Zelda Musou Hyrule Allstars DX Review 

Combining the Shin Sangoku Musou (Dynasty Warriors) series that began in 2000 with The Legend of Zelda characters that were first seen in 1986, Zelda Musou Hyrule Allstars DX is the third iteration of Zelda Musou (Hyrule Warriors) which has seen past entries on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and is now on Nintendo Switch complete with all the DLC (29 total playable characters) and Breath of the Wild outfits added to what is being marketed as the ‘definitive edition’ of the game.

Those that have played either of the original versions or indeed, any Musou title will likely need zero introduction. For the few of you remaining: Zelda Musou sees you out on a battlefield, with you having to control the majority of the map and claim several castles. Countless (as in literally countless in most instances) enemies aim to thwart your progress. Many NPC’s and several playable characters (switchable à la Phantom Hourglass) appear throughout the game to help even the score.

Like arguably every other Musou game, Hyrule Allstars DX walks the fine line between mindless fun and endless repetition. Fortunately the numerous missions and the colourful cast of characters tend to lend itself more to the former, but the depth that players have come to expect from a mainline Zelda game is neither here, nor should it be expected. This is a pure Warriors series slash ’em up from within the narrative confines of The Legend of Zelda universe.

Hyrule Allstars DX is more of an aesthetic upgrade to the previous versions in its improving of the lighting rather than a technical one, although the framerate has, too improved and the games looks beautiful in both TV and Handheld Modes and the ability to switch between the two modes is nothing but a positive. Those expecting any signifacant changes are likely going to walk away empty handed, and other than a couple of outfits, this is very much a pre-Breath of the Wild experience.

Conclusion:

With the amount of improvements indeed minimal, this is ultimately down to the individual player whether buying the game for a second or even third game is worth the entrance fee. As a standalone game, Zelda Musou is often fun, at times brilliant, and although it is often inevitably repetitive; this can often be overlooked from the feel-good-factor of obliterating literally dozens of Bokoblins in one fell swoop help make this, this writer’s current favourite game of 2018.

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