The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (Nintendo 3DS) Review

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a lot like doing karaoke. Sure, it can be done alone, but what is the point of that? It is very clearly built for playing with other people. Pretty much every part is centered on relying on partners to progress, and is so utterly focused on working together that the single-player mode seems ultimately frivolous and is damaged as a result.

Playing alone requires constant swapping of the various Links, which will usually require getting them to stack upon one another, using their tools in tandem to negotiate each room of a dungeon. Unlike past Zelda entries, only one object can be held and each dungeon will only carry three tools that have to be shared between the Links. The tools are mostly classic mainstays, like the bombs, boomerangs, hook-shot, and a few of the newer items, like the wind vase from Skyward Sword. Doing this alone is a real chore because the constant switching of characters is slow and actually can drag the pace to a complete halt.

This also has a profound impact on the dynamics and how puzzles are solved, for instance, what took mere seconds in a team of friends or humans, will take minutes in solo thanks to having to arrange the lifeless doppelgangers into position. There are some sequences that are a true test of patience since it becomes painfully obvious that this was obviously not designed to be played alone. It gets so bad that the development team even acknowledges this by implementing a skip sequence button as if it knew it wouldn't be enjoyable this way. Even playing online is not a fair enough substitute, since the lag can be so bad it is sometimes impossible to move Link anywhere, and the best option is to just manually reset the 3DS unit completely. In fact, even when the online is stable, it has a pretty terrible input lag that will make some of the dungeons impossible and will result in a premature and unearned death.

On the other hand, should there be friends nearby who are also playing Tri Force Heroes, it can be quite agreeable. This is a Zelda that is centred mostly on puzzles and using teamwork to overcome obstacles. In the much later dungeons, where the tools get more exclusive, each Link will have to serve a specified role, which creates a very interesting dynamic between the three players. It is the costumes, of course, that are crucial for each user to bring into each session.

Other than the emphasis on multiplayer, Tri Force Heroes has a major gimmick in the form of costumes that can be crafted from drops earned at the end of dungeons. There are other means of acquiring some of these drops, like the chest mini-game that can be played once a day, or simply buying one for rupees. There is one major issue with all this, though, and while the idea of making costumes with added perks is great, sadly some of them might not ever be obtainable as they require "Friendly Tokens." These can only be acquired through local co-operative or download-play, and unless there are many people around who have a 3DS, or are willing to get this game, there just won't be any way to ever fully enjoy all the aspects within. It can often feel like a slap in the face when a game arbitrarily locks out content behind walls like this, and it especially stings in a Zelda title that is founded on adventuring. Now it doesn't matter how dedicated a player is anymore, just how many people around them own the required hardware/software.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes boasts more dungeons than any other Zelda before it, yet has no overworld to explore, as a trade off. Even though there are well over 30 dungeons, all of them are quite small and can be beaten in about 20-30 minutes. The structure is almost like Monster Hunter, in some regards, since Link can't leave town and is only transported to dungeons, accompanied by the very long grind for materials that are earned at the end of a basic game cycle.

The hours can pile up doing many of the same things over and over again, and even with local friends it does have diminished returns and gets dull quickly. Many Zelda fans may be disappointed with Tri Force Heroes since it is not fun to play solo and requires others to get the most out of. The online play is dodgy, at best, and the over reliance on local play for the Friendly Tokens is a gross miscalculation by Nintendo and Grezzo (headed up by Koichi Ishii of Secret of Mana fame). Along with a very questionable localisation for the US release, this is hard to recommend to those who want an actual Zelda adventure. Anyone who is interested in a co-operative puzzle-action romp, however, will likely be satisfied.