Hyrule Warriors Legends (Part 2)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

The fight is on!

Fight across time

From here, the Story Mode splits into three branches. Forced to deal with all of them at once, the army splits.

Normally, the franchise says not to mess with
Gorons. That they're indestructible. Then, can
you explain why I've knocked out 1346??

Impa and Sheik head into the world of Ocarina of Time, where they look for the Gate of Souls that teleports enemies into their era. Instead, they meet a Kokiri fairy, who directs them to the Gorons and their leader, Darunia, who have captured Princess Ruto of the Zoras, following an odd encounter with Princess Zelda. We don’t get to investigate, as the story evolves to an armed conflict. The Gorons use many tricks to gain an edge on the battlefield, including taking forts equipped with cannons throwing boulders at the allied base. After cornering Darunia in his base, the heroines realize that the Gorons were manipulated by invisible monsters. Even after they’re dealt with, Darunia must still be defeated to regain his senses. When that’s done, Darunia releases Ruto and, irate that he got manipulated, joins the fight.

The Gorons and Zoras were in conflict over the monsters coming out of the Water Temple, where the Gate had opened. And who led them? Princess Zelda. In the following battle, we first open the Water Temple, and then face off against the faker, revealed to be a monster in disguise: A Wizzro. Sheik reveals that she knew, because she was the princess all along. (Since they’ve traveled to a different era, the other Zelda could have been the incarnation of herself from then, so that point is moot, but whatever.)

Yep, Midna has access to Wolf-Link in her fight.
No clue where he is the rest of the time, though.

Lana visits the era of Twilight Princess. Her search for the Gate of Souls is interrupted by Cia’s monsters, who attack a villager: Agitha, the friend to all bugs. After Agitha is rescued, her Goddess Butterfly leads the heroes to the Gate, but they’re intercepted by another army led by an imp with a headpiece. Yep, that’s Midna. She believes that the Hyrulean army is allied to the monsters who have been roaming the land. No misunderstanding that a strategic battle and a good beating cannot resolve.

Midna has a bone to pick with those monsters, so she joins our ranks. The next battle is set in the Palace of Twilight, and it ends in a showdown against Zant and a dragon called an Argorok. Tough fight. Confronting Cia, Midna exclaims that the sorceress is the one who trapped her in this imp form. A scuffle ensues where Cia’s mask falls off, revealing a face like Lana’s. After the villainess escapes, Lana explains that she and Cia once formed a single entity, who split apart into good and evil halves due to Ganondorf's manipulations. That’d have been nice to know in advance!

Yep, that's Agitha summoning a giant beetle to kill a
dragon. Didn't know she had the combat spirit in her.

The faces of evil may change, but they all get a beating
nonetheless. I half-expect Onox and Veran to show up.

As for Link, he visits the age of Skyward Sword. He rescues Skyloft from Volga and… Ghirahim? Oh, damn, that’s a major one. He also meets Fi, who joins the fray. In the next scenario, the Hyrulean army has found the source of the monsters, but they’re forced to battle the gigantic Imprisoned, as well as waves of soldiers brainwashed into turning against the heroic side. Following this, they finally break into the temple, where Link faces off against Ghirahim and defeats him, then closes the Gate.

Fi's motions and attacks are stilted or look like
quick strokes or swings. Makes sense for one who
is basically the spirit of a sword.

If you’re wondering why neither Ruto nor Agitha have joined after these arcs, well – some characters can only be unlocked through the bonus Adventure Mode. As for Linkle, her knack for getting lost is legendary, as she somehow got herself lost in other timelines. Twice. In Skyward Sword first, in Ocarina of Time one second. Some luck she has.

Reunions

The heroes return to the main timeline, bringing along their new friends. Some have to come clean and reveal their secrets to the wider group. Meanwhile, Cia summons Ganondorf back to life through the three out of four soul fragments she has gathered. It becomes clear that, as he has done countless times before (there’s literally a trope named after it), he intends to take over the role of big villain and discard her. In retaliation, Cia returns the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom to their rightful owners, forcing the sorcerer to hunt them down.

Guess we're just fighting ghosts with a sword now.

I need no other sword! ...Right?

The Hyrulean army now seeks the Master Sword to gain an edge in the conflict. To open the Temple of the Sacred Sword, they must activate three Statues concurrently; we escort Impa, Darunia and Midna to them. This awakens the Ghost Forces, an opposing but not villainous faction, which can be dealt with like any other army. The spirits are defeated, but it turns out they had been agitated by a Wizzro disguised as Lana, and thus once they disappear and the temple opens, we have the actual Dark Forces to defeat. No problem, Link takes the Master Sword and destroys that shapeshifting monster.

