.
• Revalithe talented archer Rito.
• Urbosathe proud leader of the Gerudos.

With Link, Zelda and the Champions, the Hyrule army fights several battles to repel the forces of Calamity Ganon. They must recover the Divine Beasts and use them against the hordes of monsters invading Hyrule. Meanwhile, Zelda struggles to awaken her latent power of the Triforce of Wisdom.

Terrako, the little Guardian, helps the heroes by providing them with crucial information about future events. However, a corrupted version of Terrako, sent by the mysterious enemy, attempts to hinder their efforts. The heroes are also joined by other allies like Impa, Robbie, and Purah, as well as the descendants of the original champions from the future, Sidon, Yunobo, Teba, and Riju, thanks to Terrako’s intervention.

After gathering all the necessary forces and resources, the heroes embark on an epic battle against Calamity Ganon in Hyrule Castle. Zelda finally manages to awaken her power, and with the help of Link and the Champions, they manage to seal away Calamity Ganon, preventing the total destruction of Hyrule.

Although this game is different from the original Hyrule Warriors, it also offers DLC content with new playable characters:

1. Battle-Tested Guardian (Wave 1: Pulse of the Ancients)
2. Purah & Robbie (Wave 2: Guardian of Remembrance)
3. Soooga (Wave 2: Guardian of Remembrance)

These characters add new gameplay dynamics and mechanics, enriching the experience and allowing players to discover more of The Legend of Zelda universe through various iconic characters.