A couple of hours ago, Nintendo announced an upcoming spinoff of the Zelda series currently named "Hyrule Warriors." It is a Warriors game from Tecmo Koei set in the Legend of Zelda universe, featuring Link as a playable character and traditional Zelda monsters as enemies.
Now, I want to make it clear that I am not a huge fan of the Warriors games. I don't hate them either: I'm just kind of indifferent about them. I see the appeal, but also the drawbacks. But that's not what I want to talk about.
The cool thing about Hyrule Warriors is that it shows Nintendo doing a bunch of things that are really smart on their part, including things that fans have been demanding Nintendo do for a while now.
1. Nintendo is letting 3rd parties work on their franchises. People have often criticized Nintendo for keeping their franchises too close, working on only a few of them and releasing them at a steady but unsatisfactory rate. In the past, people have said things like "Why won't Nintendo let Platinum Games work on the Star Fox series?" Well, this is essentially what Hyrule Warriors is. Nintendo is taking advantage of their big name series to work with 3rd parties to make exclusives. And this is really promising! If Nintendo could get this team to work on a Zelda title, is it really far-fetched to think that they are working with other 3rd parties on Nintendo series games?
2. Nintendo is expanding what Zelda can be. Unlike other Nintendo series like Mario, Pokemon, and Kirby, Zelda games, with the exception of Zelda 2, have always been Action-Adventure games. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I for one have for a long time felt that the Zelda universe was rich enough to support more than one kind of game. Well, diversity has arrived! This could be the first step in Zelda becoming a truly greater franchise, capable of tackling a number of genres and bringing its own tale to each of them. Plus, my dreams of a more RPG-like Zelda game are now more likely than they've been since the 80's! Even ignoring future genres though, the core Zelda team can use Hyrule Warriors as a testing ground, for both new and old ideas, much like how Zelda U has certainly been influenced by the success of Link Between Worlds.
3. This game can actually be a Big Deal. Warriors games are largely tolerated at best in the West, but in Japan the series is a big deal. One Piece: Pirate Warriors sold over 850,000 copies on the PS3, making it the 5th best selling game on the platform! And there are other Warriors games in the Top 50 best-selling games for the platform in Japan, all selling above 300,000. In contrast, Zelda games aren't exactly huge in Japan, at least by Nintendo's standards. Skyward Sword only sold about 360,000 copies, and even Twilight Princess sold only about 650,000 copies across two platforms. The handheld games have fared somewhat better, but there has never been a huge handheld success story in the history of the series in Japan.
Now, I'm not saying that Hyrule Warriors will sell a million copies in Japan alone. However, it will appeal to people who usually don't play Zelda games, bringing them into the fold. Unless the game gets an abysmal reception, it can only strengthen the franchise in the country.
Meanwhile, this game could be a Trojan's Horse for the entire genre in the West. Unlike Japan, the West, particularly America, likes their Zelda games, but barely acknowledges the existence of the Warriors games. Hyrule Warriors can expand the genre into the West using the Zelda name.
What do you think? Is Hyrule Warriors exactly what the doctor ordered for Nintendo?