I should have guessed Koei Tecmo wouldn't skip on the
possibility of using Dark Link alongside everything else.

Yeah, that's a lot of Links to deal with.

Following this, Link and his friends attack the Temple of Souls, taken over by Cia. Impa points out that Link, strong of wielding the Master Sword, seems overconfident. Take over the keeps around the sorceress’ quarters, and fight her… easy, right? Nah. Cia has read the warrior’s overconfidence and uses his shadow to summon a Dark Link. ...Oh wait, no, more like a dozen or so. Cia leaves the battlefield, forcing the heroes into the fight of their lives. Meanwhile, Ganondorf’s own army busts in, hoping to steal the other Triforce pieces in the chaos. Even after the Dark Links are defeated, Ganondorf’s forces remain. Link ends up taking down the big guy after he gets too close to Zelda. Keep your filthy hands away from the Triforce of Wisdom! …And the Princess! …What? I got my priorities straight.

We stop by the Palace of Twilight, where a lost Linkle ends up heing Midna – in her true form, not as an imp – battling an evil version of the Twilight Princess herself.

Oof, she's not messing around.

Then, although Ganondorf has been dealt with, there’s still Cia to worry about. After many encounters, Link battles Cia and three more magical clones of her, and comes out on top. The defeated sorceress is met by her good half and disappears. Lana makes sure to undo all of Cia’s wrongs upon Hyrule, closing the Gate of Souls and letting the displaced heroes return to their original time periods, while the Triforce shines once more complete above the world. Peace has returned.

Or so we thought, as Ganondorf reunites the fragments of himself and returns, complete.

Ganondorf’s story

True to form, Ganondorf is a goddamn
powerhouse destroying everything in his way.

And he might be stronger than ever, dipping into Cia’s time-travel powers to carry Ghirahim and Zant to this era. He sets up camp in the Gerudo Desert, and asserts dominance over the resident monsters through an old-fashioned slaughter. This mission is topped with a fight against three bosses in quick succession. Talk about an introduction! (Also, it’s cool that we get to play as the villains! Not a common thing in the Zelda franchise, but I’m told it’s very common in Dynasty Warriors, so it makes sense it would happen here as well.)

Lana has kept the Triforce of Power, so Ganondorf and his forces assault the Valley of Seers. Lana gets help from the Gorons and Impa; the latter even uses ninja trickery to multiply and attack from different places. Once she’s cornered, Lana even splits into three (don’t ask how) and runs off into  different directions, and if even one of them flees, Ganondorf loses. Despite the witch of light’s best efforts, Ganondorf steals the Triforce of Power.

This part involves beating both Link and Zelda in a short
timespan, or they'll keep respawning. By the way, it's rare to
see such a near-villain victory in Legend of... uh... Wait, no,
it's not rare at all, actually. I take that back.

But he’s still missing the other two, so he launches an attack on Hyrule Field, where he and his two lackeys once more overpower the competition. They even defeat both Link and Zelda, and obtain the other two pieces… Geez, what happened? Was there a flu going around at the castle?

After his conquest, Ganondorf disappears into Hyrule Castle, leaving Ghirahim and Zant to command his troops. To restore some hope, Zelda leads her group to Gerudo Desert, where they defeat the two generals, in part thanks to Lana re-summoning the warriors who helped them against Cia prior. After which, it’s an all-out assault on Hyrule Castle, overtaken by Ganondorf.

"Defeat Ganon to win"? Geez, thanks for telling me, I would
have never guessed! It's only been that way since 1986!

But, of course, the villain has a very Ganon-shaped trick up his sleeve now that he has gathered the full Triforce; and indeed, after he is defeated in human-like form, he becomes the hulking pig-beast. You know, the one that can only be defeated with light arrows. Which Zelda helpfully provides just as the battle seems lost. However, that’s still not enough, as Ganon has planned ahead, and planted powerful lackeys that make him impervious to the arrows until they’re defeated. (Notice a trend of missions padding out with extra battles and requirements, just to make them longer?) Only after that is Ganon weak and beatable. And so, beaten he is. With evil vanquished yet again, Link returns the Master Sword to its resting place, while Lana returns the others to their timelines.

It's not over???

