The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes Preview (3DS)
In The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, teams of 3 players, each controlling their own Link character, work together to solve puzzles in order to explore dungeons and collect weapons and outfits which are useful in many ways throughout the game. Players can use different combinations of weapons, form a totem on each others’ shoulders, work together to push blocks around and many other types of teamwork in order to solve the puzzles needed to advance through the dungeons.
Outfits are also an important aspect of the game. Each outfit has its own unique ability or impact on your character or characters. For example, the Legendary Dress, Zelda's iconic pink dress, gives Link extra hearts. Since hearts are shared between players, the dress' powers can be crucial to survival. Outfits are crafted using materials players find while exploring dungeons. This gives the game a sort of loot-based grind feel to it, which is actually nice. While most of the game is cooperative, the grinding for loot can become somewhat competitive as players go for materials in the dungeons. I am no fashion expert by any means, but this part of the game is actually pretty cool.
Tri Force Heroes features both single player and both local and online multiplayer modes. In the multiplayer modes, you have to play with 2 other players, you cannot play with just 2 players. I only played multiplayer with some friends. There is no voice chat and a few on-screen emotes and actions, therefore local multiplayer seemed easier, since communication is a big factor and it is harder to communicate with players online than in the same room as you. Voice chat would be a nice improvement for online play for sure.
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes releases on this Friday, October 23rd. I am looking forward to picking it up and trying out the single player mode as well as more online play with friends.