Hyrule Warriors Villains Let You Embrace Your Dark Side
Posted on August 05 2014 by Jeffrey Edelstein
We’ve had our suspicions for a while, but last night’s
Hyrule Warriors Direct finally provided confirmation: we will be able to play as villains. While this is a completely new feature for The Legend of Zelda (outside of Super Smash Bros., of course), this is far from unusual for a game in the Dynasty Warriors franchise. And between the footage from the stream, the plethora of new screenshots we received today, and the official descriptions thus far, we’ve gathered quite a bit about these wanton warriors. While there’s still no character trailers for Zant or Ghirahim, we imagine it won’t be a long wait.
First up is Zant, the Usurper King. Besides for the fresh HD coat of paint on him, the resident of the Twilight Realm has not changed in appearance since his role in Twilight Princess. As we had seen with previous images of him and Midna fighting on the battlefield, Zant retains his weapons of choice: the dual scimitars. He is a devastatingly quick, agile, and somewhat crazy fighter—and we get to play as him too! As if his swift weapons were not enough for us, he also has the ability to transform into a gargantuan version of himself and lay down the law on his foes. Add his magical Twili abilities and manic laughter and Zant makes for a fun, tricky fighter.
Of more recent fame is Ghirahim, the Demon Lord from Skyward Sword. Again, virtually unchanged in appearance, Hyrule Warriors‘ Ghirahim uses attacks very similar to the ones demonstrated by the boss in his main series game. With his demon blade, this character slices through his foes with quick and sometimes unusual movements, finishing them with magical blows featuring blades or his uniquely patterned magic. He can even transform into his Demon Lord form to wipe out dozens of enemies at one time with a powerful dark magic spell.
And finally, after being hinted at in the E3 trailer back in June, we finally have confirmation of not only Ganondorf‘s appearance in the game, but also his spot as a playable character. In stark contrast with the other two playable villains of which we know thus far, the Demon King has received a drastic redesign, sporting armor and hair much more befitting of a true Dynasty Warriors character. Ganondorf fights with his Great Sword and uses his terrible dark magic to augment his strikes and finish his enemies. Additionally, he, like Link and Zelda, has alternate costumes based upon his appearances in other games. Unlike these two, however, he only has a costume from his Ocarina of Time appearance and his Twilight Princess appearance. Could a third costume announcement be on the way?
While we do not know how these characters are unlocked within the game, it is possible that they are available after you have defeated them in the game’s story, or perhaps unlocked through
Adventure Mode, as Aonuma suggested some characters will be. Are you look forward to flexing your dark powers with these three Zelda baddies? Or is there another villain for whom you’re waiting?
Source: Nintendo Direct