Every time you think it’s over, this Story Mode throws in more stuff to do. (Wait till I get to the Adventure Mode…)

For starters, we have closure on Linkle’s arc. She arrives to Hyrule Castle just as Link and Zelda are gone to seal the Master Sword following their victory over Ganon, leaving Hyrule Castle defenseless. She finally got there! And just as enemies are coming in, too! So she helps deal with them, and becomes a true hero as a result. Perhaps not THE Hero of Legend, but still good enough.

We've only really seen Cia use magic during the
story, but damn, she swings a mean flail.

The next arc unlocked is Cia’s tale, or how the witch rose to power. You unlock Cia alongisde her story arc, which begins just as she sets out to find powerful generals to hire – that’s when she finds Wizzro and Volga, and she rallies them to her cause. This also unlocks them at character selection. In the second mission of this arc, we can play either of these two as they go on a hunt for fairies, aware that these can turn the tide of battle in the heroes’ favor. They win on Hyrule Field, against both Impa and Zelda. (Man, bad day to be a good guy.)

After which, we see her efforts during the three-pronged attack on Hylian History. First, her assault on the Palace of Twilight, already in a war between Zant and Midna. Aided of Wizzro and Volga, she defeats Zant’s army first, though Zant escapes; after you beat Midna, Zant returns and gets a proper beating. Next, Cia travels to the age of Skyward Sword, finding Ghirahim at war with Hyrulean soldiers. She begins by allying with the guards against the villain. Then, when she has proven her superiority (by beating him up), she recruits Ghirahim and breaks her alliance with the soldiers, conquering their forts and even defeating Fi.

The allied base is about to fall? I'm a bit busy right now!

Of course, whenever Ganondorf is involved, you know he’s gonna steal the show. The dude can't help himself. Ganondorf launches an all-out assault on Cia’s home, and Wizzro even switches sides. Freaking turncoat! Ganondorf has the upper hand throughout, and it takes a surprise alliance between Cia and Lana, who was passing by, to defeat Ganondorf. Really, all he does is abandon Cia to her fate while he goes on his hunt for the full Triforce. Which leads to the finale as we've seen it.

(Gee, are we gonna learn the story of Hyrule Guard #2547 next?)

Wind Waker

It’s still not over! There’s one more story arc!

Tetra kicks as much ass as she did back in Wind
Waker and its sequels. And we get to play her!
(We also get to play as Medli!)

In this one, we see Lana about to hide a fragment of Ganondorf (who, it seems, got split again after his defeat), when another portal towards a different era opens. Or… is it an era? The characters they meet from it look so different. Toonier. Yep, this Hyrule has now collided with the Wind Waker universe, and another unlikely team-up is needed to solve one more crisis. (I promise, it’s the last this time.) Link ends up striking an unlikely friendship with Tetra, the Queen of Pirates, in this first battle against new enemies. That battlefield is further disturbed by the Helmaroc King, a giant bird that lands in specific spots and causes chaos, breaking strategies. Despite all of this, Link and Tetra manage to deal with the monster army, though it ends with an undefeated Helmaroc King kidnapping Tetra, and Link running out to her rescue.

This quest takes him to Gerudo Desert, where he finds Lana investigating the loss of her Triforce of Power and Gates of Souls opening in the desert. He rescues Tetra and helps her defeat the Helmaroc King thanks to the hammer found in the previous mission. The Gates close, but the cause of this evil still exists in the Wind Waker-verse, and that world’s King Daphnes emerges to explain the situation, encouraging Link and Co. to hunt down the monster.

The King leads them to the Temple of Souls, where they rescue Cia, consumed by the darkness. However, she has been weakened and must be protected; an even darker version of herself has split off and is sending waves of monsters. It is only by defeating her hordes, including more Dark Links, and then the shadow Cia herself, that the true Cia is made safe. The sorceress explains that a phantom version of Ganon hailing from the Wind Waker world is the creature that stole the Triforce piece. Time to kill Ganon… A-freaking-GAIN.

This mission being the last, it’s especially tough, with a lot of nasty tricks the heroes must deal with. Thankfully, they pull through, and end up defeating Phantom Ganon. With the evil vanquished, the Wind Waker folks wave goopbye and vanish. The Triforce is reunited, and Hyrule is repaired. Again. And as a bonus, Cia gets to keep living as her own person separate from Lana, and has sworn off evil, now watching over the balance of the world with her “sister”.

Yep, the light sorceress, and her edgy Hot Topic sister.

Beating this final mission unlocks the final difficulty, Heroic, even harder than hard. Good luck! Buuut I have other things to discuss, so let’s finish in Part 3.